"Hah… hah…"
High above the ruined battlefield, Rias and Sona hovered—breathless, slick with sweat, faces pale as ghosts. The fight had dragged on for what felt like an eternity. Now, both girls were running on fumes, every ounce of strength spent.
The crowd watched in silence. Some looked away, unable to bear the sight. From start to finish, Tenra had mercilessly overwhelmed them. Yet every time they were beaten down, they clawed their way back up, refusing to surrender.
Resilient. Stubborn. Princesses to the core.
Tenra's voice cut through the hush, grave and gentle.
"Rias. Sona. We've come this far—I won't ask you to give up anymore."
He drew a slow breath, eyes shining with respect and regret.
"If I let you keep fighting like this, it'd only be cruel. So I'm ending it here—one final blow."
Bullying them so badly hurt Tenra almost as much as it hurt them. But to show mercy now would be the greatest insult to all their effort and pride.
He owed them his full strength. Nothing less.
Tenra raised his hands skyward. Above his head, a sphere of pitch-black energy began to form—ten meters, a hundred, a thousand. In seconds, it ballooned into a world-devouring shadow, blotting out the sky.
"Rias. Sona. Brace yourselves!"
Every eye locked onto Tenra as he hurled the monstrous sphere down at the two girls.
Soon, only Tenra and Serafall remained in the room.
He shot the girls a reassuring look. Reluctantly, Yubelluna and the others slipped out. Serafall's peerage let go of their Maou, giving Tenra an apologetic glance before leaving as well.
"Don't worry. I'll handle it."
"Tenra-sama?"
Tenra's voice cut through the din, calm and commanding.
"Alright, everyone—out. I need to talk to Serafall-sama alone."
Yubelluna and the girls hurried to shield Tenra. The magical girls struggled to restrain their Maou. The room devolved into utter chaos.
"Let me go! Nobody can take my Sona-chan! Let me go!"
"Serafall-sama, please calm down!"
A squad of magical girls—Serafall's peerage—rushed in after her, wrestling her away from Tenra.
"I told you not to win! Why did you go against me?! Why did you defy my orders?! Sona-chan is mine! Sona-chan is mine!"
Serafall Leviathan—the Maou who dreamed of being a magical girl and was the ultimate siscon—stormed in, grabbing Tenra by the collar.
"Red Dragon Emperor!"
The door slammed open. A whirlwind burst into the room.
BANG!
But then—
Even Yubelluna and Tosca, who'd known him forever, couldn't help but feel a little shy seeing him dressed up.
The girls crowded around, faces flushed as they admired him. Tenra had inherited his mother Tamako Kamiyo's striking looks—his appearance was the one thing he'd always felt confident about, even back when everyone called him worthless. Years of training had honed his physique to near-perfect proportions.
"Seriously, you're gorgeous…"
"Wow… Tenra-sama, you look amazing."
Tosca clapped her hands, setting down her tools. Tenra finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"All done!"
The girls—Yubelluna, Xuelan, and the rest—watched from the sidelines, giggling behind their hands at his helpless frustration.
Tenra's mouth twitched. He'd lost track of how many times his hair had been combed today.
Tosca's expression was firm, brooking no argument. Minami joined in, combing Tenra's hair yet again.
"Let me fix your hair one more time…"
"This is an important ceremony for you and Sona-sama—we can't afford to be sloppy."
"Please be patient, Tenra-sama."
Why did a guy have to go through all this?!
He watched as Tosca carefully brushed his eyebrows and dabbed makeup across his face. Tenra couldn't help but groan inwardly.
"Tosca, this is enough, right?"
Later, in his room, Tenra prepared for the engagement ceremony.
After all, the thought of Tenra Kamiyo—the bastard—soon to be engaged to Princess Sona? That was enough to drive them mad with jealousy.
As for Tenra—the victor—he was showered with less flattering labels: cold-blooded, heartless, lacking gentlemanly grace. Unsurprisingly, most of the complaints came from male devils.
Rias and Sona had lost, but their courage and resilience won the admiration of all. Applause and praise flooded in for the two princesses.
And so, the most extraordinary Rating Game in history came to an end—with Tenra's victory.
For just a heartbeat, Sona's cold mask cracked—two spots of pink bloomed on her cheeks. Then she, too, dissolved into light and vanished.
"Then I'll see you at the chapel, at our engagement ceremony…"
Tenra couldn't help but smile, amused by her stoicism. He leaned close, whispering in her ear—
Lost was lost. There was nothing more to add.
"No."
She met his gaze, expression blank.
"Sona, anything you want to say?"
Tenra turned to Sona.
A shimmer of light enveloped her, and Rias faded away—teleported out of the dimension.
She hadn't truly lost.
A small, radiant smile broke through her exhaustion. This was all she'd ever wanted.
For a moment, time seemed to freeze. In Tenra's black eyes, Rias saw tenderness, warmth, and the purest kind of respect.
He didn't understand why she fought so hard, but watching her struggle—so earnest, so stubborn—moved him deeply.
"Idiot Rias. I've acknowledged you for a long time now."
Tenra knelt beside her, brushing away her tears.
Her body wouldn't move. She'd known she couldn't win. She'd known she'd lose. But the bitterness still stung, sharp and raw.
"I just… I wanted you to acknowledge me…"
Rias's voice was barely a whisper, her face streaked with dirt and tears.
"I… I lost, didn't I…"
Tenra descended, the Armor of Vritra dissolving into mist. He stood over the fallen princesses, regal and dark.
No one spoke. Everyone knew—the match was over.
At the very center lay Rias and Sona, motionless.
When the blast finally faded, the battlefield was unrecognizable—a colossal crater, its depths scorched and silent.
Light obliterated everything. The alternate dimension cracked and splintered, the landscape warping as if the world itself were collapsing. Forests, mountains—obliterated for the hundredth time.
BOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!
"Ahhhhhhh—!"
The sphere pressed down, slowly, relentlessly, driving them into the ground.
But against that apocalyptic force, their bodies were tiny—fragile, almost laughable. Even pouring in all their power, they couldn't stop its descent.
They called each other's names and surged forward, throwing everything they had against the descending doom.
"Sona!"
"Rias!"
The pressure was suffocating. The crowd gasped. Rias and Sona stared up, horror flickering in their eyes—but neither flinched.
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