At 11:40 p.m., everyone had gathered in the old school building that served as the base for the Occult Research Club.
In just twenty minutes, the Rating Game would finally begin.
The match that would decide the fate of Rias Gremory.
Rias sat in one of the armchairs, holding a teacup that Akeno had just poured for her.
"Are you ready?"
She tried to sound confident, but the slight tremor in her fingers and the way she avoided his eyes gave away her nerves.
Keiji sat beside Aizawa, looking completely unconcerned. He was wearing his shihakushō, his zanpakutō resting across his lap.
"Don't worry, Gremory-san. Just sit back and enjoy the show."
Standing behind Rias, Akeno let out a soft chuckle.
"Keiji-kun's right, Buchou. Have more faith. After all, he's the man who defeated us."
But despite her teasing tone, Keiji could hear the faint trace of worry in her voice.
Issei stepped forward and pointed a shaky finger at Keiji. His hand trembling so badly the gesture looked more funny than threatening.
"Y-you better win, you damn pretty boy! D-don't you dare make Buchou sad, got it!?"
Keiji raised an eyebrow, doing his best not to laugh.
'At least the kid's got guts…'
Ten minutes before the match began, the air in the room rippled slightly as the magic circle on the floor started to glow. A bright flash filled the space, and Grayfia appeared wearing her flawless maid uniform and carrying her usual calm, icy presence.
"Keiji-san, are you ready?"
She asked in her serene voice, glancing around the room.
Keiji nodded without showing even a hint of concern.
Grayfia stepped to the center of the room before speaking again.
"When the time comes, Keiji-san will be transported to the battlefield through this magic circle. The location exists in an artificial dimension used for combat. It's a disposable space, so feel free to fight to your heart's content."
The explanation caught Keiji's interest.
A dimension created only for battles, avoiding causing any damage to the real world.
"So devils can make something like that?"
What a pleasant surprise.
Grayfia continued, unfazed by the interruption.
"The battle will be broadcast simultaneously to both the Gremory and Phenex clans. All of the leaders will be watching."
She paused briefly before adding, her eyes locking on Keiji's.
"Maou Lucifer-sama will also be watching this match. Please, don't forget that."
It was her polite way of saying don't disappoint them.
The comment made Rias frown.
"So Onii-sama will be watching this battle too…"
Issei, who overheard, froze with wide eyes.
"W-wait a sec! Buchou… did you just call Maou-sama Onii-sama?! Did I hear that right?!"
Kiba answered before Rias could speak.
"No, you heard correctly. Buchou's brother is indeed the Maou-sama."
Issei's face went completely stiff.
"M-Maou… Buchou's brother is the Maou-sama?!"
"Yes," Rias confirmed without hesitation.
While Kiba took on the task of calming and instructing the now-panicking Issei, Grayfia approached Keiji and Aizawa.
"Everything's ready. All that's left is your part, Keiji-san."
Keiji stood up slowly, adjusting his shihakushō.
"It's the mission I accepted, after all."
Grayfia folded her hands neatly in front of her apron and bowed slightly.
"I look forward to your victorious return."
Keiji let out a small laugh as he patted Grayfia's shoulder, which made Rias and the others raise their eyebrows.
"When I get back, let's celebrate with some sake. I'm getting tired of tea."
Aizawa replied as he leaned back on the couch.
"Sounds fair to me."
Grayfia also nodded in agreement with a small smile.
Finally, the time arrived. The magic circle began to glow, its symbols spinning slowly until forming an entirely new pattern.
Grayfia gave one last reminder to Keiji.
"Once you're transported, you won't be able to use the magic circle again until the end of the game."
He nodded, securing his zanpakutō at his waist and stepping toward the circle.
"Well… time for me to get to work~."
Rias stood with her arms crossed, her gaze fixed on him with a complicated expression.
"Win, Keiji."
Akeno smiled, tilting her head slightly.
"We'll be cheering for you."
Keiji looked at the two of them, then at Grayfia, still with his idle face.
{Why is everyone acting like this is such a big deal?}
'I don't know. I'm just going with the flow.'
He raised his hand casually in farewell.
"I'll be back soon."
He stepped into the center of the circle, and in an instant, his body was engulfed by light, his teleportation beginning.
[——]
Keiji reappeared in an exact replica of the clubroom he'd just been in, but this time there was no one else by his side.
He couldn't even sense Aizawa's or the others' reiatsu anymore.
'So it really is another dimension…'
[Hello, everyone. I am Grayfia, a maid of the Gremory Clan, and today I will serve as the referee for the Rating Game between Ayano Keiji-sama and Riser Phenex-sama.]
Grayfia's voice echoed through the air as if coming from a school broadcast system.
[In the name of my King, Sirzechs Lucifer-sama, I will oversee this match. Based on the preferences of both Rias-sama and Riser-sama, we created this battlefield as a replica of the school, Kuoh Academy, which Rias-sama attends in the human world.]
A replica made entirely through magic.
'That explains it.'
Keiji walked toward the window. Outside, the school buildings stretched into the horizon. The trees, the walls, the courtyard... everything looked identical. The only difference was the sky, glowing white instead of dark, even though it should've been midnight.
[The locations where both sides were transported will serve as their "bases." Keiji-sama's base is the Occult Research Clubroom, located in the old school building. Riser-sama's base is the Student Council Room in the new building. For any Pawns wishing to use "promotion", please proceed to the enemy base to do so.]
Keiji smirked slightly.
That message obviously wasn't for him, as he didn't have a peerage and and he certainly wasn't a Pawn.
[Additionally, this match may continue until dawn in human time. Now then, the Rating Game begins.]
The school bell rang, signaling the start of the match.
Keiji closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the different reiatsu signatures scattered far away.
"Let's get started."
His fingers brushed along the hilt of his zanpakutō as he began walking step by step out of the building.
[——]
Unlike the calm image of Keiji strolling through the replica Kuoh Academy courtyard, the atmosphere outside the dimension was the complete opposite.
Back in the real clubroom, Rias and her team were in a state of pure agitation as they watched the broadcast.
The tension was thick enough to feel in the air.
"Why does Riser have his entire peerage with him?!"
Rias snapped, gripping her teacup so tightly it looked ready to crack.
"Wasn't this supposed to be a fight between him and Keiji?!"
Akeno frowned deeply, her voice laced with irritation.
"This is unfair. Wasn't the agreement one-on-one?"
Even Issei had something to say; despite his strong reluctance to ever defend handsome guys.
"S-s-so… shouldn't we, uh, be helping that damn pretty boy right now?!"
Across the room, Grayfia, who was simultaneously monitoring everything and managing the broadcast, kept his tone neutral as she explained.
"Riser's peerage is part of his strength. That was the condition the Phenex Clan set in order to accept the Rating Game."
Rias took a slow breath, crossing her arms and pressing her lips together.
"Grayfia should've told us that sooner."
She muttered coldly.
"The plan was for Keiji to fight Riser directly, not his entire peerage."
Grayfia's expression didn't waver.
"Keiji-san should have already been aware of that possibility from the start."
After all, it was listed in the mission details Grayfia had issued, since she had anticipated that something like this could happen.
As the challenger, it was natural for Keiji to face a few disadvantages.
"And did it seem like Keiji-san had prepared any strategy against Riser?"
The question made Rias freeze for a moment. Actually, she wanted to say yes. She wanted to say they had spent hours planning together, but she remembered how their conversations had actually gone.
The only one truly planning had been her. Keiji just sat there listening, never once revealing what he'd actually do.
No… he hadn't even thought about what he should do.
Aizawa broke the silence with a casual wave of his hand.
"If they're not strong enough, numbers won't matter against Ayano."
Aizawa knew this very well, so he wasn't at all worried. That's also why he didn't step forward to offer help in the Rating Game.
Akeno turned to him, looking surprised.
"So Aizawa-san really thinks Keiji-kun can win?"
Aizawa simply shrugged.
"I've seen what he can do. So yeah… it's possible."
Everything would depend on how strong Riser Phenex and his peerage actually were.
If they were anywhere near the same level as Rias's group…
There was only one outcome Aizawa could imagine.
"Let's just watch. The fight's about to start."
The image on the screen expanded, showing Keiji walking across the school's courtyard. The wind rustled his shihakushō as he glanced toward the distant buildings. On the opposite side, Riser Phenex appeared, surrounded by his servants.
Issei swallowed hard, feeling his pulse quicken.
"H-he's really going to fight them all by himself…?"
Rias kept her eyes locked on the screen, her face serious and her fists clenched over her knees.
"Yes… he is."
And as the first confrontation appeared on the display, the entire room fell silent.
[——]
Keiji walked calmly through the replica of Kuoh Academy's campus, completely unhurried.
Then, as he turned the corner near the gymnasium, four presences appeared in front of him.
The four girls stood side by side, forming an almost perfect line.
Xuelan, the Rook, stepped forward half a pace, her gaze sharp and her body already set in a fighting stance. Beside her stood Ile and Nel, the twin Pawns, both wearing teasing smiles, and a little behind them was Mira, another Pawn, holding a wooden staff in her hands.
"You're not taking another step."
Xuelan said sternly, crossing her arms.
"Riser-sama sent us to stop you."
Keiji stopped a few meters away from them, his expression idle as ever.
"Stop me, huh?"
Mira stepped forward, striking her staff against the ground.
"You don't deserve to face Riser-sama directly. He's a pure-blooded noble, a true elite devil."
Ile puffed out her chest and pointed a finger at him, her voice rising.
"Someone like you should know your place! Riser-sama is on a completely different level!"
Nel tilted her head, finishing her sister's statement with a mocking smile.
"It'd be better to give up now before you embarrass yourself trying to fight him."
Keiji just stood there, quietly watching as they talked.
{Pathetic.}
Sora's voice echoed in his mind, dripping with disdain.
Keiji almost agreed out loud.
Before any of them could react, a crackling golden light began to form around Keiji's free hand.
"Bakudō #4, Hainawa."
The spiritual streams of light formed instantly, into golden serpentine shapes that moved rapidly.
They wrapped around the four girls' bodies before they even understood what was happening.
In perfect synchronization, Xuelan, Ile, Nel, and Mira were bound and immobilized, unable to move or even breathe properly.
A split second later, the dry sound of bodies hitting the ground echoed as Keiji knocked them all unconscious at once.
Grayfia's voice echoed throughout the dimension with an announcement.
[Three Pawns and one Rook from Riser Phenex-sama have retired!]
As their bodies dissolved into glowing particles, Keiji wondered what they'd been thinking, charging straight at him and delivering such a long speech before even starting the fight.
He turned toward the main school building, where he could already sense Riser's reiatsu.
"Well… on to the next."
And then, with slow, relaxed steps, Keiji started walking again.