Chapter Twenty-Two
He felt the yank, leaning into the trap summoning instead of fighting against it, and in the next instant found himself in the center of a wedding party apparently in full swing. Daichi's eyes roamed over the crowd as they chattered and stared right back at him. His eyes caught Sirzechs in one of the raised box seats of the ballroom and sinisterly smirked, wiggling his fingers in a mocking wave. If the satan's wide-eyed expression of surprise and sudden furious whispering to his wife dutifully stationed at his side was any indication, this was a rather unpleasant and unexpected situation, for him at least. Daichi's smirk shifted into a malicious grin as he surveyed the wedding party, the raised table drawing attention as Riser made to give a speech.
"Everyone, I present to you tonight's entertainment! A mongrel animal who insulted the great name of Phenex and in desperate need of punishment! It is somewhat of an older tradition, but on this most auspicious evening, I, Riser Phenex, will host a trial by combat! I and my peerage will demonstrate the might of my family, strength that will only grow with the union with my lovely bride!"
Daichi's senjutsu was already spread throughout the entirety of the room, with only Sirzechs apparently aware of what was occurring as he tensely glanced around at the streamers of natural energy originating from the kitsune.
"Sirzechs Lucifer." Daichi's voice rang out over the casual chatter that had sprung up from the watching crowd. "It's convenient for you to be here, it will expediate this process. Are the yokai of Japan to take this abduction as an act of war?"
Sirzechs jerked almost as if he had been sucker punched.
"No! Absolutely not!"
Daichi nodded.
"Ah, so it's a personal vendetta between Riser and myself, correct? Meaning there will be no enmity between factions whomever the victor and loser of this trial turns out to be. Am I understanding this accurately?"
Sirzechs grimaced as Daichi walked him into a corner. Agreeing gave Daichi carte blanche to do whatever he pleased to a scion of a major devil family, but disagreeing pit the devils against the yokai. Nevertheless, he nodded in acknowledgement. One idiotic young devil was nothing compared to a war that nobody wanted. Riser still managed to fail to understand the consequences of his actions as he demonstrated by opening his mouth, digging his grave further with every word.
"Huh? What abduction? You were brought here to answer for crimes against devil nobility you imbecile!"
Daichi somehow managed to look down his nose at his prey despite being at a lower elevation.
"The abduction of what is essentially yokai royalty, fool. I am not a devil and therefore cannot be tried for imaginary crimes against you without first being extradited by my own faction to yours. Regardless of the fact that if I had in fact been extradited and handed over, you would not be the presiding judge, jury, or executioner. The only reason I am indulging this… farce of a situation, is because this trial by combat you've requested gives me a free pass to take that pride of yours and bend it over my knee and give it a good spanking like the spoiled child you are."
Issei chose that moment to burst into the ballroom with a shout.
"Pres!"
Though he quickly realized something was off when Daichi glanced at him from the center of the room. Daichi's voice rang out over the sudden deafening silence.
"Yo, pervert. I was wondering when you'd show up."
Issei looked around in confusion, spotting a worried Rias next to an apoplectic Riser at the wedding table.
"Relax, pervert. Take a load off. I just got challenged to a death match with the groom. When I win, I get all his stuff, it's going to be great! Take a seat and watch the festivities, maybe you'll learn a thing or two about how to crush your enemies." Daichi casually waved him off towards the Gremory party before returning his attention to Riser who was seething at the interruption.
"Let's get this started, chicken boy. I have a date with a big titty nine tails later and I don't want to be late. Lucifer, do us a solid and put up a battle barrier, would you? I would hate to destroy such a lovely home."
Sirzechs grimaced but waved his hand, a barrier snapping into existence around the mansion, keeping the wedding party outside the dimensional bubble where they could watch while keeping Daichi and Riser within.
"The challenge has been made and accepted. In accordance with tradition, I, Lucifer, will oversee and guarantee the outcome of this trial."
Daichi turned his attention back to his prey, heat visibly distorting the air around Riser from his anger. The fight was already over though.
The moment the barrier had snapped into place, Daichi's senjutsu sank into Riser, infecting him and turning the knockoff phoenix into the yako's new toy. Daichi strolled over in plain view of everyone watching the projection screens and sat in one of the replicated chairs, reclining slightly with a yawn. Chatter broke out to the tune of disrespect, confusion, and ridicule, but even if Daichi had been aware of the talk he wouldn't have had a shit to give about the opinions of the weak.
He was too busy watching the show of Riser making an utter fool of himself as he fought an invisible enemy, or at least an invisible enemy to the wedding. Daichi could see his illusion as it attacked and dodged, 'taking' blows and occasionally landing a 'hit' against Riser who began smugly gloating as he 'kicked' Daichi around. Of course, to everyone else it just looked like Daichi was relaxing while Riser ran around punching and attacking the air while monologuing. Lord Phenex could be seen with his forehead resting in his hand, eyes shrouded, while Lady Phenex had a worried frown adorning her pretty face.
Daichi allowed Riser to make enough of a fool of himself, hanging any reputation the devil may have had among his peers, until he finally got bored of listening to Riser gloat about how great he is. It had been maybe a full ten minutes when Daichi finally stood up, stretching his arms over his head and letting his back pop, his six tails manifesting as they puffed out and strained before relaxing and waving in their typical fashion behind him. Lady Phenex caught her youngest daughter blushing lightly from the corner of her eye as soon as Daichi's tails manifested, noting the reaction but slightly more worried about her youngest son at the moment than the opportunity to tease her daughter.
"Right, let's go ahead and get this over with." Daichi muttered, though it was broadcast throughout the entire room. Riser's voice suddenly ceased, his body freezing in place mid stomp where he believed he was crushing Daichi into the floor. Daichi allowed the illusion to dissipate, the image of his fake body slowly collapsing before Riser's now wide eyes.
"Alright bird brain," Daichi began, strolling in front of the restrained devil. "Here's the deal, you can choose to yield now, and I won't hurt you, or you can choose to not yield, and I will make you suffer until I break you."
Riser's eyes answered for him, full of disdain and contempt even as Daichi held him at his mercy. Daichi sighed out of relief.
"Perfect, I was hoping I'd get the chance to break that pride of yours. Don't worry, I won't kill you. Unlike your dumbass self, I don't feel the need to alienate possible allies simply by existing. You'll live, but you might wish you hadn't." Daichi's senjutsu tweaked Riser's lifeforce and his nerve endings lit up like a Christmas tree. Every conceivable part of Riser's body flared in pain. If Daichi had allowed him to move, Riser would have been arched back, thrashing on the ground as he shredded his vocal cords as he screamed in agony. Daichi only held him in that state for a few seconds, enough for the devil to taste the flavor of the torture he could expect if he didn't let go of his pride.
"Yield."
Daichi allowed Riser to speak.
"I will pull your entrails out and string you up -"
Daichi did release his body from its restraints this time as the devil's nerve endings screamed right alongside his voice. Daichi held it for half a minute this time, allowing Riser to thrash around. Riser's eyes rolled back, and his mouth foamed as his body flexed and spasmed.
Daichi crouched down next to Riser's head once he flipped the pain off, staring down at him as the Phenex panted from exertion.
"I may not be willing to kill you and alienate your family, but I sure as hell have no problems inflicting pain on you until I get what I want." Daichi stared down, eyes cold and indifferent. "Yield."
"I…" Riser coughed as his regeneration kicked in. "I am a Phenex. I cannot die! And I will kill you!"
Daichi glanced up at one of the monitoring spells.
"I offered mercy. My patience and grace are limited. He brings this on himself."
The only sound that could be heard over the next several minutes was the screeching of the damned as Riser was forced to endure every second of his magically induced torture. His family's gift of the phoenix regeneration became a curse, refusing to allow his mind to become damaged enough to force him into unconsciousness.
"I yield!" Riser forced out minutes later, sobbing as Daichi finally released him. "I yield, please… no more…"
Sirzechs' voice resounded throughout the dimensional bubble.
"Riser Phenex has yielded in this trial by combat to Daichi Okami." The bubble shattered, allowing the pair to witness the expressions of their audience, though Riser was too busy shivering in phantom pain on the ground to truly register much else. Lord and Lady Phenex were by their son's side in the next instant, teleporting him away to their servants who were already standing by to sedate and dose him with Phoenix Tears.
Daichi could tell Lord Phenex was restraining himself from lashing out in anger, but he had done nothing wrong so the man had nothing to which he could find fault. His wife spoke for them both as she addressed him.
"Thank you for your mercy. You'll have to forgive us that we take our leave so soon. Objectively, we know you were the aggrieved party, but as parents it is hard to witness the torture and disgrace of one of your children. You will receive your entitled winnings within a week. Please excuse us, we must see to our son." The pair vanished in a flair of fire, allowing Sirzechs to somberly pick up where they left off.
"Due to the nature of this event, this celebration will end here. I must extend my apologies from both the Phenex and Gremory families for cutting the festivities so short." Sirzechs disappeared and reappeared next to his little sister who looked remarkably worried, glancing between her brother and Daichi, who was casually making his way towards the still ajar doors leading out to the grounds of the Phenex estate. Sirzechs flickered away and reappeared in stride with Daichi as he made his exit.
"Daichi, we will need to have a conversation soon."
Daichi raised one of his hands from where they were resting behind his head and gave a small wave of acknowledgement.
"Got it, Luci. I'll call you once I'm done in the Underworld."
Sirzechs raised an eyebrow.
"Done? Doing what? You aren't leaving?"
Daichi shot Sirzechs a predatory grin.
"Oh, no, Sirzechs. I have some business I've been itching to complete down here. Since Riser was so kind as to extend an express invitation, I figured I could knock out two birds with one stone, as they say."
"Why do I get the feeling you're about to make a mess of paperwork for me…" Sirzechs muttered.
"Because I am, Luci. Now go back and comfort your sister. You need some plausible deniability and I need to get moving."
Sirzechs frowned but nodded, vanishing back towards Rias. Daichi chuckled to himself, his form expanding up, and up, and up, until a towering black fox stood in the Phenex courtyard, his laughter becoming deeper and deeper the larger his form grew, rumbling in his chest until his form blurred, a black streak was the only visible indication he was passing by to those at the low ultimate power level.
Years of planning for this one moment to come to fruition. It was time. Daichi sped across the Underworld, having long since memorized the territory map of the various noble devil families and the locations of their main estates. It was only a few short hours of bounding across the land to reach just outside the Naberius family's territory where Daichi paused, reverting to his humanoid form where he pulled a talisman from his pocket. His magic filtered through the pattern and it flared to life.
"Daichi? Is that you?" Yasaka's worried voice filtered through the magic circle hovering over the paper.
"Yes. Are you ready?"
"We are. Plant the beacon talismans and power them up. I'll open and maintain the portal. The East and North are both here with their forces, they'll be leading the charge per the plan." Daichi nodded to himself
"Excellent. Planting the beacons now."
A small stack of paper flew from within his clothing, spreading out in a large circle on the ground of the field. Daichi pushed his magic through the yojutsu talismans causing small circles to light up above all of them before they chained together and merged into one much larger circle centered between them. Yasaka's voice came from the floating communication talisman next to him.
"Coordinates received. Connection established. Portal opening."
True to her word, a massive siege portal burst into existence before him. The North and East leaders were the first to step through, surveying the area as they took up positions beside Daichi, their troops following platoon by platoon as they filtered through the portal, organizing themselves throughout the field Daichi had chosen.
"Good work, kid." Shuten Doji, the great northern oni, was the first to speak. He was a towering mass of red muscle, though if anyone believed he was exclusively a melee combatant they would be sorely disappointed when they ended up dead. He was a sinister yojutsu practioner, one of the greatest in the world, and loved his people. It was the reason he was taking the discovery of the nekoshou assassinations as a personal affront and had volunteered to lead the charge in balancing the karmic ties between the yokai and Naberius.
Emperor Sutoku, the great eastern daitengu maintained his silence, but Daichi's senjutsu could feel the barely restrained fury and bloodlust lurking beneath the surface. Yasaka and Sutoku were known to regularly have conflicts of interest in the way they chose to operate their territories, but nobody could say either of them didn't care for their subjects. While Yasaka was ever the diplomat, Sutoku was the iron fist, but despite their differences of opinion on many subjects, they could cooperate when the obvious greater good of the yokai was at stake. It just so happened that the iron fist was the necessary approach this time, and Yasaka was not so prideful as to accede and support her fellow leaders when needed.
A nekoshou materialized, kneeling before the three of them.
"My prince, the Shadow Corps are present. Corps one is scouting the surroundings, Corps Two is scouting ahead into Naberius territory, with Corps Three on standby."
Daichi nodded.
"Good work Mina. Corps Three is on shadow defense of the main force. Corps Two will run senjutsu sabotage on enemy forces upon engagement while Corps One will run spatial lock interference. Put the lock up three minutes after our initial engagement. That should be long enough to trap them in and keep extras out. Keep our people alive, Mina, no unnecessary sacrifice. You'll have your revenge today."
"Understood, Dark Prince."
The nekoshou faded away with the completion of her instructions. Shuten Doji grunted while Emperor Sutoku hummed, both in acknowledgement.
"Let's get this war over with. It's time to finally put the screws to these devil fucks." Shuten Doji took a swig straight from a bottle of wine to punctuate his statement. "You're up Sutoku. As agreed, you're our general, we defer to your experience in the art of battle and war."
Sutoku stepped forward to address their assembled troops, the entire field hushing instantly at the movement. The deep bass of his voice carried to every assembled member, easily heard despite ensuring it with a light application of magic.
"Today, the yokai have come together for one purpose." His eyes scanned the organized lines of their people. "Today, after years of meticulous planning and preparation, we are finally prepared to annihilate one of the most heinous enemies our people have ever had the misfortune to encounter. As most of you know by now, the Naberius devil clan enacted an atrocity against our people, attempting genocide against our brothers and sisters. Today, we make it right. Today, we act as the sword of vengeance. Today, we bleed them dry. We will sweep down upon them like the scythe of death herself and cleave them in twain. We will drive them before us until they are nothing but mulch for these fields." Sutoku paused for a moment, eyes panning over the troops, the collective bloodlust of the assembled yokai was palpable and only continuing to rise. As the bloodlust and suppressed anticipation reached a crescendo, Sutoku spoke once again.
"Kill them all."
Leading by example, he turned and shot towards the Naberius family estate, Shuten Doji and Daichi flanked him as the troops roared and followed. It was a scant few minutes of travel later when the three leaders crashed through the main gates, sending the metal and heads of the gate guards flying where they embedded into the ground and mansion. Shuten Doji was already moving, yojutsu symbols rapidly appearing and vanishing as he chained spellwork together, explosions already blowing away portions of the grounds and buildings.
Naberius guards, peerage, and branch family members began teleporting in and engaged the yokai troops while the main family appeared over their home. Lord and Lady Naberius and their son took stock of the battlefield.
"What is the meaning of this, yokai!?" Lord Naberius shouted. Sutoku didn't hesitate, immediately engaging the Lord with his drawn katana.
"We are vengeance. The nekoshou send their regards."
Shuten Doji wasn't idle, his spells immediately redirected towards Lady Naberius who similarly engaged in spellwork, the pair dodging and ducking both close range spells and melee strikes. Of the three immediate ultimate class devils, that left the Naberius heir to Daichi. There would likely be more, but the troop commanders would be able to handle any reinforcements. The son was older than Daichi, much older, but that meant little. Daichi could tell the devil was only low ultimate in power, which meant as long as he fought strategically, he could win. Unlike the other two generals, Daichi waited, allowing the devil to come to him.
However, this did not mean he was idle. From the moment they had invaded the estate, Daichi had been spreading his senjutsu throughout the area. Low ultimate was regrettably slightly more powerful than Daichi's current abilities, which meant he could not use the same method of domination that he utilized against the significantly weaker Riser. It did not, however, mean that he could not slowly infest and infect his opponents lifeforce, slowly restricting and restraining his opponent's power while draining the devil's reserves.
Illusions of enemies constantly appeared, covering Daichi as he struck with blasts of senjutsu energy, touki reinforced claws, or blunt force strikes. The devil gave as good as he got, magic circles springing to life around him, blasting wide swathes of illusions out of the air allowing him to focus on certain angles while occasionally catching Daichi within an attack.
This went on for several minutes, a back-and-forth exchange of attacks until the devil's frustration reached a peak. With a massive flare of his magic, the Naberius heir purged the senjutsu from his system, initially catching Daichi on the back foot allowing the devil to land a solid blow with an explosion of flame. Despite taking the hit, Daichi knew his opportunity had arrived. He recovered quickly, his speed rising as he appeared in front of the devil, hammering an infused fist home into his enemy's gut, driving the air from his lungs and injecting senjutsu directly into his enemy's body. His opponent was quick, responding to the attack with a backhand, knocking Daichi to the ground where he cratered his landing point.
An even larger crater collapsed inwards as Daichi's touki reinforced jump sent him shooting back into range, a blast of senjutsu the prelude to his claws shredding the devil's protective aura before embedding within the devil's side, the devil managing to twist away just enough to miss anything vital. Daichi raised his left arm, swinging it up and out to deflect the magic coated hand hammering towards his head. Three of his tails struck forward in the opening to imbed themselves in the heir's shoulders and abdomen.
Daichi used the devil's body as a springboard and rapidly retreated as a blast of energy scythed through his previous location, the Lady Naberius saving her son from immediate death only to take an explosion of both physical and magical means in return as Shuten Doji took advantage of the opening, sending the woman rocketing to the ground below where she slowly returned to her feet. Daichi took a glance around the battlefield, witnessing the yokai as they slowly overwhelmed the Naberius forces. His shadow corps blinked in and out of the battle, assassinating targets and providing support to struggling members of their faction where they could.
That was all the time Daichi had to evaluate the situation as he was reengaged, the heir swinging a roundhouse kick towards his head, a magic circle shining brilliantly stop his foot. Daichi ducked, the kick missing but the explosion from the magic still managed to clip his left ear, the tip shearing off and disintegrating in the explosion. The counterforce allowed the devil to reposition his foot in a stable stance, but it didn't help him as Daichi counterattacked. His fists and claws lashed out at such speed it was all the devil could do just to defend his vital points. Lines of blood could be seen dripping from his arms, face, and torso as Daichi put everything he had into a single overwhelming offensive. Or so it seemed, as the devil attempted to settle into a defensive pattern to outlast Daichi's attacks, forgetting the six spears hidden behind Daichi's form.
It was his last fatal mistake, as Daichi made to deliver an overpowering right hook, only to feint and drive all six of his tails through the devil's throat, heart, lungs, and kidneys. His death wasn't instant, the body spasming in pain as the mind registered the damage, only to succumb moments later. Daichi's subconscious registered a shriek of rage and grief only for it to be cut short by an explosion. This was all shunted to the back of his mind as he basked in his hard-fought victory against a more powerful foe. He could feel it deep within his core, a sense of satisfaction that seeped out and through him, filling him with warmth. Daichi hung in place in the air, the corpse of the devil son sliding off of his tails as it fell to the earth as Daichi basked in the feeling he was experiencing.
The natural energy of the world spiked suddenly as the feeling surging through him reached a peak and a blinding flash of light and force exploded from his position in the sky. When the wind and dust finally settled across the landscape, both sides paused, evaluating the cause of the disruption to see the teenage kitsune still floating in the air, seven tails weaving in rhythm. Daichi finally opened his eyes, peering down at the stalled battle and flared his ultimate level power, slamming it down across the battlefield where all could feel the tinge of nascent divine pressure like a blade resting against their throats.
Daichi vanished and in the next instant could be seen with his arm protruding from the chest of the Lord Naberius who was unable to react, stuck in combat with Emperor Sutoku and completely blindsided. Shuten Doji had already finished the Lady Naberius, and the three turned their attention to the remaining enemy combatants left on the field. There was a sudden scramble as they all attempted to teleport away, only to find the area locked. Nobody was able to enter or leave thanks to the first shadow corps keeping the space contained.
"No mercy. Kill them all."
The three generals split off to different parts of the battlefield, the fighting resuming as the Naberius forces desperately attempted to escape. None did, either by succumbing to the now overwhelming odds, or were slain as they fled by the prowling shadow corps. The remaining fighting took less than fifteen minutes to finish, another fifteen passed as the grounds were meticulously looted, bodies of allies were gathered, and the return portal was established. The troops then began an orderly retreat through the portal, Daichi and his Shadow Corps the last ones through the portal as they dropped the incoming spatial lock. The portal winked out of existence, the talismans disintegrating leaving no trace of the yokai presence.
The only thing the devil forces found as they teleported in were a demolished estate and cooling corpses.