"Onee-sama, you often do cosplay with Akuto-kun, right? In your view… does he have a real shot this time?"
Sona sighed, but still asked first.
"That question, huh~~~" Serafall thought for a moment, then asked back:
"Sona-chan, what result do you want from this fight?"
"Do you hope he succeeds… or fails?"
To be honest, whether she and Akuto would truly end up engaged—Serafall herself didn't obsess over it.
If the Underworld arranged for her to marry Akuto, she'd accept.
If they didn't, she wouldn't mind either.
Compared to her own feelings, she cared more about her little sister's thoughts.
Because she'd discovered—Sona-chan might care about Akuto more than she'd imagined.
At the center of the venue, the host, voice brimming with energy, warmed up the crowd.
[Welcome, everyone, and thanks for tuning in on time!]
[I'm your host for today's match!]
[On one side: the legendary immortal phoenix!]
[On the other side: the noble pure-blood Leviathan!]
[Today, they'll fight here for the right to marry Princess Rias of the Underworld! It's the ancient Defloration Battle, witnessed by the Maou and the pure-blood devils!]
[Tell me—can there be a more classic, more eye-catching setup?!]
[And it's not a drama—it's really happening!]
[To present a spectacular clash, the Phoenix family specifically requested we don't run the traditional "one against the entire peerage" format!]
[Thus, today's Defloration Battle will follow the Rating Game format!]
[Before the official start, allow me to introduce our commentator—Beelzebub-sama of the Underworld, Ajuka Beelzebub-sama!]
As the host's words fell, a projection displayed the green-haired Maou—Ajuka.
[Hello everyone, I'm Ajuka. Delighted to serve as commentator today.]
[Ajuka-sama, could we have your pre-match analysis? In your view, which pure-blood will win?] The host followed the script to heat the crowd.
[Me? I believe Akuto-kun will defeat Riser-kun.] Ajuka smiled.
[Oho! Why the decisive verdict, Ajuka-sama? Could you explain your reasoning?]
[Reason?] Ajuka raised the mic slightly.
[It's simple. If the blood is pure enough, a pure-blood Leviathan can defeat a pure-blood Phoenix of the same tier.]
On the surface, that sounded like a technical remark.
In truth, it was a major political statement.
He and Alice intended to use this opportunity to tell all devils—
The pure-blood Leviathan they, the current Maou, endorsed is the true pure-blood Leviathan!
As for those Old Maou Leviathans who fled the Underworld—they were nothing but impure counterfeits!
Sensing the spark, the host pounced to fan the flames.
[Breaking angle! From Ajuka-sama's words, we can infer that Akuto-Leviathan-sama has at least High-class power—maybe more!]
[Perhaps today we'll witness a pure-blood Phoenix fall to an equal-tier opponent!]
[The match starts in 15 minutes! We'll cut to a short ad first.]
In the Phoenix private room—
Ravel stared at her "older brother" in confusion.
Her "brother" wasn't Riser Phoenix, who would fight Akuto—
but the Phoenix family's first son, Ruval Phoenix!
Ruval—pure-blood Phoenix at Quasi-Maou level, heir apparent to the family, a young ace ranked Top 10 in the Rating Game.
And right now… Ruval planned to temporarily act as his younger brother's Queen and participate in Riser's Defloration Battle against his rival in love!
"Ruval-nii, why go this far?" Ravel couldn't help asking.
Across from her, Ruval looked at his little sister helplessly.
"Of course it's for you, Ravel."
"You told us that man named Akuto said he liked you—confessed to you, didn't he?"
"When you talked about him, you couldn't even hide your smile. That was the first time I've seen you that happy because of a man."
"But now, the man who said he liked you is launching a Defloration Battle… for another girl."
"I'm going to ask him myself—whether he's been playing with your feelings."
Ruval's voice was calm, but unshakably firm.
"I… hasn't Akuto-sama already made his choice? What's the point of asking?"
Ravel tried to sound indifferent, but her eyes stung; she looked like she was about to cry.
"There is a point. Ravel, is there any need to pretend before your brother?" Ruval's voice softened.
"You're only accepting it on the surface. In your heart, it still hurts… right?"
"...Mm…" Ravel let out a tiny sound. Was she that obvious?
"That's why I'll test him."
"Test? Test what?" Ravel didn't understand.
"To test whether he has the breadth to take responsibility for the Phoenix family's little princess."
"Brother, you mean—!"
At that, the tears she'd been holding back finally spilled and traced down her delicate cheeks.
Fifteen minutes passed in a flash.
At center stage, the host announced with passion:
[Now! Both sides have been teleported to their positions!]
[The referee will be Lucifer's proxy—Grayfia Lucifuge-sama!]
Inside the pocket-dimension arena, Grayfia still wore her conservative maid uniform.
Just as Akuto had said—she really was wherever the plot demanded.
"Now begins the Rating Game between Akuto Leviathan-dono and Riser Phoenix-dono!
"The victor will gain the right to marry the next head of House Gremory—Rias Gremory!
"The battlefield is Kuoh Academy. Riser-dono's base is the Student Council building; Akuto-dono's base is the Old School Building.
"Defeat of either King counts as defeat.
"On behalf of the Four Maou, I recognize this Defloration Battle and will honor its outcome.
"Match—Start!"
To prepare, Akuto had specially recalled the maid squad from the Apocalypse world.
It had been over ten days here since he last pulled people; over there, time flowed at five times the speed.
Saeko's strength had risen to High-class peak; the other heroines in that world were roughly High-class as well.
As for the eight maids he drafted this time—their strength was broadly Mid- to High-class.
Within the first minute after the start, five assault teams burst out of the Old School Building.
Each team was led by one of Akuto's "soldiers," followed by a swarm of "phantom beasts" mass-produced by Yuriko.
Upon reaching High-class, Yuriko could fabricate Mid-class beasts at an astonishing pace.
So in just one minute, five beast packs flooded out!
[Akuto sends out five soldiers, striking from five directions!]
[He's clearly opting for a frontal power clash!]
[Let's see Riser's response—wait, what?! Riser has dispatched peerage squads from six directions!]
[Neither side scouted first—they're going in blind!]
[In other words—both chose the same all-out assault!]
[Contact! Akuto's five soldiers have collided with Riser's six!]
[And look at that momentum! From the start, Akuto's peerage, combined with the beast packs, overwhelm Riser's advance squads!]
The recon skirmishes instantly became full-on brawls.
Akuto's royal guard members wielded magic swords of differing attributes, effortlessly shattering the enemy's magical attacks and defenses!
"Hmm?"
Unlike the hype-driven host, Ajuka saw the key point at once.
[Anti-magic… Akuto-kun actually equipped all his soldiers with anti-magic attribute swords?]
[No… it's not just their weapons…]
On-screen, several metallic-sheened beasts bit through magic barriers and crunched Riser's conjured armaments—
suffering practically no interference en route.
Clearly, the beasts running alongside Akuto's peerage also carried anti-magic attributes!
[Riser-dono—six soldiers, eliminated.]
Half a minute later, when the result came through, the host froze for several seconds.
It was his first time witnessing such a one-sided open.
[Six! A full six! Akuto's five soldiers defeated Riser's six!]
[One of them even faced two of Riser's at once—and still completed the mission!]
[In this opener, the beast packs were the key to Akuto's initiative!]
[Ajuka-sama, could you brief the audience on these beasts?]
[These beasts…] Ajuka propped his chin on his hands as data flashed through his mind.
[They should be created by one of Akuto's companions.]
[Created? Could Akuto's side hold the Longinus—Annihilation Maker?!] The host, to his credit, knew of that Sacred Gear.
[No, not Annihilation Maker.] Ajuka shook his head.
[If it were, they wouldn't be this "weak." As a Longinus, Annihilation Maker creates beasts far stronger than the user, with fully custom attributes.]
[The beasts on Akuto-kun's side likely cannot exceed the user's own strength.]
[I see.]
[Even so, a mass of Mid-class beasts poses very real threat—easily up to forty percent of a High-class's power in aggregate.]
[A serious threat indeed—and a large one. If I'm not mistaken, Akuto-kun is using magic swords of various attributes as raw material.]
[By leveraging different sword attributes, he can prey on enemies of many elements with type advantage.]
[Combine an ability to "manufacture multi-attribute magic swords" with an ability to "animate non-living objects,"]
[and Akuto-kun has achieved a miracle that only geniuses can—mass-producing counter-typed living weapons!]
Ajuka gave this synergy extremely high marks.
(End of Chapter)
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