DxD: The Sorcery System Chapter 45

Chapter 45: The Rating Game (1/3) 

[Hallway, Modeled Kuoh Academy, Rating Game Arena]

“Don’t think you’re going anywhere.”

Unlike us, they weren’t stationed in just one place.

They had the advantage in numbers, letting them occupy multiple locations.

“Looks like we have to face the pawns first,” Akeno said with a smile, clearly aware that the enemies before us were pawns.

Four girls.

One with orangish-brown hair, one with maroon hair, and two petite twins with green hair.

{Name: Marion}

{Name: Bülent}

{Name: Ile}

{Name: Nel}

After a quick glance at their stats, I decided it was best to conserve my magic and let the others handle them.

“Let us take care of them,” Kiba said, stepping forward with his sword.

“Mhm.”

Koneko was there too, rubbing her fists.

This gotta be interesting.

“Two of you won’t be enough,” the orangish-brown-haired girl said. “We’re four, and you can’t win against our numbers.”

Oh, I wouldn’t count on that.

{Threat Level: Ignorable}

They were just too weak.

And just as I was wondering what they would do, Kiba revealed something unexpected.

“Sacred Gear.”

Even Koneko was surprised by this.

“Sword Birth!”

“H-Huh?” Riser’s pawns were taken aback as swords of various shapes and sizes materialized out of thin air, embedding themselves in the ground and radiating demonic energy.

“This will be fun,” Akeno smirked from behind.

And she was right.

“I’m sorry.”

Kiba whispered as he dashed toward the four girls, uprooting a longsword from the ground and hurling it at them.

“Dodge!” one of them shouted, realizing it was smarter to dodge than to block.

But they didn’t consider that the longsword was only a distraction.

“Nel!” one of the twins cried out as Kiba bolted toward the other with a sleeker sword—a rapier of sorts.

“Not so fast!” Amusingly, they weren’t completely helpless.

The maroon-haired girl leaped in front of Kiba’s sword with a chained shield she summoned out of thin air—just like Kiba.

The sword clashed with the shield, sending sparks flying and deflecting the blow.

But that wasn’t all.

“Marion!” the girl with the shield yelled, and instantly, the orange-haired girl lunged at Kiba with a mace.

For a split second, I thought of helping, preparing the stronger version of the Gust spell—Gale.

“Just watch.”

But I didn’t need to, as just when Akeno said that, Koneko appeared right between Kiba and the girl, landing a punch directly into her gut.

“Ugh!”

The girl barely managed a groan before being sent flying, her body crashing into a pillar.

“Marion!”

It was like a scene from a movie—real, yet surreal.

“Riser’s pawn, Marion, has been eliminated.”

Grayfia’s voice echoed around us, signaling that only three pawns remained.

It wasn’t time to celebrate yet, though.

“Damn you!” the maroon-haired pawn yelled as she hurled the shield at Koneko—who, of course, deflected it with a punch.

However, it was enough to distract her from noticing the twins rushing in.

Koneko turned to defend herself as she heard their footsteps, but the distance was too short to react.

“Let me.”

Thankfully, Kiba managed to close the gap just in time, thanks to his knight piece trait, and blocked their attacks with the flat side of his sword.

But here’s the thing…

“Ack!”

In that moment of distraction, the maroon-haired pawn landed a solid punch directly on Koneko’s face, bruising the rook slightly.

One thing I’ve realized is that while Koneko and Kiba are much stronger than the pawns, the pawns have significantly more experience.

That’s why their strategy was better, falling short only because of the difference in power.

Akeno and I were focused on the surroundings, making sure no bishop or knight would sneak up on them while they were occupied with the pawns—so we couldn’t warn Koneko to dodge in time.

“Kiba.”

But no matter how experienced they were, raw strength was something the pawns couldn’t handle.

Because that punch to Koneko’s face didn’t cause damage—it caused annoyance.

Annoyance enough for her to land a direct hit on the pawn’s face, and unlike the first one who fainted without visible damage, this one wasn’t so lucky.

“Ahh—”

“Bülent!”

The twins screamed, but it was too late.

The pawn’s face visibly caved in for a split second—hopefully not permanently—but it was enough to bloody her face and send her flying.

And without surprise—

“Riser’s pawn, Bülent, has been eliminated.”

She had fainted too.

“No!”

This was Kiba’s cue, and as soon as the twins’ attention faltered, he closed the distance between them—dual-wielding two rapiers and striking them down instantly.

The green-haired twins neither had the time nor the strength to stop the attack and fell to the ground unconscious.

Fainted, just like the other two pawns.

“Riser’s pawns, Ile and Nel, have been eliminated!”

Which meant half of Riser’s pawns were out.

“You guys alright?” I asked, noticing that they had taken some minor damage.

“Yeah, nothing major,” they assured me, but they had lost a significant amount of energy in the process.

“Then let’s keep moving forward,” Akeno said. “If we encounter a trap, make sure to create an exit and regroup at the base. Asia will heal us there.”

Asia was with Rias at the base, ensuring the King had a medic in case of sneak attacks.

We considered moving together, but it was too risky to have the King move around when we could easily be ambushed. And if the King was eliminated, the match would be instantly lost.

“Yeah,” Kiba and Koneko nodded.

However, I was concerned about something else.

Why didn’t they use those Phoenix Tears?

We all had enough for each member, but Riser didn’t give them the tears? What was he planning?

I had a bad feeling about this.

And that feeling was confirmed when I heard Akeno yell.

“Reo, dodge!”

And then I saw a massive fireball hurtling towards me.

…

…

[Rating Game Arena, Gremory Estate, Underworld]

{Ruval Phenex}

"That was brilliant!" Father praised, but I had a different opinion.

"He sacrificed only four pawns to trap the four main offensive players of Rias’ peerage."

Father had played Rating Games before, but he wasn't deeply familiar with their intricacies.

"Koneko and Kiba managed to take down four of Riser’s pawns, significantly reducing their numbers," Lord Gremory commented. "But maybe it was worth it for Riser, as this ambush could leave Rias’ group quite weakened."

‘Might’ was the key word here.

"This could go either way," I finally added. "He could have played it safe, maintaining a better position and possibly keeping his four pawns. But he gambled, and now it depends on how Rias’ peerage responds."

"What do you mean?" Father immediately asked, with Lord Gremory also looking at me intently.

"He’s trying to wear them out, to make them lose focus and fall into his traps. It's a smart strategy for most, but he’s forgotten one crucial thing: we are Phenex. He's foolish not to realize that."

The mention of our family name silenced both father and Lord Gremory. They knew exactly what I meant.

Riser didn't need to sacrifice his pawns to exhaust Rias’ peerage. Our greatest strength lies in our immortality, and that’s also our most powerful offense—far more so than our Hellfire.

Phenex are meant to be frontliners, especially considering that Riser’s peerage isn't the strongest.

"But he gambled and risked his entire position. If Rias’ peerage manages to counter his ambush, he’ll be at a severe disadvantage."

This could cost him the majority of his peerage. The fact that he kept all the Phoenix Tears for himself instead of distributing them to his members suggests he has a single, focused plan—a reckless decision, but it could work.

With Ravel there, at least she'll ensure he doesn't sacrifice everything.

"Rias Gremory has been ambushed!" Grayfia’s voice echoed, drawing all our attention to Rias’ location, where both Riser’s rooks and his remaining pawns had ambushed the heiress.

"Will he lose?" Lord Gremory asked, despite witnessing his daughter being ambushed.

The ambush on Rias was more of a nuisance than a guaranteed victory.

However…

"No," I replied, looking directly at Lord Gremory. "He might be making foolish decisions, but he is still a Phenex."

I shifted my gaze back to the match.

"And a Phenex does not lose easily."

Riser was still stronger and more experienced than Rias; he had the upper hand.

Despite all his poor choices, he should be able to win.

Unless…

My eyes settled on the one person in this entire match about whom I had no solid information.

"Unless something unexpected happens."

Reo Takeda.

The only potential game-changer.