Here's the next chapter! I'm so, so sorry this took so long! But there was one week where I was working for nearly 11 hours and things were still kind of rough these last couple of weeks, among other things going on. Anyway, this chapter marks the beginning of the Rias and Sona Rating Game! I hope you all enjoy!

The night before the Rating Game match between the Gremory and Sitri peerages, the former group had gathered in Karlel's room at the Gremory estate.

"It seems most of you have completed the goals of your training." Karlel announced to everyone. "Even the goals that haven't been met, significant progress has been made. Naught Boy, how's the status of your Balance Breaker?"

"While I unlocked it, there are still a couple of conditions to meet before I can use it." Luke answered. "For one, there's a ninety-second countdown before it activates and I can't use Art Creation or my created abilities until it hits zero. On top of that, I can't stop the countdown once it's started. Also, I can only activate it once a day and it lasts for thirty minutes at best, but each ability I use or create will reduce that time."

Karlel put her hand to her chin. "Hmm… It's not a bad start but could still use a lot of improvement. It's not that big a deal right now, since you only just unlocked it. Those limitations should be reduced if you keep training. That period during the countdown is when you're at your most vulnerable, so you should think about what options to take so your opponents can't take advantage of your Sacred Gear's downtime. I already have someone in mind who can teach you magic, but we'll save that for after the game. And what about your training with Pyra and Mythra?"

"Our synchronization has improved significantly." Pyra replied. "Mythra has also learned how to better control her power."

"I see the three of you going very far as long as you keep up with your training." Karlel smiled before turning to Rias. "Now, Rias, how much does Sona know about your peerage?"

"In all likelihood, she has a basic idea of our skills and abilities." Rias surmised. "She knows Luke's, Yuuto's, Akeno's, Fumiko's, and Xenovia's main weapons and fighting styles. She did watch our Rating Game against Riser, and Gasper's Sacred Gear and Koneko's background are fairly public information, too."

"And how much do you know about her servants?"

"I'm familiar with Sona's abilities and fighting style, as well as those of her Queen, the vice president, along with several other members of her peerage. However, there is still some information on them I've yet to confirm."

"Looks like your team is the one at a disadvantage, but that's generally how Rating Games go. While strategy is important to achieve victory, luck is also a factor that can easily change the tide of battle. Sacred Gears and abilities can evolve or change in the middle of a match, so you should always take that into account. As for numbers, if we include the Kings, both you and Sona have peerages consisting of eight members."

"That's correct. Sona, her Queen, one Rook, one Knight, two Bishops, and two Pawns."

Karlel started drawing a graph and notes on a whiteboard. "In the Rating Game, players are categorized into four different types: Power, Technique, Wizard and Support. Power types are straightforward to understand, they rely on powerful, hard-hitting attacks to win battles. Technique types are those who utilize their speed and dexterity to counter their opponents. Wizard types excel in magical abilities and long-ranged attacks. And Support types focus on healing or buffing their allies or debilitating their foes. Let's go over which of you fall in each category. Rias and Akeno, you're both Wizard types, without question. Koneko is definitely a Power-type. The same with Kiba being a Technique type. Xenovia might be speedy, but her style best fits the Power type. Fumiko and Gasper are both Support types, although Fumiko learns more to the Wizard type and Gasper toward the Technique type."

"What about me, Karlel?" Luke raised his hand.

"Naughty Boy is an interesting case." Karlel smirked. "Due to the nature of Art Creation and your current skillset, you could fall into any one of these categories. However, based on your fighting style, I would say you're a hybrid of a Power and Technique type, especially when you're wielding the Aegis. There are elements of a Support type due to your Bless ability and you can use magic like a Wizard type. Too bad there isn't a fifth category called a Balanced type… Eh, fuck it. We'll make it an unofficial category. Now, Power types should be especially wary of an annoying subclass of Technique types called Counter types. As their name implies, they can redirect or deflect an opponent's attack and turn that power against them."

"If they have anyone like that, I'll just charge through with raw power." Xenovia said.

Karlel sighed at Xenovia's braindead idea. "Yeah, if an attack is too powerful to counter, then sure, but it won't work if the opponent is especially skilled. Counter types are best dealt with from a distance with Wizard types or by other Technique types. Battles are all about compatibility between fighters."

"Oh, like how in fighting games, some characters just have bad matchups against certain other characters?" Luke asked.

"That's a great way of putting it, Naughty Boy!" Karlel pointed her pen at Luke with a smile before turning to Rias. "Rias, if any of Sona's servants specialize in counters, they could easily take out Luke, Xenovia, or Koneko in a single blow. You'll need to consider strategies that take that possibility into account. Sona knows Luke has achieved Balance Breaker and will try to either defeat him before he can enter or stall time until you can't use it anymore. He's your peerage's wild card and can easily change the flow of the match in one fell swoop. Despite Sona's strategic abilities, I think your peerage has the better chance at winning, but it's not a guaranteed victory. Just like in chess, the determining factor isn't the value of the pieces, but their placement and use. Battles have been fought where the side with a less-than-one percent chance of victory came out on top. Never underestimate your opponents. That's the last bit of advice I can give you kids. Now, get some rest and kick some ass tomorrow!"

Once Karlel left the room, the entire Gremory peerage discussed tactics for the rest of the evening.

In the middle of the night, Luke was sound asleep in his bed with Fumiko, Xenovia, and Karlel sharing again. However, he suddenly found himself in a place that he could never forget.

"This is… my house… before…"

It was the house Luke lived in with his parents and Seth before the former's passing. He wandered around and despite it being empty, it was exactly as he remembered it. Suddenly, he heard a creaking sound coming from deep in the hallway.

That's… where my room is…

Luke slowly made his way down the hallway and saw that his old bedroom door was cracked open. He carefully opened the door and was surprised to see a 5-year-old version of himself curled up on the bed with his face buried in his legs. The moment Luke got right up to the bed, his child version looked directly at him and he saw that the child had very unusual eyes as there appeared to be swirling blue galaxies within them. The child started floating into the air before a pair of wings emerged from his back. They looked like feathery eagle wings, except like his eyes, there appeared to be blue galaxies in them. On top of those, the young Luke was giving off an extremely powerful aura.

"HAH!" Luke shot up from his sleep and breathed heavily.

After taking a few more fast breaths, Luke looked around and realized that he was back in his bedroom at the main Gremory estate.

"Luke? Did you have a bad dream?"

Luke turned his head and saw Karlel lying on her side and rubbing her eyes before he looked downward.

"Yeah…"

Karlel carefully climbed over the still sleeping Fumiko and crawled next to Luke. "Want to talk about it?"

Luke began searching his mind for how exactly the nightmare went.

"That is, if you even remember anything."

"No… I remember it… Vividly, actually…"

"Then tell me about it."

Karlel placed her arm around Luke and he looked back at her. She didn't have her usual teasing grin, but a genuine smile of comfort. The Fallen Angel wasn't even trying to press her body against his in a suggestive manner. After seeing the concern and kindness in her eyes, Luke took a deep breath before recounting his dream.

"I woke up in my old home… where Seth and I lived before our parents died… There was no one else home… at least, I thought that until… I heard a sound coming from my old bedroom… That's where I found my younger self… but when I saw his eyes, they didn't look like my eyes."

"How so?"

"They had swirling blue galaxies in them… Now that I think about it, apart from the color, those eyes… were just like my Dad's… And my younger self… he had wings that were like that, too…"

Karlel looked like she wanted to say something to Luke but struggled to find the proper words.

"… Luke? I tried doing some digging on your father and what I came up with was… interesting."

"Huh?"

"When we get back to the human world after summer break, I'll be inviting a couple of people over who will answer your questions. However, you need to focus on your match right now, which means getting a good night's rest."

"How am I supposed to go to sleep when you've just started making my mind race?"

Karlel then gently embraced Luke and lied him back onto the bed with her. "I'll keep you relaxed as you fall asleep."

Luke narrowed his eyes at Karlel.

"I'm not going to try anything."

Luke's eyes looked directly into Karlel's and he could see that she was being completely honest with him, so he nodded before the two of them fell asleep.

It was the day of the match and the Gremory peerage headed to the basement where a magic circle was set up to transport them straight to the venue for the Rating Game. Everyone was in their summer school uniform except for Luke and Xenovia. Luke was wearing the same dark blue shirt and jeans he wore in his battle against Riser, except the shirt had short sleeves this time to account for the summer heat. Meanwhile, Xenovia was wearing the skintight combat uniform she wore when she was a warrior for the Church. After Rias's parents, Millicas and Karlel gave them words of encouragement, Rias and her servants stepped into the magic circle before being enveloped in a bright light. After making the jump, the Gremory group found themselves in what appeared to be the food court of a mall, but they all recognized it.

"Isn't this the food court of the Kuoh Town mall?" Luke asked.

"I wouldn't have expected them to use a location both of our teams know so well as the battlefield." Rias said.

There was suddenly an announcement on the loudspeakers.

"Welcome, everyone. I, Grayfia, Queen of Sirzechs Lucifer's peerage, will be the arbiter for today's Rating Game between the Houses of Gremory and Sitri. In the name of Master Sirzechs Lucifer, I shall watch over the contest between the two houses. Today's battlefield is a replica of the mall near the school attended by Lady Rias Gremory and Lady Sona Sitri, Kuoh Academy. Both teams have been teleported to their respective bases. Lady Rias's home base is located in the east wing on the second floor. Lady Sona's home base is in the west wing on the first floor. All Pawns, please proceed to the vicinity of the opposing team's base to use Promotion. For this match, a number of special rules will be enforced, which have been handed to both teams in written form. Please review before the game starts. Both teams have been given a single vial of Phoenix Tears. You may use the time before the match to devise your strategies. Contact with members of the opposing team is forbidden."

As soon as the announcement ended, the Gremory peerage all gathered around one of the food court's group tables and laid out a map of the mall on it.

"The battlefield is the mall near Kuoh Academy, so this will strictly be an indoor battle." Rias stated as she divided the map into an eight-by-eight grid akin to a chessboard and then looked document detailing the special rules for their match. "It says that we can't destroy the department store, so we'll have to refrain from doing anything too flashy."

Xenovia sighed. "That puts me, Pyra and Vice President Akeno at a disadvantage."

"Yeah." Luke agreed. "I have abilities that don't rely too much on power, but something like Pyra and Mythra's power might be too much… or at least it shouldn't be a problem now, right, Mythra?"

Mythra nodded. "I've been training to only use the minimum amount of power required and better analyze structural integrity so I can't cause too much damage."

"Unfortunately, most of my area attacks are rendered unusable." Akeno lamented.

Yuuto sighed. "Gasper's eyes won't be as effective here, too. With all of the stores and goods recreated, there are a lot of places to hide and stay out of his line of sight. That also means there are plenty of spots to set up an ambush. Based on our individual characteristics, we're at a significant disadvantage. Our group specializes in over-the-top combat. These special rules limit our options."

Rias shook her head. "Actually, Gasper's eyes have been prohibited, according to another of the supplemental rules in these documents. Since he can't fully control his Sacred Gear yet, the organizers didn't want it running amok and ruining the match. Giving Gasper Luke's blood is also forbidden. The limiter glasses Azazel made for him must be worn throughout the entire match, as well."

Gasper's still a long ways away from being able to control his Sacred Gear if all of those restrictions are in place for him. Luke looked at Gasper with a sorrowful expression. "Can Gasper at least use magic and his vampire abilities?"

"That's right." Rias nodded to Luke's query. "In any event, stopping time would probably work against us in this match. Not only does Sona's peerage have a lot of Counter-type fighters, but Saji's Sacred Gear's specialty is absorbing other people's abilities. They could also cast illusions to distract Gasper or find a means to limit his eyesight. A Rating Game isn't won by strength alone. The placement of the players, the battlefield, and the rules can greatly affect the outcome. Rating Games are so popular because even if a Devil is lacking in power, they can claim victory with good judgment and tactics. The rules and our opponents might be to our disadvantage, but if we can't adapt, we won't be able to win this or future games."

"Indeed." Akeno agreed. "We will no doubt find ourselves in indoor battlefields in the future and be forced to hold back our full strength. This is our best opportunity to learn how to handle battles in enclosed spaces."

"It's a good thing my Sacred Gear and Balance Breaker have utility and not just power." Luke said.

"Once we go on the offensive, the biggest problem is the mall's atrium." Rias examined the map. "It can be approached from both the top and bottom floors on either side of the mall."

"Another tactic would be to sneak in through the parking garage." Akeno chimed in. "So, the enemy will likely have sent someone there to keep watch."

"The same can be said for the roof. Otherwise, we aren't allowed to step outside of the mall. That just leaves only three routes. We can either move through the building, cross the rooftop, or go through the garage."

"I wonder if there are any cars in the garage. If all of the stores and merchandise have been recreated, then vehicles must have been, too."

Rias and Akeno continued their strategizing until Yuuto raised his hand.

"Buchou, I'll head to the parking garage." Yuuto spoke up. "There's a staircase nearby, so I'll go scout things out."

"Please do, Yuuto."

Yuuto hurried to the nearest exit.

"If there are cars in the garage, would it even be possible for anyone to drive them?" Luke questioned. "I mean, would they have full tanks of gas or have the keys lying around in the seats?"

"We don't know for sure." Rias replied. "If those suspicions are true, we can't deny the possibility that Sona would have someone charge through the store with a car or use one as an explosive. I don't believe Sona would be the type to use such a reckless strategy, but we should still be cautious. More likely, they could use a vehicle as a hiding spot. Now that I think about it, we haven't checked the staff rooms, either… There's no end to the things we need to account for here."

President's really on edge. I don't blame her. We've gone through so much training and we nearly lost our previous Rating Game against Riser.

Rias turned to Gasper. "Gasper, I want you to transform into a swarm of bats and disperse throughout the mall to keep us up to date on any developments during the early stages of the match."

"Right!" Gasper pumped himself up.

Over the next few minutes, Rias and her peerage continued discussing possible tactics until she glanced at every single one of her servants.

"The match will be starting in fifteen minutes. We'll reconvene in ten. Until then, just relax to calm your nerves."

Everyone was dismissed, but before Luke and Pyra could head off, Rias motioned him to stay.

"Yes, President?"

"Luke, now that you've unlocked your Balance Breaker, the seal I placed on the Pawn pieces within you has also been released." Rias stated.

"Thank you, President."

"One other thing."

"Hm?"

Rias started blushing. "… When… we're in private… do you mind if… I call you 'Lukey'?"

Luke blinked lightly in surprise before he nodded with pink dots on his cheeks. "Um, yeah, I guess that's fine."

"And… you don't have to call me 'President' when we're alone. I… would really like it if you called me 'Rias'."

Pyra had her hands over her mouth as she was watching close by and waited for Luke's response.

"O-okay… R…"

Pyra then noticed something odd about Luke, like it was painful for him to speak.

"R… Rias…" Luke's face became extremely pale as he took a few steps back. "I'm… I'm gonna go relax before the match."

As Luke walked away from Rias, he clutched his heart and was breathing heavily as if he thought he was staring death in the face. He immediately headed to the bookstore since he recalled it was close to the food court, so he decided to spend some time checking if the manga section was recreated perfectly.

Wow! Whoever makes these battlefields based on real world locations really has an eye for detail.

He then picked out one of the manga from the shelf and flipped through the pages.

Even the pictures are perfect copies with legible text!

"Oh, Luke. This is where you went."

Luke turned his head and saw Akeno walking up to him.

"Reading some manga before the match?" Akeno asked.

"Yeah, I was feeling pretty tense just a moment ago." Luke responded.

"Are there any women with naughty outfits in it?" Akeno teased.

Luke then looked at the cover. "… I've never read this series, so I honestly don't know."

As Luke placed the manga back on the shelf, he was surprised to feel Akeno hug him from behind and he blushed upon feeling her breasts pressing against his back.

"You know, Lukey-kun, those words you told me before we left for our training really helped."

("Don't worry, Akeno." Luke spoke to her in a soft voice. "I'll always accept you for who you are.")

"So, you've accepted your Fallen Angel heritage?" Luke asked.

"Of course, you're very special to me, Lukey-kun. As long as you accept me, that's all that matters."

Luke smiled at Akeno with pink cheeks.

"By the way, Lukey-kun, why don't we make this Rating Game a little more interesting?"

"How do you mean?"

"Teehee, if we're both still standing by the end of the match, how would you like to go on a date with me?"

…

However, there was nothing but silence and Akeno felt Luke's body shaking.

"… Lukey-kun?"

Akeno tilted Luke's chin up so she could see his face and was surprised to see his eyes filled with fear.

"Luke-kun?" Akeno quickly snapped her fingers in front of his face.

Luke jumped lightly before he took a few steps back and looked around in panic.

"Luke?"

Luke turned to Akeno, in order to see her insanely concerned face.

"Is everything alright, Luke?" There's that look of fear again, but what is there for him to be afraid of?

Luke didn't seem to hear a thing Akeno had said as two phrases kept repeating themselves in his head.

("I don't think it's going to work out."

"Go away.")

Akeno only grew more concerned as Luke didn't answer. "Please, Luke, tell me what's wrong."

"Luke? Akeno?"

Akeno looked behind her to see Pyra at the bookstore's entrance.

"It's almost time to meet back up with Rias. You go on ahead. I'll help Luke."

Reluctantly, Akeno left the bookstore and Pyra went up to Luke.

"Luke, are you okay?" Pyra asked.

The moment Pyra spoke to him, Luke seemed to have snapped out of his unusual trance.

"Oh, y-yeah, there's nothing you need to worry about."

Luke was the same way when Rias asked him to call her by name. Pyra thought in worry. I would have thought he'd just get flustered after Akeno asked him out on a date, but not… that. I'll have to ask him about it after the game.

Just as Luke and Pyra exited the bookstore, they were greeted by Koneko.

"Oh, Koneko. Were you looking for me?" Luke asked.

Koneko nodded and suddenly grabbed Luke's hand with a blush on her face.

Her hands are trembling.

"… Luke-san… I just need one more push of courage." Koneko muttered audibly before looking up and straight into Luke's eyes.

Luke looked back into Koneko's eyes with pinkened cheeks and smiled. "Of course. Just tell me what you need."

"… Are you… afraid of me because I'm a Nekomata?"

"Of course not. I love Nekomata."

Koneko seemed astonished by Luke's response, but quickly lowered her head. "… I'm sorry for pushing you away from me when you were only trying to help me."

The young Nekomata was taken by surprise when Luke gently patted her head.

"There's no need to dwell on it so much." Luke spoke to Koneko with a soft and kind tone. "You were still struggling with your Nekomata heritage and you did just apologize to me."

Koneko gripped Luke's hand even tighter. "… I'm going to use my Nekomata powers. I don't want to become like Kuroka-neesama, but I can't be helpful to anyone if I don't use them."

"I know you can do it, Koneko. You're stronger than you think. And even if you do lose control of your powers, I'll do everything in my power to save you! I'll use Opheria's power to make everyone, including you, happy! And if your sister tries to take you again, I'll protect you!"

Koneko's cheeks turned red and she lowered her eyes to the ground before murmuring to herself. "… You really are a gentle Heavenly Dragon…"

Luke then sighed. "Whew, thanks Koneko… I was actually feeling tense just a moment ago, but I'm feeling much better now after talking with you."

Koneko looked back up at Luke. I saw Akeno-fukubuchou leaving the store just a moment ago. Did she say something that put Luke-san on edge?

A few minutes after the Gremory peerage reconvened back at the food court, they heard an announcement that echoed throughout the mall.

"It is time. This will be a three-hour blitz-style match. Let the match begin."

"That doesn't give us a lot of time." Pyra said.

Rias stood up from her chair with fierce determination in her eyes. "Your instructions are as we discussed earlier. Luke, Pyra and Koneko, you will take the most direct route through the mall. Yuuto and Xenovia will proceed through the parking garage. Gasper will turn into a colony of bats and provide us with status updates throughout the match. Once certain conditions are met, Akeno, Fumiko, and I will take Luke and Koneko's route. Now, my precious servants! Let's aim for a decisive win this time!"

"Right!" Everyone cried in unison before going their separate ways per the plan.

After Xenovia and Yuuto left for the garage with their Knight's speed, Luke, Pyra and Koneko made their way through the main hallway with at a pace where they moved quickly but weren't creating a lot of noise that would bounce around the enclosed space.

President figured that the Council President would anticipate that our main strategy would be for me to fight as little as possible so I would be in the best condition when I enter her territory and promote to Queen. Luke thought. And Yuuto and Xenovia would be the distraction to divert her servants away from me. In actuality, Koneko and I are the distraction. With the brunt of the enemy's forces coming for me and a couple fending off Yuuto and Xenovia, the Council President would have weakened defenses. With their best fighters focused on me, it'll make things easier for our Knights to clench the win.

Five minutes into the match, Luke, Pyra and Koneko stopped their movements a quarter of their way through the mall and hid behind some vending machines to scout the upcoming area. There were no signs of other people at the moment, so Koneko decided to use her senjutsu to detect for any other presences, and her cat ears and tail appeared.

Those ears twitching are so adorable!

Koneko then pointed straight. "… They're on the move. Two people, directly ahead of us. I can't yet make out who's coming, though."

"How far from us are they?" Pyra asked.

"About ten minutes."

Luke then went into deep thought as they waited.

I don't know too much about the abilities of the Student Council aside from Saji's Absorption Line. And I recall Azazel and Karlel mentioning when they first met Saji that he could attach the line to other objects and basically use it in a lot of versatile ways.

After a few minutes of pondering, Luke noticed that Koneko was intensely staring at him with flushed cheeks. However, before Luke could say anything to her, she instantly shifted her gaze toward the ceiling.

"From above!"

Luke looked up to see a long black line dangling from the ceiling and Saji swinging across the mall on it, with a girl hanging onto his back who appeared to be a Kuoh Academy first year student.

(Play "Exploration" – Xenoblade Chronicles 2)

"The first blow is mine, Sigmund!"

Pyra quickly tossed Luke the Aegis sword after materializing it and he used it to block Saji's kick. The impact forced Luke skidding across the floor a bit before Luke corrected himself with Pyra jumping backwards to his side. As Saji landed on the ground, the girl jumped off of his back before he stared Luke down.

"Hey, Sigmund! I've been looking forward to fighting you and Hyoudou since this tournament was announced!" Saji expressed with a fire in his eyes. "I can tell you've gotten a hell of a lot stronger since then."

Luke's eyes then noticed Saji's right arm where his Sacred Gear should be, only to see a cluster of black snakes wrapping themselves around it.

What happened to the lizard head? His Sacred Gear must have changed over the course of his training.

"Luke, I'm giving control to Mythra." Pyra whispered to Luke.

"Do it." Luke responded without hesitation.

Pyra then switched over to Mythra, surprising Saji and the girl. However, her normal white dress looked different from before as there was now a white cloth covering up her cleavage and black leggings.

"Where did she come from?!" Saji exclaimed.

"I like the new outfit, Mythra." Luke said to her.

Mythra lightly blushed at the compliment. "The organizers thought my outfit was too much for the children watching, so they gave me this to wear during the matches."

As Mythra looked back at Luke, she noticed that there was another line attached to Luke's arm.

"Luke, he got you!" Mythra said.

Luke's eyes widened at the sight of the line and he saw that it wasn't connected to Saji, but rather somewhere far into the distance.

"No fair, Sigmund! Not only do you have Rias-senpai, but Pyra-chan who can turn into a blonde bombshell?!" Saji shouted.

"One of Rias Gremory's Bishops has retired."

Luke and Mythra were surprised by the announcement.

"That must be Gasper." Mythra surmised.

Saji grinned. "Looks like we got him! With his Sacred Gear forbidden because of the special rules, we figured you guys would rely on his vampire powers and scout the building as a bunch of bats. So, Kaichou came up with the plan to use our home base against him."

Their home base is a grocery store, so… Luke realized what Sona and her peerage used to take Gasper out so easily. "You used garlic, didn't you?"

"Bingo!" Saji confirmed. "We first had someone in our peerage acting suspicious to get his attention and scout the situation. If something were to happen to those bats when they were all together, he would revert to his true form and we made sure it was near one of the greatest weaknesses of a vampire, a garlic stand. Since our home base is a grocery store, all we had to do was lure him there and take him out."

Luke grit his teeth at Saji.

You shouldn't use your Sacred Gear while he's got a line attached to you, otherwise he'll just absorb it. Opheria spoke to her partner's mind. The only way to break that line is with the shockwave from activating Balance Breaker.

I didn't want to have to use Balance Breaker so soon into the match, but I guess I don't have a choice. "Start!"

Countdown!

A visual of a timer appeared in Luke's head as the countdown for his Balance Breaker began. Without his created abilities to rely on, Luke was prepared to defend himself using Mythra's Aegis sword.

"We have zero intention of losing, Saji!" Luke said as he pointed the Holy Sword at him.

"Don't get so cocky, Sigmund!"

After hearing Saji's words, time suddenly stopped and Luke saw a shadow of Saji pulling the line attached to the younger man's arm and kicking him in the stomach.

This is Mythra's Foresight!

When Luke returned to the physical present, Saji pulled on the line connected to him and reeled him in like a fish. Just as Saji went to kick Luke in the stomach, he used the Aegis sword to block the kick and the force of the attack sent him flying backwards a bit before landing on his feet.

"Nice read, but I ain't done yet!" Saji fired another line from his right arm.

Luke was ready to step to the side to avoid it until he felt the line already fly right past his head and attach itself to a light in a nearby shop.

"Nimura-chan! Put on those sunglasses we got from that store earlier!"

Saji and his junior, Ruruko Nimura, both put on a pair of sunglasses and before Luke could react, the light brightened to the point of completely blinding Luke, Mythra and Koneko. Luke suddenly felt a powerful force strike him in the stomach as Saji delivered a powerful kick.

"You can't dodge what you can't see!"

Saji delivered another strike to Luke's back before uppercutting him in the jaw that knocked him to the floor. Just as Luke's sight was returning, he saw Saji charging toward him with a mass of demonic power in his fist. Luke immediately rolled to his side and dodged the attack, which formed a large crater in the floor.

I thought Saji's demonic power was lacking. Luke then noticed that there was a line connecting Saji's Sacred Gear and his chest. "You're using your own life force to increase your power?!"

"I never had much demonic power to begin with. This is the only way I can throw around big attacks."

"Are you stupid or something?! You'll kill yourself!" Mythra shouted at Saji.

"I don't care. I'm willing to beat you even if it costs me everything! Do you know what it's like to have people laugh at your dreams? Kaichou and I are willing to risk it all to prove them wrong! This match is being broadcast throughout the entire Underworld and we're gonna show those arrogant pricks what the Sitri peerage is made of!"

Mythra turned to Luke and saw that he had a calm expression. "Luke?"

"Saji, you remind me of myself when I went up against Riser…" Luke looked directly at Saji with a reignited flame in his eyes. "I gave up some of my own life force just to keep President happy. If you're going to give this your all, it's only fair that I do the same!" He then turned to Mythra. "Ready, Mythra?"

Mythra was surprised by Luke's reaction before getting a soft smile. "You guys are such idiots…"

With the white Aegis sword in hand, Luke charged at Saji as Mythra channeled her power into him. Using her Foresight, Luke dodged every attack Saji threw at him, be it a blast of demonic power or an attempt to attach a line. Eventually, Luke managed to get close to Saji and knocked him in the chest with the pommel of the Aegis sword, causing him to vomit out blood and keel back.

"One of Sona Sitri's Pawns has retired."

Luke turned to where Koneko was fighting with Ruruko and saw that Saji's junior was being enveloped in a bright light until she disappeared. The Nekomata then came up to Luke's side.

"… I'll help. This is a team battle, after all." Koneko prepared herself to fight Saji.

"Sorry, Koneko Toujou, but I want to fight Luke one-on-one, though I'll allow the Aegis since she's your partner." Saji was panting heavily from both the blow Luke just delivered to him and using a chunk of his life force to power up his attacks. "I told you all that we're serious about our dreams. We're going to build a school here in the Underworld, free of discrimination! And I'm going to be a teacher at that school… That's my dream… Everyone is watching. That's why it's important for me to defeat my fellow Pawn Luke Sigmund, the Sapphire Dragon Emperor!"

"… Koneko, this fight is between me, Saji and Mythra." Luke held his arm out as if to stop Koneko from making any other moves. "I need to show respect for his dream, especially after those old fogies mocked him and Sona for it."

"I'm going to end this here and now!" Saji amassed an enormous sphere of demonic power in his hands before compressing it to the size of a softball. "This should be enough to defeat you while leaving the surrounding stores undamaged. Heheh… I was so jealous of you and Hyoudou. You're the precious servants of your masters, the Red and Sapphire Dragon Emperors. On top of that, Sigmund, you're the Wielder of the Aegis. Everyone knows about you and Hyoudou. The three of us are Pawns, but what do I have? Nothing! I'm going to earn my place and become Kaichou's pride by crushing you!"

I never thought Saji saw Hyoudou and I that way… But we also have dreams we're fighting for! President wants to win every title in the Rating Game and I want to make women happy.

Saji then threw the ball of demonic power at Luke with everything he had. Luke tried to run out of the way, but Saji launched another line that stuck to Luke's left arm and the ground.

"Shit!"

Luke tried to cut the line with the Aegis sword, but it was futile as it merely phased through the line. In a panic, Luke started pulling on the line as hard as he could.

My Balance Breaker's countdown is almost up! I can't lose! Not now!

"LUKE!" Mythra shouted at and reached out for Luke.

(End Song)

Just as the sphere of demonic power was about to hit Luke, Mythra noticed an unusual shift in Luke's aura. Suddenly, Luke disappeared before instantly reappearing right next to Mythra and the sphere of demonic power struck the light post and exploded. Since the damage was contained to the light, Saji wasn't penalized.

"The fuck just happened?!"

After a second, Luke looked around and seemed confused.

"… What just happened?" Luke wondered aloud.

Saji noticed that the line he just attached to Luke's arm was on the floor where he once was.

"How were you able to just rip off the line? That's impossible!"

Koneko stared at Luke with widened eyes. What was that brief change in Luke-san's aura? It… didn't feel human…

Luke, time is up!

Luke's entire body became surrounded in sapphire dragon armor.

Paradise Dragon Balance Breaker!

Clad in Art Creation Scale Mail, Luke stood up with the Aegis sword in his right hand and summoned his Falchion in his left.

"Saji, I meant what I said that your dream of becoming a teacher is admirable." Luke began walking toward his opponent. "But the members of the Gremory peerage also have their own dreams we're all aiming for. We have no intention of throwing them away simply because our opponents have dreams, too."

Saji grinned despite his exhaustion. "Neither do we…"

The envious Pawn tried to attach a line to Luke, but the aura he was giving off knocked it away. Luke dashed toward Saji with both Falchion and the Aegis sword and tried to slash at him, but he formed a cluster of lines around his arm to form a shield and tried to block his attacks. Unfortunately, the moment Falchion cut the makeshift shield, smoke arose from the cut and Saji winced in intense pain.

Saji has a Dragon type Sacred Gear, which means dragon-slaying weapons are effective against him. Luke thought.

With a loud roar, Saji threw a punch right at Luke's face. Even though the armor protected Luke, he still felt the force of Saji's punches as the impacts shook his body.

How are Saji's attacks bypassing my armor?! Wait, this must be the Loaded Blow that Tannin told me about during my training with him. It's a phenomenon where the user throws their entire soul into an attack and getting hit by it shakes an enemy to their very core. I need to keep him away from me.

Luke swung the Aegis sword, making a shallow cut along Saji's chest that caused smoke to rise from the wound and the young man to cough up some blood.

"DAMMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!"

Saji attached another line to a nearby bench and hurled it at Luke, who simply used Svallin to shield himself from it. More lines attached themselves to various objects in the nearby furniture store and Saji chucked them all at Luke to wear down his shield.

"Mythra, we need to end this now before Saji ends up killing himself!" Luke said to his partner.

"Right." Mythra nodded in confirmation.

Luke and Mythra charged forward, using Foresight to predict where the various pieces of furniture would land. They even saw that Saji would try to alter the trajectory of a couch to flank them. Once their perception of time returned to normal, Luke tossed the Aegis sword to Mythra and she swiftly sliced every last piece of furniture as he dashed right up to Saji and punched him square in the face. The force of the blow sent Saji flying and rolling across the floor. Saji was struggling to keep himself standing as he got back on his feet and was about to yell.

"ENOUGH!"

After shouting so loud that it echoed throughout the entire mall, Luke grabbed Saji and gave him another punch in the face before retracting his helmet to show his face.

"Saji… Just because you have a dream you're willing to die for doesn't mean you should throw your life away so easily! What would Council President Sitri think if you died before either of you could achieve your dreams?"

"I don't need to take that from you… Didn't you sacrifice your life force to win that game against Riser Phenex?"

"I didn't have any other choice but to do so, that doesn't mean you should be copying my stupidity! Azazel once told me and Issei that sacrificing your own life for power is just wrong and that time you just lost could have been better spent doing anything else! I want you to get stronger and achieve your dreams, Saji, but not at the cost of your own life!"

Luke delivered one final punch to Saji's face and he instantly lost consciousness and was enveloped in a light before disappearing.

"One of Sona Sitri's Pawns has retired."

"Luke, how are you feeling?" Mythra asked as she walked up to Luke.

"I'm fine, Saji's determination just got to me." He assured his partner.

"No, I meant…" Mythra then shook her head before looking at Luke's arm. "Shouldn't that line be gone now?"

"Huh? Yeah. Isn't this the line that Saji attached to me at the beginning of the match?" Luke then looked to where the line was heading back to. "It looks like it leads back to the Sitri peerage's home base."

"Sona Sitri's Knight and Rook have retired."

"That's good." Koneko said.

"One of Rias Gremory's Knights has retired."

Their eyes widened at the announcement.

Who was taken out? Yuuto or Xenovia?

"… Luke-san?"

Luke looked down at Koneko, who had grabbed his hand.

"You were pretty cool. I'm proud of you." Koneko had a light blush on her face.

So cute! Luke gained a blush on his cheeks as well. "Oh! There's a vending machine over there! I'm going to grab us some waters before we move on."

Luke lightly jogged to the vending machine and Koneko suddenly felt Mythra's hand on her shoulder.

"You noticed that change in Luke's aura when Saji fought him, right?" Mythra asked in a hushed tone.

Koneko nodded. "I did. His qi was also in flux in that instant."

"Did you notice his eyes, too?"

"Huh?"

"Luke's eyes… It was only for an instant, but they suddenly changed to where they had blue galaxies within them."

A/N: That's the end of the chapter! I hope you all enjoyed!

There are a couple of things about Luke that I hinted at in this chapter, one of them will be revealed in a couple of chapters, but the other won't be until a bit later.

As for the outcome of this Rating Game, Luke is currently getting his blood drained by Saji's line, but let's just say that something interesting is going to happen in the next chapter because of it that's different from canon.

Anyway, the next chapter will be the conclusion of the Rating Game. Stay tuned for next time!

Luke Harem: Rias Gremory, Pyra/Mythra, Karlel, Daphiel, Annabelle Wright, Akeno Himejima, Fumiko Kazuya, Melody Morag, Setsuna Kazama, Kayoko Kita, Xenovia Quarta, Emery Belmont, Roygun Belphegor, Belinda Green

Issei Harem: Misaki Shirayuki, Asia Argento, Hikaru Ueda, Akira Kazuya, Kiyome Abe, Seekvaira Agares, Azusa Hirano

Rias Gremory Peerage: Rias Gremory (King), Akeno Himejima (Queen), Yuuto Kiba (Knight), Xenovia Quarta (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), Setsuna Kazama (Knight), Primoir Talraxen (Knight), Grencin Korin (8 Pawns)

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)