My writing schedule is on my profile, so check that out to see what I'm writing and when it will be released! Before you send me a PM or ask in a review!

Read, Review and Check out my other works!

Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DXD.

"Rias" - Speech

'Issei' - Thought

[BOOST!] - Sacred Gear Ability/ Ddraig and Albion Speech

DXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD

Though many will not believe me, I did not hate Amadeus Bael. Quite the contrary; I was immensely grateful to him for reincarnating me as a Devil. We got along amicably for a time, but with each addition to his Peerage, the distance between us grew. Truth be told, there was no friendship or great deal of trust between us. To us both, it was a simple business arrangement, one that would end when I became a High-Class Devil.

What he did, at the very end, however…what he did then fills me with impotent fury the likes of which I had previously thought that was solely reserved for my accursed human father, Mao-Mao Ling. And just as my father died at my hands, so too did Amadeus.

- Mei Schwartzwald, the Queen of Blood and Betrayal

DXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD

The Tenth Move: Discovered Check Part 1

Mei's Throne Room, Central Tower, the Garden of the Queen

Closing the vid-window that had broadcast to the Gremory Group, Mei sat back on her throne and breathed deeply. Her throne was a magic artefact connected to the entirety of her fortress, allowing her to draw upon the magic dwelling within it to sustain her body, as well as control the defences and the maze remotely.

Idly snapping her fingers, the illusion of Hyōdō Issei strapped to the Extractor flickered and faded, revealing him lying on a bed, unconscious. Next to the bed stood Amakusa Chiaki.

"Nee-sama…" the younger girl said worriedly.

"I'm fine, Chiaki-chan," the Queen assured her sister, "Just a bit fragile after my fit earlier. This throne will sustain me and regenerate the damage I took. I have to be sparing with [Twilight Healing] thanks to how little it affects my condition."

Chiaki nodded unsurely.

"Anyway, we need to plan the defence." Mei continued briskly, "You will be in the Grotto. Lead them through it so no damage comes to it. You will then engage them in the arena."

"Are you sure they'll make it through the maze?" Chiaki asked doubtfully.

The older Devil chuckled humourlessly. "Chiaki-chan, this is the Gremory Group we speak of. The wielder of the first Holy-Demonic Sword, the wielder of Excalibur-Durandal, one of the two remaining Nekoshō left in the wold, the daughter of a Grigori Cadre with full access to her inherited abilities, a Valkyrie who was once Odin's bodyguard, a High-Daywalker Dhampir with a time freezing Sacred Gear and the Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess. With the addition of the [Ace] of the Archangel Michael armed with a mass-produced Holy-Demonic Sword and the Phenex girl, there is no possible chance that my outer defences will do more than slow them down. Even my inner defences will be only so much as a speed bump for them. Had I not taken the Sekiryūtei out of play immediately, it would have been a total rout by my forces."

"So…you're counting on me to slow them down more than your active and passive defences combined?" Chiaki had reservations about this.

"I have faith in you, Chiaki-chan." Mei told her firmly, "You will succeed. Do not risk your life, but do what you can. When the time comes that you face defeat, look within for the strength to stand again."

It was a puzzled Chiaki that left the throne room, the massive doors clanking shut behind her. Mei waited for a moment to collect herself before addressing the boy on the bed, "Come now, Sekiryūtei. I know that you are awake."

Issei leap up to glare at her, the sleep he had been feigning falling from him instantly. The crimson gauntlet of the [Boosted Gear] appeared on his left arm and he stood ready to fight.

"Peace, Red Dragon Emperor." Mei shook her head at him gently, "Peace. I did not go to all the trouble of separating you from your little harem just to resort to having to fight you prematurely. This is a Rating Game, one accepted by your Master, meaning you have to follow the rules I've laid out."

This made the boy pause as he considered that. Shaking his head, he said, "Do you know how much you've hurt Rias? How much you've hurt the rest of my friends?! What the hell are you up to?"

"I should tell you." Mei agreed smoothly, "It was my intention to tell you everything anyway, Sekiryūtei. You hold the power to grant or deny my wish, thanks to the fact that your Sacred Gear holds a sentient creature's soul that controls it. I never intended to extract your Sacred Gear to begin with. All of my planning, all of my scheming…everything has been to get you here, in my stronghold, under the guise of being an enemy of mine, so Amadeus' followers and allies believe I intend you harm and thus not interfere, believing you would annihilate me and do their job for them."

"What?!" Issei asked, stunned at this revelation.

"Sit yourself down, and I shall tell you the truth…" Mei said with a weary tone to her voice, "A truth that has been hidden and unknown for centuries before either of us was alive and it was this truth that caused the tragedy three years ago. This hidden truth I speak of is a dangerous one that threatens a large portion of Devilkind. Are you willing to hear me out?"

Nodding slowly, Issei sat back down on the bed, which abruptly changed into a seat. He looked confused, but still on his guard.

"Welsh Dragon, you are listening, I trust?" The Stray Devil addressed the Dragon Emperor himself this time.

The green gem mounted on the [Boosted Gear] glowed with power as Ddraig spoke, [Indeed I am, Queen of Blood and Betrayal. What are you scheming?]

"The schemes are almost over with." Mei said with a sad chuckle, "As is my life. I have not even told Chiaki-chan this, but I have less than two years to live. She thinks I have decades left, but I don't. I'll be very, very lucky to live more than a year longer. This means that my time is precious, so hear me out until the end."

She paused as if to gather her thoughts before continuing, "It all started thousands of years ago…"

DXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD

With the Gremory Group

"The sheer nerve of that thrice-accursed perfidious Stray Devil!" Rias snarled as she clenched and unclenched her hands, as if strangling Mei with them, "This is beyond the pale!"

"Issei-san…!" Asia whimpered tearfully. Xenovia gave her a bracing one-armed hug.

"This reminds me of when that cockroach Diodora Astaroth kidnapped you, Asia." The bluenette said with a scowl, "This time, it's Issei that needs our help."

That sentence brought Rias back into focus and away from her building fury. Taking a deep breath and releasing it, she nodded at the swordswoman gratefully.

"Just so, Xenovia. We have to get through this trap-filled maze take the ziggurats and storm the tower in order to reclaim my -our- Ise." She said passionately, "From what I've seen in the records of the few Rating Games that Amadeus' Peerage took part in before her betrayal, her usual tactic is to use traps to scout out the abilities of her adversaries before using an appropriate member of her fellow Peerage to eliminate them. That's if she had a chance to play defensively, such as right now. She may not have her Peerage with her, but we've seen that her golem constructs can possess frightening power depending on the materials she uses to fuel the [Dragon's Tooth] Artificial Sacred Gear. Presumably she can fashion golems with the abilities she desires at will."

"What was her usual tactic if she has to take the offensive?" Kiba asked curiously.

"She spearheaded the assault herself, usually as a distraction." Rias replied with a frown, "This allowed her Peerage members to carry on and complete the objective while most of the enemies fought her. They were only involved in seven Rating Games before Mei's betrayal and they won every single one. The first one was won by Mei going out an annihilating the enemy Peerage by herself, without suffering so much as dirt on her clothing."

She had watched that recording with chills going up her spine. Mei had stridden through the opposing devils as if they had only been cardboard cut-outs; without any trouble whatsoever.

Shaking herself, the Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess returned to the subject at hand, "We'll need to keep our groups diverse in order to overcome any obstacle that Mei throws our way. Xenovia, Rossweisse and Irina, you three will be Team 1. Koneko, Kiba, you two will be Team 2. Akeno and Ravel, you are Team 3. Gaspar, Asia and I shall be Team 4. Each of our teams will conquer one of the ziggurats and hold it for the time necessary to unlock the door. Then we shall make our way back to the tower and storm it en-masse. Ravel, do you have the Phoenix Tears?"

"Hai, Rias-sama." The blond Devil nodded and produced the two vials of the precious liquid.

"Keep one for yourself and give one to Rossweisse." She directed, "Xenovia has a bad tendency to get eliminated early unless we take care with her."

The bluenette swordswoman blushed and muttered under her breath at that, unable to refute it.

"Remember, this is an opponent on the same level of tactical acumen as Cao-Cao." Rias added, just to drive the point home, "And unlike him, this is a Devil we face, so she will not try to prove anything. Her goal is to break us, make us fail to save Issei. We will not allow that to happen. We will defeat her forces, we will storm her tower and we will save Ise!"

The looks of determination on the rest of her Peerage's faces echoed the one on her own face, Rias knew.

'Wait for me, Ise! I will not permit anyone or anything to take you from me again!' she thought as the clock counted down to the start of the Rating Game, 'Mei Schwarzwald, you shall pay for the pain you have caused my beloved servants, as well as me!'

With Issei

Hyōdō Issei had heard many shocking things since becoming a Devil; the fact that he had a Dragon sealed inside his left arm for one, and the fact that the God of the Bible was dead for another. What he had heard from Mei Schwarzwald wasn't nearly as shocking as the latter revelation, but it was shocking enough that he wouldn't have believed it without proof.

Proof that she had provided him, proof that satisfied Ddraig, for crying out loud.

"I can't believe it." He said slowly, "Just…how…why?"

"It is a bit much to take in all at once." Mei said sympathetically, "Sit and think for a while; I'm going to be busy playing the Rating Game in a moment. Here, have a screen to watch. You've only seen a few Rating Games that have been recorded, right? Watching one live is very different."

As she spoke, a large screen popped up in front of Issei, split into five smaller screens. Each showed the Gremory Group in the waiting tower room, each seeing from a different angle, he noticed. To be precise, each was focussed on a different member of the Peerage. One on Rossweisse, one on Rias, one on Kiba and one on Akeno.

"I guessed that Rias Gremory would divide to conquer, so focussed on a [Rook] a [Knight], the [Queen] and the [King]." Mei said before he could say anything, "Rossweisse-san is the logical choice to be leader of a squad. The same applies to Kiba-san and Akeno-san. Your master obviously goes without saying."

"You said yourself that your defences can't stop them." Issei pointed out, "I don't see what you can do to change that."

Mei cocked her masked head to one side. Issei got the impression that she was smiling behind it. "True enough…but I have things other than my defences here, items I manufactured specifically for this day. I dare say even your group will find them somewhat daunting to face. As I told you when I picked up Chiaki-chan, I do not underestimate my enemies by any large degree."

"So that included my friends as well." Issei wasn't happy about his friends being put in danger.

"Rest assured, I have activated several spells that are used in Rating Game fields to prevent fatal blows or severe injuries." The Stray Devil placated him, "They are at no more risk of injury than they would be during any other Rating Game. If injured beyond a certain point, they will be teleported to the Palace of the Maō's infirmary to be treated. I dislike unnecessary pain and suffering. Now shh, it's beginning."

The view on the screen changed as his friends were warped via magic circle to the front of the tower as Grayfia spoke up, her voice as carefully neutral as she could make it.

"Greetings. I am Grayfia, a maid of the House of Gremory and I shall be the announcer for today's Rating Game, which is Lady Rias Gremory's Peerage versus the Stray Devil, Mei Schwarzwald, the Queen of Blood and Betrayal. The format of this Rating Game is divided into two halves. The first half is Labyrinth Capture, in which Lady Rias will have to navigate the maze and capture the four ziggurats simultaneously, holding them for a set duration in order to access the tower. The second part is a race against the clock, in which Lady Rias must reach Mei Schwarzwald's throne room before the timer, which will start as soon as she sets foot inside the tower, runs out. Both sides are restricted to two vials of Phoenix Tears apiece. Additionally, as the prize for this Rating Game is the Sekiryūtei himself, Hyōdō Issei, the Reincarnated Angel Shidō Irina, [Ace] of the Archangel Michael, and Ravel Phenex, a Free Bishop, has been added to Lady Rias' Peerage to compensate for the removal of one of her pieces."

"I won't even need to use so much as a drop of a vial until they make it to my throne room." Mei said in amusement as she held up the two vials she had acquired through black market measures.

"As the defender, Mei Schwarzwald, has literally years to pre-prepare her defences until now, the Rating Game shall commence immediately. May the victor attain the spoils they deserve."

"Subtle, Grayfia-sama." The Stray Devil snorted before sitting back in her chair, "Time to activate the defences then. Let's see how you handle my funhouse, Rias-sama."

With the Gremory Group

"Wow…" was heard from Asia when they finished teleporting to the middle of the labyrinth. The walls were all at least ten meters high and carved from solid basalt, looming over them imposingly. The tower at their backs seemed to pierce into the sky as if it were defying the gods of the world to strike it down like the Tower of Babylon. The doors were massive, also carved from basalt and bore four marks, which were the Old Devil Language symbols for the four cardinal directions, according to Rias.

"No one uses Old Devil, or Devotik as it is known, anymore." The redheaded Devil said with a raised eyebrow, "Not outside of the more conservative members of the 32 Pillar families, anyway."

Dismissing this oddity, the Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess refocussed her mind on the task at hand.

"Split into the groups I previously assigned to you and advance as quickly as possible." She ordered, "And remember; one of the rules is no flying above the walls and no destroying the walls unless it's a part of the challenges. The last thing we want to do is getting one of you disqualified during this important Game!"

"Hai, Buchou/Rias-sama." The ORC (and extras) chorused.

"Let us go then!" she declared. With that, the group split up and dashed into the nearest entrances to the labyrinth, door shimmering into place after the Devil entered.

With Xenovia, Rossweisse and Irina

"Haaahhhhh!" the Italian swordswoman yelled out a battle-cry as she cut her way through the Stray Devils that popped up via magic circles. Quite how Mei had gathered these Strays was beyond the bluenette. Normally, Strays were hunted and slain as soon as was possible, so how had she acquired so many?!

Irina launched a light spear at one sneaking up on her friend's back before creating another one to parry the strike of a gargoyle.

"Xenovia, be careful! These gargoyle golem things are popping up as well!" she warned her old friend.

"Got it!" Xenovia grunted as she bisected another Stray, one that looked like a millipede wedded to a horse's head.

Rossweisse sent blast of magic at enemies approaching the trio from her position between them, occasionally using her physical strength as a [Rook] to send enemies flying. She worked hard to block off as many side paths whilst solving the clues that were presented in the few reprieves between the waves of gargoyles and Stray Devils.

"This…might be troublesome." She said as she blasted another gargoyle into smithereens.

With Kiba and Koneko

Koneko sent a pair of bluebell fireballs down the corridor, exploding on contact with the gargoyles that were charging towards them relentlessly. The petit Nekoshō frowned as still more surged over the remains of their fellows.

"…persistent." She muttered.

"Two more minutes." Kiba said as he twirled what looked like an oversized Rubik's cube in his hands. He had to solve it in order to open the closed doors ahead of them. Fortunately, it was a relatively simple task for someone of his intelligence. With a click, the last decal lined up and the double doors ahead of them creaked open.

Without hesitation, Koneko and Kiba ran through the doors, continuing their way to the nearest ziggurat.

With Akeno and Ravel

"Holy Lightning!" Akeno snarled, sending a massive bolt of it at a cluster of gargoyles that stood between her and the steps to the ziggurat, while Ravel viciously threw flames at more trying to flank the two girls.

"These pathetic gargoyles are mass produced cannon fodder!" Ravel called to her older companion, "None of them are above the strength of a Low-Class Devil with no combat experience and no Sacred Gear!"

"In this case, Ravel-chan, quantity has a quality of its own." Akeno replied grimly before unleashing another bolt of divine electricity at her foes, "She's using Human-Wave tactics to wear us down and learn our reaction times and techniques first hand. With non-sentient and expendable cookie-cutter troops like these golems, it's the perfect tactic to use against us."

"It isn't going to stop us!" the Phenex Scion swore as she lobbed another fireball at the next wave of gargoyles, "Nothing is going to take Issei-sama away from us again!"

The Priestess of Thunder grinned savagely in agreement as she smote the golems with more and more thunder and lightning. One thing that draining Issei's dragon power from his left arm before her lost his body was that her reserves of demonic power had vastly increased, plus it had taken on a distinctly draconic edge.

"Dragon Lightning!" she cried out, unleashing a bolt of lightning shaped like a dragon that roared and struck out, smashing several gargoyles with one swipe of its tail. It then shot at another group of the stone servitors and exploded into a storm of lightning that struck down every gargoyle in the area.

"Akeno-sama…remind me not to fight you." Ravel gulped nervously. She could feel the Holy energy in that storm of lightning and it sent shivers down her spine at how powerful it was. That storm would have given even an Ultimate-Class Devil trouble!

"Ufufufufufufufu~" Akeno chuckled menacingly, "How sensible of you, Ravel-chan. Now, let us storm this ziggurat!"

With Rias, Gaspar and Asia

Rias had known from the start that taking Gaspar and Asia with her would be hard. Gaspar's somewhat spotty control over his vampiric abilities might have been improved thanks to the vials of Issei's blood that he drank every so often, but his control of [Forbidden Balor View] was still touch and go, while Asia, the gentle soul that she was, could only heal and defend herself.

This meant that Rias was forced to carry the can when it came to offensive actions. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, as her Power of Destruction was one of the most devastating magics in existence. Even angels feared being struck with it unless they were high-level angels like Kokabiel or the Archangel Michael, who could simply overpower her blasts with their own power.

In this case, it was getting rather tiring, as no matter how many gargoyles and Stray Devils she blasted into their component atoms and molecules, still more came at the trio. Even she could be worn down and overwhelmed given sufficient numbers and time.

With one final blast of her magic, the top of the ziggurat was cleared of all enemies and Rias bent over for a moment, panting hard. She placed one hand on the fencing sabre that she hung at her waist and gripped it comfortingly. It had been a present to her from her brother once Sōji declared her 'more skilled than the average swordswoman,' which was a big compliment coming from the former 1st Captain of the Shinsengumi. It was custom-made for her, growing as she did in both length and weight. It was also slightly curved in the manner of the Japanese Katana due to her obsession about Japanese culture. It was about halfway through transforming right now and would be a katana in full by the time the entirety of the ORC graduated from Kuō.

Recovered from her exertion, the Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess straightened up and beckoned her two [Bishops] to follow her to the altar in the centre of the ziggurat. Atop it was a simple stone lever.

It was at this point that she wished that communications magic wasn't forbidden. If it wasn't, then she could just call them and find out how they were doing. The other ziggurats were too far away to see by even the enhanced vision of a Devil, so she had no idea if the rest of her Peerage were at the other ziggurats or not. Still, she had to pull the lever now, so they could get the countdown started.

"Asia, Gaspar, put up defensive shields." She instructed the two younger Devils, "I'm going to pull the lever. Be prepared for anything that happens."

Seeing her two Peerage members nod and activate the basic shields that everyone in her Peerage (aside from Issei) could use, Rias reached out and pulled the lever towards her until she heard a 'click' sound, signalling that it was fixed in its new position.

A flash of blue blinded her for a moment as a shield appeared around the entirety of the ziggurat, locking them inside.

"Buchou!" Gasper shouted, pointing at three magic circles that had appeared nearby. Each had the chess symbol for the [Queen] in the centre, but there were additional symbols beneath the [Queen] symbol. One was that of a [Bishop], while the two others were [Pawn] symbols.

The bishop symbol disgorged the figure of a white haired girl dressed in loose trousers, a t-shirt and a loose hoodie. Poking out from her rear was a white canine tail, which matched the white ears perched atop her head.

The first Pawn circle revealed a demure looking girl of about sixteen, with a short bob of black hair and wearing the same style of outfit as Amakusa Chiaki, while the second one had a familiar girl dressed in the outfit of a Kyūdōka and carrying a bow.

Rias knew these girls, knew them because she had examined their profiles from when they had been a part of Amadeus Bael's Peerage. In disbelief, she whispered their names.

"Hibiki Shinobu…Kawamura Aiko…Morisato Natsuko…"

"In the name of our [Queen], Mei-nee-sama," Natsuko declared flatly, "we shall defeat you here!"

DXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD

Next Chapter: Discovered Check Part 2

DXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD