(Disclaimer: I own neither Highschool DxD nor Ben 10. Both of these belong to their respective owners who own all rights to them.)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ben's room, Tennyson household
(One hour before the match)
[It's almost time, kid.]
Ben was sat on the edge of his bed, hunched over as he mentally prepared himself for the fight ahead.
There was nothing else they could now in preparation for tonight. They had trained as hard as they could over the last ten days and Ben could see the stark difference between what he was capable of at the start of training and how far he had come at the end of it, thanks to everybody helping him get stronger.
The results of his training were clear to see. Before, he struggled to maintain a single form for only a few minutes and he could forget about being able to charge up Ddraig's gear while in this form.
Now, though? Thanks to a mixture of his regular spars with Kiba and Koneko combined with his torturous hellish experience that Rias had consistently insisted was an enhanced workout regime, Ben was now able to transform into various transformations in a single go, maintain his demonic forms for nearly an hour now and he could now power up his Boosted Gear over fifteen times before it became too much for him to handle.
An unexpected additional result of his training came in the form of unlocking a new ability for Ddraig's gear that he had been unaware of:
[Explosion!]
Essentially, it was an ability to gather all of the power his Boosted Gear had powered up and release it all in a single blast of extremely powerful energy. After draining him of most of his strength and power…and almost completely destroying a mountain when he tried it out for the first time had quickly led to Ben deciding to only use that ability as a last resort when he was unable to fight with Azmuth's gear anymore.
Ben glanced over at his alarm clock to see it was 10:30PM.
Only an hour to go.
"How good do you think our chances are?" Ben asked Azmuth through their mental link "Truthfully."
Despite the confident façade he put up last night when he spoke to Rias about the match, after hearing that they would be going up against an immortal being, doubt had crept into his mind.
[Truthfully, kid? I'm not sure. You have progressed remarkably well during these last ten days; but whether it's enough to defeat that Phenex brat. Immortality isn't something to be underestimated. I should know, I've seen the effects of it through the eons.]
Ben grimaced at Azmuth's words.
"We'll find a way," he muttered after a few seconds of silence. "We have to…for Rias' sake."
*Knock* *Knock*
Ben looked towards his bedroom door. "Yeah?"
"May I come in, Ben?" Asia's voice quietly called out from the other side of the door.
"Sure, come in," Ben replied kindly, watching as his door opened to reveal Asia standing in the hallway.
As he looked at her, Ben noted her choice of attire and couldn't help but smile.
"Haven't seen you in that getup for a while," he said as he saw she had chosen to wear her nun's habit again. In contrast, Ben was wearing a black shirt and green jacket as well as a pair of dark blue jeans.
Asia looked down at her choice of clothing and appeared a little embarrassed at Ben staring at her, a small blush forming in her cheeks being proof of this.
"Um…uh…well, Rias said we could wear whatever we felt most comfortable with. I thought that wearing this would give me more courage for the match.
"Is it working?" Ben asked with a comforting smile as Asia entered his room and came to sit next to him on the edge of his bed.
"A little. I feel a bit better but I'm still very nervous," the former nun mumbled, fumbling with the hem of her habit nervously.
Seeing there was something on her mind, Ben scooted along the bed a bit to sit a little closer to her. "Something on your mind, Asia?"
"Um, would it be okay if I stayed here with you while we wait? I'd rather be here with you instead of being by myself."
"Yeah, sure, of course you can," Ben replied, a surprised expression appearing on his face when Asia leaned into him and unexpectedly took hold of his arm which she wrapped her arms around for comfort.
"You feeling okay?" Ben asked, feeling her tremble a little through his arm.
"I'm fine, just a little nervous about the battle," Asia admitted before looking up to meet his eyes. "But I'll be alright as long as I sit here like this with you."
"Then sit there for as long as you like," Ben told her with a smile, reaching across with his free hand and placing it over one of her hands and holding it gently.
The two young devils sat in the dark room like this for several minutes until the alarm went off signalling that it was time to leave. They looked to each other and, without saying anything, pushed themselves off his bed and walked over to an empty space in the room where they then created a small, crimson-red teleportation circle on the floor. They stepped onto the slowly swirling circle and were whisked away in a flash of crimson light, leaving the room both dark and silent as the circle vanished.
. . . . .
ORC clubroom
The bright light of the teleportation circle slowly vanished to show that Ben and Asia were the last two to arrive. Kiba and Koneko were sat on the sofa, both of them preparing for the match in their own way; Kiba by examining his blade meticulously while Koneko was fixing the straps of her fighting gloves securely in place.
Looking past them, Ben saw Rias and Akeno standing by the far desk, both silent and collected as they drank their cups of green tea.
Like Ben and Asia, they were all wearing their own clothes rather than the school uniform. If anyone else had walked into the clubroom right now, they would never have suspected that they were about to fight an important battle in just a few short minutes.
As they materialised in the room, Rias looked up from her cup and smiled at them.
"Wonderful, now we're all here. Are you guys ready? The match will start in just a few minutes," she announced as she returned her cup to its saucer and interlocked her fingers.
"As ready as I'll ever be," Ben replied as he sat down on the sofa beside Kiba while Asia took a seat beside him at the end.
"How about you, Asia?"
"Um, same as Ben, I guess," Asia replied with as confident smile as she could muster.
"That's good to hear. Before the battle begins, there's one last thing that you two should know…," the red-haired beauty added, looking towards her two youngest peerage members. "The battle will be broadcast live so that family members can watch it back in the Underworld. Sona and Tsubaki have graciously volunteered to assist in setting up the broadcast connection."
"So, your parents are going to be watching the fight?" Ben asked with slight worry in his voice.
"And my brother too, don't forget. The great Devil, Lucifer, just can't pass up the opportunity to watch his little sister's first Rating Game.
"Wait a second," Ben interjected, picking up on a particular point Rias just made. "Your brother's Lucifer?! As in the Lucifer, the ruler of the Underworld?!"
Rias sighed and leaned back against her desk. "Well, not the entire Underworld for a start, just the ruler over us Devils. Also, he's not the only ruler; he is, in fact, one of the Four Great Satans who jointly rule over the Devil faction.
"Fuck," Ben breathed as he ran his hand through his hair. "I thought I had it rough being in the shadow of my sister but I've got it easy compared to you."
Rias couldn't help but smile a little. "You're not wrong. Several centuries ago, not long after the Great War came to an end, there was a civil war against the descendants of the original Satans who were determined to restart the war even though it had already greatly weakened us. My brother ended up taking over the throne and mantle of 'Lucifer' after they were victorious."
[Huh,] Azmuth's deep voice filled the clubroom without warning.
"What is it, Azmuth?" Ben wondered, glancing down at his left arm out of habit.
[Well, I can't say I'm surprised that the Devils had a civil war. Besides God in the first few millennia of the war, the original Satans were extremely hostile to the other two factions and were highly invested in prolonging the fighting. It isn't difficult to believe that their descendants would also be completely lost in the delusion that, somehow, they could emerge triumphant in the war – even kill God! – and be strong enough to hold off the other pantheons.]
"That was the main cause of the civil war in the first place," Rias added in agreement to Azmuth's thoughts. "The Anti-Satan faction knew that if the fighting started again then it would've proved disastrous for us, perhaps even led us to extinction completely."
"I guess that explains why Rias is the next heir of Gremory instead of him then," Asia noted, leaning forward with interest. Her answer came in the form of a slight nod of the head from Rias.
"When he took the throne, my brother was required to relinquish his status as the Gremory heir which I assumed when I was born.
"Well…we'd better put on a hell of a show for him then," Ben muttered, bringing his head up to look at Rias as he said it.
Their conversation came to an abrupt halt when another magic circle suddenly appeared and Grayfia appeared in the room.
"Are you ready, my lady? The match will begin in five minutes," the silver-haired maid declared politely and professionally.
"We are ready," Rias replied, also politely.
"Very well. In a few moments, a magic circle will appear and take you and your peerage to the battlefield that has been selected for this match."
"Where is the match taking place exactly?" Ben asked, realising he didn't even know where the actual battle would be taking place.
It was Akeno who answered his question. "It's in an alternate space that has been specifically created for us to use for the battle." Her face then turned red as a small flush appeared in her cheeks and she cupped her cheek with her hand. "That means we can use our full powers to cause some real damage without ramifications. We can even burn the whole place down if we want to!"
Ben chuckled, slightly nervous at how excited Akeno seemed to be at the prospect of destroying the whole battlefield.
The room was illuminated again by another magic circle appearing, this one larger than the last one that Grayfia had used to appear.
"It is time," Grayfia announced simply, stepping back to let them approach the circle.
"Alright, let's do this. It's finally time we show Riser what happens when he messes with us!" Rias declared, pushing herself off her desk and leading the way to the teleportation circle with Ben and the others following closely behind her.
Once they were all standing on the magic circle, it glowed brightly once more and the six young devils vanished in the blink of an eye.
. . . . .
Undisclosed location
In a dimly lit, ornately decorated room, somewhere in the Underworld, a small group of individuals were sat down in individual, beautifully crafted and decorated chairs, their eyes glued to the large screen hovering a few feet away from them, the picture blank as they waited for the battle to finally begin.
"I still don't know why this Rating Game was agreed upon in the first place," a stunningly beautiful, brunette young woman stated as she leaned back in her chair, accepting a glass offered by the maid standing beside her.
"You're not the only one, my dear," the crimson-haired man added from his seat beside hers before turning back to face the other crimson-haired young man sat on his left. "Why did you agree to this match, Sirzechs? The arrangement was made with the Phenex clan years ago, it was already agreed to. Rias has no say in it; all she had to do was go through with the marriage."
"I let her make her own decision. If she is to be the next head of the house of Gremory then she needs to take responsibility for her words. She agreed to the match so must follow through, accepting the outcome," Sirzechs, the Great Satan, Lucifer, replied to his father, Zeoticus Gremory, current head of the Gremory family, as he leant to his left, resting his chin on the back of the hand of his left arm which was resting on the arm of the chair.
"You don't seriously believe she will actually win, do you?" the brunette beauty, Venelana Gremory, matriarch of the Gremory household asked, looking past her husband to look at her eldest child.
"No, mother, there's no way that Rias will be able to win this match. She's too inexperienced whereas Riser's just too strong for her and he's good a full peerage," Sirzechs sighed with a slight shake of his head. "I let her have the choice of a Rating Game so that, when she loses, she won't be able to hold off the engagement any longer and we can put this rebellious chapter in her life to rest."
The large screen before them suddenly flickered into life as a picture appeared on the screen showing Rias and her peerage.
Grayfia's voice then came through the speakers, echoing around the room.
[Welcome everyone. I am Grayfia, a servant in the House of Gremory, and I have been selected for the position of arbiter for today's Rating Game….]
"Besides…," Sirzechs murmured as he leant forward in his chair, his gaze fixed on a certain individual on screen. "…there's someone I'm curious about…an investment of mine if you will."
. . . . .
Rating Game battleground
"Well, this is a little weird," Ben stated, confusion clear on his face as he took in his surroundings once the magic circle beneath him had disappeared.
They were still in the clubroom! They didn't seem to have moved an inch.
"Did the magic not work for some reason?" Asia asked, the same look of confusion on her face too as she looked around the dark clubroom.
"No, the circle worked just fine," Kiba answered, turning his head back to glance at her with a smile.
Ben was just about to ask what Kiba had meant by that when a voice suddenly reverberated around the room.
[Welcome everyone. I am Grayfia, a servant in the house of Gremory, and I have been selected for the position of arbiter for today's Rating Game,] Grayfia's calm, collected voice revealed to all listening in. [After listening to the suggestions provided by Lady Rias and Lord Riser, the arena created to serve as the battleground for this match is a replica of an educational establishment in the human world that Rias attends, known locally as Kuoh Academy.]
"Wait, did she just say 'replica'…?" Ben began but Rias beat him to the punch with a nod of her head.
"Mhm. Take a look outside and you'll see," she told him and Asia who obediently complied and walked to the nearest window and drew back the curtains to look outside.
Both their eyes widened in amazement at what they saw.
Instead of the night sky that they had seen when they entered the old school building, the sky now appeared to be displaying the Aurora Borealis in all its spectacular glory.
"Oh wow, look at the sky!" Asia exclaimed.
"Amazing," Ben breathed, temporarily captivated by the sights before him to the point that he nearly missed it when Grayfia began speaking again.
[The area that the two teams have been teleported to will serve as their home base for the duration of this match. Lady Rias and her team will be located in the Occult Research Club within the old school building whereas Lord Riser's home base will be located in the principal's office of the new school building. Should a pawn reach their opponents base then they will be able to promote themselves to any other piece.]
[Good luck to you all,] she added before the transmission was cut.
"Okay everyone," Rias announced, drawing the attention of everyone in the room as she handed out tiny red balls of light. "Take one of these and place it in your ear. It will enable us to communicate across the entire battlefield."
Ben accepted the small ball that Akeno handed to him and slipped it into his ear, recoiling a little at the unusual, tingling sensation as it entered his head. once the feeling had quickly subsided, he returned to the group which had gathered around the large desk and staring at a large, detailed map of the school grounds.
"We can rule out a straight charge at the enemy base," Rias stated, waving off the idea before anyone said it out loud. "We just don't have enough people to send on such a risky move without leaving our base undefended. We are at a disadvantage when it comes to numbers so we have to be conservative with our strategy."
"So what's the plan then? What are our options?" Ben asked, skimming his eyes over the map as he tried to think of potential strategies they could use.
"Well, we could move across the track field and try and sneak in through the side of the school," Akeno suggested, gesturing at the map and moving her finger along the route she was imagining they could take. "We'd have the element of surprise."
Rias shook her head a little. "It's the most obvious strategy. Someone as experienced in these battles as Riser will certainly have already predicted that."
"What about the gymnasium?" Ben wondered, drawing everyone's attention on him. he pointed down at the building situated almost completely in the middle of the map. "It's right in the middle of the battlefield and could provide a direct route to Riser's home base or a distraction to divert some of his forces. Even if we didn't use it like that, we should still take it to deny Riser's team being able to use it."
"Whoever gets to the gymnasium first is gonna gain an advantage," Akeno muttered in agreement to Ben's idea.
Rias tapped her chin thoughtfully as she digested Ben's idea. "And we need to secure every advantage we can. Okay, do you think you can get to the gym and lock it down for us, Ben?"
Ben nodded. "Sure. Consider it done."
Kiba pointed at the spot beside the old school building where the small wood presided. "I guarantee that Riser will try to take advantage of the wood and send some of his pieces to sneak up on us that way. If we handle it right, it would also be the perfect spot to ambush them."
Rias nodded her head slowly, her gaze never leaving the map. "We need a defensive perimeter before going to the attack due to our numbers. Kiba, Koneko; I want you two to set up some traps in the woods surrounding our base. Once you've done that, standby for further instructions."
The two devils nodded in understanding.
"Sure thing."
"You got it."
Rias then turned her attention towards her queen. "We'll also need to make use of your expertise, Akeno. Once the traps have been set, I want you to cast illusion magic around the wood and our location. It will be essential in making our ambush work."
"As you wish, Rias," Akeno replied politely, doing her best to hide the excitement she felt at the damage she was about to cause.
"What about me?" Asia wondered, the last one in the team to be given a role.
"Asia. I want you to stay by my side for now. As our healing support, we can't afford to lose you in this match," Rias answered, glancing at the former nun with a determined expression.
"Okay. I won't let you down!" Asia replied firmly.
"Right, we've got our plan. Now it's time we pull it off and win this battle! All of you get into position and wait for my signal," Rias declared, her gaze passing over each member of her peerage. "Remember, everyone; don't show any mercy to our opponent as none will be shown to us!"
"We'll make Riser regret the day he tried to mess with us!" Ben declared confidently, punching his palm and looking directly at Rias as he stated this.
"We won't let you down, Rias," Asia added, gaining a little extra confidence from Ben's determined declaration.
Rias couldn't help but smile warmly at the determination of her two newest peerage members. "I know you won't. Now let's go!"
""Right!""
. . . . .
(Five minutes later)
Ben stood just outside the entrance to the old school building and stared across the open space between himself and the main academy building, but mainly he looked towards his target: the gymnasium.
After they had all left the clubroom (except for Rias and Asia who stayed behind), they all split up when they made it outside. Kiba and Koneko disappeared into the wood interior as they went about laying down traps around their home base while Akeno took flight and passed over the canopy of the wood to find a good spot to cast her magic for the ambush.
This left Ben standing at the front of the building, waiting for Rias to give him the signal.
It turned out he didn't have to wait long as Rias' voice abruptly sounded in his ear.
[Is everyone in position?]
Her question was then followed up by four similar answers.
[Yep.]
[You got it.]
[Uh huh.]
"In position," Ben replied, holding his left hand up to his ear to send his response.
[Good. Then let's commence operation Phoenix Ashes! Remember that our opponent is a gifted warrior and member of the house of Phenex. No mercy will be shown to you so you must show none in return. Good luck.]
After Rias' voice went silent, Ben removed his hand from his ear and took off into a sprint towards the gymnasium ahead of him, quickly reaching the building in just a few seconds. He made his way to the back door of the gym and entered as silently as he could in the hopes of catching anyone who may have arrived before him by surprise. He snuck through the backstage area of the gym and soon found himself hiding behind one of the huge curtains on the raised stage in the main area of the gym where he knelt down and took position.
He didn't have to wait for long though as the rows of large ceiling lights suddenly sprang into life, illuminating the large, formerly dark gym hall and stage.
"You can come out now. We know you're there, Gremory filth," a female voice called out loudly.
Ben cursed under his breath.
"Shit, looks like stealth is out the window,"
[I think it's time you finally introduced us to everyone,] Azmuth joined in through their mental connection.
Standing up from his former position, Ben emerged from behind the curtain to see three young women standing in the centre of the hall, glaring at him as he revealed himself to them.
Ben's own gaze flickered over each of them as he got a gauge of his opponents. Standing at the front of the small group was a well-endowed young woman with shoulder-length black hair and wore Chinese-style buns on both sides of her head and a dress which exposed a lot of her extensive cleavage with black armguards over her forearms. The two other devils standing behind her were twins, completely identical in appearance and stature, the both of them with short, turquoise hair and wearing gym uniforms, complete with white t-shirts, tight black leggings and blue trainers over knee-length socks.
"I knew I could smell Gremory filth," the lead devil sneered as Ben came to a stop at the front of the stage. "It's customary for opponents to introduce themselves before fighting."
Ben shrugged his shoulders though he made sure to keep his eyes on his opponents. "Fine. The name's Ben. I'm Rias Gremory's Pawn."
"My name is Xuelan, a Rook for Lord Riser Phenex," the lead devil, known as Xuelan replied formally.
"I'm Ile," one of the twins announced, giving Ben a short salute.
"And I'm Nel," the other quickly followed, also giving him a salute.
"…And we're Pawns," the two of them then said in unison.
Ben brought up his Sacred Gear-clad arms and took up a fighting position. "Now that introductions are out of the way, shall we get started?"
His answer came swiftly, in the shape of Xuelan who had launched herself up through the air towards him and brought her fist down on top of him.
"I'll take that as a yes,"Ben stated as he dodged the sudden attack with ease, his training already bearing its fruit.
Now it was time to truly reveal himself.
"You ready, Azmuth?"
[As ready as you are, kid,] the ancient dragon replied.
Without needing to be told twice, Ben chose his transformation and slammed his palm down on the dial, causing the three devils to obscure their eyes from the sudden bright green light which illuminated the gymnasium.
[Transform: Cerebrocrustacean!]
. . . . .
'Fascinating.'
Sirzechs leant forward in his chair, his gaze transfixed on the large screen as it showed the boy Rias had taken in as her only Pawn transformed before his eyes, taking on the shape and appearance of the reclusive crab demon inhabitants who dwell deep within the region of Encephalonus.
The reactions of his mother and father were similar to his own.
"Oh my," Lady Gremory gasped, wide-eyed, in contained shock as the sight she just witnessed. Her husband, Lord Gremory was just as surprised though he was more refined in his reaction, leaning back in his chair and stroking his beard in thought.
"How…unexpected," he mused, his tone calm and collected as he turned his gaze away from the screen and towards his son. "Is that the child you were intrigued about?"
Not taking his sight off the screen, Sirzechs nodded his head in response.
"He is. I have been reliably informed that he possesses two Sacred Gears, the Boosted Gear and a Gear that has never been seen before but is on par with a Longinus."
"An unknown Gear? I thought all Gears of such power were accounted for…," Lady Gremory wondered, tapping the side of her cheek as she observed the scene play out on the large screen before her.
"What's so special about it?" she added, casting a glance towards her son.
Sirzechs couldn't stop the smirk appearing on his face as he returned her stare.
"Where's the fun in that, mother? Just sit back and enjoy the game."
Lady Gremory let out a sigh of frustration and returned her attention back to the screen as did Sirzechs and his father to observe the battle being fought on the screen.
. . . . .
"You'll have to be quicker than that if you want to contend with someone who is infinitely more intelligent than yourselves," Ben declared confidently, his voice now taking on a profound, upper class accent, as he dodged the blows of his opponents with ease.
Thanks to the incredible boost of his brain power after taking on his current form, Ben was now so smart that he was able to visually scan his opponents and could accurately predict each and every move and attack that was directed at him…as well as the next ten they would make quicker than the blink of an eye.
When the fight had started and his opponents launched themselves towards him, Ben blinked and time seemed to slow down to an incredibly slow crawl. As he opened his eyes again, Ben could suddenly see the whole fight play out before him in an infinite number of ways, each one being slightly different in some way. The fights continued to play out in the back of his mind while the incalculable number of choices made coalesced into the most likely scenario that would play out and gave Ben a step-by-step playout of how the fight played out.
Xuelan growled as her fist failed to make contact with him once again, striking the floor as he side-stepped her and spun around delivering a hard backhand strike with his pincer and forcing her to bring up her other arm in a defensive manner to lessen the blow.
…a reaction that Ben foresaw before she even initiated her attack.
"Grrrr. Stay still!" she commanded angrily as he turned to face her.
"And why would I do that, my dear?" Ben chuckled as he placed his pincers on the side of his abdomen. "This strategy is working out to be highly efficient for me. Thanks to my drastically enlarged cranium, I can see what moves you're going to make before you even know it yourself. It's how I can talk to you now…."
He suddenly brought his pincers up sharply to catch the chainsaws that Ile and Nel wielded and had tried to catch him off guard while he spoke to Xuelan.
"…and know that you two were going to do that!" he continued, directing his attention to the two Phenex Pawns before he slammed them down into the ground before they could react to what he was doing.
"It's impossible to try and catch me off guard," Ben declared matter-of-factly as the twins picked themselves off the floor. "I saw what you were going to do before you even thought of it yourself."
"No fair! No fair!" the twins yelled indignantly in unison as they revved up their chainsaws again and waved them at him threateningly.
"Such is the way of the world, I'm afraid," Ben replied politely as the shell covering his head split down the middle and cracked open, swinging back as if from hinges in the back of his head, revealing his huge, pink brain which pulsated slightly.
"Now, it's time I ended this fight in the way I saw it happen," he announced casually, ignoring the looks of disgust on the faces of his three opponents.
"Urgh, how disgusting," Xuelan sneered, a look of complete revulsion on her face.
"Disgusting!" Ile and Nel cried out in unison, recoiling at how slimy the exposed brain was and how it gently pulsated.
"I concede that it's not the most appealing sight in the world…," Ben nodded in agreement to their reaction to what he did as the air around his brain was crackling with emerald green electricity energy. "…but, regardless of that, it serves its purpose well and will end this fight exactly how I saw it would end!"
The electrical energy continued to grow in strength for another split second before he unleashed it all in a single, powerful bolt of green energy. While not as powerful as the bolts of electricity that Akeno could make, the green bolt still served its purpose well, arcing towards the three members of Riser's peerage before they could react and striking them at point-blank range and consuming them in an explosion which also engulfed Ben on its path, reaching its zenith at the gymnasiums roof and blasting out the glass of the windows from the explosive force.
[Riser Phenex – 1 Rook and 2 Pawns retired,] Grayfia's voice announced loudly across the entire arena.
"Oh dear, perhaps that was a tad too powerful," Ben mumbled as the explosion died away to reveal him alone in the damaged gym, wincing slightly in pain as he clutched is head (which had closed up again) and recoiled at the intense headache spasming through his brain from the intensity of the bolt he had just fired.
The brief headache subsided just as Rias' voice echoed in his head.
[Ben? Are you okay?]
"Urgh, yes, my lady. I built up too much of an electrical charge in my cranium which has resulted in an intense migraine but I succeeded in carrying out your instruction; my opponents have been dealt with and the gymnasium has been fully secured," Ben relayed back to Rias.
[Uh, what?] Rias replied in confusion, caught off guard by Ben's response.
Ben was briefly consumed by red light as he reverted back to normal and headed for the gym's exit. As he exited the gym and returned to the sports and track field, he brought his hand back up to his ear and continued his conversation.
"Ah, sorry about that, Rias. That form I just used seems to have a unique way of speaking. The gym has been secured. How are the others doing?"
Before Rias could give him a response, Grayfia's voice abruptly echoed in the air above them again.
[Riser Phenex – 4 Pawns retired.]
"Was that Kiba and Koneko?" Ben asked, turning back to look in the direction of the old school building where he could faintly make out the shimmer as the illusion spell wore off.
"It was. They just took out Riser's vanguard and ambushed them in the woods just like we planned. I want you now to move up and make your way towards the entrance to the new school building."
"By myself?"
"No, I'm sending Kiba and Koneko forward in a pincer manoeuvre around the edge of the arena and meet up with you where you will then push into Riser's home base. Akeno will stay in the air and act as fast response.
"Got it! I'm on my way!" Ben nodded before taking off into a sprint to his objective. He made it to the corner of the gymnasium when the woods in front of him was engulfed in a terrific explosion that disintegrated a large portion of the trees and created a deep crater in its epicentre.
"Shit! What the fuck was that?!" Ben exclaimed as he skidded to an abrupt stop.
His answer came almost immediately after….
[Rias Gremory – 1 Rook retired.]
"Koneko!" Ben cried out as he changed direction and began sprinting towards Koneko.
[Ben, stop!]
Rias' command brought Ben to another sudden halt.
"But…."
[You need to keep moving! We can't afford to break formation. Stay focussed.]
[Don't worry, Ben. I'll take care of her,] Akeno's voice chimed in as she appeared in the air just above where the explosion had taken place and hovered directly in front of Riser's Queen. [You need to head over to the track field and help Kiba.]
Ben clenched his fist tightly. He wanted to get revenge for Koneko but he knew he needed to look at the bigger picture.
"Make sure the bitch pays for what she did," Ben muttered, casting one last glance up at Akeno who returned the stare and gave him a smile and a sharp nod of her head.
[Oh, don't worry about that. I plan to,] the Gremory Queen replied before turning to face her opponent.
Turning away from her, Ben continued on his original journey towards the track field where he was supposed to meet up with Kiba.
As he rounded a corner, he caught sight of the track field and the battle going on at the other end of it. Kiba had made it there before him and had encountered the rest of Riser's peerage which had been sent out to meet them in combat.
Even from the distance he was, Ben could clearly see that Kiba was struggling greatly against so many opponents and it was taking him everything he had just to defend himself from the unrelenting attacks from all around him.
'I need to get there fast,' Ben realised quickly. Even though he was a devil, the distance between him and them was still so great that Kiba would most likely be defeated before he got there.
He need to change.
He quickly twisted the dial on his Sacred Gear as he cycled through his choice of transformations. Once he'd made his choice, he slammed down the dial and activated the transformation.
[Transform: Appoplexian!]
. . . . .
CLANG!
Kiba leapt back to gain more breathing space as he blocked the last sword slash from one of Riser's Knights though the breather didn't last long as the second Knight appeared on his left side and launched their own attack that continued to push Kiba around and prevent him from gathering himself, like wolves wearing their prey down before going in for the kill.
This wasn't part of Rias' plan.
After they had successfully defeated the four Pawns who had acted as Riser's vanguard into their territory, he and Koneko had split up to skirt around the arena to ensure there was no other push from Riser's pieces and regroup with Ben before they made their own push into their opponents base.
However, the plan derailed when Yubelluna, Riser's Queen, struck without warning and instantly took Koneko out the fight. Kiba had seen the picture and pushed on to get to the meeting point but Ben, still being new to things, had been shaken by Koneko's defeat and got delayed in reaching the meeting point.
To make matters worse, as Kiba was the first one to make it, he was the one to encounter the remaining members of Riser's peerage who were lying in wait around the entrance to the new school building.
It seemed Riser had accurately anticipated how Rias would respond and had set out a welcoming committee for their arrival.
And so, that was how Kiba found himself fighting half of the Riser Phenex peerage by himself and, unlike when he had caught them by surprise in the woods, they were ready for him this time. All of them except for Riser's two bishops and one of his knights were converging on him and constantly harassing him to the point that all he was able to do was dodge and deflect their attacks, unable to use his Sacred Gear and go on the offensive.
'I sure hope Ben gets here soon,' he thought as he dodged a powerful right hook from Riser's sole remaining Rook, Isabella, 'I could really use his help right now.'
CLANG!
As he escaped Isabella's attack, he nearly failed to notice the strike that came from his right by Siris, Riser's knight who had engaged with Kiba, as she swung the fearsome Zweihander blade she wielded across his chest; only able to deflect it at the very last second, and even then couldn't deflect it completely and received a bloody slash across his chest. As he recoiled from the glancing blow, another blow came from behind him courtesy of one of Riser's last two Pawns, a blow that forced him onto his knee.
"Gah!" he grunted in pain.
"Looks it might be time to stop playing with our food," Siris announced with a smirk as she stood before him, her large, two-handed blade resting on her shoulder as she looked down on him.
"End him then, Siris," Isabella grunted from behind Siris.
"With pleasure," the Phenex Knight sneered as she hefted her two-handed blade back.
'Anytime now would be great, Ben,' Kiba muttered internally as he brought up his blade in an attempt to block the impending blow, but at the angle he was at with Siris standing right in front of him, he had no doubt that it was a vain attempt with little hope of stopping the apparent inevitable.
Just as she swung her sword back round though….
"HEY! GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HIM, YA STUPID BROARD!"
Everyone's head snapped around in the direction of the loud voice to see a large, bright orange bipedal tiger-like creature charging across the track field towards them at full pelt.
Surprise expressions dotted about their face at the sight of the demon charging towards them.
"An Appoplexian? What's that doing here?" Isabella wondered as she turned her attention away from Kiba and focused it completely on her new target.
When the demon had closed the distance between them to about thirty feet it launched itself into the air to cover the last few feet in an instant. It reared its right arm back before slamming the single large, black claw which protruded out of the back of its wrist into the ground between Kiba and the members of Riser's peerage which had been relentlessly attacking him.
As Kiba picked himself off the ground, he looked up to see the form that Ben had chosen to use (there was no question about it being Ben) and found himself looking up at the 9ft tall bipedal tiger demon staring back down at him. His fur was burnt orange in colour with black stripes. His physique was extremely muscular now with bulging muscles covering his entire body.
"Glad you could make it," Kiba smiled, giving Ben a thumbs up which Ben returned with a dull grunt.
"Urgh! How low can Rias get?"
The two male members of Ria's peerage turned their gaze to the back of the field to see a young, short devil with a look of pure disgust on her face as she glared at Ben's hulking form. She wore a pretty pink dress with white frills and a red bow around her neck. She had blonde hair which had been tied into twintails and finished off with drill-like curls keeping them in place.
"Not only did she hide one of her servants from us; she also has the audacity to bring a disgusting Appoplexian to the battle!"
Ben growled deeply, baring a row of razor-sharp as he pointed a finger towards . "LEMME TELL YOU SOMETHING…," he roared loudly, saliva flying everywhere, before trailing off in the middle of his rant as he realised something. "Who da hell are you, pipsqueak?"
The young devil gasped in indignation. "Pipsqueak?! How dare you, you mangy beast! I'll have you know that I am Lady Ravel Phenex and a brute like you should me the respect I deserve!"
Ben just stared at Ravel with a blank expression on her face and cast a glance down to his side where Kiba was standing.
"Huh?" he grunted dumbly.
Despite the situation he was in just a few seconds ago, Kiba couldn't help but sweatdrop a little at Ben's actions and new personality.
During the ten days of training before the match, they had discovered that some of the transformations that Ben possessed could change his personality in certain ways which, even though Ben still maintained control over himself, gave him odd little quirks.
"She's Riser's little sister," the Gremory Knight answered.
Ben nodded his head in understanding before snapping it back to face Ravel again. "LEMME TELL YOU SOMETHING, RAVEL PHENEX, SISTER OF THAT PRICK, RISER PHENEX! I'M RIAS GREMORY'S PAWN, NOT SOME SIMPLE DEMON! I'M GOING TO DELIVER THE SMACKDOWN TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU NOW!" he roared at the top of his lungs, pounding his chest with his huge fists as he did so.
[BOOST!] the voice in Ben's right arm cried out as power coursed through Ben's body.
Ravel's eyes widened a little in surprise at Ben's revelation. "You're Rias' Pawn? I thought she only had the one. Hmm, so you can somehow turn into a demon, huh? It doesn't matter though. You really are as stupid as any Appoplexian if you think you can take all of us on and win," she sneered condescendingly.
Ben growled deeply and punched his palm at Ravel's taunt.
The young Phenex waved her hand dismissively, unfazed by Ben's display. "I'm bored now. Take care of him…and don't be gentle," she ordered to the other peerage members.
Isabela bowed her head sharply and stepped forward to directly face down Ben. "As you wish, Lady Ravel," she replied as she cracked her knuckles threateningly.
"Don't forget about me!" Kiba announced as he lunged forward and re-engaged with Karlamine in combat. Now that Ben had arrived and taken most of the attention off of him, Kiba was now able to unleash his full potential and battle the other Phenex Knight on equal footing.
While the two knights disappeared in a blur of movement across the field, Riser's other knight and his last remining two pawns and rook made their own moves and surrounded Ben on all sides before launching a synchronised attack at him, coming at him from all sides.
Ben didn't care about this though. He just wanted to beat up anyone who got in his way so directed his attention onto Isabela who was rapidly approaching him from the front. He sprang forward into his own charge towards the Phenex rook and brought his huge fist down on her. It would have been a direct hit had Isabela not sidestepped his blow at the last second and responded by a leap into the air where she span around and delivered a powerful kick to the side of his head.
So focused on hitting the enemy in front of him, Ben completely failed to notice the other three who launched their attacks on him completely without any resistance from him, landing on him with impunity.
Aside from knocking him out of the fight as they had expected though, these attacks, not only did very little damage to him; they only succeeded in making Ben mad.
He snarled angrily and swung around with his right arm outstretched to backhand anyone within reach though the two former Nekomata pawns were just too agile for him and leapt over his muscular arm while the knight used her huge two-handed blade as a shield to block the back of his hand. He struck with such force, though, that she skidded back a few feet, her feet digging into the dirt beneath her.
A game of cat-and-mouse, where, ironically, Ben was the mouse in the scenario, the four Phenex members continued to skirt around Ben, distracting him on one side while they struck at him from the sides and his back.
"LEMME TELLY YOU SOMETHING, MEMBERS OF RISER PHENEX'S PEERAGE, YOU ARE REALLY PISSING ME OFF WITH ALL THIS JUMPING AROUND! STAY STILL SO I CAN HIT YOU!" he roared with frustration as they avoided his crushing blows and ground pounds.
He received no answer, only an increase in attacks on him which angered him even further.
Across the field from the two intense battles being fought before her, Ravel chuckled and smirked triumphantly.
"Things are going exactly as big brother expected they would. It's only a matter of time before these two are defeated and Yubelluna deals with Rias' troublesome queen. Once they're dealt with, finishing off Rias will be simple," she mused to herself before the smile on her face disappeared when Ben caught Isabela in the air by her leg when she was leaping off him after punching his face with a brutal right hook. Once he had finally got one in his grasp, Ben growled happily and swung the Phenex rook around like a rudimentary club at the two catgirls who were caught completely by surprise at this move, crying out in pain as Isabela was thrown into them and knocked them to the ground.
"Ow! What the fuck was that?" Ni grumbled as her twin sister, Li moved to pick themselves up off the floor. Before they could do so, a large shadow suddenly appeared around them. The two of them looked up just in time to see Ben thrusting both his humongous fists down on them, striking them square in their chests.
[Riser Phenex – 2 Pawns and 1 Rook retired,] Grayfia's voice announced as the two devils beneath Ben vanished in a brief flash of light.
Ben growled and pointed up at the sky threateningly. "Lemme tell you something, strange voice in the sky, Rath already knows that he squished those two weaklings!"
"Don't turn away from your opponents, dumb demon!" Siris announced from behind Ben as she leapt up into the air and brought her large sword down on him with all her might. The blade struck Ben's shoulder as she intended but the blade failed to pierce through Ben's tough hide and simply bounced off him.
That didn't mean Ben didn't feel the blow though.
"Argh, that fucking hurt!" he bellowed, spinning around and clasping his right hand on his slightly bruised shoulder out of reflex. "Rath will make you pay for that!"
Ben then fell into a charge towards Siris who tried swinging her sword again in the hope of forcing Ben to defend himself and stop him in his tracks. Ben didn't stop, though. Instead, he just carried on charging towards, ignoring the blade that slammed against his waist and barrelled straight into her with his shoulder and sent her to the floor. Standing over her, Ben reached down and picked up her discarded blade which he placed the edge into his mouth and tore a large bite out of it before snapping it in half and throwing them back to the floor.
"I'll teach you not to mess with Rath!" Ben roared before elbow dropping down onto Siris' chest and causing her to disappear in a flash of light.
[Riser Phenex – 1 Knight retired]
Ben roared triumphantly and raised his arms above his head in victory.
"That's right! Rath is strongest! Nothing can beat Rath!"
[Sword Birth!]
Ben glanced round in time to see numerous swords burst out of the ground and impale both Karlamine and the other Phenex bishop who had been assisting her and quickly removing them from the game.
[Riser Phenex – 1 Knight and 1 Bishop retired]
Kiba returned to his feet and withdrew his sword from the ground and sheathed it again and re-joined Ben with a smile on his face. "Good work, Ben. I was starting to think we might be in a bit of trouble for a moment then."
Ben simply grunted in response and nodded towards Kiba's blade. "Rath didn't know that you had a Sacred Gear. What does it do?"
Kiba partially withdrew the sword out of its scabbard again to show to Ben. "My Gear is called 'Sword Birth'. It allows me to create different magical swords at will as well as that ground attack you just saw."
"Hmm, Rath admits that that is pretty cool," Ben conceded begrudgingly, not really willing to admit that anything was as impressive as he was.
BOOM!
The two of them spun around at the sound of a large explosion above them a short distance away from them to see a bruised and battered Akeno falling out briefly before she disappeared before their eyes.
[Rias Gremory – 1 Queen retired]
"No, it can't be," Kiba murmured under his breath, shocked that Akeno had been bested. Ben also stared at where Akeno had disappeared before him with wide eyes as a deep, animalistic growl emanated from within him.
Before either he or Kiba could make a move, though, the two of them were consumed by a large explosion and hide them from view for a few seconds.
[Rias Gremory – 1 Knight retired,] Grayfia announced as the explosion died away.
"Kiba!" Ben roared as he picked himself up out of the small crater that had been created from the explosion. His fur had been slightly singed in places from the blast but he had otherwise emerged unharmed from it.
"It took you long enough, Yubelluna."
Ben looked upwards to see Ravel and Riser's Queen, Yubelluna, hovering in the air above him. Her robes were in tatters, exposing a lot of skin, and it looked like she had been put through the ringer in her fight against Akeno.
"My apologies. The Priestess of Thunder was every bit as formidable as we believed. If I hadn't used the Phoenix Tears then I would've been in trouble," Yubelluna admitted through heavy breathing.
Ben's growl intensified and he prepared to launch himself at the Phenex Queen and avenge Akeno. Just as he was about to throw himself up at her, though, he was brought to his senses at the pained cry behind him. He looked back to see Rias standing on the roof of the new school building, defending Asia and herself from a barrage of flames directed at them by Riser who stood at the other end of the roof.
As if a switch had been flipped in his head, Ben completely ignored Ravel and Yubelluna behind him and instantly took off in a sprint towards the new school building as fast as he could, not slowing down as he smashed through the double wooden doors blocking his way to the roof.
. . . . .
"Give it up, Rias," Riser drawled as his arm regrew after being disintegrated from Rias' last attack. "I've anticipated all of your moves. You've lost your strongest servants and there's no way you can beat me. Just accept your defeat."
"Never!" Rias retorted angrily as she fired another bolt of destruction magic towards him that he countered with a blast of his hellfire. "I will never surrender to a scumbag like you! I am a King and I am prepared for total war if that's what it takes!"
"So full of fire, my dear," Riser chuckled darkly as the space between them cleared again. "I'm going to enjoy taming you once we are wed."
Intent on finishing off this pointless fight, Riser created a large ball of hellfire in the palm of his hands and aimed it directly at Rias and Asia.
"Checkmate, Rias," he sneered triumphantly as he released the fireball and launched it across the roof towards them.
CRASH!
A large, orange-furred creature suddenly burst out of the roof in front of Rias and took the full brunt of the attack, catching it off guard and sending it flying backwards to land at Rias' feet.
"What the hell?" Riser muttered in shock when he saw something had stopped his attack.
Rias, on the other hand, instantly recognised who had just saved her.
"Ben!" she exclaimed as she knelt down by his head and held it in her hands. "Are you okay?"
Ben gave the Gremory heiress a thumbs up in response to her question.
"Rath is fine. It will take a lot more than that to beat me."
Asia then appeared beside Rias and immediately started applying her healing magic to Ben's injured body.
"You're hurt! Let me help you," she gasped as she held out her hands towards him.
Across the roof from them, Riser instantly recognised the creature that had suddenly appeared and blocked his attack.
"What is a disgusting Appoplexian doing here?!" he bellowed angrily. He knew all the members of Rias' peerage and none of them were demons. So how did the mangy beast sneak its way into the Rating Game? Was it another Appoplexian attempt to reignite the conflict between their race and the Phenex clan?
"That is her Pawn, Lord Riser," Yubelluna announced as she descended from the air to hover just beside her master.
Rias snapped his head towards her. "What?"
"His Sacred Gear allows him to take on the forms of demons. I saw it with my own eyes."
"Is that so. Well then, I'll have to teach him a lesson for the gall of taking on the form of an enemy of the Phenex clan," Riser announced loudly before nodding his head towards Yubelluna and the two of them gathered their power together to launch a joint attack on them, launching two large explosive balls of magical energy at their opponents.
Realising that neither Rias nor Asia had time to defend themselves against such a brutal attack, Ben quickly sat up and turned his back to Riser as he embraced the two of them and held them close to his chest as he took the full brunt of the attack which struck him a second later, consuming the roof in a large, fiery conflagration of flame and power.
Ben grunted in pain as the violent explosion consumed him but he refused to give in to it and endured the intense pain around him.
[Careful, kid. You've sustained too much damage and are reaching the limit of your strength to retain the transformation,] Azmuth warned Ben in his head though Ben continued to hold his position.
"I don't care! I won't let that bastard hurt anyone else!" Ben replied hotly as the fireball consuming him started to finally subside.
Once it had dissipated completely, Ben fell down onto one knee as he was finally able to release his hold over Asia and Rias. His fur had been singed in several places and his breathing had become heavy and ragged.
"Ben!" Rias cried as she knelt down and held his head in her hands and force him to look at her before she pressed her forehead against his while Asia returned to healing his as best she could. "Why did you do such a foolish thing?! You've been fighting all this time, taking you to the brink, and yet you still protected us."
"You idiot," she added softly as she slowly rubbed her forehead against his.
Riser's condescending laugh interrupted their moment as it echoed across the whole arena. "Aww, how sweet. A monstrous creature protects his mistress. Such a touching moment. I still have to put an end to it though, I'm afraid. Time to end this once and for all. You WILL be mine, Rias Gremory."
These last words proved to be the last straw for Ben who growled angrily as he pushed himself up off his knee and turned to face Riser. Without thinking about it, he fell into a full-on sprint across the rooftop towards Riser.
[BOOST!]
Riser fired another blast of hellfire at Ben but it did nothing to slow down his charge and he quickly closed the gap between them and grabbed hold of Riser by the scruff of his jacket as he continued running, stopping only when he had slammed Riser into the large chimney stack at the end of the roof where Ben then began landing powerful punches down on him.
[BOOST!]
"LEMME…TELL YOU SOMETHING…RISER PHENEX!" Ben bellowed each time he punched him.
[Boost!]
"YOU MESSED…WITH THE WRONG…HOUSE! IF YOU WANT RIAS…YOU'LL HAVE TO…GO THROUGH ME…FIRST!"
[BOOST!]
Ben continued to lay down blow after blow down on him. Yubelluna made to launch her own attack on Ben to protect her master but she was forced onto the defensive by Rias who provided cover for Ben by stopping Yubelluna from getting involved.
As blow after blow landed on Riser, his body continued to heal whatever damage was done to him almost instantaneously though he still coughed up a little blood from the torrent of strikes landing on him.
[Kid, you're about to…,] Azmuth was about to warn again but it was too late. As Ben reared his arm back to deliver another mighty blow, a flash of red light briefly consumed him before revealing him back in his normal form as all his strength left his body and a huge wave of fatigue quickly followed after, forcing Ben to release his weak hold on Riser and collapse to his knees.
This didn't last long though as Riser quickly took hold of Ben in a similar hold that he was in a second ago and hoisted Ben up off the roof.
"Not so tough now, are you?" he murmured with unbridled rage as he deliver a powerful right hook to Ben's face that knocked him back and off the roof down to the roof of the adjoining building where he lay, completely exhausted.
This brief respite didn't last long though as Riser flew down and landed in front of him where he reached down and picked him up by the scruff of his shirt with ease so they were face to face.
"You dared strike me, me, with an Appoplexian?!" He punched Ben in the stomach, hard. "You made me, a high-born noble, spill my blood!" He landed a brutal blow to the side of Ben's face, landing with such force that it made Ben start coughing up blood.
"Fuck…you," Ben gurgled, looking Riser straight in the eye before spitting the mouthful of blood he had at him. "I'll never…give up."
Riser wiped off the blood from his face. "Then you can die."
Riser then swiftly brought his knee up sharply to impact with Ben's stomach, causing him to groan weakly and hunch over. Riser didn't relent though. He held Ben up again where he then continued to punch and kick Ben brutally, mercilessly and without any indication of stopping until he was dead.
"BEN!" He heard Rias calling his name with horror as Riser continued to beat him.
Between each blow, Ben kept talking, although with a bloody mouth, "I…will…never…give…up." He received another vicious kick to the stomach. "I…made…a…promise." He was kicked harshly again, this one breaking several ribs. "I must…protect Rias."
"You've done nothing but piss me off since we met, low-born scum. It's time I taught you what happens when you insult your betters!" Riser bellowed angrily, flame circling his fist as he prepared to punch him again, this time with all his power behind it so as to finally finish off the troublesome pest.
"NO!"
Rias appeared out of nowhere and tackled Riser, causing him to release his grip on Ben, allowing him to fall to the ground in a bloody heap.
"You win! I resign, you hear?! I resign! Just please, stop hurting him!" she pleaded with tears in her eyes and streaking down her face.
"Looks like Riser wins again!" he declared smugly as he wrapped his arms around Rias.
"No…Rias, don't." Ben threw up more blood as he rolled down the side of the roof, stopping only a few feet away from the edge by pure chance.
[Rias Gremory's resignation is recognised. Lord Riser Phenex wins the game.]
"No…," Ben mumbled weakly as he saw her break apart from Riser's embrace and rush towards him. She knelt down beside him and pulled him into her arms and started stroking his bloody face with her soft hands and telling him how proud she was of him. He tried raising his hand to cup her cheek but couldn't find the strength to do so and, instead, simply let his hand fall limp by his side. She must have known what he was trying to do because he felt her soft hand grip his own bloody hand and bring it up to her face and lean into it, affectionately.
"I'm sorry…," he whispered meekly before his body went limp, his hand falling from her face as he succumbed to unconsciousness. The last thing he saw before the darkness consumed him was Rias' tear-stained face.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A/N: