Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow at that. Coming from Sona, that was high praise indeed.
"While Riser takes a more leisurely approach to managing his Peerage in battle, which basically consists of him sitting back and doing nothing, Ravel has a more hands-on approach.
"Though she doesn't directly participate in the fight, she usually leads a portion of the Peerage to combat the enemy and helps them coordinate, all while staying back and assessing the enemy's fighting style for threats and weaknesses. Under her leadership, they've been able to win two matches without Riser's involvement.
"Together, they form a formidable team that covers each other's weaknesses very well. While they have some rather significant flaws that can be exploited, the raw power of two High-Class Demons on one team makes it nearly impossible for any team in their age group to take advantage of that."
Gilgamesh had to agree with that; by High-Class Demon standards, Riser was strong.
He had managed to defeat Rias, who was being healed by Asia in the canon, and barely attacked, besides fighting Issei in his incomplete Balance Breaker and only losing due to the use of holy items.
Even so, Gilgamesh snorted.
"I'd beat them all easily," said Gilgamesh, smiling, making Sona's eyes twitch.
"Sorry, but not everyone has your overwhelming power, Gilgamesh," said Sona sarcastically, and Gilgamesh laughed.
Seeing Gilgamesh quiet, Sona continued.
"But one of the biggest problems is him: Sairaorg Bael, the strongest of the young Demons.
"He was born without skill or talent and even failed to inherit his clan's power, the Power of Destruction. By Devil standards, he was born crippled. With such deficiencies, he should be a weakling incapable of fighting even Low-Class Demons, let alone High-Class ones.
"But apparently, someone forgot to tell Sairaorg that, because over the past three years, he's crushed every High-Class Demon born in the last century and at least half of those born before, all in one-on-one duels."
"Currently, he and Rin are considered the closest to becoming a Maou," said Sona, shaking her head in disbelief. "Honestly, the only way Sairaorg would lose is if he decided to fight the entire tournament alone, without his Peerage, and even then, I'm not sure he wouldn't win."
The scariest part was that she wasn't exaggerating at all; she was downplaying things. Sairaorg was a monster, plain and simple. Demons usually take centuries of training to reach Ultimate-Class level, and that's with the power inherited from their clan. This guy did it before his twenties, despite being considered a cripple in magic.
That's why Sairaorg was one of the few demons Gilgamesh respected.
"And, of course, we can't forget Rin Astaroth, the genius younger sister of Ajuka Beelzebub," said Sona, sighing. "Setting her appearance aside, she's considered a monster by everyone in the new generation and the only one to rival Sairaorg.
"She was born with immense magical power, even by our standards. Her mastery over various types of magic—she wields fire magic like a Phenex and water magic like a Sitri, and our clans specialize in those—her intelligence that surpasses mine, and combat skills that match Sairaorg's, not to mention the famous Kankara Formula that made her brother famous. All of this makes everyone believe Rin will succeed her brother as Maou Beelzebub.
"We can't forget her Peerage either, which is considered the strongest of the new generation, composed of monsters, some of whom rival Ultimate-Class Demons, with her [Queen] having Satan-Class power like Rin herself. Honestly, I think she'll succeed Diehauser Belial as the leader of the Rating Games," Sona finished, sighing.
Gilgamesh couldn't help but widen his eyes at that.
From what it seemed, Rin was highly regarded and respected in the Underworld, which made Gilgamesh most curious about her Peerage. After all, who were they?
After finally finishing her explanation, Sona lowered her hand.
"And that's why, realistically, I don't believe I have any real chance of winning. With just one of them entering, it would still be tough, a slim chance. All of them? My chances dropped far below zero, practically becoming an imaginary number. That's even before you consider that both have complete Peerages while I'm still in the process of building mine.
"If this year's gathering weren't so important, I'd honestly consider postponing my debut for another year, but unfortunately, that would make me look like a coward, and as an heiress, I can't allow my reputation to be tarnished so far."
Gilgamesh could sense a bit of pride in her voice.
Unfortunately, while most of what she said was accurate, it was also incomplete.
Gilgamesh had to bite back a grimace. Though he hated playing the bad guy, it was for her own good. Oh well. Time to clear up some misconceptions.
"Even if you don't expect to win, I hope that doesn't mean you plan to lose."
Sona smiled at Gilgamesh.
"Hardly," she replied. "While first place is beyond me, it's still possible for me to rank very high. I've scouted the other participants and found that most of them are hardly a threat. The few who are, I've already prepared a basic strategy to counter them if I ever end up playing against them."
"So, you expect to do quite well?"
"I do." No hesitation.
"How well?"
"I estimate that, as long as I don't get unlucky and face Phenex, Rin, or Sairaorg in an early round, I'd have a fair shot at fourth place, maybe higher if I get lucky."
Gilgamesh snorted quietly at that.
And, naturally, Sona noticed.
"You disagree?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes," replied Gilgamesh. "You won't get anywhere near that far."
"Why do you think that?"
"Because you're too weak."
It was incredible how the already silent room became even quieter as everyone in the council froze. Sona stiffened in surprise so quickly it was as if she'd been electrocuted; hell, even Tsubaki's jaw dropped in disbelief.
To a human, what Gilgamesh said wouldn't have been so bad. Even for a Devil, a race that prided itself on its strength and power, it would've been only a moderate insult. Well, that would've been true if Pride weren't the Devil's chosen mortal sin.
Pride, that was Sona's sin. And then Gilgamesh, one of her friends, stepped on it right in front of her and her Peerage. A bit harsh, but there were few better ways to get someone's attention and make them listen than by wounding their pride.
"Hey, you bastard, apologize!" The only male in the student council, a blond boy named Saji, stepped toward Gilgamesh and was stopped by Sona's raised hand before he could take more than a step.
Without taking her eyes off Gilgamesh, Sona studied him for nearly a minute before deciding to speak.
"Explain yourself, Gilgamesh," she growled at the King of Heroes, glaring with a murderous look the entire time. Once again, her attempt at intimidation made her look nothing more than a murderous kitten.
As if Sona could intimidate Gilgamesh.
Gilgamesh simply looked bored.
"You're weak, plain and simple," said Gilgamesh, pointing a hand at the desk.
Judging by the shocked looks Gilgamesh received, they seemed willing to listen and then let their tempers get the better of them.
"Chess?" For the first time, it wasn't Sona who spoke, but her Queen, Tsubaki. "Are you saying Kaichou's weakness is chess? But she's amazing at it."
"Not quite what I meant," though he answered Tsubaki's question, Gilgamesh didn't take his eyes off Sona as he spoke. "And it's not just your Kaichou, but the demon kind as a whole."
Gilgamesh pointed at the chessboard in front of him. "Tell me, Sona, what do chess and the Rating Games have in common? And I'm talking about the practical aspects, not superficial things like names and titles."
If Sona was somehow confused by Gilgamesh's line of questioning, she didn't show it. She just looked at the board for a few seconds before looking at Gilgamesh. "I'm not sure what you're asking me, Gilgamesh."
"Let me rephrase it for you," crossing his arms over his chest, Gilgamesh leaned back in his chair. "What exactly do chess and battle have in common?"
This time, she didn't bother looking at the chessboard but focused all her attention on Gilgamesh while contemplating the question.
"Normally, I'd answer something like strategy or tactics," she began, "but I have a feeling that's not the answer you're looking for."
Gilgamesh shook his head in response.
A bit naive, perhaps, but no one ever accused Sona of being stupid.
"The answer is simple: almost nothing.
"Now, I'm not saying chess isn't useful for developing strategic thinking or planning, which it undoubtedly does, just that its use in developing battle skills is greatly overrated in modern demon society," I continued after ensuring I wouldn't be interrupted. "In fact, aside from basic strategy, it has almost nothing in common with real-world warfare.
"And yet, Devils as a whole seem to worship it as the ideal war game simulator. The amount of hype Devils heap on chess is so ridiculous that it's started to negatively affect the fighting potential of the younger generation of Devils."
"For example," Gilgamesh raised a single finger, "there's a military term known as 'information uncertainty.' It's when you're not sure how accurate the information you have about the enemy is, or a situation where you don't even have any information. That's a fundamental aspect of any battlefield and something that simply doesn't exist in chess." Gilgamesh raised a second finger. "Then, there's the number of forces each side has. In chess, no matter your skill level, your starting pieces are equal in number and strength, which is a completely ridiculous scenario in real life that would never happen."
Gilgamesh quickly added a third, fourth, and fifth finger to the others.
"Then there's the advantage of terrain and weather, communication issues, panic, and morale among soldiers. You can't perform flanking maneuvers in chess, you can't get behind enemy lines, and above all, you can't use their fear and terror against them." Gilgamesh closed his hand into a fist.
"And perhaps the most important lesson of all, chess doesn't teach you when to run. Victory is always possible in chess; in real life, sometimes all you can do is flee. Sometimes it's far better to retreat than to stand and fight to a meaningless death. This simple lesson, learning when to run, is something many people never learn until it's too late," said Gilgamesh seriously.
This might seem strange coming from a warrior like Gilgamesh, who brought Sirzechs Lucifer to his knees with a single glance, but even Gilgamesh knew his limitations.
"Chess, Sona," Gilgamesh continued after allowing a few seconds for his words to sink in, "is a great starting point for developing your skills as a strategist, but if you cling to it for too long, it'll only end up limiting you. And that's something that's already happening to you."
Gilgamesh spread his arms and gestured to the entire room with a wave.
"Your choice of Peerage is a perfect example of this."
Anger, genuine barely-contained rage, flooded her face as she almost hissed at Gilgamesh.
"Watch your next words, Gilgamesh. Or even our friendship won't be able to save you from my wrath."
Gilgamesh barely suppressed a smile.
"Now, now, calm down. That's not what I meant. I didn't intend for you to take what I said as an insult to your Peerage."
"Then what exactly did you mean, Gilgamesh?" Though Sona hadn't calmed down, at least she no longer seemed to be plotting to rip Gilgamesh's head off.
"Your Peerage, they're a reflection of how you fight."
That, at least, was enough to knock her off balance and take the wind out of her sails.
Before she had a chance to ask, Gilgamesh answered, "They're all like chess pieces. No, to be more precise, they're more like surgical knives."
Gilgamesh looked around the room at all seven members of her Peerage.
"Even with just a glance, I can tell that almost everyone in this room was chosen not for their raw fighting skills. Instead, you chose them for their ability to counter your enemies' strengths or exploit their weaknesses. Like a craftsman choosing their tool, you selected each piece of your Peerage to prepare for any situation you might find yourself in.
"Now, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Quite the contrary, I can honestly say that many Peerages could benefit from adopting your approach."
"Then what's the problem?" Saji shouted.
Honestly, Gilgamesh was already fed up with his yelling and considered throwing a sword at his throat.
"The problem is that you've gone too far. Your plans to create a Peerage that can adapt to every scenario have ended up creating several potentially fatal weaknesses. The first and most obvious is that your entire attack plan relies on having information about the enemy to work. You can't exploit their weaknesses or counter their strengths if you don't know what they are. Without detailed and accurate data on your enemy, your entire attack strategy falls apart.
"In a war, reliable information is a scarce resource.
"What method have you prepared to gather information on the battlefield? Besides familiars, which are easily disrupted, or your family's information network, which is geared only toward demons, you don't have an efficient method to gather the information you need to win."
"Of course," Gilgamesh waved his hand lightly in the air, "in a Rating Game, it might be possible to gather information about your enemy, but it's equally possible that you'll miss something. I'm sure more than one Demon will have one or two trump cards hidden up their sleeve.
"More importantly," Gilgamesh was looking directly into Sona's eyes, "never forget that the Rating Games are supposed to be a simulation of a real war. There's no point in learning techniques that only work in what's essentially nothing more than a popular game but are ineffective in a real fight where real lives are at stake."