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[Ddraig talking]
[Ddraig thinking]
{Albion talking}
{Albion thinking}
|Tiamat talking|
|Tiamat thinking|
(Mastema talking)
(Mastema thinking)
Mental Communication
"Regular Dialogue"
Attacks/Spells
Gremory Manor, December 4, 2019, 8:20 AM
Rias slid back, falling to one knee. Her eyes flickered before losing their glow and returning to their blue color. It had been a week since she had awakened her Power of Sight. A week since Issei had returned home to them. A week since her peerage (female members) had all gone their separate ways for training. For introspection. While Rias was slowly beginning to accept the fact that Issei was never going to come back to her, the others hadn't. Of her female members, only Rossweisse ever had a chance with Issei now. But that's not what she was worried about.
"Akeno… Koneko," Risa muttered.
"RIAS! STAND!"
She looked up and saw the eyes of her brother Sirzechs. One week. One week since she had asked her brother to train her. One week since Sirzechs had begun his torturous training. One week since she had begun to learn hand to hand combat. Of course, this was only the basics of the Gremory Style. After all, it's full utilization relied on the analytically predictive powers of the Power of Sight. A power her brother did not inherit.
Rias shakily stood to her feet and dropped into the basic stance. Her eyes began to glow once more. Sirzechs shook his head and sighed.
"Rias."
Rias turned and saw her father, Zeoticus, and her mother, Venelana, calmly sipping tea.
"You shouldn't overly rely on your eyes. The Gremory Style is all about precision and flow, turning your opponent's moves against them. And your foot is off by three degrees," Zeoticus said.
Rias nodded and readjusted her foot as well as deactivating her Sight.
"Again," Zeoticus said.
Rias channeled miasma to her legs and was about to move when her father spoke.
"No Miasma. The whole point of this is to train your body. After this match, I will apply gravity bands to you," Zeoticus said.
Rias groaned and stopped channeling. She took off, running towards her brother. Sirzechs, having centuries of experience, easily blocked and countered her punches and kicks.
"You're going to have to do better than… that!" Sirzechs caught her leg and threw her, sending Rias a few feet away. Rias righted herself in mid-air and landed, panting. She placed her hands on her knees as she bent over to catch her breath.
"It seems that we have to work on your stamina. While you're capable of firing off spell after spell, your physical stamina when it comes to close combat leaves much to be desired. We'll work on that as well," Sirzechs said as he straightened himself.
Rias gave him a thumbs up before sitting down on the ground.
"You're getting better," Sirzechs said, offering her a towel.
"Thanks, Onii-sama," Rias graciously accepted the towel and began to wipe the sweat off her forehead.
"No really. It's only been one week since you started and you have the basic stance down for the most part," Sirzechs said as he sat next to her.
"My Eye training will be with father right?" Rias asked.
"That's right," Zeoticus walked over to them with two glasses of mango juice in his hands. Sirzechs and Rias took them and began to drink.
"Ne, Otou-sama, what do you think my Eye's unique power will be?" Rias asked as she finished gulping down the last of her juice.
Zeoticus placed a hand on his chin and stroked his beard. "Hmmm, that's hard to say. It's different for everyone. And besides… you still have to train it. The Power of Sight has two stages in its maturation process. Your older sister… achieved the Final Stage within weeks of attaining it. Once your eyes fully mature and reach the Final Stage, you'll know what your Unique Power is."
"What's yours?" Rias asked. "I've never seen the Power of Sight in action before since I never really had to train in it."
"Still have enough energy for an attack? Any will do," Zeoticus said.
Rias nodded and got to her feet.
"Now, I want you to fire a basic spell at me. I don't care if it's elemental or your Power of Destruction. I just want you to hit me with magic," Zeoticus said as he backed up a few feet.
Rias nodded and created a red magic circle, firing a bolt of lightning at him.
At that moment, Zeoticus's irises turned red and a bladed cross spun out, unfurling from the center of its pupils like a saw with retractable blades. His eyes focused on Rias's spells as he held his hand up. Rias watched with fascination as the spell froze in front of her father's outstretched hand and was seemingly sucked into it.
"You can absorb…," Rias asked.
"In a sense. My Eye's unique power is called the Swirl of Gluttony which I named after one of the powers utilized by the Original Beelzebub which was the Crown of Gluttony in addition to his more famous Lord of the Flies. It allows me to absorb spells too either add to my magical reserves or redirect back at my foe," Zeoticus said, raising his hand into the air and releasing the same bolt of lightning Rias fired at him towards the sky.
"That sounds… incredibly powerful, Otou-sama!" Rias praised, beginning to wonder what her own powers might be.
"It does have it's drawbacks. I can't absorb spells that I can't focus on. Spells like charms that buff the user are things I can't absorb either. They all have to be a projectile-based, barrier, or a wide-ranged AoE spell," Zeoticus said.
"So a healing spell would be unaffected by your Eye's abilities?" Rias asked.
"Yes," he answered.
"What Eye power did Onee-sama have?" Rias asked.
Zeoticus stiffened at the mention of the word, Onee-sama. He looked down for a moment before smiling.
"Your sister… had a power she labeled Fata Morgana. It allowed her to create extremely hyper-realistic illusions that were capable of inflicting physical damage to its targets in addition to mental trauma. Her skill with it was so great that she can cover an area of 50 meters around her in an illusory bubble," Zeoticus said with a hint of pride in his voice.
Rias smiled and nodded. "What was she like?"
Zeoticus's eyes dimmed at the question as his face dropped before he quickly masked his sadness with a smile.
"Your sister was a great woman who accomplished many things, Rias," Zeoticus said as he walked inside.
Rias nodded, unsatisfied by his answer before standing up to go and follow him.
Rias munched on a cookie as she sat in the training fields underneath Hyoudou Manor with her peerage. Their training for the Azazel Cup was progressing as smoothly as her training to master her eyes were. And by that, she meant that they were making more progress than she did. For now, most of their efforts were focused on getting the boys up to speed.
Eren had no problems with the sudden increase in his pace of training. Rias knew that the boy was receiving some on the side from his older sister, Natalia Yatogami, and their father, Ajuka Beelzebub. In addition, the Purgatory Blossom was more than just some run-of-the-mill High Tier Elemental Sacred Gear. No, this Gear, as Michael affirmed, was a Longinus. The 14th Longinus to be exact. Rias couldn't believe her luck. While Eren declined to become a member because he was already a devil and the heir apparent to House Naamah, he still joined the team for the Azazel Cup and having a Longinus User made Rias feel at ease.
Tatsuya, as Rias noticed lately, seemed to have an increased drive. Training his Sacred Gear to the max. His ability to manipulate both Ice and Fire would be devastating on the field, allowing him to counteract both fire and ice mages as well as providing support in the form of barriers and long-distance attacks. Or course, outside of training, there were some things that Tatsuya did that annoyed her. While he seemingly understood and accepted that whatever relationship they had prior was all due to the manipulations and control of Yatogami-sensei, the man did not know the meaning of personal space nor did he give up.
It was something both she and Akeno were growing tired of as in his own words, he said, "Then, that means I'll just have to work to make it real. After all, our meetings were fate."
"Rias-sama."
Rias snapped out of her stupor and looked up to see Koneko in front of her.
"What is it?" Rias asked.
"Hiruko broke his arm. I need you to heal him since Asia is…," Koneko trailed off as she glanced over to the nun. Rias followed her gaze as they saw Asia training with Eren.
Their side of the field had practically become a garden that was constantly destroyed and created over and over again. Asia wasn't lying when she said that she wasn't going to be weak anymore. The girl was unleashing several blasts of elemental magic to batter Eren's Wooden barriers.
"Fine, I'll apply healing magic," Rias sighed as she stood.
The two walked over to where Hiruko was clutching his arm.
"How are things between you, Ravel, and him since you know?" Rias asked as she summoned a first-aid kit.
"I think he understands that KFC and I can't be together with him. We sat him down and explained everything. At first, he was confused but… I think he got it. So far, he's been respectful of us and our space," Koneko said.
"Hmm, at least your guy gets it," Rias said as they neared him. She kneeled and inspected his arm. Hiruko winced in pain as Rias placed her hand on it.
"Ow… I think she did more than just fracture it," Hiruko said.
"Hmm… I don't have x-ray eyes but I know this will take more than a healing session. Koneko, go get me some Phenex tears," Rias ordered. She nodded and ran out of the training area to go find some.
"Hey… how are you holding up?" Rias asked as she inspected his arm. She was no expert in medicine but being around the people in her peerage had taught her a few things in how to treat wounds.
"I'm good or I will be once I take those Phenex Tears," Hiruko said, flinching after Rias placed a finger on a certain spot.
"I'm guessing this is where she hit you," Rias said.
"Yeah, never should have asked her to go all out," Hiruko said. Rias nodded as she applied a splint.
"Really… I thought you would all know your limits by now," Rias said.
"Hehe… sorry about that. It's just that Tatsuya's pushing us all to get stronger since Eren awakened his Sacred Gear," Hiruko said.
Rias glanced at him and sighed.
"You know you don't have to listen to him right?" Rias said.
"Yeah, but he's stronger than I am so what do I know… and besides, there's something I want to prove," Hiruko said.
"Hmm, well remember, don't push yourself to the point of death. Sometimes taking it at your own pace is how you improve," Rias said.
"Thanks, Rias-senpai," Hiruko smiled in an embarrassed manner, his grey eyes twinkling in understanding at her words.
"Rias-sama, Akeno's here," Koneko said, handing her a vial. Rias nodded and handed it to Hiruko. Hiruko nodded gratefully and took the vial. Rias stood and saw Akeno walking into the training ground with a blank look on her face.
"Akeno…," Rias said, walking over to her.
"I asked Azazel-sama for training so that I can be of help but Penemue-baa-san told me that he was busy with something…," Akeno said.
"Who did you ask then?" Rias asked.
"I asked Tou-san and he readily accepted. Now I'm receiving from Tou-san and Ambriel-hime-sama," Akeno said.
"That's great! The Princess of the Grigori and Baraqiel-sama are Cadre Level Fighters almost on par with Serafall-sama! By the time of the games, you'll be extremely powerful!" Rias said.
A small smile appeared on Akeno's face. She nodded. "Want to spar for old times sake?" Akeno asked.
"Are you sure? I've learned a few tricks while training with Tou-sama and Nii-sama," Rias said as a feral grin appeared on her face.
"In terms of strength, buchou, I probably can still contend with you," Akeno said with fake arrogance in her voice. Rias's grin only grew wider as she gestured for them to make their way out into the field. Their auras grew in magnitude, signaling everyone to clear out. Rias shot Asia a look and she nodded.
Asia stood in between Rias and Akeno nervously as her eyes flitted between them. They were sizing each other up like rival predators in the wild when they fight over a mate. Rias dropped into a stance, shocking Akeno a bit.
"Kiba…, Rias seems different don't you think?" Rossweisse asked.
Kiba looked at her and nodded. Hand to Hand combat was never Rias's thing. Seeing her actually fight in close quarters combat would be interesting.
"Oh? Hand to hand? I never took you for the physical type, Buchou," Akeno said.
"Things change…," Rias said as she narrowed her eyes.
"Ready?" Asia looked between the two and raised her hand. "BEGIN!"
Rias wasted no time and channeled magic into her limbs. Shocking her peerage and her opponent, Rias disappeared before Akeno's very eyes in a burst of speed. Caught off-guard by her sudden increase in power, she was barely able to register the fact that her vision was suddenly filled with Rias's fist.
The force of the blow sent Akeno flying through the air. Rias wasted no time and gave her queen no room. She appeared above her and attempted to perform an ax kick, however, Akeno was prepared for this. Using her knight speed, Akeno was able to dodge Rias's kick, gaining some distance between them.
"So you can fight hand to hand now?" Akeno muttered. "Fine… I'll show you what I can do too…"
Akeno summoned forth the holy power that she inherited from her father. Rias stiffened when she saw a golden aura surround her queen as three pairs of black feathered wings grew from her back. Akeno's eyes glowed violet like Irina's as a high pitched screeching noise began to come off her.
Everyone in the room had to shield themselves from the toxic power of Akeno's holy power as she took a step towards her king.
Rias gulped and calmed herself. She closed her eyes and began to control her breathing. She opened them, revealing two glowing irises with a faint floral pattern sitting lazily around her pupil.
Akeno narrowed her eyes. Not taking any chances, she channeled holy lightning into her hand and unleashed it at Rias.
To the others, lightning was incredibly fast, appearing as a near-instantaneous attack to the weaker members and an extremely fast one to the more senior ones. But to Rias, Akeno's attack may as well be as slow as a turtle. Rias lazily moved out of the way, before dashing towards Akeno.
She channeled her Power of Destruction, forming a scarlet magic circle atop her hands. She fired it at Akeno, surprising her. Akeno rolled out of the way and fired another blast of Holy Lightning, following it up with a flame blast.
Rias ducked and countered, sending a volley of weak PoD bullets at Akeno.
Akeno created a large magic barrier to defend herself from Rias's attacks. Her eyes widened when Rias appeared in front of the barrier, her fist coated in the Power of Destruction.
Rias threw her fist down on the barrier, shattering it almost instantly with her magically enhanced strength combined with her Power of Destruction. Taking advantage of Akeno's distracted face, Rias grabbed her and slammed her knee into her Queen's solar plexus.
Akeno flew and slid across the training floor. She shakily got to her feet, using her hands to support her as she tried to get up. Her eyes widened as she felt some bile rising to her throat. The pain she felt in her abdominal area was horrid. Who knew that Rias could punch so hard.
"When did you learn to hit like that?" Akeno groaned as she stumbled a bit.
"A few days ago from Nii-sama… though judging from how you're reacting, I still haven't perfected it," Rias said, clenching her fists.
"Haven't perfected? I think I sprained a few ribs from that blow…," Akeno said.
"It wasn't meant too… my horridly large reserves of power make it hard, even with the Gremory affinity for magic to control fine-tune my control for this," Rias said.
"Well… we're not done," Akeno said, snapping her fingers. Several spears made of golden lightning appeared, hovering in a halo behind her.
Rias's eyes widened as she jumped back to avoid being skewered. She gritted her teeth as she dodged another lightning bolt. She was jealous of her father… his eyes were fully developed while hers were barely in the stages of enhanced perception.
"Tch! HAAH!" Rias formed two large PoD Spheres and used them to bat away Akeno's lightning. Rias threw them at her Queen, dashing after her spheres for a pincer attack.
Akeno threw her hand forward, creating a barrier that shattered but deflected Rias's attacks. Her eyes widened as she barely dodged Rias's foot by a hair's breadth. Rias spun around, sweeping Akeno's feet out from under.
Akeno fell to the ground and quickly rolled out of the way as Rias's fist impacted the floor, sending spider-web cracks everywhere.
Akeno felt a bead of sweat trickle down her forehead.
"That blow would have knocked me out instantly alongside a concussion," Akeno said.
Rias stood up and smirked. She made the come at me gesture to Akeno which served to tick her Queen off. Akeno growled as she formed a lightning javelin and threw it at Rias.
As Rias was about to dodge, she found herself glued to the floor. She looked down and saw her feet were encased in ice. She had no choice but to block erecting a red barrier in front of her. Her eyes widened when Akeno appeared in front of her barrier, firing a massive blast of lightning at Rias.
Time slowed down for her as her eyes began to throb and pulse. The blue glow grew more intense as Rias immediately moved out of the way. Akeno was still in slow motion for her so she took advantage of this, jabbing Akeno's already injured torso, sending her Queen sprawling onto the floor. The glow slowly subsided as Rias looked at Akeno, panting.
A sharp pain shot through her skull, causing her to scream as she fell to her knees.
"RIAS!" Akeno, despite the immense pain in her side, ran over to her.
"MY EYES!" Rias screamed as she gripped the sides of her head. Asia and the others ran over to help when they saw it. Rias was bleeding from her eyes.
"AAAAAGGGGHHHHH!" she screamed as tears of blood steadily poured from her eye sockets.
"Call Sirzechs-sama! Or someone from the Gremory Family!" Akeno barked as she motioned for Asia to apply healing magic to her head.
Within minutes of the call, Zeoticus had arrived and began to check on Rias. Asia's [Twilight Healing] had done nothing to help with Rias's pain as there was no wound to heal. Zeoticus knelt next to his whimpering daughter as he gently stroked her hair.
"Rias…," Zeoticus said.
"Daddy… it hurts. My eyes hurt…," Rias meekly said as she leaned into her father's comforting touch. She turned to him, her eyes still closed with dried blood trails that covered her face.
"What were you all doing when this happened?" Zeoticus asked.
"We were training. Rias-sama and I were sparring when she suddenly started screaming and bleeding from her eyes!" Akeno said.
"Hmmm… she must have triggered a change," Zeoticus said.
"A change?" Kiba asked, looking at his King.
"Is she going to be alright?" Tatsuya asked.
"Yes, her eyes are just going through a small change. It seems that she's crossing the first threshold to maturity… due to her awakening so late in her life, her body is forcing her eyes to rapidly adapt to her power," Zeoticus said.
"What do her eyes have anything to do with this?" Yuu asked.
"Hey!" Xenovia whispered. "That's Gremory-sama! Rias-sama's father!"
Yuu shut up upon hearing it. Zeoticus ignored his tone and answered his question. "Rias has awakened the Gremory Family Power, the Power of Sight. It's a unique ocular derived from Lucifer-sama's Shevirat Ha-Kelim. Members of our clan awaken it under great emotional trauma or a physical threat to one's life. Venelana and I were surprised that Rias hadn't awakened it sooner. After this, Rias should be fine. If she uses her Sight, she'll be able to notice a clear difference. Her enhanced perception will be further enhanced as well as an enhanced visual perception of energy as well as the ability to analyze non-specific and non-hereditary spells. Essentially, she'll be able to learn magic much faster to the point where she can use any spell she sees with an adept level of skill," he said.
"That's incredible!" Rossweisse gasped.
"Once she's fully mature, she'll have a trait that's unique to her eyes," Zeoticus said.
"What do you think her Eyes' unique trait will be?" Koneko asked.
"I'm afraid I can't answer that question for certain," Zeoticus replied with a sheepish smile. He looked down and brushed a few strands of hair from Rias's face. She was lightly breathing. Zeoticus sighed. She had passed out.
Rias groaned as she opened her eyes to see… darkness?
"Rias-onee-sama!" she heard Asia's voice from her left.
"Asia…? What happened? Why is it dark?" Rias asked.
"We put these around your eyes… even though Zeoticus-sama told us you would be fine. We just wanted to be sure," Asia said.
"Can I take them off?" Rias asked.
"Of course!" Asia said.
Rias's hands moved around the back of her head where she found the knot and slowly began undoing the wrappings. Rias opened her eyes and noticed that her vision was sharper than normal.
"Rias-Onee-sama," Asia said.
"Hmm?" Rias turned to her.
"Your father said that you were…!" Rias finished Asia's sentence for her.
"Crossing the first threshold into the Second Stage," Rias said.
"Are you alright? Do you still feel any pain?" Asia asked.
"Yeah," Rias smiled at her. "In fact, I feel great!"
A loud growling noise echoed throughout the room causing Asia to giggle.
"And hungry," Rias said, her cheeks turning red.
"Would you like to go and eat now? Okaa-san made her famous curry," Asia said.
Rias nodded and followed her Bishop out of the room.
"You know you'll get wrinkles if you keep doing that," Akeno said as she watched Rias throw another book at the wall. Rias sighed.
"I don't get this at all Akeno… why are the only mentions of my older sister from history books?" Rias asked as she looked at the ceiling.
"Did you check the family albums?"
The two turned and saw Asia and Kiba walking towards them, holding a stack of books.
"No… and why didn't I think to check there in the first place?" Rias muttered the last part.
"Did devils even have cameras back then?" Akeno asked as she grabbed one.
"If I recall correctly from what Onii-sama told me, they had something similar," Rias said. She took the album from Akeno and opened it.
"Is that?" Kiba peeked over her shoulder.
"I think we grabbed the wrong one," Koneko said.
"Yeah," Rias closed the book immediately and placed it behind her. A baby picture of her peeing her bed? No thank you.
"How about these? And thanks for leaving us by the way…," Xenovia said as she, Eren, and Rossweisse walked in and dropped a pile of books at their feet.
"Are you sure those are albums and not… grimoires?" Rias asked, picking one up.
"That's what we thought too until Grayfia-sama reassured us that they were," Eren said.
"Well then," Rias opened one of the books, sending dust into her face. She sneezed and waved the dust off her face.
"Is that… Sirzechs-sama?" Akeno asked. Rias squinted as she saw a little boy with short red hair sitting on her mother's lap. He was smiling and grinning at whoever had captured the photo. Rias's eyes drifted to her mother's arms. There was a small baby wrapped in cloth, sleeping soundly.
"Is that…?" Koneko asked.
"Onee-sama," Rias's fingers lightly touched the picture of her sleeping sister.
"Find another picture," Akeno said. Rias nodded and flipped through the notebook. She found a picture titled Day at the Park.
There she saw her older brother starting to look like the Sirzechs she was familiar with. In looks anyways. Sirzechs's eyes were nothing like how they were today despite possessing the same color and shade. The emotion in them was… bored. Next to him, she saw a girl with long red hair hugging her brother's arm. She had two pigtails on the side of her hair. She possessed the same Gremory blue eyes as they did.
"Your sister looks so beautiful," Eren said. Asia nodded, lost for words and captivated by the young woman's beauty.
"Your brother kind of looks like you whenever he showers you with his Ria-tan affections," Akeno said.
Rias blinked and looked closer. He did. That same face she always made whenever Sirzechs did embarrassing displays of affection in public whenever he saw her. The hugs. The smiles. The kisses on the cheek and forehead. And the Lucifer-awful nickname that continues to haunt her to this day. But she couldn't help but wonder why her brother made that face with her older sister. She always assumed that he was like this. Did her death really hit him that hard?
"Your brother… was never really the same after Anna died," a voice said from behind.
The group jumped and turned to see Ajuka standing behind them.
"Beelzebub-sama!" Rias said, getting up and bowing before him. "To what do we owe this honor?"
"Ah! Rias-chan, you know you don't have to bow to me. Anyway, I'm here to see if your brother was here. Natalia and I need him for something," Ajuka said. His eyes drifted over to Eren.
Eren gulped.
"Your sister is also looking for you," Ajuka said, smiling.
"Um… I'm just hanging out with Rias-sama and her peerage," Eren said. "Tou-san, don't tell her I'm here. I told her I was going to be at the mall with a couple of friends."
"HAHA! I'm not going to tell her," Ajuka said. "Well, that'll be all, I need to go look for your brother now."
"Wait!"
Ajuka stopped in his tracks and glanced over to Rias.
"Tell us about what happened. How did Nee-sama die? All I know is she died in the Civil War," Rias said. "Tou-sama and Kaa-sama rarely talk about her without Kaa-sama crying and even when they do…"
"You should ask Sirzechs that sometime. Annalise and I were close friends but I feel like Sirzechs would be the best person to ask about her," Ajuka said.
"I see…," Rias said. "Thank you for your help, Ajuka-sama."
January 23, 2020, 4:15 PM
"GAH!" Rias slammed into a wall and slid down. If there was anything almost as bad as the heartbreak she felt when she and Issei had broken up, this was a close second. She shakily got to her feet and activated her Eyes.
"HAAH!" Rias disappeared and reappeared in front of Sirzechs delivering a flurry of kicks and punches. Sirzechs blocked them all effortlessly before sending a punch towards Rias. Rias barely dodged, using Sirzechs's arm as a platform and jumped into the air. She raised her hands above her head and fired a PoD beam at him.
Sirzechs slapped the beam out of the way before flying to Rias. Even with her eyes active, Rias barely perceived Sirzechs's speed and she knew he was holding back. Sirzechs rammed his fist into her stomach, bruising several of her ribs.
Rias fought through the pain and grabbed her brother's arm. She used his momentum against him, throwing him to the ground. Sirzechs landed without issue but was then sent crashing face first when Rias performed a spin kick to his head.
"You landed a hit," Sirzechs said, smiling.
"I know… finally," Rias said, jumping away from him. Sirzechs gave Rias a feral grin.
"Looks like I'll just have to try harder then," Sirzechs said as he began to charge his demonic power. Rias's eyes widened as Sirzechs disappeared before her very eyes. She raised her guard to the max, using her Eyes to scan for her brother's energy signature.
Rias immediately moved out of the way as Sirzechs's fist traveled past her face. She countered by attempting to punch the underside of his chin. Sirzechs blocked and slammed his palm into her, sending her skidding backward.\
Rias panted as she looked at her brother slowly walking towards her. "Tch!" Rias summoned the Power of Destruction to her hands and shaped them into daggers. She dashed towards Sirzechs, slashing at him.
Sirzechs coated his hand in PoD and slapped the daggers out of the way, kicking Rias. She flipped over his leg and slammed her leg into her brother's side.
Sirzechs slid to the left and countered with his own kick, sending Rias flying. Rias righted herself in the air and spread her wings. She dashed towards Sirzechs, her eyes glowing with intensity. She coated her fist in the Power of Destruction.
Sirzechs stood there, waiting for her to attack. She threw her fist, which was easily caught by Sirzechs. He tightened his grip around her arm and smirked as he looked at her.
"Is that it, Rias?" Sirzechs said, sending her to one knee due to the pain. Rias glared at her brother before letting out a pained grin. She opened her hand, unleashing a deluge of PoD bullets in Sirzechs' face.
His eyes widened as he let go of her arm to dodge her onslaught. He looked down and saw Rias's leg slam into his face. A crunching noise was heard as Sirzechs stumbled back. He gripped his face and saw blood in his hands.
Rias stood there with her leg extended before putting it down and readying herself for her brother's next attack.
"You broke my nose," Sirzechs said.
"Eh? Really? Oh shit!" Rias dropped her guard. "I'm so sorry!"
"You forgot lesson one," Sirzechs said.
"Lesson One?"
"Never let your guard down!"
Rias nodded and got to her feet, stumbling as she tried to balance herself. "Right… that was a dirty trick," Rias said, seething at her own mistake.
"Your opponent will perform the same tactics in battle Rias. You should know this by now," Sirzechs admonished her.
"Right…," Rias said, wiping the blood off her mouth.
"So, are we done for the day?" Sirzechs asked. Rias's jaw dropped a little.
"NO! We're not done until I reach the final stage!" Rias protested.
"Rias, you've been doing really well with evolving your eyes but you're not going to force yourself into the Final Stage," Sirzechs said.
"NO! I am going to reach it!" Rias said.
"Why are you so fixated on reaching the Final Stage?" Sirzechs asked.
"So I can be as good as her! So I can be just like Nee-sama!" Rias said.
"Rias, you've never even met her…," Sirzechs said.
"But still! Ever since I was born, I never knew anything about her! All I knew was how great she was and I've always wanted to be like her! Now I'm older and I will achieve that childish dream of becoming a woman like the sister I've never met! I will carry the Gremory Family Power with me like she did!" Rias said. As she said this, her eyes began to glow with great intensity.
"Rias…," Sirzechs said.
"AND TO PROVE THAT I DON'T NEED ISSEI TO PROTECT ME ALL THE TIME!" Rias yelled, her power flaring all around her. She dashed towards Sirzechs with the intent to injure him. He quickly dodged as Rias slammed into the ground behind him. He batted her hand aside as he began to parry every blow she threw at him.
"HAAAH!" Rias performed a roundhouse kick on Sirzechs which he effortlessly blocked,
"So this whole thing was about Issei… you never got over it…," Sirzechs said as he held her leg.
"SHUT UP!" Rias yelled as she forcefully wrenched her leg from her older brother's grasp. "AND FIGHT!"
She threw her fist towards his face.
"Rias," Sirzechs caught the fist and put Rias in an arm lock.
"WHY! IT WASN'T MY FAULT! I WAS BEING CONTROLLED!" Rias yelled as tears streamed down her face.
"You've been trying to be strong for the others," Sirzechs said.
"LET ME GO!" she yelled. She used her demonic power to escape from Sirzechs's arm lock. As she did, her eyes bled as they glowed intensely. The floral pattern became more prominent as a wave of red power exploded from Rias. Sirzechs was forced to let go and jump back to avoid it.
A volley of dark red energy balls flew towards Sirzechs. Sirzechs' eyes widened as he summoned a magic barrier to defend himself. His shock grew even more when his barrier was seemingly erased by the energy onslaught. Rias floated in the spot where they had stood. Her hair was glowing red and floating slightly as red lines of energy etched itself into her body.
That's just like…, Sirzechs said. Has her Power of Sight really helped her control her energy to that degree?
Sirzechs dodged as he watched the remaining balls impact the ground, exploding in soft red lights. There were small perfectly circular craters in the ground behind him.
"Pay attention!" Rias yelled as she appeared right next to him. Sirzechs reacted almost immediately and jabbed Rias with his elbow.
Rias fought against the pain and grabbed Sirzechs' arm. Sirzechs immediately felt pain shoot through his arm as he saw his sleeve being eaten away by violet-purple energy on Rias's hands. The flesh and muscle were all being eaten away, torn apart atom by atom. Before the corrosion could spread, Sirzechs' eyes glowed and Rias was launched away from her brother. Sirzechs held his now bleeding arm in pain as he looked at Rias.
"I can still fight…," Rias said.
"No."
The two turned to see their father standing at the balcony.
"That's enough," Zeoticus said.
"But Tou-sama!" Rias protested. Her hair had long since lost their glow as she powered down. The markings of energy on her skin had seemingly vanished.
"Rias, come with me. Sirzechs, go. I had a Phenex Tear prepared for you after witnessing… that," Zeoticus said. Sirzechs nodded and Rias sighed as she spread her wings and flew towards her father.
"Tou-sama?" Rias asked as she followed him into the mansion.
"Rias, I need you to follow me," Zeoticus said.
"I don't understand," Rias said.
"You don't need to… not yet," Zeoticus said. Rias followed her father as they went to what she considered to be the creepy part of the manor. It was a place she only stepped foot in a few times in her life. That number was something she could count on one hand. Rias watched as her father placed his hand on a wall. The Gremory Clan symbol appeared on the wall and the wood moved, revealing a door.
"Rias… what I'm about to show you is a place not even Sirzechs nor your mother have been to. Only your older sister has ever entered this place," Zeoticus said as he opened the door.
"But they know this exists right?" Rias asked.
"They do but the magic is specifically keyed to those who have awakened the Power of Sight. No one else other than those who possess our Eyes or the Shevirat Ha-Kelim can enter this place," Zeoticus said as he descended a spiral staircase with Rias.
"Shevirat Ha-Kelim? I've heard that word thrown around a few times but I don't really know what that means. If I recall correctly, you said that our power was derived from it," Rias said.
"The Shevirat Ha-Kelim is a unique power that belongs to our creator, Lucifer, and her daughter, Lilith," Zeoticus said.
"Did Satanachia-sama have it too? If I recall, he was also called Lucifer," Rias said.
"No, Satanachia had something called the Crown of Wrath which allows him to use a destructive power similar to the Power of Destruction," Zeoticus said.
"Then what does the Shevirat Ha-Kelim do?" Rias asked as they arrived at another door.
"I've never seen it personally but rumor has it that it supposedly possesses the power of unlimited creation as well as the power to utilize the powers of all devil families," Zeoticus said.
"A… All devil families?" Rias asked.
"Yes, it's where our progenitors got their powers from. It only makes sense that the source is capable of using all our abilities, don't you think?" Zeoticus said as he opened the door.
The door opened to reveal a small room with shelves inside. A portrait of a woman with blood-red hair and golden eyes hung above a mantle that was lit with red flames. The flames caused shadows to dance eerily, making the woman in the portrait seem more imposing than she already looked, enhancing her yellow eyes to the point where they appeared as if they glowed. Rias recognized this portrait anywhere. Any Gremory worth their salt knew who this woman in the painting was.
It was the progenitor of their clan, the 56th Pillar Demon, Gremory.
The room had two seats as well as a small red orb that rested on a pedestal before the fireplace. Zeoticus motioned for Rias to follow him inside and she did.
"What is this place?" Rias asked.
"This is where a Gremory goes upon reaching the final stages of their eyes' maturation. It is where they discover what ability is attributed with their eyes," Zeoticus said.
"So you think that I?" Rias asked.
"I don't think. I know," Zeoticus said. He picked up and grabbed the orb before him.
"This orb holds a record of every Power that the Sight awakens from others that have come before you. Of course, I say Unique because usually, only one or two people wield the same ability. My Swirl of Gluttony was known as the Starving Gaze when it was used by the Original Gremory," Zeoticus said.
"So this orb is a record of all the Original Gremory's powers?" Rias asked as she took the orb from her father's hand.
"Essentially," Zeoticus said.
"How do I find out what power I have?" Rias asked.
"The orb contains an inscription written in a language that only wielders of the Power of Sight and the Shevirat Ha-Kelim can wield," Zeoticus said. "The words are invisible to everyone except for wielders of those two powers."
"I have to activate my eyes?" Rias said.
Zeoticus nodded. "The orb will react to the activation of your eyes and present to you the Power you possess."
Rias nodded and activated her Power of Sight and the orb immediately pulsed and shifted, changing from red to a swirling black-violet color. Rias's eyes widened as she saw a set of words in a language she had never seen before appear in the air before her.
ᒷᒲ!¡∷ᒷᓭᓭ ⊣ᔑ⨅ᒷ
"Well?" Zeoticus asked.
"It says...," Rias said as she slowly read the words with clear understanding.
"It says Empress Gaze," Rias said.
If Rias ever regretted a time where she didn't have a phone, it would be now. Her father's jaw had dropped open and his eyes threatened to bug out of his head. He opened and closed his mouth as the words "Empress Gaze" repeatedly came out of his mouth.
"C- Can you say that again?" Zeoticus asked.
"It says Empress Gaze," Rias said.
"Empress Gaze… this is amazing! No one has had the Empress Gaze since the Original Gremory!" Zeoticus said.
"Eh? WHAT!?" Rias asked.
"Wh… What does the Empress Gaze do?" Rias asked.
"It is said to go hand in hand with the Axial Gaze," Zeoticus said. "Whereas the Axial Gaze can control space-time, allowing one to teleport, shift spaces, and access a different dimensional space as well as intangibility, the Empress Gaze has the power to grasp all that they can see along with controlling an energy called Null. It's what you used in your battle against Sirzechs. The power to deconstruct something atom by atom," Zeoticus said.
"That's like…," Rias said.
"The Power of Destruction? No, the Power of Destruction focuses on the annihilation of things whereas the Empress Gaze's Null allows one to sever the bonds of all matter."
Rias looked down, looking at her hands. She had injured Sirzechs, ripping his flesh apart atom by atom with her powers. This new power scared her. While she was afraid of injuring her friends with her Power of Destruction, this new power was one she had no control of.
"So what now?" Rias asked.
"Now? Now, we train your power," Zeoticus said, taking the orb from her. "Get ready! This will be the most intense training of your entire life!"
Rias gulped as she nodded.
Satanachia Stadium, February 20, 2020, 3:00 PM; Current Time: 3 Minutes and 50 Seconds Til Midnight
Rias couldn't stop shaking. This was her second semifinals match. And it seemed like destiny or whoever was in charge of it liked to screw with her.
"Rias-sama, we will win this time. It won't be like last time," Akeno said, placing a hand on her shoulder.
Rias nodded and glanced at the rest of her peerage before turning to the screen.
"Welcome to the Second Round of the Semifinals! This is your host Naud Gamigin speaking once more! And here, we have a guest host! All of you older devils know her. Every God in existence knows her! One of the Seven Prime Demons! The progenitor of the Mammon House, Lady Mammon!" Naud announced.
A woman whose beauty could be on par with goddesses themselves sat next to Naud. She had long flowing wine-violet hair that reached down past her shoulders. She had perfect dark skin that made her look like an ebony goddess as her sulfuric yellow eyes gazed at the crowd through the screen. She wore a maroon cape that adorned her white and black dress shirt that had a black-tie around it.
"Mammon-sama is watching the game?" Rias asked.
"It seems like it," Akeno said as she watched the Prime Demon wave at the crowd.
"What's a Prime Demon?" Eren asked.
"Oh right, a Prime Demon is a title referring to the Seven Eldest Demons in existence. They are considered to be the progenitors of the royal families of Lucifer, Beelzebub, Leviathan, and Asmodeus. Belphegor and Mammon are also considered Royal Houses despite them being classified as Extra Demons. Some say that they have more influence on Devil Society than Zekram Bael but they prefer to remain out of the light and lead peaceful lives," Rias said.
"Now let's get this match started. It seems that we have a good one today. As many devils here may recall, Rias Gremory made her first debut into the Rating Game World with this match and it seems that Fate had plans to allow her to have a redo of her first-ever loss! On the right, we have Rias Gremory and Team Rias Gremory!" Naud announced.
An image of Rias appeared on the screen.
"And as I said, Fate decided to screw them as her opponent is none other than RISER PHENEX!" Naud said.
An image of Riser appeared on the screen.
"So he was your first opponent?" Tatsuya asked.
"Yes, we lost against him in our first match for the fate of our arranged marriage. Issei had to end up rescuing me," Rias said.
"Well, this isn't going to turn out like last time because you have me!" Tatsuya said, grinning and flexing.
Yuu and Hiruko gave him blank stares as Rias and the others shook their heads.
"The match will begin in ten seconds so teams get ready!" Naud said.
Rias turned to her peerage.
"This is it," she said.
"Ten! Nine! Eight!"
"We have to win this," Rias said. "No excuses."
"Seven! Six!"
"Riser will go down this time! We will head past the semifinals and the finals and win the Games! Why? Because we are Team Gremory! We are the team that helped win the war!"Rias said.
"Five!"
Rias turned and looked at the screen.
"Four!"
"Three!"
"Two!"
"I hope you're ready… Riser," Rias said.
"One!"
"Let the match begin!" Naud said.
Rias and her peerage disappeared in a red magic circle as they were transported into the rating game arena.
Omake: My Daughter's cuter
Shiva sighed as he watched his wife and Ra arguing. Next to him sat the white-haired, blue-eyed creator young man who was the creator of Shamayem, Yahweh, eating a loaf of bread as he watched the beautiful violet-haired goddess and the handsome black-haired, golden-eyed God have a screaming match. To Shiva's left was another woman. She had long midnight-black hair. Her skin was pale, almost translucent and she wore a dark violet kimono that opened up slightly at the bottom, revealing her shins and her feet with a white-violet obi at her torso. Her eyes were red with white slit-like elliptical pupils. She sipped a cup of tea as she sighed. She was Amatsu-Mikaboshi, the Shinto Elder Goddess of Darkness and Stars.
"Should we stop them?" she asked.
"You know that never ends well, Ama," Shiva said, placing a hand on his cheek.
"I'm surprised that you aren't stopping them, Yahweh. Usually, you play as a neutral third party every time they fight," Amatsu said.
"I'm curious as well. You aren't over there with them this time," Shiva said.
"That's because what they're arguing about is pointless," Yahweh said, swallowing his bread.
As if he had said something blasphemous, Ra and Parvati stopped arguing and appeared immediately in front of the white-haired deity.
"POINTLESS!" Ra yelled.
"YAHWEH FOR SHAME!" Parvati said.
"Hey, I'm just saying, you two have been arguing about the same thing for months now," Yahweh said.
"Well, bird brain over here won't accept facts!" Parvati argued.
"No, this grape haired bitch is the one that won't accept!" Ra said.
"Shiva! Your wife is being insulted! Do something!" Parvati said, causing her husband to shrink in his seat.
"Come on. Can't we just agree to disagree?" Amatsu asked.
"NO! Not until he/she agrees that my daughter is the cutest!" they both said at once.
"Pfft! HAHAHA!" Yahweh laughed.
"What's so funny?" Ra asked.
"It's just that you're both wrong," Yahweh said, wiping a tear from his eye. He held out his hand and a holographic image of a sleeping baby girl with a tuft of white hair on her head appeared.
"Woah! She's so cute," Amatsu said, looking at the image. "How old is she?"
"She's six months old as of now," Yahweh said.
"Is this why you ditched us whenever we had guys' night?" Ra asked.
"Yup. She's my pride and joy!" Yahweh said.
"What's her name?" Shiva asked.
"Her name is... Helel. It means Bringer of Light," Yahweh said.
"Wait, if you're here, then who's watching her?" Parvati asked.
"Oh, my sister is," he answered.
"Really? Do you trust her to look after little Ellie?" Ra asked.
"I trust her about as far as I can throw her. Which isn't far by the way but she's the strongest being currently residing in our Universe so what else can I do?" Yahweh said.
They all nodded before Yahweh's earlier words registered in the heads of Parvati and Ra.
"WHAT!? THERE IS NO WAY THAT BALL OF FLUFF IS CUTER THAN MY DAUGHTER!" they yelled.
"Ma'at is cuter!" Ra said.
"No! Kali is much cuter than both of them!" Parvati argued.
Yahweh glared as a black aura surrounded him.
"LIES! HELEL IS CUTER THAN BOTH YOUR DAUGHTERS COMBINED!" Yahweh argued.
"Oh dear," Amatsu said as she and Shiva watched as the argument devolved into a three-way war.
It was here that in stories that would later be passed down among the Gods that those three beings who they described as more terrifying than the Dragon Gods themselves fought. No one knew what they fought for save for Shiva and Amatsu-Mikaboshi, who decided that lunch and a show was too good to pass up. Many thought that they fought over concepts inconceivable to the Gods themselves but the truth of their battle shall always remain obscure, for that question could trigger a war worse than the Evil Dragon War.
Whose daughter was cuter?
Reviews:
Anon: Hmm, I'm not sure. I haven't heard anything from IluLugal about it and Change of a Dragon hasn't received an update in a while.
vandersee62: Za Warudo! Toki wo tomare!
AnimeFan0216: Ah yes... that scene in that arc. Yes, it will still happen, unfortunately. As for Mastema, for now, she's just a spirit residing within Issei's soul, serving as the "manifestation" of his powers. But you're right about the freeloading mother part. She does see herself as such.
leader. dbz: That will be revealed soon! As for Seekvaira's time stop, it's a different version which lets her stop time on a 4-dimensional scale in a limited space around her. So far, DxD hasn't done anything that I know of involving resistance to higher dimensional level attacks as all of their powers deal with things on a 3-D scale.
Sorry guys for the late update. Online classes and assignments really haven't given me much time to update chapters. Anyway, as promised, Rias's training and some of the peerage training were shown but I really wanted to focus on Rias's training as you see... well, she's not really over her break-up with Issei. The next chapter is the rematch between Rias and Riser and after that, it will be the semifinals round two for Issei and his team so be ready! Remember, have a great day/night or not, the choice is yours and remember to wash your hands!
Edit: Woopsie! Made a mistake with Ra's genealogy. Thanks a bunch Rhongomyniad! Though instead of Tefnut, I decided to go with Ma'at since Tefnut would be much older than Ma'at and Lucifer in this fic.