Here I present myself with a new translated chapter!

Some interesting questions have come up, so I'll answer them in the reviews:

Max0910: The changes in Sona's peerage were premeditated, it's not a mistake. The problem is that when doing a direct translation I often remove certain references before starting the chapter that explain these things. Basically I made these changes to mold the fight to my liking, since this clan has no relevance in the story, and I think nobody will mind (now that I think about it, it was probably because of this that I neglected about the origin of Saji and his Sacred Gear, and that's why there's a big problem there, but that's another story). To answer the other part of your question, let's say that I don't have anything planned for the future (that is, there was, but there isn't anymore because of different changes I made. You know, this story is almost 4 years old since the publication of its first chapter and some ideas were replaced, deleted or transformed as the months went by). In part I think it has always been confirmed that the Demons in general do not have so much relevance in this story, except for Sirzechs, Rias and Gasper, and there is the "coincidence" that two of them are the main antagonists of the story. It should be emphasized that I refer to the Demons as individuals, not as a species, since as a species they are arguably an important focus in the plot. This is somewhat complicated to explain, I hope to have been sufficiently clear.

Having answered this important point, it is time to begin.

Enjoy!

"How...?" Sona commented, looking at that figure with wordless intensity.

The arm with some burns of what appeared to be a man slowly rose up, noticing a large amount of armor remnants and blood, plus his wounded and burn-covered torso was fully visible.

"How could he beat them so fast!"

The hand finally stopped on Issei's face, who brushed away the blood and hair falling over his face in a rather suspicious manner, making more than one woman blush.

"Four Pawns and a Bishop of the Sitri clan have been eliminated."

CHAPTER 52: THE REAL KING!

A large horn resounded over the entire stage, indicating the time out because several pieces of Sitri peerage had been defeated.

A hooded man in the stands could hear different murmurs, all involving the brown. It was obvious that everyone was very shocked by what they had just witnessed.

"Wasn't he supposed to be someone weak?"

"He took down 5 with just one magical attack!"

The hooded man could simply smile at such comments.

"It seems the Demons aren't aware of all that Hyoudou has improved." The hooded man would raise a little face, denoting that it was Vali. "It wasn't a bad idea to come here after all." His gaze refocused on the Gremory peerage, or more specifically, Issei.

"This might be kind of fun..."

"You have to stay in the back ranks!" Rias exclaimed, getting Issei to look at her with great confusion.

"What?" Was all he could think to say at the time.

"Look at you!" She pointed at him. "You have a large number of wounds all around your torso and face!"

"Uh, but this is nothing..." Issei looked at his exposed torso, and yes, he had a lot of wounds and burns, though these were mostly superficial. "You know well that I only work by attacking from the front, and it's best that I don't expend so much magic for..."

"I said stay back!" Rias stomped loudly, making several of her subordinates uncomfortable. "I'll need your destructive power to cover for me so that attack won't come as a surprise again!"

"In fact, if I had arrived a second earlier I most likely could have done something better about it..." Issei stated, then let out a small sigh. "Buchou, I don't think it's a good strategy to leave me in the rear being that I'm the one who could contribute the most in the attack, no offense guys." Issei gave a smile to his teammates, who waved their hand dismissively, indicating that they didn't care.

"Are you insinuating that your decisions are more productive than your mistress'?" Rias couldn't help but narrow her eyes in slight annoyance.

"But..."

"No buts!" Rias stomped her foot again. "I'm the King! You have to abide by all my orders without complaint, especially if we're in the middle of a battlefield!" Issei could only click his tongue at the redhead's overbearing attitude.

"She's really annoying. Just by looking at your face I can understand that you have no idea how to strategically form your troops in a frontal battle, you just want to use everyone as a human shield so they can't get to you..." Issei thought, then gave a big tired sigh. "I guess I'll have to figure out how to bring the most from behind. Magical attacks are obviously out of the question since I might harm my own teammates..." Issei continued to think, oblivious to the conversation Rias was having with the rest of her entourage.

"That ring is undoubtedly one of the magical items allowed in the Rating Games." The redhead declared. "Keep an eye out. They most likely have another ring like that, and the possibility of withstanding an attack of that magnitude is impossible for us, Issei excepted." Rias finally fixed her gaze on Issei, narrowing her eyes slightly. "That's why you have to stay close to me at all times, did you understand?"

"Yeah, whatever." Issei replied in a curt manner as he continued to think of a plan that would actually work.

"Wait a minute..." Issei's eyes lit up after finding answers. "It's true that my magic can hurt my own companions, but it can also do the opposite." Issei snapped his fingers, drawing everyone's attention.

Before anyone could ask him what he was thinking so intently, the horn sounded again, causing everyone to teleport to the scene of combat once more.

Sona looked at her subordinates, then nodded.

Saji took the lead along with Tsubaki, being accompanied by everyone else, except for Momo who stayed next to Sona.

"Stop them!" Rias ordered, making much of his retinue go to the front. "Issei, stay in front of me and make sure to contain anyone who evades the line of defense!" Issei nodded, though his attention seemed to hover not only in the center where weapons and powers were clashing.

"I knew you'd do that. You never were good at thinking things through..." Sona thought with a small smile, just as Momo was leaving her side.

Saji stopped Kiba and Xenovia's swords for a few moments, causing a small smile to appear on his face.

The gaze of the two aforementioned widened as they watched as Momo leaked from their side, preparing a magical attack that could have a great impact for the three women.

Akeno tried to prepare one of her lightning bolts as soon as possible, but it was obvious she didn't have enough time.

"It won't be enough to take them down, but..." Momo widened her smile at the same time as the three magic circles began to spin with tremendous speed. "Take this!"

"WHAT?!" Rias couldn't help but scream as she saw Momo reach her position without any trouble at all.

The attack shot out without her being able to respond, so she could only close her eyes and wait for the impact.

"Remember, strength isn't everything when it comes to winning..."

That was a memory of Tiamat that came to Issei's mind as he stood in the middle of the attack.

"Experience is something even more important."

"Knowing and understanding how and at what time you should strike or defend yourself is the most important thing."

After that, another memory of Penemue flooded his mind.

"Use your mind, use your intelligence."

"Think how your enemies acted."

"Think what blows they will use."

"Think how they will move."

"And never let their conditions get the better of you!"

Issei's brown eyes glowed from the magical attack that was right in front of him. The strike impacted with great force on the barrier he had previously drawn up, and soon after said attack went deflecting skyward.

"AWESOME, ISSEI APPEARED OUT OF NOWHERE AND DIVERTED THE ATTACK WITHOUT ANY TROUBLE!" Shouted Azazel over his microphone, only to have his gaze change drastically. "Wait a minute, it looks like this doesn't end here!"

"Sitri combo style lethal absorption line!"

Issei averted his gaze, noticing how Koneko gave a great scream when Saji caught her with his absorption line, receiving a great magical shock because of Tsubaki who had combined their magical powers.

Koneko's scream didn't stop for a moment, until she was finally ejected backwards by a small explosion in her body, falling completely unconscious.

"Rias Gremory's tower has been eliminated."

"That's why you always have to have a plan B..." Sona thought with a smile, listening as the horn sounded again.

Issei only deigned to watch as Koneko was rushed to the ER.

"What kind of attack was that?" He thought to himself, then turning his gaze to Gasper. "Hey..." Issei dragged the half-vampire over to talk to him separately for a few moments.

"Understood!" Gasper nodded without complaint, earning a smile from his master.

"We're in numerical difference again..." Was all Rias said as she looked at the scoreboard.

Issei put his mistress's concern aside, as he found the fact that Xenovia had with a wound running down much of her arm a bit more problematic.

"That could be a problem." Issei thought, then narrowed his gaze. "How could they be distracted like that by something so obvious?" He concluded, remembering Momo's surprise attack, which clearly to him hadn't been a surprise.

The horn sounded again, bringing everyone back into the battlefield.

Both the group and Sona's and Rias' group did not take long to get back into formation. As it had already been established, it could be seen that Rías used a quite defensive scheme having Akeno and Asia close, unlike Sona who sent all her pieces to the front, except for Momo who stayed close to protect her.

The first to move were Sona's peerage, as they clearly felt the need to attack due to their numerical advantage.

Loup, Tomoe and Tsubasa clashed their weapons and fists against Kiba, Gasper and Xenovia. Unlike his other companions, the vampire could barely withstand the physical difference against Loup and began to drag him down in an attempt to break through the defense.

But just before things could get more complicated, a hand came to rest on Gasper's shoulder.

"Transfer!"

The half-vampire's eyes glowed brightly before the entire place where the 3 opponents were standing turned a different color, getting everyone to completely freeze.

"Now!" Shouted Issei, getting Kiba and Xenovia to react.

Both knights didn't even take a second to attack Tomoe when Gasper unfroze time. The poor girl could only widen her eyes in horror as the blades delivered two very deep downward slashes to the sides of her torso, causing a large amount of blood to flow.

Tomoe's blood-spitting figure quickly became sharp until it disappeared completely in just the blink of an eye.

"A Sona Sitri knight has been eliminated."

"To the tower!" Shouted Xenovia with great energy, causing the sluggish Loup to grit his teeth knowing he wouldn't be able to dodge the knights.

Kiba and Xenovia's eyes widened beyond measure after witnessing the surprise arrival of Bennia, who stopped the advancing attacks in their tracks with her sickle.

"How quick!" Thought both knights at the same time.

Issei's face quickly turned to the side as he saw how Tsubaki and Saji were preparing another attack against Rias, so he quickly moved to the right to prevent the attack.

His eyes narrowed and his expression tensed slightly as he saw the attack coming right at him.

The barrier he created never suffered an impact, as the absorption lines changed their direction in a rather surprising way, causing Issei's eyes to widen in utter disbelief.

His gaze slowly turned after hearing a deep scream that did not seem to be from Rias.

So, someone had covered for her just in time...

Issei's helmet dematerialized after hearing the sound of the horn indicating a break. His gaze remained impassive as he watched Rias and Asia surround an unconscious Akeno.

"I should have expected them to move like that." Were the words that crossed his mind.

"The queen of Rias Gremory has been eliminated."

Vali folded his arms, looking with great attention at his destined rival.

"This is strange..." The white-haired man raised his gaze, observing the expressions of the three women who were always with Issei. "Apparently, they noticed it too." Vali cupped a hand over his chin, as if trying to decipher a great riddle. "Issei has enough power to defeat everyone in the blink of an eye. So why is he acting this way?" He wondered, then narrowed his eyes. "I don't think he's the type of person to unquestioningly heed his king's orders, especially if those orders are completely inconsistent. Surely this attitude has something to do with them..." Vali fixed his gaze on the three women again, then widened his eyes as he noticed something very out of the ordinary. "Wait a minute, isn't the one next to them Ophis?" His eyes fixed on the figure of the Goddess who was covering her ears as tears threatened to spill from her eyes. "I hadn't paid attention to her presence until now, it's definitely her."

Issei looked at Xenovia's bleeding arm in silence as it was being treated by Asia, though the ex-nun couldn't do much about it as the wound was so deep.

"That woman is definitely fast, but I've faced much, much faster opponents..." The brown-haired man thought, recalling several of his fights against Penemue. "I'm sure between Kiba and Xenovia they could have taken down her. For sure that injury is hurting her pretty bad." He concluded, then stood up as he heard the horn sound.

After a couple of minutes between defense and counterattack attempts, Tiamat's face was getting more and more wrinkled.

"I don't get it, why is he coupling himself to the mediocre level of his teammates?" The dragoness wondered, whereupon her three friends nodded in agreement.

Gasper stopped right in front of Saji and Tsubaki holding a very labored breath. The barrier soon created in front of him as he tried to hold back another attack from the unbalanced pair.

"Overhead!" The vampire's eyes widened as lines of absorption passed over his head without him being able to do anything.

Said lines headed straight for Rias, though Issei's figure appeared just in time to deflect the ranged attack with his bare hands without Saji being able to react in time.

"Now!" Sona shouted, causing Issei's face to immediately turn to the side.

His figure disappeared again, causing Momo's magic attack to hit him full on which forced him to somersault backwards, feeling a great relief to see that Kiba seemed to still be safe with his fight against Bennia.

Sona had to take a big leap to the side just in time when she realized that an attack of destruction was heading straight for her. Her face was diverted to Rias, where they both shared a competitive smile.

Meanwhile, Xenovia was battling Loup and Tsubasa.

"An opening!" was the woman's first thought as she noticed Tsubasa let her lower back free, so her mandoble was quickly directed towards that spot.

Her teeth clenched with great force as a great pain coursed throughout her injured arm, affecting the speed and strength of the attack greatly.

Thanks to that split second granted, Tsubasa was able to react in time to materialize the light shield in her right hand, blocking Durandal on the spot.

"You're mine!" Loup roared as he clenched his fist tightly, preparing to deliver a resounding blow to her ribs.

Xenovia closed her eyes tightly, but the blow never came, as Gasper managed to arrive just in time by using his Sacred Gear to stop time for a second. The vampire couldn't help but gasp in exhaustion as his head began to ache to death from what little magical reserves he had.

The arm continued on its way, but finally stopped short just before hitting her, as, just at that moment, the horn sounded again.

Issei raised his gaze, noticing that there were already only three minutes left until the fight was over.

"She was saved by time." The brown-haired man thought, then fixed his gaze on Xenovia. "Although, I really doubt she feels saved..." He concluded, noticing how the knight was breathing in great agitation as she clenched her commander with great force, causing her arm to bleed even more.

"Only three minutes left. Issei didn't do anything in all this time." Vali thought, cupping his chin. "Still, if it hadn't been for his attention, they most likely would have lost about three times already." He concluded, then narrowed his eyes. "But I'm sure you're not just thinking about defending, or am I wrong?"

"Hey, Xenovia..." Issei approached, sitting down next to the woman. "I think you know as much as I do that you won't be able to do anything with your arm in that condition."

'You don't need to tell me." Xenovia replied in a curt manner.

"Calm down, I'm not telling you to get out." He stated with a small smile. "At least, not until you take someone out." Xenovia couldn't help but look at him with great intrigue after his words.

"Do you have something on your mind?" She asked him, at which point the horn sounded again.

"You'll understand when the time comes." Was his answer, which, in reality, answered absolutely nothing.

Still, Xenovia decided to trust in her partner.

"The plan is obvious..." Issei thought, silently watching as Sona and all the other members of her entourage had their gaze fixed on Xenovia. "Now that you realized the weak condition of our knight, you will try to eliminate her to gain more advantage..." Issei placed his hand behind his back, his index and middle finger began to create a small sphere that grew larger and larger. "Surely you don't expect me to be able to take advantage of our presumed weakness, Sona..." He would conclude, listening as the horn sounded again, resuming combat.

Bennia moved at a speed few could see, stepping in front of Kiba and Gasper so they could not advance.

Loup and Tsubasa immediately reached Xenovia, separating her from the rest with a large punch, a large punch that she was able to block with Durandal, though that didn't stop her from flying off in another direction.

"Don't worry about her, I'm your opponent." Momo stated, causing Issei to fix his gaze on the woman.

"You're right." The brown-haired man replied with a smile, then showing her the small ball of magic that had grown between his two index fingers.

"Wow, you think that can really hurt me?" Momo couldn't help but scoff, making Issei smile.

"Not really, mainly because I don't plan on hitting you with it." Issei's answer only made Momo quite confused.

"What?" was all she could say, as she saw Issei deflect his hand towards Xenovia, who was being harassed by Loup and Tsubasa.

"XENOVIA!" Issei's shout made the three involved look at him in complete surprise.

"DRAGON SHOT!"

Everyone's eyes widened in shock as they watched the tiny reddish sphere transform into a large ball of red energy that resembled the size of two soccer balls.

Loup and Tsubasa didn't hesitate to step aside as they saw how the seemingly harmless little sphere was leaving a large line of destruction on the ground even though it was far from touching it.

"Do it!" Issei's eyes lit up brightly at his completely sympathetic expression.

Xenovia's eyes shone brightly as she understood what her partner was planning.

"I get it!" The knight clutched both of her hands with great force on Durandal, lifting her up as if she were a bat. "I must say, that's a great idea to come from someone like you, Issei!" she concluded, causing Sona's eyes to widen at the horrifying revelation.

"Loup, Tsubasa, move quickly!" Her mistress' shout made the aforementioned look at her with great confusion.

That second when they snapped into thought, was the second that marked the sentence...

"AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Xenovia screamed with great force as the ball of crimson magic impacted on the surface of her greatsword, making a great amount of force to redirect the attack.

The sphere shot out at a much, much faster speed than it was launched, causing Loup and Tsubasa's eyes to widen in shock due to the fact that they couldn't even react as they had the attack right in front of their noses.

They both gave a loud scream as the sphere completely enveloped them in a strong light, only to explode with great force.

Loup and Tsubasa both shot out from the attack, denoting that the woman had taken the brunt of the impact.

Tsubasa's figure soon disappeared as a wounded Loup watched helplessly.

The horn sounded again, along with the announcement of the new elimination.

"Sona Sitri's tower has been eliminated."

"At first, I thought the kings were Sona Sitri and Rias Gremory..." Sairaorg stated, causing his servant to look at him with great confusion.

"But, it's them..." Was all he could say, as he did not understand his leader's words.

"I agree that Sona Sitri is the king of his peerage, but the same is not true of my cousin..." His gaze focused on Issei, noticing how the brown gave a small sigh, so that he then opened his eyes completely composed and analytical.

"I don't know who must have taught him that way, but all the excellent strategic decisions he makes about his leader make him the most dangerous opponent." Vali thought, then smiled slightly.

"Issei is the True King." Were the culminating thoughts of the white-haired man, imagining how the attention of his teammates and his enemies were completely fixed on him right now.

"Kiba, can I have one of your swords?" The brown-haired man asked, sitting down next to the blond.

"Alright..." He replied without hesitation, handing him the bladed weapon. "May I ask the reason?"

"You'll understand when the time comes." Issei replied, then looking to nowhere in particular. "They don't use that combo attack very often, a strange thing when you consider that it could give us a great deal of trouble..." Issei thought, remembering the complications Saji and Tsubaki's joint attack had offered. "If they don't use it too often, it only means one thing..." He concluded, unable to help but sketch a small smile.

"Damn, I'm dead!" Saji exclaimed as he leaned back on his bench, sipping a soda.

"How many more times can you do it?" Tsubaki consulted him, wiping the sweat from her face.

"I'm not so sure." The blond replied, tossing down the empty juice box. "At most it'll be about two more times."

"What will he be planning now?" thought Sona, oblivious to the conversation her servants were having.

The horn sounded again, signaling the start of the remaining two minutes.

"No matter what he's planning, we must keep the figures until the time runs out." Was the thought of Sona, who looked with great attention to Issei.

"Now that I'm paying attention, isn't someone missing?" commented Saji with a raised eyebrow, causing his companions to notice the same.

Their doubts didn't take that long to be answered.

"Rias Gremory's knight has retired."

"I see..." Momo thought aloud. "With that wound she was only going to be a hindrance."

Sona walked over to her bishop, touching him on the shoulder.

"Momo, it's time..." Were her few, but blunt words, which Momo understood instantly.

"Leave it to me, Sona." She nodded, placing herself behind Sona so that everyone would lose sight of her.

The horn blared again, causing Loup and Bennia to pounce on Kiba in a heartbeat.

"I was hoping they'd do that..." The brown-haired man thought, narrowing his eyes as he materialized the sword the blond had handed him under Sona's watchful gaze.

"Transfer!"

Kiba caught the sword Issei threw at him out of pure instinct, causing his eyes to widen as he felt a great amount of magical energy take over his body.

"Do it!" Issei's shout reached his ears, causing Kiba to smile in understanding.

"Your plans are kind of crazy, but the truth is, they don't bother me!" The blond exclaimed, thrusting the sword deep into the ground.

Bennia and Loup instantly understood what he was going to do, so they quickly stepped aside. Or at least it was the case for the woman, as Loup resented his recent injuries and fell to the ground.

"Loup!" shouted Bennia and Sona, watching as the man screamed and was pierced by a myriad of blades that kept coming out of the ground.

Bennia couldn't help but grit her teeth as she felt the last sword deliver a small cut to her cheek even though she was already quite far away from the initial source of the attack.

"Now it's our time!" Saji roared, activating his absorption lines while Tsubaki accompanied him with her magic.

Issei was about to rush over to intervene, but was stopped by Bennia as she stepped in the way.

"Sitri combo style lethal absorption line!"

Gasper quickly stepped into the middle of the attack, using his Sacred Gear to stop time over a fairly wide area. This caused the blond to click his tongue and divert his lines to another target as he noticed that it would be useless to try to break through the vampire's power.

Kiba's eyes widened in great disbelief as the attack came out of nowhere towards his location. It didn't take long for him to scream with great force as the magical discharges and absorption of his magic rendered him completely immobile, until it finally caused him to faint.

"The tower of Sona Sitri and the knight of Rias Gremory have been eliminated." The voice echoed over the stage, causing a grimace to appear on Issei's face.

"We've got them where we want them." Sona thought, raising her gaze to watch as the time ticked down to 40 seconds.

"Remember, if the bout ends by time, the winner will be decided by the difference in numbers or ultimately by the quality of the fighters standing." That comment from Azazel caused the entire Gremory Clan to freeze completely, except for Issei who was relaxed.

The entire group's gaze slowly rose, noticing how the seconds kept dropping.

"35"

"34"

"33"

"Rias Gremory members in play: 4"

"Sona Sitri members in play: 5"

At that moment, everyone's mind seemed to cloud with despair.

"Now..."

Rias broke her stance, becoming completely exposed to attack as she threw different destructive powers at all the opponents in front of her.

"Now..."

Asia quickly followed the redhead, staying close to her in case something happened.

"Now..."

Gasper stepped forward in the ranks and began to create a large amount of magical attacks with his remaining forces.

"25"

"24"

"23"

"We have to take them out now!" the three thought at the same time as Bennia parried Gasper's attacks and Sona dodged all of Rias' erratic attacks as did Saji and Tsubaki.

"As I thought, they are not prepared for a borderline situation..." Sona's smile widened dangerously after those thoughts.

Unnoticed, a figure rose into the air as a ring was attached.

"Finish this, Momo."

"16"

"15"

"14"

"DRAGON SHOT!"

Everyone stopped dead in their tracks as a large attack was directed upwards, only to be followed by a huge explosion.

Tiamat, Penemue and Rossweisse watched this with much pride, while Vali simply smiled and Sairaorg showed to be shocked.

"Relax!" Issei's soothing shout was accompanied by the silhouette of an unconscious Momo emerging from the smoke, until she finally disappeared.

"The Bishop of Sona Sitri has been eliminated."

Rias watched this with an unmatched expression, as did Asia, who could not comprehend what had just happened.

"Remember this, Gasper."

"You must always be aware of everything around you when you are about to engage against an enemy."

"At no time should you ever get distracted or carried away, no matter how critical the situation is."

Gasper couldn't help but cry comically as he remembered Issei's words.

"Sensei..." Thought the half-vampire aloud as he tried his best to stop crying.

But...

This was no time to rest...

"You're full of openings!" Bennia exclaimed, attacking in a direct way to a Rias who was in front of her whole team because of her lack of control.

Asia pushed her mistress just in time, receiving the attack for her and leaving Rias completely defenseless on the ground.

"This chance, this time..."

The quickened footsteps of Saji accompanied by Tsubaki appeared in front of Rias, who could only stare at them in sheer horror.

"IT'S PERFECT!" The blond exclaimed, making a gesture of absolute concentration as he brought his absorption lines to the fore.

"SITRI COMBO STYLE LETHAL ABSORPTION LINE!"

Rias shut her eyes tightly, awaiting her final sentence.

"TRANSFER!"

Tsubaki and Saji's eyes widened in complete shock as Gasper appeared above them, halting the advance of his attack when he slowed down time.

"I WAS TOO FAR AWAY TO GET THERE THAT FAST!" Saji's eyes slowly drifted to where Issei stood, who was holding a rather suggestive pose.

"HE THREW HIM?!"

Just then, Issei abandoned his pose and rushed at a deafening speed towards Sona, causing Bennia's eyes to widen in shock. She tried to run to his aid, but could only stumble when Asia stopped her from moving.

Her eyes could only lock on as Issei arrived right in front of Sona, much to the shock of the Demoness who had barely seen him arrive.

"3"

Everyone froze completely as Issei's fist was dodged millimetrically by Sona in one motion.

But...

When everything seemed to be resolved...

"2"

Issei opened his hand, causing Sona to blink in complete shock as she noticed the reddish sphere in his palm.

"1"

"DRAGON SHOT!"

The attack hit him squarely, causing Issei to roll backwards from the sheer inertia of the blow, until finally ending up next to a Gasper who fell limp to the ground.

"0"

The horn echoed throughout the place.

A deathly silence came over all the bleachers. The only thing that could be heard was the agitated breathing of Gasper and Issei, who were kneeling on the ground as they watched the curtain of dust rising in front of them, just like everyone else.

The suspense shrouded moment only became even heavier as the dust began to disappear.

Until finally Sona could be seen.

Or...

To be more precious...

Sona's unconscious figure...

"THE WINNER OF THE SEMI-FINALS IS RÍAS GREMORY!"

END OF THE CHAPTER!

It's been a year since I did this chapter, and I still remember it as one of the hardest to do, since it was a headache to capture the ideas of such a dynamic combat only in written form. So I hope you enjoyed it, and I apologize if some scenes felt a bit weird.

These days I'm going to focus on updating the original story, so you may not see a new chapter for about 3 days.

Thank you very much for reading!