Back at the Church, Issei kept checking the information his shadow clone sent him from time to time, and...
"What the hell is that bastard doing on his own..."
He was starting to be dumbfounded by the clone's actions, which were escalating things far beyond what he had intended.
"Well, as long as I can save Senpai, that's enough."
The first step in the condition he had set for saving Rias was to create a common enemy with overwhelming power across the entire demon world. It would have been enough to raid a territory and make his presence known, but he had gone and declared war on the entire demon world, so it was only natural that Issei was speechless. And then...
"There are still three days until the Rating Game... I've got time to spare."
Waiting around was boring, so he wanted to do something. That said, attending classes at school was absolutely out of the question.
"Ah!"
Come to think of it, there was still something he hadn't finished. The mini Infinite Tsukuyomi blooming among the Fallen Angels. It looked like Raynare's side had already blossomed, but the other three still seemed to be working hard, so it wasn't fully complete yet. Thus, he went to check on the three of them first, and...
"Lady Asia! What should we do with this?"
"Um... then, please put that over here."
"Asia-chan, what about this?"
"That one... please put it over there."
The male Fallen Angel and the loli Fallen Angel were asking Asia questions as the work progressed, and the Church itself had started to transform into something like a castle. As the Church kept growing larger, people gathered around it, but they were all driven away in one shot by a barrier that repelled people.
"Looks like it's going well. Then I'll..."
Seeing that Asia was obediently following him as planned, he felt relieved and headed to the secret room to take a nap, but...
"What are you doing?"
"Eh? Th-this is..."
This time, Raynare was burying her face in the pillow Issei had been sleeping on and sniffing it...
He was sure he hadn't made her blossom this far, so he wondered if something had gone wrong.
"Forget it. Just massage my shoulders."
"Y-yes..."
As he lay down on the spot where Raynare had been resting, Raynare's face turned red and she automatically climbed on top of Issei. Then she gently kneaded his shoulders and started massaging him.
"S-so... how is it?"
"How is what?"
"The massage... does it feel good?"
"Yeah, well... it does feel pretty good."
Issei answered in a voice that sounded like he was drifting off to sleep, and Raynare looked delighted and started massaging him even more earnestly. Just then, Issei, who had finally been about to fall asleep...
"!!"
He sensed something in his detection net and hurriedly woke up.
"W-wait, where are you going?"
"Do I have to explain every little thing to you!?"
"Tch!"
As Issei coldly walked off, Raynare puffed out her cheeks like a blowfish. Then Raynare...
"Idiot..."
...had become something completely different from the blossoming Issei had wanted.
.
.
.
.
.
The magical power that had fallen into his detection net felt very familiar, and Issei immediately flew there with the Flying Thunder God Technique. When he arrived at the old school building...
"Senpai!!"
"Issei?!"
There was Rias, back with her servants. Issei rushed over in an instant.
"Where did you go all of a sudden? You just disappeared... I..."
His eyes even glistening with tears, Issei looked up at Rias, who stared back at him in surprise.
"I had circumstances. I'm sorry for disappearing without saying anything."
"It's okay. I heard about it from the Student Council President."
"...I see. So you found out in the end... Haah... Souna really told me not to say anything..."
"So, are you really going to do it? The Rating Game..."
"Well, a person has to carve out their own future. I don't intend to leave my life in someone else's hands."
That was very much like Rias, forging her own path in life, but this time things were different. No matter what tricks she used, it was practically impossible for her to beat Raiser. After all, Rias had no experience with the Rating Game yet, and she didn't have enough servants. On the other hand, Raiser Phoenix was making full use of his abilities, racking up victory after victory, and he had all the pieces in place. With such a gap in both numbers and experience, there was no way out unless a hole opened up in the sky itself. Even knowing this, Rias was still forcing herself to challenge him, and Issei didn't try to stop her. He didn't want to contradict the senpai he admired and trample on her pride. Besides, for the second step, it was also necessary for Rias and Raiser to have a match. So he decided to support Rias with everything he had.
"Yes! I believe Senpai can definitely pull it off! No matter what the result is, I'm absolutely on Senpai's side!"
"I see... thank you, Issei. You really helped me."
"Then I'd just be in the way if I stayed, so I'll be going now..."
Just as Rias was about to leave so she could focus on the Rating Game, a magic circle appeared at the entrance to the club room. Someone else had come from the demon world, and it was the very source of this whole affair.
"Hey, Rias. Is the game preparation going well?"
"Raiser..."
Raiser Phoenix.
"If you'd just gotten engaged to me without all this annoying game nonsense, you wouldn't have had to waste any effort. You really are putting up pointless resistance. Well, the more you do, the greater the satisfaction of conquering a proud woman like you will be."
It was the arrival of Raiser Phoenix and his servants. And the moment he appeared, Raiser immediately delivered a punch to everyone's goodwill. Issei, of course, and Kiba, Akeno, and Koneko, who were watching nearby, all frowned. Then, looking at Issei, he said,
"Oh? A human this time too? You're not planning to make a human participate in the Rating Game, are you?"
"As if. He's just a junior, and I'm not losing to someone like you."
"My, my. You still don't seem to be facing reality."
"Hey... what the hell are you babbling about after showing up out of nowhere?"
He could tolerate being looked down on himself, but he absolutely could not stand Raiser looking down on and mocking Rias.
"Oh? What did this human just say to me?"
"I asked what the hell you're babbling about, you damn bastard."
As Raiser glared at him like he was a bug, Issei stepped closer and spoke. Then...
"Issei, stop. There's no need for you to challenge him..."
Rias tried to stop him, but...
"Do you think I'm just some ordinary human too, Senpai?"
"No, that's not what I..."
"Then please don't say anything here. This is a matter between men."
Unlike his usual self, Issei cut her off sharply and glared at Raiser again. Then Raiser...
"Ha! A pathetic insect talking about a matter between men!? There's a limit to how much you can overestimate yourself!"
...snapped his fingers, and a girl holding a staff suddenly appeared among his servants. Then...
"You're the insect here, aren't you? Making a girl who's your servant do this kind of work. Why don't you just go ahead and have a sex change into a woman?"
At Issei's pinpoint jab, Rias, Akeno, and even Kiba couldn't help but let out small bursts of laughter.
"W-what did you say!? You inferior lifeform! I let you run your mouth, and this is what happens—take him down!"
"Yes!"
At Raiser's furious command, the servant girl, whose cute appearance didn't suit her at all, charged forward quickly with her staff in hand, but...
Clack
With nothing more than Issei's hand passing by, the staff was shattered. And when he glared at her once...
"!! R-Raiser-sama, I'm sorry..."
Her strength drained away and she collapsed to the floor. Raiser, Rias, Akeno, Kiba, and Koneko were all shocked.
"If you're a man too, why don't you come at me yourself?"
Issei's eyes had turned sharp as he glared at Raiser. Raiser ground his teeth and glared back hard, then...
"Fine. It seems you really don't know your place, so I'll teach you properly."
"Brother, please stop. Why are you getting so serious over something so lowly?"
Just as it seemed he was about to be dragged into Issei's provocation, a blonde beauty behind him stopped him. The blonde beauty stepped forward in Raiser's place and said,
"My name is Ravel Phoenix. I look forward to getting along with all of you. And as for you, inferior lifeform..."
"Huh?"
Her cute face gave a proper lady's greeting, then she immediately started hurling insults, leaving Issei momentarily flustered.
"I'll praise you for the courage to challenge a high-class devil as a human. This time, as a noble, I'll magnanimously forgive your mistake and let it pass, but there won't be a next time. Do you understand?"
"Y-yeah..."
The younger, cute girl speaking so clearly and neatly was strangely charming. Her chest was only about Asia's size, but she somehow felt like she had even more appeal than that, and perhaps because of that, Issei didn't bother replying much.
But...
"Let me say one thing, Raiser Phoenix. If you're going to lay a hand on Senpai, now is your only chance. If you regret it later, it'll be too late, so keep that in mind."
"Well, I'll take that advice to heart. Then I'll be sure to send you the wedding invitation with Rias first, so please make sure to attend the ceremony."
Raiser mocked Issei, who was warning him in all seriousness, completely unaware of the future that was coming for him.
"Then I'll see you at the match, Rias."
He left after tossing those words to Rias.
Then...
"Issei..."
The courage to not back down even in front of a high-class devil made Rias, as well as Akeno, Kiba, and Koneko, look at Issei in a new light.
"Well, it would've been a pretty cool line if you weren't a pervert."
"Koneko-chan..."
Because of his history of peeping in the changing room, Koneko's comment ruined the mood, and Issei let out a dying groan. Only then did laughter begin to bloom in the club room.
"You really are an interesting boy."
Rias smiled faintly as she watched Issei, who had suddenly appeared and changed the atmosphere around him and everyone else.