~Shallow Victory~

The day of the Rating Game between Team Gremory and Team Sitri has finally arrived. With all the hardships they endured under War's martial guidance, and by officially inducting Karlamine, Isabela and Yubelluna in Rias' ranks, their victory against Sona is all the more guaranteed. Now the devils of the Occult Research Club are making preparations before they gather at Gremory estate's underground transport gate to the Rating Game itself, ready to leave as soon as all the members arrive. Currently, War and Azazel are having a brief meeting at the steps of Gremory estate leading towards the castle itself.

"Are you certain of this?" War asked curiously.

"Certain as ever. While you horsemen have been busy dealing with Ophis and the Seven Deadly Sins, me and Azrael took the liberty to find the other two swords of Excalibur and actually managed to find them. When we had a complete set, we reforged all the swords into one again." Azazel smiled with folded arms as he explained the situation.

"Good. With Excalibur whole again, it will suit our needs against Ophis and her minions." War said in usual, serious tone.

"You don't plan on using it against the Seven Deadly as well?" Azazel asked curiously.

"As mighty as the weapon may be, it will do little against the powers like the Sins. It will be better suited in defense of the Underworld against the Khaos Brigade." War explained.

"Whats up Azazel?"

A young, familiar voice called out. War and Azazel glanced at who it was, and it apparently was Issei and Asia.

"Right on time kiddos, War and I were about to head towards Rias." Azazel smiled.

"I assume that Azrael's instructions were challenging as well Argento?" War asked curiously.

"Yes, they were. It was really hard to understand his teachings at first, but in the end I've learned a lot from his lessons." Asia smiled sincerely before she bowed to both War and Azazel in respect. "I am forever grateful for everything he taught me these couple of weeks, and to you for having me train with him."

"Don't sweat it kid, Azrael is a bookworm, but also a hell of a teacher." Azazel said light-heartedly.

"Not gonna lie, i didn't think you'd show up to watch us fight." Issei said curiously as she looked at War.

"This will be the second and final time i attend to these meaningless brawls among the devils." War said bluntly.

"They are far from meaningless War." Azazel said as he smirked a bit at the rider in amusement.

"You'd be surprised how many things are meaningless to him."

Another newcomer said in laidback voice as he dismounted from his horse and walked towards the group.

"Well I'll be, look who it is!" Azazel exclaimed in pleasantly surprised voice, before he started to approach the rider.

"Azzy! Has it been a millennia since I've seen ya!" Strife greeted cheerfully as he and Azazel clapped their right hands in greetings. "How's the cheek clapping coming along?"

"Still never enough of them." Azazel said lightheartedly.

"Haha, you goat!" Strife chuckled as he patted Azazel on his right shoulder, before he and the fallen angel chuckled some more.

"You know of him Strife?" War asked his brother curiously.

"Sure I do. In exchange for a couple of errands here and there, nothing that would affect the Balance by the way, this piece of work right here gave me some real luscious fallen angel chicks to have fun time with. And boy do they know how to keep your soldier in attention, if you know what I mean. He spoiled me so much I honestly feel like a harem king whenever I pay them a visit." Strife explained in laidback, relaxed and jovial tone.

"Nothing less for a Gunslinger of the End Times." Azazel smiled, and both he and Strife laughed a bit at the shared indulgence in women.

"I hate life right now." Issei whimpered as he slouched pathetically and comically had tears streaming down his cheeks. In response Asia could only pat him on the back in compassion while chuckling awkwardly. He wanted so bad to fulfill his dream as a Harem King, but it's not much of a harem with only two girls in it. Still better than having no girl at all, that much he definitely can't complain about.

"I do sometimes wonder why doesn't everyone in the White City go fallen, then their lives would certainly be more eventful." Strife held his chin in thought while looking up, while Azazel couldn't help but snort and chuckle at the jest.

"I'll pretend that I didn't hear that brother. But enough talk, there is a Rating Game that we need to attend to." War said in blunt and impatient tone before he was on his way ahead of the group.

"Sure thing, I'd love to see some devil skulls bashed for once." Strife shrugged as he followed along.

"I doubt it will be that bloody Strife." Azazel said in amusement as he followed, along with Issei and Asia.

"By the way, is this the kid I heard about, the boob enjoyer?" Strife asked as he pointed at him with his thumb.

"The same. The kid is still an amateur, but there's hope for him." Azazel said light-heartedly.

"I can hear you guys you know." Issei narrowed his eyes in annoyance.

"So, did you try the doorbell press i told you about?" Azazel asked as he stopped and smirked expectantly at Issei.

"Yes i did sensei, my technique was flawless." Issei froze in place like a military soldier called for attention, now completely immersed at the topic.

"Azazel really told you to do that? He's more of an amateur as a teacher than I thought, I'm honestly disappointed." Strife said almost in jest before a moment later he glanced at Azazel. "No offense."

"Partly taken." Azazel said in mildly annoyed tone at the remark.

"What are you talking about dude?! You should have heard Akeno moaning when I did the doorbell press last night!" Issei exclaimed in bewilderment, like Strife was crazy to say something like that.

"Issei!" Asia squealed jealously as she pinched his cheek and pulled him hard, making him wince in pain.

"Yea, that's good and all. But have you tried the 'doorbell' press… with your tongue?" Strife said as he leaned close to Issei and narrowed his eyes mischievously.

And like that, Issei froze in place as again, a whole new horizon opening up in his eyes.

"No way. Poking her nips… with my tongue?" Issei in said in quivering, shocked tone as his eyes widened at the realization.

"Kid, the finger poke thing is a beginner's move. But the tongue press is where it's really at, and three times the pleasure at that for both parties. You should try it, it's very effective." Strife said casually as he straightened himself up, being a lecherous veteran that he is, and that itself is nothing compared to more exotic 'techniques' he can imagine for women he is with, like Kuroka for example. Issei continued to be frozen in place at the thought, while Asia puffed her cheeks and pouted in childish jealousy at Issei.

"Straight to the point as usual Strife." Azazel said in amusement.

"You said there's hope for this kid Azzy, im curious how true that is." Strife said. Azazel couldn't help but chuckle a bit, well aware of Strife's teasing at his lessons about women.

"That will be enough out of you Strife, we delayed these devils long enough!" War exclaimed angrily as he stood sideways and looked at his brother, having heard enough of their lecherous topics.

"Okay okay, got the message." Strife said in mild amusement at the expected outburst before he picked up the pace and walked past his brother.

"Issei!" Azazel suddenly called out to the boy, breaking him from his trance. "Titty thoughts for later, you got a Rating Game to attend to." He smirked in amusement as he also walked past War, who stood behind them to see if they were actually moving.

"Oh right, I forgot!" Issei exclaimed in panic before he hurried towards Strife and Azazel, while Asia stood behind not too far from War and continued to pout at the pervert.

Then she looked down sadly in silence, really feeling down in the dumps that she is not as attractive or well-endowed as Rias and Akeno. If she was, then she would have certainly garnered far more of Issei attention, where he can gaze and drool at her breasts whenever it pleases him, or even do the 'tongue press' as Strife put it.

"Argento." War suddenly said, snapping her from her sorrowful trance as she looked at the giant of a man next to her. "Your purity is a rare thing, do not sully it by lowering yourself to the boy's pitiful desires." He said as he looked towards the estate before he looked at Asia. "Understood?" He asked in usual stoic, but less threatening tone.

After a few moments of confusion at the sudden request, Asia nodded silently to the horseman, before War carried on towards the castle to catch up to his brother. Asia continued to gaze at the rider in confused state, wondering why he would say that to begin with. He showed that he doesn't care about any of them on a personal level, not really, so why would he express his concern towards her in particular? Whatever his reason might be, in the end Asia smiled gently, grateful to War for being so thoughtful, and glad that despite being a brutal warrior, his heart is not entirely made of stone.

As for War, he had his reasons of warning Asia as he did, none that are necessarily aimed towards the blonde former nun. He had witnesses over the eons that many angels have sacrificed the purity of their soul for myriad of reasons. Some out of noble intentions, others for their own, selfish gain, and some going far as to damn themselves to the powers of Hell to achieve their goal, slowly but surely becoming the Forsaken, an infernal, twisted parodies of the once noble warriors of Heaven. And if there was one angel to think of as an example of this topic it would be Hadrimon, an angel who swore revenge on the White City for banishing his lover to exile in Hell, and using the Grand Abominations as means to have his vengeance, ultimately leading to his demise by Death's scythe at the Abomination Vault. To think that Asia has to sacrifice that purity, to go against her nature only to satisfy Issei's pitiful, fleeting, perverted desire to fondle women's breasts… that thought wasn't sitting well with War, not even slightly, which is why he decided to at the very least warn her not lose that purity for any reason. This universe is already painfully depraved beyond belief, especially when he has to deal with Strife's annoying episodes of womanizing, so preserving that modicum of purity that it has seems like a good gesture in his eyes.

As they carried on towards the castle entrance, they were greeted by…

"Greetings horsemen." Grayfia halted the group as she bowed in respect.

"Grayfia." War said simply.

"Your brother Death has completed young Gasper's training. He is ready to join Lady Rias at the Rating Game." Grayfia said formally.

Almost on cue, the young half vampire emerged from behind the devil maid. And to Issei's and Asia's surprise and shock, Gasper appeared as someone entirely different. He is now actually wearing normal men clothes, a boy's uniform like Kiba? And while that part comes as a pleasant surprise for Issei, the fact that Gasper will no longer dress up like a girl, what's far more noticeable is how much he changed mentally. Instead of having a meek, shy, if not whiny and mortified behavior for being among the crowd of people, there is now a calm presence to him. Serious. Some would say dead serious.

"Gasper? Is that you?" Issei asked, nervous if not disturbed at how drastically the little half vampire changed.

"I made a promise that I would be a man of Rias Gremory. Death helped me become that man." Gasper said in unnaturally serious tone, almost dead serious.

"Maybe a little too much, you're starting to scare me." Issei said nervously, now having chills at how serious Gasper had become.

"Yea, Death tends to do that with his little trainees. Can't wait to see what he can do when push comes to shove." Strife said in mildly amused tone.

"I don't know if I am, he seems too serious for my taste." Issei said nervously before he carefully approached the half-vampire. "Gasper. What did Death do to you?" He asked in disbelief, still finding it hard to grasp Gasper's change.

Whatever Death did to him, apparently Gasper got far more than what he bargained for. While Issei tried to build up confidence in the young boy in his own way during the time he tutored him, Death took that goal above and beyond what he would expect. Gasper now doesn't have an ounce of fear and doubt, but he also lost whatever childlike innocence he might have had, replaced with a boy that looked like had been thrown into the deepest pits of Hell itself, fighting for his life every moment for two weeks straight. Issei can't help but feel a gutwrenching pain in his chest, at the fact that the Reaper stripped Gasper of all the youthful goodness and purity a child may have, and molded him into this, a boy with a glare of a ruthless killer. He may be a Gasper in appearance, but he is now a whole different person, a shadow of the Gasper Issei and the others knew.

"What does it matter? The boy is ready for battle, and that is all that is important." War said bluntly, starting to lose his patience.

"Not if he's going to behave like that, cause that's certainly not the Gasper I got used to!" Issei protested as he looked at War while pointing at Gasper.

"The Gasper you knew would have been dead in a blink of an eye on the true battlefield. Now he has the conviction to fight till his last breath." War said in usual, serious tone.

"Dude, you're missing the point here!" Issei exclaimed in frustration.

"The point that I have for you kid is that I want to get this show on the road, you can have your moral debates when this is over and I'm not here." Strife said annoyingly before he marched inside the castle.

"Agreed." War said simply before he followed his brother.

Issei was momentarily seething and shaking with rage, baffled as to how War and Strife can shrug off Gasper's unnatural, drastic change so casually, not even caring that the kind, gentle and childish half-vampire is gone, maybe for good. As he was about to argue with the riders, he noticed Azazel looking at him with folded arms and unusually serious look on his face, an out of character sight that made Issei calm down a bit. The only thing Azazel did is shake his head silently, warning Issei that he shouldn't do anything rash that might cost him his head, before he departed with them. Guess he took the company of these horsemen for granted, if even a chill, laidback fallen angel like Azazel was on edge this much, then he really should be considering not to do anything stupid with the riders, like he did against Death back at the church, no matter how heartless and indifferent they are towards anyone but themselves. But that doesn't mean he has to like it, because he doesn't, not even close.


Inside the estate, Rias, Akeno and Kiba are waiting in front of the transport gate for everyone to come. While they were having a conversation between each other to pass the time while waiting, they heard someone coming from the entrance. And the newcomers turned out to be…

"Hey guys!" Issei greeted the trio.

"Issei, Asia. About time you got here." Rias joked sarcastically as the two devils approached the devil princess.

"Sorry, we were held up a bit." Issei chuckled nervously a bit.

Inwardly he was relieved that Rias didn't receive the same treatment as Gasper. Despite being trained by War himself, she managed to retain that gentle, caring nature the day he first joined her peerage at the club house.

Not a moment too soon did War and Azazel entered as well, along with Gasper behind the massive warrior and a newcomer that Rias, Akeno and Kiba didn't recognize. Judging by similar design pieces of armor and weapons, he must be another horseman.

"And there's the rest of the gang, along with Rias herself." Azazel told Strife, indirectly introducing him to the rest of the ORC.

"So, you must be War's little protégé." Strife said curiously as he approached Rias.

"Strife?" War grunted in annoyance and frustration at his brother's tease.

"I was kidding, relax." Strife glanced at War behind him in laidback tone and waved his right hand to calm him.

Rias couldn't help but giggle a bit in amusement, even among the dreaded Four Horsemen there's one in the family that is a tease.

"That's one way to put it. My name is Rias Gremory, it is an honor to meet another of the Four Horsemen." Rias said formally as she shook Strife's hand.

"Likewise, can't wait to see what tricks War taught you in the past three weeks." Strife said in laidback tone before he glanced at Akeno, already catching his interest. "Well now, get a look at this beauty." He said as he approached the ebony-haired devil. "Strife, at your service." He said as he opened the mouth piece of his helmet, took Akeno's right hand and kissed the back of her hand like a gentleman.

"Oh my, what a stud." Akeno giggled a bit as she placed her left hand on her cheek in embarrassment.

Issei narrowed his eyes in frustration at that little gesture, Strife is now being awfully chummy with Akeno right now, and that already is pissing him off.

"I would be careful if I were you, this flower has thorns." Rias smirked in amusement a bit with folded arms.

"No better flower than one with thorns I always say." Strife said as he glanced at Rias as he closed his mouth piece, before he glanced back at Akeno and winked at her. And while Akeno giggled in more flustered, if not lustful manner than that of an embarrassed, shy teenager, Issei gritted his teeth as already Strife is getting on his nerves. Sadly he can't do a damn about it, cause this is another of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, nothing to scoff at in the slightest.

"Before we get ourselves carried away here, how about you kids go inside that transport gate and get the Rating Game started?" Azazel smirked as he stood between Strife and Rias and looked at the Gremory devil.

"Not yet, we have to wait for the rest of us to come." Rias smiled casually.

"Rest of you? You mean you recruited more people into your peerage?" Azazel asked curiously.

"Yes, since last night actually." Rias nodded.

"Really?" Azazel asked in amusement.

Almost on cue, three individuals entered the room, drawing Rias' and Azazel's attention, along with the rest of the group.

"Three girls from Riser's peerage? Can't say that i was expecting that one." Azazel said in pleasant surprise as he rubbed his goatee.

"Neither was i to be honest, but more members are always welcome." Rias smiled before she approached the three devils and then turned sideways towards the fallen angel. "Azazel, this is my new knight Karlamine." She said as she gestured to the swordsman.

"Greetings Governor-General." Karlamine said as she closed her eyes and bowed her head respectfully.

"My first rook Isabela."

"Governor-General." Isabela said formally.

"And another rook, Yubelluna."

"Greetings." Yubelluna said in equally formal tone.

"A rook you say? Weren't you Riser Phenex's queen at one point?" Azazel inquired curiously.

"I was. But since Lady Rias already has two bishops in her team, the position of a rook is what i had in offer, which I accepted." Yubelluna said neutrally, but inwardly feeling livid at the very mention of Riser's name, due to his betrayal.

"I see. Well, your resilience and strength are intact at least, but now you need to work on your magical power, in order for your bombs to have a proper effect on your opponents that are not caught off guard." Azazel instructed, taking in his tutoring teacher stance.

"I will." Yubelluna nodded.

Suddenly, the Transport Gate leading towards the Rating Game itself flared open.

"Lady Rias, it's time." Grayfia said formally, while Rias nodded silently with more serious expression.

"Well kids, i do hope all your three week's work pays off in this fight." Azazel smirked with folded arms.

"It will. With all the hardships we endured during that time, i have no doubt we will win against Sona." Rias said confidently as she clenched her right fist in front of her in determination.

"Confidence is appreciated, but don't get too cocky. Remember, Sona has the advantage of knowing what your servants are capable of, while you have no knowledge of what they can do." Azazel said in slightly serious tone.

"I know, but they don't know all that we are capable of." Rias said confidently.

"Good." Azazel smirked as he nodded to the devil in approval. Apparently power boost is not the only thing that Rias attained during her training sessions with War, but a sliver of his boundless confidence as well.

With that said, the members of Team Gremory slowly begun to enter the transport gate. But strangely, as everyone went through the Gate, Rias stood in place as she looked at War, who was about to leave along with Grayfia, Azazel and Strife.

"War, wait!" She called out as she ran towards the rider, while War stood sideways and looked at the devil curiously. "Can I talk to you for a moment?" She asked almost in a plea.

After a few moments of consideration, War looked at Strife and nodded silently, prompting his brother to leave. Strife raised his right eyebrow curiously at this development before he complied with War's wish and left them alone.

"What is it?" War asked.

"Listen. I still don't know exactly why you decided to help us. To help me. And i sincerely doubt it was solely because we would be of use to you." Rias said with uncertain voice and closed eyes as she bowed her head down, before she opened them and looked at War. "But with your help we will be able to win this Rating Game proper and achieve so much more afterwards. So, thank you." She smiled gratefully.

"Focus on the battle at hand Rias. That would be a gratitude enough for me." War said in usual, stoic tone.

However, Rias suddenly gasped as her eyes went wide in shock. War raised his right eyebrow in confusion at the reaction, which increased when he noticed that her eyes were getting glossy from formed tears.

"What?" War asked in confusion.

"It's nothing. It's just…" Rias smiled gently as she closed her eyes, wiped her tears while sniffing a bit and looked at War again. "You finally called me by my name, and not Gremory." She said in mildly shaky voice.

"You are shedding tears because I called you by a name?" War asked, still utterly confused as to what he had actually done to cause such a reaction. Not that it mattered to him, but it is rather unorthodox when someone gets driven to tears from just being called by a name.

But Rias said nothing as she continued to sniff and wipe her tears.

"Of all the devils I encountered thus far, you are certainly the strangest." War stated, now mildly confused before he returned to his old, stoic self. "Go now, and do not dare insult me by losing to your opponents."

"Not a chance. Sona is going down, no matter what." Rias now smirked confidently as she pumped her right fist.

War nodded silently, before Rias finally left to rejoin her team through the transport gate. When she went through, the gate itself shut down.

"Well, that was certainly... something?" Strife said curiously as he approached his brother with folded arms, stood next to him while gazing at the transport gate, before he glanced at War. "Seriously, since when are you the one to be having a protégé? And a busty one at that." He asked in admiration.

"She and her ilk are but a means to an end Strife, nothing more." War said strictly, not feeling like being teased again by his brother as he turned around and walked outside the room.

"That's a lie if i ever heard one." Strife said nonchalantly as he along with War left the room and are now walking along the hallway.

"Say that again?" War asked in insulted tone.

"War, you're not Death, where everything and everyone is a tool, or a 'means to an end'. I don't know exactly why you personally decided to train her, but i'd be shocked if it was for the sake of her 'assets'." Strife said suspiciously before he glanced back at the room they left from. "Cause sweet Maker's milkers are they luscious." He said as the image formed in his mind of naked Rias lying down and posing seductively.

"Her what?" War asked in confusion.

"Ugh, nevermind, completely forgot you don't know a single slang for tits." Strife sighed in frustration as he facepalmed from War's obliviousness regarding sexual slangs and innuendos.

"Brother, if you wish not to be castrated where you stand, let us change the subject." War grunted in annoyance, wanting to drop Strife's lecherous topic at once.

"Duly noted." Strife said nonchalantly, not feeling like continuing the subject either way.

"Is there any word of the remaining Sins?" War asked curiously.

"I got news that Death and Fury managed to beat Lust in the realm of the Norse Gods. As for other Sins, sadly not a peep." Strife said in more serious tone.

"Good, that leaves only Wrath, Gluttony and Pride to deal with." War surmised.

"Speaking of the trio, any news?" Strife asked curiously.

"Nothing so far. But judging by the pattern of these Sins, we must keep an eye on other pantheon of gods from being invaded." War said.

"Or another Circle of Hell from being taken over, considering Avarice paid them a visit." Strife added as he glanced at his brother before he looked forward. "Either way, if they don't cause a ruckus anytime soon, it's going to be a while before we put them back in the talisman jail too." He grunted a bit in mildly annoyed tone at the apparent, wild goose chase.

"I have no intention of standing idle for them to make a move Strife. Both of us will pursue the Sins as soon as the skirmish of these devils is over with." War said neutrally.

"That's the plan, upholding the Balance and such." Strife said in laidback tone.


Within the Rating Game dimension, Rias and her team have entered the said realm, having a look at their surroundings as soon as they arrived, but not where they were expecting to appear.

"Wait. Where are we? I thought we were supposed to be fighting in a shopping mall." Rias said as she looked around the unknown room.

"Your attention please." Grayfia suddenly spoke in formal tone from magical speakers echoing from seemingly every direction. "Welcome everyone, my name is Grayfia, a servant of the house of Gremory and I will be the referee for today's match. By the request of Lady Serafall and permission of Lord Sirzechs, today's battlefield is created outside the premises of the shopping mall in a different location. What you are seeing right now is a replica of the American island city in the human world known as Manhattan. Due to the massive scale of such an island, it has been narrowed down significantly to only one portion of the city known as Central Park. Lady Rias' home base will be in top floor or Park Hyatt New York hotel, while Lady Sona's base will be at the Central Park Tennis Center."

"Man, what a view." Issei said in amazement as he looked outside the window, where he can see practically the entirety of Central park, all the way to Sona's base.

"For this match, each team is provided with a single vial of Phoenix Tears. Use them wisely."

As if on cue, a vial of Phoenix Tears materialized in front of Rias, magically floating in the air before Rias promptly grabbed it for safe keeping.

"Pawns will be promoted should they succeed in reaching the home base of the opposing team. You have thirty minutes to plan your strategies before the battle can begin. Should both teams be ready before the time expires, they may press the red button within their headquarters to start the match immediately. Good luck to all." Grayfia finished her speech.

"Well, that's the first thing we need to do anyway." Rias said in focused tone before she went to the table. "So, judging by the layout of the park-"

She was interrupted when a sound was heard above the group. From what they noticed, one signal light, akin to the traffic light has lit up, signifying that Sona's team is ready to fight.

"Wait, already?" Kiba asked in surprise.

"Wow, they must be serious if they're already prepared to fight." Issei said nervously.

"All the more reason for us to plan out what we need to do before we ready ourselves." Rias said before she looked at the Central Park map, while Akeno stood next to Rias' right side, and Yubelluna to her left.

"Why not just head straight towards Sona and beat them all up at once? I mean we managed to beat an army of demons into the ground, im sure this fight will be piss easy for us at this point." Issei pumped his fist optimistically.

"Because of this." Rias said seriously as she pointed at one part of the map, which Issei looked at a moment later. "Sona is well known to be very proficient in water magic. And with this reservoir in such close proximity to Sona's home base, she can easily manipulate its waters and turn the tide in her favor. That is why a direct approach from the get go is unwise, for all we know we could be walking into her trap."

"This doesn't seem right." Isabela said in mildly frustrated tone as she folded her arms and looked at the map, drawing Rias' attention. "This kind of battlefield is practically tailored to give Lady Sona the advantage over any opponent, making her victory all the more likely. I have heard tales that Lady Serafall loves her sister to an exaggerated degree, but I never would have imagined that she would rig this Rating Game as well." She started to seethe a bit at how unfair this battle suddenly turned out to be.

"I would have agreed with you Isabela, were it not for two factors. One, my brother Sirzechs agreed to Serafall's request for this battlefield, so this is not entirely on her. And two, as Issei pointed out, we were tasked by War to deal with an army of demon infiltrators close to the Gremory borders. That battle has shown that we have pushed our powers and skills to levels we ourselves can't imagine." Rias explained before she glanced from Isabela back to the battlefield map. "That is precisely why Serafall insisted on this battlefield layout, so it might help Sona even the odds against us."

"Well, at least it's not a complete handicap, from this far up we can see the entire park, all the way to Sona's home base." Kiba smiled optimistically as he gestured outside the window.

"True, but we still have to make sure that their pawns don't reach our base and give them an edge against us. Especially since we don't have a clue what any of Sona's pieces are capable of." Rias said seriously.

"So, what's the plan?" Akeno asked seriously.

"My suggestion would be to secure the building in our immediate vicinity between us and the park. That will prevent Lady Sona from creating a forward base directly to our headquarters and give us a staging ground from where we can push forward towards her home base." Yubelluna said formally as she pointed at the building in front of their base.

"What about the other buildings around our headquarters? Any one of them could be occupied and used as a staging ground as well." Akeno asked seriously.

"We will rig them for demolition." Rias stated, drawing Akeno's and Yubelluna's attention. "Per Yubelluna's suggestion, we will occupy the Southgate building, and from there we can slowly make our way towards Sona through the park itself." She then glanced at her best friend. "Akeno, you and Yubelluna will spread your familiars and rig each building with magical traps. Should any of them decide to enter, they would not be aware of the trap until it's too late."

"My my, who would have guessed? The Priestess of Thunder and Bomb Queen working together." Akeno smiled with closed eyes as she giggled a bit at the former queen of Riser in amusement.

"It is amusing isn't it?" Yubeluna smiled a bit, all too aware of the irony, considering they fought each other the last time.

"Kiba, Karlamine, Gasper, as soon as the battle commences, the three of you will scout ahead and report of any of Sona's fighters. If they prove too much to handle, then wait for reinforcements." Rias instructed.

"Right!" Kiba, Karlamine and Gasper said as they nodded in unison.

Rias couldn't help but be nervous a bit when she looked into Gasper's eyes. Those are certainly not the eyes of the squeamish, mortified antisocial she had come to know and care over the years, those are the eyes of a killer stripped of all emotional constraints like fear and doubt. While she is proud on one hand that Gasper finally grew a backbone after all this time, on the other such a change seems so sudden, drastic, unnatural even. But that is something she will have to resolve another time, right now there is a battle strategy to finish formulating.

"Issei, Isabela, the two of you will be the vanguard. Deal with as many of Sona's fighters as you can, but try to avoid Tsubaki. She may not be physically that much powerful than you Issei, but I bet she has a trick or two up her sleeve to counter your Boosted Gear." Rias instructed.

"Right." Issei nodded, along with Isabela.

"What about me Rias?" Asia asked timidly.

"You will stay with me for now. Taking you out and depriving us of our healing support will most likely what Sona plans to do, so you will stay in base until situation deems otherwise." Rias instructed.

"Oh right, how could I forget?!" Asia exclaimed in shock before she suddenly turned around, headed towards the wall on the opposite side of the room and turned towards the group.

"Asia, what is it? What are you doing?" Issei asked curiously, while everyone else looked at former nun in confusion.

"Give me a few moments please." Asia smiled to Issei.

To everyone's curiosity, Asia closed her eyes, bowed her head down and cupper her hands in prayer, while her Twilight Healing rings materialized on her middle fingers, apparently concentrating her magical energy into something. A few moments later, the rings flashed with green light, and Asia frowned in concentration as an equally green, soothing aura conjured around her body, emanating moderate winds from the effort of the spell she is about to cast. Asia separated her cupped hands and conjured green orb of energy in her palms, and slowly but surely she spread her hands wide bit by bit, increasing the size of the orb in the process. However, Asia frowned further and even gritted her teeth as she struggled to maintain her concentration and continued to pour more energy into her incantation.

Everyone gazed at Asia silently, waiting with baited breaths as to what exactly Asia plans to do with that orb of energy. Whatever it is it doesn't look dangerous, but it's clearly putting an enormous strain on Asia. Rias and Issei in particular had the urge to rush towards Asia and stop her from whatever she is doing, fearing that with such reckless use of energy, she won't have any to spare before the Rating Game could begin proper.

The energy orb continued to slowly increase in size until it finally scaled to the size of a gym exercise ball. Then like glass, the orb shattered in eight chunks, but Asia, through Azrael's teachings, managed to manipulate the ebb and flow of the orb, converting the broken chunks into eight smaller orbs of energy. With that done, the eight orbs levitated above the ground on their own, but it left Asia noticeably drained as she breathed heavily, barely standing on her legs from the amount of energy she poured into her healing spell.

"There. It's done." Asia panted heavily before she started to fall sideways.

"Asia!" Issei exclaimed as he dashed to her side, and caught her before she could collapse on the ground. "Asia, are you okay?" He asked while everyone else rushed to her side.

"Don't worry Issei, I'll be fine. I'm just tired, that energy ball drained more out of me than I thought." Asia smiled gently to ease Issei's worries.

"What the hell Asia, what was that all about?" Issei asked worryingly.

"What did you do Asia?" Kiba asked curiously as he looked at the green orbs.

"Each of you take one, if you use it you can instantly heal all your injuries." Asia smiled gently to the group, much to their surprised reactions.

"No way, you're kidding? You just made us Phoenix Tears times eight?" issei smiled in amazement as he glanced to the green orbs and back to the blonde girl. "Asia, I think I'm gonna call you Awesome from now on, cause what you did was incredible. I'm so proud of you." He smiled brightly in pride.

"Thank you Issei." Asia smiled gently and blushed shyly from the praise, before she looked down with sadder expression. "But I'm afraid it doesn't restore stamina yet, that's what I still have to work on."

"Still, this is amazing work Asia, your training with Azrael paid off immensely." Rias smiled proudly to the former nun, before she glanced at the rest of the group. "You heard her, each of you take one. Use it only when you're grievously wounded, not before." She instructed.

Everyone in the group nodded before they grabbed one green orb each, clenched it in their hands before it disappeared for later use.

"Well Asia, now you're definitely not going anywhere, you'll stay here and recover as much as you can." Rias said in more serious tone. Asia nodded silently at that, and then Rias looked at everyone else. "Alright then, we're as ready as we'll ever be. Remember, unlike the demons, Sona will be very strategic with this fight. And unlike Riser, she will not be toying with us, nor will she hesitate to use everything at her disposal to win. Now let's show her and her peerage what the house of Gremory is capable of!" She proclaimed boldly.

"Right!" Everyone except Asia exclaimed with battle-ready frowns.


Outside the Rating Game dimension, Grayfia is keeping watch on the current proceedings between both teams on magical monitors, telekinetically switching between them. A moment later she noticed that the door was opening, and the newcomers who entered were War and Strife.

"Horsemen." Grayfia said formally.

"Grayfia, report about the security regarding today's Rating Game." War said strictly.

"Of course." Grayfia complied before she turned around and looked at War. "To compensate for the breach that the demons have made in the previous Rating Game, we have conjured magical devices that will detect any intruder that tries to enter the battlefield without our strict permission. And when they do, they will immediately power up a ward to keep them outside. Should the demons by chance succeed in making a breach however, we have prepared an emergency teleportation from the Rating Game dimension, thus no one will be trapped there should the incursion ever come to be, like Lady Rias and her retainers were."

"Good. See to it that you keep it that way. I would prefer to end this battle as soon as possible, so we may focus on more pressing matters." War said strictly before he and Strife left to join the others in VIP room."

"Indeed." Grayfia said flatly, mildly annoyed how the horsemen consider these events as something trivial, when to the devil society it holds significance.

But another instance later she put that aside and returned to her duties as she glanced between magical monitors again. When she did, almost on cue, Rias also pressed the red button, signifying that the battle can begin proper.

"Both teams are ready for battle! Let the game begin!"

As soon as it did, the Gremory devils dashed in opposite directions in groups, fulfilling the tasks they have been given.


In the royal VIP room, Sirzechs, Serafall, Azazel, and even Odin were sitting and watching on the big screen the Rating Game itself.

"So Sirzechs, how do you think this Rating Game will turn out? I'm kinda surprised you'd be the one for handicaps." Azazel smirked in tease with folded arms as he looked at one of the four Devil Kings.

"Not really, but I was willing to make an exception this time. Wouldn't want to make this too easy of a win for Rias, now would we?" Sirzechs smiled, deliberately teasing Serafall with that statement.

"Hey! My Sona is going to wipe the floor with your sister if she dares to come to her home base, just you wait!" Serafall exclaimed childishly as she flailed her left arm in a tantrum, much to the amusement of Azazel, Sirzechs.

"That remains to be seen, especially since Rias was trained personally by War." Sirzechs smiled.

"Really now? Your little sister was trained by one of the Riders of Ragnarok? That is certainly a privilege, now I'm intrigued to see what your sister is capable of." Odin smirked in minor excitement as he stroked his long, white beard.

A moment later, they heard a door opening slowly.

"Speaking of…" Azazel added as the two expected guests arrived.

"Horsemen, right on time." Sirzechs greeted the horsemen as they entered the room.

"Let us see this Rating Game to a swift end, there is much to do after this is over." War said strictly as he looked at the monitor, with Rias currently being on screen, ignoring the members present in the room.

Sirzechs couldn't help but be annoyed by War's blunt behavior, this is certainly giving him a sense of déjà vu from the last Rating Game he and Rias fought in, when he invited Death in VIP room.

"Straight to the point, I like it." Odin smiled in amusement.

It wasn't until he spoke that both of the riders turned their attention from the screen.

"You're a new face. And you are…" Strife said curiously with folded arms.

"I am Odin, All-Father of the Norse Realms and King of the Aesir." Odin said formally. "I would like to extend my gratitude to both of you as well, for your fellow horsemen Death and Fury driving that monster Lust from our home."

"The Council appointed us to reimprison the Seven Deadly Sins, saving your home realm was merely a fortunate side-effect, nothing more." War said in usual, serious and stoic tone.

"Fortunate indeed." Odin said neutrally, noticing that War is not really for praises.

Strife then noticed a certain, silver-haired woman behind Odin.

"Whoa now, a god with a busty entourage. What would be your name gorgeous?" Strife asked in pleasant curiosity as he asked the silver-haired beauty behind the Norse god.

"Forgive my rudeness, I am Lord Odin's attendant, a battle-maiden Rossweisse." She said hastily in nervous tone as she bowed to the horsemen, feeling stupid for being so careless not to introduce herself immediately.

Strife couldn't help but notice a rather odd choice of attire for the occasion on this girl. As he scanned her uniform from head to toe, it can be said that it is not exactly designed with practicality in mind. This peculiar, rather provocative outfit doesn't leave much to the imagination, most notably her waist area. Seems more like something a woman would wear in a bedroom for a steamy, Norse-themed roleplay, rather than for any serious meetings, let alone combat. Is this really what these 'battle-maidens' usually wear for formal occasions? Not that he's complaining, quite the opposite, but he could bet that Odin might have something to do with that attire's design choice.

"Indeed. This little Valkyrie has looks and talent, but her stuffy attitude keeps the men away by a mile." Odin said in blunt and mildly annoyed tone.

And that would answer Strife's question. Clearly this girl must one of those girls, the type where they are mind-numbingly gorgeous to look at, but as soon as they open their mouths, he wished they never did. But from his first impressions, this girl doesn't appear to be an obnoxious harpy that he'd be glad to shoot her brains out.

As for Rossweisse, she froze in place in shock, her eyes almost immediately being glossy due to her sensitive nature on the matter, before she pathetically walked in front of the wall and bowed her head.

"I-I'm a Valkyrie who's been without a man as long as I've lived. Even though… I really wish… I had a boyfriend." She whimpered as she fidgeted the wall while bowing her head down in sorrow and self-loathing.

"Is that a fact?" Strife suddenly said in out of the blue, cheerful way as he approached the attendant. "Well, today's your lucky day little Valkyrie cause I'll be more than happy to be your first boyfriend!" He said jovially as he patted her on her shoulder.

"W-W-What?!" Rossweisse screamed girlishly in shellshock as she looked at the horseman.

War in the background just facepalmed and grunted in sheer frustration. Does he always have to do this with every living, breathing woman that he comes across? Sure some of the other Nephilim exhibited these primal drives due to their blood being half demon, mostly on the female victims, but Strife is arguably the worst offender in this category, even though his methods are far tamer than those of his deceased brethren. His sexual desires are almost on par with his penchant for impulsively killing his enemies before they could be questioned. It's so infuriating that he really wished at times to make good on his word and castrate him for real, so he wouldn't have to endure these painful stunts any more than he already did, more than any immortal being should endure from his siblings.

"Ma-ma…my boyfriend?! But you can't, this is so sudden, I mean, we just met, It can't be that simple!" She stammered in complete shock and embarrassment at the sudden proclamation.

"Simpler than you think sweetie." Strife said with all the confidence of the ultimate ladiesman as he opened the mouth piece of his helmet and grabbed her back by the waist.

But before the shellshocked Valkyrie could say anything else, Strife pulled her into a deep kiss. The moment he did, Rossweisse felt her entire being crawl, akin to being hit by Thor's lightning, but in a pleasant way, her face going red and steamy as her pupils narrowed from the blissful shock. Although she wished her first kiss wasn't this sudden, she can't deny that this feels utterly amazing. This was the kiss of a very experienced man and it really shows. His kiss was so passionate that her knees feel weak, her senses slipping away with each passing moment as their tongues continued to intertwine.

Odin couldn't help but laugh boisterously at the little Valkyrie's predicament.

"You should be honored my dear, to have one of the Riders of Ragnarok as your first boyfriend is not a common occurrence." Odin smiled in amusement as he looked at the pair behind him. "Oh, and Strife?" He called the rider's name, while Strife merely glanced at the deity. "Be sure to loosen her up further, it will be such a welcome change to lose that stuffy attitude of hers." He said before Strife broke the kiss.

"In more ways than one gramps." Strife said amusingly, while Rossweisse heaved and moaned blissfully as she arched backwards like a sand filled mannequin, her pupils even showing hearts at the level of pleasure she had experienced.

"Strife? Did you not mention that you would watch these devils bash each other's skulls?" War asked, intending to at least attempt to divert his brother's attention from the alluring Valkyrie.

"Change of plans brother, I'd rather make someone's brains go numb, if you know what I mean." Strife said delightfully, before he promptly returned to deeply kiss the battle-maiden, making her let out a muffled squeal of pleasure.

"Even among the feared Four Horsemen there are sibling dramas. Can't say this isn't delightfully amusing." Azazel thought as he couldn't help but snicker.

"What are you snickering about fallen angel?" War sneered angrily at Azazel.

"Nothing, just got something stuck in my throat." Azazel smirked a bit as he forced a few coughs to prevent him from laughing.

"The next time you mock me Azazel it will be my blade down your throat." War threatened in almost dead serious tone.

"Duly noted." Azazel folded his arms as he hid a half smirk and looked at the Rating Game screen.

"If I have to suffer this any longer, I will tear this whole realm apart." War thought as he gritted his teeth in seething frustration. But to prevent that all too tempting thought, he folded his arms and looked at the screen as well.

The red horseman is now really starting to wonder why he even considered coming here to begin with. He is certainly not fond of this scenery, shirking his duties just so he can watch these devils bash each other's skulls in a non-lethal battle. But since he was already committed to whipping Rias and her retainers into shape, then he might as well personally witness the full result of their intense training regime. Though their victory against the demon infiltrators was a valid sign of their improvement, the red rider is yet to see how much further the horsemen can improve these devils, so they might actually be of use in their eternal duty to maintain the Balance. One thing is for certain however, this will be the final time he is to sit around and watch these devils fighting their pointless games, when there are battles that will actually affect the future of these alleged pacifists.


Back to the Rating Game dimension, Akeno and Yubelluna continued to fly around their home base, flying on one of the rooftops of nearby buildings to carry out their task.

"I've been meaning to ask you something." Akeno said.

"What is it?" Yubelluna asked curiously.

"Why did you decide to fight for Rias? From what I heard during the ten day preparation before the Rating Game, you seemed to be in high standing with Riser." Akeno said curiously.

"As Isabela said last night, Riser's treachery has given a bad name to every member of his peerage. Karlamine in particular was infuriated at such dishonor, she valued honor as much as any other knight, so she came to a decision to clear her name by pledging her service to Rias. Isabela followed suit, and eventually, so did i." Yubelluna explained, nearly contemplating on the said events as she conjured magical bombs in each floor of the building they are standing on.

"Is that the only reason?" Akeno asked curiously.

Strangely, the Bomb Queen said nothing as she silently bowed her head down with a sad look on her face, her thoughts being her own as she looked down on the concrete. Akeno slowly approached her comrade and noticed her sad expression. Even though in those moments she would not answer Akeno's question, the devil queen could already guess that there was more to Yubelluna's decision to join Rias as well. If she were to venture a guess, the Bomb Queen must have been closer to Riser than she thought, so his treachery was a lot more personal for Yubelluna out of all the members of his peerage. Maybe that's why she decided to fight for Rias, not just to clear her name, but to try to move past those painful memories, or bare minimum to not remember them frequently.

A few moments later Yubelluna shook off her memories as she frowned in battle-ready focus.

"A story for another time Akeno. I suggest we finish our task as soon as possible, before Lady Sona takes full advantage of the distraction." Yubelluna said in more serious tone before she levitated in the air towards the next building.

"Another time then." Akeno smiled a bit before she too sprung her wings and followed suit.


At another location, Kiba and Karlamine surveyed the Umpire Rock for any of Sona's members.

"No one's here either. That's odd. Lady Sona's fighters should have engaged us by now." Karlamine said in alert as she glanced in every direction.

"It is strange." Kiba said curiously before he smiled and turned towards the fellow knight. "But while we have the time, I must commend you for fighting against War back at the previous Rating Game, your courage was truly inspiring."

"You flatter me Kiba Yuuto." Karlamine said in neutral, if not curious tone at the sudden praise.

"I simply speak the truth. No one else but Issei was bold enough to stand against one of the Four Horsemen and live." Kiba smiled sincerely.

"Issei Hyoudou also fought one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?" Karlamine asked in surprise.

"Well, it wasn't exactly a fight, but yes." Kiba sweat-dropped nervously as he scratched his chin, before he smiled again in admiration. "To be honest, from the stories I heard about them, I doubt I'd have the courage to openly challenge them like you did." He then closed his eyes and bowed to her. "And for that, you have my utmost respect."

Karlamine couldn't help but stand in silence as she looked at the blonde swordsman, even blushing a bit at the amount of praise and respect she's been given. Not even Riser, for as long as she fought in his name before his betrayal, has ever praised her this much for her valor and determination in battle. It is certainly a pleasant sensation when her courage and hard work is finally recognized and acknowledged by his comrades, especially another knight. Although, upon closer inspection on Kiba's face and his kind smile, it could also be that a small part of her blushed from the fact that he was a handsome young man, an effect that she shared with nearly every woman Kiba had contact with. But she wouldn't dare to be so shallow, as right now what warmed her heart was Kiba's heartfelt praise.

"I am honored by your words, but I would be remiss if I did not show you respect as well. Even from the infirmary I witnesses the demonic invasion in the Rating Game dimension, and I saw you battling a legion of demons with honor and determination to protect your comrades. And if I am being honest myself, looking back at it now, you are the one I would call courageous Kiba Yuuto." Karlamine smiled in stoic, but friendly manner, before she looked down with a hint of shame for some reason. "As for me, I would be more considered mad than brave, to stand against an opponent I was woefully unprepared to face, a foe that in any other circumstance would kill me in a blink of an eye."

"I don't see it that way." Kiba smiled, drawing Karlamine's attention as she looked at the blonde knight. "I'm sure that even if it was outside the Rating Game you would still stand bravely against the riders if they were to endanger you and your comrades. And after seeing you in action against War, that is something I have no doubts for whatsoever." He said in admiration, without a sliver of doubt in his words.

Again Karlamine looked at the knight in silence, her heart warming further from Kiba's accolades, not even bothering this time to hide the faint blush at the repeated praise. Kiba is usually recognized as a polite gentleman, but she never would have expected for him to shower her with praises. Not that she didn't deserve them, but they are far more than she would expect, akin to a fan meeting his idol he worships in person. Glory was something that was never her goal when she faced War, only her honor as a knight and a desire to improve herself as a swordsman. While it's true that very few insane individuals would even think of challenging one of the feared Four Horsemen, and would even admonish her for her madness if she lived to tell the tale, she didn't expect that she would actually inspire someone from her bravery as well. And admittedly, she is glad that Kiba, a fellow knight is inspired by her valor.

She now smiled more sincerely rather than stoic to keep appearances.

"You honor me, Kiba Yuuto." Karlamine said as she bowed her head respectfully.

"An honor well deserved Karlamine. And please, call me Kiba." He smiled.

"Very well, Kiba." Karlamine nodded with a smile.

She then frowned slightly in battle ready focus and turned sideways, looking in the direction of Sona's base.

"Now, I suggest we focus on the enemy and leave the chatter after the Rating Game. Maybe we can even cross swords with each other when this is over." Karlamine said before she glanced at Kiba from the corner of her right eye with a more competitive smile. "That is, if you so wish it." She asked politely.

"Of course, I would be glad." Kiba smiled sincerely as he nodded to another knight, and Karlamine nodded silently in reply.

But when he glanced in front of Karlamine's direction…

"Look out!" Kiba shouted.

Karlamine's eyes in that moment went wide in surprise at the out of the blue warning, before in the next she looked in front of her. She noticed a blur coming her way, thus she quickly drew her sword and parried the blow, while the blur went past her and stopped behind the knight. When Karlamine turned around, she noticed a girl with shoulder length, reddish brown hair tied into twintails, brandishing a katana as she too faced a fellow knight.

"A sneak attack?! I should've known better than for all of Lady Sona's fighters to face us head on!" Karlamine exclaimed in frustration as she gripped her sword in front of her.

"What did you expect? You two seemed more to be fond of chatting than fighting, it would take ages before I would announce myself." The newcomer said in sassy manner as she pointed at Karlamine.

"Then allow me the honor of a first strike." Karlamine said seriously before she glanced at…"Kiba, I will handle this, watch my back in case anyone else tries to interfere."

"Very well." Kiba nodded seriously. Karlamine nodded back silently before she returned her attention to the newcomer.

"First a formal introduction, my name is Tomoe Meguri, and I am a knight." The girl now named Tomoe said.

"And I'm Karlamine, a knight of Rias Gremory. To be honest, I never would have expected a knight of Lady Sona to stoop herself to ambushes to beat her opponent." She said in frustrated tone, since she greatly values her code and honor as a knight.

"You old-fashioned knights are so cliché. Honor, glory, chivalry… Just spare me your stereotypical drivel and let's get this over with." Tomoe said in annoyance as she too gripped her sword in front of her.

"You would dare insult chivalry to my face?! You are not fit to bear a position of a knight! On guard Tomoe Meguri!" She said in fury and outrage as she pointed her weapon at Tomoe before she promptly charged at her opponent, with Tomoe doing the same.


A good distance away from the current bout, another girl had heard a clamor of battle.

"Apparently Tomoe already started fighting. I better get there and help her eliminate whoever she's fighting right now." The girl contemplated outloud.

"I don't think so."

A dead serious, yet childish voice suddenly spoke, drawing the girl's attention. When she looked at the source of the voice, she noticed a blonde boy standing not too far from her, a boy that she recognized.

"Ah, you must be the vampire pipsqueak, Gasper was it? My name is Ruruko Nimura, and I will be your opponent." The girl now known as Ruruko smirked confidently as she pumped her fists.

But to her confusion Gasper said nothing, his closed eyes shading black as he bowed his head down.

"Not much for conversation? I heard you were quite the shut-in, and because of that I don't have a slightest clue as to why you would go out here all alone and-"

She was interrupted when Gasper frowned at her with a grave look on his face, and that murderous gaze was so surprising that it froze Ruruko in fear. And in that moment Gasper immediately made use of his Balor View, freezing her in place as a purple aura enveloped the devil. She thought she was about to have an easy win, like scaring him off with couple of garlics type of easy. But only in those moments of horror, even when she was frozen by Gasper's Balor View, did she realize how dreadfully wrong she was about this boy. He looked as if he went through Nine circles of Hell and saw every nightmare imaginable, making their current confrontation look akin to two toddlers in kindergarten wrestling cutely on the floor, not to be taken seriously in the slightest. Helpless to react in any way, Gasper immediately turned into swarm of bats and charged at Ruruko, the red eyes on each bat flashing with bloodlust.


Elsewhere on the battlefield, Issei and Isabela made their way further into the park.

"One of Sona Sitri's pawns retired."

"Nice, we're already starting to kick ass." Issei said as he pumped his right fist to Isabela in cheer.

Moments later did a swarm of bats approach Issei and Isabela.

"Issei, I've dealt with their pawn. I'm now onto my next target." One of the bats in the swarm said in Gasper's dead serious voice, before the swarm departed.

"Now Gasper is really starting to scare me." Issei said as he sweat-dropped nervously.

"You mean he wasn't always like this?" Isabela asked curiously.

"Not even close. Death decided to train him personally, and because of that he turned him into… that." Issei said in baffled tone as he gestured in the direction where Gasper left.

"So the Reaper hardened the boy? Can't say that I'm surprised, considering the pale rider's reputation." Isabela said as she held her chin in thought.

"Trust me, he didn't just harden him, he's a completely different person now, and not the best version of Gasper mind you." Issei said seriously, even now having a chill at how different Gasper is now before their training.

"Am I interrupting something?"

Another voice suddenly said, drawing Isabela's and Issei's attention, and they noticed a tall girl with blue, shoulder length hair matching eyes.

"I believe it's time that we had a fight of our own. I am Tsubasa Yura and I am a rook." The girl now known as Tsubasa introduced herself as she cracked her fists.

"My name is Isabela and I am also a rook of Lady Rias. You will be my opponent." Isabela proclaimed as she pointed at Tsubasa.

"If you say so, but know that this fight will not be so easy to win." Tsubasa smirked confidently.

"I don't expect this to be easy." Isabela said seriously before she glanced at… "Issei, you go on ahead and see if there are any other fighters out there to deal with, this battle is mine alone." She said as she glanced back at her opponent.

"Are you kidding? No way I'm gonna miss this." Issei said as he smiled and folded his arms without worry.

"Huh?" Isabela looked curiously at Issei.

"And it's not like we have others in our team who can handle things in my place. Besides, in case you get in trouble I'll jump in and kick her ass for you." Issei smiled at the half-masked woman.

"I'll try not let it come to that then." Isabela smirked a bit in confidence before her face went serious as she looked at her opponent. "Now, let's get started." She said as she took a fighting stance, with Tsubasa doing the same.


Meanwhile, Karlamine and Tomoe continued to clash swords with each other, both determined to win their duel, while Kiba watched the battle unfold from the sidelines, anticipating the moment when he needs to step in and save his comrade in arms. His attention was then drawn to the sound of multiple flapping wings and chittering behind him, and he noticed a swarm of bats quickly closing in. Then the swarm landed and merged into a boy that Kiba immediately recognized.

"Gasper? You were the one who dealt with their pawn?" Kiba asked curiously.

"I did." Gasper said simply in cold manner as he fixed his eyes on the duel between two knights. "What of Karlamine? Do I need to step in and finish this?"

"No need, Karlamine has this under control. In the meantime we should keep an eye on anyone else that would try to fight us." Kiba suggested.

"There's no one else Kiba. I scouted the battlefield and apparently the rest of Sona's fighters are with her in the building. We just need to deal with her and then we can take Sona on directly." Gasper stated in almost dead serious tone.

"I see." Kiba said in concern, mostly for Gasper.

Much like Issei, Kiba was now uncomfortably nervous as he also noticed the drastic change in Gasper's behavior, and he too didn't like how cold-hearted he had become. He only hopes that he won't cause them too much trouble. Bad enough that they have the Horsemen of the Apocalypse breathing down their necks, the last thing they need is Gasper going rampant with a dangerous Sacred Gear in his possession.

Another intense bout occurred between Karlamine and Tomoe, dashing, ducking, weaving and parrying each other's attacks in quick succession. In one moment they once more clashed their swords, but this time, determined to end this battle quickly and save her energy for a real fight, Karlamine aimed for Tomoe's right wrist and quickly sliced her tendon, forcing Tomoe to scream in pain as she dropped her sword. Using the opportunity of the moment, Karlamine used her speed as a knight and severed the left wrist tendon as well, preventing her from picking up the sword, before she finally impaled her sword right through the chest of her opponent, making her paralyze in agony as she puked out blood.

"A battle well fought, but victory is mine Tomoe Meguri." Karlamine stated in serious, yes respectful tone to her opponent.

Strangely, Tomoe looked down sadly, even forming tears in her eyes as she started to fade away.

"I'm sorry… Sona." She uttered sadly before she closed her eyes and succumbed to her wounds, before immediately being teleported to the infirmary outside the Rating Game dimension.

"One of Lady Sona's knights retired!"

"Impressive, you won that fight without much difficulty." Kiba smiled as he approached a fellow knight.

"I meant when I said I would regain my honor Kiba, and that means going through the most grueling of training sessions to improve my swordsmanship." Karlamine smirked in pride as she hoisted her sword to prove her point.

"I noticed. Now I'm more than eager to spar with you when this is over. If your offer still stands that is." Kiba said as he smiled in more competitive manner.

Karlamine couldn't help but chuckle a bit in amusement at that.

"Of course it does, I'm the one who made the offer after all." Karlamine said with a friendly smile.

"We're wasting time here, let's meet up with the others and finish this." Gasper said sternly before he turned into swarm of bats and made way towards Issei.

The two knights could only look at Gasper flying away with more serious expressions, Kiba out of concern and Karlamine in annoyance at how rude the boy was with his attitude.


On the other part of the battlefield, Isabela and Tsubasa were throwing a flurry of various, forceful punches and kicks at each other. After a while of simultaneous blows, both of the hand to hand combatants dashed backwards for momentary reprieve.

"Nice moves, I can see that you're no amateur." Tsubasa smiled in respect.

"You are not too bad yourself, but I am yet to take this seriously." Isabela said in more serious tone.

"So am i." Tsubasa replied before she attacked her opponent again, with Isabela charging at the same time.

Another series of simultaneous punches and kicks ensued. Through their flurry at one point, Tsubasa punched Isabela in the face, followed by Isabela's right hook, Tsubasa's uppercut, and lastly Isabela's kick on her opponent's ribs. But in that instant, Tsubasa would pull her by her leg, swinging her once before slamming her hard on the ground, making Isabela cough and gag outloud in pain.

"Good fight, but it ends here." Tsubasa said as she reared her right fist, using the opportunity of the moment to knock out Isabela.

But as she was throwing her right punch, it was suddenly caught, stopping it in its tracks. And to the rook's surprise, it was Issei who caught her punch.

"I don't think so lady." Issei smirked confidently before he threw a left punch straight into Tsubasa's wide open right cheek. The force of the punch was so strong that it forced her to tumble a few steps sideways in pain.

For that insult, Tsubasa charged at Issei, ready to throw another flurry of punches. But as she did, to her shock and surprise, Issei blocked every single one with ease with a confident smirk on his face. After a while of fruitless combinations of punches and kicks, she dashed backwards and stared at the devil pawn.

"How? How can you stop my punches without using your Boosted Gear?" Tsubasa asked in bewilderment.

"Please, I've kicked some pretty hardcore demon asses before this Rating Game, this fight is nothing compared to what War had to put us through during those three weeks. In other words, your ass is grass." Issei said confidently.

To prove his point, he dashed quickly towards Tsubasa and threw a hard punch to the gut, making her choke out in pain as she coughed up blood. Then Issei pulled up his left elbow and hit the rook on the back of her head, slamming her on the ground and knocking her unconscious. With that victory, Tsubasa also slowly started to dissipate out of the Rating Game dimension.

"One of Lady Sona's rooks retired!"

"Need a hand?" issei said to Isabela with a friendly smile as he offered his hand.

The rook smiled silently before she grabbed Issei's hand, allowing him to pull her up on her feet.

"My congratulations to Tannin, he trained you really well." Isabela smiled in praise as she approached Issei.

"If we can even call Death's boot camp training." Issei said dryly as he rubbed his temples.

"Death? The Reaper himself also trained you?" Isabela asked curiously.

"Nah, he just turned up Tannin's training from hard to nightmare mode, it was a murder to go through all that." Issei complained, even feeling his very bones ache at the thought of how brutal his training has. "But, it was definitely worth it in the end." He smiled now in optimism as he pumped his right fist.

"Indeed." Isabela nodded with a smile.

"Issei! Isabela!"

A newcomer suddenly called out to them from the sky. When Issei and Isabela looked up, it was Rias, along with Akeno and Yubelluna descending downwards.

"Hi president, we just finished up with Sona's rook." Issei said, while Kiba, Karlamine and Gasper also arrived.

"Nice work everyone." Rias smiled in praise.

"Wait, where's Asia?" Issei asked curiously.

"Back at the home base, still recuperating from the healing orbs she provided us with." Rias said before she pumped her fist confidently. "Now, let's move out towards Sona's home base and win this Rating Game proper!"

"Right!" Everyone nodded in agreement before they departed.


Outside the Rating Game dimension in the VIP room, the spectators like War and Strife continued to monitor the battle as the Gremory group marched to face Sona.

"Well, this battle turned out to be quite one sided." Odin said as he stroked his beard.

"Disappointed Lord Odin?" Sirzechs smiled, inwardly satisfied at his little sister's decisive course to victory.

"To a degree, I was expecting Sona Sitri's fighters to put up more of a fight." Odin said bluntly, while Serafall pouted in childish frustration at the remark.

"Well, when you're trained by one of the Four Horsemen, you can expect this kind of outcome old man." Azazel smirked with folded arms as he looked at the All-Father.

"True enough, though I was hoping for more of a spectacle. After all, what is a battle without two sides clashing with equal force and intensity?" Odin smirked at the fallen angel a bit before he looked back at the screen. "But let us see if the devil herself will fare any better against them."


Back inside the Rating Game, Rias and the others have arrived in front of the entrance to the tennis court.

"So out of the remaining pieces, two bishops and the queen are left to deal with. I can say that we have this Rating Game in the bag." Akeno smiled.

"Something's not right here." Rias said in strangely cautious tone, drawing the attention of her retainers. "Sona is far more tactical than this, it is not like her to send her fighters in a direct confrontation."

"Do you think she went desperate because she thought she couldn't win against you?" Yubelluna asked curiously.

"I doubt it, even then Sona would try to scrape by a victory. I don't like this, but we have to go in either way and finish this fight." Rias said seriously before she turned sideways and looked at her teammates. "I want everyone to be on guard, who knows what Sona has in store for us inside." She said, before everyone nodded silently in agreement.

Then they opened the door and all entered the enclosed tennis court. After they passed the hall, within the large tennis court itself, Sona was standing at one end of the court, with Tsubaki and two Bishops standing behind her. One was Momo Hanakai, a white-haired girl with blue-green eyes, and the other was Reya Kusaka, a girl with long brown hair that ends in two short braids and matching eyes.

"Rias." Sona said in utter loathing towards her opponent.

"Sona." Rias said in more neutral, but mildly heartbroken tone, at the fact that she addressed her like they have been hated enemies, no different than demons of Hell.

"Tell me. What is at stake for you in this battle?" Sona asked in demand.

"I'm fighting to win Sona, you know that." Rias said in serious and now determined tone.

'Yes, I do." Sona said as she took off her glasses and bowed her head down, in an angle where her eyes are covered by her bangs. "But unlike you, I'm putting my life on the line for this. And I have no intention of losing to you Rias." She said in dead serious tone as her body tensed momentarily, before she relaxed again. "We have been close friends ever since we were little. Even though I wished you visited more often, I cherished what time we spend in those times you did came along. As years passed, both of us went along with studying in human world." She lamented the past memories before she suddenly dropped her glasses on the ground. "There may have been lapses between us on more than one occasion, but this time I have no intention of ever forgiving you. For allowing Issei to run wild, and for Death to execute Saji." She said in mix of sorrow and seething anger as she clenched her fists.

And to everyone's surprise, black tears started to run down Sona's cheeks.

"I will destroy you entirely for what you've allowed to pass Rias. Your pride, your reputation, even your very life. Death will be too much of a kindness for you!" Sona said in rising fury as she conjured currents of water streaming around her body. But during her speech, the waters blackened and grew denser, akin to a tar, while black smoke radiated from her body upward, the tar-like currents bubbling and emitting yellow sparks, akin to those from fire.

"Sona." Rias uttered in disturbed tone, her shock increasing as she watched her close friend being twisted by a power that is certainly not her own, and something that she sadly can't do anything about at the moment.

Even Tsubaki, Momo and Reya couldn't help but take a few steps back in bewilderment, shocked how their mistress in her rage is succumbing to this unnatural power.

"I will make you suffer as I have." Sona said in rage as when she looked at Rias dead in the eye, her own eyes went from violet color to yellow, her pupils narrowing akin to that of a cat. "You and the Reaper both will pay with your lives for what you've done to Saji! And I will start my vengeance… with YOOOU!"

Sona roared as the tar-like currents exploded from her liquefying body in several long, lashing tentacles, smacking her three retainers at the same time. The two Bishops were hit so hard that they were sent through a wall and were knocked unconscious into the nearby woods, while Tsubaki was only slammed onto a wall. Due to her resilience as a queen, she was able to resist her wild assault, but several moments later, she noticed that Sona was completely enveloped by currents of bubbling tar, bloating and expanding in size while several tentacles whipped and lashed furiously in random directions. Suddenly another tentacle instantaneously whipped and latched onto Tsubaki's leg and immediately pulled her at fast speed towards the writhing mass that was Sona. The devil queen screamed in panic and fear as she was quickly dragged towards the morphing, corrupted waters, and her screams were silenced as she was absorbed inside Sona's writhing mass.

"Tsubaki!" Rias called out in shock as she reach out her hand, but to no avail. But a moment later she noticed that the writing mass continued to expand in size, threatening to consume everyone within the court.

"Everyone out!" Rias shouted urgently before she sprinted outside, quickly followed by everyone else.

As soon as all the devils left the court, the entire building exploded from within as the black, writing mass of Sona's design continued to flail and whip wildly. Finally, the mass elongated and flowed in one direction, her shape being more serpentine as it headed directly towards the water reservoir and dove right inside the waters. As soon as she did, the waters were also corrupted until the entire reservoir was turned into a large tar pit. Within the bubbling tar, waves churned beneath the tar lake as from the center, a massive pillar of writhing tentacles erupted, quickly elongating and taking a more serpentine shape. Finally, Sona took the form of a cobra, her yellow eyes brimming with fury and madness before she hissed and roared towards the devils, radiating with yellow glow and black smoke as the monster fixed her eyes on the Gremory group.


Outside the Rating Game in the VIP room, War and the others present also took notice of the sudden change from Sona Sitri.

"What?!" Serafall exclaimed in shock.

"Strife?" War called out to his brother.

But to his frustration, his brother was distracted by that accursed Valkyrie, talking with her ever so casually.

"Strife!" War shouted angrily.

"What, what is…!" Strife said in irritated tone before he looked at the screen, also taking notice at what's happening. "Oh." He said in realization.

"What in the name of…" Sirzechs said in surprised and disturbed reaction.

"There's a twist." Azazel said seriously.

"You mean this is not what the Sitri devil can normally do?" Odin asked Azazel curiously.

"No, not even in the slightest." Azazel said seriously.

"That's something. What is that?" Strife asked his brother curiously.

"Something that Death and I have encountered weeks ago." War said grimly before he stormed off outside the room and went straight towards Grayfia.

"War, wait up!" Strife called out as he ran after his brother, curious to see what riled up War of all people.

Serafall quickly followed the riders in worry and panic for Sona, while Sirzechs and Azazel looked at each other with grim expressions before they too rushed outside towards Grayfia, leaving Odin and Rossweisse alone in the VIP room. When they did, Odin continued to observe the events on screen, stroking his long beard in contemplation as he fixed his eyes on the serpentine monster.

"Shouldn't you be concerned Lord Odin? If even the Riders of Ragnarok are disturbed by this development…" Rossweisse said in serious, yet nervous tone.

"I am concerned indeed Rossweisse. Apparently the dark power that took hold over that child is something that not even the horsemen can trifle with." Odin said seriously before he took his cane and stood up. "Come, let us join our hosts, my ravens tell me that they went to Sirzechs' maid in the surveillance room." He said as he looked at the young Valkyrie before he marched to the doors, followed closely by Rossweisse.


Back in the Rating Game dimension, the giant cobra hissed as it spread its hood wide and fired a volley of black and yellow, acid darts, prompting all the devils to spring their wings and take to the skies. Sona in her giant cobra form continued to fire, aiming straight towards Rias, but in quick succession, Rias, Akeno and Yubelluna conjured a joint, magical barrier. But even with all three of them combining their powers, they struggled to maintain the barrier.

However, the giant cobra was suddenly frozen in place, engulfed in purple aura. Moments later did the devils realize that it was Gasper who was responsible, using the Balor View Sacred Gear to keep her in place.

"Nice work Gasper!" Kiba shouted in praise.

"Alright, you rock Gasper!" Issei also shouted in praise as he pumped his right fist high.

But the devils quickly noticed that Gasper was gritting his teeth and starting to sweat a bit, showing that he's putting a tremendous amount of effort to freeze the giant beast.

"Oh no. Gasper won't hold Sona for long." Rias said ominously.

"Are you serious? You mean she's that powerful?" Issei asked in baffled tone.

"No." Rias said as she frowned seriously and locked her eyes at the cobra, while Issei looked at her in confusion. "She should be nowhere near this powerful. I know what Sona is capable of, and this certainly isn't a part of her arsenal." She then turned sideways. "We have to plan a strategy now. Akeno, Issei, you two are with me."

"Right!" Issei nodded.

"We're with you Rias." Akeno said confidently in support.

"Karlamine, Yubelluna, Isabela, the three of you go back to home base, you are not ready to deal with this monster." Rias said seriously.

"You want us to run and hide?!" Karlamine exclaimed in outrage.

"That's an order Karlamine!" Rias snapped angrily, silencing the swordsman. "Do not leave the home base under any circumstance unless i say otherwise! Got it?!" She continued. Although she didn't meant to be so harsh on any of her peerage members, this is the situation where decisive, no-risk decisions have to be made, so any sort of disobedience is out of the question.

A few moments later, Karlamine complied to her command.

"Yes, Lady Rias!" Karlamine bowed her head in reluctance and respect before she departed, followed by Yubelluna and Isabela.

"Issei, use your Balance Breaker immediately, we need to be in top shape against whatever Sona has in store for us." Rias instructed.

"Got it." Issei nodded before he made use of his Boosted Gear as the green gem shined brightly.

[WELSH DRAGON, BALANCE BREAKER!]

With that, Issei was completely covered in signature Scale Mail armor.

Almost on cue, Rias, Akeno, Kiba and Issei noticed the aura around the cobra cracking like glass, a sure sign that Gasper is slowly losing his grip on his opponent.

"Hold on Gasper, just a little longer!" Rias shouted in panic, having not fully realized her strategy.

"I… can't! Its… already… breaking… free." Gasper grunted and gritted as he tried his best to maintain the beast in place.

But he couldn't do it any longer as Sona broke free of Gasper's paralysis in a mighty roar, while the half-vampire collapsed on the ground from exhaustion.

"Take your positions, now!" Rias ordered quickly, before Issei and Akeno promptly took to the skies. "Kiba, take Gasper away from here to recover, we'll need his Balor View again. Once you're done, come back to help us fight this monster!"

"On it!" Kiba nodded before he disappeared in a blur towards Gasper.

With that done, Rias herself flew up, reaching the eye level of the giant snake before all three of the devils unleashed their attacks in unison.


At that same moment, outside the Rating Game dimension…

"Grayfia!" War shouted as he slammed the door open and marched inside. "Teleport everyone out of there, quickly!" He shouted again as he stood next to her.

"I cannot." Grayfia said grimly as she continued to run through the magical control panel in mild panic.

"What do you mean by that?!" War shouted in outrage.

"Something is interfering with the teleportation system. I cannot transport anyone from the dimension, even by force." Grayfia said seriously, doing her best to try and save Rias and the others, but failing thus far.

"I thought you said that you took care of these kinds of sabotage devil!" War shouted again in outrage, while Strife stood next to his brother, followed close by Serafall.

"The system malfunctioned as soon as Sona Sitri transformed into that creature. I do not know who is responsible for this, but it will take me some time before I can get the system up and running again." Grayfia said, not letting her sight out of the panel.

"Well, for their sake, you better act fast, things are about to get nasty real quick." Strife said in more calm, but ominous voice as he folded his arms and looked at the monitors above them, observing how Issei, Rias and Akeno attack the giant beast from all sides.

After a few moments…

"Grayfia, can you hear me?!"

Rias suddenly called out loudly from inside the Rating Game dimension, drawing Grayfia's attention, along with War and Strife.

"I hear you Lady Rias, go ahead." Grayfia replied as she pressed the button. Inwardly she was glad that the communication systems work at least.

"I want you to teleport everyone out of here except for me, Akeno, Issei, Kiba and Gasper!" Rias shouted urgently from the battlefield.

"Impossible, the teleportation system has malfunctioned!" Grayfia reported seriously from the magical speakers.

"What?!" Rias exclaimed in shock as she looked up.

"Until it is repaired I'm afraid that you will have to survive the encounter on your own." Grayfia said grimly.

"Well that's just fucking brilliant." Issei commented bluntly as he continued to fire more Dragon Shots at the cobra, but to little effect.

"Well, at least we have the time to try and somehow get through to Sona." Rias said seriously.

"Do not bother with it Rias." A familiar, masculine voice spoke, a voice that Rias immediately recognized.

"War?" Rias said curiously.

"This is the power that drove even the Dragon King Vritra into murderous frenzy, risking your life to reason with the corrupted devil is folly." War said seriously, in almost heartless tone from the surveillance room.

"I have to at least try. Worst case scenario we will leave Sona here to be disintegrated, along with the dimension itself." Rias said in determination, but dreading that worst case scenario.

"Don't you dare give up Rias!"

Another different, female voice spoke from the speakers that Rias also recognized.

"Serafall?" Rias said curiously, while Issei and Akeno continued to drive back the beast.

Within the monitoring room, not only Serafall arrived, but also Azazel, Sirezchs, Odin and Rossweisse, the latter two standing behind the group, observing the events from one of many magical monitors.

"Please, save my sister however you can, you have to!" Serafall pleaded in cracked, desperate voice, on the verge of crying even.

"I'll try!" Rias exclaimed before she finally looked at the cobra with a more grim expression. "But at this point, I can make no promises." She said mostly to herself, before she charged forward to join the assault.

"Sona!" Rias called out.

Almost on cue, the giant snake roared before its body morphed beneath its hood. A moment or two later, a pair of clawed hands erupted from beneath the hood, while from the monster's back several whip-like tentacles writhed behind it. When the transformation was done, the serpent roared and hissed at the three devils.

"Sona, listen to me! You have to get a hold of yourself! Please!" Rias called out desperately.

Sadly, the mad beast didn't register a word she said as it continued its assault, launching another volley of acid darts from its hood towards the devils. The trio moved quickly and surrounded the monster from three sides, before they started to fire their own signature attacks.


Outside the Rating Game dimension…

"Strife, be honest. Do you think there is a chance that Rias might get through to Sona?" Azazel asked seriously.

"Nope, they'll be lucky to even make her flinch." Strife said bluntly.

"I see. So there's no other way they can win this?" Azazel said seriously, trying to find an alternative winning strategy that doesn't involve killing Serafall's sister.

"The only course that they can take is to obliterate that monster, before they die in their foolish attempt to reason with it." War said in cold and stoic tone, judging from his fight with Dragon King Vritra and the havoc he caused to the devil settlements.

"That's enough out of both of you!" Serafall suddenly snapped at War and Strife, much to the shock and surprise of Azazel and Sirzechs, and to Odin's and Rossweisse's curiosity. "How can you two be so heartless?! That's my sister we're talking about! Unless you have a solution to this problem, then do me a favor and shut up!" She screamed furiously at the riders, but neither of them budged an inch.

"Careful magical girl." Strife suddenly said in low, dead serious tone as he glared daggers at Serafall, making the devil king gasp and flinch back in shock and fear. "I may not have a short fuse like my brother over here, but my trigger finger is worse than War's sword arm." He said as he gripped the gun on his right hip to prove his point.

"That I can confirm with a certainty." War said seriously before he glanced from the screen and also glared furiously at the devil. "Know your place devil, before you lose your head for your brazen defiance against the Council's enforcers." He said in equally low, grim and dead serious tone.

"Go ahead, give me an excuse to blow your brains out." Strife said seriously as he clenched the gun grip, while his index finger tapped the trigger.

The instinctive urge to scold the horsemen has now been replaced with petrifying terror as War and Strife glared silently at the devil, as if peering into her very soul. Sirzechs, Grayfia and Azazel stared nervously at the horsemen, dreading the scenario where they will actually execute Serafall on the spot if she continues her reckless action. As for Odin and Rossweisse, they noticed that the horsemen exude such authority over everyone here it's almost scary, even to the All-Father himself. Though that much he had seen from their siblings Death and Fury, these two riders are equally dangerous if not more so than the other two, by Odin's estimation at least. Apparently this is why the Four Horsemen are so feared in all the realms across the universe. And in War's and Strife's case, one glance from them and they can combust the entire world into a raging inferno, like the Norse primordial realm of Muspelheim for example.

"Please. There has to be a way we can save her." Serafall pleaded in now lower, but severely desperate tone.

"Face the truth devil. This dark power has taken a hold of your sister entirely, there is no other course for her but death." War said in serious, if not heartless tone as he monitored the battle, with Issei, Rias and Akeno continuing to attack the beast while avoiding its blows.


Back to the battlefield…

"Sona, please! I'm so sorry for what happened to Saji, but we can't lose you too, not like this!" Rias shouted desperately.

However, Sona in her monstrous form roared as it plunged its clawed hands into the waters, and immediately three spikes erupted from the tar, impaling Issei, Rias and Akeno all at once. The three devils coughed up blood before the three spiked tentacles whipped them away, sending their lip bodies slamming on the grass away from the tainted reservoir.

"Rias, Issei, Akeno!" Kiba shouted in shock and panic before he blurred straight towards them.

A few moments later, using his incredible speed as a knight, he scooped up their bodies and placed them safely away from the monster, in the woods near one of the several great lawn softball fields.

"Hurry, use Asia's healing orb!" Kiba urged to the three devils.

Thankfully those spiked tentacles didn't pierce their hearts, so they were still alive. Gravely injured, but they still live. Using the precious moments of life that they have and extreme effort, the three devils gritted their teeth as they all conjured Asia's healing orbs. When they crushed them, the magic within the orbs healed them completely, closing the gaping stomach wound that they had and revitalizing them. When the deed was done, all three of the devils gasped and heaved to regain their breaths as they slowly stood up.

"Thank goodness." Kiba sighed in relief.

"Man that was close!" Issei exclaimed as he checked his stomach. "I'll have to thank Asia once we see her." He smiled.

"Rias?" Akeno asked her friend, noticing her rather serious expression.

"That's it then, we used our only reliable lifelines. And the Phoenix Tears that we have can heal only one of us." Rias said as she frowned seriously before she walked forward a bit and turned towards the three devils. "I didn't want to do this, but now we have no choice but to put her down. War was right, at this point Sona is beyond any attempt to reason with her."

"I was afraid you'd say that." Akeno said seriously.

"Me too, but now we have no choice. If we don't use everything we have this time, she will kill us. Now let's go." Rias said seriously.

Issei, Kiba and Akeno nodded with serious expressions, before the four devils sprung their wings, took to the skies and dashed towards the raging monster.

"Forgive me Serafall." Rias thought. But considering her obsessive love towards her sister, that forgiveness will probably never be achieved. Regardless, it has to be done, for their own sakes.

As soon as they were close, Rias roared as she conjured a massive destruction blast and fired at the monster, blasting the left half of the monster. But to their surprise, the left side of the Cobra regenerated as the corrupted waters flowed and shaped through her body. But while the giant cobra hissed and roared at the four devils, they attacked once more, except strangely for Akeno. And this time, they are putting all their effort into their attacks.


Back outside the Rating Game dimension…

"Good. It would seem that the devils are finally going for the kill." War said in usual, stoic tone.

"What?! They wouldn't!" Serafall shouted in shellshock.

"They must. And they will." War said grimly.

That didn't ease Serafall's worries in the slightest as she started to panic, incapable of even considering to kill her beloved sister.

"No, no, NO! Please, we have to save her! Sirzechs, do something! There has to be a way, we can't kill my little Sona, it can't end like this, we have to-"

During her frantic, desperate pleas for basically anyone to help her, she was abrupty interrupted when Strife pulled out Mercy and hit Serafall hard on the back of her head with the gun magazine, knocking her unconscious as she fell down on the ground.

"That should shut her up." Strife said in annoyance before he sheathed his gun.

"Probably for the best. At this point it is either those youngsters or that monster who will leave that dimension alive." Odin said grimly as he approached the group, but not letting his sight out of the battle on screen.


Back on the battlefield, Akeno stared down at the monster within the reservoir, while Issei, Kiba and Rias continued to fight back. Issei repeatedly boosted himself and threw a barrage of Dragon Shots, Rias kept using her signature destruction blasts, and Kiba tried to use his levitating swords to slice and dice the monster. However, Akeno noticed that Sona's cobra construct was far more resilient that they had anticipated. Despite their attacks being far more ferocious this time, the monster kept regenerating its wounds, using the reservoir as a source of its regeneration. With that information in mind, a realization was slowly dawning in her mind. If they keep up like this, all they will do is drain themselves of energy, leaving them vulnerable for Sona's finishing blow. There was now one solution to turn the tide of this battle and end this madness. To at long last make use of her fallen angel power. Normally she would almost instinctively seethe at the thought, but with situation growing to be more hopeless, that option seems to be more and more tempting, especially when her own lightning blasts had little effect on the liquid beast.

In that moment, the giant monster seethed and roared as it once more sent a barrage of acid darts from its hood towards Rias, prompting the Ruin Princess to dash and evade the barrage before quickly conjuring a barrier. At the same time, the back tendrils whipped and flailed furiously, shattering Kiba's conjured swords with sickening ease. Rias retaliated with a powerful blast of her own, but this time, to the immense shock of the devils, the giant cobra raised its hands and conjured a large mirror in front of it, absorbing the blast before it immediately sent back Rias' own Destruction blast with double the size and potency. Rias immediately raised a barrier in front of her, but the blast was so powerful that it shattered the shield and hit Rias head on, making her scream in agony before the blast exploded.

"Rias!" Issei, Akeno and Kiba shouted in shock and worry, while the unconscious and severely wounded and bloodied Rias was send careening down towards the ground.

Kiba immediately disappeared in a blur and reappeared right as Rias was about to hit the ground, catching her body and gently lying her on the ground.


Outside the battlefield…

"A mirror?" Strife said curiously while looking at the magical monitor.

"That's no ordinary mirror." Azazel said seriously as he recognized the ability, drawing Strife's attention. "That is called Mirror Alice, a Sacred Gear that can absorb an opponent's attack and throw it back to its sender with double the power."

"Sona Sitri was in possession of this Sacred Gear this whole time?" War asked curiously.

"No. I bet that her queen Tsubaki was the one who can use it. But once she was absorbed within that monster, it can apparently also use its Sacred Gear." Azazel said seriously, recalling that moment when Sona's tendrils pulled Tsubaki into the writhing mass during the transformation process.


Back to the battle at hand, the monster shaped its right hand into a hammer, swinging it upward before swinging it down directly on the devil pawn.

"Oh crap!" Issei said in panic.

Having no time to dodge the attack, Issei could only raise his hands in attempt to catch the hammer, but the force of the blow was so strong that it pulverized the devil pawn where he stood.

"Issei!" Kiba shouted in worry.

High above the battlefield, Akeno gasped as her eyes widened in shock at yet another victim of Sona's rampage. When the monster raised its morphed hammer, she noticed that Issei's Scale mail completely shattered, leaving him bloodied and paralyzed on the ground, clinging to consciousness.

"Do you really wish such an end for yourself?"

War's words echoed in Akeno's mind as she glanced from Issei to Rias.

"To die knowing that you haven't given your all to protect your comrades?"

And as she glanced back to Issei lying down wounded on the ground, the realization is slowly dawning in her mind as she bowed her head down and slowly hovered lower and lower towards the ground.

Meanwhile, Kiba reacted quickly as he once more used his speed as a knight to pick up Issei and place him next to Rias. Thankfully Rias decided in the end to entrust a vial of Phoenix Tears to him for safe keeping, so he pulled it out from his pocket, opened the vial and poured the vial drop above the devil. As soon as it made contact, Rias was engulfed in pink, soothing light, instantly healing her wounds, making her open her eyes as she regained consciousness.

"Issei, are you okay?" Kiba asked as he turned around and tended to the devil pawn, while Rias groaned as she grabbed her head.

"I'm fine. I think I am." Issei gritted his teeth in pain as he struggled to get up, but to no avail. Despite of the fact that the Scale Mail protected him from any severe injuries this time before shattering completely, it still hurt like hell.

In that moment, their attention was drawn as the cobra seethed and roared at them, about to attack once more. But before the beast was about to send yet another barrage of acid darts, suddenly a powerful thunder bolt struck the cobra in the face, turning its attention to the devil queen.

"Akeno?" Rias said in mild surprise at the sudden assault. A surprise that increased when she noticed the resolve in her best friend's eyes.

"I held back on you for Rias' sake, because you were her friend as much as she is to me." Akeno said in serious and determined tone.

"Cease with your foolishness and embrace your fallen angel side."

Rastion's words now echoed in Akeno's mind. And it was his words that lead Akeno to a decision she is about to take into action.

"And I've also come to realize something. The loathing and fear that I had for my fallen angel side is what held back my true power, the power that I should have used since back at the Rating Game against Riser." Akeno continued, maintaining her serious demeanor as the images of wounded Rias and Issei flashed in her mind.

"Only then will your enemies tremble before your wrath."

"But no more. It ends now!" Akeno proclaimed as shockingly, her left devil wing converted into black, feathery fallen angel wing, signifying her use of her inherited powers.

"I am Akeno Himejima, daughter of Shuri Himejima! Even though I still loathe the power that I was born with, I will no longer be afraid of it and keep it bottled inside me! In days to come, i intend to use it to protect my friends against those who would harm them!" Akeno said as during her proclamation, she conjured lightning in her right hand, while in her left she conjured a ball of Holy Light.

"Starting with you!" Akeno shouted as she combined the two elements into Holy Thunder Bolt and fired it at the monster.

This time, empowered by Holy Light, the thunder bolt struck loudly at the giant beast. And surprisingly, that attack made the beast wail in pain, while its arm was disintegrated. Akeno continued to fire her Holy Bolts, striking five times on several body parts of the monster, making it suffer as it hissed and screamed in agony at the searing pain.

During her assault, Rias smiled at her longtime friend with pride. Although she didn't entirely embrace her fallen angel heritage, she is glad that she overcame her fear of using its power at the very least.

But a few moments later when Akeno stopped the attack, the monster once more made use of the tainted waters surrounding it and regenerated its wounds, albeit at a slower rate. But that little detail is what gave Akeno an idea. This monster is clearly vulnerable to Holy Light, so nothing less than a devastating attack will do to eradicate this corrupted being for good.

"Rias! A combined assault!" Akeno called out.

"Got it!" Rias nodded seriously to her friend before she glanced at the mutant cobra construct.

After a few moments of hesitation, having barely made peace with the fact that she would have to kill her friend, she charged up her magic circle, ready to empower Akeno's holy blast from above. The giant monster fixed its eyes on Rias and was about to attack, but suddenly she was frozen still by purple aura. From the left side, Rias noticed that it was Gasper who paralyzed the beast, finally recuperated enough to return to the battlefield, gritting his teeth as he put all the energy he has left in his Balor View. This was the window of opportunity that she needed as she threw her magical circle like a disc towards the cobra, and stopped right above it. In that instant, Akeno roared as she fired a holy lightning blast from above.

However, in that instant, the monster broke free of Gasper's paralysis and immediately utilized the Mirror Alice again above its head, ready to counter the powerful blast. But reacting quickly, Akeno pointed her index finger and zapped the mirror with a needle-thin lightning, shattering it and triggering the counter-effect of the mirror as it zapped her back with double the effect. But despite that, Akeno put the miniscule amount of power into her attack, so the reflected zap that struck her shoulder was harmless, akin to a flick of a finger. Helpless to prevent the incoming attack, and empowered this time not only by Holy Light, but Rias' magic circle, the blast hit the giant beast head on, making it wail and scream as it was disintegrated by holy lightning entirely, triggering a massive, electric explosion, while Rias, Akeno, Issei, Kiba and Gasper shielded their eyes from the blinding light.

When the explosive dome finally died down and the smoke after the explosion dissipated, there was nothing left of the tainted reservoir but several puddles of tar, slowly being disintegrated as sparks of electricity circled around them. One the puddles closest to Rias and Akeno bubbled and even erupted several small tentacles upward, but it quickly melted into the puddle as the puddle itself also disintegrated by the electricity.

Finally, all the puddles were erased by Akeno's Holy Lightning Blast, but this victory came at a heavy cost. Sona Sitri, Rias' longtime friend, is no more. After the clamor of battle and the threat of death finally died down, that realization dawned on her mind as sorrow quickly swelled her senses, her eyes glistening with tears before they flowed down her cheeks, already feeling a gutwrenching pain at what she had done. If only there was another way they could have saved her, but with her mind fueled by madness, rage and vengeance, that task was an impossible feat. Akeno frowned in compassion as she placed her hand on Rias' shoulder, all she could currently do to console her best friend at Sona's loss. Even Issei couldn't help but feel really bad for the corrupted devil. To him personally, he was nowhere near as close to her as Rias was. In fact she was extremely annoying to him at the academy due to her rather police force approach to any of the school matters. But this? This was something that he wouldn't wish even on his worst enemy, let alone his friends. Even Raynare, as much of a bitch as she was when she killed him and later on took Asia hostage, wouldn't deserve to be turned into an insane blob of tar and be burned away into nothingness. He certainly wouldn't allow himself to be so cold and cruel, unlike the horsemen like War and Strife.


Outside the Rating Game dimension in the surveillance room, Sirzechs, Grayfia and even Azazel mourned Sona's passing, mostly for Serafall's sake. War and Strife on the other hand did not feel that sting of loss in the slightest, as they were more concerned that this corruption wouldn't spread outside the Rating Game rather than be worried for Sona herself. Thankfully, it did not came to be.

Later on, after they had seen for themselves that the threat was eliminated, War and Strife were leaving the estate, making their way downstairs.

"Okay War, clearly you know more about what happened back there. Care to explain?" Strife asked inquisitively.

"When Sirzechs approached us weeks ago, he told us of a monster that was rampaging through their realm. He informed us that it was one of the five Dragon Kings Vritra, who took over the boy's body that Death executed beforehand. A boy by the name Saji, who was a host to the dragon during his life, much like Hyoudou to the red dragon. And when he did, his physical form was twisted by the dark power we have seen consume Sona Sitri, and went on to slaughter the devils one settlement at the time. When Death and I went out to pursue the beast, we discovered that the settlements have been twisted by his corruption, turning its denizens into bloodmad, undead killers." War explained as he recalled the events, before in the end he looked at his brother. "And when we finally crippled the dragon, strangely, in his final moments, he requested that we kill him."

"Wait. He asked you to shove a sword through his chest?" Strife asked in mild confusion.

"Apparently so. That battle has shown us that another power had taken root within the dragon, and turned him into the abomination that we had faced on the battlefield, the same fate that befell the Sitri devil as well." War said seriously as he contemplated on that thought.

"So another challenger enters the ring. Great, as if we don't have enough crap to deal with already." Strife sighed in annoyance before he looked at War. "Where do we start then?"

"We will start with Azrael. If there is angel who might have an insight into this event, it would be him." War stated as they reached the bottom of the stairs next to their steeds and looked at his brother. Strife nodded silently before both of the riders mounted their steeds and galloped away from the estate.


Half an hour later, as the horsemen continued to make their way towards Azrael, Serafall regained consciousness. But after hearing the news of Sona's death, she wished in those moments that she stayed unconscious forever. To say that those news had shocked her to the core would be a massive understatement, but strangely, instead of being prompted to maddening, sorrow induced hysteria, her mood darkened significantly. Every trace of the once childish, yet cheerful and optimistic devil king was erased from her entire being. As if the moment Sona died, Serafall's spirit died with her, along with any joy to be had in her nigh eternal life.

Currently she was walking through the hallway with a grim and sorrowful expression on her face. This was the day she had always dreaded to come, the day that she would lose her beloved sister. For all of her attempts to eliminate any threats to her and her sibling, she never would have expected that she would be attacked from within, by the dark power she is yet to realize the source of. For all of her efforts to protect her, she died either way, leaving nothing but void where her heart once beat.

"Serafall!"

A familiar voice called out to her from behind, the last voice that she wants to hear right now. That voice belonged to Rias, who hurriedly caught up with her along with Sirzechs.

"I'm sorry Serafall. I failed to save her." Rias said sadly as she looked down in shame.

"Yes Rias. You have." Serafall said in uncharacteristically cold and harsh tone, not caring in the slightest at how Rias felt.

"Serafall, Rias can't be blamed for-"

"Shut your mouth Sirzechs!"

Both Sirzechs' and Rias' eyes widened in shock at that sudden outburst. What is especially unsettling is that it's coming from Serafall, a person who was usually so cheerful you can never even think of her being capable of being this furious. But as is the case, the greater the love, the greater the pain of loss, even for the likes of Serafall.

"When Sona told me how Death killed her pawn Saji, I have never seen my little sister so sad. Seeing her like that made me want to fight the Reaper head on, even if I have to die for it. But as a Devil King, I had far too many responsibilities to indulge in personal vengeance. And because of that foolishness, Sona is gone, not even a body is left of her to bury." Serafall said in mixture of sorrow, fury and bitter self-loathing as she clenched her fists. A few moments she composed herself a bit. "But now… now I don't care about any of that in the slightest." She said in dead serious tone.

"Serafall?" Sirzechs asked in concern.

"I wash my hands of all of you Sirzechs. From now on the Agares territory will be an independent realm." Serafall said in dead serious tone, her back still facing the two devils.

"You can't Serafall!" Rias exclaimed in shock.

"Yes I can Rias! If you hadn't taken Death into your precious club house, none of this would have happened!" Serafall snapped angrily as she turned sideways and pointed at Rias.

"That wasn't her choice Serafall, and you know it!" Sirzechs exclaimed seriously in defense of his sister.

"Was it her choice that cause her to reincarnate Issei Hyoudou, right in front of the Reaper?! That day is the reason why the Horsemen have such close eye on the devils as a whole, not just the Gremory family. So spare me your lectures Sirzechs, you and your sister have done more than enough damage with this 'alliance' with the riders!" Serafall shouted in pure spite and rage before she turned around.

"Serafall, I plead you not to do anything rash. I grieve for your loss, but we cannot afford for the devils to be divided, not with so many enemies wanting to exterminate our people." Sirzechs said in serious and almost desperate voice.

"I have lost my sister Sirzechs. The people are now the least of my concerns." Serafall said in low, dead serious tone before she finally continued walking, leaving Sirzechs and Rias to look at her in silent bafflement.


Far away from the Gremory territory, into the Crimson Spire, Azrael was rummaging the papers in his study at the top of the spire, attending his duties as usual. A few moments later, he heard the doors opening. As expected, due to being informed of the matter, War and Strife entered the room, making their way towards the archangel as soon as they did.

"War. Strife. Your visit comes as a surprise." Azrael said cordially as he stood up from the table to greet the riders.

"We're always full of surprises Azrael." Strife said in laidback tone.

"Tell us archangel. What did you discover about that filth that took hold over the Dragon King?" War asked in his usual, serious and stoic tone.

"What you have discovered horseman, is a dark and terrible power, a source of such malice and rage the likes you rarely see across Creation. It was akin to the bloodlust that takes hold over the demons of the Dark Kingdom." Azrael explained in more serious manner.

"Are you saying that Lucifer has devised another weapon against Creation?" War asked curiously.

"From what I was able to see, this power does not originate from any of the circles of Hell. I have witnessed many depravities originating from the Dark Kingdom, but this corruption belongs to something, or someone else. And from what I have discovered, the Dragon King in question was not the only victim." Azrael explained seriously.

"Yes, many of the devils across the Agares territory have been affected by the Dragon King's rampage." War stated.

"While that is true, it is not them that I meant." Azrael said as he took a sheet of paper from the table and gestured for the horsemen to take.

War and Strife glanced at each other momentarily in curiosity, before War took the paper to see what contents it holds. And from what he can see, it seems like some kind of report, recounting the events that occurred on that day. It reads as follows:

"The purification of the dark bile throughout the Agares territory of the devils is proceeding as planned Lord Azrael. However, this turned out to be hazardous endeavor. As days passed, the continuous exposure to this substance is causing a change in behavior in some of the soldiers among the devils, and even within our own ranks. It darkens their thoughts, making them more aggressive, paranoid, and prone to brutal violence. Although we did our best to maintain order and cooperation between the angels and the devils, we were unable to prevent the brawls that occurred between the two sides, and these brawls had grown to be frequent and bloodier over time. Even the most noble and stalwart among us were affected by this malevolent power. Those who were exposed to this substance the most abandoned all sense of reason and took their sword against their own comrades in arms. This pattern kept repeating the more we attempted to purify this corruption, making the endeavor all the more difficult. Although we continue to carry out our duty to purge this dark power from the Agares territory, more good soldiers are driven mad at the attempt, and are ultimately put to the sword. I pray to the Creator himself that this evil does not take hold over me as well."

"Orion, captain of the Holy Immolators 13th Company."

Both War and Strife memorized and contemplated the contents of the report. Despite the fact that this power is vulnerable to holy light, it can also drive those who are exposed to it for too long to murderous frenzy. Fortunate it is that Rias and her retainers dealt with corrupted Sona as fast as they did.

"Lovely." Strife quipped bluntly before he glanced from the letter to the archangel. "So I assume that this captain also bit the dust Azrael?"

"Indeed. This was the only message that was delivered to me before the regiment fell silent. The soldiers that I have sent afterwards have reported that the angels of Orion's regiment were driven mad entirely, even their own captain. When the deed was done, I dared not send more angels to continue the purification, not until we discovered a method that does not drive them to madness as well." Azrael said seriously.

"The angels are the only ones suited for this task Azrael. From what I have discovered at the Rating Game between the Gremory and Sitri devils, this dark power is vulnerable to Holy Light." War said seriously.

"Indeed?" Azrael asked curiously at the revelation.

"Yes. Angels of the White City, and even the fallen angels possess the means to purge this corruption. This time, see to it that you send angels with minds more fortified than those you've sent before. We must eliminate this corruption before it proves too much of a threat. Not just to the devils, but all those within the Underworld." War said grimly.

"Understood. Now, if there is nothing else to be said, I would proceed with preventing this threat." Azrael said cordially as he turned sideways, before he hovered towards the working table. Having said everything that was needed at the moment, the two riders departed.

Sometime later, War and Strife left far away from the Stormkeep on their respective steeds. Apparently even Azrael himself does not know all the details behind this phenomenon. Although the horsemen are now more aware of the danger that this malevolent power entails, they are still in the dark of the important details about it. From what source is this evil manifesting within the Underworld, who does it belong to to begin with, and how far has it spread while they were focusing their efforts on the Seven Deadly Sins, among other events thus far.

"This does not bode well. If this corruption persists and spreads its influence across the Underworld, and even beyond…" War contemplated grimly.

"Relax brother, nothing to worry about. I'm sure we can handle this thing no problem, after we deal with the Three Deadly Sins of course." Strife said in laidback tone, not worried in the slightest. If they managed to deal with the likes of the Sins so far, then this threat can be dealt with as well.

"I do not believe it so Strife." War said in grim, almost dead serious tone.

At the same time, within Serafall's private chambers in her castle, she was sitting on her bed with a hopelessly sorrowful look on her face, holding onto the glasses that her precious sister wore when she was alive. And while her thoughts were her own, they were certainly not pleasant as she gripped onto the glasses in her right hand, but not hard enough to break them.

"From what we have seen thus far, I believe that what happened to Sona Sitri and the Dragon King is just the beginning of things to come." War said ominously.

Then black tears ran down Serafall's cheeks.

"Cheerful." Strife said sarcastically.


A/N: Yes, this story is still alive! And again, terribly sorry that it took ridiculously long. Writing fatigue and other events in life aside, this was one those chapters that were so tedious to write, yet were necessary to push the plot along, not just for the horsemen, but Gremory devils as well. Hopefully the next chapter won't take overly long as well, but at this point I can't make any promises.

And yeah, I dunno exactly why I chose Manhattan Central Park out of all the possible locations to be had for Rating Game in this chapter, but I've been playing Prototype too much as of late and I guess that location just stuck :D

-Gamelover41592 Thanks, good to be back (even though it takes overly longer than it should to post chapters :D)

-Super heavy weapons guy I'm glad, but I'm sorry it takes ridiculously long between chapters, some of them were a chore to write.

-zharshoul Well that's the thing when you make a crossover between a video game and an anime, the power scaling is completely different since in video games you need to make it difficult for players to fight against enemies and bosses, the last thing you want is to make the encounters boring. If we were to go with anime logic, then they would just obliterate all but the most powerful of enemies like Samael, due to being the Council's enforcers, keeping the allegedly universe wide realms of Angels and Demons in check and all, among other factions like the Makers.

Death didn't kill them cause they 'annoyed' him, they were working behind his back, especially on Earth, when he specifically ordered them to report everything they do. They didn't, so he killed them as an example as to what happens when you disobey him, and he doesn't take that kindly in the slightest even with his siblings. And if you've read the Abomination Vault novel, you'd see how he doesn't like to be disobeyed, by Strife and most notably by War. Your opinion is your own on the matter, but as far as I can see the characters are for most part in line with their canon characters. I mean, you can't expect the characters to be exactly the same when it comes to crossover stories of two completely different universes, right? Some perspectives tend to change, like DXD demons being radically different to Darksiders demons for example.

Thanks either way for review, all the best for you too.

-DOOMRAIDER Everything you said about War and Rias is true, which is why despite implying that there will be something between them (at this point in the story at the very least), War will never see her as anything but a devil with an ulterior motive behind her veil of concern, akin to a succubus where she would fill you with honeyed words and play you as a fiddle if you fall for their acidic venom. And considering he had been dealing with treacherous, backstabbing demons for eons on end, it only figures that he would have firm doubts for Rias too. And while I haven't conveyed that properly from Rias' side without spoiling anything, I kinda imagined Rias to be in this limbo of love and near instinctive lust, since demons tend to be drawn to power, and War has an abundance of it as a Horseman. But there will be a resolution to that, if not in next chapter, then possibly in chapter 20.

As for the votes, sadly there won't be any. Won't be bringing anything up without spoiling future chapters, but I'll say that if War was to make a hypothetical choice of mate, he would probably went along with Uriel, like you said. But as is known, she is infatuated with Abaddon, so that's not really an option. But her being an ambassador for the horsemen or even spy for the Hellguard seems like a good idea, might implement that bit in future chapters.

-jeremiahkelley93 Thank you.

-nantono Thanks, I guess. I mean he isn't an edgelord asshole to everyone the entire time, now is he? :D

Once more thank you all for faves, follows and reviews so far and I'll see you (hopefully sooner) in the next chapter. Happy Holidays :)