It's time for the conclusion of the Rating Game Battle against Riser! I hope you all enjoy!

By the way, I recently commissioned for artwork of Fumiko. I am very, very happy with how she turned out! I will provide the link below. I do hope to do another commission of another of my OCs one day.

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As Luke made his way inside the replica of the new school building, he could feel a change within himself. Since he just stepped inside the enemy's base, he knew that meant he was now allowed to use Promotion.

"Promotion: Queen!"

He felt power coursing through his body, and he ran up the stairs until he reached the door leading to the rooftop. Without stopping, he burst through the doors while Riser was confronting Rias, Akeno, Yuuto and Koneko and Fumiko was standing back with her Supreme Aid ready to heal. Everyone except Riser and Fumiko had their clothes tattered, though he was the only one who didn't seem exhausted. Akeno seemed especially running on fumes.

"I'm here!" Luke shouted so everyone could hear him.

"Luke!" "Luke-san!" Rias and Fumiko exclaimed in joy upon his arrival.

"The dragon-brat, huh? So, Ravel let him pass…" Riser scoffed. "No matter, you will all fall here. Although, I must commend you all for making it this far without losing a single member in your first Rating Game."

While he was talking, Rias shot a sphere of destruction at Riser and it blew away Riser's face, but fire started to form into his head and his body was restored as if nothing happened.

"Rias, you should just surrender." Riser continued. "Your father and Lord Sirzechs will look bad if you continue. You have no other options. Everyone has already foreseen the outcome. It's checkmate!"

"Shut your mouth, Riser!" Rias yelled back. "I, the King, am still active! And as long as I'm still in the game, I refuse to give up!"

(Play "Blooming Villain" – Persona 5)

"… Then I will reduce you all to cinders!"

Massive wings of flame sprout forth from Riser's back and an intense wave of heat could be felt by everyone nearby. Luke called forth his Falchion and made a fast dash toward Riser.

"Let's go, Luke-kun!" Yuuto said as he ran alongside him with his ice sword, Flame Delete.

Riser held out one hand and shot forth a torrent of flames at the two swordsmen. Yuuto held out his Flame Delete in an attempt to swallow all of the flames while Luke continued forward. However, Riser lifted his other hand and shot another stream of fire at Luke.

"Svallin!"

Luke quickly changed his Sacred Gear from a dragon-slaying sword to a protective barrier to shield himself from the flames.

Damn it! If I try to use any other abilities, I can't protect myself with Svallin! He's got us pinned! Luke thought as he did his best to maintain the barrier. "President, can't Fumiko give us a fire resistance buff?"

"She already cast it on me some time ago and she can barely focus on stat buffs when she's too busy healing us!" Rias responded. "At this rate, it will hardly do anything to increase our defense to the flames!"

Upon closer inspection, Fumiko appeared to be busy catching her breath and sweat was falling down her face.

Fumiko looks like she could collapse any second.

While Luke and Yuuto were busy dealing with the flames, Koneko quickly ran around them and approached Riser from the side. She punched his head clean off, but it instantly regenerated from the flames and Riser smacked her with one of his blazing wings. Even though she was knocked quite a distance away and took damage from the fire, Koneko managed to recover from the knockback.

RUMBLE!

Riser looked up to the sky and saw Akeno flying overhead, electricity sparking from her body.

"TAKE THIS!"

A colossal bolt of lightning struck Riser's position and the flames bombarding Luke and Yuuto stopped. Akeno floated down onto the roof and dropped to her knees upon landing, completely out of breath.

Akeno must have used up too much stamina fighting Riser's Queen. Luke thought.

Everyone kept close eyes on the huge cloud of smoke, as they have yet to hear any announcements that Riser had retired. A gust of wind from within the smoke blew it away, showing that Riser had fully healed any damage he had taken from that powerful lightning strike.

"Enough of this!"

Riser launched a massive wave of fire over the entire rooftop. While Luke had his Svallin still active, he ran toward Rias and Fumiko. He stood in front of them and shielded them from the oncoming flames. Even though the flames weren't touching him, Luke could still feel the heat and the force of the attack. After several seconds had passed, the wave of fire had subsided. As Luke dropped the barrier, he fell to his knees and started breathing heavily.

(End Song)

"Lady Rias's Queen, one Knight and one Rook have retired." Grayfia announced.

When Luke looked up, he saw that Akeno, Yuuto and Koneko were nowhere to be seen, his eyes wide in shock.

If I didn't have Svallin, that attack would have instantly taken me out. And President would be… Ah! President! Fumiko!

Luke turned around to see that Rias was barely able to stand up and Fumiko, while still conscious, couldn't move. Just as Luke was about to turn back to Riser, he was punched in the face and fell backwards onto the floor with blood leaking from his nose. After having his Sacred Gear take the form of Falchion, Luke tried to get back up, but Riser then punched him in the stomach.

"Gah!" Luke could feel himself vomiting up blood as he dropped to the floor again.

Using Falchion to prop himself, Luke tried his best to stand back up and glared at Riser with intense and watery eyes.

"I… won't…" Luke panted as blood dripped from his mouth. "I won't… let you… take Presi… President… away from us…"

Fumiko watched the sight of Luke doing his best to stay in the fight.

"Lu… Luke-san…" Fumiko teared up.

Luke finally managed to get back on his feet, but his legs were wobbling, and Riser punched him in the face again. He stabbed Falchion into the ground and held onto it to keep himself from falling over again.

"Her heart… doesn't belong to you…"

Riser kept punching and kicking Luke, but the boy refused to go down. He could feel his face getting swollen and a few of his bones breaking, but he kept on standing. Even the spectators in the student council room had to look away.

"Luke, that's enough!"

Rias ran in between Luke and Riser, kneeling down to meet Luke eye to eye and holding onto his shoulders.

"You did all you could, Luke! Please, I don't want to lose you!"

"President, no! You can't marry Riser!"

"It'll be fine, Luke…"

Luke watched as tears started to fall down Rias's cheeks.

"Akeno… Yuuto… Koneko… Fumiko… Luke… Thank you for fighting so hard for me."

The moment he saw Rias crying, Luke felt something spurn inside of him.

President… You're crying… My dream is to make girls happy… But… how can I expect to do that when I can't even make her happy! "President… I won't let it end like this!"

Rias gasped upon hearing Luke's words. Even though his body was screaming at him to stop moving, he firmly stood back up without any issues.

"I promised that I wouldn't let Riser take away your happiness!" Luke then shouted. "And I intend to keep it! No matter what it takes!"

So, are you willing to use that? Luke could hear Opheria's voice in his head. Even at the cost of some of your life force?

A fraction of my lifespan for a lifetime of happiness for Rias? Sounds like a more than fair trade!

Very well then.

For a moment, Luke could feel a sharp pain in his chest, but at the same time his Falchion began glowing a brilliant sapphire light.

Paradise Dragon Over Booster!

The sapphire light completely engulfed Luke and blinded everyone else around him. When the light died down, Luke was now wearing full-body sapphire-scaled armor modeled after a dragon with additional jewels embedded at various points.

"Armor?!" Riser exclaimed in shock. "You've shielded yourself using the Sapphire Dragon Emperor's power?!"

"This is my Sacred Gear's Balance Breaker, Art Creation Scale Mail!" Luke said, his voice echoing from inside the armor which even concealed his face.

"What's Balance Breaker?" Issei asked.

"It's an evolved form of a Sacred Gear." Melody answered in shock. "But… it looks like it's incomplete. Luke's body can only take so much power for so long, so he's going to have to make it count."

(Play "You Will Know Our Names" – Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition)

"Here I come, Riser!" Luke shouted as he rushed toward Riser with Falchion in his hands.

There were rocket-like propulsion devices on the back of his armor, and they boosted him forward faster than he could run with the Knight Promotion.

"Fool! I am from the House of Phenex! The flames of the immortal firebird burn within me! Not even your armor will keep you from being reduced to ash!"

Riser blasted the oncoming Luke with a large stream of fire.

"Svallin!"

Luke created a barrier that shielded him from the flames as he continued moving forward, Falchion still in his hands.

Thanks to the Balance Breaker, I can use multiple abilities at once! But that alone won't beat Riser…

Luke closed the distance between him and Riser, ready to slash at him with Falchion. Riser smirked as he was thinking that he would instantly regenerate from the attack, but he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. With an upward slash across the chest, Riser was launched in the air and received an actual wound with not only blood coming out, but smoke, too.

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Riser screamed in agony. "That sword… does it have holy powers?!"

"Even if you have the powers of a phoenix, you're still a Devil." Luke explained. "So, I thought of adding a holy effect to some of my abilities."

"But how?! You're a Devil, too!"

"The abilities I make with Art Creation can't harm me!"

Luke quickly switched out Falchion for a holy-imbued Aymr and jumped into the air after Riser.

"H-hold on!" Riser panicked. "This marriage is important for the future of Devilkind! It'll damage our government!"

"I don't give a damn about any of that! You made President cry and tried to take away her happiness! That's more than enough reason for me to fight!"

Luke channeled his aura and demonic power into Aymr and the moment he got above Riser, he swung down the battle axe hard. Riser immediately coughed up blood the moment of the strike, but he was then smacked straight down through several floors of the new school building and even below ground. While shielding themselves from the shockwaves of the impact, Rias and Fumiko looked on in awe at what they just witnessed.

(End Song)

"The King, Lord Riser, has retired. The winner is Rias Gremory."

While still in midair, the armor around Luke disappeared and he lost consciousness as he fell from the air. However, someone managed to catch him just in time.

"Thank you, Luke…" Rias smiled as she held onto the unconscious Luke, gently stroking his hair. "My adorable servant…"

Ravel, who had witnessed the whole thing from the rooftop entrance, just stared with her mouth agape.

"HE WON!" Seth yelled in joy as he locked Hana and Alastair in his arms. "He really utilized his Sacred Gear's powers! And he even used his Balance Breaker! I mean, it was incomplete, but who cares?! I'm so proud of him!"

Seth looked like he was crying manly tears of joy.

Melody was also happily smiling with watery eyes. "You've… grown so much, Luke…"

"I… I don't believe it…" Sona continued watching the projection in utter shock. "He… actually defeated the phoenix…"

"He's so cool!" Katherine exclaimed as she looked at Luke with heart eyes.

Akira quietly sighed in relief and muttered to herself. "I'm just glad Fumiko is all right…"

Misaki noticed that Issei was clenching his fists. "Issei-kun?"

"I don't have any real talents as a Devil…" Issei then looked up with fiery determination. "But I'll get stronger! Way stronger! I won't be outdone by Luke-kun!"

Luke could feel his consciousness returning. Once he realized that he was somewhat aware of his surroundings, he shot his eyes wide open and sat straight up. He was in his bedroom and wearing a clean set of clothes. What's more was that there was another person in the room sitting at his desk.

"You're finally awake." Rias greeted him with a smile.

"President? Wh-what happened?" Luke asked. "The last thing I r-remember was that I-I was fighting Riser… And… I-I think I b-beat him."

"You did."

Luke couldn't believe what he was hearing. "So… I a-actually w-won? It wasn't a dream?"

"No, it was all real."

"Then… you and Riser's marriage..."

"It was cancelled."

Luke sighed with a smile.

"You sacrificed some of your life force to use that Balance Breaker, didn't you?"

"… How did you know?"

"You collapsed from exhaustion. Fumiko gave you immediate medical attention and noticed something was off. She found out that your lifespan had been reduced a bit."

"… I didn't want to have to resort to that… but…" Luke clenched his fists.

"You did it for me, didn't you?"

Luke looked at Rias with a bit of surprise.

"You said that you wouldn't let Riser take away my happiness. I'll let it slide this time, but I don't want you pulling any reckless stunts like that ever again. I want to coddle you for a long time, my cute little Luke."

"U-um…" Luke stammered and blushed.

"Luke…" Rias's face became regretful. "There's something I need to tell you."

"… Hm?" Luke looked at Rias in confusion.

"The night before you met Riser… I had come to your room. I'm sorry… In order to break off the engagement, I… tried to make you take my virginity."

"Wh-wh-what?!" Luke blushed again.

"Seth knew what I would try to do, since he has pureblood Devil siblings. I'm glad he stopped me because… it's not how I want my first time to be."

Luke was quiet for a second before speaking again. "Yeah, I wouldn't want my first time to be like that, either. Our first time should be with people we genuinely love." Luke then realized something about his wording and his face became red. "Th-tha-th-that came out wrong!"

"Hahaha!" Rias giggled at Luke's stammering. "Luke, did you ever have your first kiss?"

"Huh? N-no, I-"

Before he knew it, Rias was leaning her face towards his, closed her eyes and kissed him on the lips. Rias's cheeks were pink whereas Luke's were bright red. It wasn't a deep or erotic kiss, but it was gentle and warm. When she pulled back, she smiled.

"That was my first kiss."

Luke just stared at Rias, unsure of how to process what had just happened.

"Tha… Y-your first k-kiss?!" Luke's entire face was bright red. "Y-you nev-never k-k-k-kissed anyone?"

"Not until now. Speaking of firsts, would you like to take my virginity as well?" Rias teasingly asked.

Luke's face exploded with steam after Rias said that, to which she giggled.

"Meet us in the clubroom after school." Rias said as she was preparing to leave them room.

"… 'School'?" Luke mumbled before realizing something. "… President… How long was I out?"

"About three days."

"THREE DAYS?! Oh no, I missed three days of classes and assignments…" Luke clutched his head in dread.

"Don't worry about it." Rias assured him. "Fumiko copied her notes for you."

Luke felt incredibly relieved to hear that.

After school, Luke entered the clubroom and saw that everyone else was already there with a cake at the center of the table.

"Cake? Is it somebody's birthday?" Luke genuinely asked.

"Even if it was unofficial, this was Buchou's first Rating Game victory." Akeno stated.

"Buchou, Akeno-san and Fumiko-chan all made it." Yuuto referred to the cake.

"We didn't want to do this until you woke up." Rias said. "After all, even though everyone was important to our victory, we couldn't have won without you, Luke."

Luke felt bashful at those words of praise as he walked into the clubroom. "Aheh, th-thank you…"

"Seth and Melody would have also liked to come, but unfortunately they had some urgent business to attend to." Rias informed.

Luke did recall that Seth sent him a text while he was unconscious, saying that he, Annabelle, and Alastair would be away for a few days to help Melody with something, but Hana would still be home to attend classes and Emery was tasked with looking after the house while they were gone.

"I-I-I-I hope y-you en-j-j-j-joy the c-c-c-c-cake, L-L-L-Luke-san…" Fumiko seemed to be stuttering more than usual and was having a hard time looking straight at Luke.

"Is something wrong, Fumiko?" Luke asked.

When Fumiko looked at Luke, she squeaked, her cheeks became flushed, and her eyes darted back to the cake.

"Ah, w-wou-would y-y-you l-li-like an-an en-end p-puh-piece or-or a-a-a c-ce-cen-cent-center piece?" Fumiko's hands were shaking as she held the cake cutter toward the cake.

"Allow me, Fumiko." Akeno politely took the cake cutter from Fumiko's hands and began slicing the cake for her.

Rias walked up to Luke. "While Akeno is cutting the cake, there's someone who'd like to meet you. Come with me."

Luke followed Rias outside of the clubroom and toward another room further down the hall.

"Be sure to bow your head when you greet him." Rias said.

Bow? It sounds like I'm meeting someone pretty important. I wonder who it could be…

Rias knocked on the sliding door.

"Come in." A voice spoke from within the room on the other side of the door.

Rias opened the door and standing in the far end of the room was a handsome man who appeared to be in his early 20s with shoulder-length crimson hair.

He looks a lot like President…

"Luke, this is my older brother, the Great Satan Sirzechs Lucifer."

… Uuum… WHAT?! Even though Luke was inwardly panicking, he tried his best to maintain his composure around the Great Satan Lucifer and bowed his head. "I-it's an honor to meet you, L-Lord Sirzechs."

"I appreciate the formality, but it's not necessary at the moment." Sirzechs assured him. "I wanted to thank you for ending my dear sister's engagement. I didn't think Rias would win against a Phenex, so I was pleasantly surprised that you were able to defeat him."

So… President's brother didn't want her marrying Riser either? Maybe… as one of the top leaders of Devilkind, he needs to maintain a certain image among the other higher-ups, but those close to him probably see this side of him. And just like President, I can sense a kindness in him, but at the same time terrifying power… Actually, even I can feel that his power is so overwhelming that he's definitely in a completely different league than President. Yuuto said Sirzechs is the most powerful Devil of all and after seeing him in person, I don't doubt those words one bit.

"L-Lord Sirzechs, I-I'm hon-honored."

"Is there anything in particular you want?" Sirzechs asked.

"Hm?" Luke looked up in slight confusion.

"As a token of my gratitude for stopping Rias's marriage to Riser. I can give you anything, be it power or women."

Caught off guard by the sudden request, Luke tried to think about what he should ask for. For a brief moment, he looked at Rias, and then turned back to Sirzechs.

"… I only have one. What I want… is for President-er, R-Rias Gremory… to marry whoever she wants, whenever she wants."

"Ah…" Rias was taken aback by Luke's request.

"Very well." Sirzechs smiled and agreed to the request, and then turned to his sister. "You picked yourself quite the Pawn, Rias. I look forward to when he becomes stronger."

Rias smiled at her brother's words. "I promise to make Luke the strongest Pawn!"

After Sirzechs had left via teleportation magic, Luke and Rias went back to the clubroom where everyone else was waiting.

The next day after school, Rias showed up at the doorstep of the Sigmund residence with two large cases of luggage.

"Rias-san, what brings you here today?" Hana inquired.

"Didn't Seth tell you? From this day forward, I will be moving in with you." Rias answered.

"Eh… Wh… huh…" Luke was so dumbfounded by the announcement, that he had no idea what to even say.

"So, Seth knew about this?" Emery asked.

"Yes." Rias nodded. "I told him 'I want to deepen the relationship between me and my servant'. He was more than happy to agree to it. I'm sure Lady Allegra will give him permission to allow me to stay here, so it's pretty much final that I'll be joining your family."

President… Is going to be living with me?!

"Luke, would you please take my luggage to my room?" Rias requested with a flick of her hair.

"Sur-sure!"

Hana showed Rias to the room they will be sharing with Luke following them with his King's luggage. Once there, he was placing her luggage where Rias directed him to.

"Luke, let's take a bath once you're finished." Rias suggested. "I'll wash your back for you."

Upon hearing those words, Luke's entire face became red and hot.

President? And I? Naked? Washing each other's backs? Is this real life?!

"If Rias-san and Luke-san can take a bath together…" Hana murmured to herself. "I wonder if Seth-san and I can…"

"What are you mumbling to yourself about, Hana?" Rias asked.

"Ah, oh, nothing!" Hana nervously chuckled.

Early in the morning the day after the Rating Game with Riser

Melody was being accompanied by Misaki to the Morag castle in the Underworld, located within a large mountain range. It was a typical medieval-style castle complete with a moat, but instead of water it was filled with lava. They had arrived using teleportation magic and alongside them was a woman with long, braided violet hair and crystal blue eyes. The woman had the appearance of someone in their 20s and was wearing a navy-blue business suit with a white dress shirt underneath the blazer.

"Thank you for coming with us, Mother." Melody said to the older woman.

This woman was Melody's mother and the Sigmund brothers' stepmother, Allegra Morag (Age ?).

"Someone needs to act as witness." Allegra responded to her daughter. "But you do know what this means should everything go as planned, right? There will be no turning back."

"I'm well aware, Mother. This is something I've considered thoroughly ever since I acquired my Evil Pieces. I need to do this if I want to achieve my dream."

"But Melody-sama, you'll be sacrificing your future with him." Misaki reminded her master.

"Not if I succeed." Those are the only words Melody gave back.

The three of them kept walking through the castle until they had entered a large, fancy bedroom. In this room was a single person, a young man with long blonde hair and gray eyes, and he was wearing a white shirt, pants, and cape. He was Seth and Melody's older brother and heir to the House of Morag, Kaidon Morag (Age 20).

"Kaidon, you are not fit to be the next head of the House of Morag!" Melody proclaimed with pride.

"Heh, who else could it be?" Kaidon sneered. "Not only am I the oldest of Father's children, but Giardas is pathetic, and Seth is a Half-Devil. There is you, but you never seemed interested in being the next head of our family."

"That arrogance is exactly why you're not worthy of being our clan's heir." Melody stated. "I'd rather assume the position of the next head of Morag than let you drag our name through the mud! Besides, I have my own personal reasons for doing this."

"Ahahahahaha!" Kaidon heartily laughed. "That's rich!"

"If you think you're so worthy, then prove it. Kaidon, to determine the next heir of the House of Morag, I challenge you to a Rating Game!"

"And why should I accept your challenge?"

"Like I just said, prove to me you're worthy to be the heir of the Morag clan!"

"… Heh, very well then. I will crush you and your peerage!"

A/N: Not only did Luke defeat Riser, but he is also starting to build his harem, even though he doesn't know it yet.

I thought it would be smarter if when Luke was asked to receive a reward, he would ensure that Rias had the security and freedom to pick and choose her future husband.

I also dropped a Marvel-style ending scene hinting at what the next chapter or two will be about, the unofficial Rating Game battle between Melody and Kaidon. I can finally show off her peerage in action! I will reveal what exactly her dream is in a future chapter.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed! Stay tuned for next time!

Luke Harem: Rias Gremory, Annabelle Wright

Issei Harem: Asia Argento

Rias Gremory Peerage: Rias Gremory (King), Akeno Himejima (Queen), Yuuto Kiba (Knight), Koneko Toujo (Rook), Fumiko Kazuya (Bishop), Gasper Vladi (Bishop), Luke Sigmund (8 Pawns)

Seth Sigmund Peerage: Seth Sigmund (King), Annabelle Wright (Queen), Alastair Wright (Rook), Emery Belmont (Rook), Hana Sakuya (2 Bishops)

Melody Morag Peerage: Melody Morag (King), Misaki Shirayuki (Queen), Katherine Petrova (Knight), Spiral Hirano (Knight), Azusa Hirano (Rook), Akira Kazuya (Rook), Hikaru Ueda (Bishop), Asia Argento (Bishop), Issei Hyoudou (8 Pawns)