The first battle was won.
With Ryuichi's overwhelming strength, he easily defeated three of Riser's soldier pieces.
"Hmm… that felt kind of weak,"
Ryuichi murmured under his breath.
He had always assumed the enemy would be formidable. Deep down, he'd thought Riser's servants would be powerful too. But judging from what just happened… it looked like he could take them out in seconds.
Koneko Toujou walked over, her outfit slightly torn from the close combat.
"Not everyone's a monster like you, Ryuichi,"
she said calmly as she stretched a little. The damage to her clothes gave her a hint of sensuality, yet the unshakable composure and purity in her face made her look almost untouchable. That rare balance made Koneko's presence… mesmerizing.
Yeah, Koneko really was adorable.
Ryuichi smiled faintly.
"So that's your way of complimenting me, huh?"
"If you think so, then sure,"
Koneko replied coolly, turning to head toward the training grounds.
But in that instant, Ryuichi's expression hardened — he'd sensed a surge of violent magic power rapidly approaching Koneko's position!
Such fierce magic power!
"Watch out!!"
In a flash, Ryuichi exploded into motion, his body vanishing from sight. The speed boost granted by his Knight piece came into full effect!
He appeared beside Koneko in the blink of an eye and instantly deployed his Divine Cry Shield, expanding its shimmering barrier to protect them both.
BOOM!!
CRACK!!
The protective field above him shuddered under the impact, cracks spiderwebbing across its surface within seconds — it was about to shatter!
"Move!"
Ryuichi shouted, shoving Koneko out of the way.
"Ryuichi!!"
Koneko cried out, panic flashing in her golden eyes.
But Ryuichi had no time to respond. The sheer force of that magic told him everything he needed to know — the attacker was no ordinary opponent.
That power… it had to be at least High-Class Devil level!
And there was only one person in Riser's team who possessed such strength besides Riser himself—
Riser's Queen!
Ryuichi's heart sank. So Riser's not just sitting back after all. Of course he's making his move.
He hadn't expected the man to send out his Queen for a sudden assault, though.
As the barrier began to collapse, Ryuichi gathered every ounce of his magic power, pouring it into the Divine Cry Shield for one final defense.
Normally, taking a direct hit like this would be risky even for him — but this time, he had his clone active. Their magic power was linked, effectively doubling his strength. That gave him the edge he needed to endure this strike.
Just three seconds later, the weakened barrier shattered completely, and the torrent of magic came crashing down upon him like a blazing storm!
Ryuichi's entire body was swallowed by fire. Even Koneko, who had been pushed back, was blown away again, rolling across the ground before coming to a stop.
"Heh…"
A cold, confident chuckle echoed from above.
A mature woman floated in the sky, cloaked like a sorceress, a staff in hand. Her cape spread behind her like wings, radiating authority.
Riser's Queen — Yubelluna.
"Got him,"
she said with a self-assured smile. There was no doubt in her mind — her strike would be more than enough to crush a mere Knight.
But then, a calm voice rose from within the smoke and flames.
"You're getting ahead of yourself."
Yubelluna froze, eyes widening.
As the smoke cleared, Ryuichi's tall, lean figure emerged — completely unscathed.
The ground around him had been gouged out to a depth of nearly five meters, yet the spot where he stood remained untouched.
Above his head floated a silver shield radiating divine light, etched with images of people in worship, flowers, birds, and beasts — a grand, ancient scene of all living things in reverence. Its aura was majestic and overwhelming.
"He blocked it…?"
Yubelluna muttered in disbelief.
How? He's just a Knight! How could he withstand an attack from me — a Queen?!
In Rating Games, the Queen piece was the most powerful among all of a Devil's servants, combining the abilities of every other piece —
the Rook's strength and defense, the Knight's speed, the Bishop's magic — all of it in one.
That was why the Queen's combat power was unmatched.
Koneko, who had feared Ryuichi was about to be taken out, brightened with relief.
"You're okay… thank goodness…"
"Yeah. Almost got caught off guard, though,"
Ryuichi said with a small grin. Fortunately, his clone's shared magic power had saved him.
At that moment, Rias's voice came through the magic communicator in his ear — a tool she'd handed out before the match for quick contact.
"What just happened? I felt a huge surge of power!"
"It's nothing major. Riser's Queen came for us,"
Ryuichi replied evenly.
Rias gasped. "Are you two all right? Should I come over?"
She remembered Ryuichi's plan — she was supposed to keep Riser's Queen occupied so Akeno could deal with the other Rook and Knight pieces. If Yubelluna was here, that threw off the strategy.
"No need,"
Ryuichi said firmly. "We've only taken down three soldiers so far."
If Rias left her base now, it would be wide open for attack — too risky.
Just then, a thunderous boom echoed in the distance, followed by Grayfia's composed voice broadcasting through the arena:
"Riser Phoenix's two Pawns and one Bishop are unable to continue."
That had to be Akeno. Looked like she'd ambushed the enemy's strike team.
Ryuichi couldn't help smirking. This match is going almost too well. Seven of their members down already?
"I'll take care of her,"
Akeno's voice came from above as she descended gracefully, landing between Ryuichi and Yubelluna.
She had already finished her illusion barrier and wiped out the ambushers — now she was free to fight.
"Good. Hold her off for a while, Akeno. I'll go find the others,"
Ryuichi said with a grin, before leaving the battlefield with Koneko.
Soon, another good sign came in —
his clone had located another of Riser's groups.
From the formation, it looked like they had one Bishop, two Knights, two Pawns, and one Rook.
Six people total — nearly the entire remaining team.
Weird…
There should still be one more Pawn left.
Ryuichi frowned in thought. So Riser's finally getting serious, huh? After losing so much, he's probably sending that last Pawn to sneak into their base for promotion.
If that Pawn reached the base and promoted to Queen, and then joined forces with Yubelluna and Riser himself… that would be enough to turn the tide.
Heh. Guess we're thinking the same thing, Riser.
But there was one thing Riser didn't know —
Ryuichi's clone was his hidden trump card in this match.
The clone operated completely from the shadows…
A grin tugged at Ryuichi's lips.
"Heh. Maybe it's about time I gave Riser a big surprise…"
.
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