Perhaps it was the passage of time spent doing simple things, rather than bathing in apocalyptic violence, but for once I felt... not at peace, but I had a sense of time well spent? Deep down I must have known my final goal was impossible, but it was far too late for me to stop now. I drenched myself in the blood of billions - what did a few more souls matter to me?

Giving up was freeing, in a way. Watching the basic human interactions between these... peerage members was refreshing. When they informed me they were in fact, not human at all, I couldn't help but laugh. They were human in all the ways that mattered, regardless of the slight difference in physiology and magical power.

I would perhaps know best as the monster that walked among them in stolen flesh, using a facsimile of the veil of humanity I once wore. Human's were indomitable, had vivid personalities, adventured into the great unknown and generally made themselves to be a great nuisance to anything that enjoys peace and quiet. At least, the few I got to know before, during, and after my ascension were.

After my downfall... well, I don't like to talk about it much. Needless to say humans were more... fuel for my continued freedom than friends. This host and the dragon residing inside of him are quite durable - being able to maintain the original human form is quite a miraculous feat for me.

Besides my complete lack of anything better to do, my ancient senses are coming back to life. Before my rise I trained men to be soldiers. Not just any soldiers, but the best - Those that guarded the Emperor had to have no failings, had to lay down their lives for their sworn leader. Of course, I was the best of them, which is why I was their leader. Which is why I find the position I'm in faintly amusing.

Rias explained a bit more about her situation, at least to say why we needed to fight. Marriage contracts aren't drawn up for the common rabble, so I do think I find myself protecting nobility once again, though just how noble remains to be seen.

I put Kiba through his paces, I confirmed Koneko shouldn't rely on her strength nearly as much as she should, I helped Rias brainstorm proper ways to use her power other than just blanketing them in a layer of darkness. Asia has come out from time to time, though she seems intent on avoiding me. Akeno learned that flying away from me does indeed not stop me from chasing her down and giving her a beatdown.

It was for training though, so it was a informative beatdown.

I promise.

Maybe it was the advice, maybe it was fear of getting their asses spanked by my sword again (it only happened once...) or maybe it was fear of the ex-weakest member of their team suddenly displaying such monstrous strength and surpassing every single one of them, either way they kicked themselves into high gear to improve.

I had no way of gauging the difference in strength compared to other members of their race, so I couldn't tell them if they were ready or not. What I could tell them was that they would win regardless, because I would be in attendance, but that would ruin my fun so I didn't say anything.

They started to see me more as a teacher than their old teammate who could suddenly bench a peerage member in each hand with ease. I had no reason to ruin their image of me yet, but I'm quite sure they will find out just who their new friend is when I'm unleashed onto a battlefield once more.

I couldn't quite contain the shiver that ran through me at the thought of the fight - my blood pounding furiously, the metallic scent of it hanging in the air and clouding my thoughts, screams dancing through my ears like the sweetest of songs - that was when I came alive. Bringer of Death, Ender of Worlds, Carnage Incarnate, these are my titles.

They still remain true of me regardless of my newfound position, to be found out by my comrades soon no doubt. Perhaps they will elect to keep me around afterwards - not that it matters one way or another to me, but personally I think it will be very amusing to watch them. They seem young. Seeing the young grow into their potential brought me great joy before my ascension and even during. After my fall it became a very different story.

Sacks of meat I burned through in desperation, trying to hold onto whatever semblance of humanity I still contained. When my lifespan could have been measured in minutes per human I consumed, was it so strange that I bathed worlds in blood in my attempts to stay free of my prison? My beautiful, deadly, cloying prison of metal and hate.

Well, I seem to be past that stage now and with no method of tracking time it could have been an impossibly distant past or a much more recent wave of atrocity. I will undoubtedly have the chance to meet more important figures as time goes on and their recognition, or lack thereof, should tell me what case I'm dealing with.

As some thin veneer of humanity slips back into me I can't help but wonder - but I make sure to crush any hopeful thoughts under a tide of cynicism. Hope hasn't carried me through the lifetimes of death I've wrought, nor has it ever spared me the sheer torment of my eternal entrapment, nor has it saved the countless masses who prayed to their Gods, sometimes as the very object of their prayers lay dead at my feet.

No, my raw hate and fury gave me wings upon which I flew and reached new heights of carnage and death. The chains embedded in my very soul trailed, never far behind, ever reminding me that I would never truly be released from my torment.

Only time will tell how this... vessel will affect me and my existence. If it lasts, then I will contemplate something I haven't had in... Well, a very, very long time.

A future beyond the endless slaughter.

Harbinger

The week had passed swiftly. Rias kept careful watch over her family to see the progress they were making, bar Aatrox as he was busy training them himself. Even still she was able to get snippets of his skills and power level, both of which seemed... well, far higher than they were when he was just Issei.

Again, she didn't want to disparage the newly... passed on? Deceased? Rias wasn't sure what to call him, but he wasn't with them anymore and that was what counted. Either way, the new form was vastly improved.

Kiba was able to train with someone who was both faster and stronger than him - when asked about what type of training he was receiving, she just received a evil smile and a brief explanation. "He will fight against someone he has no hope of ever beating. Slower, weaker, less experienced, he must do his utmost to defeat me. I will obviously not be going all out, so he must swiftly adapt new strategies or receive his beating."

She felt guilty about leaving him alone with his new tormentor, but then she actually saw them sparring and was awed. Rias would watch Aatrox speak a few words she couldn't make out from this distance and the wielder of Sword Birth would grit his teeth and launch a new pattern of attacks, ever evolving and changing in his attempt to bring down the grinning Aatrox. Worse still, since Aatrox still looked just like Issei, his new punisher was the boy who had been by far the weakest of them (excluding Asia, of course).

Either way, the results were fantastic. Adapt, Kiba had. Rias also worried for Koneko, but the results were similar. Aatrox seemed to push people just enough to force them to improve or receive a beatdown, but wasn't harsh enough to simply make them give up. After spending over an hour of constant misses, Koneko finally cottoned on to what Aatrox was trying to do.

His constant beratements was actually advice hidden behind insults designed to incite her anger, both forcing her to find ways to keep herself calm during a fight against an antagonistic opponent and to do the same thing Kiba was - improvising and improving. Koneko stopped telegraphing her punches as much when Aatrox started announcing his dodges out loud, before she even took a swing and still causing her to miss.

When she finally got her form together with more comments from her tutor, she had to start practicing upping her speed. The incentive for her to speed up was given in the form of, naturally, more beatdowns. Rias was able to hear the first snippet of Aatrox's advice before they got started.

"Listen girl, I've heard from the others what your strengths and weaknesses are and my brief observations agree with those assessments. So here is what is going to happen - I am not going to change how hard I hit the entire time. Same amount of force behind every blow, you get hit its going to hurt. A lot." The disbelieving look on Koneko's face didn't last long into their first spar.

"So your only option is to dodge. As you get better, I'm going to go faster. Use new strategies. Your goal is to learn them and become efficient at dodging as soon as possible. I'm not to blame for what happens if you don't take this seriously." She could hardly believe her own ears, but when she came back to check on them later she was witness to the incredible work Aatrox doing to her Rook.

The body of Issei himself wasn't moving that fast, which made it all the worse to watch Koneko just barely not move out of the way in time. As promised, Aatrox's fist collided with her ribs with the gentleness of a freight train - which is to say none at all. She twirled like a ballerina traveling far faster than should have been possible before she collided with a tree, breath leaving her with an oomph and a scattering of leaves descending on her.

Rias was going to do it herself but the brown haired boy beat her too it. He was standing in front of the heap that was Koneko and asking if she was ok. The groaned response and fire burning in her eyes after she got up indicated she was still kicking and not seriously hurt.

After two more repeats, each time with Koneko lasting a little longer before receiving her walloping, Aatrox called an end to the session. He left her with practices to move faster and increase her response time to outside stimuli.

The end results were actually quite impressive for only a little over a week of time spent training. Pain really is a great motivator.

He wasn't able to help Akeno as much, though he did force her to work on her physicality. When asked to spar and her Queen thought she held the upper hand with her flight skills, Aatrox proved her wrong once again by sprouting wings that were nothing like the normal devil wings Issei once possessed.

While they retained a more wing-like shape, they resembled tattered banners hanging limply from the spindly growths attached to his back and really didn't seem like they were flight worthy. They were quickly proven wrong when he rocketed into the sky and took down Akeno in a tackle that sent them crashing back down to earth like a wayward meteor.

Akeno left the crater with a limp and Aatrox seemed completely unruffled. Rias had already received her own advice from him and had begun practicing extensively to incorporate the very human idea of pressure, force, and the area it was applied in. This included the piercing power of her own abilities, she could safely conclude after a single day of testing.

Asia... The poor girl had finally come out of her shell, though she didn't want to be around Aatrox all that much. It was understandable but could hopefully be mended to at least last till the end of the rating game. Rias had hopes, but not much else in regards to the outcome of the Rating game - their newest 'addition' was too much of a wildcard to properly predict the outcome.

He had been incredibly helpful thus far, not even including the strength he would offer on the battlefield. His warning still resounded in her ears, however, and she was not particularly eager to find out what that meant. Maybe their newfound strength would be enough to push through and he wouldn't need to... Do whatever it was he would do. There was simply too many unknowns to even make a guess at what would happen so Rias just chose to not think about it.

Safer for her mental health that way as well.

But now... Rias was forced to face her fears. Her peerage was gathered, forged in the fire that was Aatrox's will and training regime, and they would NOT go quietly into that good night. They would fight, against Riser, against the society that conspired to force her hand into a abusive marriage, and anyone who wanted to use or hurt her family.

She stood before her brother, Sirzechs, and his wife, Grayfia, in the moments shortly before their rating game. Her only shot at freedom. If they succeeded she would need to thank Aatrox profusely, then immediately pray he wasn't... discovered. Since she barely knew anything about him to begin with, she could only guess at the ramifications of an entity as powerful as he seemed suddenly appearing in her peerage, or the effect it would have on the results of the rating game.

They had a general plan - Aatrox was only to provide light support and defense for the rest of the group unless he absolutely needed to. Asia would hang back with her healing magic and help anyone who became wounded from their fights, though she might have to venture into the field as it were, because they would be outnumbered.

Rias intended to not leave her alone, but Aatrox assured them lines of battle were ever fluid, especially when every single fighter could fly, so to expect surprises. She would do her best to shelter the young healer, but she couldn't guarantee her safety.

"Are you ready for this, Rias?" Her brother's unusually serious tone and look was enough to warm her heart. Usually so playful, the look adorning his face was more fit for someone awaiting a jury's verdict. Tense with a touch of worry.

Running a nervous hand through her hair, Rias responded. "Of course! All of my family is strong, stronger than even I thought they were. I couldn't be prouder of my entire peerage than I am right now and I know they won't fail me, nor will I fail them. We will win this thing brother, if its the last thing I do."

Sirzechs chuckled. "I see the fighting spirit rages in you just like me! I will be cheering for you from the observation room, my little Rias. Show that idiot why they coined the phrase Hell hath no fury like a -" He was cut off before he could finish, receiving a smack on the back of his head from his wife. Grayfia remained standing stoically, face unchanging as though she hadn't just laid hands on one of the devil's Satans.

Rias supposed that was the right of the wife, but it still amused her to see their byplay. An tiny smile couldn't help but creep its way onto her face regardless of the situation she was about to be in as her brother rubbed the back of his head and pouted as though he'd received a hammer instead of an open palm to his head.

"That's just mean, Grayfia! I'm trying to encourage my sister and tell her to show that young man exactly how she feels!" The returning ice-cold glare he got in return left him chuckling sheepishly.

"Well, let me just say I hope you win and earn your rightful freedom. Also... I'm sorry I couldn't stop this. Know I never wanted it to come to this, but..." Now he just looked depressed. Rias understood, after some explanation, that showing favoritism from one of the Satan's was a path best not travelled, and their parents were being incredibly stubborn. Did they not see the kind of man Riser was?

Perhaps they didn't wish to. It didn't matter, they only had the here and now and she had to deal with it. "It isn't your fault Sirzechs. I don't think anybody other than the ones who made the contract could have stopped this peacefully but seeing as they didn't want that... There was nothing we could do." Rias inclined her head to the pair, as someone came in to inform her the magic circle was ready and the two teams were to assume the starting position.

She turned towards her peerage, waiting patiently behind her. Akeno stood immediately behind her, her serene presence helping to keep Rias calm. Kiba and Koneko flanked her, presenting the physical guardianship they had for the rest of the group. Asia stood slightly apart, though she had a determined look on her face. Last, but certainly not least, stood Issei, or Aatrox as he is now known, adjacent to Akeno.

Sirzechs seemed a bit confused at their positioning - as far as he was aware Issei was a fairly new pawn, but his current positioning indicated he was nearly as respected as Akeno was, though he stood alone. In some way he was, for their group at least.

Aatrox was... dark. Dark and very intimidating, but his immense skill and prowess had helped them improve far beyond what a normal training trip would have yielded. None of his otherworldly traits were showing right now, as Rias had briefly discussed with him that at least kind of acting like Issei would help her immensely.

He simply went with it, and currently was wearing a crooked smile and his eyes were glinting, seemingly mischievous. He didn't say anything which was a blessing, as she doubted anyone could safely say the things Issei had in front of her brother and live. Not that Aatrox would ever deign to say such things anyway. The brief time she had known him had proven the massive sword wielding entity to be serious most of the time.

Some humor snuck through once or twice throughout the entire training session but both times heavily leaned towards disturbing with a side of laughter, rather than just funny. It was like the difference between a 'how many _ does it take to change a lightbuld' vs. 'If you can't dodge my next attack then so help me I'm going to doodle highlighter all over your corpse and string it above the dining room table to shame your memory before bringing you back just to see the shattered look on your face'.

It didn't sound like a joke, but it was one of the few times he cracked a smile. Rias wasn't sure which part he found amusing, but to be honest she'd rather not know. Also she didn't think he was being serious about bringing people back to life and she refused to question him further on it. Some things were... better left unknown. Plausible deniability, and all that.

She turned to her family members before Aatrox accidentally gave anything away or slipped up and waved them forward. "Let's go guys. No time like the present, as they say. We're gonna kick some Phenex ass and return home in record time!"

Cheers resounded from a few of the members, though Koneko's sounded more like a speaking voice than a proper yell. Either way, Rias smiled at her family's cheer. We all moved forward and disappeared to prepare for battle.

Harbinger

Kiba remembered his training well and grew to appreciate it more and more with every minute he spent fighting what appeared to be two maids and a... eastern exotic dancer? He wasn't quite sure what to make of them, but he made quick work of all three. While the fight started slowly, that was mostly because Kiba was getting a feel for his foes.

After facing the demon taken human flesh in numerous spars, Kiba had learned one thing above all else - appearances can be deceiving, and deception has a place in the battlefield. Though he had always likened himself to an honorable knight, Aatrox had forced him to understand the unique places a warrior has vs. the place honor has.

Honor is to be the ideal we strive for, the thing we hope to see in the hearts and minds of everyone we meet. Honor is a rarity and something to be treasured. It is the dream, like perfection, we must strive for, but will never reach.

Honor will forever be out of our grasp, because we are warriors. A warrior represents strength, skill, ability, and fortitude. These things help protect the warrior's charges, or their family in Kiba's case, and allows them to do whatever task they set out to do.

To a true warrior, honor is akin to taking a blade to the achilles tendon, leaving them hamstrung. A warrior sets out to accomplish their goal and it is up to them to determine how bloodstained they allow their hands to become, not honor. The wonderful idea has its place and is suited in small amounts for warriors to appear more... human, than they are.

Kiba would never truly resonate with what Aatrox spoke of, but he could tell Aatrox did. For that reason, beyond his overwhelming might and speed, Kiba knew he would never defeat Aatrox in battle. He also understood what he meant though, and thus discarded some of the... rather silly traditions he had regarding combat. The battlefield was a place to achieve victory, not coddle your opponent with pleasant words and showmanship.

For those reasons, Kiba didn't speak a word to his foes, merely gauging them and probing their defenses, using a speed much lower than his maximum. After a minute had passed and he determined them to be as weak as he originally thought, he exploded into motion.

The three were heaving breaths before him, exhausted from trying to capture him to deal some form of damage if they could. Instead, he dashed through the gap between their bodies, letting a new sword he created, again at the behest of his teacher, to flash out and slip between the ribs of the dancer. The shock it delivered, enough to stop a normal humans heart five times over, combined with the grievous wound to her abdomen, immediately triggered the defenses, causing her to disappear in a mote of lights.

Once the wound was dealt he immediately released the blade, the other two barely keeping up with his speed, only turning to face him as their fellow pawn began to vanish.

Too slow.

Another blade already materialized in his grasp and he let it fly, carving a vicious trench through the first maid's throat. She too was immediately teleported out.

The last had a chance to react, bring her fist in a telegraphed arc that would have collided with his nose, possibly damaging him slightly. After tanking hits from Aatrox... he doubted these weak things could phase him. Pain was something you grew accustomed to when training under his harsh tutor.

Much too slow.

He ducked the blow, the blade in his hands readjusted to slide through the last maid's ribs much like the dancer. With the final vanishing of motes, the announcers finally caught up to the action.

"3 Pawns from Team Phenex have been eliminated."

A grim smile grew on his face as he released his pose from his final attack, allowing his blade to disappear into the nothingness. "Three down, 13 to go." He stalked off to find more foes to test his new strength against.

Harbinger

The first eliminations didn't worry Ravel overmuch, after all her brother's victories had frequently been achieved with most of his team being eliminated. Her powers, while not as strong as his yet, were still formidable, let alone the difficulty of dealing with the powerful regeneration Riser possessed.

Her first warning that something was different this time around was when Yubelluna took off. They had planned on her staying behind to help eliminate Rias's peerage if they grouped up, but something must have happened. A flicker in the air caught her eye. There it was.

Akeno had taken to the sky, prepared to unleash a vicious stream of lightning upon any foes that were caught out in the open. Well, Ravel was confident which one was stronger so her thoughts turned towards planning ways to deal with the individual members of the enemy team. Kiba would need swift opposition but his stamina shouldn't be high, so if she paired a rook and a knight with any of the others he would be easily dealt with.

Koneko would be difficult to put down, but she had confidence with her own power and Yubelluna or Riser she would fall before dealing too much damage. Riser herself was not likely to be too strong, if Ravel's understanding of her personality was correct. Akeno should be defeated shortly by - her train of thought was cut off immediately by an odd sight.

Something had rocketed into the air, red tattered wings trailing behind it like ancient banners of war before it collided rather violently with Riser's Queen.

The next second seemed to last an eternity in her eyes. Whoever their swift flyer was had grabbed onto Yubelluna by the throat and launched her straight down. He followed her earthbound flight, actually catching up to her foot first, colliding with her sternum in a vicious kick causing them to speed up even more.

When they could fall no more and Ravel lost sight of them, eyes wide, a massive plume of dirt and detritus rose into the air from the impact sight, obscuring her vision of the other half of the school for a moment before it cleared away. Before it did, however, the announcer's voice boomed throughout the arena.

"Queen from Team Phenex has been eliminated."

What?

Who the hell...

What was that? Ravel had done incredibly thorough research on every member of the enemy team and none of them looked like that. She recognized Akeno's unique wings but no devil she knew had red wings. Certainly none looked like whatever she had seen.

The announcer said nothing else, so it must have been one of them. The last member she knew the least about simply because he was so new, so maybe it was Issei? That didn't make sense though... He was a newly turned devil! Something was wrong... She had to warn her brother.

Ravel felt her wings extend and she glided over to the same place they started in, alighting near Riser when she found him. "Riser, something just took down Yubelluna with a single hit. I think we need to take to the field and support the other's. There's no point in making this needlessly risky."

She didn't expect him to listen to her, but the youngest Phenex hoped he would see some reason in her request and maybe let her leave the area to provide some backup.

"Dear Ravel, that won't be necessary. No matter if their entire peerage survives... It won't matter. Regardless of their best efforts, I will still be standing and we will claim victory. Perhaps Rias found something new and exciting plaything, but it won't be enough to break through Phenex regeneration. Their best efforts will be for naught, don't you worry." Pompous ass.

Well, its not like she could argue. All of their peerages tactics were thought up by Ravel herself and would have been effective more often than not if they had strong members. Instead, they had women dressed in slutty costumes who couldn't take a punch to save their lives.

Nearly growling in anger, Ravel stalked away to fume somewhere away from her brother, where his damnable cocky smirk wouldn't set her off any further. The announcer seemingly read her mind, finding her ignition point dropping lit matches right on it.

"3 Pawns and 1 Rook from Team Phenex have been eliminated." That would be the team sent to the gym.

"1 Rook and 1 Bishop from Team Phenex have been eliminated." They weren't even supposed to be fighting them yet! Who did they fight and what happened to cause them to move forward early?

Numbness began to spread throughout Ravel's body. Was all her hard work and planning going to go to waste? She had drilled all of them about their opponents strengths and weaknesses to drive home who they could and couldn't fight. It seemed either something went awry with the members or the she had faulty information - which was already apparent with the red winged thing that took out Yubelluna.

The lack of feeling spread to her fingers and toes as the announcements continued on, the hammer to the nail that went into her heart. She was used to protracted battle resulting in a very tired few members who swiftly got cleaned up by Riser or herself whenever their entire peerage got wiped. This didn't sound like it was the case - the eliminations were too close together to indicate a slow fight from one member changing focus to fight another. No, they were being dealt with with a pathetic amount of ease it sounded like.

She slumped against a tree. "Damn my brother for getting us into this mess..."

This whole rating game was already dumb beyond measure. Riser was being an ass, and her Rias's parents were being difficult. If the lady didn't want to get married she shouldn't have to get married. That didn't mean Ravel put any less effort into preparing for the game, but that didn't stop her from feeling sorry for the girl.

It seems her worry was unneeded, however, as the final announcement came in, telling her besides Riser himself, she was the last remaining peerage member standing. The youngest Phenex had stopped paying attention for a while there, but she never heard Team Gremory come up, so it sounded like they had a clean sweep so far.

Struggling until she was standing again, Ravel brushed the dirt and twigs that found their way onto her skirt. After watching her carefully thought out plans and advice crumble into dirt, she supposed it was time to face the music.

Riser might be confident, but something was different... Something had changed. Rias's team was too efficient, too powerful.

Something was wrong.

General Notes: Works been busy, so sorry for the delay! My other story didn't get an update this week... Sorry!

Hopefully this one turned out good. Thanks for the support!

Responses:

PraiseOkita: Its more like, when he is in the sword only state, he isn't aware of whats around him. He can't hear, isn't 'alive' per say, he can only sense nearby life forms and hope they pick him up so he can zoop them. The short story about him 'The Cage' briefly explains that bit. So that is how the passage of time for him is odd - and I agree certain things would probably slip his mind as time goes on. His origin in Shurima he would hold onto tightly I think. As his last remaining tie to any humanity he might have left, anyway.

ragnarshadow: I'm not exactly sure what you said, but from what I understand yes using a god-slaying monster thats been around for eons to win the fight would be worrying to the rest of the nobility to say the least.

Guest1: I think at the time of your posting the story was brand new lol! Still it got a decent following for the short time it was out, so I can't complain. Aatrox is a fantastic character to write about, though I had to make sure his motivation to not continue his normal trend of 'consume kill end all things' made sense. Hopefully it does or will as time passes and we learn more.

Guest2: Yep that was one! I can't remember exactly which ones so please hold while I look them back up...

Ah, one of them was hacked into pieces, but I stole from this one : "I shall not kiss the ground, nor let myself be wielded as a tool! I am damned, but I will remake this world in my dark image!"

"There is a darkness in my heart deeper than any shadow!"

Amongst several others that I took much inspiration from.