[Third-Person POV]
Only days ago, the Underworld had been swept up in the excitement of "The Champion's Ten-Match Challenge," a grand Rating Game event hosted by the reigning Emperor, Diehauser Belial.
In the first and second matches, the Champion had secured magnificent victories, sending his fans into a frenzy. His wins were a masterclass in refined tactics and the sheer, overwhelming power said to rival the Four Great Satan-class. To the citizens of the Underworld—exhausted and anxious from the recent wave of terrorism—the sight of their unchanging King offered a much-needed sense of security.
Everyone was certain the event would continue to its conclusion without a single hitch.
But then came the third match.
Diehauser's opponent was Riser Phenex, the third son of the House of Phenex. For Riser, this was his official comeback match. Facing the Emperor himself meant the outcome was practically decided before it began, yet Riser had spoken of his burning determination in every pre-game interview.
The day of the match arrived.
The chosen battlefield was a sprawling set of ancient ruins buried deep underground. Within thirty minutes of the start, Riser's peerage had been systematically dismantled. The "King" was left with no choice but to advance alone.
Riser had expected this. The House of Belial was famous not just for its King, but for the exceptional caliber of its individual pieces. Since his previous fall from grace, Riser had thrown himself into grueling training alongside his peerage, but a gap in raw experience that vast couldn't be bridged overnight.
Deep within the cavernous ruins, Riser walked toward the final showdown, offering a silent prayer of gratitude to his fallen comrades who had fought so hard to get him this far.
He reached a massive, domed chamber at the center of the cave system. There, waiting in the stillness, was the Champion: Diehauser Belial.
Riser squared his shoulders and addressed the Emperor.
"Lord Diehauser. I offer my sincerest thanks for this match. My peerage has been exhausted; my defeat is all but certain. However, if you would permit it, I have come to request a final duel—King to King."
Riser stood tall, his posture gallant. The arrogant, hedonistic Riser of the past was gone; in his place stood a promising young devil, reborn through hardship.
Diehauser, however, responded only with a cryptic, hollow smile.
"A good match... you say? Riser Phenex, tell me... what exactly defines a 'good match'?"
"I beg your pardon?" Riser frowned, caught off guard by the philosophical turn.
"Is it a total shutout, where one side dictates every move with absolute tactical perfection?" Diehauser continued, his voice echoing. "Is it a dramatic reversal at the final hour? Or perhaps a clash between equals, where victory is clawed away by a hair's breadth after both sides give their everything? In my long career, I have supposedly tasted them all. ...No, that's a lie."
Diehauser shook his head, letting out a heavy, weary sigh that sounded like it carried the weight of centuries.
"Every match that wasn't a total slaughter... was merely a performance. I simply 'acted' the part of the struggling victor. I manipulated the flow of the game to make them look like close calls or great reversals."
Riser was stunned. "Lord Diehauser... I don't understand what you are trying to say."
"Lord Riser. Since the day I was born, I have never known defeat. Even in this 'game,' I have never seen the sight of my own loss. Do you have any idea how exhausting that is?"
"I cannot fathom your true intent, Lord Diehauser," Riser said, his voice tightening. "But I must ask: why tell me this? Is this conversation necessary for our match?"
Diehauser let out a self-deprecating laugh.
"You wish to call me boorish, don't you? You're right. My personal sentiments have no place in this arena. To bring such rot into a game sacred to the players is nothing short of an insult. And yet, here I am, doing exactly that from the height of my throne. Truly... I am a wretched Champion."
Suddenly, a dense, shimmering aura erupted from Diehauser's body. He thrust his hand forward, unleashing a concentrated mass of raw magical energy.
The projectile moved with such blinding speed that Riser couldn't even process a defense. The blast tore straight through him.
Under normal circumstances, his wounds would have instantly cauterized and knitted back together amidst a flurry of Phenex flames. That was the absolute trait of his bloodline.
But the flames didn't come.
"Gah... hkk!"
Riser spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed to his knees. A terrifying amount of crimson was pooling on the floor from the hole in his abdomen. The pain was agonizing, but the shock in his mind was far worse.
The wound... isn't closing?
"Why...?" Riser wheezed.
"Even an immortal... finds little comfort when faced with my trait of 'Worthlessness,'" Diehauser said quietly.
Worthlessness.
The unique trait of the House of Belial. As the name implied, it allowed the user to temporarily render an opponent's special attributes "worthless"—meaningless and void. In this moment, Diehauser had turned Riser's legendary immortality into nothing more than a hollow concept, stripping away his ability to regenerate.
Diehauser looked down at the fallen Phoenix.
"Riser Phenex. Have you ever found the Evil Pieces... strange? Eight Pawns, two Knights, two Bishops, two Rooks, and one Queen. Have you ever wondered why something that should be there is missing? Why we use those stone monuments instead?"
Diehauser reached into his coat and pulled something out.
"That's..." Riser's vision was fading, but his eyes locked onto the object.
"This is the missing piece," Diehauser said, holding it up for Riser to see. "The Evil Piece... of the King."
[Issei POV]
The VIP room on the top floor of the Hyoudou residence was packed. The Gremory and Sitri peerages, the Seraphs, Azazel-sensei, and Team D×D were all there. Even Maurice and Leisha had joined us.
The reason for the gathering was currently plastered across the monitors. Everyone was staring at the screen in grim silence. The Underworld news channels were in a state of absolute chaos.
『A Sudden Disaster During the Rating Game?!』
『The Champion, Diehauser Belial, Missing in Action!』
『Riser Phenex Also Disappeared! Whereabouts Unknown!』
Riser had stepped into the ring against the Champion for his big comeback match. I'd been rooting for him, but... this was a nightmare.
Apparently, an "accident" had occurred during the match. While fighting in a domed cavern—a blind spot for the field cameras—both Riser and Diehauser had simply vanished.
We had been monitoring the news and re-watching the recorded footage of the game since the report broke. Because of the blind spot, no one knew what happened inside that cave.
However... there was one thing that bothered me. In the footage, right before the feed cut, a faint blue light had leaked from the cave entrance.
I knew that glow. I'd seen it before.
Is it possible...? But if it is, why haven't I heard anything? If my hunch was right, a certain someone should have contacted me by now.
The search for the two of them was ongoing, involving the Rating Game committee, the Underworld government, the military, and even the police. The whole world was upside down.
I couldn't stay calm. Riser had finally found the resolve to stand on his own two feet again. We had sparred together; I knew exactly how much fire he'd put into this comeback. He had been looking forward to this match more than anyone.
But as worried as I was, there was someone else in the room who was being crushed by the weight of the uncertainty.
"...Onii-sama... Riser Onii-sama...!"
It was Ravel.
As his sister, she was terrified. When the news first hit, she looked like she'd forgotten how to breathe. Even though she was often sharp-tongued with him, she loved her brother more than anyone. She had stayed by his side even when he was a shut-in wreck.
Right now, she looked like she was about to break. I had to be her pillar. If I wavered now, her fear would only spiral out of control.
Ravel's clenched hands were trembling. A single tear fell onto her knuckles.
"If only... if only I had been with him! Onii-sama would...!"
"Ravel..." Koneko-chan stepped forward, gently placing her hand over Ravel's. She pulled her into a quiet embrace, trying to absorb some of that shaking.
I left Ravel in Koneko's capable hands and turned to Azazel-sensei.
"Riser and the Champion are both gone. No tracks, no traces. Is that really it?"
"Yeah," Sensei said, his face uncharacteristically serious. "But there's one thing we know for sure. Seconds before they vanished, the game's emergency safety program was triggered."
"An emergency program?"
Sensei nodded. Rias, Sona, and a few others seemed to understand, but the rest of the group looked lost. To be fair, I only learned about this stuff after I got promoted.
Sona stepped in to explain. "Professional Rating Games are equipped with failsafes for almost every scenario. For example, if a match becomes so violent it threatens to destroy the entire artificial dimension, a program automatically triggers to stabilize the field."
"Essentially, it's what happens every time Issei decides to blow up half the map," Sensei added dryly.
Everyone in the room had a collective "Oh, that thing" realization.
Hey! Do I really blow up the field that often?! I'm not a total engine of destruction! ...Anyway!
The point was that a massive anomaly had forced the system to react during Riser's match.
"What could have caused it?" Rias asked. "Could it have been an attack by Qlippoth?"
Sensei paused, his eyes narrowing. "We're looking into that. But based on the initial data logs... there's a high probability that 'cheating' occurred during the match."
The room went cold. Cheating?
In a match between the House of Phenex and the Emperor of Belial?
Ravel stood up abruptly, her eyes wide. "Are you suggesting my brother cheated?! That's impossible! Onii-sama can be reckless and arrogant, but he would never disrespect a game by cheating! Never!"
I found myself nodding in agreement. Knowing how hard Riser had trained, the idea of him taking a shortcut was ridiculous. He had too much pride for that now. Ravel, who had watched him more closely than anyone, knew his passion was the real deal.
Realizing she'd snapped, Ravel sat back down, bowing her head. "I... I apologize. I lost my composure."
I walked over and gently patted her head. "It's okay. I know he didn't do it. We all do."
"He's right, Ravel," Rias added. "Riser fought too hard for this comeback to throw it away like that."
But if it wasn't Riser...
"Then... did the Emperor do it?" Kiba mused, his hand on his chin. He looked deeply conflicted.
Kiba followed the professional scene much more closely than I did. Diehauser Belial was the gold standard—a Champion who preferred straightforward, orthodox tactics over underhanded tricks. We'd even watched a few of his matches together. He was the literal definition of a "King."
Neither of them seemed like the type to cheat. So why did the system flag it?
Akeno-san turned to Sensei. "Azazel-sensei, you have a hunch about this, don't you?"
All eyes turned to the Governor General. He remained silent for a long moment, arms crossed, before letting out a long breath.
"I can't say for sure yet. It's just a theory. But if my hunch is correct... the third son of the Phenex family isn't in as much danger as it looks."
"Really?!" Ravel lunged toward him.
Sensei held up a hand to calm her. "Like I said, it's just a hunch. I don't have enough proof to give you specifics yet. For now, Ravel... just believe in your brother."
"I... I will!" Ravel's face finally showed a flicker of hope.
Sensei's hunches were legendary—for better or worse, they usually hit the mark. If he said there was hope, it was enough to change the entire atmosphere of the room.
Suddenly, a small communication circle flickered by Rias's ear. She listened for a moment, nodding, before addressing us.
"I just got word from my brother. The Four Satans are officially launching their own investigation into their whereabouts."
So Sirzechs-sama was on the move too.
...I'm going to do some digging of my own, I thought. Maybe she knows something.
I knelt down in front of Ravel and took her hand.
"It's going to be okay. Riser is a Phoenix, remember? That guy and I have traded blows—I know how tough he is. He'll come back, burning brighter than ever. I promise."
Ravel looked at me, her eyes red from crying but starting to clear.
"Let's wait for him. Together. That's what we can do for him right now."
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