Riser suddenly stepped forward, reaching out to pinch Rias's smooth, delicate, small chin.
"Slap!"
Rias grasped his wrist, saying coldly, "Riser, don't be too excessive."
Ethan withdrew the foot he was about to step out with. The moment Riser raised his hand, he had intended to intervene.
However, it seemed that Rias, after her breakthrough, completely overpowered Riser in terms of strength.
Riser tried to break free, increasing his force until veins popped out on his forehead. Only then did Rias suddenly let go.
Without Rias's restraint, Riser instantly lost his balance, staggering back several steps before barely regaining his composure.
His expression was highly volatile as he looked at Rias and Ethan.
Riser had previously dismissed the intelligence reports from his subordinates, but after personally experiencing Rias's strength, he couldn't help but believe them.
He had initially planned to use force, taking Rias back to the Devil World even if he had to burn all her servants to death. Now, he was forced to use his second plan.
"Rias, I carry the honor of the Phenex family."
He stood up straight, saying gravely, "I cannot let the family be humiliated. Since you are so insistent, let's have a Rating Game. The loser must unconditionally obey the winner."
Although Rias's strength had broken through, a Rating Game wasn't decided by the King's personal strength.
Riser was confident that his servants were stronger than Rias's and that with the Phenex family's bloodline trait, they absolutely could not lose.
Having just completed special training and with the strength of her entire group greatly increased, Rias had no reason to refuse.
Even though her number of servants was far less than his, a lineup where almost everyone was S-class was an extremely powerful formation in the entire Devil World.
Ethan narrowed his eyes slightly. The current development was completely different from what he remembered, but the result was similar: a Rating Game was required.
Originally, Rias was supposed to use the Rating Game to try and defeat Riser and dissolve the engagement. Now, the positions were completely reversed...
Seeing Rias agree, a smile spread across Riser's mouth. He said faintly, "By the way, the host of the Red Dragon Emperor is not allowed to participate in the Rating Game."
He wasn't foolish. If Ethan were allowed to participate and used Juggernaut Drive once more, Riser would have no chance of winning at all.
Riser had thought of a countermeasure long before formulating this plan.
Rias's expression hardened, but she didn't argue.
"It seems you also know why." Riser smiled smugly. "The game will be scheduled for tomorrow..."
"No."
Rias said firmly, "The Rating Game will be held in half a month."
"Impossible. One week at the latest."
Riser conceded a step. Although he wanted a quick resolution to avoid complications, a Rating Game couldn't just be held on a whim.
He had been prepared to have his family mobilize resources and prepare fully. Since Rias wanted to stall for time, they would follow the normal procedure.
Rias also understood this. One week was the maximum time she could buy.
She crossed her arms and said, "Fine."
A flame magic circle appeared under Riser's feet. He looked smugly at Ethan. "I'll take care of the reporting and preparation work when I get back to the Devil World. One week... and Rias will be mine."
After Riser left, Ethan frowned. "President, why can't I participate in the Rating Game?"
Although Rias and the others' strength had all increased by one rank, Riser and his servants were not weak.
Riser also had extensive experience and a glitch-like bloodline ability. Ethan was quite uneasy about not being able to personally participate.
"Akira, although you have Devil blood, you weren't reincarnated using a Devil Piece. In reality, you don't have a contract with me."
Rias sighed, saying, "The so-called written contract before was sufficient to fool human world officials, but it definitely won't work if you want to participate in a Rating Game."
The main characteristic of a Rating Game was that each servant had a specific trait, and when the King designated an enemy, their abilities would be significantly boosted.
Ethan simply didn't meet this condition and naturally wasn't eligible to participate.
"Is there no way to solve it?" Ethan asked, confused.
He remembered that after the failure of the reincarnation and the Pieces absorbing his aura, Rias and Sona Shitori had disappeared for quite some time.
The two had specifically gone to the Devil World to investigate the cause and find a solution.
When they returned, although they hadn't mentioned it again, it seemed they had found a method.
"There is a method..."
Rias nodded, hesitating. "But I didn't know if you could accept it, so I haven't said anything."
"How will you know if I can't accept it if you don't tell me?"
"..."
After a moment of silence, Rias said, "The reincarnation of a Devil Piece is essentially a contract. As long as you are willing to sign a similar contract with me, you can be acknowledged as my servant and thus participate in the Rating Game."
"However, the Devil Piece contract is the weakest kind, with almost no binding force. This is likely the reason why you were completely unaffected."
Ethan nodded. It was true that there was no binding force.
Servants could commit Fratricide (kill their King), be dismissed, be transferred, or even leased...
Temporarily borrowing powerful servants for a Rating Game was allowed.
These were things Ethan had learned as he grew stronger and understood this world better.
The failure of the Devil Piece reincarnation was likely due to his soul and consciousness being too strong, making it impossible for such a weak contract to be imprinted.
That's why the Pieces always entered his body, went through the process, absorbed his aura, and then came back out.
At this point, Ethan vaguely understood what Rias's method was.
Since a weak contract was useless, then a stronger contract should be used.
However, the stronger the contract, the stronger the binding force on the subordinate.
The strongest contracts could even give the master power over the subordinate's life and death with a single thought.
Even if the object was Rias, Ethan would never agree to such a contract.
"I found three types of master-servant contract methods in the Devil World..."
"President, I am willing to form a contract with you."
Ethan interrupted Rias. "I only have one condition: the contract must not restrict my actions or give you power over my life and death."
Master-servant contracts were diverse, and their restrictions varied.
Some forbade harming the master, some caused the servant's death upon the master's death, some forbade the servant's strength from exceeding the master's, and some forbade betrayal...
Ethan was unwilling to put his life and death in anyone's control, but in Rias's case, he didn't mind the other aspects.
Even without a contract, he would fight to the death to protect Rias, would not betray Rias, and would never harm Rias.
"Really..." Rias pouted. "That just makes me seem overly cautious."
After saying that, she exchanged a look with Ethan, and they both smiled.
"No time to lose. Let's sign the contract now."
The Rating Game with Riser was in one week. Ethan didn't want to delay. Once the contract was signed, he would give Riser a surprise.
"Okay, then let's try this one first..."
The first contract Rias brought out was called the Equal Contract. Its binding force was slightly stronger than a Devil Piece but not significantly so.
Signing this contract allowed the servant to share magic power from the master.
Normal contracts had both benefits and drawbacks. The contract's prototype was a transaction agreement, which was only natural.
Contracts that only had restrictions and offered no benefits were essentially exploitative, unethical agreements.
Unless coerced or deceived, no one would voluntarily sign such a contract.
With Ethan's active cooperation, the contract inscription went smoothly. But when Rias input magic power to activate it, the contract was immediately destroyed.
"Looks like this one won't work either."
Saying this, Rias took out the second contract.
Half an hour later, the magic circle inscribed on Ethan's chest was destroyed again.
This time, Rias didn't take out the third contract. Instead, she said, "Maybe we should just give up. I think we can still beat Riser on our own..."
"President, is the third contract very restrictive?"
Ethan thought the conditions he had offered were quite lenient. Rias's giving up halfway made him curious.
"There aren't many restrictions. It's just that if I die, your soul will also be wounded. In severe cases, you could die too."
Rias shook her head. "Also, this contract cannot be dissolved once signed."
The first two contracts could be dissolved. After the Rating Game, they could be dissolved, just like when borrowing a servant, but this one couldn't.
"Rias, continue."
Ethan stopped calling her President. He said, "I never intended to dissolve the contract afterwards."
Looking at Ethan's utterly serious expression, Rias gently walked forward and kissed him softly on the lips.
"Then I'll begin."
"Yes."