DxD : Emiya Shirou

" The raw power of two High-Class Devils in one team makes it almost impossible for any team in their age group to take advantage of it."

I nodded my head in agreement with her assessment. I knew most of this information already, but I had a feeling she was explaining this to her Peerage just as much as she was to me. 

...

Plus while I knew why it was unlikely for her to win, I wanted to see if her reasoning matched my own, so I made sure not to interrupt her explanation.

"While I have never met the pair or seen any of their matches, I've heard the Phenex siblings are one of the favourites in this year's gathering." I added, "Second only to him of course."

Sona nodded solemnly, "Yes, him," she raised up a second finger, "Sairaorg Beal, the strongest of the young Devils.

"He was born with neither skill nor talent, and even failed to inherit the power of his bloodline, the Power of Destruction. By Devil's standards, he was born a cripple. With such handicaps, he should have been a weakling that would be incapable of fighting even Low-Class Devils, let alone High-Class ones.

"But apparently someone failed to tell Sairaorg that, because over the last three years he crushed every High-Class devil born in the last century and at least half of the ones born earlier, all in one-on-one duels.

"Today he is the closest among the younger generation to becoming the next Satan, a Maou." Sona shook her head in disbelief.

"Honestly, the only way for Sairaorg to lose is if he decided to fight the entire tournament alone without his peerage, and even then I'm not entirely sure that he wouldn't win."

The scary thing is that she wasn't exaggerating in the slightest if anything she was understating things. Sairaorg was a monster, pure and simple. Devils usually took centuries of training to reach Ultimate Class level, and that's with the power they inherited from their Clan. This guy did it before he was twenty when he was considered a cripple magic-wise.

After finally finishing her explanation, Sona lowered her hand. "And that's why realistically, I don't believe I have any real chance of winning. With only one of them entering it would still have been difficult, a long shot. Both? My chances have dropped so far below zero, it practically became an imaginary number. 

That even before you take into account that they both have full Peerages while I'm still in the process of building mine.

"If this year's gathering wasn't so important, I would honestly consider delaying my debut for another year, but unfortunately that would have made me look like a coward and as an Heir, I can't allow my reputation to be damaged in such a way."

I couldn't help but feel a stirring of pride at her analysis. While it wasn't word for word, Serafall had basically told me the same thing and for mostly the same reasons. Looks like my master's little sister is gonna turn out just fine.

Unfortunately though, while most of what she said is accurate, it's also incomplete.

I had to bite back a grimace. Though I hate playing the bad guy, it was for her own good. Ah, well. Time to clear up some misconceptions.

"Even if you don't expect to win, I hope that doesn't mean you intend to lose."

Sona smirked at me. "Hardly," she replied, "while first place is beyond me, it is still possible for me to rank pretty high. I have scouted the other participants and have found that the majority of them are hardly a threat at all. 

The few that are, I have already prepared a basic strategy to counter them if I ever end up playing against them."

"So you expect to end up doing pretty well then?"

"I do." There was no hesitation.

"How well?"

"I estimate that as long as I don't get unlucky and end up facing either Phenex or Sairaorg in one of the earlier rounds, I would have a fair chance of winning fourth place, maybe higher if I end up getting lucky."

I deliberately let out a quiet snort in response.

And, naturally, Sona caught it.

"You disagree?" She asked while cocking an eyebrow.

"Yes," Well, here comes the tough love part. You owe me for this, Serafall, "You won't make it anywhere near that far."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because you're too weak."

It was incredible how much quieter the practically silent room became as everyone in the council room just froze. Sona went rigid in surprise so fast that it looked like she was electrocuted, hell, even her Queen Tsubaki's jaw dropped in disbelief.

For a human, what I said wouldn't have been too bad. Even for a Devil, a race that prided itself on its strength and power, it would have been only mildly insulting. Well, that would have been true if Pride wasn't this Devil's chosen deadly sin.

Pride, Sona's weakness of the seven. And I, someone who was practically one step away from being her family, just stomped on it, in front of her entire Peerage. A little harsh, I admit, but there were few better ways to gain someone's attention and make them listen, and I mean truly listen than to hurt their pride.

"Why, you bastard, apologi-", the only male in the student council, a blond-haired kid, charged straight at me only to be stopped by Sona's raised hand before he could take more than a step.

Never taking her eyes off me, Sona scrutinized me for the better part of a minute before deciding to speak.

"Explain yourself, Emiya." She growled out at me, glaring murder all the while. Once again her attempt at intimidation made her look nothing more than a murderous little kitty. It was actually every bit as adorable as Serafall claimed.

I, however, made sure to keep these thoughts to myself as I waved my hand over the table between us in response, "This right here Sona is why you're weak."

Judging by the taken-aback looks I was receiving, they looked like they were willing to listen to me then let their temper get the better of them. Good, that will make things easier then.

"Chess?" For the first time it wasn't Sona who spoke but her Queen, Tsubaki, "You're saying the Kaichou's weakness is chess? But she's amazing in it."

"That's not quite what I meant," though I replied to Tsubaki's question, I didn't take my eyes off Sona as I spoke. "And it's not just your Kaichou's, but also Devil kind as a whole."

Pointing at the chess set in front of me, "Tell me, Sona, what does Chess and the Rating games have in common? And I'm talking about the practical aspects, not the superficial stuff like names and titles."

If Sona was in any way thrown off by my line of questioning, she didn't show it. She just stared at the board game for a few seconds before looking back up at me, "I'm not exactly sure what you're asking me, Shirou."

"Let me rephrase it for you this way," I crossed my arms before me as I leaned back into my chair. "What exactly do chess and battle have in common?"

This time she didn't bother to glance at the chessboard but focused all her attention on me, as she contemplated the question.

"Normally I would answer something like strategy or tactics," she began, "but I have a feeling that isn't the answer you're looking for."

I nodded my head at her answer.

A little bit naïve maybe, but no one had ever accused Sona of being stupid.

"The answer is simple, almost nothing at all."

I had already lifted my hand up to stop the retort that Sona would have undeniably replied with before I even finished my sentence. Sure enough, Sona already had her mouth opened before she managed to stop herself.

"Now, I'm not claiming that Chess isn't useful for developing strategic thinking or planning, which it undoubtedly does, only that its use in developing battle skill is greatly overvalued in modern Devil society." I continued after making sure I wasn't going to get interrupted. "In fact, outside of basic strategy, it shares almost nothing in common with real-life warfare.

"And yet Devils as a whole seem to worship it as the ideal war game simulator. The amount of hype Devils seem to pile up on chess is so ridiculous that it has actually started to negatively affect the fighting potential of the younger generation of Devils."

"For example," I raised a single finger, "There is a military term known as 'information uncertainty'. It's when you're unsure how accurate the information you have on the enemy is, or a situation where you don't even have any information at all. That is a key aspect on any battlefield and something that simply doesn't exist in chess." I added another second finger.

"Then there is the amount of forces each side has. In chess, no matter your skill level, your starting pieces are equal in number and strength, which is a completely ridiculous scenario in real life, one that will never occur."

I quickly added a third, fourth and fifth finger to the others. "Then there is the terrain and weather advantage, communication problems, panic and morale among the soldiers." I formed my hand into a fist. 

"And perhaps the most important lesson at all, Chess doesn't teach you when to run away. 

Victory is always possible in Chess, in real life, sometimes all you can do is run. There are times it's much better to retreat than stand and fight till you die a meaningless death. This simple lesson, learning when to run, is one that too many people fail to ever learn until it's too late."

I know, I know. This coming from a guy who willingly fought Gilgamesh and other Servants as a human probably makes it the most hypocritical thing I've ever said, but it doesn't make it any less true.

Finally, I lowered my hand.

"Chess, Sona," I continued after I allowed a few seconds for my words to sink in, "Is a great starting point for developing your skills as a strategist, but if you cling to it for too long it will only end up limiting you. And that is something that is already happening to you."