Chapter 83
As midnight approached, all the club members gathered in the old school building. We wait patiently, all wearing the school uniform except for Asia and me, who's wearing a sports outfit.
Kiba is equipped with some armor on his body and gauntlets on his hands. Koneko is sitting on a chair, reading a book. She has put martial arts gloves on her hands.
as for our two seniors, they are quietly drinking tea with elegance, as I expected, always so calm...
Asia is sitting on a chair and I'm sitting next to her on the floor, warming up my magic circuits, it's the only thing to do that calms me down after all.
Ten minutes before the start of the match, a magic circle opens and Grayfia appears.
"There's only ten minutes left until the game, is everyone ready?" She asks.
I stop and we all stand up after Grayfia confirms us.
"When it's time to fight, you'll be teleported to the battlefield via this magic circle. The location is in a different dimension used for battles. You'll be able to fight with all your might. It's a disposable space, so fight with everything you've got." Grayfia explains.
(Impressive, the Devils can do things like that?)
"Do you know what that means, partner? No more excuses, use my powers to the fullest."
(Yeah, I'll get right on that.)
Indeed, if you're fighting somewhere on earth or with the Devils, you have to avoid destruction as much as possible, whereas in a pocket dimension, we can have a field day.
"This Rating Game will also be watched by members of both households, from different locations, via broadcast." Grayfia adds.
(Seriously, are they going to look at us? It must be fun for them... Good, they should look at us...)
"That's right, we're going to show them that this burnt bird is worthless!"
"Maou Lucifer-sama will also be watching this battle, please don't forget that." Grayfia continues.
(The big boss will also be watching... Hm? Rias?)
When I turn my head towards her, I can see that she has a shocked look on her face, which surprises me.
"Big brother is...? I see... Big brother will be there too." She sighs.
(What? Rias' big brother is the Maou?)
I'm confused and shocked in my turn, I understand much better now the importance of this match and this marriage, it was much more important than I imagined …
"Hey Kiba, why is her brother called Lucifer, shouldn't it be Gremory?" I whisper to Kiba.
"Well, during the last Great War, the Maou-samas were in critical condition and died a long time ago. But there would be no Devil if there were no Maou-sama. That's why the Devils decided to keep the Maou names and let them be inherited by those with enormous power. So the current four Grand Maou are Ultimate-class Devils who are the successors to the first generations of Maou who inherited their names." He explains.
"So if I understand correctly, names like Lucifer and Beelzebub are more positional names than anything else." I summarize.
"That's right, but to tell you the truth, of the three factions, The Devils have the least power. We're in a difficult position right now, but we're still safe because the current Maou-samas have powers that equal the previous Maou-samas."
"Okay, so the Devils' company is on the edge... So the President's brother has decided to become a Maou?"
"Hm." Kiba nodded. "Sirzechs Lucifer, who is also known as the Crimson Satan. He's the brother of the President and the most powerful Maou-sama."
(Sirzechs Lucifer... Not a Gremory but a Lucifer huh... That's why Rias needs to inherit her household... Not much choice, then his brother now carries the Devil world on his shoulders, Rias' family is truly incredible...)
"It's almost time. Everyone, come to the magic circle." Grayfia announces.
Taking a deep breath, we move forward and stand in the center of the magic circle, as requested.
"Also, once you've been transported, you won't be able to use it again until the end of the game." Grayfia adds.
The magic circle lights up in a different color and the symbol in its center changes, not being that of Gremory, nor of the House of the Phoenix, surely a sumbol used especially for the game. Thinking of this, the light covers us and we're teleported.
When I open my eyes, I see that nothing has changed. I look around to see that we're still in our clubroom, but Grayfia is gone. Asia and I are confused, while the others are completely calm.
(We were teleported, weren't we? A mistake? Why are we...)
[Hello everyone, I'm Grayfia, a servant of House Gremory and today I'll be refereeing this Rating match between House of Gremory and House of Phoenix.]
Grayfia's voice is broadcast over the school's loudspeakers.
[In the name of my master, Sirzechs Lucifer, I'll be watching over this match. Using the opinions of Rias-sama and Riser-sama, we have created this battlefield, which is a replica of the Kuoh School, where Rias-sama attends in the human world.]
(So that explains our confusion, but it's still amazing, it's copied to the exact same book.)
I look out of the window to see that the sky is not black, as it should be when it's dark, but a mixture of colors, creating huge northern lights.
(So there really are powers like that...)
[The locations of the two teams where they have been transported will be their bases. Rias-sama's base will be the occult research room, located in the old school building. Riser-sama's base will be the student council room in the new building. For [Pawns, please go to the enemy base to use the Promotion.]
(Okay, that's my part. I'm going to need to go, to promote myself. The student council room, then, is in the corner of the largest floor of the school.)
But it's also worth remembering that the opposing [pawns] can also do this, by approaching the old building. The overwhelming difference is that I'm Rias' only [Pawn, compared to Riser, who has 8. If they all turn [QUEEN, it's probably the end.
(We've got to get rid of the [Pawns] first, they'll probably do the same to me...)
"Everyone, can you all please put your transceivers to your ears?" Akeno asks, handing us the earphones.
"On the battlefield, we'll use this to communicate with each other." Rias explains, putting on the earphone.
I put on the earpiece, knowing that it's an important object, I reinforce it to avoid breaking it.
[Now it's time to start the fight. Also, this match will continue until sunrise in human time. So, the game starts now.]
The school bells ring, announcing the start of the match. So our first [Rating Game] begins. Rias brings us all closer to her desk.
"The first thing we have to do is take down Riser's [Pawns]. It'll get complicated if they all walk around in [Queen]." Says Rias in a confident tone, sitting back in her seat.
I see Akeno starting to make tea, which makes me raise an eyebrow, but I remember a chess game that was played against Furan, to force the Maken-ki club to free up funds for the chess club.
"I don't know too much about chess, but I imagine it's going to play out the same way, isn't it?" I ask.
"That's right, the battle has only just begun. Like chess, the Rating Game is not a game that ends quickly. It can sometimes become a "Blitz", but most of the time, it's a game that takes a long time, just like chess." Rias explains.
"I see, that's pretty much what I expected, but to make tea at the match..." I turn to Akeno, who smiles at me.
"The Rating Game only makes sense if you use the battlefield to its full potential. Normally, the base would be a fortress, a castle or even a tower. There are forests and rivers between the two bases, and we fight using these locations. And this time our school is the main stage. Yuuto." Rias adds.
"Yes." Kiba takes a scroll and unfolds it, showing the map of the school, which is divided into a grid, with numbers and letters on the sides.
Rias draws a circle around the old and new school buildings with a red felt-tip pen, highlighting the bases.
"There's a forest near our base. It's safe to assume it's our territory too. In other words, the entire new school building is Riser's base. It's quite possible that there will be an ambush when you enter his territory. The school field is visible from the new building, so it's dangerous to pass through here." Rias presents different strategies.
Indeed, going through the center of the school is just asking to be eliminated. What's more, we can't use a magic circle to teleport, so we have to keep moving on foot, even if we can fly with our Devil wings, but we'll be easy targets, and I can't use them.
"Hmm, and I guess going through the sports field is just way too obvious..." I observe the map, looking for a quiet opening.
"Oh, yes it is." Rias chuckles at my remark. "Our enemy already knows. He'll place his servants in position to guard the sports field, that's for sure... He'll also position a [Knight] or a [Rook] in one of the clubrooms located on the sports field. No, better still, since it's a sports field, we'll need people with mobility, so he'll place a [Knight] and probably three [Pawns, for a total of four servants positioned here. At that point he'll be in control of this area."
"President." Kiba raises his hand, giving his idea. "And why not the gym near our building. Shouldn't we occupy that place first? If we capture it, then we'll have a clear path to the new building. The gym is also a passage between the two buildings so we could limit enemy movements."
"Yes, I've been thinking about that too." Rias nods. "First we capture the gym... In terms of location, the opponent will probably have his [Rook] positioned here. Since it's inside the building, it would be better to use the destructive power of a [Rook] rather than the mobility of a [Knight]."
Given the positioning of the gym, plus our limited numbers compared to Riser's group, this is our best chance of digging into enemy lines. If we manage to take the gym, then we'll have the advantage in terms of advance and position.
"All that's left is to eliminate his group of brats."
"Yuuto, Koneko, go set traps in the forest. Take another map with you and make sure you mark where you set your traps. I'll make a copy right after and give it to everyone." Rias asks.
"Yes."
"...Roger..."
"We'll be on standby until they finish. Oh Akeno." Rias turns to her friend.
"Yes?"
"After Koneko and Yuuto return, can you cast illusions and mist around the forest and into the sky? Obviously, the traps will only react to Riser's group. This will signal the real start of the match, although it's going to get intense very quickly. So I'll leave the illusions and mist to you, Akeno."
"I understand, President." Akeno confirms.
(The strategy has only just begun, but Asia and I haven't been given any orders, even though I already know what my objective is, I just hope she hasn't changed her mind again...)
"President, shall we do as agreed then?" I'd rather be sure.
"Yes, Senji, you're a [Pawn, you should use your promotion." Rias tells me.
"Yes, okay, but that's not what I'm talking about..."
"Come closer." Rias asks me, starting to blush slightly.
Rias gets up and leans against her desk, and I walk over to her, facing her.
"President, please don't tell me you've changed your mind..."
"Can you lift your top, and make me show the seal?" She asks, blushing.
"Ara ara..." Akeno can be heard chuckling behind Rias.
"Um... can I ask why?"
"Well... I've been studying some sealing abilities and wanted to see if I was capable of... allow you to use more of its power without losing control of it. And I'm more than confident in my success, so..."
"..." I can't believe it, she's been looking for a way to lighten the seal while keeping the same level of control. I sigh and take off my top. "I trust you President, if this works, then winning this match is going to be even easier."
"...Thank you... I promise I won't disappoint you, or scare you, if you ever lose control, I'll close up straight away." Rias stands up and takes a deep breath.
She brings her hand to my belly, where I make the seal appear. She swallows her saliva and energy appears at her fingertips. She places her fingers on the marks of my seal, and I feel her energy mix with mine, then she turns her hand ever so slightly, barely rubbing my abdomen. But I feel a slight change, as if my magic circuits have been unclogged a little. Letting out a satisfied sigh, she withdraws her hand, allowing me to remove the seal and put my tops back on.
"So? any changes?" Rias asks, looking down at her hand, cheeks flushed.
"I feel a change yes, as if my magic circuits have been slightly unclogged, I can feel something else but I don't really understand what it is, probably related to the energy of the fox demon." I explain.
"Good, I'm delighted. I really wanted to help you, I wanted to do more but at my level of knowledge, it would have been too dangerous. In any case, this seal is extremely powerful, and I had a very hard time loosening it, even just a little."
"...President, I don't know what to say, this much effort for me is..."
"Is absolutely normal, you're going through an ordeal with this monster living inside you, if I can improve your daily life even a little, then I'd gladly do it..." She pauses and begins to blush. "...Senji, I haven't changed my mind, but for once, please take care of yourself, don't put yourself in unnecessary danger and do what needs to be done, I don't want you to suffer too much for my sake. You're the only one who can face Riser and break him, so take every possible precaution against him, use your promotion in [Queen] and don't hold back your blows, because he won't."
Rias puts her hands on my cheeks, forcing me to look into her eyes. I don't understand why she wants me to be so careful. My life or my health is nothing to worry about.
"I understand, but it's not by taking few risks that we'll win against Riser, so I can only promise you I'll be as vigilant as possible." I reply, knowing full well that she won't be satisfied.
"We're at a numerical disadvantage, so losing even one person will be dramatic, so don't go crazy, I'm very serious." Rias makes it clear that I don't really have any other choice.
Rias has already thought carefully about our roles and made plans for our actions. The fight is instantly won if I use Overblow on Riser. Or I could use Ddraig's full power and destroy the whole school, but Riser will recover and I'll have no energy left. I just have no choice but to follow the plan until I find an opening.
"Don't worry President, I'll make you win, no matter what." I nod with determination.
"..." She sighs, then smiles at me, as if resigned. "Yes, I'm counting on you, my lovely Senji." She caresses my cheek.
I have to make her win, if she doesn't want this life with Riser, then her wishes are my commands. And then there's this impulse in me, which wants to see her happy, pushes me to fight to defend her, it's not because of our contract, but something much more complex...
(Is it the same feeling I have towards Chiyo... No matter, I must use these feelings to my advantage...)
After several minutes of waiting, I finally receive the order to join Koneko, who is waiting for me at the entrance to the building. After a last look of encouragement towards the girls, I leave the room and descend the stairs, concentrating on the task in hand. I open the door to see Koneko ready.
"Here I am." I announce my arrival.
"...Nnn." Koneko nod.
"Very good, Koneko, Senji. You won't be able to avoid the fight that awaits you in the gym, so act accordingly, as we discussed. This position will be important." Rias explains through the earphone.
"Roger." I respond.
Our target is the gym, and we have to win this battle if we want to win the war. Only Koneko and I, and we can't fail.
"Well, I'm going too." Kiba steps toward us, a sword already sheathed at his hip.
"Asia stays on standby with me here. But we'll go after we get Senji's signal. Asia, you can't be taken down, it's lost if we lose our healer." Rias explains.
"Yes!" Asia exclaims through the earphone.
As much as it pains me, I have to leave the protection of Rias and Asia to the others, provoking a duel against Riser is my priority, I can't afford to think about anything else.
"Akeno will act as she sees fit, so be prepared for her interventions. I trust you." Rias says.
"Yes, President, everyone, trust me." Akeno adds.
Our most powerful member after Rias, Akeno. She'll decide the outcome of the fight. We're counting on her and her great power, hidden beneath that tender smile.
"So my lovely servants. Are you ready? There's no turning back now. Our enemy is Riser, who is said to be a genius from the House of Phoenix, with a brilliant career ahead of him! So get out there and destroy them!" Rias said proudly.
"Yes!" We answer together, and start running towards our goal.
I leave with Koneko and Kiba, who follows us for a while.
"Senji-san! Everyone! Please do your best!" Asia gives us one last cheer.
(Here we go Senji Emiya, it's time to use everything I've learned and all this training I've accumulated.)
We run towards the gym, then when we see the entrance, Kiba leaves us, heading off in another direction. We say nothing to each other, only nodding with determination, nothing needs to be said, it's all in the eyes.
(You be careful too.)
The gym is getting closer and closer. Since the main entrance is connected to the new building, we have no choice but to use a back entrance. When we get to the door, we stick to the wall, and I gently turn the handle, without making a sound.
The door opens and we enter quietly. Once again, I'm surprised by the faithfulness of the gym: everything is there, it's even disturbing. We step onto the rear platform, and since the curtain isn't down, the interior is completely visible. Not wanting to show myself, I place a hand on the floor, but before activating my magic circuits...
"...Presence. Enemy, four." Koneko whispers.
I take my hand off the ground, nodding.
"We know you're there, servant of Gremory! We saw you come in!" But before I can think of anything, a woman's voice is heard echoing throughout the gymnasium.
(They know we're here... Well, there's no point hiding then.)
Before Koneko can say anything, I get up and emerge from my hiding place. Koneko sighs and grumblingly stands up, following me. I drop down from the stage, scanning our opponents. The woman in the Chinese outfit, the twins, and the girl I defeated ten days ago. Who'd have thought I'd see her so soon.
The woman in the Chinese outfit is one of the [Rook] and the other three are [Pawns]. Koneko's a [Rook] and I'm a [Pawn, so even though I'm at a disadvantage, I don't think they won't be a problem.
Now it's time to move on to the second phase of our plan. With a bright red and green light, I make my gauntlet appear on my left forearm [BOOST]. Our enemies are surprised by its appearance, since I didn't show them anything ten days ago.
"...I'll leave the [Pawns] to you, Senji-senpai. I'll take care of the [Rook]." Koneko says to me, taking a deep breath.
"Yeah." I nod and walk away from Koneko.
I walk sideways, keeping my gaze on the three [Pawns, challenging them to a duel. Our opponents look at each other, before nodding. The three [Pawns] follow me and the opposing [Rook] follows Koneko.
Once I've separated enough, I get into position, ready for battle. The girl with the stick also moves into position, her stick in front, and I notice that her posture has changed slightly, leaving less of an opening.
The twins smile, then pick up the chainsaws on their backs...
(Chainsaws? Really? That's going to be more complicated than expected...)
They fire them up, starting the engines and turning the chains, creating a real hubbub echoing through the gymnasium.
(If I get hit even once, it's the end.)
"Disassembling time!" The twins say happily.
I frowned, girls younger than me, happy at the thought of cutting someone up with their chainsaws, repulsed me. I can hear from the side that Koneko's fight has already begun.
But I stay focused on them. The girl with the stick twirls her stick with dexterity, then charges towards me, sounding the start of my fight.
(It's Mira if I remember correctly... go ahead, I'll wait for you and this time no mercy.)
[BOOST] She attacks, her stick pointing forward, aiming for my torso. I move my hand forward to catch her, but she suddenly raises the stick, aiming for my head. I narrowly dodge by moving my head, then clench my fist and hit her full force, causing her to spit saliva and slide backwards several meters.
The twins don't mind and run towards me, grinding their chainsaws on the ground, creating sparkles. I project out two swords in each hand, ready to welcome them. I let the first one pass me by, dodging her at the last moment, and block the second with my two swords. Feeling the chain rubbing violently against the blades, making them tremble, I immediately push her away and strike the chainsaw, making her lose her balance. No sooner do I raise my blade to strike, I have to turn to parry her sister's attack and push her away.
I notice that my blades are almost broken. I throw them at the twins, who protect themselves with their weapons, [BOOST] then directly project another blade, which I reinforce. Surprised, the girls resume their aggressions, the first coming horizontally, which I strike with more force, sending the attack backwards, surprising her. Her sister takes over, striking diagonally, I slide the chain over my blade, knocking the chainsaw to the ground.
I lunged to land a kick, but her sister came charging back, so I just pushed the weapon away and parried the attack, allowing me to dodge her twin's attack. I take advantage of this to distance myself, bringing my sword forward and taking a breather. Mira joins them, frowning.
"Ah, geez! It's so frustrating!" Exclaims one of the twins.
"Why can't we hit him directly!?" The other twin exclaimed.
"It's incredible... no matter how hard I look, I can't see any opening..." Mira looks irritated.
"It means you clearly lack experience." I say simply, seeking to create conflict in their heads.
Which seems to work, as the girls put on a fierce face, gripping their weapons even tighter. [BOOST] Seeing this, I reinforce my body and dash forward, hurtling towards them. Surprised to see me take the offensive, they regroup, forming a tight formation.
I head for the twins, who raise their chainsaws in the air, ready to bring them down on me. I throw my sword, which is cracked, at one of them. Surprised, she lowers her weapon and my blade digs into the engine, piercing it and the tip of the blade piercing the shoulder.
"Kya!" She drops her chainsaw to the ground, startled by the sharpness of the blade.
"How dare you hurt my sister!" My action enraged her sister.
I don't give her time to do anything, exploding my blade, surprising the three of them, who are directly hit, especially the one I slightly injured just before, who remains on the ground. Her sister, still in shock, tries to wake her up. Mira emerges from the smoke screen and attacks me, striking horizontally. I block with my gauntlet and push her away, trying to hit her back but she dodges and follows up with a diagonal strike from bottom to top, I barely move, letting the stick pass by me. I throw out my fist but hear the whirring of the chainsaw coming, and leap back, narrowly dodging the attack.
I quickly turn my gaze back to Koneko, seeing that she's nearing the end of her fight, her opponent down on one knee. [BOOST]
"All right, let's get this over with." I say.
"Don't underestimate us!" Mira gets angry and charges me.
I project a shinai, and parry her attack. I leave the offensive to her, parrying and hitting her stick to cancel each of her attacks, which frustrates her more and more, her movements becoming more and more irritated. At last, the twin sister decides to charge me.
"Take that!" She brings her chainsaw forward.
I push Mira away and protect myself with my shinai, which shatters on contact with the chainsaw. With no momentum left, the twin steps forward and tries to slash me, but I step aside and use the pommel to strike her in the back of the head. She staggers and falls to the ground, not knocked unconscious, but the blow is violent enough to make her body unresponsive for a moment.
Mira looks at her comrade on the ground, before turning to me, pointing her stick at me.
"We won't lose, not to novices like you." She said.
"That's what we're going to see." I throw the pommel of the shinai, which disappears before it even touches the ground.
I dash towards her, taken by surprise, she swings her stick horizontally. I suck in energy and cover my right hand with a thin layer of energy. [BOOST] I grab the stick with my left hand and strike with my right, destroying her weapon. Mouth agape, she retreats but I give her no time and strike her again in the stomach, knocking the breath out of her and dropping her to her knees.
Making sure my opponents don't get up again. I head for Koneko, who delivers a final blow to the [Rook, sending her tumbling for several meters.
"Need a hand?" I ask.
"...No, it's over, good job Senji-senpai." She said, looking behind me.
"Koneko, Senji, can you hear me? It's Rias." Rias' voice comes through the earphone.
"Yes. Koneko-san and I are safe and sound. We've eliminated the threat in the gym." I report our situation.
"That's good to hear. Moving on, Akeno has finished her preparations, I want you to move accordingly to the plan!" Rias orders us.
We look at each other with Koneko, nod and run towards the main exit, completely ignoring the girls on the ground.
"You're running away?! This location is supposed to be a crucial place!" Exclaims the [Rook].
Without even paying them an ounce of attention, Koneko and I exit the gym, closing behind us. Then we run as fast as we can. A few seconds after our exit, a huge bolt of lightning strikes the gymnasium, causing a huge explosion that completely wipes out the building.
"Taken." I lift my head to see Akeno floating above us with her black wings. She has her hand raised to the sky, twinkling with lightning.
[Riser Phoenix-sama's three [Pawns] and one [Rook] retire.] Grayfia's voice is heard across the battlefield.
(The priestess of lightning huh... Kiba wasn't kidding when he said that...)
"Good job Koneko-san, we did better than I expected." I sigh, enjoying the quiet.
"...You were incredible Senji-senpai, standing up to three [Pawns] alone, while barely breaking a sweat, you're truly one of a kind." Koneko compliments me, which surprises me.
"Well... I only did my share of the work, it wasn't complicated." I stretch.
"Everyone, can you hear me? Akeno made a perfect attack. With this, the first phase of our plan is complete." Rias assures us through the earphone.
Destroy the main strategic point on the battlefield, the only direct link between the two bases, and destroy it with the Riser servants present. This was Rias' plan, and it worked.
"This flash takes a long time to charge after initial use. So continuous use is impossible. Even if the enemy outnumbers us. Asia and I will go out when Akeno's demonic powers have returned. So I'll leave the rest in your hands until then. Please, let's move on to the next phase!" Rias announces.
Our next objective is to reach Kiba, and defeat the enemy on the sports field. No sooner do we set off than an explosion bursts over us. I'm hit indirectly, blown away by the explosion. I get up quickly, slightly deafened, and run towards Koneko, who is on the ground, her clothes burnt by the explosion, being hit full force in the back.
"Taken." Unknown voice. I look up to see a shadow in the air, floating with its wings. It's a woman dressed in a mage's robe, wearing a hood. I recognize her immediately; she's the only truly mature of Riser's servants. His [Queen, the most powerful of his servants, appeared in front of us.
"Fufufu, when you're hunting prey, the best time to shoot it is when the prey has accomplished something, because that's when it's most vulnerable. It's enough for us to sacrifice many of our pieces to take down one of you. Your group has a small number of members to begin with. That's enough to do some serious damage to your group, isn't it? Even if you defeat us, you can't beat Riser-sama. It's useless to resist." The magician laughs as if amused
As I feel the rage rising in me, I feel a small, feverish hand clinging to my sleeve, I turn to see Koneko staring into the sky, her eyes weeping with regret.
"...Senji-senpai... Akeno-senpai..." Koneko's voice is so weak. "...I'm sorry... I wanted to be more useful to the president and everyone..."
"...You don't need to apologize. We've done our job, so just be patient for a while, Asia can take care of you when she gets here..."
But then I'm cut off, Koneko's body enveloped in light. Her body begins to disappear until she's no longer there, feeling her weight vanish.
[Rias Gremory-sama's [Rook] has been removed]. Grayfia announces.
'Hmm? Are you asking me if we can die in the Rating Game? Well, that hasn't happened for a long time, what you need to know is that if you take a certain amount of damage, or you're in a condition where you can't fight any more, you're retired from the game and taken off the battlefield by force to a medical center. So no, in general you don't die, you don't have to worry Senji.'
That's what Rias told me when I asked her. I understood it, it's well memorized in my head, and it's still just a game, but... I can't help but feel enraged, seeing Koneko disappear before my eyes, her warmth and weight vanish, and being mocked so much for a simple elimination...
I'm trembling with rage. [BOOST] My magic circuits activate, projecting a bow and arrow, aiming at her.
"You'll pay for this." I release the rope, firing a salvo of arrows.
Surprised, Riser's [Queen] flies off, trying to dodge the arrows, but the arrows follows her, she creates a magic circle, using it as a shield, then after a few seconds, she explodes the arrows. She descends from the smoke screen, a devious smile on her lips.
(Change of plan: if she's Riser's [Queen, then eliminating her now is bound to provoke doubt in Riser. And then, I couldn't let Koneko's elimination go, as she cried in my arms, tears of regret. Damn, if only I'd paid more attention, I could have taken the blow for her!)
"Fufufu. Here's one [Pawn] who doesn't know his place. Do you really think you can take me on? You'll just explode like that girl just now." She extends her hand toward me.
"Try it and see." I project a new arrow.
"Ara ara, I'll be your opponent. [Queen] of Riser Phoenix-sama, Yubelluna-san. Or should I call you the Bomb Queen?" Akeno stands between us, seeking to protect me.
"I don't like the name because of its bad taste, 'Princess of Lightning'. At least I was hoping I could fight you." Yubelluna smiled in satisfaction.
"Senji-kun, join Yuuto-kun, I'll take care of her." Akeno orders me.
"..." I say nothing, conflicted with the urge to fight her and follow the rest of the plan.
"Senji-kun..." Akeno turns to me with a serious face, seeing my hesitation. "I understand how you feel, I'm the same as you, but you have a part to play, correct? So go ahead. This matter is my responsibility."
I grip my bow tightly, before making it disappear, sighing heavily. I slap my face, putting my thoughts back in place. Besides, with the [Queen] flying from the other side, I wouldn't be much help; on the contrary, I'd be a burden to Akeno. I just have to concentrate on what I have to do.
"It's okay." Akeno smiles at me, seeing me grit my teeth. "I'll avenge Koneko-chan. I would defeat that [Queen] with everything I have." A golden aura envelops Akeno's body. I can feel all her power emerging, the second most powerful of our group, our [Queen].
"I'll leave you to it! Be careful!" I start running in my next direction, my back to the duel about to begin.
Shortly after my departure, I hear the fury of lightning and violent explosions, heralding the start of the middle of the plan.