Two figures appeared from a clump of mist in a ruined church's basement.
"Exact coordinates as always," the shorter figure in glasses said with pleasure.
"Let's get this over with," the taller, much more muscular man grumbled. "I hate his assignments. No excitement."
"I like them," the shorter figure argued lightly, stepping over a ritual circle and looking at the large metal crucifix in the center. "Perfectly laid out step-by-step guides. Like a walkthrough. Can you imagine how hard it would be to find a Sacred Gear extractor outside Grigori control on our own? Even this one would have rotted in the basement of this no-name town whose only special feature is the devil heiresses playing house."
"Can I at least go fight them," the large man asked, hoisting the metal construct on his shoulder. "They're the Satans' sisters. They should give a good fight."
"Hm," the glasses-wearing boy hummed as he flipped through a book, reading its instructions. "No, Herc, you can't."
"Did he at least tell me why this time?"
"He doesn't. But I can guess. There is no other supernatural force in this town currently. They are all out. That's why we only came now. Apparently, the entire plan falls apart if we are discovered in Kuoh."
"Fine," Herc sighed. "Vali should be visiting soon anyway. He's always good for brawl."
"I would prefer if you didn't start fights you can't win."
"Nobody's asking you, Georg."
"Maybe I should leave you somewhere on the way back? What was that strip joint called again? 'Wangs Wonderful Wangs?'" Georg said to himself. "I heard you had fun last time. Maybe you'll actually get lucky and find someone 'man enough' for you."
"You wouldn't dare," Herc said confidently. "You won't do anything against the plan."
"I might," Georg said casually. "He'd know I'd do it. That would be part of the plan in the first place, wouldn't it?"
That seemed to stump the muscular man.
"I wish the boss was back," Herc grumbled. "At least I knew I could try and sock him one when one of his plans screwed me over."
"And achieve nothing," Georg said lightly. "But yes, I do agree. Most of us miss him. But what can you do? Wherever he is, we won't find him until he wants us to."
"That better be soon," Herc continued to grumble as they were swallowed by the mists, Gear extractor and all. "That damn cat is getting on my nerves."
********
"Surrender, Rias!"
"AAAGGGHHH."
Rias closed her eyes, biting her lip hard enough to bleed.
Anything to tune out Issei's screams.
It had been going so well.
Better than her wildest dreams.
Her Peerage had made quick work of their enemies, Koneko and Yuuto, retiring due to surprise attacks but only after clearing most of the way. Asia had fallen while healing Issei, and Riser took the field himself.
Despite that, the Gremory faction was winning.
Easily.
Their additional power, coordination, and Rias' help as a long-range Wizard-Type had wiped the floor with Riser's Peerage. The Phenex had obviously chosen them all for their looks rather than skill, power, or synergy.
The only risk they faced had been the Bomb Queen, the one who took out Koneko.
Akeno had toyed with the rival Queen. Played with and tortured her. Taunting and mocking her into frothing rage. Even the Phenex trump card, their tears, hadn't helped as Akeno had been glad to 'have a fresh toy.'
Issei had been stellar. Above and beyond what could have been expected of a new devil.
Responsible for half the total retirements on the other side, his durability and strength as a Rook boosted to absurd degrees thanks to Boosted Gear, which made him an absolute unit on the battlefield. A wrecking ball on the field.
Spells, blades, and fists had bounced right off him. His most significant contribution had been getting Ravel Phenex to give up after she took out Yuuto.
Somehow.
Rias still didn't know how Issei had done it.
The four of them, Akeno, Asia, Issei, and her, had faced Riser together. With his immortality, it would still be a long shot, but Rias had seen hope.
Losing Asia early to the Phenex had been a blow, but it had galvanized Issei to new heights, and he discovered he could transfer his power to another person. Taking the healer out had given Akeno a straight shot at Riser.
"I can do this forever!" Riser crowed with malicious glee. He was taking pleasure in the pain he was inflicting. Revenge for the reversal of his fortunes and the pain he had already suffered. "Surrender!"
"GRRRGK." Even though her eyes were closed, Rias could hear Issei try to grit his teeth against the pain.
"Rias?" Akeno asked softly.
Opening her eyes, the heiress looked at her Queen, her best friend, her sister in all but blood.
Akeno looked back, their eyes meeting in silent communication.
Words could not express how thankful she was to every one of her Peerage fighting for her freedom. Everyone, especially Issei, had gone above and beyond what could be expected of them.
Yet Akeno was the one Rias was most grateful for.
Not only had her Queen been with her every step of the way for years, every minute of training, blood, sweat, and tears, but Akeno had done the one thing Rias could never ask her to do.
Holy Lightning crackled around the 'Priestess of Thunder.'
It was raw, uncontrolled, blackening Akeno's skin in places where it touched her body. She hadn't practiced much with it, but that she was using it at all spoke of her commitment.
It proved that Akeno was part fallen angel to everyone watching, or would watch, this unofficial ratting game.
Akeno had borne her deepest wounds, her greatest shame, to the Underworld.
For Rias.
Rias Gremory was so Satan-damn lucky to have such a wonderful family.
"AAAAAHHHHHH!"
Which made her failings as King all the more apparent.
With Akeno's Holy Lightning, boosted by every ounce of power Issei could give, they had trounced Riser. The divine spell weakened his healing, leaving him vulnerable to all three of them.
Riser was an older devil on the cusp of reaching Ultimate Class.
Yet a teenager and her Peerage had beaten him into the ground.
And Rias showed her immaturity. Her weakness.
Her failure.
She had been too kind.
All it would take to clinch the victory was to get his surrender. Despite being beaten badly, he was still a Phenex. A devil house famous for their stamina and recovery, even outside of their immortality.
She had underestimated his pride and the wounds inflicted on it. She had overestimated her own control of the situation.
Intoxicated with victory and the promise of freedom, Rias failed in her duty to her family.
Rather than let Akeno torture the man into unconsciousness, as she should have done, she had told her Queen to stop. His cries of pain had been getting to her.
Rias hated Riser. Despised him with every fibre of her being.
But it had never been about Riser himself.
It hadn't been his man-whore mannerisms, his disregard for humanity or his foppish attitude that angered her so much. Riser was actually one of the better young devils out there. Harems weren't rare in the Underworld, and he clearly cared for his family. More than that, his Peerage clearly cared for him, which was more than many devils could claim.
It hadn't even been about her duty to marry someone to carry on the Gremory name and lineage that angered Rias. Riser marrying into her family would have been an acceptable choice, all things considered. Even if he was not a good devil, he was not a bad one either.
Rias had never hated Riser Phenex for who he was.
Rias Gremory hated Riser Phenex because of what he meant to her.
It had never been about Riser himself but about Rias. It had always been about her freedom and ability to choose her path.
Riser was the chain she needed to shake off, the physical representation of everything she hated about being Rias Gremory instead of Rias.
So, she wanted to give Riser a chance. The chance to surrender and spare himself the pain all devils felt when assaulted by Light. Riser hadn't chosen this engagement either. He was as bound by this promise of their families as she was. Riser lusted after Rias and desired her; that was clear, but maybe he loved someone else or didn't want to marry at all.
Maybe he, a third son of a prominent family, didn't want to be married off to the Gremorys.
Riser could have withdrawn in grace, clearly outmatched, and having held on longer than expected when exposed to Holy Lightning powered by a Longinus.
A grace. A hand extended.
A kindness.
And now?
Issei was paying the price for her failure.
A devil's pride was a terrible thing indeed.
"Gaw!" Issei gasped in pain, writhing and twitching in Riser's hands as more fire burned away at his skin.
Riser's face, twisted in a pained grimace yet still smirking, differed from his usual pretty boy demeanour.
He had been beaten but had never given up. He'd seized his one chance, the Gremory's famous soft spot for their Peerage. And he was relishing the impending victory.
The pride of the Phenex had been trampled, but he had not let it down.
The older devil held the Rook between him and Akeno. Rias was behind the Phenex, making an effort to flank him and free her Rook.
Riser didn't care.
All he cared about was keeping Holy Lightning away. Rias' attacks? They could hurt him, but he'd still regenerate. Any attack Akeno tried to throw would hurt Issei just as bad.
Rias was stuck, victory at her fingertips, yet unable to clench her hands around it.
If Sona was here? She was sure her rival would have some cunning ploy, tactic, or trap to get Issei out of Riser's grip. She could imagine Sona watching the match right now, adjusting her glasses as she did when nervous while complaining about Rias' mistakes and still hoping for the best.
If Eren was here? Well... Rias was sure he wouldn't have given Riser a chance to speak, let alone escape and capture a hostage. Eren would have been entirely merciless.
Rias was glad he wasn't watching.
She didn't want Eren to see her like this.
This weak.
This pathetic.
"Choose!" Riser insisted with another pillar of fire. The longer this continued, the higher the likelihood that Issei would pass out and retire.
"AHH," Issei screamed.
Rias wished Issei was a Pawn. He would have retired by now. But he was a Rook, and none of the damage he had taken was fatal.
Should she use Casteling? Switching places with Issei would save him but would be the same as surrendering. Riser would have her in his grasp, and he'd eliminate her.
Rias had a choice.
Victory or defeat.
No matter what she chose here, Rias would lose something.
Rias knew what she would have chosen a year ago. She would have surrendered and gone on to get married to this odious man in exchange for the safety of her Peerage. Her life in the human world would have been over.
Her freedom would have been gone.
From a certain standpoint, it made no sense not to chase victory. Issei wouldn't die from this. It was just pain, not debilitating or anything. Even the Holy aspect, which severely affected devils and skirted around the rules of Rating Games, could be cured by Asia later.
But could Rias be the one to inflict that pain on Issei? The boy she had already wronged? The boy who had trained, fought, and was being tortured for her freedom?
Could she give an order which might mean he lost what little trust he had in her?
Issei, like all her Peerage, had scars.
If she hadn't been paying careful attention, she would have missed it in their frenetic training, too caught up in her own drama.
But spending so much time training had forced her to be much more observant with her Peerage in what little time she did have with them.
Rias saw it.
She saw it when he flinched from female touch, even as he craved it.
Saw it when Asia practically threw herself at him, and he stood befuddled.
As if the idea of being loved was alien to him.
Issei was an honest boy. Honest about his feelings, his dreams, and his perversion.
That honesty, that baring of himself, had been betrayed by someone he had poured his heart out to.
Could Rias Gremory scar her Rook again? For a selfish desire for freedom?
"Do, grrrh, IT!" Issei shouted in a moment when the fire lessened.
Riser lit him up again, and coherence left the boy who had been a regular human only a month ago. An ordinary boy thrust into exceptional circumstances through no fault of his own.
"See," the Phenex said with a smile as he looked over his shoulder at Rias. "Even the Red Dragon Emperor wants you to surrender. Cease your struggles. Become my bride. And I will stop hurting the boy."
That hadn't been what Issei meant at all.
Rias closed her eyes again as the tears fell.
She didn't deserve such a wonderful Peerage.
'A person who cannot sacrifice everything cannot change anything.'
'Choose what you cannot sacrifice. Hold on to it. No matter what else you lose.'
She couldn't give up on the happiness she had found in her freedom.
Watching anime with Gasper. Training with Akeno. Cooking snacks for Koneko and napping on the couch. Reading with Yuuto. Teasing Issei. Helping Asia explore the world.
Rias could not give up the hope she held to eventually be strong enough to reincarnate Eren, to show him a life far from the pain of war and loss.
At that moment, Rias Gremeory wanted nothing more than to be on that uncomfortable bench.
She wanted her greatest worry to be whether or not she could accurately explain the wacky hijinks of the latest Jojo chapter in a way Eren could understand.
At that moment, Rias Gremory was not in a ruined facsimile of her school, facing a man who threatened to be her husband. She wasn't fighting for her freedom under the eyes of her family and the Underworld.
She wasn't deciding whether or not to torture one of her newest family members.
At that moment, Rias Gremory didn't exist.
'Rias' was on a bench, talking and laughing with her friends as a blind, sickly boy listened in quiet contentment.
That was what she could not sacrifice.
She would do anything to return to that bench and what it meant for her.
"Akeno," Rias said, opening her eyes.
She needed to see this out to the end.
To see what her kindness and failure had cost.
"Rias?" Akeno asked again, waiting for the order.
Rias stared not at her Queen or the blond man who had haunted her nightmares for years.
She stared at the scorched body of her Rook. Issei weakly met her eyes over his shoulders, barely able to lift his head.
Rias stared into those brown eyes as she gave the order.
"Do it."
The crackle and thunder of Holy Lightning.
The shout of surprise and pain of a man whose plan had failed.
The weak cries of a boy already on the brink.
The sounds of the death of a love that could have been, should have been, but now never would be.
It all drowned out another sound.
[Welsh Dragon Balance Breaker]