In just an instant, it completely enveloped the entirety of Sobu High School.
Rias and Sona, who had just taken their seats, stiffened abruptly. With the extraordinary perception of pure-blooded devils, they naturally sensed that soul-crushing pressure that ordinary people were utterly incapable of perceiving.
Their bodies trembled slightly, yet they were completely unable to move.
Although the other party was not even looking at them, the black-red, violently surging spiritual pressure flooding their vision filled not only the entire classroom but the whole academy.
The rest of the students felt absolutely nothing. Their expressions during class remained completely normal, and some of the male students were even sneaking glances at Rias and the others—especially at Rias's impressively large chest.
Within that black-red pressure, pairs of golden eyes filled with icy hostility stared straight at Rias and the others.
It was not just the two of them. Even the devil servants in other classes showed expressions of terror.
With comparatively fragile mental fortitude, Issei and Motohama—or rather, Matsuda and Motohama?—no, it was Yuuto Kiba? No—rather, Issei and Matsuda Motohama—began screaming in terror right there in the classroom upon witnessing that horrifying scene. They frightened both the teacher and the students, who stared at them as if they were insane.
Within Issei's Sacred Gear, Boosted Gear, resided the Red Dragon Emperor Ddraig.
As for Matsuda—no, it was Saji Genshirou.
Within Saji Genshirou's Sacred Gear, Absorption Line, dwelled the Evil Prison Dragon King, Vritra—though the soul sealed within it was incomplete.
Now, awakened by Raize's savage spiritual pressure, that dragon soul stirred for the first time in ages and immediately bristled in panic.
It would die.
It would be annihilated.
It would be devoured until nothing remained.
From that brutal soul pressure, the residual soul of the Evil Prison Dragon King Vritra felt an unmistakable premonition of total obliteration.
In other classes, Akeno, Koneko, and the handsome Kiba all had cold sweat streaming down their foreheads. The black-red spiritual pressure permeating their surroundings, along with those frigid gazes, caused their souls to tremble with fear.
Thus, on the very first day of their transfer, the exchange students endured the entire morning's classes with rigid, frozen expressions.
Under Raize's icy signal, all of those devils were "obediently" brought to the Occult Research Club room that Rias had already arranged through connections and various means.
The interior was decorated like a top-tier VIP lounge, exuding wealth and extravagance in every detail.
When the transfer procedures were finalized, Rias and the others had already established this place as their base. Now, they were "cordially invited" here by Raize to discuss matters.
Raize was currently sitting rather casually in a chair, continuously releasing a torrential flow of violent spiritual pressure. It coiled around the devils' bodies as they maintained stiff, guarded expressions.
"Ara~ Is it not tiring for you to maintain this posture the entire time, sir? You must have something to discuss with us. This state makes conversation rather difficult, you know."
The woman who spoke had long black hair tied into a ponytail that reached her knees. She possessed the refined demeanor of a Yamato nadeshiko. Her smile was stiff, yet she did her best to speak normally to the cold-faced Raize.
They were all being coerced. At this point, none of them doubted that the moment they made any suspicious move, that terrifying power would immediately be turned against them.
"Not tiring. I can maintain this for several weeks. And yes, I do have some questions for you."
Raize did not follow Akeno's lead at all. Instead, he directly cut off whatever she intended to say next.
"What are you devils doing here?"
"Just to ask that?" Issei blurted out nervously.
"Yes. Just that. This concerns whether you'll be able to walk out of this school upright."
Raize glanced casually at Issei and replied in an extremely cold tone.
This kind of forceful attitude—one that conveyed absolute control—made the two devil noble ladies deeply uncomfortable.
Yet Rias and Sona had no grounds to refute him. They were clearly the weaker side.
They had originally assumed he was merely a human Sacred Gear wielder with some strength. But now, this was far beyond "some strength."
That overwhelming power even resembled Rias's own Power of Destruction.
Rias believed she might have the strength to fight him—but only barely. If an actual battle broke out, everyone present would die.
"…Could you please withdraw this oppressive stance first?" Sona said calmly, staring straight at Raize despite the coercion. "This is not conducive to conversation. We truly have no malicious intent."
"Whether you have malicious intent is for me to decide."
Raize did not disperse the spiritual pressure. He merely moved it away from their immediate surroundings, spreading it across the walls and ceiling of the room instead.
Rias and the others let out a quiet sigh of relief, yet their guard remained fully raised, their bodies still tense and ready.
Sona glanced around the room briefly, then signaled to Rias with her eyes and stepped aside, giving her the floor.
Rias nodded in understanding. With a trace of bitterness on her face, and none of the former dominance she displayed in Kuoh Town, she spoke politely to Raize.
"You are clearly not someone who knows nothing. From my self-introduction in class, you should already be aware of my identity. I am Rias Gremory, the next heiresses of the Gremory Clan—a Duke devil household."
"Currently, the number of devils is sustained solely by one of the Four Great Satans, Ajuka Beelzebub. Although the number of reincarnated devils continues to increase, the number of pure-blooded devils remains critically low."
"My elder brother inherited the position of Satan, which leaves only me to continue the pure-bloodline of the Gremory Clan. Because of this, my family arranged a future fiancé for me at an early age—to preserve the bloodline."
"And the reason I came to this region, where factional conflicts are extremely intense… was to—"
She hesitated briefly before continuing.
"—to escape an arranged marriage."
By the end, even Rias herself felt embarrassed. The reason sounded absurd and clichéd.
However, seeing that Raize's expression did not change at all, Rias glanced at Sona beside her and continued.
"I came here on my own initiative. Sona here is my close friend—she followed because she was worried about me."
"This is the reason we are here. It may sound… complicated, but I swear on the name of Gremory that I am not deceiving you."
On Sona's side, Sona's servants—led by Tsubaki Shinra—could not help but look at Rias a few more times.
So even this seemingly glamorous pure-blooded devil princess had her own hardships. She was also quite willful.
Running straight into one of the most volatile regions of supernatural conflict just to escape a marriage.
Even Issei wore a sympathetic expression for his own club president. He had never known that this exchange program also involved something like fleeing an arranged marriage.
Rias had not told him about this beforehand.
He wanted to help her, but his strength was still insufficient. Moreover, this was ultimately Rias's family matter.
If Rias had not resorted to the kind of overtly seductive actions she used in the original story, Issei likely would not have ended up the same way either.
"Sounds incredibly clichéd."
Raize pinched his fingers together and looked at Rias with an expression of pure exasperation.
"I have no interest in devil family disputes. But could you please pack up and go back?"
"This is nothing but a temporary fix. Coming to a region rife with factional conflict—are you trying to get yourself killed? Running away like this won't solve anything. You'll be dragged back sooner or later."
Seriously—of all places to flee, why come here?
Once the devils behind you are stirred up, this area will only become even more chaotic.
These people were basically walking disaster beacons.
Why couldn't they just stay in Kuoh Town and develop peacefully?
Even if Issei had lost the soul of the Red Dragon Emperor to Raize's system, the Sacred Gear itself was still usable.
If Rias, the so-called "switch princess," had just let Issei touch—or even look at—her breast a bit and triggered a boost, he could at least defeat that phoenix bastard, right?
"…I know."
Rias lowered her gaze with a bitter smile, then looked back at Raize with resolute eyes.
"I have almost accepted my fate."
"But I still want to struggle. I want to see if there is even the slightest chance to change things."
"Even if I fail, I'll feel better knowing I tried—at the very least, that I didn't give up without resistance."