~Let the battle begin!~
Another night has passed and the day of the Rating Game has finally arrived. Rias and the devils prepared themselves as much as they could, and now they are ready to show Riser and his peerage the fruits of their training. Riser made preparations of his own in that time period, as he knew against one of the Four, he would need all the help he can get. He wasn't sure will even his ace that is regeneration help him beat War, who is maybe considered to be the most honorable, but also the most ruthless of the riders on the battlefield, almost on par with Death himself.
As for the Reaper, he rode on his phantom steed to meet with Sirzechs in what looks like a castle when he closed in. Little did he know that this castle is the very place where the first of the Rating Games were practiced before it became popular among the devils, which is why this place is where Sirzechs and the other devil kings and nobles arrive to observe the Rating Games that followed. As such, this place was heavily fortified over the centuries, with protective wards and many soldiers guarding the facility. When he arrived, he jumped from his faithful mount as Despair submerged into the ground, with Death making his way to the front gates, where a housemaid was waiting for him.
"Welcome, pale rider. It is an honor for…"
"Spare me the pleasantries and take me to your king." Death interrupted in low, strict and cold tone, making the housemaid shiver a bit as her face went slightly blue at the sight of the rider's orange, almost fiery like stare that sent chills down her spine.
"Yes sir. This way." The housemaid stammered a bit as the portcullis opened behind her and she lead the rider in. Death couldn't help but crack a smirk beneath his mask in amusement as he followed the frightened housemaid. Didn't really fix his mood from all the current proceedings, but it will do for now.
At the same time, War waited patiently with Rias and the other devils in the club house for Grayfia to arrive, where they will be teleported on a battlefield, a fight that will decide the outcome of Rias' marriage and the fate of all the devils on Earth. The red rider has no doubt whatsoever that he will win this battle, as he did countless others before this one, and yet he couldn't shake the feeling that something might go awry during the battle. As for Rias and the devils, because of the fact that War will fight beside them, they were completely certain that victory will be theirs, the thought which made Rias smile silently, that she will finally be free of that pompous, arrogant bastard that is Riser. War noticed Rias smiling and made him hiss a bit, he was doing all this charade only to further his and Death's goal to protect the Balance, he couldn't care less of who she ends up with, Riser or otherwise.
After a few moments, a silver magic circle formed on the floor, revealing none other than Grayfia.
"It's almost time. I hope you are ready, Lady Rias." Grayfia said in her usual, serious tone.
"Yes. We're ready when you are." Rias said in formal tone.
Meanwhile, after several minutes of moderate pacing, Death and the housemaid arrived near the doors where Sirzechs himself, along with the other nobles wait inside. After she opened the doors, the rider stomped inside without a second to waste.
"You've arrived, horseman. And not a moment too soon." Sirzechs smiled slightly.
"Let's get this over with before I do something we will both regret." Death growled slightly in frustration as he sat down. Almost immediately after that did the horseman put Sirzechs and the other nobles on edge, but they wouldn't allow themselves to succumb to fear in front of the rider. They will not dare to give him that indulgence, especially Sirzechs, considering he is the devil king after all.
"Straight to the point then." Sirzechs frowned seriously before he looked at the wide screen in front of them. "I sent Grayfia to teleport your brother, along with Rias and her servants on the battlefield where they will be fighting."
"And where exactly is this battleground?" War asked.
"In a neutral, alternate space created just for the game. Because it's not real, we have full license to do some damage, even burn it to the ground if we want." Akeno smiled before giggling a bit. War noticed excitement in her voice and, if he's not mistaken, a small amount of sadism. Not really a surprise, considering Death told him she was a fallen angel, not a friendly type of faction on the list of factions across Creation. He knew that Rias was aware of her true nature, but he still wonders if her underlings are aware of that fact.
"Good." War smirked slightly. If what she says is true, that means he can cut loose on Riser and his devils with no consequences.
Issei's face went slightly blue as he glanced from Akeno to War. Here they are, all excited for the fight and he really doesn't know what is scarier: The bout against the Phenex fighters or his comrades' battle lust, War's being unsurpassable in that department.
"Also, I thought you'd like to know that the great devil Lucifer will be watching the game, along with the Reaper himself." Grayfia said.
"Yes. I know." Rias said in serious tone.
She was inwardly glad that her brother will be watching her very first Rating Game, but she was at the same time very nervous that Death himself is lounging with him in the same room. As for War, he smirked silently, not surprised that Death will be watching the fight as well. Either because Death wanted to make sure that War will not go berserk like he did against the humans years ago, or simply because he needed some form of entertainment, especially since War will be a part of the show.
After a few moments, a large, crimson magic circle formed on the floor next to Grayfia.
"Lady Rias, it's time." Grayfia said, with Rias getting up from her chair on cue and heading towards War, to slight confusion for the red rider.
"Before we leave, there is one thing that needs to be done. Hold out your right hand please." Rias said formally to War.
"Why?" War asked in slight confusion, not knowing if she is secretly trying to place a curse on him or something far off the path of evil intent.
"Because I need to place on you the Gremory Seal, so you are allowed to use the magic circle with us and teleport to the battlefield." Rias said.
"For your sake, this better not be some form of deception." War frowned seriously as he extended his right palm.
"Far from it." Rias said seriously before she silently slid her finger in the air around War's palm, where moments later a Gremory insignia formed on the said palm, disappearing a few more moments later.
War didn't feel any different after the incantation, so that's a sign it wasn't some hidden curse or something like that after all, at least at the moment. Either way, he was disgusted that he needed help from the devils to use their teleportation magic, slightly regretting that he didn't pick up a trick or two in that department from Fury like Death did. But only slightly.
"We're ready now. Let's go." Rias said seriously as she walked towards the circle, followed by Akeno, Koneko, Kiba, Issei, Asia and lastly, War. As all of them stood in the circle, they were all individually teleported, with War being the last to be transported.
Much to War's confusion however, along with Issei and Asia, they found themselves in exactly the same spot they supposedly teleported from.
"What is the meaning of this? Why are we still here?" War asked Rias in slight irritation. But before anyone could utter a word…
"Your attention please." Grayfia suddenly spoke from magical speakers echoing from seemingly every direction. "Welcome everyone, my name is Grayfia, a servant of the house of Gremory and I will be your referee during today's match. To create the battlefield you'll be competing in, I took suggestions from both Lady Rias and Lord Riser. You may recognize this place as the exact replica of Kuoh Academy, an educational institution in the human world."
After those words, War stomped towards the window and opened it wide, revealing that they were indeed teleported to another dimension, with green aurora sky being a clear proof of that fact.
"Whoah! Where are we?!" Issei asked in surprise.
"Look, the sky." Asia said in awe.
"This is the alternate space. It may look like it, but trust me, we are not in school anymore." Akeno smiled.
"Each team has been given an area that will serve as a home base. Lady Rias's crew will be in the Occult Research Club headquarters in the old school house. Lord Riser's home base will be located in the principal's office in the new school house. Pawns will be promoted if they can make their way to the home base of the opposing team. Good luck to all." Grayfia said.
That's all War needed to hear as his sight was now fixed on the new school house far away from their current position.
"Those failures don't deserve to stand on the same field as us. Show no mercy, break their spirits, shatter their pride and force them into submission. If I don't crush her this is meaningless." Riser smirked cockily before his face went serious. "However, there is one formidable foe that you must avoid: The rider himself. He is too powerful an opponent for any of you to face in combat. Take Rias down and her little pets and victory will be ours. Am I clear?" He said. All of the devils in his service, save for the two female pawns he was groping on at the same time, nodded seriously, some begrudgingly at that.
"Alright! I'm gonna fight my way to their home base right out the gate, get promoted to something awesome and beat the crap out of lord deuchenuzzel." Issei said while pumping his fists in excitement.
"I wouldn't do that, unless you wanna get your ass handed to you." Akeno sassed, making Issei look at her blankly.
"Indeed. Especially if Riser's pawns manage to reach our own territory. If either of them manage a promotion to queen, things might get complicated real quick." Rias said seriously.
But before either of them could say any further, Koneko approached Issei and gave him a tiny red orb, followed by Asia and War.
"What is this?" War asked curiously.
"It's a communication orb. As the name implies, it will allow us to communicate during the fight." Rias said as her own orb floated on her ear and disappeared.
"Wow, that's some secret agent shit." Issei said as he placed the orb on his ear too, followed by Asia. War did the same thing as his own orb was absorbed into his ear like the rest of the devils.
"Now, War." Rias said as she turned towards the rider. "If I'm not mistaken, you possess a vast tactical acumen. So what strategy would you propose for us, given the number of fighters we will face out there?"
"The strategy is simple." War said as he turned away from the window and faced the devils. "Rias Gremory. Given the rules of this fight, if you lose, then the rest of the team follows, even me. You will remain here, with Asia Argento revitalizing you if you end up confronting the Phenex devils." Then he glanced towards Rias' queen. "Akeno Himejima, you will remain here as well. Given the abundant amount of power you possess and your mastery of lightning, you will be Gremory's first line of defense against the intruders. However, it would be wise to fortify this position as much as possible before resorting to direct conflict, so it is up to you to complete that task." He said, while Akeno nodded silently with a serious expression.
"But why? Akeno can be of great help to us against Riser's forces, especially against rooks and their own queen." Kiba said in slight confusion.
"The Phenex may be cocky, but he is not a fool. He would certainly order his servants to avoid confrontation against me and focus on defeating Rias Gremory, thus winning the battle. No, you, Hyoudou and Toujou will march and face the weaker devils in combat. Your task will be to deal with their foot soldiers first before they manage to reach our base of operations. And should the fight prove too much for you three to handle, lead them to me and I will finish them off." War explained, with Kiba nodding in agreement, along with Issei and Koneko. "If none of you have any objections, then I suggest we press the attack." He said seriously.
"Right!" Issei, Koneko, Kiba nodded before they marched outside the club house.
"But wouldn't it be much simpler if you were to charge at their main base and take out Riser from the get go? Even though it might be heavily fortified, it shouldn't be anything difficult for you to handle." Rias asked curiously.
"A mistake that only a novice would make." War berated. Rias only frowned in frustration behind War, not really fond of that remark. "Like you said last night, Riser won eight battles out of ten that he participated over the years, enough to give him a significant insight and battle experience for future conflicts like this one. If I were to make a direct assault on Riser's headquarters, then he would no doubt converge all of his warriors for a lightning strike against you. By the time I manage to reach him and defeat him in combat, that window of opportunity would be all that he needs to overwhelm you and your servants, resulting in decisive defeat." He then turned sideways and looked at Rias. "For this particular battle, I will deal with the warriors that would pose a significant threat to your followers one by one, allowing you and the others to deal with the weaker combatants yourselves."
"Understood." Rias nodded seriously in agreement.
"Then it's time for me to enter the fray myself." War said before got out the window and climbed on the roof of the ORC building. Rias was slightly taken aback at that stunt, for such a bulky figure, War is surprisingly agile.
"Alright devils, let the game begin!" Grayfia announced.
Almost on cue, War performed a mighty leap as he jumped high in the air from the roof and crashed in the center of the football field in close proximity to Riser's base, leaving a small crater from the impact. After a few moments of silence, he stood up, unsheathed Chaoseater and plunged it into the ground in front of him. This was a silent challenge for the swordsmen of the opposing team to come out and fight him. He knew from experience that fellow swordsmen, no matter the race or gender, would always accept the challenge, otherwise it would prove their cowardice and a wound to their pride if they choose to avoid him.
Several moments of silence and apparently not one of them showed up. Just when he was about to give into his thought that all of Phenex's fighters were indeed cowards, a gust of wind swept the dirt from the ground and one of Riser's swordsmen appeared in front of him a good distance away.
"You must be really powerful if you forced even Lord Riser to be on edge, warrior. My name is Karlamine and I am a knight in the service of the house of Phenex. I know that you openly issued a challenge for us and I gladly accept it!" Karlamine said as she drew her sword, bursting into flames as soon as she placed it in front of her.
"Have you lost your marbles?" Another knight named Siris said in slight frustration. "Lord Riser gave us specific orders not to face the red rider in combat."
"To hell with his orders! I am not going to back down from anyone, even against the likes of him!" Karlamine said boldly before she charged at War.
"Don't you know who you're up against, you idiot?!" Siris shouted angrily as she went after Karlamine for a combined, yet desperate assault against the rider.
War then smirked in what other people would say excitement as he drew his mighty blade and pointed at the incoming knights. Karlamine's sword was the first to make contact with War's Chaoseater, which the rider parried with ease, followed by Siris' blade which was also parried by the rider. After their assault, they dashed in separate directions to form a strategy to get through his guard and deliver a decisive blow. War was now interested by the fight as this was an intriguing combination of the blades. Karlamine's sword was wreathed in flame, while Siris' sword was not. However, her large two-handed blade had the ability to send strong gusts of wind in the direction she swings the sword towards. It may be effective against lesser opponents to stun them for a few seconds for Siris to finish them off, but War doesn't even feel the impact of the winds at all, a pleasing breeze if anything.
Pretty much like when he sparred with Kiba, the two swordsmen used their speed to give themselves an advantage, but unlike the blonde swordsman, these two have a murderous intent in their eyes, they don't plan to hold back. Karlamine struck again with her sword, followed by Siris, but again War managed to parry their blades, swinging his Chaoseater with impressive speed, despite the rider's bulky size. The two knights struck again and again, their speed increasing and each of their strikes harder than the last, and yet War still managed to parry their attacks with no signs of slowing down whatsoever.
Meanwhile, in Sirzech's VIP room…
"Your brother seems to be holding his own impressively well against two of Riser's knights attacking simultaneously." Sirzechs smiled slightly.
"Don't mock me, devil king. You know yourself that War isn't even trying, he's merely toying with them." Death said as a matter of factly.
While Sirzechs did knew that War was holding back all too well, he wasn't sure how much was he holding back. But as he looked at the screen again, with War having that same, confident smirk on his face while swinging his sword like it was made out of thin wood, he knew that Death was right. Against Riser and his devils, it goes without saying a word that War has this Rating Game in the bag.
Back on the battlefield, War continued to effortlessly parry the knights' blades left and right, while the two devils foolishly insisted on pressing the attack, trying in the process to find even the slightest opening to even scratch their foe, let alone wound him. But the horseman's guard seems to be completely up, even with his back turned they couldn't find a vulnerable spot in his entire body. Not only that, he can easily keep up with their speed and be always one step ahead of them, reading their each and every move before they could make them and readying his blade to parry their attacks as soon as they were about to reach him.
After a while more, they finally ceased their fruitless assault and dashed backward to strategize further.
"What's with this guy? All those high speed attacks and he's not even breathing hard." Karlamine said as she panted heavily.
"This is what happens when you disobey Lord Riser. You heard what he said back there." Siris frowned seriously as she too panted heavily.
"Oh cut it out and focus on the fight!" Karlamine shouted before she took a deep breath and sighed and stood upright. "It would seem we have no choice, we will do the Fire Cyclone Attack while we still have the strength to do it."
"Fire Cyclone Attack?" Siris repeated.
"Yes. Let's see if he's truly as powerful as Lord Riser described. Are you with me or not?" Karlamine frowned seriously. After a few moments of silence, Siris decided to help her.
"Very well. Let's do it." Siris frowned seriously before the two knights faced the rider himself. War overheard the name of their attack, and now he was interested in how they plan to execute their technique.
Siris lifted her large sword above her head, spinning her blade faster and faster until the winds started to pick up in every direction before she used her devil magic to focus the winds forming from the blade into one point, eventually forming into a massive tornado. Then Karlamine jumped high in the air and threw a fire beam from her sword towards the tornado. The fire and the winds merged together to form an infernal cyclone ready to be unleashed at the red rider.
"Fire Cyclone Attack!" Karlamine and Siris shouted in fury as they unleashed the destructive flaming tornado on the rider. As it made contact with War, the tornado formed a large circle where the rider was, increasing in height until it almost reached the skies of the Rating Game dimension.
"What the… What is that?!" Rias exclaimed in surprise at the sight of the infernal tornado from the distance, along with Asia and Akeno. Even from this far away they could feel the intense heat radiating from the cyclone.
"Victory is yours, Lord Riser. With the red rider out of the equation, the Gremory Devils are done for." Riser's queen Yubelluna smiled in satisfaction.
"No." Riser said seriously, slightly surprising the purple-haired, busty beauty. "He's far from finished. Take a better look."
With that said, Yubelluna looked at the screen again at the infernal tornado, waiting to see what will happen.
While Karlamine and Siris smirked triumphantly, their prideful grin turned to that of shock as they suddenly heard a beastly, bloodcurdling roar within the flames, and a silhouette of a monstrous, fiery face of a demon formed, its blazing gaze fixed on the two now petrified devils. The demon let out an unearthly roar again and a few moments later, the fiery tornado exploded violently, sending rain of fire in every direction, forcing the two devils to dodge the incoming fireballs, while the rest of them ignited the surrounding forests beyond the school grounds. And from the ground level, the flames revealed a bulky shadow of the rider himself, his eyes and the crescent moon shaped rune glowing beneath his hood. Then the flames around him dissipated, revealing the red rider again completely unharmed by the roiling flames.
"I… Impossible!" Karlamine said in shock.
"See what I mean? Let's fall back and regroup with the other devils." Siris suggested.
But Karlamine, although consumed by fear, her entire being was also filled with shame of not being strong enough and anger that they didn't do any damage to the rider. Blinded by rage, she charged at the rider at almost blinding speed.
"Damn it!" Siris shouted in frustration as she went after Karlamine for a fruitless assist in her assault.
But War had enough as he decided to end this one sided bout. He turned around and bent his knee, swinging his sword backwards right as Karlamine showed up. The female swordsman managed to jump away and prevent her legs from being sliced clean, but the tip of the Chaoseater managed to reach her left thigh and leave a large, bloody cut, which was enough to inflict a great amount of pain and throw her off balance. Then as Siris appeared, War swung his sword around and sundered her large two-handed blade in a single blow. The shocked Siris didn't had time to react as War sheathed his weapon and used his armored gauntlet to grab her by the leg, slamming her into the ground once, twice, three times into the ground, with each smash being harder than the last. Then War let go of her leg and used his right fist to punch her in the gut, forming a crater beneath her and making Siris cough out a chunk of blood from the sheer force of the punch. After a few moments of excruciating agony, the pain was too much for her to bear as she was knocked unconscious.
"One of Lord Riser's knights retired!" Grayfia said as Siris disappeared from the spot.
Karlamine was still on the ground, but her left leg was bleeding profusely as War managed to cut an artery. With her left leg out of commission and with War closing in with heavy footsteps, she knew at that moment that she was no match for the red rider.
"You fought well." War said as he towered above her. "Unlike your comrade, who fought merely out of necessity, you fought with honor, determination and drive to test your skills and abilities as a swordsman and push yourself beyond them." Then he frowned further with a dead serious look on his face. "Now, surrender or I will be forced to do it for you."
Karlamine knew she was outmatched, it was plainly obvious at this point. Reluctantly, she bowed her head down, silently gesturing defeat.
"I give up horseman. You won." Karlamine said begrudgingly. As soon as those words were spoken, she was also enveloped in blue light, disappearing from the battlefield.
"One of Lord Riser's knights retired!"
Not long after Karlamine disappeared, a roil of thunder boomed from War left side, drawing his attention and immediately putting him on his guard, raising his gauntlet to instinctively shield himself from the winds and the debris blowing in his way. He then noticed that the gymnasium was blown to smithereens, there wasn't anything left of it. After he looked up into the sky to find the perpetrator of such a powerful attack, he discovered that it was none other than Akeno.
"Boom!" Akeno said in delight as her hands was covered with sparks of lightning.
"Three of Lord Riser's pawns and one Rook retired!"
Then War noticed Issei and Koneko standing outside the ruins, walking towards the rider as soon as they noticed him. Although he is not really a fan of artillery fire, he would much rather prefer an up close and personal style of fighting, it was a well thought out strategy. Akeno used the opportunity that was presented to her and defeated the four devils in one fell swoop. As soon as Akeno was done, she flew back to the base to stand guard for any intruders trying to attack Rias and Asia.
"Hey, War! Nice job, you defeated two knights, too bad we missed that fight." Issei smiled, but War only huffed in annoyance. Those two knights, despite the valiant stand they made, Karlamine more so than Siris, they were still no match for him, even with their combined assault.
"Whoah! What happened here? Did those two knights do this?" Issei asked as he noticed that the surrounding forests are on fire.
"Three of Lord Riser's pawns retired!"
"Looks like Kiba did it." Koneko said as she looked towards the woods leading towards their base, where the forest was partly burned after War's grandiose countestrike of the two knights' Fire Cyclone Attack. It would have burned the entire forest to the ground leading to their home base had it not been for Akeno's intervention to extinguish the fires with water based spell by Rias' orders. However, the same can't be said for the forests away from their home base as they continued to blaze.
"Nice, we're plowing through these guys like they're nothing!" Issei pumped his fists in excitement.
"Don't get carried away Issei. Even with War by our side, we still need to be on guard." Rias said through the communicator for the rider and the two devils to hear. "War, it would be wise to continue in your assault as a group. Riser is now on full alert, he will try to catch us off guard and pick us off one by one."
"An obvious strategy, easy to predict. As for you Gremory, you need to mobilize with Argento and Himejima. Entrenching in the same position for the entirety of the battle is unwise, considering the two remaining pawns can empower themselves at our home base. Stay vigilant and move out." War said as he stood sideways facing the new school house.
"Right, we're on our way." Rias said, ending the long distance communication.
"You two will be on guard on any attack from above. I will keep a lookout for any ambush from the ground." War said as he stomped his way towards the building.
"Right." Issei and Koneko nodded as they followed War.
"There's no need for that." An unknown female voice suddenly spoke out of nowhere.
"Huh? Who said that?" Issei frowned in caution.
Then from the flames flew a small figure with fiery wings, a girl in a pink, regal dress with long blonde hair tied into twintails with large, drill-like curls and blue ribbons keeping them in place. Not long after her appearance, the other devils started to surround the rider and the two devils.
"I told that idiot brother to play it safe. But nooo, he has to be the big bad boss and send his pieces out for the red rider to pick them off. At the rate we are going, we won't last long." The girl said in slight frustration.
"At least one of them has the wisdom to see the folly of this battle." War said seriously.
"But considering you will reach out home base anyway, we might as well give it our best shot and beat you as a unit." The girl smirked slightly in apparent arrogance.
"Aaand that wisdom went out the window real quick." Issei said bluntly.
War glanced onto each and every newcomer to determine if they are as imposing as they claim to be. Maybe not for him, but possibly for Issei and Koneko. He first noticed two cat-like devils standing side by side. Their power is pathetic, but they would nonetheless give Issei a run for his money. Then he glanced to the girl in a long kimono reaching the ground. Her power was also abysmal, but judging by her clothing and her calm demeanor, she was probably a healing support like Asia to Rias. Then he glanced to the woman wearing a mask on the right side of her face. Her power was significant in comparison to the other three devils, someone that will definitely give Issei and Koneko a challenge.
"You girl with a bad attitude, you're so cliché. Boosted Gear!" Issei shouted as a signature, crimson gauntlet formed on his left hand.
[BOOST!]
"Oh please, don't point that at me, I have no intention of fighting you." The girl mocked as she raised her hand while shrugging Issei off.
"Why, too much of a coward?" Issei frowned in slight outrage.
"No." War said, much to Issei's slight surprise. "She is not a fighter like the rest of the devils. My assumption is that she is a mere spectator."
"You would be right, horseman." A masked woman said, drawing War's and Issei's attention. "Lady Ravel Phenex does serve in this battle as a bishop, but she is a spectator for the most part."
"Phenex?" Issei said.
"Riser's sister, no doubt." War said.
"Correct again War." The masked woman said.
"And who are you?" War asked.
"My name is Isabela and i am a Rook in the service of the honorable Lord Riser. I challenge you to a hand to hand combat, rider." Isabela said as she pointed at War.
"Hyoudou, you take care of the two cat-like devils. Toujou, deal with their bishop. When you are done, assist him in defeating his opponents." War said seriously as his gaze was fixed on Isabela. Issei and Koneko nodded silently as Issei faced the two devils Ni and Li, while Koneko went to eliminate their bishop.
War took his fighting stance as Isabela charged at him. But right in a moment he was about to retaliate, a purple magic circle formed beneath War's feet in that instant. Then in a moment he glanced down, a violent explosion followed, catching War off guard and sent him flying back, slamming and rolling on the ground a few times.
"War!" Issei shouted worryingly. In that moment of distraction, Ni and Li used the opportunity to deliver several blows that sent Issei slamming on the ground as well.
At the same time, Koneko managed to easily knock their bishop out with a single punch after the latter dodged Koneko for a while.
"One of Lord Riser's Bishops retired!"
Not wasting a moment, she looked up to find Riser's queen Yubelluna responsible for that surprise attack.
"Nicely done Yubelluna. You actually managed to catch the rider off guard, guess he is not as invincible as we all believed him to be." Ravel smirked.
"Thank you, my lady." Yubelluna bowed her head down in respect.
But then, Ravel and Yubelluna gasped in shock as they saw War moving, slowly getting back on his feet. The part that horrified them, along with the other devils on Riser's team, is the very angry look on War's face, gritting his teeth in fury as he glared daggers at the one responsible for that underhanded assault. And that person was Yubelluna.
"Oh boy, he's pissed." Issei said nervously.
"What? That was a full power blast and he's not even damaged." Yubelluna frowned worryingly.
From below, War seethed in fury as he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. There were many cowards that he despised to the very core of his being for their underhanded tactics and dirty tricks, but magicians, especially the sneaky types like this one, are on the top of the list. They have no honor in combat, relying on attacks from the distance using magic spells like the spineless wretches they are, defeating their opponents before they even had a chance to fight back. He dealt with those kind of enemies ruthlessly and this one will not be any different. Then a whirlwind of chains formed around his right arm until it shaped into a gauntlet, with a small demon's mouth agape and within, the tip of a spear was attached. Without a moment of hesitation, War aimed at Yubelluna and fired his spear-tipped chain at bullet speed. The chain impaled through Yubelluna's right shoulder, making her scream in agony and force her to drop her staff. After that, War pulled her down before Yubelluna could even react, followed by a crushing punch to the face with War's armored gauntlet, sending the devil queen flying and crashing through the walls of the new school house all the way to the other side of the building, before Yubelluna's limp body crashed and tumbled on the other side. After she landed, the force of the impact of War's attack, followed by the force of ramming through the walls finally knocked her out unconscious.
"Lord Riser's queen retired!"
"Yubelluna! No!" Ravel shouted in shock.
"Holy shit. He just curbstomped her ass." Issei said in amazement as he looked at the massive hole where Yubelluna was rammed through.
"Focus Issei." Koneko said as she faced Isabela.
"Issei! Koneko! War!" Rias shouted as she finally arrived, along with Akeno, Kiba and Asia.
"Alright, the cavalry's arrived!" Issei said cheerfully.
"Damn it all to hell." Ravel said to herself before she looked at the remaining devils on her team. "Fall back inside the building! Now!"
"What?! We are retreating?!" Isabela said in outrage.
"That's an order Isabela! Move!" Ravel said before she flew away towards the building, causing Ni and Li, along with Isabela to reluctantly retreat.
"Well, now we can say that victory is ours for sure. Only two pawns and a rook remained in Riser's team." Akeno smiled to Rias.
"Maybe, but Riser himself will hardly give up without a fight." Rias frowned seriously.
"Agreed. The only way we can achieve victory is if we force him into submission. Now, move out." War said as he stomped his way to the school house, followed by the other devils.
But as they made their way towards the building as well, a fiery explosion suddenly erupted, destroying the main entrance and creating a large, smoking hole from ground level to the first floor. Ni, Li and Isabela were knocked down, but they regained their composure as they saw Riser himself stepping from the smoke outside, having a rather angry look on his face.
"I will not tolerate cowards in my peerage. Get back to the fight, now!" Riser said angrily, making the three devils flinch in fear. Ravel couldn't help but be surprised by Riser's rather merciless approach to the situation. He was always known to be full of himself and at times really annoying, but seeing him like this made her actually worry.
"Please Lord Riser, we can't beat them, they are too powerful!" Ni pleaded.
"Help us Lord Riser." Li also pleaded, but Riser found their pleas disgusting.
"And what about you Isabela? Are you going to make your stand or submit like a coward?" Riser said bitterly. Isabela had no idea what's wrong with him. She always respected him for his fighting prowess and how he has that charismatic, playboy style outside of combat, but now he acts like some kind of tyrant.
"I am not a coward and you know it, Lord Riser." Isabela said as she got back on her feet. "I gladly fought for you to the end in previous battles, but this is a fight we can't win. Not with the Crimson Slayer fighting by their side."
"Then all of you maggots are worthless to me." Riser smirked maliciously, which surprised his fellow devils, even Ravel.
Suddenly, a double-bladed glaive darted from the smoke, spinning towards Ni until it impaled her to the ground, making her cough out a chunk of blood. Li didn't do any better as a purple, circular rune formed beneath her feet, where a moment later eldritch spikes erupted, impaling the devil, forcing her to puke out a chunk of blood as well.
All of the devils were caught by surprise at the sudden executions, but War was the only one left unfazed as he knew who the attackers were. From the smoke, a demon Ravager and Defiler appeared, standing on both Riser's left and right side.
"Lord Riser… Why?" Isabela said, shocked to see the once honorable master she served siding with the demons of Hell.
But Riser grinned wickedly as Ravager charged his staff for another kill. Isabela tried to run away, but it was too late as Ravager unleashed the power he accumulated into a blast that obliterated Isabela. After a few moments, much to the curiosity and surprise of the Gremory devils, the announcement of her retirement was nowhere to be heard.
"Wait, what happened? Wasn't she supposed to be transported like the others? Along with the…"
Issei stopped as he glanced at Ni's and Li's lifeless bodies. They weren't transported either. And that's when the shocking truth dawned in his mind. They were killed. They were legitimately killed, along with Isabela. This was also the realization that followed in the minds of the rest of the group, including War.
"You… bastard! I always knew you were a prick, but this is a new low, even for you!" Rias gritted her teeth in fury as she glared daggers at Riser.
"Oh but I have never felt so alive, my beloved. You will be my bride, my concubine when I am through with the rider and your little servants." Riser grinned wickedly as moments later, multiple portals started to form around them.
"Pull back." War suddenly said, surprising and even shocking his devil comrades as they looked at the rider. "Pull back!" War commanded as he turned around and made some distance from the building, knowing that it's probably overwhelmed inside, followed by the Gremory group. Riser smirked as he watched the scurry away before used his fiery wings to hover on the roof of the building and deal with his sister in person.
While the devils made their tactical retreat, the demons started to pour from many portals that formed across the school grounds, Phantom guards, Defilers and Minions of several varieties for starters.
"What is happening?" One of the nobles said from the VIP room outside the Rating Game dimension.
"What is the meaning of this, Lord Sirzechs?" Another noble asked.
"Ambush." Death thought as he glanced behind him.
Five portals opened from the ceiling and with it, five demons swooped inside for the kill. Before either Sirzechs or the other devils could react, Death's keen instincts reacted faster as he jumped from his seat, drew his scythes and cleaved all five of the demons mid-air in a split second, their limp bodies crumpling on the floor while Death crouched on the table. Not long after that failed assassination, the double doors were shattered as phantom guards, both armored and unarmored charged inside, but Death rushed forward and sliced each and every demon standing in his way, with Sirzechs assisting by firing blasts of the signature Power of Destruction, disintegrating the phantom guards squad by squad.
As Death, Sirzechs and the other devil nobles made their way outside, they found the castle was under siege, the protective wards nullified and the facility overwhelmed by the hordes of demons: Phantom guards, Ravagers, Berserkers, Duskwings, even several blue Grappeclaws were brought as shock troops against many guards who were guarding the castle. But Death knew from the start that a powerful demon lord, a portal expert from the looks of things must be behind this assault on two fronts. It looks like Riser made a lot of preparations these last ten days. Sirzechs and Death pushed the demons back, along with several soldiers who rallied to his side and the nobles assisting him, who were no pushovers after all.
"Death. I want you to go and hunt down the leader who is behind this assault." Sirzechs said.
"What about you?" Death asked.
"We'll handle these demons from here, Grayfia sent word for reinforcements. Go!" Sirzechs said seriously before he fired a wave of the Power of Destruction, disintegrating every single demon caught in its wake. Seeing that Sirzechs clearly has things under control, Death nodded as he gripped his scythes and went on the hunt.
Back in the Rating Game dimension, the army of demons surrounded War and the devils, who stood their ground back to back in circular formation.
"Umm, War? Plan B?" Issei asked nervously.
"Survive." War said simply as he pulled out his Chaoseater.
"I know that much dude, can you elaborate your plan?!" Issei exclaimed worryingly.
"Very well." War said before he glanced at Issei. "Survive or die." He said bluntly before he returned his attention to the demons in front of him. He really wasn't in the mood for babysitting these devils while there is an enjoyable carnage waiting for him.
"Really not helping dude." Issei said, mostly to himself.
Then War and the devils noticed a large, crimson demon wearing a battle axe standing in front of the army. Without a moment to tarry, the demon roared loudly as he raised his battle axe high in the air, a clear sign for the demon army to press the attack.
"Here they come!" Kiba shouted.
"Get ready!" Rias shouted as her hands glowed in destruction aura, with every devil readying their respective abilities, excluding Asia, who hid behind Issei for protection.
Then the battle began as War and every devil with him retaliated with as much ferocity as the demons who attacked. War didn't waste a second as he immediately started to hack, slash, impale and pummel through the demons in droves who fruitlessly tried to retaliate. Rias fired her blasts of destruction, disintegrating them by contact while avoiding the leaping minion goreclaws, even managing to kill some of them while they spin mid-air. Akeno unleashed her chain lightning, electrocuting six of the phantom guards in place before she continued to fire one lightning bolt or chain lightning after another while dodging the line of fire from the minion flamecallers. Kiba parried the attack of the two unarmored phantom guards and in a quick riposte, he sliced the two demons by the torso before he charged to the other demons. He sliced the other three phantom guards before he instinctively ducked to avoid a glaive throw from a Defiler demon. The glaive returned to the demon and it immediately charged at Kiba, swinging his bladed glaive to slice the devil. Kiba dodged the attacks of the demon, dashing around him, but he soon found out that the demon was really nimble for someone his size as he also dodged his attacks. Defiler dashed backward and threw his glaive again, which Kiba dashed sideways to avoid, but he was caught off guard when a Ravager shouldered him on the back, making the devil slam into the ground. The Ravager chuckled as he charged his staff, with purple, circular rune forming beneath Kiba. But just before he was about to impale Kiba, a massive boulder struck the demon from behind him, sending the Ravager flying and crashing, with the said boulder breaking on impact. As the Ravager slowly got up, Koneko swooped from the sky and delivered a hard, double axe handle on his head, shattering his skull. Then she picked up his body, spun it around and then threw it unto the incoming phantom guards. Minion goreclaws attacked Koneko, along with a squad of armored phantom guards, but Koneko managed to hold her own as she kicked one goreclaw away, grabbed the other one by the tail and smacked the phantom guard by its spiky back, ducked from the attack of the third goreclaw and then grabbed the axes of the two incoming phantom guards. Koneko gritted her teeth as she came to a momentary stalemate. As three more phantom guards attacked her from behind, Koneko dragged and threw the left phantom guard onto the three and yanked the axe from the remaining phantom guard, cleaving his legs and then throwing the said axe onto another phantom guard, killing it on the spot. Then she landed on the ground and took her fighting position.
As for Issei, his was both the attack and defense. Defending Asia while fighting back against any demon who seeks to harm her. This time he was a lot stronger since his last encounter with the demons and now he can hold his own against phantom guards and minions alike.
"Dragon Shot!" Issei shouted as he fired a crimson blast onto the demons. The demons on the way of the blast were severely wounded, while the demons caught in the blast when the attacks set off were obliterated or gravely wounded.
"Stay behind me Asia. I'll make sure not one of them gets near you." Issei said in pure determination, with Asia timidly and frightfully nodding from all the commotion happening around her.
"Right. Thank you Issei." Asia smiled gently. Issei nodded as well before he returned his attention to the demons who keep coming for more.
Outside the Rating Game dimension, Death is having his own hack and slash session as he continued to plow through the phantom guards in a blade dance. To Death and War both, they were mere grunts who are easily dealt with. He continued to mutilate the demons until he reached the highest tower of the castle. From there, he looked down and noticed that wave after wave of demons were being obliterated as Sirzechs is pushing them back with his destruction magic. Definitely someone not to be underestimated if words come to fists, or scythes in his case. From this vantage point, he noticed that the demons are continuing to swarm from the portals. If he had to guess, entering a portal which spawns the elite demons would surely lead him to the source, to the demon lord commanding this host. Seeing that this demon was nowhere in sight, not hiding behind any ridge, nook or crevice, that was his best shot.
Then Death's attention was drawn when a large winged demon known as the Fallen swooped from behind him, destroying the top section of the tower in his charge. Death leapt high in the air and used is Death Grip to latch onto the demon beast's back. Then he readied his scythes mid-air and impaled both of the blades on the back of the beast. The Fallen started to roar in agony and plummet down as Death stabbed him repeatedly, but just as it was about to crash, Death jumped from it and nimbly landed on the ground before he charged through the army of demons leading outside the main gates.
As Death sliced through an entire squadron of phantom guards and a couple of Berserkers, he was stopped in his tracks as he dodged the dark blast that came out of nowhere. He glanced to the right to find shadowcasters, a slithering snake-like demons possessing lethal firepower. But before he could retaliate, a rampaging grappleclaw charged from behind him, but Death nimbly jumped and flipped backward before he immediately dashed forward. Grappleclaw tried to claw the rider, but as the beast raised his hand, Death attached his two scythes and cleaved the hand from it's shoulder socket. Then he sheathed his scythes, grabbed the demonic beast by the tail, swung it around and threw it hard at the shadowcaster and the squad of demons. The serpentine demon sidestepped to dodge the incoming beast, but Death used that opportunity to throw his attached scythe, it's blade bending into a spear and impale the demon on the chest. Then he jumped on the demon, pulled the blade upward and split open the demon's chest and head in half before he leapt in the air. From beneath him at his silent call, Despair materialized and Death landed on his steed's saddle. Now the rider and the mount combined, Death plowed through the demons more easily than on foot. Even with the attack of Minions, Berserkers and Grappleclaws, the rider showed no sign of slowing down as he pressed on through the portal where Berserkers and Ravagers spawn from it. He maneuvered his steed side to side as they dodged the eldritch spikes bursting from the circular runes formed by the Ravagers. Then Death dismounted as he readied his scythes. He jumped onto the one Ravager, beheading the demon before he jumped from the demon and used his Teleport Slash to slice through two of the Berserkers. With that done, he sliced through a dozen more demons before he sprinted towards the portal and jumped in.
Inside the Rating Game dimension, Rias and Akeno continued to hold their own airborne back to back, shooting blasts of destruction and lightning respectively.
"These demons just keep coming from those portals." Akeno frowned seriously.
"Yes, and there is no way we can seal them from this side. Even with that possibility, there's too many demons to deal with." Rias frowned seriously.
But in that moment of distraction, Rias was blasted sideways by the demon Ravager. Akeno was stunned by the blast, but she was still able to maintain herself in the air, with Rias taking the full brunt of the attack.
"Rias!" Akeno shouted worryingly. The moment she went to help her, she stopped in her tracks to avoid the blast from another Ravager, followed by the barrage of the other two Ravagers. In moment of pure anger for hurting her best friend, Akeno shouted as she conjured thunder clouds above the three Ravagers and struck them down with a mighty thunderbolt, killing the demons on the spot, along with dozens of soldiers around them.
As Akeno unleashed her attack, Rias crashed into the ground, but she was still conscious. Unfortunately, her body was in a state of severe pain as she struggled to get up, only to be confronted by a phantom general, accompanied by two Defilers and dozens of phantom guards. Rias gasped in fear as the phantom general raised his battle axe as soon as he was near, about to strike Rias down, but in a sense of déjà vu he was stopped in his tracks, this time with Chaoseater suddenly plunging into the phantom general's chest. War has arrived to her side as he slammed onto the general with his heavy boots, viciously pulling his weapon out and lunging at one Defiler, slicing him in half while sundering his weapon at the same time. Then he charged at another while slicing three phantom guards along the way. The Defiler threw his bladed glaive at the rider, but War deflected the weapon by sending it back to the wielder at increased speed, beheading the demon before it had the time to grab the weapon, its limp corpse falling on the ground. The dozens of guards quickly followed suit, but War didn't lose his momentum in the slightest as he proceeded to cut them all down. Rias was still lying on the ground, closing her eyes and raising her hand to shield herself from blood and gore splattering everywhere in the wake of War's slaughter. When the clamor of battle ceased, she opened her eyes and found blood soaked War standing in front of her, his massive back facing her while the mutilated corpses of demons lied lifeless on the ground around her.
"War?" Rias gasped in surprise while blushing a bit.
"Get up and fight." War glanced at Rias from the corner of his eye before he leapt high in the air at the very thick of the demon army, plunging his weapon into the ground as he used his signature ability, the Blade Geyser, to mutilate every demon surrounding him with conjured blades similar in appearance to Chaoseater. Then he quickly pulled out the blade and continued to plow through the phantom guard horde, killing minion goreclaws and occasional Berserkers, elite demons wielding two wickedly forged swords. Rias wasted no time as she got up and reunited with Akeno before the two devils continued in their assault.
Then a loud roar can be heard as War came face to face with a crimson demon, the Warmaster himself.
"Let's see how you fare horseman, when there are only two legs to carry you." Warmaster said as he clenched his battle axe.
"You won't have a leg to spare when I kill you." War said seriously as he clenched his own weapon.
The Warmaster roared loudly in fury again before he leapt in the air. War dashed backward as the Warmaster struck at the ground with his battle axe, with crimson spikes erupting from the weapon's impact. Then the demon immediately pulled out his axe and charged at War, while the rider stood perfectly still. The two weapons then clashed, ending up in a temporary stalemate before the demon swung his weapon again and again, with War parrying his attacks with slight difficulty as the rage of this demon fuels the force of his attacks, making the option of only parrying the demon's weapon not so reliable. War rolled sideways as the demon swung his weapon, but it quickly followed suit as it dashed and tried to cleave the rider with his weapon. War grabbed the weapon on time with his gauntlet as he sheathed his Chaoseater, then he grabbed the Warmaster by the throat with his right hand before he swung him overhead and slammed him hard on the ground, making him bounce off the ground and then roll away from the rider. As the demon growled in pain and anger while standing up, War threw back the axe he still clutched with his armored gauntlet back to it's owner on the ground near the demon, so that the fight between the two can continue. Without hesitation, the Warmaster took his axe and attacked the rider.
At the same time, Issei, Asia, Kiba and Koneko were being surrounded, with Asia healing Koneko's wounds using Twilight healing.
"Damn it. These guys just won't give us a break." Issei growled angrily as Asia finished with her healing.
"Be ready Issei. More of them are coming for the kill." Kiba frowned seriously.
It was after those words that he felt Asia clutching onto his shirt tighter than usual. When he glanced behind him, he saw Asia closing her eyes in fear and hopelessness, tears starting to stream from her eyes while silently praying that their end will be quick. This angered Issei greatly, determined to make the demons pay for making Asia cry.
"I had enough. If we are going to win this, we need more power." Issei frowned seriously before he lifted his left hand. "Red Dragon Emperor, if you can hear me, respond by lending me your power." He said, with the gauntlet flashing green in response.
[DRAGON BOOSTER!]
"No, I need more. I ask you to fully connect with my emotions. Boosted gear!" Issei shouted in unwavering determination and willpower as he lifted his gauntlet high in the air.
[DRAGON BOOSTER SECOND LIBERATION!]
With those echoing words, a sudden, violent but brief green cyclone of energy formed around Issei and the other devils, sending strong winds in all direction. Issei's plain red gauntlet took form again as yellow spikes formed around it, with the red edges becoming more jagged in turn and with dragon insignia forming in the gem of the gauntlet. Rias and Akeno also took notice from Issei's increase in power, along with War, before being abruptly forced to continue the duel with the raging Warmaster.
"Whoah, it changed again." Issei said in wonder before he smiled. "I did it. I can feel more power. That's a sign that I definitely reached a new level." He said in thought, frowning in determination as he glanced behind his comrades. "Koneko, when the time comes, grab Asia and take to the skies."
"What do you mean 'when the time comes'?" Koneko asked curiously.
"You'll see." Issei frowned seriously before he glanced to devil knight. "Kiba, on my mark, I want you to unleash your Sacred Gear with everything you've got." He said. Issei knew from the ten day training he did with the devils that Kiba possessed Sword Birth, a Sacred Gear that has the ability to create any sword Kiba chooses to wield in battle. And that is the kind of ability he is counting on if his tactic is to work.
"You want me to do what?" Kiba said in confusion of his words.
"Just trust me, okay?" Issei smirked in confidence in his plan. Kiba slowly understood his plan and nodded in agreement, he counted on this new ability Issei had acquired and Kiba will honor his strategy.
"Alright then, first off… Dragon Shot!" Issei shouted as he fired a beam of energy again, plowing through the lesser demons and imploding from the distance, decimating many demons in its vicinity. Then Issei jumped forward and turned towards his comrades while the demons surrounding them roared as they charged at the devils.
"Kiba, now!" Issei shouted. Koneko on cue scooped up Asia and sprung her wings before she took to the skies.
"Right! SWORD BIRTH!" Kiba shouted as he plunged the sword into the ground, channeling his power through the ground towards Issei, while the devil pawn slammed his gauntlet into the ground, absorbing all the power Kiba channeled into the gem of his gauntlet.
[TRANSFER!]
Right when the demons were about to decimate Issei and Kiba, many swords of many varieties erupted from the ground, covering a wide radius around them and impaling dozens upon dozens of demons foolish enough to be caught in the way of the sword spikes.
"Alright! That was awesome!" Issei cheered.
"Nice work Issei." Kiba smiled.
"Thanks man." Issei smiled too.
But unfortunately, their celebration was cut short when they heard beastly roar emanating from the larger portals. War, who was still dueling the Warmaster, along with the other devils have noticed that new, larger portals were conjured and from it, monstrous demonic beasts that War recognized as Traumas roared as they entered the fray.
"Oh you've gotta be kidding me!" Issei said in disbelief. As if the demon army itself wasn't enough, they have to bring the war beasts along too. Moment or two later, Rias and Akeno landed near them.
"You guys okay?" Rias asked worryingly.
"Yeah, we're fine." Issei smiled.
"For now. If we don't do something soon with those portals, we won't last for long." Kiba frowned seriously.
"Yes. I know." Rias said seriously, having no idea how to turn the tide of this battle, since War is currently busy fighting their leader.
"And now comes their end." Riser smirked arrogantly while folding his arms as he gazed from the rooftop, with his sister Ravel caged behind him. His current appearance was nothing drastic, save for having a slight muscle mass, red skin and two horns forming on his forehead and his blue eyes changed to yellow color.
"How could you?! How could you give yourself up to the demons? Is victory that important to you?!" Ravel frowned sadly. Never in her life would she ever expect for her brother to fall so low. He was many things in her mind, but a traitor to their kind was never among them.
"You don't see the bigger picture Ravel. The demon lord commanding this host opened my eyes to the truth and I will see to it that the rider perishes in this endeavor." Riser smirked as he watched War still dueling with Warmaster. "And if fate would have it, the Reaper as well."
At the same time, Death exited the portal he entered and, big shock, a squadron of elite demons waited for him to arrive. Up above them on a platform a good distance from the portal, a demon lord larger than any of the elite demons individually towered above them. His body was covered in red armor and cloth, his facial features that of humanoid, akin to that of Samael, except he has five horns on his head from each side and two smaller horns close to the center of the forehead with small fire orbs levitating from the tip of the horns.
"Ahh, the Reaper. You've finally decided to join us in this little splendor." The demon lord said in charismatic, yet sinister tone.
"Nymus." Death said grimly, remembering that he was one of several demons of Hell well known for their expertise in portal magic. Why would a demon of Hell like him fraternize with the lowly devils is the part that slightly confused the pale rider.
"I knew you would arrive here. Even if it took you longer than I thought it would." Nymus grinned wickedly.
"So you are responsible for swaying Riser Phenex to the side of the legions of Hell?" Death asked.
"Indeed. I watched the events unfold ever since your brother challenged the devil to a fight. After that, the devil noble was consumed by desperation, his mind in a perfect state of chaos and panic. And it was at that moment where I came in, to offer him salvation." Nymus smirked.
"You mean eternal damnation." Death said grimly.
"That depends on the person's point of view. He knew very well that he stood no chance against War, especially since he allied himself with the Devil King's sister, Rias Gremory, the Princess of Annihilation. When I made him an offer that I would aid him in eliminating War with my army and have his victory against Rias Gremory, he was all too eager to accept it." Nymus said.
"Not knowing that you were merely using him as a puppet for your own ends." Death said as a matter of factly.
"Precisely." Nymus smirked.
"You demons are becoming more predictable as centuries go by." Death said bluntly before he charged forward, slicing three of the demons who stood in his way.
But to his surprise, as Death got to the center of the chamber, a green circular rune suddenly paralyzed him in place, with three lightning crystals forming and striking him with channeled, green lightning, paralyzing his body completely and sending a torrent of pain while Death screamed in agony.
"Predictable you say? Is that the reason why you fell into my trap?" Nymus said before he chuckled darkly. "Oh Death, after all this time, you've finally decided to drop your guard when fighting the demons. And now, that will be your undoing. Finish him." He said, with the demons around Death happily obliging.
"Think… again." Death growled as he fought through the paralyzing pain.
Almost on cue, Despair charged from the portal right onto one of the lightning crystals, headbutting it hard and shattering it upon impact. Now that the pain was less severe, Death pulled out his scythes and threw them at each crystal, shattering them as well before the scythes returned to their master, along with Despair as he galloped behind him.
At the Rating Game dimension, War finally got the upper hand against Warmaster as he punched him in the gut with his armored gauntlet. Then War sliced both of his legs in a single motion, making the crimson demon scream in agony as he fell on his back. War grabbed him by the head and started to apply pressure on it. He squeezed harder and harder, making the demon squirm in severe pain while trying to free himself from his iron grip. But his skull started to snap and crack until finally, War squeezed hard enough in a loud crunch as he pulverized his head into gory bits as the demon's body crumpled on the ground. Then War immediately turned his attention to the two Traumas and an army of demons slowly advancing towards him as he drew his Chaoseater and readied himself for another slaughter.
A good distance away from War, Issei growled angrily as the situation seemed hopeless by the minute.
"Damn it! No matter how many of these guys we beat, more of them just keep coming. We have to do something quickly to turn this fight to our favor." Issei thought before he glanced back at Asia again, then returning his gaze to the incoming demon horde, having a flashback of the deal he made with the dragon inside his gauntlet.
"Hey, you can hear me, right? I need a word with you." Issei referred to the dragon inside his left hand, but he was silent in those moments, forcing Issei to try harder. "Come on! Show yourself dragon!" It was after those words that his left hand started to glow green without changing its shape, signifying that the dragon answered the call.
[I am here. What is it you ask of me?] Ddraig said.
"You and I need to make a deal." Issei said seriously.
[I'm listening.] Ddraig said.
"I have a bad feeling that something terrible might happen at the Rating Game tomorrow. And for that I need a power far greater than what I've gained right now from all that training. That's where you come in." Issei said seriously.
[Hmm. You require more power to protect your friends, that I understand. But, such power requires a sacrifice.] Ddraig said.
"I am willing to give away my left arm if you will give me the power I want. Now are you in or are you out?" Issei said.
[If you are adamant in your decision, then I will grant you the power of the red dragon worthy of your sacrifice, but only till the count of ten.] Ddraig said seriously.
"Ten seconds?! You want me to sacrifice my arm for ten fucking seconds, that's what you call a worthy sacrifice?!" Issei shouted in outrage and anger.
[I'm sorry, but if you were to push your body beyond that time limit, you death would be a certainty. Then the two riders of the Apocalypse would be the least of your concerns.] Ddraig said bluntly.
Issei then growled angrily as he turned around and faced towards the wall. He practically offered that dragon his arm and all he could give him is ten seconds, ten pissy seconds in a fight that would no doubt last hell of a lot longer. But the longer he pondered on that thought, the more he was forced to actually consider such an offer. Ever since his resurrection as a devil, he was a mere pushover for his enemies, even "allies" such as Death and War, always in need of a rescue. But since Asia's untimely death by the hands of demons, he decided he had enough. He needed a trump card if things turn to worse if his own strength and regular boosts from his Sacred Gear won't cut it. He needed the power to actually be of help, to protect his comrades, especially Asia. It's those thoughts that ultimately persuaded him to sign the contract with the dragon within.
"I guess I have to make every second count then." Issei frowned seriously as he looked at his left arm, with the flashback ending as he returned to the present, looking at his left arm just like that time in the past.
However, as he glanced around, he noticed that things are starting to go bad for his comrades. While War had no problem whatsoever fighting the demons singlehandedly, looking fresh since this whole invasion began thanks to his faithful weapon Chaoseater, Kiba is starting to slow down as he struggled to maintain his momentum, but was smacked aside by the armored Phantom Guard, with the devil knight standing up and breathing heavily. Koneko looked worse for wear as she tried to dodge the Trauma by dashing back, breathing heavily as she tried to counter the demonic beast's ferocity. Akeno and Rias are starting to wear out from volley after volley of respective attacks on the demon army. In other words, with War distracted from the group, they are losing.
"I have no choice. I also wanted to keep this power a secret from Death and War if they were to try to kill us. But it seems these demons might beat them to it." Issei thought before he clenched his left fist. "Alright then, it's time for… Overbooster!" He shouted as he jumped in the air and lifted his gauntlet above his head.
[WELSH DRAGON OVERBOOSTER!]
War and the other devils now have their attention drawn to Issei's sudden transformation. Not only did they notice that Issei's power increased dramatically, his entire body is now covered in large, red armor equipped with rocket boosters.
"This is the Red Dragon Emperor's power. Balance Breaker Scale Mail!" Issei said as he clenched his fists.
"What the… Balance Breaker?! Where did that come from?!" Rias said in surprise.
Akeno along with Asia knew of the deed he did last night, the sacrifice he had to make for the sake of his friends. It was a memory that was not exactly pleasant to think about, but nonetheless it rushed in her mind at that moment, of her encounter with Issei the night before the Rating Game.
"You did what?" Akeno said in shock.
"I had no choice Akeno. I was a complete failure against Death back at the church and I would most certainly be against War if they were to push us around again." Issei frowned slightly.
"Do you really think we would have done any better against them, even Rias? They are the Horsemen of the Apocalypse Issei, feared by every living being across Creation. The humans may be the only ones who are oblivious to their existence, but devils, angels, fallen angels and even demons would think twice before fighting them." Akeno frowned seriously.
"I know." Issei said seriously in bitter tone before he looked down. "But still, it had to be done. All my life I was deemed a failure, a pushover, a mere punching bag. All that because I love to talk about women's fun bags. It's not like I killed someone to deserve such punishment." He then looked at his gauntlet, who was now permanently formed on his arm. "Besides, with this power, I can actually be of help to you guys, not some dead weight to pull around and always come to the rescue."
"Stop it Issei." Akeno frowned slightly, with Issei's eyes connecting with hers before Akeno smiled gently. "You're not a dead weight by any means. Not every devil pawn starts out incredibly strong. Right now, you achieved the level of strength that many pawns struggled for months if not years to reach. You are a pervert that's true, but at the same time you're far more than you're letting yourself believe." She then caressed his gauntlet with both of her hands. "This strength may not be your own, but you possess something that no raw power can give you. Heart."
"I do?" Issei said as his eyes went slightly wide in surprise, his heart touched from her words of encouragement and support.
"Of course. You may not be very powerful, but you still stood your ground in every fight you have been. Even against Death himself." Akeno smiled before she giggled cutely at the last part.
"Yeah, I don't wanna do that ever again, for all of our sakes." Issei laughed nervously while scratching his chin. Then Akeno took a few steps forward and leaned her lips near his right ear.
"Besides, if you love women's breasts so much, I can let you grope on them as long as you like if we win." Akeno whispered teasingly, making Issei's face quickly take one eighty.
"Really?! You'll let me motorboat them if we win?!" Issei smiled widely in excitement.
"Of course. If we win." Akeno giggled cutely.
"Alright! And with War fighting with us, it will be nipple twists and motorboating in no time!" Issei giggled gleefully in thought.
"I hope you made the right choice Issei." Akeno smiled, breaking Issei from his daydreaming as he looked at her blankly. "But I guess we will find out the answer to that in the Rating Game tomorrow." She said before she went to sleep, ending the flashback in turn.
"Well Akeno, time to see if it was indeed the right choice." Issei thought as he used his rocket boosters to launch himself quickly in the air.
[TEN!]
Now that his power was increased greatly with the short time given to him, his abilities were also greatly enhanced as he prepared a Dragon Shot and fired at the demon army, causing a massive explosion and decimating many demons in the process. Then he fired another Dragon Shot at another side of the demon army, killing many more.
[NINE!]
From the ground, War observed Issei dashing in the air, and was rather surprised by his newfound power. But judging by the plainly obvious countdown, it won't last long, and because of that fact, he noticed that the boy is in a big hurry to make do with the immense power give to him and kill as many demons as he could. A bold move, but he won't let him have all the fun as he turned towards the demons coming towards him.
"Time for me to cut loose as well." War smirked slightly before he clenched his gauntlet as his skull glowed in orange light.
Little did the demon horde knew that War and Death have accumulated an overflowing amount of chaos and reaper energy respectively from the slaughter they inflicted on them, especially War, since he was one of the two who was thrown into the jaws of the beast. From two spots at the same time, Death and War have finally let the overflowing reaper and chaos energies respectively flow through every being of their body, and their physical forms underwent an extremely powerful transformation feared across Creation.
War's body lifted in the air and then exploded in a massive, blazing inferno, drawing the attention of every demon and devil in the realm while incinerating the demons caught in the vicinity of War's explosive transformation, the sheer force of the metamorphosis shaking the Rating Game dimension itself to near collapse. And within a cloud of flame and smoke, War's body shifted in a large, winged demon wreathed in flame, equipped with massive sword and a gaze that can melt even the chill of the Abyss, finally finishing his transformation into a Chaos Form.
"What in the flying fuck?!" Issei said in complete shock and surprise as he didn't see this one coming.
"So War can transform too?" Akeno said in trembling voice, awed and afraid at the fact that the red rider can transform too, while Rias silently looked at the fiery demon in equal fear and shock. The flaming monster that was War then swooped down and slaughtered multitudes of demons in his vicinity in his explosive landing.
Death was enveloped in purple, necromantic energy as he first summoned his signature weapon Harvester and impaled it on the ground, where the circular rune exploded violently, sending a shockwave that knocked the demons back before he transformed into a hovering, winged, hooded Reaper Form. Now the two riders were a true force to be reckoned with as they proceeded to slaughter the demons in their wake. At this point, their transformations are a complete overkill against most beings in Creation, except for the most powerful of the individuals. While Death can access his Reaper Form anytime he desires, providing he gathers enough reaper energy to assume his transformation, it was a real challenge for War to keep his form in reserve, as the chaos energy accumulated in his body can hardly be suppressed for long if the battle is lengthy enough.
In a single swipe, War sliced two Traumas and dozens demons in the weapon's arc, their body parts crumpling on the ground as War charged at the demons, easily slicing through them like paper, tearing every demon apart from lumbering Traumas to small Minions one big row after another, thinning their numbers at frightening speed and brutality. Death was no different in his carnage as he used his massive scythe to hack, slash, cleave, impale and slaughter his way to the demon lord above. He started to spin his scythe like a sawblade and threw it in circular motion, killing all of the elite demons surrounding him before the weapon returned to its master. Immediately after that did Death hover in the air and charged at Nymus, his scythe and the demon's spear clashing and commencing a duel between them. War let out an unearthly roar as he sprung his wings, took to the skies and raised his flaming sword, releasing a big wave of pure liquid fire, an element harnessed from the world of the Charred Council, capable of decimating even demons as they burned by the hundreds by the wrath of War. Although it is comparable to the demonic Hellfire, the element that the demons got used to, the fires of the domain of the Charred Council were something that the demons can hardly ignore.
"What the… What kind of monstrosity is that?!" Riser shouted in fear and outrage as he did not count on the fact that War can transform, not at all. And the fact that he just incinerated a big chunk of the demonic army is not helping his case either.
"The only monster here is you Riser. Just give up and walk away before you sully our family name any further!" Ravel shouted angrily. But although anger filled her every being, it was mixed with sorrow, her eyes forming tears with the knowledge that her brother is now a pawn of the legions of Hell.
"Be quiet! I'll deal with you later." Riser growled before he looked down at the battlefield again.
He realized that things are going really bad for him and his newfound allies, the word coming loosely in this case. Seeing that the tide is quickly turning to their favor, he decided to act as he sprung his flaming wings and rushed to the battlefield. From above, Riser noticed that War was completely distracted in decimating the demon horde, which is good because now Riser can pick the devils off one by one. Then he noticed the transformed rider leaping in the air, raising his massive sword above his head before he landed and slammed his sword on the ground, sending a fiery cone that expanded the more distance it covered, incinerating the demons by the hundreds again, both soldier and war beast alike.
Meanwhile, with newfound resolve after Issei's and War's transformation, Rias and Akeno continued to destroy many demons from above, occasionally killing the stragglers who try to attack Asia, Kiba and Koneko, who also gained drastic morale boost to press the attack. As for Issei, all he could with the time given is to repeat his Dragon Shots, since it's the only attack that covers a large radius when detonated.
[SIX!]
Then Issei heard Asia screaming. Immediately after that, Issei quickly looked down and watched in shock as Trauma smacked aside Koneko and grabbed Asia. The Trauma lifted Asia and let out a bloodcurdling roar, making Asia scream at the top of her lungs in terror as the demon was about to devour her.
"ASIAA!" Issei screamed as he fired his rocket boosters and charged at lightning speed. Moments before the demon succeeded in chomping on Asia, Issei punched the demon hard in the gut with both of his fists, sending the demon tumbling backwards before Issei caught the blonde former nun bridal style.
"Asia, are you okay?" Issei said in worry. The trembling Asia slowly opened her teary eyes and she let out a sigh of immense relief as she saw the face of her savior.
"Issei? Oh thank you Issei, I was so scared." Asia cried as she hugged Issei tightly.
"Hey, don't worry. I'll keep you safe no matter what." Issei said sincerely, but their moment was ruined when the Trauma got up and roared again. But before it could charge, with a glance of light, the demon was suddenly decapitated, its head falling on the ground as the attacker was revealed.
"Kiba! Thanks a lot man." Issei smiled beneath his helmet.
"Don't worry, I got your back." Kiba nodded as he charged at the Phantom Guards again.
[FIVE!]
"Oh right. The countdown." Issei said before he dropped Asia down on her feet. "Sorry Asia, I have no time to spare." He said before he readied his rocket boosters and launched himself in the air.
Moments later, as Akeno was fighting off the pesky minion flamecallers and a couple of Ravagers, Riser used the opportunity to unleash a large fireball on her.
"Akeno, look out!" Issei shouted as he charged towards her.
[FOUR!]
Akeno gasped in shock, caught off guard as she noticed the flaming surprise attack heading her way. But before it could hit her, Issei intercepted as he grabbed her and flew out of the way of the attack, where the fireball exploded from the distance in blazing inferno, consuming more demons in it's wake.
"Curse him! How did that filth acquire such power and speed anyway?" Riser growled angrily as Issei landed on the ground.
[THREE!]
"Are you okay Akeno?" Issei asked worryingly, making the devil queen giggle cutely.
"Look at you, my knight in shining armor. I guess your sacrifice was worth it after all." Akeno smiled, making Issei chuckle a little light-heartedly. But their tender moment was ruined when two Ravagers unleashed a combined blast on the two devils.
"Look out!" Issei shouted as he pushed Akeno out of the way, taking the full brunt of the demons' attack and knocking him back. Issei quickly recovered as he slid backwards on his feet, but before he could retaliate, Issei was impaled through the right shoulder and left side of his ribs, making him scream in pain.
"ISSEI!" Akeno screamed in shock and horror as two Defilers pulled their weapons from Issei, while the devil pawn fell down on the ground, still donning his armor.
[TWO!]
But before they could finish him off, Akeno fired two lightning bolts at the two Defilers, electrocuting them both and knocking them back hard, killing them in turn as their bodies smoked in sound of seared flesh. Enraged, Akeno flew up and unleashed one chain lightning after another, decimating the surrounding dozens of demons who foolishly try to finish what the two demons have started. After she was done, Akeno was breathing hard, struggling to catch her breath as the battle is taking its toll on her as well.
Meanwhile, Death in his Reaper Form was battling Nymus, who was fruitlessly trying to parry the Reaper's mighty scythe while teleporting about to escape him. But Death, having experience over the eons in battling these kind of enemies, knew exactly what kind of counterattack is required in these situations: fighting fire with fire. Little did the demons knew that Death learned to utilize his abilities in his Reaper Form and because of that fact they are greatly empowered in his transformed state.
In that instant Nymus teleported and reappeared to another location, Death used his Teleport Slash to strike at almost instantaneous speed, where a loud clash can be heard before Death reappeared behind Nymus. A few moments later and Nymus' body started to fall apart as Death cut him multiple times, with Nymus' body crumpling on the ground before Death finally regressed from his Reaper form back to his normal form. But moments later as he stood upright, he saw that the portal was starting to close following the demon lord's demise. Not wasting a second, he sprinted and mounted his steed, with Despair galloping towards the portal and quickly jumping through.
[ONE!]
Akeno then looked down and flew fast to Issei's aid.
"Issei! Issei, are you okay?" Akeno said worryingly as she lifted him by the head.
[COUNT IS UP!]
With those words spoken, the armor disappeared, making Issei choke out a chunk of blood from the sudden loss of power, making Akeno gasp in greater shock and horror.
"Oh no. You're badly injured." Akeno frowned sadly as she inspected the wounds. Issei gritted his teeth and growled as he tried to endure the pain entirely, but it was too much to ignore. However, he did resist the pain enough to force a smile to somewhat ease Akeno's worries.
"Don't worry Akeno. At least I stopped those demons from harming you." Issei smiled with one eye open, making Akeno gasp slightly and blush, her heart touched from his heartfelt statement. But before she could ponder on those words, suddenly the portals spread around the Rating Game dimension started to close, several by several before all of them were closed.
"Look. The portals." Kiba said in surprise.
"They're closed." Asia smiled.
"No! NO!" Riser said in shock and horror before he growled angrily. "That fool failed. Damn it all!" He said before he retreated towards the new school house that was now partly in ruins, preparing himself for the final battle.
With the closure of the portals, the remaining demon horde was cut off from receiving reinforcements and was now thrown in disarray, more so when War was not even half done decimating the demons while still maintaining his Chaos Form. As for Rias, she gasped in shock as she noticed that Issei was mortally wounded. Not wasting time, she landed near Koneko, Kiba and Asia.
"Looks like they did it. The portals are closed." Kiba smiled as he looked at Rias.
"Never mind that, Issei is injured badly." Rias frowned seriously.
"What?" Kiba said in shock.
"Asia, move quickly and heal Issei. Hurry before he bleeds out and dies." Rias commanded in serious tone. This time Asia frowned slightly and nodded before she ran as fast as she could to save him.
"Kiba, Koneko. It's time we finish this." Rias said in dead serious tone.
Kiba and Koneko, although their wounds were healed every time they were injured by Asia, their stamina was drained severely from the sustained combat against the demon army. Nevertheless, they nodded in compliance as they stood by her side, ready to kill any demon that tries to get a jump on Asia, Akeno and Issei.
Asia ran towards Issei as quickly as she could while the devil pawn's head was resting on Akeno's lap, with the devil queen's eyes glossy in sorrow at seeing him in such a crippled state.
"Issei!" Asia shouted worryingly with teary eyes as she knelt next to him. "Issei, can you hear me? Issei!"
Issei gritted his teeth and coughed hard in pain before he opened his eye.
"Asia?" Issei said.
"Shh, don't talk. I'm going to heal you." Asia frowned sadly as she used her Twilight Healing to mend the two stab spots. "Even with the wounds you have, you never give up. You're so brave Issei."
"Yeah. Or I guess I'm just an idiot who doesn't know when to give up." Issei chuckled light heartedly, feeling better and better as his wounds are almost completely healed. After a moment or two, Issei's wounds were closed and his strength returned enough for him to stand up.
"Man, that was a close call. Thanks a lot Asia." Issei smiled while patting her head. Asia smiled and giggled a bit while Akeno smiled blissfully behind her.
To their surprise, many magic circles formed from their side bearing the crest of the Gremory family. From those magic circles, many devil soldiers were deployed: Swordsmen with shields, halberdiers and archers, followed by several war chariots. The soldiers and the war chariots didn't waste a second as they charged at the demons and started to slaughter them in their state of panic, while the archers unleashed a volley of arrows, killing the Traumas and any demon caught in the way of the volley. And while the army was clearing the Rating Game dimension of the demonic infestation, Sirzechs, Grayfia and Death materialized from it, making the three devils smile brightly and inwardly sigh in relief, knowing that everything will be alright now.
"Brother!" Rias smiled brightly as she ran towards Sirzechs with Kiba and Koneko.
"Good to see that you're all alive. I have to admit I'm impressed that all of you survived, though I had no doubt you would." Sirzechs smiled, though inside he was immensely relieved that his sister survived.
"Save your family reunions for later." Death said coldly before he marched forward. "For Riser Phenex awaits." He said as he extended his dual scythes in reverse grip, his gaze fixed on War, who finally regressed from his Chaos form back into his normal form.
"Right." Sirzechs nodded with serious expression to Death before he looked at his sister. "Rias, you and your retainers are probably exhausted from fighting this long. Rally them up and recuperate while we go and deal with Riser."
"No." Death said simply, drawing the devils' attentions. "War and I will deal with that wretch. He proved himself a threat to the Balance by fraternizing with the legions of Hell." He then glanced back towards the devils. "Stay away from this bout or die with him." Then without another glance, he marched forward War, leaving the devils in silence. Sirzechs, Rias and the other devils know better than to provoke the Reaper himself, so they decided to destroy the demon stragglers in the Rating Game dimension instead.
Moments later Death reached his brother, while the red rider pulled his Chaoseater from one of the fallen Traumas and glanced at the Reaper.
"Took you long enough." War said bluntly as he swiped away some of the blood staining his weapon.
"Let's save the chatter till after we finish our business here." Death said. War immediately nodded in agreement, sharing his elder brother's sentiment. With that, War clutched his Chaoseater and jumped high in the air, followed by Death.
The two riders landed on the roof of the new school house where Riser Phenex himself waits, petrified in place out of anger and fear. It was bad enough that he had to deal with one of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, but two? He's as good as dead, but still he won't back down without a fight. But the longer the two riders glared at him in intense staredown, his hopes of winning are plummeting faster than a rock falling towards the ground.
"Riser Phenex. You have allowed yourself to be tempted by the powers of the Second Kingdom, threatening the devil society in turn." Death said in serious, but cold tone.
"Your actions have posed a severe threat to the Balance, and for that you will be punished severely." War said seriously as he clenched his Chaoseater while remembering Grayfia's words back on Earth.
"Now, submit or face the wrath of the Council." Death said as he clenched his scythes in reverse grip.
"Surrender? Never, not even to you horsemen!" Riser Phenex shouted, his mind in state of utter desperation as the flaming wings expanded in size. "I am the Phenex nobleman! The flame of the immortal bird burns within me, the hellfire of my clan will scorch you to dust!" He shouted in fury as the flames engulfed him and expanded greatly before he blitzed in the sky and charged desperately at the two riders.
War was the first to take action as he clenched his armored gauntlet before he threw a punch that connected with Risers, resulting in momentary stalemate. Then the force of their punches caused a fiery explosion, but from the smoke it was Riser who was sent flying back, slamming into the ground while Death and War were in pursuit as they jumped down. Even though he was feeling dizzy after that clash, Riser still got up on his feet. Now it was Death's turn to strike as Riser engulfed his hands in flame. Riser fired a barrage of fireballs at Death, but he nimbly sliced through each of the fireball at impressive speed with no sign of slowing down whatsoever. Riser then quickly conjured two swords and parried Death's scythes. Even though Riser managed to parry Death's blows with his increased power, the Reaper clearly had the upper hand both in terms of power and in combat experience with his weapons, something that Riser lacked due to mostly being a hand to hand combatant. In a single swipe, Death cleaved through his swords and they fizzled in the air. When we got close enough, he jumped and sliced both of Riser's arms, landing behind him and standing upright.
Moments later, Riser started to crack up a bit as his arms regenerated, in a lot faster rate before he was strengthened with demonic power.
"I have to admit I was worried that I couldn't beat you." Riser smirked before he turned towards Death, with the rider's back facing the devil. "But if you think you can defeat me with conventional means, then victory is actually possible for me to achieve."
"Is that so?" Death said.
"Huh?" Riser's eyes went slightly wide as Death turned around.
"Do you honestly believe that you are the first being possessing regenerative capabilities that we encountered over the eons?" Death said as he turned towards Riser, with War standing behind Riser. "We dealt with your kind before. As useful as your ability may be, it is your stamina that will suffer the most. Besides, I have just the weapons to counter your type of regeneration." He then sheathed his scythes before he clenched his fists and crossed them in front of him. Then purple energy formed around his arms and after a few moments, he flexed his arms wide as the purple energy formed into two armblades made of sinew and bone, with the razor sharp blades forming on the gauntlets themselves.
Riser had enough of playing games as he sprung his flaming wings again and charged at the Reaper in desperate assault. But as he threw a punch, Death caught his fist casually and slowly tilted it sideways, his orange eyes connecting with Riser's. As Riser stared into Death's almost fiery eyes, he felt that his courage was failing him and was quickly replaced with fear and panic, for the Reaper's gaze was as cold as the Abyss itself, justifying his ruthless nature. Then Death used his left armblade to slice Riser's arm. Much to his shock, Riser screamed in agony. For the first time in his nigh eternal existence, he felt actual pain. Not only that, he noticed that the wound from his shoulder socket was frozen in thin layer of ice.
"What the… what have you done? Why can't I regenerate?!" Riser growled in pain and anger.
"Not even the flames of the Phoenix can counter the chill of the Abyss itself." Death said in cold and merciless tone as he clenched both of his fists.
Riser roared in fury as he lifted himself in the air and raised his hand, conjuring a fireball that grew larger and larger in size. Just as he was about to unleash his attack, Death charged his right armblade and threw a crescent blade of energy, cutting through Riser's right rib, his wound encased in thin layer of ice again. Then he struck again as he threw another blade of energy from his left armblade, slicing his left arm, with his fireball fizzling out in the process. In quick succession, Death equipped his scythes once again, attaching them, bending the blade of the scythe into a spear and threw it, impaling it on Riser's chest. Then he jumped high in the air at fast speed, grabbed the scythe and used it to throw Riser down overhead, smashing him into the ground, with the rider landing soon after in his signature fighting stance, crouching with scythes in reverse grip.
Death stood upright and sheathed his scythes to find Riser appearing from the dust, defeated both in body and soul. As he gazed at the defeated devil noble, Death equipped his armblades again. Many millennia ago, he came across Argul's Tomb, courtesy of the mysterious merchant named Ostegoth for giving him the information. By defeating the dragon that was seemingly the source of power for the long deposed king Argul, he also found the fabled armblades that he just used in duel against Riser named Frostforged Twins. Even though his scythes were his weapons of choice, he was no stranger to using secondary weapons in combat, albeit rarely on certain foes like Riser. Most of the time he uses his faithful scythe Harvester, but when it comes to secondary weapons, these armblades are his back up weapons of choice.
As he towered above Riser, War stood next to him, followed soon after by Ravel and the Gremory devils, along with several soldiers.
"Ravel… Ravel…" Riser gritted his teeth as he turned towards the only person closest to him for help. But Ravel was utterly disgusted and angry to even look at him, let alone talk to him, but also sad to see her brother reduced to this.
"Reap what you have sown, betrayer." Ravel said in soft, sad voice as she turned away, not daring to look back at the person she once called brother, despite of his obvious and rather annoying flaws. Riser gasped in shock at her disgusted reaction for him. In that moment, he realized the heavy price he had to pay for his actions. He turned his back on his own sister and by extension, his family and his people, all because he foolishly chased after victory in this fight by allying with the demons.
"Death." Sirzechs said seriously as he approached the rider. "Allow us to arrest him and put him on trial. He deserves a severe punishment for what he had done on this day."
"He will be on trial…" Death said before he glanced at Riser. "In the domain of the Charred Council." He said before Riser's eyes went wide in utter shock. A trial in front of the Council? He would rather trade his regeneration than to be subjugated in front of those ancient and merciless entities.
"No." Sirzechs said in serious tone, making Death turn his gaze on him in slight curiosity, but also annoyance and irritation. "With all due respect, he deserves to be punished by the devils. Not only did he desecrate the sanctity of the Rating Game, but he also betrayed the devils by joining with the demons, as we all know at this point. He may have threatened the Balance with his actions, but it's our people that he wronged the most. And by all accounts, it is they who deserve to carry out his sentence. And I say this both as a king and a devil myself."
Death shrugged his statement in a slight huff. But another instant later as he locked his gaze on Riser again, he realized that he was right. Many criminals who threatened the Balance were always brought forth in front of the Charred Council to be judged, the most severe punishment imaginable was banishment into Oblivion, a dimension of perpetual nothingness, the very place where he secretly disposed of the Ravaiim blood, and the place where Belisatra was thrown in, ceasing to exist, body and soul. But in light of the situation, given that Riser's crimes were not nearly as severe as Belisatra's, or any other convicted criminal for that matter who were deserving of such fate, he might as well let the devils take care of this traitor.
"Very well, devil king." Death said before he looked at Sirzechs again with same cruel, cold gaze. "I expect nothing less but severe punishment. No eternal imprisonment or anything of the sort." He said. Sirzechs nodded silently with serious look before he gazed at Riser in disgust.
"Take him." He ordered his guards as they scooped up Riser and escorted him, with Sirzechs following suit, along with Grayfia and the other devils. As they departed, Death stood in place while War approached his brother.
"Why would you let them take him away? It's not like you to let them convince you so easily." War asked curiously in his usual, serious tone and expression.
"They didn't." Death said, making War raise his eyebrow in slight curiosity. "Riser was a mere pawn, a puppet pulled by the demon lord's strings. And yet he too, despite of his talents, was also manipulated." Then he turned towards War. "Who is the mastermind behind all this? In all honesty, I have no idea. But I guess that's a mystery we will have to solve another day." He said before he departed, moments later followed by War.
As they walked forward, Rias lagged behind the group on purpose, turning her head behind and looking at War stomping his way with Death, having a flashback of War saving her from the demons who were about to execute her, his broad back facing her as he stood in front of her like a mountain. Was he deliberately trying to save her? Was there a purpose behind that sudden intervention? Or was that merely a matter of chance for him to be close by and charge for the kill on those demons? She didn't know herself, but she had a hunch that War saved her on purpose, though she can't confirm that theory yet.
As for War, he raised his eyebrow curiously as he noticed Rias was looking at him for some reason, but the Gremory princess blushed and quickly turned her head in her direction, starting to play dumb.
"What was that about?" War thought. But as usual he shrugged off her weird behavior and returned to his own thoughts of who was the perpetrator behind all this.
At the same time in an unknown location, an unidentified individual observed the proceedings of the all-out battle through a crystal ball placed on a pedestal, the only source of light as perpetual darkness permeated everything else.
"How disappointing." The unknown person sighed. "It would seem that the riders are as powerful as ever. I dare say even stronger than they were many millennia ago on that fateful day." The person then smirked from the shadows. "No matter. Soon enough, you will pay in blood for standing in my way. And then humanity will suffer as well in the most grandiose way possible. All of Creation will tremble in the wake of my vengeance."
A/N: And here it is, boy was this a lot of brainstorming to make one awesome battle chapter, in my opinion at least. Since i started my summer job again, the chapters will be slower to write, but the story will still go on, so nothing to worry about that :)
-Wacko12 Who knows, that's always an option :)
-Gamelover41592 Thank you :)
-treyalexander63197 Yeah true that :)
-Superkamehameha Thanks bro, yeah with the two riders on board, they were pushed to their limits :)
-chucklestheewok They will as the story goes on, but not anytime soon.
-Abhinav Chhetri Well, i hope this chapter is manly enough for you, appreciate your enthusiasm :D
Thank you all for the reviews, faves and follows and as always, i'll see you in the next chapter :)