The Phenex Rises - Chapter 2 (Patreon)

The blaring of an alarm clock filled a lusciously appointed room filled with the finest furniture imaginable. A masculine groan came from beneath a well appointed quilt and was quickly followed by an arm. The arm flailed around for a bit before it finally found the source of its annoyance and pounced. Blessed silence filled the room for a few moments until it was broken by another male groan.

The thick down filled quilt was shoved off of the mans head revealing a head of golden blonde hair and a rather handsome face. Dark blue eyes blinked open as he looked around the room, recognizing it as his room within the prestigious Phenex manor. Riser let out a sigh and shook his head while muttering to himself, “Looks like it wasn't a dream.”

Not that it mattered to him. Even if it had been a dream and today was the day he was meant to marry Rias Gremory, he'd do the same things all over again. He smiled at the thought while stretching his arms over his head and letting out a pleased groan. He felt... good, no! He felt great!

Though it was a bit strange to be waking up alone in his bed. It was something he did often enough in his previous human life, but in his life as Riser Phenex? He hadn't spent a night alone in his bed since he hit puberty and women suddenly became interesting. Granted, his first time had been with a very willing maid and nothing worth bragging about, but he'd started building his harem peerage shortly after that.

Obviously he didn't sleep with every member of his peerage though. The first and most obvious member he'd never touched in any sort of sexual manner was his sister. He'd added her to his peerage at the behest of his mother who wanted Ravel to gain some Rating Game experience without risk. He had some fun with it as she completed his trope harem by filling the little sister role. Next up were Ile and Nel, who were both underage. Sure, he kissed them and there was some heavy petting sometimes, but nothing too serious and definitely no penetration. He wasn't some sicko pervert. Once they hit sixteen later in the year they had plans to celebrate.

Of course there was also Mira, his newest and weakest member. They hadn't had sex, not that Mira would object or anything, she'd made her willingness very obvious. Rather, he wanted to get to know her even better before taking that next step. He added her to his peerage because he was impressed with her martial arts and believed she could become amazing in time. Her beauty also helped, he would admit.

Lastly there was Karlamine who was far more interested in being his Noble Knight than anything else. If he wanted to have sex with her he would have to basically force her to do so. She saw it as being against her code of honor since she was supposed to, essentially, be his body guard. He found it endearing and accepted her terms. Though he had told her that the moment she changed her mind he would plow her into the ground. The crimson blush she sported had been worth it.

Everyone else though? Yeah, he slept with them on a regular basis. If they were horny, they would let him know and everyone involved got to have a good time. Otherwise, he let them do their own thing as long as their was nothing official the peerage needed to do as a whole. They all had their own lives, likes, dislikes, and hobbies. Who was he to not let them enjoy their very long lives?

After climbing out of bed and getting dressed in his new preferred fashion, he stepped out of his room to find Marion and Burent, two of his Pawns, awaiting him in the hallway. Upon seeing him, both of the young women gripped the edges of their skirts and gave polite curtsies while speaking in stereo, “Good morning Lord Riser.”

Both of them looked up to Grayfia and had chosen, of their own free will, to become his maids. Today they were wearing a much more appropriate maid uniform than they did while acting as combat members of his peerage. After all, not everyone was as strong as Grayfia and could wear the full heavy maid outfit in combat. Marion and Burent were still young Pawns and would need time and training to get to that level.

He gave both girls a nod, “Good morning Marion, Burent. Did you two enjoy your day off?”

They hated taking time off, believing that it was just another word for 'slacking' but they hadn't been needed at all with all the extra help hired for the evenings events. He'd gone of script when he'd chosen his own clothing and changed his hair. Which he now noticed was making the two girls look at him with blushes.

Marion, the one with shoulder length brown hair and dark brown eyes who liked to wear tights with her uniform smiled and answered for them both, “Not at all Lord Riser. Especially after we heard about last night's events.”

He laughed at her answer. It was very typical of them whenever he asked after forcing them to take some time off. Without further word, as 'talking to the help' was supposedly beneath him, he turned to make his way to the dining room for breakfast. His two maids, pleased he hadn't engaged them in small talk, silently turned and followed several steps behind him, as was appropriate for their 'station'.

Hey, if the girls got off on him treating them like hired help to use at his whim, who was he to deny them their fetish? Over the years he'd learned how to read their moods and could tell what their needs were. He made sure they were all fulfilled properly to keep them happy, like everyone else in his peerage.

Take Yubelluna, for example, she wanted to be a famous singer. He was one hundred percent in full support of her desire, even if she was so tone deaf that it bordered on actually being deaf. It didn't matter though because he was willing to pay the high fees it took to hire the best tutors for her to learn from while they waited for the minor shapeshifting abilities of a devil to fix her problem. Sadly, the ability for devils to shapeshift through self actualization took time, years usually, so it would be some time still before Yubelluna became the great singer she wished to be.

Stepping into the dining room, he spotted his parents sitting at the dining room table with an unexpected, and unwanted, guest. Ignoring the girl with crimson red hair, he makes his way to his usual seat at the table while Marion and Burent join the other maids of the house standing by the walls ready to take any orders.

Riser continues to ignore Rias as he takes a seat while politely nodding his head toward his parents, “Mother, father.”

His mother gave him a happy smile while his father was more business like. It was his father who addressed him while a maid set his meal down in front of him, “It seems last night was far more of an event than expected, son.”

Riser nodded agreeably, “Very true, father. I did not expect Sirzechs' Lucifer to show up and throw his weight around without regard to force me to duel that pathetic little sex offender while promising the pervert things that did not belong to anyone, let alone him.”

Lord Phenex nodded, hiding a small grin that fought to take over his more stoic and professional look. His dark blue eyes, a perfect match for Riser's own, bore into his son, “You handled the situation well, for the most part.”

“For the most part?” Riser questioned.

His father nodded, “You did well, but you did not, and do not, have the authority to end your engagement with Lady Gremory. That ability lies with only myself and Lord Gremory. Neither of us see any reason to end the engagement. Not only did you defeat Miss Gremory in the Rating Game requested by Sirzechs Lucifer on her behalf, you also utterly crushed the Red Dragon Emperor in his Balance Breaker state to ruin yet more interference by Sirzechs Lucifer. He was unable to gain even the tiniest bit of evidence that you were weak and unworthy of Miss Gremory to use as leverage to force us to end the engagement.”

Lord Phenex's grin turned predatory, “Rather, instead of making you look weak with his ill conceived plan to have you duel the Red Dragon Emperor, he's made himself look like a hypocrite of the highest order and heavily damaged his own reputation and political power. Very well done, son.”

Riser listened with the appropriate attention and accepted what his father said. He'd always been a dutiful son, if a bit lazy and arrogant. Telling Rias to go fuck herself last night had been the first time in his life that he'd done something to directly defy his father and it had ended up meaning noting. Well, at least he'd gotten the oath from Sirzechs to leave him alone.

He looked his father in the eyes as he spoke, “Thank you, father. But, are you and Lord Gremory sure this marriage is still a good idea?”

Lord Riser gave a firm nod of his head as he took on a serious demeanor, “Yes, we are. Especially after your performance last night. Black Hellfire son?” His serious demeanor gave way to a wide grin, “I always thought you were just being lazy. Clearly I was wrong if you could conjure flames only spoken of in myth and legend, even by myths and legends! I cannot begin to tell you how proud I am of your accomplishment. Making Black Hellfire alone would be reason enough to see the marriage through.”

Riser frowned at that. Politics had never been something he was interested in. He found it far too boring and despised all the double talk, back stabbing, and shifting alliances. His father, knowing of his disdain, explained, “Son, We've never really seen much need to explain the why's of the arrangement between the Houses of Phenex and Gremory to you. There was no need since you were willing enough to go through with it in the past. As that seems to have changed, allow me to enlighten you as to why Lord Gremory and I feel this marriage to be so important.”

Riser paid rapt attention. He'd always been told it was tied to the future of the Underworld, but never why that was. His father explained, “The trait of the Gremory clan is generally only known as 'luck' and is very hard to prove, or disprove. Miss Gremory has shown an abundance of luck when it comes to the members she's recruited to her peerage. That is just anecdotal evidence, but powerful nonetheless. More importantly, the Gremory Clan seems to have the ability to 'breed true'.”

Riser ignored the squak of protest from the redhead sitting a few seats away. His father gave her a slight glower that kept her silent as he continued, “Every child of the Gremory line born of the union between Venelana Bael and Zeoticus Gremory has inherited the Power of Destruction. More, Sirzechs Lucifer is the single most powerful devil to have ever existed having extreme mastery of the Power of Destruction. Add to that the fact that his son has also the Power of Destruction and you begin to see the picture. As you well know, most clans have a child here or there that is born without access to their clan trait, those like young Sairaorg Bael.”

Riser nodded in agreement, he'd just been thinking of going to talk to Sairaorg yesterday and it was still on his to-do list. His father continued, “What you likely don't know is that we believe young Millicas was also born with an extreme talent for Ice Magic that matches his mothers. He is simply too young to know for certain. With that being the case, Lord Gremory and I believe that its quite possible anyone born from the Gremory line will flawlessly inherit the traits of their parents.”

Lord Phenex's dark blue eyes locked onto Rias, “This means that there is a beyond good chance that any child born of a mixture of Phenex and Gremory blood will inherit the clan traits of BOTH houses. Combining the Power of Destruction with the powers of Hellfire and Immortality will produce a devil likely on par, or even above, the power that Sirzechs Lucifer has attained. If our conjecture proves true, we could be looking at a way to, eventually, combine all the clan traits of the last remaining pillar houses into a completely new breed of Devils. This could be what we need to finally move away from the past division among our race into a whole new era.”

Riser could see where the two lords were coming from. Oh, he didn't like it and he wanted nothing to do with Rias, but he was a good son and he would do as his father wished. Even if it meant marring the spoiled bitch and knocking her up. It didn't mean he had to love, or even like her. He'd just find someone else to fall in love with, eventually. While he loved his peerage members, it wasn't that kind of love. They were more akin to friends with extreme benefits. It was a discussion he had with every single member of his peerage before reincarnating them as devils. It was necessary because of his engagement to Rias to let them all know, before he turned them, that he was unavailable for marriage or anything deeper. He'd expected that he and Rias would grow to love each other at the time.

That definitely wasn't going to happen now.

Seeing that his father was finished with his explanation he nodded, “I understand, father. I do not like it and it makes my exit last night seem overly dramatic, but I will accept it if that is your wish.”

Lord Phenex gave his son a proud smile and nodded, “Don't worry son. After your show of power and the handy defeat of the Red Dragon Emperor, Lord Gremory and I are no longer worried about Miss Gremory using him as a linchpin in her attempts to escape the marriage. She has already lost to you in a Rating Game, and her strongest member has lost to you in a duel. There are no other escape clauses she can use to fight her families decision any further.” His eyes focused on Rias once more, “To even attempt to do so would bring shame not only to herself, but to the name Gremory, forever staining it.”

Rias visibly shrunk in place as she wilted under the stare of Lord Phenex. Once he'd made his point, Lord Phenex focused back on Riser, “With that being the case, we no longer see a need to be in such a hurry to push you two into the marriage. As such, the original verbal agreement to allow Rias to attend and graduate a human college will stand.”

Riser perked up at that, over four years of being able to completely ignore Rias? He could definitely live with that! Oh! Maybe he should encourage her to go for a doctorate, that would take her at least eight years of college! That would give him a little over eight years of peace without her being a pain in his ass. It would also give him time to possibly find the love of his life. He would definitely find dealing with Rias more bearable if he had someone he truly loved to live his life with.

“To that end...”

Oh no, no no no. No more stipulations! Just let Rias go off to the human world and stay out of his life for at least four years!

“You will be joining Rias in the human world. I know how much you dislike being in the human world, None of us enjoy being up there. However, Lord Gremory and I feel that allowing Miss Gremory to be off on her own will just encourage her rebellious attitude and put further distance between you two. We all, both your mothers included, that you two should begin living together and getting to know one another on a more personal level. Frankly, you two have spent such little time in one another's presence that you are essentially strangers. We all feel that you two should spend the next four or so years getting to know one another better.”

[System Alert! New Quest!

Living in Sin

Well isn't this a fine pickle? Looks like getting rid of Rias Gremory isn't so easy after all! What are you going to do?

Option 1: Just give in, it's all bullshit anyway. Maybe you'll get lucky and Kokobiel will succeed in offing her for you?

Option 2: Fight against the man! Do everything in you power to refuse until you get your way and the marriage is broken once and for all.

Option 3: Forge your own path. You're living a new life, a new story, make a new descision and see where it goes.

Reward: Based on your choice and the outcome.]

While Riser's face remained neutral, inside of his mind he was screaming at the unfairness of life and wondering just why he had to be such a good son! Was it too late for him to renounce his name and become a bum living on the streets? That seemed like a much better life than being married to a spoiled bitch of a princess like Rias, let alone having to live with her! Yet, the words that came out of his mouth betrayed him, “If that is your desire, my lord.”

The proud smile on his fathers face soothed some of his internal pain. He didn't make his father proud all that often. It was rather hard to when your older brothers were amazingly successful. In the past he'd been so desperate to have Rias as his wife because it was something to distinguish him from his successful older siblings. Now he knew he had other paths to distinguish himself, such as his mastery of flames or being the first Phenex ever to have powerful Ice Magic, the antithesis of their Hellfire. Or even his healing flames from the Devil Fruit power. There was also no telling what other things might come up in the future!

“I am glad you agreed, son. Lord Gremory and I have already purchased a plot of land and the construction has already begun on your new home.”

Seeing his father hesitate, he asks, “Is there more?”

Lord Phenex nods and sighs, “To help facilitate you and Rias growing closer and to minimize the distractions between you two, you will not be allowed to bring your peerage with you.”

Silence filled the room for a moment before a blast of heat erupted from Riser that instantly incinerated the chair he'd been sitting on. Not that he'd noticed as he'd shot to his feet and was glaring down at his still sitting father, “Excuse me?”

Riser loved every member of his peerage for all kinds of reasons. None of them might have been the love of his life, but that didn't matter to him, or them. Well, with the exception of Ravel, he only loved her as a sister and vice-versa. Her staying behind with the family he wouldn't have minded, but leaving everyone behind? That was too much.

Lord Phenex didn't know whether to be annoyed with his son for his attitude, or proud of the fact that Riser's flames were so hot they were making even him sweat. The Phenex clan was all but immune to fire and heat so the power Riser was putting out should have actually felt pleasant instead of stifling. Even more so given that he was in the Ultimate Class while his son was still only High Class. Still, he knew what a peerage meant to the person leading it so he gave his son some leeway, “I understand you feelings, son. However, your... relationship with the majority of your peerage is one of the main complaints Miss Gremory has about you.”

Riser's eyes snapped to Rias who had, until just then, been sporting a superior smile as if she had won something. That ended when his entire focus was on her. Riser had to fight not to growl while he went through his options in his mind. Finally, he came up with what he needed.

He kept his focus on Rias as he addressed his father, “I will agree.” Rias's lips curled into a smug smile, “As long as Rias's sex offender of a Pawn remains in the underworld where he can get some training in proper etiquette and how to behave when among ones superiors.” Her smile vanished, “After all, he is clearly so poorly trained that he believed he could storm into our home and claim that her virginity belonged to him, as if his King was somehow his property.” She scowled, “Not that I blame him for not respecting her when she attempted to fuck the little bastard merely as a means of spiting me.”

Rias's eyes shot open in shock and she spoke for the first time that morning, “How do you know about that?! You can't know about that!”

Lord Phenex's eyes narrowed as he looked at Rias and took her words as confirmation of what his son said, “I see. Yes, I do believe it would be in everyone's best interest if that young man were to remain here in the Underworld. I'll bring it up with Lord Gremory later today.”

Riser may have enjoyed the depressed look on Rias's face a little more than was appropriate but the bitch's complaining had made it impossible for him to spend much time with his entire peerage. She was just lucky he didn't demand the same for her entire peerage.

The bitch.

Not wanting to be near her any long, Riser gave a polite bow to his parents and spun on his heels to leave the room, his breakfast completely untouched.

-----Line Break-----

Riser knocked gently on the door in front of him. He'd spent the last year thinking of his various options and come to a conclusion. A few moments after he knocked, the door opened to reveal his little sister, Ravel, “Onii-san?”

“Good morning Ravel, do you have a moment to talk?”

She nodded and stepped back, opening the door to her room completely. Well, to be more accurate, to the sitting room of her small suite within the house. After he took a seat, she sat across from him, “What did you wish to talk about onii-san?”

Riser calmly explained the events at breakfast in detail being completely truthful and leaving nothing out. By the time he had finished Ravel looked as furious as he'd felt, “That's not fair! Why should you have to be forced to abandon everyone to live with that ungrateful woman?!”

Riser nodded along with her, “I agree, but there's nothing I can do about it. However, I do not want to abandon everyone so I've been thinking and come up with a solution. I wish to trade my entire peerage to you.” Seeing her eyes widen in surprise he carefully explained, “You are friends with everyone already and have been for years now. Hell, you practically grew up with Yubelluna being your older sister. I don't want to abandon them and leave them with no one in charge, or to put it all on Yubelluna. I want to trade them all to you so that you can all take care of each other. After that, I can trade you to Mother to have a completely empty peerage.”

Here his grin turned predatory and Ravel realized he was scheming something, “After that, if my little sister happens to come to the human world and brings HER peerage along, well then it's clearly not my peerage visiting and making that bitch uncomfortable, now is it?”

Ravels smile was as radiant as it was vindictive, “Why, no, I don't believe it would be.”

After a brief moment they both burst into laughter. Devil's were very much a 'by the letter' race when it came to the deals they made. He agreed to leave HIS peerage in the Underworld. He made no promises about Ravel's own peerage. They wouldn't be able to live with him in the human world, that would be a bit too close to spitting in his own father's eye, but they could visit often enough to make it worthwhile.

He smiled at his lovely little sister and felt nothing but pride for her, “So, does that mean you agree?”

Ravel nodded enthusiastically, “You know I love them all. I wouldn't want them stuck languishing here with nothing to do while you're stuck in the human world with that bitch.”

Riser sighed as a weight was lifted off of his back, “Good. I'll also write down some training tips for you and everyone else so you all can continue to get stronger. Something I plan to focus on while I languish away in my own personal hell above.”

Ravel giggled a little but then grew excited, “Do you think you can teach me how to turn my Hellfire black like you?”

Riser grinned and pat her on the head, “Eventually, but lets start with turning your flames blue, alright?”

Ravel nodded excitedly. Even if she could only ever turn her flames blue, they would still be the second most powerful Hellfire flames in the underworld! Let alone if she could learn to turn her flames white or black. She was very excited to learn it, even if she wasn't much of a combatant and more of a tactician, “Thank you nii-san!”

-----Line Break-----

Riser stared despondently at the small box filled with gorgeous chess pieces. It had been years since this box had been full. He'd only recently emptied it completely and he'd been so proud to have done so. Hardly anyone ever managed to have a full fifteen member peerage. They usually had to use multiple pieces to reincarnate the stronger members. Hell, Rias had to use all of her Pawns to revive the sex offender and he was one hundred percent certain that seven point nine-nine-nine of those eight pieces were just for the Boosted Gear alone.

He shifted his eyes from the depressing sight of his box full of Evil Pieces to the screen floating in front of his face.

[System Alert! Quest Complete!

Living in Sin

So, you've accepted having to live with Rias Gremory, but did so in your own way. You even got rid of the sex offender, your only competition to getting into her panties you sly dog! More, you pulled one over on your own old man so you could sneak you peerage into the house to get some strange. Rock on my man!

Reward: Total Concentration Breathing Basic Form (Kimetsu no Yaiba)]

Despite feeling sad at the choice he'd made, he couldn't help smiling at the reward he'd been given. Total Concentration Breathing was a technique that could turn a normal human into a superhuman. Normally it was something that only humans could use, having been specifically designed to allow humans to fight demons in the world it existed in. However, his version had clearly been modified so that any living being could use it.

The technique, when used, would increase the users strength, speed, durability, and recovery, including magical recovery, massively! The more someone used the technique and got better at it, the more profound the results would be. Once someone mastered it to the point of being able to use it even in their sleep, they would see a constant and continual increase in their physique. Though his modified version would also increase Demonic Power as well! Within his mind he now had all the necessary instructions and training methods for the basic technique, though he lacked any of the specific elementally aligned ones such as Water, Flame, or Thunder Breathing.

Most importantly of all, this technique was just the kind of thing he needed for his desire to grow stronger and could be taught to other people! He quickly had Marion bring him a notebook and pen. He had to get the entirety of the technique written down so that everyone he loved could learn it and use it to improve themselves. It would take time and practice for them all to learn it, after all he only had the knowledge and not the skill to use it yet. Even he would be starting from scratch in its use.

He sent Burent off to purchase gourds of specific sizes from the markets. He had the method for hardening them in his mind so he could leave them all a set to train with and instructions on how to make more when the current set was inevitably destroyed. He might be leaving his girls behind, but at least he would be leaving them with something he knew could make them stronger.

-----Line Break-----

Sirzechs was sitting at his desk, wondering just how things could have gone so wrong the previous night. His plan hadn't been perfect by any means, more like desperate. In his haste to do something, anything, to get Rias away from Riser, he had ended up snubbing Riser rather blatantly and in full view of the public, then just as blatantly being called on it.

He disliked Riser greatly. He wasn't good enough for Rias, no one was. The only reason he was willing to allow Issei to ask for Rias as his prize was because he was certain Rias would never let the little boy touch her. More importantly, he would have been able to cow the boy into leaving Rias alone, it wasn't like his adorable little sister loved the idiot.

The one time she'd tried to sleep with the little shit was only out of her desperation to control anything in her own life. He could sympathize, though he felt someone like Kiba would have been a better choice. At least, if he wasn't so sure that Kiba was actually asexual. He'd never seen even a hint of that swordsman being interesting in a woman. Maybe he was so obsessed with swords because he was more into 'swords'? Who knows.

The point he'd lost track of was, the Red Dragon Emperor, the wielder of the Boosted Gear, one of the most powerful weapons in existence, should have been easily capable of crushing Riser. Especially since he knew the sneaky little bastard had squirreled away a crucifix and holy water to battle the Phenex. He had fully expected that with those tools and not fighting his way through half of Riser's peerage, that Issei would have been able to beat Riser.

The little bastard had even gotten his hopes up even higher when he unveiled his ability to use the Boosted Gear Scale Mail! It should have been so easy for the boy to crush Riser! But no. The little fucker was completely useless. Rias hadn't even tough him how to throw a proper punch while flying. It had just been sad to watch. It only got worse when Riser showed just how completely he had outclassed Issei by summoning that Black Hellfire of his.

Even though he couldn't feel the heat of the flames, just the sight of them made him feel threatened. As if the flames wanted to do nothing more than burn him into cinders before devouring the rest of the world. He hated to admit it, but it was a testament to Riser's control that those flames hadn't erased Issei from existence.

He was brought out of hi brooding by the double doors of his office being violently smashed into splinters. He looked at the threshold to see the other three Satans standing there. Serafall had her fist extended and lightly smoking marking her as the one to obliterate his very expensive french oak doors. With a voice as dry as the Sahara at noon, he addressed his fellow rulers, “Oh, please, do come in. The door hadn't been locked, but if you felt the need to make such a dramatic entrance, so be it.”

Serafall stomped her way into the room with Ajuka and Falbium silently following behind her. The fact that she was wearing a business suit, and thus was being very serious, wasn't lost on him. Nor were the bored looks on Ajuka and Falbiums faces meaning neither of them wanted to be there. The fact they were anyway meant this was very serious business indeed.

It didn't take much of Sirzechs prodigious intelligence to figure out just why the other three Satans were paying him a visit. The first wods out of Serafall's mouth confirmed his throughts, “Just what in all that is unholy were you thinking last night Sirzechs?!”

He narrowed his eyes at the woman, “You know exactly what I was thinking. That I had to do everything in my power to keep Rias out of the hands of that little bastard.”

Serafalls glare didn't fade in the least, “If anyone can understand how you feel, it's me. Yet even I think you went way beyond what was even remotely appropriate! You blatantly forced a member of a PILLAR CLAN to fight against a Low Class Pawn of someone else's peerage while even offering him something that you had no authority to offer. Not to mention how you snubbed Riser by not offering him any compensation IN FRONT OF A TON OF NOBLES FROM THE PILLAR CLANS!”

Sirzechs grimaced a little when she was shouting. An angry Serafall could get pretty shrill, especially when she knew she wasn't wrong. Her violet eyes glared at him, “Rumors are already spreading beyond the Underworld. I had a call from Yasaka this morning asking if she should expect you to come around demanding things of her or if we were returning the to ways of the Old Satans.”

Her glare intensified, “Even worse, some of the houses that only fought with us because they were against the Old Satan Faction during the civil war are now wondering if they chose the wrong side. In their words 'If we're going to live under tyrants anyway, we might as well live under the tyrants who are honest about being tyrants. At least you knew what to expect from them.' end-fucking-quote! Are you TRYING to restart the civil war while driving more people into the arms of the Old Satan Faction?”

“I spent half of the night and most of the morning fielding calls from panicked nobles who wanted to know if all of us were going to follow your 'glorious' example from now on. Your treatment of Riser Phenex has made them question if you are even fit for your position since you seemingly can't remain neutral when it actually matters. The Great King Faction is already calling for a gathering to discuss that very thing! If they decide you're unfit you'll be forced to either step down or start a new war.”

Sirzechs sighed, knowing that Serafall was right, and nodded in agreement. He was in deep and if he didn't handle things right, it really could lead to a war. One which would have the Phenex clan on the enemy side providing only the enemy side with their potent healing potions. It would be an utter nightmare and spark a war that he wasn't honestly sure they could win. Even if they did the damage to their race would be catastrophic. With a heavy sigh, he looked at Serafall and asked, “What should I do?”

-----Line Break-----

Riser stood in front of a massive mansion in the human world. Looking at it, he felt it was appropriately sized. It had plenty of room for himself, Rias, her peerage, and any number of visitors they desired. Speaking of her peerage, they were all present, minus the sex offender who had been left in the underworld to get a proper education. Riser doubted it was possible, but he hoped whoever his parents hired would be capable of beating the perversion out of him.

As a group, they made their way into the foyer of the house and looked around. As expected of his father, the entire place was tastefully decorated and well appointed. After letting everyone take in the splendor they would now be living in, he took a few steps forward and turned to face them all.

“I'd like to take this moment while we're all together to say a few things.” Seeing he had everyone's attention, he continued, “First and foremost, I am unaware of whatever lies or rumors about me Rias may have been spreading to you all, but I have no intentions of laying a single finger on any of you. I am not some ravenous sexual beast who will call you into my bed against your will.”

He ignored the amused perverse giggles coming from Akeno. He really couldn't stand that two faced bitch. She really was a perfect match for Rias as her Queen. He instead chose to focus on the more innocent pair of women on her peerage, Asia and Koneko, “I want you two to especially know that I have no untoward intentions toward you.” He focused on Asia, “I also feel I owe you an apology specifically Asia. The first time we met along with the Rating Game that followed probably didn't leave the best impression. I am sorry about that and hope you will willingly come to me to I can explain my attitude at the time.”

She gave him a cute glare that made him think of a kitten about to attack, but chose not to laugh in her face. She was likely rather upset about the sex offender being stuck in the Underworld. Poor girl was so sheltered by the church that she didn't realize just how bad Issei really was as a person.

With his piece said to the women, he turned to Kiba and held out a hand to shake, “No hard feelings about anything in the past and I hope we can continue to get along in the future.”

Kiba hesitated for a moment, glancing in Rias's direction to see if she had anything to say. Seeing nothing there but her usual glare toward Riser, he did the polite thing and accepted his handshake, “No hard feelings.”

Riser gave his hand a normal squeeze rather than trying to crush it in some lame show of dominance that only children would partake in, “Excellent, because I've got this technique I'd love to teach you and Toujou-san that will greatly improve your physical abilities.”

Kiba looked pleasantly surprised and curious at the statement, “Is that so?”

Riser nodded excitedly. Over the last few days while waiting for the house to finish being built, he'd spent a lot of time saying 'goodbye' to his peerage members in whatever way they desired. During the frequent breaks they took to relax and re-hydrate, he'd begun practicing the Total Concentration Breathing technique. At first it had hurt like nothing else and he could only thank the Satans Below that he had his regeneration. Otherwise he might have permanently damaged his lungs.

As it was, the time he did get to put in practicing allowed him to gain just the very bare minimum ability to use the technique. He was still a long ass ways away from mastering it, but he could at least show how it worked and the effect it had. Effects that, even with his minimal ability to harness the technique, were damned impressive.

-----Line Break-----

Riser stood opposite Kiba in the training ring as they both breathed in a very specific way. The training area was something he'd insisted his father have built into the house. If he was going to be stuck here dealing with the coming storm of bullshit, he was going to at least make sure he could get some training done. To that end, his father had installed a state of the art, top of the line gym with every kind of training area he could imagine. Even the weight machines were magical allowing them to work with weights beyond anything humans could imagine.

Right now though, he and Kiba were both holding wooden swords and training against each other as they practice Total Concentration Breathing. At the same instant they both dashed through the air at blistering speeds until they met in the center and attacked. Their swords slammed together with enough force to easily shatter normal wood. Thankfully these swords were made and reinforced by Kiba's Sword Birth Sacred Gear making them far more durable than anything normal.

The two exchanged attacks at blistering speeds, each blow sending out a blast of air. The status quo quickly changed through as Kiba took the initiative. Moments after he did, Riser felt Kiba's blade slam into his ribs with enough force to crack them and drive the air from his lungs. Riser grimaced a little but didn't otherwise react as he slowly stepped back and resumed his normal breathing, “Point to you Kiba.”

Kiba also resumed his normal breathing, sweat beading his brow as he nodded to Riser in acknowledgment, “You as well. Your skill with a sword is improving rapidly.”

Riser chuckled and little and rubbed his ribs that had stopped hurting near instantly, “Well, you don't hold back so I need to learn quickly if I wish to keep up.”

Kiba chuckled at that, after all it was Riser that had asked him to not hold back at all. Riser had no one to blame but himself! Still, what he was learning was worth the effort, “Thank you, once again, for teaching me the Total Concentration Breathing technique. Without it, I doubt I would be capable of keeping up with you at all. I really am grateful.”

Riser waved the comment away with a smile, “My pleasure. You're putting it to good use.” He looked over to a different area of the gym where the tiny form of Koneko was bench pressing enough weight to make a professional body builder cry. She too was practicing Total Concentration Breathing and using it to push the amount of weight she could lift to greater heights. If he were less secure in his masculinity, he wanted have felt a little emasculated seeing the sheer amount of weight the tiny Rook could lift. It was crazy and looked all the more crazy due to her small size.

With their spar finished, both men made their way over to the weight lifting machines to join Koneko in increasing their physical strength. Riser picked his machine and got comfortable so he could focus on his breathing. When first beginning it, Total Concentration Breathing was pretty difficult to maintain and murder on the body. He was happily abusing his regenerative abilities to force his body to adapt faster. It was the only thing that gave him an edge in combat against Kiba. Without the breathing technique, Kiba was just too skilled for him to match in a sword fight. Outside of sword combat, Riser could still crush Kiba rather easily due to the sheer difference in the relative strengths. Riser was still a High Class Devil to Kiba's Middle Class.

Not that Riser had any need to crush Kiba. After an awkward day or two they'd started getting along, much to Rias's displeasure. No matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't tell Kiba not to learn from Riser and get stronger. Seeing her frustrated look every time they ran into each other brought a smile to Riser's face.

Riser, with his breathing properly working, began working out his legs. The weight he was currently lifting would have a regular human fainting in shock. As he was getting into his fifth set, Kiba's phone rang interrupting the peaceful grunting of three people lifting weights. Silence filled the room as they all stopped. Kiba playfully rolled his eyes when he saw both Koneko and Riser looking at him curiously. He grabbed his phone and answered it, “Kiba speaking.”

There was silence as he listened to the other side for a bit before he nodded and answered, “We'll be there shortly.” After hanging up he looked at Koneko, “Rias-sama wants us to meet her, it looks like we have unexpected guest in town again.”

“I take it she didn't invite me?”

Kiba looked apologetically at Riser causing his fellow blonde to grin, “I see. Well, this should be fun.”

Kiba didn't question it or make any comment. Neither did Koneko. Ever since moving in both Rias and Riser had taken every opportunity to needle each other. It was some sort of petty game between the pair that only Akeno was even remotely interested in.

-----Line Break-----

Riser followed Kiba and Koneko out in the night. Neither of them protested, and even if they had it wouldn't have stopped him. Technically speaking, as Rias's fiance he had every right to command them as much as she did. If he'd still had a peerage, the same courtesy would have extended to Rias giving her command over his people. Though he hadn't yet, and had no intention of, abusing that power over them. It was their training in the intricacies of the Underworld that had them respectfully not question him.

Though he suspected only Kiba would have, if he were so inclined. Koneko had hardly said more than two words to him since the move back to the human realm.

Soon enough they arrived at an abandoned factory. Riser instantly knew what Kiba and Koneko had been called for. A stray devil. It was inevitable that with a system like the Evil Pieces that some devils would abuse the system and reincarnate people against there will, or become abusive to them. There was even an underground market where despicable people would often trade their female pieces to each other whenever they got bored of them. He only knew about it because he'd been invited by a scumbag that ended up missing a few teeth when he suggested Riser might want to trade Yubelluna for a 'fresher model'.

Such things led to the rise of Stray Devils, reincarnated devils who either fled their masters, or murdered their masters and then fled. There were also, of course, those who thought running away and eating humans would make them into more powerful beings. They weren't completely wrong, they did get stronger from eating mortals. However, it also horribly mutated them as they slowly lost their minds to madness.

It was not pretty.

As they came in for a landing, each of them having flown to the location, Rias spotted Riser and frowned, “What are you doing here Riser?”

After landing and adjusting his suit so it fit him perfectly once more, Riser looked at Rias and gave her his most brilliant smile, “Don't mind me, I'm just here to observe my future wife and her peerage in action.”

He had to fight not to smirk as the look on her face. She made the same pinched annoyed look every time he called her his future wife. He didn't like the prospect any more than she did, but he never let it show publicly. He had decorum, something she often lacked when it came to him. She knew that he didn't want to marry her, it was made very clear to her the morning after the duel, yet it still bugged her and she couldn't help thinking he was serious.

He found it hilarious.

“Fine, just stay back and don't get in the way.”

He gave her a cheeky salute that clearly annoyed her. She chose to ignore him to the best of her ability as she addressed her peerage, “Asia, you'll stay behind with Akeno and myself. Kiba, Koneko, I want the two of you to head into the factory and flush the stray out.”

The pair of melee fighters made their way up to the doorway of the factory. Both of them had started breathing in the specific manner unique to the Total Concentration Breathing method. Their veins bulged for a moment as their blood flow massively increased along with all their physical parameters. Koneko let a punch loose with a soft, “Hei.”

The moment her tiny fist hit the door it was like an explosion had gone off. The thick metal doors were ripped off of their hinges and crumbled like tissue paper as they flew through the empty interior of the building. There was a feminine scream of surprise from deeper inside when the doors finally slammed into the wall on the opposite side of the building.

The pair stepped into the darkness of the building. Riser calmly watched as the sounds of combat and female screaming were heard. After a few moments the roof of the building exploded outwards at the heavily mutated body of the stray was flung into the air. Rias looked at the currently airborn stray and called out, “Akeno.”

“Hai!”

Lightning ripped through the air and struck the stray electrocuting it and burning it to a crisp. The charred form of the stray landed on the ground with a wet thud not too far from where they were all standing. Rias calmly walked toward the stray, “In the name of the House of Gremory who holds the rank of Marquis, I, Rias Gremory, will erase you from this world for your betrayal of your master.”

The red magical crest of Gremory burst to life as Rias called on her Demonic Power. Riser hated to admit it, but when the Power of Destruction wasn't being thrown at him by Rias in the hopes of killing him, it was actually rather beautiful. With a sharp blast of power the stray was erased from existence.

Rias turned to face her completely unmarked peerage, the stray clearly not being anywhere strong enough to even hope to scratch them, “Well done everyone. We can call it a night here.”

Everyone else took to the air while Riser remained grounded. Funnily enough, him choosing not to follow them didn't elicit any questions from the group. Rather, they all kind of just ignored him and took off toward home. He clicked his tongue a little at that. He had hoped he was at least getting more friendly with Koneko and Kiba. He was stuck with the whole group for the next four plus years, it would be less annoying if he managed to make friends with at least some of them.

He turned on his heels and walked away from the factory. He wanted to get some 'fresh' air and relax outside of that stress filled house. It sure as hell wasn't his home.

Shortly after beginning his walk rain started coming down. Not a single drop managed to touch him, instead being evaporated by the heat he was consciously putting out. He didn't have an umbrella and had no desire to get wet. It was a simple matter to cast a wide area hypnosis spell that would have mundane humans completely ignoring him so he didn't have to worry about any questions or weird rumors coming to life.

He came to a stop when a priest came out of a side street groaning and stumbling along. Riser grimaced a bit at the sight. He had no love for the church or heaven. Not much hate either if he was being honest. More... apathy. He wasn't about to offer the injured looking priest any help, nor was he going to hinder him. Best to just ignore the whole situation.

A moment later another priest wielding a sword giving off a holy aura stepped out from the same side street into the main street, “Oya oya, what's this what's this? First I got to kill that shitty priest and now I get to kill some shitty devil scum?” He threw his head back while his body moved in an over-exaggerated manner, “This is perfect! I was just getting bored of priest hunting!”

Riser recognized the priest in front of him, or rather the stray exorcist, Freed Sellzen. He'd never met the white haired and red eyed psychopath before. Rather, he remembered the man from his otherworldly memories. Which meant... He looked at the sword Freed was waving around above his head as it began to glow. An Excalibur fragment. He didn't rightly recall which one, but all of them were dangerous and despite his current level of strength, any Excalibur fragment was a deadly foe to him.

Or maybe it wasn't? He couldn't help wondering if he had to fear Holy Swords anymore. Sure, the Excalibur fragment could stop his Phenex Clan regeneration, but would it stop his Phoenix Devil Fruit's regenerative powers? It, after all, had no such weakness to things that were Holy.

Despite that bit of curiosity, Riser had no intention of willingly letting Freed cut him with the blade.

[System Alert! New Quest!

Psycho Fan

A wild Freed Sellzen appears! What do you do?

Option 1: Kick his shit in but let him get away to 'preserve' the timeline.

Option 2: Let him kick your shit in and escape from him to 'preserve' the timeline.

Option 3: Kick his shit in then take all of his shit while leaving him bloodied and broken on the ground.

Option 4: Kill his ass dead.

Rewards: Based on your choice and the results.]

Freed dropped his arms down and looked at the still silent Riser. Though clearly Riser's lack of reply didn't bother the psycho as he rambled on, “This is perfect! I can't help wondering what will happen when I slice you up with this,” He pointed the sword at Riser and took on a more proper fighting stance, “Ex-caliiii-buuur!” He sang as the sword began glowing with a golden light.

Riser merely arched an eyebrow at the eccentric priest. He finally deigned to speak to him, “You are a fool. One who is about to die.”

Freed threw his head back and laughed like a hyena. A bolt of orange Hellfire compressed into a solid bullet ripped through the air faster than an actual bullet. It's target? Freed's left kneecap. Freed's laughter turned into a scream of agony as the bullet of fire completely decimated his knee and blew right through it with enough force to nearly amputate the limb. In just a moment it plowed through the street and vanished from sight, the only proof it had ever existed was a smoking hole in the pavement and Freed ruined leg.

Riser watched Freed scream and grip his heavily bleeding limb with both hands, the Excalibur fragment discarded and forgotten. Riser calmly walked over and grasped Freed by the throat before lifting him into the air to dangle. Freed grit his teeth and fought through the pain. Freeds lips parted as he attempted to spit in Riser's face. It failed as the saliva was turned to steam and the phlem was turned to dust long before it could touch his still immaculately dry face.

He tightened his fist around Freed's throat but didn't quite cut off his air supply, “Any final words?”

Freed, despite the pain of his ruined leg, smirked, “Yeah! Burn shitty devil!”

As he shouted, he whipped his arm out and poured an entire canteen of holy water directly at Riser's face. Unfortunately for Freed, Holy or not, it was still only water and it too evaporated before touching Riser, “So be it.”

The hand holding Freed by the throat instantly burst into intense Hellfire that covered his entire head. Freed didn't even get a chance to feel the heat of the flames before his head was reduced to ashes. It was the most painless way Riser could think of to kill the man. He didn't get off on torturing people and had only gone for Freed's leg first because the stray exorcist was as slippery as an eel. If he hadn't then the odds were pretty high that he could have escaped.

Riser knelt down next to Freed's body and began searching it. He didn't find much, mostly just tools of his trade like Holy Water, a Light Sword, and Light Gun. Sadly nothing that hinted at where his base might have been. After making sure all of Freed's pockets were empty, he took Freed's coat and then incinerated the rest of his body into ashes. No one would ever find any trace of the man again.

He looked at the priest Freed had killed and shook his head while standing and turning to walk away. Someone would find the body, report it, and his loved ones would find out what happened. He believed that would be much better than if he were to incinerate the priest as well and leave everyone in limbo wondering what happened to him.

Finally, his gaze fell on the fragment of Excalibur. He knew from both lives that the sword was extremely powerful. Though he believed that Excalibur's Scabbard, Avalon, was actually far more powerful than the sword itself. Just knowing that having it in her possession allowed Xenovia Quarta to tank a sun gods blow right to her devil face, proved just how powerful it was.

Sadly, unlike Xenovia, he wasn't a natural holy sword wielder so he couldn't even touch the sword without it hurting him, thus Freed's coat. He used the garment to carefully wrap up the eccentrically designed blade and keep it from touching his skin. Though, once he had it secure, he did decide to test a little something. He exposed just the very tip of the blade and gently touched it with the tip of his index finger.

The sword easily pierced his flesh as it offered no resistance. Riser had to bite his lip to keep from shouting in shock from the sheer amount of pain he felt from just the tiny cut. However, the pain quickly faded at the blue flames of his Phoenix Devil Fruit healed the wound near instantly. He didn't even drop a spec of blood. Still, at least now he knew what to expect if he was ever cut by a holy sword. A burst of pain that went away near instantly as his wound healed. He could live with that!

[System Alert! Quest Complete!

Psycho Fan

Wow. I mean, wow. You just straight up murdered Freed without even letting him have a chance in hell of winning? Or even a remote chance at escaping? My man! It's not much, but your reward should really mess with peoples heads!

Reward: Natural Holy Sword Wielder]

“Oh, fuck.”

-----Line Break-----

Two days later Riser found himself sitting in the Occult Research Club room within the old school building of Kuoh Academy. Rias had tried to hide the upcoming meeting from him, but had failed. He remembered a bit about this and couldn't keep away even if he wanted to. This was the prelude to Kokobiel showing up and acting a fool. It wasn't something Riser was looking forward to, especially since he, currently, didn't stand a chance of beating Kokbiel at all.

Frankly, the difference in power between them was absurd. While Riser could now consider himself firmly in the high-tier of High Class, Kokobiel was easily mid-tier or higher in the Ultimate Class. That was a vast gulf that would require something like Boosted Gear or another powerful Sacred Gear for him to even have a hope of scratching the ugly elf eared bastard.

While the rewards he'd reaped from his weird little quest system were undoubtedly nice and capable of being great power modifiers, they weren't instant boosts and didn't help all that much in the short term. Short term in this case meaning the next few days to a week max. He would have to make some plans and maybe beg for a few favors but he would think of something.

[System Alert! New Quest!

Training Montage

EVERY good movie has a training montage, well now it's time for you to have one! Do whatever it takes to get them gainz boi!

Option 1: Continue as usual. There's no need to worry, it's not like Kokobiel will succeed... right?

Option 2: Push it! There's no telling what is going to happen. Do more to get ready!

Option 3: Nose to the grindstone! You're going to do everything you can think of to push yourself to the limit. There's no stopping you and when Kokobiel shows his ugly mug you're gunna flatten it so he looks like a pug!

Rewards: Based on the option you choose and the results of that choice.]

Before he could get too much further, the door to the club room opened and two women wearing long white cloaks with light blue stripes walked into the room. One of whom was carrying a wrapped object that was very obviously a large sword. He studied the two girls, both of whom were rather attractive, physically.

The first, Issei's childhood friend, Irina Shidou. She was rather fetching with long chestnut colored hair styled in twin tails and bright violet eyes. Something he was noticing a lot of women around him had. Though he couldn't see it through the loose drapery acting as a cloak, he knew she had a beautiful and fit body. Next to her was her partner Xenovia Quarta another beautiful woman, though her hair was blue with a single green bang and kept cut short. Her sharp brown eyes were constantly looking over the array of devils sitting and standing on the opposite side of the table.

Riser sat on the couch next to Rias, though they both sat on opposite ends to be far away from each other. Meanwhile Asia, Koneko, Kiba, and Akeno stood behind the couch looking over the meeting. A quick glance showed Kiba holding back what was clearly a lot of rage. Riser thought his hatred of a few pieces of metal was rather stupid, but who was he to step up and say so? He'd just let things play out today and see what happened.

Xenovia was the one to begin speaking once everyone was settled, “Thank you for agreeing to speak to us. My name is Xenovia.”

Irina, the much more chipper of the two chimed in, “And I'm Shido Irina.”

Rias, keeping her cool despite her annoyance with Riser, addressed the pair, “I wonder why members of the Church would want to meet with a devil?”

Irina was the one to answer, “Of the six Excalibur swords with know whereabouts, the church still has three of them, but three of them were stolen by fallen angels.”

There were a few exclamations of surprise and one barely suppressed growl of anger. Xenovia continued, “Of the three that are left, we carry two.” She lifted the wrapped sword she'd been holding onto, “The holy sword of destruction, Excalibur Destruction.”

Irina lifted her arm and showed a piece of cloth wrapped around her bicep, “And the one I have here, the holy sword of mimicry, Excalibur Mimic!”

If Riser had to pick which of the fragments he felt was the most dangerous, barring Excalibur Ruler's completely broken ability, it would have to be Excalibur Mimic. The sheer versatility of that sword could not be underestimated as it could literally turn into anything. ANYTHING. It didn't even have to be the same mass or size or weight, nothing.

Rias looked between the two, “Well, what would you like us to do?”

Xenovia explained, “The problem at hand is between us and the fallen angels. We don't need the devils in this town to intervene or interfere.”

Rias smirked a little, “Is that an accusation? Are you saying that we'll side with the fallen angels and do something about the holy swords?”

“For a devil, a holy sword is a detestable thing. Don't your interests match up with the fallen angels'?”

Riser felt a small spike in Rias's demonic power and realized she was getting angry. It didn't help when Xenovia plowed on, “It that's true, then we will completely annihilate you, even if you are the little sister of Lucifer himself.”

Riser couldn't take it anymore as a snort escaped him. The way Xenovia spoke so casually about killing Rias as if it wouldn't have drastic consequences beyond anything she could imagine. Even funnier, to him, was that if, somehow, Xenovia succeeded in her threat, she would be accomplishing what Kokobiel had set out to do with this whole fiasco! How ridiculous would that be?

Every eye in the room turned to look at Riser after the snort of amusement he let out. It had killed the mood in the room, though Xenovia had her eyes narrowed at him, clearly offended by his action, “Was something I said amusing to you?”

Riser nodded his head, “Yes, everything. The fact that you think you can come here and lay out demands with impunity. You're in the heart of devil territory granted to devils by the Japanese pantheon. Then the fact that you threatened to assassinate the little sister of the Satan Lucifer with no regard to the consequences of even trying.”

He leaned forward and narrowed his eyes at Xenovia, “Should we take that as a declaration of war from the church toward both devils and the Japanese pantheon? Did they send you here to die as martyrs?”

Xenovia grit her teeth as she answered harshly, “They did not.”

Riser smirked, “Maybe you could have spoke that way if either of you had any actual power, but as bottom of the rung weaklings? You should be asking for permission to be here, in our territory, not telling us what you intend to do here as if you have every right. This is Japan, a country with hardly an catholic in it. I would think a place like the church would actually teach its members manners. Now shut the fuck up while Rias decides if you piddly little ass is even allowed in her city.”

Rias stared at Riser, part of her furious with the way he'd taken over and talked to the church members. She'd just planned to have a little chat and let them be on their way. However, it looked like Riser seemed to think that was akin to her letting them walk all over her authority, like she was bowing to their demands. Something that she definitely hadn't intended to do. So she felt a mixture of anger and gratefulness.

She turned back to Xenovia and Irina. The next words hurt to say but, “I agree with Riser. I expect the two of you to be outside of the city by nightfall or you will be considered enemy combatants infiltrating devil territory. We will respond accordingly. Inform your leaders that the next time they send someone here, they are expected to act like the guests they are, not barbarians making demands and issuing threats.”

Xenovia looked like she was ready to pull her sword and fight them all, but Irina was more level headed and gripped Xenovia's arm tightly, “We understand. We will leave.”

Despite what Xenovia said, they had explicit orders not to fight the local devils. The consequences would be massive if they did. The pair stood and started making their way toward the door. Xenovia glanced at Asia, but for once in her life chose to keep her mouth shut. She was already in trouble for getting them kicked out of the city.

Before they could reach the door, Kiba reached his own limit, “Not so fast.” As the two turned he glared at them, “ I have some business of my own with you two.”

“Yuuto!”

Rias's tone of voice showed she was reprimanding him, but he clearly didn't care as he pointed at both of them, “I challenge you two to a duel.”

Riser smirked a little and climbed to his feet, “What the hell, lets make it a little unofficial match, shall we? Two on two seems far more fair.”

Four sets of eyes glared at Riser, but no one denied him as they all made their way outside. Soon they were in a clearing behind the old school building. Xenovia pointed at Riser, “I challenge you.”

As they split into pairs, Xenovia glared at Riser, “I am Xenovia Quarta, who are you?”

Riser took the time to make sure his suit was perfectly clean, even wiping some imaginary dust off of his shoulder before he answered, “I am Riser Phenex of the Marquis ranked House of Phenex.”

Xenovia unwrapped her sword with a small burst of holy power, “One of those heathens that claims to make the most potent healing potions. I see. Do you believe that they will be able to heal what I will do to you? Is that where your unfounded confidence comes from?”

Riser chuckled and shook his head in amusement, “You really are terrible at talking, you know that? Perhaps I should remove your tongue and save the Church some future issues with you, hmmm?”

As she lifted her sword and took a stance, Riser held his hands out and conjured up a burst of Hellfire flames around his fists. His breathing changed as he used Total Concentration Breathing to increase his power. He didn't need it to defeat Xenovia who was firmly in the Middle-Class, but he planned to overwhelm her with sheer power.

Seeing Xenovia ready for him, he bent his legs and suddenly burst forward with enough power to rip up the ground behind him sending clods of dirt into the air. Xenovia's eyes widened in shock, but she managed to get her large sword up in time to block his fist with the flat of her blade. A loud metallic clang, as of steel hitting steel, rang out from the impact. The power of the blow sending Xenovia stumbling back a few steps as he broke her sance.

'Fire Dragon's Iron Fist.'

He dashed toward Xenovia again, this time flames erupted from his feet as he kicked directly at her head. Fully on the defensive now, Xenovia lifted Excalibur Destruction up to block with the flat of the blade once again. Already off balance, the heavy blow that she barely managed to block sent her careening through the air until she slammed on the ground and rolled to gain some distance.

'Fire Dragon's Claw'

Xenovia didn't want for Riser to close in again as she spun her sword and drove it down point first into the ground. A massive explosion was set off from the point of impact that shook the area and set up a huge cloud of dust and debris. By the time it cleared, Xenovia had regained her stance and balance, “I admit, you caught me off guard, hitting Excalibur Destruction without a care in the world. That ends now.”

Riser chuckled and shook his head, “Still so full of yourself.”

The flames on his fists suddenly shifted from orange to bright blue as their power more than doubled. He smirked at Xenovia standing in a crater clearly waiting for him to make the first move, “Not going to come out of your hole?” His smirk grew as she scowled, “Fine, I'll plunder your hole.”

There were a few groans from the bystanders at his very bad joke. It didn't stop him from vanishing from their sight though as he put on his absolute best speed. Xenovia didn't get to even react as his fist slammed into Excaliber Destruction. Not because she managed to block but because he deliberately aimed for it.

The force of his blow, amplified by the power of his fire, shoved the sword to the side once again putting Xenovia off balance. She managed to maintain her grip on the sword, but only just barely. The next blow he slammed into the blade put an end to that as he brute forced it out of her hand. The Excalibur fragment flew through the air with everyone watching it.

With them all distracted by its flight, it was easy enough for Riser to dash beneath it and catch the sword by its handle. He easily held the sword as Xenovia and Irina looked at him with utterly gobsmacked expressions. He hefted the sword a few times and gave it a couple of swings. Xenovia, unable to comprehend what she was witnessing, which she was not alone in, was the one to break the silence with a single shouted word, “IMPOSSIBLE!”

Riser tilted his head to look Xenovia straight in the eyes, “If you think that was impossible, wait until you get a load of this!”

He pointed the tip of the sword away from anyone else and sent a sliver of power into it. The sword glowed bright gold before it gave off a blast of pure power that ripped up the grass and leveled a couple of trees, “Ha! How do you like that?!”

[System Alert! Hidden Quest Complete!

Going off the rails

Well, it's official, canon is completely and utterly fucked. Bro! Dude! Way to go!

Reward: ???]

-----Line Break-----

AN

Alright, I want to end it there because I want you guys to give some suggestions for what his reward should be. I'm all ears and interested to see what ideas you guys have for him bend Canon over and going at it with zero lube.

Also! The response I got to the last chapter of this was so goddamn phenomenal that I couldn't think of anything else but it. This chapter just flowed like water and took me almost zero effort to write. I had more interactions with you guys on the last chapter of this and any two chapters of any other story, combined. I saw comments from names I'd never seen comments from before! It got me super excited and I literally couldn't do anything else but write this. So, this is how I spent my Sunday.

I hope this story continues to wow you guys like the first chapter did! Let me know what you thought and be sure to give a suggestion or two for Riser's reward!

Oh yeah, 12.3k words. Just, fyi.