Riser sat comfortably in the replica of Sona's student council room, a glass of wine in hand as he waited for the first few minutes of the Rating Game to pass.
His plan was to let his servants wear down the opponent first, then show up at the end to deliver the final blow and teach a proper lesson to the man who dared meddle in the affairs of the Phenex Clan.
But as Grayfia's announcements started coming one after another, his confident smile slowly began to fade.
And when the shockwaves from Yubelluna's explosive spell rippled through the Rating Game's dimension without any notification of his victory following it, his smile vanished completely.
Riser shot to his feet, his body flaring up with orange flames that flickered in irritation, and he took off into the air with his burning wings.
When he finally reached the battlefield, the sight that greeted him left him speechless for several seconds.
The scene before him was pure devastation. The ground was scorched and cracked, dust still drifting in the air, and among the rubble, he saw Ravel kneeling, handing a Phoenix Tears to Yubelluna to help her recover from severe injuries.
Shame burned through him like fire.
Out of his fifteen servants, only two remained: Ravel and Yubelluna. And even now, those two were barely standing.
A complete disaster for the Phenex.
On the other side of the field, Keiji calmly wiped the blade of his zanpakutō, which was stained with Yubelluna's blood.
Riser's gaze locked onto him, his expression tightening.
"So there you are…"
Keiji looked up and smiled lightly.
"Ah. So the main event's finally starting?"
Riser raised his chin, his wounded pride now turning into controlled fury.
He glanced at Ravel and Yubelluna, both struggling to stay on their feet.
"Looks like you two aren't enough."
He crossed his arms as his fiery wings spread wide behind him.
"I'll have to handle this myself."
"Riser-sama!"
Yubelluna tried to protest, still recovering.
"Onii-sama! We can fight together!"
Ravel shouted, her wings open and her face tense.
But Riser lifted a hand, cutting both of them off.
"No. Stand back, both of you."
His cold tone made them obey immediately. Despite their reluctance, Yubelluna and Ravel spread their wings and flew higher, retreating to a safe distance to watch from above.
Riser adjusted his coat, his body radiating the natural heat of Phenex flames.
"You're not the trash I thought you were."
He raised his right hand, orange fire swirling in his palm.
"Congratulations. You'll have the honor of facing Riser Phenex personally."
His demonic power expanded, forming a blazing aura around him, his dark-blue eyes glowing with pride.
"As the Kings of this Rating Game, let's settle this once and for all."
Keiji sheathed his zanpakutō for a moment and rolled his neck.
"A straightforward guy, huh?"
Then his hand returned to the hilt.
"That works for me too."
The clash began with a burst of energy that shook the entire field.
Riser spread his flaming wings and shot into the air, leaving a trail of orange fire across the white sky of the artificial dimension.
"You dared challenge a Phenex… now you'll see the difference between us!"
He charged forward at high speed, weaving in and out between the air and ground, trying to flank Keiji with a series of rapid strikes.
Fireballs materialized around him and rained down in volleys, falling like fiery meteors.
The area where Keiji had been standing was swallowed by a chain of explosions, but when the smoke cleared, the space before Riser was empty.
Riser frowned.
A sound came from his side, and Keiji appeared there moving too fast to track.
The sharp sound of steel cutting through air echoed as Keiji's zanpakutō sliced across Riser's shoulder in a clean motion.
The blood evaporated instantly, replaced by flames that slowly sealed the wound.
Riser roared in frustration, twisting his body midair.
"Hell Fire!"
He shouted, launching a massive surge of flames.
The torrent of fire roared forward, but Keiji dodged it effortlessly with a Shunpo, reappearing in a different spot.
"Stop dodging!"
Riser yelled, his wings bursting with renewed energy.
Keiji twirled his blade casually and answered in relaxed tone.
"Your attacks are just too slow."
He vanished again in another Shunpo, reappearing right above Riser and swinging down in a vertical slash.
Riser crossed his arms, forming a blazing shield, but the sheer force of the strike sent him crashing into the ground, carving a crater into the courtyard.
Dust billowed up as Riser pushed himself back to his feet, his eyes glowing with pure rage.
Flames exploded around him, engulfing his body in a blazing inferno.
"HELL FIRE!"
The attack swept across the field in massive waves of heat, melting the ground beneath it.
But before it could reach Keiji, the flames split apart in two directions.
"Bakudō #39, Enkōsen."
Keiji kept his fingers raised.
"Hadō #33, Sōkatsui."
A burst of blue light enveloped him, blasting straight into Riser's chest. The impact sent him crashing through the school building, shattering windows and burying him under rubble.
From high above, Ravel and Yubelluna could hardly believe what they were seeing.
"Onii-sama…" Ravel murmured, clenching her fists. "He's… losing?"
Keiji walked slowly through the rubble, adjusting his grip on the sword.
"You've got a decent attack, but you're way too slow. Actually, that seems to be a common problem with most of you devils in this world."
Whether it was casting speed, reaction time, or simple movement speed... everything about them felt sluggish.
Of course, maybe the devils he'd fought so far were just weak, and the truly strong ones were different.
After all, even among the Shinigami, there were lower-ranked officers who suffered from the same issue.
Riser emerged from the ruins coughing and furious, his body still in the middle of regenerating.
"You can't defeat me! I'm immortal!"
Keiji simply twirled his wrist and pointed his blade at him.
"Immortal doesn't mean invincible. It still hurts, doesn't it?"
He had already thought about this back when Rias explained Riser's abilities.
Immortality. It sounded terrifying to face… but when he thought about it carefully, it really wasn't a problem for him.
When the difference in power was that huge… being immortal just meant Riser would get beaten up for longer than everyone else.
And besides… if something could be overcome by sheer overwhelming strength, then it wasn't really "immortality", was it?
Riser roared, charging forward at high speed with flames wrapping around his fists.
But every attempt ended in failure, and every counterattack from Keiji made him scream and trigger another round of regeneration.
It was like watching someone fight against their own despair.
Riser let out another furious yell, his flames surging even higher.
But Keiji raised his hand, tracing a motion through the air with his fingers.
"Hadō #54, Haien."
A burst of violet fire erupted, swallowing Riser whole, snuffing out his own flames and leaving him as nothing but ashes and smoke.
When his body finally reformed through regeneration, the arrogance in his eyes was gone… replaced by a mix of restrained rage and fear.
He could heal his body as many times as he wanted, but not his demonic energy and definitely not his mental endurance.
And he realized… his regeneration was getting slower each time. Worse, it was still deteriorating after every one of Keiji's strikes.
Keiji walked toward him, his steps light and unhurried.
Riser charged again, his fists wrapped in blazing phoenix fire, but Keiji easily deflected the attack, twisting his body and delivering a sharp kick that sent Riser crashing into a wall.
Riser screamed in pain, his body burning as he panted with a mix of fury and exhaustion.
"What the hell are you…?! What are those attacks?!"
He shouted, his eyes blazing with hatred and disbelief.
Keiji twirled his wrist, flicking the blood from his blade before resting the tip of his zanpakutō against the ground.
"A Shinigami on a mission."
He tilted his chin up and gave a faint smile.
"Now then, why don't we find out exactly how much instant damage Phenex-san can take?"
Riser clenched his teeth, the flames around his body flaring back to life.
A dense glow began forming between Keiji's hands, but before the spell could take shape, a blinding flash cut through everything.
An explosion of fire and energy came straight at him, doing Keiji to instantly switch his Kidō from Hadō to Bakudō.
"Bakudō #39, Enkōsen."
A spinning golden disk materialized in front of him, blocking both attacks.
Ravel and Yubelluna landed beside Riser, wings spread and eyes filled with determination.
"We'll fight together, Onii-sama! It's the only way we can win!" Ravel shouted.
"Please, Riser-sama!"
Yubelluna added, raising her staff and preparing another spell.
Riser hesitated for a second. His pride told him to refuse, but reality weighed heavier. He took a deep breath and swallowed his ego.
"… Very well."
From the other side, a voice echoed through the smoke.
"Excuse me… try not to make me look like the villain here, okay~?"
Yubelluna fired another spell, and a colossal explosion swallowed the field, sending up waves of smoke and debris. The ground shook, the glass windows of the fake school shattered, and a wave of heat rippled through the air.
But as the smoke began to clear, Keiji was still standing in the exact same spot, now with Bakudō #81, Dankū glowing faintly in front of him.
The trio straightened instinctively, cold sweat running down the back of their necks.
Keiji stepped forward as the barrier faded, your voice carrying easily across the field.
"Hmm… Grayfia-san, are you listening? I'm about to use a really strong attack, so be ready to save these kids' asses if something goes wrong, alright?"
The response came in a composed but slightly hesitant voice.
[… Yes.]
"Don't you dare underestimate us!"
Ravel shouted, gritting her teeth and spreading her fiery wings wide.
Yubelluna lifted her staff again.
"You'll regret this!"
"Well… if you survive this, I guess I'll have to give you some credit."
Keiji sighed softly.
"Here we go."
He slowly raised his right hand, palm up, and lifted two fingers.
"Hadō #90, Kurohitsugi."
The artificial sky of the dimension darkened completely.
The shadow of a massive coffin began forming around the trio, enveloping them in a crushing torrent of gravity before solidifying into a huge black cube of energy, its surface bristling with countless spear-like spikes that impaled it from all directions.
'Without enchantment it doesn't have even half the power…'
He noticed that irrelevant detail as he ended the spell, dispelling the Kidō. The Kurohitsugi vanished, leaving nothing behind inside.
[The Rating Game has ended.]
[The winner is Ayano Keiji-sama.]
'Just as I thought…'
Keiji sighed to himself.
He'd gone overboard again…...
[——]
"H-he… he won…"
Issei's voice came out almost as a whisper, while everyone stared in shock at what was left of the battlefield.
No one moved for several seconds. They just kept staring at the magic projection screen showing the devastated field, still shrouded in smoke.
Ravel, Yubelluna, and Riser had been completely swallowed by the darkness of the spell. When the light faded, nothing was left but a crater and a slow plume of rising smoke.
Rias brought a hand to her mouth, her eyes wide, and let out a shaky breath.
"H-he really won…"
Akeno crossed her arms and spoke calmly.
"Ara ara… how terrifying."
Kiba looked at the screen, his tone carrying a hint of admiration.
"Keiji-san… actually did it. Alone, against an entire peerage."
Koneko murmured softly, though even she looked impressed.
"… really strong."
Everyone felt happy about the victory, but with that joy came the heavy realization of what it meant.
Rias felt it more than anyone.
Her heart was pounding fast, her thoughts caught somewhere between fascination and fear.
A strike on par with a god's…
So Keiji was truly capable of something like that.
On one hand, she felt overwhelming pride. On the other… she realized that all the tactics, plans, and strategies she'd put together to help him had been… useless.
Completely irrelevant in the face of the power he'd just displayed.
She took a deep breath, touching her chest, unsure whether she should feel happy or insulted by that fact.
Aizawa, meanwhile, just nodded like someone confirming what he already knew.
– – –
[Mission Complete]
Requester: Grayfia Lucifuge
Reward: None.
– – –
– – –
[You will be returned to your world in 1 hour.]
– – –
'Looks like it's over…'
His first experience in another world had come to an end.
Aizawa and Grayfia exchanged a brief glance, nodding to each other. She had also received the system notification, except in her case, it confirmed that the mission she'd issued had been successfully completed.
Then, within the glow of a magic circle, Keiji reappeared in the main room of the Occult Research Club.
For a few seconds no one said anything, they just looked at him.
Then Rias suddenly ran up and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly, pressing his face right into her chest.
"Thank you… thank you… you did it… you really won…"
Keiji blinked a few times, trying to breathe, and gently patted her head.
"Yeah, yeah, there you go. It's over now."
Rias stepped back slightly, still smiling, her cheeks flushed red.
The sight made everyone else smile too. Kiba hid a quiet chuckle. Akeno covered her lips, amused by Keiji's awkward reaction.
Koneko let out a small "hmph", silently calling Rias a pervert in her head.
And Issei… well, he just stared at the two of them with a bitter, confused look.