Hello, Soluxy here with another chapter.

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The Cold Opening Of A Flaming Phoenix II
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Grayfia

This would be a pain. I can't believe that my husband picked a fight with such a rookie devil. The man wasn't even 17-years-old yet, and we were already fighting him?

I know why, unfortunately.

The devil in question was a cocky bastard, a bastard who couldn't even hold to his own peerage. Quite pathetic, but his achievements were strange. At 16-years-old, the man had already faced the rating games without any help and had achieved five thousand victories. The man was considered a high-class devil only because he was born from a Noble Pillar family. However, the vile man didn't deserve even that. He was a failure and was disgusting. He was the antithesis of the modern devil society. And you could say that I had a special kind of hatred for him. You see, my sister-in-law is engaged to such a man. That contract was drafted before birth by the families. We hadn't realized that he would grow up to be such a… failure.

The only good thing he ever did in life was trying to protect the Nekoshou race, but it was obvious he wanted those cat-like beings as his own slaves, no doubt.

I fixed my maid's outfit. It was straining on my ample chest. So I had to fix it before my match. Anyways it would be a fast affair at the very least. The opponent in mind was pathetic, and the Devil Nobles hadn't allowed the man to become an Ultimate Class devil. Still, of course, he must have cheated his rating games. Otherwise, his victors made no sense. No Kings win alone.

No matter, this time, we were going to expose him.

From his peerless wins, he could have asked any of the 4 Satan's to have a battle with. However, that privilege was revoked. Instead, Lucifer himself decided to fight with the man in question—a rating game against the guy who won five-thousand matches alone to dispel that winning streak finally.

This was a match to curb the man's cockiness and arrogance. This was a match for him to learn that rating games cannot be won alone.

Diehauser Belial and the other immovables were knocked off from their podium by a brat, and as graceful as Diehauser was, that loss still weighed heavily. Thus the man was looking for a revenge match still. But I didn't think so. It was time we entered the fray.

Though I did not show much emotion, I smiled a tiny bit in anticipation. To see that man's pride destroyed would be a sight to see. The peerage-less King crying and defeated would make the news and finally vindicate those who lost because he cheated.

The man had no chance of winning.

Because…

"Grayfia, dear, we're quite late to the match."

My husband called for me. Lucifer himself, this man was one of two super-devils, and I was the strongest Queen.

"Don't you have dinner with Ajuka after this, husband?"

I kissed him as we cuddled in front of the door. He smiled awkwardly at my expressionless face. I served him as a maid, and I was also married to him. He helped me after the war, and we fell in love.

"Yes, but we'll be done with this match in less than five minutes, I bet."

"We can take Millicas on vacation after this as well."

I referred to my son as we walked in the vast, opulent halls of the Gremory Family. And by our side, our peerage appeared. This was the strongest peerage ever to be here, after Diehauser lost due to him cheating. And they were all ready to take shots at the enemy—the so-called Queen-less King. I smiled with sadistic feelings, and our peerage, in turn was ready.

Then someone spoke with a nervous voice.

"Umm, Onii-sama. Could you get a promise out of him? To break this marriage agreement, pretty please."

The one before us was my sister-in-law. She was quite a beautiful 14-year-old girl. She wanted nothing to do with that man, so we acquiesced to her needs. It would be hard to get a promise out of that weasel, but for Rias Gremory, we would. She was our darling little princess—whoever messes with her messes with my husband Sirzechs Lucifer and his peerage.

We walked into the arena with applause from the factions above. Everyone was waiting for this match, and it would be televised as entertainment for everyone to see. I wouldn't laugh, but this program should be rated as a comedy instead.

Because we're going to crush that man to the ground.

"I was waiting for you guys. Wow, you guys sure are slow. No wonder devil society is the way it is, with trash like you running the place."

That man's mouth was full of insults as always, but I had a bit of tolerance for that. Those above did not, however.

"You piece of shit, you don't deserve to be in the same playing field as Lucifer-sama!"

What was creepy was that he never smiled or smirked to match his arrogance. He kept his serious face all the time, not showing any emotion. He arrogantly insulted people with that deadpan stare.

"How dare he speak to Lucifer-sama like that?"

"He should lose by default at this point. He doesn't even have any peerage with him. What a loser!"

This man was great at taunting the audience. Sometimes I feel like he does that on purpose to mess with his opponents. How disgraceful. Even his own blood family was there above, jeering at him. What a sad existence to be hated by your own family. However, this man brought that on himself. And this was the time where my comrades and I would destroy all that arrogance.

"Hey, Sirzechs-san, shall we bet on something. I mean, I didn't get to choose who I was going to fight. It would be boring to finish all this without something to bet on."

Again, the creepiness factor between the arrogant words and the emotionless stare was a bit much. This fool would be just a one-bit thug if not for that.

"Then, If we win, you'll release Rias from her engagement."

My husband immediately grabbed on that and made his own proposition. I felt happy. He was offering a way for Rias to get out of this engagement himself. How nice of him. My aura felt happy, now Rias would be freed, and we just needed to torture this man until he gave up.

"Sure, but you must give up something of equal value if I win." Riser answered my husband's question.

Preposterous, he had no way of winning. But I listened to his vile words anyway while my husband was there.

"What is it? Do you want my position or something?"

"No, Devil Society can go to the dogs for all I care."

The jeers continued even more. Even Rias that was above booed the man. And yet, he kept still as if he thrived in this toxic atmosphere. There was no real emotion in his face, other than that pure glint in his cold eyes, a glint of rage.

"Rias was mine to keep for my whole life, so I want something of equal value if I win. Then that means only one thing. If I win, I'll take Grayfia, the 'Strongest Queen' as my slave."

"Wha—"

My husband was quiet as I gasped. He wanted to gamble to get my freedom in turn.

If we won, we would get Rias back. And if we lost, Rias would continue being engaged, and I would be a slave?

How despicable, however, this was all a ploy to get us enraged, and it was working. Our peerage was baring their fangs and auras. And yet, the opponent kept himself calm as a leaf, despite being only 16 years old. Honestly, I just wanted to freeze this man until nothing left and just break him. I was so mad that my freezing aura was congealing the ground that I was in.

"Since I'm betting Rias, my future wife, you should bet your wife as well."

My husband was indecisive at that. And honestly, I did not want to be a betting piece on the table. The idea was revolting. However…

"Onii-sama, please!"

Rias was there in the stands, pleading to her big brother with such a seductive voice. And he was enraptured by it. I felt a little irritated. His obsession with his sister was not something I agreed with.

"Alright, you got a deal, Riser."

I focused on the man before us. And he nodded. And he looked pretty disappointed at my husband, and then grit the teeth at his own wife-to-be. Riser looked positively murderous for some reason, even though he was the one who proposed to gamble away my life. I also got quite the shock. Sirzechs was gambling away my freedom because his sister asked to do it?

It was the first time I felt…

"Don't worry. There is no chance for us to lose. Not against a fried chicken, right?" Sirzechs asked me.

"Ye—Yes."

I was still shaking that my husband Sirzechs put my life in a gamble, but if it was a gamble with a 100% chance at victory, then it wasn't a gamble. Riser had bet Rias against nothing and would lose that marriage as well. Riser, the Queen-less King, went towards his side, in silence, all alone. His family hated him. Society hated him. And he had no peerage at his side, despite spending all his pieces on reincarnating people. While I'm grateful he fought so hard for the Nekoshou race, nothing was heard of them after the incident. Only the two sisters were accounted for. He probably made them his slaves.

He was a failure and was the shame of our society. As he walked, the audience threw cans and rotten fruits at him. And yet, he kept walking without any expression. Even as soda syrup stained his clothes and stones tried to hurt him.

It was an appropriate punishment for trying to get me as a slave. He deserved every bit of hatred.

He kept to himself as our peerage taunted him. And he kept waiting until the game started.

I was thrilled that I would get my chance to torture him in this game. I was famed for being emotionless like that man, but this time I would enjoy this.

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Serafall

It was sad and pitiable, the life that boy below led. I could certainly say that. As I watched Riser Phenex go towards his own corner, all alone. Even his family did not really enjoy his presence. He was always a weird kid since he was young. I remember that. Often cold-hearted and not at all attentive to others. So he was a pretty dislikable brat. And the engagement to the Gremory house, and the fact he was the third son, did not win any favors. He was more or less left to his own devices while young. I played with him once since he was just 2 years older than my little sister, Sona.

So I can definitely say that, while he was not the most amicable brat, the neglect from his family was what caused his horrible rebel personality. And his atrocious persona made things worse in his house, creating a feedback loop of dislike and worsening the situation. On the other side, Sirzechs and Rias hated the marriage agreement. Their followers and fans also spread the hate around. The worst part came later, though.

When the Nekoshou incident happened, there was a free hunting season to kill the Nekoshou population. The state did not condone this extermination. However, neither did it try to stop the many bloodthirsty peerages from committing atrocities. However, Riser was just a kid back then, and even as powerless as he was, he put himself over 5 different peerages, protecting a refugee camp of 500 Nekoshou. Similar situations happened over those months, with him advocating for that race.

Back then, he referred to the Devil Race as Aryan Nazis trying to commit genocide to another race.

Because of his actions, many Nekoshou did not die. They probably found a place in the world to live after that massacre.

However, as you can see, even after Riser was thrown in prison for a few years, that hatred was passed onto him instead.

Bad press, bad reputation, prison sentences.

However, he was still a noble and was released.

I can say that I have a deep appreciation for what he did then.

The Devils were in a blood frenzy and were on the wrong side of history at that point, no doubt.

A 7-year-old kid having more courage and morals than the 4 Maou.

That put a lump in my throat.

I was utterly useless as a leader when that happened. And Sirzechs was only able to protect the little sister of the criminal.

However, that hatred was only amplified with time as Riser kept stumbling on his life.

When Riser Phenex received his pieces, he wasted his Queen on someone in the human world. And did not bring that person back. He reincarnated someone and left that person to their own devices. He became what's known as the Queen-less King.

Ashamed, however, still waiting for the Phenex third son to continue the tradition, his own family did the worst thing.

They forced him to compete against fully-fledged peerages in rating games. Not even caring about what he wanted to do. He was essentially a gladiator being locked into battles, not of his own choosing.

Time passed, and he wasted all his pieces on people the Devil Society didn't even know, and they were never officially recognized. He became the Peerage-less King, a man who wasted all his Devil Pieces and got nothing in return. Every single pawn, every rook, knight, and bishop spent. The man could not have any more pieces for himself after that.

It was at this time when those who watched the peerage games started hating him.

'How dare he waltz in and beat my favorite team all alone? He's a cheater.'

'Nekoshou sympathizer, why didn't they give him a death sentence? He knows where the survivors are!'

Sentiments like that became common, and Riser Phenex became the worst heel in Rating Game's history. And yet, this boy kept winning.

A family that did not love him.

A marriage to the celebrated Gremory family they didn't like.

Advocating for SS criminals and a race that devils would have exterminated.

A wrong first impression as King.

It snowballed from there.

And yet, the boy kept winning. The obligation had long since faded. His family did not care anymore. He could walk out ever since he was 13. Even then, he kept competing to arrive where he was today.

I could understand that. I could definitely understand everything about him. He was a product of his own environment, and that was pitiable. Truly, pitiable.

However, often, he made such bets with the opponent, betting lives on the line. There was a time where he got an entire peerage as slaves. So while Riser Phenex was a product of his environment, an environment I was trying to change desperately. What needed to be done hadn't changed.

I realized that. And for that, I won't jeer and throw things at him.

But his actions were not at all pretty from my perspective as a woman.

And for that, I was glad that he would lose for the first time in his life. Perhaps I could remedy things from there. Maybe I could fix things once he stops feeling invincible and drunk on his own power and hubris.

Soon they would be teleported into a copy of Gremory house, and they would fight within the opulent labyrinth of corridors.

And for that, I watched the incoming match with bitter and gloomy feelings—the strongest peerage against a 16-year-old boy. Just the thought made me lurch. When did Devil Society sink this far…?

We didn't end the civil war, so things like this can happen within our society. It frustrates me so that kids like that can grow up to be like this. If the boy had a proper family and wasn't shamed for his Peerage-less status, things could have been…

I didn't fight in the civil war to see this happen.

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Review Corner
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Rabbitz32
I was thinking of normal uptight Arthuria, the one from Fate route. However, I can incorporate Rhongomyniad in my story.

Suzululu4moe
I hope this chapter answered some of your questions about why he's hated. His personality and his actions did not win many favors. And there's someone up there, actively wanting him to fail.

Coolfire364
As I said, this MC is quite edgy, and not likable in terms of personality just yet. And he's not the only POV, so there's a lot to go through. He's narrow-minded and doesn't understand or care for politics, so he often criticizes those that can't make a difference.

Zerak
Since Riser is mostly alone and earns a lot of hate, they aren't afraid of showing it. His family is just like that, turn up their noses and pretend to be better. And while criticism of Rias is justified, Riser is not a good guy here.

This story is mostly morally grey.

Chamberstaneshia69
Nah, his main sin is wrath, then pride and greed are in equal values.

Allhailthesith
All will be revealed in due time, just you wait.

tH1s
I hope you have more bandages because there will be much bleeding due to that edge.

AnimeA55Kicker
Yesss, Goddess Shiraori will make an appearance so that you can guess the wild power levels this story is going to go.

Mistroz, kept123, ramdomguy
Thanks for reading it.

Don't forget to leave your review on the latest chapter if you want questions answered or engagement with the author in the next chapter.

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Author's notes
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As you can see, there will be multiple POVs going forward. While the reincarnated Riser is definitely the star of the show, his peerage members might shine even brighter going forward. And since this is still the Cold Open arc, it means that the story is telling something that happened in the future to show you what the world is like.

Of course, Riser's reincarnation and childhood will be explored, and so will his meeting with his peerage members before he reincarnated them into devils.

If you feel strongly about me or my work and want to support me, search for patron and Soluxy together on Google. Or go on Pa/re on and put a /Soluxy after the com. You can view my work early and make valuable suggestions and comments right on my docs.

I would be forever grateful if you become a patron!

Don't forget to follow or favorite if you want to be alerted to new chapters!