Disclaimer: Neither High School DXD nor Elder Scrolls belongs to me, all rights to their respective owners.

Chapter 55

— Of all the magic that mortals have created, mind magic is one of the worst. There is nothing more dangerous than messing with someone's mind. —

Warning about Mind magic in a magical theory book

The land surrounding the throne room, which was the place where Edzard decided he would play the "boss" of this game, was being destroyed by the battle between him against Issei, Saji, and Sairaorg. The three devils were using their abilities to the best of their ability, but that seemed to be in vain, as none of their attacks managed to hit him.

"Take this! Dragon Blaster!" Issei yelled as he stretched both arms out in front, summoning two huge cannons into his arms. These cannons arose thanks to Issei using the «Bishop» form of the illegal move Triana. The cannons glowed for a second, then generated two powerful beams of demonic power, which shot towards Edzard at high speed.

Edzard's eyes, which should be fixed on Issei's attack, were dividing their focus between the incoming attack and the other two devils, as this attack was a perfect opportunity for one of the others to attack him from behind. Realizing that neither of them would get involved during the attack, Edzard took his greatsword with both hands and in one quick movement, used the spells with which he had enchanted said weapon. These spells were «Chaos Damage» and the same enchantment that Bloodskal's blade has, therefore, the attack that was generated was a crescent of fire, which was leaving behind a trail of several ice spikes.

Edzard's attack and Issei's attack collided and canceled each other out, thus generating a huge explosion, which caused the place to be covered by a smoke screen. Said smoke screen was taken advantage of by Issei, who used his «Knight» form to quickly appear in front of Edzard. Being in front of his enemy, Issei quickly changed shape, taking his "Rook" form. Being in his most physically powerful form, Issei landed a punch aimed at Edzard's face. However, before the blow landed on Akatosh's son, something happened that the devil did not expect.

"Buagh!" was the only sound Issei could make as he vomited a considerable amount of blood, which began to seep through his helmet. The cause of this was a fist, which had shattered his Scale Mail. When that fist was withdrawn from his abdomen, the young devil didn't even have time to breathe, as he was thrown away when he received a kick to his chest.

Issei's body was shot like a rocket towards one of the pillars of the place, destroying it and ending up hitting a wall, being completely embedded in it.

"Hyoudou!" Saji yelled seeing his companion being beaten so brutally. However, before he knew it, Sona's pawn had to duck to avoid the blade of his enemy's weapon, which had appeared in front of him in the careless second he had when looked at Issei.

Edzard's attack had passed mere inches from Saji's head, cutting a small strand of his hair. When his attack failed, Akatosh's son had to move his right leg, to turn his body one hundred and eighty degrees and be able to stop Sairaorg's attack, which unlike the previous attack, this time had moved to try to take Edzard by surprise.

The force of the attack from the one considered the strongest young devil caused a shock wave, while the gauntlet of the young bael's armor resisted the edge of Edzard's weapon very well.

'Unlike Issei, Sairaorg's armor seems to be more resistant. Although, that is very strange, as the Boosted Gear is supposed to be a stronger Longinus than the Nemea Axe. However, it seems Sairaorg has a better command of it, allowing him to use more power. Although, that is in vain. Not even with that much power, they can defeat me. They're still too green to do that…' Edzard thought as he moved his sword hand subtly, allowing the blade to separate slightly from the gauntlet, allowing Sairaorg's fist to move forward, almost following its path to slam into him.

The young bael's fist passed just inches from Edzard's helmet, which had moved its head slightly to avoid the attack. The position in which Sairaorg was left after that failed attack, allowed Edzard to hit him with his left fist on the right side, since that was the place that the young bael left unprotected.

Edzard's blow hit accurately, destroying part of Sairaorg's helmet, and ended up sending him flying towards another of the walls, causing him to end up embedded in the wall.

After that blow, Edzard turned his body and saw how Saji jumped back a couple of times, thus gaining distance between them. The young devil looked at Edzard with a little fear, because his presence was something completely terrifying. Every cell in his body was asking him to leave. But he was Sona's pawn, and because of that, he wouldn't run away. Furthermore, since he could face his rival after running away like a coward, so, standing his ground, the young devil decided to use his best card, since the previous attacks had achieved nothing.

"Promotion: Vritra!" Saji yelled as he raised his right arm to the sky. A second after that, the devil's body was engulfed by black flames, which began to grow and change shape. After a few seconds, he ended up turning into a dragon made of fire, which had the appearance of the dragon Vritra.

When Saji felt that his new form was ready, he wasted no time and creating several tentacles, which were like the «Absorption Line», he took Issei and Sairaorg to his side.

"Thank you Saji." Issei said as he took a deep breath, because the blow he had received had left him with trouble breathing, which was the reason why he hadn't been able to move for a while.

"Yes, Vritra Bearer." Sairaorg said as he slowly got up. "What's the plan?"

"Attack him with everything we have." Issei said, earning a glare from the other two devils.

"What?" Saji asked in surprise.

"Saji, think. We do not stand out for being able to use spells, or for using weapons. We rely solely on hand-to-hand combat. So, the best thing is to overwhelm him and attack him between the three of us, always reducing the space that that bastard has to make his attacks."

Issei's response surprised the two devils since they did not expect this response. However, they saw that the pervert was right, since they were what they were, short-range fighters and therefore they only had their fighting ability for this. So, taking up positions, the three of them prepared to fight their enemy.

As the three devils charged in to fight Edzard, in several of the Sitri's hospital rooms, the devils of the four peerage that had been defeated began to wake up, but they did so at various intervals. The first to wake up were the three kings who had faced Asia. The first to do so… or at least give visible signs of waking up was the heiress of the Gremory clan.

"What happened?" Rias asked as she got up, or at least she tried to, because when she lifted her body a few centimeters, she felt an excruciating pain go through her entire body. That pain made her must lie down on the bed again, to calm that pain.

"Looks like you've already woken up, Rias-san."

Hearing that voice, Rias was slightly startled, but then she turned her face and saw Asia sitting next to her bed. Seeing Issei's friend's wife, she calmed down, so she, taking a breath, asked her. "What happened? Because I am here?"

Rias's questions seemed to confuse Asia a bit, who after a few seconds put a hand to the back of her neck and began to scratch it, showing a bit of discomfort, as it seemed that her last attack had caused Rias a temporary memory loss. After thinking for a bit, she only said one word, which should make her remember what had happened.

"You lost." Was Asia's reply, which she didn't stop looking at Rias.

Asia's words triggered Rias's memories to come back, causing her to remember that she had fought alongside her friends against the same person in front of her in a new type of Rating Game. Remembering that she had lost, caused Rias to feel bad, since her dream was to win all the ratings games in which she participated. However, to her surprise, Asia said a few words to her that lifted her spirits.

"They fought well. They could have even defeated me if they had more power."

Sirzechs sister's eyes widened from the complete shock she felt hearing those words, since Asia was telling her that they could have defeated her. However, the shock she felt from those words turned into curiosity, so she asked Asia to tell her everything about the rating game. Rias's question caused Asia to look at her somewhat guiltily, so she began to tell her everything, leaving zero details out of her answer. When Asia finished speaking, Rias looked at her in surprise as she thought about what she had been told.

'So, this rating game was to test how well we matched to fight as a group, while testing each of the members of the four peerages, who are considered the highest potential devils of our generation. For what? She hasn't told me yet and she doesn't seem to know very well either. But I think I can understand what's going on.' After that thought, Rias looked at Asia again and asked another question. "What happened to the other members of the peerages?"

"Everyone was teleported to fight as a group against our group members."

Asia's words once again caused Rias's astonishment, who understood or, rather, managed to figure out who each group fought against and when she did, a chill ran down her spine.

"A-A-Asia-san…. Who did Ise fight against?" Rias asked fearfully, as she sensed who her beloved pawn had fought against.

"He is still fighting and the person he is fighting against is my husband." Asia replied, causing Rias's face to turn white and put a hand to her heart, as she began to feel afraid of what could happen to Issei.

'Asia defeated us without using her Balance Breaker and if she had used it, she would have swept the ground with us... What will he do to him? ...' Rias thought with fear, because she knew that as much as Edzard is Issei's friend, he was also someone who was strict and was also capable of leaving sentimentality aside if the situation required it... and a rating game created to test them was one of those situations.

"But he's not alone..." said Asia, who averted her gaze to look at Sona and Seekvaira, who were pretending to sleep. "With him are Sairaorg-san, his pawn, and Saji-san."

Asia's words caused Sona and Seekvaira to widen their eyes and start looking at her.

A calm and comforting smile appeared on Asia's face, as she realized that they were worried, but it seemed that their faces were trying to deny it. So, wanting to take a load off their shoulders, she decided to show them the fight, so, moving a hand, she conjured up a screen.

"I know it's not much comfort, but you have my word that Ed won't kill them. But if he will test them in everything he can. To make sure he tests them to the best of his ability and avoid damaging them too much, he's decided to put on a very important limitation, so he won't use his shouts."

Asia's words calmed them down a bit, as it indicated that Edzard wouldn't tear them apart with some thu'um. So, looking at the screen, the four began to see what was happening.

A powerful breath of black flames erupted from the gaping jaws of Saji's dragon form, whose target was Edzard, who was grappling with Issei and Sairaorg. Seeing the attack coming, Edzard masterfully dodged a punch from Issei, then ducked and dodged a kick from Sairaorg. After that, he quickly moved his leg and resting his right arm on the ground, he made a sweep with both legs, knocking down both devils with that movement. The moment they both fell, Edzard stood up and without thinking twice, moved his left hand and pointed towards the breath of black flames. In an instant, a huge amount of Magicka swirled into Edzard's outstretched palm and a second later a huge blast of ice was directed towards the dragon's breath.

Boom!

The shock of both spells collided, generating such an explosion that the bodies of Issei and Sairaorg were thrown a few meters away by the force of the winds that were generated.

[That enemy is very strong, partner]

The voice of the dragon Vritra sounded in Saji's head, which was answered by a nod from the reincarnated devil, who had been able to hear the voice of the dragon sealed in his sacred gears for a long time.

'I know, but we must continue to stop him. That way, they will have a chance to finish him off.' Saji thought as he began to conjure several tentacles of his «Absorption Line», with which he hoped to stop his enemy. At the same time, he would also use «Delete field» to temporarily suppress his powers, thus creating a chance to defeat him.

Edzard watched as the tentacles of Saji's sacred gear began to rush towards him. So, he started to dodge them, as he knew it would be troublesome if he got caught by those things. When he landed after jumping to avoid one of Saji's tentacles, he quickly had to move his sword to prevent the blade of the Ascalon sword, which had extended a few meters from Issei's arm, from ending up impaling itself between his shoulder blades.

'A sneak attack from behind…' Edzard thought with a smile under his helmet. 'That's not very honorable, but it's okay for them to think so. Sometimes honor is only a hindrance in combat where your life is at stake.'

After that thought, Edzard saw Sairaorg approaching from his right flank. So, moving his left foot, he took a stance that allowed Ascalon's blade to follow its course. Following that move, he swung his sword rapidly, thus managing to deliver five quick slashes towards Sairaorg. The blade of Edzard's weapon was stopped by the gauntlets of the Bael clan heir's armor. However, the blows that were delivered were so strong that they generated several air currents. Which caused the ground to crack a bit.

As Edzard and Sairaorg fought, Issei quickly changed his form and promoting himself as «Knight», he used his speed to get closer to Edzard. When he was behind him, he quickly changed form into «Rook» and clasping both hands together, he launched a downward strike, in an attempt to catch Edzard off guard. However, said attack failed, because before the blow managed to hit, Edzard released his greatsword and with great skill, changed his grip to an inverted grip. Which allowed him to attack Issei by surprise, who had to stop his attack and take a step back, since the tip of the weapon was dangerously directed towards his face.

Edzard's attack prevented Issei's attack from hitting him but left him in a bit of a bad position to counter. Which was taken advantage of by Sairaorg to try to hit him with a side punch, but that attack was stopped by Edzard's other arm, which had turned his body in order to use his free arm effectively. In the end, Edzard saw that if he continued in that position, he would be easy prey for attacks, so pulling Sairaorg towards him, he proceeded to use the pommel of his greatsword to strike the devil across the pit of the stomach. The force of the blow was such that he managed to do some damage to the devil, knocking the air out of it for a moment.

After that blow, Edzard let go of Sairaorg and with a quick movement, turned one hundred and eighty degrees and side kicked him to the full head, sending the young devil flying. After that, quickly and without waiting for a second, he turned his body and stopped a blow from Issei, who, seeing the blow stopped, used the hammer of his gauntlet, thus generating a second impact, which ended up creating a crater where he and Edzard were standing.

'That hurt...' Edzard thought as he felt his hand tingle slightly after the blow, fortunately, the armor and the position he was in allowed him to redirect the force of the blow to the ground. After that, he pulled Issei and taking a step back, he proceeded to give the Sekiryuutei a very strong headbutt, causing him to skid backwards, destroying part of his helmet. However, Edzard's attack did not end there, instead, making use of his greatsword, he proceeded to strike him up across the chest with the flat of the weapon, sending him flying into the sky.

'Agh…' Issei mentally growled as he felt a ghostly pain where the blade had impacted. Thanks to the fact that it hadn't been the edge of the greatsword blade, the blow hadn't cut through her armor, but she had managed to land a good blow, which broke a few of his ribs. However, as he fell to the ground, he managed to maneuver a bit in the air, which allowed him to land on his feet, but when he hit the ground, his body felt a ghostly pain, forcing him to his knees.

[Partner, your enemy is formidable. He fights with swords, magic, and hand to hand…. It's almost like…]

"Like I was fighting Ed." Issei finished for Draig.

[It seems so, but if he really was your friend.]

"Yes... we have no way to defeat him." Issei said as he struggled to his feet. When he was on his feet, he had to fly, as Saji's dragon form landed near his position.

"Saji!" Issei yelled as he watched as the dragon slowly rose. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, but this is hard." Saji answered, with a voice that sounded double. A second after thinking of what to say, the young devil spoke again. "Hyoudou, have you noticed?"

"Yeah, it looks like we're fighting someone who fights in a similar way to Edzard." Issei replied, understanding what Sona's pawn was trying to tell him.

"Yeah. There's a chance it's Edzard though."

Saji's words caused a chill to run down the Sekiryuutei's spine, as he feared that it was his friend who was behind that helmet, since, if so, they could not win this fight. However, despite the fear that he began to have, he quickly looked at his enemy and clenching his fists, he dismissed that feeling. "It doesn't matter Saji. We have to win, not only for ourselves, but also for our friends and kings."

Issei's words were accompanied by a nod from Saji, who looked forward. However, the eyes of both devils widened in surprise as they saw a golden projectile approaching them at high speed.

"That is...?"

"Yes, it's Sairaorg!" yelled Issei, watching in utter shock as the strongest young devil was literally sent flying like a sack of potatoes. "Saji!"

"Yeah!" Sona's pawn yelled as he conjured several tentacles, with which he caught the devil, stopping it. A second later, he pulled it to his side and left him standing.

The two reincarnated devils looked on in utter astonishment as Sairaorg's armor was torn to pieces, revealing that his body was more injured than the other two devils.

"Sairaorg-sama, how are you feeling?" Saji asked with concern.

"Awful... my body aches and I feel like my consciousness could vanish at any moment." The Bael heir answered with difficulty, before putting a smile on his face as he got up again and watched as his armor repaired a bit of the damage it had done. "But that does not matter. I can't afford to fall here. Everything I've achieved so far, may be hanging by a thread. I will not let that be destroyed. And from what I feel, you are not willing to fall either."

"No, we don't plan to fall." Saji said, being followed by a nod from Issei.

"Good. So, let's fight with everything! Regulus!" Sairaorg yelled as he exploded the power of the touki from his body. The young devil's body was enveloped by a purple aura. The touki was the manifestation of a person's vital power and was mostly used by Senjutsu users. However, there are also cases where beings who do not use Senjutsu can use this ability, this being the case with Sairaorg. The touki essentially increased all the physical offensive and defensive power of the user.

Sairaorg's burst of power emboldened the other two devils, who also looked ahead and exploding their own powers, prepared to fight. However, that outburst of power and bravery was useless when Edzard appeared in their midst, appearing from a layer of shadows.

That apparition caused the surprise of the three devils, who could not do anything when Edzard conjured a green sphere between his hands and after impacting it on the ground, it generated a dome of green energy, which paralyzed the group of devils.

After leaving them paralyzed, Edzard looked at them and walking with small steps, sighed and then conjured a Magicka sphere, which had a very, very pale blue color, almost looking like a cross between light blue and transparent white. Kneeling slowly, Edzard brought the sphere to the ground, slowly impacting it. He did this because the spell he was about to use was too dangerous, so he couldn't do it in the middle of the battle, so he decided to paralyze them, but for what he had planned, he needed to bring them to the edge. So, after hurting them, he decided it was time. So, releasing the spell, he saw how three tentacles of magic formed and quickly embedded themselves in the heads of the three devils.

'Let's start with this...' Edzard thought as he closed his eyes and waited for the spell to achieve its goal.

"What's going on? / What has he done to them? / It is dangerous?" Those were the questions from several of the members of the four peerages.

The room where only the three kings who had lost their fight against Asia had been, was now filled with all the members of the four peerages together, adding to the other members of Edzard's group, who arrived there leading the devils they had defeated.

"Nothing serious, otherwise they would have already been teleported out of there like you were when we kicked their asses." Mittelt responded with a mocking tone of voice, which was accompanied by a smile, which only irritated the devils present even more. The fallen angel's smile increased in size as she saw the devils' frown at her words. She may not be mean or cruel, but she had a certain guilty pleasure in picking at people's wounds. Especially if those people had been defeated by her while outnumbering her.

"Ara, ara, ara... Big words, but I guess that's the only big thing you have, because you're only cup A, almost reaching B." Akeno said as she closed her eyes and put a sadistic smile on her face.

Akeno's words caused Mittelt to get angry, because if there was something that made her angry, it was that they messed with her body. Starting to think of a way to counterattack, Mittelt put on an even more sadistic smile than Akeno's. A second later, she looked at Barakiel's daughter and spoke. "Yes, I may not have a sexy body like other fallen angels, but at least I have someone who gives me like a drawer that won't close."

"UOHHHHH…." were the words of almost all the other girls present, who watched with some amusement the exchange of words between the two.

An angry mark appeared on Akeno's forehead, who searched for a way to annoy Mittelt, so she didn't hesitate to respond when she realized something. So, smiling, she told Mittelt. "At least I will lose my virginity to the man I love, not like someone else who lost it to someone centuries ago in a fit of lust."

Akeno's words provoked anger in Mittelt, who jumped and standing in front of Akeno, responded seriously and frankly to that insinuation. "For your knowledge, Ed was my first man."

Surprise was painted on the faces of everyone present, as no one expected that, including the members of Edzard's group.

"W-w-w-wait, Mittelt… What do you mean by that?" asked Lint, who was the most surprised by this.

To the surprise of many, Mittelt's face turned so red that a little smoke was coming out of her ears. Whispering softly, she began to say inconsistencies, because of the shame she felt she couldn't form a single idea. In the end, Aika gave her a small blow to the head, which helped her calm down. After that, she was finally able to say what she wanted to express. "The truth is, I broke my hymen in a battle a long time ago."

Mittelt's words surprised everyone, who asked her if she had not fallen from having sex, then what had been the reason for her fall? Unfortunately for them, Mittelt refused to answer, saying that this reason was something unimportant and that she had already forgotten how it happened. Although that answer somewhat annoyed those who wanted to know about Mittelt's past, there were some who realized that she was being very elusive with it, but they did not have time to think about it anymore, because they were surprised when Sona yelled for them to stop ask dumb questions and focus on what was happening on the screen. It was thanks to that shout that the girls returned to the main topic of the conversations, asking about what was happening in combat.

"Asia-san. What has Edzard-san done to them?" asked Sona, who appeared to be serious, but underneath all that, she was very worried about his pawn.

"He has put them under a spell of Mind magic." Asia replied, who hesitated for a few seconds before answering, because she didn't know how they would take it. Besides, this was not what she had told Edzard that he would do in battle. 'What's wrong Ed? Why use magic like that right now?'

"Mind Magic?" Tsubaki asked curiously.

"Yes, a type of magic that is exclusively dedicated to affecting the mind."

"How much can it affect the mind?" Kuisha asked, then looked at Alivian, who averted his face with some embarrassment, as he felt ashamed for having fallen so quickly into Ingvild's control in their battle.

"Depends on the magician. There are spells that can literally send your mind to another dimension and make you spend a lifetime there, killing you instantly."

Asia's answer made the girls pale, and they began to worry about those who were under that spell.

"Although Ed doesn't have the ability for it, since he has never liked to use that magic. The only spells I know he has mastered are reading memories and the spell he just used."

Almost everyone in the room who didn't belong to Edzard's group looked at each other, curious to know what that spell was, but at the same time terrified to ask. So, it was Seekvaira who asked the question.

"What does that spell do?"

Seekvaira's question was not immediately answered, causing confusion and, above all, concern among the devils in the room.

"Asia-san?" asked Rias, Sona and all the girls who had a love interest in those fighting there.

Asia was refusing to answer while biting her lip, not wanting to tell them what that spell would do, but in the end, she decided to open her mouth and start telling them what her husband had told her about that horrible spell that he supposedly created long before he met her... and with each word that came out of her mouth, the skin of each of those present became paler and paler, almost ending with some fainting from shock.

The sounds of footsteps were heard, while torrential rain fell throughout the city of Kuoh. Issei's eyes showed that he was completely in the grip of panic and terror as he focused on the huge fire that was visible less than a kilometer from his current location. That fire was neither more nor less than the entire city of Kuoh, which was burning to its foundations.

'Come on... please be fine...' Issei thought as he quickened his steps, because for every street he passed, he saw the charred corpses of those people who once lived there. Using some of his superhuman speed, he managed to quickly reach the street where his house was located. When he reached the porch of his home, the young devil fell to his knees at what was before his eyes.

There, in the place where his house once stood, right now there were only smoking ruins... but that was not the most terrifying thing, because there, in front of him, were the corpses of two of the people he loved most in the world.

"Tou-san! Kaa-san!" Issei yelled when he saw his parents.

The couple was lying in the driveway of the house. Both bodies were almost naked, wearing a few rags, which were the little that was left of their clothing. The bodies of both showed several cuts and bruises, indicating that they had been tortured before dying.

"T-t-tou-san… K-k-kaa-san…" Issei whispered as his eyes filled with tears as he knelt down and took both their hands. A sob rose from his throat as he felt his parents' cold touch. Releasing his parents, Issei was about to do something with them, because he didn't want to leave their bodies out in the open. However, before they could say or do anything, two parts of two bodies were thrown towards him.

Seeing those grotesque pieces of meat, Issei felt even greater fear, so he left his parents and started running towards the center of the smoking ruins that were once the living room of the house. When he reached the interior of the ruin that was now his house, the reincarnated young devil fell to his knees again before the grotesque spectacle that stood before him.

In the middle of the living room there were eight crosses, which were made of black wood, which had blood stains, which ran off thanks to the rain.

Although those crosses already seemed terrifying and intimidating, what caused Issei to feel that his world was going to hell were the bodies that were hanging there. And it is that, in each of the crosses were all the members of Rias's peerage, with the exception of him, along with Irina.

The seven devils and the reincarnated angel were crucified with their hands outstretched and their faces were frozen in the most horrible of expressions, which showed that they had suffered beyond excruciating pain before dying. While that was horrible, the other thing that was shown was what actually almost caused Issei to empty the contents of his stomach, as all the people he considered his friends had their backs wide open, while their lungs were hanging on their shoulders, giving a kind of mockery to the wings they all possessed. In addition, the eye sockets of the devils and the angel were empty and showed signs of heavy damage, indicating that their eyes had been forcibly gouged out.

"Koneko-chan… Kiba… Xenovia… Gasper… Ravel… Irina… Akeno-san… Buchou…" were the whispers that the young devil began to say as he clenched his fists in anger, frustration, sadness, and pain. A few seconds after whispering the names of his friends, the Sekiryuutei stood up abruptly and without wasting a single second, he gave a powerful scream, which was the manifestation of all the anger he felt. That caused his eyes to glow green, while various specks of light began to appear near him, whispering words into his mind, trying to get him to say a few words...

However, before he even said a word that was whispered to him, two green lights hit Issei's head, causing the image of his murdered friends in front of him to break, almost as if it were a mirror. That crack began to expand in size, ending up covering Issei's entire field of vision, which ended up calming down and he only managed to blink at what he saw before his vision turned black.

Saji was kneeling while his face looked in complete terror at something, while doing so, his body, which was completely covered in blood, kept getting dirty thanks to the drops of vital fluid that came from the corpses that were above his head. This was because the corpses of his friends and relatives were hanging above him, as if they were pigs. The corpses were split down the middle, allowing blood to drip non-stop.

Among the corpses that were hanging, you could see those of his sister and younger brother, along with his friends from the academy.

That sight caused the young devil to lose all will to fight, because he not only saw the corpses of his loved ones, but he could also hear whispers, which penetrated directly into his mind.

"Why Aniki? Why did you let us die?" were the questions of his brothers.

"Why didn't you help me, Saji? Didn't you promise to do everything in your power to protect me?" It was Sona's voice, which contained utter contempt.

"Why Saji? Why didn't you take care of us?" were the voices of all his peerage partners.

"I-I-I…" Saji began to whisper as he tried to find an answer to the endless questions that kept coming to his mind.

"You are weak and useless, Saji." Sona's voice whispered abruptly. "I should never have turned you into a devil."

"You are a bad brother, maybe you should have died and not our parents."

The last words of his brothers caused all of Saji's fighting spirit to vanish completely. When that happened, his mind began to feel lighter, almost as if he were flying. Feeling a more than relaxing sensation, Saji closed his eyes, deciding that whatever is happening will take his course. However, before his mind could completely fade away, he felt something stick to his arm.

Saji looked at his right arm and there he saw a rope from his Absorption Line, which was holding him back. Furthermore, when it flashed for a second, he heard Vritra's voice in his mind.

[Hold on partner! None of that is true! Everything is an illusion!]

Hearing that, the young devil began to blink and understood that it was true, since none of his friends and family could say that. So, with a new and renewed hope, Saji looked up at the sky and roared in anger, defying whatever he tried to take his mind from. After that, in front of Saji's vision a crack appeared, which expanded and ended up obscuring his vision.

Sairaorg was lying on the ground, which was covered in blood, which dripped from several bodies, among which were those of his peerage, his mother, and his brother. The place where he was neither more nor less than the room where he had challenged his brother long ago to see who the heir to the Clan would be.

The young devil's eyes were empty, almost lifeless as he saw the corpse of his mother and that of his younger brother. Although the affection he felt for his mother was reciprocated, he knew that his relationship with his brother was not the best in the world, but he still loved him, so seeing them both dead was a great shock, but seeing dead to the devils that had decided to follow him when he asked them to join him, he felt that he could take no more and let sadness and defeat consume him.

While in that state, small ripples formed around Sairaorg, from which several people emerged. Many of those present were nobles close to the Bael clan and among them were his father and the clan's progenitor, Zekram Bael. All of them, who always glared at him and looked down on him, had smirks on their faces seeing him in that state.

Despite being in a state like a faint, the young bael could hear the taunts these devils hurled at him. Many of these taunts were insulting words, such as useless, son of a useless, fangless Bael, among other insults.

Those words began to seep into him, making him feel that everything he had fought up to now was in vain. However, it was the next words he heard in his mind that caused his heart to clench.

"You were always useless, Sairaorg." Sairaorg's mother's voice said in Sairaorg's mind.

Those words pierced like a spear directly into the heart of the young devil, causing him to lose every bit of fighting strength that could be left in his being... However, something happened after that, because he remembered the words that his mother said to him when he was younger… she told him that he should become strong to make up for his lack of ability to use the signature power of the Bael clan… after remembering that Sairaorg realized what was happening. The hurtful words that came out of the mouth of her supposed mother were not like hers, not only in tone, but also in manner of speaking.

So, with this knowledge, the young devil began to feel an anger like he had never felt before, which served as a catalyst for him to get up and after that, he released his Touki and threw a powerful fist towards the front, destroying everything. When that happened, his vision cracked like a mirror, then utter blackness.

The eyes of the three devils left the blackness and showed that they were now in a somewhat strange room, since it was devoid of any kind of life, except for them.

"Hyoudou? Bael-sama? You are?" Saji asked as he looked a bit warily at the two devils, as he didn't know if they were real or just an illusion.

"Yes, Saji. At least I am me." Issei replied as he looked at him.

"I am also me." replied Sairaorg, who averted his gaze from him when he sensed two people approaching them.

Sairaorg's action was copied by Saji and Issei, who also looked towards that direction, being able to see the people approaching them. They were a man and a woman, and they both had an aura that showed they were more powerful than them. The man was attractive, his body was muscular with green hair and pink eyes. His attire consisted of a black colored noble suit, which had a red cloak attached to it. The woman, for her part, was beautiful and had a voluptuous body. Her hair was blonde, long, and wavy, wearing a light purple accessory as an ornament. Her eyes were light green and unlike her partner's, hers were more cheerful and not so serious. Her attire consisted of a light purple dress, along with white shoes with red upper straps.

Those people were unknown to Saji and Sairaorg, while to Issei, no, because he had seen them before... in more detail, while he was on the train to Kyoto and during his battle against Cao Cao. During that meeting, the woman told him that his potential was awakening faster than expected and without the requirements that had normally been needed before. This was thanks to the fact that his sacred gear was influenced by the power of a very powerful dragon, whose energy was so different from the one known that it was changing some of the restrictions to access his full potential.

"Elsha-san! Belzard-san!" Issei yelled in surprise at seeing them here, since they were supposed to have gone to rest after their last meeting in fake Kyoto.

"Do you know them, Hyoudou?" Saji asked, looking at the Sekiryuutei.

"Yes, they are two of the formers Boosted Gear wielders." Issei replied quickly.

Issei's answer did not completely calm the curiosity of the two devils, but rather did the opposite, causing them to have a few more questions.

"Hyoudou, how come they are former wielders of your sacred gear?" Saji asked with quite a bit of confusion on his face.

"Well, you see..." Issei said, beginning to tell how the consciousness of the Boosted gear wielders entered the sacred gear when they died.

"So... when you die, your consciousness will still exist in your sacred gear?" Saji asked.

"Yeah."

"My, I feel sorry for the next users of the Boosted Gear. Having a pervert in their sacred gear…"

Saji's words caused Issei to get angry, but before anything could happen, Sairaorg intervened, calming things down between the two reincarnated devils. That caused them to focus on what really mattered right now, the reason they were there.

"So…. How are they here now?" asked Issei, looking at his predecessors, since it was not possible that they were there right now.

"We don't know, but something forced us to come back." Belzard replied.

"I don't understand... When you left that time, didn't you expect to never come back?"

"The truth is that yes, I did not expect us to see each other again. Yet here we are." Elsha said as she approached Issei and playfully ruffled his hair. "It looks like you've done well, but I'm afraid things are about to get really tricky."

"What do you mean?" Saji asked, drawing Elsha's attention.

"It seems that the three of them were put under a spell, which threatened to collapse their minds or at least that's the impression it gave us, Vitria wielder." Belzard replied as he approaches the three devils. "Initially there would be three of us coming here, but I'm afraid he can't come, as he is dealing with the magic that has left them in this state."

Belzard's answer confused the devils a lot, who did not know what the former Sekiryuutei was referring to, since they did not know the identity of the stranger, which made them not know how he would deal with the spell that had affected them.

"Who was the last person that would come?" asked Issei curiously, trying to know his identity, which would make them understand somehow how he would try to help them.

"He was a former wielder of the Divine Dividing." Elsha replied, causing the devils, especially Issei, to be surprised by that. However, before they could say anything, Elsha spoke again. "The reason why he is now in the Boosted gear is because Issei assimilated some of the Albion's power when he fought Hakuryuukou long ago."

"I see… it was at that moment…" Issei said, understanding what Elsha was telling him, remembering how he assimilated part of Vali's power by forcing the Boosted Gear to assimilate one of Vali's armor gems.

"Elsha-san… Belzard-san…" Sairaorg called, thus drawing their attention. "You mentioned that he was doing something with the spell that was affecting us. What does that mean?

The Bael heir's question caused both ex-Boosted Gear wielders to look at each other for a few seconds, and after a few seconds they looked back at the devils.

"It may not seem like it, but when we are in this place…in this nexus where the consciousnesses of the living and the dead can communicate, we can use some of our powers. Therefore, he is using the power of Divine Dividing to gradually reduce the effect of the spell that is afflicting them." Belzard replied, then looked at Elsha. "Although, not only that, because he is also doing something else at the same time."

"What thing?" Saji asked, asking the question because of the doubt that Belzard's words caused in the devils present.

"You guys know that sacred gears react to the emotions of their wearers, right?" asked Elsha, who watched as her question was answered with a nod. After that, the beautiful woman continued speaking. "What they don't know is that sacred gears that have beasts sealed inside them have a special ability, which allows them to temporarily remove the seals that the Biblical god placed on these sacred gears. Normally to remove them it is necessary to use a kind of special chant, which is the key that activates this form, but due to the state of rage in which they entered, together with the experience they have lived in their minds, they have been in a previous state upon entering that power."

"Are you telling me, that we will be able to access the full power of our sacred gears?" asked Issei hoping that they would have access to a new power, since with that, maybe they could win the rating game they were in.

"In theory yes, but like everything in this world, that power does not come without its drawbacks." Belzard said quietly. "When they use said power, it will drive them crazy and shorten their lifespan, as the fuel it uses is the wearer's life force."

"Th-then… Will we die?" Saji asked with concern, since he didn't want to die yet, a feeling that was shared by Issei and Sairaorg, who had their own reasons for not dying.

"If they had activated said power a while ago, then yes, they could have died. However, all the sacred gears that have had a little contact with that interdimensional traveler, and the energy that emanates both from him and the territory where he lives, have undergone some changes, minor or major, but significant changes in the end. Those changes have made it easier to access the power of your released sacred gears, but that doesn't mean it will be easy."

Belzard's words caused everyone to understand that it was the contact they had with Edzard that had changed their sacred gear. However, although Issei and Saji understood that easily, Sairaorg did not know how Regulus had changed, since the lion had not had much contact with Edzard, so, looking at Elsha and Belzard, he let them know his doubts.

"Ummm… that's interesting, I didn't expect this, because I thought that you would have had that contact with him too. However, despite that you will also be able to access that power…. Now, while the fact that they will have a new power sound great, this one is incomplete since they still do not meet all the requirements. So, this increase in power will only last between a minute to two." Elsha said as she watched as the place began to disappear. "It seems that everything is ready. So, good luck."

After those words, the place darkened, allowing the consciousness of the young devils to return to their bodies.

Edzard's footsteps, who was about to retreat, because he thought his plan had failed, stopped abruptly when he felt an increase in power behind him. That made his eyes widen in surprise because it could only mean one thing. So, turning his face, he saw how the bodies of Issei, Saji and Sairaorg were being covered by a large amount of energy.

'It seems they've made it...' Edzard thought as a subtle smile appeared on his face. "With this, the second objective of my test is fulfilled, to force a power increase by subjecting them to a traumatic event... Now comes the good part, I have to see how strong they have become with this power increase."

A second after his thought, Edzard watched as the three devils created explosions of power, which coincided with the moment the paralysis spell had worn off, allowing them to move.

When the three devils were on their feet, they stood still and their bodies began to glow, temporarily blinding Edzard. Akatosh's son did nothing while this happened, knowing that he had to wait for what was to come, since it was part of his crazy plan to force the birth of a new power in these devils.

When the light was extinguished, the three devils were changed. First, Issei's Scale Mail had changed in color, now it was crimson, although, he had also gained bulkier armor. Furthermore, his wings had changed and now resembled the wings that were Vali's sacred gear. Second, Sairaorg's armor had changed, as his armor now looked more feral, having some purple and gold details and having a more savage aura, which reminded Edzard of the bloodlust that Nirm's lycanthropes emitted from their first transformations. Third, the one who had obtained the biggest change had been Saji, who had obtained a black dragon armor.

After seeing the changes, Edzard watched as a pair of thrusters appeared on Issei's back, while the wings of the armor disappeared. Those thrusters began to expel a small amount of demonic power in the form of crimson fire. A second later, Issei charged towards Edzard, who raised an eyebrow at Issei's new attack speed.

'He is moving very fast. Faster than his Knight form.' Edzard thought as he watched Issei shut off his thrusters while standing a meter away from him.

The young devil moved his right hand and making a fist, it approached Edzard's chest, who, seeing the attack, quickly placed his greatsword in front of him, thus stopping the attack. However, before Issei's attack connected, his fist became a bulkier one, like the one he used in his Rook form. Issei's fist hit Edzard's sword and to his surprise, a sharp sound was caught by the sensitive ear of Akatosh's son.

Crack!

To Edzard's surprise, he watched in astonishment as a small crack appeared on the edge of his weapon's blade. In addition, the force of the blow made him skid a few meters, after which, he did not have time to do anything, since Sairaorg appeared behind him, who also threw a fist at him. Unlike Issei, however, Sairaorg's fist was covered in touki, so when that fist impacted on his sword, which he used to defend himself, the crack in the blade grew larger, causing Edzard to feel a little of concern, but he didn't have much time to think about anything else, as after that attack, Sairaorg jumped back and disappeared. That confused Edzard a bit, who didn't know why Sairaorg did that, but a second later he understood the reason. That was because an instant later several balls of black fire were heading towards him. This attack forced Edzard to use his greatsword again, thereby deflecting all attacks. However, this ended up causing the crack in the blade to spread, breaking the greatsword in two, surprising Edzard, who had not expected this.

'This… is something I didn't expect. But if I'm being honest, it's a good thing.' Edzard thought as he dropped his broken greatsword to the ground. Turning to look at the three devils, who had regrouped, obviously to fight together to overwhelm and defeat him. Seeing that made Edzard put a smile on his face, since he felt something seeing them like that. As much as he denied it, the blood of the Nord ran through his veins, his Breton blood might have calmed his impulses, but it did not eliminate them. So, like his northern kin, he too enjoyed a good fight, especially when it wasn't to the death. So, putting a smile under his helmet, he took a battle stance, challenging the devils to fight him hand-to-hand. As he watched their postures change, he began to send Magicka into his limbs, beginning to cover them with destruction magic.

Those present in the Sitri hospital ward looked at the screen with a mixture of excitement, joy, worry and fear as their eyes tried to understand what was happening in front of them on the screen.

"I-incredible… I never thought Gen had that power…" Momo said in amazement as she watched her partner and love interest fight against Edzard. She watched as he used several tentacles, which emerged from his armor, to attack the young dragon, causing him to be forced to acrobatically dodge all attacks, almost giving the appearance that he was going completely defensive.

"Yes, but he's not the only one. It seems that the Balance breakers of the Sekiryuutei and Sairaorg-sama have also changed." Kuisha pointed out who watched as her king began to grapple with Edzard, seeming to match the speed of the interdimensional traveler's blows.

"Yes, I can see it. It's incredible to think that they can go head-to-head with Edzard in a battle, no matter how simulated it is..." Rias commented with joy as she watched Issei fire beams of demonic power at Edzard using the two cannons that emerged from his wings and forcing the otherworldly dragon to use a ward to protect himself.

Rias's words were accompanied by nods from all the members of the four peerages, but there were also some silences, which came from Edzard's groupmates.

As the battle on the screen continued, those present watched as Edzard began to counterattack the three devils' attacks, throwing blows at them rapidly. Said blows managed to break through the defenses of the devils, as they were fast and accurate, and they managed to destroy parts of the armor of the three devils, forcing them to withdraw for a moment, to regroup and then return to launch against him.

"It seems that Edzard-sama is able to fight very well, even though he has three enemies that are on par with his power in his human form." Akeno pointed out as she watched as Edzard released a barrage of fireballs to stop Issei and Saji's attacks.

"Do you really think that's the full power of the brat in his human form?" asked a voice, which did not come from anyone in the room.

The question caught the attention of those present, who looked to the left and saw how behind the door, which had been opened, the leaders of the factions except Odin and Yasaka entered.

"Azazel-sensei. What do you mean by that?" Xenovia asked. "Isn't that all of Edzard's power in his human form?"

"Do you really think that that brat, whose power level in his human form is between the levels of an Ultimate-class Devil and a Maou, who in turn has various abilities that can easily be a problem for us, as well as having a great experience in combat, can it be matched with newly awakened and incomplete skills of three young devils? No… I'm afraid he's just playing with them. But to be honest, that had already been planned from the beginning."

Azazel's answer caused the expectations of the devils present to plummet, but it also caused curiosity and above all a bit of discomfort, since it seemed that they had only been used for something and the three kings present, along with the queen of Sairaorg, wanted an answer, so they approached Sirzechs and Serafall, to ask what was really going on.

The two devils looked at each other for a second and after that, they nodded, and then they looked at the girls.

"As you have surely intuited, the rating game was made as a way to measure its current power, but the truth is that it also had another objective." Serafall said, then looked at Sirzechs, who would be the one to speak after this, since this was something, he had discussed with Edzard in private.

"Which?" Sona asked seriously.

"That of forcing the awakening of a new power in you." Sirzechs replied.

"What?" Rias, Sona and Seekvaira asked in unison.

"As you hear, the secondary objective of this rating game was to force an awakening of power in you, causing you to go into battle stress, but it seems that failed in a sense."

"Why?" Seekvaira asked.

"Because none of you here in the room were able to awaken a new power, but fortunately some of you learned to use your powers in somewhat more interesting ways than before." Azazel said, calling attention to himself. "That's why Ed-chan has changed tactics for his fight."

The mention of that by Azazel turned on the alarms of the members of the four peerages, who could not ask any questions, because Azazel went ahead of them and answered the question they had.

"Edzard's initial tactic was to force them to use some new power by putting them on the ropes, hoping that their innate desire to win would somehow push their limits, but when we mentioned that you had failed with that tactic, he changed his way of acting in combat. So, what's happening right now wasn't exactly what was planned."

Azazel's words made them understand that they did not really know what was happening either and that everything had been changed by Edzard at the last moment.

"So, the purpose of the rating game was to try to make us stronger through combat, right?" asked Kiba, who had a hand on his chin, going over everything he had heard in his mind.

"In part yes, but this was also done to see how you would react in a scenario where you would be forced to fight in separate groups, outside of the ones you are used to fighting. And if we are honest, even though you lost your battles, you showed that you can fight together, getting along and forming a more than solid front against an unknown enemy. So, it can be said that you have done well."

Sirzechs's words moved the young devils, who began to better understand what was going on behind the scenes. However, their thoughts were interrupted by Serafall's words.

"You may know this, but you are the future of our race, so the conjuncture of what is happening in the world will force you to fight on the front lines. Some of you have already fought against Daedras, so you already know what you are up against, but many of you have not, so this "dungeon" has been prepared for you to see how the beings of Nirm fight."

"Those robots are beings that come from Nirm?" interrupted Xenovia, who started looking at Asia, for sure she had the answers to this.

Asia felt the gaze of not only Xenovia, but everyone else, so she began to tell them about the Dwemer and their automata. By the time she finished doing it, she saw that they finally understood what they had fought against, but they did not have time to express it, because the sounds of the fight that was happening on the screen calmed down, so they all looked towards the screen to see what happened.

Edzard was flying, using the «Levitation» spell to be able to hover several meters above the three devils. These three were kneeling on the ground, as they were almost exhausted, since he had attacked their reserves of demonic power and stamina with his fists coated in destruction magic. The battle was intense, but it wasn't something he couldn't keep under control. After several exchanges of blows, he managed to defeat them or at least it seemed so, but if he knew something about those three, it was that they had enough willpower to be able to pull something out of their sleeve at the last moment.

'Umm…. Yes, I think the best thing will be to finish everything right now.' Edzard thought as he moved his right hand subtly and took out a scroll, to use it in such a way that no one would notice that he was using it. Raising the hand with which he activated that scroll, he released the spell that was stored there. A huge circle of Aedric runes formed behind Edzard's back, which began to send a huge amount of Magicka towards the scroll, since he had to charge the spell that would be used.

What arose from that circle greatly worried the three devils, who only looked at the circle with a mixture of astonishment and panic.

"Th-this is bad… That thing is huge and right now we don't have enough power to launch a combo attack to stop it." Said Issei, watching as the small ball of fire that initially emerged from the scroll turned into a huge, but very huge ball of fire, which seemed to be the size of a thirty-by-thirty square meter house.

[Is there something you can do to stop it, partner]

Draig's voice caught the attention of the three devils, who began to listen expectantly to what the Heavenly Dragon was saying.

[We can use the power we stole from Albion to reduce the power of the enemy spell, then the Vritra wielder and Regulus user can attack it to try to take it out with a sneak attack]

Draig's words was a simple plan, which seemed to work, although they didn't quite understand how they would defeat their enemy in their current state, but a second later, the three of them understood what was happening. Draig's plan was not to get a victory, but to force a draw, since it was more than obvious that the three of them would be eliminated after that attack.

"What do you think?… Shall we, do it?" Saji asked looking at his two teammates.

Sairaorg slammed his left fist into the palm of his right hand as he responded. "Yes, let's do it!"

Finally, the two devils looked at Issei, who nodded, as he saw this was the only way to defeat the enemy. "Yes, let's start."

"Okay, in formation then!" Sairaorg yelled as he and Saji stood in front of Issei. The three devils looked up at the sky and saw how their enemy moved his hand towards the ground, causing the huge fireball to fall on them.

"Now, Hyoudou!" Saji yelled, giving a signal, which caused Issei to leap forward, towards the fireball.

"Draig!" Issei yelled as he reached out with both hands towards the enemy spell.

[Yes] [Divide] [Divide] [Divide] [Divide]

The robotic voice became present and with each word, the huge fireball began to shrink in size, causing Edzard to raise an eyebrow under his helmet.

'Ummm… I had forgotten about that. But it doesn't matter, in the end I can use another spell.' Edzard's thoughts were interrupted when he felt something approaching from the right side of him. So, turning towards that direction, he saw how some of Saji's sacred gear's tentacles moved very quickly towards him, grabbing his right leg.

"I have you!" Saji yelled with a smile under his helmet as he saw that he had caught Edzard. "Now, take this! Bael-sama!"

After that, Saji turned his body one hundred and eighty degrees while pulling the tentacle, sending Edzard to the left at high speed. As the son of Akatosh was moved in that direction, he saw Sairaorg appear in front of him, who gathered a large quantity of Touki in his right fist. The Bael heir's fist swung towards Edzard's head, attempting to knock him out with a critical hit. However, to everyone's complete disbelief, Edzard caught Sairaorg's fist, holding him back, but sacrificing his gauntlet, as the touki began to crack the piece of armor, which was damaged by an attack he had parried from Issei using that hand.

After that, Edzard felt that something evil began to move through his leg, so, looking towards that place, he saw how a curse was adhering to that place. Knowing how troublesome that was, he decided to take it down completely, so without a second thought, he coated his other fist with «Dispel Magic» and caught the tentacle. Vritra's powerful curse tried to stay in existence, but in the end it couldn't oppose the power of Edzard's spell, so it ended up dissipating. Having that appendage in hand, he quickly moved his other hand and threw Sairaorg towards Saji. As the Bael heir was about to collide with the Vritria wielder, Edzard pulled the tentacle in his hand, causing Saji to rush towards Sairaorg. This caused the two devils to collide, but unfortunately, the force with which Edzard had pulled Saji made him, along with Sairaorg, head towards him.

When they were both barely two meters away from him, Edzard released the tentacle and delivering a downward vertical kick, which landed on Sairaorg's back, sending both devils to the ground at high speed.

BOOMMMMM!

A huge explosion went off, kicking up a lot of dust, which obscured Edzard's view a bit. However, that didn't stop his ears from being able to pick up the sound of Issei's armor's thrusters.

'Ummm… attack from behind with smokescreen… the oldest trick in the ambush manual. Simple, but effective... if your enemy doesn't feel or hear you coming!'

After finishing that thought, Edzard quickly moved his right hand and without wasting time caught Issei by the neck, to then immobilize his right hand, which had been chosen for the Sekiryuutei's attempted attack. While the other arm could be a danger, the way Edzard had trapped Issei prevented the devil from attacking with his other hand. Squeezing his friend's neck, Edzard began to use a destruction spell, as he sensed that Issei had regained some of his power by splitting his previous attack.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" Issei screamed as he writhed in pain, as his body was being covered in lightning, which began to destroy his reserves of demonic power at a terrifying speed.

Edzard ignored his friend's screams and continued destroying Issei's demonic power. When he felt that he had almost no power anymore, he turned his wrist and prepared to throw him to the ground along with the other devils, but a word that came from Issei's mouth made him stop.

"A-Ascalon…" Issei whispered with difficulty.

[Blade]

Ascalon's blade appeared and with a quick movement it went towards Edzard's chest, who saw that Issei's plan was to sacrifice himself to defeat him.

'A good plan, but not fast enough to defeat me.' Edzard thought as his enhanced reflexes allowed him to see the attack in slow motion, allowing him to dodge it with relative ease. However, before he could get out of the range of the attack, he felt something stick to his leg again. Focusing his gaze on that place, he saw how another of Vritra's tentacles had stuck there.

"Now!" A scream was heard, which was from Saji.

The devil was on his knees, barely maintaining consciousness, while his armor slowly faded, a sure sign that he was about to lose his recently gained power. Next to Saji was Sairaorg, who was in the same condition as Saji, but even so, the bael heir yanked hard on the tentacle, causing Edzard to move, leaving him in a perfect position to be impaled by the sword Ascalon.

The blade of the holy sword pierced Edzard's armor, digging into his abdomen... Or at least that was what the devils had expected, but the truth was different, since Akatosh's son managed to move enough so that the blade did not hit him squarely but cut diagonally.

"kgh…" Edzard growled softly, for the wound he had obtained from this sword caused him a bit of itching and a small sharp pain. However, that wasn't enough to stop him, so letting go of Issei's neck, he quickly threw him at the other two devils, causing them to crash and end up falling on top of each other. The moment they tried to get up, the armors of the three devils vanished, causing Regulus to break away from Sairaorg and stand by the devils.

"This is the end..." Edzard whispered as he spread his arms above his head and moving them in a slightly funny way, he conjured one of his best and most powerful spells. The great lightning made up of hundreds of lightning bolts, which was the manifestation of the spell called «Lightning Storm», headed towards the three devils, who tried to move, but to no avail, as they were very exhausted, as well as being under the secondary effects of destruction spells, making them easy prey for Edzard's final attack, which impacted the ground, creating an explosion.

When the explosion subsided, it was possible to see that the devils were no longer in the place, but that there was only a large crater several meters in diameter. Seeing that, Edzard sighed, then began to disappear in specks of red light, as a voice announced the devils' withdrawal from the battlefield.

[A pawn of Rias Gremory has been removed]

[A pawn of Sona Sitri has been removed]

[Sairaorg Bael has been removed]

[A pawn of Sairaorg Bael has been removed]

[The rating Game has ended; the dungeon is still undefeated…]

Author's note:

To those who have made it this far, Thanks for reading. Because being honest, I don't know how to write much in English and I'm relying on Google translators and the dictionaries that come with office 2019.

Good, and chapter 56 is ready. This chapter took longer to come out because I've been busy with college.

Finally, the arc of this rating game is almost over, and the next chapter is going to be a quieter chapter, with more talks than other things.

The battle was something strange to write about, especially since on more than one occasion I wrote that the Dovahkiin pierced the chest of all three... so I literally had to rewrite the battle scenes more than once, but hey, I hope it turned out well.

Well, I apologize for any misspelling. Do not forget to leave a review if you liked the chapter or if there is something that needs to be improved or if you have any questions about the story. Also, any constructive advice is welcome. With nothing more to say, until the next chapter.