A week ago, Rias's first Rating Game was deliberately manipulated, drawing out the top-tier powerhouses of the major factions. Taking advantage of the resulting lack of internal military strength, someone set off the infamous "Evil Dragon Plunder" incident.
Even though she was the trigger for it, anyone with a clear head could see that the whole thing had nothing to do with Rias or the Devils of the Underworld.
The ones who robbed the major factions were the Evil Dragons. The ones who sent the Underworld venue, where more than a dozen Transcenders had gathered, into the Dimensional Gap were the Hero Faction. The ones who blocked the route and stopped many of the world's top fifteen from leaving the Dimensional Gap to return and defend their territories were the Great Red and two otherworldly Dragon Gods. And the ones who left all the powerhouses present gravely injured were the aftershocks of the Dragon Gods' clash, along with the attack Shadow casually left behind before departing.
As for the Devils? Their greatest crime was poor oversight, letting their propaganda department either lose its mind or take bribes and start indiscriminately attacking everyone with its accusations.
If no faction had responded openly, then everyone could have played dumb, sent a few minor people over to have a look, and the whole thing probably would have blown over.
But then one of the world's top ten powerhouses, who had nothing better to do and wanted to see the Devils make fools of themselves, publicly declared that he was going to watch in person. Once that happened, the major factions could no longer treat the invitation as something they could ignore.
And because of that, every major faction sent out several experts who could truly be called part of their foundation.
One side sent one, another side sent one, and just like that, enough powerhouses to start a world war on the spot gathered for what was supposed to be a small competition.
It was not as if no one realized something was wrong with the situation, but out of confidence in their own strength, they still went to the Underworld with the attitude of either having fun or picking a fight.
Some of them were so sure of themselves that they were already celebrating in advance, even talking about using the whole "crying wolf for personal amusement" angle as a pretext to stir up trouble for the Underworld after the match. What happened after that... speaks for itself.
The powerhouses who went to watch the match ended up either dead or injured. Aside from a few with especially strong recovery abilities, most of the rest were still lying in bed receiving treatment.
In a sense, some of them more than accomplished their goal of causing trouble for the Underworld, though they definitely had not intended to do it by ending up severely injured themselves.
From the perspective of the lower and middle ranks of the major factions, their leaders and upper echelons had gone all the way to Devil territory in the Underworld to watch a minor match, only to return badly wounded. On top of that, their faction's precious treasures and gold reserves had been looted clean by the Evil Dragons, leading to a sharp cut in their pay and forcing them to tighten their belts.
Once you looked at it that way, they did not even need their superiors to hint at anything. They started targeting the Devil race all on their own.
Yes, the ones who robbed them were the Evil Dragons led by the Infinite Dragon God. Yes, the ones who beat their leaders half to death were Shadow and the three great Dragon Gods. Yes, the Devils had also been robbed of plenty of things, but...
The two otherworldly Dragon Gods... had already been beaten to death by Shadow with his bare hands.
The Great Red... he might not be able to beat Shadow, but that certainly did not mean they could beat the Great Red.
Shadow... alone, he fought the three Dragon Gods one after another, killed two, and drove the last one away.
The Infinite Dragon God... a top five powerhouse in the world, with the ability to mass-produce world-class experts.
The Evil Dragons... mysterious in their movements, bizarre in their methods, able to revive even after being killed, and with even the weakest among them being at least SS-class.
Looking at it that way, every one of those existences was either impossible to provoke or an absolute nightmare to deal with. That made the Devils the easiest target to dump the blame on and vent their anger at.
So, through an unspoken understanding between the various factions, actions targeting the Devils of the Underworld were tacitly accepted by all sides.
And the worst part was that the Devils could not really say much about it, because this blame really was theirs to bear.
It had to be said, once every faction had a common target, the originally tense relations between them eased up quite a bit.
The clearest sign of that was that Devils all around the world now had to worry that even while walking around on their own turf, they might suddenly get a sack thrown over their heads, be dragged into an alley, and beaten senseless.
The Devil faction was powerful, powerful enough to rank among the very top even compared to the other major factions. But this time they had provoked public outrage, and the younger generation of the various factions had spontaneously joined forces and started using sheer numbers.
Take the masked group that blocked Cid in the alley last Sunday. To deal with someone whose apparent strength was only B-, they sent more than a dozen people, with the weakest still at B rank, and even three at A-.
That alone was enough to give a rough idea of just how absurd the number of faction heirs joining these anti-Devil groups had become.
During this period, most Devils living around the world had been attacked.
And almost every time, it was an outrageously luxurious setup where more than a dozen opponents at about the same level as the target, plus several who were a full tier stronger, all ganged up on one person. As a result, most of the time the victim had barely realized what was happening before being knocked out and dragged into an alley before they could make any real commotion.
Only people like Rias, Sona Sitri, and Sairaorg, those with direct lineage and enough strength that even swarm tactics would still give them a chance to make a huge scene, had managed to get through this without incident.
But that was the limit of it. Only those three were spared direct attacks. Their Peerage Members and subordinates were still within the scope of the targeting. More accurately, every Devil caught alone was within the scope of the targeting.
And the Devils living and studying on Itogami Island were not limited to Underworld nobles like Rias. There were also many commoners who had made it here through talent and hard work, and those commoners were targets as well.
Outside the Underworld, Devils like Rias, who possessed both noble status and strength, naturally became the leading figures in the eyes of the Devils studying on Itogami Island.
So after most of them had been beaten up, these Devils gathered together and came to Rias, hoping she could come up with an idea.
At that moment, aside from the three people on stage still arguing among themselves, everyone else in the conference room, whether commoners or the Peerage Members of those three, had been tracked down and beaten by that group to one degree or another. Even the few who had not been targeted were afraid they would be next.
"This sounds bad."
After hearing the whole situation, Cid swept his gaze across the room. A few of them had been beaten so badly that a sense of foreboding rose in his heart.
"Yeah. If this isn't resolved, the only choice left for us is to give up studying here and transfer back to the Underworld."
Akeno Himejima looked up gloomily at Rias, who was still in discussion with the others, her face full of worry. No matter how she looked at it, this was not the kind of trouble they could solve on their own.
"That's true. Right now, the heirs of the various factions are using the Devils as a common enemy. It helps them ease tensions, build social circles, and expand their connections. If we back down at a time like this, then later on it will turn into outright bullying.
On top of that, if Rias retreats back to the Underworld and shuts herself away every time something happens, then once word gets out, her reputation will be practically ruined."
Rubbing his chin, Cid quickly grasped how serious the matter was now that he had enough information. He simply had not paid much attention to it before.
"Oh my, Cid, your mind works fast. You figured it out that quickly. Could it be you just can't bear to part with your big sister and want her to stay by your side?"
She perfectly demonstrated what it meant to change expressions in an instant. One second Akeno Himejima still looked worried sick over Rias, and the next she had switched to a teasing smile, leaning close to Cid's ear and whispering softly.
"No. Actually, I was thinking about whether I could draw a clean line between myself and Rias right now, then shout a few lines about loving humanity and switch sides."
Akeno Himejima's expression froze. She carefully studied Cid's face, and when she realized he seemed to be seriously considering whether that plan was workable rather than joking, she started thinking about it too.
"In theory, that might actually be possible. Unlike us, you never underwent Devil reincarnation, so you don't have Devil blood.
Strictly speaking, Cid, you're just an ordinary human who joined Rias's group and took up one of her future Soldier positions.
Under those circumstances, if you wanted to betray Rias, there really is a decent chance of it working."
"Seems that way, but the problem is..."
Turning her head and meeting Cid's eyes, Akeno Himejima smoothly picked up the second half of his sentence.
"Would they believe it?"
"Exactly. What would it take to make them believe me?"
Cid nodded in agreement. Looking at it from someone else's perspective, even he would not believe he would betray Rias that easily.
"So stop thinking about that, Cid, and just stay with Rias like a good boy. Rias is a good master.
And besides, the Gremory family is pretty open-minded. They do not care that much about who you marry."
Smiling, Akeno Himejima straightened her expression and gave Cid a sincere piece of advice.
"I feel like I still have a shot. Besides, running off to the Underworld just for money would be too humiliating."
"Mm. That way of thinking of yours, Cid... never mind. Looks like Rias and the others have come to a decision."
As if Cid's train of thought had left her speechless, Akeno Himejima fell silent. Right then, Rias and the others seemed to have reached a conclusion, so she decisively changed the subject.
"Ahem. Everyone, we already know what has been happening to you lately..."
After coughing a few times to draw the room's attention, Sona Sitri stepped forward and announced their decision.
"If you are willing to trust us, as heirs to the bloodlines of the Underworld's 72 Pillars, then we will naturally shoulder our responsibility and come up with a solution for you."
Taking a step forward, Rias and Sona Sitri stood side by side and faced the crowd.
"But first, we need to apologize. There was not enough time, and Rias and I have only managed to come up with a temporary measure. I cannot say it is a particularly good one."
At that point, Sona Sitri's voice turned subdued. She and Rias exchanged a glance, then bowed to the crowd at the same time.
"For the time being, we ask all of you to do your best not to be alone. When going out, it would be best to make plans with others and travel together. I believe they would not dare attack us openly in front of everyone."
The moment they heard the method proposed by Rias and Sona Sitri, the crowd exploded into an uproar. More or less, all of them had caught the implication behind Rias's words.
How could they possibly stay calm when no one was going to take the initiative to hold the people who attacked them accountable, and those attackers were just going to walk free? Did that not basically mean the Devils were expected to swallow the loss?
Watching the scene with cold eyes, Cid had already guessed what kind of answer Rias and Sona Sitri would give. He had even more or less guessed what would happen next.
The truth was, this problem really was difficult to solve. Saying it out loud would not help at all. Reporting it to the teachers would not help. Calling the security squad would not help either. With all the factions tacitly allowing this to happen, those so-called neutral parties would only muddy the waters.
And while the current campaign against the Devils looked like something produced by the major factions' silent agreement, if things really blew up, the side that lacked standing would actually be the Devils.
"I know everyone is angry. So am I. But all of you should know what has been happening lately. We Devils are in the middle of a crisis, and I ask all of you to give us a little more time.
Please trust me, the heir of the House of Bael. I swear in the name of the House of Bael that this will not take long. We will definitely come up with a solution for all of you."
From the very beginning, Sairaorg had been completely unable to get a word in. He had no choice but to sit off to the side alone and watch Rias and Sona Sitri argue over possible solutions. After receiving a signal from the two of them, he decisively stepped forward.
"That's right. I swear in the name of the House of Gremory that we will find a way to break out of our current predicament as quickly as possible."
Once Sairaorg, the strongest of the Underworld's younger generation, spoke up, Rias immediately followed.
"The same goes for me. I swear in the name of the House of Sitri that I will fulfill my responsibility as the Student Council Vice President and stop this targeting of us Devils by others as soon as possible."
Sona Sitri stepped forward as well, using both her family name and her position at school to assure the Devils.
"This..."
"Is that really okay? It sounded like Miss Sona was not all that certain about what she said at the end..."
"Whatever. If the sky falls, the tall ones can hold it up. At worst, it is just another beating."
"It feels like they are just saying nice-sounding things. We are the ones getting beaten up, so what is the point of them swearing on their family names..."
Even though they had prepared themselves mentally, the moment they heard the three of them say all that, the room immediately broke into discussion. Some were openly dissatisfied, feeling that Rias and the others were just feeding them empty promises and hollow words.
"How fascinating..."
Watching it unfold exactly as expected, Cid could not help murmuring to himself.
"They were the ones who came here asking others for help, yet the moment the help they received failed to match what they wanted, they started resenting the very people willing to help them."
Shaking his head, Cid continued watching Rias and the others. They clearly were not finished yet.
"I know all of you are worried that even if you move around in groups, the enemy still will not hold back.
So we will go with you as well. Until this incident is resolved, we and our Peerage Members will accompany you as escorts and protection, and after school we will travel together with you."
Pushing up her glasses, Sona Sitri faced the crowd head-on and spoke without changing expression.
After hearing that, the crowd looked at one another. Realizing there was no room left to bargain, they ultimately accepted the proposal.
"Good. Since today is the first day, there is no need to rush into deciding the team assignments. Let us first inspect the situation on site. Is that acceptable?"
As she spoke, Rias and Sona Sitri quietly signaled to the people below the stage.
The Peerage Members of both Houses caught the hint and moved forward with perfect coordination, stepping up to back their masters.