The next round has begun!

My roll: 6

His roll: 2!

For a total of 8!

"That means both teams can send a Bishop or Knight and another Bishop, Knight, or even a Rook!" Gamigin, the broadcaster, explained. "Or, either one could go all-in with their combined Pawn!"

Our planning period began.

"I think I should save for later," Aika said.

"I agree," I said. "Your Balance Breaker should be saved as our trump card."

"Yeah…" Ravel said. "I may have to go…"

Yuuto nodded. "We went last round, so neither of us can go again, and we already established Kuroka as a later-game pick. So, it may be your shot."

Rahab gave her a thumbs up, "Good luck, yo!"

Ravel nervously chuckled, obviously a bit over her head trying to embrace her inner delinquent, giving a thumbs up herself. "Thanks… yo…"

"So that leaves either Koneko or Hagane."

"Hagane," Koneko immediately replied.

"I need to save Mark 3 for later," Hagane replied. "I have to rely on that for my strength, but you're consistently strong."

Koneko grumbled for a second, but then nodded. "Okay… I'll go with Ravel."

"Excellent." I said, not just from the decision being made, but because she just actually referred to her name and not be a petty avian nickname.

"Team Gremory has sent one of their Bishops, Lady Ravel Phenex! As well as their Rook, Miss Koneko Toujou!"

The battlefield took the form of the ruins of an old castle.

I observed our oppenents. One was a blonde swordsman not dissimilar looking to Yuuto, albeit with longer hair and clad in light armor and, contrasting him, a massive hulk of a man (though the superhero he would be better compared to from his physical appearance would be The Thing) that appeared almost 300 cm tall.

Chivalry seemed to run in Sairaorg's Knights, as he introduced himself as well.

"Greetings! My name is Liban Crocell, Lord Sairaorg's Knight. The big guy is his Rook, Gandoma Balam."

Interesting. The Knight is a member of a family that is considered "extinct" according to Venelana. The only reason the name remains is his predecessors had bred with humans and other different races to survive.

That seemed to be a pattern for many of Sairaorg's peerage members as Sabnock from the previous round was also from an "extinct" house. Makes sense for him to sympathize with the underdogs.

"This opponent is formidable," Ravel stated, "Do you have anything to get past them?"

"Perhaps…" Koneko replied, as she unsealed her nekomata form and charged at Balam. Her body was surging with senjutsu energy.

"Uhuhu. I taught her well, nya." Kuroka said. "That's the second level of her 'nekomata mode;' using her touki (her fighting spirit) to power up her speed and attack. And I did make sure that her power would still be under control. Don't want to make the same mistakes as big sis, nya!"

She struck Balam right in the face with a resounding punch, but it didn't even phase him.

I scoffed. "And all that for nothing?"

"Come on, little sis!" Kuroka cheered. "You can do it, nya!"

Koneko continued striking Balam, this time aiming for the chest, in a Fist of the North Star -esque fisticuff rush as he tried to block it with his arms.

Not much has appeared to change, but it seemed to be winding him as I could hear him grunting as he swiped at her. She quickly leaps in the air to dodge it.

From right behind her, Ravel follows up with a furious burst of fire magic at Balam… which also left him unscathed.

Ravel scoffed. "It's as I feared. He walls magic attacks as well."

"You could have hit me…" Koneko said.

"That's why I waited for you to get out of the way," Ravel retorted.

Koneko grunted as if to say that she had a point before their movement was suddenly hindered as a great force planted their whole bodies to the ground!

"Gravity Jail…" I observed. "That must be Crocell's Sacred Gear. He can use gravitational force on anyone in his field of view to hinder their movement."

Ravel grunted in effort to try and break through the gravitational force, but it wasn't working. But suddenly, her fiery aura flared up and she slowly regained full control of her body!

"What is this!?" the broadcaster exclaimed. "If my eyes aren't deceiving me, Lady Phenex is using her family's power of Immortality to nullify the effects of Crocell's Gravity Jail!"

I could hear cheering from the audience, including one prominent voice that sounded suspiciously like Riser (or maybe I'm just hearing things).

Ravel launched a fireball at Crocell. He exclaimed, "Oh no, you won't!" and summoned a mirror that reflected the attack back!

"Tsk tsk tsk," Ravel clicked menacingly, "Do you think I was necessarily aiming for you?"

She guided the reflected fireball away from her… and to Balam's back! The blast didn't do much to damage him, but it knocked him straight into the radius of Crocell's Gravity Jail, leaving him vulnerable!

She quickly followed with a gust of wind on Koneko to break her free of the attack radius. "I disrupted the big guy's magic defenses! I got him. You take on the magic Knight!"

Koneko nodded as she was still in the air.

Crocell was scrambling to adapt to Ravel's quick thinking. By the time he had his bearings, Koneko was on his flank.

Simultaneously, Ravel engulfed the Rook in a massive explosion familiar to those who had observed Riser's Queen and Koneko blasted the Knight with senjutsu, knocking both of them into the wall.

They approached Crocell, who suspiciously chuckled weakly, "You think you've won… but you… are wide open-"

Ravel quickly turned around to see a badly battered Balam approaching, with his first above Koneko, and immediately blasted him again for good measure, knocking him back where he belonged.

However, Koneko wasn't their main concern…

Ravel then immediately collapsed, with Koneko rushing to catch her fall. "Damn… I overdid it. I'm sorry, Koneko… I think I overestimated my limitations."

"It's okay…" Koneko replied. "You did your best."

"Sairaorg's Knight and Rook, Rias Gremory's Bishop – Retired."

Ravel began being teleported out to the infirmary along with Crocell and Balam as the arbiter made the announcement.

Aika began tearing up and saluted, "Godspeed, Ravel-sama!" Rahab saluted in solidarity with her, "Godspeed!"

"She's not dead, y'know…?" Koneko said as she returned to us.

I nodded. "We did lose her much sooner than we anticipated, though. Let's hope we don't lose more without her brains around."

"Yours are more than satisfactory," Akeno assured me. I nodded.

The next round began with a roll of 4 from me and a roll of 5 from Sairaorg, leading to a round of 9.

Akeno giggled, "I finally have a chance to dish out some punishment…"

"Wait a second, Akeno." I said. "It's a bit early and he still has quite a bit left on the field."

Yuuto nodded. "He has one remaining Rook and Bishop. He can also send out his Queen or his Pawn, but my best guess is he'll try to double team with the Rook and Bishop."

"The Pawn is worth 7, right?" I asked. Yuuto nodded.

"I guess then it's my turn for bonding with Shirone, nya!" Kuroka exclaimed, putting her arm over her sister's shoulder.

"Personal space, please, sis." Koneko brushed her off.

"Koneko already went this round. I can't send her in multiple consecutive rounds," I explained. "I also need to save you for a higher roll, especially if we get 12."

She started counting fingers, "So you're…"

"I'm 9 and you're 3. That equals 12. My strategy is you'll come with me to help me take Sairaorg and win the game."

Kuroka gave a cheshire grin. "I like that plan, nya."

"Why not Akeno and Kuroka?" Rahab asked.

"Because Sairaorg obviously wants to fight me face-to-face. If that's what he wants, I will give it to him."

"I'll go for this round," Yuuto said. "I may have taken a peek at your research and have an idea of what to expect from the remaining Rook. Ascalon will do the trick."

Hagane nodded. "I guess that means I'm up as well." Yuuto was 3. She was 5. That gave us 8 out of the 9 available points.

With our combatants selected, Yuuto and Hagane went up to the battlefield. This round appeared to be in some sort of canyon.

Our two opponents were a tall lanky fellow and a very pretty blonde woman wearing an eye-catching dress suit and pencil skirt, as if she were a go-getter businesswoman.

"On the Gremory side, we have the Rook Hagane Sasaki and, back from the first round, Knight Yuuto Kiba!"

The usual fangirls burst out in cheers as the broadcaster announced our combatants. He then continued.

"On Sairaorg's side: We have Rook Ladora Bune and Bishop Coriana Andrealphus!"

The crowd continued to cheer as I muttered, "Not gonna lie, she does seem to be my type…"

"My my," Akeno intruded, "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing!" I exclaimed in response, clearing my throat. "Sairaorg did say during the press conference he had a certain counter-measure to… that technique of mine… I was just trying to figure out what he was talking about."

Akeno giggled. "The counter-measure to your little coup de grace would have to be a woman with no shame. With that provocative outfit of hers, I have no doubt she is what he was referring to. It's a pity you didn't send me out to put her in her rightful place…"

"You're one to talk about having no shame…" Aika muttered. Akeno simply giggled in response.

The match started. Hagane and Yuuto nodded at each other and split off, with Yuuto going after the Bune the Rook and Hagane going after Coriana the Bishop.

As Yuuto charged after Bune, his scraggly body began to transform, with his muscle mass suddenly multiplying. Intending to stop him, Yuuto leapt at him to strike him with Ascalon, but he was stopped in his tracks by a barrier, getting himself knocked back!

"Ooh! Looks like Coriana has set up a barrier preventing Kiba from getting to him!"

"Fight, Kiba-kun!" I heard someone in the crowd cheered.

"C'mon, Yuuto!" I cheered back. "You can do it!"

Meanwhile, Hagane climbed a rock formation and then leapt at Coriana, who responded by fired off a volley of icicle spears at her with a flick of her wrist.

However, all that flair wrote checks that were not able to be cashed in due part to Hagane activating her Conjured Armor

As the attacks simply bounced off her Mark 1 armor, she ran up to Coriana, who tried in vain to block her fist with magic barriers, but her fist crashed straight through them and she went flying.

"I got the Bishop!" Hagane called to Yuuto. "You take the Rook!"

"The Rook is gone!" Yuuto said. "He's heading straight-"

Just as he was warning her, Hagane was struck with a massive tail, sending her flying as well – straight against the canyon wall!

The Rook had transformed into a massive dragon, who had flown to her and ambushed her, swiping her with its tail!

"Hagane! No!" I exclaimed as she struck the cliffside, kicking up a gargantuan amount of dust.

The Bune clan controls dragons, and some of them, including Ladora, can even transform into them. That's why Yuuto went out with Ascalon.

Granted, that won't do much good if he ambushes Hagane…

"Sairaorg's Bishop – Retired! Rias Gremory's Rook…"

As the sheer amount of dust settled from Hagane getting struck against the cliffside, her fate became clear.

"IS STILL IN IT!"

She hoisted herself up, seemingly having lost her armor in the ambush and blood streaking down her forehead, but she was still in the Game!

"Yes!" I exclaimed.

Yuuto rushed to her aid. "You alright?" he asked.

"Yeah… I'm fine," she said. "I'm gonna need to go ahead and use Mark 3 against that thing. Mark 1 will simply melt in the face of his breath."

The dragon Bune made landed in front of Hagane and Yuuto.

"I'll cover you!" she exclaimed. "You finish him off with Ascalon!"

"But Hagane, even with the upgraded armor-" he said.

"GO! You don't have much time!" she said. "You will only have one shot!"

He nodded. As the dragon opened his mouth, brilliant flames accumulating rapidly, Hagane exclaimed "CONJURE! MARK 3!"

The dragon fired off just as she finished the incantation and she blocked the massive flames with her arms. The armor could take the hit, but the constant pressure meant the armor would not last long.

"Is Hagane sacrificing herself so her teammate can win?" the announcer commented.

"C'mon… Yuuto…" Hagane strained. Her armor not only had enhanced physical defense but additional magical barriers. That being said, she still only had mere seconds against the full force of a dragon's fire breath.

Under the cover of the shot of flames, Yuuto leapt away from the blast and used the opportunity to get to the dragon's flank. He summoned an air sword in one hand to leap in the air at Bune's side and with the other, he sought to get a critical blow with Ascalon.

Bune finally saw him coming and disengaged from her relentless assault on Hagane, and tried to dodge the strike, however he still managed to get a shallow strike on the arm.

Hagane's armor faded and she faintly smiled as she and the dragon collapsed

Yuuto landed on the ground on the other side. "Are you finished yet?" he said.

However, as he looked around, the dragon had vanished! But not all sparkly like a retirement from the game! It just… vanished…

Yuuto looked around to try and find him.

"Not in the slightest," he heard Bune's voice say, "Your strike may have forced me out of my dragon form, but I will still win for Lord Sairaorg's sake!"

Yuuto tracked the voice approaching right behind him! He quickly moved to strike Bune, but his right uninjured, deceptively scrawny, arm simply deflected it! He then kicked Yuuto with a fierce counter, and that was it.

I could hear the fangirls fiercely crying foul already.

"Rias Gremory's Rook and Knight!" the broadcaster made the announcement. "Retired!"

I collapsed on the couch dejected. "Hagane… Yuuto…" We had our first major round loss. An upset…

As I stared at the ground in shock, Akeno hugged my side. "It's okay, dear. It was not that bad… We got rid of his last Bishop and he almost certainly has to use his Phoenix Tear on the Rook."

"That was an upset, but we're still ahead!" Aika said. "He's got no Knights or Bishops left and only one Rook while we only lost one of each."

"And I am still in the game, nya," Kuroka said. "I'm obviously the strongest here."

"No. That is obviously Akeno-senpai and Makoto-senpai," Koneko retorted.

"Hmph," Kuroka said. "You have a point, nya. Makoto's genes in particular intrigues me…"

Koneko suddenly got in between me and Kuroka.

Kuroka giggled. "Just kidding."

I shook my head, sighing in slight amusement.

"We're still in the game!" Rahab said. "Don't lose heart!"

"Not yet, I haven't," I replied.

I walked up to the center to start Round 4.

"Don't be too down on yourself," Sairaorg told me. "I used up my Phoenix Tear to heal Ladora. That's an advantage I no longer have."

I nodded. "And I still have 6 out of 9 combatants, including me and you're down to yourself, one Rook, and your two trump cards."

He chuckled. "Don't get cocky now! Those two trump cards are quite strong."

"Hmph. We'll see," I said with renewed optimism.

His dice rolled: 6

I rolled… 5. Total of 11.

An "Ooh" from both the audience and Sairaorg. "So close!" he said. "Still. I wouldn't underestimate my Queen."

"I don't need that reminder," I said as we went back to our respective sides.

"He's sending out the Queen," I said. "It's time for the plan, Akeno."

"What plan?" Koneko asked.

"I told Makoto my strategy to deal with that pesky Queen a couple days ago," Akeno replied. Koneko nodded.

"Then what is it? Spill the beans, we're a team." Rahab said.

Akeno dramatically paused and held her finger to her mouth. "It's a secret," and walked up to the plate.

"It's foolproof is what it is," I said. "Ravel even approved it herself."

"Whatever you say…" Aika said.

The battlefield was a cloudy city at night and each combatant stood on the top of separate skyscrapers.

"Next round is a big one! Both Queens are facing off! Rias Gremory's Akeno Himejima and Sairaorg Bael's Kuisha Abaddon!"

Our opponent, like Coriana, was a pretty blonde lady, but she definitely was more go than show compared to her, especially with Abaddon's more functional battle outfit.

"You came as expected, Priestess of Thunder…" Abaddon said to Akeno.

Akeno giggled. "You too, Kuisha Abaddon. I may be less experienced, but I will not lose."

The arbiter gave the signal to start and they flew into the air. What followed was a flurry of magic that was hard to follow.

Both combatants were evenly matched, and they were well-aware of countering elements. Whenever Akeno would use Ice, she would use Fire, and Akeno would counter that with Water.

"I'm sorry. I am so out of the loop." Rahab said. "What is this strategy?"

"The Queen can control black holes to suck in attacks." Koneko replied. "Akeno-senpai intends to counter that."

"How exactly?" Rahab replied.

"Just watch…" I said.

Akeno started giggling as Abaddon moved under a cloud she then unleashed a barrage of holy lightning like the one she used on Grayfia.

Rahab clenched her fist in excitement as what appeared to be the finishing blow was about to strike Abaddon.

But in a shrill buzzing noise, a black hole appeared and sucked the whole attack in!

"What the-?" Rahab said as her excited face vanished. Aika and Koneko looked determined while I look smug. Kuroka, meanwhile, was napping since before the round started like nothing was going on.

"Are y'all taking any of this seriously? She just sucked that whole attack in!" Rahab exclaimed.

"Just watch," I insisted.

"Take this!" Akeno exclaimed.

After that attack failed, she tried it a second time on a much bigger cloud covering a majority of the battlefield.

She unleashed multiple strikes of Holy Lightning to try and nail Abaddon in the bud to no effect. All she nailed were some buildings. Abaddon was able to make more and bigger black holes!

Akeno appeared speechless.

"My Hole ability not only absorbs even the strongest attacks but can also release them!" Abaddon said.

All of a sudden, Akeno was surrounded by black holes!

Abaddon cracked a cold grin. "I can even remove the Lightning and give you just the Holy element…"

Out of the black holes came a blinding flash of light!

"And that's that…" Abaddon said.

…

A familiar giggle.

"Did you think I would let Makoto lose all that sleep over you for nothing?"

She turned around to find that Akeno narrowly darted out of her trap in the nick of time.

"How did you-?"

"I hope you brought protection!" she said. "And that's not an innuendo."

Before she had a chance to regain her composure from that fake-out, Abaddon found that Akeno had a sigil loaded with Holy Lightning directly above her and, before she had a chance to suck it in, she had been struck!

"Sairaorg's Queen – RETIRED!"

The crowd erupted in cheers.

Akeno returned to our side and ambushed me with a kiss.

"It worked, darling!" she exclaimed.

I exhaled. "That was too close. For a second, I thought it failed."

"Let me get this straight," Rahab said. "The plan was to fall for the Queen's trap, knowing it's a trap, narrowly escape the trap, and while the Queen is exposed, thinking she's won, hit her with your own trap."

"Pretty much," I said.

"Hey, if it works…" Rahab said.

Kuroka woke up from her nap. "What did I miss?"

…

"You're joking, right?" Koneko replied.

"You look better than you were last round…" Sairaorg said.

"Three guesses as to why," I replied.

Sairaorg got another 6.

And I got…

A 6.

"Finally! A 12! That means Sairaorg himself may potentially finally show his face on the battlefield!"

I went back to our planning area. "Okay. Sairaorg is up. Let's go, Kuroka."

Koneko and Rahab put their arms on my shoulder.

"Hold your horses, Makoto," Rahab said. "We should go instead."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You shouldn't give up our lead to take down Sairaorg now," Koneko said. "We'll soften him up for you."

"What? You're sacrificing yourselves?!" I replied.

"I don't know, nya. I might be able to take Sairaorg with Shirone," Kuroka replied. "But even if we can't, you can certainly finish him off."

"He has no Phoenix Tear left, remember?" Akeno said. "You're weaker than Sairaorg, but they may be able to even the playing field for your victory."

I nodded. "Be safe out there."

As Koneko, Kuroka, and Rahab left for the biggest fight yet, all that was left in our side was Akeno, myself, and Aika. Akeno grasped onto my hand, both of us quivering in anticipation as to what would happen next.