Chapter 271 King Piece Revelation

A heavy silence followed.

“It… can’t be…”

Sona-senpai dropped to her knees on the beach.

She had once believed in it.

A system that rewarded skill. A structured battlefield where children hidden in aristocratic darkness could still earn dreams and hope through effort and results.

And yet—

The Rating Game itself has become corrupted.

“Right now, it still appears to function normally on the surface, which makes it even harder to correct. If we act too forcefully and expose the existence of ‘King’ pieces to the public, riots will break out. We’ve already arrested or eliminated many of the Old Satan Faction after the last war. If conflict erupts between the general population and the older generation of devils after that… well, it would not be pleasant.”

After the Great War, most of the houses of the 72 Pillars had already been destroyed.

If the Old Satan Faction were also removed, the number of surviving noble houses might drop below twenty.

Devil society did not strictly depend on bloodline… but genetics still influenced baseline ability more than anyone wanted to admit.

It might not lead to extinction, but—

They could easily become a “minor race” in future history books.

“However… why are you telling us this? Isn’t this information meant only for High-Class Devil figures?”

Rias-senpai voiced the question everyone was thinking.

Sharing this kind of corruption openly with outsiders especially beings like us who weren’t even devils in some cases was dangerous. Normally, this would be something buried in secrecy.

Azazel answered.

“Because it already reached someone who shouldn’t have known. Emperor Diehauser Belial has reached the truth.”

“…So the Emperor is a pureblood?” Rias asked.

Ajuka nodded.

“That’s right. He reached the top of the Rating Games through pure talent, effort, and skill. A ‘true’ champion.”

And that very “truth” had led to the recent incident.

He had cooperated with Rizevim and helped in the theft of Aegis, all in exchange for learning the hidden structure of the Rating Game and the existence of the King Piece.

The shock that followed rippled through the group once again.

Raynare finally spoke for everyone.

“However, this doesn’t make sense. The Emperor is famous for his honesty. Even if he wanted the truth, cooperating with terrorists like them is completely unlike him.”

Ajuka’s expression twisted slightly.

“He had his reasons. If you trace it back far enough, it comes down to the Old Devils. Their greed has slowly rotted the underworld from within. This time, the Emperor simply struck the nail into a weak point.”

He clicked his tongue.

“There is nothing more troublesome than incompetent allies.”

Most of the devils present stiffened slightly at that comment.

Issei raised his voice.

“B-but why did the Emperor cause trouble during the match with Riser? Didn’t he already get what he wanted from Rizevim?”

Azazel answered.

“He wanted to speak with me directly.”

To confirm the truth of Rizevim’s claims.

As the creator of the Rating Game and the Evil Pieces, it was natural to question him.

Ajuka continued.

“The Belial family possesses a trait called ‘Invalidation.’ It cancels effects that are deemed ‘worthless.'”

He explained how Diehauser had interfered with the system, blocking Riser Phenex’s retirement transfer by rendering it “invalid.”

“If irregularities occur in the system, they are reported to me automatically. He used that mechanism to force contact.”

“Then you met him?” Rias asked.

“Yes. He confirmed the existence of the King Pieces… and his cooperation with Rizevim.”

Ajuka scanned the group.

“And more importantly… his goal.”

A pause.

Then—

“He intends to reveal the existence of the King Piece system to the entire Underworld… and to all factions.”

“Wha—?!”

Issei’s voice cracked with shock.

“If he does that, do you understand how many casualties there will be?!”

“He understands that too,” Ajuka said calmly. “That is why he asked me to minimize the damage. He cannot stop his revenge against the Old Satan but he refuses to ignore civilian casualties.”

He continued.

“As a Great Satan I will take measures to control the fallout: riot suppression protocols, hate management strategies, and reform policies to ‘sanitize’ the Rating Game system.”

He’s already preparing for worst-case scenarios…

“Where is the Emperor now?” Rias asked.

“He was forcibly transferred away mid-conversation. Likely the work of Azi Dahaka. Rizevim must have feared the information exchange between us.”

At that moment, I thought quietly.

If the King Pieces go public, it might actually be safer in the long run… but the immediate chaos would be uncontrollable.

International Rating Games were already being discussed in multiple factions.

If that became reality, exposure of King Pieces during such a global event would be catastrophic.

It wouldn’t just be a scandal.

It would be equivalent to declaring war on every faction at once.

Ajuka added another detail.

“Rating Game arenas are equipped not only with spectator cameras, but also surveillance systems. Since the Emperor spoke with me on-site, higher authorities will suspect Riser Phenex’s involvement.”

“…And they may move to eliminate him,” Rias murmured.

“Yes. That is why I have been keeping him hidden. To ensure his safety while preparing countermeasures.”

So the Old Satan really do just ‘remove people who might know too much’…

Yeah. Honestly.

I think exposing the King Piece system might actually be safer.

If it spreads, at least the Old atans lose their leverage over Riser.

And while I was thinking that—

Ajuka suddenly looked at me.

“Arima Ikki. You’ve been unusually calm. Almost as if you already knew.”

…Shit.

My brain froze for half a second.

Don’t say “I read the original story,” don’t say “future knowledge,” don’t say anything stupid—

I forced a smile.

“Not really. I was just surprised, of course. I just… couldn’t react properly at first.”

I continued smoothly.

“Diehauser Belial’s behavior also made sense once we reviewed the match footage. He’s the kind of player who values fairness and visibility.”

“That match footage only showed the cave entrance,” Ajuka said.

“Exactly. That’s what made it strange.”

I pressed forward.

“For someone like him, it would be unnatural to ambush Riser in a place where cameras couldn’t see. It would be like he was trying to do something that shouldn’t be witnessed.”

A fresh wave of shock spread through the room again.

And I couldn’t help thinking—

Everyone here is using up ten years’ worth of surprise reactions in a single day…