high school dxd · supernatural · tournament · devil · magic · combat · rivalry · underworld · strategy
The Rating Game arena lay in ruins, smoke curling from craters where spells had detonated. The air smelled of ozone and blood. Rias Gremory knelt, cradling Issei's broken form as tears streaked her porcelain cheeks. Across the battlefield, Riser Phoenix stood immaculate, not a hair out of place, his smirk a blade of triumph. "I knew this would end like this," he declared, voice dripping with arrogance. "No matter how many futile efforts you make, Rias. In the end, I was always the one destined to win. Get ready, because very soon you will be my wife. It's inevitable." The Gremory team lay defeated—Akeno, Kiba, Koneko fallen—only Rias, Asia, and Issei remained. Issei coughed blood, his Red Dragon Gauntlet flickering. Now, one last pawn stood untouched, still bearing a Sacred Gear of th…