As promised, updates will be much more frequent from this point onwards. I've also been trying to write longer chapters so chapter lengths may vary for a while until I find whatever feels comfortable. Hope you enjoy this chapter, and I'll see you all at the bottom! Also, special thanks to Lion and Sdan for being my beta.

"Again."

A silver chain shot towards Riser as he coated himself in flames. The tip of the blade was only inches away before it was blasted back by a burst of fire from his outstretched hand, only for a second to take its place.

Riser shot into the air, the chain embedding itself into the ground where he had been standing.

"You're getting closer," he taunted before he was forced to move out of the way as the first chain swung around to blindside him.

Burent stomped her foot in annoyance at another failed attempt. When her master had suggested this training, she had been rather reluctant in fear of accidentally hurting him. That quickly changed, however, when he had smugly challenged her saying it wouldn't matter since she wouldn't be able to touch him anyway.

And he was right. For now.

The young pawn could hear Yubelluna cheering her on off to the side. The purple haired magician was enjoying her comfortable seat next to the bleachers, being the referee for the spar. Burent quickly drew back her chains before spinning one in circles, she hooked it with her leg as its momentum shot it towards her opponent once more.

Riser saw it coming a mile away, conjuring another fireball in his hand, he raised his hand as he concentrated on the core of the flame in his palm. He imagined it condensing inwards until it grew unstable, barely holding its form before bursting in a huge blast of fire. The force deflected the steel projectile headed his way, sending it flying into the air.

Unfortunately, Riser hadn't been spared from his own explosion, the blast sending him right into the dirt. In moments he was back on his feet. His right arm was covered in fire in numerous places as his regeneration worked to heal him.

"No! You got it all wrong again!" Yubelluna shouted from her seat, "You can't just create an outside source. It has to come from the inside and explode outwards, it's like a mana burst! Infuse the point you want to use the spell from and build it up before expelling it in an instant," she lectured.

"That's what I'm doing!" Riser retorted in irritation. This was the fifth time he had tried to use Yubel's most basic bomb spell. Yet, he still couldn't get it down.

"No, you're not," the magician rolled her eyes. Honestly, the blonde had no patience whatsoever, in Yubelluna's opinion. Demonic power may have been the most simple out of the various supernatural races and factions, being one based solely off their imagination and the amount of demonic energy they put into the spell, but that didn't mean magic was inherently easier for them.

They still had to understand the fundamentals of how the spell worked to a degree.

"As I said, you're gathering all your demonic power outside of your body. You have to gather it all inside. And don't just let it build up until it combusts, hold it until it's at its limit and then let it out in one direction," she instructed.

Meanwhile, Burent was starting to feel the exhaustion of the day's efforts. They had been out since an hour past sunrise and it was currently half past noon. And she still had to have her lessons about devil society and peerage servitude later! She had never felt so overwhelmed in her life.

None could fault the girl when she hadn't even been aware of her sacred gear or even the supernatural world only two months ago. Let alone practiced magical combat. In fact, she was making remarkable progress considering her circumstances. Her sacred gear was in no way easy to get used to.

The girl had been rather skeptical at first, not really believing that she had been worth a mutation piece after having learned what they were. Frankly, neither had his family sans Raze who had been there. All that doubt had been erased as soon as they saw her gear.

The chains of Gleipnir.

Or rather, a bastardized copy of the original chains that held down the Norse faction's God slaying wolf, Fenrir. Burent had been gifted with a treasure of Asgard.

The entire family had been gobsmacked at the reveal. This little girl could possibly have the potential to contain a god. Of course, as they were now she couldn't possibly hold down anything more than a stronger low class devil. But that was nothing training couldn't fix.

A sleek pair of silver chains attached to foot long daggers on either ends. Originally they had thought the daggers to be her sacred gear. It was only moments later that they noticed the true power of the gear laid in the chains.

The aura that radiated off them felt almost… divine. Though nowhere near as potent. Ruval had compared it to that of a four winged angel's. While it seemed weird to consider it such, the holy magic of angels was essentially an impure version of divine aura.

The links stretched seemingly endlessly, shooting across the entire courtyard of the Phenex manor. It had taken much extensive research to figure out what exactly the gear was. And when they finally did, Riser nearly set their entire territory ablaze in his excitement. Launching himself at his new pawn and holding her with an impossible grip, he only let go when he noticed her face seemed a little red from the heat.

Everyone else had a look that said they thought otherwise, but none commented on it.

"Come on, Burent," Riser goaded, "you can do better than that."

One infuriating thing Burent had learned about her new King, he had a competitive streak a mile wide and definitely didn't bother mincing his words when in the heat of the moment. He loved talking shit and usually had the power to back it up when against others his age or even a couple years his seniors.

And it had only become worse when he met his new "best buddy". Sairaorg Bael.

Parties in the underworld were a common enough occurrence. Devils of the high class would usually try and find any reason to throw a party.

So it was to be expected that the Phenex family would host one for their youngest son receiving his evil pieces, and the subsequent addition of the first two servants to boot. Riser, however, just wished that said parties weren't so boring.

"Why am I here?" The young teen had been muttering for the last hour.

"This is a party in your honor, Lord Riser," Burent reminded him for the upteenth time, "you should at least try to act like you're enjoying it."

Burent knew he would have rather been spending his time training or hanging out with his peerage. Maybe training with his peerage.

'Yeah, that sounds about right.' she thought. The blonde simply sighed once more, 'what I'd give for something interesting to happen.'

Riser was broken out of his musings when he felt a strong elbow jab him in the side. Marco nodded his head in the direction of a giant pair of double doors.

It was then that he noticed the room had suddenly quieted somewhat. Turning towards the entrance, he saw a boy roughly ten years old with spiky black hair and sad purple eyes. Next to him was a tall and imposing man Riser had only heard about in stories, Zekram Bael.

The first Bael. The oldest devil alive. One who had served the original Lucifer in the great war between the three factions.

The living legend had an intimidating aura but his face was that of a kind old man in his 70's. Towering at an impressive height of 198cm, he simply waved as if he were greeting old neighbors before gently placing a hand behind the little boy next to him and guiding him in the direction of the Phenex family.

Making their way through, the crowd parted and bowed in respect like Moses splitting the Red Sea. Though Riser did notice some people sneakily stare at the boy in his company and whisper about to each other. All of them saying the same thing.

"The failure of the Bael clan."

Riser didn't have time to ponder as the honored guests reached them. Stepping forward, Lord Phenex extended an arm to the first Bael who took it with a smile.

"It's good to see you, old friend," Rava Phenex greeted the devil.

"Indeed it has, Lord Phenex, I hope you've been doing well," Zekram's returned.

"Please, someone of your stature should never call someone like me Lord. We've talked about this before, you know," the eldest Phenex lectured.

The Bael just laughed as he waved him off before turning his gaze to Riser.

"So this is the star of the show, hm?" he inquired.

Riser jolted as he subconsciously straightened his back.

"Yeah, err, y-yes, hello, I'm the third son of the Phenex family. My name is Riser," he introduced himself with a slight stutter as he gave a short bow.

The young teen could hear the quiet chuckles of his family around him. Only Ravel was silent as she gaped at the legendary devil. Even Yubel and his servants were quietly giggling. Though they tried not to show it.

Apparently Zekram found it amusing as well, judging by his own muffled laughter. Riser almost facepalmed then and there.

"Raise your head, young Phenex," Zekram said.

As he did so, the elder devil gestured to the child beside him.

"Introduce yourself, Sairaorg,"

The boy nodded as he gently stepped forward with a smile on his face.

"Hello there, my name is Sairaorg Bael," he said politely.

Sairaorg Bael. Now Riser understood why he was getting those looks from the crowd. His parents had told him about the heir of the Great King Bael who was born without their family's magic, the Power of Destruction. An ability said to be destruction itself in the form of magic. One of the four Satans, Sirzechs Lucifer, was born with this power and had achieved a strength far greater than even the original Lucifer.

"It's nice to meet you," Riser said as the adults waved them off.

"Why don't you two go and mingle with the other guests while the adults catch up, hm?" Lady Phenex suggested.

Riser didn't really want to interact with the other nobility, for a multitude of reasons. For one, most of the guests were of his parents' age. The only ones close to his age in the room were his peerage, Yubelluna, and Sairaorg.

Most nobles would think it unwise for a human like Yubel to be allowed freely in the party. He had definitely noticed the occasional glance or two in her direction. Her magical energy was still completely human, after all. Even a child would notice the difference in her aura. Still, none had made to approach when she was never too far from his side.

"Yes mother," Riser said politely before he felt a nudge to find Sairaorg eyeing a rather empty corner of the room.

Sighing in relief, the blonde nodded before the duo made their way towards the secluded area. Yubel and his peerage following in tow.

"Sorry, but I don't really like being in large crowds much," Sairaorg started, "I'm sure you can probably understand why."

"I'd say I have an idea," Riser responded, "and honestly I don't care either way. If you can't shoot them then just punch them."

Sairaorg's smile in that moment could have blinded an angel.

"That's what I think too! I'd say I've got a pretty decent right hook if I do say so myself," the young Bael exclaimed. Riser seemed to pick up a hidden meaning in his words as he smirked.

"Wanna show me?"

Their little spar had been quite the show. Burent had been especially surprised when it ended in a draw. In the, admittedly short, amount of time she had known him. She hadn't seen anyone capable of matching her King in strength besides Marco. And even then, Marco's special flames were the only thing that allowed him to keep up.

Burent was shaken from her thoughts when a ball of fire shot right past her head. Quickly focusing back on the spar, her eyes scanned the field in search of Riser.

"Boo."

The brunette screamed as she swung around with her arms raised and ready to strike, only for a hand to catch her wrist. An amused smirk playing on Riser's lips was the first thing she saw before she realized what happened.

"I think that's enough for today," he said. She scowled.

"Master Riser, you have a visitor."

Just as she was about to give him a piece of her mind, a butler came in escorting a young girl who looked to be a couple years older than her with green tinted blonde hair and pink eyes behind a pair of glasses. The stern look on the girl's face gave the idea that she was the serious and no nonsense type.

The young Phenex raised an eyebrow at his sudden guest but wasn't too concerned otherwise, this was hardly the first time she had dropped by without prior notification. By this time, Yubelluna was making her way over to join them.

"Seekvaira," he greeted warmly. Seekvaira Agares, the daughter and heiress of the Archduke Agares pillar, had been his only female friend since he was a toddler. They had gone through their early years of schooling together before she transferred to a female only private academy in her family's territory.

"Is it true?" the green haired girl asked, "are you really engaged?"

Riser sighed as soon as he heard the question. Meanwhile, his pawn froze in horror at the words she had just heard. Her master? Engaged? To who? Since When? These questions spun in her mind while the Phenex spoke.

"Yes, I'm engaged to the heiress of the Gremory Clan. I think our fathers are good friends or something," he confirmed. Honestly, the whole thing was just a big hassle. His fiance hadn't even been in attendance at his party the other night. He had thought that a bit strange but ultimately dismissed it from his mind. He didn't care enough to ask his parents either.

"And you're just gonna let this happen? Are you okay with your parents just giving you away to someone without you even getting a say?" the Agares heiress argued. Riser shrugged in response.

Marriage wasn't important to him. It wouldn't help him get any stronger. If his parents wanted to marry him off for power then as long as it didn't get in the way of his goals, he didn't care.

Though the same couldn't be said for his betrothed. Apparently she had thrown an absolute fit and locked herself in her room for an entire month when she found out. Riser wasn't offended, he couldn't really blame her either. He didn't have a lot of experience with girls, or barely any for that matter, but he knew enough to know that most girls in their general age group dreamed of the perfect fairy tale wedding with a Prince Charming of their choice.

And he had heard through Seekvaira, before he ever knew of his engagement, that his fiance was rather… spoiled. To be expected when she was the little sister of the underworld's second biggest sis-con. That was going to be fun.

Despite their engagement, Riser had not once met the girl in person. Reason being she had absolutely refused to see him whenever their parents set up an appointment. And this had been going on for at least six months. That was fine too. It just meant he had more time to train.

"Is there a reason you're so angry, Seek?" the blonde asked.

The heiress blushed lightly as she tried and failed to stutter out a response before she turned on her heel with a pout.

"Who said I was angry? I was just concerned that you were being forced into something that you didn't want," she exclaimed as she refused to look him in the eye.

Burent looked towards Yubel for a reaction only to see a neutral face. The young magician noticed the questioning look the brunette was sending her way and sighed.

"I already knew, I was there when he was told."

That had been a bit of an awkward day for the explosion mage. Well, not that anything awkward had happened between them but rather, in her own mind. She wasn't able to tell why she felt so weird when she heard the news. But it was gone as quick as it came.

It was then that Seekvaira seemed to finally notice the other girls as she made eye contact with Yubel. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to determine who she was. Taking in every detail she could find, starting with the most glaring and obvious.

'She's human,' her aura was definitely that of a human which meant she wasn't part of Riser's peerage, 'A contracted magician perhaps?' That was plausible, but Riser wasn't the type to make those sort of contracts. He preferred using his own power rather than asking for help. A typical case of the male ego.

Riser noticed the stare down before coughing into his fist to get everyone's attention.

"Right, introductions," he gestured an arm towards Burent, "this is Burent, my new pawn. She took my mutation piece actually," the pride in his voice when mentioning the mutation piece was easily noticed by all. Burent's cheeks gained a small rosy tint as she bowed her head slightly in greeting.

Seekvaira's face showed her surprise at hearing this little girl had been worth Riser's mutation piece. The strength of the evil pieces were correspondent with the King who received them. If none of Riser's normal pieces were enough then that meant the girl had extraordinary latent potential. 'Most likely from her sacred gear,' she thought.

Next, Riser gestured to his human companion, "this is Yubel, I saved her and Burent a few months back and she's been staying with me ever since. She's become a wonderful friend of mine," the Agares' eyes narrowed once more. He had used what was clearly a nickname quite affectionately, whether he knew it or not. It seemed she hadn't been the only one to catch either, judging from the pout on the pawn's face. The girl in question, however, looked oblivious to it.

"Hello," she smiled politely. Yubelluna didn't want to say it outright, but she didn't like this girl. Something about her was very… off putting. 'Dumb cunt.'

"A pleasure," the green haired devil returned, 'Stupid tramp.'

Even Riser, as oblivious and hard headed as he was, could feel the awkward tension in the air before trying to play the middle man.

"Say, would you like to train with us, Seek?" he asked.

It seemed to do the trick as both girls turned their attention towards him. The young heiress looked conflicted before sighing and shaking her head.

"Unfortunately, I cannot. I must accompany my mother to the Dantalion territory. We're visiting her cousin," she informed, "I just couldn't stop myself from coming to confirm the news about your engagement after my father told me. I should be heading back now," Riser nodded in understanding.

"I'll see you at the next youth gathering, then?" he asked.

"That will most likely be the case. But I get my evil pieces in a month, so I don't know if I'll be able to find any members in time for the gathering," Seekvaira looked mildly concerned and annoyed as she revealed this.

The young devil's gathering was an event where the most promising children of the next generation would essentially debut and make something of themselves. One would normally attend three of these gatherings.

Once when they were thirteen, their first real look into the politics and system of the underworld. Here, they would meet the heirs and heiresses of all the other clans within their age group. Many had one or two friends from school but for the most part, this was where they would meet everyone.

Their second attendance was usually when they hit sixteen, a benchmark that allowed them to see the growth rate of the other heirs and heiresses and to allow themselves to see where they placed based on looks and impressions alone. Have you been keeping up with the others? Are you ahead or behind the others? These were the questions one would try to answer as they interacted with others.

Then, finally, when they became an adult at the age of eighteen. Where they would enter their first official rating games. Most would argue that the last one was the only one that mattered. There were even instances where an heir or heiress would skip the first two gatherings in favor of silently building their strength before making an explosive debut in their first match.

Having some form of your own peerage was crucial during the first impressions. A peerage symbolized you were officially a high class devil not just by birth but with your power. Devils greatly respected those who had power.

And Riser had already gotten two in his first month of gaining his evil pieces. Who knew how many he'd have by the time the gathering took place? Seekvaira pouted at having gotten the short end of the straw when it came to birthdates.

"I'm sure you'll find one or two before the gathering. It's still three months away, which means you'll have two months to search. I can even help if you want," the blonde offered.

The bespectacled girl perked up at hearing these words. Truthfully, she already had a couple ideas in mind for where to find eligible peerage candidates, but it was never a bad thing to have company. She was a delicate maiden, after all.

"I suppose you can accompany me," Seekvaira started, "just so long as you promise not to try and steal any candidates from me."

"Fine by me."

Dinner in the Phenex household had been much livelier since his peerage and Yubelluna started joining the table. The older members of the family took some time to teach the former human and human about the history of the underworld.

While Lord Phenex was busy regaling one of his old war stories, Riser noticed his pawn absently picking at a pastry. The look in her eyes seemed… distant.

"You alright?" He whispered, startling her. Luckily no one else noticed as they were too enraptured in the tale. "Sorry," Riser apologised, Burent took a moment to calm her breathing.

"It's okay, Master, I was just a little distracted," the brunette said. She tried to put on a smile but Riser could tell it wasn't real.

"You can tell me anything, you know," he said. The brunette's smile became less strained as she nodded, "I know, Riser-sama. It's nothing to worry about, trust me," she assured.

The blonde still had doubts but chose not to press the matter. Dinner came to an end soon after as everyone scattered to their various rooms.

Figuring he had time to kill, Riser decided to get a couple more hours of training in before he went to bed. He had been close to a breakthrough with the combustion spell Yubelluna had been teaching him. He just needed more practice.

A nice cool breeze greeted him the moment he stepped out into the garden. He may have had an affinity for fire, but Riser preferred cooler temperatures. It always made him feel a little more lively.

Trekking down the path in search of a secluded area, his keen ears picked up the faint sound of voices to his right. Curious, he followed the voices until he came upon a fairly large pond with a bench overlooking the whole clearing.

Occupying the bench were Yubel and his pawn. They looked to be having an easy conversation. Talking about their day and how their transition was going as well as whatever mundane topics came across their minds. Fits of laughter could occasionally be heard whenever they recounted an amusing part of their day.

Riser watched from a distance as a feeling of relief overcame him. He hadn't shown it but in the back of his mind there was a worry that they were uncomfortable here. Discontent. He was glad that wasn't the case.

"Hey, Yubel," Burent said, "have you ever had a Danish pastry?" the magician looked puzzled at the randomness of the question but answered regardless, "Yes, my mother used to buy them whenever she could afford to."

A melancholic smile formed on the younger girl's face as she gazed up at the artificial moon, "before I was kidnapped, I used to be neighbors with an old man who owned a small bakery. He'd make the most delicious danish pastries and he brought me a few everyday after he closed up shop.

During dinner it just came to me that I'll probably never get to have one again," she sighed in disappointment.

"Hey, don't worry," Yubelluna started, "we can definitely go find that bakery when we're older, and if not, well, it's not like we can't find a danish pastry somewhere else.'

Burent perked up at these words, "you really think so?"

"Well with teleportation circles, distance really isn't an issue for any magician," The violet haired girl claimed proudly.

Riser quietly slipped away back onto the main path. Having found a new objective for the night, the blonde made his way back to his room in order to prepare.

The next few hours consisted of running around his room searching for a certain item that was quite essential to his mission, along with a stop by the library to figure out what a danish pastry looked like. Having grown up in the underworld, Riser was not overly knowledgeable when it came to human culinary delicacies.

Having turned up empty handed after extensive searching, the young Phenex decided to improvise. If it was called a Danish pastry, he'd just go to a bakery in Denmark. Nodding to himself in approval of his own genius, Riser did a quick inventory to make sure he had everything he would need. Satisfied, he quietly opened his window and climbed down.

After his little outing months ago, his parents had decided to install some countermeasures, under the guise of increasing their home security.

Thankfully, there were no guards or sentries, The barrier surrounding their home, however, had been improved to now detect any use of demonic power or magic. It would also alert Lord Phenex directly whenever someone unauthorized passed in or out of the barrier, including via teleportation circle.

Fortunately, Riser had something to help him. Around his neck was a silver necklace with a simple amethyst rose pendant. It had been a birthday gift from his brother, Raze, perhaps three years ago. When worn it would completely erase the bearer's presence, both physical and magical. A rather convenient tool.

Sprinting through the tall brush of the gardens, Riser eventually made it to the border wall, latching onto the edge in one giant leap before climbing over to the other side. Not taking any chances, Riser continued to race away from his home, in a reminiscent manner to his first excursion months ago.

An hour later, Riser was completely out of his family's territory, having decided to use a little demonic power to glide the rest of the distance half way through. The alarms would only trigger if he used more than a set amount so he was confident this was no problem.

Casting a teleportation circle, Riser set a course for Denmark. He had studied a map of the human world for hours in order to make sure he'd get this right. In moments the circle activated, his body enveloping in orange flames as the circle rose from the ground, transporting his body.

An intricate magic circle appeared in the shadows of an empty alleyway. The circle hovered barely an inch off the ground before rising into the air. The body of a young teenager forming under it as a bright orange flame lit up the alley. From the circle came a young man whose eyes opened as soon as the circle disappeared.

Scanning his surroundings, he noticed the streets were rather bare, thankfully, no one had seen his rather flashy entrance. Riser sighed in relief while mentally chastising himself for being so negligent.

"I should really work on that," he muttered.

Noticing a newspaper on the ground, he picked it up hoping to find some sort of useful information on his whereabouts. Only to discover he couldn't read a damn thing on it. Except for one name. Gothenburg. Gothenburg, Sweden.

"Fuck's sake."

Reminding himself that he had no time to waste, Riser quickly stepped out of the alley before running in a random direction in hopes of finding a map. All he had to do was figure out which was south and fly south. Simple.

While running, he noticed he had teleported to a warehouse district that looked to be abandoned. Deciding he could afford to speed up without being seen by any unaware human, Riser spread his wings before shooting into the sky.

Riser took a moment to appreciate the cold air when suddenly a bolt of light struck him in his left shoulder. Pain exploded in his senses, causing him to plummet into the ground. Another two bolts missing him in his rapid descent.

With just enough awareness, Riser tried his best to land in a secluded area. Crashing in another alley from where he could hear water, Riser realized he wasn't at a warehouse distinct, but rather a port. Near the ocean.

Pain shot through the Phenex's shoulder as he tried to get up from his place on the ground. Gritting his teeth, the devil refused to voice his pain as he stumbled to his feet.

A crazed laughter rang through the walls of the alley as a figure appeared behind him. Turning around, Riser came face to face with a boy roughly his age, if not a year or two younger. He had straight white hair that went down to his shoulders and red eyes that held a look of bloodlust. The two most defining features, however, were his priest robes and the crazed smile on his face. Completing the image were a silver pistol in his left hand and a standard exorcist sword created by the church

"I'm surprised ya' survived, damn shitty devil," the assumed exorcist exclaimed. Even his voice held a tone of insanity. "I was hoping to get a little further away from the institution before I started my new life of hunting on the run, but it seems the Lord had other plans for me."

'Oh great,' Riser thought, 'he's an excommunicated exorcist,' the young devil felt incredibly irritated at the moment.

"I just wanted a damn pastry."

AN: Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, I'm slowly getting back into the flow of DxD and while I usually come up with stuff as I go, I also have a lot of plans in store for Riser and the peerage. On that note, I've set up a poll on whether or not Seekvaira should be in the harem. So head on over to my profile and be sure to vote!

On another note, I'd like to thank igeorge for pointing out a mistake in the last chapter with a review. If you guys notice little mistakes like that, be sure to let me know! I'm always hoping to improve and sometimes I may miss little details like that. Lastly, I own a discord server for fanfic writers to come together and improve or just chill and have fun. Readers are welcome too, of course, if you're interested then here's the link

discord . gg / V54pcwA

Till next time ~Ja ne