Amid roaring cheers, we faced a vast oval field with two floating islands. Sairaorg's Bael team stood on one.
"Gremory team, please proceed to your base!" the announcer called.
The islands were our bases. We climbed a long spiral staircase to ours, facing Bael's team across the field. A massive aerial battle was coming.
Our base had chairs, a mysterious platform, and an elevated teleportation circle. Bael's looked similar.
What's tonight's game format?
"Big bro! Rias-san! Everyone, do your best!" Miu's voice rang out.
I spotted her in the stands to our right, with Irina and Alice—all in school uniforms and headbands! Classic cheerleader style, but Alice pulling it off? Bold!
"Issei! Don't lose, or else!" Alice shouted, hyped.
No need to worry—she's thriving! Thanks for the cheers!
Rias and the others chuckled. I waved at Miu's group, then noticed Reyna's absence. Off somewhere? Ravel was seated slightly apart.
The giant stadium screen showed a flashy man with an earpiece mic. "Good evening, everyone! I'm Naud Gamigin, of the former 72 Pillars Gamigin house, your announcer! Pleased to meet you!"
Pro-level commentary—fitting for this game.
"Tonight's referee: Rudiger Rosenkreutz!" A magic circle appeared, revealing a silver-haired man in formal attire.
"Kyaaa! Rudiger-sama!" Women screamed.
Handsome guy, huh?
"Rudiger Rosenkreutz, former human, now ultimate-class devil, ranked seventh," Koneko explained.
A top-tier devil and pro gamer refereeing? Luxurious!
"Not Grayfia?" I muttered. She officiated Raiser and Sona's games.
"Grayfia's Gremory's maid and Sirzechs's Queen. Bael wouldn't accept her," Akeno said.
Fair point.
"And our special guest commentator, Fallen Angel Governor Azazel!" the announcer added.
…What?
The screen showed Azazel. We gaped. "Pleased to meet you. Azazel here. Looking forward to tonight," he said, smiling.
What's he doing!? He mentioned a special job—this was it!?
There's Reyna, waving cutely beside him, lightly made-up for the cameras. His secretary's on duty.
"Governor Azazel, friend to faction leaders like Sirzechs Lucifer and a Sacred Gear expert, coached Gremory's team. What's your take on this match?" the announcer asked.
"I'm watching how both teams unleash their full strength," Azazel said, flashing a corporate smile. Never seen that before.
The camera shifted to a gray-haired man. "And our other guest, Rating Game champion, Emperor Diehauser Belial!"
"Uooooh!" The crowd's roar shook the stadium.
"Good evening. Diehauser Belial here, commentating Gremory vs. Bael. Pleased to meet you," he said warmly.
That's the Emperor—Rias's dream. Our future opponent.
Rias stared intensely. "Diehauser Belial. Someday… But first, I must defeat the enemy before me to even reach that stage."
Right. Sairaorg's our focus. No underestimating him.
"Now, about Phoenix Tears. Due to Khaos Brigade's terrorism, demand and prices are sky-high, making them hard to secure," the announcer said.
We got few in Kyoto. I assumed none here, but—
"But! Thanks to House Phenex's generosity and support from both teams' fans, each team gets one Tear!" Two ornate vials appeared on-screen.
Ravel did say she'd try. Healing's great, but Bael gets one too.
"Means we need to take down Sairaorg twice," Kiba said grimly.
With Asia's healing, Tears matter less for us. Rias should hold ours—her defeat ends the game.
"Now, the special rule!" the announcer boomed. "This isn't a free-for-all. It's a match-based game for a short, thrilling battle, designed to hype the crowd. A pro-level youth game!"
One-on-one matches? Tough for Gasper or Asia, who shine in teams.
"Both Kings, approach the platforms!" Rias and Sairaorg moved. A die appeared on each platform.
"The special rule: Dice Figure, a major Rating Game format!"
Dice Figure? New to me.
Kiba explained, "Our past games were basic. Pro games have complex rules. Dice Figure's one. There's also Scramble Flag, capturing field flags."
Rating Games are deep. Gotta learn these rules.
The announcer continued, "Dice Figure uses six-sided dice, 1 to 6. Kings roll, and the total determines which pieces can fight. Chess pieces have values—Pawn as 1, gauging battlefield impact. Devil pieces follow this loosely. Potential or Ajuka's tweaks can exceed these, but we use standard values here."
Knights and Bishops are 3, Rooks 5, Queens 9. Mutated Pieces vary.
"The Kings' roll sets the match's piece value. If it's 8, you can field pieces totaling 8—like two Knights (3 each) or eight Pawns (1 each). A Rook (5) and Knight (3) works too. Multi-piece vassals match their consumed pieces—Issei Hyoudou, with 8 Pawns, is value 8."
I'm 8. No special tweaks from Ajuka, just standard. Big number, though.
What if the roll's 2? No value-1 or -2 Pawns on either team.
"If the roll's 2, no players qualify, so reroll. As pieces are used, available options shrink, requiring rerolls if no matches fit," the announcer clarified.
What about Kings?
"Kings' values are set by a review board, based on strength, team, and opponents. A King's defeat ends the game," he added.
"Review board?" I asked.
Akeno replied, "They evaluate Rias and Sairaorg's worth from strength, team performance, and comparisons, like Azazel's charts before Diadora's incident."
Right, post-Sairaorg vs. Yankee devil. Sairaorg's power stood out.
"The board's verdict!" the announcer shouted. Numbers flashed on-screen, stopping with a chime. "Sairaorg Bael: 12! Rias Gremory: 8! Sairaorg's higher, but he needs a max roll to fight!"
Sairaorg outranks Rias. I whispered to Akeno, "When's this data from?"
"Likely up to the Loki fight, including mission performance," she said.
"Not Ast-Ade?"
"No."
Rias grew stronger there. She's probably closer to 10 now—my gut. Unlike Sairaorg, she can pair with others.
"One more rule: no consecutive appearances, including Kings!" the announcer said.
"Even if it's 12, Sairaorg won't jump in early," Rias said. "He'll showcase his team, trained rigorously. But he'll fight, timing depending on the roll. He's a battle maniac."
Haha… battle maniac.
"Sending Asia or Gasper alone is risky. Even paired, Asia's vulnerable," Rias said.
"Keep Asia here," I said. "They'll expect that."
"We're down to eight fighters," Rias noted.
Asia's healing on return is a plus.
"The fateful game begins! Are both teams ready?" the announcer hyped. The referee raised his hand.
"The Rating Game between Sairaorg Bael and Rias Gremory begins! Game start!"
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