Welcome to the next chapter.
Morregen; I'm glad you're excited, it's going to be quite fun to do~ Yeah, it's going to be a good few fights that happen~
JhotoLoraxius; Yeah, it's doing pretty well~ Yeah, I've got ideas for when they'll appear, earlier than in canon.
OechsnerC; Thanks, glad you're enjoying it!
TheRagFromTheCrag; Hmm, a good theory, perhaps she did.
ShadowUzumaki55; It seems that he did yeah~ They're going to be doing a few cool fights during the tournament definitely. Le Fay's request will become apparent soon~ They did yeah, Haruki definitely supports Sona and believes her goals are a good way for the Underworld to progress. Ravel will get her time pretty soon~
Silver crow; Thanks very much. Yeah, soon they'll have their time. Ravel's time is coming soon. Akeno's very much for it. Serafall seems to be quite determined~ Yeah, his first opponent is going to be Sairaorg. They'll appear. Glad you liked the opening scene for the chapter~ Yasaka did yeah. Kunou was pretty cute yeah. Haruki does have a few good ambitions within him that he wishes to do. Kuroka's quite supportive of Ravel and what she wants~ Kuroka will do her best when she needs too~ Haruki does know about Sona's dream, and fully supports it. We'll see how the fights go. Yeah, Yamato's pretty cool. The character I thought of, the Devil Fruit will definitely be strong. They'll be supporting him yeah. Yeah, he could do with Diodora. Thanks for the harem suggestions. Mittelt has her little story going on yeah. Yeah, seems Selene has.
KiritoAlpha; Ravel did yeah, she wont have to wait much longer.
Skull Flame; Vali seems to be becoming quite interested in the Pokemon franchise haha~ Glad you liked the Yasaka scene. Ravel and Kuroka are pretty good friends.
darling mxc; I quite like Future Diary so maybe one day if I think of a good enough idea then yeah.
Akeno fan; Yeah, we'll be getting to them pretty soon. Lets see if he can~ Yeah, there will be a lemon while in the Underworld. Thanks for the suggestions.
Guest; Not sure about the harem, and her lemon will be in the next few chapters.
With those reviews out of the way, it's time to start the chapter.
Meeting of the Youth Devils!
The next day, Haruki and Akeno laid in bed together, with a sleeping Serafall next to them. All three of them only had a sheet to hide away their naked forms from the world. Serafall's head laid on Haruki's chest peacefully, while Akeno cuddled up to the man that she loved.
"Ara, last night was fun wasn't it?"
Haruki gave a small smile towards the beautiful older woman.
"Yeah. Quite fun."
Akeno giggled as she rolled over towards him, being even closer than before.
Her hand smoothly found his own, and began playing with his fingers.
"Ufufu, Serafall-sama seems to be quite tired after last night."
"I think Sera-tan got quite a bit of good feelings from last night."
Akeno smirked at the words, as her face nuzzled against his own.
Smiling at the sensations of her nuzzling, Haruki thought about something he had been wanting to ask Akeno for a little while, and now they were relatively alone, with the exception of the sleeping Serafall, he thought now would be as good as anytime to ask about it.
"Say, I've got a question for you."
"I'll be there when you and Rias have sex yes."
Haruki raised an eyebrow.
Certainly it seemed Akeno had quite the determination.
"That's great, wasn't gonna ask that though."
Akeno tilted her head.
"What were you going to ask then?"
"About your Holy Lightning, how do you feel about it now?"
Akeno paused, and thought deeply.
All the times she had seen Haruki use it, and now, when she thought about it, and then she thought about Haruki, and how he used it fantastically so in order to protect those that he cared about. Something that she truly did admire and love about how he was able to overcome a good lot of things.
"Many times, I've thought about it. And each time I do, Baraqiel becomes less and less there within my mind, and all I can see is how you use it. Haruki, it's beautiful when you use it, I love the way it dances around you, how you fire it off at evil people and use it to protect people."
Haruki lightly smiled.
Seeing Akeno accepting it more and more was something that he had wished to see.
"That's really great. If you'd like, I could teach you some things and how to use it maybe?"
"Ufufufu, you teaching me? Ara, you are a rowdy boy~"
Haruki laughed at her words.
"Though can I ask, what made you come around?"
"Lots of little things. But a major thing is that you've always supported me, and cared for me. Plus, when we...our first time, that was when I felt so complete. And after seeing what happened with Baraqiel and...well, lets just say that you inspire me to want to become stronger. And using Holy Lightning...then I'd be able to be like you, wouldn't I? Strong and kind."
Haruki felt quite honoured that Akeno had said that.
It brought a lot of things inside of him to new heights.
Akeno's lips then found their way to Haruki's own as they caressed one another's lips gently.
Smiling into the kiss, Akeno gently ran her smooth fingers across his bare chest.
Responding to that, Haruki's hand placed itself on her gentle face, and soothingly ran his fingers across the soft face that she had.
However, as they did, Serafall's eyes opened, and met with Haruki's own.
"Aaah, are you having fun so early? If so, I wanna join in~"
Serafall cutely whined as she leaned up, pulling Haruki away from Akeno and kissed her Queen for herself.
Akeno adopted a sour face as Serafall's tongue and Haruki's wrestled with one another.
"Ufufu, it seems that your King is trying to take you away from me Haruki. Don't worry, I'll make sure that we have plenty of time together~"
Akeno gently pushed Serafall away, and returned to kissing Haruki.
Responding to that, Serafall laid her lips on his neck, and began laying kisses all over his neck.
For Haruki, it was looking to be quite the morning.
A small time later, Ravel walked around the Sitri Castle, going towards the sitting room, and saw that her King, Haruki was sat there, looking through some reports. Excitement came over her, also some embarrassment after what happened with Grayfia in the previous evening.
"Haruki-sama, I heard about what's going on with the Young Devils Tournament, we're also going to be apart of it?"
Haruki nodded.
"Yes, I was going to officially tell everyone this morning when everyone was up, but that's how it is. Because of our actions with Zephyrdor, and there not being a suitable replacement, so we've been asked. But Ravel-chan, what happened last night? You wished to speak to me about something? I went to find you, but you seem to have fallen asleep by the time that I got to you."
Ravel bit her lip.
She couldn't reveal what was going on.
"O-Oh, that's something we can talk about another time! But Haruki-sama, this means we'll be going into the Rating Games! I have heard that the tournament is going to have one on one matches, between peerages, but with some different rules possibly mixed into it, depending on the situation."
Haruki could always depend on Ravel when she was speaking.
"By the way Ravel-chan, with the Devils going to appear, I'm sure that we'll have some good competition."
"Are you thinking about Sairaorg-sama perhaps?"
Ravel could guess that's what Haruki wished to fight against.
And she was proven correct when he began nodding.
"Yeah, this would be a good chance. I'm sure that it would be good. He has gained some good members, and if some rumours are to be believed, there could be Sacred Gear wielders within his ranks."
Ravel looked stunned.
"Sacred Gear wielders? But aren't all of his peerage members Devils before being reincarnating?"
"That is true, but they could have human heritage, it can happen where even if they have human in them from a few generations back."
Ravel thought that made sense.
"If he does, then he could become a foe that might be able to trap us."
"Well, we've also got some hidden secrets, that they'll not expect."
Ravel smiled strongly.
"You're right Haruki-sama. They might be friends, but we also have things to prove during this time. We will show the Underworld our true strength. Which is why I think we should come up with training regimes for the others in the group. Those in particular that have different abilities that could be used in tandem with some others."
Haruki could see the passion in her eyes, and was thrilled to explore it all the more.
"You're right, we should maximize what we've got in our peerage. Speaking of, Le Fay-chan is also going to be coming to the Underworld soon, and I'll be meeting her Onii-sama. If all goes well, we can add Le Fay-chan to the group. Her skills in magic are going to be very useful for us and I'm sure you've got some thoughts on her?"
Ravel definitely did.
She could think of a good number of scenarios were Le Fay would be useful and how she'd use her in Rating Games, and other types of fights, support, attack and defence, Le Fay was skilled in all three so she was a good addition to the group.
Just then however, Haruki and Ravel's phones got an alert, so they both looked.
"Ravel-chan, Azazel-san and the Undine are officially together, according to Mittelt-san~ I knew they had great chemistry~"
Ravel placed a hand on her face, trying to not giggle.
"T-The picture Haruki-sama...have you seen it? It's...It's priceless."
Haruki looked at the picture, and saw Azazel and the Undine hugging one another, Azazel looked scared while the Undine looked like a maiden in love.
"I know...haha, I'm so happy for them~"
"Me too~ I hope they stay together forever~"
Haruki and Ravel burst into laughter as they fell back on their seats.
A little while later, Haruki found himself overlooking Xenovia and Irina, as they trained together. He could see the girls were taking in their surroundings, they weren't used to being in the Underworld. Even Asia, who was currently with some of the other girls, was having a curious time adjusting to what was going on.
"Irina, it seems that now we're in the Underworld, we should begin trying to be more lewd."
Irina's face turned bright red.
"W-What?"
"It's true, that's how it has to be."
Irina continued to blush, shaking side to side.
"E-Even then, what do we do?"
Xenovia glanced to Haruki, who waved.
She waved right back.
"We could have a fight, naked."
Irina did a spit take.
"W-Why would we do that?!"
Xenovia, in contrast to Irina, was easily becoming more and more erotic with each passing day, and she was thinking more about what would be the best way to seduce Haruki, and she thought together with Irina, she'd be able to accomplish her mission.
"Because our bodies would be on display. Haruki would want to see us like that. And then afterwards, we can find a place for us to bond even closer. Irina, I'm sure you've also thought about it, haven't you? Being intimate with Haruki, we have to strike now while the iron is hot. And by iron, I mean his-"
"Yes, I'm, I'm aware of what you mean!"
"Then we should do that, shouldn't we?"
Irina looked over to Haruki, seeing him smiling at them.
Her face flooded with redness as she thought about doing what Xenovia had said.
Even more than that, she was curious to know if that was what something Haruki would wish to see.
"Or, maybe...I have a better idea. Come with me Irina."
"E-Eh? What's going on all of a sudden?"
Irina didn't know what Xenovia had cooked up within her mind.
Whatever it was, Irina wasn't sure what was going to happen next.
But they then went towards Haruki, who watched them with curiosity.
"Hey girls, what are you doing?"
Xenovia showed a resilient expression as she stepped forward.
"Haruki, as my King, I believe that there are things that I can come to you and ask your opinion about, yes?"
"That's right. What is it that you need help with?"
Xenovia adopted a surprising redness on her face as she cupped her right breast.
"I have been thinking about how I can become even stronger lately, and there is certain motivations that I believe would be best. If I could have your assistance my King, then I believe that we should do a battle, and the loser has to..." Xenovia's face turned even more red as she fiddled with her fingers. "...the loser has to...no, it's more accurate to say that we should...we should have a naked bath!"
Irina wasn't expecting that.
It seemed Xenovia wished to say one thing, but ended up saying something else instead.
"You want to train, and the loser has to have a naked bath, with the winner? So no matter who wins, we'd end up having a bath together?"
Haruki summarized for himself mostly, but Xenovia seemed rather keen and inclined her neck in agreement.
"Yes, that's why. Shall you face Durandal and see which comes out on top?"
Haruki gave an intrigued stare.
He did wish to see what Xenovia could currently do as he'd know what best to give her in the training sense next time they had a chance to train, which Haruki knew would be soon since they'd be entering the Rating Game Tournament.
"Irina-chan, is this something you also wish to do?"
Irina looked between the two of them, her mind was becoming more naughty as time went on.
But she still held the shyness that she had from her upbringing.
She couldn't answer directly, but she did give a small bow of her head, indicating that was what she wished for.
So Haruki got into a battle stance, and readied his body as they did.
Irina held a normal katana, as Durandal was wielded by Xenovia.
"Lets go, Irina!"
"Yes!"
Using their impressive speeds, they charged from both the left and right hand side of Haruki. Bringing up Durandal, the holy aura surrounded the blade, before she swung it down for Haruki's form.
The holy wave was strong, but Haruki moved his hand forward, augmenting his striking power with Holy Lightning, he punched forward, and caused the holy wave to disappear in a burst of light that shot up high into the sky, and rained down like tiny droplets all around them.
Astonished by that, Xenovia twirled her blade around and came at him with a furious swinging of her blade for him. Coming in from the left and right hand side, Haruki watched for a moment, before he moved his Holy Lightning enhanced arm to intercept the strikes, while Irina came in from behind to try and slice his body.
But before she could, Haruki turned and grabbed her blade, and yanked it out of her hands, shocking her as he twirled the blade around, and aimed it for Irina's body, all the while still blocking the blade of Xenovia with his arm.
"M-My sword...I was sure to be as silent as I could..."
Irina was very impressed.
Even though she knew he was good.
To see that he could fight Xenovia, and still stop Irina while she was being as sneaky as she could just couldn't impress her more.
He then took his blade, and caused his Holy Lightning to surge through the blade, before he swung it for Xenovia. Tapping into the Rooks striking power, his swing became so strong that it caused the ground around them to uproot, as the pressure of the swing hitting her blade, sent Xenovia flying back through the air.
Xenovia twirled, and landed on the ground, seeing Haruki already on her form with the blade he got from Irina.
"Haaaaah!"
Xenovia moved her blade to intercept, crossing it over her body.
But even with that, the incredible strength behind the swing was more than enough to send her flying back once more. As she did, she saw from the swing itself, air pressure had built up, and came at her with the swing that had sent her flying back in the first place.
"Impressive, even when just knocking me back, he moved his blade so fast that the air around him fired off at me in a two second delay, giving off another form of attack after forcing me away. I can see why I did choose him as a King after all, he is very strong."
Xenovia, while thinking about it, blocked the air pressure strike. But saw that it was pushing against her blade, so she pushed her Rook strength, and swung her arms upwards, deflecting the blade of air, only to see that Haruki came at her with the blade in hand.
Gasping, as she wouldn't be able to dodge out of the way in time, Xenovia thought that she could be done for sure.
"I got you Xenovia!"
But as she did think it, Irina came running as fast as she could, producing another sword, she came at Haruki with a myriad of sword slashes. More precise than Xenovia's, but less strong, and faster than Xenovia's.
"Ara, look at this, it seems that you've stepped up a good deal there Irina-chan, I'm quite impressed."
Haruki blocked with his blade several times, before pushing against her, forcing her blade upwards.
As he did, he saw that Xenovia was coming in with her blade, filled with holy aura.
So he twirled the blade that he had and stabbed it into the ground.
As he did, he unleashed an incredible amount of Holy Lightning, blasting the area up and destroyed the surrounding structures, which also caused the two girls to be blasted away at high speeds, Irina and Xenovia both landing on the ground with an audible thudding sound.
Grimacing at the feeling, the pair looked up to see Haruki twirling the katana he had, before stabbing it near Irina's form.
"You both did rather well, I'm impressed by your speed Irina-chan and your strength Xenovia-san." Both girls lightly smiled. "Certainly, it seems that there could be some stuff that I could give advice on. So do you want to continue?"
Xenovia shook her head.
"No, I believe it would be best if we went for our bath now."
Xenovia's words carried a hint of desire in them.
Irina herself placed a hand on her flushing face.
"T-This is going to be serious...b-but we have to do it, don't we? Yes, lets do it together Haruki-kun!"
Haruki was quite happy to go for a bath with them, and get to know them even more than ever before.
Later on, he found himself in a large bath area, with steam erupting from the water. The waters were just the right temperature. Not too hot, yet weren't cold either. A good balance. And the feeling of the water on his skin was soothing.
As he had promised, he went into the bathing area completely nude.
He didn't mind doing this for his new Rook and Irina.
He waited for what seemed like minutes, but reality was only half a minute had gone by before the pair came in together.
Xenovia flaunted everything that she had on offer, he could see her large assets, as well as her lower body. To Haruki's eyes, Xenovia looked rather beautiful. Even more so when she didn't seem to mind allowing everything on her to be openly displayed.
Irina was being shy, as she moved in behind Xenovia. He could see though that despite being shy about it, Irina also was naked.
He thought she looked rather cute when being shy.
Xenovia moved into the water, as her large assets bounced each time she took a step forward.
Irina hopped into the water, burying her body in so deep that only her head remained, blowing out bubbles from her mouth in small intervals.
"My King, I have come as I had said, since I lost."
Xenovia's terms were rather adorable to Haruki since no matter what, this situation was going to happen.
Xenovia moved closer, but stopped when seeing Irina looking at the water rather than at any of them.
"What's wrong Irina? Are you being shy now?"
"W-Well, Haruki-kun is seeing me naked...and if that's how it is then..."
Xenovia raised an eyebrow.
"Of course he is, that's what it means when a relationship becomes more intimate. Don't you know, when sex occurs, we'll all have to be naked. Though we aren't having sex currently, we might be able to lead it to that outcome if we work together."
Haruki was definitely intrigued by how Xenovia thought.
Irina's shy eyes left the water, and stared at the upper half of Haruki's body.
Her red face became even redder as she felt her bottom lip trembling, but her body heating up as if she was reacting to the naked form before her.
"H-Haruki-kun! A-Are you naked too?!"
"Fufu, that's right. Isn't that the agreement?"
Irina nodded so shyly that she could give Asia a run for her money.
Xenovia's lips curled upwards as she moved her eyes towards Haruki's form, as she moved her body as well.
Coming closer and closer, her eyes met with his, as she took his hand and placed it on her right breast.
"Aah...a man's touch, it is so different from my own. It sends sparkling sensations through my breasts, my body heats up a good degree. Haruki, can you use that hand to even play with my breasts?"
Asking cutely of her King, he lightly smiled, and allowed Xenovia's back to fall against the right hand side of his chest. His hand cupped her breast, and began rotating clockwise, Xenovia's body trembled with excitement as she felt pleasure from that action alone.
"Do you like this Xenovia-san?"
Huskily asking directly into her ear, his hot breath tickled her.
"Y-Yes...this is...I never would have experienced this...in the Church..."
Irina usually would have yelled indecent or something akin to that.
But this time, she looked on as Xenovia was being fondled, and her mind went around with thoughts of her also being touched in such a manner.
However, due to the shyness she felt, she was crippled and wasn't able to move forward.
That was until Xenovia moved closer, and took her hand.
"X-Xenovia!"
Xenovia showed a cool smile, one that didn't relax Irina as it was the intended purpose.
"Don't worry, this feels really good. It will help prepare us Irina. We, and Asia have to become naturals with this. Asia has a head start on us, I have learned that she and Haruki do these things regularly, so we have to become just as natural at that as she is. Then we'll all come together, and enjoy our time together. We are the Church Trio after all."
Irina's blush magnified even more as she pulled closer.
Allowing her large assets to push against his chest, her innocently cute eyes went up towards him.
"Haruki-kun...even though I'm nervous...I'm glad it is you...that I can be like this with..."
Peering down at her, Irina's face curled up ever so slightly, then she allowed her lips to push against his own. Xenovia was taken aback by her sudden forwardness, and watched as Irina kissed Haruki deeply.
"So, Irina is this forward after all. I knew back at the Church you had a thing for him. Even now it is still going strong."
Xenovia mused aloud.
Irina heard it, and became even more shy as she continued kissing Haruki.
Xenovia, not wishing to be outdone, moved forward, and allowed her lips to push against the right hand side of his neck.
It was clear she didn't have much experience, but the kisses did feel good on his skin.
When Irina pulled back, Xenovia didn't waste the time, and pressed her lips against Haruki's own in a feverish kiss.
"X-Xenovia, you're so forward all of a sudden..."
Irina murmured, Xenovia didn't respond as she was busy kissing her King.
Irina then moved closer, and kissed the side of Haruki's face, causing his face to smile.
Then the three of them had a little relaxing time together in the bath before the main event that evening.
Due to this session, Xenovia thought it was a outstanding success, allowing both Irina and herself to become even more intimate with the man they shared their love with.
Eventually, Haruki and the others came together. Because it was an important day, each member of Haruki's group was dressed appropriately for the event that was going to take place. Each of the girls wore a special dress for the occasion, even Vali was wearing a dress.
Ravel's dress was purple, Kuroka wore a black dress with yellow outlining the right hand side, Asia wore a cute pink one with some roses on the lower part of the outfit, Xenovia wore a striking blue one, and then Koneko wore a cute white one that had a cats paw print on the right hand side, and finally Vali's dress was a rather beautiful silver one that had black trimmings at the bottom, Haruki thought that Ravel most likely sorted it out as she had an eye for fashionable items.
Haruki also wore an all black suit, something that Ravel made sure was rather appropriate.
Irina wasn't going to the meeting since she wasn't apart of anyone's peerage. Though she was going to be doing something else, so she stayed within the Sitri Castle.
They went by train and passed through several cities. It took them about three hours, and due to that, it seemed that some got some time to speak to one another.
But when arriving, they got off the train together while Ravel spoke up.
"This is the city of Lucifaad within the Maou's territory. It's the old capital of the Underworld where the previous Lucifer-sama lived."
Ravel explained to those that didn't know about it.
Vali's eyes looked over it.
"Your heritage Vali-chan, got any feelings for it?"
Haruki asked, Vali overlooked the city before shrugging.
"It's certainly interesting, I wouldn't mind going through it later on."
Haruki nodded, as they began walking through the subway. As they were, fans of theirs began to wave towards them, and each of them wave back. Even Vali began waving back.
"Haruki-sama! Kyaaa! He's so handsome!"
One girl called out, waving energetically.
"Ooh my, it's Ravel-chan, she's adorable!"
"Koneko-chan is fantastic!"
"Is that Kuroka-sama?! She is a beauty!"
"Wow, Vali-sama is quite the beauty herself!"
"Even the nun Asia-chan is cute!"
"And the warrior Xenovia, that's her huh? She is also cute!"
Members of the public cheered for them as Haruki's group continued on.
Asia moved closer to Haruki, and took a hold of his hand.
"Haruki-san, there's so many people here cheering for us, I didn't expect to be so famous."
"Yeah, it seems lately our popularity has risen."
Haruki replied with Asia smiling brightly.
"Asia, it seems that there's a lot of things we might not understand."
Xenovia began, as Kuroka continued.
"Don't worry, the fans are great~ Le Fay-chan also takes care of the more wild ones."
"She does? That's amazing! But I wonder where she is now...?"
Asia asked, Kuroka smirked.
"She's everywhere~"
Asia didn't know how to take that.
"W-What does that mean?"
Kuroka smirked.
She thought of a fun way to engage those around her.
"It means that she sees you when you're sleeping, she knows when you're awake. She knows if you've been bad or good, so be good, for goodness sake."
Asia looked stunned, while Koneko's harsh eyes went towards the laughing Kuroka.
"She's not Santa."
Koneko dead panned, Kuroka pulled out her tongue in a cute manner.
Seeing Asia become more perplexed, Haruki cleared it up.
"Le Fay-chan isn't here, and she's not Santa, but she is quite kind, and is going to becoming to the Underworld quite soon. So is her Onii-sama."
Asia was quite happy, as she did like Le Fay a good deal.
They then continued on, and walked for a few minutes. Going out of the subway, they made their way to a large building, the biggest within the city. It looked like a skyscraper.
So when they got there, glass doors appeared before them which soon opened by themselves, and with some staff stood there, greeted them with polite bows.
One member of staff moved closer, and bowed his body.
"Haruki-sama, and peerage. Please come inside."
Haruki bowed his neck.
"Thank you very much."
Leading the way inside, Haruki walked through a beautifully decorated entrance hall. So they moved towards the elevators that were nearby. Going inside of it, they all were able to fit due to how large the elevator actually was.
While Haruki was waiting patiently, Ravel coughed and got the others attention.
"Everyone, please listen to me. This is going to be Haruki-sama's debut, so we as his peerage are going to have to do our best. We have to show our best side today, and support Haruki-sama in everything that happens."
Hearing the seriousness in her voice, they all nodded.
Even Vali was nodding, showing that she was taking it just as serious.
"Plus, everyone that is within that hall, and in the tournament, is going to be our enemies. Rias-chan, Sona-chan and Sairaorg-kun, and even Seekvaira-san...and Diodora is also going to be there as well."
Haruki explained, with Kuroka looking annoyed at the mention of Diodora.
"That bastard is going to be there?"
Kuroka mused, Xenovia did a spit take.
"W-What did you call him?"
Kuroka showed a smirk.
"Because he's such a..." Kuroka paused, seeing Koneko shaking her head. "Anyway nyaaa, Diodora has been an annoying thorn in our side for a good long while. He's someone that's going to be annoying if he tries to do anything."
Vali huffed.
"If he does, can I blast him?"
"If he does start, then yes."
Haruki laughed out, with Ravel placing a hand to her face with a soft smile appearing.
"I'm sure Diodora isn't going to cause trouble. Even he wouldn't be foolish enough."
"You never know though Ravel-chan, he is notorious for making odd decisions."
Kuroka laughed out, as they finished their elevator ride.
As they did, they saw before them was a wide hall. Stepping out of the elevator, they were greeted by a member of staff.
"Haruki-sama, and peerage. Please follow me."
Bowing his head, he began walking away so Haruki and group followed after him.
Going down a passage to the right hand side, the narrow corridor was filled to the brim with decorations. It seemed that they had gone all out, Ravel was enthralled by everything that was around to the point that she was able to happily say that she was enjoying herself.
However, that soon came to a stop when they saw at the end of the corridor, a large door, and an equally tall young muscular man stood there.
Recognizing him, Haruki smirked.
"So there you are, Sairaorg-kun."
Sairaorg adopted a large smile on his face.
"When I heard the news I couldn't believe my ears. But here you are, it seems that you all are looking strong, and you've got some new additions to your peerage since the last time we had a chance to meet up."
Haruki nodded, and presented Asia, and Xenovia.
"My new Bishop, and my Rook. Both are quite new to the Devils world, but have great talent and unique strengths."
Asia bowed her head, as Xenovia slowly nodded.
"N-Nice to meet you."
"Yes, a pleasure."
Sairaorg began to chuckle.
"You just missed Rias, and her group. She came in a few minutes ago. It seems that her Pawn is rather wild asking if you were here yet."
"Is that so? Are we the last to arrive?"
"Yes, everyone else is inside. Including that of Diodora."
Haruki adopted a sour face.
Tension grew in the air for those that knew him.
Even Vali who rarely showed much annoyance, was doing it right now.
Haruki exhaled slowly as he began speaking.
"I half hoped I wouldn't have to see his face. But as expected, he'd be here. Not causing trouble, is he?"
"No, it seems he is keeping quiet for the moment. Which makes a rare change."
"So, what are you doing out here?"
At the question, Sairaorg laughed.
"I had to see if it was true if you'd be in the Rating Game Tournament. Expectedly, it seems that you are going to be, right?"
"Yes, with support from various families and of course my King as well. I am glad to be able to be given this chance."
Sairaorg nodded.
But then a wild smirk appeared on his face, and suddenly lunged for Haruki.
Asia and Xenovia gasped.
But Haruki managed to block the strike with a raised arm, the intense shockwave between their bodies managed to break some of the wall around them. Vali wasn't bothered by it, as she was used to such things, but some others like Asia and Xenovia were most definitely shocked by what had happened.
Pushing the man back, Haruki's hand charged with Holy Lightning while Sairaorg's body began forming a thick layer of Touki. Both seemed ready to have a brawl, something that was quite usual for them.
When Ravel stepped up.
"Haruki-sama, is now the best time for a fight?"
"Hehe, of course not, it was just a punch greeting~"
Ravel gave bemused eyes as both of the boys powers dropped around their forms.
"Anyway, you should come inside. The other Youth Devils are going to be meeting right now."
"Yes, lets go inside."
Sairaorg opened the door, and let the others inside.
As he did, Haruki saw Rias, and her group, Sona and her group, and Seekvaira and her group.
Then he saw the last one, Diodora, and his group.
Whenever he looked at them, he always felt like they seemed desperately sad.
Even if they were wearing smiles on their faces.
However, this time he noticed something odd.
Diodora's eyes were going towards Asia.
In the moment that Diodora caught Haruki looking at him, he moved his eyes away and looked in a different direction instead.
It seemed that Diodora didn't wish to make eye contact with him.
Shaking his head, Haruki saw Rias approaching.
"It seems that you've arrived, the meeting shall be starting soon enough."
"Sorry about that, got tied up with a few things. But we're here now, and Rias-chan, you're looking quite beautiful."
Rias' cheeks turned bright red, while Akeno glanced at Rias from behind her.
"Ara, complimenting Rias, Haruki?"
Akeno hid some jealous undertones within her voice, something Haruki easily caught and spoke with a gentle smile on his face.
"Onee-sama, you're also very beautiful."
Akeno giggled while placing a hand on her flushing cheek.
"Fufu, of course you're also looking rather handsome in that suit. Though I think I prefer a different look to you~"
Giving a suggestive tone, Haruki knew she meant him without any clothes on.
Not really understanding Akeno's words for the moment, Isane pushed forward.
"This place is huge, isn't it Haruki?! There's many tough people here, that Onee-san over there seems to be having a staring match with Kaichou. I don't know what's going on over there and with them though."
Haruki glanced, seeing Seekvaira and Sona's eyes locking together several times, sparks going between them.
As they did, Haruki saw the door opening and revealed Iryuka and Latia coming in together. Though they weren't participating in the official matches, Haruki remembered how they both had supported the idea of him going into the matches in their place.
"...Iryuka."
Koneko scowled, as Kuroka saw Rias glancing at Latia with lidded eyes.
"It seems that Latia has also arrived. Why has she come here?"
"Ara, are you jealous Rias?"
Rias turned bright red at the accusation of Akeno.
"N-No! It isn't like that!"
Rias denied it but Akeno could see that she was lying.
"Rias, you're so adorable when you lie about such things."
"W-Who's lying Akeno?"
Akeno giggled even more, showcasing some sadistic tones to her voice as she spoke next.
"Ara ara, when it is time, Haruki and I will have to punish your naughty behaviour~"
Akeno's words, along with the sultry look from Haruki, caused Rias' face to flood with redness like no other.
The thought of them being together, she couldn't comprehend it and wasn't sure what she was going to do about it.
Just as Rias mulled it over within her mind, Latia and Iryuka came over.
Iryuka looked towards Ravel and lightly smiled.
"Ravel. It has been a good while."
"Aah yes, Iryuka-sama, how have you been?"
"I've been dealing with the boiling rage I feel due to Zephyrdor and his actions." Despite saying that, Iryuka didn't seem to have anger, and more of a stoic look. "Apart from that, I am very okay thank you for asking Ravel."
"Boiling rage, I can understand that completely. Well, thank you for supporting my King and us in becoming a group within the tournament."
Iryuka waved her hand.
Iryuka's eyes went towards Haruki, and bowed.
"Thank you for going in my place. I was going to, but I haven't yet reached a place my peerage would be able to be completed and my current group couldn't compete against these individuals, and since Diodora is filling in for Astaroth, Latia said that she was going to support you."
Isane blinked.
She was confused that Latia, an Astaroth, was going to be going against her own flesh and blood in that of Diodora.
However, it was cleared up as Akeno whispered to her.
"Even though they are blood related, Diodora and Latia-san have never been able to get along. Because of his more...cruel ways, and she is quite like Buchou, they never saw eye to eye, and as a result, they have a very non existent relationship."
Isane slowly nodded as Latia cupped hands with Haruki.
As she did, Rias' eyes turned on their connected hands, squinting ever so slightly, something Akeno caught and thought it was rather amusing.
"I as well, will give my support to you."
Rias looked on and breathed through her nose.
"Yes, thank you very much Latia-san, Iryuka-san. I'll do my best for you all."
While saying it, Sona walked over to them.
She looked back to Seekvaira who knitted her brows together.
"Haruki-kun, and everyone. It seems that we'll be starting soon." Sona looked back to Seekvaira who raised an eyebrow. "It seems that everyone important is here."
"Yes, we all are, aren't we Sona-san?"
Seekvaira's cold gaze caused everyone to pull back as Sona sharpened her gaze.
"Of course... Of course it is like that. You also have attended."
"I have, it is lovely to see you."
"You as well, Seekvaira-san."
Seekvaira and Sona gave passive aggressive looks to one another, while Rias saw that Latia was still holding onto Haruki's hand, so she casually grabbed his other one, and locked eyes with Latia who stared back hard.
"Something wrong Rias-san?"
Latia asked, Rias just shook her head without answering.
As she did, Koneko saw Iryuka moving closer to Haruki, so she stood between them.
"No."
Iryuka folded her arms, and had a stare contest with her.
Soon, they all went around a large table together. Haruki, Rias, Sona, Sairaorg, Diodora and Seekvaira all sat together. Iryuka, Ravel and Latia also sat at the table, but stayed together while the rest of them were a small distance apart.
"I am Seekvaira Agares. The next head of the Agares family, rank Archduke."
Seekvaira greeted as Sona stared at her, something Seekvaira noticed.
So, the young woman stared right back at Sona, Seekvaira folded her arms.
Rias, feeling the tension in the air, exhaled slowly.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Rias Gremory, the next head of the Gremory family."
"My name is Sona Sitri, the next head of the Sitri family."
Sona greeted, this time Seekvaira simply stared hard at Sona.
Sona narrowed her brows at the young woman who gave a stare back.
"I'm Sairaorg Bael, I'm the next head of the Bael family, rank Great King."
Sairaorg greeted with an air of majestic behind his tone.
Then Diodora, taking a sip of tea, began speaking up.
"I'm Diodora Astaroth, the next head of the Astaroth family. Let us all get along."
Though his voice was gentle, Diodora's words were like daggers to Latia.
She couldn't believe him at all.
Haruki then exhaled.
"My name is Haruki Himejima, and I'll be filling in for Iryuka-san, I suppose you could call me a Champion of hers." Vali held back a small laugh when he said that while Koneko's eyes went towards Iryuka's own and gave a hard stare who gave one right back. "Please take care of me everyone."
Diodora looked towards Haruki.
Though he wore a sweet smile, his eyes held nothing like sweetness there.
"Is that allowed?"
"It is, why else would I be sat here?"
Haruki replied to Diodora, who continued offering a sweet smile.
"No reason, I was just curious. Well, usually this is reserved for Pure Blooded Devils."
Tension laced the air.
It was clear that Diodora was being quite passive aggressive.
But Haruki didn't really pay him any attention and brushed off his words.
"Perhaps, but times do change Diodora. You wouldn't be opposed to that? Or, it is because you were friends with Zephyrdor and I was the one that stopped his plans?"
Answering him back, Diodora could see Haruki was waiting for him to make a slip.
His face turning into a sour one.
Or him slipping up some other way.
So he kept a composed expression on his face.
"Zephyrdor was a man that I did have a relationship with. But he fell from grace, so to speak. His actions couldn't be condoned. He had to be stopped, so I don't have any hard feelings towards you for doing what needed to be done. And I heard you even stopped two members of the Old Satan Faction."
"Actually, my Queen took one, and I took the other."
"I see, then congratulations. You've done so much for the Underworld, I'm sure your King would be very proud."
Though neither were saying it.
Clear hostility was between them.
Even someone that didn't know much about it like Isane, and Saji could feel it heavy in the air.
Even more than that, Isane looked around and saw that each peerage of the groups looked rather strong. She wondered if she'd be able to fight them all off. Vali certainly was someone that was going to be challenging.
With Haruki being an unknown factor, a wildcard as it was, everyone of the Pure Devil lead groups weren't sure what was going to happen if they had a fight. With the Hakuryuukou and Absolute Demise on one peerage, and the other members that each brought something strong to the group, they were going to have a tough time.
Though Sairaorg was rather pleased to see Haruki there.
Even Sona and Rias were rather happy to see Haruki in the Rating Game Tournament.
Though even they were questioning on how to fight and beat such foes.
They knew right now they'd not stand a chance, though Rias had Akeno, and she thought at least Haruki would make sure Akeno was fine, so she'd have that...but, she still wasn't entirely sure what was going to happen next.
As they spoke, the door to the far left opened up.
Stepping inside was an elderly man who looked rather kind.
"Sorry for making you all wait for so long. Everyone is waiting."
Finally, it was starting.
They all stood, and walked through the door.
Going into the room, there was a unique atmosphere going on. Haruki could feel the tension between some Devils up high. He saw the Old Devils, people that had been causing him trouble for as long as he had been a Devil.
Because they were sat up high on balconies, Haruki didn't pay them any attention, and continued on.
His eyes caught the sight of his King, who waved energetically towards him.
"Haru-chan! Hey! Over here!"
Haruki glanced up, seeing Serafall winking in a slightly seductive manner.
She, and the other Maou's were sat above the Old Devils, which Haruki found quite amusing to say the least. He was even surprised Serafall wasn't wearing her usual Magical Girl outfit, though he did quite understand why she didn't have it on.
Each group stood in a line.
Iryuka and Latia walked off and sat up with some of the Old Devils, looking down with intrigue.
Haruki's group stood between Sona and Rias' own.
Isane felt out of place, Asia also felt unsure of what to do, though Asia could see that Haruki was stood perfectly normal, even in an intense situation like this, it was quite clear that Haruki didn't seem to be ruffled at all.
Then, when they all were ready, they stood forward together. Only the King's of the group however.
"Good, you have gathered. In order to check the faces of you all, who will carry the burden of the next generation, you have been gathered here. This is also a meeting that is performed over a regular cycle, so that we can ascertain the young Devils."
An elderly male Devil spoke with a solemn voice while clasping his hands together.
Though when his eyes glanced at Haruki, it was full of disdain.
It was clear he, and some of the Old Devils weren't excited for Haruki to be there.
Though to his surprise some seemed to be rather accepting.
It was honestly surprising to the point Haruki wasn't sure on how to respond to them.
Sirzechs, once seeing that everyone was ready and focused, began speaking.
"You six are all Devils of the next generation that have pedigree and true ability that no objection can be raised against. That's why, I want you to compete together before your debuts and increase your power in this way."
"Will we also eventually be sent out in the battle against the Khaos Brigade?"
Haruki could see why Sairaorg would ask that.
Even he had fought them multiple times before, though he could see that Sirzechs didn't have an assured answer.
"I don't want to send out young Devils if possible."
Sairaorg raised an eyebrow at the answer he received.
"Why? Even if we're young, we carry part of the responsibility of Devils. If we just receive kindness from our predecessors even at this age and nothing further is done-"
"Sairaorg, I acknowledge your bravery. However, you're reckless. Above all, I'd like to avoid sending you all, who are still in the midst of growing, to the battlefield. Besides, it would be too great a loss if we lost the Devils of the next generation. I want you to understand. You are all more of a treasure to us than you think. That's why I want you to experience important things step by step and grow."
Sairaorg understood it, though Haruki was sure that he'd probably have to get involved, and if he was honest, he'd want to get involved and fight. Vali definitely would do, and Sairaorg was the same, Sirzechs was merely looking out for their safety, even if he also understood that fighting with them could be inevitable due to the power that they possessed.
After that, they began speaking about the upcoming games, and other things such as politics.
Then, after all that happened, Sirzechs exhaled slowly.
"Now then, I apologise for keeping you with this long talk. Well, we all see our dreams and hopes in you young ones. I want you to understand at least that. You are the treasures of the underworld. To finish things, will you now let us hear your respective future goals?"
The first to respond to Sirzechs; request was Sairaorg.
"My dream is to become Maou."
Haruki knew that was his dream.
He'd become one, if he could have a harem.
Otherwise he knew it wasn't going to happen.
[Hoh…]
But as expected, the higher-ups also let out breaths of wonder at Sairaorg's goal, which he had declared upfront without hesitation.
"It's unprecedented for a Devil from the Great King family to leave it."
A male Devil higher-up said this.
"When the people of the Underworld feel that there's no choice but for me to become Maou, I will become one."
Haruki was glad that Sairaorg didn't give up in his words, and said them with clarity.
Rias then bowed as she spoke up.
"My goal for the near future is to live as the next Gremory head, and to win in each Rating Game battle."
Haruki thought that she might say something like that and could see that Rias was saying it from her heart.
After that the other young people also stated their dreams, their goals, and then it came to Haruki's dream.
"My goal is to become the Rating Game Champion, and like with the Three Factions, having found peace, I'd like to help other races as well."
Most were stunned…
Rather, it was the Old Devils that were stunned.
"You, become Rating Game Champion?"
One of them said in doubt.
"Yes, that's correct."
Replying in a cool manner, and without hesitation, full of confidence and strength, the Devils were rather taken aback.
Though some like Serafall was more excited to see than ever what was going to happen next.
After that, no one said anything.
They clearly didn't believe Haruki's goals could come true, as they didn't like he wasn't a Pure Blood to begin with. But it didn't matter what they thought to Haruki, he was more ready to do whatever it was needed to do for him to achieve his goals.
Then, finally it was Sona's time to speak, so Sona spoke as clearly and in control as she could do, wanting to convey exactly what she wished for and how she felt about it to those she knew most likely would be against such a thing.
"I wish to build a school for the Rating Games in the Underworld."
As expected with the goals that didn't align with their train of thought, the Old Devils scrunched their brows together in an unhappy manner.
"If it's learning about Rating Games, isn't there already one for that?"
Though it sounded like it was them checking up on what Sona said, and reminding her, Sona remained steadfast in her beliefs and spoke in a strong manner that held nothing but her ideals.
"That is just a school where only High Class Devils and Devils of privileged rank are accepted. The school that I want to build is one where Low Class Devils and Reincarnated Devils can also attend without any distinction. A school where not only they learn about Rating Games, but also have their unique talents be given a chance to be explored."
Haruki thought that it was a good dream, but he also knew that the Old Devils wouldn't accept it.
[Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!]
Though when they laughed, Haruki thought that was very disrespectful, not only to Sona, but those of lower rank not being able to achieve a better status, and it was thanks to these people that they weren't ever given a chance.
Serafall's enraged eyes went towards the Old Devils, so Haruki sent his ice doll towards her secretly.
"That's impossible!"
"This is just brilliant!"
"I see! So you're a little girl who dreams!"
"It's good to be young! However, for the next head of the Sitri family to state such a dream, I have to say thank goodness that it was here at this place of introduction before your debut."
Serafall's eyes shot daggers at them, she went to go and teach them a lesson.
But as she opened her mouth, Absolute Demise suddenly appeared behind her, and covered her mouth so she couldn't yell anything out.
Sona murmured "Thank you Haruki-kun." as she watched the Old Devils continued laughing.
"I'm serious."
Serafall tried to say something, but Absolute Demise stopped her. Though, it was clear from her eyes, that Serafall was very impressed with what Sona had said.
Serafall also nodded strongly in agreement. She almost seemed to be saying "Well said!" as with her position as Maou, she couldn't support her younger sister, but even so she seemed worried about her.
A higher up spoke with cool headed words.
"Sona Sitri-dono. Low Class Devils and Reincarnated Devils merely work for their High Class Devil masters and are only selected for their talent. Wouldn't building such a training institution make the old families, who value tradition and pride, lose face? No matter how much people say that the world of Devils has entered a period of change, change can be both good and bad. Something like teaching mere Low Class Devils really is nothing of your concern…"
As the man spoke, Haruki noticed that Saji and Sona's peerage weren't pleased.
They looked like they wished to say something.
Haruki saw that Sona looked annoyed with the way that they are speaking about her dream.
Laughing at Sona's dream, Haruki could see Serafall was getting agitated.
If he was honest with himself, he also was becoming agitated by it as well.
So much so that he began speaking.
"If what you said was true, why is it that people like Tannin-san and Rudiger-san are able to do so well in Rating Games?"
The laughter stopped, and a more scrutinizing gaze fell upon Haruki.
"What did you say young man?"
Haruki thought about how to carefully choose his words, so he wasn't being aggravating, yet conveyed what he felt deep inside of him.
"With no disrespect intended, what Sona-san is saying is that there are others that deserve to be taught. You said yourself that High Class Devils search for talent, how do you know where talent can be if you don't give Low Class and Reincarnated Devils chances? If you don't agree with her, then that's your position. But this is something she believes in, no matter how much you look down on it, laughing in her face at a dream she was brave enough to state to you all despite knowing the backlash she received, is rather deplorable. Sona-san respects the Devils society, but she's also open to change. Sometimes talent has to be brought out, it isn't always on full display, what Sona-san is proposing is helping those talents flourish with those that might not ever get looked at. People laughed at Ajuka-sama's Evil Pieces when they first were introduced and thought that it was a joke, now most Devils use them, including that of the current Maou. Sona-sans school could be the same."
At his words, the Old Devils were stunned to silence.
They didn't know what to say, and if they did say anything, they weren't sure how to counter his arguments for the simple fact was, they didn't know how Sona's Rating Game school truly would be, if it would be a game changer like Ajuka's Evil Pieces or not, and because of that, they knew they couldn't say anything to Haruki either for technically he hadn't been rude to them, only stating facts and showed logic in his words.
Sona looked towards Haruki, surprise coming over her.
In Sona's eyes, he was speaking sense, and wasn't showing aggression, he wasn't even telling them what to believe in, only that they shouldn't laugh off someone else's dreams due to them not agreeing with her, and even providing examples to back up what he said, all in all, Sona thought that his words were very valid, and made complete sense.
Sona felt a small tinge of redness grow on her face, while Serafall showed some happy tears that began to threaten to run down her face.
Standing up for her sister, she was very pleased he did that.
Sirzechs didn't show it, but he also was very pleased Haruki said something like that, and could see that the Old Devils were silenced by his words, and saw that even some were looking on in deep thought.
Sirzechs inhaled deeply, glancing at Haruki who gave a gentle smile, so Sirzechs gave one right back as he spoke.
"Very well said Haruki-kun, I also think we should wait and see how Sona-sans dreams go, perhaps it will be a good change."
Sona looked at Sirzechs who nodded, so she nodded back, and glanced at Haruki, a small smile slowly coming to her lips.
Sirzechs then continued on.
"Then, let's play the games, between these young people. Rias, Sona, would you not like to fight each other?"
"…"
"…"
Rias and Sona stared at each other, and blinked in surprise.
Without minding them, Sirzechs continued.
"Originally, it was planned for Rias' game to take place in a few days. Azazel has gathered Rating Game fans from each of the powers, also under the pretext of watching the games of the young people before their debuts. That's why it's fine like this. Let's hold the game with Rias and Sona."
Rias let out a breath, and then showed a defiant smile to Sona.
Sona also started to show a scornful smile.
"It may not be an official one, but it feels like fate to me that you would be my first Rating Game opponent, Rias."
"Now that we're competing with each other, I won't lose, Sona."
Haruki looked between them, and thought that it would be rather interesting to see them going up against one another. Even Serafall was happy, she didn't want Haruki to have to fight off against him or anything like that.
"And the next match, it will be between Haruki and Sairaorg."
At Sirzechs words...the room went fully silent.
Haruki and Sairaorg, the strongest youths in the tournament would be fighting first.
It was so unexpected that most stopped.
Haruki gave Sairaorg a bright smile.
Sairaorg returned it, and tightened his fist.
"So, it has come to a battle between us already Sairaorg?"
"Yes, I thought we'd be at the end. But at the beginning works with me. I wont lose to you Haruki. Your Longinus might be powerful, but I as well have been able to achieve a great level of power. For the so called next Hero of the Underworld, I'll shatter your ice with my fierce fists."
Haruki didn't know he had been called a Hero of the Underworld, and wondered if it was for what happened during the Factions Meeting, among other things he had done.
Shrugging it off, he saw the fierceness in Sairaorg's eyes.
He wouldn't accept anything other than his all, and he wasn't going to back down now.
"Fufu, you're saying some dangerous things, I also have to give it my all for my peerage, for those supporting me like Latia-san and Iryuka-san who have placed trust in me to compete on their behalf and of course my King. Sairaorg, I wouldn't expect anything other than your all during our fight, do not hold back."
Haruki's words brought a smirk to Sairaorg's lips.
Finally, a clash between rivals was going to be happening.
A match, they both had desired for a good long time now.
End chapter!
So this chapter focused on the meeting of the youth Devils. Diodora trying to not show his concerns. And then they also stated their dreams, with Rias and Sairaorg, Haruki stating some of his goals, and Sona doing hers, and Haruki speaking up for her in a calm manner and displaying his thoughts.
Also, Irina and Xenovia are getting in sometime with Haruki, even Akeno and Haruki shared a small moment at the beginning of the chapter. And Ravel's also trying her best for the group, and keeping everyone focused on the tasks before them.
And now, it seems that Haruki's first opponent is going to be Sairaorg!
Well, until next time, thanks for reading!
Haruki's peerage
Queen; Vali.
Rooks; Koneko, Xenovia.
Bishops; Ravel, Asia.
Knights; Lint, Meredith.
Pawns; Elmenhilde (two pieces), Kuroka (three pieces), Le Fay (three pieces).
Haruki; Serafall, Sona, Ravel, Koneko, Kuroka, Gabriel, Akeno, Vali (fem), Isane, Xenovia, Rias, Irina, Asia, Rossweisse, Le Fay, Meredith, Elmenhilde, Lint, Ophis, Yasaka, Kunou,