Edited by: Priapus, UwU, Marethyu

– Sirzechs –

"What do you mean she escaped?!"

His colleague shouted, rising from her chair and slamming her hands on the table. Serafall shot a fierce look at Falbium, clearly struggling to contain her anger and deeply bothered by the news. But who could blame her? Barely a day had passed since they'd captured Katerea.

For her to get away so quickly…

There goes our ticket to Rizevim. Sirzechs thought, rubbing his temples tiredly.

It seemed that they weren't allowed to catch a break. Capturing one of the Old Satans' high-ranking members had always been a primary goal because of the information they might have—specifically, the location of the Old King's Palace.

Originally built by Lucifer himself during the era before he became a devil, it was found by Rizevim thousands of years later and then improved upon by Euclid Lucifuge so that it was constantly on the move, traversing dimension after dimension. That made it incredibly hard to locate.

Grayfia's brother was one of the greatest geniuses in the world for a reason, as, although called a 'palace', it was more of a city that held their entire faction in it. Sirzechs had only seen it once during the Civil War.

And so, with their only lead disappearing, they were back to square one. Even if Katerea didn't know where the palace was, she had way more information than any of them. Hell, she could've been used as bait, at the very least.

Without her, this would be a lot more difficult. Almost impossible, really. They'd tried to find the palace for decades, and they'd made no progress at all. He hated to admit it, but the Leviathan descendant getting away was a powerful blow to their search.

"It happened during our meeting with the other faction leaders," Falbium responded. "Approximately one hour after you left the prison, Sera."

"But that's— We made sure to maximize security!" She argued. "And after the battle, we were on high alert! How could this happen?!"

"I don't know." He frowned grimly. "To make matters worse, we didn't notice anything until hours after it happened."

"Do we have any footage of the culprit?" Ajuka asked. "I can't imagine Katerea being able to escape on her own."

"I'm afraid not." Falbium shook his head. "During her escape, all cameras were compromised, and none of our scrying wards caught anything unusual."

"Someone definitely broke her out, then. And it's the work of an expert," Sirzechs muttered. "Could it be the Amon Clan?"

"Yes, that's the only explanation." Satan Beelzebub nodded. "They're most skilled in stealth, according to Mr. Daigo. I'd imagine they're one of the few capable of doing such a thing."

"That seems to be the case." Falbium agreed. "None of the other prisoners escaped, thankfully.."

"I suppose they didn't have the resources to risk it." Satan Lucifer said. "Pragmatic."

"Or heartless." Ajuka pointed out. "Perhaps they simply didn't care enough about them."

That was definitely a possibility. If they were a faction that would ally themselves with the Old Satans of all people, then they were most definitely a malevolent force. No one in their right mind would join forces with Rizevim.

Serafall sat back down, scowling to herself in anger. Seemingly the most affected by the news, but that was understandable. Out of the four, Sera despised the Old Satans the most and was almost always the one suggesting that they should be terminated. Ever since the incident with the Tojo clan.

Where he, Falbium, and Ajuka respected Rizevim's ties to the throne, Sera was the only one so vehemently against these 'pointless claims' as she put it. She argued that since they weren't even following the tenets of the original Lucifer anyway, why put so much importance on him and his throne?

It wasn't so simple, of course. Rizevim wasn't just the Son of Lucifer; he was an icon who had led the devils after his father's passing, and during his very brief period as a leader, he was actually loved. Insane as he was, he embodied everything a devil should be.

It wasn't until Sirzechs' generation that he had been challenged. Indeed, unlike his father, who had been challenged several times, Rizevim was thought to be the perfect leader that no other devil could possibly surpass.

So even as Sirzechs and his colleagues won the Civil War and seized his power, he was still a highly important figure. Politically speaking, simply killing or punishing him wasn't so easy. It would've destabilized their claim on their lands.

While Serafall understood that, she still thought it was wrong that they'd let him go off scot-free at the cost of losing their allyship with the Tojo clan. And to make matters worse for her, she and Mizuki used to be good friends.

Admittedly, Sirzechs finally understood her point of view and had begun to even agree with her. At this point, Son of Lucifer or not, he'd had enough of Rizevim. From now on, he would be considered a hostile entity that must be killed on sight. Yes, Sirzechs didn't want a prisoner. He wanted a corpse.

In hindsight, he should've taken his chance and killed Rizevim during the Civil War.

Oh, how naive he had been.

"Regardless, there's not much we can do about it," Sirzechs said. "According to Mr. Daigo, he's still working on technology that can counter the Amon Clan."

"So we're not even gonna look for her?" Serafall glared at him.

"We can't look for her, Serafall," Ajuka responded. "We don't have the means to locate her or the Amon Clan. Doing so would be pointlessly wasting our resources."

The Satan Leviathan couldn't argue with that, remaining silent before she calmed herself with a groan. She then looked back at Sirzechs with a frown.

"If we see them again, Sirzechs—"

"We'll annihilate them." Satan Lucifer said seriously. "I'm done giving them second and third chances."

Thankfully, this was enough to please Serafall as she nodded.

"Good. I'm glad we're finally on the same page." She muttered. And with their meeting done, she grabbed the remote on the long table and used it to turn on the TV, showing the tournament's finals starting. "Now to see Sona-tan kick Rias' ass."

Ajuka glanced at the TV for a moment before getting off his chair and walking towards the exit. Falbium, on the other hand, stretched his arms with a yawn, lying his head on the table and closing his eyes for a nap.

Par for the course for Satan Asmodeus. Ajuka was probably going back to his study room, as he was not really interested in the match. It was always strange how he, the same person who had made the Evil Pieces, had zero interest in Rating Games.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Sirzechs smiled. "She has the Red Dragon Emperor on her side, remember?"

"Yeah? Well, Sona-tan has Emo-chan." Serafall responded with a smirk. "And I like her better than Shrublord; therefore, she's stronger."

Sirzechs chuckled.

Regardless of the winner, this would be one hell of a match.

– Akane –

"Akane?" Sona suddenly taps me on the shoulder, prompting me to look at her as we're on our way to the final match. "Are you okay? You've been zoning out nearly the whole day."

I don't say anything; my mind is still occupied with that fucked up dream I had earlier today. I can't help but think about what that monster meant by 'the end' and 'fulfilling its destiny'. I barely had any sleep since I woke up the first time.

Not out of fear of encountering it again or anything like that. I'm not afraid of it— I proved that I wasn't despite it being way more powerful than me. It's just… that dream feels important. A memory that's deeply ingrained in my mind.

Figuring out what it is could be worthwhile. It could be the key to more power if it's related to the system and the Game. If I can somehow tap into that monster's power, then I'll be unstoppable.

And If this 'end' it's talking about is coming, then knowing what it is and when it's coming might be the way to avoid it. Obviously, that thing could just be speaking utter nonsense, but if there's even the slightest chance of it telling the truth, then I'd be stupid to disregard it.

I don't know what the Game put in me or why I'm getting these unfamiliar memories crammed into my brain. Hell, I don't know if this is even the Game's doing in the first place. This could very well be something from the DxD universe and I just don't know what it is.

If that is the case, I have three questions:

A: What the hell is that monster?

B: Why isn't the Game telling me anything about it?

And C: Why me, of all people?

Don't tell me I'm some chosen one type because I already know I am. I'm beautiful and talented beyond human comprehension as is, the embodiment of perfection. I don't need a beast of darkness inside my soul to be one. That's just a crutch for the incompetent.

But, well, I won't say no for more power. Once I tame it and turn it into a servant, its powers become rightfully mine.

"Do you wish to talk about what's bothering you?" Sona offers at my silence.

"No, I'm fine. Just thinking about the match." I lie. "You're saying it's gonna be live-streamed for free, right?"

But I don't think now's the time to be thinking about that. Admittedly, I don't think I'll ever be able to figure it out any time soon— I have no leads, nor can I actively dream about it again. When I finally managed to get a wink, I woke up normally and never found it a second time.

And unlike last time, thinking about the monster isn't doing anything to the system or glitching it in any way. The Game isn't responding to me, and I'm left utterly confused and frustrated. I can't investigate even if I wanted to.

So I'm stuck, unable to do anything meaningful until the monster decides to contact me again and accuse me of stealing from it again. The bitch. I didn't steal shit. It tried to pry control off my hands, thinking I won't fight it like the dumbfuck it is.

I don't care if that bastard is universes above me in power. I make my own fate.

"Yes," Sona answers. "Is that a problem?"

"No, no. It's just…" I clear my throat. "Using my secret weapon in front of so many people sounds embarrassing…"

She pauses before looking at me weirdly.

"What?" She blinks. "What does that mean? What kind of secret weapon do you have prepared?"

"Don't worry about that." I wave it off. "Look, just focus on yourself and don't get arrogant, alright?"

"No way you are telling me that!" Sona scowls before sighing in exasperation at her peerage's laughter. "Whatever. Girls, remember what we planned."

"Yes, ma'am." Tsubaki salutes.

"We're not letting any of them get to you, Sona!" Ruruko promises.

"Leave it to us," Momo adds confidently.

"I have faith in you, girls." Sona smiles at them.

"We have the number advantage, but don't let it get to your head," I point out. "I'll keep Ichi occupied while you prioritize Akeno and make sure she stays far away from Sona. Sona will handle Rias. Speaking of, you have what I gave you, right?"

"I do, yes." She says, taking out her secret weapon from her pocket to show it to me.

"Good. I know you're smart, so I don't think you need to hear this but do not use it at the start of your fight. There's a huge chance that Rias sees it coming and avoids it." I remind her. "The best time to activate it is when you've weakened her enough. The second best time is to save yourself from certain defeat."

"Alright." Sona nods, pocketing them again. "But what about you? Are you sure you'll be able to keep Kasuga distracted long enough?"

"Please, I'm certain. Just don't let my awesomeness distract you when I'm beating his ass." I smirk. "Let's just say that I learned a thing or two from our battle against Shalba."

"I can't say I'm not growing tired of your constant arrogance, though…" Sona mutters.

"I personally always found Akane-san's confidence to be very admirable." Tsubaki quips. "A little over the top, but doesn't that just make her more endearing?"

"Right?" Ruruko agrees. "Her theatrics are always so funny, but it's the fact that she can back herself up that makes her amazing."

"And it's not like she's kicking anyone down," Momo adds. "Well, unless it's Kasuga-kun, but he doesn't seem to mind it that much."

Sona's peerage consistently showers me with praise, which boosts my definitely modest self-esteem even more. See, even when I act annoying or arrogant, they still appreciate and love me. But really, who wouldn't? I'm the funniest, most adorable, and greatest person in the entire world.

"Oops, better watch out, Sona~" I tease her. "Or I might steal your peerage away from you~"

Her peerage giggles as their king rolls her eyes in amusement.

"Quiet, you." She scoffs playfully before mirroring my smile. "But, well, I have to admit, without that irritating arrogance, I don't think we would've gotten this far, ironically enough."

"And you'll get even further. Beyond what you're hoping for," I promise as we step into the coliseum. "I'm the cheat code to life, after all."

The place is still in ruins, but that doesn't really matter since we're not gonna fight in the coliseum. The device used to make the dimensions still works as we're being teleported to an arena that looks like a carbon copy of Kuoh. In fact, we're placed right in front of my house, making me snort in amusement. Funny.

"Alright, girls." I grin, creating as many ice soldiers as possible with a snap of my fingers. "Time to win us a tournament~"

As my team cheers, ice armor envelops each of us before I launch into the sky. Spotting Rias in the distance, near our school, I rush toward her as quickly as I can, determined to knock her out right away.

But I know better as Ichiban gets in front of me right before I reach her, already in his cape mode, blocking my attack with his golden baseball bat. Surprisingly, it doesn't shatter on contact, but knowing him, he had already boosted the thing enough so it could withstand my attacks.

Ichi then responds by swinging it at me, prompting me to evade it by backing off, giving him and Rias a confident smirk.

"Thought you'd try to pull that crap," Rias says with an equally confident grin. "Well, Kasuga, just as we planned."

"Leave it to me." He says, getting into a stance as Rias runs past me.

"Same plan as us then, huh?" I state. "Not like there are any other tactics you could've taken."

"Pretty much. Rias said something about it being a classic battle of attrition." He responds. "Or, well, between her and Sona. But between us? Oh, I'm kicking your ass."

"Are you?" I narrow my eyes and widen my smirk. "Wanna test that theory out?"

"Ain't a theory if it's a fact." He remarks with conviction. "Call it payback for how you beat me during our first duel."

I can't help but chuckle at that before activating my Touki for a split second and getting in front of Ichiban, surprising him with my far superior speed.

"Cute," I whisper in his ears.

Before I gut-check him hard enough to send him crashing through Kuoh Academy, tumbling and falling on his ass. He coughs in pain before his eyes widen in shock, not expecting me to hit that hard. But then he begins chuckling, getting up on his feet as I slowly walk up to him.

"Haha, I should've known." He says, dusting himself off. "I don't know how you got so powerful so quickly, but something like this… That's so you. You like playing the arrogant princess, but there's always a reason why."

"Enough to make you serious?" I ask, hands on my hips.

"I've always taken you seriously. That's why I went full power at the start of the match," He replies before a long pause. "…You're not gonna make this easy, are you?"

"I already told you, Ichi." I create a sword of ice in my right hand. "I don't like making things easy. So if you want that, you'll have to work for it."

Surprisingly, Ichiban doesn't blush and splutter his words like usual. Instead, he frowns, looking at me with incredible conviction, which I admittedly find equally as attractive as his usual funny reactions. God, he can be hot when he's serious.

"I'm gonna win." He declares, making me giggle.

Oh, don't worry, Ichi.

We're both going to win~

– Sona –

Watching as the two powerhouses duke it out in the sky, Sona had to admit. She was very impressed with Akane's performance against Ichiban. No, not impressed. She was shockedat what she was witnessing. Since when had she been this strong?

As the hundreds of ice constructs shot toward the Red Dragon Emperor, each containing the power of a Satan-class spell, Ichiban was understandably struggling against Akane, who kept her distance and bombarded him with ranged attacks.

She wasn't just matching Ichiban— she was actively overpowering him.

Even as he'd got closer to her, where he should have the upper hand, Akane would casually evade his punch and counter with her own, striking him so hard it would cause a shockwave that tore apart nearby buildings. Just how much power had she been hiding?

No, there's no possible way she could've been hiding this. Only yesterday, they'd been in a fight to the death against Shalba, and right now, she was performing much better, even without the armor. Could it be that she had grown in power in just a single battle?

Sona knew she was unfairly talented, but this far exceeded anything she had ever seen before. If Akane had been this strong during the invasion, they would've defeated Shalba, even with Ophis' snake.

"She's really something else…" Sona muttered to herself.

But as amazed as she was, Sona was also frustrated— no, she was angered to be left behind. Despite having a head start of seventeen years, despite all the resources she'd had as a child, it only took Akane a little over a month to surpass her this badly. How was this fair?

Even when Sona had invested a lot of time and effort into training, she still couldn't keep up. Why? Was she not training hard enough? Was she doing something wrong? A difference in mindset? Or was it simply the gap in raw talent? She didn't understand. What used to make her feel only mild irritation now enraged her because she couldn't make sense of it.

Ichiban? Sure, fine. He had a Longinus Sacred Gear with a subspecies Balance Breaker. Sairaorg? He'd pushed his body to its absolute limit by constant training for more than a decade. But Akane? From a normal human to nearing Satan class in less than three months? This was absurd. Talent alone shouldn't make her that much better than Sona.

She had to have something that Sona didn't. But what could it possibly be?

She didn't resent the girl for it. Of course not. Akane was still her beloved friend despite it all. But Sona would be lying if she said she didn't constantly compare herself to the yakuza princess. And each time, she'd feel more and more inadequate.

Sona clenched her fists tightly as she continued to watch the explosive battle between the two humans in the sky with a frown. That feeling had only become much worse after the invasion because Akane hadn't been so much stronger than she was at the time. Only for her to suddenly grow that quickly.

What did she need to do to be able to keep up? Sona was the heiress of the Sitri devil pillar. She wasn't destined for mediocrity. She wasn't fated to be stuck in someone else's shadow. She had to do something.

"Sona?" Tsubaki called out to her. "Shouldn't we move?"

This isn't the time for this. Sona thought to herself, taking a deep breath. If I don't win this tournament, then I'll never catch up to her.

"Right." She said, calming her nerves. "Knowing Rias, she must've told Akeno to stay low and hit us with her holy lightning when we least expect it, but we're not gonna let that happen. Smoke her out by any means necessary."

"Understood."

"Ruruko, Tsubasa, you're with me." She ordered. "We're going to confront Rias directly."

"Aye, aye, boss!" Her subordinate saluted.

With that, the group split up as Akane's ice soldiers began spreading out, helping her peerage look for Akeno. They couldn't let her get the jump on them— even if Sona was stronger, her holy lightning magic was still devastating. She had to be eliminated as fast as possible.

Regarding her adversary, it appeared that she shared a similar sentiment. Rias, Koneko, and Kiba encountered Sona and Ruruko at a crosswalk in the heart of Kuoh. The redhead, with her fiery gaze and determined grin, exuded excitement, while the Sitri devil remained resolute with a focused frown.

"Well, well, well…" Rias began with her theatrics, hands on her hips and a puffed chest. "It seems that neither of us is willing to waste any time, eh, Sona? I thought someone like you would try to avoid direct confrontation."

"And why would you think that?" Sona raised a brow. "Do you think I'm scared of you, Rias?"

"Naturally. We may be equally matched in raw power, but my destruction beats your silly water spells." She boasted. "And don't try to deny it. You know it's true."

"Is it?" Sona's frown deepened. "How pretentious. As if someone like you can utilize such an advantage."

"Are you calling me dumb?!" Rias scowled. "That's so rude!"

"You started it by calling my magic 'silly'!" Sona responded.

"Yeah, cuz it is." Rias insisted. "What's a few party tricks gonna do against total destruction? Not even your favorite dragon spell would do any harm."

Sona knew that the redhead was trying to get into her head, so she wasn't going to give her the satisfaction as she got into a fighting stance, casting two water daggers in each hand.

"Whatever." She scoffed.

"I win," Rias claimed with a smug grin. "As usual."

"You won nothing!" Sona glowered. "Lucifer below, you're so annoying when you do that!"

That, and Sona was terrible at trash-talk, but she wouldn't admit it to Rias.

"Uh-oh, looks like someone's mad~" Her childhood friend giggled. "Well, Koneko, Kiba, go show them what you're made of."

"Yes, ma'am." Kiba smiled

Koneko silently rolled her neck and cracked her knuckles, stepping forward with him.

"Girls." Sona glanced at the two.

"Understood," Tsubasa said, activating her Sacred Gear.

"Leave it to us, boss," Ruruko smirked. "Won't let 'em lay a finger on ya!"

She watched as the two, in their ice armor, got in front of Koneko and Kiba. Sona was confident in her peerage. They might not be as strong as Rias', but she didn't need them to win. They were still close enough in power to keep them at bay, at least, which was what she needed.

Besides…

Rias paused as she noticed a dozen of Akane's ice soldiers surround them, frowning slightly. While one of them wasn't exactly as powerful as any of the peerage members here, they made it up with numbers, so they should be more than able to help Sona's team.

"It's me against you, Rias," Sona said. "King to King."

"I see." The redhead hummed before she smiled again, looking back at Sona. "Well, I can't say I'm not looking forward to this. When was the last time we actually sparred properly? Like, six, seven years ago?"

"It's been too long," Sona replied. "I hope you're ready, Rias. Because I'm not going to hold back against you."

"I'm hoping that you don't." The Gremory heiress smirked, fists crackling with demonic energy as she took a stance. "I don't want you making excuses when I crush you."

Sona knew that this wouldn't be an easy fight with them being so equal, knowing each others' strengths and weaknesses.

But with what Akane had given her, it was only a matter of time before she emerged victorious.

– Ichiban –

Before their match, he had been feeling relatively comfortable in his position as the strongest participant in the tournament. Such a claim wasn't made out of arrogance. Hell, he didn't make the claim at all. It was everyone else around him pointing it out over and over.

Not just his team, but even Akane and Sona seemed to think so as well, and they were some of the most intelligent people he knew, so they had to be right. This prompted Ichiban to maybe grow a little cocky and confident in his victory, but he really should've known better.

He knew the kind of person Akane was. What with her planet-sized ego, always proclaiming herself to be better than everyone. But despite that, he also knew that she was not all talk. Her confidence, despite the supposed power difference, should've been an indication that she had been hiding something.

To think she was that much more powerful than she let on… Ichiban felt embarrassed that he hadn't noticed it. Granted, he expected her to put up a really good fight considering her Touki and absurdly strong base strength, but to outright beat him down even though he was using Superman Mode?

Ichiban struggled to keep up with her as she zoomed around him far faster than anything he had experienced before, showing a gap in speed he had genuinely never expected from her. He couldn't even defend himself from the spells and physical strikes pummeling him down.

None of his own punches would land, and trying to predict her movement wasn't working for him. She was moving way too erratically and quickly for him to properly see. This wasn't good. He was confident in his durability, but he knew he couldn't take this much punishment for too long. Her attacks hurt even more than Sai's.

Maybe that was her plan? Get him overconfident so he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary? If that was the case, then she'd seriously gotten him. He'd never thought she was hiding that much strength.

No, partner. Ddraig said. She couldn't have hidden this power. Otherwise, she would've defeated that devil.

Then how do you explain this? Ichiban responded mentally, trying to track her movement.

What do you think? Ddraig snorted. She simply grew more powerful.

Seriously?! In a single fight?!

Indeed. Remember after your battle with Kokabiel? She showed similar growth. His partner pointed out. Rapid growth against nigh-impossible odds… her type only shows up once every thousands of years.

That was a thing? Ichiban didn't know. That would explain her insane growth— why she was easily keeping up with him despite his Longinus.

Oh, what the hell! Is she actually the chosen one or something?! Ichiban wanted to whine as he was kicked in the back, prompting Ddraig to chuckle. It's not funny!

Her claim of being the center of the universe might actually have some merit to it, after all. Ichiban didn't know how to feel about this. This was not going to be good for her already massive ego.

For her sake, he needed to win this. Akane becoming any more smug than she already was would be a disaster for the universe.

"What's wrong, Ichi?" He heard her laughing after she struck him in the face with a powerful punch. "Can't keep up?"

Ichiban clicked his tongue in annoyance. Despite the unexpected difference in their strength, he didn't lose hope as he felt his power increasing. She might be stronger than him for now, but during a fight, her power was static. It didn't increase like his, so eventually, he'd be able to overpower her.

That didn't make things any easier as he felt her slamming him in the face with a huge ice hammer, sending him downward and into several buildings. Ichiban hissed, looked up, and saw hundreds of projectiles coming his way, prompting him to leap back and fly out of the way.

But nothing he did would help him avoid an attack, for Akane was almost always two steps ahead.

Below him, a massive flower suddenly sprouted out of the ground, encasing him in unnaturally hard ice. Ichiban struggled to break out, and as he managed to escape the prison, the shards left by his explosive exit shot toward him, stabbing him in the legs and arms.

Ichiban tried to shield himself before Akane appeared above him and kicked him down, making him smash into the flower's ice stem. He gasped in pain as he hit the ground, rolling out of the way of her stomp just in time.

He quickly got on his feet and growled, still unable to find an opening. Every move he made was predicted, and with how quick she was, it was hard to really do anything. But he knew that was going to end soon.

She couldn't be in her Touki state forever.

"What was it that you said?" Akane started, standing in place as the smoke began to disperse. "You were going to kick my ass?"

"That is the plan." He responded, wiping the blood off his nose. "Just cuz you're stronger than I thought doesn't mean it's changed."

"Stronger than you thought? Ichi, I've been bullying you since the fight started." She claimed with her signature smirk. "You haven't even landed a single hit yet. You're nowhere near as powerful or amazing as me. It's like comparing a newborn kitten to a tiger."

"Funny. If the difference is that big, then why haven't you knocked me out yet?" He called her out.

"Who knows?" She shrugged. "Maybe I wanted to toy with you and show my superiority to the whole world. Show them the excellence of Akane Amamiya. Red Dragon Emperor or not, I'm just better. I don't need a crutch like your Boosted Gear to prove it."

The nerve of this girl… Ddraig muttered.

"No, Akane. That's not it. You know just as much as I do that you couldn't even if you wanted to." He ignored her self-worship, having grown used to it. "You're just buying time for Sona to defeat Rias, knowing you won't be able to defeat me."

Surprisingly, that only made her smile grow.

"Oh really?" She crossed her arms. "How do you figure?"

"You can't keep up with me forever. You know this. I know this." He pointed out. "The longer this goes on, the more I evolve and the weaker you become. I can keep up my Balance Breaker longer than you can your Touki."

Akane said nothing.

"Your loss is predetermined." He said, mirroring her smirk. "It's only a matter of time."

At that, she giggled.

"You should leave the cocky attitude to me, Ichi." She said, reappearing in front of him. "It doesn't suit you very well."

However, this time, he saw the attack coming, prompting him to barely block the punch aimed at his face. Akane's eyes widened in surprise, but she didn't seem outright shocked. She was smart enough to know that this was going to happen eventually.

"You're right." He replied. "Because, unlike you, I speak with actions."

As he threw his own attack, Akane released a burst of her magic, freezing him just long enough for her to back off and avoid the swing of his bat. The ice surrounding him shattered a millisecond later, and it didn't stop his momentum as he charged forth at her.

Akane's surprised look dropped, replaced with her confident smirk once more as they took off to the sky. She was still much faster and stronger than him, but the difference wasn't as big. Ichiban could now see her move, which improved his performance significantly as he evaded some of her strikes.

His rapid growth was closing the gap between them, and, to make matters worse for her, she was visibly starting to tire out, her lack of mastery over Touki coming to bite her in the ass. Without it, Akane couldn't keep up with him, and he'd win the fight.

And when that happened, Sona would be defenseless, leaving them with an assured victory.

As they continued their battle high above the replica Kuoh, each strike from either of them would shake the entire dimension, similar to how his fight with Sairaorg had gone. But unlike Sai, Akane knew she couldn't afford to be hit due to her lack of good defensive options. Even her ice armor wouldn't do her very well.

So, knowing that, Akane backed away and focused primarily on ranged attacks. As a few of them hit their target, his gear activated its second ability.

"Endure!"

The sound made her grimace, but it made him grin widely as now, her ice spells didn't hurt even half as much as before. This prompted Ichiban to act a little more recklessly, charging through her ice spells instead of around them, slightly surprising his opponent and giving him the perfect opportunity to land an attack.

But to his shock, Akane avoided his swing by leaning backward just in time, responding by raising her leg and hitting him in the chin before twirling around and kicking his head. He then felt a chain of ice wrapping around him and bringing him back to her so she could land a devastating punch that broke his nose and sent him soaring down.

Ichiban gasped but quickly got on his feet, wincing and grimacing in pain. Her ice spells weren't as dangerous anymore, but that hurt a lot. She was primarily a mage— why did her punches hurt that badly?

He looked up at her, seeing her panting in exhaustion, which made him chuckle. It seemed that she had been overconfident. Using that state the entire time instead of conserving her stamina…

Unless she was hiding something else? Regardless, Ichiban wasn't going to let this get into his head.

Akane raised her arm and created more ice projectiles to use against him, but Ichiban wasn't worried and charged forward. As she brought her hand down and sent the barrage of spells his way, he ignored it in favor of going on the offensive.

Only for his opponent to clench her fist, causing all the ice shards around him to explode in a blast of frost, completely freezing him still. Akane followed that up by encasing him in another bigger, thicker box of ice. Again and again.

She wasn't trying to outright hurt him anymore, knowing her spells weren't going to be as effective, so she was trying to slow him down.

But that's not going to work.

So, with a burst of his draconic energy, Ichiban broke out of every prison at once, swinging his bat at her in one finishing blow. And the attack struck true, hitting her square in the jaw and shattering everything around them.

Akane was sent careening over Kuoh town, smashing into every building in the way until she stopped by near their schoolyard. Covered by smoke and debris, Akane remained motionless, which made Ichiban feel a little bad for hitting her like that, but he wasn't going to miss any chances.

He exhaled in relief and slight exhaustion before looking at where Rias was. Now he just had to—

Feeling something behind him, Ichiban's eyes widened, and he tried to defend himself, but Akane's kick landed on his face before he could put up his guard. The yakuza wannabe suspended himself in the air before he could hit the ground, looking at her in shock.

Although his attack had inflicted significant damage, as she spat out a bloody tooth, it wasn't enough to put her down.

"You thought one hit would be all it takes to beat me?" She said, her glare turning into a smirk. "You're going to offend me, Ichi. I'm not that fragile."

"I guess not." He responded, twirling his bat. "But you're still not winning this. I've already outgrown you."

Akane raised a brow.

"Prove it."

Without wasting another breath, Ichi did just that, charging at her with another swing. But Akane wasn't going to make this easy as she blocked it with a sword she made at the last second.

The shockwave caused by the attack annihilated everything behind her, but she was relatively unharmed, if struggling a bit, as she was gritting her teeth. She was significantly weaker than before— she wasn't using her Touki anymore.

As Ichiban pushed her with a light kick, he swung his bat once more, but surprisingly enough, she managed to avoid it, helping him notice something. Rather than not using Touki at all, she was only using it during split-second moments like these so she didn't waste her stamina.

What was really surprising, though, was the fact that she was able to keep up still, meeting his bat swings with her sword. But during their clash, Ichiban noticed something odd— sometimes, Akane would look over his shoulder and all around as if she was looking for something.

He didn't know what, and in the brief moments he followed her line of sight, he found nothing of interest. What was she looking for? He knew of her supposed 'secret weapon' that Koneko had heard her talking about. Was it that? Had she perhaps set it up before charging at Rias? What could it be?

Well, whatever it was, he wouldn't let her get a chance to use it.

As their clash grew more and more destructive, Ichiban had the upper hand as her sword cracked. And once it shattered, he prepared a powerful blow that would surely knock her out. But as he threw the attack, Akane ducked under it and then immediately struck his wrist, causing him to let go of the bat and disarming him.

Ichiban couldn't quite process that before she delivered a jab to his face. Then, a hook, several body shots, and a knee to his stomach.

"Endure!"

Ichi caught her fist and responded with a headbutt that left Akane reeling, crying out in pain. Momentarily disorienting her was exactly what he needed to lock her in a devastating combo that she struggled to defend herself against.

Though, he found it very surprising just how much she was able to withstand. The Akane he knew was kind of a glass cannon. She'd even mentioned that herself a few times, so to take so many of his attacks like that was very unexpected.

But she couldn't take this forever. She knew it, too, as she stomped on the ground and caused a small blizzard to form with her at the center of it, forcefully pushing him back. As Ichiban prepared to charge again, he saw her soaring toward the sky, and he followed her.

Seemingly trying to buy more time, she flew around the town, consistently able to avoid his strikes. This made Ichiban lament the fact that he had no ranged option as he was stuck trying to hit someone who was only just slightly slower than himself.

As he noticed her smirk, he knew that she had found whatever she was looking for, prompting him to double his efforts. But despite that, Akane avoided his attack and created a burst of ice that, while not outright freezing him in place, slowed him down just enough for her to prepare another attack, charging it up in her index finger.

"Gotcha~" She muttered.

"That's not gonna work!" He told her as she pointed the spell at him.

But she ignored him, focusing on her target before letting go of the charged bullet.

For some odd reason, Akane missed as the bullet flew past him, prompting him to land a powerful blow against her that sent her toward the edge of the dimension. He blinked in confusion before his eyes widened in horror as he heard the announcement.

"Rias Gremory's Queen, Akeno Himejima, has been eliminated."

She wasn't aiming for me?! He realized.

As he was about to fly toward Rias to help her out, he noticed in the corner of his eye that Akane hadn't been eliminated yet, slowly standing back up and pointing her finger at him in preparation to cast more bullets.

Knowing that leaving her like this was a mistake he would regret deeply, Ichiban glided down toward her, now noticing how weak she was. She was trembling violently, seemingly on the verge of passing out. Seeing her up close, she didn't look like she could be a threat anymore.

She was too weak to cast a spell.

Even still, she grinned as he stood before her.

"I should've known you would try this." He said.

"Hehe, you think I'd let someone like her run free?" She responded, almost tumbling. "Her holy lightning is the biggest threat to us. Rias knew it, too. That's why she told Akeno to lay low, right? I've been looking for her almost the entire fight."

"And you didn't target Rias. Why?"

"Too risky. Rias is much stronger than Akeno— she could see it coming." Akane answered. "Besides, you wouldn't let me. Her queen, on the other hand? Not as big of a priority to you."

Shit.

She got you. Ddraig said in amusement.

"Admit it, Ichi~" She said, nearly falling to her knees, holding her side in pain. Despite that, though, she still giggled. "I'm just better~"

Ichiban ignored her, but right before he could turn around and fly away, she spoke again.

"Where are you going?" She said, shakily walking toward him. " I still haven't used my secret weapon yet."

Ichiban tensed and prepared for an attack.

"Don't try anything stupid, Akane. You're already beaten." He said. "I don't want to hurt you any more than I already have."

She only giggled in response and lunged toward him, but as Ichiban readied a counter-attack, he stopped, and his eyes went wide.

He never expected her to lean in and kiss him, not in a million years, and it left him utterly stunned. At that moment, time seemed to come to a standstill as Ichiban experienced the gentle and heavenly sensation of her soft lips pressing against his. It was as if he was living in a dream.

As she wrapped her arms around his neck for support, it wasn't just a brief peck. It was a long, deep kiss that seemed to make his brain stop functioning altogether. It felt like an eternity had passed, and Ichiban remained motionless, unsure of what to do. He was as still as a statue throughout the whole moment.

It was the moment she pulled away that he realized what he had just done, making his face go bright red. He sputtered and stammered, unable to form a coherent word as Akane gave him her usual smirk, a light blush on her cheeks.

Before her arms relaxed, and her eyes closed slowly.

"A-Akane?" He muttered.

"Sona Sitri's temporary piece, Akane Amamiya, has been eliminated."

"Ah…" It was the moment she was teleported away that he realized she'd lost consciousness.

Almost as if he'd forgotten where he was, Ichiban remained in place, still in utter shock at what had just happened. He touched his lips, trying to imagine that sensation again, but unfortunately, he was unable to. Did that really happen or was he going insane?

Partner.

But why would she do such a thing? Did she actually feel the same way towards him? He knew that her 'challenge' and that picture highly eluded to it, but a part of him expected her to prank him. Somehow. For some reason.

Partner?

Wouldn't it make sense? She lived for the teasing, so wouldn't it be the perfect opportunity to bring his hopes up so much before messing with him? It'd be cruel, sure, but not too cruel for Akane to do.

Partner, the redhead's energy is fading fast!

But now that she did this, then did she actually mean what she said? Ichiban wasn't delusional or dense enough to ignore this. Kissing him? That meant something. It definitely did. Meaning if he won, then she might actually—

KASUGA, FOCUS!

Ddraig's roar made him flinch and shook him out of his stupor as he looked at where Rias and Sona fought. Noticing Rias' energy suddenly disappearing prompted him to charge as fast as he could.

But to his horror, it was too late.

"Rias Gremory has been eliminated. The winner is Sona Sitri."

A few minutes earlier…

– Rias –

Despite her boasting, she knew this wasn't going to be easy. Sona knew her mind inside and out, so her childhood friend would probably counter any plan she could've made. Did that make planning useless? Of course not. It made it doubly important to figure out a way she could catch her off guard.

And for the most part, everything had been proceeding smoothly. It was still tricky with Akane's little ice toys swarming her peerage, but it was nothing they couldn't handle. And with her destruction aura, they couldn't make it close to Rias before they were annihilated.

So, really, this was a battle of attrition. The first one to collapse from either team would make the rest crumble soon after. And with them being equally matched, it was very close. Admittedly, Rias did expect to win very soon into the match, but she had a feeling Akane was preparing something.

Where at first, she had relied on Kasuga to beat her as quickly as possible, it had now turned into a spectacle between the two humans as they, too, were equals. This complicated things— it seemed that the best she could rely on was to distract her.

But Rias wasn't stupid. She knew something like this might happen, so she prepared a backup plan with the use of her beloved Akeno—their true ace. Even if she wasn't as strong as her or Sona, her holy lightning was incredibly potent. A single direct hit was all she needed to knock out any of the devils present in this match.

With that, Rias had made it very clear that Akeno would be staying hidden and monitoring the battle until she found a chance to zap Sona when she least expected it. Her childhood friend, of course, predicted this and made her peerage look for Akeno.

If she was found, even if not defeated, their plan would be in ruins because then it'd be tough for her to go back to hiding. Plus, Sona would be far more alert of her presence.

Thankfully, so far, Akeno had been doing well, even as Tsubaki, Momo, and Reya were tearing apart Kuoh looking for her. Rias knew she could rely on her Queen.

But as the match continued, Rias and Sona had grown increasingly exhausted. With her destruction power, she might've forced her rival on the back foot, but Sona was deliberately playing defensively, conserving her energy better than the redhead.

Not by a massive degree, but just enough that it made Rias feel a little worried.

"Well, then…" She breathed, landing on the ground. She looked up at the floating Sona, who spread her bat-like wings. "I knew someone like you isn't gonna fall down easily. As expected from my beloved childhood friend~"

Sona said nothing.

"Though, I can't help but wonder something." Rias' smile dropped, replaced with a slightly worried frown. "…Are you okay?"

This made her pause.

"What?"

"It's just, I don't know, you seem like you're really mad." She responded. "Like, mad mad. Did I do something wrong?"

Sona visibly winced but refused to give her a proper answer.

"Asking about me in the middle of a fight?" Sona narrowed her eyes. "Bold. Stupid, but bold."

"It's just a game, Sona. I get that I can be competitive, but it's not something worth getting upset over. Even if it's the finals of a tournament." The redhead argued. Then, she shook her head. "But you're right. I guess I can ask you after this is over."

She charged a blast of destruction in her right fist, quickly blasting Sona, who flew away and avoided the attack. And as Rias took off to the sky, their battle resumed. The Sitri devil focused on avoiding her attacks, keeping a distance between them as Rias struggled to land any hit.

She knew that she just needed to land a few hits to actually defeat Sona, or at least slow her down so Akeno could pick her off, but this wasn't easy. Both of them were used to fighting someone much faster than they were. Simple blasts from a distance this large weren't going to cut it. Rias had to get closer.

So she focused on gaining more momentum until she was close enough to slam her childhood friend down to the ground, but Sona wasn't so fragile, and she simply flipped and continued fleeing.

This time, however, Sona used her magic to keep Rias at bay, casting several water spells in the shape of animals. Eagles, tigers, rhinos— dozens charged at her, but Rias only created a single cast of her destruction magic that tore through everything in her way, making her smirk.

That smirk immediately dropped as she noticed the eastern dragon directly above her, smashing her into the ground and filling her lungs with water. She gurgled and bit down a cry, flexing her magic and unleashing a destruction aura that annihilated it.

But as soon as she did, Sona was right in front of her, slashing at her with sharp water knives. Rias reacted, side-stepping and kicking the Sitri devil in the side, making her grunt in pain before she pointed a blast of destruction at her face.

Unfortunately for the redhead, Sona acted fast enough to slap her arm away, prompting her to miss her mark. Her childhood friend followed up with an unexpected punch to the face that disorientated Rias, giving her a window to cast another water dragon that dragged the Gremory Devil across the town, drowning her in the process.

Once more, Rias used her power of destruction, crushing Sona's magic. But this time, she managed to predict Sona's next attack, striking her with a headbutt before getting stabbed in the side by the water knife. The Sitri devil gasped in pain, displaying a moment of weakness that the redhead capitalized on by lunging at her.

Tackled down, Sona was pinned to the ground, prompting Rias to wail at her with heavy punches that cracked and shattered the concrete floor. Her rival struggled to defend herself properly, suffering significant damage as she bled from her nose, mouth, and a small wound on her forehead.

As the redhead prepared a blast that would surely end the fight, Sona evidently decided that enough was enough as she exploded her power with a roar, pushing Rias away with a tidal wave that consumed half the town.

Seeing this, Rias smirked widely, seeing her queen having finished preparing her spell.

"Now, Akeno!"

Sona's eyes widened in shock as she finally noticed Akeno above them in the sky, lightning crackling around her as she finally showed herself to deliver the final blow. In a desperate attempt to protect herself, Sona was in the process of creating another dragon.

"It's too late, Sona!" Rias claimed confidently. "We win—?!"

Right before Akeno released her spell, she screamed in pain, and Rias watched in horror as an ice bullet pierced her chest, interrupting her cast, freezing her whole, and instantly knocking her out.

"Rias Gremory's Queen, Akeno Himejima, has been eliminated."

What?! Rias' eyes were wide with horror before she scowled in anger. Akane…!

But that wasn't the end, as with Sona's back still turned, Rias used the opportunity to blast her with the power of destruction. The attack struck true, causing a large explosion that tore the ground apart, causing smoke and debris to cover the area.

Knowing this wasn't enough, Rias prepared another blast before a small, sphere-like piece of metal was thrown her way. The redhead stared at it for a second before her eyes went wide in recognition, aiming the blast at it.

But the anti-magic grenade was activated, and it was already too late. The destabilizing effect on her magic caused Rias to gasp in pain, her body shuddering from the uncomfortable tingles as her energy flow became disrupted, bringing her to her knees.

She couldn't even stand up as Sona approached with broken glasses and damaged clothes but a victorious smirk. Rias looked at her with an annoyed scowl.

"I didn't think you'd resort to cheating…" Rias spat with an accusation. "Anti-magic technology? Akane gave it to you, didn't she?"

"Correct." She confirmed. "And is it really cheating? At the end of the day, they're weapons. Tools to be used. And last I checked, they're not banned from Rating Games."

Rias growled in response.

"Really, weren't you trying to do the same thing with Akeno?" Sona asked. Before the redhead could respond, she continued. "The only difference is that I hid my trump card better than you."

"Sona Sitri's temporary piece, Akane Amamiya, has been eliminated."

The announcement surprised the two, but it prompted Sona to act quickly.

"I guess that's that." She muttered, grabbing Rias by the collar and smirking at her. "Better luck next time."

"You bitch…" Rias snarled.

"Oh wait." Her smirk became insufferable to look at. "There isn't a next time~"

The redhead couldn't snark back before she was struck in the face, and with her so weakened by the anti-magic grenade, Rias immediately lost consciousness.

– Sirzechs –

"Rias Gremory has been eliminated. The winner is Sona Sitri."

"Haha! I knew it! I knew she'd win!" Serafall got up from her seat and cheered with joyous laughter. "Sona-tan is the best! Take that, Zechs!"

Sirzechs sighed deeply. Close to victory— so close it was practically a 50/50 chance. But with Akane's unexpected maneuver and Sona's anti-magic grenade, they'd managed to snatch victory from his sister's clutches.

He wasn't going to lie; that was pretty frustrating to see, but the match had been incredible. He couldn't have gotten a better finale than this. Besides, seeing Sona and her peerage cheerfully celebrate together as they were teleported out of the dimension, he couldn't help but smile.

His sister was going to be annoyed when she woke up, but there were always the championships. At the end of the day, this tournament was just there to gauge their potential, and her team, as well as Sona's and Sai's, were more than good enough to enter the league.

Even without the help of their human friends, they'd do incredibly well regardless. And who knew, even though the championship tournament would begin very soon, maybe they'd be able to find more recruits after such an explosive match.

After all, this match had been live-streamed for free. Anyone interested in Rating Games should definitely consider joining Sona or Rias after watching this. He hoped. Akane and Ichiban might've stolen the show with their performance, admittedly.

Sirzechs usually never bothered with affairs that didn't involve him or his people, but even he had to admit. He was very interested to see where these two would be in five years. So much talent and potential…

They had a bright future ahead of them for sure.

I almost wrote her losing the match, but that would make her very unpleasant to read for the next few chapters. She does not take a loss well.

Check the pa tre on for more chapters.