User blog comment:B214/Shin DxD 1 discussion/@comment-29963364-20180803032716

If you guys could grant me a little of your time, I think I have a well-thought-out reason as to why Issei will win against Rias in their upcoming match. ''' First, a word on Issei's loss against Dulio. '''

Issei losing to Dulio was more than just Ishibumi giving Issei a loss and prevent him from becomeing the [insert generic MC name here] of the DxDverse. It had huge narative weight behind it which went beyond Issei's progression as a King.

As you know, all the Allied Religions sent a lot of their best gods to face Trihexa, leaving the Supurnatural World in a fragile state. The Angel Faction was especially hurt by this, because on top of already being without their god (a fact they kept secret so that other religions wouldn't invade), they're without their top leaders & fighters. As they are now, their place as a prominant religion is shaky, and it wouldn't be strange for the "less peaceful" gods of other religions to get the idea to invade and wipe-out Christianity. The same is true for all the other religions (though not as much, since they still have gods).

This is why Sirzechs and Azazel set-up the International Rating Game Tournament. To act as a "pseudo-war" for all the factions to peacefully show-off their strength and understand their respective positions in this new era. The Angel Faction desperately needed to show that they're still relevant.

This is why Dulio's victory against Issei was was certain (from a narative stand-point). If Issei had won (which he would've if the match lasted a few seconds longer, assuming Grayfia makes the shot), it would've been very bad for the current Angel Faction. If "clumsy power" (refering to Team Issei) was enough to beat Team Dulio, which consists of the best fighters in their faction (excluding Gabriel, Vasco and Ewald), than that would mean that "refined power+" (refering to gods from other factions) could beat them easily.

''' Now, for Issei vs Rias. '''

For Team Issei vs Team Rias, the situation is different. This match has little "political" weight behind it, but a lot of "personal" weight. If Rias wins, the worst that could happen (though very unlikely) is that some higher-ups in the Devil Society will somehow use this to demean Issei. I'm not sure how this would work, considering Issei's current reputation and record of accomplishments, that's why I say it's "very unlikely."

But if Issei wins, there's absolutely no consequence. If someone is extremely stupid, they could say "how embarassing you must be to be out-done by your own servant; and a lowly pawn at that." But Rias would reply "no. I'm extremely proud that I have such a capable servant. The Greatest Pawn!"

But I do think their is a way for both sides to have an extremely significant and satisfying conclusion.

Of course, the way the match plays out will depend on the type of game it is (standard, scrample flag, object break, etc.), but let's assume this time it's a combat-centric type (standard, dice figure, blitz, object break).

Issei will obviously fight against Crom, and Xenovia will fight against Vasco. Don't know about the other members of each team, but there are two I want to focus on:

Rias vs Grayfia

I believe Ravel will suggest to Issei that they should send Grayfia against Rias, in hopes that Rias will falter due to her inferiority complex against Grayfia. Issei will at first disagree, saying that it's not fair to attack Rias in such a "vulnerable spot," but Issei will then say that "she must face this trial eventually in order to grow" (or Grayfia will say it) and agree to the idea.

The match will play out with the mentioned pairings, and Rias & Grayfia will face-off. The fight and dialogue between thim will be very intense and get the audience (us readers) very emotional. Rias will get cornered due to Grayfia's superior power & battle experience, but will somehow overcome her complex towards Grayfia, tap into a power within herself (born from constantly being in contact with Issei's Dragon power), and come out with a close, but tear-jerking victory (probably like how the All Might vs All for One fight made so many fans cheer & cry).

Rias will achieve a personal victory, but will likely be too worn-out to continue (understandable considering her opponent was Grayfia, who is Satan-class+). She will either forfeit like she did againts Team Vali, or someone from Issei's team will finish her.

Meanwhile, I think the Issei vs Crom fight will be similar to the Vali vs Crom fight. They go back-and-forth on who has the advantage, but the winner will be undecided as Rias is out.

At this time, I'm more invested in the potential Rias vs Grayfia fight in this upcoming RG match, so I don't have a lot of brain-power to hypothesize how the Issei vs Crom fight will go. So if you guys can come-up with a possible way it could go, feel free to reply with your idea.