A/N: Honestly nothing to say. Kinda forgot about writing in general, and about most stuff due to like college lmao.

"Three of Riser's Pawns have retired."

"Oh cool, Yuuto and the pervert managed to guard the base." Koneko mentioned as she continued to carry the Minotaur towards the track yard at the back of the main building.

"they must've fought hard," Asterios voice murmured, his head nodding along "congratulations issei, yuuto."

"Says the guy who just beat three Pawns himself," Koneko smirked "Give yourself just as much credit."

Asterios nodded "congratulations asterios."

"There we go." Koneko smiled back.

"Yeah, couldn't have said it better ourselves!"

Emerging from the forest were the two aforementioned members of the peerage, the blonde and brunette both looked completely unharmed, save for a scuffed collar on Issei's shirt.

"Seems like you guys went a bit overboard with the gym attack, you know you weren't supposed to take them out yourselves?" Yuuto was quick to joke, smiling as he received a smug smile from Koneko in response.

"Woah Asterios, your whole body is smoking!" Issei was quick to point out.

Asterios tilted his head at the compliment "thank you?"

"I don't think he means that kind of smoking," Koneko shook her head "I think he means that there's smoke all over your body."

"oh…" Asterios face flushed for a moment, before it disappeared "i guarded koneko from an explosion."

Koneko smiled "It was rad. But it kinda busted him up, so I'm carrying him for now."

As if to emphasise the rather comical image, Koneko shifting the grip on the Minotaur so that it looked like she was carrying him piggy-back style.

[Scene]

The sports equipment shack that the four of them hid in shook a bit when Koneko dropped Asterios onto the ground. The Minotaur was content to just lie on the ground and stared up at the ceiling as the rest sat around him.

"Looks like we're down to eleven pieces that we have to fight," Issei sighed as he fixed his collar "And one of them is that shitty fried chicken."

Asterios couldn't help but tilt his head at the nickname.

"I say we're doing good so far," Yuuto smile "We haven't lost anyone yet."

"We probably won't lose anyone at all," Koneko leaned back on Asterios' stomach "They're kind of chumps if we can handle them."

"Asterios does look busted up tho," Issei pointed out "Sure you can keep going big guy."

The stoic "yes." got a smile from the pervert.

"Perfect." Rias' voice crackled through their ears "I was just about to ask the same thing."

Everyone, save Asterios, immediately sat up when they heard her voice.

"All of you, there's been a change of plans." They all looked at each other "Akeno's too busy handling Riser's Queen, and while that's good since that takes her out of the fight for now, that also means we can't go through with our original plan."

"Shame, I really wanted to see her blow stuff up." Issei sighed.

"So what's the plan now?" Koneko asked.

"A direct assault on Riser," Rias stated, to their surprise "You need to take out as many of his pieces as you can, so that me an Asia can handle him one on two."

"Are you sure?" Yuuto questioned "Didn't you say yourself that the Phenex's are immortal?"

"They're immortal in body, but not in spirit." They could feel the smirk on her face "If we break him down enough times, he won't want to get back up." They heard her giggle "After all, aren't Hydras just as immortal but our dear Asterios showed that even endlessly regenerating monsters can be scared off."

"heh" Asterios chuckled as the memory came back to him, his face grinning that blood thirsty grin.

A grin that, shockingly enough, Issei copied as he clenched his left fist "You have a way with words Prez, we'll try our best to handle the small fry. You take care of the final boss, show him just was Rias can do!"

Yuuto and Koneko looked at the Pawn in surprise, before they nodded with their own determined looks.

There was silence on the other side for a while.

"Thank you Issei. Ten more pieces of Riser's peerage stands before the four of you, show them what you can do."

The three of them stood up, and just as Asterios was about to do the same, he heard another crackle in his ear.

"Asterios, do you remember your part in the plan?"

He hummed, nodded his head.

"Then, at my command, tear Riser apart with everything you've got."

"Of course..." The Minotaur pushed himself off the floor, the wounds on his body had somehow grown smaller "Let's… Kill that… chicken."

[Scene]

Issei and Yuuto ran out of the shack first, before Koneko and Asterios followed. The latter was already on his feet, and was fine enough to fight.

"Come on out!" Issei shouted out to the sky, once they were in the track field "We know you're all hiding out here, why don't you stop being a bunch of chickens and face us!"

The taunt worked, as a moment later the enemy peerage appeared in a swirl of wind and fire.

"Strong words from the Pawn," one of them spoke up, she wielded both a sword and dagger and approached them with a menacing gait "Are you certain you can back them up?"

While she was walking confidently forward, the rest of the peerage hung back. Staring at the four that they would fight, almost most of their eyes landed on the massive figure of the group.

Said massive figure stared at them with a stoic glare, before he tilted his head back and sniffed the air. His general glare suddenly turned focused, and stared at the sole blonde of the group. His eyes narrowed and he bared his teeth at her direction "Phoenix…"

She responded to his glare with a smirk "The beast has a sharp nose, indeed I am Ravel Phenex."

"Kill…" His eyes grew frenzied as he got ready to charge "President… Hates You…"

The blonde simply laughed "But he has not a sharp mind if you can confuse me with my brother." She sneered "Not that a half-wit Minotaur like you can match up to him."

Koneko's cracked her knuckles "Watch what you say, you may not be Riser but we're all too willing to beat the shit out of you anyways."

"Hmph, like I'm going to fight any of you." Ravel crossed her arms and looked away.

"Then why are you even here?" She deadpanned. Her eyes flickered towards Asterios and her eyes saw his hands twitch, gently she laid her hands onto his "Easy there, you don't need your axes for this one." Those eyes stared at her, and slowly the rage died down until they held just enough for him to fight "Like I said, they're chumps."

The snarl turned into a grin.

At that final insult, the members of Riser's Peerage moved. The one that had responded to their taunt launched forward with speeds that only a Knight could match. And so Yuuto met her charge head on with his own blades.

Issei decided to try his luck, grinning as he held out his Sacred Gear and rushed forward to meet with the two Pawns. The cat girls were more than happy to meet his challenge.

Koneko eyes turned to the group, and locked eyes with a woman wearing half of a mask. She could feel her strength, a Rook and it seemed fitting that she would be fighting another one. A sentiment that she seemed to share, as she walked forward and held her fist at ready.

When Koneko put her up her own, tiny, fists, it only served to excite her further. The half of her face that wasn't hidden by the mask, told her that she was ready for a fight. With one hand she gestured for the former Nekoshou to come at her.

As so Koneko-

"Asterios, get her!"

-Instead pointed a finger forward towards her.

Asterios did not hesitate, he let out a roar and immediately launched himself towards his target.

Her single eye blinked at the sudden shout, and while she was trying to change her focus from the white hair Devil to the white haired Minotaur, she was swept clean off her feet. The gigantic fist crushing her chest as it slammed into her and lifted the Rook off the ground, before she was launched forward, the Minotaur chasing after her quickly.

The two of them vanished from the battlefield as the Minotaur carried the Rook out of the track field and into the forest.

"Isabela!" A woman with dark hair and a kimono turned to where the Minotaur had suddenly dragged away her teammate, only to regret that decision when she had to hurriedly cast a barrier to block a flying kick from Koneko. It shattered due to the hasty casting.

Koneko flipped in the air, her legs kicking the Bishop as she did, and landed on all fours. Her fingers dug into the earth as she took a deep breath, and reached for her powers.

[Scene]

A Rook was strong, they were meant to powerful in both strength and endurance. You gave a Devil who wanted to be tough a Rook piece, so that they could compensate for their weakness. Or you gave one that was already tough the same piece, so that their natural advantage was doubled by the Rook piece.

As such, it was because of the increased toughness of her piece, that Isabela wasn't immediately retired from the match when a fist the size of her entire body slammed into her. Nor when that same fist slammed into the half of her face that was covered by the mask a couple of times, before she had the mental capacity to smack it away with her own strength.

Isabela stumbled backwards, her whole body was already in pain from the sudden initial blow, but the shards of her mask digging into half of her face and her eye was worse. She stared blearily at the large figure in front of her, the blows to her head made it hard to see, and with one eye gone she was just glad that the figure was large enough that she couldn't miss. The Rook held her out hands.

One held closed to her chest, clenched into a fist. The other out stretched and shaped into a claw.

With a thought, both of them were set alight with flames.

She heard his foot shift, but Isabela was faster in response. She dashed forward, her outstretched hand held far in front of her.

Once she was close, she willed more magic into them. The flames exploded into a bright star right into his face. She clenched her other hand, and while the fire was still burning above her she threw a punch forward.

Even if she couldn't see it clearly, her opponent was such a massive target.

Her fist impacted against something hard.

She couldn't miss.

She felt the metal deform under her skin, and she pushed forward and forward. Until her fist came to a stop.

Her single eye blinked when she realised that she couldn't push further.

She felt hot air breathing down her neck.

The ground under her shattered as she tried to jump away, but something grabbed the arm that she had just used to punch her opponent. Pain shot up the arm as she pulled in closer, the pain continued to grow until…

A pained choking noise escaped her throat as she felt her arm getting torn right off.

Before she felt that same arm hit her, again, in the head.

[Scene]

With her hands and legs burning bright blue, Koneko threw herself at the Bishop.

The Bishop was unused to the close combat, and could barely manage to back away from the blows. But she wasn't a physical fighter, and she quickly found herself taking blows.

The fact that she was getting hit was bad enough, but the flames burned in a way that seemed to circumvent what resistance she should have while a Servant under a Phenex.

Koneko saw no reason to keep the fight going any longer, her blows had more than dazed the Bishop, and ended it with a single decisive strike to the chest. Immediately the blue flames exploded and engulfed the Bishop.

When it cleared, the Bishop stood there charred, and could barely let out a final staggered breath, before she fell over. Koneko smile smugly at the shocked expression of Ravel as she shook off the blue flames off her hands.

Her body vanished, an on cue the announcement of her defeat was called, as was another.

"One of Riser's Rook and One of Riser's Bishop has retired."

Koneko's eyes flicked to the forest where Asterios had, basically, whisked away the Rook. The Phenex that was with her, looked in the same direction.

Emerging from the forest, Asterios pushed aside a tree that was in his way. He looked unharmed, as she expected. The only difference was that the metal corset(?) that he wore was damage just a bit.

She was about to wave at him, but stopped when she felt an approaching malice in the air. She spun around and quickly raised her hands.

A massive greatsword slammed down onto her tiny arms, moving at such speeds that it cut into them despite her Rook toughness. She winced and nearly let out a cry of pain, but held it in to glare at the sudden attacker.

She was a Knight, in both speed and appearance. She grimaced "Damn it, that should've been my chance. How did you notice me?"

Koneko didn't answer. Part of it was because she didn't want to.

Another part was that she felt a similar approaching malice from behind her, one that she was familiar with.

She saw how the Knight's eye suddenly widened, her figure blurred as she used every ounce of speed that she had to suddenly run away. Koneko narrowed her eyes and as quick as she could, grabbed onto the blade.

The sharp edge dug into her palms of her gloves, and the Knight found her movements stopped for just a moment. Immediately she let go, and tried to move once more.

Asterios' axe still managed to chop off both of her arms before managed to get away. The axe slammed into the ground, sinking more than half of it into a crater and shaking everything around her.

The Knight's eyes stared at the loss of her arms for a moment, before her mouth opened to scream.

It was drowned out by a horrifying roar.

"HOW DARE YOU!"

The pain of her arms getting chopped off was suddenly replaced by absolute terror. The Knight clamped her mouth shut and tried to will her feet to carry her away as fast as she could.

Asterios pulled out the weapon from the ground. In his mind he could tell that his opponent was too far away, if he swung he missed. So instead of swinging.

He suddenly thrusted his axe forward.

With both the length and the sheer speed of his strike, even with the Knight's speed it wasn't enough to get out of range. The spike at the tip of his weapon pierced her through.

He raised his hand, carrying the axe and the poor Devil impaled on it, and swung it back down to the ground.

The glare on his face turned confused for a moment when he saw a lack of Devil on the tip of his axe, but his attention turned to the sound of a crash much further away.

Right at the sports equipment shack where they had just been resting in, was now nothing but a pile of rubble. The armless and bloody figure of the Knight lied on top it, her legs twitching ever so slightly. Her body vanished just a moment after.

"One… of Riser's Knights has retired."

"Siris!"

The confusion in Asterios' eyes vanished when he heard that scream, his eyes flicked towards it and saw the blonde one. His eyes widened as the scent of a Pheonix filled his nostrils.

Ravel felt his glare, and immediately summoned her wings.

She flew away fast enough that all he could take from her was her foot, her limb spinning in the air as her wings of fire took her to the skies. The limb landed onto the ground with a splat of blood.

To her credit, she didn't cry out in pain, instead simply flying away as flames burst out of the wound. She flew all the way towards the main building, her severed foot reappearing from the fire.

"Lady Ravel!"

Asterios paid no heed to the cries, his eyes instead followed her and moved to chase after.

But jolted to a halt when he felt the arm that wasn't holding an axe get pulled back.

His head snapped to his free arm, and immediately relaxed when he saw Koneko's yellow eyes staring into his own. She had grabbed his hand with her own and was keeping him from running off.

"Chill Asterios," Koneko spoke, her wounds caused her to wince but nothing else "Save that anger for Riser, not his loser sister."

"Koneko…" His eyes went to her arms, his eyes grew distraught "You… Got Hurt…"

"I'm fine," she snorted, letting go of Asterios hand to hold it up "Asia can heal it. And I've had worse to be honest."

"o..kay…" Asterios could only nod.

Their conversation was interrupted by the nearby sound of Issei and Yuuto-

"Get them Kiba, now!"

[TRANSFER]

"Sword Birth!"

-Winning their side of the match.

"Two of Riser's Pawns and One of Riser's Knight has retired."

The screams of the rest of Riser's Peerage was heard as they all faded away. The two turned to see the track field covered in hundreds of swords, all them growing from the ground.

Issei's Boosted Gear also seemed to have grown larger, sporting more spikes with more golden decals around it.

"Damn, thanks for distraction Asterios!" Issei let out a sigh of relief, the Pawn looked much more beat then when he had arrived, but the smile on his face told them he was fine. "If it wasn't for that, I'd have to keep fighting those annoying cats."

"A little disappointed at the ending," Yuuto nodded his head as the Magical Sword in his hand vanished "But if it helps to move the battle faster, then it's an advantage I'll take." The blonde turned towards the main building of the school "At this point, only Riser and his Queen are left in the fight."

"Akeno-sempai seems to be handling her well." Koneko noted as more and more lightning and explosions could be heard over where the tennis court was.

"only… riser left…" Asterios mumbled, turning to the main building.

"All of you!" Rias' voice suddenly echoed in her ears "Spread out now, Riser hasn't accepted the challenge. He's aiming right for you."

Asterios eyes widened when an orange glare lit up one of the windows.

Koneko found herself lifted off her feet, before she was chucked away from her position near Asterios. The moment she was clear, a massive wave of fire suddenly engulfed Asterios.

"Asterios!" All three of them yelled out.

The wave of fire continued, the flames were hot as expected from a Devil whose elemental specialty was fire. The ground was scorched red, while the mundane blades that had been caught in the blast turned red before they were melted down.

Then it stopped, the flames dying out as their owner stopped supplying the magic to keep them burning.

"…Hot…" Asterios muttered through gritted teeth. The metal on his body had been heated up by the flames, glowing red. From the axe in his hands, to the manacles around his arms and legs and the metal corset that he wore. Though there were no wounds on his body, he seemed to sway just a bit.

Koneko, Issei and Yuuto immediately rushed towards him, before he could fall over.

"Yowch!" Issei yowled and pulled back a burnt hand when he touched one of the glowing red manacles. Yuuto skidded to a halt, looking more than a little confused at what he should be doing.

Koneko spared no thought the heat, and immediately wrapped her arms around whatever skin she could touch. The nights that Rias had spent healing her filled her mind, and Koneko sought to copy it transferring her magic into him.

From the direction of the flames, lazily flying towards the group, was Riser and Ravel who had just absconded moments before.

"That's him," Ravel pointed out. The blonde flinched a bit when three pairs of eyes glared at her direction.

"Hmph, so you are the one that dare to harm Riser's sweet little sister?" The Phenex spoke with a sneer. When he saw him up close, the sneer grew "Ah, you were that 'human' that dare spoke up against me."

"Riser!" Catching up from behind him, were both Rias and Asia. While the former was hovering in the air confidently, the latter seemed to be struggling to keep herself afloat. Rias held out a hand "How unlike you to ignore a challenge given to you directly."

"Come now my dear Rias," Looking over his shoulder, Riser smirked "Surely a Gremory such as yourself would be understanding of my reason." He pointed a hand towards the Minotaur his eyes narrowed "This beast dares to injure my own family, and what kind of brother would Riser be if I simply let that pass?"

That smirked turned into a sneer as he turned towards Asterios "Although Rias, to employ the use of a Minotaur of all creatures. Are you truly that desperate to use such a mindless creature?"

Rias face hardened into stone, as did the rest of her Peerage.

"His name is Asterios," Rias declared "And I suppose I can understand. Which is why, I will not have you bad-mouth him. He is now part of the Gremory family."

Koneko lifted her head when she heard Asterios grunt. The White Haired Devil let out a sigh of relief, looking up to see the dazed look in his eyes fading away. "Oh good, I was worried for a moment." Koneko pulled away from her hug.

"I… felt hot…" Asterios muttered, shaking his head "Sudden… heat… head… spin…"

"I don't blame you," Issei complained, holding out his hand so that the ice blade that Yuuto summoned could cooled his burnt hand "You got blasted by that grilled chicken out of nowhere, that fire was so hot that I melted every sword it touched." His eyes widened when he saw the metal on his body was still glowing red "Shit, Asterios you need help with those?"

"Give me a sec Asterios," Yuuto turned to him "After I cool off Issei's hand I'll-"

He shook his head "No…" He looked up and his eyes widened as tightened his grip on the red hot handle of his axe, he felt pain "I want… to use… hot metal…"

Riser, uncaring of what was happening underneath him, once more turned his head to smirk at Rias "Bad-mouth? Come now Rias, you know those bulls are nothing more than a delicacy for us Devils." He shrugged "Although I should've expect you to be soft, especially when you've decided such a simple creature deserves to be" he snorted " 'Family'."

"Don't you speak bad about him!" Asia couldn't help but angrily shout, which would've been impressive if she wasn't holding onto Rias to keep afloat "Asterios is wonderful!"

Rias serious face then slowly morphed into a smirk "And you would do well not to underestimate him Riser."

"Oh?" Riser laughed "Then tell me, what can a Minotaur hope to do against a-"

"BROTHER WATCH OUT!"

"-Phenex?" Riser felt his sister shove him, as well was hearing the warning that she shouted at him. He turned his head, and saw the worried and horrified expression on her face.

A moment later he felt hot and searing pain, slicing across his chest and his back. A moment later, he lost feeling everything below that. The source of the pain was revealed to him, an axe that was glowing bright red and was hot enough that the wounds that would have spilled out blood and internal organs was cauterised immediately. It spun past him like a buzzsaw, most of it had been used to nearly bisect him in half, but it was still long enough that it had even caught the arms of his little sister.

Not that it mattered to a Phenex. Riser whirled to the direction of where the axe had come from, his body already healing.

His blue eyes stared into red ones, the hand that had thrown the weapon still outstretched.

"You!" Riser shouted, punctuated by his flames flaring out, rebuilding his body and clothes.

Asterios pulled his mouth back to snarl at him "KILL… YOU…"