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The Rating Game had already started by the time Rias and Akeno teamed up to take down Riser's Queen without much effort. After that, the rest of Riser's peerage didn't stand a chance. Riser himself, his limbs still crippled and unrecovered, could only watch helplessly as his peerage members fell one by one. Eventually, unable to take the humiliation any longer, he forfeited.
"It's over already? That was way too fast. Honestly, so boring."
Kaito couldn't help but yawn after saying that.
"Kaito-sensei, do you have any idea who caused all of this?"
Sona Sitri looked at him with a speechless expression.
"But I don't think you'll be bored for much longer. The people coming to make trouble for you are already here!"
Sona pointed at Lord Phenex and the others walking toward them, a look of barely concealed amusement on her face.
"Oh my, they're finally here! I've been waiting forever!"
Seeing Lord Phenex approach, Kaito felt like he had just seen a blessing from the heavens, even though the God of this world was long gone. That didn't stop him from giving the highest praise to someone who could actually bring him some entertainment.
"Hmph. Human, did you do something to my son? I'm advising you right now to cure him, otherwise..."
Lord Phenex, his thoughts already on Riser who still hadn't recovered, turned his fury on Kaito.
"Otherwise what? I'm not curing him. What exactly are you going to do about it?"
Kaito put on the most shameless expression he could manage and stared Lord Phenex down.
"Pfft!"
Sona couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.
"Sitri's girl, are you mocking the Phenex family?"
Lord Phenex, already furious at Kaito, rounded on Sona with a dark expression.
Kaito watched Lord Phenex turn on Sona and gave him a slow, deliberate thumbs up. Good heavens. What a brave man. Does he not know that the ultimate sis-con is standing right here? Is he tired of living?
Sure enough, just as Kaito expected, before he could say a word, a voice rang out — innocent in tone but burning with indignation.
"Old man, how dare you scold my Sona-tan! I think you've got a death wish."
"Today, I will wipe the Phenex family off the map."
Serafall was already moving when Sirzechs stepped in and stopped her.
"Sirzechs, get out of my way! I'm going to destroy this old man to avenge Sona-tan!"
Sirzechs pressed a hand to his forehead.
Is Lord Phenex actually unwell? He just had to go and provoke this woman, of all people. Doesn't he think he already has enough problems?
"Serafall, calm down. We can talk this through."
"Sister, please, just give it a moment. Right now this is between Kaito-sensei and them."
Sona quickly moved to Serafall's side, doing her best to talk her down with a helpless look on her face.
"Waaah, Sona-tan, you're scolding me!"
"Sister..."
Leaving the two of them to sort it out, Kaito turned back to Lord Phenex with a calm smile.
"Head of the Turkey family... actually, you know what, I'll just call you Old Turkey."
"Old Turkey, here I am. What do you want to do?"
Lord Phenex's face twisted with rage.
"Damn human! Since you refuse to cure my son, then die!"
The moment the words left his mouth, a massive, scorching vortex of fire erupted out of nowhere and swept toward Kaito, swallowing Rimuru who was standing beside him as well.
Kaito, seeing the fiery vortex closing in, discreetly held back Diablo and Testarossa, who had already moved to intercept.
Boom...
"Kaito-sensei! Rimuru!"
"Damn it!"
A violent explosion rang out. Rias and the others, who had just teleported out of the barrier, cried out in alarm.
"Hehehe... Hahahahaha!!! Keke keke keke! They finally fell for it!"
A soft chuckle drifted through the smoke. It grew and grew, unraveling into a full, unrestrained laugh.
Testarossa's eyes lit up. She stepped slowly to the center of the crowd and raised her voice toward Sirzechs and the other high-ranking Devil World officials present.
"Lord Phenex of the Phenex Clan has publicly attacked Her Majesty Rimuru, Empress of the Jura Tempest Federation, and His Highness Kaito, its Prince!"
"As a diplomatic and military official of the Jura Tempest Federation, I hereby declare!"
"The Jura Tempest Federation officially declares war on the Devil World!!!"
The silence that followed was total.
What was happening? It felt like a war had appeared out of nowhere. And what even was the Jura Tempest Federation? No one had ever heard of it.
Only Sirzechs's expression shifted, a flicker of gravity crossing his face. He had come across the name once, only because Rias had asked him to look into it. Could it really be an actual country?
"Mr. Kaito, I believe there may be a misunderstanding!"
Sirzechs crossed to Kaito quickly, hoping there was still something to salvage.
Because the moment the declaration was made, the man in the butler's uniform had already locked his gaze firmly onto him. And the threat radiating from that person was no small thing. The woman who had called herself a diplomatic and military official gave off the same sensation — a quiet, absolute lethality.
"Heh. You're Rias's brother, right? There's no misunderstanding here. He directly attacked a foreign dignitary. That's more than enough cause for war."
"I wonder — if an angel or a Fallen Angel publicly attacked you, would that also trigger a war between the Three Factions?"
Sirzechs had no answer to that. Because Kaito was right. An attack on another country's highest dignitary is, by any measure, a declaration of war.
"Kaito-sensei, I really do think this is all a misunderstanding. Please, think this through carefully... Rimuru... Your Majesty!"
Sona also stepped forward, anxious, and turned to Rimuru with a pleading look.
"I support every decision Kai-chan makes, Miss Sona. If you truly want to stop this war, you'll need to change his mind."
Sona's gaze shifted back to Kaito.
"President Sona, didn't I tell you before that I could help Rias break off her engagement, but that I wouldn't be responsible for what came after?"
"After this war wraps up, I think all those funds you've saved up are going to come in very handy."
Kaito finished speaking and turned to look at Rias, Akeno, and the others, who were still standing there in stunned silence.
"Rias, you and your group should sit this one out. It'll be over quickly anyway."
"And Koneko, these are Sakuya's desserts. Take your President somewhere out of the way."
After watching Koneko take the desserts, Kaito turned back around, spread his arms wide, and addressed everyone in front of him.
"Now then! Gentlemen, the war has begun!"
The moment his voice fell, a colossal white portal tore open behind him, thousands of meters tall and thousands of meters wide. Through it, countless soldiers stood in neat formation on the other side, and among them surged wave after wave of terrifying auras that made everyone present go cold.