87: Chapter 87

That's why hardly anyone thinks much of him; they all consider him nothing more than a clown jumping around, relying solely on the Phenex Clan's lineage.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been arranged to marry into the Gremory Clan as a fiancé.

Of course, the Phoenix flames are indeed his own ability, and no one can say anything about that.

But the spiritual beast Himejima Suzaku possesses is also her own ability.

Why should her ability be banned?

How could Rias Gremory possibly accept such a rule?

"Sona, quit meddling in this."

Riser Phenex's face darkened instantly; he hated it when people brought up his Rating Games.

"Sona, aren't you just a vase protected by the Red Dragon Emperor?"

Before Sona could speak, Grayfia, who was standing to the side, had her expression change instantly, her voice chillingly cold: "Riser Phenex, watch your language. Do you want to bring disaster upon the Phenex Clan?"

Daring to slander Sona like that?

The stench of blood that once flowed across the Underworld hadn't even dissipated yet.

Many pure-blooded devils still felt a lingering fear whenever they thought back to that incident.

Riser Phenex clearly realized what he had done, his face turning pale.

He had been blinded by anger just now and hadn't thought it through.

Now that he thought about it—that ferocious Red Dragon Emperor was right here in this town.

A chill ran down his spine.

That guy didn't care about anything; he didn't give a damn about pure-blooded nobles or the Phenex Clan. Offending him meant total annihilation.

"Hmph! Rias Gremory, I'd like to see what you'll use to beat me in the Rating Game three days from now."

Make him bow his head and apologize? He wasn't willing to do that.

In the end, he could only snort coldly, leave a harsh threat, and walk out of the Occult Research Club with his peerage without looking back.

He walked much faster as he left, fearing that the Red Dragon Emperor might suddenly appear and slap him to death.

If that happened, the Phenex Clan probably wouldn't even dare to stand up for him.

"Lady Sona, Young Master Riser Phenex only spoke without thinking; please don't take it to heart."

Grayfia bowed slightly, her tone apologetic.

"Lady Grayfia, there's no need for that."

Sona shook her head gently, her tone calm: "There must be quite a few people in the Underworld who talk about me behind my back. It's just that because Luo Yu is here, no one dares to say it to my face. I have nothing to be concerned about regarding such a trivial matter."

She saw things very clearly.

He was her man, and she was Luo Yu's woman.

This was simply a fact.

As for those who called her a vase, they were merely humiliating themselves.

"Lady Grayfia, I hope you will consider this carefully before making a decision."

Sona glanced at Rias Gremory, her tone becoming serious.

"Sometimes, giving someone hope only to snatch it away cruelly is a feeling worse than betrayal."

After Grayfia finished speaking to Sona, she turned to look at Rias Gremory.

"Rias Gremory, regardless of the final outcome, I hope you will prepare for the Rating Game as soon as possible."

"I know, you don't need to worry about it."

Rias Gremory's tone still carried the anger from a moment ago.

Grayfia bowed slightly to the two of them, and a crimson magic circle lit up beneath her feet, displaying the crest of the Gremory Clan.

In the blink of an eye, she vanished from the Occult Research Club.

Now only Rias Gremory and Sona remained in the room.

Rias Gremory took a deep breath, suppressing the emotions that had been churning inside her, and spoke first.

"Sona, I really have to thank you for this time."

She knew clearly in her heart that if Sona hadn't happened to be there and spoken so sharply, she would have had to bite the bullet and accept the result of the Rating Game three days later.

If that had really happened, the outcome would have been a foregone conclusion.

At least now there was room for maneuver, and things weren't set in stone.

"I was just ensuring the fairness of the competition. If you want to thank someone, rather than thanking me, you should thank Luo Yu."

Sona smiled slightly.

"I was just borrowing power to intimidate others; you know that as the heir to the House Sitri, I don't really have much say in the Underworld."

"Luo Yu..."

Rias Gremory shook her head sullenly.

"Let's just forget about him."

"You..."

Sona sighed.

"How long has the conflict between you and Luo Yu been going on? It's time to move on. If you keep opposing him like this, you'll end up all alone sooner or later."

Hearing Sona say this, Rias Gremory felt even more stifled.

She already had plenty of grudges against that bastard, and now, to make matters worse, her own peerage members were flocking to him one by one.

She really couldn't understand whether these people were her peerage or that jerk's.

Rias Gremory could guarantee that as long as that bastard beckoned, they would undoubtedly leave her, their master, without hesitation and throw themselves into his arms.

Wasn't Koneko the best example of this?

Himejima Suzaku and Akeno, those two friends who had played together since childhood, would certainly be the same.

In the past few days, the time that Akeno had spent in the Occult Research Club wasn't even one-third of the time she had spent by that bastard Luo Yu's side.

The results of the deliberations from the Underworld were transmitted in the afternoon.

After reading the document in her hand, Rias Gremory finally let out a sigh of relief.

It wasn't good news, nor was it bad news; it could only be described as a compromise.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

During this time, Rias Gremory hadn't done anything else; she had poured all her energy into getting her team to coordinate.

The cooperation between Koneko and Himejima Suzaku was still a bit rusty; one had just joined not long ago, and the other hadn't fought by her side for a long time.

After mastering Senjutsu, Koneko was no longer the type who relied solely on brute force; her attack methods had become flexible and varied, requiring readjustment.

Rias Gremory wanted to forge the strongest fighting power of this team into a cohesive unit.

On the other hand, the Underworld was also paying close attention to this Rating Game.

The third young master of the Phenex Clan and the next head of the Gremory Clan using a Rating Game to decide a marriage engagement—this kind of drama was exciting enough and eye-catching enough.

But there was one interesting thing.

The big shots among the pure-blooded devil nobles had originally planned to watch the match in person, but as soon as they heard the venue was set in Kuoh Town in the Human World, and right inside Kuoh Academy, they all backed out.

They hadn't forgotten that the Red Dragon Emperor was holed up in Kuoh Town, and coincidentally, he was also attending that school.

Even though more than a year had passed, they still felt a chill down their spines whenever they recalled the bloody scene at the House Sitri banquet.

The outcome of that banquet was that several pure-blooded devil noble families in the Underworld had their lines completely severed.

Now, these big shots instinctively shivered whenever they heard the words "Red Dragon Emperor," and they didn't even dare to get close to the places where he stayed.

Therefore, even though the match between Rias Gremory and Riser Phenex was highly anticipated, the number of clan heads and heirs who actually dared to run to Kuoh Town and enter Kuoh Academy to watch it in person was pitifully small.

No one wanted to lose their life inexplicably just to watch a match; that would be too much of a loss.

However, it didn't matter if they didn't go to the venue; the entire match would be broadcast in real-time throughout the Underworld via magic projection, so they could still watch everything they needed to see.

Kuoh Academy was now completely empty.

The teaching buildings, corridors, gymnasium, and swimming pool were all quiet, with not a single person in sight.

The school had given the students a three-day holiday, and the entire campus was covered by a barrier; even if things were turned upside down inside, the ordinary residents of Kuoh Town wouldn't see a thing.

Even if someone accidentally stumbled in, all they would see was an empty campus.

As for the Rating Game between Rias Gremory and Riser Phenex, the real battlefield was placed in a different dimension—a space that had replicated every blade of grass and tree of Kuoh Academy.

Inside the different dimension, all of Rias Gremory's peerage members gathered before her to listen to her tactical arrangements.

"Koneko, Bennia, as we agreed before, you two try your best to hold off Riser Phenex's Pawns, Knights, Bishops, and Rooks."

Rias Gremory's voice was very low.

"Watch out for that little blonde girl; she is Ravel Phenex, the fourth child of the Phenex Clan.

Although her strength is only that of a Middle-Class Devil, she, like Riser Phenex, possesses Phoenix flames, so she cannot be underestimated."

"Your mission is to entangle her; don't fight recklessly.

If you really can't beat her, just withdraw from the match directly."

Koneko and Bennia nodded simultaneously.

Rias Gremory turned to look at Himejima Suzaku and Akeno Himejima: "Akeno Himejima, Himejima Suzaku, you two go together and take care of Riser Phenex's Queen as quickly as possible.

Then come help me, and the three of us will kick Riser Phenex out of the match."

"He is a Phoenix; his flames allow him to resurrect continuously, but his regeneration count is certainly limited.

As long as we break his spirit, he will be completely finished."

"I have confidence in your strength, but you still need to be careful of Riser Phenex's Queen—Yubelluna, nicknamed 'The Bomb Queen.'

If her magic hits you, it will be quite troublesome."

Akeno smiled: "Don't worry, President.

With my lightning and Cousin Himejima Suzaku's flames, her magic won't even be able to get close to us."

Rias Gremory nodded.

She had great confidence in these two.

Akeno's strength was not much less than her own, and Himejima Suzaku was even slightly superior.

Dealing with Yubelluna, who was at the High-Class Devil level, shouldn't be a major problem.

Rias Gremory's tactics, in a nutshell, boiled down to two approaches—either stall or attack aggressively, fully utilizing her team's strengths to the limit.

Finally, she added a few contingency plans.

Once everything that needed to be said was said, everyone stood in place, waiting for Sona to announce the official start of the Rating Game in her capacity as the referee.

The Rating Game officially began.

In the different dimension, the second after Sona announced the start, Rias Gremory and her team immediately acted according to the plan.

Koneko and Bennia formed a team, while Himejima Suzaku followed Akeno Himejima.

Rias Gremory herself charged directly toward the opponent's leader's position—Riser Phenex was there.

She intended to hold Riser Phenex down firmly, just as Koneko and Bennia were meant to do.

As long as Akeno Himejima and Himejima Suzaku took care of Riser Phenex's Queen first, the scales of victory in this game would slowly tilt in her favor.

In the Underworld, many heads of pure-blooded devil families and their heirs were quite interested in this duel.

Many were inwardly marveling that this younger sister of the Demon King Sirzechs Lucifer was truly not simple.

To actually have two High-Class Devil-level peerage members under her command was a rare sight among heirs.

Furthermore, they had heard that one of these peerage members kept a pure-blooded Lightning Dragon as a familiar, though it had been banned by the Phenex Clan.

In other words, this was equivalent to the combat power of four High-Class Devils.

It should be noted that Rias Gremory hadn't even officially debuted yet.

When she truly stepped onto the stage of the Rating Games in the future, she would surely be able to achieve quite a brilliant record, perhaps even catching up to her cousin of the Great Duke family.

On the other side, in the school gymnasium, Koneko and Bennia were blocked by Ravel Phenex and a group of people.