Chapter 229: Pre-Game Preparations
Ravel nodded expressionlessly to the group, signaling them to quickly proceed with verifying the contract.
The cold attitude of the golden-haired beauty gave the impression that she might be difficult to get along with, but Haruto knew this was merely a facade to conceal her true personality.
With her golden twin tails and petite, loli-like figure, it was hard to imagine her as aloof.
Unlike Mittelt, however, due to her status and position, Ravel often had no choice but to maintain a haughty demeanor.
Knowing that Ravel was from the Phenex family and an opponent in the Rating Game, the other girls weren't surprised by her attitude.
Soon, with the cooperation of Maria and Haruto, Grayfia registered the contract and confirmed Haruto's participation slot.
Ravel observed the entire process without offering any comments.
"There's one thing to note: the use of unconventional combat power is prohibited in the Rating Game," the silver-haired beauty stated formally, following procedure. "This includes forbidden drugs, mutually destructive techniques, and so on."
Haruto frowned—Sona had been right.
Though Grayfia didn't explicitly say it, she was clearly targeting his Juggernaut Drive.
He considered questioning it, but seeing Rias raise no objections, he ultimately held back.
"No problem," Haruto nodded. The rule applied to both sides, and with conventional combat power alone, he didn't believe Riser could defeat their team.
"Originally, as a contracted servant outside the chess pieces, there should be restrictions on the number of people under Miss Rias's command," Grayfia added. "However, since Miss Rias's servant count falls far short of fifteen, the Devil Kings have discussed and decided not to reduce the numbers for this instance."
"Then we'll take our leave. We look forward to your performance in the match."
After Grayfia teleported away, Ravel immediately followed.
The golden-haired loli beauty had barely made her presence felt throughout, even more perfunctory than Grayfia, who was merely going through the motions.
Haruto had initially worried she might demand an on-the-spot verification of the contract and had been pondering how to feign an aroused demeanor.
But she never brought it up.
"President, what's the deal with that Ravel?"
The timeline had already veered far off course, and Haruto had no idea what attitude the twin-tailed golden-haired demon young lady now held.
"Ravel is Riser's biological younger sister, the fourth child of the Phenex family, and the youngest, most beloved daughter," Rias explained with a smile. Setting aside the engagement issue, the relationships among the Four Great Satans families were actually quite amicable.
After all, they had survived such a brutal war together, fostering at least some camaraderie among them.
To preserve their vital forces, the ranking game's tournament advancement format was designed, which greatly benefited the Phenex family with their innate bloodline talent of rebirth through fire, causing their power to rapidly expand.
In contrast, the Gremory family faced a lack of successors, and to maintain the birth of pure-blooded devils, the parents of both families privately arranged a marriage engagement.
"Ravel didn't really want to come. Although she and Riser were close as children, ever since Riser became dissolute, she hasn't thought much of her brother..."
With Haruto able to participate, Rias felt much more at ease and casually shared some gossip known only among the devil nobility.
"I heard that Riser had to grovel for a long time to get Ravel to be his bishop. In the end, she only reluctantly agreed because Riser used to play with her often when she was young."
"For this contract registration, the Phenex family had to send someone to witness it, or there would be trouble later. But sending someone too high or too low in status wasn't ideal. After much consideration, Ravel was the only suitable choice."
Haruto suddenly understood. Ravel was not only Riser's biological sister but also his servant, making her a fitting witness.
Moreover, with her presence, Rias didn't have to worry about the Phenex family reneging afterward.
Even if they needed a scapegoat, they couldn't possibly push Ravel forward.
This wasn't some deep-seated vendetta where they'd go to extremes for revenge.
"By the way, President, can't Sacred Gears be used in the Rating Game?"
Rias shook her head. "No, it's just that Juggernaut Drive isn't allowed. If you can master Balance Breaker, you can use it."
"Huh?"
Haruto was puzzled, but after Rias's explanation, he understood.
It turned out Grayfia wasn't specifically targeting him—she was genuinely just reminding him.
The original purpose of the Rating Game was to reduce casualties among devils, so temporary combat enhancements with severe side effects and lack of control were uniformly prohibited.
In the Rating Game, once an opponent is incapacitated, no further attacks are allowed.
Conversely, those who are incapacitated can recover and rejoin the battle.
Additionally, those who surrender voluntarily or are severely injured are directly teleported out of the space to receive treatment.
Because of this, the Phenex family, with their superhuman regenerative abilities, naturally hold a significant advantage in the Rating Game.
The Phenex family is said to possess immortality, but in reality, their resurrection ability after death has a long cooldown period.
However, their powerful regeneration has no cooldown.
As long as they don't suffer fatal injuries, members of the Phenex family can regenerate instantly from any attack, making them nearly invincible.
The only way to incapacitate a Phenex is essentially to exhaust their stamina and magical power.
Or to overwhelm them with absolute power, making the high-ranking observers unanimously agree that the Phenex family has no chance of winning.
It's thanks to this rule that Riser has fought many Rating Games to date, winning all except two where he conceded for the sake of family interests.
With his doubts cleared, Haruto quickly put the matter aside.
He hadn't planned on using Juggernaut Drive anyway. After all, Azazel was Satan-Class, while he was only S-Class at the time.
As for Riser, from his brief clash with Rias that day, it seemed he was only S-Class as well.
Even with the convenience of the rules, Haruto, who was already SS-class, could effortlessly defeat him.
...
Meanwhile, after Ravel returned to the Phenex household, Riser immediately asked, "My dear little sister, has the Red Dragon Emperor's successor really formed a master-servant contract?"
"Stay away from me, you're disgusting."
Ravel looked at her third brother's disheveled clothes and the purple lipstick marks on his face, her cute features filled with disdain.
Although only Yubelluna, his Queen, had been intimate with Riser, she knew her brother had never given up on his attempts with his other servants.
If he weren't still somewhat mindful of his biological sister's feelings, he would have probably made moves on all of them long ago.
Well, if it ever came to that, Ravel definitely wouldn't continue serving as Riser's Bishop.
Riser awkwardly stopped in his tracks. His little sister had really become less and less cute as she grew up.
But rather than lamenting his cute sister's change, he was now more worried about whether Haruto would participate in the match.
Though Riser was furious that Haruto had already tainted Rias's purity, he had to admit one thing—this generation's Red Dragon Emperor successor was terrifyingly strong.
Even the fallen angel governor Azazel had been defeated. Riser wasn't arrogant enough to think he was stronger than Satan-Class beings.
"What? Scared?" Ravel didn't answer directly but instead mocked him. "If you're scared, then don't compete. You never deserved Sister Rias anyway."
"Ravel..." Riser was on the verge of tears. "I don't mind losing face myself, but this marriage arrangement concerns our entire Phenex family."
"Tch..." The golden twin-tailed devil young lady snorted lightly and stopped her sharp tongue.
"The Red Dragon Emperor's successor will participate. And you should have noticed that Sister Rias has already reached Ultimate-Class Devil strength."
"So it's true after all..." Riser recalled how he couldn't even move when Rias grabbed his wrist that day, his expression immediately turning grave.
"But with Juggernaut Drive prohibited and our immortality, our chances of winning are still quite good."
Ravel didn't respond, turning instead to head toward her room.
Before leaving, she reminded him calmly, "Besides the Phoenix Tears, you'd better make some additional preparations."
No matter how much she disliked him, he was still her biological brother, so she had to help when needed.
After brief consideration, Riser decided to visit the family treasury to select a few Sacred Gears to bring along.
A Sacred Gear was out of the question, but the Phenex family wasn't lacking in ordinary ones either.
Since equipment was already being brought, he might as well bring some combat-enhancing potions and magic scrolls too.
These disposable items actually skirted the edges of the rules, but what family didn't have some hidden reserves?
However, to ensure victory in this match, Riser decided to bring them anyway.
It would be best if they weren't needed, but just in case...
At worst, the match would be terminated, which was still better than losing.