Chapter !^

The next morning, Sebastian woke up with a naked Akeno in his arms. He shifted slightly, making sure he was seeing right. Feeling his movement, Akeno opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Rias is getting ready for the rating game." Akeno explained. "So, I've taken her spot." She spoke with a smile.

Sebastian nodded in response.

"How was she?" Akeno asked.

"Desperate. She never slowed down in the four hours we had sex." Sebastian used his notepad to explain. He planned on saving his energy today.

"She must have enjoyed it then. If she didn't like it, she would've done the bare minimum." Akeno explained. "I'm watching next time."

"There'll only be a next time if everything goes according to Rias' plans." Sebastian responded.

"Pft. Are you serious?" Akeno laughed. "If we lose, and we 'belong' to Riser, Rias will be throwing away her status as the heir to the Gremory house." She declared.

"Of course, it won't stop Riser from trying to take her as a concubine, so we'll just vanish, off the face of the Earth." Akeno spoke while caressing Sebastian's chest.

"No need to prepare for the impossible." Sebastian declared. After all, he had a little plan of his own.

A few hours later, Sebastian stood in the teleportation circle in the Occult Research Club along with Rias' peerage.

Both sides were allowed to bring guests to watch the rating game, and no rules stated that the guests couldn't be a human.

Nevertheless, they were teleported to the underworld. Even after arriving there, it took multiple hours for preparations to be made and so everyone could mingle in a party-like setting before the rating game.

Of course, being a human, nobody other than Rias' peerage approached Sebastian, despite his stunning appearance.

"Are you ready?" Sebastian asked Akeno via his notepad.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Akeno spoke, taking a deep breath as she did so.

"Just remember; you don't need to win." Sebastian stated. It sounded as if he was trying to discourage her, but in reality, it was because regardless of the outcome of the rating game, Riser wouldn't be leaving this venue.

"Thanks, I know." Akeno smiled. With Rias' plan involving Sebastian, the rating game hardly decided their fate.

With those last words, Rias' peerage was pulled away from the venue, and everyone exited the party hall, taking their seats in the auditorium, waiting for the rating game to begin.

Before Sebastian could follow them and take his seat, a familiar grey-haired woman approached him.

"Follow me." She ordered him. With little other choice, Sebastian did so.

She took them to a VIP room, overlooking the auditorium from a higher elevation.

Inside, sat a man in plated armor and long, luscious red hair.

"Your name is Sebastian?" He asked.

Sebastian nodded.

"Well, take a seat. I have quite a lot to talk to you about." He spoke with a soft tone. After Sebastian had taken a seat, he spoke again. "I am Sirzechs. I am Rias' older brother. Nice to meet you." He extended his hand which Sebastian grasped and shook.

"I understand that you are my sister's guest?"

"Yes." Sebastian responded using his notepad.

"I also understand that she teleported into your room last night and asked you to take her virginity?" The man spoke.

"Yes." Sebatian replied.

"And all of this was to try and get her out of this marriage?" The man asked.

"Not really." Sebastian lied.

"What do you mean by that?" The red-haired man asked.

"Even if this marriage weren't looming over her, we would've done it at some point." Sebastian spoke.

"So, you are her boyfriend?" Sirzechs asked with a surprised expression.

"Yes." And this is where Rias' plan lied. Rias knew that Sirzechs only gets information about her through Grayfia, and thus, he didn't know anything about their relationship before they had sex.

"Huh. Well, I'm sure this isn't the best way to meet you girlfriend's family. Hahaha." Sirzechs laughed for a moment. "Unfortunately, I can't bail Rias out of this one."

"I'm aware. But I do have a request." Sebastian spoke.

"Let me hear it." Sirzechs replied.

"After the rating game, set up a fight between me and Riser." Sebastian requested.

"A fight?" Sirzechs was pleasantly surprised.

'I was planning to get the Red Dragon Emperor to do this, but if this young man's abilities are what Grayfia predicts...' He thought to himself.

"I suppose I can set that up." Sirzechs spoke. "A celebratory fight for the marriage between the current and former boyfriend? I doubt anyone would stop that fight." Of course, this was all part of Rias' plan. Get Sirzechs to set up a secondary fight between Riser and Sebastian.

She didn't know that Sirzechs was already planning to do that with Issei; all Sirzechs had to do was make a slight adjustment to his plan.

This way, Rias could wriggle her way out of the marriage at the last possible second.

This is when Sirzechs noticed that Sebastian held up a second note.

"To the death."

Only but an hour later, the rating game had concluded. With no other option, Rias was forced to concede after witnessing her peerage collapse.

She would have to rely on her plan B.

Sirzechs descended from his VIP position and flew out in front of the audience.

"Greetings everyone." He greeted.

"I'd like to congratulate young Riser for winning the rating game against my sister." He continued.

Riser looked up at Sirzechs with a feeling of superiority. Not only had he taken the woman he'd wanted, he also had her brother congratulating him for it.

"However, in that rating game, I found that the Phenex's overwhelming power wasn't displayed to its full extent." Sirzechs spoke.

"Therefore, I would like to propose one last battle." He smirked.

"Now, before you curse me out for being unfair, there is a good reason for this battle to take place."

"Let me introduce; Sebastian Michaelis." A spotlight shone upon Sebastian's charming image in the VIP room.

"He is a human from the same school that Rias attends." Sirzechs explained.

"And is also her boyfriend." The second Sirzechs spoke these words, every audience member got excited.

"Now, if there is one man that can fight for Rias' hand in marriage one last time, it should be her boyfriend, should it not?" Sirzechs asked the audience.

"WOOOO!!" The audience shouted out. They expected the rating game to be entertaining, and it was, but it was nowhere near as entertaining as this.

"Now, it shall be young Sebastian here, versus Riser." Sirzechs spoke. "... and to the death."

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Immediately, the audience cheered out, even louder this time. A young prince charming fighting to the death to save his love, was there a more enjoyable story to watch unfold before your eyes?

"What?" Rias recoiled. She never told Sebastian to fight to the death. The plan was to have him dominate the first couple of minutes or so, and show everyone that a human would've killed Riser multiple times would it not be for the Phenex bloodline. She was trying for a victory by audience vote.

It's not that she didn't think that Sebastian wouldn't be able to kill Riser, but that it would most likely kill Sebastian as well. She knew about the drawbacks to his ability.

Of course, she didn't know about his recent upgrade.

In but 10 minutes, the stage had been set for the two men to go head-to-head. If anything, it resembled a gladiator's pit. Completely void of aesthetics, and a far cry from the school that Rias' rating game was set in.

"Hahahaha. Ever since I first saw your face, I knew that I'd be able to cave it in one day." Riser taunted.

"Paralysis." Sebastian spoke out loud.

Riser instantly recoiled. The match hadn't even started yet. However, after looking down at his body, he was still able to move freely and feel everything.

He looked up to see Sebastian smiling at him, looking down on him for being fearful of his words.

"You bastard!" Riser cursed.

"3... 2... 1... Begin!" The announcer shouted.

Instantly, Riser engulfed his body in flames and charged towards Sebastian.

However, the instant he tried to do so, his body failed him. He fell to the ground as if his strings had been cut.

"Huh?" Was the last sound that came out of Riser's mouth before his face froze as well.

'What just happened, he didn't say anything?' Riser thought to himself. He couldn't move a muscle in his body. 'Wait, it can take effect later?' He realized after remembering that Sebastian said 'Paralysis' before the fight had even begun.

Sebastian, seeing that his prey was at his feet, nonchalantly walked up to Riser and flipped him over, so his face was looking up at him.

All Riser could see was the sly grin of Sebastian, before Sebastian got down on one knee, and started to gouge Riser's eyes out.

"AAAAA!!!!" He cried out in agony. However, rather than a manly shout, it sounded as if he tried to shout, but was unable to.

The fact was that Riser couldn't open his mouth more than the little bit it was already open.

'It's fine! I can take this! I just need to wait until he runs out of stamina!' Riser thought to himself after feeling his eyes get crushed. 'I can't use my mana, but it's ok!'

Of course, his eyes were reformed in only a couple of seconds. He looked up and found Sebastian word a sentence with his mouth.

'Keep regenerating.'

Sebastian's thumbs descended onto Riser's eyes again. Then to his fingers, breaking them all one by one.

*CRACK*

"AAAAA!!!"

*CRACK*

"AAAAA!!!" Screams resounded out throughout the auditorium.

Nobody was cheering. They expected an epic duel for Rias' hand in marriage, and all they got was a massacre.

Of course, there was an exception.

"Fuck, I need him to do that to me." Akeno whispered under her breath.

Thankfully, this torture only lasted 30 seconds.

'I've already used 40% of my energy.' Sebastian complained internally. 'Keeping this fucker immobilized is draining.'

'I suppose I'll end it.'

Sebastian stopped torturing Riser for a moment, sitting him up on his ass and propping him up.

Sebastian's hands were placed on either side of Riser's head.

"Stop healing." He whispered into Riser's ears.

Despite being paralyzed, the hair on Riser's skin stood up in fear.

*CRACK*

Sebastian, who was previously looking at the back of Riser's head, was now looking him in the eye.

He had snapped his neck.