Rias and her group were currently making their way through the complex. Since Gasper was taken out so early, she knew she had no choice but to meet Sona head on as soon as possible. Despite all the planning she did with Zhuge Liang, she knew that she was facing an uphill battle since her group was so small. She really should consider recruiting more members, but those were thoughts for later. As the group progressed, they eventually ran into Sona's other group. Saji along with Momo, Reya, and Ruruko confronted them, with Saji and Ruruko as the vanguards and Momo and Reya stayed in the back, ready to support them. Koneko stepped forward, taking a fighting stance. Akeno also stepped forward with lightning already crackling in her hand. "We'll stop you here for Kaichou!" said Saji with determination.

"Ara ara. You're so passionate for Sona. I hope she appreciates it~" Akeno teased, causing Saji to blush slightly.

"Enough of that! Stay focused Saji!" ordered Ruruko with a huff as she prepared to brawl.

With that said Koneko charged in with Ruruko doing the same. Saji followed behind her, summoning his Absorption Line and tried to double team Koneko. Koneko wasn't bothered by this and simply launched herself forward like a rocket, tackling the two and surprising them with the reckless charge. They both doubled over in pain from having been shoulder tackled in the gut and Koneko quickly got up to capitalize. Fortunately for Saji and Ruruko, their teammates gave them cover with magic attacks, blowing Koneko back and giving the pair time to recover. Koneko was only mildly hurt from the attack and instead of charging forward again, decided to change tactics. Her ears and tail revealed themselves, which surprised Sona' group since they didn't know Koneko was a nekomata, and suddenly Koneko created and launched bluish flames at the group. Saji and Ruruko managed to dodge out of the way, but that wasn't the end of it. Suddenly Ruruko was struck by lightning, causing severe damage. Akeno had risen to the sky during the scuffle and was waiting for an opportunity to strike. She sent another bolt at her to try and finish the job, but Ruruko was protected by Momo and Reya creating a barrier together in front of her. "Thanks girls," said Ruruko gratefully.

"No problem Ruruko," said Momo.

As everyone was prepared to go at it again, an announcement was made. [Sona's Knight: Retired] said Grayfia. This shook Sona's team, and Rias couldn't help but smile.

"Alright, let's push the momentum!" ordered Rias, trying to motivate her team more. Koneko responded to her King by charging Saji and Ruruko again.

To the surprise of Rias' group, the loss of a comrade did not deter Sona's team. Rather, it seemed to embolden them as Saji and Ruruko seemed to start fighting back more intensely. Saji shot a line from his Gear, and it attached to Koneko. He tried to yank her around with it, but Koneko wasn't so easily moved. Koneko pulled back and ended up tossing Saji around instead. She tried to throw him into Ruruko but Ruruko dodged it and went to grab Koneko, managing to throw Koneko off balance. Saji managed to land during this and with him having leverage was able to throw Koneko. He smashed her into a nearby stand then tried flinging her at Rias and Asia. Ruruko tried to capitalize on this and charged at Rias and Asia as well, but a bolt of lightning cut her off as Akeno tried to stop her. Akeno would have launched another attack, but Momo and Reya started to go on the offensive and launched magic at Akeno to distract her. Koneko was about to crash into Rias and Asia when Rias stepped forward and braced herself to catch Koneko. This action surprised everyone as Rias caught Koneko and barely budged. Saji tried to pull Koneko again while Rias was holding her, but Rias was also surprisingly strong and managed to keep both herself and Koneko from being flung around. Rias helped Koneko back to the ground and now that she was stable again Koneko used her strength to try and swing Saji around again. Saji, however, was quick to react and created another line to try and anchor himself. With the extra leverage he managed to get into a tug of war with Koneko, even though she outmatched him in strength. Koneko kept trying to pull Saji off balance, but noticed she was becoming weaker. She noticed a faint glow in the line that was attached to her and realized that Saji was draining her energy to strengthen himself. Eventually Saji managed to overpower her and swung her up into the air, then slammed her down. Saji tried to slam her again but was stopped by Rias again who grabbed the line and was now helping Koneko to try and throw Saji off balance. "How has Rias-senpai grown so strong?!" Saji couldn't help but comment on Rias' sudden increase in strength.

While he was dealing with that, Ruruko saw this as an opportunity to attack Asia while she wasn't protected. She charged at Asia while having an apologetic look. She knew Asia wasn't really a fighter and didn't want to hurt her, so she planned to take her out as quickly as possible. Asia saw Ruruko approaching and quickly clasped her hands together and began to pray. Ruruko closed in and was about to hit her when a barrier formed from Asia and blocked the attack. Not only that but it burned Ruruko slightly. "What's that?! A holy barrier?!" said Ruruko in surprise.

In the V.I.P. room eyed Rias' group with interest. Sirzechs seem both surprised and impressed at his sister's increase in skills, along with her peerage. Serafall looked at the match and was watching intensely while cheering for Sona's side. Azazel had an amused smirk as he saw how Rias' group have changed due to his and Issei's training regime. Micheal seemed impressed by the battle, but Asia's barrier grabbed his attention as he never expected a reincarnated devil to be able to use holy powers without help of some kind, but it seemed Asia was able to do so based on her faith alone. Issei and the Servants were observing quietly, watching everyone's efforts. Issei couldn't hide the smile on his face though. Odin and Rossweisse were watching with great interest, with Rossweisse being surprised at some of the participants actions while Odin looked amused at what was happening. "I never took the Gremory girl for the physical type," commented Odin.

"This was a recent development," answered Issei.

"Oh? What inspired this change?"

"Her… lack, of versatility," Issei said while trying to be polite about it.

"Unfortunately, Rias was kinda a one trick pony," said Azazel, earning a glare from Sirzechs.

"Where I was trained, I was taught that mages should learn a form of hand-to-hand combat for when magic can't be used. Basically, it was done to help get rid of the stereotype of mages being useless without their craft," explained Issei.

Odin stroked his beard, a smirk of interest on his face. "I see. So youngsters can learn from their mistakes."

"We've always been able to do that, but you old-timers always complained about us being "rebellious"," said Azazel, earning a snort from Odin.

"How was Asia able to use a holy technique, despite being a devil?" asked Michael.

"That was thanks to her training with Jeanne. Since you were gracious enough to let her pray with being hurt, Jeanne taught her how to… weaponize, her faith, for lack of a better term," explained Issei.

"It's less of a weapon and more of a shield," said Sirzechs.

"True, but against devils it might as well be a weapon. Since Asia isn't the violent type, we thought it was best she learned protective techniques like her barrier. It's a weaker version of Jeanne's, but effective enough for now."

"I usually don't think much of barrier techniques, but I think this is a clever application of it in this case," said Scàthach. Issei gave a small smile as everyone returned their attention to the match.

Ruruko was recovering from her failed attack while Rias and Koneko managed to overpower Saji and threw him around. Rias tried to separate the line from Koneko but to no avail. Koneko was finding it harder to stay conscious and was clearly getting weaker. "Asia, try and heal Koneko," ordered Rias.

Asia tried to do so, sending a wave of healing energy towards Koneko. "This is what we've been waiting for!" said Momo, as she and Reya used reversal on Asia's healing power. Instead of healing it now inflicted pure damage, and that power was reflected at Asia.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" Asia screamed in pain as her power was reversed and reflected back at her, and a moment later she faded into light.

[Rias' Bishop: Retired] announced Grayfia.

Rias' team were shocked by the sudden development while Sona's team seemed proud that they took out the healer so soon. From inside the V.I.P. room Issei scowled at what he could only imagine as a painful experience for Asia. His glare slightly shifted to Azazel, who was looking proud until he saw Issei's expression. His expression became stiff as he avoided Issei's gaze. Issei stayed quiet and returned his attention to the match. Rias seemed to be the first to react after Asia's elimination as she took the line that was still attached to Koneko and Saji and used more force than before to toss Saji into Momo and Reya. Ruruko went in to try and attack Rias but found herself hit by another lightning bolt. She looked up and saw Akeno in a new form. She had one devil wing and one fallen wing on her back and her face was a stern expression as opposed to her usual refined smile. Meanwhile as Saji tried to pick himself up off of Momo and Reya, who were blushing massively from their close proximity, Rias focused her destruction magic into a small energy ball and fired it at the line attached to Koneko, finally breaking it. Once the line was separated Koneko was able to rip off the piece that was attached to her arm and focused on trying to recover with senjutsu. Rias was going to use a phoenix tear on her, but she rejected it. "Buchou, you should hold onto that for yourself. Without Asia, you need to be careful with your own safety."

Rias was reluctant but nodded. After a moment Koneko managed to right herself and went to face Ruruko, while Akeno descended and landed next to Rias. Before anyone could move again another announcement came. [Rias' Knight: Retired] said Grayfia.

Rias and Akeno looked at each other, concerned about which of their Knights fell but both nodded and both their arua's flared dangerously. Saji, Momo, and Reya all instinctively took a step back at the pressure, but Saji managed to regain some courage and charged at the pair. Akeno shot lightning at him and Momo and Reya tried to reverse it. But when the reverse met the attack, it didn't affect it. "What?! The lightning wasn't reversed?!" said Momo, shocked.

Saji braced himself for the lightning but just before it hit him it split in two and went around him. To the shock of Momo and Reya, the attack redirected itself to them and they were too slow to block or dodge it. The pair took a direct hit and were sent flying back. "Momo! Reya!" Saji got distracted by his teammates being hit as he called out to them. Rias started creating a spell while Saji was distracted, which got a quirked eyebrow raise from Issei who thought it looked familiar. Saji managed to snap out of it and tried to charge at Rias. Rias gave a look to Akeno, and she moved away from Rias. Rias released the spell, which Saji prepared to block but instead of something coming at him a magic circle appeared beneath him. "Wha?! What's this?!"

The magic activated and a light filled the area, blinding everyone. After a few moments the light died down and everyone could see again. But what they saw left everyone confused. Saji had disappeared but in his place was… a pig. "Huh?" said everyone except Rias, not sure what was going on.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Issei was laughing so hard that he was rolling on the ground. The others, besides the Servants, in the V.I.P. room were staring at him incredulously as they were all wondering what the hell happened. After a bit Issei managed to regain some composure. "Hahahehe… Oh man. I never expected Rias to be taught that spell. Circe must have really liked her," said Issei while he wiped a tear from his eye.

"Do you know what happened, Issei-kun?" asked Serafall, who was completely lost.

Issei turned to her and gave her a wry smile. "What happened, Levi-tan, is that Rias used a spell to turn Saji into a pig," he explained while trying to hold back more laughter.

There was a moment of silence as the words sunk in for the others before laughter could be heard again. This time though, it was from Azazel. "Hahahahaha! That's rich! I gotta have her teach me that spell. Oh the things I could do with it," he mused.

"Please don't," said Michael, exasperated with his brother.

"So then that pig there–" Serafall said, feeling bad but also trying not to laugh.

"Is Saji," finished Issei.

"Ho ho ho, what an amusing turn of events. Seems the Gremory girl has a few tricks up her skirt," said Odin amused.

"Odin-sama, that's inappropriate," scolded Rossweisse, earning an annoyed huff from Odin.

Everyone was trying to wrap their head around what was going on but before anyone could make heads or tails of what was happening, Rias punted the pig rather hard, getting a squeal of surprise and pain and while it was in the air she fired a blast at it. Once the attack hit the pig faded away into light. [Sona's Pawn: Retired] announced Grayfia.

That seemed to snap everyone out of it as they were finally able to connect the dots. "Saji!" yelled the girls of his team.

Koneko and Akeno decided to capitalize on their distraction and attacked the others. Akeno managed to launch an attack that sent Momo and Reya flying to the side. "Rias, now! Go after Sona! We'll take care of them," said Akeno. Rias nodded and sprinted past the fallen girls. Before they could try to stop her Akeno launched another attack which caused them to dodge out of the way. "Sorry, but we shouldn't interfere with a match between childhood friends. Don't you agree?" she asked playfully. Momo and Reya looked at each other with exasperated expressions, knowing they weren't gonna get away from Akeno, and prepared for a match with the lightning priestess.

Back in the garage, the area had become a mess of car parts and swords, as Kiba fended off Tsubaki and Tsubasa. Tsubaki met Kiba head on with their weapons clashing while Tsubasa kept tossing cars at him whenever he tried to make space to recover. Kiba had been using his Sword Birth to create swords to interfere with the thrown cars. Around the area were many impaled cars on swords. The area had now changed from an open area to a landscape of bladed pillars with metal speared atop them. The three combatants maneuvered through the pillars of swords as they exchanged blows. Kiba managed to separate himself from Tsubaki and Tsubasa and ran behind the pillars for cover. The pair were having trouble keeping track of him with his speed, eventually losing sight of him. Kiba took a moment to catch his breath before preparing himself again. I guess it's time to use my trump card, thought Kiba.

Tsubaki and Tsubasa were sticking together, trying not to lose their advantage in outnumbering Kiba, when they had their attention drawn by another announcement. [Sona's Pawn: Retired].

Both of them were surprised by this and weren't sure which of their teammates was taken out. If it was Saji, Tsubaki felt like it was going to affect their chances. Before the pair could gather themselves a wave of holy energy came at them. It was too late to reverse it so the only thing they could do was roll out of the way in opposite directions. The pair looked at where the attack came from but didn't see anybody. Before they could look around, Kiba came up behind Tsubasa. "Mumyō Sandan-Zuki, Avidyā Three-Stage Thrust!" Kiba used the technique he learned from Okita and stabbed Tsubasa three times in quick succession. Tsubasa couldn't defend and the holy aura from Kiba's sword did enough damage. She faded into light.

[Sona's Knight: Retired] announced Grayfia.

Tsubaki looked shocked at the attack and its effectiveness. Kiba let out a breath as if to calm himself before he looked at her with his usual cool smile. "Now it's just us, Tsubaki-san."

Tsubaki couldn't help but blush as she readied herself. "Even if it's just me, I won't falter!" she said resolutely.

"I wouldn't expect anything less, but don't think I played all my cards yet," said Kiba. He created more swords around Tsubaki to prevent her from moving, managing to catch her naginata between some of them. As Tsubaki tried to free her weapon, Kiba took a prayer stance. "Petro, Basileus, Dionysius, Holy Mary. Please listen to my voice! In the name of the saints lodged in the holy blade, I release thee. —Durandal!" To Tsubaki's shock, Kiba summoned Durandal. Kiba grabbed the sword and gave a confident smile. "Xenovia-san and I came up with this idea, and it was a good backup in case something happened to her. I hope you're prepared. I'm no slouch with this blade either."

Rias was making her way to the roof of the complex. She entered the base and didn't find Sona there and considering she had basically walked the whole complex the only place left was the roof. As she walked up the stairs, she heard the announcement of another of Sona's pieces being eliminated. That gave her some relief, but she knew she had to finish things with Sona before the others' battles were finished. Rias eventually made her way to the roof and saw Sona standing on the other side, clearly waiting for her. "Sorry I took so long. You left quite the welcome wagon for me downstairs," said Rias playfully.

A smile tugged at the edge of Sona's face as she tried to maintain her stoic look. "Sorry about that. My peerage can be, overzealous at times," she said, surprisingly playing along.

Rias made a surprised face before laughing a bit. "Was that a joke, Sona? I almost didn't think you had it in you."

"How rude…"

"Sorry, sorry." Rias straightened herself out before putting on a confident expression. "It all comes down to this now Sona. I plan on defeating you here for my debut into the Rating Games."

"I would expect nothing less from you, but I also have my reasons why I cannot lose. Otherwise, the help I asked for would be in vain."

"Help?" asked Rias.

"From Issei-kun," responded Sona, shocking Rias.

The others in the V.I.P. room were also surprised and stared at Issei who only continued to stare at the screen, waiting for what was about to happen. "I-Ise helped you? When? He–" Rias was about to continue but stopped herself. She knew better than to talk about other people's affairs.

Sona showed a small smile without hiding it this time. "I asked him for help right after the Young Devils Gathering." Sona gave a mischievous smile to Rias. "I took some of your advice and decided to take a step forward in my own way."

Rias looked at Sona ruefully. "Using my own words against me," she said with a pout.

"In any case, it's about time we finished this." Sona prepared some magic in her hand, a blue magic circle appearing.

"Right, things should be settled between us," Rias responded by preparing some magic of her own with a red magic circle.

The two friends began to clash as water magic and destruction magic was shot back and forth between the two. Sona could manipulate the water into snake-like creatures that moved in ways that were difficult for Rias to keep us with. Rias fired controlled and precise spheres of destruction to counter Sona's attacks. At one point Sona created a massive wave, attempting to overwhelm Rias, but Rias' magic power suddenly increased and fired a massive bolt of destruction energy at the center of the wave. The clashing attacks ended up creating a giant smokescreen of steam near Rias. Sona, not wanting to give Rias a chance to prepare something behind the smoke, launched more water magic in multiple directions and had them converge to the spot she assumed Rias was standing. As the attacks approached the steam cleared up enough for Sona to see Rias, who looked like she was shocked from the attack. Soon the attacks hit their mark, and it looked like Rias was taken out, but Rias faded away, not like she was retired, but like she had simply vanished. Sona's eyes widened in realization. "An illusion?!"

Sona looked around frantically to try and find Rias but couldn't see her, despite the clear rooftop. Suddenly she felt power above her and looked up only to be met with Rias flying at her at high speeds while her body glowed. Before she could react, Rias landed a blow into Sona's stomach. The attack was so strong that Sona actually coughed up some blood. Sona was smashed into the roof creating a crater in the roof. Rias stood back a bit and looked down at Sona on the ground. When Sona looked up back at her she saw something that surprised her. Rias' body was glowing with red markings on her body, glowing as her magic flowed through it. Rias extended a hand out at Sona as she created a sphere of destruction. "Sorry Sona. It's over." Sona couldn't even muster the strength to counterattack but her eyes still showed defiance. Rias smiled and launched her attack.

[Sona Sitri: Retired. The winner is Rias Gremory]

After the match, both teams were in their respective recovery rooms. Rias was barely hurt and was standing by while the others were having their wounds tended to. With Asia, Gasper, and Xenovia having been taken out, they were recuperating in their beds. Asia tried to heal the others, but her body was in too much pain to do anything, and the others told her to rest first. After a while Issei entered their room followed by Scàthach, Ashtart, Azazel, and Sirzechs. "Congrats, all of you. Your training paid off better than I could have hoped for," said Azazel.

"I'll admit that your skills and abilities caught me by surprise, especially you Rias. What was that power near the end?" asked Sirzechs.

"That was reinforcement, just like Master. It seems that your family's unique magic manifests differently on your bodies than others," said Scàthach.

"So that was our family magic manifested?" said Sirzechs with interest.

"That's how it seems," said Issei. He then took a step forward with a smile as he looked at the others. "How do you all feel?"

"I-I'm sorry I got taken out so easily…" apologized Gasper.

"I feel ashamed that I got flustered after hearing Asia got eliminated and ended up getting taken out myself," said Xenovia.

"My body still stings all over but I'm fine physically. I just need to wait for the pain to go away," said Asia.

"Don't worry you three. Any battle you can walk away from only serves to strengthen you. It's a lesson I learned during my missions," said Issei comfortingly.

The three nodded with grateful smiles. Next Akeno and Koneko walked up to Issei with expectant looks. "Issei-kun, did you see us?" asked Akeno.

"I did. I'm glad you two were able to use your abilities without worry. I know your problems aren't resolved yet, but I think you two took a great step forward," he said while placing a hand on Koneko's head and Akeno's arm. The two showed a blush but Akeno smiled while Koneko hid her eyes behind her hair, although her tail was wagging back and forth.

Issei turned his attention to Rias, whose expression was conflicted. Issei could guess what she wanted to say. "You helped Sona…" said Rias.

The tension in the air suddenly increased as everyone watched the two. Issei didn't look away and responded calmly. "Yes, I did."

"Why?"

"To help both of you." His response surprised everyone. "I'm sure you remember vividly what happened at the gathering and how the upper-class devils laughed at Sona's dream." Rias looked down and nodded. "After I defended her and the meeting ended, Sona came up to me and asked if I could help her with preparing for the match, knowing full well that I was going to help you. Of course, you guys were my priority, but I respect Sona and especially what she's trying to do. I couldn't stand by and let others trample on that earnestness. So I provided her with some help."

It took Rias a second to understand what he meant. "You gave her a Servant," she said, surprising the others.

"I did. I gave her someone who could help train her peerage and give her a different perspective to her usual calculative mindset. She needed to improve and show them that other ways can work and that she was determined to see her vision through to the end. So, even in this loss, she could show that she was not to be trifled with."

"But how does this help us?"

"By giving you an actually challenging opponent. We all know Sona outmatches you in intelligence, but you overpower her in strength. I've learned from experience that power can overtake any strategy if you have enough of it. How would you all learn from this if you curb stomped Sona's team, not to mention how would it look to others if Sona was overtaken so easily." Rias made an understanding expression, knowing full well that the council would crush any hope for Sona's dream if she was humiliated like that. She could also see why Issei wanted to create challenging opponents for them to face, not only to test them but to help them take the next step to gaining even more power. "I'm sure you're upset that I didn't tell you–"

"I was initially, but I know that was part of Sona's plan to try and throw me off. I understand why you didn't tell me," said Rias with a small smile.

"Good. I'm glad. I was planning to make it up to you so please look forward to that," Issei told her while winking, getting a blush from the red-head.

"Ara ara, don't forget me Issei-kun," said Akeno as she hugged him from behind. "You'll fulfill your promise, won't you?"

The others looked at the two curious as to what she meant, with Rias eyeing them suspiciously. "Of course I will. I promised, didn't I?" Akeno smiled happily and there was a bit of mischief in her eyes.

Before anyone could say anything more a nurse entered the room. "Miss Gremory. Would you mind coming with me?" she asked.

"Is something wrong?" asked Rias, confused.

"We are having some trouble undoing your spell on Miss Sitri's Pawn."

Everyone stared blankly at the nurse before Issei started laughing. "Hahahaha! Oh man, I forgot about that. Rias, that was a genius play. It was so unexpected that I lost it earlier." Rias blushed in embarrassment at Issei's praise and the pair followed the nurse to Sona's recovery room.

As they entered, Sona and her peerage all looked to see Issei and Rias enter the room. Serafall and Iskandar were also in the room, more than likely going over how the match went. Rias had an apologetic look on her face. "I heard that you were having a hard time undoing my spell…" she said meekly.

"Yes. I never expected you to do something like this Rias," said Sona in her usual stoic manner.

"Right, well… we were on the back foot, and I needed to do something to turn the tide," she tried to justify herself.

Sona raised her hand to stop her. "You don't have to explain. As long as "this" isn't permanent, then it's fine," she said while pointing at Saji, who was still a pig and crying on his bed.

Rias nodded abashedly and created a magic circle under Saji again. There was a flash of light again and when it died down Saji was back to normal. Saji checked his body to make sure everything was in the right place and breathed a sigh of relief. "That was scary. I wasn't sure if I was going to have to spend the rest of my life as a pig. Also, you kick surprisingly hard Rias-senpai," said Saji.

"Well, I had been doing physical training over this past month. Although I might have kicked you too hard. My bad," said Rias with cute look.

Sona narrowed her eyes at Rias, recognizing that look. She was quiet for a moment before speaking. "You kicked him hard on purpose, didn't you?" she said, surprising her peerage.

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Rias innocently.

Sona stared at her some more before figuring it out. "This was payback for Saji insulting Issei when I introduced him, isn't it?"

Saji had a terrified look on his face, not expecting Rias to hold a grudge over that, while Issei looked surprised but amused. "Come now Sona, do you think I'm that petty as to get revenge for the insult directed at my fiancé?" Sona wasn't convinced at all by Rias' words but decided to let it go.

The others were surprised by Rias' statement though. "Fiancé?! You two are engaged?!" asked Saji in surprise.

"Well, we were going to announce it and make it official at the dinner party before the game, but then the party was attacked and ended up being canceled, so it's not official yet. But my family has basically decided it is a done deal. So, since we're close friends, I figured I'll inform you now before the official announcement."

Issei was watching the scene with amusement but figured it was over now and addressed Sona. "So, how do you feel?" he asked, his look implying what he meant.

Sona closed her eyes contemplatively for a moment then looked directly at Issei. "I feel like I could have done better, but I think I got my point across. Based on what I have been seeing in the reports about the match there doesn't seem to be anyone outright making a fool of my group. But there is still much to do."

"True, but now that you're not facing Rias anymore, I plan to give you my full support now," said Issei with a smile.

Sona smiled back. "Thank you, Issei-san. I'll make sure to repay you for this. Never did I think I would be relying on you for help with my future."

"Well, fate is funny like that sometimes. But it's not bad right?" he asked in a carefree tone.

Sona let out a small laugh. "No, it's not bad at all."

A few days later the ORC were on their way back home on the Gremory's private train. Everyone seemed to be in better spirits after their win against Sona's team and the Servants were overall happy with their progress. They all promised to continue training when they got back and keep improving their skills. As the group rode the train back, Rias and Asia were pouting at Issei while Akeno looked amused. Mash and the other Servants had surprised looks while Kiba just gave his usual refreshing smile. On Issei's lap, Koneko sat while eating sweets, her cat ears and tail out. Issei had a wry smile, not completely sure what was going on. "Uhh, Koneko-chan?"

"Nyan ?" Koneko responded cutely, causing Issei to stay quiet, uncharacteristically.

"So there was also this method," said Xenovia as if understanding something.

"Issei-san… So unfair," said Asia.

Mash just stared at Issei, her expression her usual probing look for what Issei wanted to do. Issei just laughed nervously. I wasn't expecting this to happen, but it's not bad. Glad Koneko is opening up with me, thought Issei.

Once they arrived, they all exited the train. Issei stretched a bit before looking at the others. "Home sweet home. Let's go back everyone," said Issei with a smile.

The others nodded and all moved to leave. They all stopped when they saw someone was there, clearly waiting for them. A young man that looked familiar. He walked towards them, or more specifically towards Asia. Issei's eyes narrowed dangerously at the man. "Asia Argento… We finally meet again," said the mystery man.

"Uhmmm…" responded Asia bewildered as she instinctively moved closer to Issei.

Issei's glare became more intense as he finally recognized the man as one of the devil youths from the Young Devils Gathering. "What do you want with Asia?" asked Issei, clearly irritated. The Servants also looked ready to move if it became necessary, with Jalter glaring at the man dangerously.

The man looked unperturbed as he kept looking at Asia. "...So it seems you've forgotten me. We should have met back then," he said seemingly sad. He then lifted his shirt revealing his chest with a deep scar on it.

"— That wound, could it be…" said Asia as if realizing something.

"That's right. I'm the devil from that time," he said, leaving Asia speechless. "My name is Diodora Astaroth. That time you weren't able to treat it to the point where a scar wouldn't remain, but my life was saved due to your Sacred Gear," said the now introduced Diodora.

Issei felt like this conversation sounded familiar but once he said it Issei understood. This guy was the crux of Asia's suffering in the past and now that he was standing here Issei felt there was something about him that ticked him off. "Diodora? You are Diodora, right?" asked Rias incredulously.

Diodora tried to take Asia's hand, but Issei pulled Asia behind him. As if on cue Jalter and Bazett stood between him and the rest of the group while glaring at him. Diodora didn't falter though and kept talking to Asia as if the rest of them weren't there. "Asia, I came to meet you. I apologize that I couldn't greet you at that meeting. But, I think the encounter between you and I was destiny. —I want you to be my wife. I love you."

Everyone was stunned by the sudden confession. After a moment though everyone besides Diodora and Asia looked at Issei. He had a dark look on his face and for a moment it looked like he was gonna murder him. After another moment Issei let out a long breath that seemed to snap Asia out of her trance and look at him. Issei stared at Diodora with something close to contempt. "Sorry, but she's already taken," he said while holding her hand.

Diodora looked unfazed by his statement, not even acknowledging him. He just continued to stare at Asia. Asia's feelings were all over the place at the moment but feeling her hand in Issei's and hearing what he said seemed to snap her out of it. She looked at Diodora while still holding Issei's hand. "I'm sorry, but I'm in love with Issei-san."

Diodora's face twitched for a moment as he tried to keep his calm look. "It's fine. I won't give up on you. Destiny had us meet for a reason," he said. This caused Issei to scowl deeper at him, but he decided to leave it at that and left.

The others walked home in awkward silence after the encounter with Issei in a bad mood and Asia looking at him worryingly but not saying anything, thinking his bad mood was her fault. Eventually they were at the front door of the Hyoudou household. The others walked in but Issei, Rias, and Mash stayed back. "You two. I need a favor," said Issei. The pair looked at each other and heard what he had to say, nodding in agreement after he was done. Then they all walked inside.

Later that night everyone was heading to bed. Asia was going to her room and as she was about to walk past Issei's room, she saw him standing outside. "Issei-san?" called Asia.

Issei looked at her and smiled. "Hey Asia. Can we talk?" Asia was confused and a bit concerned but nodded and walked into Issei's room. Issei gestured to the bed and the pair sat down next to each other. Asia noticed that Rias and Mash weren't here. After a moment of silence Issei finally spoke. "I owe you an apology."

Asia looked at him in surprise. "For what, Issei-san?"

"Even though we've been going out for a while I haven't been treating you like I should be. I keep convincing myself that I need to take it slow with you, but I've only been alienating you from the others." Asia saw Issei's downtrodden expression. "When Diodora showed up and confessed to you, it made me question whether or not I've been treating you well."

"You have been treating me well, Issei-san!" said Asia, trying to dispel his doubts.

Issei shook his head. "Sure, I've been protecting you, but that's not the only thing a relationship needs." Issei looked intently at Asia. "I should give you the same treatment as the others, and I want to take the next step with you. Do you want that?"

Asia was stunned for a moment and her face became flush. She took a moment to process his words then made as resolute a face as she could make. "Yes Issei-san. I've been wanting to do this for a long time."

Issei couldn't help but make a helpless expression. "I know you have; I've just been stubborn and ignoring it. But now I've decided, I will never give you to anyone else. I will prove to you and anyone else that you belong to me."

Issei's words were extremely possessive, but Asia didn't hate it. If anything, she felt reassured that Issei wasn't losing interest in her and that he was finally going to take the next step like he did with Mash and Rias. She did feel a bit guilty that she made him upset because of Diodora's actions. "Issei-san, I'm sorry. About Diodora-san—"

"Don't worry about it, Asia. It's not your fault. Like I said before, his confession was a wake-up call. It showed me that I was being too passive, and I won't make that mistake again. It's not your fault." Issei patted her back reassuringly. Asia smiled and leaned in to kiss him. The two shared a kiss for a minute before moving onto the bed proper.

Outside the door to Issei's room, Mash, Rias, Akeno, and Xenovia listened in. They all had various reactions to the conversation and when it became clear that the conversation had ended, they stopped leaning on the door. "Looks like Asia will finally get her wish, fufufu," said Akeno quietly.

"I'm happy for her," said Mash with a relieved look.

"Hopefully now she will gain more confidence with Issei. C'mon, we should give them their privacy," said Rias.

"But I want to know how she does," said Xenovia.

"Xenovia, you'll ruin the moment if you get caught, and Asia would probably lose more confidence. Everyone will get their alone time with Issei when the time is right, so let her be," scolded Rias. Xenovia made a slightly disappointed face but agreed and they all turned in for the night.

Next chapter done early! I decided to upload this chapter early to make up for my being so late with this months chapter. This also to give me some time to work on next months voted on story. Since this chapter was part two of the match I tried to fill things out with some of what happened originally and the obvious progress I wanted the characters to have. I'm curious as to what you all think about what I did with Rias' abilities. Since she was originally so basic in the story I wanted to give her some combat variety. I also tried to make this battle as even as possible but considering how much training Rias' group got, I thought it would be less believable if they were too even but I also didn't want Sona to get stomped so I had to compromise with certain fights. Also, Asia finally got her moment with Issei in this chapter. With the appearance of Diodora I wanted to use it as an excuse to push the relationship along. I also can't wait for the next Volume since I'm sure you all know what comes next. Anyways, I look forward to the comments as always. : )