On the day of the Rating Game, Rias was nervous because Issei had simply disappeared several days earlier and had not trained together with her team.
"Rias... Did you put Issei into this?" Sona looked at Rias coldly.
"You're calling him by his name now?" Rias laughed, trying to break the tension.
"Answer my question, Rias." Sona continued with her cold expression. "If Issei dies because of you, I will never forgive you."
Rias turned pale. She realized that her childhood friend was truly serious about holding a grudge against her.
"No..." Rias gasped. She couldn't lose Sona's friendship... Why didn't Sona understand her?
"Hyoudou-kun came to visit Asia and Rizer was there. Hyoudou-kun provoked him when Rizer mocked him... Grayfia arrived and Rizer insisted on fighting Hyoudou and I didn't refuse... I'm sorry, Sona."
Rias lowered her head, almost in tears.
"I understand... You're forgiven." Sona sighed and looked at Rias with a furious gaze full of promises of pain. "Don't do this again."
"You're going to forgive me?" Rias asked in surprise.
"Yes. Issei came to bother me earlier today in the student council room and made it clear that he was the one who provoked the fire pigeon... His words." Sona sighed irritably. "What am I supposed to do with that idiot?"
Rias was completely surprised by the fact that Issei had such sensitivity... She had always thought of him as a pervert whom her friend somehow sympathized with.
But it was different. It seemed like he only pretended to be stupid... No, actually, there was nothing stupid about him.
The fools were the ones who fell for his act.
--++--
When all the preparations were ready, Rias was tapping her foot anxiously. Issei still hadn't shown up and her fate depended on this damned competition.
Issei arrived with a mischievous smile and his hands in his pockets.
"Look at my people." Issei smiled while looking at everyone. "Why are you all so anxious? Rias, the floor won't be able to take much more of your foot tapping."
"You idiot, where were you?" Rias grabbed Issei by the collar, completely irritated. Didn't this idiot know that her future depended on this damned competition?
"I got lost on the road of life, nothing serious. Are you all ready?" Issei looked at everyone. "Gheee, you're here too?"
Issei looked at Kiba with a look of disdain.
"Good evening to you too, Hyoudou-kun." Kiba smiled at him gently. "I'm very happy to see you too."
Akeno let out a low laugh, hiding her amusement.
Koneko let out a tiny chuckle and noticed that Issei was looking at her.
"You laughed!" Issei pointed at her and started jumping happily. "I knew this little tiger was actually a kitten."
"I didn't laugh." Koneko answered indifferently, turning her face away.
"Asiaaa!"
Issei suddenly flew at Asia and hugged her.
"Issei-san, hahahaha." Asia laughed while Issei rubbed his face against hers.
"You idiot, do you have no awareness of the situation?" Rias shouted angrily. "We're going to a battlefield against a high-class Devil, we could get hurt and I could lose my future!"
Rias was almost crying with anger. Why didn't this idiot understand the situation?
"Rias, it's just a game, just a simple show to make it seem like you have some chance of winning." Issei looked at her with an indifferent expression. "Besides me, he has no reason to hurt anyone on your side. After all, he wouldn't want to be hated by his own fiancée for the rest of his life if he marries you."
"...."
Rias couldn't come up with an argument. She tried, but Issei's words were harsh... yet true. Everything made sense.
"A show to make me think I was given an opportunity and that I failed?" Rias whispered dejectedly.
"Don't blame your family..." Issei said as he looked at her. "It's politics... Sometimes difficult decisions have to be made."
"So it's all hopeless, Senpai?" Koneko asked the question no one wanted to ask.
"It's difficult, very difficult. Rizer is a Devil at the top of the High-Class rank and has much more combat experience than us." Issei sighed. "Rias is a spoiled princess who doesn't train and likes to play the savior to earn favors... But she still has more power than Rizer, and she has us... and me."
"Oh my, you're very confident, Issei-kun." Akeno asked and winked at him. "Do you have some trick up your sleeve besides that terrifying spear?"
"Of course I do..." Issei looked directly into Akeno's eyes. "We all have secrets, don't we? Things we don't want revealed? I'm going to reveal one of the big ones today."
Akeno's eyes widened and she understood exactly what Issei meant. First, she frowned, then she put on an "ara, ara" expression, trying to pretend she wasn't affected.
--+---
Already inside the pocket dimension where the battle would take place, Issei looked around and smiled.
"So even here I still have to be at school." Issei said in a bad mood.
"It's not that bad, Issei-kun." Kiba approached him from behind and spoke near his ear.
"Get away from me, devil!" Issei jumped away, cursed at Kiba, and showed him the middle finger.
Kiba began to laugh in amusement.
"Thank you... You really helped calm everyone down." Kiba bowed his head to Issei in genuine gratitude.
"Screw you." Issei simply showed him the finger again.
"Beginning the battle between the peerages of Rias Gremory and Rizer Phoenix." Grayfia's voice drew everyone's attention. "Since the participant on Rias Gremory's side is not a Devil, both kings have agreed to his participation. Also, here today to watch our competition we have someone who claims to be a friend of Hyoudou Issei's grandfather, Zelretch, his granddaughter Arcueid Brunestud, and her husband, Shiki Tohno."
"That old trolling son of a bitch is here?" Issei shouted in shock, looking around fearfully as if expecting a bomb somewhere.
"What is so important about that, Hyoudou?" Rias asked.
—Boy, say that Zelretch is a kind of vampire king. Since he is the greatest of the Ancestors after killing the Moon, and if I remember correctly, Arcueid is the daughter of the Moon.— Vlad spoke inside Issei's head. —If he revealed himself, it means he no longer cares about staying hidden.
"Do you remember when I told you I was a Dead Apostle?" Issei sighed.
"Yes, that they were the highest class of vampires." Rias nodded, remembering what Issei had told her some time ago.
"Zelretch is an Ancestor of the Dead Apostles, the equivalent of the Satans of your race for vampires. He's the Third, and that girl Arcueid, if I'm not mistaken, is the daughter of the deceased First, meaning the leader of the race."
Issei spoke using the fragmented information he had obtained through research and from the two spirits inside him.