With no other choice, Kazuki decided to intervene in their conversation.
"Azazel-san, I heard that Rias obliterated Raynare. How is she still alive?"
When he asked the question, Azazel latched onto it as if he'd been saved…
"Oh? O-oh! They had prepared a magic item called the 'Scapegoat Doll'. It's a single-use, fairly rare item where a doll infused with the user's blood has a 50% chance of acting as a substitute upon the user's death. Raynare and her group happened to get their hands on this item and used it, but only Raynare was lucky enough to be saved."
So, she was the sole survivor, having lost all her comrades... Kazuki stared at the bowing Raynare.
"Raynare, raise your head."
"Yes…"
Raynare lifted her head and looked straight at him. In her eyes, he could see tension, fear, and resolve.
"You've got some nerve showing your face before us. Have you already forgotten what you did?"
"... No, I haven't forgotten. What I did to Issei-kun, to Asia, and to you... I remember all of it."
"Then didn't you think you'd be killed on the spot, no questions asked?"
"... Y-yes, I was prepared to be told that. But, please, I beg of you, spare my life! Other than that, I don't care how much you hurt me. If you tell me to offer my body, I will gladly spread my legs. So please, please, just spare my life!!"
" " " "!!?" " " "
Everyone was shocked as Raynare responded to his question by prostrating herself on the floor in a dogeza.
"Pathetic... begging for your life, how utterly vile. Are you that terrified of dying?"
Kazuki deliberately muttered with clear displeasure. Still in dogeza, Raynare answered.
"... No, I'm not afraid of dying. But I cannot die now! Kalawarna, Dohnaseek, Mittelt... Because of my own foolishness, I lost my precious comrades... So I can't die so easily! I have to live, for the sake of my dead comrades as well!!" Raynare screamed.
The resolve he felt from her—was it a manifestation of her determination to survive through any humiliation, no matter how degrading, for the sake of her fallen comrades?
Or perhaps it was also an atonement towards them. From what he'd heard, she was supposed to be a remarkably arrogant piece of work...
Having lost all her comrades, had her pride shattered to pieces, and nearly died, it wouldn't be strange if her personality had changed somewhat.
Kazuki looked towards Rias, making eye contact. At his gaze that said, "Leave this to me," Rias reluctantly nodded.
"Raise your head, Raynare. I understand your resolve. —Now then, Issei, Asia, what do you two want to do?"
Regarding Raynare, those two had prior claims. So, Kazuki left the judgment to them.
"I..." Issei started but couldn't continue, falling silent again. Watching Issei, Asia now spoke up.
"I... think it's alright. It's true that Raynare-sama stole my human life. But, perhaps it's strange to say... because of that, I was able to meet everyone here. Furthermore, whatever her intentions were, Raynare-sama was the only one who reached out a hand to me when I was driven out of the Church and had nowhere to go..."
"Asia..."
"..."
Issei was left speechless by Asia's feelings, and Raynare also closed her eyes, as if chewing over those words.
"... I understand. Azazel-sensei, for the time being, we will take Raynare into our custody. What happens after that depends on her actions. Is that acceptable?"
"Yeah, that's fine with me. I'll leave her to you. You got that, Raynare?"
"Yes. Thank you..." Raynare said, bowing her head once more.
And so, the Fallen Angel Raynare was provisionally permitted to reside in Kuoh Town. But the resentment towards her had not dissipated; the rift remained deep. Whether she would be accepted by them depended on her actions from now on, but the outcome remained to be seen...
"Now, changing the subject, your next game has been decided. Your next opponent is—Diodora Astaroth."
"!!!!?"
Tension rippled through Rias and the rest of the group at Azazel's words.
'Of all people, it had to be him... Could this also be called fate?' Kazuki thought.
"This is a recorded and edited video of the recent matches among the young devils. Of course, your match against Sona's team is included. He's the one you'll be fighting next. All of you, watch this carefully."
Azazel inserted the disc into the player. After a moment, the footage began playing on the clubroom's large monitor.
The first match shown was the Rating Game between Sairaorg, heir candidate of the Great King Bael household, and Zephyrdor, heir candidate of the Glasya-Labolas household, which had produced the demon lord Asmodeus.
Its content was more than enough to send shivers down their spines.
"Holy shit, you're kidding me..."
"Zephyrdor, the so-called 'Monstrous Child' who was feared and despised, is completely outmatched..."
"It's overwhelming."
"Absolutely insane power..."
Kazuki, Yumi, Koneko, and Xenovia each murmured their impressions as they watched. The match ended with Sairaorg utterly crushing Zephyrdor with overwhelming power.
"Oh dear... As pitiful as it is, that delinquent is finished, nya~."
As Kuroka said, Zephyrdor was indeed finished. Having had terror carved into him by Sairaorg, he would likely never be able to stand on a battlefield again.
Sairaorg was the highest-rated among the six young devil rookies (with Rias being the third, incidentally). Even so, to be this strong... He could probably break into the upper echelons of the rankings if he debuted right now.
"Oh, the scene is changing."
As Kazuki noted, the next match was between Seekvaira Agares, heir candidate of the Great Duke Agares household, and Diodora Astaroth, heir candidate of the Astaroth household, which had produced the demon lord Beelzebub.
"Diodora's opponent is Seekvaira Agares of the Great Duke household. By all pre-match evaluations, Seekvaira was overwhelmingly superior..."
"'Was'...? Then this match is—"
Perhaps finding Azazel's commentary suspicious, Issei interjected.
"That's right. The winner was Diodora Astaroth."
"!!!!?"
Everyone's faces filled with astonishment. Of course they would. Even Azazel, who had seen it firsthand, could hardly believe it.
"They say seeing is believing, after all—it's starting."
As everyone focused on the screen at Azazel's words—
Fwoosh!
A magic circle flashed across the floor.
This pattern was…
"Astaroth—"
Akeno muttered the name as if spitting it out.
"Good day. I've come to see Asia."
The man who appeared from the magic circle was none other than the very subject of their discussion, Diodora Astaroth.
A leisurely, sinister smile played on his lips as his gaze, brimming with a twisted desire, settled on Asia.
The air in the room grew heavy, thick with a tension that was part hostility, part something darker and more possessive.
...
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