With that the game began to move forward with the [Pawn] and [Bishop] as they moved within the mist like it wasn't even there. Which was actually true, since it was only made to mislead their opponents. "Issei-san? Do you think we'll actually win?" The ex-nun asked one of her first friends as they traversed the woods around the old school building.
"Don't worry Asia-chan! You just have to have faith in Buchou to lead us to victory! And remember that Emilya-chan gave you a weapon to defend yourself as well! So don't be afraid to fight back if those Phenex bastards come in swinging!" The brown-haired perv encouraged the blonde as they continued forward until the snap of twig came up from behind them.
Right behind them stood a light brown-haired woman with three red highlights, and a white half-mask covering the right side of her face. A matching jacket and jeans are her attire with the former being ripped to expose her midriff. Three leather straps can be seen wrapped around both of her biceps on both sides along with its wide shoulder and collar. A single leg of the jeans is cut off exposing some of her right thigh and rear end, two straps could be seen on the lower piece of the jean to keep it in place with three more on each calf, just below the ankles.
The two beside her were what appeared to be two women in French maid uniforms, with both differing slightly. The one with light brown-hair was dressed in a buttoned, sleeveless, French maid uniform with a white laced design, along with a standard maid head piece, cuffs, and a white half-apron to go with the set. A pair of light grey tights could be seen covering the woman's legs, concealing her creamy skin from the pervert.
The other woman was in an almost similar state of dress as the one beside her, but while it may be sleeveless it also exposes her breast opposed to her buttoned up counterpart. A white lace design trimmed the edges, as well as a maid headpiece, half-apron, and forearm length fingerless gloves.
The jacket wearing woman popped her knuckles with a wicked grin on her face as the maids took their battle stances. Issei put his right arm in front of Asia protectively as he raised up his left in turn, the [Boosted Gear] flashing into existence. "Get ready to cover me Asia-chan, it looks like we're going to be starting this game off with a bang!" The brunette straightened his left arm to point it at the three women in front of him as the green jewel shined brightly. "And we'll do that bang by taking these three out! Right here, right now!"
[Boost!]
~Line Break~
Inside of the Student Council Office sat four figures watching a monitor playing a live feed of the Rating Game between Rias and Raiser. The first fight of the match was underway as the [Pawn] and [Bishop] of Rias Gremory and a [Rook] and two [Pawns] of Raiser Phenex clashed. Mittelt and Camael couldn't help but look upon the battle with some sense of pride for the blonde nun as she supported the pervert with light defensive spells that managed to lessen any damage that was taken from Isabela, Marion, and Burent.
Sona on the other hand was watching for any changes in Emilya's expression as the pinkette watched the fight with a continued look of indifference. She just watched as the brunette traded blows with the opposing servants as he kept getting pushed back, more and more. The ravenette heiress couldn't figure out why the pint-sized girl wasn't showing any emotion during this fight, a fight like this could very well be the Gremory group's last.
"Yuuto-san and Koneko-chan should be finishing up in the gym by now." The Sitri heiress almost jumped before registering that the Magus had finally spoken since the game's beginning. Sona needed to check if what she said was true, not wanting to continue watching as she knew a three-on-one fight only had one inevitable conclusion. She changed the feed right as magic circles appeared wherever Issei had managed to tap his opponents' bodies.
The screen shifted onto the gym… and it was completely destroyed. The wooden flooring was littered with craters making some of the boards jut out in a threatening manner. The stage was relatively untouched except for Raiser's second [Rook] being firmly implanted into its side. The Chinese-looking woman was groaning as Koneko stretched her arms out before going to help Kiba with the four [Pawns] trying to gang up on- 'Wait, how are there swords in the walls?'
True to her thoughts there were swords scattered across the walls and a few embedded into the ceiling as well. Sona couldn't fathom how it happened, but it would have to wait until later on if he showed it again, or afterwards when she could ask him about it. The four [Pawns] were quickly dispatched now that their heavy hitter was down for the count, but they strangely weren't retired yet.
The Sitri heiress took a closer look at the blonde [Knight] and noticed that there was a communication circle next to his ear. It soon disappeared as the two servants of Gremory left the building, which was followed with the confused shouts of the beaten down Phenex peerage. What came next was rather surprising as the monitor was filled with a bright red light that soon changed to static, marking the viewing circle in the gym as destroyed. Sona switched to one just outside of it only for her jaw to drop open slightly. From a straight line coming through the forest to the gym everything in its path was annihilated… with the gym being nothing more than a few flakes of smoldering cinder.
"Lord Raiser: two [Rooks] and six [Pawns] have retired."
The announcement from Grayfia made Sona question what had just happened. While the ones that were in the gym were taken out the added pieces would have meant that Issei's opponents were taken out as well, which made her question what happened. In the corner of her eye she caught Emilya having a small smirk as Mittelt and Camael had an even greater look of pride. 'What the hell was that that's making them so happy? Do they know what caused that?'
"Just because one fight may seem like it's over doesn't mean that the lesser side isn't capable of pulling through."
The Sitri heiress cocked an eyebrow as she couldn't help but wonder what the pinkette loli said only for another bright flash, on a much smaller scale, to come across the screen. Koneko had just been engulfed into an explosion created by Raiser's [Queen] right as the first-year pushed Kiba out of the way. The area was covered in smoke and kicked up dust from the explosion obscuring the view from all observing the fight.
As Yubelluna seemingly hovered in the air looking as if she were bragging about her magic a full minute had passed and there was no announcement for Koneko's retirement. A look of worry began to infect Mittelt, Sona, and Camael as they waited to see what had happened to the white-haired [Rook]. Emilya however just sat there watching with a returned neutral stare as she waited for the reappearance of her junior.
As the cloud of smoke and dust almost seemed to finish dispersing, a blur of a figure jumped out from where Koneko should be and punched the airborne Devil in the gut. The gut wrenching punch almost caused the purple-haired woman to plummet to the ground had she not managed to stabilize herself mid-air. Looking down at what had hit her she couldn't help but to gasp in shock at who had punched her in the gut. It was-
"Koneko-chan!" Mittelt cried out in relief at the sight of her friend, while Kalawarner was just giving the sight a warm smile.
Sona was relieved to see the white-haired girl appear relatively unharmed, save the few burns on her arms and legs along with the scorch marks on her clothes. Yet, Emilya was grinning at what she had seen. Even if it was only for a split second she saw what it was that Koneko had been holding back. 'Cat ears and a tail? Huh, wasn't expecting that, but it looks like we may be getting somewhere. Just need to keep on taking these baby steps to ensure we don't lose any progress.' As these thoughts and many others swam through the Magus' head the fight for Rias' freedom raged on.
~Line Break~
The light burns and scorched clothes on Koneko's body were barely troublesome, although Kiba was just glad that his junior was okay. Her white-hair was all ruffled up with dirt and dust in it as her dead-eye glare was met by a surprised, yet pissed Yubelluna. The Phenex [Queen] was just flat out confused as to how the [Rook] had survived that blast. Any other [Rook] would have easily been retired because of the power and force behind it.
"Damn you! How are you still alive you little skank!? That should have been enough to retire a pathetic weakling like you!" The purple-haired woman screamed at the small girl who simply shrugged her shoulders.
"Don't know…" The response from Koneko just seemed to piss her off at this rate as she prepared yet another explosion… only for a close encounter with a bolt of lightning to throw off her concentration. The explosive magic fizzled out as the irate woman looked around for the one who threw her off.
The sound of static crackling in the air brought the Devils currently present attention off to the side where the vice-president of the Occult Research Club kept afloat with her wings outstretched. "Ararara, it seems like I showed up just in time. Wouldn't you agree, Kiba-kun? Koneko-chan?"
The two Gremory servants merely nodded their heads in agreement to the [Queen] and ran off towards the next objective with Issei and Asia following up from the woods. The brunette's clothes looked a little worse-for-wear with no noticeable bruises or cuts thanks to the former nun running beside him.
Yubelluna growled at the Gremory servants' complete disregard to her presence and would have blasted them. Yet, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end had been the only warning she got before a strike of lightning almost got her. As the blast sailed past her, with only a few inches to spare from being hit, a slight burning sensation passed across her skin almost in some similarity to…
With widened eyes she turned over to gaze at the other Devil in the immediate area that she forgot about seeming to be smiling with electricity crackling around her fingertips. "Ufufufu, it seems that you happened to forget about little old me. So why don't I take my frustrations of being beaten around by a pink-haired loli out on you so I can ensure I can receive some form of… release." She brought her hands close to one another to intertwine the lightning in both hands as she slowly spread them outwards with the crackling energy beginning to form a large arc of the static energy.
All Akeno did was smile at the gobsmacked look on the Phenex [Queen]'s face at the sheer size of the oncoming attack made the smile Akeno was currently wearing to become something less… innocent… in nature. Recalling the times when she was berated by a girl who only came up to just a little underneath her cleavage. In short it was embarrassing, infuriating, and honestly a little attractive. If Emilya were a guy the ravenette may have tried to gun for her, but unfortunately she wasn't.
She chuckled a little as she began to incorporate her Holy power into the arc of lightning. Recalling as to why she was even doing so in the first place and not completely disregarding the usage of them at all.
~Flashback~
Five days into their impromptu training camp Akeno and Koneko had been asked to meet up with Emilya after training for the day. And before them now – the sun setting over the mountains – stood the short, pink-haired Magus who didn't look pleased at the moment. "Ararara, why the long face Emilya-chan?"
"What is it that you needed us for Senpai?" Koneko asked, pushing Akeno's failed provocation of humor to the side.
Uncrossing her arms the pinkette took hold of the twin black and white Chinese falchions planted in the ground before her. "Both of you have still been holding back this entire time. So I'll only tell you this once… if you hold back now you'll get seriously injured."
The two Gremory Devils looked at each other with varying levels of concern before the smaller of the two received a kick to her solar plexus which sent her flying back a couple of yards. Akeno tried to take up a stance against the unwarranted attacker, with the keyword being tried. The pinkette used her momentum from her kick to launch herself towards the yamato nadeshiko and strike her with the blunt weapons.
After a few minutes had passed with the one-sided beatdown Emilya threw Kanshou and Bakuya back into the dirt before turning her back on the heavily bruised Koneko and Akeno. "I warned you not to hold back and yet you still did it, I'm disappointed in the both of you. It seems that neither one of you took my words from day one to heart. So, if you decide to keep this crap up I'll put both of you out of commission… making it so that neither one of you can participate in the Rating Game."
That seemed to cause the battered girls to look up at the girl with unimaginable anger. "You can't do-"
"I can and I will!" The pissed tone coming from Emilya seemed to quiet down the two as she turned around to show them her displeased expression. "I will not have either one of you be the cause of Gremory-senpai losing! So it's either you sit out or suck it up and use the power YOU were born with! Now stop being brats and use it!"
"If you continue like this you'll only be holding everyone back as they progress in their strength! They're all training to the best their abilities will allow them! All while you two have been pretty much half-assing it this entire time, so it's either use your powers… or I break you." With that the pint-sized loli stormed off leaving the two by themselves with what she had said to them at the beginning to just now.
"Akeno-senpai?" The ravenette turned her head to look over at her junior who was looking upwards with an uncertain gaze.
"Yes, Koneko-chan? What is it?"
"Do you think what Emilya-senpai said was right? Are we holding the others back by not using our full strength?" The question hung in the air with a deafening silence followed by a sigh of uncertainty.
"I'm not sure… but we should make sure that doesn't happen."
"Akeno-senpai?" The nadeshiko nodded her head as to silently tell her to continue. "I'm scared."
"So am I, Koneko-chan." Looking back at the night sky a stray tear ran down her cheek. "So am I."
~Flashback End~
The four Gremory Devils hiding behind a bush took a gander across the large sports field of Kuoh Academy. Smack dab in the center of the field stood what remained of Raiser's peerage: his two [Knights], [Bishops], and [Pawns]. Really, it must have been completely embarrassing for the Phenex scion to have been reduced to only seven servants in what amounted to ten minutes of the game already. Meaning that at the moment their opponents only outnumbered them by two.
With the group huddled up to where their enemy couldn't see them, Asia took the time to heal any injury any of them could have acquired as they began to discuss how they'd get past them. "We have to fight…" Koneko shared her opinion which in turn made the other three sigh.
"She's right you know." Kiba started saying, getting the attention of both Issei and Asia in the process. "There really isn't a lot of the woods surrounding either side of the field, so it's either we take more time trying to avoid them or…"
Issei only nodded his head with a slight grim gaze back at the sports field. "…Or we charge forward to take them out and risk getting retired." The four Devils sat there in silence, thinking about all of the options they have before they acted on any of them. Either way they had to find a way past them to reach the school, so they could all group up… and kick the crap out of Raiser.
The only problem is how they were going to- "Servants of Gremory!" The brunette [Knight] of Phenex called out as she stood a little ways in front of her fellow peerage members. "I know you're out there! Come out and face me so we may bring our masters glory!" Her green-eyes were staring at where she approximated the opponent was, which was right on point in the matter. Her outfit consists of a full set of silver armor with black accents that appears to be a cross between the chest plate, gauntlets and greaves of a knight accompanied by the hip plates and shoulder guards of a samurai, and along with a headband that goes across her hair and forehead. The weapons at her disposal happened to be ruby pommeled broadsword with bandages wrapped around the grip slung on her left hip. Her secondary weapon was a dagger, located behind her hip, featuring a gold hilt with bandages on the handle.
Issei and Asia looked at one another as if trying to silently figure out what to do after said proclamation. Koneko didn't move her head so to speak, only her eyes wandered over to Kiba who had a small smirk forming as he stood up. "Oi, Kiba, what the hell are you doing!? Get back down before they see you!" Issei whisper yelled at the pretty boy only for him to shake his head.
"That's just it Ise-kun, they already knew we were here, so I just decided to speed along the oncoming conflict. So it looks as if we're going to have to improvise, doesn't it?"
The brunette [Pawn] grit his teeth for a second before standing up alongside him. "Fine you have a point. You take Miss Declaration and I'll take on Miss Stringy Hair. Koneko-chan, can you keep those [Pawns] off of us while we take care of the [Knights]?"
"Sure. Just don't get your ass kicked." The short, white-haired girl said as she stood up, clenching her gauntlet clad fists.
"U-umm, what should I do Issei-san?" Asia asked from her crouched position while Kiba decided to speak up in Issei's stead.
"Head on around the perimeter and get to the school building. Stay hidden for as long as you can until these guys are taken care of." The ex-nun nodded her head as she slowly began to make her way around the sports field.
Issei let out a sigh of relief knowing that the blonde would be okay, turning towards Kiba with a serious look. "Alright then, what's the game plan?"
"Fight." Was all that the first-year in between the two said and they couldn't have said it any better themselves as Kiba readied the Holy Eraser and Issei summoned the [Boosted Gear]. Preparing for the fourth major confrontation of the Rating Game between Raiser Phenex and Rias Gremory.