Conclusion

Seeing Akeno being blasted out of the sky by Riser's queen pained Issei greatly as he clenched his fist as the light of retirement enveloped his mate.

["Rias Gremory Queen retired"] he heard Grayfia said.

Unfortunately, her defeat marked the end of the match. Only Akeno and Koneko held the power necessary to counter Riser's regeneration and with them gone, the remaining members have no chance at defeating Riser. They will fight as hard as they can. Of that he is sure; but they are not yet strong enough to wear down the regenerative power that a phoenix possesses. Rias hasn't mastered her power of destruction; Asia has barely begun to train in her abilities. Matsuda's still hasn't reached his balance breaker and Kiba's physical attacks had no effects on Riser. He had to give Matsuda credit for the amazing combination he performed with his boosted gear and Kiba's sword birth which enabled them to take down multiple enemies at once. Unfortunately, he realized that they once again let their guard down, enough for the enemy's queen to take down Kiba with her demonic power.

Although Matsuda was able to promote to queen, the match had already been decided. Rias, no matter how many times she attacked Riser, he simply regenerated and countered with his own attack. However, anyone could tell that he was not serious and was only toying with Rias. Seeing his friends being toyed with made him clench his fists even harder, piercing his own skin and leaking blood. What went unnoticed was that he had unconsciously held Grayfia's hand while all this has been going on and Grayfia also unconsciously rubbed his hand with her thumb as though to try and sooth him as things got worst and worst for Rias and the others. Asia did her best to heal Rias injuries but she could not restore her stamina as she had yet to develop her fairy dragon powers. So slowly but surely, they were being worn down and eventually Riser's queen intervened and retired Asia with a bomb attack. Rias then used all her power for one last desperate attack against Riser and although it managed to retire his queen, Riser simply regenerated once more still keeping his ever so annoying smirk on his face, knowing he had the victory in his pocket. Matsuda then proceeded to fight against Riser but instead of a fight, it was a one-sided beat down. Through it all, Matsuda never once gave up. He stood up time and time again no matter what Riser threw at him. He fought the best that he could for the women he loved but unfortunately, it was not enough. Eventually, Rias could no longer bear it and surrendered the match. She was crying as she held Matsuda in her arms telling him that she was proud of him as his body was slowly being retired from the game.

"Rias Gremory has surrendered. The winner of this Rating game is… Riser Phoenix"

He heard Grayfia announce but from her tone, Issei could tell that she was also disgusted by the result. Sirzechs could do nothing but close his eyes in sadness at seeing the match slip away from his sister's clutches along with her happiness. Serafall looked to her husband with worried eyes as she grabbed his hand, overlapping her fingers with his. Sirzechs opened his eyes and looked at her, a small smile gracing his lips as he appreciated her concern. However, that didn't stop him from feeling not only disappointed but also angry at the outcome. Yet, he could do nothing to intervene due to his status as a Maou. Issei finally got up, breaking off his unconscious hold on Grayfia, and decided to go check up on his friends to make sure they were alright unaware of the fact that Grayfia's eyes were following him. She couldn't help but look at hand and slightly blush at how strong they were.

The first person he wanted to visit was Rias but he understood that she would want to be alone for the moment. She had lost her one chance at freedom and there were no words that he could give her that could comfort her so he decided that he would go check up on her team. He didn't need to ask the staff where they were since he could already sense them so he simply made his way towards the place they were teleported to. The first person he visited was Koneko, simply because she was the closest one. He knocked on the door twice and entered the room. He spotted Koneko sitting on her bed, already healed up from all the damage she took during the game. She looked pretty much the same as she usually does however Issei could see that she wasn't her usual self considering there was a bowl filled with sweets on her desk and she wasn't even looking at it.

"Hey, Koneko" he greeted her. She raised her head and looked at Issei.

"Hey" Issei could see she felt defeated.

"I know you feel really bad right now but you did the best that you could and that is all anyone can ask of you"

"I could have done more. My senjutsu was one of the ways we had that could defeat Riser. Our strategy involved me staying active throughout the entire match." Issei rubbed his chin

"Well, if we are speaking objectively then yes. Your power was one of the most effective ways to deal with the Phoenix regeneration. We were counting on you to stay alive until the end to be able to deal efficient damage to Riser which might have led you guys to victory." Koneko couldn't help but feel even more dejected with herself until

"However, speaking as your friend, you were able to save Matsuda from being defeated by Riser's queen. Being able to save your friends from danger is and will always be one of the most noble things to do. Also, it was due to your action that Matsuda was able to become stronger and evolve his sacred gear. So please stop beating yourself over this defeat. You did the best that you could and that is all anyone can ever ask of you" He patted her head as he was trying to console her. He could then see a small tear coming from her eye. A surprising thing coming from the girl who barely showed any emotion but he guessed it showed just how much she truly felt.

"I'm sorry… despite the fact that you and Tiamat-sama trained us, we still lost and now Buchou will be stuck with that despicable pervert." She said distastefully. The fact that they had lost the match meant that Riser gets to claim Rias and they all knew that he treated her as a trophy rather than a wife. Their own future was also at risk because Riser will assume some control over them and the thought of being under that disgusting man revolted Koneko and most likely the others as well. Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt Issei hand move from her head to her shoulder. He then bent down so they could be at eye level.

"You don't need to apologize for anything. Despite the loss, you have all grown tremendously stronger during your training and have proven to everyone that you were more than a match for Riser and his peerage who was believed to be overwhelmingly superior to you guys. There is no way Tiamat or I would be disappointed in you all when you all tried your best and like I previously said I'm sure Rias does not fault any of you for this defeat." He gave her a smile, letting her know that he isn't disappointed at any of them but rather proud that they did their best. It seemed to have worked in relieving her depressed mood a bit.

"So, what happens now?" she asked him. He answered by retrieving the bowl of sweets that still remained untouched and handed it to Koneko who grabbed it.

"Now, you leave the rest to me." He told her before getting up and walking out the room. Koneko was following his figure until he closed the door. She sighed as she looked at the bowl of sweets and grabbed one, unwrapping it from its foil and finally started eating it.

Issei now made his way towards the next closest person which turned out to be kiba who was located across Koneko's room. When he arrived, he could hear some form of sound coming from his room. He knocked twice before entering and saw what was making that sound. Kiba seemed to be preoccupied by performing a series of swing with his swords. Seems he wasn't able to lay still in contrast to Koneko. It also seemed like he was really focused on his swings because it didn't look like he noticed that Issei had come in even though he was in front of him.

"Hello Kiba" he made his presence known causing Kiba to flinch in surprise since he didn't notice Issei coming in.

"W-What. Oh it's you, Issei! Forgive me for not greeting you. Sorry about this, I sometimes perform sword strokes in order to relieve stress." Kiba put his sword aside as he bowed in apology to Issei. However, Issei simply waved his hand

"Please don't worry about it. I was going to ask how are you doing but I can already take a guess" Kiba had a sad smile which answered his question.

"Yes, so I take it you saw our game."

Issei nodded.

"I see. Sorry we couldn't win despite all your training." Issei sighed as he moved next to kiba and patted his shoulder.

"No need to apologize. Like I told Koneko, you all did the best you could and I couldn't be prouder of each and everyone of you." Issei repeated what he tolf Koneko to Kiba trying to cheer him up as well.

"You saw Koneko-chan! How is she doing?" Kiba asked for his comrade.

"Just like you, she feels guilty for having lost the match. I'm also going to check up on everyone else. However, none of you should bear any guilt for the result of this match and I'm sure Rias wouldn't want you to."

At the mention of Rias, Kiba looked down in shame.

"I failed as Rias Gremory's Knight. I was supposed to protect her but, in the end, I got myself eliminated and gave Matsuda a greater burden on his shoulders. I am ashamed of myself for having let my guard down. I'm a failure as a knight. Matsuda-kun was more of a knight than I was. He fought all the way to end and defended Rias which should have been my duty." He solemnly stated, clearly infuriated with himself for having failed his king.

"You didn't fail Kiba. In fact, if we look at the game in its entirety, both you and Matsuda were the ones who eliminated most of Riser's Peerage. In fact, I was extremely impressed with the combination move you both performed that caused many of that bird's peerage to retire. Not to mention the fact that Matsuda was able to evolve his sacred gear in the process." Issei explained.

"As much as I would like to take credit for that, it was actually all Matsuda's idea so he deserves all the credit for that. All I did was help him and lowered my guard which allowed Riser's queen to eliminate me."

"It's true that you let your guard down and lost because of it. I will not deny that. But that is why you need to learn from your mistakes and strive to become better. Tannin-shishou has told me that it is often the loser who takes away more from than the winner. Losing shows you what you are lacking and other areas you need to improve on. Take myself as an example. I didn't become this strong because I won all the time. Back then, whenever I used to spar with Bova, I was always beaten. Don't even get me started with my shishous, let alone my parents. I lost and lost and lost but with each defeat, I got better and better until I finally won. Losing isn't the end but rather the beginning. Attempting to overcome trials and tribulations, to get there, to win, to triumph, that's what makes life interesting. That is why you need to learn from this and aim to become the strongest knight you can be so that next time you can better help protect your king and your friends." Issei finished speaking. Kiba seemed to look at awe at Issei's wisdom. Although, after realizing how much he was rambling, Issei couldn't help but scratch his head in embarrassment.

"S-Sorry about that. Didn't mean to rant so much." This caused Kiba to chuckle a bit

"hehe, it's no problem Issei-kun. Besides, you are absolutely correct. Still, due to our loss, Buchou just lost her freedom." He felt awful that his king was now in the clutches of that despicable Riser and there was nothing more he could do about it.

"Don't worry. Just leave it me." Issei parted as soon as he said those words but not before he heard Kiba mutter "thank you" which made him smile.

He then made his towards Matsuda's room only to notice that his door was partially opened meaning someone else must have entered his room. He opened it slightly without making any noise. Immediately he noticed who had previously entered. It was Asia who remained by Matsuda's side as she healed the remaining of his injuries. Out of everyone, he is the one who took the most damage having taken Riser's one sided beatdown over and over. Luckily, it wasn't life threatening and if Issei knew one thing about Matsuda is that he was resilient and had plenty of endurance. He managed to survive his training with him and Tiamat after all.

Matsuda, noticing Issei had come to visit tried to get up from his bed, only to have Asia tell him that she wasn't done healing him.

"You don't need to force yourself. You have been quite severely injured so it's best if you let Asia-chan heal you before getting out of that bed." Issei said, worried for his friend. Matsuda nodded as he laid back down on his bed.

"I take it you saw our disappointing match."

"I wouldn't call it that. You all performed extremely well despite overwhelming odds. That is especially true for you Matsuda. I was incredibly impressed when you managed to evolve your sacred gear and used it to defeat most of the birds peerage. It's very surprising considering that you have only been resurrected as a devil a couple of months ago." Issei tried to compliment him to cheer him up but it obviously didn't work

"But we still lost." He stated in a depressed tone.

"You did but as I told Kiba and Koneko, it was not your fault."

"Wasn't it? It was my fault that Koneko-chan got eliminated way to early. She was supposed to be our main arsenal against our opponent's regeneration and yet because I let my guard down, she paid the price. She should have let me be taken out and have been the one to face Riser at the end. She would have had a much better chance at defeating him than I did… How comical, I'm supposed to be the mighty red dragon emperor and yet I was unable to do anything against him. He simply toyed with me and then Buchou was forced to surrender. Despite all of your training, I wasn't able to do anything. Maybe they were right and the boosted gear is wasted on a weakling like myself. If it had been in the hands of a more capable person then maybe this wouldn't have happened." Matsuda berated himself over his lack of strength. Issei let out a sigh before he moved near him.

Flick

He flicked his forehead earning a yell of pain from Matsuda

"Ow, what was that for?" Matsuda said as he rubbed his forehead.

"That was for berating yourself over nonsense. I'll repeat myself as many time as I need to. It was not your fault. Neither does the fault lie with the others. You all did the best you could despite the overwhelming odds against you. This doesn't mean you are weak by any means." Issei said.

["He's right partner and if you are like that then you will never get strong. If the White one was here then he would laugh at you"] added Ddraig which seemed to confuse both Matsuda and Asia at who he was referring to.

"The white one?" Matsuda asked confusingly.

"He's referring to the White Dragon Emperor, the wielder of the Longinus Diving Gear that holds the soul of the second Heavenly Dragon, Albion Gwiber." It was Issei who answered his inquiry.

["Indeed, it is like he said. He is our rival and you will eventually meet him. In any case, you simply need to get stronger so that you don't lose again. Losing may be alright. As long as you don't die, losing can become your strength. Learn from your loses and come back stronger."] Ddraig advised which earned a nod from Issei.

"Ddraig is right Matsuda. Losing isn't the end but rather the beginning. Losing teaches you what you lack so that you may grow stronger. I'm pretty sure I already told you this but I didn't get strong overnight. I lost and lost against various opponents but I learnt from my loses, got stronger overtime and eventually started winning my fights. Getting stronger will take time so don't worry about it. You didn't lose this match due to your lack of strength but rather your lack of combat experience. So you shouldn't let it get you down." Issei then turned towards Asia.

"And before you even think about it, it's not your fault either Asia-chan." Issei patted her head.

"B-But I couldn't help Rias-Buchou." Muttered Asia in shame. She wasn't able to do anything while Rias fought against Riser and his queen. At this point, she truly regrets not having trained with her dragon powers. If she had even mastered a fraction of it, she would have been more helpful against them.

"That's not true. If it weren't for your twilight healing, Rias would have been eliminated that much earlier against Riser. You helped by enough time for Matsuda to arrive and promote to Queen. Besides, your role had already been decided to be the supporter of the team and you accomplished your role beautifully. So please, don't berate yourself. I know it's hard for the both of you given the result of the match but I know that Rias is proud of each and everyone of you. So am I and Tiamat I'm sure." Issei tried to cheer them up a bit which seemed to work for Asia who looked up and smiled.

"I appreciate you trying to cheer us up Issei, but the fact of the matter is that we lost and now Buchou is going to lose everything. What do we do now?" asked a tired Matsuda.

Issei smiled "Now, you leave it to me. You've all done everything you could and now it's my turn." Issei said before he left the two of them.

Last, but not least, he went to visit his mate, Akeno to see how she was holding up. He knew there wasn't much he could say to make her feel better but he at least wanted to be by her side and comfort her to the best of his abilities. Arriving at her room, he knocked twice before declaring his arrival.

"Akeno, it's me. I'm coming in" he said before entering her room. Unfortunately, he was greeted by a sight that tore his heart. Akeno expression was somber, her eyes puffy and red with parts of her dress clearly wet, proof that she had been crying this entire time. Seeing her boyfriend walking in, she tried to give the best smile she could, but he could tell that it was forced.

"Hey Issei… I'm assuming you saw our game" she said still distraught over the outcome, not that he could blame her.

"Yes, I did." He answered with a smile as he sat down next to her.

"It was an incredible game. I know you guys did the best you could despite the overwhelming disadvantage. Everyone believed your defeat would be a sure thing and yet you all managed to defeat every single member of the enemy's peerage despite suffering a numerical disadvantage and made this one a very close game. As one of the one's who trained you guys, I can say that I am proud of each and everyone of you. I'm sure Tiamat would agree with me as well" Issei tried to cheer her up a bit by laying out the positive aspects of their match. Unfortunately, he knew it wouldn't do much but he had to at least try. Seeing her like this, vulnerable and helpless, really unsettled him. She usually carried herself with grace and elegance but none of that was displayed in front of him.

"Our best… huh" he heard her mutter as she looked down in sorrow and what seemed to be guilt.

"Everyone certainly performed to the best of their abilities… but… I I didn't." she clenched her first as she muttered the last part. However, before Issei could say anything she continued

"Everyone fought with every ounce of their strength in order to help Rias win except for me. Please don't try to deny it. You witnessed the match with your own eyes and I'm pretty sure you could tell that I… I didn't use my fallen angel powers against Riser's queen. Everyone gave their all in their fights and even Koneko-chan who was always afraid of her powers was able to use her senjutsu abilities during combat. Matsuda-kun who hasn't even been a devil for a month performed amazingly well yet, I who is supposed to be the queen failed my team when they needed me. I- -"

Akeno was trembling. Her eyes were teary even though she wanted to be strong and brave in front of Issei but she realized that she's really helpless to do anything about it. In her heart, she believed it was her fault that they had lost the match. If she had been able to defeat Yubellina in combat then that would have given them the chance to swarm Riser together, which was one of their limited options to defeat him and yet when the time came to use her powers, she failed. She failed her team, her king and most of all herself.

Without even realizing it, all of a sudden, she was embraced by Issei who wanted to comfort her. he hugged her tightly into his chest in order to stop her from continuing any further. This is not the first time she ever showed her vulnerable side him but it is definitely the most serious. She clutched his shirt as the tears came rolling down her face, unable to hold it in anymore, she blurted out her feelings.

"I-I tried… you know. I tried to use my powers back then. I resolved myself, before the game started that if push come to shove that I… I would use my powers for the sake of Rias who offered me a brand-new life when I thought I reached the end of the line, to win her freedom from that jerk. When their queen used her phoenix tears to completely heal herself, I knew that I had to use my powers to even stand a chance at defeating her. However, when I tried to will my powers to activate… nothing happened. Not even a tiny speck of light emerged. I couldn't believe it and due to my lapse in judgement, it was over in an instant. She blasted me from the sky and retired me from the game. Due to my mistake, everyone payed the price as she took down our friends one by one. In the end, it was my fault that we lost the game. Because of me, Rias will be forced to marry a guy who sees her as nothing more than a trophy.

It's kind of ironic when you think about it? I, who despised and abandoned my fallen angel heritage due to what happened to my mother was in turn abandoned by those very same abilities when I needed them. I cannot say I don't deserve this but Rias certainly doesn't deserve to have her whole life taken away because of my mistake. It's not fair." Akeno let out all of her feelings, crying her heart out. Issei simply continued to listen to her while caressing her head, supporting her any way he could think of. After she finished, he lifted her beautiful face by her chin in order to talk face to face. He gave her a heartfelt smile.

"Listen to me! The results of the match were in no way your fault, Akeno-chan. We already established even before our training began that your fight was going to be a difficult one to win. I won't deny the fact that it's true that the moment you and Koneko-chan were retired from the match, the odds of victory were reduced from slim to none, however it is most certainly not your fault. I understand that you feel responsible for the loss due to your inability to activate your holy powers but pinning the blame entirely on yourself is wrong. Plus, I can guarantee you that Rias, in no way, blames you or anyone else for the loss. She is proud of all of you and appreciates all of your efforts and, like I said before, as one of your trainers, I am proud of each and everyone of you who fought until the end despite all adversities." He said as he wiped off stray tears from her eyes with his thumb. Seeing his efforts, Akeno let out a small smile which brightened up Issei's mood.

"Ah, there's the smile that I love very much. Brooding has never been your style anyways." He teased which made her giggle. Hey, anything to cheer her up worked fine in his book.

"So, what happens now?" she asked him. Issei's expression quickly turn serious.

"You guys did all you could so now you leave it up to me. It my turn." His statement caused her to go wide eyed in surprise, for a moment not believing what she was hearing. Issei was planning to save Rias himself. She hugged him once again placing her head on his chest

"Please…Please save Rias Issei" Issei heard her mumble. He hugged her back.

"Leave it to me." He said before they shared a passionate kiss.