A flash of crimson light deposited the three fighters—Rias, Jin, and Riser—onto the Gremory training field, which now served as a crowded observation area. The reaction was instantaneous and starkly divided.
On one side of the field, the Phenex peerage rushed forward. They circled their master, their faces etched with concern for his wellbeing, but they stopped short, seeing his state. Riser was sitting on the grass, his regal attire in tatters, his body healed but his gaze completely vacant, shell-shocked. Seeing him so broken, they sat in silence near him, a shroud of shared sadness and agony.
In stark contrast, the other side of the field erupted. Rias's peerage, restored and healed, rushed toward their victorious King. Issei, Kiba, Akeno, and Koneko were cheering, laughing, a chaotic jumble of elation and relief. Rias herself felt a weight she had carried her entire life lift from her shoulders, laughing as her friends and mother embraced her. She had escaped her fate, and she had done it with her own hands. But she knew it was all thanks to one person who had brought them that victory.
Her eyes scanned her celebrating family, but she didn't find Jin. Her gaze darted across the field, searching... and then she saw it.
A dark silhouette, low and fast, launching itself not toward their celebration, but toward the silent, grieving circle on the other side.
Jin, blinded by the lingering bloodlust of the fight, had jumped Riser's team.
The Phenex peerage shrieked, scrambling back in terror. Before Riser could even register the new threat, Jin was on him. His claws, pierced Riser's chest again.
But Riser's Queen was still a Queen. Yubelluna, though exhausted, reacted instantly, waiving a hand and blasting Jin with a concussive spell that exploded on his right side, flinging him away.
Riser, hurt and panicked, scrambled backward. "STOP!" he pleaded, his voice cracking. "The game is over! It's OVER!"
His voice fell on deaf ears. Jin landed in a crouch, his head down. When he looked up, Rias's blood ran cold. His eyes were milky white, his pupils gone. He wasn't listening. He wasn't seeing. He was an animal.
Rias was rooted to the spot in horror, seeing things spiral out of control, but her new-found resolve forced her feet to move. She ran, planting herself directly between Jin and the cowering Riser.
"Jin, stop!" she yelled. "It's over! Stop before things get worse!"
But Jin had lost the ability to reason. His mind was a feedback loop, a single, pounding rhythm: *Dominate. Dominate. Dominate. KILL. KILL.* Stopping was impossible. He launched himself toward the group, a predator seeking to finish its kill.
Lady Phenex and Lady Gremory, who were both approaching their children, saw the situation unfold and tensed. Decades of experience had their hands already glowing with power, ready to intervene but they couldn't .
Before anyone could do anything, a figure simply appeared in Jin path just standing there .
Sirzechs Lucifer now stood between Jin and Rias, his back to her, his crimson hair stirring in an unfelt breeze. The entire field fell into an oppressive silence.
Jin, running on pure, primal instinct, slowed . His instincts, the animal part of him, screamed. *APEX PREDATOR. DANGER. FEAR.* His mind faltered, ready to submit. But the will that had been forged in his own personal hell, the will that had broken an immortal, roared back. *Dominate. Not back down. Forward.* he speed forward .
His mind scrambled for a weapon, *any* weapon, knowing that avoiding this obstacle was impossible. The only way was forward. An image flashed in his mind—the memory of a sword, of pure energy. He had no sword, but he had his claws.
It was a desperate, one-in-a-million gamble. He focused his will, tapping into his battle-heightened state and the raw, centuries-old combat instincts he'd inherited, into his claws. A faint, shimmering aura, like a heat haze, enveloped his claws. He thrust his hand forward, a "sword energy" strike meant to remove the obstacle from his path. His hand moving in ready to pincer sirzechs .
It hit Sirzechs's chest. And did nothing. The energy dissipated, a puff of harmless air.
Sirzechs looked down at Jin, his expression not angry, but almost impressed by the sheer, stubborn tenacity. But enough was enough. A lesson was in order.
A ball of the Power of Destruction, no bigger than a marble, formed at the tip of Sirzechs's finger. He didn't fire it as an explosion; he fired it as a blade. It moved faster than thought, slicing cleanly through Jin's legs at the thigh.
Jin's upper body toppled to the ground, his strings cut. An immense, blinding jolt of pain shot through his system, shattering the berserker rage like glass. He gasped, his mind his own again, his eyes clearing. Below his waist, his legs were already knitting back together, the healing process, though slowed by the POD, still horrifically active.
Sirzechs looked down at him. "Back?"
Jin, panting on the ground, nodded. "Yes." He took a deep, ragged breath, his new legs fully formed in seconds. "So… we won."
Rias rushed up, her fear replaced with relief. "Yes, we won. Thanks to you, Jin."
Jin pushed himself to his feet, the tattered remains of his clothes barely covering him. He looked at Rias, then at Sirzechs. "I held up my part of the deal. I hope you'll hold up yours."
"Of course," Rias said quickly. "I'll get you the best magic books we have. Now, let's celebrate!"
"Before that," Jin said, turning to the Crimson Satan. "Lord Lucifer, my apologies for my behavior."
Sirzechs gave a small, disarming smile. "It's water under the bridge. The adrenaline of a high-stakes match… these things happen."
"Hey!" A sharp voice cut in. Ravel Phenex stepped forward, her face stained with tears but her eyes blazing with fury. "Don't you have to say sorry to *my brother*?"
Jin turned his gaze on her, his expression flat and cold. "No. I'm sorry to Lord Sirzechs. As his guest, my antics made him lose face. I am in no way sorry for what happened to your brother. In fact... I quite liked what I did."
"You insolent—!" Ravel shrieked.
"You are crossing a line, human!" Lady Phenex roared, stepping forward. "You should be hanged for what you did here today!"
"Let's all calm down," Sirzechs said, his voice instantly taking control of the situation. He stepped forward, placing himself politically between the two families. "This was, ultimately, my mistake. They should not have been summoned so close to each other immediately after such a brutal match. I'm sure Sona, as the game manager, did not anticipate this outcome."
All eyes turned to Sona, who had approached, her face a mask of professionalism. "It was my error, Lady Phenex," she said with a bow. "In my haste to end the match and ensure Lord Riser's safety, I ended the game abruptly. I forgot the human participant might not be able to control himself."
Lady Phenex pressed her lips into a thin, angry line, but she accepted the political out. "You should work on that, Heiress Sitri."
"I am sorry for my inexperience," Sona replied.
Jin looked at the tense crowd. "Given the circumstances, I don't think I'll be able to join you for the celebration, Rias. I should take my leave."
"Stay!" Rias insisted. "We won this as a team!"
Jin just looked at Sirzechs. "Maybe another time."
Sirzechs understood. He produced a thick, leather-bound book from a small magic circle. "Here. What you wanted."
Jin took the book, understanding it was the public cover for their real, hidden deal. "Thank you."
With a nod, Sirzechs placed a hand on his shoulder and, in a flash of crimson light, teleported him away, leaving the Gremory peerage to celebrate their victory and the Phenex family to finally, and mercifully, tend to their broken lord.