Five Minutes Before

  Asia could not deny how envious she was of how unaffected Natsuki was by the environment they had just entered. Asia staggered after Natsuki, sweat dripping down her forehead, her skin prickling from the searing air.

  The Infernal Grounds were designed as if someone had taken an active volcano and decided to increase the intensity of it a hundredfold; fire geysers erupted without warning, rivers of molten rock cut through the nd like veins, and the air itself was so hot it burned in her lungs.

  Ash and smoke had risen high into the sky, making it hard to see more than a couple of meters ahead, and had made it almost impossible for them to fly, forcing the two Devils to walk once they had reached the territory.

  "Every single zone in this pce really is designed to wear us down even before fights can break out." Natsuki said aloud, her voice steady despite the oppressive heat around them.

  And this only served to make Asia more jealous over how cool and detached Natsuki was, as if this was all just another obstacle, instead of a dangerous and terrible terrain that could seriously injury them.

  How is she so unaffected?! Asia thought, seeing that Natsuki was not even sweating.

  "Can you sense Saji-san?" Asia asked, jumping when a nearby crater popped open, spewing magma upwards, moving to avoid the droplets.

  "I can, he's at the top of that volcano." Natsuki said, pointing to the rgest of the surrounding volcanoes, the one whose peak could not be seen from where they stood, disappearing into the smoke.

  "Of course he is." Asia sadly muttered, dreading the inevitable climb.

  Before the Bishop could walk forward, Natsuki put her arm out, stopping her.

  "Natsuki-san? Why are we stopping? We have to get to the top so we can face Saji-san before the terrain changes." Asia said, looking at the other Devil confused.

  "We do, but we're not going up there. It's been about fifteen minutes since this game started, so Saji would have had ample time to set up any traps and study every inch of the mountain top while waiting for us." Natsuki expined, "It would be stupid for us to go up there while knowing that, so I say we bring the bastard down here and make things a little fairer."

  Natsuki then created a Bck Bolt that was rger than her head, cocked her arm back and unched the ball of energy straight up, about a few meters underneath where she could feel Saji standing.

  A few moments passed before a powerful explosion rocked the Infernal Grounds, the sky lighting up with orange and red hues as va, molten rock, and soot began to rain down from where Natsuki's attack had pierced the volcano.

  Asia created a barrier around herself and Natsuki, shielding them from the onsught, a rge cloud of dust quickly flew past them, obscuring their vision of everything outside the barrier.

  When the dust settled, most of the volcano had been destroyed, leaving only its now hollowed base and a rge pool of va that surrounded it.

  Natsuki slowly lifted her head and looked directly above her and Asia, "You can stop hiding now, Saji."

  Saji dropped down from where he had hidden himself within the smoke, clicking his teeth as he nded a couple of meters away from the two girls. "Was blowing up the mountain really necessary?"

  "Of course it was, I would be a terrible friend if I made Asia here climb such a monstrosity. Besides, it's not as if you weren't able to avoid it." Natsuki smirked at the other Pawn as she gave him a zy wave.

  "You know, I was expecting Hyoudou to be the one I was going to face here." Saji smirked, crossing his arms in front of him. "Did he change his mind about fighting and decided to hide like a coward?"

  "He had more important things to do than to be a battery for you and Vritra." Natsuki said, gncing at the bracer on Saji's hand. "But don't worry about him, I'm your opponent today, Saji, and for your sake, I'll make this quick."

  "Funny, I was about to say the same thing to you!" Saji shouted as he shot a line at her from his [Absorption Line].

  Natsuki waited until the line grew close enough to her before jumping over it, her feet barely had time to touch the ground before she was forced to jump again to avoid second line that fired while the first was still active.

  He's increased the number of lines he can create. Natsuki thought, watching as four more lines extended out of the [Absorption Line, flying at her.

  She dodged them with ease, her eyes widening when she realized that the lines were no longer chasing her but had abruptly veered towards Asia.

  Asia quickly created a barrier to block the pale blue lines and keep them from wrapping around her. Instead, the lines tched onto the barrier and began to rapidly absorb the magic of it.

  Asia's eyes widened, she could feel the lines pulling magic from her own body through the connection she had with her barrier. The more the lines took, the more she was forced to channel into her spell to keep it from breaking apart and allowing the lines to grab her.

  Natsuki growled, grabbing the lines and ripping them off Asia's barrier, but before she could do anything else, Saji disconnected them from his bracer.

  Saji smirked, feeling the energy, he had just absorbed from Asia flowing through him, but even them, the amount he took from the Bishop did not compare to the power he absorbed during those few seconds Natsuki was holding onto his lines.

  Is this the kind of magical power that Sukehiro just has normally? Even just this small amount is making me feel like I can do just about anything. No wonder she's one of Rias-sama's prized servants. Saji thought.

  The Pawn was about to taunt his opponents when he felt his world entirely shift as he was suddenly knocked off his feet and sent hurdling backwards. For the first few seconds, Saji only felt a terrible pain in the left side of his face from where he had just been punched, then pain erupted throughout his back as he hit the ground with enough force to crack the hard earth.

  Natsuki did not let up on the attack, quickly closing the distance between them, winding her leg back and kicking Saji in the head as hard as she could, aiming for the same pce where she had just punched him.

  Once again, Saji's body was turned into a projectile, bouncing off the ground, his body leaving small indents with each bounce.

  Natsuki had kept pace with Saji as he flew back and was about to attack him again when the other Pawn created a new line, one that started to glow ominously before exploding in shower of bzing hot light, temporarily blinding Natsuki and Asia.

  Natsuki squeezed her eyes shut but she could still feel the burn, she was annoyed by the attack but was not as bothered by it as she knew that she would be fine even with the loss of sight.

  Saji created serval absorbing lines, twisting them around each other, and creating a long club like appendage with them. He then raised it high and tried to bring it down on Natsuki, but the other Pawn jumped to the side, avoiding it entirely as the bundle of lines smmed into the ground, kicking up dust and soot.

  Saji rushed Natsuki, throwing kicks and swings of his giant line at her, but Natsuki nimbly avoided each blow. Saji gritted his teeth realizing that even without her vision, Natsuki was able to read him, her sensory abilities were even stronger than before.

  When Natsuki felt her vision starting to return to her, she quickly ran at Saji again, intent on finishing the fight once and for all. And when the blurriness finally vanished from her eyes, she was met with the sight of the [Absorption Line] having a line that was connected to Saji's chest.

  Saji then raised his hand, firing a rge magical bst at Natsuki, which Natsuki absorbed, shuddering at how different the magic felt than anything else she had absorbed.

  "What the hell?" Natsuki muttered, watching as Saji started to move faster than before, quick enough to tch a line onto her wrist, lifting Natsuki up into the air and smming her into the ground.

  Natsuki could feel Saji stealing from her through the line and quickly summoned her Holy Sword, using it to cut the line.

  Be careful, Natsuki. Lux said, speaking to her for the first time since the fight with Saji began through their link. He is converting his own life force into magic power, that is why he has suddenly become so much stronger.

  "That's possible?" Natsuki asked, staring at Saji cautiously.

  Anything is possible if you are stupid enough to take the risk. Lux said.

  Natsuki smiled, "You really are a determined bastard, Saji. Using your own life force to make yourself stronger, are you really committed to doing something so reckless?"

  Saji shrugged, "With my low magical aptitude and base strength, this is the only way for me to perform powerful attacks, and to keep up with the likes of you, Sukehiro. And you're the st person who should be calling me reckless; I learned this little trick from watching your fight against Riser. You allowed the dragon within your Sacred Gear to control your body and push your body to its physical and magical peak. I can't do exactly what you did, but this is the closest thing I could do to replicate the same effect."

  "I can't say that I'm not impressed by your resolve, but sadly, you're not going to win here. Using even the st scrapes of your life won't be enough for you to beat me, Saji." Natsuki said, her eyes fshing gold.

  "Sona Sitri-sama. Rook, retired. Unable to continue." Grayfia suddenly announced, briefly drawing the three Devils' attention away from each other.

  Saji frowned when he heard this, knowing that it was now just him, Tsubaki, and Sona left. He then quickly spped his hand against the ground and forced several lines into the earth, pushing them deeper into the ground. Within seconds, the lines sprang out from the dirt, and had entrapped Asia, coiling around the Bishop like snakes.

  "Asia!" Natsuki yelled, throwing the Sword of Methuseh towards Asia, fire spewing from the bde as it cut through the lines that were wrapped around Asia.

  Asia hit the ground with a harsh thud, her skin becoming deathly pale, dark circles forming under her eyes, and she struggled to lift her head.

  Natsuki ran to Asia's side, helping the girl sit up, "Are you okay, Asia?"

  "H-He to-took my magic" Asia said, struggling to speak properly, "I-I-I-I f-feel so weak right now."

  "I know, but at least he didn't take enough to eliminate you." Natsuki said, looking up and gring at Saji.

  She could feel Asia's magic strengthening Saji,

  "Sona Sitri-sama. Queen, retired. Unable to continue. Rias Gremory-sama. Knight, retired. Unable to continue. Rias Gremory-sama. Rook, retired. Unable to continue. Rias Gremory-sama. Pawn, retired. Unable to continue."

  What the fuck just happened?! Natsuki thought after hearing the announcement, realizing that she could no longer feel her friends' magical signatures across the battlefield.

  I can still feel Akeno, but her signature is pretty weak. So, she was the only one who didn't get eliminated? What the fuck did Tsubaki do to them?

  "Tsubaki-senpai." Saji clicked his teeth, realizing that the Queen must have gone with their st resort pn with their team's Pheonix Tears.

  He hated that Tsubaki felt the need to use Reversal just to pull off a victory, that he could not end things between himself and Natsuki to get to her in time.

  "Sukehiro!" Saji yelled, a dark aura forming around his body, the iris of his left eye becoming bck and his sclera becoming dark purple as he gred at her with both frustration and determination. "I was hoping to face Issei today, but this is even better, you know? You and I essentially have the same Sacred Gear; we have the ability to take the powers of others and make it our own. We both want to win no matter the cost, and we both hate it when our dreams and the dreams of people we care about are disrespected. You said that even the st scrapes of my life won't be enough for me to beat you? Well, that's where your fucking wrong! Everyone one in my Peerage has given their all to win, so if I can't do the same, then I can't be a man who can stand by their sides, by Kaichou's side! I'm going to beat you, Sukehiro, and show all of Hell why you should underestimate me and the resolve of my friends!"

  "The. Same. Sacred. Gear?" Lux asked aloud, wanting Saji to hear her as her voice was filled with murderous intent. "You dare compare my power to that of Vritra's? The weakest among all the Five Dragon Kings? He is nothing more than a pale imitation, one who sought to encroach on my domain! Natsuki."

  "Yeah, Lux?" Natsuki asked, amused because she had never heard Lux sound so insulted and infuriated at the same time. She was sure that if Lux had a physical presence in this pne of reality, then Lux would be gring at Saji with the fury of a thousand suns.

  "Let us kill this miserable fool." Lux hissed, the jewel on Natsuki's neckce glowing brighter in corretion to the dragon's rage.

  Natsuki chuckled, turning to look at Asia, "Asia, get out here, things are going to become very dangerous from here on out."

  Asia tried to keep Natsuki from walking away, almost regretting how quickly she jumped to her feet as she became dizzy. "But Natsuki-san-"

  "Asia, Saji took most of your magic, you can barely stand." Natsuki said.

  Asia became indignant, "But I can still help!"

  "I know you can, which is why I want you to go to the Thunder Gym. Akeno hasn't been eliminated like the others, I can feel her magic, but just barely. I think she might be injured or unconscious due to whatever happened over there." Natsuki said, seeing the expression that was on the girl's face, "I'm not sending you away because I think you're weak, Asia. But you would be more useful letting your energy replenish itself and helping Akeno than here with me."

  Asia understood what Natsuki was saying, with the boost Saji had gotten, Akeno's unknown condition, and her own weakened state, this would be the sensible course of action to take but a small part of her still felt like she was being pushed away because she would be a liability to Natsuki against Saji.

  Asia nodded her head, "Be careful, Natsuki-san."

  Natsuki turned away from Asia, walking until she was a couple of meters away from the other Pawn, feeling Asia's presence slowly moving further away from them. "Go Yellow Dragon! Heavenly Absorption!"

  "Let's do this!" Saji shouted, bck and purple fmes sprouting out from his bracer, coating his hand, staring at Natsuki who now stood in her Scale Mail.

  "Terrian change commencing!" A loud robotic voice rang out across the battlefield.

  "What the hell?!" Natsuki excimed as the ground began to glow with a bright white light.

  I think Onii-sama and the others were a bit too liberal when it came to making this zone a water based one. Rias thought as she surveyed the area from the skies.

  It was a strange experience to come out of the never-ending corridors and twisting staircases of the Ruined Library and suddenly finding herself in what looked like the middle of the ocean.

  Of course, this ocean was not completely barren, as right in the middle were the remnants of four submerged and destroyed apartment buildings, recognizing it as the ones that her school had used specifically for university aged student and students who did not have a home or family they could live with.

  Logic dictated that Sona had to be in one of the four buildings, given that Rias had not seen any sighting of her since she entered the zone. And Sona would have to be in one of the few upper levels that were sitting above the water as Rias was sure that Sona would not have the strength to maintain a barrier around herself to keep herself from drowning if she wanted to dive into any of the lower floors.

  But I can't just assume that Sona can't stay beneath the water, if the rest of her Peerage has gotten stronger than it would be the same for her too.

  Rias thought about destroying them, but she was not sure if she could destroy all four at once, and this course of action also came with the risk of not taking Sona out and leaving Rias severely weakened in case she needed to fight. She was not Issei or Natsuki who could waste copious amounts of magic and replenish their reserves in a quick amount of time.

  Rias took a few moments to sense Sona, finding her in the furthest building from where she was currently floating. Rias knew that the element of the terrain was not only working against her, but with how long Rias took to arrive at the Flooded Dorms, Sona would have had enough time to make the building far more dangerous for her.

  Reluctantly, Rias decided to enter the apartment building, flying through a rge hole that had formed at the top.

  When she lowers herself inside, Rias can feel that the building is colder than the outside, not as much as the Gcial Courtyard was, but enough to be noticeable. The building was snted, and water soaked the walls and floors, doors were ripped off their hinges, furniture was scattered about and broken.

  The King chose to remain in the air and traverse the building with her wings as opposed to walking, not wanting to take the risk of stepping onto a hidden seal of tripwire.

  As she slowly flew through the hallways, Rias coated her body in a thin, almost invisible yer of Power of Destruction, just in case she was unable to react to anything thrown at her quickly enough.

  Only the sound of dripping and sloshing water could be heard within the dormitory, adding to the unsettling atmosphere.

  Just when Rias reached the stairwell and walked through the doorway, a seal suddenly appeared on the ceiling above her, glowing a light blue color.

  The seal exploded in Rias' face, releasing a rge dragon made of water that flew towards her. The construct tched its teeth onto Rias and smmed her through several floors.

  When Rias reached the fourth floor, the water dragon began to shake vigorously before breaking apart and turning into normal water, spilling onto the ground. Rias was left unscathed by the encounter; her Power of Destruction having shielded her from harm.

  "That was-" Rias did not have time to assess the situation as six more seals around her activated, this time creating thick chains, that wrapped around Rias' body, preventing her from moving.

  "You've gotten really annoying since the st time we faced each other." Rias looked up and saw Sona calmly enter the room, but Rias knew the other girl well enough to see the underlying irritation in her expression and in her voice.

  Despite her predicament, Rias smiled confidently at Sona, "What can I say, real fights are quite different from games of chess. Isn't that why I'm currently winning? Because you weren't able to adapt fast enough?"

  Sona frowned, a part of her knew that she had underestimated Rias going into this match, surprised that most of her servants had been taken out so quickly. "I'm not surprised that you came to face me, you've always been the hardheaded and straight forward type of pnner. But abandoning your own base, coming here by yourself, and even the way you divided your servants, none of that would have been something that you would do."

  "That felt like an insult." Rias said, increased the output of her magic, breaking the water chain.

  Sona quickly created another water dragon, this one twice the size of the one that she had pced with the stairwell, taking up most of the hallway and letting out a monstrous roar. It flew at Rias with breakneck speed, tearing up the floor and wall.

  Rias used her Power of Destruction to create a hole in the floor and jumped into it, avoiding the spell. She then aimed at where she knew Sona had been standing, destroying the ceiling and the water dragon with the bst.

  Sona had avoided the bst, having created a barrier around herself, and was now floating above Rias in her protective bubble.

  Rias held her hands out in front of her, sending a rge torrent of fire hurdling towards Sona's barrier, watching as steam began to rise off it.

  "You can't hold that barrier forever, especially not by yourself, Sona!" Rias excimed, increasing the intensity of her spell.

  "Who said that is what I'm trying to do?" Sona asked condescendingly.

  Sona then cpped her hands together, revealing countless yered seals that were pced all throughout the hallway, triggering a rge chain reaction.

  A rge herd of animal constructs, hawks, serpents, valiant lions, wolves, and dragons were formed and immediately charged Rias.

  Rias tried to destroy as many constructs as she could but was forced to flee when she started to become overwhelmed by the sheer volume of them, unable to destroy them faster than more could be produced from Sona's seals.

  "Sona Sitri-sama. Rook, retired. Unable to continue." Rias smirked when she heard this announcement, running deeper into the building.

  Eventually, Rias found herself being forced towards a rge room, one that was suspiciously bare, making the hair on the back of her neck stand on end when door suddenly closed behind her.

  Rias immediately fired a magic bullet at the door, her eyes widening when the bullet phased into the door, the entire room briefly glowing a bright purple color when it did. She then quickly created a barrier around herself, knowing that this had to be another trap courtesy of her rival.

  "Sona Sitri-sama. Queen, retired. Unable to continue. Rias Gremory-sama. Knight, retired. Unable to continue. Rias Gremory-sama. Rook, retired. Unable to continue. Rias Gremory-sama. Pawn, retired. Unable to continue."

  Ise, Koneko, and Yuuto have been eliminated? Rias thought, clenching her fists.

  Her anger grew when several more seals revealed themselves on the walls and ceiling, pilrs and blocks of water sprouting out from each one, smming into her barrier repeatedly.

  Two more seals suddenly showed themselves, one beneath Rias' feet, which caused ice to slowly start making its way up her legs, freezing her to the ground. The second seal was next to the one on the ceiling, a stream of water pouring out of it and quickly flooding the room.

  Rias gasped as the ice started to climb higher up her body, she could not take the risk of putting down one hand to try and destroy the constructs that were trying to attack and having her barrier break due to having the magic she would be channeling into both, not being enough.

  Damn it! Rias forced more Demonic Power into her barrier while struggling to properly push her Power of destruction outward to melt the ice that threatened to encapsute her.

  Rias closed her eyes and took a deep breath, she could not afford to start panicking, not now when half of her Peerage had already been taken out of this game, and not when her remaining servants needed her to do her part.

  As she rexed, Rias remembered what her mother had told her during her training and began to focus on her Demonic Power.

  A red aura formed around her body once more, shattering the ice that had been slowly covering her body. Her Power of Destruction then started to seep into the floor, breaking the magic seal beneath her and melting a hole in the floor.

  Rias took another breath before jumping into the hole as quickly as she could, hearing Sona's pilrs and walls crashing into the floor, and seeing the water that had been filling the room, falling through the hole with her.

  As she was falling, Rias noticed that the area looked as if serval floors of the building had been carefully cut away, making it into a rge room that just like the prison she had escaped, was devoid of any furniture or other openings.

  And at the very bottom stood Sona, the other King, already holding her arms out in front of her, having been waiting for Rias to make her appearance. A pool of water encased the space, coming up to Sona's waist, giving enough of her element to make this oncoming attack possible.

  She knew that the trap she had made above her would not be strong enough to take Rias out of the game and had been waiting here since she had chased Rias off with her swarm of water constructs for the final part of her pn.

  Water around her started to rise, quickly moving in front of Sona to form a very sizable sphere. A swirling mass of Demonic Power infused water that sounded like a typhon.

  "It's over now, Rias." Sona said, "This is the culmination of all of my training; Hydro Sphere!"

  Rias summoned her wings, increasing the density of her Power of Destruction cloak while creating another barrier around herself, preparing for the attack.

  "Terrian change commencing!" A loud robotic voice rang out just as Sona had unched her attack.

  The building began to glow with a bright white light, one that blinded both girls and kept them from being able to see what happened next.

  Rias felt terribly disoriented and nauseous as the air shifted around her, her body jerking forward as she was ripped out of the air and sent crashing to the ground.

  When she opened her eyes, Rias found herself standing within the Verdant Garden again, jumping to her feet and narrowing avoiding a nearby tree that had suddenly tipped over.

  I hate this zone! Rias thought.

  When she first flew through this area on her way to get to the Flooded Dorms, Rias had thought that the Verdant Garden was a normal forest, until the pnts around her started to move on their own, revealing that they were sentient and were trying their hardest to pull her out of the sky and hold her down.

  And it made her question just how Kusaka, Hanakai, Nimura, and Meguri could have made the journey through the forest as quickly as they did.

  Rias nearly lost her bance when she felt the ground shake followed by the sound of a rge explosion coming from southwest of where she stood.

  I guess Sona's new spell must have hit something. Rias turned in that direction and ran forward.

  In the blink of an eye, Natsuki found herself ripped off her feet, her vision spinning as the ground beneath her feet. When the light disappeared, gone was the boiling heat and rock terrain of the Infernal Grounds, and in its pce was a massive library where the ws of physics had no sway.

  The space was filled with long winding hallways, bookshelves so that they went through the ceiling in some cases, floating Necker cubes and Penrose stairs, and countless doors that were scattered all over.

  "This has to be the Ruined Library." Natsuki said to herself as she looked around, "Ugh, if the terrain changes are like this, then I'm gd it takes so long for one to happen. We would have been fucked if this happened in faster intervals."

  Natsuki jumped to the side when she sensed Saji trying to sneak up on her, nding on a nearby door that was pced on the ground as she stared at the other Pawn.

  Natsuki's eyes narrowed from behind her helmet, "Trying to sneak up on me? Really, Saji?"

  Saji clicked his tongue, his [Absorption Line] glowing as his lines writhed like serpents, "Can you bme me? This is the perfect spot to pin you down and bleed you dry."

  "Cute. You think you're the hunter-" Natsuki vanished in a blur of speed, reappearing behind Saji with her fist cocked back. "When really you're the prey."

  Saji whipped his lines around, tching onto one of the floating Penrose staircases, allowing it to carry him away and dodge her strike.

  The staircase rotated on itself, and suddenly Saji was above her, crashing down with a mac he formed with his lines.

  "Persistent little bastard." Natsuki hissed, catching the strike on her Holy Sword.

  "You're damn right. Kaichou trained us to never give up until the very end." Saji's voice was ragged, but his aura burned hotter, his life force feeding Vritra's fmes as they burned around him. "You're Bance breaker isn't going to be enough here!"

  Natsuki scoffed, "Yeah, that's what you think. Void Shatter!"

  Saji's eyes widened when he watched an inky bck aura pour out from Natsuki's hands, marking the ground with a bck sun. The moment that the sun appeared, Saji found it hard to control his fmes and within an instant the purple fire around him was snuffed out.

  Natsuki used this moment to cut through Saji's lines and punch him in the face, sending him flying through several bookcases, scattering debris everywhere.

  Saji growled when he smmed into the ground, creating new lines and throwing them in Natsuki's direction.

  Given the nature of their abilities, Saji knew that trying to fight Natsuki magically would be pointless, and he was sure that Natsuki thought the same. His best course of action would be to take as much energy from Natsuki as possible and keep their fight purely physical, although even this was also looking to be a hard obstacle to overcome.

  Natsuki used the Sword of Methuseh to cut through the barrage with ease, flying at Saji so quickly that she was tearing up the floor and knocking multiple staircases out of the way.

  Saji created two more lines adding them to the one that was connecting his bracer and his heart, increasing the speed at which he was draining his life force and the output of his Demonic Power. The fmes around him exploded outward, lighting a good portion of the library on fire as he ran forward.

  Not one to be outmatched, Natsuki used the Sword of Methuseh's Holy properties to create Holy fire, coating the bde with it.

  When Saji's bck and purple fmes and Natsuki's Holy fire met, the entire library quaked under the impact of the two opposing energies violently grinding against each other. Bookshelves splintered, staircases shattered into fragments, and even the walls seemed to ripple, straining not to split apart.

  For a moment, it looked like Saji was holding his ground against the opposing bze, until Natsuki twisted her wrist and poured more power into the sword. The Holy fire fred brighter, burning through the dark aura around Saji and forcing him backwards. Saji grit his teeth, veins bulging in his arms as his lines wrapped around nearby shelves, throwing them at the other Pawn to try and shield himself, but the wood instantly burned to ash when they got too close.

  "Damn it!" Saji roared, his body trembling as more of his life force was siphoned into his [Absorption Line]. His aura spiked again, nearly doubling in intensity, "I won't lose here!"

  Saji ignored the indescribable pain he felt throughout his body as the Hoy fire started to grow, burning him, his Devil body making the pain that much worse.

  I won't let this be the end, who cares about fucking fire or what it's doing to my body, I'm going to win! Saji thought, both his eyes now having changed color, his fmes growing brighter and rger.

  Natsuki. Lux said to her partner. Let this boy absorb your Demonic Power.

  Are you sure? Natsuki thought, frowning as she felt Saji's power continuing to rise.

  He will not be able to keep this up forever, he will pteau sooner rather than ter. That is why he fighting so feverishly, he knows that the longer this fight continues, the worse his chances of winning are. Do you remember what Issei did to Vali during that fight? Lux said.

  Natsuki grinned beneath her helmet as she realized what the dragon was trying to tell her. Yeah, I remember, Lux. Let's test his resolve and see how long his life can hold out against mine!

  Natsuki allowed Saji's lines to wrap around her and immediately began to force out more of her Demonic Power.

  "Giving up already?" Saji ughed, getting drunk on the energy his lines were feeding him and watching as the Holy fire around Natsuki briefly flicker and weaken.

  Natsuki ughed brightly, raising her left hand and pointing it directly at Saji's face, "You really don't get it, do you?"

  Saji's grin faltered, "What?"

  Natsuki's aura surged again, making the lines on Saji's arms glow so brightly they looked ready to burst. And as she did this, Natsuki's left hand started to glow a bright gold color, "I haven't perfected this new move yet, my training with Tannin was a bit too short. But I'm sure this will be enough for someone as greedy as you."

  Saji released the lines that were covering Natsuki's body as he tried to jump back, his instincts screaming at him to get as far away from her as possible. But it was too te, Natsuki was not going to give Saji the time to escape.

  "Sor Fre: Burning Judgment!" Natsuki roared, unleashing the golden energy from her hand in a blinding bst.

  The attack detonated point-bnk, tearing through the space around them as if a miniature sun had been born in her palm. Bookshelves disintegrated to ash, staircases shattered into nothingness, and whole chunks of the surreal ndscape flickered in and out of existence from the sheer force of the impact.

  Saji was gone, the explosion's impact having sent his body flying through one of the Ruined Library walls. Half of the building was gone, revealing the expanse of the Gcial Courtyard as the remains of the library burned all around Natsuki.

  Saji's body hit the icy ground hard three kilometers away, forming a crater as his fmes sputtering out into nothingness. His breathing was ragged, blood spilling from his mouth, his entire body trembling from the overload of power Natsuki had forced into him.

  Saji's [Absorption Line] deactivated, his eyes had returned to their normal color, ying out in the cold covered in blood, his body horribly burned, and his clothes were shredded beyond repair.

  But even in his defeat, Saji still smiled, "Heh… damn it… even if I… lose… Kaichou's pns… will still…"

  Natsuki's Bance Breaker immediately deactivated and broke apart due to how much Demonic Power she had just unleashed. Natsuki's left arm, torso, and neck were entirely scorched, blood dripping from the cracks of her bckened skin, the smell of burnt flesh wafting through the air.

  "Damn stubborn bastard. You earned my respect, Saji… but it's over now." Natsuki huffed, trying her hardest to remain standing.

  "Sona Sitri-sama. Pawn, retired. Unable to continue." Grayfia's voice announced coldly across the field as Saji's eyes rolled into the back of his head and his body disappeared in a shower of light.

  "I suppose the little Pawn will learn his lesson about making such false assumptions." Lux said, purring with satisfaction once Saji was gone.

  Natsuki let out a snort, "You're fucking impossible."

  "You do not understand what it like to have others attempt to steal what is yours." Lux voiced.

  "Yeah, yeah, I know, branding is important and all that shit for famous dragons." Natsuki said sarcastically.

  Lux huffed, "Are you going to stand here and continue to hurl childish insults, or are you going to find Rias? From what we know, it is only the Sitri heir that is left of her Peerage."

  "In a minute or two." Natsuki groaned, "Fuck, Tannin was right; I should not have used Sor Fre during this game. I can barely move, I doubt I would be much use even if I did get to the Verdant Garden."

  "Then we should get to Asia so she can heal you."

  Natsuki let out another groan, she could sense Asia, she had reached Akeno just shortly after her and Saji and found themselves in the Ruin Library. And she knew that both were currently in the furthest zone from her, the Crystal Caverns.

  Natsuki pressed her fingers against her communicator, "Asia? Akeno?"

  "Natsuki-san!" Asia excimed, "Are you okay? I heard Grayfia-san's announcement, you took out Saji-san?"

  "I did, although I may have hurt myself doing so." Natsuki said.

  "May have?" Asia asked, finding the way Natsuki was addressing this to be strange and suspicious.

  "May have." Natsuki repeated, "Is Akeno okay?"

  Asia hesitated, "I… I found her buried under some ruble, but thankfully the terrain shifted, and we found ourselves in the Cyrtal Caverns, so I didn't have to dig her out. I have already healed her but…. But she's been unresponsive."

  Natsuki stood straighter, "Unresponsive? What do you mean?"

  "Akeno-senpai hasn't acknowledged my presence since I found her, and she hasn't moved from where she's sitting. She's just been staring off into the distance, and nothing I have been doing is working."

  Natsuki frowned, "Maybe she's just in shock. When the games over, we can take her to one of Rias' healers and they'll be able to help."

  "I hope so." Asia muttered, "I'm really worried about her."

  "Just stay there and keep watching over her, I'm going to try and get to you two as quickly as I can."

  "Wait!" Asia excimed, "You said that we must do what is most important. I-I think Akeno-senpai would feel worse if she found out you left Rias by herself to check on her."

  Natsuki bit her lip, she was worried over Akeno's current state. She wanted to make the excuse that only Sona was left and that Rias should be able to deal with her herself, but she knew that Son was not the type of Devil that should be underestimated.

  "Fucking hell." Natsuki spat, "Don't take your eyes off her, Asia, not even for a moment."

  "I won't, Natsuki-san, I promise I won't."

  Damn it! This is such fucking bullshit! Natsuki began to run, feeling pain through every part of her body as more blood began to ooze out from her injuries.

  "Sona Sitri-sama. Pawn, retired. Unable to continue." Rias would have smiled when she heard this if not because she had yet to find Sona since they nded in the forest.

  When she heard the explosion Sona's Hydro Sphere had created and ran towards it, all she found was a crater in the ground the size of the school's courtyard, but not any sighting of her rival.

  Rias walked through the forest, looking around just waiting for Sona to make her move. This all made her feel like she was in a horror movie, and she was the dumb human girl who was easy pickings for the deranged serial killer.

  "Come on, Sona. I know you're out there." Rias called out, "You're the only one of your Peerage left standing, even if you take me out, there's no way you would have enough power left to deal with Akeno, Natsuki, and Asia, so why don't you just do us both the favor and quit."

  "Giving up would be the logic decision to make." Rias heard Sona respond but could not tell what direction her voice was coming from. "But today, my Peerage gave this game their all, they pushed themselves to the limit just for us to keep the possibility of winning alive. So, I won't shame them by doing less, Rias."

  Rias' eyes widened when a massive Hydro Sphere was conjured in front of her. But instead of unching it immediately as she did before, Sona scattered it into dozens of orbiting spheres, firing them at Ras like bullets.

  Rias created a stone wall in front of her, but it was not strong enough to withstand the onsught that Sona was throwing at her, and the miniature spheres quickly broke through the wall, and smmed into Rias, throwing her into a wall of trees.

  Sona did not give Rias time to find her footing as she cpped her hands together, pulling the water from the foliage around her, draining them dry as she created a massive tide wave and sent it directly at Rias.

  Rias held her breath, gripping onto the tree behind her for dear life to not get swept away by the wave. When it hit her, Rias had to fight the urge not to gasp as the force of the water exasperated the injuries she had just gotten from Sona's Hydro Spheres.

  And to add to her misfortune, another one of Sona's seals suddenly bloomed to life underneath her, releasing ice and pinning Rias' now frozen body against the tree. Her eyes briefly glowed along with a shimmer forming around her body, but Rias was unable to escape her icy prison.

  "This is the difference between us, Rias." Sona said, taking a few steps forward as she prepared to finish the fight, "Even when you try to pn ahead, you still end up relying on brute force to take you to victory. You don't need overwhelming force to win; you just need the right skills and the ability to read your opponent."

  "Brute force has worked out for me so far." Rias joked, hissing as ice started to creep further up her neck.

  "Is that why I'm standing over you right now?" Sona asked, gathering more water in her hands. She then fired the spell at Rias, quickly knocking the girl unconscious.

  "It's over now." Sona muttered, rexing now that the game was over, staring at Rias' bruised face.

  Wait, why hasn't Grayfia- Sona gasped as she felt a horrible pain suddenly emanating from her stomach.

  She was knocked to the ground and when she looked up, she saw Rias standing over her, having just punched her.

  "How did you-" Sona's head snapped towards the pce where Rias had been ying on the ground and watched with horror building within her as the Rias that was there disappeared in a shimmering dispy of light.

  "Did you like my little trick? My illusions are not as good as Kuroka's but watching her fight with them the other night really inspired me." Rias grinned sharply, "Although did does help to sell a cheap imitation when you're being underestimated, you didn't even notice when I made the switch."

  Sona quickly created a barrier around herself, but Rias was faster, crossing her arms in front of her to make an x shape, her arms coated with her Power of Destruction. "Crimson Lotus Nova!"

  Rias let a concentrated beam of her Power of Destruction shoot out from her arms, disintegrating everything in the beam's path.

  The Crimson Lotus Nova was just a destructive and uncontrolble force of nature like most of her attacks with her Power of Destruction were. It had taken her weeks of training to get her control to this point, to refine her power and concentrate it along a few points of her body to increase the spell's strength.

  Sona desperately tried to hold her ground by creating more barriers in front of her each time one was destroyed, but she could not keep pace with Rias' new spell and eventually, Rias' Crimson Lotus Nova vaporized Sona's spells and swallowed her in a bze of red and bck Demonic Power.

  When the dust settled, Sona was on her knees, coughing, her clothes in tatters, Rias' attack having disintegrated most of her skin, exposing the muscle underneath in her attempt to shield herself, and her magic reserves empty.

  "The difference between us is that you need to see a hundred moves ahead, Sona, but I only need one." Rias smirked.

  Sona was breathing heavily and before she could say anything, she fell forward, exhausted and without the strength to continue, disappearing from the field in a shower of light.

  "Combatant Sona Sitri-sama has retired. The victor is Rias Gremory-sama." Grayfia's voice echoed across the battlefield.

  "I did it." Rias whispered, smiling faintly as she rested her hands on her back, now drenched in sweat, her body trembling with exertion.

  At that moment, Natsuki, bloody and limping, burst onto the scene, too te to help. She saw Rias standing in the middle of the forest victorious. "Tch, I guess there really was no need for me to run here as fast as I could, was there?"

  Rias' smile grew as she turned to look at her second Pawn, only for it to fade when she caught sight of Natsuki's appearance. "Natsuki! What happened to you?!"

  "Would you believe me if I told you that I got burned by some sunlight?" Natsuki asked quite calmly for someone who looked as if they had been caught in the middle of an explosion.

  "You're going to give me a damn heart attack one of these days if you keep acting like this! Just what were you thinking?!" Rias yelled.

  Natsuki huffed, "I think the words you're looking for are 'thank you, Natsuki, for doing so much fighting today and helping me win this Rating Game.' If I knew that I was going to be lectured, I would have stayed in the library."

  Before Rias could say anything else, the battlefield began to disappear, indicating that they were being pulled from the mirror dimension and being brought back to the real world.

  "This discussion is not over." Rias said sternly.

  "Of course, Rias-Buchou." Natsuki grinned, making Rias roll her eyes.

  Still, Rias could not keep the smile off her face, riding high from their victory today, and she immediately hugged the taller girl. "Thank you, Natsuki."

  Natsuki still thought there was room for improvement when it came to how they did overall, but she was sure that the higher ups and Azazel would let them know quickly and crush Rias' good mood. Because of this, Natsuki did not want to be the one to do so and decided to keep her opinions to herself.

  Natsuki huffed, allowing Rias to hug her, "Anytime, Buchou."