Hello again!
Thanks again to everyone and their continuing support, and for the 100,000+ views!
Anyway, rating game time! Whew, had this one in the oven for way longer than I expected, and it ended up breaking my record for longest chapter. Hope y'all find it to be worth the wait!
Just a quick warning: A lot of POV switches and changing text styles will be happening throughout this chapter. Also, a little bit more divergence from canon DxD lore and events, so don't sue me and/or burn down my house, please. I have my reasons.
Now let's get it on!
Disclaimer: I do not own High School DxD, nor do I own Type Moon, any of its intellectual properties, or any other property used in this work.
Published: March 16, 2023
Updated: TBD
…
Chapter 15 – Game On
Even if he had known precisely what to expect, the fight to save Rias' future did not start as Issei had envisioned.
Supposedly, the ORC was going to be teleported to the location of the Rating Game, which he assumed was going to be somewhere in the Underworld. When the light from the spell faded, however, everyone was still in the clubroom. He worried that the spell failed somehow, like it had with him when he first started his client work, but Akeno told him to relax and take a look out the window.
When he did, his jaw dropped; the battlefield was an exact replica of Kuoh Academy. Every feature of the school grounds was recreated in masterful detail. The sky, however, was not so familiar. There was no blazing sun, no starry nighttime expanse, not even a bit of cloud cover. Instead, a breathtaking aurora, reminiscent of the famous Northern Lights, stretched as far as he could see.
The cold and clinical voice of Grayfia outlining the rules of the 'standard regulation Rating Game' snapped Issei out of his reverie.
Both teams were assigned home bases at the beginning: Rias' group was stationed at the ORC building, while Riser and his peerage occupied the new schoolhouse. Pawns on both sides had to enter the opponent's base in order to Promote, and the game wouldn't end until one of the Kings was either rendered unable to fight or conceded.
When the game commenced, Rias gathered everyone at her desk, directing attention to a rough diagram of the school grounds. The open ground between the two bases would be dangerous to cross, and going around the wooded areas was equally risky, since the enemy would likely be expecting such a move. The glaring disadvantage in numbers made every option difficult, but eventually, the group decided upon a course of action.
It was Kiba that suggested taking control of the gymnasium, which stood directly between both bases, even if it was slightly closer in proximity to the Phenex camp. He reasoned that taking the middle ground would allow more free reign for their team and put the odds more in their favor early on.
Rias agreed and designated Issei and Koneko to secure the gym first, then clear out and meet with Kiba at the track infield. Akeno would then destroy the gym as the two abandoned it, since it was too big to hold with their current numbers. From there, they would move and eliminate the enemy forces as a group while Akeno would provide air support.
Before that, though, Rias made it a point to establish a defensive line against enemy invasion. Dealing with one natural Queen would be bad enough. Taking on another eight Promoted Queens would be an outright invitation for defeat. She sent Kiba and Koneko to place magic traps around the clubhouse, and Akeno went out to cast illusion magic across the area as an added measure.
While the others were away, Rias beckoned Issei to one of the couches in a manner that Issei would describe as 'every normal dude's dream': by offering her lap as a pillow. Tears threatening to fall from his eyes, he gleefully complied, relishing in the warmth and luxurious softness of her thighs.
This was already a monumental victory for him over Riser. The mental image of himself standing triumphantly with Rias in his arms while the gigolo roared indignantly and boiled like a lobster was suddenly all the more–
Rias' hand coming to rest on his head snapped him out of his daydream. When nothing happened for about two seconds, he was prepared to ask what she was doing, until he felt something like a jolt of electricity that began at his heart and blasted all the way to the ends of his fingers and toes.
She then explained that, when he was reincarnated, his body wasn't able to handle the power necessary needed to revive him. To remedy that issue, she had sealed seven of the eight Pawns until he was more up to speed with the combative abilities of a Devil. The 'leaps and strides' he had made during the training allowed her to release one of those seals now and, even with just that one, he could feel the difference.
Once the others returned, Rias then dismissed everyone to take their positions. Issei followed Koneko to the gym, crossing an unsettlingly open area until they reached the south side of the building. Koneko suggested making use of of the emergency exits to get inside quietly, then they could check for enemy combatants from cover.
Sure enough, the enemy was in fact ready and waiting. The lights were out, but he could see the four figures standing in the center of the floor well enough to recognize them.
On the group's left, the blue-haired kimono girl with the staff –Mira– fixed her gaze on Issei as if preparing for a repeat of their first meeting.
To her left were the smaller pair of twins Issei remembered seeing, both looking to be no older than twelve. Physically, the two were perfectly identical; same white t-shirts, black shorts, height, hair color, eyes, everything. The only difference between them was the position of the hairbands on their heads: one on the left side, the other on the right side. That, and the respective red and blue chainsaws that they were carrying.
And on the far right was a young woman with black hair done into twin buns on either side of her head, and dressed in a navy blue qipao that barely hid anything from his wild imagination. In fact, now that he really looked at her, she reminded Issei of a popular female character from a 2D fighting game he spent days playing as a kid. Said character was one of his personal favorites.
"Don't bother hiding. We know you're there." Mira said, turning in their direction. The others followed her gaze, each of them seeming as ready for a fight as the next.
Koneko looked to Issei, who just shrugged. "Might as well now."
The two then stepped out from their spot and slowly approached the four servants of Phenex. The one in the qipao smiled confidently when she recognized Issei.
"Oh, it's you again. Hey, Mira, do you want another go at the one-hit wonder?" she asked her teammate, making the twins giggle.
"Of course." the bluenette replied.
Issei made to give a snappy comeback, but Koneko nudged his shoulder.
"I'll get the Rook, you deal with the others."
She didn't wait for a reply, and instead took off to engage the enemy Rook, who met her in the center and launched a series of jabs with flame-coated fists. Koneko ducked and weaved to avoid the attacks, using her smaller stature to her full advantage.
Off to the left, Mira brought her staff forward and glared at Issei. The twins simultaneously pulled the starter cords on their weapons, raising them over their heads as the motors roared to life.
"Rip and tear until it is done!" 'Lefty' shouted.
"Rip and tear, rip and tear!" 'Righty' chorused, cackling with maniacal glee.
'Oh, great, they're deranged…' Issei groaned to himself.
"Like the gardening tools weren't a big enough clue?" A deep, rumbling voice in his head almost made him shudder.
'Ddraig?'
"The one and only," the dragon answered smugly. "Now listen, I ran out of time trying to fix your head, but I did manage to work something in, so think of this as a trial run to see if it paid off."
'Wait, what?'
Mira made the first move, charging him with a jab much like in their first meeting. Issei tucked and rolled to her left, making her overshoot but she was quick to turn around and follow up. She continued to play the aggressor with very little success, a majority of her attacks being wide sweeps or long reaching jabs that quickly became easy to predict.
Issei smiled lightly. This chick's skill set was nothing special, and she was a lot slower than last time. Either that, or he was much faster to react. He was fine with both cases, since now he could pay her back for–
The revving of a chainsaw motor alerted him to someone trying to attack from behind. Changing direction, he charged Mira and redirected another strike from her staff just as one of the twins brought her weapon down right where he'd been standing. The second twin then gave chase while the first recovered from her miss.
So that was their game: The murderous munchkins were too slow to catch anyone by themselves, so their allies would harass and box their enemies right into them. It would have been a smart strategy if they used anything other than chainsaws, but he was not going to complain about that.
Kiba had warned him during the training trip about focusing too much on one enemy if he found himself outnumbered. That lesson was now paying for itself; he could keep his eyes on Mira while listening for the thrumming of the motors to discern how close the twins were getting to him.
Mira went for another strike to his head, but this time, he was ready to act. Ducking under the swing, he slipped into her guard and gave a hard right cross to the cheek. She yelped and stumbled back from the hit before using her staff to catch herself from falling. When she turned to glare at him again, he saw something that gave him slight pause.
A magic circle had appeared on her left cheek, right where he had punched her. It was bright red in color, like that of the Gremory circle, but there were no details to it other than a dragon's face occupying the area in the center where the Gremory family crest would normally reside. It was small, too; about the size of a large coin. Big enough to be noticed when looking at it, but not enough for her to know that it was there, apparently.
'Huh?'
Suddenly, the Boosted Gear manifested on his arm, startling him and briefly surprising Mira.
"Boost!" Ddraig's voice shouted from the gauntlet with an echo.
"What the–"
"Why you!" Mira growled and leapt for him again.
Issei found his attention getting pulled all over the place now. What was going on? Why had the Gear popped up without him prompting it? Between three enemies wanting to grind him into paste, this was not a good time for it to do that!
The twins made their presence known once more.
"Aagh! This is pissing me off!"
"Hold still so we can rip you!"
'Don't tell someone that!' he thought while putting more distance between himself and the two maniacs, with Mira in close pursuit.
"Boost!" The gauntlet shouted again, followed quickly by a more direct command.
"Hatchling! Repeat after me: Burst!"
With no time to question it, Issei complied. "U-uh, Burst?!"
The green jewel on his armored hand glowed, and in the next instant, the circle on Mira's cheek lit up, and an explosion of force blasted her across the face and knocked her down. She was struck so hard that when her head connected with the gym floor, it almost bounced. Her body immediately went limp and then rolled once and came to a stop on her side, facing away from Issei.
Issei, as well as the twins, blinked owlishly at where she had fallen, just before her body started to glow and become semi-transparent. Another second later, and Mira completely vanished.
"Lord Riser's Pawn has been retired," Grayfia declared, still as dispassionate as before.
'Ddraig … what the hell was that?!'
"Later. Finish off the small ones first."
As if on cue, the tiny terrors fixed Issei with fiery glares.
"Get him!" they screamed in unison.
Instead of employing their previous tactic, the two split up and swung around to attack Issei from both his left and right sides in a pincer move. An idea formed in Issei's mind as this happened. Now that they were separated, they couldn't defend each other, which gave him the perfect chance to pick them off.
He bolted for the one coming from his left. She squeezed the trigger of her weapon in surprise, spurring the blade to life and raised it up to try and eviscerate him.
Issei, acting on his idea, threw his left arm up and used the Boosted Gear as a shield to block the blade. Sparks flew and his arm shook from the impact, but the teeth did little more than scratch the gauntlet's surface. Steadying himself, Issei shifted his weight and pushed the chainsaw up and over her head, then kicked the girl hard in the stomach. She lurched and let go of her weapon, which had the grisly consequence of dropping it right on top of herself.
The blade was still spinning as it fell, tearing into her back and across her shoulder while slinging blood into the air and across the floor. The shriek of pain she let out could probably have been heard from all ends of the battlefield.
When the chainsaw finally came free of her flesh and hit the ground, she collapsed onto its engine, letting out a twitch before she lay motionless in a quickly growing pool of blood.
Issei turned to look at the other twin, who stood in wide-eyed terror for a moment before tossing her own weapon away and held her hands up.
"I forfeit! I forfeit, please!" she yelled, tears in her eyes and begging for an escape.
Her desperate cries were answered, allowing her to join her sister in exiting the game.
"Lord Riser's two Pawns have been retired."
After their bodies disappeared completely, Issei sighed shakily, his hands clenching into fists and releasing. That sound, that image,… those were memories that he would gladly forget.
Another loud scream suddenly drew Issei's attention to the dueling Rooks, and he almost recoiled at what he saw: Koneko had stopped dodging her opponent's attacks and blocked a kick to her midsection. She had then trapped the offending leg and thrown a left hook into the knee, breaking the kneecap and forcing the lower leg to bend in a completely unnatural way.
The tiny first-year then hoisted her opponent over her head –by the ruined leg– and slammed her onto the floor. She then released the leg and straddled the older Rook, pinning her arms away from her sides and rained down fist after fist on her face. Every punch made the woman's body jolt. She tried to raise her arms in defense, but there was little she could do to stop the onslaught.
It took about a dozen hits, and Issei was almost relieved when the older Rook finally stopped moving and her body started fading away.
"Lord Riser's Rook has been retired."
Her enemy now defeated, Koneko stood up and turned to look at Issei. Her expression was as blank as ever, but somehow more menacing with its dismissal of her brutal actions and the blood on her knuckles. There was no way she didn't notice him flinch.
"Uh… I, uh…"
The stoic girl nodded and gave him a thumbs-up.
"Good job."
Issei couldn't stop the grin from forming as he responded in kind. Finally, Koneko acknowledged him without a hint of disgust!
"You're still a pervert."
"Grk!"
It was like she knew what he was thinking, which just made the comment sting more than usual.
"Lord Riser's three Pawns have been retired."
"Geez… Kiba's not playing around, is he?" Issei asked with an awkward grin.
Koneko just shook her head.
"Koneko-chan~ Ise-kun~" Akeno spoke through the comm line, "you two better run, because I'm ready~"
"Let's go!"
"Mm."
The duo quickly adjourned the doomed building, heading for the planned rendezvous point between the track and baseball fields. Upon reaching it, they turned back just in time to see Akeno truly bring the house down.
In a single, massive deafening blast of lightning, the replicated gym came apart and exploded outward. Even while bracing for it, Issei was almost knocked backward by the incredible force of the shockwave. Wood, glass and steel were reduced to tiny bits in an instant, and concrete, brick and mortar was completely uplifted from the foundation and turned into pebbles.
Bits of rubble and debris rained down from the sky in every direction within a kilometer at least, some still burning while others were completely blackened. Nothing remained of the gym but a crater wide enough and deep enough to resemble a meteorite impact.
'If only it was the real thing.' Issei lamented. Devil or no, that gym was not his favorite place in the world.
"Okay." Issei chuckled, dusting off his blazer and shirt. "Now, let's see if we can find Kiba. Knowing him, he's probably already waiting at–"
"WATCH OUT!"
Issei turned to look at Koneko and, out of the corner of his eye, caught a small glimpse of an unknown magic circle that had suddenly appeared underneath her. His vision was then obscured by blurs after she shoved him away, followed shortly by an even more concussive explosion than what he had just witnessed, which sent him flying a good distance away and rolling for several more yards.
When he finally stopped, Issei unsuccessfully tried to shake the high-pitched ringing in his ears and get the ground back underneath his feet
"K–… Koneko-chan?!" he tried to call out, but all he heard was a mumbling sound, barely audible past the ringing.
He shakily looked around until he saw her lying facedown several yards away amidst a field of dirt and rock. He staggered to his feet, stumbling several times as he fought to get to her and keep himself moving in a straight line. Finally reaching her –almost falling on her, really– he tried to look her over and see how badly she was hurt, but…
Past all the dust, debris,… and blood… it was hard to make out her condition.
He had to tear his eyes away from the horrible sight. When he did, he saw something approaching in the air space from above the assembly hall and come to a stop directly above them.
It was the big-breasted bimbo that had played tonsil hockey with Riser in front of Rias. The enemy Queen, whatever her name was. She was saying something, looking infuriatingly proud of herself, but he couldn't hear a word of it.
She aimed her scepter at the two, readying another blast to finish them off, but a colossal blast of lightning coming from her left forced her to focus on defending herself. Issei hunched over Koneko's body and covered his eyes, blinded by the flash and shaken from the accompanying thunderclap. However briefly, his already numb eardrums were doubly assaulted by what felt like nails and a hammer. When the pain subsided enough for him to look up, he saw a familiar figure in the sky staring down the enemy Queen.
Lightning arced and crackled between Akeno's outstretched fingers. Her signature sultry smile was still present, but the playful glint in her eyes was gone. Instead, she glared at her new opponent with an outrage that she seemed barely able to contain. Her typical teasing expression now promised utter torment.
Issei read her lips well enough to make out what she said next, and had he heard it, he would have noticed the malice in her voice.
"Ara… You've made a big mistake, Bomb Queen."
Back at the real Kuoh Academy, Sona and Tsubaki were seated at their desks in the Student Council room, observing the game as it was broadcast across most of the Underworld.
The situation for Rias and her peerage was grim to begin with, and now had only just become worse. Faced with a staggering numerical disadvantage, every loss would be a critical one. Koneko had only just barely sensed something was amiss, and moved to save Issei from certain elimination at the cost of herself.
Now she was down, and Yubelluna, the enemy Queen, prepared to finish the two off with another earth-shaking blast. Sona had a tight grip on the arm of her chair until Akeno arrived on the scene just in time to stop her, then drive her away with a barrage of lightning spells. No sooner were the two Queens out of visual range than Kiba appeared. He took a moment to assess Koneko's condition, then snapped Issei out of his apparent daze with a hard shake.
"To think that Hyoudou Issei had the Boosted Gear all along," Tsubaki muttered, her gaze set curiously on Rias' Pawn as he followed Kiba to refuge while carrying Koneko. "I suppose it is no wonder, then, that he required all of Rias' Pawn Pieces."
Sona didn't comment aloud; she simply continued to watch in silent contemplation.
'You truly spent a lifetime's worth of luck with him, Rias.'
In the grand viewing suite designated for the highest of Devil nobles, whispers and murmurs fluttered about like leaves in the wind. Some were out of surprise and approval, others were from shock and denial.
Whatever the words being uttered, they were music to his ears.
Sirzechs could barely contain his smile at the show his beloved sister's servants were delivering. Rias herself hadn't even taken to the field yet, and her opponent's fighting force was whittled down by nearly half without much of any trouble. She had certainly done her homework; her tactics were a direct counter to any move Riser's team would make. Infiltrator Pawns, funneled and eliminated; contested strategic point, secured and destroyed. A truly fantastic start.
But, of course, just as that thought crossed his mind, Riser's Queen blindsided two of Rias' servants, seriously wounding one of them. This was not the time or place for him to be jinxing his sister's good fortune.
The marriage contract between the two Kings had been arranged before either was ever born, in an effort bring the houses together and form a stronger bond for their kind as a whole moving forward. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but somewhere down the line, Riser became arrogant and self-absorbed, using his status as a Phenex like a crutch in order to have his way. His eldest brother, Ruval, had tried to steer him away from that path to very little avail, according to their father.
While he did not mistreat or abuse them, Riser ultimately viewed his servants as his property. Sirzechs had no doubt that the scion of Phenex would view Rias as such once the two were wed.
Devil politics being what they were, Sirzechs was no longer part of the Gremory household and thus had no say in the matter. Trying to interfere would be negatively received by the vast majority of the Devil population, who would then call his authority into question and further the divide between the older generation and the new. Their people needed unity, not dissent. Suggesting the rating game as a means to break off the engagement was about the only thing he could legally do to help her, even if she might not see it that way.
Well, whether she did or didn't had little bearing on the situation anymore. The die was cast, and Rias was making her move count. With their performance thus far, she and her peerage were sending a clear message to everyone in the Underworld watching them: 'We are not to be taken lightly.'
'Keep going, Rias! Just maintain your momentum!'
"How is she?" Issei glanced back to his teammates.
The three had taken cover in one of the old equipment storage sheds beside the soccer field. Luckily, there was just enough room within this one to lay Koneko down on her stomach and allow for Kiba to treat her as best he could. Issei stood by the door, keeping watch for any remaining members of Riser's peerage.
"She's taken a lot of damage," Kiba solemnly replied, working as carefully as possible to remove bits of dirt and shrapnel from the girl's legs. "Her Rook's toughness helped her withstand it, but only just."
Looking at her now, that was understandable; it might as well have been a landmine going off underneath her. The back of Koneko's uniform, skirt and socks were completely shredded by the blast, exposing the numerous puncture wounds in her lower back and legs caused by flying debris. She was a bloody mess, but curiously, her undies remained intact, so her petite backside stayed just barely covered.
If the image of that other Rook's shattered knee wasn't still fresh on his mind, Issei would've been growling in envy at his male colleague for the close-up view he was getting and not truly appreciating. Gentleman that Kiba was, though, he remained focused and stoic as he worked.
"It's my fault. I let my guard down and she took the hit for me."
"The fault lies with all of us, Ise. Their Queen never employed sneak attacks in their previous games, and we assumed that she couldn't. We knew she was going to be one of the bigger problems at any rate, but it seems that Riser was keeping a few surprises of his own."
"Just a split-second later and Koneko would've been–"
"Don't go there," Kiba warned, not glancing up from his patient. "She's still here and so are we. That's what matters most."
"Yeah… Uh, hey, remind me again. You can't actually die in a rating game, right?"
"No, of course not," the Knight confirmed. "In the beginning, when the system was first introduced, there were some cases of accidental deaths. But in the centuries since then, it's been heavily refined to prevent that from reoccurring. You might experience great pain or the sensation of imminent death, but no physical damage that is dealt here will carry over into the real world."
"Okay… That's good." Issei nodded grimly and returned to his lookout duty. It definitely made sense; Nothing taught anyone the consequences of mistakes better than seeing someone get killed because of them. At least in a game, said consequences wouldn't be so permanent.
His left hand absently drifted toward his stomach, just barely brushing his shirt.
Nothing more was said between the shed's occupants for another two minutes, the silence between the three only broken by an occasional pained hiss from Koneko. Off in the distance, Issei could hear the lightning strikes and explosions as Akeno continued to battle the enemy Queen. The false earth shook with each blast, enough to make him feel them all in his feet and make his stomach hop around.
After a while of no enemies coming into sight, he decided to use this lull in the action to get some answers from his tenant.
'Okay, Ddraig, what exactly did you do to me?'
"Give me some credit, hatchling," the dragon chided. "That little number might become our trump card against Albion, whose host you'll likely meet someday soon, by the by."
'Who– Okay, fine, whatever, but what was that? How did I know how to do that back at the gym?'
"Hmm… If you're making the connection on a subconscious level but you don't actively remember how, then there was still a conflict between your real memory and the altered one… Damn, just something else to patch…" Ddraig mumbled, as if he was just taking notes.
"Hey, are you even listening?"
"Alright, let's recap. A Devil's brand of magic runs on imagination, right?"
'Yeah.'
"And you've got holes in your mind big enough to fly a large airplane through, right?"
'…Uhh–'
"I'll take that as 'yes.' So, bearing in mind that I'm doing what I can to patch up this block of swiss cheese you call a brain, I had an epiphany right about the time we met: What if I were to plant some of my ideas into your head as a replacement memory, then fill in the blank area around that false memory to make your mind believe that it was entirely your own?"
Issei's eyes widened after a brief period of thought.
'That's–'
"Genius? I thought so. If you can't find a memory, make one up, instead. It's not a perfect solution, obviously, but I'm tickled that it worked for the most part."
'Wait, so you didn't even know that it would work?!'
"Have you ever tried putting together a puzzle with most of the pieces missing? I told you that I don't mess with the human mind very much, but yours is a problem that I can't leave alone. It'll be a detriment to us both. I have to reverse engineer your memories; find the hole, plant something that will adequately fit, then fabricate every other detail surrounding it in order to seal it all off. It's tedious and time-consuming, but it's the best I can do without turning you into a damned vegetable."
His brow furrowed. He didn't like the idea of being treated like an experiment, but the thought of constant memory loss was even less appealing. If this really was all that Ddraig could accomplish safely, then he could bear with it for a little while.
'Alright,… so, where in my head did you put this replacement?'
"About four days ago, during your training trip. You were trying to figure out an original spell at the Queen's behest, then your mind wandered and you blanked out."
'Ah shit! That's what I was afraid would happen!'
"Don't stress about it, hatchling. You were actually on to something clever before it went dark; I just used your original idea as a springboard. If I remember correctly, it had something to do with you wanting to destroy an opponent's defenses with ease, including their clothing, but–"
'Whoa whoa whoa, hey, wait a minute!' Issei hurriedly interjected. 'You mean to tell me,… that I was cooking up a spell that could strip a girl naked in an instant?'
Ddraig's irritated sigh was answer enough, and Issei barely stopped himself from screaming out loud.
'What the fuck, man?! That just makes me feel even worse! Give it back, you overgrown gecko! Gimme back my brilliant idea!'
"Servants of Gremory!"
A call from outside interrupted Issei's internal tirade. He peeked outside to see that four more of Riser's servants had entered the clearing outside the shed. Two of them were armed with swords, the third was dressed in a formal kimono, and the fourth had a mishmash of half-there-and-half-not modern clothing and a white mask. All of them were staring intently at the shed.
"There's nowhere you can hide!" One of the two swordswomen, an armor-clad brunette, continued. "Face us in battle and fall with pride, or be swept away by the might of House Phenex!"
…
…
'Seriously?' Issei thought as his eyebrow twitched. 'If they know we're here, why not just blow us up right now and be done with it? Are these people as arrogant as Yakitori-sama, or just plain stupid?'
"Might makes right in the Underworld, and a good fight makes for a good show. Also, Lord Grilled Chicken? I thought you and your Rook agreed that he was a fried chicken."
'Shut up! I'm still pissed at you!'
"You'll get over it, especially after you get this spell really working for you. So, how about instead of lamenting your desire to see unclothed females, you focus on your drive to beat Yakitori-sama and save your master from becoming his trophy wife?"
Issei winced. Damn, there was no arguing with a point like that.
'…We'll talk later.'
"Can't wait."
Their conversation now over, Issei turned as Kiba let out a sigh and stood up, wiping the blood off of his hands.
"I've extracted what I could, but we're out of time." Kiba reported. "She'll have to stay put until we're clear."
"So what do we do about them?" Issei asked, tilting his head to the door.
"Do you have to ask? We take advantage of their overconfidence."
A sword hilt emerged from the earth directly at Kiba's left side. The blonde Knight reached down and gripped the weapon, pulling it completely out from the earth and revealing an elegant katana. Even in the current absence of light, his steel gray irises almost glinted off the cold metal of his new weapon.
"Sun Tzu once said that the opportunity for defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself. I took out their first wave of invaders before they even knew what hit them. The ones out there don't know what I can really do, and I'm going to make them regret giving us this chance."
"Wait a minute," Issei cut in. "Have you actually read 'The Art of War?'"
Kiba chuckled. "Front to back. My Master wouldn't let me put it down until he could quiz me on what he considered the most important parts. But we're getting off track. How many of them are there?"
Issei took another look, counting heads. "I see… four… no, wait, five! That blonde girl in twintails just came out from behind the others."
"That would be Ravel. She never did fight in any of Riser's previous games; she just gave out orders in the field while her brother stayed at the base. With six of their Pawns and one Rook out, and their Queen fighting Akeno-san, that leaves all but two of Riser's servants out there currently. Those missing two are probably his last Pawns, looking to Promote. We can leave them be; if the remaining traps around the base don't take them out, Buchou will."
"It's still sickening to me that he included his own little sister in his…" Issei shuddered, willing that line of thought away like it were a ghost leaving his body. "Ugh, never mind. What are the chances of taking Ravel out?"
"Ours? Zero. Thanks to her family's ability to reform from damage, we can't count on her retiring by anything but her own free will, which she has never done. All we can do is divide and conquer the others. I'll deal with the Knights, then we can face the other two together."
Issei nodded and reached for the door. It was now or never.
"Senpai…"
Both boys turned to see Koneko looking back up at them, Issei in particular.
"Ise-senpai… new technique… effective…" she ground out.
"What is she talking about?"
Issei scratched his cheek sheepishly. "Uhh, it… Ddraig did something with my head to help with my memory problem. I'm not really sure about it myself, but it worked on one of the Pawns at the gym, so maybe…"
Kiba hummed and glanced down, then nodded. "Alright. In that case, leave both of the Knights to me, and you focus solely on their Rook. I can draw the Bishop's attention and dodge their attacks."
Before Issei could make a joke about Kiba once again hogging all the girls for himself, the voice of Riser's servant that had called to them earlier called out again.
"Servants of Gremory! You have five seconds to comply. Come out, or be obliterated! Five!"
"Here we go." Issei exhaled, reaching for the door again.
"…not yet… I'm not… not out of this fight yet!" Koneko hissed through gritted teeth, pushing herself up.
"Four!"
Kiba turned back and put a firm hand on her shoulder. "Of course you're not, but right now, you need to stay still and rest while you can."
"Three!"
"We'll come and get you once we're all clear outside."
"Two!"
"Trust us, Koneko-chan. We've got this," Issei assured.
"One!"
Issei kicked the door open, catching the sight of three out of the four servants standing ready with fire magic. Ravel remained where she was at the back of the group, seemingly peeved at his and Kiba's appearance.
'Ooh, shit, that was scary close!'
"And I thought Karlamine was overly-dramatic!" The other Knight, wielding a broadsword, complained loudly. "They waited until she got to 'one?'"
"The one in the mask is their Rook. Isabela, I believe. Close-range fighter, so be careful," Kiba quietly advised Issei before stepping forward.
The brunette Knight looked him up and down for a moment, then nodded to herself. "I am Karlamine, Knight of Lord Riser Phenex. Tell me your name, fellow warrior, and let us fight for the honor of our masters' houses."
Issei could hear Ravel grumbling about 'role-play,' 'nonsense' and 'swords.' Oh, so her frustration was more with Karlamine than it was with them. He couldn't blame her; that declaration was just cringeworthy.
"If circumstances were different, I would happily take you up on your offer, Karlamine-san," Kiba replied courteously. "Today, however, I simply cannot afford to oblige."
Karlamine was about to object, but in the next instant that Issei blinked, Kiba was upon her. The armored Knight, surprised by the unceremonious aggression, brought up her weapon just in time to block a strike to her throat.
From there, the blades moved too quickly for Issei to follow, but he caught glimpses of the Knights' expressions as they fought; Kiba was calm and focused, while Karlamine was getting frustrated and desperate. She could keep up with him, but Kiba's attacks were so relentless that he left no room for her to counter. All she could do was defend.
'Is he even touching the ground?' an awestruck Issei wondered.
Isabela took the opportunity to attack and broke into a run for Issei. Raising his arms to guard, Issei braced for round two.
The Rook began with a quick series of jabs and high kicks that forced Issei to move backwards. Her stance was tight, and she wasn't leaving any room for him to step around her attacks or counterattack, unlike with Mira. He looked everywhere, but couldn't find any holes in her defense. He would just have to make a risky move.
In a manner similar to his first fight, he redirected a straight punch and jumped into his opponent's guard, landing a fist into her gut before she could send an effective kick, then hopped back again. She flinched very slightly, but didn't break her stride in attacking him, the magic circle he planted going unnoticed as the Boosted Gear appeared on Issei's arm once again.
'Gotcha.'
"Boost!"
"Hmph, so you did improve," the masked Rook smirked. "Good. I thought this would be too easy."
"You and everyone else I've fought so far," Issei commented, which just made her smirk widen.
Issei ducked under another sweeping kick to his head, then leaped away as his opponent turned on her heel and brought down her outstretched leg in an ax kick. The ground where her foot landed broke apart and sent rather sizable chunks of dirt into the air.
While she possessed good reach and terrifying strength, she was slower than Koneko, and this blend of kickboxing and standard boxing she used had a slightly bigger windup than Koneko's punches. As long as he avoided the legs, he could do what he needed to do and escape without taking a hit.
"Gaagh–augh!"
Issei glanced over to the strangled sound, and saw that Kiba had run his blade completely through Karlamine's chest. The enemy Knight was slumped over his shoulder, her own weapon having fallen from her limp fingers. Kiba swiftly pulled his weapon from her limp body and wasted no time in attacking the Second Knight.
"Lord Riser's Knight has been retired," Grayfia announced while Karlamine disappeared into flecks of light.
"Pay attention, idiot!" Isabela shouted. Issei barely ducked under a surprise haymaker and shoved her away. As he did this, he noticed another circle make its appearance on her shoulder where he pushed her.
Slowly but surely, the clues were coming together for the neophyte Pawn. Ddraig's little spell only worked if Issei's hands made contact with an enemy, and even just touching them was enough to place a new circle.
'Good to know, but still, gotta hit with power!'
The Rook turned back around to attack him again, but this time, he was ready for her. Once she closed the distance, he launched a right hook, aiming for her temple.
"Boost!"
Isabela mirrored his move, however, and sent a left hook of her own into his jaw at the same time. He felt something crack from that hit, probably a tooth. Fighting the urge to try and spit it out, he instead pushed her arm away and stepped back to give himself a bit of breathing room, inadvertently placing another circle on her elbow in the process.
But more importantly than that, he'd heard the Boosted Gear go off before the hit as opposed to what happened all the other times. That must have meant there was some other kind of interval between Boosts, and placing a new circle would have no effect on it. A time limit, maybe. There wasn't anything else that he'd done differently in his other fights, besides placing more than one circle.
Playing the waiting game was going to suck, but on the bright side, that also gave him more time to hit the enemy and get them covered in circles before the final hit.
Isabela came at him again, the frustration now showing in her movements and her expression. She was getting sloppy as a result. He weaved through a combo of straights and kicks before he found an opening and delivered a strong uppercut right to her chin. Her head jolted slightly, but not enough to stop her aggressive attacks.
"Lord Riser's Knight has been retired," The voice of Grayfia resounded again.
'Damn, Kiba's on a roll!'
"Boost!"
Upon the third Boost, Issei felt something within himself vibrate, as if his every fiber in his body was shaking from stockpiled energy.
'What the hell's going on?'
"You're getting close to your limit, hatchling. Go beyond one more and your body may rattle itself to pieces!"
'Whoa, no thank you!'
Isabela made ready to charge again, but Issei had other ideas.
"Burst!"
The magic circles on the Rook's body simultaneously lit up and then imploded, delivering the Boosted Gear's accumulated power all at once: Abdomen, left leg, right shoulder, left elbow and chin. Issei could've sworn on his life that he heard a very dramatic *CRACK* as her head whipped violently upward and her jaw carried the force into her skull.
She staggered for about a half-second, then her eyes rolled in her head as she fell backward, unconscious before she hit the ground. No sooner did that happen than her body faded away, signaling her elimination.
"Lord Riser's Rook has been retired."
Just like he had done at the gym, Issei gawked at where his enemy had fallen before an excited grin stretched across his face.
'This… this spell is BADASS! Still gotta get my first idea back, but holy shit! This is awesome!'
So lost was he in his celebration that he failed to hear Ddraig's quiet chuckle of satisfaction.
Ravel looked on in shock from her place away from the fighting.
This made no sense; there was no way Rias' peerage could make such a drastic improvement in such a short time! Two weeks ago, that impulsive weakling of a Pawn went down from one hit to the stomach by Mira, the weakest of Riser's peerage. Here, he stood his ground against Isabela and won!
Then there were all the pawns. What had happened to them? How did they get knocked out of the running so quickly?
What happened in those ten days that could result in this?!
"Lady Rave– Aaugh!"
Mihae didn't get another word out due to the sword now jutting from her chest, a spray of red painting the ground before her. In her shock, Ravel turned and saw Lady Rias' Knight had attacked from behind, his blade driven completely through Mihae's back. Just as he had done to Karlamine and Siris, he tore his weapon from her body and allowed the girl to collapse at his feet.
"Lord Riser's Bishop has been retired."
The Knight calmly flicked his sword to his right, slinging the blood off of it, then turned to look at Ravel. She felt a chill run down her spine as well as the urge to swallow a lump in her throat. His stare was rather intense, like he had neither pride nor regret at the manner in which he had just slaughtered his enemies. She couldn't tell if he–
"Lady Ravel, when this is over, please tell your colleagues that I had no choice but to end the battle quickly. This is not simply a game for Buchou, so I could not treat it as one myself."
The daughter of Phenex blinked in surprise at the earnest request, then quickly cleared her throat.
"O-Oh, no, it's quite alright. As a servant, you do what you must for your master to achieve victory. But yes, I'll be sure to inform them that it was nothing personal." She was half-expecting him to try and run her through as well, but was glad that he chose otherwise.
Rias' Pawn approached the two as they spoke, stopping to stand by his teammate's side. Ravel took careful note to the crimson gauntlet, recollecting from her home studies about the Longinus and their unlimited potential. It was no wonder then that the Pawn had improved so much so quickly.
"You've given a very impressive show so far, but it won't be enough in the end. This battle belongs to Phenex. You cannot defeat my brother."
"Lord Riser's Queen has been retired," Grayfia's voice resounded again, making Ravel's mouth dropped open.
"W-What?! Yubelluna, too?!"
"Lord Riser's two Pawns have been retired."
The handsome Knight firmly nodded. "And it seems Buchou just dealt with the last two Pawns. The board has been cleared of all distractions."
"You were saying?" the Pawn asked her, grinning like a buffoon.
Ravel's mouth moved, but no words came out for several seconds. This was not happening. It was not possible! The entire team was wiped out, leaving her as the last one standing, and without a single loss on the enemy side! That had never happened before! Riser's peerage had incurred losses in past games, yes, but not like this!
This was the kind of result she would expect if they had gone up against someone in the Top Ten, not a first-time player to the sport! What had Lady Rias been doing with these people?!
Even with Riser urging everyone at the start to not hold back, to crush the enemy completely. Even with everyone giving the battle everything they had…
They were decimated…
With a rather indignant huff, Ravel regained enough composure to glare at the Pawn.
"This, changes, nothing. My brother is stronger than all of his servants combined, including me; you stand no chance against him! But, if you won't listen to me, then fine. Go right ahead. You'll see what I mean you face him in battle and fall just like all the others have. Maybe then, you'll learn to recognize that there are some battles you simply cannot win."
Having nothing more to say, Ravel turned and walked away, looking to find some place to wait out the remainder of the game. In the end, they were no different, which was truly a shame. They thought they could succeed where others hadn't simply because they had done well in the early and mid-game. But none of that mattered, as they would soon find out.
Nobody ever outlasted a Phenex. Nobody.
Issei's eyes darted from corner to corner as he, Rias and Kiba carefully advanced through the simulated halls of the main school building.
Having regrouped at the tennis courts, the ORC took stock of their conditions. Kiba and Issei were still in good shape and high spirits, with nine out of fourteen eliminations between the two of them.
Kiba was thus far unscathed, having only conjured three swords with his Sacred Gear, the crystalline straight sword currently in his hand dubbed Flame Delete being the third. Throughout the battle, he had more heavily utilized the swordsmanship style of his mentor, in order to keep his true power from being discovered and possibly dissected. (1)
Issei, while somewhat roughed up, felt that he was getting a better grasp for Ddraig's 'experiment.' With every strike he landed, the resulting tags –as he took to calling them– would deliver double the initial force when he triggered the spell. Additionally, every Boost that he achieved would then double that resulting force on top of itself, so with enough Boosts, he could deal focused exponential damage. (2)
It was rough and still needed plenty of work, but it made him wonder: What would happen if he hit the exact same place multiple times? Could the final result be made into a single gigantic blast, or maybe a sequence of increasingly powerful hits that just drilled through the enemy? He didn't know for sure, but he was more than ready to try it out on Riser's face.
Unfortunately, for Team Rias, that was where the good news ended.
Koneko, clothed in her Kuoh gym outfit, moved with a hobble due to the amount of shrapnel still in her legs that Kiba couldn't remove. Her attempt at a stoic expression couldn't hide the pain she was still experiencing. Direct combat was not an option for her.
Akeno wasn't much better herself. Her battle with the enemy Queen, Yubelluna, had been close until the woman had used something called Phoenix Tears that allowed her to recover from her wounds halfway through the fight. Having essentially fought the strongest member of the enemy team besides Riser two consecutive times, Akeno succeeded only by grappling her opponent and using her own body as a taser to completely paralyze the older woman. Because of this, she was now too exhausted to continue; she could hardly stand up straight with how intensely her legs were shaking.
Although, given the sadomasochist's expression, the trembling might have just been a result of her arousal from self-electrocution.
Akeno had urged the others to go on without her and Koneko, worried that they would be a liability against Riser in their state, but Rias immediately protested. She wanted for everyone to see this battle through to the end, having come so far and defied the odds against them. It took the combined efforts of Kiba, Akeno and even Issei to talk their King out of this show of pride. It was not the ideal victory she had wanted, but time was short, so she reluctantly allowed for Akeno and Koneko to retire themselves from the game.
Even with two of their own absent from the final battle, Team Gremory's spirits were high. At least, until they went inside.
Upon entering the main hall, Issei Promoted to Queen and took point, with Kiba then Rias following close. Something was wrong, though. They'd moved for more than a minute now and met no sort of resistance.
"I don't like this…" Kiba muttered.
Neither did Issei. He figured that someone like Riser would be waiting for them and ready to throw down immediately. And yet, despite having so much time to prepare while the fights outside raged, Riser had apparently done nothing in advance. There were no signs of traps or ambush points anywhere on the first floor. It didn't matter if Issei could see in the dark; the eerie atmosphere of an unlit school hallway never failed to make his skin crawl, just as it was doing now.
"There is no way he's not ready for us. He must be trying to play with our heads. Just stay calm." Rias reminded her servants. Easier said than done, especially since Issei could hear the edge in her voice, too.
Rounding a corner, Issei tensed as he caught sight of something by a staircase that led to the second floor. He felt Kiba grab his arm, ready to pull him away from whatever made him freeze.
Issei stood still as the creature he witnessed locked eyes with him. It was an ugly cross of several different kinds of birds and colored in numerous shades of red, yellow and orange. Either Riser's familiar, or his pet phoenix. The bird silently stared at him, perched on the staircase railing, before it cawed and took off up the stairway.
He looked back to his King and fellow servant, pointing with his left thumb toward the stairs. "What was that about?"
"I think that Riser has just issued his challenge; he wants to fight us himself."
Rias nodded. "Yes, that's more like him. Keep your guard up. Let's go."
The group advanced up the stairway slightly more quickly, now that they were somewhat assured of Riser's intent to face them in battle.
When the group saw the bird again, it was standing directly in front of the door to the Student Council office. It unfurled a wing and pointed toward the door, directing them toward their destination before vanishing in a plume of fire.
The three looked to one another again. Stealth was pointless at this stage. He knew they were there, and the game would not end until a King went down. Something had to give, and Riser made it clear that it wouldn't be him.
Rias stiffly exhaled and opened the door to the Council Room. Weapons and Gear ready, the boys ushered themselves in quickly, while the object of their anxiety made no move to act upon their entrance.
Seated in a chair turned out toward the school grounds was Riser Phenex, looking exactly as he did when he had first graced them with his presence two weeks ago. Blond hair, blue eyes, Hugh Hefner knock-off suit, holier-than-thou disposition; it was all there. In his hand was a half-empty wine glass, and a bottle of the stuff sat on an end table next to the chair.
He looked over his shoulder and regarded the new arrivals as Rias stepped through the doorway into the room, then focused on his betrothed and smiled 'charmingly.'
"My dear Rias, you're just in time for the big finale," the Phenex greeted, his husky voice as arrogant and unlikable as ever. "Care for a drink? My brother sent me this German vintage that has a most outstanding bouquet."
"My peerage and I will toast to your defeat, Riser," Rias rebuked, her previous unease gone as she gathered her power in her hands.
"End of the line, Yakitori-sama." Issei cracked his knuckles.
To his surprise, Riser didn't flare up like a peacock or otherwise take the bait at all. The man simply took the bottle on the table and poured himself a bit more wine.
'Crap, that wasn't what I was hoping for,' Issei grumbled inwardly.
"You blew the delivery is why."
'Shut up!'
"It's quite humorous, this turn of events," Riser started, calmly examining the drink in his hand. "And I must confess, I did not expect for anyone in your group besides you to even get this far, my dear. Your Power of Destruction is a true wonder to behold, while your hodgepodge collection of servants is about as tasteless and uninteresting as everything else that resides in the human world. No surprise there, given the gutters that these filthy rats must have inhabited."
Rias bristled, but he ignored her in favor of taking a long sip of his beverage.
'His whole harem is full of reincarnated Devils, who all came from the exact same world that we did. Guess he thinks it's okay when they're his, though. Two-faced jackass.'
Finishing his drink, Riser set the glass down and gave the two boys another once-over, now seeming to notice the lack of fatigue on either, before looking to Rias again.
"Still," he continued, "even a cornered rat can be dangerous, and I cannot deny the… surprising performance of your pet rodents today. So I suppose it is only right that I give a performance of my own."
The Phenex then clapped his hands on his knees and stood up from the chair. He gave both Issei and Kiba a sneer before undoing the buttons of his undershirt and removing both that and his coat, leaving his enviably cut torso on display for his opponents.
"Insult my servants again, Riser. See what happens." Rias' power was practically dripping off of her hands now, leaving small scorch marks on the floor.
"You think you can handle all of us at once?" Issei challenged.
"It's not at all a matter of belief, rat. It's simple reality," Riser calmly replied. "And the reality is that this is not the first time I've single-handedly faced a larger force in a game, and still won. Really, after my last rating game, I've found crushing an opposing team by my own hand at the last possible moment to be even more satisfying than the finest red wine Italy has to offer. And I do so love Italian red." He paused and put a hand to his chin contemplatively. "Hmm… now that I've mentioned it, what would you say to serving that at our reception party, Rias?"
A blast of destructive magic to the head was his answer. He did not flinch or even attempt to evade as the wave obliterated everything from the eyebrows up. Almost instantly, flames erupted from the mangled flesh left behind, reforming skin, muscle, bone and brain matter until it appeared as if nothing had ever destroyed them.
"I see," he said with a falsely rueful sigh, "Well, don't say that I didn't make the offer."
Flames suddenly burst from Riser's back, taking the form of Devil wings and making the room's temperature skyrocket into the triple digits. Smaller items, curtains and even the furniture within the room caught fire instantly. The simulated Student Council room was now reduced to a giant furnace. Issei could feel his clothes sticking to him with sweat as his body fought to counter the rising heat.
Riser donned his smirk again. "If there's nothing else, then do you wish to surrender now, or shall we all dance together in the fires of Hell? Let's start with you."
Like a fired rocket, Riser bulldozed into Kiba straight away and blasted both of them through a wall and into the faculty room next door.
"Kiba!"
Issei followed them through the breach with Rias right behind. He blinked in shock at the devastation Riser had left in his wake. He and Kiba hadn't just gone into the faculty room, but rather through it and a chemistry lab right after that, destroying every simulated feature in their path. The two were almost out of the building when Riser had stopped smashing them through walls.
Through those holes, Issei could see that Kiba was doing his best just to stay out of arm's reach from the Phenex. Every now and then, he would land an attack that would normally cripple or put down an opponent, but Riser would just regenerate any damage a mere second later. Repeated dismemberment, gaping holes in his chest, a slash across the eyes, nothing was keeping him down! And all the while, he continued to look down his nose at the younger blonde, with that insufferable smirk never leaving his lips.
The sword in Kiba's hands was holding together, but the overwhelming heat was adversely affecting it as well. The ice that formed the blade was progressively turning into water and evaporating quicker than he could reshape it.
To make matters worse, Riser was using the heat and flames coming off of his wings to both put pressure on his target and keep anyone from getting in the way. Issei couldn't get close enough to stop the man without running through a wall of fire that every natural instinct in his body screamed at him to avoid.
Riser threw a fire-covered fist into the flat of Flame Delete, shattering it into a hundred fragments that rapidly melted into water and turned to steam. Kiba discarded the empty hilt and drew upon Sword Birth to form a new weapon with all haste. But, before it could be completed, Riser unleashed an explosive gout of fire toward the Knight, engulfing his form in the cascading flames. Issei and Rias were blown backwards in the blast, their attempt to save their comrade rendered futile.
The flames died down quickly, and once the smoke had cleared enough to see, there was no sign of Kiba to be found anywhere. The entire northeast corner of the building had been annihilated, with only gently falling flakes of soot and ash giving any indication that there was once part of a structure there.
"Pitiful." Riser muttered.
"Lady Rias' Knight has been retired," The monotone voice of Grayfia sounded like the toll of an ominous bell to Issei now.
"No…"
Riser rolled his shoulders and turned, setting his sights on a petrified Pawn.
"And then, there was one. You, however… I'm going to take my time with."
Just as quickly as he had attacked Kiba, Riser lunged for Issei, grabbing him by the neck and throwing him against the wall on the opposite side of the hole he'd created, thus separating him from Rias. Following that was a punch to his chest that hit harder than anything Isabela had dished out. The impact left him coughing and hacking.
"Ise!" Rias shouted, hurling arcs of Destruction at Riser's back to little effect. The flames and flesh she destroyed repaired too quickly to follow up.
"How unsightly." Riser taunted, ignoring Rias's attempts to stop him. "All the preparations in the world won't bring your lot up to my level. I only entertained this game in the first place and allowed your handicap for this exact moment: To teach you this very lesson."
*WHAM*
The elder Devil struck Issei with a powerful right hook.
"Yet still you stand in my way, still you mock me, as if I were lesser than you! All while the power gap between us stares you right in the face!"
Issei wheezed and glared back at him. "I won't… lose to–"
*WHAM*
His reply was silenced by another hook to his jaw.
"That is what irritates me more than anything, that disgusting belief that you can somehow win! You're no rat; rats would do the sensible thing and flee while they could. What you are is a vile maggot!"
"Blegh…" Issei coughed up a bit of blood, the taste of iron bitter on his tongue. "I–"
*WHAM*
A knee driving into his gut cut him off.
"You thought you could 'save Rias' from this marriage? You can't even save yourself from me, wretch!"
Riser hurtled Issei against another wall and attacked again, pinning the younger male not with a single hand, but with a flurry of fists. Punch after punch, the elder Devil drove him back into the wall again and again.
"Useless! Pathetic! Why were you even born?!"
Riser reared back to deliver a haymaker, but a swift burst of Destruction magic obliterated both of his arms. Undaunted, however, the man spun and let loose a new torrent of flames from a freshly reformed left arm toward Rias, putting her on the defensive before she could follow up. A new right arm grabbed Issei by the throat, crushing the air from his lungs and holding him in place as the Phenex's fire forced Rias back until she made contact with the wall opposite of Issei.
He heard her scream, but could do nothing to reach her. He wanted to shout, to tear Riser apart piece by piece, but his hands wouldn't muster the strength he needed. They were both trapped. The feeling of helplessness was rearing its ugly head again, steadily growing like a monster even bigger than Ddraig rising to full height.
Riser's torturous session finally relented, allowing Rias to fall to her hands and knees. Issei caught a single glimpse of her state, and the sight made his blood turn cold.
The Kuoh Uniform she had been wearing was almost nonexistent, with exposed areas of her skin covered in burns that were already beginning to blister. Her hands were in the worst shape, burned almost to the point that they matched her hair color. Said hair –which was normally crimson in shade and beautifully long– was now scorched up to her shoulders, and the tips that weren't still smoldering were burned black.
"I can do this all day, dear Rias!" Riser heartlessly taunted her. "It's you who must decide when it stops! Concede the game now, or pain will be all that your precious Pawn knows! Both yours, and his own!"
With his ultimatum delivered, the Phenex turned back to Issei and continued to rain down his brand of punishment, this time adding fire to his fists. Blow after blow, the raw distaste that Riser felt for him was ruthlessly administered. There was little he could do to defend, the strikes coming too quickly now for his battered body to react.
Oddly enough, though, the pain Riser had promised only lasted for about a couple more seconds…
He could feel the pressure from every hit after that, but… there was no…
In the corner of his eye, he saw Rias scream something, but his hearing had once again left him…
By then… everything started… going numb...
…
That was weird... he could've sworn that he was… somewhere else just a second ago… doing something... but now...
It was… so quiet… so calm… there was nothing around him… no sounds… no sights…
…
Where was he even?
What was he doing?
…
…
Oh, that's right… he was fighting.
Fighting to save Rias.
Fighting to save her smile.
…
Rias' smile…
That beautiful smile…
He cherished that smile…
…
Cherish…
…
cher– …
…
…
–sure…
…
treasure…
…
Treasure…
…
That smile…
…
…
He treasured it…
…
Her smile…
…
…
It was his treasure…
…
…
His treasure…
…
…
Her smile was HIS TREASURE!
"STOP IT!" Rias screamed as she tackled Riser away from her brutalized Pawn, ignoring the pain that her burns caused her in doing so. Issei, finally released from his torture, collapsed to the floor in a heap before laying still.
She couldn't take it anymore! The longer this went on, the more Riser would just torture Issei while keeping him in the game. Even if he wouldn't die, the mental scars wrought by such a beating would definitely carry over. But more than that, just seeing him in that state was… so horrible!
"Stop it, please! No more!… I–"
An odd pressure interrupted her surrender. For some reason, the air in the room had become… heavier. In fact, it had become so thick that it was difficult to draw breath, like the corset of her uniform was suddenly too tight and constricting of her chest. Riser must have felt it, too, because she felt his torso tense up.
A short stabbing pain lanced through her head, followed by another, making her release her grip on Riser. She looked down to Issei and almost gasped. His eyes were wide open, and he was glaring at Riser with a level of rage that she had never seen from him before. Those same eyes were not the light brown color she knew, but instead a furiously glowing green.
'What–'
"What–"
"AaaaAAAAAAGH!"
With a feral roar and an astonishing burst of strength, Issei leapt up from the floor, slammed into Riser, threw himself atop the man and clamped his hands around his neck.
"Gahk! Grk– You cretin! Let go of me!" Riser growled through the strangle hold the young Pawn had on him.
"Ise?!" Rias called to him in shock. Issei had already been promoted to Queen, so where was this newfound strength… coming from…
'He broke one of– no, he broke two of the seals on his Pawn pieces! How?!'
Flames erupted anew from Riser's hands, the temperature within the room intensifying even further. He grappled with Issei and directed the fire to scorch his attacker. But Issei did not budge, keeping his iron grip on the man's throat.
"Damn you! Let go!"
"AAAAAAGGGGH!"
By all accounts, his roar should have held at least a hint of utter agony, but he was insensate to the searing pain of being hit by a flamethrower at point blank range.
"ISE, STOP! YOU–"
Rias' plea trailed off when she noticed that Riser's flames were quickly losing intensity. One of his hands then took to prying the hands from around his neck, while the other began throwing increasingly frantic punches at Issei's face.
Her eyed widened as she realized what was happening: Riser's body could reform from even the most lethal damage so long as his magic and his mind could sustain him, but he needed breathable air just like anyone else! His regenerative power couldn't fill his lungs with oxygen! If he was unable to breathe…
He would black out and be retired from the game! They could still win!
Forcing herself up, Rias bolted to the opposite side of Riser and latched onto his shoulders, palms facing the floor. She directed the Power of Destruction into her blistering hands and destroyed every bit of flesh at his shoulders, leaving scorched stumps in place of his arms. She then pushed the severed limbs away and held her hands directly over the wounds, using her power to destroy the flames of his regeneration ability before they could complete the task of forming new arms.
Issei paid her intervention no heed, singularly focused on the task of choking out the third-born son of Phenex. Veins popped out across his head, neck and arms from his mounting exertion, and blood continued to fall from his mouth and onto Riser's face. With the flames gone, she could see the majority of her servant's body was burned to a far worse degree than she was experiencing. It horrified her to see him like this, but she had to push through it. Just this once!
A now blue-faced Riser flailed and writhed, unable to do anything else with Rias' power continually destroying his arms. He was panicking, likely having never experienced the terror of breathlessness before in his privileged life. For a split second, she caught the look of abject fear in his eyes and wondered if he truly felt as if death was coming for him.
This had to work! It was their last chance!
'Stop struggling, you bastard! Just give up! GIVE UP!'
And finally, after an impossibly long struggle (just how long, she didn't know), Riser did just that. He stopped thrashing, his eyes rolled up into his head as he went limp, a ragged choked gurgle escaping his lips. Seconds later, his body began to vanish, per the rating game retirement system.
A baffled Rias extinguished her magic and fell backwards onto her rear, catching what breath she could while the adrenaline continued to shoot through her body. Each second that had just ticked by felt like an eternity, but when the ordeal finally ended, it had happened so quickly that she almost missed it.
No longer kneeling over anything, Issei went limp and began to pitch forward and collapse again, but Rias dove and caught him before he could hit the floor. All around them, amidst the charred ruins of a classroom, the air thinned and cooled, becoming breathable once more.
"L-… Lord Riser Phenex has been retired. This rating game is now concluded. Victory goes to Lady Rias Gremory."
"…"
The final announcement was an exclamation mark for everything that had led to that point. It was something she had always imagined hearing, even dreamed about it, but could hardly believe hearing for herself. Even Grayfia sounded stunned, and she was about the most unflappable Devil in the entire Underworld!
"You did it… You beat him!" she whispered, still in a daze. As the magnitude of those words set in, her breaths turned into a silent laugh interspersed with tired sobs. Tears fell anew as she brought her wonderful servant into a warm and shaky embrace.
"Thank you!… Thank you!"
As the illusory world around them and their own bodies began to dissipate, Rias never let go of the boy, continuing to cradle him against her chest. She didn't dare let him go, not after what he had just accomplished. What they all had.
Thanks to her friends… her peerage… her precious family…
Her life was her own again!
…
(1): Historically speaking, Sōji Okita was known as a strict instructor. If Kiba was canonically trained by him at some point before the start of the series, one would think that Kiba would more liberally use some of that training when he sees the need. Particularly against other swordsmen/women.
(2): I decided to take the concept of Issei's canon spell (Dress Break) and combine it with Twin Impact, the quirk of Nirengeki Shōda from Boku no Hero Academia. It's such an underrated power, and I figured that it would fit well with the Boosted Gear's functions.
…
Done.
It's been said in this story before, but permit me to paraphrase: It is an amazing feeling to overcome something that kicks you in the face harder than an unforgiving boss fight.
This chapter was easier for me to plan than to write –as far as plot– because I had something of a basic progression of events to work from. The devil (pun completed intended) was in the details; I find action scenes harder to write than anything else because I always try to be too descriptive with the sequence of events and then I get lost. At first, I thought about skipping the whole game altogether and give an after-action summary, but it didn't feel right to go that way, so I decided to get it all down in one big gulp with some custom tweaks.
Too Shounen-ish? Anticlimactic end? I dunno, but I've spent enough time on this already, and I think it's an end that opens the door to possibility with Issei.
Speaking of which, I also wanted for this chapter to be a sort of spotlight for my plan with Issei. Since Asia is not part of Rias' peerage here, the other members, Ddraig and Rias herself will play a bigger part in Issei's development as a character. While much of the relationships with everyone in it will remain largely the same, Issei will be more wholly devoted to Rias due to Ddraig's influence on his mind, which will be expounded upon later. If that plan is of interest to any fans of Issei, please share your thoughts.
If you enjoyed what you read, leave a favorite, a follow or a review to let me know. Any advice or support that you could give would be greatly appreciated. If you'd like to take a shot at the challenge listed in chapter 1, send me a PM, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.
As always, thank you for reading!