Welcome back to the third chapter of RoaP! From this point onwards, this story will only have one writer as the other two have moved on more or less. I haven't had much motivation to continue DxD honestly but I'm starting to get back into the swing of things so... yeah. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this chapter and I'll see you at the bottom!

Yubelluna awoke in what was probably the most comfortable bed she had ever laid in. Sitting up, she found herself in an unfamiliar room that looked to be made of gold.

As the young girl tried to remember how she had ended up here; a headache caused her to pause for a moment and massage her temples.

"So, you're up," came a voice from her right.

Turning her head, Yubelluna was greeted by a familiar blonde haired boy. The one who she remembers had saved her life from... something, as he casually leaned against the doorway. He tried to look cool but she could see what looked like hints of relief in his eyes. His shoulders slightly sagged.

Not knowing what to say, Yubelluna asked the first thing that came to mind.

"Who are you?" she asked.

The boy smiled. A simple gesture, but she noticed herself feeling a little more at ease.

"Normally, I think most people usually start with 'where am I' but, guess that works too," he mused. Whether it was directed at her or himself, the purplette didn't know.

"I would ask that but..." Yubelluna hesitated.

The girl fidgeted as she struggled to come up with the right words.

"I just kind of feel safe, I think," she finally decided.

The young blonde just nodded. Making his way from his spot near the door, he walked over to the bed as he stopped just a step or away from her.

"My name is Riser," he introduced, "and I apologize if this sounds a little insensitive but may I ask what you were doing and how you got yourself in that situation?"

It was then that the reality of Yubelluna's situation fell on her. Her parents were dead. She was all alone. The thought broke her.

Riser jumped, startled, as the purple haired girl in front of him promptly burst into tears. The young boy panicked as he had never been in such a situation before, what was he supposed to do? He tried to come up with something as he waved his arms frantically.

"Wait, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you cry! Please stop crying," he stepped closer to the bed.

Only for the girl to surge forward as her arms latched around his neck. Tears slowly trailed down her cheeks as she continued to wail in sorrow. Her grip tightened by the minute as she desperately tried to quell the aching in her heart as she realized how quickly her life had turned upside down within the span of one night.

The young Phenex was stock still. What was he supposed to do here? A small blush creeped up his face. Why was this happening to him?

His acute hearing picked up low snickering behind the door. It was definitely his brother. Another, slightly deeper, voice was heard along with the last. Scratch that, both of his brothers.

Assholes.

Riser slowly raised his arms and gently wrapped them around her back. Waiting patiently as she let it all out.

A gesture that his mother had done for him when he had gotten into some, err, accidents in his slightly younger days. This was fine, right? It was awkward but not all too unpleasant.

Minutes passed as Yubelluna grieved, until finally, her sobs gradually stilled and she took a deep breath. She stayed in her position, still holding onto Riser's neck before slowly letting go.

"Sorry," she muttered. He noticed her bloodshot eyes filled with pain as she pulled away before gazing off to the side.

"It's alright," Riser assured. He wasn't sure but, it was clear he had started off on the wrong foot.

"Listen, um, I'm not really good at this sort of thing," he started.

That was putting it mildly. He had absolutely no clue what he was doing.

"I'll be honest and say that I don't really know what to do, but I do know how to listen," he paused.

Satan, this was hard. Was he doing this right?

"You don't have to tell me if you're uncomfortable but just know I'll lend an ear anytime you need it; alright?" he said.

Yubelluna met his eyes again. Seconds ticked by as the Phenex started to fidget under the somewhat uncomfortable silence. The girl promptly burst into a fit of giggles, startling the blonde and confusing him even more than he already was.

Had he said something funny? Riser didn't think he did. This human girl had just been shedding tears at the loss of her family, what was she laughing about?

He couldn't say he truly minded, though.

Her voice was very... melodic. Almost angelic even, ironically enough. He had heard stories of sirens who lured sailors to their doom with their singing before. And if Riser were to assume, he would guess it sounded something just like this.

A weird feeling started to well up inside him as he thought this. It felt nice in a way.

"That's so cliche," she finally breathed out while clutching at her sides.

Riser was left dumbstruck as he could do nothing but stare. Only one thought went through his mind as he watched on.

'Girls are weird,' he decided.

The laughter eventually died down as Yubelluna wiped a stray tear from her eye.

Riser just awkwardly smiled, though inwardly, he sighed in relief that she was able to laugh like this.

'As long as she's not crying, it's fine,' he thought.

Taking a moment to calm her breathing, the purplette took a moment before speaking again.

"Thank you, Riser," she began as she made eye contact once more.

"I guess talking might help me so, I'll try,"

For the next hour, Yubelluna told him everything.

She had been born into a family of magicians who specialized in explosion magic. A rare branch of study that not many delved into anymore due to the complexity and the preference for more versatile fire magic.

Riser was fascinated by her story as he learned a little history about human magic.

Her family had once been prominent members of the golden dawn but as years passed, the stronger magic crests were lost to time and her family lost prominence. Eventually falling into poverty.

Yubelluna had been considered a startling prodigy in the field, not seen in many generations ever since she was a young child. So she had worked tirelessly to improve and gain the attention of a magician's association in the hopes of saving her family.

One day, she received a letter claiming she had been noticed by none other than the Grauzerburer. Her parents had been elated and she herself felt proud that all the effort had finally paid off.

Only to realize that she had been set up.

As Riser watched her recall the death of her parents a second time, his heart bled for the girl. Oftentimes, devils were thought to be the most evil and selfish of creatures. Of course, sometimes the argument was valid. But was that really always the case?

His mother had once said that she believed humans to be just as greedy, if not more so, than devils were. She wasn't unbiased by any means, she had even stated so herself. But Riser could not deny the logic in her reasoning now as a perfect victim of it sat before his very eyes.

This girl had been through so much. The pressure of expectation set by family that he too was familiar with. The tragedy that she had been put through. And the deception that she had fallen for in her path to achieve her dreams.

By the time she was done, the tears were silently falling once more.

Riser was a little more prepared this time around, letting her cry into his shoulder as he did his best to soothe her.

The sobs quieted a lot quicker this time.

"You know, I never did ask, where are we?" The purple haired girl eventually questioned.

"My home, the Phenex manor," Riser answered simply.

'Phoenix?' She wondered.

The name sounded familiar.

'Wait a minute...'

"When you say Phoenix, do you mean the bird or the Phenex from the Ars Goetia?" Yubelluna asked hesitantly.

"The pillar family of course. The Phenex marquis of the 72 pillars of hell." Riser swelled his chest proudly.

"So... we're in..." the girl trailed off.

"The underworld," Riser supplied with a smile and a nod.

He then panicked as Yubelluna collapsed on the bed.

"H-Hey! What's wrong? What the hell did I do this time!?" He complained miserably.

All the while his brothers were now openly laughing at his misfortune.

"Honey, it's time to wake up!

"I'm up mom!"

No...

"Your father just got an invitation from Grauzerbuerer!"

"Do you hear that sweetie? Daddy's about to be a really successful magician!"

"Yay!"

Don't go...

"Stay away from my fami-aghh!"

"Hon-aghh!"

"Mommy!"

Daddy...

"Another haul,"

"This one ought to fetch a fair price, yeah?"

"Definitely, fuckers love brunettes,"

"Maybe we can even have a little fun with 'er too, eh?"

"You idiot, they go for higher if they're fresh,"

"Ah, alright,"

"NOOO!"

Yubelluna woke up to the sound of screaming with a jolt.

'She's up,' the girl thought in relief, she slowly got off the bed before making her way towards the door.

As she walked somewhat quickly in the direction of the scream, her thoughts absently went back to where she was and how she had gotten here.

The underworld was not at all what she had expected. It was strangely... normal. She wouldn't have taken anyone for a demon who tortured the souls of the damned upon first glance. Sure, the devils were a lot more rude than what she was used to from the people of her village, at least the commoners. But she really couldn't say there was anything that wholly set devils apart from humans.

Yubelluna had been here for about two days now. Once she woke up after passing out from the revelation that she was in the underworld, she had been introduced to the whole Phenex family.

They were nothing like what she had expected from the stories she had heard about devils. The Phenex had been very warm and welcoming.

Yubelluna had been somewhat apprehensive about being around her blonde savior. Something that Riser must have noticed if the slight frown and slouch were anything to go by. That had changed quickly, however, after she realized one very important thing.

She hadn't been reincarnated.

If there was anything that her parents had drilled into her head about devils growing up, it was that devils would do anything necessary to gain a new peerage member. The fact that she hadn't been changed against her will while she was asleep actually spoke volumes about Riser's character.

True, she might just not have been deemed worth reincarnating, but she pushed that thought to the back of her mind. Her humanity, as well as, the fact that he, someone who came from a race that was notoriously known for being selfish, would risk his life to protect her when he had no business in doing so, when he didn't even know who she was; that was enough for her to give him the benefit of the doubt.

According to the maids, she had cried in her sleep for quite a while. Riser had apparently stayed by her side the entire time. After getting chewed out by his parents, that is.

He had been there when she woke up the second time, immediately bombarding her with questions, asking if she was feeling better, until the nurse finally kicked him out. Though he came back only an hour or so later, this time much calmer.

After making sure she was properly fed and tended to with anything she may need before heading off to his room for the night.

When she asked about the girl from before, Riser had told her she was sleeping in the room next door and had yet to wake up.

Seeing the shock on her face, he went on to explain that he had just received his evil pieces. And since he felt he owed her a debt for taking the blow for them, he brought her back to life. He had even agreed to set her free if she wanted it.

That had told her everything she needed to know.

Stopping in front of the door, Yubelluna hesitated for a moment before slowly opening it, allowing the light of the hallway to leak into the otherwise dark room.

Taking two steps forward, there she was, hunched over in a fetal position with her head buried in her arms as her body trembled.

Quickly and quietly, Yubelluna made her way to the bed before gently draping an arm over her trembling shoulders. The young brunette girl flinched harshly at first and looked up to see who it was. Upon recognition, she calmed down and sat still for a moment before diving into Yubelluna's arms.

Neither said anything as Yubelluna just let the younger girl let it all out.

Eventually the girl's muffled sobs slowly settled as she sniffed a couple times before sitting up.

"Where are we?" She finally asked.

"The Underworld," the magician said simply.

The brunette seemed shocked at first before tears appeared again in the corners of her already bloodshot eyes.

"So I died and went to hell? Why? I've never done anything wrong. I just listened to my parents and tried to be nice," she started, it wasn't fair. It wasn't fair at all!

Hearing giggling, her head shot up to find the older that had saved her giggling like she thought the fact that they were dead was funny.

"Why are you laughing? We're in hell! This place is supposed to be evil!"

"Ouch,"

Both heads snapped towards the bedroom door to find the sight of the boy who had saved their life as he casually leaned against the doorway. He tried to look cool but you could see the relief in his eyes.

"Who are you?" the brunette all but demanded before gasping, "Are you Satan?" The boy looked at her funny before an amused grin slowly spread across his lips.

"Well no... but maybe one day," he laughed when she almost fainted.

He straightened before making his way over.

"My name is Riser Phenex, and though I'm not Satan, I am a devil," the blonde introduced himself.

The next ten minutes consisted of Riser trying to calm the brunette as she squealed in terror at his words. All the while, Yubelluna facepalmed at the lack of tact.

After the girl finally quieted enough to listen to reason, Riser continued, "After you saved our lives, I brought you over to my home," he proceeded to tell the girl of her current circumstances.

Telling the girl that she had died wasn't easy. Especially when he had to explain to her that she was now technically his servant against her will. Though it's not like he'd just leave it at that.

"So, I'm really a devil now?" she asked in resignation.

Riser nodded his head to confirm.

It was honestly very surprising how readily she had absorbed all the information. Though it shouldn't have been too surprising considering what she had been through for who knows how long. To be put through so much at such a young age, this world truly was unforgiving.

"But that doesn't mean you have to live as my servant or anything," he added quickly, "if you'd like then I can set you free. You may be a devil now, and I'm sorry that it had to come to that, but you only have to ask and I'll let you go as a free piece, I'll even help you find somewhere to go. You can even stay here for as long as you like, really."

Life may have been unfair but that didn't mean he would be as well. He wasn't like other devils. Sure, he had his own greed, his own pride, and his own sins; but he also had compassion. It was something that his mother had all but beaten into him.

Some may call him foolish, maybe young and naive to just let one of his mutation pieces go without a second thought. But he didn't care.

The young girl looked up. She held his gaze as she seemed to be searching for something. Most likely trying to find any sign of proof that he was lying. If he were honest, it was slightly unnerving to be stared down like this by a little girl but Riser didn't back down.

"You... you really mean it?" She asked.

Riser simply nodded once more.

Yubelluna watched from the side as the other girl lowered her gaze in silent contemplation. What would she choose, she wondered. To be honest she didn't think the girl really had a choice. It was either accept help from the devils or strike out on her own, where she would be hunted by exorcists of the church. Maybe even attacked by some no name fallen angel.

The room was silent as all parties waited on a decision. Yubelluna began to contemplate on her own circumstances.

What would happen to her? She had no more family in the human world, there was nothing to return to. She might be offered a spot in a peerage, yet Yubelluna wanted to keep her humanity if possible. Would the Phenex still help her? Or would they kick her out on her own?

She didn't get to ponder for too long before the younger girl finally spoke up.

"I want to stay," she answered, "if it hadn't been for you two I would still be stuck in that cell, and who knows where I would have ended up? I may have died but you gave me a second chance at life, and that's more than I could have asked for; please, let me make it up to you,

"I know I probably can't offer much, but I'll try my best,"

Riser smiled.

"Well seeing as you took up one of my mutation pieces, I kind of doubt that last bit," the Phenex said. Both girls looked on in confusion. What was a mutation piece?

"But first, I don't think I ever got your name," he continued.

It was then that both realized he was right. The younger girl had never given her name.

"O-oh, I'm sorry," she stuttered in mild embarrassment.

"It's Burent,"

Riser made his way down the halls of a manor. It wasn't quite as grand as his nor was it as large, but it still showed that the owners were plenty comfortable. They were branch members of the Phenex clan, after all.

It had been a long week helping the girls adjust to life in the underworld. From explaining the evil piece system in detail to mutation pieces and what Burent's role would be as his likely most powerful pawn piece to be. Then setting up their living arrangements.

The last part hadn't been as difficult as he had thought it would be.

Yubel and Burent had both made quite an impression on his mother. She had immediately started doting on them as soon as she had met them. The Lady Phenex had always been a little... emotional. His father had looked momentarily unsure about Yubelluna, what with her still being human and all, but one look from his mother's eyes and he had been quick to erase any noticeable doubts.

Yubel. That was his nickname for Yubelluna. The young magician had grown an odd smile on her face when he first called her that, followed by a rather random smack in his opinion. Though, it hadn't hurt and she never told him to stop either.

Why were girls so confusing?

But back to the present.

In all the excitement at receiving his evil pieces, and the subsequent addition of his first peerage member, Riser had completely forgotten to meet up with his cousin.

Marco Phenex.

He was slightly older than Riser by no more than a year. As a member of the branch family, his cousin had been born with the famed regeneration of the Phenex clan. Unfortunately, he was born with a regeneration that was much slower than that of Riser's.

This had made him somewhat of an outcast in the family. Looked down on by the likes of the other branches whose abilities were much more potent. Though none were a match for a member of the main family.

Riser's family had never done so, however. To them, family was family. The Phenex clan were nothing close to the Gremory pillar and their great compassion, but that didn't mean they weren't capable of caring.

"So what if he can't heal as fast? It's still better than nothing at all," those had been his father's words.

Marco's father had passed years ago due to a confrontation with a higher class fallen angel. Apparently there had been some sort of territorial dispute between the devils and the Grigori, not an uncommon occurrence, but nothing too frequent either.

Invel Phenex had been hailed as a hero by the Satans for his bravery and his incredible power, producing flames that were said to have been even greater than that of the main family's.

The other branches of the Phenex hadn't seen it that way, though. They believed he could have lived had he had the same regeneration as the rest of them. They were all rather stupid in his opinion; healing wasn't everything. Riser had seen it for himself.

Marco and he had always been there for eachother. Their mothers were sisters, so the two had basically grown up together. When Invel died, Marco and his mother had fallen in standing and been demoted to the middle class. It had been a rough time but with the main family's help they had pulled through.

While they still lived like that of high class, they were seen and treated like the middle class. A fall in standing was ruthless in devil society. Marco had once told him his dream. It was a simple and pure wish. For his mother to be comfortable. Rather uncommon in a race who lived off their greed.

This was made even harder when his mother fell ill. She had contracted a rare disease that put her into a coma. She wasn't the first case but that didn't make it any easier. No doctor had yet to find out the reason for this strange phenomenon. Even phoenix tears couldn't cure her.

Backed into a corner, Marco hoped to find a means to a cure. In order to do that he needed money, resources, and freedom. For this he needed power. Because in the devil society, everything was largely dictated by your power.

On that day, they made an agreement of sorts.

"When I get my evil pieces, you'll be the first to join!" a much younger Riser had declared, "and then we'll shoot straight for the top and become ultimate class. We'll both achieve our dreams,"

Riser had technically failed on the first part of their promise. Seeing as his first peerage member had ended up being Burent. But that wasn't too big of an issue. Or at least Riser hoped not.

Upon reaching a set of double doors, the young Phenex slowed to a stop. He quietly knocked three times before entering.

Inside was a medical ward of sorts. With only a single bed in the center of the room. In it laid a deceptively young woman in appearance, hardly uncommon in the supernatural. She bore the classic traits of the Phenex family. The standard blonde hair and if she were to open her eyes you would see the cerulean blue orbs. Her face looked strikingly similar to that of his own mother.

To her right sat a young man in a long sleeved open purple shirt and black khakis. He also had the same blue eyes of the Phenex pillar but his spiky hair was slightly darker. A sort of burnt orange. He held a disinterested gaze but his slightly tense form expressed his hidden emotion.

"Marco," Riser called out softly.

"Polo," his cousin replied.

Riser smirked. He really hated that joke.

"I finally got my pieces," he announced.

The older teen finally turned to face him.

"So I've heard, you even got yourself a pawn on the first day from what I hear, you sure work fast," he commented.

"It's quite a story actually, I'll tell you about it later," said Riser, "you ready?"

Marco just nodded.

"I've been ready for years. Let's go and get this over with," he replied.

Getting up, he made for the doors and motioned his cousin to follow.

Making their way out to the courtyard, both turned to face each other.

"Ya know," Riser started, "this always felt a little cheap to me, we're supposed to use these to increase the population. It feels a little redundant using it on another devil," from his pocket he pulled out a rook.

They had discussed multiple times in the past which piece Marco should take. Ideally, Marco had all the makings of a queen piece. However, the boy had rejected the idea immediately. At the same time, any other piece would have been wasting his potential.

After much debate, they had settled on the rook. The one who was supposed to be the king's absolute shield. As well as being commonly known to be the second strongest in point value right after the queen. With his regeneration as well as raw power, Marco would make the perfect rook. His abilities in magic wouldn't be enhanced but they wouldn't be limited either.

Something his brothers had always taught him about peerages was to eliminate weaknesses. Focus on their strengths but be as well rounded as possible. This way they would be caught off guard when a knight can deal and take a strong hit or when a rook's speed wasn't negligent.

They had also mentioned that most queen pieces these days were nothing but overglorified bishops. Something he intended on correcting with his own peerage.

"To be frank, it's mostly just to increase the number of nobility these days. So middle class and low class aren't that big of a deal," Marco threw in his two cents.

Well he wasn't really wrong.

"Then, here goes nothing,"

The rook piece shone brightly as it entered his cousin's body.

Two down, thirteen more to go.

A.N- And that's a wrap. Sorry this took so long. I've been, erm, doing other things. But besides that, getting used to writing this story without the help of the other two took a little bit of time but from this point forward expect much more frequent updates. I've been having reservations about continuing to write in DxD what with the archives somewhat dying out these days but I've rediscovered what I really enjoy about writing here sooo, yeah.

Special thanks to my boi Lion for being my beta :-)

If you're new to this story then be sure to leave a favorite, follow, and review what you think about the story!

Also, I run a discord server for all fanfiction authors to come together and discuss things about their stories. Readers are always a welcome edition, of course :)

So if you're interested then here's the link!

Discord . g g / V54pcwA (remember to remove the spaces)

Welp, that's all for now, so I'll see you all next time. ~Ja ne

Someone help i'm being kept against my will ~Lion