Kiyoshi sat quietly in place, listening to the rules of this battle. They were transported to a copy of Kuoh Academy, and to win, they had to defeat the king or make him surrender. The student council served as Riser's base, and the Gremorys remained in their club.
— Yuuto, set up an ambush in the forest, — Rias began to give orders, — Riser will definitely send his pawns here for promotion.
— Yes, president, — the swordsman accepted the order and left.
— Issei, go to the gym. There will definitely be enemy pieces there. Show the results of your training. Akeno will cover you.
— There is no need for that, — Zankoku intervened in the conversation. — I am going to directly attack their headquarters, destroying everyone along the way. The gym is just along the way. So focus on defeating the enemy king. After all, I will not fight Riser — he is yours.
— Ufu-fu, how imperious, Kiyoshi, — Akeno was charmed by the behavior of her lover.
— Who do you think you are? Do you think you can handle it alone against everyone? — Hyodo shouted indignantly.
— You will see everything for yourself soon. Ciao! — Without wasting any more time, the half—demon left the room.
Kiyoshi walked calmly, as if on a normal walk. He had long ago decided what he would show in this game today. "Many will be shocked, especially the Phenex clan." At this thought, the blond grinned.
Having reached the building, Zankoku did not linger and entered inside. He did not need to look for opponents or fear an ambush. With the help of senjutsu, it is easy to find weaklings, and there is no one strong in Raiser's team. In Kiyoshi's opinion: Raiser only recruited attractive girls for bed pleasures, and not for battles. Everyone in his harem is a low—ranking demon.
In the center of the hall, three figures stood waiting for someone from the Gremory retinue. When they noticed the approach of a white-haired boy in a suit that they only learned about a few days ago, the girls became wary. Their opponent was a dark horse in this battle and they knew nothing about his fighting skills.
— Are you the new Gremory figure that recently joined her? — asked the girl in a blue Chinese dress, while the twins watched him closely.
— I am not Rias's servant. You can consider me a mercenary for the duration of this match, — the half-demon said with a smile. — Let's not waste any more time and begin?
— Do you think you can handle us alone? — the girl frowned. The blond did not answer, continuing to smile condescendingly, which angered his opponents: — Il, Nel, let's show him our strength.
— Yes! — the twins shouted at the same time.
— I am Shulan, Lord Raiser's rook, — she shouted before the blow. — You will regret underestimating us.
Il and Nel attacked with chainsaws in their hands, trying to hit Zankaku. Shulan covered her comrades, not allowing them to take advantage of their opening for a counterattack. Zankaku calmly dodged, which only angered the girls even more.
"Good teamwork. Not bad, — the young man mentally assessed his opponents. — Not bad, but it can be better!" Strengthening his body with Ki, Kiyoshi kicked the flat part of the "blade" of the saw, breaking it. While the girl was stunned by the increased speed of the enemy and the loss of the weapon, the blond sent her with a blow into the advancing rook.
— Oh, you! — Nel was angry because of her sister. She raised the chainsaw up and brought it down with all her might, trying to cut the white—haired man. — What?! Cough...
Zankoku grabbed the saw's body, not allowing the weapon to move. Before the girl could be surprised, a powerful kick to the chest sent her flying.
— Bastard! — Syulan was full of anger. She had failed to protect her friend again.
The girl used all her strength and swung towards Kiyoshi, but at the last moment she had to retreat, saving her arm.
— Good reaction, — the young man said, waving the chainsaw in his hands, getting used to the weight of the unusual weapon. — Another second and...
Kiyoshi did not continue, but Syulan already knew what would happen in that case. Raiser's rook rushed at the enemy again. To her surprise, the blond threw the saw right at her. While the girl dodged the projectile, she was distracted from her goal for a moment. When Xiulan returned her gaze to Zankoku, a gun had already appeared in the boy's hands. The barrel of the weapon was pointed directly at the girl.
— I've warmed up quite well with you. — The entire battle didn't even take two minutes. Using the power of the Longinus, the half-demon filled the bullets with holy power. — So it's time to finish.
Pulling the trigger, he shot Xiulan in the stomach. The properties of the evil part couldn't help, so the bullet hit the girl's body and began to cause terrible pain. Light always acted like poison for demons, especially such weak ones. The figure of Xiulan screaming in agony was enveloped in light and disappeared, and Grayfia's voice rang out across the Rating Game field:
— Riser Phenex's Rook has been eliminated.
Zankoku turned his attention to the beaten twins. As he was about to send them after his friend, the half-demon felt a powerful magic approaching his direction.
An explosion occurred, completely destroying the gym. The building collapsed, burying everyone inside.
— Two of Riser Phenex's pawns have been eliminated.
Hearing this, Riser's queen clicked her tongue. She had hoped to get rid of Gremory's figure, but he was able to survive her magic. The girl's attention was drawn to movement in one part of the ruins. A huge slab of wall was thrown aside, revealing a completely unharmed youth. Kiyoshi was enveloped in Tohka's purple aura, and only the dust on his suit proved that he had fallen under the rubble.
— With such an ally, you don't need enemies — you'll kill each other yourselves, — the blond said, cracking his neck. — Was it worth it? — He looked into the eyes of the figure hovering in the air.
Yubelluna only smirked at the provocation:
— If you had dropped out too, then the sacrifice would have been justified. We won't die here anyway, we'll just be transported to the infirmary.
— I could argue with that, — an evil smile appeared on the half-demon's face. "If I shot a bullet with holy power into your head or heart, you'll die", but he didn't say it out loud. — I don't want to play with you, so I'll finish quickly.
— Do you have enough strength? The fact that you were able to defeat a rook and a couple of pawns doesn't mean that you can defeat me.
— We'll find out now.
The aura around Kiyoshi became more intense. Combining Toki and senjutsu, his body's power increased many times over, but Zankoku wasn't going to demonstrate even half of his capabilities.
Yubelluna spoke and acted so arrogantly, but in reality, she was watching her opponent very carefully. This helped the girl when Zankoku pushed off the ground in her direction, leaving a crater behind him. The bomb queen flew to the side, avoiding the blow and prepared to attack with her magic, but was unable to.
As soon as Kiyoshi failed to hit the girl with a blow, he used his gun. At such a close distance, Yubelluna was unable to dodge the suddenly appeared weapon. Like the previous time, the bullets were aimed at the torso of her opponent.
To Zankoku's surprise, the girl did not scream in pain, but only clenched her teeth. Looking angrily at the landing guy, the demoness took out a glass vial from her pocket. She splashed half of the liquid on the wound, and drank the other half. In the next few seconds, the bullet came out of the wound, and the girl's body was healed.
— Phoenix Tears are really useful, — the boy commented, standing still and not taking any action.
— Why didn't you attack while I was injured?
— There's no need, — he looked at the approaching figure, — Your opponent has arrived.
— I see you're having fun here without me, — lightning sparkled around Akeno. — I want to play too.
Kiyoshi looked at the girl's sadistic smile, but didn't say anything about it. He turned around and walked on, only saying one word:
— Have fun.
— Raiser Phoenix's three pawns are out.
Ignoring the explosions behind him, Boss Hyakki Yakou advanced towards the enemy base. Near the sports field, from where the building where the student council was located was already visible, several girls from Raiser's retinue were standing. They were preparing to confront Kiyoshi.
Recalling the information he had received, the half-demon determined that he was facing two pawns — the nekomata twins, a knight — a swordswoman with armor elements and a headband, and a bishop — Ravel Phenex. His sister was the only girl not in Raiser's harem. She joined him to gain experience in rating games, because her brother was a very effective player with a lot of victories.
"Our auras are really similar. She is my close relative — that's for sure. — Zankoku thought, studying the blonde. — But to say for sure, I need to see her brother."
— Your path ends here, — Ravel said, stepping out in front of her group. — You will not pass to my brother, — the rest of the girls prepared for battle in confirmation of her words.
— Who said that I need him? — he asked with a grin. — Let his fiancée deal with him. I am not going to fight him.
— Then? — one of the girls asked timidly.
— But you won't sit by while they fight, — the young man stated, not asked. — So we'll have to fight.
— Raiser Phenex's Queen has dropped out.
Grayfia's announcement was the start. The swordswoman used her knight's speed to strike a surprise blow. To her and the others' surprise, Kiyoshi easily dodged it by simply stepping to the side. The next moment, he struck with a blow filled with Ki.
— Carlamine!
— Don't get distracted, — Zankoku took out his gun and looked at the nekomata. — By the way, do you like it at Riser's? If he forcibly turned you and treats you badly, then I can tell Yasaka about it — she'll figure it out.
— The Lord saved us, — Ni said.
— He protects and helps us, — Lee continued.
— We love Lord Riser, — they finished at the same time.
— Okay, — Kiyoshi nodded. "I've fulfilled Kuroki's request. Now all that's left is to wait for this farce to end." — Good luck in your lives.
The half-demon began shooting at the swordswoman and the nekomata who were trying to sneak up on him. The acceleration of the figure and natural agility helped them dodge for a while, but eventually they were taken out of the game.
— Two pawns and Raiser Phenex's knight were out of the game.
Kiyoshi looked at the remaining blonde, who was trying to hit him with fire the whole time.
— You will answer for this, — fiery wings appeared behind Ravel. — A demon of the Phenex clan is not so easy to deal with. With our regeneration, we are immortal, — the girl proudly declared.
— Beautiful wings, — Zankoku did not refute her delusions. — I have the same ones.
— Nonsense. Only my clan can have them, — she waved off this statement and sent another fire attack. — Burn!
Unlike last time, the half-demon did not dodge. The fire engulfed his figure, hiding it from others' views. As Ravel was about to go to her brother, Zankoku emerged from the flames. To the blonde's shock, the boy had wings just like hers behind his back.
— Impossible! — the girl was so shocked that she couldn't react until Kiyoshi came up close to her. — How?
— As you can see, it's possible, — the blond placed his hands on the demoness's shoulders and turned her around. — Let's just stand there and enjoy the show?
Before the girl could ask what he meant, there was an explosion. Raiser and his remaining servants appeared on the roof of the building. Rias stood opposite him with her retinue.
— Brother! — Ravel exclaimed, trying to rush towards him, ignoring the grip on her shoulders.
— Calm down, — the half-demon pressed on the blonde. — Do you really think he'll lose?
While Kiyoshi was speaking, he did not take his eyes off his relative's figure. Using senjutsu, the half-demon compared the auras between himself and Raiser. "Now it's all clear". Zankoku thought with a smile. He was finally able to determine the degree of kinship with the Phenex clan, although it did not mean much to him.
— Of course not! — The girl's words brought him out of his thoughts. — Brother will never lose to that bitch.
— I agree, — such a definition of Gremory amused the guy. — Rias is too weak and stupid.
— Huh?
— I say: you're right. Let's just watch Uncle win, Aunt Ravel, — Zankoku barely held back his laughter as he said this.
— Huh? What?! — Ravel could not comprehend what she had heard.
— Look.
— Riser Phenex's pawn, Rias Gremory's knight and bishop have dropped out.
While three of Raiser's figures were holding Akeno back, Phenex himself was fighting against Rias and Issei. All attacks, including Rias's vaunted power of destruction, were in vain — all damage was instantly regenerated.
Hyoudou closed in for close combat again, but Raiser dodged and grabbed him by the throat. With Kiba out of action, there was no one left to save and protect the owner of the boosted mechanism. Attempts to free herself were in vain, and Rias could not attack, afraid of hurting her servant. The blonde's grip tightened and fire appeared on his hand, causing even more pain to Issei.
Rias fell to her knees and burst into tears. At that moment, Grayfia's voice rang out across the field:
—Rias Gremory has surrendered. Winner: Raiser Phenex.
With that, the Rating Game ended. Everyone was transported back.