Rias
The battle had reached its final crescendo.
I—Rias Gremory—had run out of options.
Checkmate. That's what it was.
All my servants had fallen one by one, pushed past their limits. Even Kiba, even Akeno. And now, I stood alone on the field of battle, bloodied and breathless, knees trembling beneath me.
But he still stood.
Issei.
That idiot boy, who should've collapsed ages ago, was still dragging himself toward Riser Phenex.
"No more," I whispered, but it was a lie.
Because he kept going.
And then, to my horror—he pulled it out.
A holy cross.
The sacred object hissed violently in his hand, burning his flesh with divine light. His scream was muffled, teeth gritted as his entire body shook from the pain.
The smell of scorched skin hit me like a hammer.
"Ise, stop!" I shouted, panic flaring in my chest.
But he didn't hear me. Or maybe he chose not to.
Asia was behind him, her face soaked in tears, healing both me and him. Her hands trembled as she poured everything she had into him. "Please, Ise-san… please stop…" she sobbed, but her voice barely reached him.
His skin was blackening. His cheek, his fingers—charred.
But he didn't stop.
Blow after blow, with the holy cross searing into his very bones, he kept hitting Riser.
And Riser—the immortal flame-bird, the arrogant heir of House Phenex—was being pushed back.
That idiot…
That absolute fool of a boy…
He shouldn't have been able to stand. He hadn't even mastered his demonic energy properly. He had no experience. No proper training. All he had… was raw determination.
And me.
He was fighting for me.
I felt something snap in my chest. A floodgate that had held for far too long.
Tears ran down my face before I even realized it.
"You dummy…"
He should've been scared. He was scared. I saw it in his eyes. But he kept walking forward. Even as his fists blistered and his life force drained, he didn't hesitate.
For me.
Just as I stepped forward, ready to join him, to stand beside the one person who refused to let me fall—
His body lit up.
No, not fire.
Not holy light.
The system's magic.
The broadcast echoed across the battlefield.
[Rias Gremory's Pawn has been eliminated.]
I stood frozen. My heart hollowed out.
He was gone.
And with him… my last hope.
Silence.
Then… a laugh.
A shallow, ragged, mocking laugh.
Riser stood there, slumped, his noble appearance a mess. His suit was scorched, his golden hair burned at the ends, and his pride bruised beyond recognition. Blood trickled down his lip.
"He really thought he could defeat me… a Phenex… with that?" he sneered.
Something inside me broke.
Not snapped.
Not shattered.
Exploded.
My aura surged around me like a tidal wave, red and violent, filled with fury I had never felt before. The temperature dropped. The air cracked.
"Riser…" I whispered, my voice trembling.
He turned to look at me—smirking.
"Your little pawn is gone, Rias. Just admit defeat and—"
He didn't finish.
My fist slammed into his gut with the force of a cannon. The sound of cracking ribs echoed. His eyes bulged as spittle flew from his mouth. Before he could recover, I launched a magic circle beneath us and teleported behind him midair, slamming my heel into the back of his neck.
He hit the ground like a meteor.
I landed before him, magic swirling around me like a hurricane.
"You hurt my people," I snarled. "You mocked my resolve. And you burned him."
Riser coughed, barely able to stand.
"You think… this will change anything…? I'm immortal…"
"Not from me."
My crimson aura condensed, forming multiple spheres of destruction magic, swirling faster than sound.
Riser tried to defend—but he was spent.
He'd wasted everything trying to survive Issei's relentless assault.
Now he was defenseless.
The first blast hit him in the chest. He flew back, screaming.
The second hit his wings. They disintegrated.
The third…
I paused.
Looked him in the eye.
He saw it now.
Rage.
Not power. Not nobility.
Rage born from love.
"For him," I whispered.
The last blast engulfed him.
Light exploded across the battlefield.
When the smoke cleared, Riser Phenex lay unconscious in a crater, his regeneration finally halted—overwhelmed by pure demonic fury.
Silence.
Then—one by one—the magical projections across the arena flickered.
[Riser Phenex has been eliminated.]
[The winner: Rias Gremory.]
~~~
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