The old Cardinal smiled as he said
“Although I was called a hero, even at this age I don’t consider myself to be a hero. —But as long as there are people who look up to me, I will continue to be called a hero. I am simply a human. I live like any other human, and I will die like any other human. That is enough. If people respected me as a hero, then that’s fine.”
For a moment, the old man’s figure and the Sekiryuutei seemed to overlap. …I was afraid that he would say that. The old man laughed
“Hehehe”
as he put on his hat and stood up. “Ah, I’m old now, so I speak long-windedly…. Originally, you already had a vague idea of this answer.”
“…That might have been so. Ever since I lost to him, I—”
Without thinking about this concept of a ‘so-called hero’, he became an ordinary challenger. “Your Eminence, am I able to defeat that man?”
The youth who used to pretend being a hero then asked. The old man smiled as he eloquently said
“—Go and love something. Whether it be yourself. Or even something intangible. Love, if you don’t have a heart which loves something, then you won’t be able to reach someone who has love. The object that you love will appear in front of you, and at that time, you will — have ‘power’ within your body.”
After Strada said that, he returned to his farming work. “First, you should continue to chase that Sekiryuutei kid. Because he is at the mercy of love, he lives with love. Compared to these old bones, you’re of a similar age to him yet his presence is more than ten thousand times that of yours.”
The Sekiryuutei Hyoudou Issei who lives because of love— Because of those words, Cao Cao recalled the previous times when he encountered Hyoudou Issei in his mind. …That’s right, not only was that man loved by others, he loved others, which was why he fought against me face to face. That was the foundation of the Sekiryuutei, Hyoudou Issei—. Cao Cao smiled as he looked at his spear. “Will the you that is remembered by this spear also pursue that ‘love’?”

The [DxD] team was currently gathered in the VIP room which was in the upper level of the Hyoudou residence. I — Hyoudou Issei, the Gremory household that I belonged to, the Sitris, [Brave Saints], Azazel-sensei, and other members were all firmly focused on the video which was projected onto the screen in front of us. Shown on the screen were the Underworld’s TV channels, all of which were news programs, the text at the bottom of the screen read things like:
[Sudden accident in the Rating Game!?] [Champion Belial has disappeared during the middle of the match!] [Phoenix family’s third son, eldest daughter and Champion have disappeared together!] ……That’s right, the information that Sona-zenkaichou received was the same as that which was displayed on the bottom of the screen right now; something had happened in the match between Raiser and Champion Belial. During the match, in a corner of the arena which was a blind spot for the camera — the two people had continued their fight in a dome shaped cavern. Raiser, the Champion and Ravel who was also present had all suddenly disappeared. After we learned of this news, we once again confirmed the information. We then watched the video recording of the game. Indeed, after they entered a cave which was not captured by a camera, something which we could not see occurred, and the three of them had simply vanished. Only by looking at the recording from outside the cave, it may have been related to a blue light which was emitted from the entrance of the cave. It was determined that the light came from inside the cave. There was still no news about the three people who had disappeared. Taking into account the current situation, the game managers, the Underworld’s government, army and police force had all begun to take action. …To stop my body from trembling, I was clenching my fists. ……Ravel! Raiser! My precious kohai, and manager Ravel. She had agreed to support me in my path to achieving my ambitions… …Raiser as well; after his trauma, it was finally his comeback match. He had once given up, but he had now stood up once again with a reignited passion. He was obviously looking forward to the match with the Champion more than anyone else… Having noticed the anger, sadness and anxiety in my heart, Rias wrapped her hand around my fist. Rias asked Azazel-sensei
“So, the whereabouts of Raiser, Ravel and the Champion Diehauser Belial-sama are all unknown right?”
Sensei raised his index finger and said
“Firstly, what can be confirmed is that before the three people disappeared, the game system’s emergency program was triggered.”
—Hmm! ……The game system’s emergency program? What was that? I had never heard of it before. Aside from Rias and Sona-zenkaichou, some people knew about it, but all the other members were the same as me and had clueless expressions. After Sona-zenkaichou saw our reactions, she began to explain. “Originally, in order to respond to any kinds of situations, there was a corresponding set of procedures for professional Rating Games. For example, if the location of the match was destroyed more than was expected, then they would initiate a procedure to repair it.”
…That is to say, these emergency procedures were designed to respond to events and situations which went beyond what was expected. That was what happened in the match between Raiser and the Champion. “So what happened?”
After Rias asked that, I went forward to ask sensei
“Is it possible that Qlippoth attacked the match! ?”
“That aspect is currently being investigated, but one thing which is certain is — there is a high possibility that there was improper conduct during the game.”
“—What! ?”
Hearing this, everyone was just as surprised as I was! Improper conduct; which meant that something illegal happened in the game!? “That’s prohibited! Could it be the Champion! ?”
I couldn’t help blurting out that I thought it was the Champion. I didn’t think at all that Raiser and Ravel could have improper conduct. But, sensei undauntedly answered me with a serious expression
“……The managers believes that it’s the opposite.”
…Raiser had improper conduct? No, that wasn’t possible! That man, although very arrogant, as a noble he had a lot of pride, and didn’t think much. But, he was absolutely honest towards this Rating Game. At the very least, I could understand that attitude. He also had Ravel with him. It was impossible for such a thing to happen. She was my precious manager. She had promised that she would do a lot of great things in the future with me. An outstanding girl like her couldn’t possibly have improper conduct, it was impossible for her to have some conspiracy plan. After Rias realised my thoughts, she gripped my hand even tighter. “Ise, I understand. You and I are the same. …For Raiser to have improper conduct, that’s impossible. It wasn’t easy for him to get over things and stand up again.