Review responses:

Kreceir: Really now? Well, I just keep thinking about how they'll fit into the harem. But I'll do my best to make sure they do fit into the harem and the story.

Blake2020: Thanks for the support. For sure, all those you mentioned are permanent.

wweTheBeast2015: Hmm, alright.

twisterblake2015: Is Ravel considered a lolicon? I'm not too much fond of those types, but she's an exception if she is one.

Tohka123: Thanks! Appreciate the support.

FairyTailNut: Hahaha, probably should expect more like that soon.


"You okay, Kurin?" Yumi asked. She and Asia caught up to him and Raynare as they walked, and quickly they noticed that Kurin looked very disheveled.

"He's...had a rough night. He's still sad that Rias hadn't trusted him enough." Raynare explained.

"About what?" She asked.

"Whatever has been bothering her the past week. Even Akeno-san didn't tell him, though that's understandable. Best that Buchou herself say it." She answered. "You have any idea?"

"Well...if I had to make my own assumption, it's probably House of Gremory drama. Sometimes this has happened to her, but not as extreme as this to someone whom she cares about so much. But..." She paused. "There is only one thing that could make her like this. And...you won't like it." At that, Kurin's eyes lit up and he turned to the swordswoman.

'Wait...then again, I do want to hear it from Rias-chan herself.' Kurin thought to himself. However, he did look slightly better than before that. It gave him motivation. 'I already know it's not good. But what is the extent of that? What could it be that made her that way?' These similar thoughts ran through his mind as they walked to the old building. Once arriving there, he pushed all those thoughts aside, knowing that he'll finally get all the answers to the situation at hand.

When they opened the door to the main room, they found the remaining members and Grayfia there.

"Good. You're all here." Rias said.

"Greetings again, Lucifuge-sama." Kurin politely said.

"As to you as well, Salamencia-san." She said, level of politeness the same as his. The silverette turned to Rias. "My lady, with all due respect, may I be given permission to speak openly?"

Rias stood, nodding. "Let's hear what she has to say."

None would be given the opportunity to speak, however, when a glowing orange crest appeared on the floor. Kurin took note of the symbol.

'The Phenex symbol...I've seen this before...from learning the current history of the Underworld...'

In a flash of flames, one tall and blond man appeared, back turned away from them. He faced them immediately after. "And so Riser has finally arrived in the Human Realm." He said. "Riser has come all this way to see you, dearest Rias."

Kurin narrowed his eyes. "This is Riser Phenex, am I right?" He asked Grayfia. "Third in line to the House of Phenex." She nodded. "And if I'm right, should the pieces are put together in place..."

"He's my fiance." Rias said, finally deciding to inform him. "It came as a result of a marriage contract the heads of both Houses of Gremory and Phenex made. It was a long time ago. I had been notified of it some time back. So that meant that I was engaged to him."

"I see." Kurin said. He drew a deep breath and sighed. "Not easy for someone like you, who's next in line to being head of your house. I guess I understand why now."

She smiled. "Thank you." Tense silence followed.

"Right then. We'll have to make modest preparations for the guest. Please excuse me." Akeno said, breaking the tension in the room. They all nodded. Rias and Riser then sat on one of the couches. Or well, Riser forced her to sit with him, sort of. She didn't like that.

It was then that Raynare reached up and whispered to Kurin's ear, "I don't like him. He seems to be bad news to me."

"I know. I have a bad vibe about this guy as well." He whispered back.

Akeno returned with cups of tea. She handed one to Riser, who took a sip.

"Most wonderful. Nothing less from dearest Rias's queen." He said.

"Thank you." Akeno said, but Kurin felt that to be forced, along with her bow. He knew she didn't like him either. Matter of fact, except for possibly Grayfia, who is very neutral on the matter, he felt that everyone else in the room didn't like this man. She handed out the rest of the cups to the others. They all graciously gave their thanks.

After a few minutes of silence, with Riser's constant playing with her hair and touching, Rias had enough. She stood up and faced him.

'Good that she stopped him. I swear I haven't felt this kind of anger before...' Kurin thought. A cyan color had all but appeared in a flash around him.

"For how long will you keep trying and failing to understand, Riser? I have told you before, and I will tell you again, I have absolutely no intentions of marrying you. So let this go." She said.

"However, dearest, Riser knows the trouble your house is facing. And Riser knows that you cannot afford to be selfish in this regard." He countered.

"Better than to ruin the name of my house. While I have no intention to deny you our name, you should understand that whoever I marry, that is my choice. That is my right." She rebuked.

"Do you forget? It is important for us Devils to remain pure, considering that even to this day, the we still haven't returned to the old population of our kind since the last war. This contract, decided upon by your father and Sirzechs on your side, was made with the future of the Devils in mind."

"No. My entire family made this contract in too big a hurry."

"And it's not like as if your numbers couldn't replenish like this. There's always another way." Kurin added in. Secretly, he was holding in his anger, which he found to be a lot harder to hold off in these past few days.

"For the last time Riser, I will not marry you!"

The constant arguing pushed the Phenex pureblood past it. He stood up and firmly held her chin.

"Reminding you this, one last time, Rias, I bear the reputation of the Phenex clan. Do you really think you will be let off with besmirching the house's good name? That is unacceptable."

Everyone looked at him in surprise, except for Grayfia, acting as their mediator, and the only other man in the room. He simply stared. Riser turned to the others.

"Riser does not care if he has to incinerate every individual in this room. I will take Rias back to the underworld with me!" He glowed orange. Rias glowed red.

Two voices made their presence. "There will be no need for incineration." This was calmly said by Grayfia.

"ENOUGH!" This was said by Kurin. Everyone turned towards him. He was glowing a dangerous cyan aura, as the other two's auras disappeared.

"Threaten my friends, especially those I care about, and you'll become my enemy." He warned. He then noticed the nervous looks given off by his friends. Riser was merely surprised, and Grayfia looked a bit surprised too. He slightly widened his eyes and then closed them. He took a deep breath. The glow wore off. He looked down.

"I am so sorry for that. I didn't know what came up for that to happen." He apologized, holding his head in his hands. Mentally, it was a different story.

'Damn it, Sellorion!'

[You're on edge these past few days. I understand that. However, it made it a bit harder to hold off the aura. Your emotions have become volatile. Just calm down.]

'Yeah. Sorry about that. I'll try not to let that happen again.'

"No need for apologies, Salamencia-san." Grayfia said, then turning to the two young nobles. "As you two know, I was sent here under orders by Sirzechs-sama. If either of you two, or anyone here, attempt to disrupt peace, then I have free reign to bring back order at all costs. So please, don't try anything." She warned.

"When given a warning by the Ultimate Queen, even Riser knows when to comply." Riser said.

"Sirzechs-sama anticipated this to happen, communication between both parties breaking down, so he has given me a last resort to resolve this situation." Grayfia said.

"Because of course he has." Rias sarcastically said. "Care to explain, Grayfia-sama?"

"If Rias-sama wants to put her personal preference above her family-" However, the sound of chuckling, which then turned into laughing was heard. They all turned to see who it was.

"You can't actually be serious in what Sirzechs-sama has thought of." Kurin said as he laughed. This laugh, though, was off-putting. It showed how absurd he felt towards it. "Did he think that Rias, no offense, would be ready enough to go against Riser in a freaking Rating Game?" His words gave shock to the others.

"That is correct, though I don't know how you have known this information." Grayfia said.

Riser smirked. "While Riser has competed in various Rating Games, and has been victorious in numerous ones, my dearest bride, inexperienced as she is, has not even qualified for a single official Rating Game. Not to mention, she is severely lacking in many pieces for the game. Am I right? They're all you've got? This adorable little group?"

"He's right. He knows that the only ones allowed to qualify are mature devils, so it's not like she's had enough opportunity." Akeno said.

"However, it's not just that which is our worry." Koneko said.

"And so what if they are?" Rias challenged, which was met with laughs from Riser. He snapped his fingers, and the crest appeared once more, with the flames of course. Out came fifteen girls.

"You have less than ten. Riser has fifteen pieces." He said. "I have a complete set." He smirked. The arrogance was really grating.

"Right. As if that mattered." Kurin dismissed.

"Hmph. And what do you know? You should know how severely underpowered your group is compared to my full peerage. You are her servant, after all." Riser asked.

"First of all, don't call me her servant. I refused being a Devil the first time she gave me that offer." Kurin said. All of Riser's peerage gasped, including the man himself. The girls then talked to each other about that, that he was a human, here talking to them. "And second, maybe you should be the one to know that even with these odds, even the strongest fall to those they consider inferior to them, burnt chicken."

Riser took offense to his insult. "Burnt chicken?! You...you...You're not even a Devil in the first place. And I guess that whore you call a Fallen Angel is still a Fallen Angel?" He asked. That elicited gasps from Rias's side, along with some from Riser's own. Raynare was visibly hurt by the insult, but she quickly recovered.

"Riser...you've crossed a line even some of the most vile individuals won't." Grayfia warned, crossed. Even she was aware of the relationship Kurin and Raynare held.

Kurin charged at him, calmly and quietly, like an assassin. It made Riser feel uneasy towards this human.

"Mira! Stop him!" Riser instructed. At first she hesitated, but the staff-wielding pawn nodded, intercepting him. With a stiff swing, she sent Kurin upwards to the ceiling, surprising herself.

Unfortunately, he had landed at the pointed end of the chandelier. He was stabbed right through the heart. He yelled out in pain.

Everyone gasped in shock. "KURIN!" Raynare cried, carrying his corpse back down. Mira immediately went to check on him.

"Oh Lucifer I am so sorry! I didn't think that he'd be swung up! I'm sorry! I'M SORRY!" She pleaded.

Rias angrily looked at Riser and his peerage. "He may not be my servant, but he's still one of my closest friends. That's the last straw. Grayfia-sama, tell Onii-sama that I accept the Rating Game proposal. Riser is going to pay for this." Rias said, snapping Grayfia out of her thoughts. The Ultimate Queen nodded.

"I will inform him immediately."

After a few minutes of checking, she looked at the blue-haired girl. "Damn it...he's dead." Raynare said, looking down. "Again."

"Again...?" The entirety of Riser's group murmured, along with the mediator.

'This boy...and that Fallen, she said that he died again. It's not possible for him to be resurrected...is it?' The Phenex noble thought, staring at the currently dead body of the human.

"Aaaaagh, fuck..." Kurin groaned, sitting up, the wound from the heart stab gone. The surprises just kept hitting them. Kurin stared at Mira. "That...wasn't very nice. Now I have to clean these clothes again." He stood up, dusted himself off, and looked at Riser.

"Alright, burnt chicken. You've insulted my girlfriend. You treat Rias as if she was just some sort of trophy. And something tells me most of your peerage, if not all of them, don't have positive thoughts about you. I've had enough with people like you. Some of the worst kind. So let's make a deal." He said. "If Rias wins, you have to let any member of your peerage, who don't want to be with you, go. If they stay after the Game, then that's their decision. If they leave, you have to honor that. And if those who stayed do decide to leave soon as well, then you have to honor that decision as well. You can't do anything about it."

"And if I win?"

"If you win this Rating Game, then the arrangement continues as promised. And in time, on my decision as to when...I am going to willingly serve the House of Phenex."

"Kurin, don't!" The others pleaded. He defiantly stood his ground.

As Kurin looked into Riser's peerage, he did see some of them look in awe and shock at how this unknown, this human would willingly deal with Riser the kind that would sacrifice himself, in exchange for their freedom. Some minimally thought that it was foolish, sometimes borderline idiotic, but they were flattered at his attempt. Especially since he did voice out that they didn't exactly like their King.

'His pride won't let him refuse this.' The human thought.

After much thinking, Riser finally made his answer. "Riser accepts. Believe me, I did not intend for your death to occur. But with this agreement, know that you did this to yourself. You know that it will be your fault you even made this in the first place. You have to honor the conditions as well if you lose."

"I should be worried more about you reneging on this agreement, burnt chicken."

"He may not exactly be of character, but Riser honors agreements like this." One of the members of his peerage, the short blonde pigtailed girl in a pink dress, said.

"How are you so sure? Who are you to say?" Kurin asked.

"I'm his sister, Ravel Phenex." The words didn't register to Kurin immediately, taking in the meaning in context, but when it did, he groaned, covering his face with his palm.

"You're kidding me. Even your sister is in your peerage...stupid burnt chicken..." He just sighed. "I'm gonna need a freaking drink."

"Then it is agreed." Grayfia cut in. "This agreement will be put in place in the Rating Game. Both groups have ten days of preparation for the Game."

Riser and his peerage then grouped together.

"Riser!" Rias called out. "I promise that we will defeat you."

At first, he was quiet. But he responded, "I look forward to our battle, dearest Rias."

"Hey, burnt chicken!" Kurin called out. The two males looked at each other. Kurin smirked. "I'll see you in ten days." Riser only nodded. The crest appeared once more, and Riser's peerage was gone, taken in by the flames.

Immediately Kurin was slapped by Rias and Raynare.

"Are you stupid/crazy?!" They both said.

"And if I am?"

"You're risking yourself so much! And for what?!" Rias said.

"Rias is right. There's nothing that needed you to do that deal." Yumi said.

"Except I see it. I see it in their eyes. They don't like Riser. They're tired. Sometimes hurting, suffering. I just see it. And I couldn't let that continue." He said. They all just smiled at how heartwarming he was even to strangers he just met.

"That's nice and all, but putting yourself on the line crossed it into idiotic territory, Salamencia-san." Grayfia said.

"First of all, call me Kurin, Lucifuge-sama. Second, if I had made the deal without putting myself at risk he wouldn't have accepted it. He won't get anything out of it if it had kept going like it was other than what was stated. It would've looked one-sided to him. I had to put myself in it because by doing so, his pride will not let him refuse an opportunity for that. That's how someone with so much arrogance like Riser can accept a deal like that. Sometimes, it has to be done." He explained.

The more the Ultimate Queen thought about it, the more she came to realize the sound thinking he had, even though she thought that putting himself on the line was foolish.

She nodded. "Then call me Grayfia from now on as well, Kurin." She said. "Anyways, I must go and inform Sirzechs-sama about this. Farewell."

She left thereafter.

"Right then. We've got ten days to train ourselves to be even better when we face Riser and his peerage." Rias said. "Luckily, I know just where we can. All of you go get home and pack up. We leave tomorrow morning so that we can start early."

"Got it." They all said. They continued classes after this meeting.

Once they were over, they all went to their homes to prepare.

For Kurin and Raynare, all they packed were the clothes that would suffice for the ten days they were staying, and some other important items.

Kurin was in his room, alone. He was holding a pendant, with gold and blue colors split at the middle. He gripped it tightly in his fist, closing his eyes.

"Maybe...maybe this is a sign...to understand more about...this..." He said to himself.

"Kurin-kuuuuuun! Come on! You promised me, remember? We'd go out on a date today!" Raynare called out. It snapped him out of his focus with the pendant. He immediately hid it somewhere and exited the room, shouting out, "Coming, Raynare-chan!"

Down at the main door, she stood waiting for him. When she saw him finally arrive, she smiled.

"I thought you'd forget." She said.

He laughed and kissed her deeply. "What, and miss out on the chance of being on a date with the one I love so much? Not a chance."

And so they went out, enjoying the rest of the day with each other. But as he and Raynare went on with their date, one nagging thought came into mind.

'How am I gonna put me and Raynare into Rias's peerage without turning us into devils?'

When he asked Sellorion about this, the spirit of the Undying Remorse chuckled.

[There's still some things you don't know about this old Sacred Gear. On the day before the Rating Game, you and everyone else will find out.]


"What do you think, Sirzechs-sama?" Grayfia asked, having just reported the events of the meeting earlier. The Maou chuckled in response.

"My sister and the last of the Salamencia clan...to think they'd have become very close friends. I really haven't been checking out the human world lately, have I?" The chuckle turned to laughter.

"For someone like Kurin to put himself on the line like that...it's smart, foolish, and brave at the same time. I'll look forward to meeting the kid."

"Do you think they will win?" She asked. In all honesty, she felt nervous for her King's sister's chances. Against someone like Riser, the odds are very low. But when she saw the slight flare-up from Kurin's body, she was overwhelmed by how much power he held. She could still be able to defeat him one-on-one, but he wouldn't make it easy, especially with the fact that he could keep going with his 'unique' resurrection. She wondered how much power could Kurin really hold, especially since he will just not give up.

Sirzechs smiled at his best friend. "I have faith in them. Ria-tan and Kurin-san will be able to defy odds and defeat Riser. They'll find a way, somehow. I get the feeling that we're about to see something special ten days from now."


AN: And not too soon. I'm probably going to skip the training days to the Rating Game itself, with some flashbacks from some of those days. This is a tad shorter than what I usually put up, but it's still important all the same.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. Well, except if there will be smut in the story, in which there's a very high possibility that there won't be any. Keep sending the reviews. I really appreciate that.

Well, that's it for me here. See you all next update.