While My Pawn Gently Reaps
Hello everyone and welcome to the latest chapter of I'm Too Sober For This! We have a straight up Rating Game battle this chapter as Rias finally goes up against Riser Phenex! But before we see whether or not her training's paid off, I'd like to invite all of you to check out my Pat reon and think about becoming a patron! It's a good way to get news and see what's going on in my creative process along with other potential goodies. Now then I think I've said enough and with no guest review questions this week, let the Rating Game begin!
Just Outside the Rating Games Arena
Among the supernatural races, Angels, Devils, and Fallen Angels made up the bulk of the strongest, or most influential three factions in the world. That wasn't to say that the supernatural only consisted of them. There were plenty of less well-known races who belonged to what many would refer to as other mythologies.
In this case, one specific race from one particular mythology was on my mind right now: Yokai. But it was not for the reason one might think.
You see, there was one race among the Yokai I was rather familiar with, that race being the Nekomata. Nekomata were essentially cat demons that looked like humans most of the time, only with tails and cat ears, with their own smaller subtypes such as the powerful Nekoshou, like Shirone and Kuroka.
Anyways, the reason why said mythical cat girl creatures were on my mind was because a pair of them kept sniffing me from several feet away before snickering and whispering excitedly to each other.
"Why do they keep doing that?" I finally asked the man in charge of the two Nekomata: Riser Phenex.
"I," he began while trying to think of any possible reasons, "Have no earthly idea."
We both glanced back in confusion as the twins, Ni and Li, continued to sniff and then snicker. The two cat girls sported short hair, one red and the other blue, and both wore what looked like modified school uniforms that left little to the imagination. I wasn't all that surprised, considering Riser Phenex was a Devil known for his lust and love of all kinds of women.
"So you haven't seen them do something like this before?" I shot a questioning look his way.
"No, never. This is the first time I've seen them act this way." Riser shook his head.
And it was getting creepy. One of the sisters, Li I think, leaned forward and sniffed the air before slapping a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing, then retreated to Ni's side where they continued to giggle and snicker.
He held up his hands in helplessness. "Believe me, Emiya, my girls are not shy, but for some reason they're refusing to get any closer to you."
He wasn't lying. The closest I'd gotten to them was when I walked past them to introduce myself as Riser's escort. They'd both taken one whiff of me, recoiled as if slapped, retreated a few steps, before sniffing again. The duo had broken into an absolute fit of giggles after that and now kept a liberal amount of space away from me while continuing to snicker from time to time. "I probably just picked up a weird scent or two at the training grounds or the Familiar Forest." I theorized with a shrug. "I've been in contact with all kinds of weird things lately."
"Including that stranger over there, I assume?" Riser indicated a hooded figure in the distance who was waving a sign with the word IMPOSTER written on it in big bold letters.
He then turned the sign around to the backside, which said LOOK FOR THE SAD POTATO.
For someone that hated being the center of attention, that guy absolutely failed at being inconspicuous.
"He's just a drinking buddy of mine." I waved off his concern. "It's better if you pretend he's not there. He's probably used to it."
In all honesty, I was still confused why he was getting all antsy about Riser. According to Issei, this Riser Phenex looked the same as his, with unkempt blond hair, a burgundy suit and pants, and he even walked with the lazy confidence that one would expect from someone who looked decades older, or someone born and raised into wealth. But unlike the Riser in Issei's world, this Riser Phenex didn't speak in third-person, which apparently weirded Issei out to no end.
Hence why he was currently popping up in random places waving an imposter/potato sign. On the upside, at least I'd have some backup if Sirzechs tried something. That was the whole reason I was here, after all: to prevent a possible assassination by the King of the Underworld.
Now you might naturally be asking why would Sirzechs want to kill Riser?
The reason is quite simple: for his sister Rias Gremory. You see, this upcoming match wasn't just a regular Rating Games match. No, this was a match that would determine the direction of the rest of the Gremory heir's life, because if she lost, she would be forced to marry Riser Phenex. It sounds like a bad wager, but in reality, it was the only opportunity the crimson-haired girl had to negotiate a way out of the arrangement at all.
Her family wasn't necessarily pushing this marriage because they wanted to. They just felt they had to to keep the Gremorys from losing more prestige than they already had. I'd had quite the interesting meeting with Serafall and Ajuka, in a janitor's closet of all places, where they explained the situation to me. Turns out, the true power of the Gremory family was not the Power of Destruction, which they are often associated with in this latest generation. That's an ability they received from joining hands with the Bael family in the form of Sirzechs and Rias' mother, Venelana Gremory, formerly Bael.
No, the original power of the Gremory family was the ability of Clairvoyance, the power to take a limited look into the future. It was this which had originally allowed them to take their place among the 72 Pillars and it being sought after by many allowed them to form numerous alliances. But fate apparently doesn't like it when one gets too comfortable wielding such a power to constantly cheat the system. Case in point: the most recent generations of the Gremory family didn't possess their mystical ability.
For obvious reasons, the family had been keeping it a secret for a while now, helped in large part by the many successes of Sirzechs during the Great War. But such secrets could only be kept for so long, hence the current arrangement. The theory was that the mixing of the Gremory bloodline with the flames of the Phenex bloodline would finally yield the Power of Clairvoyance once more. Rias, however, wasn't so keen on the idea of marrying someone she had no romantic interest in, and whom obviously intended to be wholly unfaithful to her.
And considering the fact that they probably wagered that the Bael's blood (which was quite literally at the top of the hierarchy as far as demon nobility was concerned if you excluded the original Satan himself) would do the exact same thing in the previous generation, I wasn't exactly holding my breath that this repeat genetic gambit would work this time either.
Sirzechs also loved his sister greatly and had similar thoughts on the matter. He'd rather she be happy than forced into misery on the off-chance that the child she bore possessed the desired power.
Though a part of me wondered if the two of them were just overreacting a bit by genuinely considering killing Riser in public like this.
"I must admit," Riser spoke up, "When I heard I was going to have a guard escorting me I didn't expect it to be you."
"Believe me, I was surprised to hear I was going to be an escort in the first place." I replied. "Considering what I did in the first match, I didn't think you'd want me anywhere near you."
"Quite the contrary." The Phenex heir corrected. "Father was most curious about the individual who succeeded in hurting a member of our family. Even had I not wanted to meet you, he would've insisted."
"Guess that explains your welcoming behavior." I commented. "Does Lord Phenex want you to get into my good graces?"
"Naturally." Riser didn't even bother denying it. "But that's only part of the reason. I too was curious to meet the first person in our known history to actually hurt a member of the Phenex family."
"I'm sure you're exaggerating." I waved off the compliment. "There are probably plenty of people who have managed to do what I did."
"No, there aren't." Riser corrected. "Outside of Heaven and the Divine, the Phenex clan has never been harmed. Killed, certainly, we could die due to the exhaustion of our magic, or have our bodies extinguished in a single all-encompassing attack. But no one in the Underworld has ever succeeded in causing us to feel pain, until you. Even more damning, you demonstrated this feat in front of everyone in the Underworld. I wouldn't be surprised if you get numerous offers in the future from our enemies."
"Does that mean you're also planning to make one as well?" I decided to ask, more out of curiosity than anything.
"Oh, if only we could." Riser sighed but with a smile still on his face. "My clan would've willingly given you half our fortune, heaped treasure upon treasure onto your head, laid wonder after wonder at your feet, and fulfilled your desires a thousand times over. We'd have counted ourselves lucky even then if it had meant obtaining you. Alas, you belong to the Lady Leviathan, and even we dare not risk her wrath. Thus, we must content ourselves with staying in her good graces."
"I'd better tell her to keep an eye out for strange gifts if that's the case then." I sighed as we arrived at the door to the summoning circle. I opened it and looked inside where the massive teleportation circle, easily large enough to hold a full Peerage of sixteen, was. I stretched my normal and magical senses to the limit but didn't detect anything. "It's safe, but keep an eye out for anything odd while you're in the match."
"It was a pleasure meeting you, Emiya Shirou." Riser waved as he entered the room. "I'd wish you luck, but I doubt you'll need it. Farewell for now."
I had to stifle a laugh as the rest of his Peerage entered and closed the door behind them. He was only half-right. I might not need luck for the Rating Games, but I was going to need all the luck I could get for what came after.
A Few Minutes Later: One of the Private Boxes
"So, what do you think their chances are?" I asked while opening a beer. I was currently seated on the main couch with Issei while Asia was in one of the chairs. Yeah, we wouldn't be drinking heavily without her for a while if the suspicious glares she gave us after last time was any indication.
"You'd know better than me." Issei admitted while taking a sip of his own beer. "This world's Issei is the only one I directly trained. He's improved enough to be a threat to a Rook if they let their guard down, but that won't carry the team. Especially against a Phenex with unchecked regen. You trained Kiba and Gasper, and kept an eye on Shirone's progress, so how do you think they'll do?"
"Based on what I felt from Riser's Peerage," I mused, "Their chances aren't bad, assuming they figure out how Riser's Peerage operates, and if that Pawn of Gremory's is all they're cracked up to be."
"I just hope it's not a shit reveal." The otherworlder commented. "We've been waiting forever, and if it's a letdown I'll… well I was gonna drink more anyway."
I nodded in understanding as the match began. Unlike the other fields which had been canyons or hills, this particular field had been modeled after Kuoh Academy. I imagine the Phenex clan had agreed to give Rias a homefield advantage because they were confident in Riser's abilities.
We were about to see how well their faith was placed as Rias's Peerage rushed out to take their positions. Kiba headed into the woods while Akeno took a high position on the roof of the main school building. Shirone, Issei, and the cloaked Pawn all headed towards the gymnasium. As for Gasper and Rias, they remained behind for the time being in the replica of the office of the Occult Research Club.
Likewise, Riser's Peerage began making their own moves with the bulk of them heading into the gymnasium. It was there where the first blows were struck.
"Issei," Shirone spoke up as they both stepped forward, "It's time to show us what you've learned. Bennia, only use your power if there's no other option." The hooded figure nodded in understanding.
They were pitted against three Pawns and one Rook. Naturally, Issei rushed straight for the Pawns while Shirone focused on the Rook.
"Here goes, Twice Critical!" The Sacred Gear appeared on his left arm, instantly doubling his physical abilities as he dodged a few swings from the staff-wielding Pawn in a monk's outfit, Mira. For a kid that only just started training recently against a girl that clearly knew how to use a bo staff, he was doing a surprisingly good job keeping pace.
"Not bad for a noob." I nodded in approval.
"I had to cut a few corners teaching with the amount of time he had to get any results, but it'll do for now against the mobs." My guest shrugged. "I couldn't teach him much, but what I could get in his head…"
It was when she tried a straightforward thrust with her staff that Issei made his move.
He grabbed the weapon with his left hand and applied his Sacred Gear's single boost to a flaw in the staff, causing it to shatter.
"… Is stuff that works."
"W-What?" Mira barely had time to exclaim before a punch from Issei sent her flying back.
"Yeah it works!" The Twice Critical user cheered.
I had to admit, I was impressed. One well-applied Boost really could cause some damage regardless of how powerful the opponent was, just like the dragon next to me had stated on multiple occasions.
Unfortunately, he didn't have time to celebrate as the other two Pawns, the green-haired girls Ile and Nel, came charging at him with chainsaws.
"Whoa, hey come on!" Issei bent and twisted like he was performing bad dance moves to avoid the attacks. "I love twins and chainsaws and you two are ruining them both!"
"What's wrong, we just wanna slice you up!" The twins cheered happily while swinging the noisy weapons at the Pawn.
Issei responded by jumping back and reaching into his pocket.
"Boost POCKET SAND!"
And it was literal pocket sand, a cloud increased to twice its regular size which covered the surprised twins.
"Pocket sand?" I gave my colleague a dry stare.
"Cheap. Easy. And hard for the mobs to block. Like I said. It works." Issei shamelessly nodded to the screen.
"Gah! Is there lint in this?!" Ile and Nel coughed before Issei jumped to the side and kicked Ile into Nel, knocking them both to the floor.
"Feel free to give up whenever!" Issei smirked in a way that clearly showed that even he had trouble believing he was doing this well so far.
"Don't think a couple of lucky hits is going to change anything!" Mira barked while holding up the remainder of her staff. "Let's tear them apart, girls!" Their weapons seemed to ignite with flames as the trio all charged as one. The Twice Critical user made ready to move but quickly found he didn't have to. When his opponents were right on top of him, their weapons disappeared.
"Huh, what, where'd my chainsaw/staff go!?" The three girls yelled in confusion after swinging down with empty hands.
"Here." A quiet voice answered as the group turned to see the hooded Pawn holding all of the weapons, which they dropped to the floor. "You're all really slow. Issei, isn't it time for your perverted trick?"
Issei stared in astonishment for a moment, then shook his head. "Oh right, time for the moment of truth!" He declared while rushing forward. He tapped all three Pawns on the shoulder and applied his Boost just as a magic circle showed up on each place he touched. A moment later, their clothes tore apart.
"EEEEEEEKK!" The trio exclaimed while trying to cover themselves before launching into a tirade of names like 'degenerate, pervert, lowlife, scum, etc.,' but Issei wasn't listening.
"I can't believe it, that worked!" He clenched his fist with tears in his eyes. "All those years of being a pervert weren't for nothing after all!"
Meanwhile, back in the private box, my eyes slowly shifted to the otherworld Issei as I gave him a look that said, 'Seriously?'
"Yeah, I know." He sighed. "But in my defense, he would've figured out that move anyway. I only sped it up so he'd waste less time learning it. Plus the move does have some genuinely useful applications."
"Useful how?" Asia asked, clearly interested.
"Other than being a surprisingly powerful armor-breaking spell? Cleaning out burns with clothes melted and fused into them. It's what I originally made the spell for."
I blinked in surprise as my mind processed his explanation. It was not what I had been expecting at all.
"Ooooooh. Good call. That'll save tons of time and effort with infections, debridement, sepsis, and tetanus." Asia immediately understood and accepted his explanation on the spot. "Can you teach me later?"
"Sure." Issei replied carelessly before I could have any say in the matter. "It's stupid easy when you get the hang of it. You'll get it fast."
I suppressed the shivers from knowing that this would not end well in the slightest. "You could've at least advised him not to use a move like that in front of the entire Underworld." I pointed out. "Now everyone knows he's a pervert."
"Eh, they'll forget about it after the next couple of matches… in theory." The otherworlder assured.
I rolled my eyes, but didn't press the issue. After all, I was now more curious about the hooded figure's identity. Shirone had called them Bennia. That wasn't the type of speed one would normally associate with a Pawn.
We'd find out soon enough, for the time being I watched Shirone's performance against Riser's Rook, Xuelan, a Chinese-looking girl in a blue, and revealing, cheongsam. It was more one-sided than I expected, with the Nekoshou dodging around her opponent's blows easily before ramming a painful-looking elbow into her stomach that sent her flying into the wall of the gymnasium.
'Wow, she barely had to use any of her Senjutsu for that.' I noted as the group rushed out of the gymnasium, which was quickly destroyed by a blast of Akeno's lightning, retiring the three Pawns and Rook.
"What was the point of squaring off in the gym if she could've just done that?" Issei commented "That was real lightning. When did she learn to do… oh I see what she did there."
"See what?" Asia asked.
"Raw lightning doesn't blow shit up like that. There's a magic circle hidden in the clouds above the building to convert the power into that magic attack for wider range."
"Why didn't she just blast it herself without those extra steps?" My Bishop asked, and admittedly, I was curious about the roundabout method too.
"It's actually an old trick from Heaven's playbook. If you keep the clouds around for a while, you can play "divine judgment" on everyone below for a while at a reduced magical cost by converting natural lightning into the main power source for the magical attack. Think of a fire spell that turns the power from a volcano into a focused laser, only the opposite in this case." Issei frowned slightly at the screen. "Although judging from how tapped out that artificial cloud is, Lady 'Ara-Ara' still needs some practice to get the most out of it."
"Ooooh. That makes sense. No wonder Heaven likes using lightning so much." Asia nodded in understanding.
I nodded in agreement. "My guess is she's only got one or two more charges left in it. They probably fought in the gym to immobilize and distract Riser's group from the clouds being gathered, and to see how the new Pawns are working out."
"Speaking of working out, how do you think Kiba's doing on his end?" Asia wondered. "Those three Pawns are getting awfully close to where Rias and Gasper are at."
It was true, two girls dressed like maids named Marion and Burent, along with Shuriya, a girl dressed like a belly dancer, had just made it through the fake forest and were coming upon the Occult Research Club. Or so it had seemed until the building suddenly disappeared.
"Did they seriously not pick up that illusions were in play once that mist blew in?" A drunk Issei commented while taking another swig of beer.
It was then that Kiba walked out of the woods to greet his opponents. He had a pretty serious look on his face as he conjured a pair of dueling blades.
"I," he began while taking a fighting stance, "Am the bone of my sword."
I felt my eye twitch while involuntarily crushing the can in my hand.
Absently, I grabbed the fresh one that Issei handed to me without looking and opened it.
"I believe I'm going to have to have a word with Kiba when he gets back." I stated calmly with an eerie smile on my face. Obviously, I ignored the chibi Serafall on my shoulder who was laughing evilly at the prospect. Fortunately, our attention was drawn back to the fake athletic field as a blast of purple lightning, or what appeared to be lightning, came striking down towards Issei and the others.
"Oh no!" Asia almost yelped when she saw nothing but a scorch mark on the ground where the three of them had been. The attack had come from a purple-haired woman wearing a blue dress and a white overcoat draped around her shoulders. She held a long wooden staff with a curved, wing-like decoration on the end. It was Riser's Queen, Yubelluna.
"So that's why they call her the Bomb Queen." I noted. "Her magic causes explosions wherever it hits."
"Yeah but it needs to go off near them first." Issei pointed out to Asia.
The hooded Pawn landed with Issei and Shirone in their arms.
"Go find the rest of Riser's Peerage." The Pawn ordered. "I'll handle the old hag."
"That's a bold thing to say to your better, brat." A tick mark appeared on the smiling Queen's face as the Pawn stepped forward.
"Is it bold when it's a fact?" The Pawn pointed a finger. "The only things you've got better than me are those fun bags." The now revealed female Pawn moved out of the way in the blink of an eye as another blast destroyed the ground where she'd been standing.
"It seems I need to teach you and your King's entire Peerage some respect!" More blasts rained down on the field as the Pawn moved, cartwheeled, flipped, and spun out of the way. If I didn't know any better, I'd think she might've even been giggling.
"What are you two staring at?" The hooded girl called while still dodging. "Get going to help the others." Issei and Shirone seemed reluctant, but did as instructed and headed off.
An announcement met their ears then, three more of Riser's Pawns had been retired.
"Hey guys." Kiba called as he emerged from the woods and started running next to his teammates. "How are things going on your end? Is our new friend okay?"
"She's playing bomb-and-mouse right now." Shirone answered. "Though mouse might not be the best way to describe it. Also…" She suddenly hit Kiba on the head with a chop strike.
"OW! What did I do?!" He grunted while rubbing a quickly forming knot on his head.
"I heard you over the communication seal." The Nekoshou informed. "You stole Shirou's line again, idiot."
"What, it worked this time!" The swordsman defended. "I took out three of Riser's Pawns easily by using what Shirou taught me, I barely needed Akeno's illusions."
"Still Shirou's line." She shot an annoyed look his way. I was definitely giving her some extra yokan afterwards.
"Focus everyone." Rias called over their seals. "We're doing well so far, but they still outnumber us with nine pieces to our seven. I've already got a plan for their Queen so if the three of you can buy a little time and draw as many pieces out as possible, we'll have a good chance at winning."
"Three against seven, no problem." Issei declared before shortly having to come to a halt due to a sudden mass of dust blowing up in front of them. Riser's two Knights appeared then, one wearing armor and bandages around her head named Karlamine, while the other sported long blue hair tied in a messy ponytail while also brandishing a zweihander sword. Her name was Siris.
"You're pretty cocky about your chances." A short blond-haired girl in a pink dress who just screamed 'little sister' stepped out of the woods. "Don't think just because you got lucky so far means you have a chance of winning." This was Riser Phenex's actual little sister, Ravel Phenex. Accompanying her were the remaining two Pawns, Ni and Li, their other Bishop, a woman in a blue kimono named Mihae, and their remaining Rook who wore a half mask and a biker outfit named Isabela.
"You make it sound like we need luck to deal with the likes of you." Shirone shot back before getting down on all fours. Power surged from her body as white cat ears and two cat tails sprouted from her body. "Issei, Kiba, the other felines are mine."
"I'll take the Knights then." The sword wielder declared while summoning a longsword.
"Right… wait, doesn't that leave me with three people to fight?! What the hell?!" Issei questioned while pointing to himself. His expression was that of a person who had just realized they'd been shafted.
"Don't worry, our Rook should be enough to crush you." Ravel smirked arrogantly as Isabela stepped forward. The three members of Rias's Peerage readied themselves then before leaping into the fray.
Back with the hooded Pawn, she was mostly still evading.
"What are you waiting for?!" Yubelluna yelled angrily as the girl she was targeting evaded the largest number of explosions yet. "Are you going to fight or are you just going to run around all day?!"
"Well," the Pawn answered while dodging another shot, "Lady Rias told me to focus on support and not use my full power yet, so I'm mostly just playing around right now."
"Don't mock me!" Riser's Queen snapped while firing another blast, which her opponent dodged. "You really think a lowly Pawn such as yourself is capable of defeating a Queen?!"
"Depends." The hooded girl responded before suddenly seeming to vanish. She appeared on another part of the field, then another, and another, and another after that. "How hard do you think I've been trying?" Now she seemed to be everywhere, her form appearing in seemingly several places at once.
After images.
The Queen grit her teeth before holding up her staff and summoning a large amount of magical energy, when her body suddenly froze. The next thing she knew, a bolt of lightning struck from above, causing the woman to yell out in pain before she plummeted to the ground below.
"And a couple more for good measure." Akeno Himejima stated as she dropped even more lightning on their enemy. Yubelluna was forced to retire under the onslaught as another announcement went out. "Ah, over already? I was just getting started."
"It really is easy to forget how sadistic she is sometimes." I commented.
"Eh, I've seen worse." Issei shrugged. "But I'll give points for strategic use of Dio's ability, even if he should have stepped in more behind the scenes to save everyone more stamina."
Speaking of which, Rias and Gasper both dropped down from the roof they'd been hiding on and joined up with the Pawn and Akeno, who was now wearing her priestess outfit. Unfortunately, it seemed the priestess of thunder had used up a little too much magic taking out Yubelluna and needed to stay back and recharge for the time being. The clouds she had set up earlier were fading away, too. Still, that wasn't about to deter Rias, who headed straight for Riser's base with the other two in tow.
Meanwhile, back with the others, they appeared to be doing well enough.
"Is this really the best you've got?" Shirone asked after knocking back Ni and Li. "I expected more from fellow senjutsu users."
"We'll show you, you little brat!" The twins yelled before charging again.
Shirone caught Li's leg and spun her around, slamming her into her sister with enough force to send them both flying several feet.
"Now suck it!" Shirone declared while forming a large blue fireball in both hands and launching it at her opponents. The impact was explosive and an announcement shortly followed after informing everyone of the Pawns' retirement. As for Kiba, he was parrying and dodging around his own opponent's blades, diving in between one attack before blocking both at the same time.
"There was a time," he began while continuing to hold off both opponent's with only the one longsword, "That a bout like this would've been tough for me." I could tell he had created his blade to be both highly durable and capable of absorbing flames on contact, rendering his opponent's own fire abilities useless. "But after sparring with a true master of blades, this is just a workout."
"Don't underestimate us! Arrogant boy!" The two Knights charged in from opposite sides, cutting off any attempts at escape. Fortunately for Kiba, he didn't need to escape.
"Sword Birth!" He shouted while jamming his weapon into the ground. Numerous swords of varying types and effects rapidly emerged from the ground, impaling his opponents just before they could strike him. The surprised Knights gasped in pain before disappearing, an announcement again declaring their retirement. "I may never reach the level of Serafall's Queen, but I can make more than enough blades for a battle like this."
It would've been a cool moment, if not for what happened next.
"And Boost!" Issei declared triumphantly as he managed to destroy Isabela's outfit. "This is awesome! I'm actually doing well in the fight, and I'm seeing so many oppai today! My life's finally turning around!"
"Gah! What in the world!?" The Rook exclaimed while covering herself in embarrassment. Unfortunately, it was too late. Kiba got a glimpse and his nose shot blood.
"Ah, what the hell Issei?!" The swordsman yelled while holding his nose. "Don't tell me that's the super-awesome technique you learned!"
"Sure is!" the Twice Critical user shamelessly admitted with a thumbs up.
"No it's not, tits-for-brains!" The Boosted Gear user yelled and shook his fist at the screen. "Boosting your opponent's blood pressure and internal body parts to tear them apart from the inside is your instant kill! Dress Break is a side move to get rid of their armor so you can get to said body parts!"
"Ooooooh. That makes a lot more sense in hindsight." Asia hummed, nodding her head.
"Boosting their blood… you taught him how to give people heart attacks?" I had to give the dragon next to me a double take.
"It only works on mooks and people with heart conditions. To anyone worth a damn, a single Boost just makes you feel dizzy and uncomfortable for a while." He waved me off, still growling at the screen. "Modern white magic is more than enough to clean up any side effects from a single weak seizure so long as you get to them fast enough, such as immediately after retiring from a Rating Game. People with mind and blood-based powers are more liable do more damage on the cardiovascular system than him. Hell, Gremory's Queen is more liable in comparison with her lightning."
I wanted to argue that it still wasn't an excuse to give his counterpart the ability to give people heart attacks, but judging by how easily Asia, my healing specialist Bishop, was accepting his explanation, I might be outnumbered for once.
"We shouldn't be surprised." Shirone commented while striking at the enemy Rook hard enough to make her retire. It was probably a mercy at this point. "Letting one pervert train another was definitely a mistake."
"I apologize for nothing!" The otherworld Issei yelled at the screen.
"Inside voice, please." I requested while rubbing my ear. "We can save the yelling and cheering for when they win."
"They'll win so long as they don't get careless." The Boosted Gear holder pointed out, sagging back into his seat as we both saw an explosion on the roof of the main building serving as Riser's base.
"Ha! This isn't over yet!" Ravel declared while trying to hide her own trembling at the sudden reversal. "We may be outnumbered now but it looks like your king got overconfident!"
"That's right." Mihae, the other remaining Bishop, declared. "If you lose your King it's all over!"
"Believe it or not," Kiba revealed, "This was kind of the plan. Rias always intended on meeting Riser face-to-face."
"Does she really think she can beat my brother?" Ravel asked angrily, which admittedly made her look more adorable. "She's not like Serafall's scary Queen, she has no immortal-slaying weapons!"
Those words hurt. The fact that such an adorable little girl had clung to her brother the moment she laid eyes on me had really struck hard. I'm good with kids! I'm not a boogeyman!
"You're right." Shirone admitted. "But we never said our King was taking on yours alone."
The group turned to watch the rooftop as another explosion took place, this time in the form of black lightning. It was Rias's Power of Destruction.
"I must commend you." Riser complimented as flames engulfed certain parts of his body, healing the wounds he'd just received. "You and your Peerage are far stronger than I anticipated. Were this an actual battle and not a Rating Game, I'd be done for."
"I've been preparing for an actual battle this whole time." Rias revealed while Gasper stayed behind her. "At this point, you're just a warmup for what we've been preparing to face."
"I'm surprised at your attitude." The Phenex heir commented. "Not so long ago it seemed like all you were concerned about was getting our wedding called off. Certainly, I heard about your encounter with Kokabiel, but even that shouldn't have been enough for such a drastic change of attitude!" He unleashed a volley of flames, which Rias intercepted with a large, red magic circle.
"My horizons have been expanded quite a bit recently." The Gremory heiress replied as the smoke cleared and she stood unharmed. "Our Underworld could very well be changing soon, which is why I looked beyond to another. Bennia, now."
"FINALLY!" The hooded girl exclaimed as she suddenly appeared behind Riser and slashed him before moving back in front of Rias. Amazingly, he gasped in pain before collapsing to one knee.
"What-what did you just do?" He asked while gripping his chest.
"Allow me to introduce you to our newest Knight." The Gremory heir held out a hand. "Bennia Orcus!"
Said Knight's cloak changed. Her hood altered to resemble a black and white jester's hat with bells on the end, connected to the remainder of the cloak, which was a white cloth settling around the shoulders of her very petite frame. A long braid of purplish-blue hair hung down her back and ended at her hips.
Her outfit also consisted of a short, sleeveless blue dress and blue, jester-like shoes. Black and gold markings were on her thighs along with elbow-length black and gold gloves covering her hands and arms. It was in those hands she held the weapon which had cut into Riser: a black, ornate scythe with gold lines. "Hello, chicken man." She greeted as her tired-looking golden eyes settled on the man in front of her. "Are you ready to pay your dues to a Reaper?"
"Reaper?" Riser repeated as his eyes widened. "No, you couldn't be. The Grim Reapers work for Hades, they hate Devils!"
"If we're being technical, I'm only half Grim Reaper." Bennia revealed. "And yeah, I did work for Hades until I got tired of his way of doing things. After that, I ran into Rias and met all kinds of fun and interesting people, even if they were Devils."
"And the best part," Rias continued for her, "Not only is she the most adorable Grim Reaper ever, she doesn't have to be a full Grim Reaper to wield a Death Scythe. Are you familiar with how they work?"
"It won't matter." Riser declared, his face for the first time twisting into an uncharacteristic snarl as he stood back up. "Riser Phenex will not be bested by a child!"
"I told you! Third person! The impostor is clearly possessing his body!" Issei pointed at the screen accusingly, which I explicitly ignored. I was more curious how Rias managed to hide the fact that her pawn wasn't actually a pawn at all. Then it hit me: Sirzechs. The man was the king of the underworld and helped organize the Rating Games so it would've been easy for him to alter Bennia's registration.
It could easily be passed off as an oversight or a misprint, misplaced paperwork. Such things happen from time to time, even in the Underworld, and Sirzechs no doubt had a friend or two who could investigate the anomaly and come up with a believable excuse that it was just an honest mistake. Naturally how closely it would be scrutinized would depend on whether or not Rias won. So far, that gamble seemed to be paying off.
Riser began wildly blasting his flames at his opponent, attempting to fry the blue-haired girl. But as demonstrated before, she was fast. Once again, she moved so quickly as to create replicas of herself with after images. Fireballs went flying in every direction as Rias calmly shielded herself and Gasper from the occasional stray shot.
"You're only making things worse for yourself now, Riser." She pointed out. "One of the ways a Phenex can die is if they exhaust their magic. There's also fully obliterating you, but that won't be necessary." As she said this, Bennia slashed Riser a couple of times with her scythe before leaping away. "Because a Death Scythe doesn't slash a person's body, it slashes their soul while also inflicting a life-stealing curse. The damage you take to your soul is proportional to how strong you are."
Riser didn't answer as he continued trying to hit Bennia, who easily dodged and slashed him with her scythe. "Of course, I've only asked her to inflict shallow wounds for now. But one word from me and she'll end all of this."
"No, I'll be the one to end this!" Riser declared as he gathered a massive amount of fire above his head in the shape of a large orb. "Let's see you dodge an all-encompassing attack!" As he tried to detonate it, however, the flames suddenly stopped responding, or moving at all for that matter.
"Sorry." Gasper waved while peeking out from behind Rias, his Forbidden Balor View activated. "No more boom-boom for you today."
"Bennia," Rias pointed, "Finish it."
"Gladly!" She chirped, landing in front of her King and readying a charge. "Meet your Grim Reaper, Riser Phenex!"
She shot forward and brought her scythe down vertically, right for the blond man's head. A bloodcurdling scream followed as the flames from before dissipated. Riser fell backwards then, foaming from the mouth as unconsciousness took him.
"Wow." Bennia rested her scythe on her shoulder. "You dodged a bullet with this guy, I think he shit himself."
It was not something anyone was jumping to find out. What was certain was that, with the King unable to fight, the match was declared over. In what many would consider a stunning upset, Rias Gremory and her Peerage triumphed over an immortal.
At long last, her future was her own.
And so the winner is Rias Gremory! Now a bit of an explanation for a few things. We don't actually know if Bennia Orcus was the hooded pawn in ADLH, that's a question for Fahad, so we took some liberties and made our best guess. Also, this is considered the endpoint of the ADLH story, so from here on out it's going to be diverging from the original plot as we put our own spin on how events are going to play out. We've got a lot of things planned so you can all look forward to that. Stop in next time as the Rating Games take more than a couple unexpected turns!'Til then.