14 Unholy Training

"Ahh.. simply perfect. I taste something a bit exotic in the tea. What is it?" Riser asked, sighing in contentment.

"Hnnnf..!" Issei almost burst out laughing.

Riser looked annoyed at the noise but quickly schooled his expression as Akeno stood behind Rias.

"I suppose you know why Riser is here, my darling Rias?" Riser asked, folding his left leg over the right while calmly sipping the tea.

He might have looked cool. Charming even, if he hadn't been drinking tea brewed with sweaty bathwater. Rias's fists clenched and her lips thinned as she pushed them together and avoided looking directly at Riser. To Riser, this was simply Rias being defiant. But truthfully, she was trying so hard not to start laughing.

He slid over to her on the couch and groped her thigh. That's when the atmosphere of the room took a sharp dive. Rias swatted his hand away immediately, much to his displeasure. Though she looked disgusted, she looked far more concerned. The silver haired Grayfia adopted the same look as both of them looked at Akeno, who silently stood behind Riser with an incredibly cold expression. Grayfia cleared her throat and quickly tried to diffuse the growing tension Riser was unaware of.

"Perhaps.. Lord Riser should get to the reason why he is here..? I ask that you refrain from touching Lady Rias as well" Grayfia spoke up, trying to get to the topic at hand.

"Well if the strongest Queen says so, Riser cannot ignore it" Riser responded, clearly annoyed.

"Riser believes your family's circumstances are dire enough to speed up our union. After all, we have a duty to continue our bloodlines" Riser stated, folding his leg over the other.

"I will not lead my family to ruin. I will marry. But! Only someone I have acknowledged. They must be strong, charming, witty and passionate" Rias puffed her chest out and exclaimed.

~As for strength, Akeno may very well be as strong as my brother. She's the personification of charm. She's really witty too. It's hard to win an argument with her unless she's 'in her feelings' like she says. And she's passionate.. about many things actually...~ Rias thought to herself, not noticing Riser's proud smirk as he finished his Mil-tea.

"Then Riser fits the criteria perfectly, no?" Riser asked proudly.

"...." Rias blinked, awestruck by his lack of awareness.

"Fufufufu.." Akeno giggled to herself, holding her hand in front of her mouth.

"No. In fact, you couldn't be further from the truth. I won't be marrying you" Rias stated, anticipating his next words.

~Come on.. Get aggressive so I can put out the rating game suggestion already. At this rate, he's definitely going to set Akeno off~ Rias grit her teeth and glared at him defiantly.

Riser stood up and tilted Rias' chin up, his eyes smouldering with fire.

"For the final time, Rias. Riser bears the reputation of the house of Phenix. Besmirching our good name is unacceptable" Riser stated with a fierce expression.

Rias smirked and was about to open her mouth when she heard Akeno laugh.

"Ahaha.. Do you now? What reputation? The reputation where you're famous for speaking in third person? You sound like a jackass" Akeno said, making the room get quiet.

"Excuse you..?" Riser was hit with the unexpected vicious words from someone he considered the perfect Queen, besides his own.

"Ah, yes. Let's add 'hard of hearing' to that reputation. On top of, 'speaks like a shitty anime weekly villain' and 'collects bitches like they're pokemon'. Should I also add 'potential pedophile' too? I've seen some of your pieces. Oh and what about your own sister? You have quite a diverse taste in women, to put your hands on your own sister" Akeno began to walk toward him with a small and deceptively calm smile.

"How... DARE..." Riser's blood vessels bulged as he grit his teeth, preparing to attack Akeno.

"No violence is permitted. Since communication has broken down, I have been left with one alternative, as instructed by Lord Sirzechs. A rating game. Against Lady Rias and Lord Riser" Grayfia stepped between them before Riser could attack.

Grayfia turned to Akeno, seeing the calculative look in her eyes, paired with the knowing smile. She sighed in relief, knowing setting Riser off was likely a part of her plan. Riser calmed down, yet glared at Akeno with both fists clenched.

"I agree. If only to put this bitch in her place. Hmph.. Rias, is this all you have? This adorable little group?" Riser asked, mockingly.

"And so what if it is?" Rias responded, rolling her eyes.

"Hahaha!" Riser snapped his fingers, creating a teleportation rune in the middle of the clubroom.

Several women suddenly appeared within the circle, a full set of fifteen servants.

"Riser has fifteen pieces-" "rISeR hAS fIFteEn pIEceS-" Riser was interrupted by an entremely insulting tone by Akeno, his previously prideful face warping in rage.

"Fifteen! And they're all hot as hell! Damn it! Issei hates him so much.. WHY!? It should have been ME!!" Issei collapsed to his knees and hit his fist against the floor.

Riser was put off by the sudden weeping of Issei and the clear mockery he had shown by referring to himself in the third person.

"That's it... Riser can stand being mocked by Rias' Queen.. But a lowly PAWN!?" Riser yelled out in fury.

"Riser gets off on it, you mean?" Akeno asked, earning Riser a few looks from his peerage.

"Eh..? Is that true? I thought Lord Riser was an 'S'.." One of the Nekomata asked her sister in whispers.

"Brother is that true..?" Ravel asked, backing away from her brother.

"Of c..ourse not..?" Riser tried to deny, unconvincingly.

"Er.. forget that! Mira!" Riser called out to his pawn.

A Japanese looking girl with a staff jumped out from the crowd and struck Issei in the gut, making him topple over with wide eyes. Then she launched him into the ceiling before he unceremoniously dropped to the floor.

"D..ick move.." Issei groaned.

"Issei!" Asia ran over to him, using her twilight healing on him.

Akeno and Rias subtly looked at each other before slightly nodding to each other. Riser now prideful once again as he mocked Issei while he was on the floor.

~He couldn't have picked a better target. We haven't even trained him yet. Though we didn't need him to underestimate us to win, I'm not going to shatter his dreams of an easy win. Not until I shove a bible up his ass in the rating game..~ Akeno thought to herself.

"Grayfia. Tell my brother I agree to the Rating Game" Rias requested Grayfia with an angry expression.

"I will inform him immediately" Grayfia responded with a short bow.

"Oh and Riser. I hope you enjoyed the tea all the times you stopped by..." Akeno smiled and told him as he vanished into the teleportation circle.

"Eh...? What did she do to the tea.." Riser asked himself, rolling his tongue across his mouth as dread began to rise within him.

-Underworld, next day-

After Sirzechs set the rating game a week from then, Akeno and Rias came to the joint decision to go take everyone to train in the Gremory territory within the Underworld. Issei and Asia were woefully unprepared for the extensive exercises they'd need to do even before getting there. Strapped all over Issei's body were 45 kilogram metal plates. Four on his back, two on each arm, two on each leg, two on his stomach and one on each foot. This made climbing up a mountain an absolute nightmare that would flatten even bodybuilders. By the fifth step up, he felt like he was going to die. He only kept going because Asia was in the same situation as him. Though she was only carrying four of said metal plates, she was truly struggling to move. They weren't alone though, Koneko was practically armored in metal plates that were 90 kilos each. Though she wasn't struggling as much as they were. Kiba was carrying 30, Rias was carrying 45, Gasper was carrying 25. But Akeno was carrying over two hundred without much effort. This gave Issei the will to push on. To be able to carry that much without much effort.

Five hours later, Issei and Asia finally made it up. Both drenched in sweat, dirt and grime. They were completely exhausted and looked to be on the verge of passing out. Then they saw everyone training. With those ungodly metal plates weighing them down.

"No.. freaking way..." Issei muttered before passing out next to Asia.

"Oh good, they made it within six hours" Akeno smiled while punching Koneko into several trees.

"...Yaaay..." Koneko grunted painfully.

"Do you think we should tell them this is all just a warm up? Ahh.. this would be so much cooler if we had the hyberbolic time chamber and gravity rooms from Drag so ball.." Rias exclaimed as she locked her dectruction blades with Kiba's demonic blade before trying to backhand him, only for him to duck and back up.

"Stop being a Japanophile.. Everyone has a specific goal to reach while we're here. If Koneko can lift fifty tonnes and use intermediate Senjutsu techniques, she gets a year's worth of sweets. If Kiba can move faster than five hundred kilometers per hour consistently, we agree we'll all join him when we find Galper and sodomize him with a bat wrapped in barbed wire and fish hooks. If-" Rias felt the need to interrupt after Akeno's last statement.

"No no.. We agreed to stealthily capture and let Kiba do whatever he wants to him, didn't we?" Rias asked, parrying a stab from Kiba with a Destruction Scythe.

"Hold on, Pres.. I like the idea.." Kiba muttered with a dark smile.

"Right. As I was saying. If Gasper can 'Za Warudo' with better control, he gets to be excused from contract work for a month so he can.. What was it, Gasper?" Akeno asked, blocking a roundhouse kick from Koneko and pile driving her head into the dirt.

"So I can watch Bruce Willis movies and learn how to be manly from him!" Gasper exclaimed while using his sacred gear to stop baseballs from hitting him, courtesy of a pitching machine set up nearby.

"Right, that. If you can master your control and magic output, you can dress me in whatever nerdy and lewd cosplay you want." Akeno felt Rias' power spike in excitement at the thought.

"Motoko outfit.. School swimsuits.. Sexy maid.. Tifa Lockhart.." Rias muttered in excitement.

"Haaah.. Yup. As for our newbies.. Let's get their foundation set and their Sacred Gears actually combat ready. Maybe we can push Issei to balance breaker. We just have to make sure he gets some kind of perverted reward. Maybe I can give him something Azazel's been screwing around with..?" Akeno hummed before using her wings to block Koneko's small but strong fists.

"Asia's going to be the difficult one. She's not very ambitious. Desire's pretty basic too. I think she genuinely only desires friends and to be with Issei" Kiba added while frantically dodging orbs of destruction and the swings of Rias' Destruction Scythe.

"Then he'll be her ambition. She won't want to fall behind him after all. Oh, Rias? Don't ask why but I need a Nun outfit, a blessed bible and a rosary." Akeno asked, earning herself a few strange looks from Rias, Kiba, Koneko and Gasper.

"I... Okay? Does this have to do with Riser? I can't help but feel you're going to try and humiliate him in the Rating Game. I'm all for it.. Just worried about his family's response." Rias responded with a look of concern.

"Oh don't you worry your pretty red head about that.." Akeno replied with a soft chuckle.

"Uuuughn.." Issei began to stir awake.

"Oh good, he's back up. It'd be kinda pitiful if the Red Dragon Emperor were to be knocked out for long over just a few kilos.." Akeno muttered, stopping her spar with Koneko before walking up to Issei.

"Now. Are you ready for the real training?"