A few hours after breakfast Grayfia appeared through a teleportation circle to inform the ORC that is was time to go to the venue of the rating game. The ORC all stepped into the prepared teleportation circle and were transported to their clubroom in an artificial dimension.
Most of the ORC looked around and out the window to see that the battlefield was a replica of Kuoh Academy and were puzzled as to why this had been chosen as the location for the rating game until Issei saw their confused expressions and decided to share his thoughts on the matter.
"I believe the school was chosen as the battleground since Rias is inexperienced at the art of the rating game so the higher ups decided to give her a familiar area as an advantage" Issei informed the group which was meet by nods of understanding and a flash of insecurity from Rias.
"A-alright, let's plan out our route" Rias stuttered, managing to regain her cool.
Rias went on to explain that Koneko, Raynare and Issei would go to the school's gym to secure it since the position would give a major tactical advantage considering it was halfway between the clubroom which was the base for the ORC and the new school building which was Riser's base. Meanwhile Akeno and Kiba would head through the center of the grounds and meet Riser's main forces while Asia and Rias herself would stay protected in the base since the game would be lost if the king was retired, but the two would come and join the rest of the peerage once they cleared the majority of Riser's forces.
Issei gave Rias a few glances during her speech thinking her plan over in his head and either agreeing or disagreeing with her at different points but he was suspicious when Rias mentioned she'd be staying here protected by Asia for the majority of the game while the rest of the peerage would be risking life and limb. Once the speech concluded everyone excused themselves for their tasks except Issei.
"Hey Ise, c'mon, we've got a job to do" Raynare called out to the brunette.
"You two go on ahead, i'll catch up soon" Issei replied.
Raynare looked puzzled and slightly worried for a moment before nodding to Issei and leaving for the gym with Koneko.
Issei closed the door to the clubroom and walked back over to Rias who was studying a map while Asia had gone to make some tea. Rias looked up with a surprised expression.
"Issei? I thought you'd already left" Rias questioned the boy.
"I need to ask you something" Issei replied which was met by a neutral face from Rias ushering him to continue.
"Why are you staying here with Asia when she could be so much more effective with the people who need her?" Issei asked rather heatedly.
Rias had not been expecting this but replied strongly once she regained her senses.
"Because due to my status as king I should stay protected for the game until the end with my healer" Rias replied.
"Rias stop being selfish, if you allowed Asia to come with me then she could heal the people doing the fighting and it'd make the game a lot more winnable for us" Issei said with a raised voice.
Rias was getting angrier by the minute, first she'd been rejected by Issei, then she'd been shown up at the start of the game and now he was trying to take her healer away when he already had a perfectly fine protector in Raynare.
"WHY THE HELL DO YOU NEED ASIA WHEN YOU HAVE THAT FALLEN SLUT WATCHING YOUR BACK" Rias yelled at Issei.
Issei was shocked for a moment at her outburst before registering what she'd said and began to growl while clenching his fists tight enough for his nails to draw blood.
"Don't you dare talk about Ray like that, she's 10x the woman you'll ever be you petty, spoiled brat" Issei spat as Asia came back into the room.
"W-what's going on with you two?" she asked slightly scared at the tones being used.
"We're leaving, c'mon Asia" Issei told the girl as he took her hand and pulled her out the clubroom slightly harder than he would normally.
"Issei... please don't go..." Rias trailed off as her face filled with tears and an expression of regret once she realised what she had said.
Issei and Asia didn't speak on the way to the gym, after an awkward few minutes they arrived at their destination to see Raynare fighting two pawns of Riser while Koneko was fighting a fellow rook. The white haired girl looked worse for wear, her clothes were tattered and her exposed skin was covered in cuts and burns from the rook's fire augmented attacks.
"Asia, i'm going to switch with Koneko, once I have start healing her immediately, we'll need her strength later on" Issei instructed Asia before heading over to where Koneko was fighting the rook.
Issei saw the rook raise a leg for a high kick and took the chance to rush in front of Koneko and block the kick to both girl's surprise.
"Koneko, go over to Asia, she'll heal you while I take care of this" Issei told Koneko as he pushed the attack back and faced his opponent.
Koneko nodded and moved over to Asia leaving Issei to stare down the rook that was regaining her senses after having her kick interrupted.
"Who are you?" she spat, clearly being less than impressed from the interruption of her attack.
"My name is Issei, I am the single pawn of Rias Gremory and the red dragon emperor" Issei replied confidently as he manifested the boosted gear upon his arm.
The rook before his shook for a moment before regaining some confidence.
"My name is Xuelan, I am a rook of Riser Phoenix" the girl stated proudly.
Issei smirked at the girl's confidence before moving into a battle stance, before he could launch an attack, Koneko shouted from the sideline.
"Be careful Issei, she's a rook but has the strength of a queen"
Issei was surprised by this because he hadn't deduced any extra power than an ordinary rook from the girl in front of him but he gave Koneko a thumbs up to signal he'd heard the warning.
Xuelan rushed forward with an outstretched fist and coated it in flames for a quick attack which Issei dodged before grabbing her arm and swinging her around like a tornado before smashing her into the wall of the gym.
Meanwhile on the other side of the building, Raynare had taken flight to avoid the twin pawns who were wielding chainsaws, she created a couple of light spears and threw them towards the two who dodged them efficiently and retaliated by using their chainsaws as throwing weapons which surprised Raynare enough to have one of them clip the edge of a wing while she managed to dodge the other.
"We're not as weak as you might think we are, being pawns and all" the twins shot at the fallen angel in unison.
"I can see that, it appears it's time to up my game" Raynare replied cooly.
The fallen began to charge a large light spear that easily dwarfed the size of her body and kept on growing. The twins leapt into actions with their chainsaws and split the spear down the middle. Think they'd subdued the attack, they let their guard down which proved a fatal mistake as the two half of the spear sprang to life and dashed around the backs of the two, piercing them both through the chest, barely missing their hearts since deaths in this game would be a hassle to clean up.
The twins had expressions of shock and anger that they'd been duped so easily, in a last ditch attempt they both infused the magic they had left as they were retiring into their weapons and threw them at blinding speeds towards either sides of Raynare who had no time to dodge so they sliced through her wings rendering them useless for the rest of the match.
Raynare collapsed onto one knee and glared in anger at the twins as they faded in a blue light, she was furious that two pawns had managed to cripple her for the rest of the game when she had already beaten them but gotten too cocky and let down her guard as they had. She stood and looked over to Issei who was still locked in combat with Xuelan.
Issei was shocked, the power he'd sensed from the rook at the start of their engagement was far cry from what she was releasing now. After he'd spun her into the wall she'd become quite angry and started attacked fast and furiously with both arms and legs, however her anger made her sloppy and Issei managed to find a way to block or dodge all her attacks and dish out some damage to her also.
This had obviously been the breaking point for the rook since she'd roared loud enough to hurt Issei's ears before her aura shot up into a fiery explosion that coated her body. The power she was releasing was indeed on par with a queen as Koneko had said and if he was honest, Issei was a little unsure if he could best her.
"I see you friend defeated Ile and Nel, no matter, with her crippled like that, i'll take you both on and win" Xuelan growled angrily, her aura flaring chaotically.
The rook surged towards Issei with such speed that Issei just managed to keep up and Raynare completely lost track of her. Issei managed to block a punch to his face but couldn't stop the seconds punch to his gut.
Issei coughed up a glob of blood wearing a shocked expression before he was flung into a wall. Coughing with hazy vision, Issei looked up to where Xuelan had been moments ago only to find her gone. Suddenly a weak yelp was heard and Issei looked over to see Raynare in a choke hold courtesy of the super charged rook who's flames threatened to engulf the fallen angel.
"Give up now or else i'll cave in her skull and do the same to the blond in the corner" Xuelan spat as she gave Asia a menacing glance.
"You-" Issei started before his voice failed him and he slumped to one knee, unable to move.
"Stupid boy" the now demented rook shouted before raising a flame filled hand to kill Raynare.
Issei was frozen, he couldn't move, he couldn't think straight, his world was crumbling, the person he'd fallen for was about to die and he could do nothing about it.
Xuelan brought down her fist and a deafening scream was heard.
The scream was followed by crying and the sound of short, rapid breaths.
Issei looked up and saw Raynare crying on the floor, alive. Xuelan was lying in a pool of blood, her face distorted and broken. He looked to the side and was meet with a scene that would haunt him to the grave, Asia, with smoking hands was on her knees.
She had killed Xuelan.
It wasn't a matter of retirement at this point, the blast the nun had produced was uncontrolled and deadly since she hadn't trained herself to attack properly with her holy powers. The deceased rook was warped out of the arena in a red light, while Asia's breaths became faster and faster, each more shallow and ragged than the last, her aura rose and rose until it exploded out of control and an agonised scream of despair and betrayal left her lips.
The nun with hollow eyes got to her feet and turned to Issei with a dead stare.
"You lied to me" were the only words she snarled in a venomous tone before lunging at the injured brunette.
Issei was broken, his body beaten and battered to the point where he could barely move, his mind was in turmoil at the sight of the person who used to be a close friend have to kill someone and stain her hands because of his weakness, he'd broken his promise and would now pay for his sin.
(ISSEI!) Ddraig bellowed.
Issei faintly recognised the dragon's call.
"Ddraig?"
(What're you doing, don't tell me you've given up again) the dragon berated his host in a dangerous tone.
"I haven't... but what am I supposed to do, I refuse to fight Asia, she's my friend, even if I wanted to my body is at it's limit" Issei lamented tearfully.
(Then you must reach the scared girl that lays dormant under the surface of the facade in front of you) Ddraig informed Issei.
"But how? I've broken the one promise I made to her, how can I possibly reach someone who's turned their back on me?" Issei asked the dragon with sadness lacing his voice.
(You must remind her of the times you have been there for her, make sure she knows that despite your failure here, you still care for her and will do the best you can) Ddraig replied with a hint of reflection in his tone.
Issei focused, he drew in breath and let it out, then he stood to his full height in front of Asia.
"Asia, I know you're still in there, please forgive me, I know I broke our promise and I know i'm weak and I know I can't begin to atone for the trauma you've been put through because I was too weak but please don't do this, don't become like Xuelan who let power consume her because it led to her death and I don't want you to die, I want you to live as happily as possible, please Asia, give me one more chance and i'll protect you with my life" Issei pleaded with the now hollow Asia.
Before Issei heard an answer, fire hit the roof of the gym and blew out a chuck of it. Through the smoke and flames, one figure entered the gym, Riser Phoenix himself.
"Riser had sensed the immense negative energy coming from this gym and decided to see the cause for himself only to hear that one of Riser's best pieces had been killed rather than retired" Riser stated growing angry at the mention of his deceased pawn.
"Then Riser decided to come and kill the one responsible for the death of his beloved rook only to sense this powerful dark energy erupt and from the timid bishop of Rias no less. Riser thinks that dear Asia here has had a little change of heart and would like to invite her to join Riser to crush the Gremory team, what does she say?" Riser asked Asia with a smug grin.
Asia didn't reply, she didn't hesitate in her decision either and left with Riser through the room of the gym.
Leaving Issei bleeding out on the floor with a large hole where his heart had been moments ago.
Hey all, bet you're surprised I didn't take another year for the next chapter eh?
Now I know that some of you may not agree with me making Asia join Riser but i've had it planned for a while now and the main reason I think she would is because Issei promised before the game she wouldn't have to kill anyone, since Issei had been caught off guard by the dramatic increase in strength from Xuelan he was beaten to the point where he was unable to move before he could use the boosted gear.
Essentially he got cocky and Asia paid the price by having to attack the rook but because she had only trained defensively, her light powers manifested into her attack and made it deadly for Xuelan. The trauma she faced from coming to terms with killing someone affected her deeply, her sorrow and anger took over and unleashed upon the person who'd given her false hope... Issei.
Now Issei obviously isn't dead, but there will be quite the change in his outlook and how he interacts with the people he called friends, to see how big a change that'll be, you'll have to wait for the next chapter which will see what the rest of the ORC were up to and the climax of the battle as well as the news of Asia's betrayal due to Issei's broken promise.
So stay tuned for all that and more, thank you all for reading and reviewing, you all mean the world to me.
Until next time,
BK out :)