GOOD NEWS! We've gotten our first form of fan art for Sonic DxD! It is in the cover art of this story, and was made by Luhyzi. You can find him on Twitter and Deviant Art. But while your up here, please read the following:

Hey, folks. Looks like we're back again… well, not exactly. I only got lucky having enough free time to finish this chapter, which was already partially written anyway, so don't take this as confirmation that the story is back. I still plan to get Sonic Frontiers and play it for my YouTube channel, so hopefully you guys will join me on that journey. Preordered the game and everything.

Now I've also seen your comments in reviews, Discord and PM's; and appreciate the support, but I think you've all misinterpreted what I was saying. It wasn't only the troll/BS reviews, i've been on the Internet for far too long and that comes with the territory and doesn't bother me too much. It's allot of other things as well. I didn't mention this last time cuz I was scared and nervous, but some Sonic Modder struck my channel falsely.

Ya know that cutscene that literally everyone covered? The one when Sonic gets out of Cyberspace and the female voice called out to Sonic about being "The Key"… yeah, this modder claims to own that, which unless he works for SEGA (spoiler: he doesn't), its total BS. His name is Beatz, and if you need proof, I'm more than willing to show you.

It's just a little depressing being member of the community I am a part of and have a creator of that same community pull something like this, and I can only imagine how many others have been affected by this person as well. Strikes are no laughing matter, as many YouTubers have said numerous times due to have broken the copyright system is.

Don't expect the next chapter until AFTER the Sonic Frontiers hype train. Going through allot right now, but hopefully that doesn't affect the quality of this chapter.

One final announcement, I've been brainstorming a small Smash Bros arc, but not sure whom of the Smash cast to include. Mario, Pikachu and Pit will be a given (you can already imagine the jokes and cute moments they will cause); Kirby perhaps as well, and Samus may be included do to her large bust size for a certain Red Dragon to gush over; though I want at least 2 or 3 more.

So by the time you see this, please tell me in a review or how ever you wish of whom you'd like to see in the Smash-verse make an appearance sometime in the future.

Making a poll of this would too hectic, so leave a review of as many characters across Smash History as you want to see someday, but there is ONE rule:

•The Smash Character you choose MUST be (or had been in past games) PLAYABLE without hacking or mods; also meaning no Bosses, Items, Assist Trophies, Spirits or Stickers etc. are NOT allowed. Exceptions to this rule are characters like Ridley, whom were Bosses at one point, but became playable afterward.

This mini arc won't happen for quite some time, but this will be a form of preparation. Thanks for all the support, now lets begin… the beginning of the arc, you've all been DYING for…

From Ultimate savior infinity:
It's okay, pal. We're all here for you. A friend of mine did get a lot of negative reviews, and I helped pick my friend back up. A lot of other people helped as well. It's gonna be okay, Bakuganman

From leonsion:
Dude, please don't abandon fic. It's one of the few DxD fanfics that I really enjoy.

Bakuganman: Like I said above, the negative reviews weren't the only reason, but the support is welcomed. The fic is also not abandoned, just on a slower update schedule.

From NightmareKnight1 (chapter 6):
Major rule about dialogue between multiple characters. Any time you swap speakers, you need to start a new paragraph.

Also, less major rule but more something that's just kinda disgusting to look at (though it is a writing rule all the same) is the whole "zoom, crash, bang, etc." stuff. Just write out that things exploded or describe the sound of something whipping air around as it speeds by.

Bakuganman: While I get the first paragraph of criticism, I love how there's only one paragraph of that which I didn't space that you focused on. There is also no writing rule about the "zoom crash bang" thing. Have you not read a manga or a comic book? By your logic, those same forms of media should not write that as well.

And in case you bring up "well thats a comic and a manga, that's different"; you do realize fanfiction can be based on manga and comics, right? They can also be written in comic/manga form like fan art, and there is an archive of them on the website, written the exact same way. You may not prefer that in your fanfictions and thats fine, but there's no rule that says I can't do that either.

Chapter 28: The Phenex Emerges - Part 2

After getting ready for the new day, Issei and Asia walked to school together. Sonic also decided to join them as well (while disguised of course), but only because neither boy could stop thinking about last night. Rias came to his room, barging in only to be caught by Sonic the first time, then that Grayfia maid showed up not too long after that. Even then, Rias reacted drastically out of character, sounding desperate for some reason. They both couldn't help but wonder what that was all about.

Asia noticed this, how both her friends were unusually quiet, but didn't have an answer. "… Sonic? Issei?" Asia asked, this now being the 3rd time she called their names, and only now they reacted to her. "Are you both okay?" She asked them, concern in her voice.

Issei and Sonic, whom were walking next to each other with Asia on the left of them, blinked in response to the Bishops question while at the same time glancing at each other with 'oh crap' faces. How could they explain what happened to Asia without it sounding bad and possibly setting her off due to her insecurity/jealously?

"Uh… yeah." Issei said. "Couldn't fall asleep right away after ou-, er; my shower."

"And I got home late. Issei was worried about me. We're just a little tired this morning." Said Sonic. Then he dashed off further down the street, then dashing back down a second later. Of course this made Asia's long hair and skirt go with it due to the Hedgehogs acceleration, even Issei had to hold his own hair. Sonic repeated this cycle once before finally stopping. "Nothing some old-fashioned cardio can't fix!" He added, stretching his legs after performing the run.

This seemed strange to Asia, as why would Issei be worried? Sonic has gone on the daily and nightly run so many times, it's become common place; and it's not like anybody would see him either, in or out of the provided disguise.

Still, the story seemed to check out. She did hear the sonic boom last night when Sonic did in fact go off on his run… even down to Issei coming into the bathroom a minute later. She did not question the boys any further.

Issei and Sonic chuckled nervously with closed eyes, but then Sonic opened his own after his ears twitched, and looked behind Asia with slightly wide eyes before dashing off again. Issei noted this and looked in the direction his pet had ran off too… "Sonic? Where ya…?"

POW!

Issei was sucker punched in the back of his head, making him fall to the ground. Why?

"Rot in hell, traitor!"

"I should kill you for that one, yo!"

Yelled both Motohama and Matsuda in that order, Matsuda having been the one to punch Issei. Issei slowly recovered from the hit, as being a Devil gave him more endurance than the average person… still stung a bit though, and this also kinda explained why Sonic booked it on ahead.

"Morning, guys. Ya had fu-?" Issei tried to play off, but the other members of his trio wanted nothing to hear of it.

"Don't play dumb with us!" Matsuda yelled. "We know a dude when we see that shit dangling!"

"And he asked if we were Magical!" Motohama added, also yelling.

"Wow. And you didn't want a piece of that?" Issei asked.

"HOW THE HELL YOU GONNA TRY AND HOOK US UP WITH A DUDE!" Matsuda yelled, then he and Motohama hugged each other while crying a little bit.

"He threw a party with guys dressed up like little girls…" Motohama said, sounding very traumatized. "In a room full of Magical Princess Jocks…"

"No kidding… we thought we were goners. Imagine if we dropped any soap, we'd get plugged up…" Matsuda said, matching Motohama's sentiment. Both of them then proceeded to beat up Issei, Asia could only watch in shock.

A few houses down… Sonic was watching from a sitting position on a roof of a house, chewing a bite of a fried noddle dog before swallowing and taking another one.

XXX

After the other 2 pervs left Issei along after "killing" him for his prank; Issei, Sonic and Asia continued to walk to school; encountering Kiba along the way. When they all got to the clubhouse together, they noticed that Rias and Akneo were in the back by the desk, and Koneko on a sofa (both of which were normal)… it was a certain silver-haired maid in front of her desk talking to her that was new.

It was that same lady from last night. Grayfia. What was she doing here?

"Everyone's here… good." Said Rias. At least this saved her the trouble of contacting all of them at once. She seemed bothered by something as well. "Well, let's go over this quick." She added, getting up from her seat. "Grayfia. You may speak."

Before the maid/Queen could say a word, everyone in the room felt a surge of power, along with a magic circle having formed near the entrance to the main office. It was more of an reddish-orangey color as opposed to Rias' magics crimson-blood red color. It also gave off a fiery aura, and had some heat too it…

CAAAAAAAAAAW! FLOOOOOOOOSH!

In an eruption of flames along with the sound of a bird-like squawk, a form appeared from the circe with its back facing them, one with blonde hair and wearing a burgundy colored blazer. In addition, some sparks also danced around the circle once the flames subsided but were barely noticeable.

Wait… Sonic couldn't help but stare at it… hadn't he seen that show of flames somewhere before?…

"And upon request, Riser has arrived in the human world." Said the form, turning around to face those in the ORC club house, revealing a man with Devilishly handsome features. The blaze was also unbuttoned not enough to show off his entire chest, but enough to keep girls guessing. There was also a small bulge in it down towards his mid-section, having a necklace of some kind going down that far, but why was he hiding whatever was there was unclear. "It really is good to see you in person again; my beloved." Riser said, directing that comment to Rias.

She did not respond. She just stared back at him with a serious look and frown on her face. Sonic himself, even by this small interaction, did not think highly of Riser either. Something about him felt way past uncool. Ya know, when you try too hard to be way past cool.

"Ok… who's the douche canoe?" Issei asked, not liking Riser's attitude either.

"That gentleman would be Riser Phenex." Grayfia explained in her usual stoic tone. "A Devil of noble birth, and third in line of the House of Phenex."

Upon hearing Riser's last name, Sonic looked a bit shocked as he flashed back to that strange girl he met a while ago…

-FLASHBACK-

"How dare you speak so impertinently to a member of the Phenex Family!"

-END FLASHBACK-

That girl… Ravel or something, right? She appeared to him, went on about her brother needing help, but then she disappeared before he can get more information out of her. Was this some weird coincidence… or was this Riser person and her connected somehow?

"And I should care about that, why?" Issei asked, being a little snarky.

"He is also the fiancé of the next head to the house of Gremory." Grayfia said. Both Sonic and Issei froze… fiancé? As in, Riser was marrying the next head of the Gremory house? But that could only mean…

"Your kidding… him and Rias? Married?" Asked Issei in disbelief. Sonic and Asia also showed the same emotions since this was the first time they were hearing about it. Not only that, if they WERE getting married, Rias didn't seem too thrilled about it.

"I am not. In fact, Rias has been engaged to Riser for quite some time. Almost a year at this point. Sirzechs himself requested they'd both met in person." Grayfia said.

"A year?!" Issei asked aloud, in even more disbelief.

XXX

Tension wasn't strong enough to describe what was going on. While Riser was enjoying himself, sitting next to his bride-to-be and playing with her long crimson hair, Rias on the other hand kept her eyes closed the entire time, trying to control her pride. She felt violated being touched by him, but for the sake of Grayfia and her husbands request, she'll deal with it.

But lord… the bird was trying her patience.

Sonic didn't know how to respond, but this guy was worse than Issei ever could be. At least the Red Dragon would stop when given the proper signals be they visual or physical, nor would he take advantage of someone when it was time to say "No" as he proved last night. Riser was the polar opposite. His ego was so huge, it was probably taller than the pillars of Sky Sanctuary, and you can tell the Phenex Devil felt that way by his body language.

Sonic already thought up over 200 possible quips, but didn't say anything just yet.

After being served Akeno's famous tea and commenting how good it smelled before talking a sip, Riser put the cup down on the coffee table as he and Rias were sitting on one of the sofas together (not by Rias' choice by the way but she pushed it aside). Akeno even bowed and thanked him for his compliment, which she did mostly out of being professional and didn't actually mean it.

As Riser was of such a high position, she had no choice.

"You want a handkerchief too?" Sonic asked, letting one quip slip through. Testing the waters basically. "Can get a mountain of them for ya."

All Riser did was eye Sonic… did he know of his origins as well? Ravel didn't, at least not fully so probably not. Regardless aside from that glance, Riser lost interest relatively quickly in the Hedgehog, and turned said interest back to his future wife.

Riser then touched Rias' thigh… that's when she had it.

"That's enough." Rias said, keeping as calm as she could despite her own feelings on the matter. Her fisted were balled up, trying to restrain herself from saying something unfriendly. She stood up, getting away from the fingers who dared run themselves along her person.

"My dear Rias, your brother authorized this meeting to find some middle ground." Riser said, not taking offense by Rias' denial. "In fact, my pervious offer still stands about that special gemstone."

"There is; no middle ground." Rias answered him, her fists clenching a bit tighter to continue to hold herself back, but everyone in the room could tell she was close to snapping at him. "I have no intention or desire to marry you, no matter how many rocks you offer me."

"Remember, we are still recovering our numbers after the last war. Both your father and Sirzechs made this decision to insure the future of all Devils." Riser argued, keeping his cool.

Rias turned away from him. "You don't have to explain anything to me, Riser. I understand my family's plight more than anyone." Rias said. "After losing over half our race in some senseless war, they want to help rebuild our numbers in anyway they can. While it is a noble cause, and Evil Pieces can only do so much; in their kindness, my family is in too great of a rush."

Sonic couldn't help but start connecting dots here. Was this what Rias was always worked up over? Losing more than half of her kind during some war? Now here he hears she supposed to rebuild the lost numbers by marrying this Riser guy? That would certainly put pressure on anyone.

And he offered her a gemstone? Sonic wondered what kind. Must be one of those really expensive ones.

"You also remember that its imperative that Devils in power must remain pure. In times like these, you can't afford to be selfish." Riser said, and his arrogance almost set Issei and Sonic off that time. He was talking to Rias as if she was nothing more than a Pawn in a game, which was quite ironic in itself.

"I will not bring my family to ruin, Riser! Nor will I deny you or any Devils right to our family name either!" Rias said, snapping head back to the Phenex Devil and raising her voice a little bit due to her rising emotions. "But this is where the line is drawn! My husband, if any, will be MY choice, and MY choice alone! So I'll repeat myself once again: to both you and my family… I. Am not going. To marry you." Rias said, stating her previous sentiment slowly as to make sure it gets past Riser's huge ego. "No power, no cause, and most certainly no amount of cheap gifts you try sending me is going to change my mind; and that's final!"

At this point, Riser stood up himself and grabbed Rias' chin, holding her face as he stared directly into her eyes. There was nothing romantic about this gesture either, it was done as an act of dominance.

"Riser bears the reputation of the Phenex, my darling." Riser said, then his eyes narrowed at her. "Besmirching that name… is unacceptable." He told her in warning as the Ruined Princess matched his stare.

Also, Rias wasn't sure, but was that a spark of electricity darting inside his eyes?

"At this point, it doesn't matter what you want, For the future of all Devils, even if Riser must incinerate this entire room, you WILL return to the Underworld with me. One way. Or another!" With that, Riser flared his power, surrounding himself with Phoenix Fire as his eyes glowed orange. Rias flared her own energy in the form of her Destruction, it too in her eyes.

There was also a faint humming sound from Riser as well, coming from the necklace inside his shirt.

In response, Grayfia flared her own power in warning. "Incineration is not necessary." She stated she said calmly, but then lowly gasped as Riser made eye contact with her. Riser… he appeared to tower over her in her minds eye, his eyes glowing orange still and the whole space full of Phoenix Fire. In addition to that, sparks of an unknown origin chained around his person.

She had no choice but to flare even more energy, tapping into her Queen traits. So much of it that it caused the air to vibrate and everyone could have sworn they felt a small earthquake.

"As I am here under orders of Sirzechs… there will be no disruption of peace, so I'll kindly ask you both to put your prides aside." She added. The tension in the room was rising from all sides that everyone felt, along with 3 very different levels of power.

Sonic of course felt all of this too, his quills no longer tingling, but vibrating like an electric massager. Rias' power (which he was familiar with), and now the Queen Maid and Riser (he'll call him Phoenix-Breath); it was a level that would probably make most creatures tense just being in the same facility.

Though Riser's power… while it did feel quite different than other forms of energy he's faced… something about it felt oddly familiar…

Riser eventually stopped, which in turn made Rias stop and Grayfia soon after. Either complying with Grayfia's indirect threat, or he felt he already got his point across; so whatever familiarity Sonic was feeling disappeared before he could really grasp it.

"Forgive me, Madame Grayfia." Riser said, which only half of that apology sounded genuine. The other half was obvious egotistical sarcasm. "When given such an ominous warning from the Ultimate Queen, even Riser can't help but be somewhat fearful." He continued.

Grayfia was normally expressionless, but couldn't help but narrow her eyes a tiny bit at Riser… what kind of power was that? It took allot of her energy just to match up to it. And of course, she had heard Riser has been going around winning more Rating Games as Sona discovered the other day, but whatever magic he just flared was totally foreign to her.

It didn't feel like only Phoenix Power. It also felt… chaotic.

Regardless, her Master/King/Husband already predicted Riser and Rias in the same room would probably cause conflict. "Sirzechs already anticipated you both may still not see eye-to-eye, so he has suggested a last resort." Grayfia said.

'And you only bring it up AFTER they almost exploded?' Sonic thought, deciding at the last second to keep that to himself.

"Yes. Of course he did." Rias said. "Would you mind elaborating on that?" She added, still a tad bit on edge from the stare down and power flare between her and her apparent husband.

"If Lady Rias still insists on putting herself ahead of her family, both Lord Phenex and Sirzechs have personally prepared and authorized you both settle this matter via a Rating Game." Grayfia said, which Rias showed surprise at Grayfia the moment the term 'Rating Game' left her lips. "If Lord Riser wins, then Rias is to return to the Underworld immediately and proceed to the engagement… However; should Lady Rias emerge the victor… then the subject matter will be dropped entirely. Both Houses have already negotiated and agreed to these terms on your behalves."

"Wait… Rating Game?" Issei asked, having heard that term from Sona. Sonic also heard this and thought back to his first meeting with Ravel, then of course Sona afterward. The phrase held some importance. What exactly was a Rating Game, and why have one now?

"Didn't that Sitri lady mention that?" Sonic asked.

"It's a game noble Devils play with their Houses. TLDR, 2 Families compete in a battle of wits and strategy." Kiba said.

"So… the Chess thing?" Sonic asked, him and Issei slowly starting to understand.

"Exactly." Akeno confirmed. "It's another reason each Piece has their own individual powers. The entire Evil Piece System was inspired by Chess, so think of Rating Games as a real-life full size Chess event."

"Riser has played through numerous Games and has scored many wins under his belt." Riser began to boast, then glanced at Rias. "Unfortunately, my blushing bride-to-be has yet to even qualify for a single one." Rias' cheeks puffed and her eyes narrowed at him for his response.

"In addition, as compensation for Lady Rias' lack of gaming experience, Sirzechs has personally granted her permission to call upon 1 recent ally in her immediate circle." Grayfia continued, which gave Rias some more shock. "However, this ally cannot be anyone else of the Gremory Clan, nor a Devil of any other household as this would cause a conflict of interest. This is a personal matter between both the Phenex and Gremory house, and both sides have agreed for it to stay that way."

"Wait, but I d…" Rias was saying, but it became very clear from Grayfia's wording as she began to think on it. In her immediate circle… a recent ally… can't be a Devil…

-FLASHBACK-

"Well, its not everyday an alien falls from the sky, darts around fathers school, and gets acquainted with my dear sister..." Sirzechs answered.

-END FLASHBACK-

Rias looked at Sonic out of the corner of her eye… was whom this deal was supposed to reference? Why on Earth or the Underworld would Sirzechs suggest that to the leader of the Phenex clan?! Furthermore, while yes she can take all the help she can get from someone like Riser, but WHY put his own sister in that position?!

"Wait, so; Rias has never even played?" Sonic asked, now very confused. Rias was a Devil? Check. She was of a Noble Devil Clan? Also check. She had a team of Pieces for her to use? Check-A-Roo. So why hasn't she if Rating Games (at least to his knowledge at the moment) were common practice?

"Well its normally for mature Devils, so its not like she has much experience or opportunity to get in. Getting a set of Evil Pieces is one thing, but participating in Rating Games is strictly for High-Class Devils once they rank up after filling contracts." Akeno explained further.

"So, we're already at a disadvantage?" Issei asked. His own experience in combat was quite limited, but now to hear Rias herself has not even had a chance to test her skills in one whereas this Riser guy has probably had many years of experience was stunning. Not only that, this was probably another reason why Rias was so hellbent on contracts and pacts… she probably wanted to increase her rank as soon as she possibly could, maybe even for THIS reason.

"We have bigger problems from them." Koneko said, which Sonic and Issei took a mental step back… them?

"Rias, please don't tell me this is your entire peerage." Riser said, directing that to Rias, and it sounded like an insult from his tone like 'that's all you've got?' kind of insult. "Forgive my skepticism, but is this adorable little group of 6 the full extent of your force?" He added while still sounding egotistical, referring to Rias' club.

Rias had her arms folded at this time. Despite the shock of her brother clearly intending on Rias requesting Sonic to join the Game, she'll deal with that issue later. "And what if they are?" She answered back, though internally she knew the same reality Koneko did.

All Riser did was laugh, then stop himself before snapping his fingers once…

CAAAAAAAAAAW! FLOOOOOOOOSH!

The same circle that brought Riser here reopened behind him. The only difference this one didn't have the extra spark effect and was only fire… that, and FIFTHTEEN forms of the female category arose from it.

This included a familiar, drill-curls hairstyle on one of them that Sonic immediately recognized… Ravel. The same girl he met before, and unlike the other girls that looked just as confident as Riser did… she looked concerned and down.

Ravel and Sonic made eye contact. She didn't say a verbal word but seemed to be saying with her eyes: "I'm sorry" and/or "Do you see now?"

Oh yeah, Sonic saw alright, though he wasn't sure how much help he could be in this situation. Riser just appeared to be an overconfident asshole (excuse his french), which he has dealt with these types of people before, but mainly by beating them at their own game or running circles around them. And the closest he got to solving an arranged marriage was… er… he'd rather not revisit that memory.

"Riser has 15… a complete set." Riser boasted after his entire peerage had been summoned. They were all girls with various hairstyles, body types, etc.; all certified Waifus in their own rights.

"No way… 15 babes…" Issei said, trying not to give into his perverted mindset. "Issei hates this…" He spoke in the third person, then began crying. "WHY CAN'T ISSEI BE THIS GUUUUU-HA-HA-HIIIIIIII!"

Riser looked in Issei's direction once he started balling. Akeno was next to him with her usual kind smile and closed eyes, finding Issei's reaction cute. Asia looked at Issei herself, but looked confused as to why he was acting this way. Koneko was even more expressionless about Issei's antics than usual. And finally Kiba gave a smile himself, but a more 'that's Issei for ya' kind of smile.

As for Sonic's reaction… the same pose he did when Eggman was revealed to be controlling the Time Eater, hand right in his face, not even having the energy to pull his ear or something of the like as he usually does.

"IT'S NOT FAIR-AI-AI-AI-AIIIIR! ISSEI HAS NEEDS T-GAAAAAAAAAAH!" Issei was crying, and at this point Sonic did end up pulling his ear down.

"What Sonic thinks Issei needs, is a therapist." Sonic said, using third person himself.

"AAAARG-TOOOP! YOU DON'T GET IT!" Issei cried, from both pain from his ear and misery from what's in front of him.

"No. But Sonic's friend Dr. A Burdett should." Sonic stated.

"Rias… why is your servant weeping at me?" Riser asked, not sure how to make the scene before him. "And who exactly is that Youkai?" He added, as Youkai usually resided in a section of Japan and rarely came out.

"Oh him? Issei found him taking a bath in a fountain or something." Rias said dryly while looking at the shenanigans Sonic and Issei were pulling. "As for Issei, he wants to have a harem when he grows up."

"Oh does he now?" Riser asked, getting an idea. "Yubelluna?" He called a member from his peerage over. She was a well-endowed woman, and her attire is a dress consisting of a navy blue tunic top with gold accents and a pale blue skirt with open sides, black shoes and over matching thigh-high stockings with garter belts. The top reveals much of her cleavage, and is held with a gold choker with blue and red jewels.

As she walked over, this got Sonic and Issei to stop and pay attention to what was going on…

Riser then began making out with her. Tongue and everything. This infuriated Rias as she was standing right next to him as he put on a show. Everyone else didn't see it coming but couldn't say anything. After he was finished swapping spit with her, Riser got behind her with her leaning back on him, but whether she was fully turned on or was just a joining him for the sake of the show was unclear.

Due to her red face, probably a mixture of both.

"Word of advice, you'll never have what I do. No matter how hard you try, no matter how long you live, a Lowborn like you will amount to absolutely nothing." Riser said to Issei.

Issei's pride felt attacked, so he had to bite back. "So what! Once I get better as this Devil shit, I'll get whatever ladies I want, Pee-nix Breath!"

Riser narrowed his eyes at Issei. Not only that, that same electric charge ran through his eyes. "It would best if you knew your place when you speak to me."

"Screw you, birdbrain! I don't need your approval!" Issei snapped at him. Rias was even just telling him to calm down, but he added (which made her pause): "I already know my place as Rias' Pawn!"

[BOOST!]

From there, he equipped his Sacred Gear out of anger. "I don't give a shit about what you think of me! We won't need some stupid little game, I'll pluck your feathers out right here!"

Rias stared… those eyes… they were the same type of eyes that fought to protect Asia and save Sonic from Raynare. Now they were focused on protecting her…

Issei took action, though Aisa warned him to calm down like Rias did, Issei already had his mind made up. Could he beat Riser? Probably not, but he won't let him get away with disrespecting Rias either.

"Mira." Riser said, and out from somewhere behind his peerage jumped out another girl who stood before Issei. She was a young girl with blue hair and light brown eyes. Her hair is styled with six short ponytails, with four of the six. The front of her hair features split bangs going across her forehead, with side bangs framing her face. She also wielded a Bo Staff as a weapon.

"A little girl?" Asked Issei aloud. Even Sonic was a tab bit confused. This girl Riser sent out didn't appear to be anything special.

WHAM!

Before anyone could react, Mira jabbed her staff into Issei's gut, causing him pain. That wasn't the worst part though, because a second later, she used the leverage she gained from the jab to send Issei flying to the ceiling quickly and very hard, to the point the ceiling vibrated from the impact.

Issei landed due to gravity, flat on his stomach which caused Asia to cry out.

"Ha. Imagine that. The bearer of the Red Dragon couldn't even withstand an attack from my weakest Pawn Piece." Riser was gloating, but Issei slowly got back up. The training he has done with Sonic gave him a bit more endurance, this is not even mentioning the fact he took so many light spears to his body beforehand.

[BOOST!]

He was still grunting in pain; but he wasn't done, pain be damned. Mira went to attack him again, but that's when Sonic finally saw enough. With a serious look dawned on his face…

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!

Before Mira could move, the entire room was engulfed by a fierce swirl of wind that lasted for several seconds. It made clothes and hair move, and it's unexpected trigger made some Devils grab themselves. Even Grayfia did, but only her maid net bow.

Sonic reappeared in front of Issei protectively, standing between him and the other Pawn. She took another fighting stance in case Sonic tried to attack her…

*Snap. Snap, snap.*

Only for her staff to break in 3 pieces a second later, leaving her shocked and defenseless. Not only that, Sonic reached behind himself and threw some items at the other peerage:

•Half a mask.

•A few headbands.

•And some hair accessories.

The owners of those items felt around them, feeling that those items have been removed from their person somehow and were stunned at it. The message from Sonic was clear: "Try it again, and I WILL run CIRCLES around you."

Riser himself was impressed by Sonic's speed. He's never seen any creature, Youkai or otherwise, run that fast before… Rias' other Knight, maybe?

Despite holding himself up, Issei's Gear slowly disappeared, a sign of his fatigue. As much as Sonic wanted to make sure he was okay, he also wanted to make sure no one else would attack him. Rias was the one to rush over to him, and was eventually joined by everyone else of her peerage.

"Issei! Are you okay?" Rias asked him.

"Y-Yeah… just a bruise. Don't worry about me." Issei said, though it was clear he was still in some level of discomfort. Just seeing Issei in this condition made Rias angry.

"… Grayfia." Rias began. "Tell my bother I agree to have the Rating Game."

"Very well. I will inform him at once." Grayfia said, respectfully. Riser began to leave ar that point, seeing no reason to remain here any longer.

"And Riser…" Rias' voice spoke again. "… I can promise you, we will annihilate you come the Rating Game."

"I can hardly wait, my beloved." Riser said as he made his way back to his peerage. "In the meantime, I'll be picking out a romantic spot for our honeymoon." With that, fire erupted like before, and the Phenex family parted, heading back to the Underworld. His laughter echoed as he left, and the same sparks fused with the fire eventually subsided.

That's a wrap for this one. The Rating Game had been scheduled, Sonic will be participating in it, and the Boss Battle between Sonic and a Devil is so agonizingly close!

As for that power Riser has… I wonder what that could be…

But that might not be released for a while, because Sonic Frontiers is literally one week away from posting this, and there will be no way I can finish the story in time when it speeds into stores and everybody is Boosting into both stores on and offline to get it. Like I said, I will be covering it on my own channel, so I really do hope you'll all join me for that journey.

Before we part ways for now, thanks once again for all the love and support. As as well as don't forget about the Smash Bros. Mini Arc to vote in. I'll be seeing ya on the Starfall Islands! GOTTA GO FAST!