Location: The Rating Game Arena (Underworld - Sitri Domain)
Event: The Joint Promotion Exam
Matchup: Team Gremory (Rias) & Team Sitri (Sona) vs. Raiden (Solo)
The Underworld was buzzing. Usually, promotion exams for Young Devils were standard affairs against lower-class monsters or automated golems.
Not today.
Today, the "Gluttony King," the man who slapped a Norse God and ate a Lucifer Fragment, had declared he would personally test the heirs of Gremory and Sitri.
The Rules:
1. Rias and Sona's peerages work together (14 members total).
2. Raiden fights alone.
3. Time limit: 1 hour.
4. Condition for Victory: Make Raiden take a step back from the center circle, or survive the hour.
In the VIP box, Sirzechs Lucifer sat next to Runeas Gremory.
"Nee-sama," Sirzechs said nervously. "Is this safe? Raiden might... accidentally eat them."
"He won't," Runeas sipped her wine. "He just had lunch. This is purely educational. He wants to see if they have the 'spine' to lead."
Rossweisse sat nearby with a calculator, sweating profusely. "The insurance premium for this match is astronomical... If Raiden-sama breaks the arena, we go into debt!"
Location: Blue Team Base (The Challengers)
Rias and Sona stood together. The rivalry was put aside.
"We cannot beat him in power," Sona adjusted her glasses, her face grim. "He is a monster who eats Longinus abilities. Magic is useless. Physical attacks are risky."
"So what do we do?" Issei asked, revving his Boosted Gear.
"We overwhelm him," Sona said. "Tsubaki and my pawns will create a mirror labyrinth to confuse his senses. Kiba and Xenovia will engage in hit-and-run. Issei... you are the cannon."
Rias nodded. "Raiden-sensei taught us that power without resolve is meaningless. Today, we show him our resolve."
"And," Koneko added quietly, "we aim for the stomach. He might get hungry and distracted."
Location: Center of the Arena
Raiden stood in the center circle. He wasn't wearing armor. He was wearing casual slacks and a dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up.
He was checking his watch.
"You're late," Raiden projected his voice.
BOOM.
The attack started instantly.
Tsubaki Shinra (Sona's Queen) summoned a massive water dragon. Akeno Himejima (Rias's Queen) infused it with holy lightning.
The electrified water dragon roared toward Raiden.
Raiden didn't move his feet. He raised one hand.
He slapped the air.
Shockwave.
The air pressure alone shattered the water dragon into mist before it could touch him.
"Too slow," Raiden critiqued. "If you announce your attack with that much mana, I can finish a sandwich before it hits me."
From the mist, Kiba and Xenovia struck.
Holy Sword Durandal and Demonic Sword. Two legendary blades aiming for his neck and legs.
Raiden caught Durandal's blade between his thumb and index finger.
He caught Xenovia's blade with his teeth.
Clang.
The two knights froze.
"Are you trying to floss my teeth?" Raiden mumbled around the sword.
He spun his head, throwing Xenovia across the arena. He flicked Kiba away with a finger.
"Next."
"NOW, ISSEI!" Rias shouted.
Issei appeared directly above Raiden.
[WELSH DRAGON: BALANCE BREAKER!]
[BOOST x 50!]
"DRAGON SHOT!"
A massive beam of red energy poured down on Raiden. It was Issei's strongest shot yet, fueled by his desire to protect Rias (and touch boobs).
Raiden looked up.
"Not bad. It has heat."
He opened his mouth.
[Gluttony: Swallow.]
The beam funneled into Raiden's mouth like a noodle. He consumed the entire attack in three seconds.
"However," Raiden wiped his mouth. "It lacks texture."
Suddenly, the ground beneath Raiden turned to liquid.
Sona Sitri had mobilized her entire peerage to manipulate the water table under the arena.
"Sink him!" Sona shouted.
Raiden sank into the mud up to his waist.
"Clever," Raiden admitted. "Immobilize the legs."
Serafall (Cheering from the VIP box): "Go So-tan! Turn him into a mud pie!"
"Now, Rias!" Sona commanded.
Rias stepped forward. Her aura changed. It wasn't just the Power of Destruction. It was condensed, focused.
She recalled Raiden's lesson: "Don't just destroy. Erase."
"Extinction Sphere!"
She fired a sphere of black-red energy. It wasn't aimed at Raiden. It was aimed at the ground around him.
She intended to destroy the foundation of the arena, forcing him to move or fall into the void.
Raiden watched the attack come.
He smiled.
"Passable."
Raiden stomped his foot.
CRACK.
The entire arena - the floor, the walls, the magical barriers—shattered.
The sheer physical force of his stomp negated the mud trap and disrupted Rias's magic.
The dust cleared.
Raiden was still standing in the center. He hadn't taken a step back. But the circle line was gone because the floor was gone.
"Technicality," Raiden shrugged. "The circle doesn't exist anymore. Does that count?"
The two peerages were exhausted. They lay scattered around the ruins of the arena.
Only Rias and Sona were still standing, barely.
Raiden walked over to them.
He looked at Sona.
"Your plan was solid. You used your resources well. But you hesitated when Issei attacked. You were afraid I would hurt him. A King sacrifices the Pawn to kill the King."
Sona looked down. "I... I value my comrades."
"That is your strength. And your weakness."
He turned to Rias.
Rias was panting, her uniform torn, but her eyes were defiant.
"I didn't move," Raiden said.
"You destroyed the floor," Rias argued. "That means you moved vertically."
Raiden chuckled. "Lawyer logic. I like it."
He patted Rias on the head.
"You pass."
Rias blinked, tears forming in her eyes. "I... passed?"
"You didn't beat me. You'll never beat me," Raiden stated arrogantly. "But you didn't run. And you coordinated with a rival. You stopped acting like a spoiled princess and started acting like a King."
He looked at the group.
"Dinner is on me tonight. Rossweisse, pay the bill."
Rossweisse: "EHHHHH?! But the arena repairs will cost millions!!"
Location: An Abandoned Church on the outskirts of Kuoh
Time: That Night
While the Devils celebrated their exam results, a figure watched from the shadows.
A young man with green hair and a cruel, handsome face. He wore the uniform of a high-class Devil.
Diodora Astaroth.
He was watching a recording of the Rating Game. Specifically, he was watching Asia Argento (who had been healing the team from the back).
"Beautiful," Diodora whispered. "My Holy Maiden. She has been tainted by those Gremory filth."
He paused the video on Raiden's face.
"And that... thing," Diodora sneered. "The Gluttony King. He thinks he is strong? He is just a brute. He has no class. No pedigree."
Diodora snapped his fingers. Several rogue Fallen Angels appeared behind him.
"Prepare the ritual," Diodora ordered. "I will take Asia Argento back. And if that human tries to stop me... I will show him that there are powers in this world older and nastier than him."
He held up a glowing purple orb.
"With the power of the Evil Dragon, I am unstoppable."
Location: Raiden's Apartment
Time: Midnight
Raiden was awake. He was sitting on his balcony, staring at the moon.
Runeas walked out, wearing a silk nightgown.
"You seem restless," Runeas noted, handing him a glass of wine.
"I smell something," Raiden said, sniffing the air. "It smells like... rotting flowers. And snakes."
"A new enemy?"
"Maybe. Or maybe just a pest."
Raiden took a sip of wine.
"Runeas. Who is Diodora Astaroth?"
Runeas frowned. "A descendant of the original Beelzebub, though he uses the name Astaroth. Why?"
"I saw a fly buzz around Asia today," Raiden's eyes narrowed. "I hate flies. They land on my food."
Runeas smiled darkly. "If he touches what is yours, Raiden... you know what to do."
"Yeah," Raiden crushed the wine glass in his hand. "I'll peel his wings off."