Disclaimer: I don't Own Anything

Author's note:

I would like to apologize for my very long update but THE STORY IS NOT DEAD. The period from of 14th July to the end of August in 2014 proved to be very rough to me. I will give you the brief details

First, despite my best effort, I didn't do well in my public examinations, thus most of the universities in my home city did not accept me. This proved to be a huge downturn for me, which my family was also affected. My parents wouldn't speak to each other as they blamed each other for my unfortunate experience and our family lived in a period of huge tension and anger for these days. Despite my admission into an associate degree programme in attempt re-enter university, it still did not ease the anger among my parents and they screamed at each other.

Secondly, my hard drive failed, resulting in a COMPLETE loss of my files, including this story and my writing project that I put so much effort in it. This chapter was halfway when the hard drive crashed and all backup also failed. Repairing it would be so expensive that I didn't even consider it, average of 7000 US Dollars. It a, also resulted in the loss of my major writing project which completely demoralized me.

To be frank, those few months, it is very rough for me, especially thinking that I am partially to blame for all this madness.

But now, things got better. I got admitted into a very good overseas university (Ranking among the 20s globally), which in turn solved the family crisis and my family was stabilized again after a tense period of fractured relationships. Settling down took quite a while, but it was okay. Unfortunately, the lost files cannot be saved, so I have to start from scratch again.

Well, I hope that I could study hard and try to admit into the universities in my home city by the end of April next year. Restarting the story proved to be demoralizing but luckily my plot file was saved in my smartphone and I could restart again. In addition, my university workload is very heavy since I need to gain very high marks for maximum chance of successful application. Now that I am on a 4 month long vacation I may have time for this. Though this story is starting to depress me.

PS: I am officially removing all restrictions on reviewing. Please do review as the story has too little views and I don't really know what to do to improve. Remember, flames are not considered and use of abusive languages will be reported.

In addition, I had posted 2 more stories of Fate series, one is about Christmas in order to break my writer block you are free to give suggestions. On 30th of May I also released a crossover between Highschool DxD and Raze Game series from Armor Games.

I have also set up a forum that is dedicated to post fanfic ideas or challenge relating to Highschool DxD canon fanfics or crossovers. The title is Forum for Highschool DxD ideas and challenges

Chapter 6: Training, Strategizing and explaining:

Ichika's POV:

An atmosphere of uneasiness and tension descended upon the clubroom. The deadline for our training had been announced by the very person that we will face: Raiser Phenix. But it also dawns to us that with our strength and abilities, we pale in comparison with Raiser Phenix and his full peerage. With our inadequate strength, let along our incf omplete peerage, there is no question that Raiser had the advantage and his chances of winning completely dwarf us.

We don't stand a chance.

In this hour however, our master, Rias Gremory did not yield to hopelessness and depression. Summoning an iron will, she announced her intention:

"Everyone, report back to here tomorrow at 9:00 am. We will train with the best of our abilities and triumph over Riser."

Loyal as always, Akeno-San, Kiba, Koneko-chan and Asia all responded to her order with fierce determination.

Unfortunately for you Rias- Buchou, Issei and I had other things to do.

Flashback: Ajuka's Lab, 1 hour after the debrief (see chapter 5)

"Issei, Ichika you need to proceed to my lab after dealing with Raiser in starting the Rating Game."

"But why?" asked Issei.

"I am sure that Rias will formulate her own training plan. However, in my opinion, you two will be the critical pieces in the game, meaning you two will highly determine the outcome of the Rating game. To increase your chances of winning, I had devised a training program that aims to tackle with not only your skill with your equipment but also your critical weakness as displayed in the previous battle."

"Why not follow Buchou's plan? I am confident in her abilities." Commented Issei.

Ajuka examined Issei before he sighed softly with a sad smile on his face…

"Issei, I am impressed and delighted by your loyalty and trust in Rias, I mean it. However, here comes the problem. There is no doubt that Rias is an intelligent woman, but her knowledge in Sacred Gear with the exception of their names and signature abilities is very limited. Limited knowledge hinders her from forming useful training programs to you because to increase the prowess of the sacred gear requires more than just stamina training that I am sure will be the primary content of Rias Training. To fully increase the potential of the sacred gear, the user must not only improve their stamina but also need to understand the nature of their gear including magic usage. I have received some assistance by a "professional" and he has already formulate a good training programme that tackles with your lack of knowledge in close quarter combat and Ichika's poor shooting skills. This is quite frankly the best chance to increase our chance of victory against Raiser."

"But Ajuka…" said Issei

"I know Issei, you don't want to go working at Rias back again right?" His nod was the answer to Ajuka "Well, neither do I, but my "disapproval" of Riser is as much as Rias's and as stated before, you two will be the most crucial ones that could deliver a decisive blow to Riser. But to do that, you will really need help. Actually, the idea of the Rating Game was already leaked to Rias by Sizerchs, given his siscon personality and Rias formulated a draft of her training programme. Sizerchs got a small picture of her draft and told me about it. I analyzed it and found that if you followed this programme then it will be most likely your capabilities will not differ than before the training. The "professional" is quite an expert in Sacred Gear, so his programme would be a much better choice. Even my wife agrees with him and her intelligence is unparalleled."

Normally, scientist could be questioned since science does not entirely represent objectiveness and absoluteness. However, since both Tabane and Ajuka have more knowledge in the matter and they trusted the Sacred Gear "professional". We decided to take it.

"I will do it." I replied

Issei turned to me stunned, most probably from the fact that I agreed to work behind Rias-buchou so swiftly.

Issei, I don't want to work behind Rias as much as you do. But Ajuka is right.

"Issei, please…" I pleaded "Consider Ajuka's points and he is right. I want to protect Buchou with everything I have got but she does not know our weakness while Ajuka does."

Issei contemplated for a few moments before he nodded gingerly. Later I will need to talk to him

"Then its settled, you two proceed to the secret magic circle on the abandoned storage room in the basement of the Kuoh Academy after your encounter with Riser."

"And Issei….."

"Hmmm?" asked my friend.

"Don't worry about Rias, I will pass a good word to Sizerchs and ask him to help you mend your relationship with Rias. I am sure he will do it if you successfully saved Rias"

He was mum on that comment. It was clear he was not assured.

8:00 pm, Ichika's Room, Hyoudou's Residence

Issei's Pov

It is a while after we were dismissed by Ajuka and we ae resting to prepare for the next day. However Ichika insisted that he talk to me before I could call it a day.

And that is exactly what we are doing right now.

"What's wrong Issei? Don't you think that Ajuka's plan is now our best chance in handling Riser? You don't need to worry about Buchou's anger Issei."

I sighed. Easier said than done, Ichika hasn't faced the wraith of Rias.

Despite the fact that Buchou considered to punish me today at the ORC clubroom, in reality she had already given me a very "un-Buchou-like" scolding involving a few strikes from her demonic energy.

It felt like yesterday, Buchou originally let me go with Ichika to Ajuka. But after we returned from the meeting, Buchou ordered me to the Clubroom and demanded my details relating my meeting with Ajuka. However, as ordered by Ajuka, I did not reveal any detail. I tried to tell her that Ajuka told me not to reveal any details to her, hoping that she understands that I have difficult in doing so.

Angered, Buchou snapped and I got a glimpse of how sometimes devils are still true to their namesake. They sometimes can be very cruel when delivering punishments (not that human are any different)

For every time I denied her demands to reveal the details of Ajuka's meeting, she struck me with her energy. Since she is a high class devil, her energy naturally becomes too much for my low class body to withstand, causing pain to erupt in my body. It felt like I had been struck by lightning. I remembered her words right after 20 strikes which she gave up in attacking me.

"I am disappointed in you Hyoudou. You not only constantly disobey you king's order which in turn show disrespect to me but also refused to provide details concerning your safety. Hyoudou, I somehow regret in reviving you, you good for nothing pervert!"

That hurts, I knew that Buchou was so angry at that time that she said those words but she didn't have to go that far.

Ichika continued to ponder why I didn't exactly agree with Ajuka so I later explain my ordeal with Buchou that I mentioned before.

A few moments later...

After telling the story to Ichika, his opinion of Buchou, for the lack of a better word, worsened. I am not sure telling the story of Buchou's punishment on me ws a good idea after all, because Ichika just frown at Buchou's behavior.

He sighed before he said to me something that I don't know how to answer

"Issei, I don't know what to say about this, but Rias-Buchou indeed went too far. Her attitude reminds me of some arrogant woman in my dimension. Buchou is not arrogant but she should have given you space when you refused to talk due to Ajuka's order. To think Buchou would zap you with her energy is a bit off. She is angry but that is too much."

"She is worried about my safety and she suffers tension due to this marriage…" I tried to defend Buchou

"That doesn't give her the excuse to do so. Ironically she becomes a person that she originally despises due to Riser: Narcissistic. The fact that she emphases her status as king while punishing you is a proof."

"Still, I think that it is not her character to do something like that. I mean, Buchou is a good and kind-hearted girl and there is no doubt about it Issei. But I somewhat felt that she could have done better, I know that it is impossible to ask so much from her but I felt that had she put some efforts, Koneko might not be the emotionless girl that we know today. Buchou might have been tied-up by her duties as an heir to her family but is it hard that you couldn't take a few moments to tend to her peerage members' problems. You may be right, she may be just under a lot of stress that she snapped. Therefore, I hope she recovers soon."

I couldn't help but agree with him.

Still I want to get back to the issue of disobeying Buchou's order and proceed to Ajuka's laboratory

"So when should we go to the magic circle? Buchou ordered us to meet up at 9:00 am. We need to proceed earlier to avoid being discovered." I commented.

"One more thing…" said Ichika "Koneko-chan was looking at us when we left the clubroom. I think she knows that we have other motives."

That worried me. The last thing I want is to suffer the wraith of Koneko-chan. I mean, she and I are already at odds after I slapped her during the ordeal between Tabane-sama and Buchou. Sure I went overboard with my actions but I just found it hard to tolerate Koneko's insult anymore. If I am a continuing pervert then I will accept those words since I have no position to defend myself but since I improved why she can't give me credit. Granted that a trust is hard to forge but easy to break but isn't it obvious to her that I don't peep on the Kendo girls anymore?

That reminds me, why did my perversion diminished in one night? I know that it is impossible to change one's habits as they always say "old habits die hard" but why it seems that it is possible on me.

"The answer will be revealed in time, young champion."

Who said that? I look around frantically but Ichika just stares at me worriedly. He did not hear that voice?

"No Issei, I heard it but it didn't say anything to me."

That was really disturbing but then the Boosted Gear suddenly manifests again. The green jewel glowed brightly, to others it seemed like normal, but to me a small telepathic message was being transmitted from the spirit in the Boosted Gear.

"Worry not about that mysterious speaker. Focus back on your discussion with your brother, we shall meet soon."

"WAIT!"

It didn't respond to me. After delivering its message, the Boosted Gear disappeared, leaving us bewildered.

Well, pondering on this matter will get us nowhere. I decided to tell Ichika about my opinion.

"We will get there earlier, best at six o'clock in the morning. We still need to pack and go there anyway. I can't use the magic circle due to my poor affinity with devil magic and it does take a certain amount of time to get there. Plus, by getting there earlier I am sure we could avoid being spotted. Koneko could sense as very easily"

Ichika nodded before he proceeds to his room. He turns around and says

"Good night and Good luck, Issei."

It is not until that he closed the door that I responded

"Good luck to you too Ichika."

I think that we are going to need it.

6:00 am, Secret Magic Circle Room, Kuoh Academy Basement

Ichika's POV

Sigh, what happens when you get caught?

That was exactly what I, Ichika and Issei were experiencing right now.

The one that exposed us was right in front of us.

And it was Koneko.

To say that she was not pleased is a bit of an understatement. Although not an open book, she was leaking out an aura of suspicion and tension.

While I was quite neutral towards the event, my somewhat-rehabilitated (in terms of perversion) companion was sweating bullets at being gazed by Koneko. Not surprising since both of their relations were pretty much freezing.

The standoff continued for numerous minutes as the atmosphere became chilly. Koneko was clearly still mad at Issei's slapping of her but Issei's frustrations were mostly focused on the fact that Koneko exposed us but he bore no animosity towards Koneko anymore.

Now, how is Issei going to get us out of the situation?

Well , his intelligence was something to be desired but was not to a state of hopelessness. However, his tense relationship with Koneko is sure going to be a huge obstacle.

Well, as it turned out, the neko was the first to break the silence.

"What are you planning to do now, Issei-sempai?" asked Koneko.

I could see that Issei was pondering on how to convince Koneko to pretend this nothing happened but so far I had no idea what he was thinking.

Yet, it seemed that just 1 minute later, I got my answer.

"Koneko, do you want what is best for Buchou?" asked Issei. Just what was he thinking?

Like a loyal cat to her master, she nodded but her eyes still shone a suspicious glaze on Issei.

"Then trust me on this, I know that we had a huge disagreement (understatement that is Issei), but I only do this for the benefit of Buchou."

"I don't doubt that Issei-sempai." Which shocked us "I could read your thoughts sempai and I am certain that you try to gain an advantage over Raiser-sama."

"I however disagree with your methods. Going behind the back of Buchou will get you nowhere. I am sure Buchou is actually considering the option of removing the evil pieces from you and somewhat use it to increase the power of Ichika-sempai and the girls. To her, after you slapping me and openly defied Buchou, she was, less than pleased with you"

Well, that actually hardly matters anyway, given the fact that Issei was already tortured by Buchou before.

However, Issei just walked up to Koneko, and to my shock (and Koneko), Issei has a smile on his face before he gives her a very small kiss on the check before he rushed into the magic circle.

Very clever, very clever Issei but I am sure that your actions will not go unanswered to Koneko. Koneko was quite shocked, her eyes were as wide as dinner plates and I know that she will deny it but her face was blushing.

"Pervert." Mutters Koneko.

With a helpless smile, I moved to Koneko and patted her head, which caused her to tense. Problably because my actions is similar to treating a cat.

"Koneko-chan, just trust Issei and me on this okay? You should know Issei is not the type of person that works behind a person's back with no reason. He is idiotic sometimes but he is a good person, just very "flawed" most of the times."

However, Koneko wasn't fazed, so it means that Issei is still very poor in her opinion. Well that could be solved later if Issei put some effort in it.

"Okay Ichika-sempai. I don't trust Issei-sempai with his antics but I trust you with your judgment. You are much better than that pervert anyway."

Well, that was better than nothing anyway but I couldn't help but sweat drop at Koneko's comment.

To prove her point, Koneko stepped aside and gave me a clear path to the magic circle.

"Thank you for trusting me Koneko."

"Don't thank me yet Ichika-sempai. Because it is Buchou that will be your main problem."

I just nod at her before the magic circles takes me to the Ajuka's lab. But before I full de-materialized from the room, I swear that I heard Koneko muttering something that surprises me.

"Baka Issei-sempai." Hmm I wonder what her intents in saying that sentence is.

Ajuka's Laboratory, Ajuka's Mansion, Lilith (five days later)

Issei's pov

We just got five days left, and we were already on a very tight schedule

Five days, when we arrived at the lab, Ajuka quickly got down to business. Using the information provided from the "professional" as Ajuka refused to disclose the identity of this scared gear expert, Ajuka would be responsible for my training while Tabane would be responsible for the training of Ichika which kind of make sense since she is the progenitor of the Infinite Stratos.

For Ichika's training, his main focus points were on his shooting skills and his usage of weapons, as last time when he faced the Uchiganes it had shown that he was over dependent on his weapons to win, so if he is in an overpowering Infinite Stratos then it will suffice but if it is the opposite then he will be a goner. Examples include over reliance on his shield to neutralize his attacks and his reliance on the weapons' guidance system to aim. Tabane determined that Ichika should not show these types of behavior during the battlefield as during the last few days, it had been proven that the IS despite its power is still susceptible to the control of demonic energy. Since demonic energy could be manipulated to have various forms of attack by the will of the wielder, should the opponents discovered that Ichika is over-dependent on his equipment than his skills, they could easily disable it and thus Ichika will be extremely vulnerable to attacks.

Kind of make sense, if you are poor in skills and you lost your trump card weapon, you will undoubtedly lost. Never rely on power too much but rely on yourself. Skills over equipment.

Same thing apply to me. Ajuka determined that the only best chance for me is to not only increase my stamina but to also increase my compatibility with my demonic energy core. The reason it that stamina relates to the total amount of extra power generated from the Boosted Gear that my body could take before exceeding the limit and stamina also partially relates to my ability to resist any attacks by demonic energy. For my compatibility with my demonic energy core, it is much more complicated, and with my rather underdeveloped brain (I hate to admit but it is true) I did not understand. Luckily, Ajuka was kind enough to provide me a small book to explain to me so that I could look into his library to search for any information.

Demonic energy could be used as both an offense and defense weapon. Offensive is very obvious, but defense-wise it is very different. Defense could be both passive and defense. In Ajuka's words, it is similar to the concept of energy shields and armor. The energy shields are active defense since they are design to actually stop the threat before the perceived attack could harm its protector, on the other hand the armor is designed to deflect the attack instead of actually stopping the attack like the energy shield. Ajuka explained that his demonic energy not only could be used to attacking or defense, but to also do a lot of other things like supporting his own body or acting as an energy reserve for spells. The possibility of demonic energy is limitless as long as the will of the wielder is strong and have a vast imagination of usage of said power. Ajuka also explained that demonic energy has many counterparts in the world, like Holy Energy for the Angel faction, Magic for the wizards or Norse Faction, Qi (氣) for the Chinese Mythological Faction or even Youkai energy for the Youkai faction.

Ajuka further explained to me that his plan was for me to be able to tap into my demonic energy core so that I could use it to compensate my weak physical stamina to support more energy boost but to also to increase my resistance to the attacks of Raiser's Peerage, especially the dreaded fire of the Phenex Household. Ajuka warned me that the Phenex fire's only true defense is not pure demonic energy but the Power of Destruction of the Bael Clan and those of Gremory-clan from Sizerchs- sama, the Holy Energy of the Angel Faction, Strong-Defense Magic, youkai fox fires, High-level Qi and last but not least, Dragon Fire. Ajuka said that while my increased affinity with my demonic energy will not make me immune to Phenex fire it will make me able to put up a strong resistance with the Phenex fire before I have to retire. So I constantly tried to do so but so far without success.

Our daily routine wa simple. At eight o'clock in the morning, we would wake up and do some physical exercise at Ajuka's basement gymnasium, since Maous had no limitation on their permitted building areas, so in addition to his labatory he also placed a gym in the basement. The electronic treadmills provided as a chance to run for 7 kilometers while wearing weights that weights 50 kilograms. Then we would swim for 50 laps in a standard Olympic size swimming pool. Literally hell for us, human Special Forces might be able to handle that kind of exercise but not us teenagers that could barely lift 2 kilograms. The physical exercise was aimed to obviously to boost our stamina in a short time which despite the terrible performance during the first few days we shown tremendous improvement at least we don't fell down after just 2 kilometers.

After the morning routine and lunch (with Ajuka giving mercy by not giving out Tabane's cooking), our afternoon training will be separated. Tabane would put Ichika in an obstacle course to train his reflexes and his shooting skills later onwards. His training in demonic energy would have to wait because the initial test shows that he has very poor affinity with demonic energy compared to me. My training consisted of meditation to try to create a bridge between my mind and my demonic energy core so that I could tap into its power. After meditation, whenever I was successful or not, the next training would be boost training, basically testing the limit of how much boost I could do before I have to stop. So far, I managed from barely 2 boost to 6 boosts by the end of the third day but that is it and no improvement had been made. It appears for now eight boost is my very limit, much to the dismay of Ajuka, clearly indicating that my limit was far from the level of standing up to Raiser.

Now at present, I was trying to medicate again to see the results if it improved. Ajuka told me that if my mind could project an image of a clear and defined sphere of energy, then it meant a successful attempt in meditation. The result would be an increased amount of demonic energy that I could wield. But if my mind projected something that was blurry, it meant a failure. So far, my attempts were in a lack of a better word, pathetic, fitting for a failure like me. Ajuka encouraged me all the time, but I knew that he was disappointed that no success had so far came to us.

"Clear your mind, expel impure thoughts, and focus on yourself only…" this mantra was the only thing I had to try to succeed. Ajuka was watching me, praying (not to Biblical God)

Slowly and slowly, my mind's blurry energy started to manifest in a solid form. I could see that it is no longer just a huge sea of energy waves, but they slowly concentrated and I could see a sphere forming up. The sphere solidified in a very slow but stable pace. It wasn't long until that a solid and bright sphere of demonic energy manifested. Success! I was delighted that at last, I had succeeded!

Sadly, I celebrated too soon. For my mind celebrated my victory, my focus was instantly lost. The boundaries of the energy sphere quickly collapsed, so the originally solid sphere quickly became loose again. The energy quickly dispersed from the original frame and to my bitter disappointment, my mind's projection was the familiar sea of energy as before.

Another total failure.

Ajuka was looking at me emotionlessly but I could tell that he just shook his head a few moments ago when I was distracted by the apparent success. So my poor span of attention was becoming a huge problem for me.

No need to consider the results of the boost test. As long as the energy sphere cannot be solidified for more than 5 seconds, then basically with the combined physical training this is my very limit and pushing on will not result in any improvement.

Sigh, just how "well prepared" for the task ahead!

How am I supposed to save Buchou and the others if I am so pathetically weak?!

Ajuka's Lab: Infinite Stratos training facility No.003

Ichika's POV (The Sixth Day)

For the last six days, we see huge substantial improvement in our stamina and we have improvements in some of our areas but for both of us, we know that we are still far from Raiser's League.

Last night, when we returned to our rooms to rest, Issei complained to me that his attempts in training had literally been halted by his weakness. To be fair, I don't fare much better at all!

If Issei's problem was related to his physical condition and his poor affinity with demonic energy, then my problem was related to not only my skills with the IS but also my poor understanding of the IS system. You might think that being "The Brunhilde's Otouto" is beneficial for my IS skills due to "genetic relationships" but it's not. Despite my apparent compatibility with the IS system, the last battle against the Uchiganes is actually a serious wake-up call to me because in addition to the skills that I lacked, I completely have no knowledge of the understanding of the IS system including its weapons and its abilities besides the Passive-Inertia Canceller (PIC), Absolute Defense and basic IS components.

About the understanding of the IS system however, Tabane my trainer decided that (unusually serious for her personality) this matter could only be solved after this match as it will take too much time, she also suggested that I should seek Tatenashi's advice in IS education instead since the bluenette had more experience with actual Infinite Stratos application and usage (Tabane may be the creator of the system but she remarked that it has been a long while since she actually use one. Science is different than Skills she said in Infinite Stratos). When I ask when just Tatenashi and not the other girls, Tabane replied that last time during the first match again Alcott-san Houki showed absolutely no understanding of the system though she had a much more capability in understanding the system after the match, Charlotte and Laura are representative candidates but Tatenashi is a REPRESENTATIVE not a CANADIATE. Though I suspect that Tabane had other motives because she was smiling when she told me about Tatenashi while she was elaborating on my weakness she was very serious in terms of facial expression.

Hmm I wonder but I think that her explanation of her lack of application of the IS system is nothing more than a ruse but an excuse to push me to the girls. (They will wake up 4 days after the match by the way)

Anyway, Tabane formulated a huge training programme. It consisted of two parts. The first part was my sword training, involving an obstacle course consist of holographic targets that could DAMAGE my Byakushiki shield if I was not careful and a special video training involving advanced sword techniques like involving multiple strikes that either aimed at confusing the enemy or rapidly disable the target. The second part of my training consists of another type of obstacle course, consisted of targets to shoot and civilian targets that I should not shoot (Note: Think Call of Duty training levels obstacle courses like the Cargo Ship simulation of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 1 and the Pit of Modern Warfare 2) that proceeds after a standard timed shooting training. If I failed three times in the standard timed shooting training, Tabane would still order me to proceed to the obstacle course regardless of the results.

To sum it up, all my results were catastrophic.

I always overlapped my time in the timed target practice, probably over 2 minutes which the original time limit was 90 seconds. The training for the sword fighting course always resulted in a constant state of defeat as my shields always depleted within just about 30 seconds due to the constant real-life attack of holographic IS units and my poor level of skills to resist them. My obstacle course in shooting initially was a massacre of "people" due to my inability to differentiate between friend and foe while afterwards I managed to keep civilian casualties low but the result was the triple amount of time required. The advanced sword art move "flash memory" training was the only thing that is successful compare to other training programmes, mostly because I could easily follow the instructions as they were imprinted into my mind instead of making me learning it.

At present, Tabane and Ajuka both commented that the sword training programme could be postponed due to my training in Kendo and the fact that the previous battle already solidified the observation of my adequate sword fighting skills. They however commented that at present, while my skills are much better than Issei I pale in comparison of Yuto. It still suffice though, so instead we focus on my shooting skills. The reason for the postponement is because after three days of sword fighting training it has become clear that in such short time I had already reached my limit and my shooting skills are far more important now. The only part of the sword fighting training programme that is still ongoing is the special video training programme since it only involves watching the video and memorizing the moves.

Now I am trying again to meet the time limit of the target practice. Tabane is monitoring me while standing on a hovering platform. In front of me is a standard holographic computer room, which in a few moments will project some random holographic targets that resembles the ones that I used when Charlotte helped me with some target practice (IS Season 1 Episode 06). The timer is displayed in both my HUD (Head-up Display) and a holographic computer screen on Tabane's platform. The targets will only visualize for a few seconds, if I cannot make my shot connect to the target in time, the targets will dissipate and count as a loss for me. The target is to hit 20 targets within 20 seconds, average that I only got 1 second to hit a target. The training exercise passing grade is 17 targets hit, I am only allowed to miss 3 targets and it is a very harsh programme for me since I am a new comer in IS combat. In addition, the candidates were required to at least hit the hexagon marks of 75% accuracy range to score a hit while hitting the 100% mark will allow for a time deduction of 0.5 seconds, hitting the hexagon marks below the 75% mark will not be counted as a score. According to Tabane's access to IS Representatives and Representative Candidates reports in the IS Academy (through questionable methods), Charlotte, Laura and Tatenashi participated in similar exercises during their training and all of them passed the test. Charlotte scored all targets In the 20 second mark, Laura was faster with a 16.5 seconds record, Tatenashi with her usual reputation of perfection managed a 13.0 second mark which not only broke the previous record of 15 seconds but also remained as the record of the IS Academy until today with the closest time record of 14.01 seconds.

However, Tabane warned that actual veteran IS Representative average scoring is the same as Tatenashi's results, ranging from 13.0 seconds to 13.5 seconds. Since Tatenashi is a Representative, the score in the IS Academy was not something out of ordinary. Tabane told me that because Houki is not a representative nor a candidate, she is the only one that didn't pass the test among the ones I knew, yet during a secret meeting between the two sisters a few weeks ago before the teleporter accident, Tabane revealed that Houki is only 0.01 seconds later than the requirement when she gave the test to her and she managed to hit all targets.

Back to the training at hand. Everything is prepared, in the few moments Tabane will activate the training programme and she told me that this is the last time that I should fail. For otherwise, I will never save Issei, Buchou and the girls as well. It is revealed that Raiser somehow managed to acquire information about Tatenashi, Houki, Charlotte and Laura and increased the stakes of the game. Should I fail the Rating Game, not only Rias-Buchou will be given to Raiser, the IS girls will also be delivered to the Phenex Household as extra devil slaves enslaved to the household after 10 days of the marriage of Buchou and Raiser. After all is done, Raiser demanded that Issei and I be killed by Raiser, and with "maximum pain and humiliation bestowed upon the insignificant insects." as he quoted.

I was distributed with a visually identical rifle that I used during the battle against the Uchiganes. Tabane decided that the Byakushiki particle cannon's direct connection to the energy core of IS could be critical problem since my overall handling of IS energy is very poor. The rifle, which is based on Charlotte's 0.50 cal sniper, has been modified into a dual ammunition rifle. It has a primary chamber for an energy weapon, most likely a particle beam rifle, while also possessing a secondary chamber for ballistic ammunition. These chambers could be interchanged in less than 1 minute. The energy weapon chamber has a small reactor that could enable it to function for a long time than most conventional IS student level weapons (Military grade IS are given more powerful weaponry than student grade IS weaponry) while the ammunition is fed from a variety of specialized magazines that will be delivered to it directly through the Rapid Switch system that Tabane modified my Byakushiki to accommodate besides the standard Fold-out armor that it comes with. The rifle is designed to have three firing modes which is compatible with all types of ammunition: full auto, semi-auto and safety. The rifle however is actually specifically designed and manufactured by Tabane herself, she dubbed it the Type-075 Multiple-Ammunition Assault Combat Rifle "Akafungeki: Red Fury" and she told me that it is for my use only as she also fitted some advanced aiming assistance software that allows me to aim more accurately given my poor skills.

"Ikkun, prepare yourself. Don't let Houki-chan, Tatenashi-chan, Charlotte-chan and Laura-chan be taken by that "yakitori" fool."

3

2

1

BEGIN!

Instantly, the target marks visualize and without a single string of hesitation, I fired my rifle. I set the rifle to energy weapon setting for now, since it provides me with virtually unlimited ammo but Tabane actually told me that I should try not to just spray the arena with energy bolts and try to actually aim instead of spraying.

Phew!

Scored 1: 75% accuracy: 2 Seconds

Oh no! Already late for 0.5 seconds. Got to pick up the time

Phew!

Missed: Time Penalty: + 0.5 seconds: 4.5 seconds

That went well!

Phew!

Scored 2: 100% accuracy: Time Bonus: - 0.5 seconds: 5.5 seconds

Phew!

Scored 3: 75% accuracy: 7.5 Seconds

Phew!

Scored 4: 80% accuracy: 9.0 seconds

For every increasing shot, time is not on my side. I then tried to hit the targets with all I got and with reckless abandon.

Phew!

Score rejected: 35% Accuracy: 11.2 seconds

Not good, I have to do something before it is too late!

Phew!

Scored 5: 100% Accuracy: Time Bonus – 0.5 seconds: 12.3 seconds

Phew!

Scored 6: 95% accuracy: 13.0 seconds

The next shot's result was as follows

Scored 7: 85% accuracy: 15 seconds

Score rejected: 45% accuracy: 17 seconds

Scored 8: 100% accuracy: Time Bonus: - 0.5 seconds: 17.5 seconds

Scored 9: 80 accuracy: 18.5 seconds

Score rejected: 35 % accuracy: 19.2 seconds

This was my last chance. My sweat overflowed my forehead and my palms were sweating as well, I hope that I could still salvage any chance of success

Scored 10: 80% accuracy: 20 seconds

Time expired: Training ended

Results

Successful shots: 10 shots

Failed shots: 3

Missed shots: 1

Total shots: 14 shots

Conclusion: Fail: Below requirement of 3 shots

Sigh. I failed again.

"Don't worry Ikkun! You can do it again!" encouraged Tabane.

But I knew the hidden message within her words

"Ikkun, you are not going to make it."

Ajuka Beelzebub's Laboratory: 3 Days left to Unofficial Rating Game between Rias Gremory and Raiser Phenex

Ajuka's POV

So far, the progress of the two combatants were not good

Issei managed to make contact with his demonic energy core but apparently the time record of maintaining of focus was apparent stuck to 5 minutes at maximum. Ichika's shooting skills apparentky doesn't even worth mentioning among the peers of IS pilots. We tried everything and even the "expert" tried to give us more useful advice but it seems that it is the limit that they reached.

Tabane and I discussed what could have went wrong during the training programme. We managed to increase their stamina to adequate levels which resulted not only in their increase in physical abilities but also their increase in their power like Issei's ability to boost 10 times (amplified by not only his increased physical stamina but also his increased compatibility with the magic core of his) and Ichika's responses time increased by an astonishing 100%. However, we concluded that while both boys are more than a match with Raiser's pawns and giving a good fight with the Bishops, their power levels and skills suggested that they will struggle with the Knights, a bit unlikely against the Rooks and having no chance against Raiser's Queen and Raiser himself.

We consulted the "expert" and he said that he also think that although the programme he comes up with could improve the standards of Issei and Ichika substantially we were short on time. He was now trying to come up with another solution to our problems and so far he was mum on that.

Tabane and I were sitting in the lab overlooking a holographic computer screen displaying the current stats of the boys. We are just pondering on how to help the boys when the screen flicks and shows a message from the expert requesting to communicate with us. We allowed and the screen changes to the expert's screen

However, due to the secretive nature of our cooperation, the expert's face was blurred while he is talking.

"Greetings Beelzebub-sama. I trust that you are pretty much out of ideas now right?"

Needless to say, we nodded.

"Well I have a solution to our problems. Though I would say that this is the extreme method."

"We are listening….."

A few moments later

"WHAT?! Are you seriously suggesting that? The progress is irreversible!" I shouted.

"What choice do we have? Either destruction of the boys and the failure of our objective or victory? We are out of time, and this may be the only chance we have."

"But, it is too extreme! This is not the time for extreme methods! Have you consider the consequences for that action?"

"I have, but it is all I can come up with now. I can make artificial equipment to argument their abilities but I won't have enough time, it needs 2 weeks to make even one. Any more demanding training programme will be counterproductive and the boys will suffer! This is probably our best shot in scoring a victory!"

"This is a dangerous gamble."

"Yet sometimes, it might be better to try than never. We are out of options and we have to make difficult decisions."

I sighed before I repliled to him

"Alright, I will discuss this with Tabane-chan. Thanks for the suggestion."

"You are welcome. I wish the boys good luck!"

After the "expert" cut out communication, I turned to Tabane. Contrary to her usually cheerful face, throughout the training programme she displayed seriousness that was out of character for her. Her present face was one of conflicted emotions but I could tell that she has an answer to our problems.

"Ajuka-chan, I think that you should try the way that the expert told us (Note: Tabane doesn't know who the expert is). We are out of options."

"Tabane, I do not disagree the present situation is very bleak for us, but we should not resort to extreme measures. The suggestion involves putting the lives of the boys at serious risk, and it is not guaranteed to be fully successful."

"Ajuka-chan please. I thought about it and while it is risky as you have said it, the benefits brought by this method is not short-termed which is the rating game victory, it could also be a very long-term benefit for the boys and our mission as well!"

"Elaborate."

"First, I found that this method benefits not only the boys but also the IS girls, it could increase their abilities to a new level while also allowing them to synchronize their attacks with each other with surgical precision. In long term, the general combat capabilities of Issei-kun, Iikun, Houki-chan, Tatenashi-chan, Charlotte-chan and Laura-chan will be enhanced as one's increase in power will benefit all as well!"

I lifted my eyebrow. Interesting, it could be an investment that worth the risk.

"But I think the boys should know." And Tabane agrees with me.

"Ajuka, I am worried about Gremory." Said Tabane suddenly.

"Why Tabne? You said that you don't like her when you first met her."

"I don't dislike her as a person, but I dislike her as a leader of her peerage. She had shown adequate knowledge in handling the combat situations but she had not shown any efforts in trying to solve the mental conflicts that Akeno and Koneko-chan faces. It is true that she has her family matters to attend to but she had no efforts in trying to help them to get over their own past.'

"We are not supposed to judge how a master handle's a peerage. It's her own business."

"She could do a lot better. Now those girls are so weak that they couldn't even do fight a good battle!"

SLAP

Of all the things I would do to my wife, slapping her was the last thing I want.

And predictably, Tabane was shocked due to her expression. She rubbed her cheek and her eyes shone disbelief at my actions.

"Tabane, that is enough! Rias is a good girl and you should know better than that!"

"Then explain why she used her demonic energy to attack Issei when he refused to reveal any details of our meeting with Ichika UNDER YOUR ORDERS?!"

WHAT?! Rias attacked Issei? That was not something that I would expect from Rias but I refused to believe it.

"How badly damaged? Just a few minor stings of pain shouldn't be a huge problem."

"No Ajuka." Said Tabane with a dark expression "I ran a body check with Issei just a few hours ago after he collapsed when he was trying to push his magic core to even further levels. The reason why he collapsed was that his magic core, already small and weak in the beginning, was damaged severely by several demonic energy strikes. The strikes damaged his core so badly that if he push further it could cause his body to suffer damage and even to his brain! It also explains why Issei seems to be unable to increase his compatibility with his demonic energy any further. The energy signature indicates that it was that Gremory girl that attacked Issei, and Ichika just told me that Issei did revealed that Buchou attacked him."

I was shocked beyond belief. In all my life I believed that Rias was very pure and a good girl that cares for others as Gremory was notoriously known for their affection to their servants.

"But Rias….."

"Ajuka-chan. I never said that Rias is a bad person, I said that she is a very bad leader. A leader that trust her own pieces will NEVER attack him with demonic energy. She should also know that demonic energy could damage a low-class devil beyond repair. Her skills in leading a team is unquestionable but not the way she handles the team in terms of their own insecurities and their fears and also the way she treated Issei due to his need to remain silent UNDER YOUR ORDERS."

Ok, so that Rias actions really showed that she actually lacked a very good leadership capability. While it is too early to demand her to be a good leader since she is young, that was a bit off the line. I will have to do something about it.

Back to the topic.

"About his idea, do you think that it will work Ajuka-chan?"

"I am afraid that you had said it before, it was our only option. But we need to tell the boys about it and see if they will agree with it. If they do take this method, then we had done all we could."

Tabane nodded as she left the room while rubbing the cheek that I had slapped her. To be honest, I never expected Rias to behave like that.

Well appearance could be deceiving, maybe Rias is a bit too spoiled for her own good.

I just wish the boys luck.

Ajuka Training facility: 2 days before the Rating Game

Issei's POV

Ajuka suddenly called us when we were sleeping so I remembered that it was 1:00 am when we were forced awake. Ajuka immediately called us to the training room and told us to dress in our training attire.

We wasted no time and got there in less than 5 minutes.

Standing in the room were just Ajuka, Tabane had went to sleep for some reason. The facial expression on Ajuka's face could only be described as stern, so we instantly realized that it was much serious than most training sessions that we had before.

"Issei, I want you to boost as many times as you can!" shouted Ajuka.

Now, since the first day of training I had discovered that while I had managed to increase my boost limit, I still haven't found my true limit yet. However, the lack of improvement in my demonic energy training does not give me any hope at all. But hey, they say that an Admiral could only find how deep his submarine could go if he try it. So there is no harm in trying it.

"BOOSTED GEAR" and it materialized

"BOOST"

"Try to boost more Issei." Ajuka told me. "You need to find your true limit."

"BOOST!"

"BOOST!" x3

"BOOST!" x 5

"BOOST!" x 8

WHAT?! How could I managed to acquire 20 boost without exhausting?

"Issei, release all your energy! Use the new technique that I had taught you!"

I should explain. During training, Ajuka told me that besides the Dragon shot which allows me to shot a huge ball of energy he told me that I could release the energy in a spectrum, meaning that I could cause a shockwave surrounding me. The test confirmed that the shockwave could not only distort enemies, it could also cause actual damage to any enemies, provided that I had managed to acquire enough boost which was around 12 I think to actually harm others.

I followed his instructions and concernated on manipulating the energy to release in multiple directions.

"DRAGON SHOCKWAVE!"

The effect was instantaneous.

The shockwave that I released was substantial in power. Surrounding me were originally blocks of rocks that Ajuka placed as part of our training to move them by magic and not physically, each weighing about 10 tons. The shockwave that I first tried could barely scratch them, but not this time. This time, the rocks were completely blown away by the green energy ring that I released and the basement walls have huge holes that shown the rocks being stuck to them due to my attack. On top of that, there were many screens that were traditional (not holo-screen) surrounding me, all the glasses shattered and the fragments were everywhere (Luckliy Ajuka placed a shield on himself, Ichika and I to prevent injuries). It was like a huge earthquake and a huge tornado that struck the place.

I was astonished by this attack, even Ichika. He was completely buffered by the sheer scale of improvement. It seems that even though we only managed to manage to improvement minimally every day, the cumulated effort was substantial. The Dragon Shockwave

"Ichika, now I am going to order you to use your new shooting skills. Use the technique that Tabane taught you!"

For Ichika, since his natural shooting skills left much to be desired, Tabane decided to enable him to "cheat". The trick was to also use some demonic energy, the method was to allow some demonic energy to entrench in his eyes and will them into enabling him in seiing enemies' energy signature emitting from either his or her heart. While this would not enhance his shooting skills a lot, it would allow Ichika to aim at the weakest parts of his oppoments to either disable them or kill them. This would help Ichika, because he didn't know which area of a person that he should be aiming his weapon at (literally he just shoots and spray energy bolts or bullets without hitting a critical point in a devils body, hitting a critical point against a devil by a human weapon IS A MUST since their bodies were much more enhanced than humans)

The main problem however, was when Ichika uses this technique it would be a dead giveaway. His pupils would glow red if it contained demonic energy, so when the opponents realized the difference in his shooting skills between non-glowing eyes or glowing eyes, they would know when to be more cautious. Still better have it than none.

In a blink of an eye, several holographic targets materialized and with my newly acquired sensing abilities, I could tell that these "markers" were emitting demonic energy, which made it a bit more visible for Ichika to aim correctly, it however depends on whenever that he mastered the approach.

From what I can tell however, it seems he got the hang of it, evidenced by his glowing red pupils and they were quite radiant.

Utilized his newly equipped Rapid Switch (his Byakushiki was originally exempted from equipping with a Rapid Switch due to his Fold Out Armor design in 3.5 Generation IS), Ichika summoned his Akafungeki rifle and fired it in an instant.

To my shock and to the delight of Ajuka, Ichika's training had paid off.

Plew!

Target Hit. 12 Targetes remaining. 30 Seconds remaining.

Plew!

Missed. 12 Targets remaining. 28 seconds remaining.

The Test continued until at last, Ichika had passed the test and he was quite delighted about it, because this victory ended his "spree" of failures for the last 8 days.

Unfortunately, by using these "advanced" techniques, we paid a price.

We instantly collapsed into unconsciousness

Ichika's POV

Ugh, it felt like my head was being hit by Houkis's Shinai, Charlotte's shield piece, Tatenashi's spear simultaneously.

My eyes struggled to open and allow me to escape from this vortex of darkness.

I was successful but I wasn't really umm well.

When my lids finally opened, I instantly got the hint that I was in the Infirmary Room of Ajuka's mansion. The exercise of my "demonic eyesight" must have over exhaust my energy reserves.

Issei was laying besides my on another bed. He was steadyily breathing but he was exhausted too.

Ajuka stared at us with a very grim glance. It was then Issei woke from his slumber.

"Ichika, Issei, do you realize the problem?" Ajuka asked.

"We both exhaust ourselves way too easily and too soon when we are using our new abilities." No denying that.

"That is why I am about to introduce you to a solution."

Issei and I were instantly delighted by the solution

"However, there IS a catch."

That made us "delighted".

"Here is the idea….."

A few moments later

We both agreed that Ajuka was right…

This plan was too extreme and perhaps too risky!

Yet we couldn't help but feel that this was our only chance.

"Boys, I am letting you off for now. Discuss this privately between you tow. Come back in two hours. We don't have much time so you must decide. I can't force you to this. It is your choice."

We left the room, knowing that it would be a tough decision.

Ajuka's POV

It was the final day before the rating game.

To my and Tabane's surprise. The boys accepted the suggestion by the "expert" so we conducted the ritual last night.

The two boys then preformed marvelously. Not only the ritual went without problems, but also the boys displayed no fatigue anymore after using those advanced techniques. So far, I could say that the training was a successful and the fact that the boys now could stand a much better chance against Raiser was a much reassuring and satisfying result that we could get for now.

The problem was, how do the boys fight against Raiser?

We need a strategy which was what I, Tabane, Ichika and Issei were discussing about.

It was technically cheating, but I would rather bend the rules then allowing Raiser Phenex to taint the pure and good-hearted sister of my best friend!

I managed to get wind of the possible battleground that Ichika and Issei would be facing in the next battle. It would occur in a replica of the Kuoh Academy and that could buy us an advantage, but our knowledge of the base where Rias and Raiser would be stationed during the game was nil. We don't know where Raiser's base could be so this would be a problem.

"Ajuka-chan." Said Tabane "I had reviewed Ii-kun and Issei-kun's capability. But I am afraid that they are still no match against Raiser. His regenerative powers is too great and their body could not survive his fire. Even if I give Ii-kun a powerful shield generator it will collapse after just a few blasts."

"That means direct combat between Ichika and Issei is not going to help us."

Ichika and Issei's expressions were quite depressing. The boys had tried everything they could but to hear that they were still outclassed by Raiser Phenex was like telling them that they had wasted their efforts for nothing.

"Ii-kun, Issei" interrupted Tabane "It is not that both of you are useless, it is just that we couldn't push you to the level to match against Raiser for such a short amount of time so it is not your fault."

Great encouragement Tabane and it was true because the boys were instantly in good spirits again.

"Rather, I think that Rias will stand the highest chance of defeating Raiser." Said Tabane.

"The question was his pieces." Finished my wife.

Both Ichika and Issei showed confused expressions but I instantly knew what Tabane was talking about.

"Dear, are your suggesting we should try to clear a way for Rias Gremory to be able to reach Raiser without the fear of encountering all of Raiser Phenex's pieces?" I asked

She nodded.

"Umm, Tabane-sama. What is your suggestion?" Issei asked.

"My suggestion is that you both be the sacrificial lamb for this game."

Both boys were shocked by the suggestion though I knew that they just didn't know what to do.

"What is a sacrificial lamb Ajuka-sama." Asked Issei

That resulted in a combined groaning from Tabane and me.

"It means that you both will need to sacrifice yourself so that Rias Germory will have a clear shot at Raiser without needing to face all other Raiser Pieces."

"How do you expect us to attack all of the pieces? I may not be the smartest but as I had once played chees with Laura and Charlotte I am sure that the yakitori " asked Ichika.

"The trick is to draw maximum attention to lead the pieces to bait."

Ichika pondered a while and I suspect that he had an idea.

"Then when don't I deploy Byakushiki? It will surely attract a lot of attention…."

I interrupted him before he could finish

"No Ichika, I told you not to deploy the Byakushiki in this match unless things went too south. You must try to keep your Infinite Stratos unknown to others."

"Then how do we attract maximum attention?!" Ichika shouted, obviously frustrated.

"Simple. Pride, Iikun." Said Tabane.

Both boys were hopelessly confused by Tabane's short answer. Sigh, they still need to develop their intelligence (Such block heads they are!)

"Boys, Raiser Phenex is a prideful man. If you stroke his pride, then he will put everything he had against you. He may had won numerous rating games in the past, but he is still susceptible for mistakes due to his pride."

Both boys got the hint instantly.

"So we have to provoke him to attract all the attention of the pieces?"

"Raiser's pieces are very defensive of their master. Insulting him will be equivalent to insulting them as well. For the man, should his pride got the better of him and that you manage to defeat his pieces without being forced to retire, then he will put everything he got against you."

"So while we were busy dealing with all the pieces, Buchou could proceed to Raiser's base without need to use her energy to fight any pieces. She could reserve all of her energy to fight Raiser to defeat him." Issei sumarised.

"Another thing is that you must bring one of your comrades with you. Since Raiser's regenerative powers are so powerful, the only way that Rias could beat him is to destroy his will. If he lost all pieces he will be forced to fight alone. I hope that while you bring one of your comrades with you, the others especially the Queen Akeno Himejima, the knight Kiba Yuuto and the bishop Asia Argento could accompany Rias to fight against Raiser, increasing their chances of defeating him. He is powerful, but he can't be a one man army, especially the lighting powers of Akeno, the speed and sword birth of Kiba and the Twilight Healing of Asia could give Rias an edge over Raiser."

'That means that we need Koneko-chan with us." Answered Ichika. "And with this plan, we could ensure a good chance against Raiser."

"Stroking his pride….." muttered Issei "Definitely works. Though I am still not well with this sacrificial lamb, allowing Akeno-san, Asia-chan and Kiba to assist Buchou in her battle against Raiser is definitely a much better plan."

"So, in this manner, you both proceed to the school field with Koneko after you convinced her. Send a message to Raiser and provoke him to attack you. You should also dared him to send all of his pieces to you. Since he considers you to be inferior pieces, he most probably will send his pawn pieces to you first before he will start to send his more valuable pieces. Defeat the pawns first with least amount of energy as possible, reserve your energy against high class pieces. The best way to do so is to mock him, that will guarantee for a success since he is so prideful. In the meantime, Rias could proceed to the base without resistance and defeat Raiser with the help of Akeno, Kiba and Asia."

"Though I hope that Rias Gremory could understand the plan of Issei-kun and Iikun. Should she worries about the state of them and send of the other pieces, the plan could be a failure." Said Tabane.

Tabane, when will you get over your dislike of Rias, though the same could be said for myself since Rias attacked Issei.

Regardless, this seemed to be a perfect plan…

Until Issei and Ichika both suggested "Ajuka, what if Buchou/Rias-Buchou did, as Tabane said dispatched one of her pieces to assist us. And if the plan do went south, then what should we do?"

That bit me, I hadn't thought of contingency plans and that was very stupid of me. Rias definitely care about her pieces, so it is a high possibility that this will happen.

Numerous plans surfaced in my mind until I found one that could work.

"Alright, here is the other plan if it fails. You have to….."

8: 00 Am, Day of the Rating Game.

Issei's POV

Well this was it, the Rating Game is about to begin.

Ichika and I were know back in the ORC clubroom. Last night Ajuka told us the plans to defeat Raiser and since the training did pay off, we were somewhat confident that we could still stand a chance against Raiser.

However, the atmosphere at the ORC clubroom was already tense. Not just because of the upcoming game, but also of Ichika and I disobeying Buchou's order for training. For that, she was glaring at me hatefully while she would adopt a very disappointed expression when facing against Ichika. Buchou angrily scold me for disobeying her, despite my attempts to assure her that I was training for the match and that I would pay full effort for it, Rias didn't buy my explanation despite Ichika's assistance (She just demanded Ichika to back down). Again, she stroke me with demonic energy, though it didn't hurt much as a result of my training.

"I don't even know why I should bother with you Issei, since you are such a disobedient pawn."

I swear that I would try everything in my power to restore Buchou's trust in me.

Ichika just turned his head and smiled at me to try to encourage me. I just smiled back in return. It was a shame that the IS girls would not join us in this battle, they would wake up 3 days after the match so we were victorious, Ichika would have a nice day with them.

Alright, let's do this!

Finally after losing this chapter so long ago I could finally do it. There were many hidden plot points so you could now guess it until I finish another chapter

Special thanks to Fanfiction author LasbAuthorArtist for continuing support. The stories of the author is quite good with excellent grammar and original ideas. The stories pairing is not the usual Rias x Issei and I pretty much love the idea of different pairings though so they are quite refreshing (I personally prefer Issei x Koneko x Kunou x Yasaka x Le Fay Pendragon x Kiyome Abe). You should read them though. Another author is Vader23A, whom he is working on an Ace Combat X + Vandread Crossover.

Now, I need some suggestions for this. The Raze + Highschool DxD crossover (Raze: Rise of Mankind and her allies) in my opinion now has far more potential than this though. So I ask you all, should I continue with this or should I focus on Raze + Highschool DxD Crossover or put equal effort in both? I had no idea for now. The Infinity of Friendship fanfic idea is still solid but the plot line was pretty much lost after the file lost so I might need even more time for that.

Anyway, I will try to update but it is hard when I still have university projects in summer holiday.

Thank you all!