Social events were definitely not my cup of tea, especially when it came to wearing fancy clothes.

Not to mention the ties, but since it was more or less a formal occasion I decided to wear one of the fancy-looking attires with the fur-coat collar that went around my shoulders and neck. Might as well go all out for this occasion even though it would be ruined anyways by Hyoudou's appearance and breaking off Rias's engagement to Riser.

Hyoudou was on his own with defeating Riser.

It was too much of a hassle to help out Hyoudou anyways, going to the human world and then back to the underworld, so I decided to let fate or whatever decide if Hyoudou would be able to defeat Riser. Though since Raynare was with him there was a chance that she would be able to provide him the cross and holy water he needed, which meant there was no need for me to interfere.

Plus just like Sona, as a High-Class Devil it wasn't my place to interfere with Rias's problem. Solving her problem was up to her and her servants.

Well, Hyoudou would be able to beat Riser somehow on his own if not well then Rias was screwed with Riser for the rest of her life.

However considering how much changes to the original timeline my actions and presence have caused there was no doubt in my mind that the story I knew from here on out was changed forever.

At least this would be the shortest ceremony ever.

"Zeroth, are you ready?"

"Yeah."

Stepping out of the room, I was greeted by my mother and Magdaran, both wearing noble attires suitable for the occasion. If only they knew that this ceremony was going to be crashed by the Sekiryuutei.

Of course it would all be thanks to Sirzechs, who no doubt had no desire to see his sister wed to someone like Riser. It wasn't like Hyoudou was a better choice for Rias either.

My mother smiled when she nodded in approval of my attire. "You look perfect for this evening. Ravel will no doubt be pleased as well."

"Sure."

It wasn't like she wasn't already smitten with me anyways though she tended to act like a tsundere whenever we got too close. At least some things about this world were still the same.

Well the one good thing that came out of our engagement was that Ravel wouldn't be wasted on the likes of someone like Hyoudou.

Pure Devils were already low as is after the previous wars and though I could care less about them it was my duty as the next Great King to keep the line of the House of Bael pure.

"Now remember, you will be escorting Ravel during the procession when we arrive at the Gremory castle." My mother reminded me.

"I know."

That would mean that almost all of the nobles would have their eyes on me when we arrived when the herald announced our names.

Being at the center of attention was never my thing, but I would have to get over that fear for the future so might as well start getting used to it now.

My mother frowned. "What is with that face? Show some pride, Zeroth. You are a Bael and the next Great King."

"Sorry. I just have a lot of things on my mind right now."

After all it was difficult to figure out what events from the original timeline were changed now due to my actions and presence. Hopefully at least Kokabiel would still attack Kuoh Academy, which would cause the Three Factions to form an alliance.

Not to mention that Kokabiel was probably one of the few foes that I could go all out against and test my limits and abilities.

"Well push them aside for now. Your focus should be on your betrothed while we are there not on training. You'll have plenty of time to do that when you return to the human world."

"Yeah."

It was still weird at times to be scolded by a woman who wasn't actually my mother, but Zeroth Bael's mother. Still, the only times she really scolded me was whenever my mind was focused on training.

At least she didn't have to endure the harsh life she had when Sairaorg was born.

Waiting for us when we arrived downstairs were the members of my peerage and Magdaran's, along with Ravel. Ravel blushed when she saw how regal looking I was.

Kuisha and Sectaas then stepped forward and bowed their heads.

"The magic-circle has been prepared. Lord Bael has gone on ahead to discuss some matters with Lord Phenex."

Probably about my wedding ceremony with Ravel. They were taking things too fast, but that was to be expected of High-Class Devils, especially when it came to marriages between Pure Devils.

They were no doubt eager to have some Pure Devil grandchildren.

At least my partner was someone tolerable unlike Riser and more reliable.

"Then we shouldn't keep them waiting." My mother said, putting on her mask of the Great Queen of Bael.

I then offered my hand to Ravel as we began to make our way to the magic-circle.

"My lady."

"T-Thank you, Zeroth-sama."

Ravel accepted it and allowed me to escort her.

The other members of my peerage were no doubt jealous of my closeness with Ravel, but they would have to put up with it until the ceremony was over.

We all then stepped onto the magic-circle that had the symbol of House of Bael on it.

The light then covered us, transporting us to where the ceremony was being held.

"Zeroth Bael of the House of the Great King and his betrothed, Ravel Phenex of the House of Marquis!" The herald called out our names as we entered the great hall.

It was nerve wrecking for me to see all of the High-Class Devils turn their gazes at us; most of their faces were unknown to me though. We were the future of the Pure Devils and all of the older Devils knew that, while some no doubt wished that their daughters were betrothed to me instead.

Hurry up and crash the party already, Hyoudou.

Luckily for me though the main focus of tonight was on Riser Phenex and Rias, but that didn't mean that I didn't hear them whispering about me.

"That is him, the Strongest Youth."

"I've heard that he continues to train with his body even though he has such great potential with his demonic power."

Ignore them man, they're just a bunch of nobodies not relative to the plot.

"Do they bother you, Zeroth-sama?" Ravel whispered as we trailed behind my mother and Lord Phenex.

"Not really."

"You're lying."

"Alright fine, maybe a little."

Leave it to Ravel to be able to read my mind. Thankfully she couldn't read that I used to be a human before taking over Zeroth Bael's body and mind.

Ravel smiled. "You should be more honest with yourself, Zeroth-sama."

"If you say so."

Glancing about the great hall my eyes soon fell upon my peerage hanging out with Rias and Sona's servants. Though judging from their expressions it was easy to tell that they were not at all satisfied with the result of their Rating Game against Riser.

To my surprise though I did not see Raynare with them, which most likely meant that she was with Hyoudou, taking care of his injuries.

That would no doubt be awkward for them, considering that Raynare had posed as Hyoudou's girlfriend and had killed him after they date was over.

"Still, my brother is lucky that he was able to win his bride in a Rating Game, though the match was already decided before it began." Ravel smiled.

"Yeah."

Not for long though if we are still following the same original timeline. And if Riser lost he would go into a slump before reforming his ways.

Ravel frowned at my response. "Do you not agree with your cousin's loss?"

"Not really. The match would have been more entertaining though if Rias had at least a chance to defeat him."

"So this is why you had to return to the underworld."

A familiar voice interrupted before Ravel could respond.

Approaching us was Sona and her Queen, Tsubaki, both wearing high-class dresses that exposed little of their skin, much to my disappointment.

"Yeah, sorry for not letting you know."

Sona chose to ignore me and curtsied to Ravel. Damn, talk about a cold response.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Sona Sitri, the next Head of the Sitri Clan."

"It's nice to meet you as well, I am Ravel Phenex, the youngest daughter of the Phenex Clan."

"She will be returning to the human world with me and will be entering Kuoh Academy as a second-year student."

"Is that so?"

"Y-Yes, I will be in your care."

"Then I shall take my leave. I would like to give my regards to Rias's group."

I bowed before taking my leave, leaving Ravel in the company of Sona and her Queen.

It had been a while since I last spoke with Rias's peerage, though it had been mainly because of my desire to interact with them as little as possible. The only one though from Rias's peerage who I was truly interested in though was Akeno, because of her seductiveness and that it would be a waste if she fell for Hyoudou.

That and because well I preferred her over Rias anyways.

"That was a fine match you all had. You should be proud of yourselves." I greeted them with a smile.

"Thank you, Zeroth-san," Kiba said.

"We could have done better," Shirone muttered, sucking on a sweet.

"Well considering how you all managed to take out all of Riser's servants is a feat by itself considering that you are still beginners. Especially you, Akeno, I was surprised when you managed to take down his Queen along with Rias's Knight."

"Ara, ara, thank you for the praise," Akeno smiled, though it was hard to tell if it was real or not.

If only she knew that if she had used her Holy Lightning she would have been able to easily take down Riser's Queen.

"Still, it is a shame that Rias's first Rating Game was her loss."

"I don't think that it's over yet." Kiba said.

"Not yet," Shirone agreed.

Before I could respond, flames erupted from the center of the hall as Riser Phenex appeared through a magic-circle in a stylish suit exposing his chest.

"Noble Devils of the underworld! The Phenex Family is honored by your attendance tonight!" Riser exclaimed. "We invited you all here to share the moment in which I, Riser Phenex and the heiress of the Gremory Clan, Rias Gremory, formally announce our intent to marry. Now then, let me introduce my bride, Rias Gremory!"

He sure does love to talk.

The magic-circle with the Gremory symbol then appeared beside Riser Phenex as Rias emerged from it, with her crimson-hair tied up, wearing a red dress.

Damn she sure did look ravishing. Hyoudou was lucky to have a woman like her fall in love with a pervert like him.

Now then, when are you going to show up, Hyoudou?

As if right on cue the entrance doors to the great hall were flung open as a familiar pervert entered the hall.

"Buchou!"

The cry echoed throughout the hall, causing many of the High-Class Devils to turn their attention to the intruder.

"To all the High-class Devils here! And Buchou's brother, Maou-sama! My name is Hyoudou Issei from Kuoh Academy! I have arrived to take back Buchou, Rias Gremory-sama!"

It was amusing to watch the other High-Class Devils express surprised and shocked expressions, whispering to one another.

And without a care in the world, Hyoudou began to walk over to Rias and Riser.

At least all of this was the same as the light novels.

One of the guards then approached Hyoudou. "Hey, you! Do you know where this-!"

But he was interrupted as Kiba, Shirone, and Akeno intervened, stopping the guards in their tracks.

Hyoudou then continued on his path and marched right up in front of Riser.

"Buchou, Rias Gremory-sama's virginity belongs to me!"

There it was.

I couldn't help but chuckle at Riser's expression. It was even better seeing it in person then on a screen.

"What's the meaning of this, Riser?"

"Hey, Lady Rias. What's the meaning of this?"

Relatives from both sides were making unsettled expressions and panicking while I was the only one enjoying the moment.

Now this is what you called crashing a wedding, though it was more or less an engagement ceremony before the wedding.

"It's an event that I organized."

It was at that moment that Sirzechs appeared, the Strongest Devil of the Underworld.

"Oni-sama," Rias muttered.

"I wanted to see the power of the Dragon, so I asked Grayfia to provide a method of transportation here for the boy."

"S-Sirzechs-sama!? You can't do something irresponsible like this!" One of their relatives panicked.

"It should be fine. The Rating Game from last time was very entertaining, but my little sister was at a disadvantage who had no game experience to face off against Riser-kun who is a prodigy from the House of Phenex."

"So Sirzechs-sama, you are saying that the last game wasn't fair?"

"No, no, not at all. If a Maou such as myself says such thing, then I would be making the old nobles look bad. The connection between the High-class Devils is important after all."

"Then, Sirzechs. What do you want to do about it?" Zeoticus asked.

"Father. I want to make my cute little sister's engagement party into a flashy one. Dragon versus Phoenix. Don't you think it's the ultimate event? To stir up the party by having a battle between legendary creatures. There aren't any kinds of entertainment which can surpass this."

Everyone in the hall grew silent after hearing Sirzechs's words. He then looked at Hyoudou.

"Dragon user-kun. You have our permission. Riser, can you show your power once more right in front of Rias and I?"

Riser made a fearless smile. "Very well. There is no way I can decline if Sirzechs-sama asks me. This Riser will show his last performance before getting married!"

"Dragon user-kun, what prize do you want when you win the match?" Sirzechs then asked Hyoudou.

"Sirzechs-sama!?"

"What are you saying!?"

The other members of the Gremory Clan started criticizing Sirzechs's offer.

"He's a Devil, so we need to give him something fitting for it since we are asking him to do something for us. Now then. I can give you anything. A peerage? Or the most beautiful woman?"

"I ask you to give me Rias Gremory-sama back." Was Hyoudou's response.

Sirzechs smiled. "Very well. If you win, you may take Rias with you."

Hyoudou then bowed his head. "Thank you very much."

Time to see if Hyoudou's early head start at training would allow him to last longer in his Balance Breaker form.

Hopefully this battle would be a lot more interesting then before.

The center of the hall was cleared in a hurry.

The Devils in the hall were standing around the space, watching with keen eyes. My peerage and the other members of my family stood on the Gremory side, with Rias and Sirzechs.

On the other side of the hall was the House of Phenex, their relatives and servants while Ravel stood by my side.

At the center of the hall standing there was Hyoudou with his Boosted Gear activated and Riser with a confident look on his face.

Time to see how much of a difference this battle was going to be compared to the original timeline.

"Please start!" The arbitrator of the match cried out.

Riser then ignited his fire wings and then pointed at Hyoudou's gauntlet. "Your ability is already cracked. A Sacred Gear that keeps on doubling the power of the user, the Boosted Gear. Also it seems like you gained a new ability that can transfer the multiplied power into an object or your allies."

Hyoudou then looked over at Rias and grinned. "Buchou, I will finish this in twenty seconds."

Twenty? Well it would seem that Riser was really screwed this time.

"Ise?" Rias said, with a doubtful look on her face.

"What is that guy thinking? As if he would be able to defeat my brother." Ravel muttered.

"You sure talk big for saying that you will finish this in 20 seconds. Then I will finish you off in 10 no 5 seconds. It won't be like last time, Rias's Pawn!" Riser exclaimed.

"Buchou! Please allow me to use "Promotion" here!" Hyoudou cried out. "Promotion, Queen!"

Time to see what Hyoudou had in store for Riser.

"Buchou! I don't have talent for swords like Kiba! I'm not a genius like Akeno-san at using demonic-power! I don't have a crazy strength like Shirone-chan, nor do I have any combat skills like Raynare! Even still, I will become the "Strongest Pawn"! For you, I will even beat God! With this Boosted Gear! My only weapon! I will make sure that I will protect you!"

Hyoudou then raised his gauntlet into the air.

"Shiiiiiine! Over Boost!"

[Welsh Dragon over booster!]

The jewel in the gauntlet then released a red light that shined throughout the entire hall and a deep crimson aura covered Hyoudou.

After the light died down, Hyoudou's body was equipped with the Boosted Gear Scale Mail armor.

Riser was shocked when he saw Hyoudou's appearance. "An armor!? You made the power of Sekiryuutei shape into a physical form!?"

"This is the power of the Emperor of Dragons! The Balance Breaker, [Boosted Gear Scale-mail]! —If you want to stop me, go and ask Maou-sama! After all, it seems like this is the "The Hated Forbidden Technique"!"

Look at Hyoudou, wasting his time explaining things when he should just focus on completely destroying Riser.

[XX]

The countdown then began and Hyoudou closed the distance between him and Riser, creating a mass of demonic power between his hands and shooting it at Riser.

The demonic power released from Hyoudou grew bigger as it flew towards Riser.

"It's enormous!" Riser flew out of the way, evading the attack.

[XIX]

Hyoudou then blasted to where he believed Riser would fly to, the propellers on his back releasing an explosive amount of demonic power.

Just like in canon though, Hyoudou crashed into a wall, no doubt because he still had trouble controlling his armor.

[XVIII]

Hyoudou then got back up, shaking the rubble off himself while Riser became more vigilant.

Riser's body then got covered in a rainbow color aura to the point where even I could feel his demonic power from here.

"Shitty Sekiryuutei brat! Sorry but I won't hold back! I don't want to admit it, but right now you are a monster! In front of your master, Rias, perish!"

A giant pair of wings of fire appears on Riser's back who was howling until a whirlwind of flames surrounded him while engulfing the hall with intense fire.

All around me the other Devils in the hall started to put up barriers in front of themselves to protect themselves from the flames, including me.

"Fire bird and Fenghuang! The hell fire of our clan that was praised as being that of a Phoenix! Taste it with your own body and turn into ashes!"

Riser who was now covered in flames rushed at Hyoudou, his silhouette resembling that of a gigantic fire bird.

"There's no way that I will perish from a crappy fire like yours!"

Hyoudou propelled himself at Riser, shouting and slamming his fist against Riser's face while his own fist hit Hyoudou's as well. The impact of their punches caused the entire hall to shake while at the center of the hall, Hyoudou and Riser began exchanging punches.

Why wasn't he using the cross yet?

"Are you scared!? Are you afraid of me!? Of course! You are merely a trash if you didn't have a Boosted Gear! If you didn't have that armor, then you would have perished before my fist reached you! That's right! If you take that gauntlet off, then you have no value!" Riser shouted amongst their blows.

[XVII]

It was at that moment though that Hyoudou pulled something out of his pocket and I knew at once what it was as he did a cross-counter with Riser, causing him to bend back.

"That won't work on-" Riser coughed up blood, and his eyes widened in shock when he saw what Hyoudou was holding. "A cross!? You have a cross!?"

All around me the Devils screamed in fear when they saw it while I did my best to not show any fear at it.

[XVI]

"I punched you while increasing the effect of the cross with my Sacred Gear. A holy attack that has increased drastically can even be used against High-class Devils. Even if you are the immortal bird Phoenix, you won't be able to heal this attack that easily, right?" Hyoudou replied.

"Absurd! Crosses bring intense suffering to Devils! Even if you wear a Dragon's armor, touching it is absolutely foolish-" Riser then stopped when he realized it. "Did you give your left arm to the Dragon residing in the gauntlet? So that's the reason for your insane powers!"

"Yeah, that's right. I gave my left arm in order to use this power for a temporary period. My left arm is the arm of an actual Dragon. That's why a cross doesn't work on me."

"If you do that, then your left arm won't return to normal! Do you know that!?"

"What about it?"

[XV]

Stop talking and finish him off already, Hyoudou.

"Buchou will come back just with one arm of someone like me, you know? It's a pretty cheap deal, don't you think?"

Riser's eyes widened after hearing that. "You are crazy. So that's why you can hit punches without any hesitation. You are scary. I have become scared of you for real, for the first time. And for that!" Riser's flames then grew even bigger. "I'm going to beat you with everything I have!"

[XIV]

Hyoudou then put all of his power into the cross and exchanged blows with Riser.

I was not at all surprised this time when the armor did not disappear from Hyoudou and Riser sustained even more damage from the cross.

"Now then, time to extinguish those flames of yours!"

Hyoudou took out another object from his pocket and opened the lid, flinging some of the holy water at Riser.

"Cra-"

"Boosted Gear Gift!"

[Transfer!]

The holy water then began to vaporize Riser's flames, causing his wings of flames to diminish.

[XIII]

Riser then began to writhe in pain while Hyoudou pointed his cross at Riser, sprinkling some holy water onto it.

"Raynare told me this. That Devils are weak against the cross and the holy water. So increasing the ability of both of them at the same time would give enormous damage to Devils, right?"

Riser tried to take step back while making a scared face.

"Kiba told me this. To widen my line of sight and look towards the enemy and its surroundings."

[Transfer!]

"Akeno-san told me this. To gather the demonic-power that flows throughout your whole body. To concentrate and feel the wave of the demonic-power. Yeah, even an idiot like me can feel it, Akeno-san."

[XII]

"Shirone-chan told me this. When you hit someone, aim at the middle of the body and nail it deep into their body accurately!"

While Hyoudou aimed his fist at Riser, he began to panic.

"H-Hold on! Do you even know what you are doing!? This engagement is important and necessary for the future of Devils! It's not something a Devil brat like you can butt into!"

"I don't know anything complicated. But there's something I remember vaguely when I lost against you and became unconscious. Buchou was crying. She was crying! And she was also crying before! That reason is enough for me to beat the shit out of you—!"

Combined with the effects of the cross and holy water, Hyoudou slammed his fist directly into Riser's stomach.

Riser took a few steps back after the impact, coughing up blood. "For me to lose like this-"

He then fell onto the ground, unconscious.

It would seem that his head-start at training helped Hyoudou win while lasting longer in his Balance Breaker form.

"Brother!" Ravel cried out, but I stopped her from rushing over to him.

"Leave him alone."

Hyoudou then made his way over to where Rias and her father were and after exchanging some words, took out a leaflet, which glowed and a four-legged beast with wings emerged from it.

"Griffon," I muttered.

Once Hyoudou and Rias left, the crowd soon began to disperse while Riser was taken out of the hall.

And just like that the ceremony came to an end.

"Well then, I suppose I will see you all during summer break."

Kuisha and the others had already boarded the train, leaving me with Ravel, my mother, and Magdaran.

We were all at the train station that belonged to the Bael Clan, which would take us all back to the human world. After Hyoudou had crashed the ceremony the engagement between the House of Gremory and the House of Phenex was cancelled. Though from what I learned from Ravel, her family did not at all seem to mind as it gave a good lesson to Riser as he had finally experienced his first loss. Not like I didn't know that already.

After that, Riser had gone into a slump, but that wasn't my problem even though Ravel was a bit down because of her brother's loss.

"Remember, this will be Ravel's first time in the human world so don't forget to help her out if she needs it," my mother said.

"I know."

Asia and Jeanne would be able to help Ravel get used to the human world since they would all be in the same class together.

"You as well Ravel. If you need help with anything, Zeroth will be there to answer any of your questions."

"Yes!"

"We can take care of ourselves, mother." I sighed, wishing that we could be back in the human world already.

"I know that you are thinking about training, Zeroth," my mother scolded.

"Whatever."

I needed to train anyways to prepare for Kokabiel's attack on Kuoh. He was a Cadre of the Fallen Angels and unlike Hyoudou with his Boosted Gear, I couldn't rely on Regulus for this time because he had to remain in the underworld.

The only powers that I would have on me would be my power of destruction and Touki. It was time that I began training to acquire my true form.

My brother was the only one who seemed down about us leaving so I reached over and ruffled his hair.

"Don't worry, we'll be back soon. Until then you'll have your peerage and mother to keep you company."

"I wish that I could go to the human world as well," Magdaran muttered.

"When you're older."

Besides, my father would probably never allow it because he would not want both his sons to be in the human world. Unfortunately for Magdaran, that meant putting up with the other High-Class Devils at the prestigious school in the underworld.

At least the only annoying ones in the human world that I had to deal with were my fan girls.

"Until we see each other again, take care of yourself, brother."

I ruffled his hair one last time before hugging my mother and then boarded the train with Ravel.

The train soon departed after that, leaving the underworld for the human world.

Waiting for us when we entered were my peerage as we all settled down for the journey ahead.

Valerie seemed to be amazed at the sights she was seeing as we passed through the Bael territory. "This entire area belongs to your family?" She asked me.

"Yeah. Out all of the Devil Clans of the 72 Pillars we possess the largest territory in the underworld."

One of the benefits of being the highest-ranked clan in the 72 Pillars.

"By the way, when do you think that I will be able to meet your cousin's Bishop?"

"Not anytime soon. The higher-ups deemed that Rias was not ready to control her Bishop's power so she can not unseal them until she is ready."

Which would be after Kokabiel was dealt with; when Kiba managed to achieve his Holy Demonic Sword Balance Breaker.

"I see," Valerie said, looking down.

"Don't worry. In the mean time you will be able to enjoy the sights of Japan. I did promise you that after all."

"Yeah."

It was going to be difficult to get her to open up, but hopefully with the help of the others she would be able to show emotions again. At least Marius wasn't able to break her too much before her older brother decided to send her away.

In the mean time with the Riser incident behind us I could focus on obtaining my true power.

After all, Kokabiel was an opponent I could go all out on and I planned to do just that when he attacked.

If it was a war that he wanted then he was going to get exactly that.

And with that we are now done with the Riser arc. Next up will be the Kokabiel arc, where we will get a glimpse of Zeroth's full power without the help of Regulus.

And sorry for focusing a bit too much on Issei's battle with Riser, but this will be the last chapter he will have any focus on, though there might be a bit during his fight with Vali. But the rest of the story will just be on Zeroth after this.

Also the next chapter might take a while to upload because I plan on finishing all of the chapters for the Kokabiel arc to give me some breathing room because as you can all tell I've been pumping these chapters out back to back for one month and I need a break.

That also means that by the time I finish uploading the last chapter of the Kokabiel arc that I will hopefully be done with the Kuoh Treaty arc because I will be updating after I finish the next chapter after the ones that are already completed.

I will keep an update progress though on my profile page as each chapter is completed.

There also might be a lemon in the next arc, but no promises.

Until then, see you all next time and thanks for all the support.

NEXT CHAPTER: Awakening