Chapter 6

Rias leaned back in her chair, waiting for the new members of her peerage to make their way to the Occult Research Club Room after school. She held a miniature ball of destruction in her right hand. She was attempting to learn to regulate her power so she could get used to using it. It was working, but she knew she had a long way to go before she could do anything with it even semi-efficiently.

It was amazing to her that the little swirling red and black ball in her hand was capable of destroying the entire building she was seated in. She quickly drew it back into herself and got up to look out the window. She saw, quite a ways away, a young girl from Koneko's class, who was a child genius that had skipped two or three grades, being picked up and hugged by her father. The touching scene brought back a memory of her child-hood, before the Riser business had come about.

She had finished her schooling with her tutors and had found her father and asked him to play hide-and-seek with her again. Her father never seemed to tire of indulging her as a little girl, and she figured that was why he had set up an arranged marriage between her and Riser. She actually had liked the hot-head once, but she had watched as he quickly degenerated into what he was now after getting his Evil Pieces and his all-female peerage. She knew her father had set up the marriage out of love for his daughter, and he wanted to see her succeed. At the time, Riser was a nice young man who was believed to hold the ability to one day become either a super-devil or at the very least a mid-tier ultimate class. She mused that his pride had probably gone to his head and driven him a little crazy. She mentally amended herself and figured that the American saying of "nutty as a fruitcake" was applicable to anyone who constantly spoke about themselves in the third person.

A conversation she had had with EMIYA last night after Issei had fallen asleep on the couch in the clubroom after a job also came to mind.

-Flashback Start-

"Rias."

Rias looked up from her spot behind her desk, "Yes."

"Could I speak with you in private for a moment?"

There was only one other person in the classroom cause the others were either out on jobs or with their families, and that one person was Akeno. Rias regarded the small light on the back of Issei's right hand with a raised eyebrow, "Can Akeno not hear what you have to say?"

"I suppose she can if she really wants to, though it has nothing to do with her."

Akeno raised an eyebrow, "What does it have to do with then?"

A sigh answered them, "The Gremor Family crest, and it's secret that only I and it's maker know about."

Rias looked a little stunned, "Then why are you telling me?"

"It is the reason why I personally dislike the idea of your marriage to Riser, and it is the reason why your brother is so strong and your power was locked away."

Both females made a small "Oh?" noise at his admission, and Rias asked, "And how would you have come by this secret?"

EMIYA sighed again, "After becoming a Sacred Gear I found the Magic Circles of all the Seventy Two demon families and fused them with their own individual King Piece within me, making me able to use their powers, though not all of them at one time mind you. The only two exceptions to that would be my Juggernaut Drive where I use the powers and abilities of every weapon and artifact in my arsenal at once, and the Goetia King Piece that is the fusion of them together. But with my tracing abilities I can see every power and ability of what I trace, as well as its history, and the Gremory Seal is the only one that has an unintentional curse on it that was placed there by the original Demon Duke Gremory. He was the original precursor to those who wished to create what you now call super-devils, one of those experimenters was Kuroka's former master, which was how the dual bishop became so powerful. He was a lot more patient then the rest of them though. He imbedded a special magic into his seal that made it so that anyone who possessed it, their children's potential would be greater than their predecessor. He was among the weakest of the original Seventy Two, so the fact that he has two descendants who possess potential that far outstrips the original four Great Satans combined should speak for the success of his experiment."

Akeno raised an eyebrow as Rias struggled to figure out where he was going with this, the first asking, "What is your point?"

Rias also asking immediately after that, "How am I stronger than the original four?"

EMIYA sighed for what felt to him the umpteenth time in this timeline, "I will answer the second question first, because it is the simpler of the two. You are not stronger than the original four. Your potential to be stronger is there, but there is a massive difference between potential power and actualized power. It is the same as the difference between yours and your brother's power levels at this moment. To put it bluntly, if you got in a fight against even your ancestor Demon Duke Gremory at your current level, he would wipe the floor with you and your entire peerage, unless Kirito used his ultimate Noble Phantasm, but that is another matter entirely. Back to your brother, he is the incarnation of darkness and destruction, as are you, but you had a seal placed on your power before you were born, he did not. I believe I do not need to go over the circumstances surrounding his birth with you again. The Gremory Seal not only increases the power of each generation, it also manipulates their element and origin towards the most destructive end possible through combining or replacing the element and origin the successive generation depending on their parentage.

"For example, your mother's element is destruction and your father's is only darkness. The seal manipulated it so that you and your brother became the incarnation of both. Now what is the one element that is more destructive than any other?"

Understanding of where he was going with this dawned in Rias' mind, "Fire."

EMIYA wished they could see his mental nodding, "Indeed. So any child that you would have had with Riser would have been the incarnation of the Dark Flames of Destruction. That particular title also refers to the Flames of Gehenna. Combine that with the potential power increasing factor of the Gremory Seal and you would have ended up with the most powerful devil to ever exist, and I am calling the kid a devil because he would have been worthy of the title as he grew. In fact, especially in your weakened state, giving birth to the child would have killed you instantly. Driving Riser very firmly into the depths of insanity, causing him to raise the boy to be a monster, which the kid would embrace with open arms, and he would eventually proceed to laugh while watching as everything, and I do mean everything, around him was destroyed by his dark power. Including his own body."

Rias looked horrified, but then she grasped at something he hadn't mentioned, "Why didn't something similar happen with Millicas, and what was that about Riser and insanity?"

EMIYA would have raised an eyebrow in amusement, if he could have, he was seriously starting to regret his decision in becoming Issei's Sacred Gear, "When your brother became Lucifer, long before even you were born, he abandoned the use of the Gremory Crest and destroyed it from within himself, so no power enhancement for your nephew. The part about Riser is a little more complicated. He actually does love you, but his arrogance and power have blinded him to that love. Having a peerage of all female members was in fact his attempt to replace you in his life until he could be married to you. He unfortunately came to enjoy the power he held over them a little too much, and you know the way he acts now, which is a direct correlation to the saying that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. In fact, being long lived and a magical powerhouse is ninety-nine percent of the time the leading cause of insanity in magically empowered intelligent beings."

It was after this point that EMIYA had stopped talking, having given the two much to think about."

-Flashback End-

She was brought out of her reminiscing by Issei shaking her slightly and asking, "Are you okay, President."

Rias nodded with a smile, "Yes, Issei, I am fine."

Issei gave her a slightly suspicious look, then decided that she was, "I was wondering what your policy is on nuns?"

Rias saw the raised eyebrows on some of the occupants of the now full room, and the brief flash of hate on Kiba's face before he could stifle it, and she vehemently said, "You should never be having any contact with nuns, they are the enemies of our kind. Why would even ask that?"

Issei's index fingers poked together, "I kind of met a very cute one about my age on my way into school this morning."

Akeno snickered a little as she and the other girls in the room all came to the same conclusion, "Somebody has a cru-ush."

Issei's vehement denials and his red cheeks were at odds with each other, and Rias tuned them out to try and figure out what this new dilemma might mean for her and Sona's peerages, "This does not bode well for us, especially considering the church on the outside of town is so old, broken down, and out of use. First the Fallen Angels randomly killing a few people, and now an unknown nun rolls around. If a turf war between representatives of the three factions starts here, we could be seeing the restart of the Great War here in Kuoh Town.

"Or if we proved ourselves incapable of handling the situation then my brother and Sona's sister would drag us back to the underworld. If my parents thought there was a chance of war, they could also try to speed along the wedding at a pace I do not think I would care for. Maybe I could actually use Issei's little crush on the nun to figure out what they're here for. No easier way to do that than to tell him he can't see her at all. In this case his humanity is probably an advantage, because she won't be able to sense the powers of a devil. No easier way to get him to shadow her than to tell him that he can't see her again."

The red-head winced slightly in the privacy of her own mind, "This feels a little too manipulative for my taste, almost like what happened with the Fallen Angels when they attacked Issei. I wanted to help, but I couldn't because of stupid politics. So I gave Issei the flier in hopes that he would summon me when he needed help, that way I could blame it on the Fallen Angels for attacking one of my clients, instead he didn't summon me until after they were gone and he was on death's door. I really hope he doesn't get too mad when he finds out, especially with how powerful his Sacred Gear is."

She felt another mind brush her own and heard EMIYA, "You do not need to worry, girl."

Rias looked at the back of Issei's wildly waving right hand, "You mean he already knows."

EMIYA chuckled sardonically, "No, but he is like I once was, a fool who keeps no record of wrongs and tries to see the good in every person, no matter how small it is. He will likely try to implore to the Fallen Angels' good sides to get them to let the girl go instead of going in sword's swinging like he should."

Rias blinked, "What girl?"

She could almost hear the smirk, "No spoilers for you, woman."

Rias started leaking a little of her power, causing the conversation in the room to halt as they sensed it start to build up, "WOMAN! I'll show you, you little, disrespectful, uncouth…"

Her thoughts quickly de-railed a she realized that everyone was staring at her and her rapidly deteriorating desk and chair that were covered in a black and red aura. She heard a slight snigger leaving her mind as Akeno asked, "Are you okay, President?"

Rias dismissed the aura and sat down with a sigh, "I am fine, Akeno."

Kiba snorted, "If you say so, Rias."

Rias glared and pouted at him slightly, "I do say so Kiba."

He held up his hands in surrender, with a true smile on his face. Issei could somehow tell that it was real and not like the ones he seemed to always have around the school, but he was quickly distracted from his thoughts. Everyone else was as well, because his younger decided to say something quite disturbing.

Sakura innocently pulled at her brother's shirt and asked, "Can I learn how to do that some day?"

EMIYA decided this was the point to chime in, "Well, the aura of a dragon is naturally very destructive."

Ddraig also commented, "Indeed, the fact that you have the souls of several dragons inside you and do not go mad and destroy everything around you is impressive."

EMIYA mentally smirked, "And considering that there are at least five with power levels like you heavenly dragons, including you heavenly dragons, makes it even more astonishing, right?"

Ddraig chuckled, "Indeed, had I been outside this Sacred Gear, and them as well, I would have liked to challenge them."

Everyone was flabbergasted at this point with the two talking arms, but what EMIYA said next stopped everyone cold in fear for the future, "That actually could be arranged."

Every member of Rias' Peerage, Sona, who had been listening outside the door from when she felt her friend's power spike, and Ddraig all shouted, "WHAT!?"

EMIYA mentally smirked, "Did you think the Servant summoning ritual worked only for me? I actually modified the circle so that it works both as it normally would and as to bring out the soul of the person's choice from those residing within them into the material world in a servant body, and considering that they would be in the Beast Class, which is the only servant class that lets the servant use the full power of their Heroic Spirit counterpart, they would be able to fight at full power. The fact that the majority of the burden of their power would be the responsibility of the earth itself would also be a bonus."

Rias asked for all of them, "Why would the earth be the thing supporting them, and do you really think it wise to let a bunch of dragons capable of annihilating gods roam free?"

EMIYA sighed, not realizing he would have to explain this bit, "Dragons stand at the pinnacle of the supernatural races, being the most powerful form of Phantasmal Beast in existence and with the exceptions of Great Red and Ophis, from this universe anyways, all of them were spawned by the Earth itself as a countermeasure to man's existence. To make the Heavenly dragons, the Earth borrowed a little of Ophis' power to make them, but they are still an existence made and supported by the Earth. The fact that Primus usurped the power of the Heavenly Dragons and gave their powers to humans does not stop the fact that they were made by the earth. When they are summoned, the summoner is still their anchor/master in this world, but the summoner doesn't have to worry about them draining them till death. If the summoner dies then they would instantly perish and in the case of Ddraig, be implanted in a new host who would probably have no idea how to perform the ritual. As for the wisdom of letting dragons roam free, how is it wise to let someone with your power and potential roam free, Rias Gremory?"

Ddraig sighed as well, "So it would only be a temporary loosening of the chains that bind me."

"Indeed, especially because, in your case, the soul that grants her power would no longer be present, so however long you would remain. That would be the same amount of time her Sacred Gear would be inoperable and she would be extremely vulnerable to being killed, even if there wouldn't be a lot of drain on her magic stores."

Kirito and Asuna took one look at each other and decided to retreat from the room so they could retain their sanity. The others quickly followed suit, letting Sona in and leaving the room entirely to go do jobs or go home. Rias just sat in her partially ruined chair with her elbows on her deteriorated desk with her head in her hands.

Sona just stopped in front of her best friend/rival, "Having a rough time, Rias?"

The slightly younger heiress nodded, "What did I do to deserve having a peerage like this?"

Sona shrugged thoughtfully, "You had a heart, which is a lot more than I can say for those who were formerly a part of many of your peerage members past lives."

Rias glared slightly at her best friend, "I sometimes feel like they should consider me heartless."

Sona raised an eyebrow while pushing her glasses up with an index finger, "And why would that be Rias? Is it because in many of the situations our kind are restrained by the factional politics? The situations were such that you or your brother had to manipulate the situation to such a degree that would enable you to help them without starting a war. Your brother and you are both very kind-hearted, but your power is suited for battle and war. Your brother and you have always had to tread carefully, even should something resembling true peace come about between the factions, that won't change."

Rias pouted slightly, "I don't want to be manipulative though."

Sona chuckled, "If my (slight shudder) sister is to be believed, then neither did your brother. He was kind and wanted to help everyone he could, but he had to learn to be manipulative in order to be the leader of the Underworld and navigate his way around those old farts on the council. Kind of like what my sister said her former husband was like, actually."

Rias shook her head, "He is actually the main reason I don't want to be manipulative. He was able to do so much for the Underworld by being a straightforward and upright person who used his power to protect others."

Sona shook her head, "But in the end the Demon Marbas sacrificed himself. He used his powers to protect others, yes, but it cost him his life and my sister her heart."

Rias sighed, "But that doesn't change the fact that he was a hero in the Underworld. He was more like a saint than any of the older demons ever were, especially my ancestor."

Sona raised her eyebrow yet again, "What do you mean?"

Rias held up her hand and summoned the Gremory Seal, "Issei's Sacred Gear told me that the original Gremory built a curse into his seal that would ensure that his descendants would eventually all be super-devils. In fact, if I have a child with Riser and still possess this seal, then giving birth to the kid would kill me and the child would be capable of annihilating all but the most powerful beings of our world. Most likely, any kid I have will end up killing me with their power."

Sona did not have any way she could respond to her friend after that, so the two sat in a fairly companionable silence until it was time to send Issei to the first job he had gotten that wasn't him replacing one of the others. Even though he had only done about one or two of those so far, and he had told her afterwards that he didn't ever want to go to either of those places ever again.