"Raiser, I will not lose to you! Never!" Rias glared at Raiser Phenex as they stood on opposite ends of the building's rooftop, both combatants ready to throw their attacks at the drop of a hat. Raiser smirked as he snapped his fingers, a ball of fire speeding towards Rias at unimaginable speeds. The heir to the Gremory clan dived to the side to narrowly avoid the attack, a wince escaping her mouth as the tender skin of her side was burnt by the fierce touch of Raiser's flame.
As Rias landed on her side, she quickly pushed herself to her feet, feeling the cool air calm her tenderised skin with its touch, a frown spreading across her face.
It had come down to the two Kings of two powerful peerages. Although some of their subordinates were still active, they were engaged in a fierce battle on the field next to the three story school building, rendering them useless in a battle between kings. Rias clicked her tongue in annoyance as she shot a quick glance over the edge of the building.
Her peerage wasn't fairing too well.
Koneko had already been knocked out by an explosive blast that came from Raiser's Queen. Yuuto was bleeding from multiple lacerations that appeared to be deep, his body in constant danger from an onslaught of attacks that came from multiple assailants. Akeno was in a deadlock with two Bishops and the Queen.
"If I was you, my beloved Rias, I would surrender. I wouldn't want my soon-to-be slaves to be hurt too badly." Rias returned her eyes to their original subject. Raiser…the man that was her fiancé and soon-to-be husband if she did not win this Rating Game. Everything depended on this battle…her and her Peerage's future depended on this battle and Rias would be damned to let her Peerage, her friends, be enslaved by a perverted, wretched guy with an ego that was so big it was clearly compensating for something.
But Rias knew there was nothing she could do. There was absolutely nothing. Raiser's flames were too strong for her to handle by herself, his control over his magic was too strong and he had endless vitality. For Rias, Raiser Phenex was unbeatable.
"But there's no way I can give up just yet!" Rias muttered as she flexed her hands at her side, her body hunched over ever so slightly as an array of magical circles spread out before her. One by one, lightning, fire and ice were conjured from the circles as Rias bit the inside of her cheek.
Even though she said she couldn't – no, she wouldn't – give up, she wanted to. What was the point in struggling if she couldn't even defeat her enemy? She was useless in the fight against Kokabiel; the only thing she could do was slaughter as many Fallen Angels and Stray Exorcists as she could while struggling to stay alive. She nearly died in that fight and if it wasn't for Azazel's generous offering of an ex-nun that had a healing Sacred Gear, Rias would have had no choice but to surrender her freedom to Raiser without a fight.
"Ha, this attack…it's futile! Useless! It's useless! Useless, useless, useless, useless!" Raiser screamed out with spread arms as he looked up at the sky. He let Rias' attacks connect with his body, watching as Rias' face turned sour, the crimson Devil seething on the inside.
"You…!" A crimson orb formed in front of Rias as her anger and frustration reached its breaking point. Similar orbs formed in the air around Rias as a grin spread across her face, the floor beneath her surging and cracking against the force of a crimson energy that shot out of her body at irregular intervals.
Raiser rose an eyebrow as he shoved his hands into his pockets, a smirk spreading across his face once more as he lowered his head. "This child…what exactly does she think she's doing with such a useless attack?" All of the crimson orbs were simultaneously launched at Raiser, the air around the crimson energy sparking from the sheer amount of pressure the attack emitted. "Do you really think you can beat me with your puny attacks!? Do you really think you can defeat a member of the Phenex clan!? Against me, your attack…it's useless! Useless! Useless! Useless! Compared to me, Raiser, you are but an infant, Rias!"
Cracks spread across the floor as Rias' attack exploded on contact with Raiser's body, a shroud of steam exploding into existence. To an observer, it seemed as if Rias' attack was water against Raiser's flames!
The steam slowly settled as beads of sweat ran down Rias' face. "Did I…do it?" Rias intently watched the steam, watching for any signs of an attack.
'Dammit…I…I can't go on for much longer. This magic's draining my magical power! And there's no way Raiser would die so easily…he…he can regenerate his body, after all…'
All of a sudden, a fist connected with Rias' stomach, forcing her to hunch over as she retched. The fist was retracted from Rias' stomach, the hand's fingers slowly unfurling themselves before they formed another fist. Rias stumbled back as she hunched over, grabbing her stomach in an attempt to stop the overwhelming pain she was feeling.
"You dare to go against me, Rias?" The steam settled, revealing Raiser's contorted face. To say he was angry was an understatement. No, he wasn't just angry, he was infuriated.
"You'll…I'll never submit to the likes of you…!" A swift backhand forced Rias to fall to the ground, the Devil uttering a yelp as her head bounced against the concrete. Rias rolled onto her side and grasped the sides of her head with her hands, her eyes squeezed shut in pain.
"Surrender."
"Never…I will never surrender to the likes of you!" Raiser pulled a leg back and kicked Rias in the stomach, forcing Rias' body to curl up into the foetal position as she unwillingly vomited up the contents of her stomach.
"Rias, you know it's useless to resist. I think you should surrender now." Rias glared up at Raiser as she wiped the corners of her mouth with her sleeve.
"…" Rias did not respond, but her fiery glare and grit teeth were enough for Raiser to guess what her response would be. The Phenex sighed, shoved his hands into his pockets and pushed Rias onto her back with a foot, planting the same foot on her stomach seconds later.
"I guess I will have teach you some humiliation, Rias, darling." All of the air left Rias' lungs as pain exploded throughout her body, Raiser stomping on Rias' chest as hard as he could. "I know I am hurting you, my dear, but it's nothing that nun can't fix, is it? She can fix a few broken ribs, can't she?" Rias rolled onto her side and spluttered as Raiser returned his leg to its rightful spot.
'It…it hurts so badly…can't breathe…!' As Rias was gasping for the air she desperately needed, an explosion rocked the building. Akeno Himejima's body bounced off of the railing that lined the edge of the roof moments later, denting the green metal.
Her body disappeared in a shimmer of blue light.
Raiser sneered and approached the edge of the building, peering over it as was intending on watching Yuuto's futile struggle against Raiser's remaining forces. As soon as Raiser began to observe the fight, Yuuto was quickly overwhelmed as Raiser's Queen entered the fray and was knocked unconscious in seconds, blood exploding over every combatant that stood in front of Yuuto as his stomach was sliced open with a blade, Raiser's Queen stealing most of the Knight's attention.
"Hah, it now seems as if you're the last one standing, Rias." Raiser crouched down low and grabbed Rias by the hair, lifting her head off of the ground. She was forced to stare into Raiser's eyes, her anger beyond restraint. Rias knew that if she could move, she'd give Raiser a beating that he'd never forget.
But Rias couldn't. She was severely injured, could barely breathe and would have to go up against a force that would quickly overwhelm her.
"Give up, my dear, and I promise I'll make it as painless as possible." Rias spat a glob of blood into Raiser's face with a weak but defiant smile, the beginnings of a laugh managing to form in her throat.
"There's…no such thing as defeat…you bastard!" Raiser raised a sleeve to his face and wiped the blood off of his subjectively perfect skin, a growl escaping his lips.
"You dare to do this to me, Raiser Phenex!? I know you are now my wife, but this is something I cannot forgive!" Raiser grabbed Rias by the throat and lifted her into the air, the crimson Devil's body limp as Raiser tightened his grip on her neck. "I'll kill you, you fucking bitch."
"St…stop…!" Whatever it was Rias was going to say next was but a gurgle as her windpipe was being crushed by Raiser's hands.
"Will you submit yourself to me?" Rias tried to growl, to kick and scream, to grab Raiser by the hair and head-butt his annoying face, but the only thing she could do was choke on her words as she tried to escape the grasp of her husband.
Raiser tossed Rias' body to the side as she went limp.
"I've won, have I?" Raiser ran a hand through with a sigh, his quick change of mood and personality concerning even himself. "If I've won, then why hasn't Rias been transported off of the battlefield? Don't tell me…is she still conscious?" Raiser stormed over to Rias' body and planted his foot against her chest once more, waiting for her to move, to respond, to do anything.
But Rias didn't move.
Rias' body remained still as she peacefully slept from a lack of oxygen.
"What the…what's going on?" Raiser peered over the edge of the building, hoping to see his Peerage, and furrowed his brow as he noticed the empty land. "Where'd my peerage go?" There was no sign of his peerage. Blood stains and craters remained from battles past, but there was no sign of the people that should have been there moments ago. Raiser pursed his lips as he leaned on the railing of the building, observing the handiwork of his slaves. It was the only thing he could do, after all.
"They did a fine job, didn't they?" The Devil muttered to himself as he lifted his head to stare up at the empty, artificial sky that should have been perfectly fine.
But a crack formed in the space as an ear-piercing screech echoed throughout the artificial dimension. The crack slowly grew in size until a portion of the sky shattered, an empty, dark space hidden behind an explosion of what seemed to be coloured glass.
Crimson eyes peered out of the dark space, shivers running down Raiser's spine as he stared back at them, waiting for them to blink, but they didn't. They continued to stare at him until Raiser pushed himself off of the railing, his mind in disarray as he failed to comprehend what was happening because, as far as he knew, the artificial dimension shouldn't crack and explode without any warnings.
However, Raiser did not have enough time to make a decision as to what he should do in this situation as he had been forced into the ground with enough force to destroy every bone in his spine as cold hands snaked themselves around his neck. All of a sudden, an ashen grey face was all he could see, their pale red eyes smiling in satisfaction as their grin forced the heavy bags under their eyes to become more prominent, "Who…who are you?"
The grin widened, "Me? Well, let's just say I'm your worst nightmare, friend!" All of the air left Raiser's lungs as a neat hole was created in his chest, a warm orange flame bursting out of the hole. It was almost as if the flame was Raiser's life and what was signifying his death, but if it wasn't for Raiser's regenerative power, he'd certainly die from the grievous wound.
The body the face belonged to bounced off of Raiser and glanced at Rias' unconscious body, his grin forming into a smirk as he skipped over to the Devil, "Oh, would you look at that! It's my dear, dear, oh so ever dear Rias Gremory!" Raiser winced as he rolled over onto his stomach, slowly crawling towards the figure as they crouched down next to his fiancé.
"Y-you…don't touch her!" The figure glanced over his shoulder with a maniacal grin that sent shivers down Raiser's spine.
"You don't want me to touch her?" Raiser grit his teeth as blood seeped out of his mouth, his body becoming weaker by the second, his regeneration unusually slow. "Oh well, what can a dead man do, anyway? I'll touch her all I want!" The figure gently stroked Rias' hair as he chuckled by himself, staring down at Rias' peaceful face.
"I'll kill you…!" Raiser reached out to grab the figure.
"Oh, no one is allowed to touch me, you know?" All of a sudden, Raiser's head was detached from its body, rolling around on the roof before it slowly came to a stop. Blood spurt out of his neck and all over the back of the figure, a laugh of pure insanity echoing throughout the artificial dimension. "Now, what to do with you, Rias? Hmm, maybe I should spare you for just a little longer!"
The figure pulled his hand back and, before he could even think of attacking Rias, the Devil's eyes gently opened. They widened in shock moments later, "I-Issei…is that you? What are you doing here!?" The figure tilted his head to the side in confusion before he smiled in realisation.
"Who's Issei? Ah, that's right…I was once called by that accursed name, wasn't I? Issei Hyoudou, huh…? I hate the sound of it!" Issei pointed his hand and stabbed it through Rias' stomach, the Devil vomiting blood all over her front as Issei withdraw his hand, his tongue gliding across his fingertips as he moaned in pleasure. "Ah…! This…this is an amazing taste…!"
Issei jumped to the side as a barrage of ice seemingly appeared out of thin air, a magical circle appearing on the floor in tandem with the attack. Rias held a hand over the wound on her stomach and sighed in relief, her entire body relaxing, even though she hadn't known that she had become tense.
"Uh-oh! Is it that time already? Aw, that means I must go! I'll be seeing you again, Rias, my dear, so don't die before then…! Otherwise, I'll never forgive you…"
With a flash, Issei disappeared into a swirling haze of dark mist.
"M-Miss Rias!" Rias' vision slowly became hazy as blinked. She lolled her head to the side, faintly smiled when she saw a blurry figure at her side and closed her eyes, her vision fading into white as she muttered a few words to herself.
"Was that really you, Issei…?"
So, uh, it's been a while…? Sorry for the long time it took to 'pump' this out. I haven't exactly been busy, even though it's exam season for me, so I sincerely apologize. Anyway, I wrote…one and a half thousand words of this chapter before I scrapped it and started this one, so if you wanna see what I had written, feel free to ask for it because I've archived it along with other stuff. Also, this chapter is, in my opinion, utter shite because I don't think it flows properly. Please criticise me as much as you want. It helps, I promise.
In this chapter, you got to see the main villain that truly makes story faithful to its title. Have I introduced the main plot point too late? Probably not. Should I release chapters as quick as I used to? Why, yes! I really need to do that! Do I need to up the quality of my chapters!? Yes, but I physically and mentally do not know how to do that! Also, I'm nearly on holidays, so I can update a lot then if I don't procrastinate too much!
Also, I really want to write some extremely lewd scenes but to make that happen, I must advance further into the story.
Thank you for reading World's End, everyone, and I hope to see you again in a future chapter!