Romulus didn't like the small, fitted suit he was being forced to wear. It was tight, itchy, and didn't allow for any real range of movement. It was wholly unpleasant. Still, Mephisto had insisted that he wear it for the event.
Apparently, it was a custom that the Titanius clan throw a party every year to celebrate the end of the war between the Old and New Satan factions. Being an Extra Demon clan with connections to the Main faction meant that they were on good, or at least neutral, terms with just about every devil family, and those that they weren't at least trusted that the mass number of guests would discourage any unsavoury actions.
The party had been cancelled over the last few years due, quite obviously, to the lack of a Titanius clan to host it, but now that Romulus was officially taking the reins of his family's interests, Mephisto had decided that hosting the customary celebration as one of his first acts would be a good way to gain popularity and good will amongst all factions who might be in attendance.
Romulus watched as dozens of people moved around the large room. It was one of the grand halls of his family's compound, with a large dance floor in the centre where many couples were moving to the music that was being played. Romulus himself, was being forced to attend the stuffy event, even if he wished he could just train in the forest down the mountain.
Suddenly his attention was redirected when Tannin softly coughed. Standing in front of him, offering large smiles, were man and a woman. They looked to be in their mid-forties, but considering they were devils or some other form of magical creature that didn't say much to how old they actually were. The man had flame-red hair, dark brown eyes, and was wearing a nice tuxedo suit with a bow-tie. The woman was beautiful, with deep blue hair and eyes. She wore a simple dress, the same shade of blue as her hair and eyes, with a single strap over one of her shoulders and a long, flowing skirt with a slit that went up one side and ended at her mid-thigh. They smiled at him as he turned his attention to them.
"Hello." He said, getting up from his seat. As young as he was, Mephisto had trained him to be a gracious host.
"Good evening young lord." The man said. He had a rich accent that sounded french, but seemed a bit off, as if mixed with something else.
"Ah, it is good of you to come." Mephisto came to Romulus' side, bringing with him Adrianna, who had accompanied their teacher to get some food from the large buffet that had been set up. "Romulus, these are two of the children of Lord Cernunnos."
"Nice to meet you." Romulus held out his hand for a handshake. The woman smiled kindly at him, reaching down to take and shake his hand.
"How polite. I've heard quite a bit about you young man." She smiled prettily at him, drawing a blush from Romulus. "My apologies that our father couldn't attend, he's been having some trouble moving around in his old age. I'm sure you can understand his hesitation to leave our homeland, can't you Lord Mephisto?"
The old devil merely nodded.
"Of course Lady Maeve. Please, I hope you and Lord Fergus can send my regards to Lord Cernunnos."
"Most certainly." She leaned down towards Romulus. "If you don't mind, could I take Lord Romulus for a dance?"
Mephisto chuckled.
"So long as he doesn't mind. Though I warn you, his queen might find reason to object." The blue haired woman laughed, and Romulus found himself dragged off onto the dance floor before he could answer as Adrianna called out for him, fuming.
The music had changed to a more lively tune, though it still remained distinctly classical. Romulus found himself being dragged around the floor by the laughing woman.
"Well well well." Maeve chuckled, spinning herself and Romulus until he could see Adrianna glaring at the two of them from next to Mephisto and Lord Fergus. She was dressed in a green dress, with straps over her shoulders and a skirt that poofed outwards at the waist and went down to her knees. She was also wearing her blonde hair up in a bun, with smaller sections of hair braided around the bun. Her face was tinged a faint red with anger as she glared at him and Maeve.
"It seems that your little queen doesn't like other women taking you away." She had bent over slightly to whisper in his ear. Her eyes lit up as she twirled the two of them closer to Adrianna, coming to a stop right in front of his queen. Maeve broke apart from him and laid a kiss on his cheek, smirking at him before she looked over his shoulder.
"Little queen, would you like to cut in?" She asked, giggling playfully.
Adrianna just glared before blushing slightly and stepping between him and Maeve. The two ten year olds fitted themselves together awkwardly for a few moments before Maeve intervened. She adjusted them with giggles and smiles, much to the blushing and stuttering of the two when she did things like set Romulus' hand on Adrianna's butt instead of her hip, which was quickly corrected by him, or push Adrianna's head to rest against in the crook of his neck. It took a couple of minutes, but with some fumbling between the three, but soon enough Romulus and Adrianna were moving across the dance floor, moving between the adult couples that danced to the music.
Off to the side, Mephisto watched his students dance across the floor. Coming up beside him, Tannin smirked as the two blushed and swayed awkwardly to the music.
"Well, it seems that they're getting along better. Ever since she found out about the bet she's been a bit distant."
"I suppose we should thank Lady Maeve then." Mephisto chuckled. "A little jealousy seemed to have brought those two back together. I can only hope that Vali will reintegrate with them just as well when he returns from Azazel's latest project."
"How's that doing by the way?" Tannin asked. "Oz and all that? I haven't heard anything from our informants on Lavinia. She is a member of the association, seems unlike you to just let a Longinus user up and leave for another faction, even if it is Azazel."
"She'll return in due time once she's taken care of her business with Augusta and Walburga." Mephisto waved off the dragon. "Azazel has sent me generous reports, mostly false of course, but I've gotten the truth from out spies in his camp."
"He's lying to us that obviously?" Tannin raised a scaled brow.
"Deliberately so, I'm sure, he's just testing us." Mephisto said dismissively. "He loves to play his little games."
"And you don't?" Tannin laughed.
Mephisto didn't deign to give his queen an answer, instead he just continued to watch Romulus and Adrianna sway to the music.
"The young devil gathering will be coming up this month." Tannin said suddenly. "I saw the invitation the Maous sent, they want Romulus to attend to represent his territory and the Extra Demons as a whole."
"Indeed." Mephisto nodded. "Not to mention that the annual Council of Extra Demons will be meeting only a few weeks after that."
"Those events'll be the kids' official introductions to most of the high society, more than their rating game anyway."
"We'll need to have him revise his etiquette lessons alongside Adrianna, best to make sure they can stand on their own and make good impressions. We want to gather as many allies as possible from any factions we can."
"Planning anything Mephisto?"
"I never stop planning old friend, it keeps the mind sharp and active."
"I've heard that Sairaorg Bael is going to be competing in this year's event, as well as Riser. I've even heard rumours that Roygun Belphegor is joining in since it's her last year before she ages out of the bracket."
"That rumour is true actually." Mephisto nodded. "Roygun's been receiving larger and larger amounts of attention since she joined the New-Satan faction to participate in the Rating Games, The Belphegor clan has even reached out to induct her back into the family due to the fame she's accumulated."
"That girl... She's strong, even as a young devil, she's already on par with some of the best of the underworld, she'll become an Ultimate-Class before she's even half a century old at least."
"She's already closing in on that barrier despite only being twenty." Mephisto agreed. "This will be her last year to compete in the gathering before she turns twenty-one and ages out."
"You think the kid can keep up?" Tannin asked, watching as Romulus and Adrianna left the dance floor and were immediately intercepted by Maeve and her brother.
"Against Riser, Sairaorg and most of the other his age? Most definitely. Against the older brackets? Most likely. Against Roygun and the oldest contestants? No. He and Adrianna have progressed far, but they still aren't up to the level of the best, let alone near-ultimate-class devils. Perhaps in a decade or so, he'll surpass their likes, but for now, he's merely exceptional, not unbeatable."
"Well, they'll take it challenge, with Vali gone for the time being, it's going to really fire them up. Romulus' been down since Azazel took Vali to deal with those internal problems."
"The Utsusemi agency has been a thorn in the Grigori's side for years, not to mention the problems with the five principal clans ever since Baraqiel married the daughter of the Himejima clan."
"Should we contact them about that? A Himejima, fallen angel hybrid? That one's sure to be well sought after considering the possibilities, we could probably bring her under our protection now without causing too much of an incident."
"That's only assuming, my friend, that the fallen nor the Himejima have no intention to utilise the girl to further a possible alliance, not to mention the problems that could arise from such a blatant act of support for the fallen faction by the Titanius, we don't want to draw too much attention to Romulus' possible political inclinations."
Mephisto turned his head, watching his young ward and his queen as they dipped strawberries from the buffet table into a chocolate fountain. The two were all smiles as they ate the coated fruits, laughing and smiling together. Mephisto could also just make out the shades that were hiding in Adrianna's shadow, feeding off of her and ready to act upon her orders.
"Adrianna's come quite far with her control over her familiars." Mephisto observed, nodding towards the girl.
"You know, I don't think most of the people noticed." Tannin smirked. "Girl's good."
"Not that good that she could fool anyone here." Mephisto countered. "Most just haven't taken the time to look, still, I'm sure that none of the other younger guests would realise even if they checked. Now if you excuse me Tannin."
Mephisto broke off from his queen, walking towards the large double doors that were quite subtly beginning to open, signalling the arrival of new guests.
"I have to greet our newest additions."
The four Maous had arrived just after the rest of the Main Underworld faction, hoping to slip in without a grand entrance and mingle with the crowd to avoid the pomp and circumstance that surrounded most of their activities. They had no nefarious purpose for this, just a simple wish to avoid attention and have a fun time at a party.
Sirzechs walked into the ballroom with Grayfia on his arm. He was wearing a black tuxedo, forgoing his normal, and much more ostentatious, attire as the Satan Lucifer.
Grayfia meanwhile had also disposed of her oft-worn maid outfit in favour of a long, flowing crimson dress, the same shade a Sirzechs' own hair. The dress was long, coming down to the floor, but did not extend farther than that, making sure that it was still possible for her to dance with her husband in it. The upper part of the dress was strapless and covered her breasts, wrapping around her front without showing off her cleavage. Her hair was done in a simple braid, showing off an elegant beauty without flaunting it.
Ajuka and Falbium had, like Sirzechs, forgone the more ceremonial attire of their respective stations and opted for simple black tie clothing. Ajuka had opted to attend the event alone, while Falbium had brought a guest with him. The woman the Satan Asmodeus had brought was a beauty all her own, tall, with an elegant posture and a beautiful backless black dress. She had dark drown hair and piercing green eyes, and walked while leaning her head on Falbium's shoulder. The smile on her face as she walked with the Satan was one of genuine affection and when Falbium pulled her onto the dance floor for a tango that was starting up, she laughed and fell into position with him as they moved happily and energetically through across the room.
Meanwhile Serafall had work a modification on her normal clothing. She still fit the look of a magical girl, but instead of her normal short skirt and tiny top that revealed her mid-rift, she had transformed the clothes into a dress. The skirt now went past her knees down to her ankles, and was a full dress instead of a shirt and skirt. It was still bright pink, destroying any chance she might be able to blend in or remain somewhat anonymous amongst the crowd, however she was headed right towards the buffet table, eyes locked on the chocolate fountain and the strawberries resting beside it. Her eyes gleamed with bottomless hunger and she began to drool, rushing forwards to gorge herself on the delicious fruit dipped in chocolate. In fact, she was so consumed by that desire, she didn't even notice as she found herself standing side by side with Romulus and Adrianna. The Maou Leviathan didn't so much as glance at the two, just dipping strawberries in chocolate and then tossing them into her mouth with squeals of pleasure.
Romulus and Adrianna spared a glance at the pink dressed lady next to them, but as her face was turned away from them and towards the table, neither could really recognise who she might be. Exchanging looks, the two just shrugged and continued to fill themselves up, standing not two feet away from one of the Satans.
Mephisto had watched all of this with a headache building more and more. Signalling Tannin he sent the dragon king off to watch over Romulus, though he made sure to let his queen know through magic not to disturb them unless an incident occured. He saw Sirzechs and Grayfia break away, looking to mingle with the rest of his family who had arrived with the main party of the seventy-two pillars. Venelana Gremory caught his eye briefly and waved, a blush adorning her cheeks. Mephisto returned the gesture with a smirk and a wink, taking some pleasure as the blush on the Gremory Matriarch's face grew darkened into a deeper shade of crimson. He and Venelana had had more than a few flings over the centuries, though they had stopped once she had married Zeoticus Gremory and joined his household. The 'Brunette Ruin Princess' was a name the woman had rightly earned, and her teasing and flirting had been legendary back in her youth. She was the only woman he'd ever met to get a rise out of him in such a way, an achievement still not replicated despite many an attempt by many a woman.
Mephisto didn't have time to focus on past flames however, he made his way towards Ajuka, who was looking around the ballroom at the various decorations that adorned the walls.
"My beloved student." Mephisto greeted his protege with open arms and a wide, genuine smile. "I didn't think you would be able to make it when I didn't see you with the main party."
Ajuka offered his own close-lipped smile, reaching out for a brief hug with his once mentor.
"We wanted to arrive without a grand entrance master. Events like these out in the Extra Demon territories are the only places we can remain even slightly anonymous anymore, everywhere else seems to thrive on showcasing us like prized peacocks."
"Of course. I see you've forgone the traditional dress of the Satans." Mephisto nodded to the other three rulers of the devils who were spread out across the party. "Such a break from tradition, I'm surprised the elders haven't suffered a stroke from such disrespect for the office."
Ajuka laughed, tilting his head to the side and raising a brow in curiosity
"If I recall, aren't you one of those elders master?"
"Oh, don't lump me in with them Ajuka. We both know I'm far better dressed than any of them."
"On that, we can agree."
The two men made their way to a table, taking their seats and each taking a glass of champaign from one of the wandering servers. Taking a sip, Ajuka looked around at the guests.
"So I see Romulus is getting along well with Serafall."
Mephisto turned his head, finding that Adrianna and Romulus had engaged in some kind of contest with the Satan Leviathan. Based on what he could see it seemed to involve seeing who could pile more liquid chocolate on their fruits before eating it. The old devil honestly didn't know if Romulus even recognised the woman he was eating and laughing with, but considering that he had never seen her in person and the pictures of her were scarce, esspecially pictures of her dressed as she was, he doubted it. He shrugged, better to let it go for now, he couldn't sense anything amiss at the moment, and Tannin was nearby watching the action unfold.
"So it does. Hopefully they take it well when one of them loses whatever little game they're playing. I know them both and neither are esspecially gracious losers."
Ajuka smiled.
"No, I'd imagine not."
The smile morphed away, replaced by a look of determination.
"I know you know."
"I know."
"Then why?"
"I could ask the same of you my old pupil."
"They were getting too powerful, to outspoken, too divisive."
"And the solution was genocide?"
"Rather than risk the war that would almost certainly begin in the aftermath of their ambition? Yes."
"I never took you for the sort to use such naked violence Ajuka."
"Don't try and paint this as some sort of unprovoked attack Mephisto. They had been speaking out against us for years. We allowed the Extra Demons their isolationism with the understanding that we would leave them alone and they wouldn't meddle in our affairs. Galahad broke that agreement."
"I agree. Galahad should have been more subtle, negotiated instead of plotting rebellion."
"So then why? Why aid the boy?"
"The same reason you and the New Maous allowed the heirs of the Extra Demon families to leave and isolate themselves in the first place. Because he's innocent of his family's crimes."
The two devils stared each other down, neither breaking eye contact or blinking.
"What is he planning Mephisto?" Ajuka asked in a low voice.
"Nothing." Mephisto replied. "He doesn't know. All Romulus wants is to restore his family and live his life. I can promise you that old friend."
Ajuka considered his once mentor.
"You aren't lying to me?"
"I've lied about many things Ajuka, but not about this, not with these stakes."
The stare down continued before finally, as one, they both broke away. The buffet table had become a small show now. Serafall had bested both the Titanius king and queen, piling chocolate high on her strawberry and allowing it to cool before adding more. She had gotten the chocolate nearly half a foot tall without even using magic. The two young children watched in awe as she plopped the food in her mouth breaking the chocolate tower and chewing exaggeratedly to show off her victory.
Sirzechs and Grayfia had finished speaking with his family and had joined Falbium and his date on the dance-floor, though the two were no match for the graceful moved of the Satan Asmodeus and his companion as they dazzled the gathered guests with their flawless waltz technique.
Mephisto got up, sighing and looking down at his seated former pupil.
"Just enjoy the party Ajuka, the young devil gathering is coming up, and I know that event is always a headache to organise."
Ajuka sighed heavily himself, leaning back in his chair and taking a long drink from his glass.
"Fine, old friend. But after tonight, it's back to the game."
Mephisto smiled.
"Of course, now how about we find you a dance partner, Lady Maeve is here, I know you two get on quite well."
Ajuka laughed.
"She wants to kill me, and tries every time we meet."
"All these years, and you still don't understand women Ajuka. It really does surprise me."
The party finally ended, and the last of the guests were escorted out of the Titanius clan estates. Tannin watched the doors close, sealing the compound and activating the shields that protected it. Romulus stood by his side with Adrianna, but considering the time the two were almost sleeping standing up. Chuckling, Tannin lifted the two and rested them over his shoulders, where the two barely made a peep.
"All things considered, I think that went well." Mephisto said.
"Except they know we know now."
"They always knew old friend, or at least they were all but sure."
"So why give them anything? I know you 'Phisto, you never give any information away."
"Surrendering the information was of no detriment to us Tannin, and it bought us two very important things.
"And what were those?"
"Trust for one. Ajuka knows me, and knows how tightly I hold information from those I am against. Hopefully, he'll think that by gifting him the knowledge I did today, I'm more inclined to side with him and that what I was saying was true."
"It wasn't?"
"Oh on, it all was. Well, everything but the idea that Romulus is truly ignorant of the reality of his family's execution. However, hopefully that one lie will be overlooked with all the truths I let lose."
"Heh, even when your telling someone the truth, your lying to them eh?"
"Why Tannin, did you truly expect anything less?"
"Not really, now let's get these two to their rooms. The girl's got a visit with her parents coming up, and kid needs to take his etiquette lessons. Not to mention keeping up his training since Asushunamir had to leave and head back to Ereshkigal."
"I suppose the queen couldn't go without her favoured consort, esspecially since Nergal is said to return to her soon."
Romulus held his concentration and the shield in front of him held strong. He was sitting in a meditative position on the forest floor, and in front of him was a massive magic circle. It was approximately twenty meters in diameter, and was really more of a magic octagon, with eight circles where the edges would be. Within the circles were more lines, with greek runes from both the classical greek alphabet, as well as the linear b and linear a syllabic scripts that were used before the bronze age collapse of Greek society.
Circe had been helping him with his spells using heavenly power, and found that ancient greek and latin shields were the most efficient in utilising it. Circe had herself theorised that he had some greek or roman heritage to go with his demonic blood, but as far as both she and Mephisto knew, the main family had stuck to devils when it came to reproduction.
On the other side of the shield, Adrianna was firing away at him with her own attack spells. His queen had apparently found greater success with norse magics, esspecially those deriving from the offensive spells of Helheim.
Adrianna's Innovate Clear was already manifested, and the tome that represented her gear was floating around him, attacking at different angles. However, each attack was met with the same shields. Adrianna had been working hard over the last few weeks to catch up to her friend. While she could match Romulus with her balance breaker, she wanted to be able to keep up with him naturally.
Romulus himself had grown immensely over their time apart, something she'd seen first hand in his battle against Vali. Her own balance breaker, which she'd obtained shortly after, was still powerful, but didn't give the same boost in raw energy that either the scale mail or Romulus new power, Which Romulus and Vali had dubbed 'Titanic Charka Body' mostly because, according to them, it 'sounded cool'.
Still, Mephisto had told the two of them that the Young Devils Gathering was being held within the week, and that since Romulus was now in the rating game system, he was eligible to compete. The two of them were excited, but Adrianna was sure that the competition would be tough. After all, Riser had fought the two of them and he was on the younger side for the competitors, the 'older' devils amongst them would doubtlessly be even stronger.
The two finally stopped when Tannin stomped into the clearing getting both of their attentions.
"Alright you two, time to pack it in, we need to head to the station and through to the underworld if we want to make the opening ceremonies in time."
The two children followed the Dragon back through a teleportation spell into the Titanius compound, where they were then instructed to dress in clothes that were, according to Mephisto, 'suitable for such an event of such prominence as the Young Devil Gathering'
Romulus found himself once again stuffed into a suit, however instead of the small tuxedo he'd been in for his family's celebration, he was instead in a white dress shirt and black dress pants, he had also been given a jacket, but had opted not to put it on. He was also given a necktie to put on, but had instead only knotted it loosely around his neck.
As he left his room, he saw that Adrianna had changed as well. Unlike her previous green dress, this one was a deep purple. Other than the colour though, there wasn't much different about the design. Romulus wasn't about to complain though, he had liked the dress that Adrianna had worn to the last party.
Together with Tannin the three of them stood together as a magic circle appeared below them. The circle spun and glowed, getting ready to transport them across the underworld to the city of Lucifaad, where the young devil gathering was going to take place.
"Right." Tannin said as the circle finished teleporting them. Adrianna and Romulus looked around, they weren't in any official looking room, in fact, they didn't appear to be indoors at all, instead, they were standing on a normal looking street in what appeared to be a large city.
"So you two." The two looked up at their guide. "Mephisto wanted me to tell you two some stuff before you headed into the meetings, so I dropped us off here so we can walk and talk."
The two just nodded and followed after Tannin when he began walking and gestured for them to keep pace.
"Anyway." He growled. "So this gathering, it's supposed to be a place for all the heirs to meet each other, where they can mingle and chat and get to know each other better. That's a bunch of crap."
Romulus and Adrianna paid rapt attention.
"The real reason for this thing is to scout out the competition. All the devil families are competing with each other, and just because you two aren't part of the main faction, doesn't mean it's gonna be any easier. Most of the heir there are gonna know about you two, esspecially after the fight with Riser, you're gonna have to pick a side, join a group, or find a way to survive on your own."
Romulus and Adrianna shared a look before quickly nodding to each other.
"Either way, don't let those other heirs push you around, they'll want to know what you're made of, see if they can push you down and bully you. You gotta stand up to that stuff and show 'em who's boss. Most of them know what you can do, so you don't have to hide too much, just don't show off, or if you do, keep some trump cards secret."
"So why are we even going, can't we just show up to the matches, win them, and go home?" Romulus asked.
"Not that simple kid, much as I think it's all a show, It's still a good way to find out who you can count on amongst the heir to support you, If you can make some friends, or at least an alliance or two, then you'll have someone at your back outside the matches. Info and favours can be worth more than gold in these kinds of contests, and allies can help you get both."
Adrianna nodded.
"So we have to make nice and figure out how to get these other heirs to help us? Is that is Lord Tannin."
"That's right girl, better to get some of them on your side, you're new here, granted so are a lot of the others, but they're all pillar devils, they're bound to be closer to each other. Find some way to get in on one of the circles, or better yet, stay on the edge of all the groups, best get as many fingers in as many pies as possible."
"What?" Romulus asked, looking confused at his guardian's choice of expression.
"Ugh, just try to get as much info as you can, and try not to make too many enemies."
Finally Tannin stopped, and so did the other two. In front of them there was a massive building with a large set of glass doors for entrance. Together the three of them walked in, right up to the front desk where a young woman was typing away at a computer and humming a song. As they approached, she noticed Tannin's shadow being cast over her and looked up. Romulus could see her face pale as she took in the large visage of the dragon.
"H-hello. H-how may I help you?" She stuttered as she spoke, but quickly got her voice under control before clearing her throat.
"I'm here to drop off these two." Tannin gestured to the two young devils. "Romulus Titanius and his queen, they're here for the gathering."
The woman's eyes widened again and flickered between Tannin and the two youngsters.
"Of course." She said. "No problem."
She reached under her desk, pulling open a drawer and retrieving a pair of cards.
"These will get the two of them access to the gathering rooms. There's a social room as well where most of the young heirs are meeting and relaxing before the official presentation. The cards will also get them into there as well. Just past here, into the elevator and up to the fourth floor. That's the social room."
Tannin nodded to the woman, and lead his two charges over to the elevator.
"Now remember, don't take any crap from anyone without fighting back. Those heirs are like sharks, they get a whiff of weakness they'll hone onto it and never let go."
The elevator doors began to close, cutting off the two from Tannin.
"Good luck runts." Was the last thing they heard before the doors finally closed and they ascended the building.
As the two felt the elevator rise, they stared ahead at the metal doors without talking. The light at the top of the elevator showed that they had reached the third floor within moment. As they finally reached level four, the elevator dinged, and Romulus briefly took Adrianna's hand and squeezed it. The queen gripped his hand back before they both let go as the doors opened.
The two stepped out and found themselves in a wide hall, there was a person who seemed to be a servant standing beside it, who nodded to them and bowed.
"Hello." They bowed slightly with a smile before gesturing for the two ten year olds to follow them.
"We are happy to welcome you and your peerage young lord Titanius. If you would follow me I will escort you to the social hall for the young devil's gathering."
The two followed behind, observing the scenery that made up the hall, impressed by the impeccable decorations that adorned the walls.
As they finally entered through a large door at near mid-ways down the hall, they found that there were perhaps two or three dozen other devils gathered and mingling amongst themselves.
The two briefly observed the differing groups of devils, trying to gauge how they were split up and what kind of groups were forming.
Already Romulus could see and sense that the different groupings of devils radiated similar magics, most likely the peerages of the heirs.
Adrianna leaned over to whisper in his ear.
"They all have bigger groups than us, maybe we should have added more members?"
"We don't want to regret people joining right?' Romulus countered. "We shouldn't add people just to have more. That's what Mr Mephisto and Mr Tannin told us."
"I guess."
"Hey there."
The two of them turned, finding a girl walking towards them with a medium sized dragon a step behind her.
As soon as he spotted her and the dragon, Romulus' eyes lit up in recognition.
"Seekvaira, right?" He asked as she stopped and stood in front of him and Adrianna.
"Yeah." She smiled, holding out her hand for him to shake. "I'm glad you remember me. I hope you remember him as well."
The dragon stepped forwards.
"Hello again."
Adrianna smiled and walked up the her fellow queen, shaking his hand.
"Hey there, It's Alivian right? Sorry if I'm getting it wrong."
The dragon smiled, putting Adrianna at ease.
"Yes it is, I'm glad you remember, It's Adrianna isn't it?"
"Yeah, thanks."
Seekvaira smiled as the two queens got reacquainted.
"It's really nice to see you two again, I thought we could hang out since I went to study under lord Mephistopheles."
"You trained with Lord Mephisto?" Adrianna asked.
"Well." Seekvaira blushed slightly. "I was supposed to, but apparently he was away on business so my parents called me home, but I really want to study under him, they say he actually trained the current Maou Beelzebub."
"Yeah, he's talked about that." Romulus nodded along.
"That must be so amazing, I don't think there's a better trained for devils in the world."
"Is it true that Tannin the dragon king works under Lord Mephistopheles?"
Alivian cut in, looking between the two. Seekvaira briefly seemed taken aback by her queen's sudden interruption, nudging him in the shoulder.
"Alivian, you can't just ask stuff like that, it's rude."
"It's ok." Romulus tried to soothe the situation before answering.
"Yeah, Mr Tannin is Mr Mephisto's queen, so he does help him out when he needs to."
Alivian nodded.
"I would be honoured to meet the Blaze Meteor Dragon. I, alongside many a dragon, consider him a hero for founding the dragon apple forests. In fact, it is my goal to help Lady Seekvaira and myself achieve the status of Ultimate-Rank devils in order to grow the forests in the underworld."
Adrianna smiled at the dragon.
"That sounds like a great goal. I'm sure that you and Lady Agares will get there, esspecially since you two are so strong."
Seekvaira blushed slightly and Alivian smiled down at the human queen.
"Thank you Ms Adrianna, I'm glad for your support of us." He nudged Seekvaira slightly with a smile. "And I'm sure my king does as well."
Seekvaira just gave them a nervous look and a smile, the blush still on her face.
"Hey Seekvaira, what's going on? Why are you just standing over here?"
The two groups turned and watched as two more figures walked towards them. Both were around the same age as them, and were smiling happily as they went.
"Ah, Eneely, Diodora, it's good to see you two. Sorry about that, I was just talking to a friend."
Seekvaira gestured to Romulus and Adrianna.
"This is Romulus Titanius and his queen Adrianna. Romulus, Adrianna, this is Eneely Vassago and Diodora Astaroth, They're here for the gathering as well."
Romulus smiled at the two, nodding his head and reaching out with his hand for a hand shake.
"Nice to meet you."
The two looked at him with a mix of surprise and recognition.
"You're Romulus Titanius?" Diodora asked, still smiling.
"Yeah?" Romulus replied, unsure.
"Wow." Emeely leaned forwards with her eyes shining. "I heard you pulled out an Evil Piece set made entirely of mutation pieces. Can I see it, I've never seen a mutated queen before, do you still have it?"
Romulus laughed, rubbing the back of his head.
"Not really, I used it on Adrianna, my queen." He gestured next to him, where Adrianna was watching the exchange with a look of curiosity.
"Wow." Eneely exclaimed, pushing past Romulus and studying Adrianna. "I've never heard of a person using a mutation piece to turn a queen before. How does it feel? Is it different from a normal piece? Did you're power go up a lot when it happened?"
Adrianna's eyes shone and Romulus could tell she was excited to find someone who seemed as addicted to learning as she was.
"I'm not sure if it's any different from a normal queen piece really. It feels pretty good actually, I felt a lot stronger. I think I got like four or five times stronger than I was as a human."
"Wow." Eneely gushed. "I saw your rating game against Riser. Well actually, I wasn't supposed to see it, but my parents didn't see me spying on them when they watched the replay. That was a really cool thing you did with the book. What was that?"
"It's my sacred gear." Adrianna said, smiling. "I'm really good at magic with it, and I can make my spells a lot stronger when I have it. Wanna see?"
"Sure." Eneely grinned.
With a small flare of her power, Adrianna summoned up her balance breaker. Staring at the tome that held such a concentration of power, Eneely, Diodora, Seekvaira and Alivian's eyes all widened.
"Wow, that's a lot of magic." Eneely leaned forwards, poking the tome with her finger. "I can't believe that there's a sacred gear that can make someone this much stronger."
Romulus watched as Eneely and Adrianna continued to discuss her sacred gear, with Seekvaira and Alivian joining in to praise his queen. Looking over he noticed that Diodora was also observing, but made no move to actually interact with his queen or the others. In fact, Romulus thought he saw something about the boy. For just a moment, a flickering second, there was a hunger in Diodora's eyes. He didn't know what for, or even if it had really happened, but Romulus narrowed his eyes at the man, taking note that he possessed no peerage members that he could see.
Not that that was really strange, according to Mephisto and Tannin, it wasn't odd for devils to appear without their peerages, either as a way to hide their strength and number, or simply out of condescension and disregard for their servants outside of battle or as status symbols.
Of course, Romulus wasn't sure why Diodora didn't have his with him, but Mephisto and Tannin had told him not to make any enemies, esspecially of the pillar heirs, so for now Romulus would let it go.
"Oi, Varia, what are you doing over there? I never thought someone like you would go anywhere without your guards."
Coming up to the small group there was another group, this one headed by a dark skinned boy with green hair and a long, yellow and black coat strode up to them.
"Well well, looks like the Agares princess decided she wanted to slum it up with a pair of commoners. What are you low ranked guys even doing at a gathering for the upper class. You two part of someone's peerage?"
Adrianna bristled at the insults, stepping forwards and readying her gear. In response, several of the group stood to defend their leader.
"Zephyrdor, do you have to make such an unsightly scene. It's unbecoming someone of our status, even if you're not the hair. Back off, if you don't I'll fight you, and I won't take any blame from the higher ups when I win. I don't even know why you're here since you're not the heir."
Seekvaira glared at the man, standing in front of Adrianna. Zephyrdor scowled, glaring at the Agares heir.
"Really? And what? you think you can beat me with your shitty peerage. You've barely got one piece, but I guess anything is fine when you don't care who you recruit."
Alivian surged forwards, right into Zephyrdor's face. To the boy's credit, he didn't flinch, despite the nearly seven foot tall dragon that was staring him down with murderous intent. Seeing the prelude to a fight, esspecially with Adrianna's magic flaring as it was, Romulus decided to step in. Concentrating slightly, he created two shield walls between Alivian and Zephyrdor. Pushing them back, the two were separated, and both of them stumbled back as the walls relentlessly advanced.
With the appearance of the two shields, most of the groups that had been keeping to themselves turned to watch the display. Zephyrdor got up, glaring around as a scowl grew on his face.
"Who did that? Who in the Maous' names did that?" He growled out. "Whoever that was, you wanna say something, you better say it to my face, come up and fight me yourself you coward."
Romulus took a step forward, getting Zephyrdor's attention.
"I was told not to make too many enemies here, but I think someone like you, needs to be taken down a few pegs."
Romulus flared his power, summoning and showing off his wings while causing them to light up enough to blind Zephyrdor, his followers, and even his own group.
"If you wanna take me on, you better be able to back up your tough talk. We Titanius' don't like empty boasting."
Zephyrdor's face changed, and the smug look broke. Romulus hoped that the display would be enough to make the boy back down, but it didn't last long.
"Well, I heard about you." Zephyrdor returned to his smug expression. "The heir who's only important because his whole family died. Must be nice, everyone treating you like Lucifer himself just because you survived where the rest of your family killed each other."
Romulus' vision blurred as Zephyrdor spoke. He knew about the 'official' story of what had happened to his family, but now as Zephyrdor mocked him with it, he was almost ready to lash out, even announce what had actually happened. It was only by the barest of margins that he didn't. Instead, Romulus encased his hand in a shield, allowed his chakra to activate the power of the berserker, and channeled it into his fist, all in less than a second.
In the next second, Zephyrdor's body impacted the ceiling of the gathering hall, making a sizeable crater and knocking the young devil unconscious. As he fell to the ground, he was caught by another devil. This one was older, with similar features but a more neutral expression.
The group that had been accompanying the boy had broken up once Romulus had introduced himself, likely not very enthusiastic to insult the head of a massively prominent family, leaving only three devils, likely his peerage, to crowd around him and the older man.
"What happened?" The new boy asked, surveying the scene.
Seekvaira stepped forward, standing beside Romulus.
"Young heir of the Glasya-Labolas clan, your younger clansman approached us and acted disrespectfully. Young Lord Titanius was only acting in response to your family member's abuse."
"Did Zephyrdor attack the young lord Titanius?" The boy asked, and Romulus blushed as he realised that while provoked, he had still initiated the violence.
"N-no." Seekvaira stuttered. "But Zephyrdor was insulting Romulus' family and their deaths. It was very insensitive."
The older boy looked between Zephyrdor's unconscious body, Romulus, and Seekvaira. Finally, after what looked like some deliberation, he looked at Romulus.
"For the insults to your family that a member of my clan laid on you, I won't retaliate against you here today." Seekvaira let out a sigh of relief. "However, you struck a member of my family without just cause, and that is an insult I cannot allow. Should we meet on the battlefield during this gathering, I will not hold back, and I will defeat you."
The boy leaned in close, nearly a foot taller than Romulus.
"I had expected, even if you have suffered, that someone of your status would not stoop so low as to respond to petty insults. It seems that you have not been instructed well enough in the manners befitting of nobility."
Turning around, the Glasya-Labolas heir began to walk away. Watching, Romulus felt shame well up in him.
"Please, wait." The older boy turned around, to see Romulus bowing to him.
"I'm sorry. I apologise for my actions. It was wrong and incredibly ill-mannered of me to hit him just because of what he said."
Romulus looked up.
"I hope you can forgive my lack of dignity, and that this will not taint your view of my family."
The older boy regarded Romulus silently, before his face split into a kind smile.
"It seems I was wrong. It takes great dignity to admit when one is wrong, and to offer sincere apologies."
Turning, with Zephyrdor still under his arm, he returned Romulus' bow.
"I assure you, your apologies are accepted, that is, if you will accept my apologies on behalf of my clansman for his rude words."
Romulus smiled brightly.
"Of course. Thank you."
The two parted ways, with several dozen pairs of eyes staring at them as the rest of the hall turned from the spectacle and returned to their own affairs.
Seekvaira, Eneely and Diodora walked up as the crowd dispersed.
"That went pretty well, all things considered." Seekvaira said.
Adrianna walked up behind them, smacking Romulus on the back of the head before pulling him into a hug.
"You idiot. I'm sorry I didn't hit him first."
"It's ok." Romulus muttered. "It turned out ok in the end anyway."
"Still." Adrianna broke away, looking closely at her friend. "I should have helped out."
"No, it's probably better that is was Romulus." Eneely said. "As Romulus' servant, if you had hit Zephyrdor, the Glasya-Labolas heir would have been in his right to demand that you be punished, and that he get to weigh in on the punishment. An apology wouldn't have been enough. Since it was Romulus, who is the head of the peerage, it's a matter of sullied honour as opposed to a disobedient servant."
"Oh, so it was better that I hit him?"
"Probably."
"Well, at least I know you're not giving us Extra Demons a bad name."
Once again the group was approached by another person. However, this time the person was a woman. Obviously older than them, and older than the Glasya-Labolas clan heir. She looked to be in her early twenties, with long pink heir and tanned skin. She had two horns poking out of her forehead which drew her hair out of her hair like a curtain.
"So, you're the little Titanius prince everyone's falling themselves to get on your good side. Nice to meet you."
She stuck out her hand, bending forwards slightly to better meet his eyes.
"The names Roygun, Roygun Belphegor. Good to know I'm not the only Extra Demon who enjoys the sport."
The others stared at Roygun with something akin to awe, looking up at her like and idol or a celebrity.
before he could say anything to the older woman, a voice sounded out from one of the room's entrances.
"Thank you all for your patience. If you would be so kind, would all the participants and their peerages gather and get ready to enter the presentation hall."
There was muttering and shuffling throughout the hall as the various devils and their peerages began to form up. Seekvaira, Eneely and Diodora all began to break off from him, each saying goodbye and wishing Adrianna and him luck in the coming matches.
Together, the assembled young devils filled out of the small hall. They followed along after the guide, walking through twisting corridors until finally, a light could be seen at the end of one of the halls. More than light, there was also sound, the sounds of cheering crowds filled the ears of the participants.
When they finally exited the hallway, they found themselves in another, far larger, gathering hall. Surrounding them were stands jammed packed with what Romulus assumed to be devils. There weren't many of them, perhaps a thousand at most, but to him, it was one of the largest crowds he'd ever seen. He felt Adrianna speed up, coming from behind him she walked next to him and slipped her hand into his shaking one. When neither of them stopped trembling, Romulus realised that Adrianna hadn't done this to offer support, but to receive it. Taking a deep breath, Romulus tried to steady his hand, and while the shaking didn't completely stop, he was able to tone it down and in doing so, help to stop his queen's from shaking as well.
Having offered his queen support, Romulus once again observed the hall that they had been brought into. The spectators were seated above them by perhaps a meter at the front rows, while the divide grew greater as the seats moved back. However, above the spectators, there were several large boxed that housed what looked like the upper echelons of the Main Devil Faction. Romulus could see the Maous, mostly because of Sirzechs' bright red hair, but he also saw someone he didn't expect. The woman from the ball who had challenged him to a chocolate eating contest was also there. She was dressed very differently, with a pink wand and an outfit that Romulus was sure would fit better in a Saturday morning cartoon.
As the different competitors and their peerages stepped forwards, Sirzechs stepped forwards, raising his hand and gesturing for silence.
"Greeting to all of you, who have gathered together for this great competition. The Young Devils Gathering has long been a means for the young to prove themselves amongst each other and to show what will and power you possess. You are all members of the next generation who will carry on the will of our kind into the future. It is here that we will see who among you are the greatest, and who may be the ones who will lead when the time comes."
Of course, Sirzechs didn't say anything about the current powers dying. To admit such a thing would be a show of weakness. Devils lived near eternal lives unless killed, and could contend even with gods after enough time passed and they grew powerful enough. The current leadership was still relatively new amongst the supernatural world. The current Satans had ruled for only a little over five centuries, a fraction of the time that the original bloodlines had controlled their section of the underworld.
"The time for this event, the meeting of our children, has once again come and with it, we will see your power, great and small, and see it grow and change as you compete with each other in these games."
There was a roar from the crowd, who seemed greatly enthused at the thought of combat and competition. Many of the elders that sat close to the Satans also seemed, not excited, but anticipatory. The speech continued, with Sirzechs speaking more on the importance of the games, and how they were a tradition that had existed since the beginnings of the devils.
"When the first Lucifer and his wife Lilith birthed our race from their flesh. They set their children against each other. They created the young devils gathering amongst each new generation of their children in order to find those who possessed the power to dominate and lead the new race they had birthed. It was from this contest, that the seventy-two great families were formed. These great pillars of our race rose up in order to fight with our founders against the Angels and the Fallen. Throughout our race's existence, it is the tradition that has stood the test of time, surviving the Great War, our own civil war, and even into our new regime. This is because, no matter the time, and no matter the ruler, it is imperative that we test our next generation and ensure that they are up to the task of succeeding us in the future that is to come."
The speech continued on for a little while longer, but Romulus stopped paying attention to Sirzechs in favour of focusing on his competition. All around him he could see each faction, each possible enemy. Where before, the groups had mingled together, making it difficult to determine who was a competitor and who was a servant. Here, they were separated, but off from each other. Together, Romulus could see about sixteen distinct groups. Eneely, Diodora, Seekvaira and he made up four of them. With Roygun, Zephyrdor and the Glasya-Labolas heir representing another three. Last of those he could recognize, he saw Riser Phenex and his peerage standing straight and looking determinedly up at Sirzechs. The other eight teams were unknown to Romulus, but he made sure to remember those that followed them. Only two of the final four possessed a peerage, or at least, had brought their peerages with them.
"And now, as we begin this gathering of our young devils, we will see their hopes and dreams for the future. Step forwards, each of you, and yell out your dreams."
One by one, each of the younger devils stepped up to announce to the public and the elders their dreams. The first to approach was Seekvaira.
"My dream for now is to be a worthy heir to the Agares family, and to prove to all that we are strong by winning my matches."
Romulus turned towards Adrianna, who looked back at him. It was a fine goal, he thought, but it was good that she seemed to think of this dream as temporary. Really, Romulus thought she should strive for more than just victory in this tournament as the sum total of her ambition. As Seekvaira retreated, Roygun stepped forwards.
While Seekvaira had approached steadily but stoically, Roygun walked with a confident gait that still radiated comfort and joy. It was as if she was right at home in the opening ceremonies of the competition.
"I'm going to be the champion of the Rating games, the number one. I want to show that me and mine are stronger than anyone around."
Roygun announced her dream with a flourish and a bow, cheers erupting from around her as the audience applauded. The elders didn't look quite as pleased as the people seated below them, and seemed to be muttering amongst each other.
After Roygun one of the other devils stepped forwards. Their dream seemed to be similar to Seekvaira's; bring honor to their family and win their matches. The next was the same, and so on and so forth. Even the Glasya-Labolas heir he'd met was the same. Finally, after everyone but himself and one other had been called, he heard his name.
"Romulus Titanius."
The cheering of the crowd ceased, but in its place came the hissing of a thousand devils all eagerly whispering to each other. The elder council high above was watching him with interest, as were the Maous.
Romulus took a deep breath and stepped up. His gaze ran across the crowd, across his fellow participants. Finally, he locked eyes with Adrianna, who offered him a small nod.
"My goal is to make the Titanius clan the envy of all the world, every world. I want everyone to know that my family is the best in the world, that no one is better."
The crowd erupted into cheers, and around him several of the competitors observed him. Up in the boxes, The elders and Maous looked down with eyes that betrayed no emotion. Romulus watched them for a moment, not looking away, before he moved back to stand amongst the other contestants.
Romulus didn't really pay attention after that. He saw and heard as the last contestant, one of the ones he'd never met before who had brought their peerage, made their announcement, but for the life of him he couldn't remember what exactly it was. Adrianna had gripped his hand in the meantime and was offering what support she could, but Romulus' eyes were trained up at the private boxes. Mephisto and Tannin were staring back down at him, both of them looking exasperated and Mephisto even looking somewhat annoyed. The rest of the Elders would occasionally look his way, but they never stayed too long before they found another of the assembled young devils.
As the final devil stapped back, having finished declaring their goal, the crowd grew silent as Sirzechs gestured for quiet.
"Very well." Sirzechs finally said. "We welcome all of your goals, and in this contest, we will see the goals of the strong realised. I wonder which one of you will find yourselves standing at the top in the end."
The assembled crowd cheered as they were lead out of the arena as one, through the same entrance they had come through. Romulus walked alongside Adrianna, making sure not to make eye-contact with anyone else, and esspecially not to look at the Maous as they left.
I haven't got much to say other than this is overdue. Sorry. Hope you enjoy. There was a small error that one of my reviewers pointed out that I fixed, so the chapter has gotten some editing.