"Talking"

'Thinking'

"Flashback"

"Attack/Name"

"Narrator"

"I can't believe how good of a copy this place is," Issei commented, looking around the familiar yet foreign room. As though his comment went unheard, Koneko stated with an indifferent demeanor, "They're here."

On beat, the lights above flickered on with industrial strength, the metal beams holding them up groaning at the harsh electrical activation. "Smells like Gremory filth! Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

"I guess the stealth approach isn't gonna work?" Issei retorted as both walked out from the curtains they were hiding behind and onto the wooden stage. "Look what we have here, she sent us a Rook and a mere human. I guess he needed some help."

"And who are you?" Issei asked, grimacing at the girl's cockiness, while his other head liked the sight before him, being underestimated was getting old.

"I'm Mira, and I'm a Phenex Pawn." The familiar Pawn called out, in truth, it was the only one Issei recognized due to her attempting to subdue Sekaino.

"I'm Xuelan and Phenex Rook." The young woman of Chinese descent with shoulder-length black hair and blue-green eyes. Her hair had two Chinese-style buns on both sides of her head, while the front featured bangs that formed a slight "V" shape across her forehead. Her outfit consisted of a navy blue qipao with gold accents open at the chest, revealing her cleavage, a white sash around her stomach, and black, low-heeled shoes, with matching black arm guards over her forearms.

"I'm Ile, and I'm a Pawn!"

"My name's Nel, and I'm also a Pawn!" Both called out in sequence, looking at the two, one would've thought their eyesight was shot. Both had blue eyes, and sharp turquoise red hair, tied with a yellow ribbon on one side of their head, the only difference being that both were tied in opposite directions. Their outfits consisted of white t-shirts with blue accents, black leggings, and blue sneakers over knee-high socks. Notably, they also had orange wristbands around their wrists, as well as gym bags, Ile carrying a blue bag while Nel carried a red bag.

"The Rook chick, she could be a big problem for us." Koneko stated, Issei replied, "You think so?"

"Based on her power level, she's got the skills of a queen."

"That's no good. Oh what the hell we knew we were underdogs from the beginning, let's just do this!" Issei announced before summoning his gauntlet, the energy blowing back his hair and cape. Taking a step forward, Koneko tightened her gloves, stating, "Those Pawns are all you. I'll try my luck with the Rook. Watch my back out there, and please keep those chicken heads off me."

"I've learned by now not to go easy on my enemies, Sekaino taught me that." Issei started, before jumping from the stage, yelling, "Let's rock!"

"BOOST!"

"So she decided to attack from the center after all. How are things on the other front?" Riser asked, his Queen, revealed to be a voluptuous woman with long wavy purple hair which fell down to her back, with matching eyes. The right portion of her hair fell over her face, covering down to her chest, while the left extended near the top of her skirt.

Her attire was a dress consisting of a navy blue tunic top with gold accents and a pale blue skirt with open sides. She had black shoes over matching thigh-high stockings with garter belts. Her top revealed much of her cleavage, held with a gold choker with blue and red jewels. Over her outfit was a white overcoat with black and gold accents and matching pauldrons.

For accessories, she wore a black hairband with a red-orange jewel over her forehead to keep her long hair in place. For cosmetics, she wore purple lipstick and matching nail polish, matching her eyes and hair. Lastly in her hand was a staff-like scepter, likely to be wielded in battle.

Upon Riser's command, the woman answered, "My lord, your Pawns Shuriya, Marion, Bülent are moving in on the enemy as we speak."

"Damn, this fog is so thick we won't be able to see anything!" Bülent complained, revealing herself to be a young girl with shoulder-length brown hair, dressed in a sleeveless French maid uniform, a white laced design exposing her cleavage with similar laces on the edges. Adding onto this, she had a maid headpiece, half-apron, and forearm fingerless gloves.

Behind her to her right was Shuriya, a young woman with long pale blue hair and amber eyes. Her skin was tan, exposed by her bikini made up of a metallic underwire brassiere and a silk loincloth that exposed her sides. She also wore a silver tiara and neck rings with ruby and blue gems respectively. Her other accessories included a snake-themed bracelet on her upper arm and a transparent pink veil across both her arms. One last detail was the purple highlights around her eyes.

To her left was Marion, a young girl with shoulder-length light brown hair and dark brown eyes, dressed in a buttoned, sleeveless, French maid uniform with a white-laced design. Complimenting this, she had a standard maid headpiece, cuffs, and a white half-apron to go with the set. Lastly, she wore light gray tights.

From a tree bordering the path the three were on, a red magic circle conjured before launching four bolts of crimson energy. The Pawns darted off, the bolts careening into the ground where they once stood.

"A trap! Did they really think something that lame would work?" Shuriya bragged, her condescending tone trickling into her words. Adding onto the toxicity, Bülent stated, "The Gremorys are dumber than I thought."

"A cute trick from a Rating Game virgin." Marion hissed, jabbing at Rias' lack of experience.

"BOOST!" Diverting Mira's staff with his right arm, Issei would attempt to slam his gauntlet into the girl's abdomen. However, she would raise her right leg, blocking the hit with her knee. Luckily for Issei, the hit would still damage her, made obvious by her pained expression.

Looking up at Issei with gritted teeth, the Pawn would slam her leg back down before kicking Issei's stomach, launching him back into a pillar. A visible dent was formed in the cement as his body hit, the wind being knocked from his body.

Landing on the ground below, Issei would lurch down into all fours. Once again, the dragon within him yelled, "BOOST!"

Dropping down in front of him, the matching Pawns would smile down at him, before pulling out their chainsaws. A panicked look would spread across his face as one of the girls sliced down, barely letting Issei take hold of the blade with his gauntlet.

Sparks flew across the gym, nearly hitting Issei as the second twin attempted to slice off Issei's arm. In a stroke of brilliance, Issei took the blade of the chainsaw and crushed it in his hands, rendering it no better than scrap metal. However he was done yet, raising his leg, he kicked the Devil away from the tool, knocking the wind from her before yanking it from her.

Taking the weapon, Issei careened it into the incoming chainsaw, knocking it off course. With the weapon behind him, Ddraig once again announced, "BOOST!"

With his newfound strength, swung the metal into the Devil's skull, easily outpacing her reaction speed. Upon contact, the girl was sent flying, clumsily tumbling next to her twin.

However, he wasn't able to take a breather, as Mira dashed towards him. The girl swung her staff at Issei's head, however at his sub-relativistic speeds, he was able to expertly dodge before lurching forwards towards her legs. The girl would gasp in shock as Issei wrestled her onto the ground, causing her to fall forwards as he slid past her.

Mira was able to catch herself though, standing as Issei did the same, Ddraig yelling, "BOOST!"

Once more she took her staff before darting towards Issei, a blast of wind echoing her movements. Rather than dodging though, Issei grabbed the staff with his gauntlet, before using his right hand to shatter the pole.

Taking advantage of her stupor, Issei stiff-armed her chin with his left, her mouth slamming shut as she launched back. The girl quietly whimpered in pain as she landed, though, in a surprising show of durability, she sat up, looking at the remains of her prized weapon in horror as she stated, "My staff, it's broken!"

On the other side of the gym, both Ile and Nel picked themselves up, before stating, "We can't lose to this human!"

"If we do, Riser's going to kill us!"

"Yeah! Especially with how he is now!" Ile yelled back, something which caught Issei's attention. Curious, Issei asked, "Wait! What do you mean, 'how he is now,'?"

"Why should we tell you? After all, you're going to die on this field!" Mira responded, standing up with a shard of her weapon in each hand.

"Because we're trying to defeat him." Koneko matter-of-factly replied, walking next to Issei. Taking note of this, Issei stated, "Nice job with the Rook."

Though the underclassman would merely nod in response. Surprisingly, the next voice to pop up was Xuelan, who slowly shambled onto her feet.

"Do you really think you can defeat him? Even before that thing got to him, I doubt you could. But now… Riser's a whole different person." The Rook declared, grunting as she walked over to her allies. As she was about to fall over, Mira caught her in a display of comradery.

"Yeah, why wouldn't we?" Issei asked, optimistically ignorant of Riser's rage. Xuelan grimly laughed at Issei's question, before answering, "Even if you had your entire Peerage backing you, I doubt you'd be able to."

Koneko would flinch at her answer, her eyes widening. However, Issei stood strong in his conviction, responding with, "Then I guess we'll have to surprise you. Humans have a way of doing that."

"Perhaps, you did defeat us after all." The Rook stated, her fellow Devils though had their own things to say about this.

"C'mon they didn't defeat us!"

"Yeah, we can still take them!" The twins argued, however, Xuelan rebutted with, "That human, Issei, was it? Defeated you three single-handedly, and Koneko, the Rook, managed to put me in this state. I'd rather us leave in one piece now than meaninglessly fight."

"She's right, the two of us are still able to beat you four up," Koneko added, getting the twins' attention. They both looked at her with deranged anger in their eyes, retorting, "You don't know that!"

"Yeah, let's go!"

"Ile, Nel! We're done, let's go." Xuelan ordered, shocking Mira who was still holding her. The twins merely grumbled out a 'fine' before surrendering themselves. Seeing this, Issei and Koneko turned to make their way from the gym, however, Xuelan interrupted them, asking, "Issei, do you really think you can defeat him?"

Turning to look at her, Issei smiled before cocking a charismatic smile, simply answering, "As I said, I might surprise you."

'Humans…' The Rook thought to herself, before officially surrendering herself to the game's rules.

"Koneko! Issei! What's your status?" Rias questioned through the mic, Issei replying with, "We're good, the gym's been cleared."

"Good work, Issei. Akeno is in position and she's ready to go, you need to get out of there immediately!" Rias ordered, the tension suddenly spiking as both darted from the building.

From the clouds above a massive yellow magic circle shimmered, before a huge bolt of lightning careened down into the gym, obliterating it. Issei, having scooped up Koneko, managed to get them both out of there and away from damage in time, both watching the explosion from a safe distance.

Akeno, now in her traditional Miko attire, which consisted of a white haori with red accents, a red hakama, and a pair of zōri with white tabi, however over the wreckage. Her wings were fully exposed, as she innocently retorted, "Boom!"

Lightning cracked in her still extended arm as Grayfia announced, "Three of Lord Riser's Pawns and one of Lord Riser's Rooks retires!"

"That was badass!" Issei stated, Koneko replying, "Yeah badass is one way to put it. She's the real deal, it's why her nicknames the Priestess of Thunder. She knows how to bring the boom, and she likes it.

You were saying how you would surprise those Devils, well keep her in the game and you might just do it." Koneko added, the two watching as Akeno put her hand up towards her chin, giggling with a lustful blush on her face. Issei, watching this, stated, "If she's the priestess of anything, it's pain! Just glad she's not on the other team!"

"I must say, I'm impressed. Rias used an important strategic position to lure them into a trap and then blew it sky high. That was a bold move." Sona remarked, complimenting her friend's achievement. Tsubaki, sitting next to her added, "You're right, although now Lord Riser has no choice but to unleash everything. Not that he wasn't about to…"

"True, this battle's just begun…" Sona finished, from inside the false clubhouse, Rias, who sat calmly on her couch stated, "The Phenex's still have us outnumbered. We'll need to buy Akeno a little bit of time so she can be fully ready for her second attack. Once her power is replenished, we'll start to make preparations for our next move.

Until then, stick to the plan and I promise you, we will win this thing." Rias declared, Issei having moved from his position stated, "So?"

"We need to get to the athletic building as soon as we can. Kiba's waiting for us there, if we see any bad guys, we own them. Sound good?" Koneko planned, Issei turning to face their next objective added, "I just hope Kiba's okay, he's all alone."

Eh, knowing him he's probably taking in their whole team without messing up his hair. But hey, we might as well give him a hand." Issei rebutted, extending his hand in a friendly gesture. Koneko looked at him in surprise, before turning away from him, retorting, "Let's just go."

"Wait, Koneko!" Issei yelled, Ddraig announcing, "BOOST!"

Issei darted towards the girl, tackling her away from where she stood. The small girl would gasp in shock as the air was knocked from her lungs. Just before she could fight back, a massive explosion erupted from where she once was, the fireball further propelling them away.

Issei flipped around as the two were about to crash down, taking the brunt of the damage as they both tumbled on the ground. Shakily picking himself up, Issei helped Koneko up off her feet, before ordering, "Get out of here, Koneko!"

"Issei, what happened!?" Rias yelled through the communication system. Obviously desperate for answers, Rias added, "Issei, talk to me!"

"We're fine, Rias! We were attacked by someone, Koneko's meeting Kiba while I'm holding her off." Issei explained, Koneko looking up at him, now confused. Seeing her hesitance, Issei looked down before pointing toward Kiba's location, yelling, "Go, Koneko!"

The small girl backed up from fear, before nodding and darting away from the scene, quickly looking back at Issei before finally disappearing. Looking up, Issei saw a member of Riser's Peerage hovering over the battlefield, her long purple hair flowing in the wind. Issei for a brief moment leered at her voluptuous frame, however, he quickly pushed those thoughts aside, visibly shaking his head.

Looking back, he saw her laugh before calling out, "You really should've kept her around, you might've had a chance at beating me."

Issei had a firm glare on his face, before stating, "She's already done enough, besides I need to prove myself."

Riser's Queen merely laughed at his words, before replying, "How adorable, you want to prove yourself to me. I'm flattered."

Issei growled at her words, but he kept his anger to himself, choosing to store it away for battle. Watching her closely, he saw as she took her staff before pointing it at him, rings of pink crackling at the front.

"Then how about you prove yourself? Human…" The Queen sneered, narrowing her eyes as her next attack charged toward the front of her staff. Issei raised his fist, before Ddraig stated once more, "BOOST!"

Red energy pulsed through his body, before swirling around his form, creating an impressive aura. His hair and cape were blown back by the artificial wind as red swirled around his form. His eyes quickly glowed the impious color as the Heavenly Energy flowed faster into his body than it ever had before.

"BOOST!" With one more boost, Issei lurched downwards, gathering strength in his legs. Lightning discharged around his limbs before he pounced toward her. A fiery red streak of energy traced his path like a painter over a canvas. The ground where he once stood shattered into a fractal-like circular pattern, rubble burst from the cement before launching away from Issei's original position.

Issei had his left palm extended towards her, preparing to stiff-arm her. However, the woman smirked, before seemingly vanishing into a mass of light. Issei widened his eyes in panic before his body was slammed back down toward the ground.

Twisting around mid-air, Issei landed with his left hand dragging through the ground, creating five distinguishable trenches in the ground. Looking back up, he saw the woman still mid-air, a belligerent smile on her face. With a cruel giggle, the woman stated, "How can you prove yourself if you can't even win against me?"

"Tch shut up!" Issei retorted, before jumping towards her, channeling his energy into his left hand as he reared it back.

"BOOST!" Swinging at her, he watched as she dashed backward faster than he could even react. Twisting around as he fell back down, Issei watched as she declared, "It's time to give up the fight, little boy. No matter how hard you struggle, you won't win. You can't win."

Down below, Issei's anger began to boil. His teeth were gritting, his fist clenched, luckily for his sake, Akeno floated down in between him and Yebulluna. With a perky tone, Akeno stated, "Well this is exciting…"

"Akeno!"

"Issei!" Akeno called out, before turning and stating, "I can take care of this trash, you go on ahead, okay? Oh and don't worry, I'll make sure we have some fun."

"Fun? How exciting!" Yebulluna exclaimed, however, Akeno ignored it, saying to Issei, "I'll be fine, Issei! Just go!"

As much as he hated being belittled, he knew he couldn't take the Queen, nor could he help Akeno. At the moment he was just too slow, maybe he could tank attacks but even then, he would run out eventually.

"Fine, just keep yourself alive." Issei pleaded, before darting off towards where Koneko and Kiba were, unknowing of the magic swirling within Akeno. Her body was coated in a yellow aura, her sharp black hair blowing aimlessly in the wind. In a condescending voice, Riser's Queen revealed, "I've been wanting to fight for what seems like ages, Priestess of Thunder!"

"Oh, have you? That's sweet but the pleasure's truly mine! Bomb Queen." Akeno shouted back as Yebulluna was surrounded by a swirling miasma of purple and pink light.

From above, Sekaino watched the scene, grimacing at the fact that Issei ran away from the fight. He could understand it, but he wouldn't win like this, he needed something to push him. Whether it was pride or rage, or even love, he needed something to keep him going. Regardless, he wouldn't intervene, this was his chance to prove himself.

"Three of Lord Riser's Pawns retired."

"Three of them?! Kiba didn't show them any mercy did he!" Kiba yelled as he dashed from the battle. Passing by a stretch of roofing over a pathway, Issei was snatched by the hand by an unknown figure. Luckily for his sake, it turned out to be a familiar blonde.

"There you are."

"Kiba! And Koneko, you're both okay." Issei remarked, glad all of his allies were still in the game, Koneko merely gave a lazy, "Sup?"

Though, the two Devils shared the same emotions Issei did at the moment. Issei, remembering Grayfia's announcement, asked, "Wait, the three Pawns that just got out, was that you, Kiba?"

"Not just me, Koneko here helped me as I was finishing up," Kiba explained, Koneko nodding in admission. Issei smiled at this, knowing they both were still in good condition. Laughing tiredly, Issei stated, "Looks like I was worried for nothing then."

From their post, both Sona and Tsubaki watched on, Tsubaki stating, "Currently the remaining pieces on Lord Riser's side have the advantage at nine, Lady Rias is still maintaining a capable five players."

Sona noted this truth, responding with, "They're doing good, better than expected honestly. However, they cannot afford to get careless."

"Looks like we're doing good. Hopefully, if Akeno is able to stall we'll all be able to join her." Kiba reasoned, closing the door to a storeroom behind him. Issei, leaning against a wall and having deactivated his Sacred Gear added, "I hope you guys are in this to the end, because I plan on winning this thing."

"We're right there with you, let's just hope nothing bad happens," Kiba remarked, a serene silence falling onto the group. From the void, Rias spoke, "Kiba, Issei, Koneko, do you read me?

I'm launching a sneak attack on their base now, I want you three to draw as many of the enemy away from the entrance as you can to buy me time." Rias explained, surprising everyone. Issei, shocked at her boldness, asked, "Is that safe?"

"I'm left with no choice, I was planning to give Akeno time to recover so she blast them one by one, but now.. Riser sent his Queen so I need her focus there." Rias answered, Kiba replying, "Yes of course, but don't you think it's too risky to have the King leave the base?"

"With any luck, Riser will be thinking along the same lines. Here's hoping I can take him by surprise. If we can strike him strong and hard enough, we might just be able to take the fight out of him and win. His body may be immortal but his heart is not.

And trust me, I will have no problem whatsoever breaking that Devil's black heart." Rias finished, however before she could break up the call, Issei stated, "Wait, Rias!

He isn't going to be as easy as you once thought. Riser, something happened to him, he's not the same cocky man I met two weeks ago." Issei rebutted, Rias arguing, "If you're planning on fighting him with me, don't. This is my fight."

"Like hell it is! He may have your fate in his grasp, but this battle also means something to me." Issei yelled back, surprising the Devils.

'Issei..'

"Let me join you at the very least!"

"No, Issei! This is something I need to do myself." Rias finished, ending the communication. Issei, hearing this cursed, "Dammit, she's going to get herself killed!"

"I hear you, but I don't think it'd be any different in your case," Kiba replied, Issei wincing at the truth. Clicking his tongue, Issei declared, "Then I'm going with her. If I time this right, I should be able to intercept her as she starts her fight with Riser."

Running over to the door, Kiba asked Issei, "Can I ask what exactly is on the line?"

Turning back, Issei paused for a few seconds, unknowing what to say. Shaking his head, Issei answered, "I don't exactly know, I guess I just have the feeling to prove myself tonight."

Smiling, Kiba, as he began to make his way out, added, "Then we'll be right behind you. Koneko and I will take out as many of his pieces as we can, then we'll join you and Rias once you make it to that point.

Just please, win…" Kiba finished, offering his fist in a friendly gesture to Issei. Smirking, Issei summoned his gauntlet, Ddraig yelling, "BOOST!"

Returning the gesture, Issei stated, "Wouldn't do anything else."

A/N: And it's almost done, this'll be the first time I post onto and not Wattpad. Both will be on at the same time so don't go switching platforms to get this an hour early.

In any case, this is the second-to-last chapter until both this arc and season one of High School DxD are finished. I already know what I'm going to do once it's finished, but you'll have to wait for that.

Word Count - 4,268