The light faded.
We stood in the courtyard of Kuoh Academy - or rather, a perfect replica of it. Every brick, every window, every carefully trimmed hedge reproduced with dimensional precision. The Rating Game arena stretched around us, a pocket dimension created solely for this battle.
Home field advantage. Rias had negotiated for that much, at least.
"Dimensional pocket confirmed," the Fragment observed. "Boundaries sealed. No exits until victory or defeat. Spectators present in observation layer."
Spectators?
"Devil nobility. Several hundred. Watching your performance. Judging your worth."
Great. An audience for my potential death.
A voice echoed across the arena - neutral, formal, carrying the weight of ancient authority.
"Welcome to the Rating Game between House Gremory and House Phenex. The rules are as follows: eliminate the opposing King, or capture all enemy pieces. Retirement occurs upon sufficient damage or voluntary withdrawal. Killing is permitted but not required."
The words settled over us like a shroud. Permitted. Not required. The distinction felt thin.
"Competitors, take your positions. The game begins in sixty seconds."
Rias turned to face us, her expression shifting from the woman I'd almost kissed to the King who would command our deaths if victory required it.
"You know the plan," she said. "Ryder and Koneko, front assault. Draw their attention, eliminate their forward pawns. Kiba, flanking position - wait for the Knights to engage, then strike."
Kiba nodded, hand resting on his sword. "Understood."
"Akeno and I will hold back initially. We're the heavy hitters - they'll expect us to lead. Let them waste resources on the front while we prepare the real attack." Her eyes moved to Asia, soft with concern. "Stay at the base. Heal anyone who returns. Don't leave for any reason."
"I understand." Asia's voice trembled slightly, but her expression held firm. "I'll be ready."
Rias met my eyes last. Something passed between us - the rooftop, the promises, the weight of everything unsaid.
"Survive," she said.
"That's the plan."
"Thirty seconds," the announcer declared.
We scattered to our positions. Koneko fell in beside me, silent and focused. Her golden eyes scanned the replica school grounds with predatory intensity.
"...ready," she said.
"Same."
"...don't die, senpai."
"Working on it."
"Ten seconds."
The air crackled with tension. Somewhere across the arena, Riser's peerage waited. Fifteen pieces, trained and experienced, led by a phoenix who'd never lost a Rating Game.
Forty-one percent chance of victory. Better odds than we'd started with. Still not good enough.
But odds were just numbers. And numbers didn't account for what we were willing to sacrifice.
"Game start."
We moved.
Koneko burst forward like a white-haired missile, her small frame deceptively fast. I matched her pace, Combat Speed and Enhanced Reflexes syncing with instincts that felt older than my training justified.
The school grounds blurred past. Classroom windows. Courtyard trees. The track field appearing ahead, open ground where the first engagement would happen.
They were waiting for us.
Four of Riser's pawns had established a defensive line near the gymnasium. Young women in battle attire, demonic energy crackling around their hands. Their expressions carried the confidence of experience - this wasn't their first Rating Game.
"Contact," I reported through the magical communication link. "Four pawns, gymnasium."
Rias's voice came back clear. "Engage. Draw them out. We need to know their capabilities."
I glanced at Koneko. She nodded once.
We hit them like a thunderbolt.
The first pawn didn't see me coming. Combat Speed carried me past her guard before she finished raising her hand. My fist connected with her solar plexus, enhanced strength driving the air from her lungs.
She folded. Didn't rise.
"One Pawn, Riser Phenex, retired," the announcer declared.
Koneko was already moving. She caught a second pawn mid-attack, her small hand closing around the woman's wrist with crushing force. A twist. A throw. The pawn sailed through the gymnasium wall, brick and mortar exploding outward.
"One Pawn, Riser Phenex, retired."
The remaining two pawns fell back, fear replacing confidence. They hadn't expected us to hit this hard, this fast.
Good.
[RATING GAME: INITIATED]
[Location: Kuoh Academy Replica]
[Rules: King elimination or total piece capture]
[ENEMY STATUS]
Riser Phenex (King): Active
Yubelluna (Queen): Active
2x Knights: Active
2x Rooks: Active
2x Bishops: Active
8x Pawns: 6 Active, 2 Eliminated
[TEAM STATUS]
All pieces active
Minor damage sustained
Strategy: Proceeding as planned
```
Two down. The plan was working.
I pressed forward, Light Lance forming in my hand. The weapon felt natural now - not the awkward light manipulation I'd struggled with early, but something refined. Deadly.
The third pawn raised a barrier. Weak. My lance punched through, clipping her shoulder. She screamed, stumbled, didn't fall.
Koneko finished her with a single kick. Brutal. Efficient.
"One Pawn, Riser Phenex, retired."
The fourth ran.
I let her go. Chasing would break formation. The plan required discipline, not glory.
"Three pawns down," I reported. "Fourth retreating. Holding position."
"Excellent." Rias's voice carried satisfaction. "Kiba, report."
"Contact with enemy Knight. Karlamine. Engaging now."
Steel rang against steel somewhere to our left. Kiba's sword work, fast and precise, countering an opponent just as skilled.
The team synergy held. Front assault drawing attention. Flanker engaging priority targets. Heavy hitters waiting for the right moment.
Just like we'd practiced.
A voice cut through the arena - arrogant, amused, carrying the casual cruelty of absolute confidence.
"Impressive. For pawns."
Riser Phenex.
He stood on the school rooftop, flames dancing around him like a living aura. Even at this distance, his Power Level pressed against my senses. 85. Maybe higher. The gap between us gaped like a chasm.
"My my," he continued, "the Gremory heiress has trained her pieces well. Three pawns in the opening exchange. Almost competent."
Koneko growled beside me. Low. Dangerous.
"But let's see how you handle my Queen."
The air exploded.
Yubelluna descended from the sky like a purple-haired angel of destruction.
The first explosion hit between me and Koneko, the shockwave throwing us in opposite directions. I rolled, came up, saw another blast incoming.
Dodge. Dodge again. The gymnasium behind me detonated, brick and glass and fire raining down.
"Scattered," I reported, voice tight. "Yubelluna engaging. Bombing run."
"I see her." Rias's tone shifted to command mode. "Regroup at checkpoint Beta. Akeno, prepare to intercept."
"Ara ara." Akeno's voice held eager anticipation. "Finally."
Another explosion. Closer this time. The Bomb Queen wasn't aiming to kill - she was herding. Separating us. Breaking our formation so the rest of Riser's peerage could pick us apart.
I caught sight of Koneko across the courtyard, dodging her own barrage. She was holding, but barely. The constant pressure was exactly what we'd trained for - and exactly what Riser's strategy demanded.
Attrition. Exhaust us with waves while his regeneration kept him fresh. Make us fight to survive until we had nothing left for the final confrontation.
We'd planned for this. We'd prepared countermeasures.
But plans rarely survived contact with explosions.
I pushed toward checkpoint Beta, using buildings as cover whenever possible. Yubelluna tracked me, her attacks precise and relentless. She wasn't just powerful - she was smart. Every explosion drove me where she wanted, cut off retreats, funneled me toward kill zones.
Combat instincts I hadn't earned screamed warnings.
*Left. Duck. Roll right. The next blast comes from above - *
I moved before I finished thinking, my body responding to patterns I'd never consciously learned. Enhanced Reflexes, yes, but more than that. Combat experience bleeding through Echo, borrowed skills from Kiba and Dohnaseek and everyone else I'd absorbed.
The explosion missed by inches. I felt the heat, smelled the ozone, kept moving.
Where did that come from?
No time to analyze. Survive first. Understand later.
Koneko appeared at checkpoint Beta, battered but standing. Blood trickled from a cut on her forehead. Her expression remained blank, but her eyes held something like respect.
"...you moved like Kiba."
"Did I?"
"...exactly like him."
I filed that away. Another Echo moment. Another piece of someone else becoming part of me.
Twenty-five percent. The threshold warning echoed in my memory. The price wasn't just memories anymore.
Rias's voice cut through. "Status report."
"Koneko and I at Beta. Minor damage. Yubelluna still overhead."
"Kiba?"
"Karlamine handled." Kiba's voice came strained but victorious. "She's retired. Taking damage, returning to base for healing."
"Good. Asia, prepare for incoming."
"Ready!"
The team was holding. Better than holding - we were winning. Three pawns and a Knight down, all our pieces still active.
But Yubelluna circled above like a vulture, and somewhere on that rooftop, Riser watched with flames in his eyes.
"Phase two," Rias commanded. "Akeno, take the sky."
Thunder crackled.
Above us, the air split with lightning, and Akeno rose to meet the Bomb Queen. Purple clashed with gold, explosions against thunder, two Queens battling for aerial supremacy.
The real game was about to begin.
I watched the Queens clash overhead, fire and lightning painting the sky.
Two down. Fourteen to go. And then the Phoenix himself.
The plan was working. We were surviving. But survival wasn't victory - not yet.
Another explosion rocked the arena. Akeno and Yubelluna traded blows, neither gaining clear advantage. Equal powers, equal skill. This battle would determine everything that followed.
"Akeno can hold her," Rias said through the link. "The rest of you, continue the strategy. Eliminate what you can while they're distracted."
I looked at Koneko. She looked at me.
"...more pawns to hunt."
"Lead the way."
We moved back into the fray. The Rating Game had only begun, and already the air smelled of smoke and blood and desperation.
Forty-one percent.
We'd make our own odds.