::Author's Note::
I'm happy that everyone seems to be enjoying the direction I've taken the story. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive the past few chapters so I hope that I continue to raise the bar for you guys.
One thing I wanted to mention. I noticed a consistency error in my last chapter that I wanted to bring to your attention. In Chapter thirteen I incorrectly referred to Rias as an only child. Somehow it completely slipped my mind that Sirzechs Lucifer is her older brother.
What I MEANT to say was that she had been raised as if she were an only child. Considering Sirzechs was already Lucifer by the time she was born in my canon. While it's a slight error, the feelings and the emotions portrayed in that scene still hold true to what I was trying to convey. Just wanted to bring it to your attention.
With that said, here is Chapter Fourteen. I hope you enjoy it as much as you seemed to enjoy the last one.
Just remember, we're not at the end yet.
::End Note::
She had failed. Somehow, despite all the power at her disposal, Akeno, the Priestess of Thunder, managed to pull a major upset. Riser's Queen had been eliminated from the game.
"Yubelluna...no." From below, on the nearby rooftop, Riser's heart sank into his chest as his team was dealt the deciding blow of the game. Without their Queen, their chances of victory were lost.
"Looks like you lost your vaunted right hand." Rias commented, dark power coursing through her body. A twisted smile forming on her face. "Dear me, but it does seem like your chances of winning just hit zero."
No! He refused to give up. Not after they had come so far. Not after everything his servants had sacrificed to get them to where they were. He'd figure out a way to beat her, no matter what.
"You should just give up while you can, Riser." She insisted. "We both know you can't keep going at this rate."
"Ms. President…" Asia trembled nervously. The entire time, she had been watching as her Master's aura grew darker and darker. "...please calm down."
"Where are my Bishops?!" Riser insisted adamantly. "Ravel! Mihae! I need healing!"
"I'm here!" Ravel came darting towards him from the air. "Big Brother, something's gone wrong! Yubelluna and the others all got eliminated!" She explained while slowly beginning to heal him. A pink aura of light surrounding the tips of her fingers.
Riser stared down at what remained of the track field in horror. "They're all gone?!"
"You might as well resign, 'Darling'." Rias taunted venomously.
"Resign this!" He shouted angrily before blasting her directly in the face with a ball of orange hellfire. His limbs were starting to get heavy.
"You don't get it yet, do you?" Rias slowly stood up, seemingly no less bothered by the Phenex flames than she would be to a stiff wind. She glared at Ravel angrily, her face contorting into a sadistic smile. "What a lovely Bishop you have. Refuse to resign and I can't be held responsible for what might happen to her."
Asia let out a small terrified gasp before taking a step away. "What are you gonna do, Rias?"
"Rias!" At that moment Akeno, Kiba, and Jon all descended onto the roof.
"That certainly took you all long enough." Rias, commented in that same, dark, voice. "Akeno, I'd have thought you'd be quicker disposing of the Bomb Queen than that."
Akeno frowned in worry at her President. "Their Queen was every bit as strong as we'd heard." She responded, taking a spot next to Asia.
"A win is a win as they say." Rias shrugged, her eyes glowing a strange black color. "Now all that's left is to mop up the trash."
Jon peered at Rias worryingly. He barely recognized the dark aura she was giving off.
"Something's wrong with Rias." Asia whispered nervously. "Riser started taunting her and then she just sort of...snapped."
"I was afraid this might happen." Akeno stated glumly while Asia began the process of healing her. "The blood of her mother has been triggered."
"The blood of her mother..." Kiba swore under his breath. "This isn't good."
"Okay, you two wanna fill us in?" Jon insisted, a hint of fear in his voice.
"Rias isn't just a Gremory." Akeno explained. "Her mother is Venelana, the Madam of Extinction. She's from the Bael clan. The highest ranking Pillar in the realm of Hell." She swallowed nervously. "Their family possesses a unique ability known as the Power of Destruction. The same ability Rias has inherited."
Asia shivered at the mention of the name Bael. Next to Lucifer, there was no name the Church feared more. Rias snarled angrily before unleashing another volley of magical fire. She managed to hit riser in the arm, scorching him badly. Ravel quickly got to work healing his wounds as best she could.
"It's an incredible power, but…" Akeno shook her head. "...Rias is too young to fully control it. Her Mother warned her to never tap into her full abilities or else…"
"Or else she loses control?" Jon guessed, his skin turning pale as he watched the President of the ORC slowly pick her opponent apart. "So what do we do?"
"We stay the hell out of her way." Kiba answered grimly. "That's all we can do."
Rias continued to unleash wave after wave of the black and red fire upon her opponent. Riser took everything that she gave him and continued to stand despite the ferocity of the attacks.
"Resign, Riser!" She demanded emphatically. "You can't possibly win."
"Never!" He insisted, blasting her with every spell he could conjure up in his arsenal. "I am Riser Phenex! I'll not be brought down by a Ratings Game Virgin!"
As Rias continued to lay the pressure on her opponent, Jon's eyes kept shifting to the terrified girl at Riser's side. "What the hell did Riser say to get Rias this worked up?"
"He mentioned you…" Asia spoke quietly.
His eyes went wide.
Rias cackled in maniacal glee as Riser's spells harmlessly deflected off her shield. "You're just wasting magical energy at this point. Come on, this is done. We both know it."
He collapsed to his knees. "I can't…" Tears began to form in Riser's eyes. "I can't lose...my Father will never…"
Ravel's heart broke for Riser. She placed a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. "Big Brother…"
Rias scowled horribly. "Am I supposed to be moved?"
She blasted him with a vicious wave of hellfire, knocking Riser into the far wall.
"Let me paint a picture for you." She spoke maliciously, bitter hatred seeping into her voice. "It's your thirteenth birthday party. Everything's going wonderfully, all your friends and family are there, and you just finished blowing out your candles. When all of a sudden, this blonde little shit strolls in like he owns the place, helps himself to half your cake, and starts pulling on your best friends hair when he thinks no one's looking. More than anything you want him to leave but your parents say he has to stay. By the end of the night, this jackass has effectively ruined your party."
She unleashed another torrent of hellfire upon him. Riser struggled to remain standing.
"Now imagine this!" She continued, her voice taking on an even more demonic form. "Shortly after your ruined birthday, your Father walks into your room, sits you down, and explains that that entitled little bastard is your future husband!"
"Rias…" Jon took a step forward, his eyes full of concern.
"That was my first impression of you!" She bellowed monstrously. "And since that night, I have spent the last century of my life in absolute dread of my own wedding!"
She blasted him again, this time scorching his leg. Ravel wouldn't last much longer. She couldn't keep healing him at the rate she was burning through her magic.
"Now you want me to feel sorry for you?! You want me to surrender out of pity after you spent the entirety of my adult life, stalking, belittling, and harassing me?! You don't get to play that card, Riser!"
She aimed her next spell at Ravel, who's eyes bulged in terror as she raised her hand up and cast a torrent of black and red fire directly at her. The helpless Bishop turned away and braced for the worst. However, Riser managed to step in front of her and deflect the blast with a magic barrier, getting scorched in the process.
"Big Brother!" She cried worriedly.
Riser fought through the pain and remained standing, keeping his magic shield up as another volley of hellfire hit his shields, and then another, and another after that. His barrier faded away as Riser collapsed to a knee, completely spent. Ravel quickly rushed to his side, doing her best to help him stand.
"You see, Riser?" Rias charged another volley at the tips of her fingers. "This outcome was inevitable. Now submit!"
"No!" He yelled back stubbornly, only standing with the support of his little sister.
A sardonic grin covered Rias's lips and her eyes grew darker. "If you won't yield, then you will fall." She blasted him with more of her power. Ravel tried to shield her brother who in turn tried to shield her. "Any death that occurs during a Rating Game is considered an accident anyway!"
"She wouldn't…" Jon shook his head in disbelief.
Rias blasted them again, harder this time. "Last chance, Riser! Forfeit the Game or I'll destroy you both!"
"Big Brother please!" Ravel implored. "I'm almost out of magical energy! We can't keep going like this!"
"Never!" He yelled in defiance.
The Empress of Ruin's face contorted into a hideously angry scowl. "Then so be it!" She bellowed in rage before unleashing her final attack. Ravel and Riser braced against each other and shut their eyes.
Only for the comet to be harmlessly deflected away.
"What?!" Rias took a step backwards in surprise.
Riser and Ravel both slowly opened their eyes to see a figure with large red dragon's wings standing in front of them.
"Jon?!" Asia shouted in disbelief
"Jon…" Rias quietly gazed up at the servant she adored, so confused as to why he was getting in the way.
Ravel slowly opened her eyes and gawked incredulously at Rias's Pawn. "He helped us?"
Jon slowly lowered the barrier he had managed to produce and stared at Rias severely. "Is this really how you want to win?"
Rias was taken aback. "Jon, what are you saying? Just get out of the way!"
"Come on, Rias." Jon insisted, taking a step towards her. "This ain't you. Where's the level headed and intelligent President I know?"
"This needs to be done!" She insisted, powering up again. "The Rating Game isn't over until one side resigns or is taken out!"
"Rias, just look at him!" Jon pointed back towards the badly injured Riser. "It is over. He can barely stand."
Ravel meanwhile was completely silent. Why was he doing this? Why was Rias Gremory's Pawn defending them? After everything they did, how could he show such...mercy?
Just who was he? She wondered. Just who in the world was Jonathan Hyodo?
"You think they would show us this kind of mercy, Jon?" Rias retorted angrily. "What if the shoe had been on the other foot? What do you think would have happened then?"
"We're not them." He insisted, taking another step towards her. "We don't have to sink that low." Jon reached his arms out to her. "Come on, let me and the others handle this. You've done enough."
"Get out of my way, Jon!" Rias's power exploded again, sending a shockwave in all directions. "I'm going to finish this myself."
Jon shook his head emphatically. "I can't let you do that."
"You're disobeying a direct order?!" She shouted half in disbelief and half in anger.
"The Rias I know wouldn't want me to sit by and watch her kill a defenseless man." He gingerly took another step towards his irate King Piece. "You're better than this."
She glared at her insubordinate Pawn furiously. "Do you have any idea what this man has put me through? What I have had to endure for the past century?!"
"Rias…"
"I said, get out of my way!" She screamed before hurling a bolt of red and black lightning at him. Jon quickly threw up a barrier before being knocked backwards.
"Jon!" Asia cried before trying to run to him. Only to be held back by Akeno and Kiba.
"Don't! Jon needs to do this by himself!" Kiba insisted.
"But why?" She asked worriedly.
"Because he's the only one who can help Rias now." Akeno calmly explained.
Jon lurched back up and clutched at his wounded side. "Okay, I'll admit you got me good there." He chuckled before slowly making his way back to her. "But you should know well enough by now that I'm as stubborn headed as you are."
She took a step backwards as her body began to tremble. "Jon, I'm not kidding! Step aside or I won't hold back!"
He shook his head vehemently. "We've already been down this road, Rias. You're not gonna kill me. If you really wanted to, you'd just stop the heart you gave me."
As he slowly approached, tears began to form in her eyes. "Why are you doing this? Why are you getting in the way?"
"Because you need to forgive him" Jon answered compassionately. "It's the only way you're ever going to feel better."
"I can't…" She lowered her head and shook it violently as tears streamed down her face. "...I can't do it. Not after everything that's happened to me."
"You can." He insisted, getting closer still. "I know it's in you Rias. I know you can forgive him because…"
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close.
"I've already forgiven you."
Her breath caught and her eyes went wide.
"Asia told me everything." He explained. "I've already forgiven you for all that crap in the past. As far as I'm concerned, it's ancient history."
"You...you forgive me?" Rias stated up at him, her eyes still glassed over.
He nodded, that same goofy grin he always wore plastered on his face. "Of course. I understand why you did what you did now. You didn't coerce me into becoming a Devil because you don't care about my feelings. You did it because you were afraid I would have said no if you had just asked." His grin faded and he stared down at her compassionately. "And you really needed my help...didn't you?"
Rias nodded her head silently. "It's true...every word. But even still…" She cast her gaze away shamefully. "...I lied to you. I manipulated you. I watched for years as your life went to hell, content to simply wait until I thought you needed me." Her eyes shut and her bottom lip began to quiver. "But all this time...I'm the one who really needed you."
The violent powers within her finally subsided. Rias clutched Jon tightly to her as she began to slowly break down.
"I'm so sorry!" She wailed, finally letting out all the pent up emotions she'd been keeping buried for so long. All the guilt, all the anger, and all the frustration came pouring out onto Jon's shoulder while he gently stroked her hair reassuringly.
"There's nothing to forgive, Love. We're past all that now."
"Oh, Jon." Asia wiped a stray tear from her eye and smiled at him.
"He actually did it." Kiba marveled. "Unbelievable."
Akeno remained silent. Her cheeks were flushed and she had the most curious little smile on her face. Rias's violent weeping finally subsided into quiet crying. Jon held her tight to his chest and kissed her forehead.
"It's over now." He gently assured. "They can't hurt you anymore. I'll take it from here, okay?"
She finally pulled away from him and tried to smile. Chuckling lightly as she wiped her face. "God, I'm a mess. I can't believe I lost control like that." Rias gazed up at him lovingly before finally stepping aside. "Go ahead, Jon. Win this one for us."
He nodded in agreement before slowly making his way over towards the wounded Riser. Ravel immediately stepped in front of him with her arms outstretched. Forming a wall.
"Please." She begged pitifully. "Don't hurt my Brother anymore."
Jon stared down at Ravel with kind understanding eyes. He placed his hands in his jacket pockets and smiled at her. "Wasn't planning on it. I just wanna talk to him. Is that okay?"
She peered up at him questioningly. "You...you promise?"
He nodded. "I'm not about to hurt a defenseless man in front of his little sister. I promise you, I mean him no harm. So how about it? Will you let me through?"
Ravel stared up into his eyes and her breath stopped. Her mouth hung open and her cheeks flared red.
He's so...kind. She thought to herself.
At that moment, her heart answered a question. She silently allowed Jon to pass, her eyes never once leaving him as he approached her brother and knelt down to his level.
"What do you want, Lowborn?" Riser asked bitterly, refusing to look him in the eye.
Jon took a deep breath and sighed, keeping his anger in check. "Look, I get it. You and I come from two completely different worlds, Blue Blood. But there is one thing we have in common. We're both doing this for the sake of someone else."
He suddenly glared up at him hatefully, his voice filling with anger. "So you want me to give up, then? Is that it?"
He shook his head. "No. That's over and done with. You've lost whether you like it or not. What I want you to do...is admit you were wrong."
Riser fell silent and his expression softened.
"Nothing would have changed, even if you had won." Jon insisted. "The future is never set in stone, despite what men like your Father expect you to believe. We can only guess as to the possibilities." He held up one finger in front of him. "Now I'll admit, you and your Peerage put up one hell of a fight, all things considering. You've probably got more talent in a finger than some others have in their whole bodies when it comes to these Rating Games. But it's not because you crave success, is it?"
Riser hung his head as a shameful frown covered his face.
"It's because you're afraid of failure."
"That's what makes me a great competitor." He insisted weakly.
Jon shook his head. "No, it's what's holding you back."
A small startled gasp escaped Riser's lips and his eyes went wide.
"For all your power, and all your skill, Blue Blood, it is that arrogance and fear that have kept you from learning one of life's most fundamental truths."
"Which is?"
Jon removed his hat and sighed, glancing back at Rias and smiling at her, who did the same, before turning his attention back to Riser. "Rule #1 of Jonathan Hyodo's guide to the fairer sex. It ain't always about you." He placed his hat back on his head and stood up, offering Riser a hand. "You want to find your own Happiness? Start by finding someone elses first."
He offered him a hand up. Riser simply stared at his outstretched palm, so utterly confused as to his opponents intent. "Why are you doing this?"
"Because like you, I've been making selfish decisions all my life. For the past seventeen years, I have lived and died by the barrel of a gun. It wasn't until I stopped worrying so much about the things I wanted, and started paying a little more attention to what the people around me needed that I finally found the one thing I've been looking for all this time."
He turned back around and smiled at Asia, Rias, and the rest of the ORC.
"Home."
Ravel clutched her hands to her heart and smiled.
"While I was fighting your Peerage." Jon continued. "Every girl I fought put everything they had into the battle. None of them gave up. They were all just as determined to win as I was." He smiled at him. "And they did it all for you. Now if that ain't love, then I don't know what is."
Riser felt his heart sink into his chest.
"The way I see it, Blue Blood. You've got one of two options here. One, you can go on trying to get that pat on the back from your Father you've always wanted, and the whole world will be a lot lesser for it." He offered him his hand again. "Or two, you can man up, stop fighting solely for yourself, and start thinking about the people around you. The ones who truly care about you."
At that moment, it was as if Riser was suddenly seeing things clearly for the first time in all his life. He peered over at his adoring Sister, whose eyes were glassed over, before gazing up at Jon's outstretched hand once more.
Finally, reluctantly, he reached out and grasped it firmly before standing back to his feet.
"I...I resign." He declared. "I resign the Game. You win."
Asia's expression slowly brightened into a full blown ecstatic smile. As absolute joy welled within her heart she leapt into the air.
"We did it! We won!"
Tsubaki and Sona were both at a loss for words. They'd been hoping and praying the entire time that maybe, just maybe, Rias could pull it off. But to not only see them succeed, but do so while having only lost a single Piece was incredible.
"To think that they managed to wipe out Riser's entire team with only a fraction of the manpower he possessed." Tsubaki marveled.
"We've severely underestimated the strategic value of Rias's Pawn." Sona admitted with a gleeful smirk on her face.
"To be fair, I suppose he did consume eight pieces." Tsubaki surmised. "Perhaps the odds were not so heavily stacked against Rias as we thought."
Sona shook her head in disagreement. "Pawn Pieces or not, the fact remains that Jonathan Hyodo managed to pull off a major upset in this fight. To be able to wear down the Bomb Queen like that and force her to use the Phenex trump card so early proved to be the deciding factor of this entire match."
"I guess all that's left now is to get them out of there." She proceeded to whip out her phone and call the officials overseeing the match. "It's me. Yes I'd like to…"
While Tsubaki dealt with the Officials, Sona continued to smile up at the screen. "You've really outdone yourself this time, Rias." She murmured quietly to herself.
"...wh...what do you mean you can't get in?" Tsubaki asked nervously.
Sona's good humor vanished almost instantly and she shot a piercing gaze over at her Queen. "What did you just say?"
"Something's wrong." Her Queen answered, a hint of worry in her voice. "The Officials can't gain access to the pocket dimension they're in. Even Lady Grayfia has been locked out somehow!"
A horrendous pit formed in Sona's stomach. It was then that they noticed the video screen had cut to static. Both girls shot up from their seats, looks of concerned shock in both their eyes.
"The feeds been cut? What the hell is going on?!"
Sona's heart began to race out of her chest. "It couldn't be...he wouldn't dare."
Asia, Akeno, and Kiba hugged each other and jumped for joy, reveling in their hard fought victory. Rias meanwhile, was too busy staring at Jon, who was still speaking with Riser. She had clung onto every word he said. And though the words were meant for their opponent, she knew deep in her heart that she deserved to hear them as well. For all her talk of being the Empress of Ruin, it was ultimately Jon that had secured this victory for them. The man who she had taken advantage of more than once, yet still found it in his heart to forgive all her misdeeds. The man who fought tooth and nail to secure her freedom and in the end save her from herself.
She'd never be able to repay him. Never. But damned if she wasn't gonna try when they got back to Headquarters.
After speaking with Riser, Jon walked back toward the President and tucked his hands into his jacket pockets. "So what do you think? Not a bad turnout for our first Rating Game, huh?"
She smiled up at her Pawn, her eyes beginning to glass over before nearly knocking him over with the force of her hug. "Thank you, Jon. Thank you for everything you've just given me."
He hugged her back affectionately. "Don't sweat it."
"Ahem."
Rias and Jon both turned around to see Ravel staring up at them pensively. She fidgeted in place, her eyes firmly locked to the man known as Devil's Colt as she tried to find the words she wanted to say.
"Umm...I just wanted to...that is…" Her face broke out into a light blush before she finally cleared her throat and regained her prim and proper bearing. "On behalf of the Phenex Clan I would like to extend my congratulations to you on your victory and…" Her confidence wavered again and she cast her gaze away, nervously twiddling her fingers together. "I just wanted to say, I thought you fought really well." She finally managed to murmur quietly, her face turning scarlet.
Jon quirked a brow at her before turning to Rias for confirmation. She smiled and nodded approvingly, allowing him to leave momentarily and go speak with her. Ravel was like a deer in headlights as he approached. Completely frozen in place, her heart beating like a drum in her chest, unable to comprehend these strange feelings she was having.
He offered her an outstretched hand. "Yall weren't bad yourselves. It was a good fight."
She peered at his hand for a moment before smiling nervously. Ravel reached out to take it…
...when she noticed a glowing orange circle had appeared on his palm.
"Huh? What's that?" She asked, pointing towards his hand.
Jon gave her a curious look before turning his hand over. "What the hell?"
Out of nowhere, a surge of ungodly pain spread throughout Jon's entire body. Orange electricity emanated from the mark on his hand as he convulsed in place. Unable to move or even scream as the unbearable agony sapped all the strength from his body before finally coming to a halt. Riser, Ravel, Rias, and the entirety of the ORC watched on in abject horror as the hapless Pawn collapsed and began tumbling down the roof.
"Jon!" Rias screamed before unfurling her wings and darting after his still tumbling body. Just as he went over the edge and began to fall to the ground below she managed to swoop in and catch him before flying back up to the roof and landing near the ORC.
"Asia! I need you!"
Her Bishop sprinted over to them, her eyes already starting to well up as panic gripped her heart. Jon wasn't moving at all. She was quickly joined by both Akeno and Kiba. As the group from the ORC all crowded around their wounded Pawn, Ravel stood paralyzed to the spot. Completely unable to process what had just happened.
"Is he okay?!" Kiba asked with grave concern.
"He's alive!" Asia declared in between panicked tears, her hands furiously working on sending her twilight healing into his body. "But he's taken a substantial hit to his magical energy reserves!"
"What the hell was that?" Kiba drew his sword and looked around for any sign of the guilty party.
Akeno picked up Jon's right hand and inspected the magical seal thoroughly. As it began to disappear, a hideous scowl enveloped her face. "Trap magic."
Leaving Jon in Asia's capable hands, Rias turned around and glared at Ravel with unholy rage, her body becoming surrounded in that same dark aura. "What did you do?!"
Ravel took a step backwards, putting her hands out in front of her defensively. "It...it wasn't me!" She vehemently assured, desperation in her voice. "I swear, I don't know what that thing was!"
"Liar." Akeno appeared directly behind Ravel, seemingly having appeared out of thin air. Her entire body surged with magical lightning, a frigid look in her eyes. "That magic circle was marked with the crest of the Phenex Clan. It had to be you."
Ravel collapsed to the ground in fright, raising a hand up to shield herself. "I swear I didn't do anything! I don't even know trap magic!" Her gaze turned to Riser for confirmation. "Big Brother! Tell them!"
Riser didn't respond. Or rather, he couldn't. He was too busy trembling in fear at the sight looming directly above them. Ravel turned to see what it was he was staring at and blanched.
"F...Father?"
One by one, Rias, Akeno, and Kiba all turned towards the sky to see what it was they were staring at. Everyone, save Asia who was still working on Jon, felt their stomachs bottom out. Up above them, overlooking the battle from the view of three sets of burning wings, was the remaining members of the Phenex Family. Ruval, Elestraza, and square in the center of the group, Lord Salazar himself.
"Such a shame." Elestraza commented while fanning herself with her hand fan. "I was quite hoping we wouldn't have to use the trap we set."
"As usual Brother, we have to finish your battles for you." Ruval chided harshly.
"Father!" Riser called up to the patriarch of his clan. "What's going on? Why are you and mother-"
"Be silent!" Lord Phenex barked at him. "I've given you a chance to take care of this troublesome nonsense yourself and you failed spectacularly! Now I'm forced to clean up your mess."
Riser scowled angrily before casting his gaze to the ground.
"How'd they even get in here?" Akeno commented in disbelief. "Only competitors and Lady Grayfia should have access to this plain of existence."
"It was that mark on Jon's palm…" Rias surmised, her body quivering in anger. "...he must have placed it there when they shook hands back at Headquarters." She glared up at Lord Phenex and shouted. "Lord Salazar! What is the meaning of this intrusion?!"
"I'm declaring this Rating Game null and void." He explained in a boisterous, confident voice. "As you are not of legal age to be competing in an official Ratings Game, nor possess the required amount of Pieces, this match is legally unsanctioned. Therefore, by my power as Marquis among the thirty three Pillars, I am hereby disqualifying you, Rias Gremory."
Her whole body went numb and her heart sank into the back of her chest. He was never going to let them win. Even if Riser had failed, that bastard was never planning on actually letting her go free.
"You Rat!" Kiba drew his sword, unfurled his wings, and charged in a blind fury directly at Lord Salazar.
"Oh please." Ruval drew a red and white flintlock pistol and cocked back on the golden firing mechanism carved into the shape of flames.
An orange bolt of energy left the pistols muzzle at a velocity that far surpassed Kiba's speed as Ruval pulled the trigger. He just barely managed to flash step to the right before charging at Ruval next. Unbeknownst to Kiba, the projectile altered its course mid flight and did a complete U-turn, nailing him in the back and detonating on impact.
"Kiba!"
Kiba's seemingly lifeless body fell from the sky, orange sparks dancing off his skin. Akeno unfurled her wings and bolted out to catch him before delivering the unconscious Knight to Asia.
"What's going on?" She asked, her voice quivering in fright as she focused all her attention on healing Jon.
"We've been betrayed." Akeno explained while trying to heal Kiba with her own magic. "The Phenex clan is trying to force our hand into submission."
"But why hasn't Grayfia warped Jon or Kiba out yet?" Her voice was frantic.
"It's likely they're using a spell to prevent her from teleporting them to safety."
"You mean we can't get out?!" She replied in a panicked state.
"Salazar, you snake!" Rias cursed up at him. "You intend to deny me my victory by exploiting a loophole? Have you know since of personal honor?!"
"My honor?" Lord Phenex slowly descended onto the roof along with his Queen. "What of yours, Rias? Your family promised us an alliance, only to try to swindle it out from under our feet with this farce of a Rating Game. I'm simply insuring what was promised to me. And given I outrank your Father, there's nothing that spineless oaf can do about it."
"Maybe not, but my Brother won't stand for this! When Lucifer finds out what you've done-"
"He'll do nothing." Elestraza spoke up, a prideful smirk on her face. "We have the support of seventeen of the thirty three pillars. Including your cousins, the Baels."
"Your Brother, lax as he is with our traditions, will not risk Civil War for the sake of one child. Even if it is his baby sister."
"Coward…" Rias seethed, clenching her fists until her knuckles turned white. "...you would use the political instability of our realm as a shield?" The Crimson Queen of Kuoh's hair blew upward as power surged within her once more. "My Brother's station may have spared you from his wrath, but it will not protect you from mine!"
She blasted him with black and red lightning. Elestraza darted in front of her husband and waved her fan in front of the attack, completely deflecting it as if she were blowing away a stray speck of dust. She then shut the metal hand fan and charged it with magic until it was glowing red hot, before tossing it directly at Rias. She raised a red magical circle in front of her as a shield. The fan penetrated the barrier and detonated like a stick of dynamite. Knocking Rias backwards and scorching her skin as well as a significant portion of her clothes.
"Ms. President!" Asia cried worriedly, unable to help so long as Jon was still out.
Another fan magically appeared in Elestraza's hand which she unfurled and continued to casually wave in her face. "Rias Dear, you really shouldn't talk back to your elders like that. I know your Mother is a bit of a brute, but surely she taught you some manners."
"Screw you!" Rias shouted defiantly before hurling volley after volley of hellfire at her.
Salazar's Queen proceeded to deflect each fireball with her fan as casually as if she were swatting flies out of the air. "You really should save yourself this unnecessary exertion. At this point you're really just deluding yourself."
While Rias continued her desperate struggle against Lord Salazar's Queen, Ravel gazed past the battle at the unconscious Pawn Rias's Bishop was desperately trying to revive. Why was this bringing her so much pain? Sure he had spared her Brother, but aside from their few brief encounters she barely knew this guy.
So why was seeing him laying their unconscious like that making her want to cry?
Not knowing what else to do, and her heart feeling like it was breaking, Ravel approached her father and tugged on his coat. "F...Father? Why are we doing this?" She asked meekly.
The Patriarch of the Phenex clan turned his head back towards her and glared severely at his youngest daughter. She lost her nerve for a moment but quickly regained it, finding new footing. "I mean...I know they're our enemies and all, but the Gremorys did win fair and square. Is this Marriage really so important that we can't-"
"It's not about the strategic value, Ravel." Salazar interrupted. "It's the principle that matters. If we accepted this defeat, then our House would look weak in the eyes of the remaining Pillars." He lectured sternly before returning his attention to the battle. "You'll understand when you're older. For now, be silent and watch."
"But…" She insisted, tugging on the hem of his coat again. "...isn't this beneath us? Bullying a lesser house in such a way?"
"This is not a conversation for children!" He bit back harshly, completely blowing her off. "I told you to be quiet and observe."
Now she was angry. Ravel had been treated like the runt of the litter practically her entire life. She wasn't about to let her voice go unheard, not this time. "Where is the honor in this?! What message are we sending to the other Clans about our House using such underhanded tactics?! Say what you will about Rias Gremory and her Peerage, but at least they fought honorably! Unlike you Father!"
"Insolent Pup!" Lord Salazar whirled around and knocked Ravel to the ground with his cane. As her back hit the hard tiled roof, Ravel peered up at her looming irate Father timidly. Suddenly, talking back didn't seem like the best idea after all.
"You would dare speak back to me in such a manner?!" He snarled at her.
"Ravel!" Riser, who had been keeping to himself since his Father's arrival, suddenly surged with renewed vigor and ran to help his little sister. He stopped moments before reaching her as Ruval descended upon him like a dark cloud and blocked his path.
"Brother? Why are you-"
Ruval cold cocked Riser directly across the face, knocking him back down to the ground. "You idiot! You had one freaking job and you still managed to screw it up!" He began kicking Riser repeatedly in the gut before using his foot to hold him in place by his chest.
As Riser struggled beneath his brother's foot, Ravel continued to scoot backwards away from her Father. She had never seen such malice in his eyes before.
"You think I could not see, my Daughter?" He asked severely. "You think I hadn't noticed the way you were looking at him? Has the Dragon sunken his claws into you too? Are you to be another prized whore to add to his collection?!"
She cowered before him, trembling in terror as tears began to form in her eyes. "Father please...please don't do this."
"No daughter of mine shall be a Dragon's Treasure!" He raised his cane into the air to strike her. Ravel hid herself behind her hands and shut her eyes…
...when a deafening blast silenced everything.
All fighting, yelling, and commotion ceased as a single revolver round knocked the cane from Salazar's hand and sent it tumbling down the roof to the ground below. The head of the Phenex Clan, along with every other Devil present on that roof, turned their heads and stared up at Devil's Colt, hovering several feet in the air on a pair of Dragon Wings, his still smoking Peacemaker in his right hand.
"Jon?" Rias peered up at her Servant in astonishment.
"How the hell…" Ruval glared angrily at the Pawn. "...he shouldn't even still be conscious after that, let alone this."
"My husbands trap spells are usually more potent than that." Elestraza pouted while fanning herself. "Don't tell me that silly girls Twilight Healing was enough to get him back on his feet."
"It wasn't…" Salazar clenched the fist that once held his cane, glaring up at Jon with cold calculated eyes. "It would seem I repeated a mistake our dear Son made, Darling. I've underestimated what remains of the Red Dragon Emperor."
"Tends to happen a lot." Jon commented, his gun still aimed directly at Lord Phenex himself.
Ravel was no longer looking at her father. She was staring up at Jon now. Her heart doing that fluttery thing she didn't quite understand. Jon slowly descended back onto the roof, taking his place right in front of Rias, before twirling the revolver on his hand and reholstering it.
"How are you still standing?" Rias shook her head in complete disbelief. "You shouldn't be able to-" She winced in pain, her injuries finally catching up to her. Rias collapsed to a knee as Jon caught her and offered a shoulder.
"I should be asking you that." He joked in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Are you okay, Rias? You didn't burn through too much magic energy did you?"
"I may have…" She relented wearily.
He nodded in understanding before standing back up and addressing Lord Salazar, a steely look in his eyes. "So let me ask you something 'Lord Phenex'. You've got a pretty large family here, how'd you manage that?"
Lord Salazar gave him the weirdest look imaginable. "How...do you think I did it?"
Jon shrugged. "I'm just curious is all. Must have been difficult considering your complete lack of testicles."
Elestraza gasped in disgust. "How vulgar! Darling, let me incinerate this one before it talks more."
Lord Phenex chuckled heartily before shaking his head. "Ignore him, my Love. These are nothing but empty words from a defeated man."
"Funny, I'm not the one hiding right now."
His smile instantly vanished. "What?"
"You heard me." Jon insisted, completely unphased. "I just shot that cane out of your hands yet you haven't even made the attempt to approach me yet." A slick smirk covered his face. "My senses have always been acute, Salazar. I know what fear looks and smells like."
"You really think I'm afraid of you?" Lord Phenex asked mockingly. "Tell me this is just another joke. One of your little 'quips' you like to make on the fly." His lip curled into a small angry frown. "You don't really want to fight me, do you? I am Lord Salazar Phenex. The Immortal Bird. An Ultimate Class Devil in a league of his own, and you cannot-"
"No." Jon shook his head. "I don't want to fight you. I want you to run away. Run back to your castle or your mansion or wherever the hell it is you came from. You've got no business being on this Battlefield."
Riser couldn't believe what he was hearing, neither could Ravel. They had never heard someone talk like this to their father before.
"The Rating Games are supposed to be a display of power right?" Jon continued. "Two teams on relatively even footing duking it out to prove their strength." He chuckled in amusement. "Well you being here right now, is just proof that for all your power and purported immortality, you're easily the weakest one here." His features shifted into an angry glare. "Setting traps disguised as a handshake, attacking and belittling those who depend on you, using politics and loopholes to get your way. You're not a man Salazar, and you're certainly not a Phoenix. You're a slug. A spineless creature who has no business being in an arena where honest men and women prove their strength."
A hideous scowl formed on Lord Phenex's face. "Okay, I admit you were amusing for awhile. But now you're starting to wear down my patience, boy. Why don't you do us all a favor and just stop talking?" The mask was starting to slip off and the real Lord Phenex was starting to show. "Shut your filthy mouth, Lowborn, before I shut it for you."
Jon reached into his jacket and pulled out his last cigarette before popping it in his mouth and lighting up. "You planning on backing up those tough words yourself? Or are you just continue to hide behind your wife, Slug Man?"
At that moment, Salazar had officially reached his breaking point. Rather than show it however, he instead remained silent.
"You insubordinate little-" Ruval had already begun to charge up his power and attack when his Father put a hand up in the air to stop him."
"Don't…" He calmly ordered, his eyes filled with a seething malice as he stepped in front of his Queen. "...I'll take care of this one myself."
As Jon prepared himself for the confrontation before him, he suddenly felt a wave of energy surge through his being. He looked behind him to see Asia, in between labored breaths, desperately trying to feed more energy into his body as best she could.
He smiled at her. "Hey Asia. Glad to see you're still okay. Sorry for the scare back there."
"I can't believe you're still standing after everything they've done." Her cheeks were raw from the tears she'd shed already, yet still more appeared in her eyes upon seeing him conscious again. "You're so brave, Jon. You never give up, do you?"
He smiled at her before removing the smoke from his mouth and blowing a cloud into the air. "Well I did promise we'd win, didn't I?"
She smiled and closed her eyes. "Yeah...you did."
With the last of her power having been imparted onto Jon, Asia collapsed from pure exhaustion. Jon quickly caught her and swept the girl into his arms.
"We will win, Asia. I promise." Jon whispered to her before kissing his treasure on the cheek and laying her down next to Rias, who held her by the shoulders.
"Anyone else suddenly feel the urge to vomit?" Elestraza asked mockingly. "No? Tis just me?"
Ravel continued to gaze on silently at the sweet display between Jon and Asia. The love he felt for their Bishop was so palpable she could practically see it in the air, further stoking the unyielding fire in his heart. What was this she was feeling now? Frustration? Anger?
Envy?
"Rias…" Jon quietly removed his hat and offered it to her. "...you and the others just hang tight for a moment. Okay? I've got this."
"Jon, no!" She insisted, doing her best to stand. "We can do this together! If you and me-"
"Please." He stared her straight in the eye. "Rest for now. You need to conserve your strength in case I fail."
Her eyes began to glass over. "Jon…" She held them back for the sake of the Servant she adored, finally taking his hat. "...don't you get killed. Whatever happens don't you dare throw your life away. You promise me, dammit!"
He silently nodded to her request. With Asia safely out of harm's way and Rias quietly recovering on the sideline, Jon turned his attention back to the seething Lord Phenex. He placed the cigarette back in his mouth and drew from it before flaring black smoke from his nostrils.
"I told your Son if he wanted to dance with me I'd hold his hand." Two gauntlets appeared on his arms, along with two metal boots on his feet. His face became covered in the Dragon's Mark and his forehead sprouted two massive horns. "Well now I'm offering you the same courtesy. Come on, Slug Man. Let's dance."
"Lowborn scum!" Salazar bellowed in rage as two massive flaming wings appeared at his back. He charged at Jon, leaving a trail of fire at his feet.
Jon flapped his wings and dashed towards Riser, using his fire magic to fire flames from the soles his metal boots, propelling him forward like rockets.
The two destructive forces collided, sending a shockwave that nearly blew the remaining pieces on the board off of the roof. Jon and Salazar took to the sky and clashed with all the destructive fury they could muster.
Rias...I think I finally understand what it is that you've given me.
From below, it appeared as if two meteors were battling. Two massive flames smashing into each other, sending shockwaves and bursts of fire that could be felt from miles away.
It wasn't just a heart. Or a home. Or a new purpose in life.
"Jon, no!" Rias couldn't take it anymore. She had to help him. The President of the ORC stood and unfurled her wings, intent on helping her Pawn with his fight.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Elestraza calmly spoke up. "I haven't taken advantage of the situation out of respect for my Husband's wishes, but if you try to interfere with his fight I will end the Game here and now."
Rias quietly seethed. In her current state she couldn't take on Lord Phenex's Queen by herself. She barely had enough magic left as it was.
In the sky above, the titanic battle continued to rage. Jon was pushing the limits of his boost ability, continuing to multiply his power over and over again until he was certain he had enough. The more punishment Salazar threw at him, the more he boosted his power and retaliated. Over and over, far beyond any level he had reached in the past.
You gave me something far greater than that. Something I had lost some time ago.
Yet for all his power, Jon could do nothing. None of his hits seemed to damage Lord Phenex in any way that he couldn't instantly regenerate from. Nothing was working, and the longer the fight dragged out, the closer he knew he was getting to the end. How he had even managed to make it this far was still somewhat of a mystery to him.
You didn't just give me a reason to keep fighting...
"It's over!" Lord Phenex shouted, the leg that was blown off of him instantly regenerating. "Can you not see that?! Are you truly that blind or are you just stupid?!"
Jon soared up above him and raised his gauntlets in the air, forming a massive ball of fire above his head.
"Still you persist?!" He laughed incredulously. "You really think that you can beat me?!"
...you gave me a reason to live again.
He hurled the massive fireball down at his opponent.
"You'll never hit me with that!" Salazar shouted as the comet approached.
Ruval blanched in terror. "No Father! It's a trick!"
Salazar stared down at his Son in confusion. "What do you mean it's a-"
A gleam caught the corner of his eye just a fraction of a second too late. Jon's gauntlet connected with Salazar's face faster than he could react. Smashing him with enough force to cleave a normal man's head off twenty times over. Lord Phenex was sent careening into the administration building at speeds that exceeded mach ten. Smashing straight through the ceiling and leaving a massive crater in the floor below.
"Salazar!" Elestraza was about to rush to his aid when Ruval stopped her.
"We have to move, Mother!" He insisted vehemently. "Now!"
She gazed at her Son worriedly. "Why? What is-"
And that was when she felt it. That monstrous, destructive power the likes of which she had not felt before in a long time Elestraza gazed up at the sky above to see Devil's Colt charging every last bit of energy he had left into a red ball in the palm of his hand.
Ruval grabbed his mother by the hand and took off. Riser took his little sister by the waist and carted her off as well. Rias Gremory, upon seeing what her Servant was doing, unfurled her wings and did the same with Asia. Akeno was the last to move, carrying Kiba with her as she made her way to safety. As both parties gained as much distance from the building as they could, Lord Salazar awoke from his near unconscious stupor in a daze.
"Hey Salazar!" Jon shouted. "See the bright light?!"
The head of the Phenex Clan peered up at the radiant, powerful aura questioningly.
"Walk towards it!" Jon shouted from the heavens above before unleashing a massive Dragon's Shot.
The blast leveled the entirety of the three story building and the surrounding landscape. Detonating with the destructive force of over a thousand pounds of TNT. Where once there was a building, all that was left now was a massive crater.
As the smoke and dust settled, Jon slowly descended back down to planet Earth. His wings disappeared, as did his horns, his gauntlets, and his boots. He collapsed to one knee, barely able to keep himself from passing out as his body was completely drained of energy.
Rias and Akeno, who had managed to find shelter behind a slab of thick concrete, slowly peeked out at the scene left behind. There was nothing left.
It was over.
Joy swelled within them as they realized the nightmare was finally at an end. They did it!
"Jon!"
With what little strength he had left, Jon stood up and turned towards Rias, a slick smile plastered on his face.
Rias rushed towards him, her face beaming with both joy and relief. "Jon, you did it! We won!"
He opened his arms to receive her as she made it to just a few feet in front of him.
A bright light illuminated his being and all time stood still.
The next thing Jon remembered, he was on the ground, having just been knocked down by a massive blast that felt eerily similar to one of Yubelluna's bomb spells. The blast tore his coat to shreds and burned what remained.
Rias's expression went from one of joy to horror as she watched her Servant seemingly explode right in front of her.
"Jon, No!" She panicked, taking off and scooping him up in her arms. "Speak to me! Jon, speak to me!"
Slowly he regained his senses and his ears stopped ringing. "Rias? What happened?"
"I don't know!" She replied in a half state of hysterics. "That blast leveled the entire building. He shouldn't still be alive."
"Yet here I am."
Rias and Jon both turned white as ghosts before looking up towards the sky. Sure enough, hovering over the two exhausted competitors was a glowing figure of fire.
"And from the ashes of death, the Phoenix rises again."
Rias felt her world come crashing down around her. Amidst the ashes and remaining rubble of the massive crater that was left where team Phenex's base once stood, a figure was slowly reforming from the burning piles of wood and char.
Lord Salazar was still alive.
"I'll admit, this battle certainly didn't go how I expected it to." He calmly approached as his body finished reforming from almost nothing. "But alas, the end result is the same. You cannot beat that which cannot die, Rias."
She couldn't move. She couldn't speak. Rias, for the first time in her life, was paralyzed to the spot. Unable to acknowledge what it was she was seeing.
"Now do you understand?" He asked, seeming no more injured or bothered than he did when he first arrived. "This struggle, it was over the moment your Pawn challenged me."
"No…"
Ravel, who had hidden behind some rubble with Riser, gasped in shock, clasping a single hand to her mouth before pointing at the figure stirring next to Rias.
"It's not over…I can still fight."
Rias finally shook out of her stupor long enough to gaze up at Jon incredulously.
"Are you kidding me?!" Riser gawked at him in complete disbelief. "I know that blast hit him dead on!"
Ravel was in shock, her hand still cupped over her mouth.
Jon slowly removed the tattered rags that was once his jacket and shirt before summoning his Sacred Gear. "I told you...so long as I'm here-"
He charged.
"You won't touch her!"
The lights on his gauntlets faded as he attempted to boost. Jon felt the weight of his body come crashing down upon him as if he suddenly weighed a thousand tons. His gauntlets vanished and he collapsed to his knees.
"Wh...what's happening?" He asked before beginning to cough up blood.
"It would seem your body has reached its limit." Salazar calmly explained. "The fact that you're even still conscious, is itself, a miracle."
With a casual kick of his foot, Lord Phenex sent Jon flying several feet away before landing square on his back.
"Jon!" Rias stood up, finding her lungs again.
"Oh but how the mighty have fallen." Salazar mocked, a sardonic grin on his face. "To think the powerful and untamable Wild Flame has fallen so far to be now trapped in such a pitiful vessel."
"Bastard!" She began to hurl anything she could conjure up at him. Any small amount of magic she had left. Anything at all in her desperate attempt to defend her Pawn.
But of course, nothing could be done. Her attacks weren't even effecting him anymore.
"Rias, see reason." Elestraza spoke like a concerned mother, continuing to fan herself. "You barely have any magical power left yourself. Why not admit defeat why you can still stand on your own power? We won't think any less of you for it."
Rias collapsed to the ground and shook her head over and over again in denial. She couldn't accept it. She refused to believe this was how it was going to end.
"Come now, Darling." Salazar slowly approached. "Surely you'll feel better after you-"
He was interrupted yet again by the sound of a rifle cracking off. Three shots pierced through Salazar's body harmlessly upon which his body regenerated once more.
He groaned in exasperation. "Seriously?!"
Rias's eyes glazed over at her Pawn. Jon was on his knees, his hands clutching his still smoking rifle. He tried desperately to reload, vomiting up blood just as he was about to take another round from his belt and place it in the chamber.
Akeno turned her head away and shut her eyes. She couldn't watch this.
Rias covered her mouth with her hands much like Ravel was and began to well up. At that moment, her heart shattered into a million tiny pieces. Jon was barely even conscious anymore, at this point running on pure instinct. All this time her only concern had been winning the Rating Game, pushing herself and her pieces to get stronger so that she could be free.
Never once had she considered how much pain she had been putting him through. Nor did she realize how far he had pushed himself past his limit. Jon was killing himself for her. Destroying himself all so she could be spared.
"Jon…" Her voice hitched up an octave as the guilt of her actions came crashing down on her. "Oh Jon...what have I done?"
Salazar slowly approached him as Jon struggled to find the missing round and reload his weapon. He finally succeeded and placed the round in the chamber before priming the rifle. The moment he aimed however, Lord Phenex grabbed his weapon and knocked him backwards.
"Stop it!" Rias begged.
"You really know how to get under my skin, you know that?" He seethed at him while melting the rifle in his hand. Completely ruining it. Jon tried desperately to stand, only for Salazar to knock him down to the ground again. The more he resisted, the worse the beating got.
"Jon stop it!" Rias shouted again, tears streaming down her face. "Stop fighting! That is a direct order! You hear me?!"
Yet still he resisted. With every attempt he made to stand, the blows Salazar delivered became more and more vicious. He was a bloodied mess, barely choking on his last conscious breaths.
"Please…" Rias shut her eyes and shook her head. "...please just stop. It's too much."
With one final gut wrenching punch, he knocked Jon to the ground for good.
"Is this it?! Is this truly all there is to the once mighty Red Dragon Emperor?! You're just a pathetic Lowborn!" He shouted at the mangled mess that was left. "What right could you possibly have to challenge the Phenex Clan?!"
The gleam of something a few feet away caught Jon's eye. His revolver lay on the ground as if calling out to him. The weapon that he shared a name with. The gun that had saved his life countless times.
It was all he could do to roll on his stomach and start crawling.
Ravel shook her head repeatedly in disbelief. Completely unable to process what it was she was witnessing. Akeno clutched Kiba close to her. Her whole body trembling as tears poured out her tightly shut eyes.
Salazar's temper flared to life yet again. "You...you Bastard!"
Jon crawled until he was mere inches away from his goal. He reached for the revolver only for his hand to be crushed beneath Salazar's heel. He was too weak to even scream anymore. Jon's head fell onto the ash covered ground as the last of his strength left his body. Lord Phenex picked him up by the hair and hoisted him into the air whilst taking the revolver laying on the ground in his other hand.
"Father, what are you doing?!" Ravel shouted in horror. She tried to make her way over to him only to be grabbed by the arm roughly by her Mother.
"I'm sending this Lowborn scum to the oblivion that he belongs!"
"No! No please!" Rias begged.
"But...but Father…" Ravel's eyes began to well up. "He was just-"
"Silence!" Her father bellowed. "This Pawn deserves to die for his disrespect." He placed the revolver against his stomach. "Now everyone say goodbye."
"Lord Phenex, please stop! Let him go!"
Jon slowly opened his eyes upon hearing his Master's pained wails. He watched as Rias threw herself upon Salazar, clinging to his back.
"I surrender, okay? I'll come without resistance." She sobbed. "Just please, let him go."
He stared down at Rias in surprise for a moment until a hideous grin covered his face.
"Checkmate."
He clicked the hammer back.
"No!" Ravel shouted.
Jon didn't even feel it. He heard the blast as the revolver fired, but he didn't feel the bullet pass completely through him. The pounding drum of his heart began to slowly fade away and his eyes rolled into the back of his head.
"Joooooon!"
Rias's cries faded in his mind. Salazar tossed his body to the ground and all went black.
The sound of the wind blowing through the hollows of trees. The gentle rush of cool water through the fountain's spout. The radiant glow of morning sunlight on his skin. It had felt like ages since Jon had last experienced these things. And yet he felt them now.
It didn't make sense. Was he human again?
But there was more. His head was resting in someone's lap and they were gently stroking his hair. This soft sensation, like resting on a cloud...it was familiar.
"Rias?" Jon slowly opened his eyes, his vision still blurred.
The figure staring down at him smiled warmly.
"So you're finally awake. About time, lazy butt."
His mouth hung open in shock. Staring down at him was an all too familiar pair of violet eyes. This was a face he knew well. Yet was one he thought he would never see again.
"Yuma…"
"I was wondering how long it would take you to realize." She giggled at him. "You were always a little dense, Babe."
Jon lurched up from the park bench he was resting on and backed away from her. His heart beating like a wardrum in his chest.
"Wh...what are you doing here?" He reached for his revolver but found he was without any kind of firearm.
She frowned at him guiltily before casting her gaze to the ground. "Looking for a weapon? I guess I deserve that after what I did to you." Yuma sighed. "But Jon...if you can put your feelings aside for a moment and give me a chance to explain-"
"Explain what?" He retorted angrily. "Yuma, I don't even know where the hell I am or what the hell is going on! Why can't I remember anything?!"
"We're in your mind." She explained calmly. "I'm just a piece of your subconscious. None of this is real...I'm not real."
Jon calmed down enough to take a good look at his environment. Sure enough he was in the park near Kuoh Academy. Right next to the fountain. Looking down at his person Jon could see he was wearing his old clothes. His brown leather jacket, some old jeans, and his hiking boots.
"Why am I here?" He asked. "And more importantly, why are you here?"
"You were gravely wounded." She replied in a gentle voice. "The Red Dragon Emperor had to place you into a Torpor while he fixed your broken body. As for why I am here…." Her smile returned as a light blush crept over her cheeks. "I truly do not know. My only guess is that your subconscious willed me into existence to put you at ease."
He frowned bitterly while looking around the park, his gaze finally landing on the fountain were one of his darkest memories rested. "Nothing about this puts me at ease." He admitted. "Yuma, do you not remember what you did to me the last time we were here together?"
Again, her expression shifted to that of remorse. "I could never forget. You won't let me."
"Then you understand why I'm hesitant to trust you."
She nodded before standing up off the park bench. "If you want me to leave, then all you have to do is say so. This is your mind, Jon. We play by your rules."
It was so tempting. After all, Yuma represented one of his darkest memories. But...despite that fact he couldn't bring himself to let her go. He didn't hate her. Or rather, he couldn't hate her. It was the Fallen Angel Raynare he truly despised. This was just Yuma.
The woman he once loved more than any other.
"You know…" He spoke up, his gaze cast back to the fountain. "...there was a time I could have given the entirety of my heart to one person."
She silently listened, her head bowed pensively.
"I used to have a human heart." He continued. "I may possess the soul of a Dragon, but my heart was purely human. I know that for a fact." His knuckles turned white. "I would have given the entirety of my human heart to you, if you would have let me."
"That was never going to happen, Jon." Yuma replied solemnly. "You know that."
"Why the fuck are you here?" His body began to quiver in rage. "Why bring all this shit up again? What we had is over. My new heart can never give to another what I once tried to give to you. You took away the only Human thing I had left."
She smiled at him sadly. "Maybe that's why. Maybe you're supposed to let me go."
He snapped his gaze to her worriedly. "L...let you go?"
Yuma turned her body completely towards him and crossed her arms behind her back. "I represent the last vestiges of your human weaknesses, Jon. You've managed to put everything else aside. The pain of losing your family, the pain of losing your mentor, you've cast it all aside and allowed it to burn away. I'm all that's left. The only thing you refuse to burn." Tears began to form in her eyes. "I guess I should be flattered…"
"Why couldn't things have just stayed the way they were?" He shut his eyes tight and gritted his teeth. "Why did it have to change? Why can't we go back?"
She shook her head. "You already know why, Jon. Whether you want to accept it or not, you are a Dragon. You can't change that anymore than I can change what I truly am."
Two great black wings appeared from her back.
"This is the real me, Jon." She insisted, her hands clutching her chest. "It's time you accepted the real you. We can't hope to change what we are. We can only hope that, whatever our souls color, we can find a way to bring out the best parts of ourselves." Tears began to openly fall down her cheeks.
"Like how you once brought out the best parts of me. If only for a short time."
The revolver appeared in his hand. He wasn't sure when or how, one second his hand was empty, the next it was just...there. Jon aimed the barrel straight at her torso and clicked back the hammer.
"I can't forgive you for what you did." His voice carried the full weight of his pain. "But I can at least come to peace with it. I'm letting you go, Yuma."
The woman he once loved nodded in understanding. "Before you do it, Jon. Allow me one last selfish request. There's something you need to know."
Yuma cast two adoring, tear stained eyes up at him. "You're turning into a Dragon, Jon. But you don't have to become a monster."
He steadied his trembling hand, his resolve holding firm.
She closed her eyes and bowed her head.
"Goodbye Jon, and thank you."
He fired. The bullet traveled through the air and struck her in the dead center of her chest. Yuma fell to the ground as fire erupted from the hole where her heart once was. Her body began to burn into a pile of ash, setting ablaze all of her immediate surroundings. The grass burned, the trees ignited, the fountain began to spew molten magma and the stone cracked and crumbled away.
Jon fell to his knees, openly weeping as the fire consumed his clothes, leaving him stripped bare. All around him, the facade of the past he refused to let go of finally crumbled, lost to the fire of the Dragon's soul.
"And so at last you have overcome the final obstacle."
Jon gazed up into the burning sky as the all too familiar voice of the Dragon spoke down to him.
"So it is you…."
"The power you possess is not of your own making. No measure of training could give you this amount of strength."
"Ddraig."
The great Red Dragon Emperor appeared from the flames of the scorched earth around him. The massive beast roared as flames burst from its gullet before casting two neon green eyes down at Jon.
"What makes you extraordinary is the Dragon's spirit within you. Do not humble yourself with human weaknesses or the White One will laugh."
"The White One?"
"In time he will appear. On that day, you will stand on the field of battle and fight. But you must get stronger. You must sacrifice all weakness and embrace the power of the Red Dragon Emperor."
Jon stood to his feet and returned the great Dragon's gaze.
"It is time for you to inherit my will!"
His wings sprouted from his back, his horns grew to monstrous size. Jon stared into the eyes of the beast and roared, spewing flames into the sky. The two great entities began to merge, as the final barrier was removed.