"Boy!" Normal Speech.
'Boy!' Normal Thought.
"9!" Jutsu/Power/Technique.
"Loki" Demonic/Dragon Speeches.
'Loki' Demonic/Dragon Thoughts.
Summary: At seventeen years of age, Atreus and his father found themselves in another realm, one that was unfortunately filled with the less crazy, but irritating versions of the gods they had slain. Can they live their life in peace? Or the supernatural world of DxD will be forced to know the full might of THE God of War? Atreus will try to make sure that won't happen… anytime soon at least.
The story will focus on Atreus, with Kratos being a side-character most of the time.
Warning: There will be a lot of smut, lemon and 18+ stuff in this story. Read at your own risk! You have been warned
Son of War
Chapter 7
For a young man who was only seventeen years of age, half god half Jotnar and a quarter human or not, Atreus had ridden on the back of many amazing creatures, from his own runic summons, dragons, to the World Serpent Jörmungandr himself, who was so big he could wrap around the whole world itself and bite his own tail. Every time, it had brought him great feeling, even though he usually didn't have time to enjoy it to the fullest.
Still, in the end, it had been the experiences that counted.
"OI! Watch where you are driving there, brat!"
"SORRY!" Atreus shouted apologetically over his shoulder, to the man who had to jump to the side to dodge him as he drove his electric motorbike into an alleyway that he knew was a shortcut to Kuoh town's central district. Atreus knew very well that if he did not take this path, then he would never be able to reach his next customer's home in time, and the pizzas they had ordered would be free of charge because of his pizza restaurant's forty minute policy.
Who could have thought that 'Loki' was now working as a pizza delivery man?
The restaurant that he was working at was the one of the only places in Kuoh that provided part time jobs to high school students like him, even though he looked nothing like one with his height and build, and the pay wasn't anything special. Still, Atreus was in no position to complain.
Not to mention that he almost did not want to, when being a pizza deliveryman allowed him to ride this bike around town, and the owner allowed him to work afterschool and during the weekend, which was exactly what he wanted because while he wished to make his own money and not rely on his father all the time, Atreus did not want to slack off with his academic studies.
"Pizza delivery!" Atreus announced as his third customer of the day, a middle aged man, opened the door of his house to receive his one and only order "that will be 2300 ¥, sir, thank you very much. Please enjoy your pizza."
After giving the man his bill and getting the money back in return, Atreus wasted no time to return to his motorbike, as he still had a few more pizzas to deliver. The young god had no idea how long it would take for him to save up enough money to pay Aphrodite back the drachmae that she had used to buy him his new bow from Brok and Sindri, but this was only the start. Once he had entered college, he would have even more opportunities to find a decent job, and earn more money from it.
The life of a god in the mortal world sure was hard, but it's not like his previous life had been easy. At the very least he got to enjoy what he was doing.
"Room 304…" Arriving at an apartment, Atreus made his way up to the third floor of the building, looking for the address that was written on the bill. It was almost night time, and Atreus was currently delivering his second to last order of the day, being four large pizzas with pepperoni, bacons, sea foods, chickens and cheesy crusts and two extra boxes of buttered octopus spaghettis, one box of chocolate chip cookies and one orange flavored soft drink.
Atreus had no idea who could eat this much at this time of the day beside him and his father, probably Mimir too if the man still had a stomach, but it was probably going to be a family of four, with two pet dogs.
"Room 304." Double checking the address on the bill with the number on the front door to make sure that he had arrived at the right place, with five minutes to spare no less, Atreus then pressed the doorbell and stepped back, waiting patiently for the owner of the apartment to open up.
As he stood there and waited, Atreus took a moment to look around. The building looked nothing special, but it was quite decent, and reminded him of the first home that he and his father had been able to find for themselves after weeks of living on the streets. Having survived Fimbulwinter itself, life like that could never trouble them, but the two of them had always preferred to sleep with a rooftop above them, so as soon as Kratos had been able to make enough money, they had bought a home for themselves.
Aphrodite of course had wanted to help them find a home faster, but his father had refused her offer. It was the reason why Atreus did not want to be in debt to the goddess of love, not knowing when she was going to use it against him. Sure it's not like she was going to take advantage of the situation and use it for anything bad, but back breaking sex with her was not something he wanted to do regularly. Not to mention that one should never stay in debt of a god, even if you were a god yourself.
"Come in!" A familiar voice broke Atreus out of his musing, making him widen his eyes and turn back to the front door of apartment 304 to hear the sounds of it being unlocked, before swinging open to reveal a certain beautiful, and attractive young woman with long crimson hair. "Are you here to… Atreus?"
"Rias?" Atreus asked in surprise "Wait… you live here?"
"Yes, I live here." Rias answered as she crossed her arms under her large bust and gazed up at Atreus, who had a look of bewilderment on his face as he started looking around and a bit into her home "What is with that face? Do you expect me to live in a mansion or something?"
"Well… yeah…" Atreus shrugged, nodding his head as he replied to her with the best answer he could come up at the moment. He did expect Rias to live in a mansion, considering that she was the sister of a Maou, the leader of her people, and the heiress of a noble devil household, the Gremory.
Moreover, for obvious reason that she was at home, the crimson haired girl wasn't wearing her high school uniform, which she looked incredibly elegant in, but a more casual outfit consisted of a sleeveless V-neck neck tee shirt and green shorts, which came down to just below her mid thighs, with large bunny slippers as footwears.
Nonetheless, she did not look like a princess at all, at least in his eyes right now
"Hmm, you know what, that sounds like a great idea. Maybe tomorrow I should find a mansion to rent and move there, I have enough money for one from purifying cursed items, and defeating monsters targeting my clients." Rias said sarcastically, making Atreus chuckle before the two of them laughed "What about you then, Atreus? Are you working on a job? I also did not expect you to become a… pizza delivery man."
The crimson haired girl then trailed off, speaking slowly as her smiling face twitched and her face paled significantly. Atreus just looked at her a moment in confusion, then back at the stack of pizza boxes, chocolate cookies, soft drink and spaghetti in his hand, before turning his head back to look at her once again, peaking over her head to look into her apartment, where he could see no one.
"Wait… you are gonna eat all these by yourself?" He asked with an amused smile as Rias' cheeks reddened in embarrassment, canceling any chance of justifying herself or making excuses. Holding himself back from laughing out loud out of politeness, Atreus then continued. Rubbing his chin thoughtfully and sagely "Must be a devil thing, because I am pretty sure that only a whole family can eat this much."
"Give me that." Rias scoffed and grabbed the stack from him, with Atreus allowing her to do so with a chuckle. How did she maintain her amazing figure when she could eat this much? Was it really a devil's thing? Still, he sometimes overheard the girls of his class gossiping to each other how they were able to eat freely and not gain weight at all, so it could be a girls' thing too.
"Hey, I won't judge. Me and my dad eat a lot ourselves. And here's your bill, ma'am." Atreus said, smiling at Rias as he handed the girl her bill. Though, being gods, if needed, they actually did not need to eat as regularly as mortals did, and they also did it most of the time out of enjoyment. They still felt hungry, yes, but Atreus and his father would have no problem fighting continuously for weeks without eating anything.
"I only let myself loose a little on the weekend, or when I don't have anything serious to do, or when I am really stressed." Rias explained, having regained her composure. Clearing her throat, Rias decided to change the subject, not wanting to be teased again "Speaking of… how have Akeno been working at your house? She has been performing well, I hope?" She asked, but not that she needed any confirmation from Atreus, as Akeno had been reporting back to her every time.
"Yes, she has been doing very well. Me and my dad certainly can't get enough of her cooking." Atreus grinned, nodding his head in confirmation as he gave Rias a thumb up.
"Huh, if you think her cooking is good, then you really should try out mine." Rias declared proudly, making Atreus raise an eyebrow at her.
"You can cook?"
"Of course I can cook. I am not a princess who…" Rias stopped, noticing the smirk on Atreus' face. Pouting, she asked "Mou, you are teasing me, aren't you?"
"Hey, who knows how many days it is going to take you to eat all these? For all I know, you may not know how to cook and buy a lot to save… okay okay, I am sorry." Atreus laughed humorously while covering his head with both hands as Rias started trying to hit him. "But yeah, I'd love to try out your cooking sometimes Rias, if you don't mind of course."
"I think I might have to reconsider after that." Rias told him with half lidded eyes, making Atreus chuckle while grinning "What?"
"Nothing… I guess I am just happy that I can improve your mood, that's all." Rias widened her eyes in surprise at Atreus' statement "Something has been troubling you lately, hasn't it?"
He asked, out of concern more than anything else. He could see that something had been occupying Rias' mind every time that he had come to hang out with her and her family at the ORC clubroom lately. Even a few minutes ago when she arrived to answer his call, opening the door to reveal herself to him, Atreus could see that she looked somewhat stressed, even though she looked like she had tried to collect herself before coming.
"Do you… want to talk about it?" Atreus continued to ask, when he saw that Rias did not answer him and continued to remain silent.
"Oh… no, not really. I mean…" The crimson haired girl quickly continued before Atreus could get the wrong idea "It's nothing, really. It's just some troubles from my family, after all. You don't have to worry about it, Atreus."
"If that's how you feel, Rias, then I will not trouble you anymore. However, if you ever need a friend to talk to, I will be there." Atreus said, patting her on the shoulder with a comforting smile "That's what friends are for, right?"
"Right." Rias nodded her head, finally allowing herself to smile as she looked at Atreus.
It was strange, and she did not know why, but his words made her feel more at ease than before.
"So uhm…" Rias then said, looking at the foods she had ordered in her hands for a second before she decided to ask Atreus, a hopeful smile on her face as she asked him "Do you want to come in? You are right about me not being able to eat all of these tonight by myself. I simply want to try out different things so I can distract my mind from my own problem, that's all."
"Ah, that's very generous of you, Rias… but I will have to decline." Atreus shook his head and said, making Rias' smile falter a little "As much as I want to hang out with you, I still have another order to deliver. The last thing I want right now is getting fired on my fourth day on the job, so why don't we hang out some other time?"
"I'd love to, Atreus." Rias smiled, nodding her head at him.
"So, see you tomorrow then?" He asked.
"Tomorrow, huh?" The crimson haired girl spoke softly, making Atreus look at her in curiosity before she shook her head, as if to clear her mind before smiling brightly at him "Yes, let's see each other tomorrow, Atreus."
"Great. I better get going then."
And with that, Rias returned to her apartment, closing the door behind her after waving her hand to Atreus. The young god, who had the feeling that tomorrow something was going to happen, waited for the moment it had been locked to turn on his heel and take his leave from the building…
But just before he could start making his way down the stairs, he suddenly remembered something very important. So without wasting any time, Atreus rushed back to Rias' room and called for her as he pressed the doorbell repeatedly.
"Hey! Rias! You haven't paid me yet!"
The next day, Atreus did everything he would have done daily normally: waking up, meeting his father who always reminded him to be careful even though there were really no threats, eating breakfast with the man and then leaving for school.
As soon as he reached Kuoh Academy, Atreus went on to study as normal, sitting through five classes without too much of a problem before leaving for the old school building to see the rest of the Occult Research club when school ended and the students had already started to leave.
"A barrier?" Atreus murmured in curiosity when he walked into an invisible wall, noticing how other students just randomly avoided the place. He knew that Rias had a lot of protection spells set up around the old school building to prevent normal students from finding their way into the building and discover something they weren't supposed to by chance, so he wasn't surprised. It's just that the barrier that was currently stopping him was a bit more powerful.
Not for long though.
Having become familiar with devil's magic to a certain degree, Atreus simply looked for a specific spot, then restructured it and gave it a push to enter, walking through the magic like it was nothing to enter the old school building's ground. Taking a mental note to ask Rias or Akeno on how to set up one, Atreus then made his way to the clubroom, not even bothering to knock first before opening the door and walking in.
Instantly, all heads inside the place turned to look at him, some in bewilderment while others were in curiosity. The room was crowded, much more crowded than normal with two whole parties currently facing each other. One of them was none other than Rias and her servant, while the others were a group of total fifteen beautiful and attractive young women being seemingly led by a man who was currently sitting in an arrogant manner on what was normally Rias' seat.
He appeared to be a man around his early twenties with short yellow hair and dark blue eyes. His outfit consisted of a burgundy blazer with gold embroidery on the right, matching pants and black dress shoes. Underneath he also wore a white dress shirt that was not fully buttoned, giving a view of his muscular chest.
Atreus did not like him. He had yet to look at him fully, and yet the dude had already pissed him off.
There was another person who was standing out more than the rest, being a breathtakingly beautiful woman with silver hair and red eyes. She was dressed in a French maid outfit that hugged her voluptuous form quite nicely, and even though she did not look like it, Atreus could tell that the woman was quite strong, much stronger than anyone else currently facing each other in the room, even combined together.
How did he know that exactly? It was because Atreus could see that she had the focus and discipline that his father had always wanted him to have.
"Huh. I came at a bad time, didn't I?" The young god asked with an amused chuckle, noticing the tense atmosphere in the room.
"Atreus? How did you get in?!" Rias asked in surprise, standing up from her seat to stare at him.
'So he is Atreus.' Grayfia thought as she studied the young man carefully. Rias was right. Beside his rough facial appearances, the young man looked nothing out of ordinary, and he wasn't even trying to mask himself from appearing to be someone dangerous, unless he was just that good of an actor who could fool even her.
"Oh, you mean that barrier around the building? I just walked through it." Atreus answered sheepishly, making Rias and her group look at him in surprise. "No offense, but whoever sets that one up, you gotta do a better job than that."
"It is strong enough to keep even my master out for a moment." The silver haired maid spoke up calmly "How did you just walk through?"
"Oh, then I guess I am stronger than your master." Atreus shrugged "Who is he by the way?"
"Sirzechs Lucifer."
"Oh."
After that, the two just looked at each other in silence. Grayfia, however, knew that he wasn't lying, but at the same time, she did not tell him the whole truth either. While it was true that the barrier was strong enough to stop even her master, Sirzechs Lucifer himself, it was a barrier spell specifically designed to stop devils. Anything else that wasn't their kind would have a much easier time getting through it, using either their magic, or brute force…
… not just walk right through it.
Still, she had now ruled out the possibility that he was a devil, or a fallen angel because Azazel clearly did not know him. At the same time, it appeared that he wasn't an angel either. It also made the possibility of him being a reincarnation or descendant of an ancient hero even higher.
"Grayfia-san, what is the meaning of this?" The blond who was sitting on the couch facing Rias asked, somehow looking smug and annoyed at the same time "Who is this person? Why haven't you sent him out of here yet? Isn't this supposed to be a private meeting between me and my fiancé?"
"Fiancé?" Atreus repeated the word in surprise before the maid, Grayfia could reply to him, while looking between the man and Rias, who sighed longingly in response. "You are Rias' fiancé? What a pleasant surprise? I didn't know that she's engaged. I am Atreus, please to meet you." As he said that, introducing himself with a massive smile on his face, Atreus stomped toward Raiser with his hand extending forward, having all the intention in the world to shake hands with him.
But before he could do that, the two cat girls who were wearing skimpy school uniforms jumped in between the two of them and held up a pair of chainsaws at his neck, forcing Atreus to stop suddenly.
"Hey! Get the hell back from Raiser-sama!"
"Chainsaws? Yeah, very original." was the only reply Atreus had for the two while chuckling humorously, not looking worried in the slightest even if the spinning blades were dangerously close to his neck.
"Raiser, tell your servants to stand back." Rias spoke up firmly, her tone rising much higher than normal. The way she spoke his name had enough disgust and disdain to fill the whole building. "And while Atreus might not be my servant, he is still my guest, and a member of this club. He can come, stay and leave whenever he wants to."
"Hmm, is that so?" Raiser spoke up finally "Very well then, he can stay. Ile, Nel, you girls stand back. There's no need for you two to scare my fiancé's guest like that." And with that, the two cat girls lowered their chainsaws down and turned them off, allowing Atreus to lower his hands down. "But I suggest you know your place and stay out of business. Would hate to make an ugly scene in front of my fiancé."
"Don't plan to." Atreus shrugged as he walked over to Akeno's corner and grabbed the teapot, asking the young woman who was trying to maintain her usual cheerful front "Is your green tea, Akeno?"
"Alright, back to business." Raiser then said, turning back to look at Rias "Rias, I think it's time we…"
"I've already told you, Raiser. I'm not going to marry you!"
"Hm, it appears that your family hasn't been keeping you informed, Rias?" Raiser asked, sounding quite amused, but there was also a hint of steel in his voice. "Moreover, we know both our families have already decided on this and the engagement has already been written up. Don't forget that your family has been just as…
Crack!
"… hasty to unite our two houses as mine." Raiser was forced to pause a second, glancing over to Atreus who was taking crunchy bites from Akeno's cookies while testing on his phone.
"Don't speak so presumptuously." Rias narrowed her eyes at her fiancé. If looks could kill, Raiser would have been dead by now. "As the heiress of the Gremory family, I shall be the one who will decide my partner. And regardless of that, even though everyone is hurrying it too much, I was promised that I would be allowed to do as I pleased until after I graduated from university in the human world."
"I fear you don't quite understand the situation, Rias my dear." Riser said snidely. "Your parents and Sirzechs-Sama fear your household may go extinct. In the previous war between Gods, Fallen Angels and Devils, many pure-blooded Devils lost their lives in the conflict….
Crack!
"…and that's not even mentioning the number of households that went extinct." Once again, Raiser was forced to pause, this time he turned to glare at Atreus, who was still keeping his attention on his phone while chewing on the pieces of cookie in his mouth "It's only natural that our parents would struggle to protect our pure-blood and household by joining together. The offspring of two high ranking, pure-blooded devils is invaluable."
"With many of the seventy-two pillars collapsing on themselves, the future of all pureblood devils is hanging on this marriage proposal. Even you should know that." Raiser finished, ignoring Issei, who turned to ask Kiba to explain the meaning of the seventy-two pillars to him.
"I won't destroy my household, Raiser." Rias crossed her arms over her chest as she said "I plan on getting an heir as soon as I'm ready."
Raiser smirked victoriously at that, pointing at himself as he stood up from his seat and said "Fantastic, then you will marry…"
"But I will not marry you." The crimson haired girl interrupted him and said firmly "I'll marry someone of my own choosing. Even the heirs of old households have that much of a right."
"Tch…" Raiser clicked his tongue in annoyance "You know what, Rias? Like you, I am also a member of a pure-blood devil household. I bear the powerful name of Phenex and so I can't allow that name to get tarnished. I came all the way up here to the human world just to get you, even though you know that I don't like the human world much."
Flames then erupted from Raiser's back, taking the form of two large wings and showing claim to what he just said about himself being a member of the Phenex. The fires from his back spread, and the sweltering heat had the members of Rias' peerage with the exception of Akeno sweating profusely. Strangely enough, even though they were standing directly behind Raiser, none of the fifteen girls were being burned by the flaming wings.
"The flames of this world are filthy. For someone who holds governance over wind and fire… it's unbearable." Raiser growled as he approached Rias, his eyes narrowing as he glanced over to her servants "I will take you back to the underworld with me, even if I have to incinerate your servants…"
Crack!
"Do you have something to say to me, punk?" Raiser scoffed as he looked over to Atreus, having had enough of the way he was purposely making noises while eating and drinking Akeno's treats.
"Oh, are you talking to me?" The brown haired young man asked in amusement, not looking up from his phone. "I thought you were so high up there that you couldn't possibly see lowly me down here." Raiser found himself growling at that, having found the young man exceedingly annoying from the first moment that he stepped into the room so casually like that.
"Correct me if I am wrong," Atreus then continued before Raiser could say anything "you said you were a member of the Phenex devil household, correct?"
"I am." Raiser declared firmly, his flaming wings growing even larger. He directed the heat at Atreus, but he simply grabbed his cup of tea and walked out of Akeno's corner, shrugging the intense wave of heat off like it was nothing.
"So, you are not the heir?"
Raiser's confidence faltered a little at that, but it did not take it long for him to look all high and mighty again, "Tch… what are you trying to imply, punk?"
"I won't claim to know everything about you devils, but I am something of a scholar myself. I like to read and I like to do research on things, and I did a bit of digging into you pureblood devils." Atreus held out his cup and pointed it at Raiser as he continued humorously "If I am not mistaken, then the Phenex devil household holds the rank of Marquis while the Gremory is the Duke. Shouldn't someone like Rias, who is the heiress of her household, have some powers over someone of lower ranking like you, and you gotta do as she wishes? Or there's no such thing as authority in devil society?"
"You are much more of a fool than I thought." Raiser laughed "She has no authority over other families. Rias is not yet the leader of her household, she is merely the heir…"
"And you are only a member of your devil household." Atreus interrupted sharply as he drank his tea, reminding Raiser of the very thing that made him lose his confidence just a few seconds ago "Second son? No wait… third son? Nevertheless, you must be so far down the line you know that you will never get to be in the same position as Rias… unless of course, you marry someone like her and become the head of her family."
"You… you filthy piece of shit…. How dare you mock me?!" Raiser growled hatefully as he upped the power of his flame, causing the air to become so much harder to breathe, and sweat starting to get into everyone's eyes, even those of his servants.
"Mock you?" Atreus questioned, standing completely unaffected by the flame "I thought I was stating only facts."
"Enough." It was at that moment that Grayfia decided to step in, speaking up in a calm, but cold voice that had many of those in the room finding themselves shivering despite the heat. "Raiser-Sama, I suggest you calm down. Atreus-san, please refrain yourself from speaking in such a manner again, or I will have to ask you to leave this room right this instant."
"Damn, you are cold." As Raiser sweated nervously while staring at Grayfia, Atreus simply laughed, standing his ground in front of the silver haired woman "Excuse me for my manner then, Grayfia-san."
"Rias-ojou sama, are you certain that you do not wish to marry Raiser Phenex-sama?" Grayfia then asked, completely ignoring Atreus' remark as she turned to look at the crimson haired girl.
"Yes, I am." Finally, Rias spoke, her tone firm and strong.
"It was expected that the situation would become like this." The silver haired maid nodded "Then how about we settle it with a last resort measure? A match between you two?"
"You mean a rating game match?" Rias asked, a hopeful smile on her face as she looked at Grayfia.
"Yes, while you cannot participate in an official match, it's perfectly fine for you and your servants to participate in unofficial matches." Grayfia answered with a nod of her head.
"That you are even suggesting this option means that father and the others have already thought of the possibility of my refusal and have made all the necessary preparations for the game to take place." Rias spoke with a frown on her face. "Tell me, how long are they going to keep interfering with my life until they are satisfied?"
"Does that mean you refuse to participate?"
"Of course not!" Rias straightened herself up as she spoke up firmly and turned to narrow her eyes at her fiancé, who had a smug grin on his face as he waited for her to do just what he had been expecting from the moment Grayfia had suggested the idea "There's no way I'm going to pass up an opportunity like this. Riser Phenex, I challenge…"
"Excuse us for a second."
Before she could finish, Rias was stopped when Atreus grabbed her by the arm, interrupting her from her speech before he dragged her over to the far corner on the other side of the room.
"Atreus, what are you doing?" Rias asked, feeling more confused than anything else.
"I suggest that you don't take this fight, Rias." Atreus told her in a firm tone, making her look at him in shock "And before you think you know what I am about to say to you… then yes you are absolutely correct, you are not going to win. Not like this."
"What do you think I should do then?" Rias asked in frustration "This is not as simple as you might be thinking, Atreus. Do you know how long I have been waiting for an opportunity like this? For once, I get the chance to decide my own future. If I beat him, then I will get to choose who I want..."
Rias was interrupted by Atreus once again. This time, however, by his hand as he held it out in front of her face, stopping her from continuing.
"You will lose, Rias." He spoke up once again, this time at even a firmer tone than before, reminding her of when he was about to set off with Issei to save Asia "You might think that you have the chance, but you do not. Your servants are in no condition to fight against Raiser's servants. Asia has just joined, and she is no fighter. Issei's sacred gear has only started developing, and he is also far from ready. Koneko is strong, but she is clearly forcefully holding herself back, and so is Akeno."
Rias widened her eyes in shock at that. How did he…
"Kiba is the only one who can stand up for you, and still I am highly doubting that he alone can face that many opponents at once." Atreus stated clearly for Rias and everyone else in the room to hear "So calm down. You are smart. Try to think this through. Do not let yourself be driven by your own desires, and play into your opponent's game. Think of your servants, and how much they are going to suffer if you put them on the front line to fight for your sake, when they are clearly not ready for it. You care for them more than anything in this world, don't you?"
Once again, Rias found herself wanting to do exactly what he wanted, no matter how much she wanted to argue. Did he always sound that convincing? Or was it because he was telling the truth and she wanted to believe him? She knew that Atreus was much more than he looked, and anyone could tell that he had gone through far more than they could imagine to become the one he was today, giving him skills that no one could have expected… but being someone who had some persuasion skills to herself, Rias could see that this level of persuasiveness…. it felt almost unnatural.
"W-what do you want me to do then?" Rias asked, her tone softening as she looked at Atreus.
"It's not about what you are going to, it's about what I am going to do."
Atreus answered her with a grin, repeating the test messages that he had exchanged with Aphrodite just a few minutes ago on his phone as he asked for her advice on what he should do, and how to handle the situation. Of course, being the goddess that she was, there's only one single course of action that she wished to see, and it was unfortunately the best way that would let him help Rias get out of her marriage engagement with someone who she clearly did not wish to marry.
He might have asked the wrong person for advice though.
"Come with me." Atreus told her, gesturing his head toward the main stage of the showdown between the Gremory and Phenex. Stopping in front of Raiser, Atreus then looked at Grayfia, and asked her "Grayfia-san, if I challenge Raiser Phenex right now and beat him, would it be possible for me to cancel his marriage engagement with Rias?"
Sitting inside his post at a local construction site in Kuoh while quietly enjoying his lunch by himself, Kratos couldn't help but have an odd feeling that the boy had just done something stupid.
"You… what the hell are you even on about?" Raiser asked in disbelief while the other devils in the room stared at him in shock, with the exception being Rias herself, who was looking at Atreus in surprise "This is not a matter an outsider like you can…"
"Interfere? No, I don't think I can, but…" Atreus then glanced over at the crimson haired girl standing beside him, and then said as he turned back to look at Raiser "How can I accept that she is going to marry someone as unworthy as you are? Rias deserves better."
"Atreus…" Rias put her hand on Atreus' shoulder and tried to stop him. She knew what he was doing, provoking Raiser like that. But at the same time, she did not want him to get hurt fighting for her sake. She had to agree with Raiser on that one, even though she would never want to agree with him on anything. Atreus did not have to do this… he was just an outsider, and yet…
"You… you think you are better than me, you low life?"
"Maybe I am, but hey, a guy like me would love to date a girl like Rias," Atreus shrugged, making Rias blush as he continued to speak to Raiser in a challenging tone "and I obviously cannot do that if she's still engaged, right? So let's fix it. If you devils resolve problems with fighting, then let's fight."
Raiser gritted his teeth in anger, making Atreus smirk inwardly. So far, the Phenex had been reacting just the way he had planned for him to. From the moment that he started questioning his position, Atreus had been playing to the guy's overinflated ego. Each and every word he had said so far to him had been for this moment, when Raiser would want nothing more than to show his supremacy against him.
"So, what is it going to be, Raiser Phenex?" Atreus asked, smiling confidently "Do you accept my challenge or not? Or are you just an oversized fried chicken who cannot flap your wings as loud as you can cluck, and prove yourself to your finance?"
"Fine, I accept your challenge, punk." Raiser announced confidently.
"Now, don't get all worked up. We still need approval from the adults." Atreus chuckled as he looked at Grayfia "I trust that you got it covered?"
"Yes, I can inform Sirzechs-sama and the two families of the change in the situation immediately." The silver haired maid nodded her head in confirmation before she asked Atreus "I trust that you are absolutely certain with your decision, Atreus-san?"
"I am."
End of Chapter 7
Note: and that's the end of this chapter! Hope you guys like it!
As you can clearly see, 2 chapters are what we are going to need to close out this arc. There is really no need for us to drag this one on for too long, like waiting for Rias to lose and then next Atreus will storm the wedding the same way Issei did it in canon. We get this one done and we will have a long period of time before the Excalibur Arc for possibly an original arc, as well as more characters and relationship developments.
Next chapter we will have the fight between Atreus and Raiser. Not even spoiling but we all know Atreus is going to shit storm the fried chicken. Wait and see how he is going to do it.
I have begun to explore more of Atreus' god abilities starting from this chapter. We still have no idea how many of them are going to be until God of War Ragnarok, but for the time being I will explore the abilities that Loki has in Norse mythology. Of course, the final weapon of choice is still up for suggestion.
That will be all. I hope that you guys have had a great time reading this chapter. As usual, Don't forget to leave a REVIEW once you have finished reading! Reviews are all that matters! So make sure to leave one for me, yes!?
Don't forget to check out my p/atreon and join my discord community for the earliest updates of my stories (new chapters will always be up much earlier there. It is also where you can keep track of my status updates as well as discussions about my stories, so make sure to join if you can). Your support would be much appreciated in this difficult time.
See you in the next chapter everyone!