Timeskip: 13 days, time for the rating games.
Everyone gave their all when it came to training, Asia, Akeno, Rias, Koneko, Kiba and Issei.
The results weren't phenomenal, it was inly 13 days after all, but their training even for a short time, paid off.
Asia after constantly using her sacred gear, improved a lot, she could heal injuries much faster, and spent much less energy on using her sacred gear.
Akeno and Rias Improved their efficiency as well, especially Rias.
Koneko's fighting techniques were a bit more fluid, and sharper they weren't as stiff as before, she also got a bit more agile, her speed definitely exceeded your average rook. She learned well under Kiba's tutelage.
As for Kiba himself… his improvement was great as well, he was putting in the most effort in training, that isn't to say that the others weren't it's just that Kiba's dedication was much greater than theirs.
As for our favorite perverted future harem king Issei, his improvement was probably the best in the whole group, as someone who has never trained properly before, his progress would definitely be much greater than those who have, that is only in the beginning, he's still quite talented though.
"You guys ready?" Jinrang questioned, as he looked at his friends, his eyes lingered on Akeno for a second longer though.
"Of course." Rias spoke confidently.
"Indeed." Kiba added.
Koneko just silently nodded her head.
"Y-Yes!" Asia said, determination visible in her green eyes.
Akeno simply smiled at him.
Issei was silent though, stealing glances at his left arm.
"Issei?" Jinrang called out to him, disturbing his thought process.
"Oh sorry, what were you saying?"
Issei questioned while scratching his head nervously.
"I was asking if you're ready, be alert man." Jinrang spoke sternly.
"Yeah, I'll put that fiery peacock in his place." Issei said, seriously.
"Good, that's what I like to see." Jinrang said, and Rias nodded as well, agreeing with Jinrang.
Suddenly, Grayfia appeared using her magic circle, she observed each and every member of Rias Gremory's peerage.
"Has everyone finished their preparations?" She questioned.
"Yes, we're ready Grayfia." Rias answered her.
"I see, please keep in mind that The great devil, Sirzechs Lucifer himself will be watching."
Issei's eyes lit up in recognition upon hearing that name, and turned his eyes to Jinrang.
"Isn't he the person who terrified you?" He questioned.
"Yeah, that's him." Jinrang confirmed.
"Man, now I'm really curious about him." Issei muttered to himself, but Grayfia caught it.
"You'll get your chance once The Rating Game is over."
"Everyone, the time is near. Please head towards the magician's circle, once the battle starts you'll be transferred there, in that space do whatever you want, that is what it is for after all."
"Good luck. Issei, Akeno remember the plan, if you two don't do your part… there is a high chance that you'll loose the match. No pressure of course."
"No pressure he says…" Issei mumbled and nodded, but Akeno looked down for a second conflicted about something, before meeting his eyes and nodding as well.
Grayfia raised an eyebrow at this exchange, she was a tad bit curious about what they had in mind, but she'll soon see for herself.
They all moved and stood on the circle which started glowing and they disappeared from where they once stood.
"Can I watch the match as well?" Jinrang asked.
"Lord Lucifer wants to meet you, and you'll be able to watch the match with him." Grayfia said.
"…Alright." Jinrang responded calmly, hiding his nervousness.
Grayfia waved her hand, and a magic circle appeared beneath the two of them, within a blink of an eye the surroundings completely changed.
Now, he was in an office of sorts, it was decorated with paintings, flowers all in all it looked quite fascinating.
It was an office fit for someone of Sirzechs Lucifers status.
As for the man himself, he was sitting on a sofa watching some kind of a screen, that displayed the combatants, Rias Gremory's group and of course, Riser Phoenix's group.
Sirzechs looked at Jinrang and smiled kindly, he got up and walked over to him.
"Hello, Jinrang was it? I'm happy to finally talk to you in person." Sirzechs stretched his arm out for a handshake.
Jinrang gulped, while looking at the arm he took a deep breath, and shook it.
"It's an honor to meet you, sir Lord Luc- Sir Lucifer- Lord Lucifer, Sir." He spoke nervously. Very nervously.
Sirzechs chuckled at the sight of this man, Grayfia also found the situation amusing.
"Now now, don't be so nervous I'm not some boogeyman you think I am." Sirzechs said.
"My apologies, but you're one of the strongest beings, I can't help but be nervous." Jinrang said while smiling nervously.
"I see, well, let's not waste any more time, make yourself comfortable, The Rating Game is starting." Sirzechs said.
The black-haired boy, turned his attention to the screen, but Sirzechs focus was on Jinrang, he found this young man very very interesting.
'Although he really is nervous, his body doesn't display any signs of discomfort.'
He thought, fascinated.
Normally, when someone is in an uncomfortable position, their body language shows obvious hints that the other part can pick up on, but Jinrang was different.
Yes, he was extremely nervous because he was sitting with THE Lucifer, yes he was terrified, but unknown to him, his body language was completely calm, as if it had it's own consciousness. (Nope, this is NOT UI, don't ask, don't think, don't tell me to add it, maybe next fanfiction i write i'll think about it.)
'I wonder, what kind of a powerhouse you'll grow up to be.'
Sirzechs chuckled to himself, before returning his attention towards the screen.
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Issei and Koneko were hiding in the gym, hoping to take out some of Riser's pieces before the true battle began.
Hiding behind a curtain, Issei and Koneko were forced to reveal themselves because the opponents had found them.
"The rook and… the pawn huh?" The girl who was probably cosplaying Chun Li from street fighter spoke.
"That girl…" Issei muttered while narrowing his eyes.
"I'm Mira, a pawn." The blue-haired girl with a bo staff introduced herself.
"I'm Shuelan, Rook." The one who seemed like the leader was next.
And finally, the twins "im Ile, a pawn."
"Im Nel, also a pawn."
Their smiles slightly ticked off Issei, to be honest. Especially that Mira girl.
Koneko's eyes narrowed dangerously, "That rook, is pretty high level."
Issei glanced towards her, "Doesn't matter, we'll still win."
"Of course, you take the pawns, I'll handle her." Koneko said, before rushing towards her opponent.
Issei ran after her as well.
The opposing team dispersed as well, Shuelan charged at Koneko before stopping and delivering a decent roundhouse kick aimed towards her head.
Koneko ducked and widened the distance, but Shuelan rushed towards her once more, sending consecutive kicks to her face, Koneko blocked those two attacks as well.
'…Slow.' She thought to herself.
Shuelan clicked her tongue, "What? Can't do anything but dodge? Some rook you are." She said sneering.
Shuelan charged once more, before she spun on her heel and kicked towards Koneko's stomach.
Koneko grabbed the incoming attack and using her foot she kicked towards Shuelan's leg and threw her on the ground, she didn't let up her assault, Koneko grabbed her throat and started punching her continuously.
Shortly, Shuelan lost consciousness under Koneko's devastating strikes.
She then glanced at Issei, who was facing the other three.
Issei laid on the ground after taking a direct strike in the stomach from Mira.
"Need help? Issei?" Koneko asked, getting ready to help, but stopped when she saw Issei getting back up casually.
"No, I got it. Just wanted to test something."
Issei charged towards the three pawns, he jumped and struck Ile's stomach eith his knee, and once landing on solid ground he kicked Nel's side taking the breath out of her and finished her off with a powerful hook.
Mira was stunned, thanks to Issei's sudden momentum, The brown haired boy grabbed her and struck her in the stomach, and finally he knocked her out too.
"Jinrang… I've avenged your future children." Issei said, with a smile.
Koneko was speechless, she sighed and tapped Issei's shoulder. "Let's move."
The two walked out of the building, and looked around.
The area was clear, no enemies in sight.
"What of Kiba?" She questioned.
"Here." The man in question called out, while coming out of the trees.
"Kiba! Those three? Did you really beat them all by yourself?" Issei questioned in awe.
"With Akeno's traps and barriers, it was pretty easy." He shrugged.
Issei let out a sigh of relief, and the three continued on their way looking for Riser's servants. They didn't look for much longer because of a sudden explosion, Kiba managed to rescue both of his friends at the last second, luckily they didn't suffer any injuries.
The power behind that explosion was immense, if it had landed it could've taken all three of them out.
'That was way too close!' Issei thought sweating a bit, he clicked his tongue in frustration and clenched his fists.
"Oh? You dodged that?" A soft voice came from above, it was from a woman with long purple hair.
"So it's you, Riser's favorite toy." Koneko provoked her while narrowing her eyes.
"Prepare to retreat, we won't be able to beat her right now." Kiba spoke.
Yubelluna pointed her staff at Koneko, intending to silence her because of such disrespect, but she suddenly stopped and looked over to find a woman who suddenly appeared while wearing a priestess clothes it was Akeno who wore a confident smile. "Leave her to me, you three deal with the rest."
"So it's you, Priestess of Thunder, I've wanted to fight you ever since I found out about you." Yubelluna pointed her staff at Akeno while flaring her mana.
Akeno chuckled but spoke no further.
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The three retreated, and suddenly they stopped at an open field, they were surrounded by Riser's remaining servants.
it was 6 against three, Riser's Knights, Siris and Karlamine, Rook Isabella, The bishops, Ravel and Mihae, and finally the two pawns who were twins as well, Ni and Li.
Kiba and Karlamine immediately locked eyes, and after a brief introduction they clashed.
Issei sighed, and scratched his hair, "Koneko, I'll take the Rook handle the rest." Koneko was about to say something but Issei and Isabella were already walking up to each other.
"Wow, he changed quite a lot in those two weeks, at first I thought that Gremory had poor taste in men, but maybe Rias has good taste in men after all." The blonde Ravel Phoenix said.
Issei summoned his boosted gear, and stood face to face with his opponent, "Hope you're ready for this, I'm in a rush."
Isabella chuckled and responded, "Confidence is good, Rias Gremory's pawn... But are you sure you're not outmatched here?"
[BOOST!]
Issei smiled as well, "We'll find out soon enough."
Right after saying that, both the Pawn and Rook traded blows, punching each other in the face.
Rook's are inherently much more powerful than pawns before promotion, and considering the level of this competition, it became visible very quickly.
Issei was overwhelmed right in the first exchange, his nose was already bleeding, while his opponent had a slight bruise.
But Issei didn't let up despite the difference in power, because he knew, that soon enough his power would grow beyond her.
Issei punched her again, but his strike was blocked, and another punch landed in his face this one packed with even more power than the last.
"You grew quite a lot, I'm impressed, back then you were just a harmless lizard, but now... you're almost on our level." Isabella spoke, praising Issei's achievement.
[BOOST!]
"Thanks for the praise but... You're not the person I want to impress." Issei said before rushing towards Isabella, and grabbing her collar.
She reacted immediately, trying to punch him away, but Issei's grasp remained firm.
"Clench your teeth." he spoke while winding up a strike using his gloved hand.
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A bit away from them, Koneko fought the two pawns, who were giving her a hard time, due to their flexibility and a slight advantage in speed, their strength was lacking though, so they couldn't really bring down Koneko who was tougher than a tank.
'A slugfest... Issei will win that.' Koneko thought, remembering the training, where Jinrang and Issei would trade blows, which turned out to be very effective.
It helped Issei get used to pain, train to endure attacks, and train to deliever strong punishment to the attacker.
"Should you really be worrying about others... when you yourself are in danger?" Ravel spoke, as she observed the two.
"in danger?" Koneko repeated, before raising her fist and gathering all her strength.
She smashed her fist into the ground, the shockwave from her punch was immense her strength was truly worthy of the Rook piece.
Where she stood, there was a large crater, and the fragmented ground made it harder for her opponents to move around, once you took away their agility, they became nothing more than annoying bugs.
"What danger do you mean?" Koneko said while raising her fists, preparing to engage again.