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The next day…
Early in the morning.
Asia was munching on her breakfast absentmindedly, yawning with dark circles under her eyes.
At that moment—
Minato, looking full of energy, came downstairs.
[Origin +1]
He glanced at the message from last night and nodded with satisfaction.
When Asia saw him, her cheeks turned bright red. The sounds from the night before echoed in her head again.
No!
What the heck am I thinking about?
She quickly put her hands together in prayer. "Almighty Lord, please forgive me for this... Ah! Ow ow ow!"
Two days later.
It was the weekend.
The campus of Kuoh Academy was completely deserted.
Minato, along with his followers, headed to the Occult Research Club room.
By now—
It wasn't just Rias and her crew waiting. Even Sona Shitori had shown up.
All at once, everyone's eyes landed on Esdeath and the other new faces.
After all…
These new followers looked seriously strong.
Koneko stared at them for a while, then muttered, "Minato, you pervy devil."
"Huh? Koneko, after all this time, that's still what you think of me? That hurts, you know."
"Oh, please. It's only been like ten days."
"Really? I could've sworn it felt like ten years."
"Alright, enough teasing Koneko already." Rias sighed. "The firebird's already waiting in the alternate dimension."
Akame blinked. "Alternate dimension? What's that?"
"You can think of it as an artificially created world," Minato explained. "It's where ranking games are held without affecting the real world."
He then turned to Sona with a grin. "So, what about you? Came to enjoy the show?"
"I'm not that bored," Sona replied, adjusting her glasses. "This ranking game involves two pure-blooded devil families. I'm the only one qualified to act as judge."
"Ah, that makes sense."
"Well then," Sona announced, "everyone, get ready to enter the alternate dimension."
With a wave of her hand, a brilliant magic circle appeared beneath their feet.
"Be careful in there, Minato," Rias said with concern.
"Don't worry!"
With a casual wave, Minato and his team stepped onto the magic circle.
Buzz!
In a flash of light, they vanished from the spot.
"Rias… do you really think Minato can win?"
After Minato left, Sona turned to her.
This ranking game had stirred up quite the buzz throughout the Underworld.
Almost none of the devil nobles were betting on Minato.
After all—
His opponent this time, Riser Phoenix, was a pure-blooded heir of the immortal firebird clan.
In all his past ranking games, Riser had barely ever lost.
Even enemies stronger than him and his peerage eventually lost because they just couldn't deal with his immortality.
But Rias smiled. "I believe in Minato. He's definitely gonna win."
Akeno chimed in from the side, "I agree with President. And not just Minato—his new team is crazy strong too."
Even though it was her first time seeing Esdeath and the others, Akeno could feel their battle-hardened aura.
"Well, let's hope it turns out the way you want." Sona smiled as well. "Honestly, aside from being a bit of a perv, Minato's actually really impressive."
"Oh?" Rias smirked. "Don't tell me you've got your eye on my fiancé?"
"If it's you, Sona, I wouldn't mind," Rias added with a wink.
"You—what the hell are you saying?!" Sona's eyes went wide, and the tips of her ears turned red.
Seriously? Rias is way too bold.
"Ara, you're blushing~" Rias giggled but didn't push it further.
After all, the match was about to begin.
In the Alternate Dimension
The sky here was a swirling mix of colors, like someone had gone wild with paint.
"Huh. Doesn't look that different from Kuoh Academy," Utaha muttered as she glanced around. "This alternate dimension's kinda half-assed."
"As long as it's durable, that's what matters."
Minato shook his head. "This place exists solely so devils can fight without holding back."
"So basically, we can cause as much destruction as we want, and it's all good?" Esdeath narrowed her icy blue eyes, a dangerous grin tugging at her lips. "Master, I can finally let loose, right?"
"Go nuts. No need to hold back."
While they chatted, Sona's voice echoed from above:
"Now announcing the rules for today's ranking game."
"Riser's base will be the Principal's Office."
"Minato's base is the old school building—the Occult Research Club room."
"Any team member who reaches the enemy base can initiate a promotion."
"And now… let the match begin!"
After hearing the rules, Utaha quickly analyzed, "So the priority should be powering up our troops first. Maybe we should—"
"No need to overthink it." Minato cut her off. "It's just a damn firebird. Don't need any strategy."
With that, he started walking straight toward the principal's office.
The others immediately followed.
Their master had already made his move—
As loyal followers, they just needed to act.
Before long, the principal's office came into view.
A group of figures emerged from inside.
Leading them was a guy with a rough, thuggish vibe. His expression was fierce, but more importantly, just by standing there, waves of scorching heat radiated off him.
"Hahaha! I gotta admit, you really surprised me."
Riser glanced over Minato, his gaze slowly turning menacing.
"You actually walked right up here, no tricks, no backup plan."
"Should I call that confidence... or plain stupidity?"
The moment he finished speaking, a massive surge of flame erupted from Riser's body.
Like a fiery tsunami, it surged toward the sky, seemingly engulfing the entire heavens.
As an heir of the Phoenix bloodline, not only did Riser possess immortality—
His fire powers were also among the strongest in the Underworld.
But even as he flaunted his power, neither Minato nor any of his team, not even Esdeath, showed the slightest bit of concern.
They looked at him like he was just some clown putting on a show.
"....."