54: Chapter 54

Sairaorg Bael scratched the back of his head and quickly waved his hands. "How could I do such a thing? If I were to crash Sona's event on an occasion like this, wouldn't I be asking for death?"

He had a good relationship with Sona, and the Sitri Clan had been kind to him. His mother had moved to their territory to recover her health, and he remembered this favor.

If he really wanted to fight, he would have to wait until after Sona officially participated in the Rating Game. "However, Red Dragon Emperor……" Sairaorg Bael lowered his voice. "Just because I'm not looking for trouble doesn't mean others are staying quiet. I heard that several people are coming for you tonight."

Luo Yu thought for a moment and understood. "You mean, because I killed quite a few pure-blooded devils in the Three Realms, someone wants to take advantage of Sona's debut to slap my face and teach me a lesson?"

Sairaorg Bael nodded.

Those old-school nobles really valued pure-blooded lineage more than their own lives, and Luo Yu's previous actions had long since angered them.

Luo Yu's expression was indifferent. "You don't need to worry about Sona. She isn't as soft as you think. Besides, if some shameless old fogey actually dares to jump out, I wouldn't mind killing a few pure-blooded nobles right on the spot to establish her authority."

These words were spoken lightly, but Sairaorg Bael felt a chill down his spine after hearing them.

He prayed silently in his heart: I hope no one loses their mind and tries to provoke him just because they have seniority.

This guy, the Red Dragon Emperor, certainly wouldn't show any face to the devils just because he was standing on Underworld territory.

If he were truly provoked, and the purple moon shone tonight, I'm afraid it would sever the bloodlines of several pure-blooded devil families.

Rias Gremory stood up and smoothed out her skirt. "Sona, let me be your first opponent."

Just as she had anticipated, the first one to jump out was indeed her best friend, who was also her strongest rival.

Sona wore a composed smile on her face. "Rias Gremory, there is nothing better than facing you in the first battle."

As soon as she finished speaking, her formal dress instantly transformed into combat attire. A magic circle appeared beneath her feet, and both of them, along with their respective servants, were teleported into a pre-arranged different dimension.

In the banquet hall, everyone perked up, staring at the images transmitted through the projection magic.

Sona and Rias Gremory—these two names were the center of conversation in the Underworld. They were not only heirs to pure-blooded devil noble families, but also the younger sisters of the Maous, with too many similarities between them.

Now that the two were clashing head-on for the first time, the clan heads present were very curious about who was actually stronger.

One must know that Rias Gremory's debut battle a year ago was quite dazzling. Relying on the Power of Destruction from the Great Maou's family, she had defeated several challengers in a row, firmly securing her position as one of the four kings of the new generation in the Underworld.

For Sona, this was a tough nut to crack.

Sairaorg Bael frowned, staring at the craggy, rock-filled different dimension on the screen. "This environment is not very favorable for Sona."

There were loose rocks everywhere, and the places to hide were pitifully few; at a glance, it was all open ground. For Sona, who excelled at tactical layout, her room for maneuver was severely compressed.

He shook his head. "If it comes to a head-on collision, it will be hard for Sona to gain any advantage."

His cousin's strength was already a cut above Sona's, and the three servants under her were no weaker than Sona's; they were even a bit stronger.

Luo Yu was quite calm. "Just watch; Sona must have considered this situation."

The scene of the different dimension was chosen randomly, which just happened to ensure the fairness of the battle.

At this moment, the battle inside the different dimension had already begun.

Sona, leading Tsubaki Shinra and Reya Kusaka, engaged the strongest, Rias Gremory, directly.

On the other side, Tsubaki Shinra faced Koneko, Akeno Himejima, and Bennia alone.

The battle situation had been deliberately cut into two parts by Sona from the very beginning. "Heh heh……"

Akeno Himejima laughed until her eyes curved. "Student Council President, you don't think you can hold off the three of us by yourself, do you?"

Tsubaki Shinra gripped the hilt of her sword tightly, her gaze locked onto the woman opposite her. "My mission is just to hold you off; that is enough."

Akeno Himejima stood at the front, smiling, purple lightning already beginning to dance in her palms. "It seems we are being underestimated."

Before the words faded, lightning struck fiercely toward Tsubaki Shinra's face.

Tsubaki did not retreat.

She raised her hand and flipped it, and a mirror appeared out of thin air in front of her, blocking the lightning bolt solidly like a shield.

Crack—the mirror shattered.

The fragments scattered, and after floating in the air for a few seconds, they suddenly lit up on their own. The fragments coalesced, the lightning reflected, and a bolt of lightning stronger than the previous one blasted toward Akeno Himejima.

The ability of the Mirror of Remembrance was simple: when shattered, it would return the received attack twofold.

Besides that, it could also summon strange creatures from the mirror to help the owner share the pressure.

Now, Koneko and Bennia were being tightly entangled by those strange creatures.

Koneko used Senjutsu to shatter the summoned objects in a few moves, but as soon as they disappeared, Tsubaki Shinra immediately used the mirror to summon a new batch. There was simply no chance for the two of them to catch their breath, let alone support anyone else.

Rias Gremory casually blocked the interference spell thrown by Reya Kusaka, her tone carrying genuine appreciation. "Sona, this move is quite beautiful."

Trading one Queen to take out an opponent's Queen, Rook, and Knight—this was a very worthwhile trade.

The situation suddenly turned into a contest of who could break the stalemate first—whoever opened the gap first would be able to pull the scales of victory to their side.

Sona did not stop her attack; her specialty, water-based magic, kept pressing Rias Gremory, and she wasn't idle with her mouth either. "To be honest, I don't really want to admit it, but my people…… are indeed weaker than yours."

She knew how troublesome Koneko was.

Although Koneko was only a low-class devil, after mastering Senjutsu, her level of difficulty could almost rival a middle-class devil.

She didn't know much about Bennia, the half-breed Grim Reaper, but judging by her posture, she was probably no slouch either.

Tsubaki Shinra and Reya Kusaka were both low-class devils, and against those two, they were almost being crushed.

That was why she took the risk, having Tsubaki Shinra hold the line against Akeno Himejima and the other two.

This was the most effective strategy at the moment.

The only cost was that she herself had to apply enough pressure to pin down Rias Gremory, ensuring she couldn't be distracted.

Otherwise, relying solely on that Sacred Gear of Tsubaki Shinra's, they wouldn't be able to hold out for long.

Below the stage, many old-school clan heads nodded repeatedly.

For a newcomer, in their first Rating Game, to be able to distribute the combat power of their servants so clearly—splitting, restraining, suppressing—was impressive.

She had forcibly dragged a disadvantageous situation into a stalemate.

For someone just starting out, this was already very dazzling. "Sona is indeed quite strong, but the gap in strength is there, and it's not something that can be made up just like that. Rias Gremory's Power of Destruction is not to be trifled with."

Sairaorg Bael spread his hands.

He really didn't have much interest in tactics and such.

In the end, he believed that raw strength was the kingly way. As long as he could exchange blows and have a satisfying, exhilarating fight, that was the most enjoyable way to battle.

Luo Yu rolled his eyes. "Can your brain hold anything other than fighting and killing? Look closer."

He stared at the magic projection, narrowing his eyes. "Sona never intended to win. Her goal is just to drag this debut battle into a draw."

"Akeno Himejima and the other two won't find it easy to take out Tsubaki Shinra in one go. And while Sona, Tsubaki Shinra, and Reya Kusaka can maneuver around Rias Gremory, taking her down is another matter."

Sairaorg Bael was stunned.

Now that Luo Yu put it that way, he realized it.

It really was like that.

The first debut battle—for Sona, as long as she could force a draw with Rias Gremory, it already counted as a victory.

Not only Luo Yu could see this; many people at the banquet table also revealed thoughtful expressions.

Time passed bit by bit.

Rias Gremory's brows were knitted together, and the Power of Destruction in her hands kept pressing forward.

But the more she fought, the more something felt wrong.

Sona's side was like a ball of cotton; for every bit of force she exerted, at most three points actually landed.

Everything was cleanly dissipated by Sona's water-based magic and Reya Kusaka's Arcane Magic.

She tried several times to force a focus on one target, to take out one of the opponent's combatants first so that she could have a numerical advantage.

But Tsubaki Shinra would always rush up to cause trouble at those moments. She wouldn't take the hit head-on; she would just slash a few times and immediately retreat.

Then Sona's water-based magic and Reya Kusaka's Arcane Magic would follow up.

Frustrating.

Rias Gremory had fought Sona so many times, but she had never fought such a frustrating battle.

She glanced at the situation on Akeno Himejima's side.

It was a bit better than her own side, but only slightly.

Akeno Himejima's lightning strikes really gave Tsubaki Shinra a headache, combined with Koneko's Senjutsu and Bennia's cooperation, even though Tsubaki Shinra held the Sacred Gear, the Mirror of Remembrance, she was being pushed back repeatedly.

Sacred Gears, no matter how powerful, were not unsolvable.

After fighting for so long, Akeno Himejima and the others had almost figured out the weaknesses of the Mirror of Remembrance.

Sona's tactical execution was indeed beautiful, utilizing the flaws of the Mirror of Remembrance to create a rhythm of attrition.

But in the end, she still hadn't been able to completely pin down Tsubaki Shinra.

That Valkyrie was like sticky taffy; once she got stuck, she couldn't be shaken off.

Sona's side became more and more passive as the fight went on; she was like someone stuck in a swamp, unable to spare a hand to support her own team. "Sona! Isn't this playstyle of yours a bit too shameless?"

The Rias Gremory opposite her finally saw through her tactics.

She knew Sona too well.

This person, from childhood to adulthood, no matter how bad the situation was, would never easily admit defeat.

If she could grit her teeth and turn the tables, she would; if she couldn't find an opportunity, she would fight to the bitter end, squeezing out every last bit of faint hope.

So Rias Gremory really hadn't thought much at the beginning.

She thought Sona was breaking her servants apart one by one to defeat them individually and pull off a beautiful comeback.

Who would have thought that this woman never intended to win at all?

She just wanted to drag out the time.

This opening battle wasn't a ranking match with strict time limits.

If, in the end, neither commander retreated, the result would be a draw.

Bang—a dull sound of water magic exploding rang out.

Sona used water-based magic to wrap Rias Gremory's Power of Destruction in layers, grinding it away bit by bit, resulting in a muffled explosion.

A curve appeared at the corner of her mouth, and she said: "That guy Luo Yu taught me when playing chess: when you meet an opponent of similar strength, just drag it out desperately, drag it until the other side can't hold on anymore."

"Even if it ends in a draw, you still gain."

"If you can hold him off today, you will have a chance to truly stomp him down in the future."

"The outcome in the Three Realms is never a matter of one day or one night."

"It doesn't matter if you lose ten thousand times; as long as you win the most crucial one, that's enough."

"Admitting defeat and running away isn't shameful; no one dares to claim they are always undefeated."

Rias Gremory opened her mouth but ultimately said nothing.

These words didn't really align with her consistent philosophy.

But she knew in her heart that what that bastard Luo Yu said was probably true.