Chapter 66: Overwhelming Force (III)
"Strange," Sirzechs mused, observing the gymnasium's screen where Isaiah and Shirone were idling, while the former's barrier remained in place to keep Ravel off the playing board. "Are those truly not going to participate in the final battle?"
"It seems logical to me, Akeno's the only one among them that can realistically drain Riser's demonic power reserves enough to the point where his Immortality will run dry." I cupped my chin. "Isaiah obviously can't create a Holy Sword, nor anything that can directly counter Riser's Clan Trait. And Shirone's yet to awaken Kasha, so she won't have much of a use during that fight unless they want her to sit and tank some of Riser's blows."
Honestly, having Shirone act as a meat shield's a pretty good tactic since it'll make it near-impossible for Riser to retaliate against Akeno. However, Rias isn't really the type to employ such a strategy.
Which is fine by me, I already committed to letting her develop her tactical mind however she pleases, and I plan on standing by that.
"Is Akeno really going to use it? I wouldn't dare question your teaching ability after seeing what I just saw, but I recall her being rather strong-minded towards her opinion of her father."
"No, you're right, her resentment towards her father's still there. And it's not going to leave until she and Baraqiel have an opportunity to resolve it face-to-face." There's only so much I can do as an outsider. "But I did manage to help her disassociate Baraqiel from the Holy Lightning they both wield, she doesn't see it as an extension of him anymore, but rather a power that she alone can wield and decide the purpose of, like protecting her King's freedom—for example."
"Mm, that's a smart way to go about it." Sirzechs nodded his approval. "Still, I'm surprised you managed to offer her that perspective within a mere month. Physical teaching aside, you seem to have quite the knack for emotional guidance."
"Well, I wouldn't give myself all the credit." I chuckled, rubbing my upper lip and definitely not letting the praise get to my head. "If Akeno's loyalty to Rias and her juniors wasn't as strong as it is, I doubt she would've made any progress whatsoever."
He smiled warmly. "Indeed, I've always admired the kinship within her peerage."
No argument here.
"It'd be nice to see you with one of yours someday, Alduin."
Huge argument here, but I seriously don't have the energy to humor it right now, so I'm just going to roll my eyes and pretend like I didn't hear anything.
"It'd be pretty useful to have one though, don't you think?"
Oh not you too.
"Am I wrong? Even with Thora's assistance, you constantly find yourself overworked and exhausted. Having subordinates of your own would make the workload far more manageable."
I can handle myself just fine, thank you very much. Besides, even if I were to have subordinates, that doesn't necessarily mean I have to give them an Evil Piece.
"Maybe not, but I think it's a waste for you to let them gather dust. Especially when you have a Mutated Knight and Bishop."
You say that as if you don't already know why I'm reluctant to have one.
"I won't say your fear's unfounded, but I think you might be exaggerating how problematic it really is. As long as you're there, you'll be able to protect them from—"
The answer's still no, I stood my ground. There's a chance I'll change my mind sometime in the future, but now's not the time.
"Very well."
His disappointment was palpable, but I chose not to pay it any heed.
I can't even protect my student from her. How on earth am I supposed to protect an entire peerage from both her and him?
I'm still just an ant who happened to get lucky through a chance encounter with two Satans. There aren't any words to describe how irresponsible of me it would be to start tying a bunch of strangers to me, and everything I entail.
///
Riser remained within his starting position, the principal's office. The Phenex glanced at the clock while twirling a pen between his fingers, counting the minutes that had passed since Grayfia's starting announcement came through the intercom.
Three minutes.
It had hardly been three minutes into the game, and so far, thirteen elimination announcements had occurred, and every single one of them had been regarding a member of his peerage.
Excluding himself, only two members of his peerage remained. His Queen, Yubelluna, and his Bishop, Ravel, who was currently entrapped in Isaiah's sword barrier.
Rias, on the other hand, had every member of her peerage still at play, all of which were virtually at full fighting strength.
He had no words to explain what he was feeling, nor any idea what kind of expression he was supposed to wear at a time like this.
Did he expect a challenge? Yes. He noticed Rias and her peerage had changed, he saw, clear as day, that their demonic power had undergone a substantial amount of growth.
But a performance like this, didn't even begin to orbit the expectations he had in mind for the match. As a matter of fact, it seemed like a stretch to even call this a match in the first place. It was too laughably one-sided, as if the difference between Riser and Rias a month prior had been completely flipped on its head.
Yet to have uttered a word, Riser looked up and faced the ceiling. Aware that he was probably looking straight into one of the many cameras broadcasting the game to the spectators, his family included.
What was he going to say to them? What words could he possibly offer to make sense of the situation?
No, more importantly, what would they say to him?
What would Ruval say?
'It's not over till it's over.' Riser closed his eyes and gripped the edge of the principal's desk—causing it to let out a pained creak. Isn't that right, brother?
Win or lose, he was the son of House Phenex. A man who carried the blood of the Underworld's Top 10, and had received the teachings of the famed ranker.
To give up before the game was over would be a thousand times more embarrassing than losing, even in such a humiliating fashion. His bottomless pride simply wouldn't allow him to forfeit, regardless of the outcome.
"Lord Riser," his Queen's voice came through the transmission. The terror and uncertainty in her voice were palpable. "How should I proceed? Should I rescue Ravel?" However, despite how things were going, she still resolved herself to put her faith in her King. As she had always done.
"Don't bother," Riser exhaled, running his fingers through his bangs. "That damned Knight will probably just create an explosion-absorbing sword if you try. Ravel's just going to have to sit this one out."
He rolled his shoulders till they popped, opening up the window and putting one foot on its ledge.
"Return to me. They're going to try to end things now, so we'll meet them with the same determination." He expanded his blazing, signature Phenex wings and landed upon the new schoolhouse's rooftop.
I wonder if you'll come to face me yourself, Rias? Or will you have your lapdogs take over both the opening and closing acts?
///
Like Riser, Rias had yet to take to the battlefield since the game began. She remained committed to her plan only to act if it was necessary.
Clearly, that wasn't the case. Not even remotely.
Her plan had worked perfectly—better than she could have ever expected it to.
She was a little put off by the fact that Riser had foreseen her intent to go after his Pawn structure, after all, she didn't think much of the man's intelligence. However, the Phenex's preparations were quickly proven to be meaningless.
So what if he sent his other pieces to guard his Pawns? They ended up being crushed all the same, her subordinates hardly even needed to break a sweat. If anything, this match felt like a training exercise. All the pressure Rias felt from having her freedom at stake had grown weaker and weaker with Grayfia's every elimination announcement over the intercom.
What a strange feeling.
She pursed her lips, stepping up from the clubroom's office chair and peering out the window, her eyes tracing the luminescent, green lights spanning across the dimension's sky.
I should be ecstatic that things are going this well, but right now, all I'm experiencing is disappointment. I wonder why that is?
She drummed her fingers against the window's frame, crimson and black-stained currents swirling around her appendages as she fell further into contemplation.
Is it because I wanted to test myself? To truly see how far we've come over the past month?
A natural side-effect of having power was wanting to test the limitations of said power, like a toddler with a big red button placed in front of them, the temptation was hopelessly difficult to resist.
She wondered if Alduin ever felt this way, if the same itch at the back of her mind she was experiencing existed in his as well.
I think a lot when he comes to mind, don't I?
Rias chuckled to herself. It wasn't a romantic feeling, rather one of deep-rooted intrigue. Alduin had been an isolated figure for so long and had only just become an open, tangible presence.
She and her peerage had spent an entire month with him, and only now were they starting to realize how little they actually knew about their teacher—despite the considerable amount of information he had on them.
Funnily enough, the one and only time Rias had learned anything tangible from him took place after the complete disaster that was her inquiry into House Sallos. A product of her curiosity to understand more about Alduin's maternal Clan Trait.
And even then, it was a stretch to say that she really "learned" anything when her only takeaway from their conversation in the greenhouse was that he had an awfully strange relationship with his mother, leaving her with more questions rather than answers.
He's the same age as us, Heir to his house just like me and Sona are. Yet, it's like he's completely alienated from the rest of us. Sairaorg's also got his complexities, but even he doesn't feel nearly as detached as him.
She recalled him mentioning the importance of having a path during their training sessions.
She liked to think she had a fairly good idea of what her path entailed—freedom, autonomy, the right to choose. A position in the Underworld that didn't involve being a mere trophy noblewoman, but rather one that actually meant something.
She knew Sona pretty much wanted the same thing, with the addition of her ambitious dream to provide the education that was being gatekept by nobles to Low-Class Devils who were being denied that privilege.
Sairaorg has his vague, yet profound goal to create an Underworld where 'any devil could make their dream come true, regardless of their background.' A goal that sounded unbelievably naive, but coming from a man of Sairaorg's integrity and strength of character, actually seemed feasible.
Then there was Alduin.
Rias didn't have the faintest clue as to what that man's path could be.
It clearly had something to do with why her older brother and Serafall had conscripted him in the first place, but just knowing that alone wasn't enough. Their combined power could grant practically any wish a resident of the Underworld would desire, there's no telling which one Alduin had coveted from them.
"Rias," her Queen's transmission interrupted her off-topic brooding. "Riser's stationed himself atop the new schoolhouse alongside his Queen, he doesn't seem interested in going on the offensive. How shall we proceed?"
Logically speaking, Akeno and Gasper could probably handle the King and Queen duo by themselves. Riser and Yubelluna would be helpless to defend against the combination of their Holy Lightning and time-stopping powers.
Even if her Queen and Bishop somehow ended up struggling, with Isaiah and Shirone's speed, they'd be able to rush to the aid of their teammates within a few breaths.
Rias could let the game end without lifting a finger, allowing its conclusion to commence from the comfort of her own clubroom.
But I wouldn't be much of a King if I didn't show myself to the enemy at least once, would I?
The game was unofficial, but her older brother and sister-in-law were watching, and most importantly—so was her father back home. The root cause of the match happening in the first place. A man who believed he could decide who she spent her future with all on his own.
This was her chance to show him she was more than just his sheltered Heiress, but a true High-Class Devil, in both name and strength.
"Stay there, I'm coming."
///
"It's admirable, I suppose." Alduin muttered under his breath, flicking his eyebrows as he watched the game's conclusion draw near.
"Are you saying that in regards to Rias, or Riser?" Sirzechs queried.
"Riser. What Rias is doing is necessary, no matter how talented her peerage is, she'll be the one facing the majority of outside scrutiny as their King."
A crew is only as efficient as their captain makes them.
"True, peerage-carried Kings rarely get far in the court of public opinion—which is pretty much the entire foundation of the Rating Games." He agreed, his eyes drifting towards the screen displaying the new schoolhouse. "So, what's with the backhanded compliment for our young Phenex over here?"
Alduin breathed a resigned exhale. "I can admire his courage, I just think it's pointless since he isn't going to learn anything from this, regardless of the outcome."
"Why's that?"
"Because he's still the same Riser I've always known, and I've yet to see any signs of that changing." He shook his head in disapproval. "He's always eager to please his family as much as possible, which is fine to a certain degree, but not when he can't bring himself to rebel. I doubt he even thought about opposing his father's will when this marriage decision was made for him."
"Rebel, you say?" Sirzechs chuckled knowingly, exchanging a wry look with Serafall. "Why does that remind me of a certain someone?"
"A rebellious phase is natural at my age, isn't it?" Alduin returned a chuckle of his own. "The match we are watching right here and now is Rias' rebellion against her father's wishes. Sona's rejection of an intellectually inferior spouse is a form of rebellion. Sairaorg's desire to keep pushing despite his house's opinion of him is a form of rebellion. And of course, the fact that I'm here against my father's wishes is a form of rebellion."
Sirzechs pursed his lips with intrigue, fairly certain he understood what Alduin was trying to say.
"You don't think Riser can grow unless he learns to rebel?"
"To rebel is to face the raging currents of your superior's disapproval," Alduin continued, his tone energetic. "With each step you take against their force, the stronger your legs become. With each day you spend knowing those currents could toss you up and down, sending you to the border of ruin at any moment, the firmer your mind and resolve become. The longer and longer you struggle, the harder and harder it will be for those currents to shake your foundation. You temper yourself against the waves, and through tempering, you grow. Like a boulder that refuses to succumb to nature's weathering."
There wasn't a single person in the room, Roygun and Thora included, who didn't go wide-eyed upon hearing of such firm determination from him. Even in their advanced age, they couldn't help but feel a flicker of inspiration swell within them.
There you go again, Young Lord. Thora smirked inwardly. You and your random bursts of scholastic wisdom.
She wondered where it came from, the only times Alduin ever picked up a book were when she forced him to during his academic studies.
Maybe it was a side-effect of gardening?
Maybe his plants spoke to him and whispered sage-like wisdom into his ear.
"Not once has Riser turned to face the currents, all he's ever done is kneel down and follow their every command, content in abiding by his family's wishes and living in his brother's shadow. Where's the growth in that?" Alduin sneered. "He may be the King of his peerage, but he lives his life like a Pawn. It's pitiful. At times, I can't even bring myself to acknowledge him as a living, sentient being."
"That's a little excessive, don't you think?" While Sirzechs couldn't deny the first part of Alduin's statement, the latter half seemed a bit too harsh—even for Riser.
"No, I don't think so." Alduin shook his head with conviction. "The root of all rebellion is the core of one's beliefs and character. It's an expression of what someone values most in this world, which is why once someone tries to challenge or suppress it, they muster up the strength and courage to reject them. If they don't, then that means they either lack the will to do so, or they don't have any will at all. A person who can't bring themselves to represent their will is a spineless coward. A person with no will is nothing but a husk, a mere imitation of what a true sentient being is."
He pointed at the screen, his gaze fixed on Rias' figure. "In this game, we can clearly see your sister's will to be free, to have her independence. " His finger shifted over to Riser, his eyes brimming with contempt. "But what can we see from Riser? Besides his father's will? Nothing. Absolutely nothing at all."
So what if Riser was displaying a little courage? That courage was going towards anything meaningful, thus, Alduin saw no reason why it would be deserving of respect.
"I find your perspective deeply fascinating, Alduin." Though Sirzechs' words were spoken in earnest, he'd be remiss not to notice that this was a good opportunity to take a peek into Alduin's mind. "If you don't mind me asking, what about your rebellion? What does it represent?"
"Mine?" He paused for a moment, slowly examining the room as a glimmer of clarity shone through his pupils. As if he were only realizing how much attention his words had drawn. "You haven't figured that out yet? How strange. You of all people, as a Gremory, should know."
Sirzechs frowned, evidently not much a big fan of being talked to in circles.
"Love. That's what my rebellion represents."
"Love?" The Lucifer's pitch heightened. That was the last thing he expected to hear—taking his family into account.
He reclined further into Roygun's bosom. "I rebel for my family's sake, because I love them more than anything." The corners of his lips curled up into a strange, almost eerie smile. "So much so that I'm willing to plunge my hand into their chests and rip their hearts out, if it'll allow me to put a better one back in."
The room fell silent.
Though Alduin didn't appear interested in addressing it, his words didn't convey the warmth his tone carried to the people around him.
Instead, it made them anxious.
Alduin… are you aware of the face you're pulling right now? Sirzechs gulped. Even if he was far too strong to be scared of Alduin in the traditional sense, it didn't mean he was immune to feeling unease.
"But that's enough about me, now that this game's conclusion is about to commence. I think it's only right that we give its participants our undivided attention." Like clockwork, his demeanor returned right back to normal.
///
"Oh? You actually decided to show yourself?" Riser smirked, his hands embedded in the side pockets of his blazer as he watched his crimson-haired opponent hover over towards him. "And here I thought you'd have your lapdogs do all the dirty work for you."
"Dirty?" Rias lifted one brow. "Well, I was a little worried they'd catch something from your STD-riddled peerage. It's why I had them end things as quickly as possible to mitigate the risk of infection." She landed atop the highest point of the rooftop, looking down on Riser and Yubelluna with a cocky grin.
The Queen's face reddened in fury. "You ungrateful bitch! Watch how you speak about Lord—!"
"Yubelluna," Riser hushed her, his attention fixed on Rias. "Did you come here just to gloat? Or have you mustered up the courage to fight me one-on-one?"
The Phenex did his utmost to hide the undertone of hope in his voice, but Rias was well aware his words were spoken with the wishful thought that this game was somehow still winnable for him.
"Not really," she hummed, enjoying the sight of Riser's deflated expression. "My Queen and Bishop are going to eliminate you in a second, but before that, I wanted to give you a chance to see how your personal power matched up to mind. You know, so we don't leave this game with any 'what-ifs'."
To both Riser and Yubelluna's immense confusion, Rias took a stance, spreading her arms wide.
"I'm giving you one chance to throw your absolute strongest attack at me, my peerage won't intervene—I promise." Her smile widened. "Who knows? If it's good enough, maybe my arrogance will hand you a lucky last-minute victory on a silver platter."
Yubelluna scoffed. "If you're going to set up a trap, you could at least try to be discreet." She waved her off, uninterested in humoring the opposing King's offer.
Rias chuckled dryly. "Even if this is a trap, so what? You're screwed either way. You might as well humor me before I send you back to grovel at Mommy and Daddy's feet for a new bride."
Momentarily, Riser shot Rias a blank, scrutinizing stare before letting out an amused exhale. Somehow not enraged by her comments like she expected him to be.
"He's definitely your teacher alright. For a second there I thought he had straight-up possessed you." His expression turned solemn, and for a second, he almost seemed reminiscent. "I hate to admit it, but he's trained you and your peerage well. It looks like my father's concerns weren't so baseless after all."
"You knew?"
"Of course I knew, when I saw you and your peerage standing next to him ten days ago and sensed the changes in your demonic power—it wasn't all that difficult to put two and two together." He shrugged.
"Oh," Rias awkwardly scratched her cheek. "Yeah, uh, I guess that was kind of a dead giveaway." She cleared her throat, recomposing herself. "Anyway, you should hurry and make up your mind. Are you going to accept my offer or not?"
"My strongest attack, huh?" Riser tapped his foot, pondering his decision. "Alright then, if that's what you want, just don't come crying to me later if this ends up being your downfall."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Rias smiled with glee, stretching in preparation.
"Good," Riser motioned for his Queen to step back.
He raised both hands up in the air, demonic power coursed through his veins with every last ounce of strength Riser's body was capable of mustering.
His muscles bulged to their absolute limit, almost to the point where it looked like they were going to rip right out of his skin. Rias could even hear the sound of his attire's fabric tearing.
The temperature around his figure began to soar, bright-orange fiery particles forming into existence out of thin air. All of which looked determined to burn the very air itself, and incinerate anything that dared to occupy its space.
Hellfire whisked out of his hands, whirling above his head and rapidly expanding, meandering together as if they were trying to form a shape of some kind—earning an intrigued head tilt from the one who volunteered to place themselves on the receiving end of their wrath.
"How flashy," she muttered.
Atop the Phenex, the shape of a Phoenix was born.
Not one of flesh and blood, but one of pure fire.
Riser grinned. "I'm only just getting started."
With the power of his clan's Wind Manipulation, he began to fan the Phoenix's flames, creating an oxygenating effect that caused its expansion to quicken threefold, its fire burning hotter and faster with each passing second.
"So it would seem," Rias blew an impressed whistle.
The Phoenix had grown to the point where she could no longer see the green, luminescent lights covering the dimension's sky as long as she was looking in Riser's direction.
Rias wiped the back of her hand against her cheek, taking note of the sweat that had started to build up on her skin.
Sheesh, Akeno's Ice Manipulation would certainly come in handy right about now. She sighed. Guess I'll have to go through my skin care routine after this, can't afford to be looking all dry and cracked up.
More and more, the Phoenix continued to bolster, only showing signs of slowing once it had eclipsed the width of the entire schoolhouse its caster was standing on.
"Remember, you asked for this." Riser beamed, ecstatic to have a chance to display his full power.
"No need to remind me," Rias returned the sentiment. Both mildly nervous and deeply excited to properly test how much she had grown in the past month. "Come on then, show me what ya' got!"
Riser arched his arm backward, and with a single, thunderous flap of the Phoenix's wings, he allowed the blazing beast to surge forward. Hellfire dripped from its body and incinerated the structure beneath it as it dashed towards its target.
In terms of brute force, it wouldn't be a stretch to classify it as an Ultimate-Class attack, even if it just barely scraped the surface of that realm's power.
If Rias truly wanted to test herself against him, there wouldn't be a better opportunity than this.
BOOM!
Once the Phoenix's beak connected with Rias' figure, an eruption nothing short of behemothic occurred.
The manifestation of Riser's Hellfire allowed itself to combust into a brilliant pillar of fire, ripping the entirety of the new schoolhouse to shreds and forcing both himself and Yubelluna to go airborne as they observed the destruction unfold with bated breath.
Their vision failed to pierce through the smoky fog, and their senseswere temporarily disrupted by the colossal amount of demonic power Riser's attack had dispersed into the atmosphere.
"Fret not, Lord Riser. We'll hear the elimination announcement any second—"
Riser lifted his finger. "Quiet, I'm trying to listen."
He paid close attention to his surroundings, attentively listening to the sound of shattered wood and debris gradually kindling into ash. Waiting for either Grayfia's voice, or shuffling feet to disrupt the fading noise.
One second passed.
Then two.
Then three.
Then four.
No announcement.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Still nothing.
Eight.
Nine.
The sound of slow-clapping could be heard.
"Cough! Cough! You nearly had me with that one, Riser! Not bad! Not bad at all!"
Riser clicked his tongue. "You survived."
Rias' figure stepped through the smoke, looking up at Riser with an immensely proud smirk on her face.
What's with that appearance? Riser frowned in confusion.
All of a sudden, Rias was now wearing a cloak that covered the entirety of her torso, and reached all the way down to her heels—alongside an odd-looking pointed crown that rested atop her head.
Neither of which was composed of material that seemed even remotely human. Instead, they were made up entirely of ethereal, crimson, and black currents that swirled through them like oceanic currents.
"Well, this is something." Riser's eyes widened, genuinely impressed by what he was witnessing. "Who knew the esteemed Power of Destruction could be worn as a fashion statement?"
"It suits me, don't you think?" She chuckled, flicking her vibrant cloak as she paced towards him. "I call it my Cloak of Ruin, it's a defensive technique I've been cooking up—and I'm glad it didn't end up being a waste."
As Riser's Hellfire collided with Rias' figure, it was simultaneously being destroyed upon contact by the cloak. Creating a battle where the two Clan Traits contested one another to determine which was more potent.
And as fate would have it, Rias' technique was able to weather the storm that was Riser's sheer destructive prowess.
"Did he teach you that?" Riser queried, struggling to hide the frustration he was feeling from having the full extent of his power blocked head-on.
"Indirectly," she nodded.
Her teacher had been the one to provide her with the necessary training to refine her control over the Power of Destruction, but the technique's concept came from her, and her alone.
As a King, it was important for her to be capable of positioning herself on the battlefield to command her peerage without them having to look over their shoulders every minute to ensure she wasn't harmed.
While she was confident in her ability to defend herself with her Clan Trait, needing to actively use it amidst the heat of battle greatly hampered her ability to focus on commanding and strategizing.
She needed to be able to defend herself, and remain hands-free so she could concentrate all her efforts on effectively directing her subordinates.
Thus, the Cloak of Ruin was born.
A technique she could comfortably wear and utilize to provide herself with a generous amount of protection.
"It's impressive, I'll give you that," Riser's eyes narrowed. He watched as Rias' cloak abruptly began to flash, gradually fading out of existence. "But it doesn't seem like you can maintain it for very long. I'm guessing you only managed to create that technique quite recently?"
She sighed reluctantly, a faint sliver of exhaustion in her tone discernible. "That wouldn't be an inaccurate assessment."
Two days ago, to be precise.
Riser lifted his index finger. "You have my respect for managing to endure my attack like that," a wisp of Hellfire formed around his appendage. "However, this is still a Rating Game, and it won't end until either of us is knocked out." Without hesitation, he hurled it at her, hoping that Rias' desire to test herself would prove to be his saving grace.
What?!
But his flamesnever connected.
Somehow, the wisp came to a complete halt midway through its flight path, frozen in space for a solid two seconds, which gave Rias more than enough time to move out of its trajectory.
"Why so surprised?" She smiled while gathering her breath. "I said my peerage wouldn't intervene while you threw your strongest attack, I didn't say anything about them abstaining afterwards."
BANG!
[Lord Riser's Queen has been eliminated.]
Faster than anyone's eyes could follow, a streak of bright-yellow lightning shot past Riser, hitting Yubelluna square in the face and wiping her from the playing field in one go.
"Ara, for a Queen-on-Queen battle that was a little anticlimactic, don't you think, Lord Riser?" Akeno hovered a few meters away from Riser, with none other than Gasper floating right beside her.
Strange, Riser pressed his lips together in confusion. She usually takes a long time to charge up her lightning before firing it, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised that he fixed that flaw.
He looked at this arm, surprised to see that all its hairs had become completely erect, reacting to some kind of strange property Akeno's lightning contained.
This probably isn't plain static, is it? I'm not sure what it is, but there's something wrong with that lightning.
Riser experienced a sensation he had never felt before. An instinctual tingling in his gut—a warning. Something within his DNA was telling him that he absolutely could not afford to let Akeno's lightning hit him.
Also, he glanced at the strange little girl floating next to Akeno. Who the hell is that? A new member of her peerage? Is she the one who stopped my Hellfire?
His expression tensed, struggling to keep a cool head with all the unknowns being thrown at him out of the blue.
I guess there's only one thing I can do then.
With the wind propelling him, he dashed towards Rias, determined to target the wobbly King and seize the only chance he'd have at victory.
"I w‒won't let you hurt Buchou!"
Or at least, he tried.
With a flash of Gasper's Forbidden Balor View, Riser was forced to a halt just like his Hellfire was. Completely powerless to resist the Dhampir's time-stopping ability, unable to even remain conscious while entrapped as his favorite lizard could.
"Well done, Gasper-kun." Akeno smiled warmly, offering Gasper a gentle pat on the head.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
In the short two-second window of opportunity Akeno had to attack, she fired off three bullet-like bolts of Holy Lightning at Riser. Targeting his head, chest, and midsection. Ensuring that she maximized the amount of work the Phenex's Immortality would have to do, and thus, the amount of demonic power it'd have to expend.
Rias sucked her teeth, looking at Riser's headless, torsoless, frozen figure.
"Damn, that's going to hurt."
Riser's time resumed.
As his body regenerated behind the curtain of his immortal flames, the sound of a sharp, blood-curdling scream could be heard. One so jarring that even Rias and her peerage couldn't help but take a startled step backwards.
Riser dropped to the ground on all fours, panting, huffing, bursting in cold sweat like a pig as his vocal cords worked overtime.
When the lizard punched him ten days ago, that was the first time he felt pain in a long, long time.
But this?
Pain didn't even scratch the surface of what he was feeling.
This was torture. Even after his body regenerated, it felt like he was being scorched from the inside out. His flesh, skin, bones, and organs were all put on an invisible grill whose flame was at its strongest.
W‒what the fuck is this?! W‒why am I burning?!
He croaked, unable to produce any words while doused in incomprehensible agony.
M‒my demonic power! Why is it draining so quickly?!
He staggered from side to side, completely disoriented as terror seeped through the cracks of his mind.
This was the first time Riser had ever been exposed to Holy Power, and for most devils, that experience would usually be their last. Fortunately wouldn't be the case for him while he remained within the game's protective barrier.
"Akeno," Rias called to her Queen, a tinge of pity palpable in her voice. "Let's end this quickly," she raised her hand, allowing her Power of Destruction to flare to life.
"Understood," Akeno returned a stiff nod.
"D‒damn you—!" Riser attempted to flee, but as long as he remained within Gasper's field of vision, any efforts he made to put up resistance were futile.
Once more, he was frozen.
In tandem with Akeno's Holy Lightning, Rias barraged Riser with as much destructive power as she could conjure within the two-second time frame. Ruthlessly hacking away at Riser's flesh until he was nothing more than a pair of poorly attached legs.
Alright, one more barrage should drain his demonic power reserves complet—
[Lady Rias.]
She paused, hearing Grayfia's voice over the intercom.
[With the agreement of Lord and Lady Phenex, it's been decided that he will be forcibly removed from the match, out of concern for Lord Riser's mental well-being.]
Blue specks of light circled around Riser's mangled finger, and in the blink of an eye, he was teleported outside of the battlefield.
[Congratulations, Lady Rias. You are the victor of this Rating Game.]
///
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