Ryuya's behavior, in everyone's eyes, was simply too hate-inducing…
It wasn't as if he had done anything outrageous—he was merely chatting with Akeno Himejima.
Raiser, as the third son of the Phenex family, was someone who commanded respect wherever he went.
Yet with Ryuya, he had repeatedly run into invisible walls.
Even if he wanted to make a move, he had no justification.
Without proper grounds or legitimacy, even someone as thickheaded as Raiser knew he couldn't act—there was no other reason than the fact that making a fuss over something like this would be utterly embarrassing…
That was the annoying thing about such trivial matters. They made you itch to explode, but the moment you did, others would mock you for making a mountain out of a molehill.
Especially for a family like the Phenexes, who valued aristocratic decorum above all else—there was truly nothing they could do to someone like Ryuya.
Against this kind of person, the only way to vent anger was through underhanded means in the shadows. If it were brought into the open, whoever lost their temper first would be the one at a disadvantage…
Raiser narrowed his eyes coldly, finally suppressing his anger toward Ryuya, and turned his gaze to Rias Gremory.
"Rias, given your family's situation, you can't afford to be willful anymore, can you?"
As he spoke, a confident smile finally appeared on his face. This was a decision made by the Gremory family—something even Rias had no power to change.
Rias forced herself to remain calm and replied, "Of course I'll marry and bear heirs. I won't place my family in danger. But it has to be with someone I love."
"Is that so? In order to ensure that the pureblood devils—who barely survived that great war centuries ago—don't die out, your father and Sir Sirzechs have already made their decision."
"I'll persuade them," Rias said firmly. "Even devils with a long and ancient lineage should have at least that much freedom."
Her tone was resolute.
The moment Raiser heard this, his mood plummeted. When he noticed Ryuya standing beside her, his anger surged uncontrollably.
"I'm the same, Rias! I, too, am a devil who bears the honor of the Phenex name! I cannot allow my family's reputation to be stained!"
His demeanor and tone turned grave as he spoke coldly:
"You understand what breaking off this engagement means for our family, don't you? I didn't want to come to the human world in the first place. I never wanted to set foot in this narrow, filthy place! The fire and wind here are polluted—utterly unbearable for someone like me, who governs flame and wind!"
Whoosh!!
Crimson flames erupted around Raiser, firelight swirling wildly throughout the room!
"Even if I have to burn your servants to ashes, I'll drag you back to the Underworld!"
Facing the overwhelming pressure of a high-ranking devil, Ryuya narrowed his eyes and stood up without the slightest hint of fear.
"Burn us all to ashes? You've got quite the mouth on you."
Raiser's flames surged forward, but a defensive field belonging to the Divine Shield automatically manifested before Ryuya, completely blocking the raging heatwave.
Killing intent flooded the air—Ryuya and the others could clearly feel the thick hostility pressing down on them.
And Ryuya's words were the final spark. Raiser had already been holding back for far too long.
"Silence! You're nothing but a lowly servant—what right do you have to speak to me?! Marion—no, Mira! Throw him out!"
"Yes!"
The girl called Mira, one of Raiser's Pawns, responded immediately. The moment she received the order, she swung a rod-shaped weapon and charged straight at Ryuya.
Ryuya's current strength was no longer what it used to be.
Among mid-class devils, his combat power was absolutely top-tier.
Mira's strength, at best, was only on par with that of an average mid-class devil.
As Mira charged straight at him, Ryuya exploded with speed, moving after her yet arriving first. A sharp gust of wind roared as he lashed out with a brutal whip kick, slamming it squarely into the girl's side.
Mira didn't even have time to react. Her body was sent flying sideways, crashing hard into the castle wall before collapsing to the ground, unconscious.
"Hm?"
That clean, decisive blow left everyone present stunned.
The defeat had come far too quickly.
Only at this moment did Grayfia and Raiser's group realize—Ryuya's strength was anything but simple.
"You dare injure my servant? Very well… seize him and bring him to me!"
Raiser's fury flared as he immediately prepared to order the rest of his subordinates to attack.
However, in the very next instant, blazing crimson demonic power erupted violently, scattering Raiser's magic apart.
Rias Gremory's crimson hair whipped wildly as she stared at Raiser with icy eyes.
"You really don't put me in your eyes at all, do you?"
Hostility boiled over in both their expressions, their powers nearly evenly matched.
Meanwhile, Ryuya stood in front of Akeno and the others, his body enveloped in the protective field of the Divine Shield, directly confronting Raiser's servants.
Just as the battle was about to erupt, a calm, cold voice suddenly cut into the standoff.
"Lord Raiser, Lady Rias, please calm yourselves. If the two of you do not stand down, I will not remain a bystander. This is for Sirzechs-sama's honor—I will not hold back."
Grayfia Lucifuge's composed words immediately froze both Rias and Raiser in place.
It was as though a bucket of cold water had been poured over their demonic power, extinguishing it in an instant.
Ryuya tilted his head slightly. He could tell Grayfia was strong—very strong—but he had no clear sense of just how strong.
Judging by this scene, though…
Yeah. She was absurdly powerful.
Her presence alone felt capable of effortlessly suppressing two high-class devils, and the reactions of both Rias and Raiser made it clear—they were genuinely wary of her.
Forced to withdraw his power, Raiser shook his head and said,
"When even the one hailed as the strongest 'Queen' of the Underworld says that, it makes even me feel afraid. Heh… Sirzechs-sama's honor, huh? A monster like that—I have no desire to make an enemy of her."
Rias didn't say anything. She simply silently canceled her battle-ready stance.
Seeing both sides calm down, Grayfia finally continued,
"The Lord and Sirzechs-sama, as well as the members of the Phenex family, anticipated that things might escalate to that point. Therefore, the final preparations have already been made."
"What kind of preparations?" Rias frowned.
Grayfia glanced at Ryuya before replying calmly,
"The Rating Game."
From the start, she had come with the intention of mediating the situation—specifically, to have Rias resolve her predicament through a Rating Game.
What surprised her slightly was that this previously unknown boy, Ryuya, had actually proposed it first.
Still, judging from how cleanly he had just defeated a Pawn, the servant Rias had chosen wasn't completely useless after all.
Rias couldn't help but sneak a glance at Ryuya.
It really had turned out exactly as he said…
In the end, everything truly pointed toward the Rating Game.
And with Ryuya's earlier suggestion, Rias now wanted this outcome more than anything.
Without hesitation, she accepted on the spot.
"Excellent! There couldn't be a more perfect opportunity than this! Raiser—let us decide the final outcome through a match!"
Rias directly issued the challenge.
---
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