157 Rias vs. Sona III

[Rating Game Board]

On the top floor of the tower, Sona just heard the report of her sneak attack on Rias.

"Everything is going according to plan." Sona said to herself. "But Rias' [Power of Destruction] will be a problem in the end game. I hope we can tire her or weaken her a little before she makes it up here."

When she finished thinking aloud, Sona glanced at where Genshirou was hiding.

'Saji's [Absorption Line] will play a big role at the end of this [Game]' Sona thought to herself.

At the same time, Rias and the rest of her peerage were looking a bit gloomy.

"Damn, she's outplayed us at every turn." Rias said while nibbling on one of her thumb nails. "We're running out of time, too. We're gonna have to stop being so cautious going forward."

With only Koneko, Maria, and Xenovia left, Rias was aware just how difficult it would be to claim victory. But with the title of James' first wife on the line, she had no intention of giving up.

"Alright, Koneko you're up front." Rias said, beginning to reform her formation. "I'll take the center. Maria and Xenovia, you two cover the rear. We're done with being cautious. If you see an enemy, attack."

"Understood." the three girls replied with resolute nods on their faces.

"Oh, and Maria, if Reya shows up, I want you to use your Succubus form." Rias said. "We'll need it to take her down."

"But Rias-Nee." Maria said with some apprehension. "If I use that, I'll more than likely not be able to fight any more."

"I know." Rias said while rubbing the bridge of her nose. "But we'll need to get their biggest long-range threat off the [Board as soon as possible. On second thought... I'll deal with her. You focus on Hanakai."

"Okay!" Maria said with a big smile.

After hashing out the rest of the details, Rias and her team began to move again.

Underworld, Gremory territory, Alaverus Estate.

"Man, this has been much more one-sided than I expected." Dante said, almost bored with the [Rating Game].

"That's only because the terrain and rules are favorable for Sona and her peerage." Cu Chulainn said without taking his eyes off the TV. "If the [Board was a more open place, or they didn't have to worry about collateral damage, Rias would more than likely steam roll Sona's team."

"Wow, Lancer isn't fan girling for his girlfriend's team." Mizore said in mock surprise.

"Unlike you, I am, and have always been a warrior." Cu Chulainn shot back coldly. "I know not to be swayed by my emotions."

"Yeah, right." Moka shot back sharply. "You're afraid of not being able to answer any questions Master Scathach might ask when she and James come back."

Cu Chulainn immediately blushed when he was seen through so easily.

"Even if what you said is true, Moka." Shuna said in a gentle tone. "I'm sure that Cu Chulainn's assessment is true. On top of that he really was raised to be a warrior, right?"

At that, Moka dropped the subject. Because as much as she liked to pick on Cu Chulainn, Shuna was right. On top of that, aside from James and Scathach, Cu Chulainn was the strongest among them.

[Rating Game Board].

Rias, Koneko, Maria, and Xenovia were moving through the seventh floor at a brisk pace. Hlalfway to the next staircase, they were attacked by Reya, Momo, and Tsubasa. With Tsubasa's speed, she tried to sneak attack Maria. Unfortunately, Xenovia was able to intercept her. With her path clear, Maria charged at Momo.

Using her small size and quick reactions, Maria was able to, if not outright dodge, avoid taking critical damage from Momo's incoming barrage of magic. Eventually, Maria was able to enter melee range. Even with Momo backing away constantly. Unfortunately for Momo, once Maria made it to her preferred fighting range, there was nothing that Momo could do to defend herself.

While Maria was fighting her way to Momo, Rias pointed her finger at Reya.

"Let's see how you deal with this." Rias said as she fired an attack.

From Rias' outstretched finger, a beam formed from the [Power of Destruction] closed in on Reya quickly. Before it could take her out, however, Reya pulled a mirror from behind the obstacle she was hiding behind before the ambush started.

"Damn it!" Rias shouted as she noticed the mirror in Reya's hand.

And just as she thought that Mirror was one of Tsubaki's [Mirror Alice]. However, because of the power behind Rias' attack, the Mirror shattered. Not before it reflected the attack, though. Lucky for Rias, however, she did not need to use her full power to eliminate Reya. So, after raising her output to match the rebounded attack, Rias fired another attack cancelling the attack from before.

"Buchou, watch out!" Koneko, who was standing guard over Rias as she attacked Reya, shouted.

Before Rias could react, Koneko stepped between her and the incoming threat. A moment later, Koneko was sent flying away by an attack from Tsubaki who was thrusting her naginata toward Rias' heart.

Before Tsubaki could land the blow that would end the [Game], however, Koneko, who had been knocked away, appeared between Tsubaki and Rias once again. This time, Koneko was in her adult form with [Touki] coating her body.

*Clap!*

Koneko clapped her hands around the blade of Tsubaki's naginata and stopped it in its tracks.

"Damn, this attack is a failure!" Tsubaki cried while kicking Koneko away. "Fall back. We'll make our last stand on the eighth floor."

With Tsubaki's order, Reya and Tsubasa disengaged and ran toward the stairs that led to the top floor. At the same time, Tsubaki slashed her weapon at Rias. Not to inflict damage, but to hinder her attempt at attacking Reya and Tsubasa from behind.

"I'm taking at least one of you!" Rias shouted.

Then, Rias charged a large ball of [Destruction] on her palm. Once it was condensed enough, Rias pushed it forward. As it flew forward at high speed, Rias finally realized what she had done. Unfortunately, she could not pull that attack back.

"[Mirror Alice]" Tsubaki said softly as she turned around to meet Rias' attack.

When she turned around, Tsubaki summoned four mirrors. With each mirror lined up behind the other. And summoning her limit of four mirrors was indeed the correct decision. The first two mirrors shattered instantly upon contact. The third held out for two seconds before shattering. However, those two seconds weakened the attack just enough for the fourth mirror to reflect it before shattering.

"Everyone, get down!" Rias shouted when she saw the concentrated [Power of Destruction] flying back at her.

Just as ordered, Koneko and Xenovia threw themselves to the ground along with Rias. Maria, who was down a different corridor after her fight with Momo, was in no direct danger, so she walked back to her team slowly.

*Swish!*

A moment after they ducked, the attack flew over their heads and toward the opposite wall. After a moment, a hole the size of Rias' attack could be seen in the wall behind them. After that, the announcer's voice rang out over the entire [Game Board].

"{Sona Sitri's [Bishop] has retired}"

"{Rias Gremory receives her first warning for causing collateral damage. You have one more warning. On your third offense, you will be disqualified.}"

Underworld, Satan Territory, Capital City, Lilith.

"The last ambush was well executed." Odin said. "They were just unlucky."

"Sometimes luck can be a powerful weapon or defense." scathach replied.

"Truer words have never been spoken." Odin said while stroking his long beard.

"On top of that, Sona has never trained with the newer members of Ri Ri's peerage." James said, inserting himself into the conversation. "So, I don't think she had accurately assessed their capabilities."

"Oh, I see." Odin replied. "Do those two often have their peerages train together?"

"Not often." James replied while shaking his head. "But they have trained together enough to know approximately how strong their opponents are."

Everyone nodded in response. Then they turned their attention back to the screen.

"There are only twenty-five more minutes before the time limit." Sirzechs said. "We're really at crunch time now."

[Rating Game Board].

"Come on, we don't have much time left." Rias said as she led her peerage up the last flight of stairs. "Koneko, I need you to hold Tsubaki for as long as you can. Xenovia, Yura is yours. I'll take on Sona and Reya. Maria, do what you can with those injuries."

"Understood. Rias' remaining members of her peerage replied.

"Good, let's go." Rias said as she continued to run.

At the same time, Sona was gathered with Tsubaki, Reya, Tsubasa, and Genshirou.

"They should be here any minute now." Sona said as she looked at her peerage. "We have done everything we could to reduce their numbers. Now we have to defeat them. Tsubaki, I need you to attack and defeat Koneko as fast as possible."

Got it. Tsubaki replied with a nod.

"Tsubasa, you don't have to defeat Xenovia, but you cannot lose." Sona said as she continued to give out her instructions.

"Understood." Tsubasa replied.

"Reya, if Naruse is still in good shape, take her out quickly." Sona gave an order to her [Bishop]. "But if her injuries seem bad enough, just make sure she doesn't interfere. You're free to act as you please in that case."

"Yes, Kaichou." Reya replied with a nod.

"Meanwhile, I'll take care of Rias." Sona said. "Now, everyone, get ready for the endgame."

With that, Tsubaki, Reya, and Tsubasa took their places in front of the three doors. Reya and Tsubasa had one of Tsubaki's mirrors on hand just in case Rias tried to attack. Unfortunately, they could not hold more than one.

"I can hear them climbing the stairs." Sona said as she waited.

A moment later, Koneko was the first to climb up from the lower floor. As soon as she took a step on the eighth floor, Tsubaki charged forth, pushing Koneko away from the staircase. A few seconds later, Xenovia also reached the eighth floor. But before she could decide where to go, a wall of flames, conjured by Reya, cut her off from most of the room. With no other choice, she charged toward the opponent that had already been decided for her. After that, Rias also reached the top floor. As soon as she did, she was greeted by an incoming water dragon.

"Sona, we finally meet." Rias said as she flared her demonic power in excitement.

"Don't be too excited, Rias." Sona replied as she formed two more water dragons to attack Rias. "You have less than twenty minutes to take all three points."

"As long as we defeat all of you quickly, that won't be a problem." rias replied as she fired several orbs of the [Power of Destruction] at each water dragon.

Without hesitation, Sona and Rias were throwing everything they had at each other. Unfortunately, Sona had to use more of her reserves in each attack. Cancelling the [Power of Destruction] with elemental magic is no easy task.

Meanwhile, Xenovia and Tsubasa were exchanging sword strikes. With Durandal in hand, Xenovia was at an advantage. Durandal's holy energy was passively weakening Tsubasa from its proximity alone. Even a knick would spell elimination for Tsubasa.

"That sword feels like a cheat in a [rating Game]." Tsubasa complained as she limboed under a horizontal strike from Xenovia.

"You should bring that up with the organizers." Xenovia said as she pressed on with the attack. "I'm just following the rules as they were laid out before me."

On the other side, Koneko was struggling with Tsubaki. Even after taking her adult form, the difference in their levels was obvious. Not to mention, Tsubaki's naginata was keeping Koneko out of her optimal range.

"I hate this, nya." Koneko said as she dodged an incoming sweep.

However, before she could react a sweep from the butt of Tsubaki's weapon swept her feet out from under her.

"Oh, no, nya!" Koneko cried as she saw Tsubaki lining up a thrust.

At the same time, Maria popped her head over the top step to scope out the situation on the eighth floor.

'This is crazy.' Maria thought to herself as she watched the three ongoing fights.

Then, she lowered her head quickly as a bolt of thunder passed by, causing her hair to frizz from the electricity.

"You messed up my hair, Reya-Senpai!" Maria shouted indignantly.

"I'll do it again for you after the [Rating Game] is over." Reya said while keeping Maria's movements in her range of perception. "But for now, I can't' let you interfere."

"Meanie." Maria said before sticking out her tongue at Reya.

Then, Reya threw a thunderbolt in Xenovia's direction, stopping her from ending her fight with Tsubasa. A moment later, the Announcer's voice rang out.

"{Rias Gremory's [Rook] has retired.}"

"Tsubasa, leave Xenovia to me." Tsubaki shouted as she ran across the large hall. "Go take care of Maria!"

"Why are the senpai being so mean to me?" Maria cried as she turned around and ran down the stairs.

Shortly after that, Tsubaki took over Tsubasa's fight with Xenovia while Tsubasa chased down Maria.

"Damn." Rias exclaimed as she raised her output. "I have to end this now."

And for the next few minutes, Rias and Sona attacked and defended with everything they had. Rias had even received her second warning for causing collateral damage. However, when there were only three minutes remaining in the [Game], Sona had run out of demonic energy. Due to exhaustion, both Rias and Sona's breathing was ragged. However, Sona at this point, was unable to defend herself.

"It looks like this is my win." Rias said proudly. "I won't even have to capture the points with you in that condition."

"Saji, now." Sona said, without even replying to Rias' boasting.

Then, from the wall near the ceiling above the staircase, Genshirou threw one end of his [Absorption Line] at Rias. Once it was connected to her, Genshirou jumped to Sona's side and connected the other end to her. Now, Sona's energy reserves would be refilled using Rias' own.

"Damn it!" Rias said angrily. "I was wondering where he was."

"And that's checkmate, Rias." Sona said with a smile.

And for the last few minutes, Rias and Sona continued their fight with Reya disrupting Rias' rhythm from time to time. And eventually, time ran out.

*Buzz~~~~~!*

"{Time's up!}" The announcer shouted excitedly. "{With all three [Defense Points] still in her possession, Sona Sitri is the winner~~~!}"