The newly appropriated Red Dragon Emperor of this generation was quick to jump over the couch with his gauntlet-covered fist raised in a punching action. Despite his abrupt actions, a blue-haired woman shot out from among the group of women and appeared between Issei and Riser. Her staff was raised, ready to take the punch and retaliate the moment Issei landed.
Before any of that could happen, a threatening aura of death and destruction overtook the blue-haired woman, sending shivers down her spine. More than that, the momentum of the mid-air man faltered as a sense of fear overtook him. Rias raised her hand and grabbed his ankle, pulling him down as he fell on his face at her feet.
"Apologies for my Pawn's behaviour. He is new and still needs to learn some etiquette," she said flatly. "Still, my decision stands, Riser. The only way for us to marry is if you beat me in a rating game."
"Buchou…" Everyone ignored Issei's cry of pain except for the blonde woman standing behind the couch, who showed a concerned expression, her fingers twitching as if about to release her healing ability. Before she could do anything, Akeno grabbed her hand, stopping her with a stern look.
The sudden display of power from Rias left Riser a little rattled, but he quickly recovered. "What makes you think that you could win against me in the first place? I've plenty of victories on my record, while you don't even have a complete roster, let alone competing in a game."
"I suggest you leave that to me," Rias said. "If I lose, I will wholeheartedly marry you. But if I win, the deal between the Gremory and Phenex families continues as is without any marriage alliance."
"That's not enough, my dear Rias," Riser said. "Our marriage is already a foregone conclusion. Confident as I am in my victory, it would be foolish of me not to get something more in exchange for this gamble…"
"I'll up the stakes then—my Peerage. You and I both know that I won't allow you to lay a finger on any of them, even if we get married. If you win, I will allow you to do with them as you please."
"You seem to think you will have a choice in that, my dear Rias," he said with a sneer. "Do you believe I will have your Queen panting like a bitch in heat before my cock within a day? Your decision doesn't matter here."
"If I only had the Gremory Clan behind me, maybe you would be correct. But do you believe I will forego my pride and go cry to my elder brother about this farce? Can the eternal regeneration of the Phoenix stand against the might of Destruction?"
The color in Riser's cheeks faded a little as he paled at the mention of her brother.
"If you do marry me without letting me fight it out, then don't expect me to fall to your feet like the sluts behind you. Maybe I'll destroy that pathetic cock of yours every time you try to fuck me. It would certainly be fun for me, I believe."
"Milady Rias," Grayfia interjected.
"My crass words don't suit the heiress of the Gremory clan, am I right, sister-in-law?" Rias asked with a sneer. "I'm done speaking anyway."
"Fine, since you are so desperate to prove yourself, I shall give you a chance. Consider it pampering my wife a little," Riser agreed after hearing Rias' blatant threats. "We shall battle it out this Sunday. I do not have the patience to postpone this any further."
"A week is more than enough," Rias said. "You are welcome to leave."
"Eager to start training, huh?" Riser asked. "A week won't be enough, no matter how far you go."
"I suggest that you stop concerning yourself with my matters, Riser."
Riser scoffed at her mockingly before a bright flame emerged from him and wrapped around his Peerage members, forming a teleportation circle that took them all away.
"Would you mind making the necessary preparations, sister-in-law?"
"No need to refer to me in that manner any longer, Milady. I am, ultimately, Sirzechs-sama's servant," she said. "And Riser-sama has not left any monitoring devices here."
"Don't be so distant, Grayfia," Rias said, dropping the mildly sarcastic tone she had with Grayfia. "I didn't refer to you as sister-in-law just for the show. It is the truth."
"I shall return to inform Zeoticus-sama about your decision and commence the preparations," she said before forming a white teleportation circle under her and disappearing.
[You've been awfully quiet as of late? No thoughts about the ironic dick-measuring contest I just had with my so-called fiancé?]
[I'm more focused on keeping myself hidden from Grayfia. Who knows what she might sense if she decided to probe?]
[I wouldn't particularly mind whether she knows or not. But erring on the side of caution never hurt anyone. What do you think about him?]
[Your Pawn is a moron with a nuclear weapon, and your fiancé is an arrogant fuck who thinks with his cock. Then again, it seems that he has the power to back up that arrogance.]
"Sounds about right," Rias mumbled before finally turning to Issei, who was still at her feet, unable to get up due to her invisible pressure pressing down on him.
[On the other hand, I'm sincerely impressed by this display of yours. This intimidation spell was enough to even floor Riser if you'd targeted him. And you used literal scraps of magical energy to cast and maintain it. It consumed barely a single unit per minute, that's almost nothing.]
[I had to adapt. One of the worlds I went to was in a particularly dangerous state, and I almost died because I couldn't use any substantial spells when I'd just traversed there. I started focusing a lot on efficiency from that point on.]
"I seem to have told you something before this meeting started, Issei," Rias said, easing the pressure on her pawn. "Do you remember?"
"But-but Buchou, he—"
"He tried to rattle you, and you immediately reacted to him like a rabid dog without any self-control," she said coldly. "Did you even realize that his Pawn had appeared in your path when you were about to land? She would have taken care of you within seconds. When the strong act like you did, they are considered tyrannical. When someone weak does the same, they are considered the equivalent of a rabid dog. Is that what you are, Issei? A rabid fucking dog?"
"N-no, Buchou," His eyes were glued to the floor as he stood up on shaky legs.
"Exactly. Akeno, explain the training plan that we devised for Issei to Koneko, and Kiba. They will be responsible for his training for the next week. At the very least, he has to be strong enough to take care of one or two of Riser's Pawns."
"Understood, Buchou." Akeno immediately nodded with a respectful bow.
"Asia, come here, will you?" Rias' words made the blonde girl tremble. She wasn't used to her King acting in such an overbearing manner and cowered, especially seeing Issei's current state.
"Y-yes, Buchou." But Asia's feet refused to move as she grasped the hem of her top and stood in place.
Without a word to her, Rias stood up and walked around the couch to stand before her.
"Come here," Rias pulled the girl into a comforting hug. "I know that I was a bit too stern just now. But the situation is a little sensitive, and I can't show any weakness. If I do, Riser might latch on to it and use it as leverage to skip the Rating Game. I can't risk something like that happening. As for his words, you don't need to worry about anything of the sort right now. I won't let him touch a hair on your head, okay?"
The tense blonde slowly calmed down as Rias gently ran her fingers through her hair and rubbed her spine comfortingly.
"Mm…" Asia nodded, clutching Rias's corset with a weak grip.
"Now, I want you to work with Koneko and Kiba to train Issei. Your help as a healer will be invaluable for the purpose of his training for the next week. After all, there will be times when he will almost die. If you aren't there, he might actually die."
"W-what?" Issei was startled and looked at her with wide eyes.
"What else? You will spend the next week training and sleeping, nothing else. Your meals will be replaced by magical energizers, and your sleep will be brought down to three hours for every twenty-four-hour period with the help of another drug."
"I-isn't doping considered illegal, Buchou?" Issei stuttered out, suddenly terrified of being trained with such extreme intensity.
"It is, to an extent," she nodded, making his eyes brighten up with hope. "Only during the game, though. If you aren't under any such effects at the start, it's all fine. We just need to time the final doses right. By the end, your physical ability should somewhat match his weakest pawn. With the Boosted Gear, you might even be able to handle his Queen."
"So…"
"Don't be lazy. Do you want him to do terrible things to Asia? If you don't stand up to the mark and hold the rest of us back, how will we win? Do you want him to humiliate Asia in front of you?"
"No!" He panicked and shouted, looking at Rias intensely. "I'll go through any training you want me to do!"
"That's the spirit," she said. "As motivation, if you can get through the training, I will let you touch my breasts for five minutes. Would you like that?"
"Now I'm totally hyped up!"
[I'm heartbroken.]
[Don't be a baby. I'm going to use illusions. I'm not letting you touch me. I'm definitely not letting him do anything of the sort.]