High School DxD: Fox of Ill Omen

Koneko

I leaned back against Yuki-senpai as the recording for the Bael versus Glasya-Labolas match began.

She shifted slightly to get more comfortable and moved two of her tails onto my lap.

The video began, and we watched from the start of the match, after their preparation phase.

The arena for their match was a large cave system with glowing gems lining the walls.

Both sides sent members forward to scout paths as their main group advanced, as our match did.

The main difference was the attacking and retreating that occurred, since they were unfamiliar with the arena and their scouts didn’t want to overcommit to a fight. 

Everyone in our group remained silent as we watched.

People’s faces became serious as we observed the fight between two of our future opponents.

I could feel Yuki-senpai’s focus as she went still while she watched the match.

The match started out slow with neither side having a clear advantage, but then one of Sairaorg’s [Knights] took down two of Zephyrdor’s [Pawns].

After that, both sides began fighting more aggressively as the two main forces closed in on each other.

But it was obvious that Sairaorg’s peerage was doing better.

The match was pretty one-sided, as Sairaorg only lost one [Knight] and a [Pawn] by the time it was only Zephyrdor was left.

As Zephyrdor stood alone against Sairaorg and his peerage, he challenged Sairaorg to a one-on-one fight.

Sairaorg accepted despite being in an extremely advantageous position.

Zephyrdor grinned smugly and hurled instills at Sairaorg as the two [Kings] stared each other down.

As the fight started, Zephyrdor launched multiple different kinds of attacks using demonic power at Sairaorg, but he knocked them all away with his fists.

Sairaorg made the whole thing look effortless.

Seeing that his attacks were having no effect, Zephyrdor began to become more frantic in his assault.

He fired more and more spells, trying to take  Sairaorg down.

Then Sairaorg reached him and launched a punch forward.

Zephyrdor created multiple barriers between them to block his attack, but all of them were shattered by Sairaorg’s fist.

The blow landed and caused the cavern around them to shake.

Zephyrdor was launched backwards into a wall, where he then lost consciousness and retired.

We were all silent in shock as the match was ended by a single blow.

From the start, it seemed as if Zephyrdor stood no chance.

Sairaorg didn’t use any demonic power or special abilities in their match.

It was all pure strength that allowed him to defeat his opponent with ease.

“…The new heir of the Glasya-Labolas, called the wicked one, couldn’t put up a fight. His opponent was of a much higher caliber. Sairaorg Bael is a Devil of immense strength.” Azazel-sensei said after the recording ended. 

I noticed that Gasper had moved next to Issei-senpai and was trembling from the power he had just seen.

Sairaorg was someone we would eventually have to fight, and from what we just saw, he seemed like an insurmountable wall.

His movements were so fast that I could keep track of him as he deflected attacks and then struck Zephyrdor.

“Could you see what happened, Yuki-senpai?” I quietly asked.

She let out a hum.

“Not really. Though I may be able to in person. My Veil Sight ability is mainly for observing magic, but it may allow me to react to his speed. Either way, he is very impressive. He didn’t use any demonic power in that fight.”

I frowned as Yuki-senpai praised him.

“Rias, you and Sairaorg share similar issues,” Azazel-sensei continued. “You’re both far too willing to answer a challenge or fight a battle one-on-one. You’re both [Kings]. You have pieces so that they can move forward and fight for and with you. There is no real need to march forward into a massive fight every time. That’s not how you should be fighting in Rating Games, even if your servants are picking up the habit.” Azazel-sensei looked at Yuuto-senpai, who flushed lightly and looked away.

He looked back at Buchou.

“You do know that if you’re taken down, your whole team loses, right? Maybe those related to the House of Bael are all hot-blooded,” he shook his head and let out a deep sigh.

Buchou’s face went red as she shifted in her seat in embarrassment. 

She really did like the dramatics of a duel and hated sitting back as we fought.

“So how strong is the Yankee Devil?” Issei-senpai asked.

Buchou quickly answered to move on from her own embarrassment.

“He is a true high-class Devil, so he isn’t weak. But among the other young Devil members, he’s not outstanding. The previous heir of house Glasya-Labolas was more impressive, but after he passed away in an accident, Zephyrdor became the new heir recently.”

“There was a ranking produced by the Game committee of the strength of each of the Houses,” Akeno-senpai continued. “Sairaorg Bael is ranked first, rightfully so, as we just saw. Seekvaira Agares is ranked second. Buchou is ranked third. Our next opponent, Diodora Astaroth, is ranked fourth. Sona Sitri is ranked fifth. Zephyrdor Glasya-Labolas is ranked sixth. This ranking is based on the strength of the [King], the [King’s] ability to lead, and the strength and ability of their servants,” Akeno-senpai showed a bitter smile. “Though the rankings are subject to change after each match. Buchou’s rank didn’t change, but her evaluation dropped after our first match. Also, Diodora managed to defeat Seekvaira despite being ranked lower.”

I raised my eyebrows at that.

There must have been something that the Game committee missed when they were evaluating Diodora and Seekvaira for their match to end opposite of expectations.

Perhaps Diodora’s strategy was superior, or Seekvaira was put at a disadvantage like we were by the game’s rules.

I’d get to see when we watched their match’s video.

“So only Sairaorg Bael’s match went as predicted, right, Buchou?” Issei-senpai asked.

Buchou nodded.

“Correct. Sairaorg’s strength is monstrous. He’s even predicted to quickly rise through the rankings of the official Rating Games as soon as he can participate. He’s already quite famous. Which also means that if anyone manages to defeat him in these games, they will receive a large amount of attention.”

Issei-senpai quietly considered what Buchou had said. 

“Is he stronger than Riser?” He asked timidly.

Issei seemed worried as he mentioned Riser Phenex.

When we faced him, he was an insurmountable opponent.

He was immortal and much stronger than us.

He likely could have defeated our peerage on his own if he wanted.

“We can’t know unless the two of them fought,” Buchou said. “But even after facing Riser in a Rating Game myself, I feel that Sairaorg is stronger.”

Issei-senpai looked shocked.

“I agree,” Yuki-senpai said. “Riser Phenex’s main strength is his immense regeneration. He is strong as a high-class Devil, but he isn’t anything abnormal in that regard. If he faces a stronger opponent that he can’t wear down, he can’t win. From what we saw in Sairaorg’s fight, he has overwhelming strength. He is incredibly strong, and I assume that strength translates to his defense and endurance as well.”

Azazel-sensei nodded.

“That's a decent analysis. The two of them have vastly different strong points as opponents. But getting back to our discussion of the young Devil matches, I have some visuals to show you of the data from the games. We can go over each House’s strengths and weaknesses.”

Azazel-sensei pulled out a device that he set on Buchou’s desk.

After pressing a button on it, a hologram was projected from it.

The faces of each of the young Devil [Kings] appeared on it, with data shown below them. 

There was a radar chart for each House that included categories of the player types in Rating games, Power, Technique, Support, and Wizard.

There is also a [King] category as well.

This was likely showing how strong a peerage was in each category and the quality of the [King] as a leader, a strategist, and their personal strength. 

In the King category, Sairoag is the highest.

 Buchou and Sona Kaichou were also fairly high, with Kaichou being higher.

That is probably due to our last match. 

Zephrydor was the lowest in the [King] category. 

In Buchou’s chart, the Wizard category was the highest, with Power being a close second.

Support and Technique both sat above the average mark, but Technique was definitely our lowest value.

I saw Yuuto-senpai frowning as she looked at our chart. 

I looked at Sairaorg’s graph next.

His Support and Wizard categories were very low, but his Power was maxed out. 

It stood out from the other charts as it was even highlighted in a different color.

The next highest in the Power category was Zephyrdor, but even he was far behind Sairaorg.

From the fight we had just watched, I wouldn’t have guessed that his peerage was the second-ranked in Power. 

“And Sairaorg didn’t fight seriously in his battle against Zephyrdor,” Azazel said seriously.

I stared at Sairaorg’s chart.

I clenched my fist. 

I needed to practice my Senjutsu more and grow even stronger.

I wouldn’t hold back Buchou and the rest of our team by being weak.

I would keep up with Yuki-senpai, Issei-senpai, and Yuuto-senpai’s growth.

I felt Yuki-senpai’s arm tighten around me.

“We’ll beat him, Koneko-chan,” she murmured near my ear.

I shivered slightly in her lap. 

“…how can you be so sure?” I asked quietly.

“We have time to practice and grow before our match against Sairaorg-san. We will all grow stronger before we fight his peerage, and we will be able to take them down together.”

Then, with a soft chuckle, “And if things aren’t going well, Issei-san will do something stupid or ridiculous to help us win.”

I smiled slightly.

“…We shouldn’t count on Issei-senpai’s lecherous power-ups.”

“You’re right, but that won’t stop him from doing it, sadly.”

I let out an amused huff.

“So Sairaorg-san is a high-class Devil prodigy then, right? He’s a genius in battle.” Issei-senpai said, drawing my attention back to the conversation.

Azazel-sensei shook his head.

“No. Sairaorg is considered talentless by Devil society. He is the first in the history of House Bael to be judged so. He has no talent with demonic energy manipulation and has barely any demonic power, like you, Ise. He also did not inherit the House of Bael’s defining trait, the power of destruction. This was looked on even more poorly due to both of his cousins, the Gremory siblings, inheriting it while he did not.”

I glanced at Buchou.

Her mother had married into the House of Gremory from the House of Bael. 

She looked upset as Azazel-sensei spoke of her cousin's poor lot in life. 

“But he’s the strongest of the young Devils, right? How did he become so powerful?” Issei-senpai asked.

“He trained,” Buchou answered.

Azazel-sensei nodded. 

“That’s right. Normally, pure Devils rely solely upon their inherited power and clan’s traits, but with neither of those things, Sairaorg only had his own physical strength. So he did something that pure Devils normally look down on. He trained his body. But Sairaorg pushed it far beyond simple training.”

I looked to Buchou again.

This time she had a complicated expression.

Before our match against Riser Phenex, she thought the same way as other pure Devils.

She trained her demonic power occasionally and didn’t really practice her power of destruction. 

The training sessions we had before that Rating Game mainly focused on the rest of us training to become stronger, while she mainly focused on managing us.

It wasn’t until after her loss that she began to train her own abilities seriously. 

It was an arrogant mindset to have, but she had been raised in a way that made her think of that as normal. 

Thankfully, she had broken out of that mindset now. 

“Sairaorg lost at almost everything since he was born. He struggled and tried as hard as he could with his limited demonic power, but he was always defeated,” Azazel-sensei continued. “Instead of being praised and treated as a precious member of their family's next generation, he was scorned and deprived of opportunities that he should have had. He had to struggle every step of the way. Do you know how ridiculous it is for someone without talent to be chosen as the next heir of the clan? The power he obtained from relentlessly training his body is the real deal. As someone who knows the bitterness of defeat, he strove to improve his power to the level it is now. Though there is a secret to his power, though…”

Azazel-sensei turned and deactivated the hologram of the charts.

He turned back toward us and looked around the room.

“It’s a bit early, but the match after facing Diodora Astorath will be against Sairaorg.”

Shock spread across the room.

“Wait, what?!” Issei-senpai asked.

Buchou leaned forward. 

“I thought that the schedule had us facing Zeyphrydor next. We aren’t supposed to face Sairaorg until later.”

I nodded at her words.

Sairaorg was supposed to be facing Sona Kaichou in this round of matches and then Diodora Astaroth after that, while we faced Seekvaira Agares.

“He’s done,” Azazel-sensei said, shaking his head. 

I glanced at Buchou in confusion and saw she also didn’t understand what he meant.

“Zephyrdor will no longer be competing in the young Devil Rating Games. His spirit broke after his match against Sairaorg. The fear that Sairaorg instilled in him in his defeat has crushed him. He will be unable to compete properly, so House Glasya-Labolas has forfeited the rest of their matches.”

I stared at Azazel-sensei.

Sairaorg-san had crushed him so hard that his will had broken.

The trashy, arrogant Devil we saw before had given up.

I became more concerned about our eventual match against Sairaorg-san and his peerage.

I took a breath and tried to reassure myself. 

Our peerage wasn’t a pushover.

Buchou, Issei-senpai, and the others were strong.

I was becoming strong.

And I would be fighting alongside Yuki-senpai.

She was right.

We could beat him.

“You’ll need to be careful when you face him,” Azazel-sensei said. “Sairaorg will come at you with more intensity than he did Zephyrdor. He’ll be in high spirits over his win. So far he’s shown no hesitation or signs of backing down. He wasn’t lying about his dream being to become a Maou.”

There were looks of resolve and determination around the room.

“But first, we have our match against Diodora to worry about. We will watch the video of his match against Seekvaira Agares next,” Buchou said. “Though I heard that he managed to defeat Seekvaira.”

“It was surprising to hear, but I haven’t heard the details yet,” Yuuto-senpai commented.

“Sona received recognition for her strategy against us and for defying the prediction that we would have an easy victory,” Buchou continued. “Diodora has received even more attention and praise for upsetting expectations with his win. The fourth-ranked House managed to defeat the second-ranked House. The predictions made before the first Rating Games didn’t hold true in their case, but that’s the nature of Rating Games. We can’t predict what will happen once the game begins.”

I'm interested to see the video of their match.

I want to see how Diodora-san managed to defeat his favored opponent. 

“But I never thought that Seekvaira Agares would lose,” Buchou said as she went to start the next match recording. 

Before she could, there was a flash of light as a teleportation magic circle appeared in the corner of the room.

It was small, as if it was only for one person, and the crest on it was unfamiliar. 

Yuki-senpai’s whole attention snapped to it as she tensed under me. 

“Astaroth,” Akeno-senpai murmured, recognizing the crest. 

The light faded, and Diodora Astaroth appeared in the club room. 

He stood with a gentle look and a calm smile as he looked across the room.

Something about him bothered me.

I knew that he had been pestering Asia-senpai and that he was our next opponent in the stating Ganes, but something else about him put me on edge.

“How are all of you?” He casually asked, like he hadn’t entered uninvited. “It is I, Diodora Astaroth. I have come to see Asia.”

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