Riser appeared out of his circle in the Old School building at Kuoh academy. Glancing around he took in the transportation room. The room was simple, almost spartan, far removed from the obvious displays of wealth that filled most transportation rooms in the underworld. The only furniture contained in it were a chair and a desk meant for a servant, so that they may announce visitors during formal occasions and a magical circle on the floor that forced visitors into this room when they tried to teleport into the building, all the while regulating their entrances to prevent multiple groups from colliding with one another. The room lacked any ornamentation with the exception of the faintly glowing sigil of House Gremory behind the desk. At first glance this room spoke purely of utility, but upon closer inspection the facade broke.

Everything in the room was made of the finest materials money could buy. The control circle was not a temporary thing added for formal occasions but a piece of solid mythril fixed into the design of the desk and chair were simple, but the materials used in their construction wouldn't be out of place in a throne room. This room told all who entered it that they were going to visit the heir of Gremory. The heir of a house of such power that they had no need to try and impress guests with gaudy displays and such wealth that even the most utilitarian things they owned would be beyond the reach of most other families.

Riser felt a smile stretch across his lips, soon that name and the power it commanded would be his as well. Sure the money would be nothing new, the Phenex family was every bit as wealthy as the Gremorys, but the authority granted from being descended from one of the original Dukes of Hell, not to mention being related to the current Lucifer, was something no amount of money could buy.

Riser left the transportation room and began wandering around the building, noticing that there were no signs of occupation. He knew that the proper thing would have been to send out one of his peerage as a messenger to set up a formal meeting with Rias, but if he did that he would never actually get to see her. Rias had made it very clear what she thought of the betrothal as well as what she thought of him personally. The only chance he would have to see her before their marriage would be if she didn't know he was coming.

Still, without sending a messenger first it meant that he was the one that had to waste time trying to find the girl, and that was annoying. Riser checked a room at random and found it to be a comfortable looking study. He entered and lounged on one of the couches deciding to wait half an hour and see if Rias or her peerage showed up in the building.

Riser was considering heading to Rias' manor to wait for her there when he finally heard movement within the house. Riser stood up and smoothed his coat before leaving the room and walking towards the origin of the noise. As he turned the corner he saw the other reason he was anticipating this marriage, Rias herself.

The girl, even by the supernatural standards of devils, was drop dead gorgeous. She was tall and buxom with long legs and a perfect hourglass figure. Her bright blue eyes sparkled with intelligence and provided a striking contrast to her bright red hair. She moved with a level of confidence and grace that befitted one of her status. She was in every way the picture of a high born devil lady, and soon she would be his as well.

Around Rias stood her peerage, with the exception of her Queen. Her Bishop and Rook were each quite beautiful in their own right. Looking at them, Riser started considering the rumors he'd heard. They had it that Rias spent most her nights sleeping with her Queen but that had to get old after some time... Maybe he would be able to arrange for them to trade peerage members for a night every once in a while after they were married.

On Rias' right stood a young Japanese man Riser didn't recognize, a dire wolf pup asleep in his arms. He must be a recent addition to her peerage if rumors of him had yet to even begin spreading.

Riser stepped forward and Rias' Rook noticed him, she turned to her King and tapped her on the shoulder, pulling her from the conversation. Then she pointed to him and said, "The pervert is here."

Riser felt a flash of annoyance at that but before he could say anything Rias turned to him, her smile fading. "What are you doing here, Riser? I don't remember receiving a request from you to visit."

Riser gave her a mocking grin and answered, "Do I need a reason to visit my fiancée?"

Out of the corner of his eye he swore he saw the shadows in the room subtly darken. Rias answered his question, her voice dripping contempt and loathing, "It would be in your best interest if you did."

The threat brought a contemptuous smile to his face, after all, what threat could someone offer an immortal like him? His voice oozed arrogance as he lazily replied, "And what will happen if I don't?"

The shadows of the room went pitch black and just for a moment Riser swore he saw her eyes became dark voids of the exact same shade. Around her the rest of her peerage took a defensive formation. But before anything could happen Rias' Queen walked in and the darkness that had engulfed the room disappeared like it was never there.

Riser turned to look at the new arrival. Rias' Queen was in every way an enigma, no trackable history from when she was human, a previously unheard of Sacred Gear, obvious signs of training in tactics and politics. The prevailing theory around the underworld is that she had been secretly taken in by Lucifer at a young age and groomed to be his sister's Queen. Even her appearance was odd, she had been a devil for six years already and she only looked striking rather than truly beautiful, a rarity when it came to devils.

The Queen spoke, "Riser... It is good to hear that you no longer refer to yourself in the third person. It must make talking with you so much more bearable."

Riser suppressed a blush, and silently thanked his sister for showing him how much of a douche he sounded like when he did that. Looking up he saw Taylor's eyes sparkling with mirth as she continued, "Now I am certain you would not enter another devil's territory uninvited without a good reason, Riser, especially not your fiancée's territory. Doing so could be taken as an insult after all."

Riser felt a slight grimace tug at his lips. Taylor was right, it definitely wasn't a severe enough insult that Rias would be able to get the wedding called off over it, but it would allow her to cause problems if she wanted to.

Putting on his best polite smile Riser turned back to Rias, "I am here to deliver wonderful news. Our mothers have come to an agreement and decided that our wedding will be held in two months time."

At his words the room went still and silent, a look of disbelief growing on the face of every peerage member except the new one who had a look of confusion whose expression remained an unreadable mask. Finally Rias spoke, her voice rigid, "Thank you for bringing this to my attention Riser. I am sorry I can't offer you any hospitality but I need to go speak with my mother. Taylor will escort you back to the transportation room so that you may depart."

Riser grinned at her dismissal but before he could get in his last words a circle appeared in the middle of the room and power flowed through. Out of the portal stepped a tall stately woman dressed in a maid outfit, the Ultimate Queen. As she entered she spoke, "That will not be necessary Rias."

Rias turned to her sister-in-law stiffly and gave a slight curtsy, "Welcome Lady Grayfia, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

The Ultimate Queen glanced at himself and Rias before answering, "I am here with news about your upcoming wedding. Due to one of the parties seeking to annul the betrothal it has been agreed that a Ratings Game will be held between the peerages of Rias Gremory and Riser Phenex, the winner will decide the fate of the betrothal."

At Grayfia's words Riser saw the tension drain from Rias. She obviously viewed this as an opportunity to escape the marriage, even if he knew it to be a hopeless one. For himself this was among the best things that could have happened for his position. He was well aware that he would be the one to hold less power in the marriage, his position in society being nowhere near her own, but if he were to publically best her in a Ratings Game right before their wedding it would do much to alleviate that difference. After all while rank and family meant much it always would play second fiddle to personal power when it came to devil society.

Stepping forward, he said, "That sounds entertaining, I have no objections to this game."

Rias responded, her voice sounding far more natural then earlier, "I also have no objections. When shall we meet?"

Riser smirked at her and said, "I believe this will be your first Ratings Game, and you don't have a full peerage yet, is that correct?"

Rias nodded so Riser continued, "Then I shall give you ten days to prepare. I wouldn't want anyone to claim this competition unfair after all."

Rias smiled back at him, "No, I don't think I will take that offer. Grayfia when would be the earliest that we could have this game."

The Ultimate Queen responded, "In two days."

"Then we will face each other in two days time." Rias smile morphed into a grin that reminded him of a fox for some reason, "Unless you need the extra time to prepare, Riser?"

Riser fought down a scowl, he had been hoping she would take the deal. Ten extra days of training would have done nothing to help her peerage but it would have given him time to research their capabilities. She would have a far easier time doing research on him and his peerage given the fact that his previous Ratings Games were part of the public record.

Maintaining his confident smile he answered, "Then we will meet in two days. Please do remember to bring white to wear for the afterparty."

Riser leaned back in his seat, making himself more comfortable. Tomorrow would be the day he won his marriage to Rias, so tonight he and his peerage were going to have their tactical meeting in preparation for the game. It was a waste of time, of course, Rias was facing him with less than half a peerage and no experience in Ratings Games while he had a full undefeated peerage in addition to his own substantial talents. No matter what she did, tomorrow was going to be a slaughter. Still it was worth taking the time to hold the meeting in order to keep the habit for more difficult games in the future.

At the front of the room stood Isabella, one of his Rooks, looking beautiful but mysterious in her low cut top and mask. Behind her was an image of the Japanese boy Riser had seen yesterday. She glanced around the room and then started speaking.

"This is Issei Hyoudou and that's pretty much everything we know about this kid. He was registered as Rias' only pawn about a month and a half ago, just after that scuffle Rias had with the rogue fallen. Prior to that there is nothing of note about him. Our best guess is that he was killed during the incident with the Fallen and Rias chose to resurrect him with her pieces. Given how little time he has been a devil we aren't expecting much from him tomorrow."

As Isabella began to move on he heard Ravel say that he was cute under her breath. Riser shook his head, his sister had a thing for scruffy looking boys that he just did not understand.

The image behind Isabella shifted to the small form of Rias' Rook. " Koneko Toujou, formerly Shirone Toujou, Rias' only Rook. She is the sister of Kuroka Toujou and one of only two known remaining Nekoshou in existence. There are no confirmed reports where she has been observed using Senjutsu or Youjutsu but as a Nekoshou she has access to them."

He could tell from her voice that Isabella was annoyed, she prided herself on doing proper research into her opponents and not having the time or resources for this game must be grating on her.

Again the image shifted, this time showing a young man that looked like the love interest in a novel aimed at teenage girls, classically handsome with just a hint of damage. "Yuuto Kiba, formerly Isiah, Rias' only Knight. His history is largely unknown beyond the fact that the Church is involved in its cover up. He is the current host for the demonic variant of Sword Birth and is a student of Souji Okita, Knight of Lord Lucifer. Between his training and Sacred Gear we are considering him one of the top priorities to remove."

Now the image was a picture of a raven haired beauty. "Akeno Himejima, one of Rias' Bishops. She was born into Himejima clan of Shinto exorcists but had a falling out at a young age. She was rescued by one of Lord Gremory's Bishops and brought to live at their manor. From reports of peacekeeping activities she has performed in Kuoh we know that she prefers lightning magic but we don't have any ideas about the extent of her capabilities with it."

"Rias is registered as having a second Bishop but according to her submittal for the upcoming game, he will not be participating." Riser scowled at that. Was Rias so arrogant as to think she could best him without bringing her full forces to bear? Still, all that meant was that tomorrow would be an even easier victory.

Next the image turned into the striking form of Rias' Queen. All around him, Riser could hear the sounds of chairs moving as the members of his peerage shifted to give Isabella their full attention. Rias' mysterious Queen was a relatively common topic of gossip in the underworld and it seemed his peerage were hoping that they would learn something new from Isabella's research.

"Taylor Hebert, the Lady of the Flies. No known history. It is presumed that she is from the North Eastern region of the United States based on her accent and appearance but even that is purely speculation. She wields a previously unrecorded Sacred Gear which grants her dominion over insects within an unknown radius around her. What is known is that the Gremorys often send her on assignments where a target needs to be tracked down, it is widely assumed that she has access to the senses of the insects under her command and uses that to assist in tracking. According to devils that have worked with her on assignments she is calm under pressure and has a strong tactical mind, a consummate professional in the field."

Taylor was going to be the largest hurdle tomorrow. He doubted that she would be all that much power in a straight fight since both he and his Queen should have little difficulty clearing out swarms, but her ability to track the movements of his entire peerage meant any fight would be on her terms.

Finally the image changed to Rias herself. "Rias Gremory, the Crimson Ruin Princess. Heir to the Gremory house she possesses the Power of Destruction from her mother's side of the family. From reports of conflicts she has engaged in, it is said that she wields that power with a great deal of control."

The brief over Isabella returned to her seat and Riser walked to the front of the room and addressed his peerage, "Alright the plan for tomorrow seems simple enough. Their largest advantage will be the information that Taylor provides them with, while our largest advantage is experience and numbers." Riser left the advantage that his own immortality presented unsaid. "We should go in expecting ambushes so we will be staying in groups, but from what Isabella presented none of them except Rias, Yuuto, and maybe Taylor will be much of a threat once engaged. Tomorrow, we secure my future!"

He scanned through his peerage deciding what flavor he wanted for tonight before ultimately turning towards his Queen, "Yubelluna you come with me tonight. The rest of you do as you wish to prepare for tomorrow's game."

As Riser walked towards his room with his Queen he felt a smile stretch across his lips. After tomorrow he would be the most powerful man the Phenex clan had ever produced. After all there was no way to defeat an immortal.

Riser hovered over his territory looking at the recreation of Rias' school in the center of the pocket dimension. The choice in arena for this game was amusing, apparently someone thought a home field advantage would help an incomplete and half trained peerage succeed against him. Shaking his head and smiling he turned his attention back to the situation at hand.

He had sent Mihae, Xuelan and a group of four Pawns to secure the gym. Rias would want to draw the battle into the hallways and classrooms of the school where her peerage's knowledge of the layout and Taylor's ability to track opponents without line of sight would be at their strongest, so the wide open gymnasium was his best choice for a forward base.

Ravel and Isabella were escorting his other four pawns into enemy territory. If they made it, his four Pawns would be able to promote to more useful pieces. But their real purpose was to force Rias' peerage to engage and get pulled into a fight. Between those groups was Yubelluna and his two Knights. Their job was to support whichever group found one of the priority targets.

Riser himself hovered at the back over his own territory. It was a rather meaningless job in this game since Rias had a single barely trained Pawn but giving himself this job meant he allowed his peerage to gain more experience, so it was a small sacrifice to make to give himself a boring job.

Riser breathed in the crisp air. He could almost see his entire future laid out before him. It was one of riches, power, and beautiful women. Soon, everything he had ever wanted in life would be his.

It was then that the gym exploded.

A/N: Thank you to FelixInkheart for beta reading. So this chapter was the last of the setup for the game and shows my primary conceit for this arc, it is going to be almost entirely told from the perspective of Riser and his peerage. I hope you all will enjoy it.