With the arrival of Odin, the Norse Chief God, the following days were devoted to the Rating Game matches of the young generation of Devils from each family.
When it came to the match between Rias and Sona, Yoru had no intention of interfering. As a servant to both of them, all he could do was remain neutral.
Even so, Rias's strength was overwhelmingly superior. Leaving aside Asia, her powerful healer, just the three Holy Sword wielders—Yuuto Kiba, Xenovia, and Irina—were enough to give Sona a hard time.
All three possessed Sacred Gear weapons that were highly effective against Devils, while Sona's only real powerhouse was her Queen.
During this period, Yoru wasn't idle either. He began to extract information about the Khaos Brigade from Kuroka. She revealed that the Brigade would take action during the Rating Game of the young Devils, with the Old Maou Faction acting as the vanguard.
As for the actual goal of their operation, Kuroka didn't know. Regarding their leader, Ophis, her knowledge was limited.
All she knew was that Ophis stayed in a pitch-black room, silently seated on a high platform, receiving the worship of the Brigade's members and bestowing them with snakes imbued with power.
Interestingly, Ophis's appearance was that of a petite black-haired girl, something that would surprise many.
Before long, the first match—practically the opening ceremony—between Rias and Sona began. As expected, despite Sona's best efforts to strategize, the absolute gap in strength caused her to narrowly lose to Rias.
However, just as Sona was feeling dejected over her inability to achieve her dream, Rias made an unexpected move that shocked many Devils. She declared, in her capacity as the next head of the Gremory family, her support for Sona's ideal—establishing a Rating Game school that treated everyone equally.
When asked about his sister's actions, Sirzechs only smiled, saying that she had grown up and that it was time for her to start handling the Gremory family's affairs.
With that, the faction supporting Sona's wish now included both the Gremory and Sitri families—and behind them stood two Maou. Such a luxurious lineup left the old-guard Devils silent.
As the young generation's Rating Games neared their conclusion, Yoru suddenly appeared at the venue, urgently pulling Kuroka along.
"Yoru, has something happened?" Seeing him bring Kuroka here, Sirzechs immediately sensed that something serious was going on.
"The next match is Rias versus the Astaroth family, right?" Yoru asked with a frown.
"Yes… She's already entered the arena. Why?" Sirzechs replied.
"We have to get there immediately—it's a Khaos Brigade trap!"
Those words came from Kuroka. Sirzechs eyed her suspiciously, but Yoru nodded.
"The Astaroth family has already joined the Khaos Brigade. The one who sent this message was Vali. I don't know what his real motive is, but I don't think he has any reason to lie about this."
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Rias's vision returned from the dazzling flash of the magic circle. When she opened her eyes—
They were in a simple open field.
Columns stood at regular intervals, their bases made of stone. As Rias looked around, she saw behind them a massive temple entrance.
It was built in the style of ancient Greek architecture. Strangely, not a single part of it was damaged—it looked as if it had just been built. The sky was the same as always, pure white.
It seemed this was their designated battlefield. But no matter how long they waited, the referee's signal to begin never came.
"That's strange," Rias murmured, frowning.
Just as she and her servants were puzzling over it, a magic circle appeared—on the opposite side of the temple!
Why would it be positioned there? Was this match going to be close-range combat right from the start?
A sense of danger surged within Rias, and her servants also readied themselves for battle.
But then, more magic circles appeared! Accompanied by bursts of light, they began materializing all around them—forming a perimeter to surround Rias's team!
"They're not the Astaroth crest!" Rias exclaimed in alarm.
Yuuto Kiba, Xenovia, and Irina immediately raised their swords.
Lightning crackled in Akeno Himejima's hands as she added, "None of these magic circles match each other. But…"
"They're all Devil magic circles. And if I'm not mistaken…"
Rias's body flared with red demonic aura as she scanned the surroundings with a grim gaze.
From the magic circles emerged a massive number of Devils, each one radiating murderous intent and hostility. They encircled Rias's group, charging in with shouts of fury!
"Judging by the magic circles, these are Old Maou Faction Devils who've defected to the Khaos Brigade," Rias said gravely. In front of her stood hundreds—perhaps even thousands—of enemies. The situation was dire.
"Despised false heir to the Maou bloodline—Gremory—disappear here!"
One of the surrounding Devils shouted provocatively at Rias. As expected, for Devils who supported the Old Maou, the current Maou and anyone connected to them were nothing but thorns in their side.
The massed Devils began charging up to fire their magic blasts. Even if they were merely mid- to high-class Devils, a volley from this many was nothing to take lightly.
But before their attacks could be launched, a wave of destructive red ripples surged through the area—and hundreds of Devils instantly turned to ash.
"O-older brother?" Rias gasped in surprise at the figure who had appeared before her.
"Good thing I made it in time." After effortlessly wiping out the Devils in front of him, Sirzechs let out a small sigh of relief.
"Brother, how did you get here?" Rias asked in bewilderment.
"Mm… it's a long story. In short, the Khaos Brigade tampered with the match's teleportation circle."
"The next head of the Astaroth family had secretly joined forces with the Old Maou Faction and defected to the Khaos Brigade. Yoru got the news and came to warn us. But it seems that when we entered here, the enemy activated a powerful barrier. Outside is probably already in chaos—and from the looks of it, the teleportation was set to send people to random locations." Sirzechs spoke with a troubled expression.
"You all head toward the temple. Leave this side to me." Seeing more teleportation circles starting to shimmer nearby, Sirzechs quickly gave instructions.
"Understood, brother." Rias nodded and led her servants in retreat. Any Devil foolish enough to try attacking them along the way was mercilessly obliterated into fragments by the terrifying aura of destruction.
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