AN: Make way, tell your neighbor and friends, light fireworks and play Ride Of The Valkyries, FOR I HAVE RETURNED! With an incredible feat of finishing this chapter before the end of the decade (not incredible at all, it's just me) I bring you this gift and wish you all Merry Christmas! I hope you're all healthy and happy with your families, friends or alone if you prefer it that way.
With the previous chapter the story hit exactly 100 favorites, so congratulations Crimson Green Flame on being the milestone and thanks for your review! To all of you, keep those coming and have fun reading!
This particular chapter was beted by ekaterina016, who also beted my other story. Pay him a visit in your free time and check out his stuff.
For a second, the room was covered in complete silence, with everyone staring at Issei and the hole. Rias' party was awestruck by their friendly pervert kicking the girl through the wall without batting an eye. They all remembered his change when they were planning an attack at Kalawarner, but then, he was fueled by anger and revenge against someone who used and hurt him and his friends. And now, here he stood calmly, deliberately using way too much force to defeat her. Completely unlike himself.
The Hyoudou sisters and Raynare suspected something was going on, especially when they noticed the malicious smirk Septimus tried his best to suppress. However, Riser and his Peerage didn't have any idea what had just happened. For the Phenex heir, the fact this arrogant peasant suddenly blew away his Pawn as if she was nothing greatly disturbed him. What's worse, when Mira flew right next to him, he couldn't even react. Even though he sent his weakest piece to humiliate the teenager, she shouldn't be defeated so easily. After all, she was one of Riser Phenex's pieces… and Riser didn't recruit weaklings. Which must've meant the piece before him was a higher ranking one – someone connected with Dragons, judging by the scales appearing on of his body. Very impressive of his Rias to find a servant of such quality, he had to admit. Quite a shame he was a male, or he'd want him for himself. But no matter, because he was nothing compared to the great Riser! This boy's last consolation would be that his strength earned him the privilege to be punished by the immortal Phoenix personally.
"Looks like I won, Nee-chan!" The carefree voice of a little werewolf crying happily at her win, and the sight of her older sister taking out a bunch of bills with a sour face, brought everyone back.
Before Phenex moved, someone from his group walked out with a sword drawn out. Karlamine, one of his Knights, clad in silver and black armor with a headband, pointed her blade at supposed Dragon as he lowered his leg and retracted his scales. "How dare you do this to Mira?! I'll make you regret it!" Shouting angrily, Karlamine coated her sword in brightly burning fire. Without waiting, she brought it down with a wave of orange flames, flying at Issei.
Grayfia, undeniably the most powerful in this room and someone tasked with leading this meeting, stood through all this development without any visible reaction. She was about to step in when Riser sent out his Pawn, but with how swift brown-haired Hyoudou acted, there was no need for that. While the damage dealt to the Phenex's servant seemed severe, it was in self-defense, even if somewhat overboard. After quickly checking kicked girl's vitals, her life seemed to not be in danger, so Lucifer's Queen decided to wait longer for the situation to resolve itself.
Her lack of actions led to everyone's confusion when the torrent of flames was stopped by a wave of ice created by a cold stream, and the most obvious suspect stood motionless. It became clear the ice wasn't her doing when Septimus rose from his seat and confidently swayed his tails, walking to the center of the room. Seemingly unconcerned with a female knight behind his back, the black Bishop examined the block of ice while playing with his fan, doing everything to suck every bit of attention in the room. The fan had the same magic circle as when Septimus used it to cool everyone, with the difference that now it was much bigger and frozen mist oozed out of it, making it clear who stopped the earlier attack.
"You know, it's quite rude to draw blade at your host's servant, even more so when you play flamethrower and burn their room at the same time. That being said, your flames wouldn't even scratch this muscle-headed Scalebrain, so you'd just destroy the floor for nothing." Tilting his head to look at Karlamine sideways, Septimus loudly folded his fan and tapped the ice. When the black bamboo hit the surface, all ice instantly shattered into millions of small snowflakes scattering around the room.
Unfazed by the beautiful spectacle before them, Riser and his Peerage eyed the Nekomata before them, now seeing both him and the Dragon were not as weak as one would expect.
Karlamine, standing closest to them and still mad after what happened to their Pawn, turned her sword at the magician. "Who are you?!" Trying to intimidate him, the Knight ignited her sword, but at the same time, stayed her hand from sending another fire wave.
Septimus, not fazed in the least by burning weapon, twirled the fan between his fingers, increasing its speed until it suddenly disappeared. He waited for a moment with his palms raised like an illusionist who showed his hands are empty, but there was no reaction to his trick. Fixing his messy hair only to make them more disordered, the Nekomata pushed his performance further. The Black Bishop sharply swayed his hand far away from himself and snapped, making bamboo accessory appear again.
"I am Septimus, newly acquired Bishop of Rias Gremory. Your King already guessed my race, although quite rudely." While pointing at himself with the fan and overdoing a courtly bow before Karlamine and the Phenex Peerage, the male Nekomata quickly contacted his brother. "Yo, next task for you: Try to emanate physical energy, masculine aura, domination… those kinds of shit."
"What?! How?" Surprised with another request out of blue, Issei struggled to keep his face straight while answering.
"I don't know. Do the T-pose, or JoJo pose, or just stare with that face you had when Riser stared at Rias' boobs, or whatever. Just hurry with it!"
Issei thought whether he should question his brother's sanity for seriously wanting him to do the first two ones right now… but he already tied himself to his idea while kicking that small girl, so the best he could do now was to play along and keep going. That's why, when Septimus raised his hand, and with another twirl pointed his fan at Issei, the Dragon Pawn simply stood there, glaring at them with crossed arms.
"And this towering pervert who rocked your little Pawn as if she was nothing is my brother Issei. A Dragon, if you still haven't guessed. Us two are the new servants of Lady Rias Gremory – an honor to meet you. Or, to kick you with enough force for you to fly through the wall, if you like that more than a traditional greeting."
Looking at her with his gleaming orange eyes, reflecting the fire from her sword, the now-grinning boy snorted the last part. Her first reaction was to instinctively rush and slash at him, but Karlamine held herself back, remembering what happened to Mira and how this cat froze her fire. Looking back at her King, she saw him shaking his head and staring at the two brothers intensely. After the initial shock of another one of his pieces bested, Riser sent his little sister to look after his Pawn. Now, he really wanted to know exactly who these two were.
After waiting for a few seconds, Septimus laughed coldly and slightly nodded to Karlamine when she lowered her sword. "You didn't fall for my provocation here, huh? Looks like you're not as hotheaded as I thought." Switching from showing off and acting courtly, he praised the Phenex Knight with a calm voice. "But speaking of hot, can you turn that thing off? I wasn't joking when I talked about temperature in here."
Following his line of sight, Karlamine understood he was referring to her burning sword. After seeing her previous attack and that it wouldn't be much of use anyway, the swordswoman listened to his request, not wanting to cause unnecessary discomfort for others in the room. She kept her blade unsheathed as a precaution, though. However, for Septimus, it was enough as he thanked her, and walked back to his place without a care.
Riser, after all that had happened, was almost sure that even while both of them were somewhat powerful, it was the Nekomata who was more dangerous of the two. The Dragon was physically strong and tough, but it was his brother who smelled like trouble. But then… who were the others?
"Rias, I understand those are your servants, and from what I have seen, I am ready to forgive them what happened here. But the rest… who are they? Those Fallen Angels and the other outstanding beauties?" His question got him various reactions, from threatening waves coming from both brothers, disgusted looks from Rias' Peerage, to blank stares given by said complimented girls. The one with raven hair even feinted puking at his words, followed by an eruption of laughter, which basically stunned Riser on the spot. He was loved by women – it was them who tried to gain his attention, not the other way around! There was, of course, Rias opposing their engagement. But that must've been because the whole thing was their parents' idea and she just wanted to rebel against the rules, no? Yet, this…
Rias, meanwhile, having an image to uphold, barely held herself back from joining Raynare in her laugh. The heir of Gremory didn't ever think she'd want to hug someone with Fallen Angel ties except for Akeno, but now she was this close to walk up to the black Angel and do that for this priceless look on Riser's face. It was as if his brain couldn't process what was happening and just froze, leaving him to reboot. However, her servants weren't as successful as her. To hide her chuckles, Akeno masked it with a cup of tea, accidentally spilling some. Kiba must've suddenly got seriously sick, based on all the couching coming from him. Even always cold Koneko giggled, with a brief laugh escaping her lips, the first one since her brother entrusted the white Nekomata to Rias.
Coughing to make sure her voice was steady, and with that, bringing Riser back to reality, Rias answered as if nothing happened, "*cough* Only those two are my new servants, so I'd kindly ask you to leave other club members alone. They're either my servants' family, or..." Here, the Devil princess paused, thinking how to classify the two Fallen Angels without giving out the Hyoudous' secret, "...friends who live close by."
Listening to his fiancée and pushing aside things from before, the blond playboy erupted with a sarcastic laugh just as she finished. "Muahahaha! So you got yourself just two servants?! Here I thought you'd pose some threat if they all became your Pieces, but you want to challenge the great Riser with an incomplete set?! You think you can win with this bunch of weaklings and barbaric brutes?"
Just as the Phenex returned to his complete-dick self, Rias' good humor evaporated. Riser crossed the line he should not have by insulting her servants. They all were part of her family, and if she could stomach his character towards her after all the practice she had, her family was untouchable!
"Enough!" Raising abruptly, the Gremory let out her bottled anger and stared back at her fiancé. "Stop treating everyone around like they are worse than you! You know what?! I think exactly that! Even with fewer servants, our bonds and who they are is enough to make up for our numbers! You say I only got two new members?! Well, one of them mutated my Bishop piece while reincarnating, and the second-!"
"The second is strong enough to kick more of your servants even if they're girls!"
Listening to Rias while she so passionately defended them made Issei feel warm inside. Their King's treatment only strengthened his loyalty and resolve to help her. And, looking at Septimus, he must've thought similarly. But when she started going about what their pieces actually were, the schemer's eyes flashed with panic as if something was about to go against his plans. Without even thinking about it, Issei knew there was something he didn't want Riser to hear, and so he moved. Jumping right next to the Devils, he stopped Rias as fast as he could, trying to make it look as if he was boasting. But thinking about what he had just proclaimed, being so eager to kick girls wasn't something he should be proud of. But, on the other hand, if they were enemies, their gender didn't matter.
"For Buchou and her dream, I will fight with all I got. As an admirer and protector of breasts and female beauty, I refuse to hand her or any of Peerage members to you! And don't even think of touching one of my sisters; I dare you! I'll impale you on Tokyo Tower through your ass before you even try!" Speaking of his sisters, the pervert's tone turned low and seriously threatening, enough to even make the proud Phenex grimace at the gruesome vision. The Peerage members balked at Issei's sudden transformation, remembering the now-famous audition when Septimus hijacked the Student Council's radio and threatened anyone who wanted to get close to his sisters. At the very least, the part with Issei also being serious siscon looked like it was true. His reaction was exactly the same as Rias' brother when someone tried to get too close to her.
For Riser, that was the last straw. Enough making fun of him, insulting and not treating him seriously – now, they're even directly threatening him? He was a High-class Devil, wielder of the flames of the Immortal Bird, raising star of Rating Games, Riser Phenex! They wanted to make him angry? They were going to get exactly what they asked for! Flames erupted from his back, forming a pair of Phoenix wings, raising the temperature high enough that the carpet behind him was about to ignite. The fire also engulfed the man's clenched fists and danced on ends of his hair, making Issei take a defensive stance as he positioned himself directly between him and his King.
"You DARE to threaten ME?! I will destroy you for that! Just try to fight back! I will have you labeled as a Stray and hunted like a dog! I will chain you and treat like one, then make you watch as I make every woman in your precious Peerage mine! They will love me so much you will be kicked around by them around just to amuse me! By their own will! After that, your sis-!" As Riser went on, his flames grew larger and hotter to the point where the carpet under him turned into ashes. The situation escalated so much Grayfia was about to enter and break it up any minute.
Issei stood right before him and took most of the heat on himself so it wouldn't hurt his King behind him. Even if Septimus had some kind of plan, he had to move soon. Otherwise, Issei would attack everything with he got, consequences be damned.
"Yo, Matchstick!" The unnaturally deep voice of male Nekomata echoed, stopping Riser in the middle of his tirade, and Issei from doing something rash. From where he sat, pitch darkness and shadows rushed over the walls and the floor, swallowing the room. And in the middle of it, barely visible even with Devil's night sight except for his shining eyes, Septimus had those shadows stick to him by feeding off of his magic. "Unfortunately for you, that's not how it's gonna' play out."
Turning sharply at the new moniker, Riser literally had fire in his eyes. "'Matchstick'?! If you think-!"
"Stop, stop, STOP!" Outshouting the blond Devil, Septimus didn't let him start and get into his part. "Now's my part; you've just got your time! 'Matchstick' fits you perfectly after you were so easily snuffed out by Ray; so deal with it! Since you got here, I've thought about some nicknames for you. Those based on you being a Phenex, like 'Yakitori', sounded too easy. Although I kinda' wanted to use 'KFC Bucket'… but nah." He sidetracked for a moment, waving his hand as his voice changed to something closer to normal. Going back to his original purpose, Septimus again spoke in a deep tone. "But why won't you do what you promised to him? Because who would kill someone else over pre-fight banter?! You threw out your challenge just now, and Rias Gremory accepted! From that moment, the match was established. Insults before one are a normal thing." Backing his shadows away from around Grayfia and basically putting her in the spotlight, the male Nekomata sported a truly devilish smile. "Am I right, Grayfia-dono?"
Her presence reminded some Devils she was still there, observing and ready to take actions when deemed necessary. Grayfia didn't answer immediately. As the silence grew larger in the room, and the cat's smile growing smaller, the woman tried to understand what was on the teen's agenda and whether she should help his still-unknown cause. In the end, no matter his motivation, he was still her sister-in-law's servant, and he promised to help.
"In a way." Nodding, the silver Queen proceeded to explain, "The earlier exchange can be interpreted as acceptance of the challenge and its rules. Right now, any action taken by both parties without validation will be seen as an attempt to disturb the game. That does not include the exchange of words, but any direct violence will be met with penalties."
Riser couldn't help but grit his teeth at Grayfia's answer, having to bear this situation because of some regulations. He felt he was being played along some invisible notes, set up by this irritable cat grinning right in his face. His revenge had to wait after his inevitable win in Rating Game, as they had already agreed on it. But, if only direct actions were prohibited, then he could still give them a taste of their own medicine.
The temperature once again rose when Phenex's fiery aura started gaining pressure. "Then Riser just has to squash your little brother and every one of you during our fight. Of course, as great as Riser is, no harm will come to the women who soon will join his grand harem. Unfortunately, the same can't be said about men. Better prepare to live without an eye or an arm, if you're lucky enough to survive."
As Riser kept pushing his power at them, Rias opened her mouth to order him to stop. However, before she did, she felt someone softly tap her on a shoulder. When she looked back, she saw Issei doing a 'hush' sign and pointing at Septimus. His message was clear: to sit back and observe without getting involved. While her Pawn proceeded to calm down the rest of her servants, Rias looked closer at his brother. Surrounded with shadows which were pushed around by Phenex's flames, the Nekomata sat there with his head hanging low and hair covering his face. The girls who previously sat on the same couch as him earlier now moved where the Hyoudou sisters were, leaving Septimus all alone.
"You know…" Slowly muttering his words they were heard, the teenager raised his hand with his middle finger sticking out, making the shadows stop in their retreat. Right then, without any warning, they scattered back to their master, drowning him in darkness and creating a black silhouette. "Instead of talking, just show us what you got on the field."
Seeing as the light of his flames had seemingly pushed away most of the darkness, Riser mocked arrogantly. The last step he needed to take for asserting his domination as the strongest Devil here, excluding Lady Grayfia, was to destroy the remnants of those shadows. Directing all of his power at the black spot in the room, he was ready for the desperate pleads of Rias to spare her servant and a perfect excuse for Lucifer Queen. After all, how could he be sure this Bishop wasn't getting ready to attack him with such suspicious behavior? He already planned to be generous enough to withdraw one of his own Bishops when this boy would be rendered unable to fight…
"Heh… Hahaha… HAHAHAHAAH!"
The Phenex's confidence crumbled just after finishing his thoughts. The boy he wanted to humiliate, instead of desperately fighting against his flames and losing, threw his head back and laughed maniacally. The black surface covering Septimus' body slightly changed. Now, where his eyes should be, two orange lights appeared. Raising in the air with his arms stretched out left and right, the black-and-white-haired Hyoudou stuffed his hands in flames.
A loud hiss echoed through the silence which came after his crazy laughter stopped. Everyone could see the fire die out wherever the darkness connected. "Is that all you've got? Then this fight will be much easier than I initially thought. Go and train yourself before the fight! Otherwise, I promise you we will wipe all your team without any casualties."
With his plan backfiring, Riser dispersed his magic, not wanting to lose any more face. Grabbing Karlamine on his way back to his Peerage, the Phenex hurried, putting up a front. "You've got ten days before the fight! Use them well to make yourselves worthy of being defeated by the great Riser!" In the last few minutes, his little sister already took care of his defeated Pawn. The whole Peerage was engulfed in flames and disappeared in the same manner they entered.
Standing for a moment in silence, Issei was first to wake up. Dusting off his blazer, the Hyoudou looked up at his still levitating brother. "You're hungry for attention as always, ain't you?"
"'Hungry for attention'?" Turning his head down, the Dragon's brown eyes and the Nekomata's fiery lights crossed. After a second of silence, suddenly, Septimus made all shadows around him vanish and gracefully landed with his tails' tips, twitching playfully. "Please, I'm a fucking diva! I bet all our lovely Matchstick remembers now about this Peerage, except for Senpai, is me standing in the spotlight! Without fake humbleness, I have to say my performance was great, taking into account how little time I had to come with something resembling a plan. But you've played your part splendidly! C'mon, High Five!" Septimus happily stuck out his hand. However, when Issei slapped it, a sharp pain struck feline mage, causing him to scream. "Shit, that hurts!"
The tension from the power struggle with Riser seemed to leave everyone. Rias, Akeno, and Grayfia whispered about something between themselves. Other club members did the same in different groups. At Septimus' shout, Kiba walked up to them, concerned about his colleague. "What happened, Sep-kun? Are you hurt?"
Watching for his hands not to touch anything, Septimus raised them so they could see burnt marks. "Well, of course. I've put my hands in Phoenix Fire. That's serious stuff; it burned me even through the barrier I've set up. I couldn't show anything when I was bullshitting to Matchstick, but now it stings! Mira, can you take care of this?" Throwing a pleading look at his sister, he ran to her for help.
"*sigh* You always do things like that, and then go to me for help right after. Same as our whole family, you never seem to think of your safety." The always shy and quiet Mira now showed her serious side when it came to health. Already used to this, the nun tiredly nodded and waved at her brother to come closer. "Listen, you shouldn't do things like that. I know you think it's the best way, but you should put more weight into protecting yourself. Besides..." While working on his hand, Mirana served the Nekoshou a full lecture about how he should take care of himself. Those from the Hyoudou household or close to them for a long time knew the lectures she learned from her mother all too well.
While Septimus was being chewed out, the whispering trio came to an agreement. As the main perpetrator was already taken by someone else, obviously their attention was focused on his accomplice. Surrounding Issei, three Devils wanted answers, quickly. Grayfia, having the most distinct image of the situation, spoke first. "Now that Phenex's son has left, what actually happened? It's clear you two are in this together, so please explain everything."
Having three beautiful women around him for sure was nice. At first, his eyes rushed over their bountiful bosoms, before coming back from his land of fantasy and reminding himself now was not the time. Completely serious, Issei answered their stares with a shrug. "I don't know the details, only that Sep planned something. Or, at least, had part of the plan ready and needed my help. Based on my experience, I can say even if he thinks up something on the spot, mostly it's good… or results in explosions, but I think that's our family trait there."
"So… Ise-kun is not curious about what exactly he helped with?" Akeno hesitantly asked, not sure if she understood.
"Of course I am curious what his twisted mind cooked up," the brunet shook his head, "But the thing with Sep, as you must already have noticed, is that he can't keep quiet. Even without anyone asking, he'll start ranting about it sooner rather than later."
At that, the black Nekomata's head jolted in their direction. "It's lovely how well you know me and my beautifully 'twisted mind'! But please, no more compliments or I'll start blushing."
Septimus would probably joke more, but it was quickly shut down when Mira gripped his hands and made him meow sharply, "Nyaou!"
"Exactly this kind of behavior results in your injuries. Now sit quietly until I'm finished."
"Yes, Ma'am." With his ears down, Septimus obediently sat in silence, hoping no one heard his little slip. However, the wide smiles of the female part of the room told him his otherwise. To his surprise, Izuna wasn't among them, getting ecstatic over him acting catlike, which was unusual, to say the least. Instead, she sat at her spot, once again nose deep in her magazine.
Issei was on his side with a smile of his own, seeing a rare opportunity to easily out-talk his brother. And even though he wasn't part of this little game between Ray and Sep, it always felt good to get one up over them. Especially because when those two teamed up, they could make a mental wreck of anyone. And when they pulled out all the stops, the previous annoyance in the form of Riser was child's play. "You know, Sep? For all your tough talk, you're extremely whiny, crying over a girl squeezing your hand. So, when you stopped crying, can you finally explain what your great plan is?"
Almost retorting out of reflex, Septimus stopped himself at the last moment and looked at Mira. There was no obvious reaction from the nun, but he'd let this one slide for his own safety and answered as cautiously as possible. "I can't call it a great plan yet. I've barely got a few minutes for thinking something up, so it's more of a sketch of a plan which'll need some work on it. And even that is only because I'm a genius deserving a PhD in annoying people and making crazy tactics. But before I start explaining, can I ask you something, Senpai?"
"Yes?"
"It's quite easy, but I was never interested in following Rating Games' rules closely, so I'm not sure of two things. Well, the first one isn't exactly related to them, but whatever." As Mira finished with his left hand, he quickly tried it out, and with a satisfied smile, raised two fingers. "So, how much info about me and Issei exactly circulates in the Underworld? After Grayfia-dono and the Devil Torch's reactions, I have some assumption, but could you clarify, please?"
"I think 'Devil Torch' breaks copyright laws. Lawyers could give you some problems." From her place, Elaine interjected without care.
"Who cares, they both match. Pun intended."
During siblings' short exchange, Rias reminisced back to the last few weeks after both Hyoudous joined her. In such a short time, many events happened, with having myths of the Governor-General and the head of Nordic pantheon crushed as the most memorable. Because of all of those things, there was no time to introduce new servants to her parents, much less to anyone else in the Underworld. "There shouldn't be much. I only talked about you with Nii-sama after that incident when you two introduced yourselves. Beside him, I think only Sona and her sister know."
Nodding, Septimus turned towards the silverette. "Grayfia-dono, do you know anything else? I'm most interested in whether anyone knows about our specific Pieces."
The last part interested everyone because it was an obvious clue to what their crafty friend came up with. Unfortunately, even with that, no one had the faintest idea what it was, so all they could do was wait for more explanations.
"Lucifer-sama was especially pleased these days and told everyone who wanted to listen to how his precious little sister recruited strong servants for herself. However, he omitted any precise information about them, even before those who especially should know." Even though she spoke respectfully, the little tones leaking here and there spoke clearly that Grayfia was still angry with her husband.
"Great!" Teenager's smiled, and for a second stared at his hand, deciding which finger to hide, and in the end reluctantly hiding the middle one. "Alright, a second question! Do the rules of Rating Games say anything you need to announce your pieces or present them in any way before or during the fight?"
"It's done. Please, next time, don't do something as dangerous as putting your hands in the fire. You're not Ise." Cutting in Septimus' question, Mira released his hand. After giving her part of the lecture, she was back to her lovely self with a warm homely smile, impossible to defend.
Rias, Akeno and Grayfia looked at each other, still clueless what those questions led to and how to precisely answer the last one. The rest of the room looked just as clueless, except for Elaine, who had this Sherlock Holmes-like look, but she only watched in silence.
"There is no ceremony before the Game, or any introduction, nor official information gave out about team members. However, most records of previous Games are publicly available and are common source entertainment, which makes most players publicly known." It was again Grayfia's turn to answer, as she was the only one in the room with actual experience in Rating Games. "Also, fighters are called by their respective pieces when their retirement is announced."
"Perfect, thank you! That means I didn't burn my hands for nothing. That'd be a shame." His tone was light and his tails swayed happily.
"Sep-kun, I'm not sure if you know, but Riser-sama is very strong. You've challenged and even insulted him. Are you sure you can defeat him?" Akeno voiced her concern for a fellow member. She wasn't that much scared, as judging by his acting, their Bishop had to be fairly sure in his chances in a fight, but the Phenex family was one of the most influential among Devils. They could get their revenge on him later when and where the Gremory family couldn't protect him. Devils' lifespan stretched for thousands of years if they weren't killed, and their memories stayed even longer.
"Huh?" Tilting his head, Septimus was honestly surprised. "Of course I know he's strong, enough for me to say he's quite impressive in our generation. In fact, in this Rating Game, I don't think I can beat him one-on-one."
"WHAT?!" In a second, most of the room exploded. The only ones who kept quiet were three Hyoudou sisters and Grayfia, but the last one did that more because of her position than any lack of concern.
"Sepi~!" Nisa screamed and rushed to her partner.
"Sep-kun, why do you say you can't win against Riser? Everyone was sure you were strong enough..." This messy situation became even messier. At this point, Rias gave up trying to crack her Bishop's plan. She even started to think that maybe in fact there was no plan, and he was just crazy like Raynare said.
"Why? Simply a matter of compatibility, that's all. I can kill the guy, but with all his regeneration and without me doing some preparations beforehand, my chances of beating him and keeping him alive are slim. He's just the kind of opponent who's problematic for someone with my fighting style to keep alive. And killing him is the latest of last resorts." Keeping his carefree attitude, the Nekomata was more interested in watching the little Pixie flying around him and checking his state.
His words calmed the company down a little. At least, it looked like their friend wasn't going to die. But they started to grow restless, and even though Issei said Septimus would explain everything by himself, he could do it faster.
As all of this explaining led to more questions, it tired her and she already wanted to be done with it, so the Gremory asked the most important question. "Alright, so what exactly is your plan to defeat Riser?"
"Him!" Throwing his arms left and slightly bending his knees, Septimus pointed at Issei. "As Mira said, I'm not Issei. But I don't need to when we have the original whose abilities are great against Matchstick. That's why I took a little gamble for our star to shine later." Stuck in his pose and saying it all with the proud tone, the black Hyoudou must've waited for applause or something. When, after a half minute, the stares directed at him were only more puzzled, he dropped his arms. "*sigh* Alright, I'm explaining it in detail, so follow me. Flame Boy is who he is, so we can't kill. And even though he's an arrogant dick, I don't think he deserves to be killed for it."
"*cough* You're an asshole, so it's natural. *cough*" Raynare faking a cough jumped into his speech. She was quickly hushed by Issei to let Septimus finish it faster.
"Yes, thank you, Ray, for your lovely comment. We can't kill Phenex, but we need to beat him for Senpai Red and because he deserves a beating for being a dick. My first idea was to rush it with Ise and some smuggled Exorcist weapons, put you all on defense to not be accidentally outed. But then he went and said some mean things, tried to hit on Ela, Izu, and Mira, so that's not enough. Everyone follows?" Septimus walked around during his talk, looking at his listeners. After making sure everyone understood, he continued, "We're gonna humiliate him by making our Peerage debut a grand and overwhelming victory! For both plans, Issei will play a key role, and here comes my gamble. Everyone's favorite… or second, if you like Koneko-chan more, Nekoshou – read: me – had to draw as much attention as possible. Why? For them to think of Issei how I wanted them to think. Anyone got exactly what?" Stopping again, he clearly waited for their answers.
Everyone, except the mentioned loli, looked for a solution, while Koneko hesitated if she should argue with being called by her race and make this show longer. Following his hunch, Kiba was the first one to raise his hand. "You wanted to hide Ise-kun's true strength?"
"Close, but not on point. Someone else?"
Going over everything which happened and was said, with most of it being orchestrated by her mischievous Bishop, Rias felt like she was one step from the right answer. Issei acting excessively at Riser's Pawn attack… words used by both of them… the moment when Issei stopped her from speaking… and Septimus' questions. The clues were left all around, and all she had to do was connect the dots.
"Using great physical force… 'Muscle-headed'… 'Towering'… And that question whether pieces had to be announced before the fight... Don't tell me…! You want them to think Ise is a Rook?!" Shouting out the last part, Rias unconsciously rose from her seat.
"YES, EXACTLY! Ten points for Gryffindor!" Septimus jumped with joy the Gremory solved his little riddle and created a rain of confetti. "I literally put myself on fire for this bluff, and that's the reason I wanted to know those things. Imagine if all of it was for naught because of one rule or someone bragging. And with that, we will use Senpai's inexperience to our advantage, which makes it even funnier!"
"With a good lawyer, the Phenex Clan could cause some trouble because of your choice of tactics." Again came flat comment from Elaine.
"Like I care about lawyers. Rules are made to be circumvented without breaking them. If Grayfia-dono sees no issues, then we're good." The male Nekomata glanced at the mentioned Devil for confirmation. Grayfia, since she finally knew his plan to fight Riser, searched her memory for any precedent of this kind, but she couldn't find anything. However, as the dark-haired Hyoudou said, there also was no rule banning such tactics. As she gave them an affirmative nod, the trickster turned back to his sister with a thumbs-up. "See? Peachy."
"Kukuku..." With Septimus and his shenanigans taking the spotlight, everyone seemingly forgot about Issei. One could argue his brother's plan was great enough to leave public shocked (and others would laugh at it), but their eyes were quickly glued to the Dragon. Chuckling lowly with his long fangs showing, little fires danced between semi-transformed claws and malicious red aura oozed down – an image completely different from how he normally was. "So you want to give that guy all to me? Ain't that generous of ya'. I was sure you'd take a piece of him for how he eyed the girls."
"Oh, please. I know how to share, and I'll be satisfied with my ideas being the weapons which cut off his wings." Septimus' grin got a predatory feel when he flashed his teeth at the half-breed's words. "Besides, I can't be greedy. I saw you were seconds from tearing him apart if I didn't jump in his rant about our cute sisters. And I know leaving him in your care will be worth it. Kukuku..." To rest of the club, the sight of both brothers joining into their shady chuckling looked more like a pair of villains cooking up a scheme than someone fighting for a girl's dream.
"Siscons," Raynare commented, while the Hyoudou sisters looked like they were already used to their behavior. The Devils in the room, as it was their first time, just stared at their two friends turning into plotting monsters of vengeance. Their eyes unanimously turned at their Queen, seeing the resemblance to her habits on the battlefield.
As for Akeno, her seductive lips slowly turned into a dangerous smirk. Issei and Septimus' mood started to get at her and wake her sadistic side. The black beauty had enough reasons to want to 'play' with the Phenex, counting all the times she stopped herself from spitting into his tea, more out of respect to the drink than the man it was for. "Kuku..."
Hearing her best friend giggle, Rias knew she had to do something before her club turned into a den of black hats… and her servants' chuckle into a full chortle, making them look like bad guys in those old movies her father loved. She hated the idea because it would, by default, make Riser the hero.
"Boys." Putting a hand on Akeno's arm to calm her, the redhead called her two servants back on earth, "Now we know what's your goal and you both can't wait for a fight, it's time to plan our next steps. Riser's set up our game in 10 days, and I think we could use this to train ourselves before."
Quickly losing his aura at Rias' words, Issei agreed with the princess. "Great idea, Buchou. And I know just the place which would hide us from curious eyes and has great equipment for training. Ela, Sep," the brown-eyed teen called out two of his siblings, "Do you think we could use the Sandbox?"
"You want to use that place?" Showing curiosity for the first time, the blonde with pink ends quickly typed something on the holographic keyboard appearing before her. "It looks like right now most of the facility is empty, except for stationary personnel and a few agents training there. How about you, Sep?"
Just like Issei, Septimus had already switched back to his merry attitude. At the Half-Devil's and Half-Dragon's questions, he scratched his chin. "Well, after my trip to Mexico, I hoped to stay away from sand for some time… but sure, why not. We won't raise the members' individual strengths much in such a short time, but we can raise the level of our teamwork and think of some strategies. Sandbox seems perfect for that. And security is more than enough with HIS level of paranoia, to be sure Matchstick won't get any info on us. I'm in."
"Great!" Brimming with enthusiasm, Issei turned back to his King. "Buchou, may I suggest a great place for us, far from prying eyes?"
Honestly, Rias had already a place in mind for their training when she proposed it. Since she loved Japan and her parents had enough funds to grant their lovely daughter's requests most of the time when she wanted something, she got it. The marriage with Riser was one of the few exceptions from that. But when one time she hinted she'd love to spend her vacation in Japan, not much later, she was told her father bought a mansion in a remote region of that country. The princess thought it would be perfect for their session, while also allowing them to enjoy nice scenery between practice. However, seeing her Pawn's energy, Rias decided to hold her idea.
"Alright. I wanted to take us to a place my family owns, but if you have a better idea, then go on."
"I think so – not to say anything bad about your place." Issei smiled excitedly, proceeding to explain. "What we just discussed, 'The Sandbox', is one of the Grigori bases here on Earth, focused on training and technology development, although rarely used for the latter one lately. It was mostly used by us Sins, so there won't be any problem with using it. The security and equipment there are topnotch. I can hardly think of any better place."
A little nostalgic part of him wanted to go there, just to go back where he and his siblings played as kids… if one could count running crazy simulations, learning new, mostly destructive moves, and then trying them in fights between themselves as 'playing', that was. They sure had much fun with it, though.
"I see…" His offer indeed sounded nice, but hearing of 'Grigori' rung some alarms for Rias. "Grayfia, do you think going there could possibly cause us any problems?"
The silverette thought in silence, not even sure when she turned from just a mediator to a local Rating Games expert asked on how to bend the rules. She didn't mind since she wanted her sister-in-law to win, but the last issue could indeed be problematic. "Maybe. Even if it shouldn't disqualify you, there ought to be bad rumors circling after that about your relationship with Fallen Angels, Ojou-sama."
Indeed, she should try to avoid such rumors. For a Clan heiress, her contacts with Fallen Angels lately have been much above the norm – meeting their eccentric leader was one. But she would never admit that monstrous, merciless, black-winged genius of warfare – of whom parents scared baby Devils with – showed up as a games lover, casually freeloading on the Hyoudou family. But even without counting him, she recruited two new servants who – even if they weren't exactly part of it – had close ties to the Grigori, had a skirmish with Grigori members, helped in killing some rouge ones and saving 'good' agents, and then she let them join her school and club. There were an awful lot of Fallen Angels in her life…
"Right… It'll hit that blond jackass more if we beat him without using any outsiders..." Septimus muttered to himself. On the bare minimum to win, he was almost sure, around 90. He and Issei after a week of preparations were enough, with the rest acting as bait. But his petty, vindictive, sadistic, brotherly and a few other sides wouldn't allow him to beat Phenex in any other way other than an absolute victory to devastate his pride. But it was easier said than done to plan something like that. How to exactly hit that bastard, to make him hurt the most?
"Beating him without losing anyone would be hard for that guy, that's what you think?" The blonde Pixie surfaced from his hair, reading his train of thoughts, whispered slowly. "But beating an opponent with the overwhelming power of a single fighter is exactly his style. Now, think how our birdie would feel if his defeat was a team effort..."
Septimus looked more and more impressed as he listened and mulled over his little partner suggestion. "…you little genius" As the rest of the room debated whether the risk of rumors was worth the equipment, the black Bishop clapped loudly, getting their attention. "Let's roll with it! We will defeat Riser with the power of friendship, harmony, love, and incredible violence!"
"Copyrights," Elaine spoke flatly, taking a sip of a tea.
"I don't care!" Septimus immediately answered, snapping his fingers at her, as he was just getting started. "We'll use this time to train, as Chief R said, then smash his whole team and his full of air ass, without anyone retiring! If you don't want Angels training you, then the Hyoudous will do it! Dread it, prepare for it, for we'll take you on a road trip to Hell's Training Camp!" He finished with his fist raised dramatically.
"Road-trip! I want McDonald's!" Izuna jumped up, finally leaving her book. The young werewolf jumped, brimming with energy at the thought of a family visit to fast food.
As the youngest Hyoudou swayed her head happily while mumbling something, with the only understandable word being 'burger', Rias closely observed her Bishop. 'Chief R' was undoubtedly another nickname for her, but did she really wanted to follow their plan? The joint training was her idea, and with only the Hyoudous training them, rumors weren't a problem. Also, offhandedly, she'd get to see the full scope of their powers, which she knew next to nothing of. And with that, everything would be perfect, if not for the fact she felt that since they showed up, Issei and Septimus were slowly expanding their roles and influence in her Peerage. Maybe she was just being paranoid based on Devils' politics, where almost everyone tried to stab others in the back and climb higher. There was no sign of such a thing in her servants. And honestly, she really liked them as a part of her family and wanted them to be who she thought they were. With all that, she could only trust them… and hope they trusted her too.
"Alright. In that case, we'll be in your care. I'll start arranging for the club members to be excused from school for the next two weeks as a club activity. Can we move out tomorrow morning?" As she spoke, Rias took out her phone and already sent a message to Sona, telling her the details. She'd send official application later, but with that, her fellow heiress could already start working on it.
"Sure, no problem," Septimus answered.
Meanwhile, a very pleased Raynare stood up and stretched. "Great. You go on your training trip, while I and Mittelt will relax on our little vacations. Maybe we'll even pay you a visit to cheer on you."
"Ehhh?" Septimus stared at her like on an idiot spewing nonsense. "It's obvious you two are coming with us, you cretin. My reputation can't let my current slave – or someone I want to trade for my slave – to be weak. And damn, you ARE weak!"
"You're looking for a fight or what, asshole?!"
As his brother and childhood friend were getting their quarrel rolling, Issei sat next to the younger Fallen, who silently stared in her cup. "If you feel uncomfortable with us, just tell me. I want us to work together since Azazel put you under my care, but I won't force you."
At his words, the little blonde instantly blushed and whipped, reading to shout out of reflex, but choked on her words. "You..! You, you, you..." Mittelt jammed for a second, before taking a series of deep breaths. With vocabulary back and blush partly gone, the girl looked at him. "You know we were sent as a punishment, right? No one would think weird about it if you gave me all the weird chores you don't want to do… And besides, I'm the only one here who completely sticks out, so, naturally, I'll be alone. Everyone here is either part of your family, or a Devil, or your familiar. Ever Raynare, who should be in a situation like me, has known you for years."
The small goth lolita turned her eyes down, knowing everything she said was the truth. Surely, those Devils here had to hide their disgust for Fallen Angels, especially that pure-blooded princess, and it wasn't like she blamed them for that – she also preferred to be back with her own race. But as she thought over how most of the room residents had to put up fake facades with her, the Dragon Hybrid's warm hand carefully started patting her head. "Now, now, so you just want to make friends here, right? Don't worry, I'll help you with that. You can count on me, Mittelt."
Staring at his earnest smile and listening to his words, Mittelt again flushed in red. "Did you listen to what I just said?! S-Stop patting my head and keep your hands to yourself!" She mercilessly silenced that traitorous little voice inside her head, whispering his patting wasn't bad at all, and she didn't actually want it to stop.
Watching the room silently, Grayfia fondly remembered how she was at that age before her face noticeably darkened. Her time full of mischief and playing with friends was cut short because of the War, which was also part of why she worked with other representatives to tie the three races closely, so something like that to never happen again. Leaving her sister-in-law and her friends, the Queen silently teleported to deal with official matters regarding the upcoming duel. And when she's finished with it and be finally be off the clock, she'll give her husband his deserved scolding and thoroughly ask him if he forgot to tell her other things she should know.
X-MAS 2 OMAKE!
As Issei would answer to whoever asked, the last hours were horrible! Flying around the whole world in the sleigh at supersonic speed with Septimus cursing behind him over the machinery was cold, dangerous, and mentally tiring. It had that awful mixture of being monotonous in most parts of the flight, but if he lost focus in a wrong moment they could quite spectacularly die. Like when they crossed the Himalayas and he almost crashed them in a mountain. Or when he wanted to lower the altitude and the country they were currently over caught them on the radar, proceeding to shot SAMs and sending fighter aircraft after them. Fortunately, Septimus quickly fixed their time-bending machine again, so there wasn't much problem with escaping them.
And now finally they were back, having delivered presents to everyone on the globe. Still in their own Santa costumes, both Hyoudous tiredly staggered past the entrance, welcomed back with dark hall and everyone most likely sleeping. "We did it. We saved Christmas. Let's never do this again." Barely having the energy to walk, Issei tried to sound at least positive.
"Amen. I want nothing else than just crawl under my sheets and sleep until spring." Lazily shaking off snow from his tails, Septimus stopped and leaned against the nearby wall. "How's Santa Clause doing?!" He asked when Issei walked to the room where they left Father Christmas sleeping.
"..." Half-Dragon stood in the doors for a while, without saying anything. "I think you should see this."
Standing up with a grunt, Nekomata did as asked. "What the..."
The first noticeable thing in the room was the obvious lack of red-clothed old man there. Where he earlier laid were now two presents and a letter on the table next to them.
"What are you waiting for, read it." Septimus rushed his brother.
"Yeah, yeah, give me a second..." Issei just waved dismissively as he picked up the message and cleared his throat.
"Dear Issei and Sep,
First of all, I want to congratulate you on your hard work. As someone who does it every year, I know exactly what it takes and its challenges. I only hope that you've brought my sleigh back in one piece.
I also have to confess something to you. I wasn't exactly unconscious and in all honesty, I could get up and do the job myself. However, a vision of sleeping off all those Christmas and letting someone else do the delivery for me was too tempting. And with that I have to congratulate you for one more thing, that is to be the only Devils to tempt Santa Clause. But I have to ask you to not boast too much about it, it'll ruin my reputation.
As thanks for your help, I give you two special presents. I'm sure you'll love them after you calm down, so please, don't blow them up while you're angry at my little trick. You can also keep your Santa uniforms that you looked so lovely in. And as the last thing, I grant you two titles of Honorary Santas.
Happy Holidays from Santa Clause.
PS. To let you enjoy Christmas with your family and friends, I've turned back time just before you've met me."
"..." Both brothers stared at the piece of paper in complete silence, until...
"Let's kill him. Issei, next year we're killing that fat bastard." Septimus spoke with a dead-serious tone. "We'll trap him, then get him out of his red outfit and~"
"Nope." Issei deadpanned. "No, Нет, nein, non, não. I'm not taking part in this, and you too shouldn't." At that moment the clock struck midnight, making it 25th of December. "Merry Christmas."
Know your Sin: Mirana Shatarova-Hyoudou
Race: Human
Sin designation: Envy
Appearance: Long auburn hair, gray eyes, toned body with professional swimmer's build, B89 measures, 169 height. Mostly wears black nun clothes or some variation of it.
Powers and abilities: Deep knowledge and affinity with healing and protective magic; empathy; physical strength and endurance highly above most human and some of Supernatural races; expert in alchemy; high skill in spear-fighting and unarmed techniques; artificial Sacred Gear 'Infinite Orchestra' allowing her sound manipulation, creation of solid-sound objects and many others
Likes: Her family, quiet evening spent together with her siblings, music, various kinds of sport
Dislikes: Recklessness, sad stories, horrors, unhealthy food, violence
Short backstory: When Azazel's plan for bringing races closer was accepted by Three Factions, Angels appointed for her to be adopted by Hyoudous from one of Russian orphanages. She doesn't remember any other family than them and was immediately accepted by her new parents with love and affection. Her new siblings quickly followed the suit, showering her with attention and protection. She quickly assumed the position of mediator when her sibling argued, keeping them all together with a healing smile and caress.
AN: And the longest chapter till now finished, sending our party to an unknown location to train. Anyone can guess where they'll go? I have something prepared for the first person to have it right. In the basic version, it's a virtual pat on the back and shoutout, but we can negotiate.
Now, as Christmas are coming, this story hit its milestone with finally having both favs and follows in 3 digits and because I was kinda slow with updates (thank you real life, work, and gacha games for not leaving me with much time) I brought you two bonus things. Continuation of last year xmas omake and another KyS (that's some really bad looking acronym) file. Unfortunately, for more chapters you'll have to wait probably longer than even my long break, for this and my second stories. My laptop where I had my notes, files, and half-done for Dragon of Great War, died. And I've also lost my backups too. Thankfully I've finished and dropped this chapter on the site.
Leave a mark you've been here with fav, follow and your review.