"NOOOOOOOO!"

In a private box just outside the bounds of the pocket reality that contained the rating game battlefield, four young and prominent devils from pillar families watched the event with their peerages. Therefore, all four peerages were exposed to the heart-rending scream of anguish coming from a certain buxom redhead. Her despair unmistakable as she watched her fiancée fight a strategic battle against the Phenex who had also oh so briefly been her fiancée.

"Why the hell is she screaming?" Zephyrdor asked, completely lost. "Like, thirty seconds ago she was so smug I bet they could feel the waves of it coming off of her in the arena."

"Rias," Sona said slowly, "Did you manage to win the lottery for the arena design?" The Sitri heiress had suspected as much, based on the pose of the statues more than anything else. She also suspected just how Rias had managed such a feat. The Gremory 'luck' could be a potent thing, no matter how frivolously her future wife by proxy tended to use it.

"It was perfect!" the former Gremory heiress wailed, her Queen consoling her with a smothering hug that trapped the redhead in her voluminous breasts. "They even made the statues look like Lulu-nii and Riser! But then baka Lulu-nii just goes and blows them up before the fighting even starts!"

"I thought you hated that series?" Sona asked. "I remember, something about the redhead girl being pathetic and worthless because all she could do was cry and beg." Even for the ever-focused Sona, it was very easy to drift in and out of conversations with Rias when she got to her most... enthusiast state.

"It wasn't red, it was pink." A correction Rias had never made in the past. "And she was almost impressive for a second but then that second ended. I kept reading anyway, and now there's an actual redhead who is way better."

"How is it to have an otaku as your King, Himejima?" Seekvaira asked with amusement.

Rias glared at the blonde Agares heiress over the top of Akeno's breasts. "You of all people don't get to say that, Gundam nerd."

Ignoring the byplay, Akeno answered the question. "I believe the term is 'weeaboo' in my King's case," the Queen answered, gracefully amused. Not going quite so far as to laugh at Rias' expense. "It isn't quite so bad as that, though. She does have a genuine appreciation and respect for Japanese culture and history. I... Choose to ignore how she got there."

Loup snorted. "You're not the one that gets dragged to Akihabara every week."

"I like going to Akihabara with you though!" Gasper spoke up, smiling at the Rook. Though a smile marked by embarrassed regret. "I didn't know you didn't like it. That just makes me more grateful for you taking me to look at the cosplay stores. But... If you'd rather not..."

The werewolf could feel the stares on him, something that only made his embarrassed flush all the harder to tolerate. "No no, it's fine, I..." He awkwardly cleared his throat. "If I wasn't happy to do it I wouldn't do it, so..." The stares that had at first felt judgemental suddenly changed to... A different feeling. One that made him uncomfortable enough that he looked away and hid his face. "Don't worry about it."

"Rias' lamentations for her childhood fantasies aside," Seekvaira continued, "Lelouch seems to have set himself up quite well. The open field played to the strengths of the larger force. By creating obstacles covered in blind corners and deceptive, reflective surfaces, his peerage are far better equipped for splitting their opponents up and employing ambush strategies. Changing the terrain from suiting open warfare to suiting guerrilla warfare."

"Not to mention just what that terrain now is," Sona added with a grimace of familiarity. "If Anastasia is as proficient with ice magic as she appears, she just became one of the most dangerous devils on the field."

-(-)-

Riser could see the pain and anger in his peerage. Whatever the Bishop had done to them for that brief moment, they didn't appreciate it. However, as he saw what happened while they recovered, he knew a change in strategy was in order. "Fall back!" he ordered.

"Master Riser?" Yubelluna asked, her readiness to meet her fellow Queen's challenge dropping at her King's order, even as she questioned it. She was as loyal as they came, she would follow the order regardless of merit, but she still had to ask.

"I said fall back," he repeated, "All of you." He glared up at Lelouch's Queen who gave him a salute in response.

"Master," Xuelan, one of his Rooks, spoke as they once again gathered in their 'base'. "Has our strategy changed?"

"I assumed he would attempt blitz tactics, holding a majority of our side in place while trying to target me directly," he explained. "It seemed the most viable strategy for the difference in our forces. A prolonged battle would only work against him." The Phenex King laughed at his own mistake. "I've played enough chess with him I should've known better. Let alone when I fought him. Lelouch isn't the type to play things out in such a straightforward manner. That's more along the lines of his brother's thinking. Lelouch sets the board, waiting for his enemy to fall into his trap. That's what's waiting for you out there."

"Traps," Siris tutted. "So he's turned this into a defensive battle for himself."

Ravel nodded solemnly. "That Bishop turned the river to ice structures mapped in a way that only she knows, and she can probably use as her own weapons. While his other peerage members can ambush anyone who ventures in. All while Stadtfeld watches from on high. If anyone tries to take the high road, they'll meet her first. And if we try to take the lower path without sending someone out to check her..." The blonde girl gave Yubelluna a significant look. "She'll be able to pick our side off alongside the rest." She squealed in excitement. "Lelouch is so smart!"

Riser ignored the more than a dozen girls shooting his sister disgruntled looks. "Ravel's infatuation aside, she's right. Even if we try to send someone like Yubelluna blasting through Anastasia's Territory Creation, she'll get torn apart from all sides for the effort and likely as not, it will just reform behind her afterwards."

"Then our first priority is removing the source of it," Isabela concluded. "Take down the Bishop, we can take down the Territory. Then we can crush them with overwhelming force."

"... There'll only be two others in there," Riser decided. "The Knight and the other Bishop. Lelouch wouldn't be so foolish to leave himself unguarded. A full charge aiming at him would still have a chance at succeeding if he doesn't take precautions. He'll have the Rook with him." He nodded to himself, calculating the best path forward with the information he had. Trying to guess at Lelouch's tricks was often an exercise in futility, but he wasn't going to hand his rival a victory today. "Yubelluna, you'll give the Red Dragon Empress what she wants."

"Wonderful," the Queen purred, eager for a rematch.

"Meanwhile, we'll send two groups through the Territory. One will be going on as direct a path as possible to their base in hopes of getting some of our Pawns there to Promote. If it succeeds, great. If it doesn't, it'll still be too great a threat for the other enemies in there to ignore. Meanwhile, a second group will be heading on an indirect path for Anastasia in hopes of removing her from play. Ravel..." He grimaced, seeing his lovestruck sister still staring dreamily at nothing. "Ravel. If I ask, will you actually help this time?"

"I don't want to fight Lelouch!"

An idea struck him. "You know, I've known him for a long time. Lelouch appreciates women who prove they're strong, capable and intelligent."

The blonde girl stared at her brother. "... I know you're trying to play me."

"Is it working?"

Ravel sighed. "For once."

"Good. You'll be going high as well. Your job will be guiding the two groups to get them through to their objectives. Yubelluna will be keeping Stadtfeld busy but she might take the opportunity to take a shot at you regardless. So don't let your guard down."

"And what will you be doing?"

-(-)-

Kallen Stadtfeld smirked as she watched her direct opponent finally emerge from Riser's base. The violet-haired Queen tossing bombs down at the maze of ice and stone below as she passed, only for her destruction to be quickly undone with more ice creations. Ana's time as a devil before being traded to Lelouch gave her very little opportunity to do much but study the discipline her Piece excelled at. Without opponents to practice on, without meaningful direction until she was under Lelouch's care, she had studied and trained herself to have impeccable skill at controlling an area using her element. Not the best in direct combat, but versatile in controlling the flow of battle.

The Bael Queen would have been worried for the part about being a less able combatant, but naturally, Lelouch had that covered. Clever dick that he was. So when she watched Riser's peerage commit to a two-pronged assault in different directions, one going for the base and the other for Ana, no doubt guided by the fiery tart havering in the distance, Kallen let it happen. She had her orders and would carry them out to the letter. After all, she knew the plan and she trusted it.

... Certainly not also because she was still holding just a bit of a grudge for the bitch who ruined her dress and exposed her tits for all the Underworld to see. Never that. That'd be petty.

"Alright, Cow?" she asked in response to the greeting of an explosive spell going off where her face had been a moment before. "Been a while, hasn't it?"

"I was taken by surprise last time, Stadtfeld!" Yubelluna answered with fury. "But Red Dragon Empress or not, Boosted Gear or not, you won't defeat me a second time! I'll make you answer for your insults to my dear Riser!"

"You're still on that, dear love?" Kallen asked, enjoying the banter. "S'pose the barnyard animals need to stick together. The cow, the roast chickens, the herd of sheep down there–"

"Enough!" Yubelluna shouted as she cast a myriad of spells at once, all explosive, all orbs that intended to follow the Red Dragon Empress to detonate on contact. Only for the redhead to weave and dodge them, then pull out a sidearm to fire several shots that detonated the magical constructs prematurely. "How dare you mock my beloved!"

"I could focus on you if you like," the redhead offered, pushing herself higher to evade an enormous explosion, taking potshots at the Bomb Queen mostly to keep her attention. "Maybe I'm wrong about the 'cow' bit, though. Maybe you're a bit more a little piggy, eh? Nosing at Riser's crotch looking for a little mushroom–"

"IT IS NOT LITTLE!" On the one hand, it was absurd that was what Yubelluna took issue with. On the other, Kallen had promised to stop making fun of Riser. So she decided to give that one a pass. "Now if you want to put an end to this pointless waste of time, bring out the Boosted Gear so I can destroy you at your best!"

"Hm... Nah, I'm alright I think," Kallen smirked down at the Bomb Queen, glancing at the ice labyrinth below her just to keep an eye on things at the same time. "Pretty sure I can handle you as I am."

"Ah... Ahahaha! I see! So your first victory went to your head! Then I'll make you pay for your arrogance as well as your insults against my beloved!"

More spell circles ignited, filling the sky with ominous, shining lights.

-(-)-

Karlamine, Knight of Riser Phenex. Knight not only in Piece but in preference of purpose and propriety. Honour and chivalry were important to her. She wanted to be the kind of woman who served with duty and integrity. This might have flown in the face of who Riser Phenex was. After all, he was an unrepentant philanderer. But... Well, he was a devil, and he had no claim or intention of being a knight.

Also... He was very handsome. And a very tender lover when he wanted to be.

But this was not the time for fantasies or pleasant memories. She was given a mission by her King and she would see it through! Escorting the Pawns through the battlefield to the enemy base alongside Xuelan and Mihae. Including only the backline pieces it would be three on two if the Knight and Bishop of the Bael peerage chose to attack. And that would be discounting the Pawns themselves. None of them were weak. Ignoring them as a threat would be a dangerous and fatal mistake... In the game, that is. No one truly died in a rating game. If that were a possibility Karlamine would have had some harsh words for her King for suggesting a plan such as this.

"Karlamine," Mihae spoke quietly.

"Right."

Mihae was naturally much more powerful a magician as a Bishop. While Karlamine could have done what they planned alone, she better served as the tinderbox. With her fairly simple fire magic, she shaped a blaze around her blade. Then with a sweep of that flaming sword, released fierce winds toward the mock city of ice. Then, Mihae played her part. With her much greater command of the wind, she swept that small conflagration into a raging firestorm, carving a clear path ahead at least to the river.

"Go!"

The plan was a double-edged sword. While they had created a clear path forward, they had also given Anastasia a way to attack them. This was still her territory. Even as they ran they could see the water shaping into shards of ice that tried to come down on them from behind. Only for Karlamine and Xuelan to cover them.

"This will only become more difficult the deeper we go!" Xuelan warned as her fists and feet smashed pointed icicles into shards.

"We hoped she would be preoccupied by now," the Knight answered, her flaming sword hot enough to serve as a broad defence against the frozen shrapnel. "Either it's not going as well as we hoped or she's very good at multitasking." Or both. She very much hoped it wasn't both.

Xuelan let out a hum that became a grunt of exertion as she kicked away a heavy slab of ice. "I can handle this. You need to stay alert in case–"

"Ah!"

No more words needed be said. Karlamine left the Rook behind to guard their backs while she returned to the front. Fast enough to catch the malevolent blade of Mash ab-Galahad before it could strike Mihae down. "A sneak attack? How unchivalrous for a child of Galahad!" Karlamine sniped.

"Sneak attack? I came at your group from the front," the homunculus devil answered with affront. "It was the only reason you got enough warning."

Karlamine frowned. She wasn't wrong. But the yelp of what sounded like Ni and Li prevented any need for her to acknowledge that.

"Two Riser Phenex Pawns retired."

"Shirone isn't a Knight though," the inheritor of Arondight added with what looked like a genuinely friendly smile.

Karlamine barely had chance to look, to understand what just happened. The nekoshou in the Bael's peerage had appeared through parting ice. And by best estimation, grabbed both of the nekomata twins by the head and slammed them against the floor. Instantly destroying them. The nekoshou's form was awash with a roiling aura, underscoring just how dangerous she was as her tails and eyes flicked back and forth. That was all Karlamine could see before she was forced to contend with the enemy in front of her, desperately fending off swordsmanship she could already tell was a cut above. "Mihae! Xuelan!"

Chainsaws revved behind her, the youngest Pawns Ile and Nel defending themselves from the small but ferocious catgirl. Karlamine got some distance, moved to keep the battle in her periphery as she crossed blades with the New Knight of Chastity. She was swiftly punished for thinking she could split her attention like that, the enormous shield of her fellow Knight slamming into her face, giving her a bleeding wound on her forehead. She evaded the following lunge mostly out of desperation. But evaded it nonetheless.

The situation was untenable. They would lose if this continued.

"Xuelan!" Karlamine shouted. Her sword blazing hotter and brighter as her winds swept it into a localised firestorm. "Take the Pawns! Go!" The river was right there. If Karlamine and Mihae could hold the enemy here for long enough, the Pawns could reach the enemy base and Promote. They had lost the two strongest, but massively increasing the power of six Pieces would be more help than all of them dying here.

Mihae, always the smart one, understood immediately. With her greater wind control, she spread the flames into a blazing, shimmering wall of heat. Cutting off the enemy from the Rook and Pawns. The situation changed, Xuelan looked through the wall to her allies trapped on the other side, nodded, and ran with the Pawns. Crossing the river unmolested.

"This is very brave," Mash said, bowing in respect for what was obviously a loyal Knight making a noble sacrifice.

"Don't think we intend to lay down and die!" Mihae shouted, grabbing Karlamine's sword. The two women raising it together. Their magic intertwining.

"This sword serves the Phenex Flame!" Karlamine declared, the two working together, literally burning up their demonic power in a combination move that bathed the area in a sea of flames.

Meanwhile, Xuelan ran. Pushed the Pawns on. Kept a nervous eye turned toward the sky as the battle of Queens continued above them. Yubelluna's screams of rage suggested there was a real possibility of friendly fire.

However, Xuelan did not look backwards. There was no point. She could still feel the heat of her friends' last stand even in these ice fields.

"Riser Phenex Bishop retired. Riser Phenex Knight retired."

"Tch!" It was the right play, that didn't mean Xuelan had to like it. But still, she forged on, punching her way through every roadblock to make as straight a path as she could to their destination. They were close, just one more... "Promote as fast as you can!" she ordered.

As she punched through the last obstacle, the Pawns flowed around her, racing into the open area surrounding the enemy base. But as she looked out, her eyes caught a flicker of light. "Look out!"

A body fired out of the base like a javelin, feet first and aimed at Burent. Both feet arcing with lightning as they slammed into her chest. "Guagh–!" Bouncing off the already disappearing Pawn, the Rook, Sara Murgia, wrapped her muscular thighs around Mira's neck, flipped, and slammed her into the stone ground that cratered beneath her.

"Two Riser Phenex Pawns retired."

It happened so quickly Xuelan didn't even have time to move! But having already lost a third of her charges she finally did, meeting the electrically enhanced Rook and suffering dearly for it with a series of lightning-fast strikes that were meant for Ile. "Promote now!" she ground out as she weathered the assault. "And watch out for Bael!"

"Watch out for who?" Sara asked, smiling even as she numbed Xuelan's forearms and shins with electrical impacts. "Were you expecting someone else to be here?"

"Promotion Queen!" Nel declared.

"Promotion Queen!" Ile followed up.

"Hold that thought." Before Xuelan could even think to stop her, Sara disappeared, dropping on Nel with a flying kick that slammed the small girl into a wall. Grabbed Ile, and slammed her into her twin over and over until they both vanished.

"Two Riser Phenex Pawns retired."

"He might not be here," Sara said to the much more nervous Pawns and the woefully outmatched Rook. Taking the slight pause to adjust her gloves. "But my purpose is to protect Lelouch. Right now, the best way for me to do that is to make sure none of you become a problem."

-(-)-

A few moments earlier

Riser Phenex was a proud man. A vain man. And an undeniably, unrepentantly lustful man. Further, he didn't really see these as negative traits either. He saw and believed in the value of himself. If only others could have the same self-confidence. To be exactly who they were and enjoy the things they had. To his view, it was the key to a happy life.

So it wouldn't come as a surprise that when he suffered a humiliating public defeat, he felt that self-confidence, that pride, shaken. It had been his father who had advised him not to hold that defeat against the one who delivered it. And while there had been practical reasons as the explanation, Riser reflected on it further.

Lelouch Bael. The one to defeat him. A rival. Now, he was proud to have such excellent servants. His peerage of beautiful women who adored him. This was something he felt pride over. But... A rival. Was that not also something to covet? Who else among their generation could claim someone so venerated at such a young age as their greatest adversary? As they say, a man's worth can be judged by the quality of his enemies. And Lelouch Bael was a fantastic enemy. Rival. Whatever. Close enough.

Riser knew that Lelouch's star would continue to rise. Was it possible he would suffer a humiliating defeat here? Certainly. However, he was freely giving that opportunity of his own volition. When Lelouch grew into a more central figure in devil society, whether by the rating games, taking over the House of Bael, or whatever other achievements he would rack up, Riser Phenex would be there. As someone who offered himself as a bolster to Lelouch's reputation.

That was, of course, assuming Riser lost today. And while it wasn't as horrible an outcome as some lesser devils would think it, it wasn't the outcome he was aiming for. It was simply a lesson Lelouch had perhaps even unintentionally taught him. Good strategy was limiting an opponent's options to improve your chance of victory. Great strategy was only giving your enemy options that would end in your victory. No matter how this battle ended, Riser Phenex would come out of it a winner.

He listened with one ear to the sarcastic directions of his sister as he blazed a path directly toward the wonderfully busty Bishop that created this winter wonderland. Siris and Isabela following in his wake. Anastasia wasn't making their travel easy, using her ice to assault them at every step. But no ice could stand up to the Phenex flames. Not after the training Riser had put himself through after his first defeat.

"Anastasia!" Riser greeted as he entered the small clearing at the end of the river where the frosty Bishop had situated herself. His footsteps melting the ground beneath him. "Lovely to see you so well! This environment suits you! Like a magnificent winter maiden!"

"Lord Riser," Anastasia curtseyed despite the situation. An unsettling feeling washing over the third son of Phenex. So this was what had left his peerage so disquieted. At least he could understand their discomfort. "You're looking well. I'm sure Master Lelouch will be delighted to see you leading the charge. Perhaps even find it flattering."

Riser laughed. Yes. He supposed he was applying one of Lelouch's often repeated idioms. After all, 'if a King doesn't lead, how will his subordinates–'. The thought stopped abruptly, alongside his laughter. A realisation that should have come far sooner finally dawning on him. "He's here, isn't he?" the blond devil asked flatly. He didn't even react as he heard the announcement of his first losses.

"You know me so well, Riser Phenex!" Lelouch declared with approval and applause as he emerged with a blast of destruction from underground. "It's much more fun with people who learn to keep up with me."

Riser kept his sigh silent, yet more declarations of his losses ringing out across the arena. "Get her," he ordered, throwing blasts of flame at his rival King.

Siris took the lead, coming at the smiling Bishop with zeal. All the while Anastasia simply stayed smiling even as Isabela moved into Siris' shadow, ready to strike the moment Siris moved to flank.

Only for both of Riser's backline pieces to be thrown up and away as another form emerged from below.

Riser stared, uncomprehending, at the figure that emerged. Shimmering red plate armour, decorated with golden horn protrusions and emerald spheres. Armour that at that moment could only belong to one person.

And that person was currently still battling Yubelluna. He knew. He checked. Twice, just to make sure.

"BOOOOOST!"

"How?!" Riser demanded, only to realise that wasn't the important question compared to how the hell he should or could salvage this.

But the Boosted Gear wielder answered anyway. "Let me introduce myself! Kallen Kozuki. The woman who's gonna kick your roast chicken ass from here to that waterfall!"

"We won't let you!" Riser's Rook and Knight declared together, their wings out as they flew at the new and overwhelmingly powerful enemy. Yubelluna might have been unprepared and overconfident, but she wasn't weak at the time of her first defeat. And that was against the basic Boosted Gear. The Scale Mail was a different beast entirely, figuratively speaking.

It was a short and showy battle that went on even as more announcements came. Two Pawns down. Two more. Lelouch's peerage had evened their forces out and hadn't lost a single member of their own.

"AH!" Siris screamed as the armoured Queen(?) seemed to skate along the ground, what looked like grapple claws firing from her wrists to pull the knight out of the sky and followed with a stomp. Isabela only still stood thanks to her Rook-given durability. She was in no way equipped to keep up with Queen-empowered, Boosted Gear enhanced foe on what appeared to be magically empowered roller skates. And the one who was, was also currently struggling to get back to her feet after a single, devastating exchange.

"Ana, you can rest now," Lelouch told his Bishop as he watched the red armour continue beating the Rook.

"Thank you, Master." The Bishop only then let her exhaustion show as she released control over her spell.

"Riser Phenex Rook retired."

"Huh. Hey Lelouch?" the woman in the armour said, pointing at the Queen battle in the sky. A battle that wasn't going well for his supposed Queen.

The Bael nodded. "Tag in for her, Q1."

"On it."

The situation was untenable. Riser knew it. Lelouch didn't give him a single inch. Siris was still present, but completely incapable of continuing the fight. Everyone else was too far away to matter. "I don't suppose you'd be amenable to ending this with a one-on-one rematch for old times' sake?"

Lelouch smiled. Raised a hand to his ear. "When you're done with your opponents, converge on Anastasia's position."

"Two Riser Phenex Pawns retired."

"I didn't think so." Nothing for it then.

The blond launched himself with blazing fists and feet at his rival. He had precisely one chance to steal victory from the jaws of defeat and that was to somehow defeat Lelouch before reinforcements arrived.

But, there were no longer any impediments to those reinforcements. Yubelluna had been knocked out of the sky by the Scale Mail Queen. His entire peerage save for–

"Riser Phenex Rook retired."

His entire peerage had been defeated. There was nothing stopping them from descending on him immediately. And as he learned when a pink-haired Knight slammed into him with her shield, for a Knight, immediately was very very fast.

The girl, Mash, had suffered some burns. Was breathing heavily. But she was still in the fight. The same couldn't be said for Shirone the nekoshou, who seemed to have taken the worst of it. Bloodied, bruised, burned and visibly surly. Still standing, but no longer in fighting condition. On the one hand, a last ditch effort to remove her from play would prevent a clean sweep. On the other, it would be an obvious face-saving, petty move. He had more dignity than that.

"Please concede," the Knight requested, her sword raised and pointing directly at him.

"This ends one of three ways," Lelouch informed him. "Either we stress test your regeneration, Mash takes the obvious shortcut to defeating you," the cursed holy blade Arondight was surrounded for just an instant with a flicker of holy light, "and we suffer for a couple seconds as a result. Or you admit your defeat with grace."

Riser shook his head. "You didn't have to tell me that, Lelouch." Raising his arms in a helpless shrug, he declared, "I concede! It appears that's checkmate."

-(-)-

A/N: This chapter seen very early by my generous supporters on THE GREAT FORBIDDEN P! FEAR THE P! LOVE THE P!