"Do you know anything about me?"
Sona began the game calmly, moving a pawn forward with steady fingers while simultaneously asking the question. Her violet eyes remained fixed on Arthur, carefully observing every reaction he showed.
Arthur looked down at the board briefly before making his own move.
"Sona Sitri… a devil, probably of the same status as Rias. Everyone in this room is also a devil, and I can sense at least two Sacred Gear wielders among them."
He advanced one of his pawns with quiet confidence. Even without relying on the memories of the novel, his senses alone were enough to confirm everything he had just said.
A faint smile appeared on Sona's lips.
"I see. Your Evil Eye told you that much?"
Without hesitation, she moved another pawn forward.
Arthur shook his head slightly.
"No. I also know a little senjutsu. The flow of ki in devils is very different from that of humans."
He pushed another pawn forward, mirroring her calm rhythm.
Sona seemed mildly intrigued.
"So you use senjutsu as well. In that case, allow me to introduce myself properly. My real name is Sona Sitri, and I am the heir to the Sitri clan of the Seventy-Two Pillars."
She moved her bishop across the board with deliberate precision.
Arthur pretended to look thoughtful before asking casually.
"Are you the younger sister of Maou Leviathan?"
At the same time, he advanced another pawn.
"Do you know my sister?"
Sona did not appear surprised by the question. After all, her elder sister was one of the most famous figures in the Underworld.
She moved another pawn before continuing the conversation.
"I have only heard a little about the Four Demon Kings from Rias."
Arthur moved his bishop forward.
"Sona Sitri… would it bother you if I stopped using honorifics? I am not very accustomed to them."
At the back of the room, Saji looked like he wanted to protest the casual tone Arthur was using with his King. However, the moment Sona glanced at him, he immediately fell silent.
"I am not Japanese either," she replied calmly. "You may call me Sona if you prefer."
She moved her rook.
"Now then, the reason I asked you to come here is simple. I wanted to meet the man who dared to challenge Riser Phenex for my friend's hand."
Arthur smiled faintly as he moved his own rook.
"Did Rias tell you about it?"
Sona shook her head.
"News spreads very quickly in the Underworld. The Rating Game between you and Riser has already been announced."
After making her move, she felt a faint sense of unease that she could not quite explain.
"It seems things are progressing better than I expected."
Arthur moved his knight.
"My family owns the broadcasting rights for the match."
Sona blinked in mild surprise at the sudden move of his knight, but she quickly recovered her composure and moved her other bishop.
"If you fail to win, I will personally ruin you for playing with my friend's feelings."
Arthur chuckled softly before pushing another pawn forward.
"That will not be necessary. It will be a piece of cake."
Sona frowned slightly and spent more time studying the board before finally moving one of her knights.
"You sound extremely confident about your victory."
Arthur calmly slid his rook across the board again.
"Someone as weak as Riser will not be able to defeat me even if you bring a thousand more like him."
Sona adjusted her glasses slowly while considering her next move. She eventually moved a pawn forward.
"With all due respect… you are still just a human. Where exactly does this confidence come from?"
The truth was that she could not sense any aura or demonic pressure coming from Arthur at all.
What she did not know was that Arthur had deliberately suppressed every trace of his power.
"You will find out soon enough."
Arthur used his rook to capture one of Sona's pawns.
"Very well," Sona replied. "I suppose I will not press you any further. However, you should still be cautious with Riser. If you lose, Rias will end up bound to that unpleasant man."
Believing that Arthur had made a reckless move, Sona advanced her bishop and captured his rook.
Arthur's smile widened slightly.
"Speaking of unpleasant men… he is here."
At this moment, Arthur's senses extended across nearly the entire city. He clearly felt the exact moment two teleportation circles appeared at the Occult Research Club building.
However, he made no immediate move. Grayfia's presence was also there, and Arthur knew that with her present, Riser would not dare do anything reckless.
So instead of rushing away, he calmly moved his king.
Sona's eyes widened slightly.
"What do you mean? Riser is already here?"
She stared at him in surprise while studying the board again. After a moment of careful thought, she decided to take a gamble and moved her queen.
"Yes. He just arrived with his entire peerage," Arthur replied casually. "However, someone from the Gremory household came with him."
Arthur slowly lifted his queen.
A faint smile appeared on his lips as he placed the piece down with deliberate emphasis.
"Checkmate."
The moment the piece touched the board, Arthur released a fraction of his aura.
For a brief instant, an overwhelming pressure filled the entire room. It was heavy, dark, and powerful enough to make every devil present instinctively tense.
Before anyone could react properly, Arthur vanished.
Using Shunpo, he disappeared through the window in a blur of motion and headed directly toward the Occult Research Club building.
Inside the student council room, silence lingered for several seconds.
Sona remained seated in her chair, staring at the chessboard.
The aura she had felt from Arthur in that brief moment had been unmistakable.
It was on the same level as her sister's.
A faint blush appeared on her cheeks.
With power like that, even a thousand Risers would never stand a chance. Her earlier concerns now seemed completely unnecessary.
More importantly, she examined the chessboard carefully, analyzing the position of every piece one by one.
After a long moment, she exhaled slowly.
"…That really was checkmate."
Behind her, Tsubaki stared at the board with wide eyes. She had watched the entire match unfold, and the result was difficult to believe.
She had never seen her King lose at chess before.
"President… are you planning to report this to your family?"
Sona did not respond immediately.
Instead, she continued staring at the board, a faint smile forming on her lips.
For the first time in a long while, she felt genuinely excited.
Arthur smiled to himself as he walked across the academy grounds.
The mission had been completed successfully.
Earlier that morning he had purchased a chess skill from the system store specifically for this moment. Since he remembered that Sona Sitri was extremely talented at chess, he decided that defeating her in her own specialty would leave a strong impression.
It had worked perfectly.
'I'll claim the reward later.'
At the moment, Arthur had more important matters to attend to.
He was heading toward the Occult Research Club building.
According to the events of the original story, this was roughly the time when Riser Phenex would appear to confront Rias. Arthur had been expecting it for a while now, which was why he had hurried here immediately after finishing his meeting with Sona.
As he approached the clubroom door, he considered knocking out of courtesy.
However, the moment he reached the entrance, he heard shouting from inside.
The noise was accompanied by a violent aura that resembled blazing flames mixed with killing intent.
Arthur's eyes narrowed.
That alone was enough to tell him exactly who had arrived.
Instead of knocking, he pushed the door open with force.
The door swung wide with a loud bang.
The scene inside immediately entered Arthur's field of vision.
The first thing he saw was a blond man with a delinquent-like appearance raising his hand toward Akeno as if he intended to strike her.
For a brief moment, Arthur's mind went completely blank.
A surge of cold fury erupted inside his chest.
The urge to kill Riser on the spot nearly overwhelmed him.
The only reason he did not act on that impulse was because he forced himself to remain calm.
In a single instant, Arthur activated Ruler's Authority, forming an invisible protective barrier around Akeno's body.
At the same time, his figure blurred.
Using Shunpo, Arthur moved faster than anyone in the room could follow.
When he reappeared, he was already standing directly between Akeno and Riser.
His hand shot forward and grabbed Riser's wrist mid-motion.
The sudden interruption froze the entire room.
Arthur's violet eyes locked onto the Phenex heir with an expression that contained no warmth whatsoever.
"Do you wish to die?"
Riser felt an involuntary shiver run down his spine when Arthur's gaze met his.
For a brief moment, instinct warned him that the person standing in front of him was extremely dangerous.
However, when he realized that the one holding his wrist was the human rumored to be Rias's lover, his pride quickly replaced that momentary fear.
A violent wave of demonic power burst from Riser's body as flames flickered around him.
"Let me go, you filthy human," Riser snarled arrogantly. "Do you even know who I am?"
Arthur did not react at all.
The demonic pressure pouring out of Riser's body might have intimidated an ordinary human, but to Arthur it felt no more threatening than a warm breeze.
His grip did not loosen even slightly.
Instead, Arthur's expression became colder.
"You're an idiot who wants to die."
The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.
Before the situation could escalate further, Grayfia quickly stepped forward.
Her calm voice carried a quiet authority that filled the entire room.
"That is enough."
She positioned herself between them, her silver hair swaying slightly as she looked at both men.
"If you wish to fight, you may do so in the Rating Game. There is no need to cause a conflict here."
Grayfia knew very well that trying to force Arthur to retreat would be completely pointless. She had already experienced firsthand just how overwhelming his power truly was.
"A week," she continued firmly. "The Rating Game will take place in one week."
Riser's expression twisted in irritation.
"A week?"
His eyes turned toward Arthur again as anger rose in his chest.
"Hey, you. Do you really need an entire week to stop trembling in fear of me, or are you brave enough to fight tomorrow?"
Arthur's lips curved slightly in amusement at the insult.
"I originally thought about giving Rias a chance to accept our engagement peacefully," Riser continued arrogantly, "so that I wouldn't have to kill her pathetic boyfriend."
His demonic flames flared brighter.
"But since you clearly have no intention of backing down… fine."
A cruel grin spread across his face.
"Let's settle this tomorrow."
Arthur slowly released Riser's wrist.
For a brief moment, their eyes met again.
Arthur's gaze remained calm, but the contempt in it was unmistakable.
"Now get out of here."
The simple words carried an overwhelming pressure that filled the entire clubroom.
Riser's pride screamed at him to attack immediately, but before he could do anything reckless, someone else stepped forward.
A small blonde girl gently grabbed his arm.
"Onii-sama… I think our business here is finished."
Arthur shifted his gaze toward the girl.
Ravel Phenex.
She looked calm, but the intelligence in her eyes was obvious. Unlike her brother, she clearly understood that continuing this confrontation would only lead to humiliation.
Riser clicked his tongue in frustration.
"Fine… let's go!"
A moment later, several teleportation circles appeared beneath the feet of Riser and his entire peerage.
In the blink of an eye, they disappeared.
Silence returned to the room.
But the tension that lingered in the air had not completely faded.
-
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