Location: The Floating City of Agreas - The Main Colosseum
Event: The Azazel Cup - Opening Ceremony
The roar of the crowd was deafening. Millions of Devils, Angels, Fallen Angels, and Youkai filled the stands of the massive dimensional arena. This was the World Cup of the supernatural.
Azazel stood at the center podium, microphone in hand.
"Welcome, freaks and monsters! To the first-ever inter-faction Rating Game Tournament! The rules are simple: Survive, Win, and try not to destroy the planet!"
The crowd went wild.
"Let's introduce the rookie team that has everyone talking! Led by the Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess and the... Anomaly..."
"TEAM VOID!"
Fireworks exploded. Rias Gremory led her team out.
Issei was waving frantically to the crowd. Koneko was eating a lollipop. Kiba was polishing his sword.
And Raiden was... looking at the concession stands.
"Ravel," Raiden pointed. "They sell 'Hydra-Meat Kebabs' over there. Go get three dozen."
Ravel Phenex (Manager Mode): "Raiden-sama! We are on camera! Please look intimidating!"
Raiden sighed, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He released a pulse of Conqueror's Haki (Killing Intent).
The front row of the audience fainted.
"Better?"
"Too much!" Ravel shrieked.
The massive holographic screen shuffled the team names.
Team Void vs. Team Thanatos.
"Ooh!" Azazel commented. "A tough start! Team Thanatos is sponsored by the Greek God of the Dead, Hades! Their leader is the legendary Grim Reaper, Pluto!"
In the waiting room, Rias gathered the team.
"Pluto is an Ultimate-Class Grim Reaper. He specializes in Instant Death magic. One cut from his scythe, and your soul is harvested."
"Instant death?" Raiden cracked his knuckles. "Sounds like fast food."
Ravel handed Raiden the Dodoco Mark II (the robot Alice left).
"Alice-san left a note. She said: 'If you see a skeleton, press the red button.'"
"Noted."
Location: Game Field - "The Necropolis"
The arena shifted. The bright stadium was replaced by a dark, foggy graveyard filled with ancient tombstones and weeping willows.
Team Thanatos appeared on the opposite side.
Legions of skeletal warriors rose from the ground.
In the center floated a massive figure in a tattered black robe, holding a scythe that dripped with green sludge. A skull mask covered his face.
Pluto.
"Fresh souls..." Pluto's voice sounded like grinding stones. "The Dragon... The Devil... and the Glutton. Lord Hades desires your heads."
"Attack!" Rias commanded.
Issei: "Dragon Shot!"
Akeno: "Holy Lightning!"
Kiba: "Sword Birth!"
The Gremory team engaged the skeleton army. It was a chaotic brawl. Issei was blasting bones apart, while Xenovia smashed through ranks with Durandal.
Raiden didn't run. He walked down the main path, crushing skulls under his boots.
"Out of my way. I want the big one."
A massive Cerberus (Hellhound) jumped out from behind a mausoleum. It had three heads and breathed poisonous fire.
"Roar!"
Raiden didn't stop walking.
"Sit."
He backhanded the center head.
CRACK.
The massive dog whimpered and dissolved into data.
"Guard dog tastes like wet fur," Raiden complained.
Raiden reached the center of the graveyard. Pluto floated there, surrounded by a swirling aura of death.
"You approach me?" Pluto laughed. "I am the End. I am the silence after the last breath."
Pluto swung his scythe.
"Soul Harvest: Severance of Life!"
A wave of green energy slashed toward Raiden. This wasn't physical damage; it was a concept attack that cut the "lifespan" of the target to zero.
Raiden stood still.
[Beelzebuth: Void Stomach]
The green wave hit Raiden and... stopped. It swirled around his body like water going down a drain.
It was sucked into his pores.
Pluto paused. "What? You... absorbed the concept of Death?"
"It's cold," Raiden shivered slightly. "Like mint ice cream. But it lacks substance."
Raiden took a step forward.
"Is that it? Is that the power of Hades?"
"Insolence!" Pluto roared. "I will reap your soul directly!"
Pluto vanished, appearing behind Raiden. The physical blade of the scythe swung for Raiden's neck.
CLANG.
Raiden caught the blade.
With his teeth.
He bit down on the metal of the Divine Scythe.
The sound of grinding metal echoed through the silent graveyard.
"You..." Pluto trembled. "You caught a Grim Reaper's scythe... with your mouth?!"
Raiden's eyes glowed purple.
CRUNCH.
He bit a chunk out of the blade. He chewed and swallowed.
"High in iron," Raiden noted. "But the enchantment is stale."
Pluto panicked. He tried to pull the scythe back, but Raiden held it fast.
"You like death so much?" Raiden mumbled. "Here. Have a gift from a Witch."
Raiden pulled out the Dodoco Mark II.
He pressed the red button.
The little robot chirped: "Dodoco... BOOM!"
Raiden tossed the robot into the hood of Pluto's robe.
"NO! GET IT OFF!" Pluto flailed.
KA-BOOM.
A massive explosion of pink glitter, pyro-slime concentrate, and chaotic mana erupted point-blank in Pluto's face.
The explosion didn't kill him, but it shattered his concentration, his barrier, and his dignity.
Pluto fell to the ground, his robe smoking and covered in cute clover stickers.
Raiden walked over and placed a foot on Pluto's chest.
"Yield," Raiden said. "Or I eat the rest of your scythe. And then your mask."
Pluto looked up at the monster who treated death as a snack and explosions as a prank.
"I... I yield! Team Thanatos surrenders!"
Announcer: "IT'S OVER! Team Void wins in record time! The Joker has humiliated the Grim Reaper!"
Location: VIP Lounge
The victory was decisive. Team Void returned to the waiting room.
Raiden was picking scythe splinters out of his teeth.
"That was reckless!" Rias scolded, though she was smiling. "You bit a Divine Weapon!"
"It was crunchy," Raiden shrugged.
Suddenly, the door opened.
A man with long green hair and an aura of absolute nobility walked in. He wore the uniform of the current Rating Game Champion.
Diehauser Belial. The Emperor.
"An impressive display," Diehauser said smoothly. His voice commanded respect. "To consume the concept of Death... you truly are an anomaly, Raiden."
"The Champ," Raiden nodded, acknowledging him. "Here to intimidate us?"
"Here to warn you," Diehauser corrected. "You rely on your Gluttony to consume energy and concepts. But in the Rating Game, there are those of us who use 'Nullification'. My family's power, Worthlessness, renders abilities useless."
Diehauser stepped closer.
"If we meet in the finals... I wonder. Can you eat 'Nothing'? Can you devour 'Uselessness'?"
Raiden stood up, towering over the Champion.
"If your power makes things worthless... then I'll just eat you physically. Meat is meat, with or without magic."
Diehauser smiled, a genuine battle-crazed smile.
"I look forward to it, Joker."
He left.
Location: The Shadows of the Arena
While the tournament celebrated, a dark figure watched from the high rafters.
An old man with a cane, wearing a fedora.
Hades.
"Pluto failed," Hades whispered. "Disappointing."
Beside him stood a massive man with four arms and blue skin.
Indra, the Hindu God of War and Lightning.
"That boy is dangerous," Indra rumbled. "He eats divinity. If we let him grow, he will consume the heavens."
"Then we must ensure he does not reach the finals," Hades' eyes glowed red. "The next round... arrange for him to fight."
"Who?"
"The Eater of Worlds versus the Eater of Gods," Hades grinned. "Send out Crom Cruach. The Evil Dragon of the Crescent Circle."
Indra raised an eyebrow. "You want to unleash the strongest Evil Dragon in a tournament?"
"It will be a spectacle," Hades laughed. "Let us see who has the bigger appetite."