"W-what!?"
Suddenly, the spear of flame vanished, and Issei's eyes shifted into a strange shape. Riser was thrown into confusion.
'I lost my temper and just...'
Thinking about it calmly, he could have simply slipped to the side and countered. But because he'd been ambushed with such a cowardly trick, he'd gotten angry and awakened his [Rinnegan]. And when he'd been in the middle of transforming into Madara, he had once sent Riser's older brother—who was stronger than Riser himself—flying with a single kick. So there was no need to use ninjutsu; even without releasing chakra, his fists alone were more than enough to beat him down. For now, though, he needed to calm himself.
"Hoo..."
He closed his eyes and opened them again, and his usual black irises returned. Riser, seeing that, wondered if he had imagined the change in Issei's eyes.
"Looks like I'll have to show you the difference in our power, once and for all."
Because he hadn't clearly demonstrated the gap in strength from the front, Riser had been given hope that he could win, and that was why an ambush like this had happened. So this time, Issei decided he would take every one of Riser's techniques head-on and make the difference in power so obvious that he would never be able to stand again.
"Hah! A human like you!!"
Still not fully recovered, Riser spread flames again and fired them off wildly like bullets.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu."
Issei countered with the same flames, and Riser's fire was pierced with ease. That was only natural. Even though Water Style and Fire Style were supposed to be at opposite extremes, Uchiha Fire Style was overwhelmingly superior. Riser's lukewarm flames were instantly crushed by the dense, concentrated fire.
"Graaah!"
Shocked that his flames had been defeated by a human's fire, Riser took the full hit and writhed in pain. But then flames burst from his entire body, and he recovered cleanly.
"That's annoying."
When he had transformed into Madara, he'd been able to release chakra and send Ravel Phoenix flying with a single kick. But now, to keep the level balanced, he was using only a tiny fraction of his original chakra—barely 1 percent of it. Still, even if the chakra amount was similar, there were plenty of ways to win.
"Flying Thunder God!"
Like a proper ninja, Issei drew three kunai engraved with the Flying Thunder God Technique in each hand and threw them not at Riser, but around Riser's position. Then—
"Where the hell are you throwing those!?"
Thinking Issei had made a mistake, Riser, who had plenty of Rating Game experience and wasn't completely clueless, seized the opening and rushed in immediately.
"Spiral Ultra Dance Roar: Third Form!"
In that instant, Issei vanished from in front of him and appeared at his side. A Rasengan formed in one hand and slammed into him.
"Ghk!"
As Riser was blasted diagonally away, Issei appeared at the place he'd been sent to and struck him again with another Rasengan, sending him flying in the opposite diagonal direction. Then he moved to the next spot he'd been thrown toward. Using each kunai once, he warped six times in a zigzag pattern, hammering Riser with Rasengan after Rasengan without giving him a single chance to move. And when the sixth hit landed, Issei appeared again at the place Riser was flying toward.
"Big Ball Rasengan!"
A Rasengan several times larger than usual detonated against Riser's back.
"Ghaaaah!"
Boom
Riser was blasted away and exploded in a flash of Rasengan light. Issei returned with Flying Thunder God and struck a seated pose with his back to the smoke rising from the wasteland. He had just perfectly recreated the technique of the Yellow Flash, the fastest ninja.
'I did it!'
He had succeeded at a technique that had failed him many times during practice at the church, especially the timing for Flying Thunder God, which was extremely difficult to master. He wanted to jump for joy, but there were eyes on him, so he restrained himself. As he held the finishing pose perfectly, the spectators murmured in awe.
"Amazing..."
"A human can use a technique like that..."
"What exactly is a ninja...?"
The audience was left speechless by Issei's dazzling display.
"Uuuuuugh..."
After being hit with seven Rasengan in a row while being hurled in different directions, Riser collapsed, apparently unable to recover so easily, and could only groan. Issei slowly walked up to him.
"This is the difference in power between me, the human you looked down on, and you, the Devil."
"Grrr... Do you even understand the meaning of this engagement!? This is a major matter for the prosperity of Devils! It's not something a human should interfere with!!!"
Still clinging to his pride, Riser forced himself to stand. But he was already out of strength, and his whole body trembled violently. He barely managed to open his mouth, only to make Issei even angrier.
"Do you really think it's okay for one person's life to be ruined for that reason!?"
"Just for the sake of breeding the race, forcing a marriage you hate, and being torn away from the people you love—do you even understand what that means, you bastard!?"
It was a tone and a shout unlike Issei's usual self. He had once witnessed the end of an arranged marriage with his own eyes in his previous life. And he couldn't stand by and watch Rias, who had become both an object of admiration and, before he knew it, the object of his love, walk that same path. That was why he had created this situation.
"W-what's wrong with that!? As a high-ranking Devil, it's only natural to fulfill our duty for the prosperity of Devils! A human like you could never understand such a noble purpose!"
"I don't give a damn about that kind of thing. Sacrificing the few for the sake of the many? Go screw yourself! If you Devils are going to drag Senpai into misery just so you can be happy, then this time I'll destroy you all!"
Riser's ideology—no, the ideology of most Devils, probably. That was why arranged marriages were so common.
"Like hell you can do that!? You inferior race trash!"
Riser finally steadied himself and prepared his strongest flame toward Issei. The moment it was fired—
"!!"
"!!"
"!!"
"What!?"
"W-with his hand...?"
Even Riser, the one who fired it, and the spectators were stunned. He had actually slapped away the Phoenix family's highest-density flame with his bare hand. Riser and the crowd were left speechless.
"I'll prove it to you now. With power."
With a firm answer, Issei formed a Rasengan above his hand, now infused with Wind Style. The rotating, ultra-dense chakra alone whipped up violent gusts around him, and just looking at it made it seem extremely dangerous. Riser began to back away little by little.
"!! D-don't tell me you're actually going to fire that!?"
As a high-ranking Devil, Riser could tell at a glance that this was an ultra-dense mass of magical power. Its density and power were on a completely different level from the Rasengan he'd taken earlier. If it hit him, it would at least leave him seriously injured—maybe even kill him. And then Issei stepped forward.
"S-stop... If I take something like that—!"
"Wind Style."
"I said stop!!"
"Rasenshuriken!"
In a flash, Issei leapt forward and drove the attack straight into Riser's front. With no way to evade it, Riser was about to take the hit when—
"P-please stop!"
A blonde girl suddenly rushed in and blocked Issei's path.
Issei—
"!! Y-you idiot, move—... Aaaah!"
He had already locked his momentum with all his strength, but when a beautiful girl came into view, he took the risk and twisted his body away. And then—
"Aaaahhh!!"
He nearly drove the Rasenshuriken into the ground, but barely managed to disperse it in time.
"Ah... I thought I was dead..."
If it had detonated on the ground, in his current state—without releasing chakra—he would have suffered catastrophic injuries for sure. He let out a relieved sigh as the technique vanished safely.
"W-what are you doing!? We almost died, both of us!"
"Th-that's... if I didn't do this, my brother would..."
Looking more closely, he realized he knew the girl. She was Ravel Phoenix, Riser's servant and younger sister, who had come to Rias with Riser not long ago.
"And the match is already decided, isn't it? My brother has lost."
"Ra-Ravel...?"
Since the moment he'd been hit by [Spiral Ultra Dance Roar: Third Form], Riser's defeat had already been decided. She couldn't bear to watch her older brother get hurt any more.
'She's young, but brave. I can't believe that hot-blooded bastard has a little sister like this.'
Still, it was surprising that the Phoenix family had a girl willing to throw her life away for her brother. If the roles were reversed, Riser absolutely would not have stepped in. That much was obvious to everyone. But—
"Move. The duel isn't over yet."
He wasn't satisfied until he'd beaten Riser a few more times. After everything Riser had done to Rias, he wouldn't be able to cool off unless he at least crippled him somewhere.
"I-I can't move! If you want to touch my brother, you'll have to go through me first!"
"..."
Riser was the one who had done wrong, and yet somehow Issei felt like the villain. At a loss, he wondered if the guards would hurry up and come drag him away, but the spectators seemed to be enjoying this and didn't intervene.
"..."
"..."
Ravel stood with her arms spread to block Issei, while Issei scratched his head. The two of them stared at each other in silence for a long while, until—
"Looks like your little sister just saved your life."
"Grrr..."
Riser ground his teeth, unable to do anything either way. Then—
"Brother, sometimes you need to know when enough is enough! Why do you keep throwing a tantrum over something that isn't going to happen!?"
"Ra-Ravel...?"
Unable to watch any longer, Ravel shouted at him. It was the first time in his life Riser had seen his little sister angry, and he looked completely flustered.
"Are you trying to object to something Lord Demon King has already decided? Or do you really want to die at the hands of this human!?"
"....."
At Ravel's words, Riser fell silent. Maybe a sibling's words really did carry weight, or maybe he was simply overwhelmed by her force of will. Either way, he seemed to accept his defeat. Issei looked at Ravel with interest. At first he'd thought she was just a cute, arrogant little beauty, but she seemed to have a pretty good grasp of the situation after all.
"Haah... Fine, I still won't be satisfied unless I beat him a little more, but hey, hot-blooded bastard."
"H-hot-blooded!?"
"If you've got a problem with it, come at me as many times as you want! I'll take you on anytime!"
Riser was shocked to be called hot-blooded, while Issei shouted boldly, clearly hoping to provoke another fight. For some reason, he looked rather manly doing it. Ravel, who had just watched him risk himself to prevent damage to her brother, also stared at him in surprise.
"And if you ever so much as approach Senpai again, that'll be the day you die! Keep that in mind!"
After leaving that final warning, Riser frowned but had no choice but to accept it. It seemed like things were ending peacefully—until...
'This still isn't enough...'
Issei still wasn't satisfied.
"And this is for making Senpai cry!!"
At the moment when both Ravel and Riser had let their guard down, thinking it was all over, Issei's full-force kick slammed into Riser's face. Riser was sent flying and crashed into a wall, losing consciousness at once. Issei felt thoroughly refreshed.
"Brother!!"
Ravel rushed to Riser with a panicked expression. And so the duel between Riser and Issei ended in Issei's victory. When Issei stepped off the field—
"Issei!"
"Senpai!?"
Rias threw herself at him, and Issei, startled, caught her. Rias was in his arms, shedding tears of joy.
"Thank you, Issei..."
"Senpai..."
'Heh! Senpai is in my arms!! I'm so glad I'm still alive!'
With Rias crying in his arms, he felt like he could die without regret. He wrapped both arms around her body. The soft, warm heat of Rias's body and her sweet fragrance made him so happy he forgot even the pain in his arms.
"Ouch!"
He'd hugged her too hard, and when the burned skin on his arms rubbed against his clothes, he finally noticed the pain and groaned.
"Issei...? Those injuries..."
Seeing his arms red and burned, Rias looked worried, as if it were her own injury. This kind of wound would heal quickly with Hashirama cells, but since he had to keep up the act—and because he was taking advantage of the situation—he left it alone.
"This much is fine. If I go back and ask my master to heal me, I'll be better in no time."
"But..."
"It's okay."
Worried that the Devils might do something strange while treating him, Issei used Hashirama as an excuse. Even so, Rias still looked uneasy, but when Issei smiled gently and spoke—
"Senpai...?"
"Issei..."
"Mmph!"
Suddenly Rias grabbed his face, leaned closer and closer, and then their lips met. More than anything, Issei had wanted this situation, and he was on the verge of going wild with joy.
"It's your first kiss, right? In Japan, isn't that something girls treasure?"
"I-is someone like me really okay?"
He had assumed she had plenty of romantic experience, so the words "first kiss" shocked him quite a bit.
"This is all I can do for now... You don't dislike me, do you?"
"No! I'm more than satisfied!"
"But that's still not enough for me!"
"Mmph!"
Rias attacked him again, and because she had become so aggressively forward, Issei was the one who ended up flustered. But soon he was happily savoring Rias's soft, sweet lips. And while they were doing this in the middle of the crowd—
"Ahem!"
"Brother!?"
"Well, it's nice to see a young man and woman passionately sharing their love, but perhaps you should choose the place a little more carefully. Ahem!"
Only then did Rias notice the eyes of the crowd around them. Her face turned redder and redder, until she finally buried it in Issei's chest. Sirzechs looked at the two of them and smiled softly.
"The engagement between my little sister Rias Gremory and Riser Phoenix is hereby annulled. If anyone has any objections, come before me personally!"
He declared it to all the Devils in a voice filled with magical power. The entire hall fell silent.
"Hyoudou Issei, then. Your wish has been fulfilled. From now on, make Rias happy."
"O-older brother!?"
"Y-yes, sir! I will absolutely make Rias Senpai happy!"
"Even Issei...? Really!"
Rias was flustered by Sirzechs's sudden remark, and Issei was on the verge of losing his mind with joy, as if he had just received his father-in-law's blessing for marriage. Well, it wasn't actually approval from the person who mattered most, but at the very least it was permission on the level that, if Rias agreed, they could start making babies right away. And with Rias's adorable sulking, this incident came to an end. But there was one being who had watched all of this in silence, and that was—
"Pull yourself together, Ravel Phoenix! Your opponent is a human!"
Ravel Phoenix, who for some reason was fighting with him without even knowing why.
.
.
.
Immediately after the commotion in the venue ended, the unconscious Riser Phoenix was being transported home alone. Partway through, he woke up.
"I... lost to a human like that... Grrr!"
He slammed his fist into the wall, furious and humiliated, and the rage surging through him felt like it might explode at any moment.
"Do you think I, Riser Phoenix, will retreat like this!? A human like that!"
Unlike a Devil, he had been defeated by an inferior human, and he swore he would get his revenge no matter what. No matter what, he would make Hyoudou Issei miserable. But before Riser's resolve could even be carried out—
"! W-who are you people!?"
"Mmmph!"
Suddenly, the carriage he was being transported in came to a noisy stop, then fell silent. Riser stepped outside to see what was happening, and...
"Y-you guys!?"
"Riser Phoenix. This is our target."
Black cloaks with red clouds embroidered on them. It was [Akatsuki], a name already known across the world. And at the word "target," Riser looked extremely flustered.
"Y-you bastards! How dare you speak like that in front of me!"
"Hong Baksa. Capture him."
"Yes~ Billy~"
"Y-you guys, what a—mmph!"
They subdued Riser by force and stuffed him whole into a sack.
"Then let's go home, Billy~ Fufufu."
"I'm looking forward to tonight~ ang~"
Two men—one called Billy, who suddenly stripped off his shirt, and another called Hong Baksa, a bald man with a shy, girl-like expression—licked their lips while looking at the sack containing their captive...
what the...