Hello, Vinzelles here. Welcome back to A Path to Freedom.
Been a little while, again. I've been busy with serious business and not-serious-at-all business at the same time, so I'm a little late once again. Sorry about that.
SO! Arc 2 has been finished! I've also got a little prologue chapter for Arc 3 ready and waiting for this big ass arc to finish. Arc 2 ended up being 81 pages long with Times New Roman 12 (I don't know about you people, but that format is standard in Italy). And we've got 8 more chapters after this one. ...It's one hell of a ride now that I'm writing this and thinking about it.
Anyway. Today, we have the encounter with Riser, and here's where things get interesting once again. I'm very tempted to spoil stuff, but I can't, but the feeling is unbearable, help me XD
In the battle with Riser I really gave it my all, so be patient and build hype in the meantime. Right now, stuff you probably won't expect.
I'll see you at the bottom. Enjoy.
Arc 2 Chapter 6 - Riser Phenex
Orochi opened his eyes. He was home, on his own once again.
Apparently Anya did him a favour and warped him directly into his room. '...Hm, how nice of her.' he thought.
'What a day this has been.' He recounted everything that happened. He lost control and became dangerous for a little while; he picked a fight with the supernatural, again; he made a friggin' contract with Satan himself! Or, well, one of them.
But most importantly he discovered his true capabilities and the potential he had.
'...Heaven's Gate.' He stared at his hand. 'I need to take control once and for all! ...Man, I hope we start soon, I'm actually looking forward to this!' He thought excitedly.
But that had been a long day and he was mentally tired, tired enough that his headache was coming back, and he was even tempted to skip dinner and go straight to bed.
"Ah, no good, I still need to prepare for school tomorrow..."
...Where was his schoolbag? He looked around everywhere but couldn't find it. Where the hell was it? He had it before they warped to the Underworld...
"ANYAAAAAAAA! MY DAMN BAG IS STILL IN YOUR FUCKING CLUBROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMM!"
This shout could be heard from afar as a single white-haired boy walked out of a building and ran like a madman towards his school.
Anya's day was sadly not over.
She and her peerage had already separated from Raynare, who apparently had to go "write her own report". Anya still had to contact Azazel on the matter so she still was unsure if the Fallen girl's claims were true. So she had planned to go to the clubroom one last time for that day, to gather her things and finally call the Governor, but someone was already occupying the room.
Sitting on one of the sofas was a young man in his twenties, with short blond hair and dark blue eyes. He wore a burgundy blazer with gold embroidery, matching pants and black shoes. The white shirt underneath the blazer wasn't buttoned all the way up, giving a slight view of his somewhat developed chest.
He was Riser Phenex, fellow Pillar Devil, heir to the power of the immortal Phoenix, and her fiancé. Not that she wanted to specifically marry this man, mind you: arranged marriages were still a common practice among Devils, especially when it came to pure-blooded Devils like the two of them. More than half of the 72 families called "Pillars" had in fact gone extinct already, and the pure bloodlines had to be preserved no matter the cost. In this particular case though, the "cost" was not something she held much care for, since she was NOT interested in him in any way whatsoever.
"Oh, welcome back, Anya. I've been waiting for you!" The first to speak was Riser. "You're as beautiful as ever. And you too of course, Miss Nishijima." He then regarded Asia. "Oh, there's a new one. You're not too bad yourself."
He was a certified womanizer. Unryuu didn't need the reminder, and Anya definitely didn't need it either. Asia was just creeped out.
"What are you doing here, Riser? It will still be a while before I have to marry you. And I haven't approved this in the first place."
"Don't be like that, Anya. Our marriage was approved by both of our families as you know. And besides, think of the bloodlines! The remaining families of the Pillars cannot be allowed to go extinct, you must be well aware of that. So I came in this filthy world filled with unclean air and humans to take you back to the Underworld in order to start organizing everything we need."
He started assuming a menacing tone. "Imagine, me, a Phenex, breathing this air full of impurity for your sake! Since I've come all this way, I will take you back even if I have to cleanse this room with my flames!" His entire body caught fire all of a sudden: he seemed actually ready to do what he claimed he'd do.
"DAMN YOU ANYA, YOU FORGOT TO WARP MY SCHOOLBAG!" A shout was heard behind the clubroom door, which was opened violently a second later. "I SWEAR I'LL KICK YOUR ASS IF YOU PULL THAT SHIT AGAIN-".
Orochi had walked into an interesting scene that shut him up good. A stranger engulfed in flames was about to engage in combat the three Devils in the room, but it seemed that his sudden appearance had left all four of them paralyzed. To be fair, it was an awkward situation even for Orochi, who actually didn't react immediately.
Anya and Unryuu didn't think the situation could become any worse than it already was. Orochi, the literal talking, walking bomb that he was, had a habit of throwing provocations, very effective ones at that, whenever he thought it was okay for him to open his mouth. But they were already getting ready to battle in that suddenly cramped room, so they reasoned that he couldn't really start a fight that had already commenced. Certainly he couldn't worsen the situation when they had already gone this far.
"..."
"..."
Both Orochi and Riser were silently observing each other with wide eyes. Orochi spoke first.
"...It seems I interrupted something. My bad. I didn't mean to." He looked around. "Ah, there it is. I'm just here for my schoolbag, since someone forgot that I came with it to this stupid club earlier." He spotted his bag laying on one of the sofas. He picked it up and started walking out, everyone else in the room watching him as he did so.
Anya was breathing quietly. Could it be that Orochi was actually behaving properly because there was a stranger in the room? She really had hope now. He would just walk out and forget about what he saw for once. He wouldn't interfere again. He wouldn't cause a mess again. Maybe.
"Ah, before I go, Anya..." Orochi addressed her one last time. He really didn't want to fight with a splitting headache affecting him. Truly, he didn't. So he simply pointed to Riser and asked a completely innocent question. At least in his opinion.
"Who's this loser?"
'HE DID IT AGAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNN!' Such was the collective thought of Anya and her peerage.
"L-Loser?! How dare you insult me like this? DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM-"
"SHUT UP!" Orochi impressed himself once again: he really had a short fuse when he felt sick. The moment the man in flames started shouting, Orochi immediately stepped into his personal space and grabbed his face before slamming his head down. And as expected, the man's head made a dent in the floor. Orochi then straightened up and spoke angrily. "I've had just about enough of people raising their voice today! I have a headache, for fuck's sake! So DON'T FUCKING SHOUT!" It also seemed that his tongue was a lot looser when he was sick.
"And you!" He pointed at Riser. "Next time you show up I'll actually break your fucking skull instead of opening cracks on it! AM I CLEAR?"
What Orochi didn't expect was for Riser to stand up on his own.
"...Someone here needs to learn his place..." muttered the Devil.
"What?!" Orochi couldn't believe it. He heard the bastard's skull cracking, he was sure of it. Someone hurt like that was not supposed to get up at all, let alone standing straight like he was doing.
Riser's flames started burning brighter.
"How dare you lay your dirty fingers on me, you low-life? You will pay for this!"
"Stop immediately!"
Anya once again had to prevent the further escalation of the situation.
"I will not accept this. I will not allow you to treat this school as a battlefield! This territory is still mine to supervise, and if you start fighting now I'll do everything in my power to stop both of you!"
The two stared at Anya.
"Hmph, very well. This filth didn't do any harm to me either way so I shouldn't get angry for his sake, I suppose." said Riser. "But I cannot forgive him for insulting me and attacking me immediately after! Shouldn't you be disciplining your servants properly, Anya?"
"Even if I didn't do damage, you're clearly still disoriented, mate. Or maybe you just need glasses if you can't tell apart a Devil from a human." responded Orochi.
"WHAT?!"
"ARE YOU SHOUTING AGAIN?! LOOKS LIKE YOU NEED ANOTHER LESSON IN PAIN-"
Two spears materialized and Anya pointed their blades at the two of them.
"..."
"..."
"Take your fight elsewhere. Last warning." declared Anya.
Orochi and Riser looked at each other in hatred. They both addressed Anya.
"And where the hell do you propose I take this damn fight?"
"Exactly. If this bastard is truly a human and you won't allow us to fight in your territory, where will we have our duel?"
"...What duel?" As usual, Orochi was one step behind when it came to Devils and their usual line of thought.
"Use your head, low-life. A high-class Devil is not like you, we don't have unofficial battles outside of emergency cases. So I have no choice but to formally challenge you now that you've dared to hurt me and my pride!"
Orochi smirked. "...Sure, fine by me. Say my name then."
"!"
"You're going to need to do that if you want to have an official duel. That's how it works with "official" battles, doesn't it?"
"..."
"...You don't even know my name."
"S-Should I?" (1)
"Stop teasing him, Orochi-kun. It's not as easy as you think."
Suddenly a familiar magic circle appeared in the room, from which emerged someone Orochi didn't think he would see again this soon. A feeling that Anya shared.
"A-Ajuka Beelzebub?!"
"Beelzebub-sama?!"
"! Beelzebub-sama! ...Wait. Waitwaitwait, why does a human know the Satan personally?!"
"I shall explain that right away, Phenex Riser-kun, so please settle down. Both of you. Let's sit for a moment." Ajuka gestured to the sofas.
The two of them decided to heed the Satan's request. Taking one sofa each, of course. Ajuka sat near Orochi.
"First, the reason why I know this human, Riser-kun. This is Kamakura Orochi." He gestured to the boy at his side. "The wielder of an ability I wish to gather data on, and a potential ally to us Devils. As for why I am here, well..." He pointed at Orochi's hand. The boy looked at it and, sure enough, one of Ajuka's circles appeared on the back. "I heard everything that was going on from a circle I implanted on his hand, and decided to take advantage of the situation-"
"Hold it, Ajuka! When did this happen? I didn't even..." He came to a realization. "...When we shook hands, huh?" Ajuka nodded with a smile, and Orochi clicked his tongue. "I definitely have to learn a lot if I managed to fall for such a cheap trick. And didn't you leave the stalking part to Nina-san?!"
"Oh? Is it so wrong of me to briefly point another pair of eyes in your general direction just because I feel like it?"
"It's your eyes we're talking about, and it pisses me off immensely! I would like to keep my privacy, you know?"
"Beelzebub-sama, ignoring this fool's babbling, if I may, what do you mean by 'take advantage of the situation'?" interrupted Riser.
"I heard you folks talking about a duel. Orochi-kun, Devils utilize a certain form of friendly competition in order to resolve disputes, called Rating Game. You won't be able to find a proper battlefield unless you abide by the rules of said competition. The problem is, of course, that you're no Devil."
Ajuka turned to Riser. "I have a contract with this human, which will allow me to gather data about his ability, but in order to do so I have to wait for him to start fighting. I simply want to take advantage of the situation, as I said, and make an exception in order to start studying him more quickly."
"...In other words, you intend to organize a Rating Game between him and me, sir?"
Ajuka smiled once more. "Precisely. I want to test his capabilities using the Rating Game system."
"I have to object then, Beelzebub-sama." declared Riser. "He has no peerage at all for obvious reasons, while I have a complete one. He will be crushed in an instant."
Orochi narrowed his eyes at that statement, a movement that Ajuka noticed right away.
"...I suppose he needs a little time to get used to his ability then. Trust me, Riser-kun, when I say he will give you the battle of your life if you give him a chance. He did find out about it very recently so all he needs is time. How much do you need, Orochi-kun-"
"Three days." His answer was instantaneous and reeked of confidence. "I only need three days to surpass this guy and show how wrong he is. In fact, I'll do even more than that in order to prove my point." He stood from his seat and glared at Riser. "I'll bring one person with me to the Rating Game, and I'll make sure that this person becomes capable of defeating your second in command in the next three days. How does that sound, Riser Phenex?"
"Huh? Why should I accept such a ridiculous proposition?"
"Simple." Orochi crossed his arms and put a wide smile on his face. "If I win on my own, your reputation will go down the shitter. In the eventuality that you lose, you'll be able to save some face as long as there is someone fighting on my side. I'm doing you a favour out of pity, while still demonstrating that I can improve enough to compensate for two people despite the short time limit."
"Hohoho, quite the bold claim, Orochi-kun." Ajuka chuckled at his client's reasoning. "But you're not wrong. I intend to try and keep the Rating Game as secret as possible, yet it is quite easy for a leak to occur. For Riser-kun's sake, I will allow it. But before I make it official, I feel that both of you need a proper incentive."
""What?""
"Yes, an incentive. I shall grant a wish to the winner, no matter what it is. BUT, for fairness's sake, I'll need you two to state it now. You first, Riser-kun."
"...Very well. Then I also shall take advantage of the situation. If I win this battle, please establish the marriage between me and Anya Adramelech right away, rather than have us wait!"
"EEEEEEHHHHH? Y-You! Are you serious?" Anya was obviously not happy with how the situation evolved.
"My apologies, Adramelech Anya-kun, but I'm afraid that right now your opinion is invalid since you have no say in this. So please refrain from speaking." Ajuka said in his business voice. "I will allow it. What about you, Orochi-kun? What is your wish?"
"I don't really want anything else from you. Just give it to Anya, I don't know what to do with it."
Ajuka thought about the boy's answer for a second while observing Anya herself. As he figured, she didn't expect such an answer from him; a glimmer of hope seemed to have found its way in her eyes. At first Ajuka imagined that Orochi had said everything he said just to spite Riser, but by looking at him afterwards, for a single moment a hint of a genuine smile appeared on the young man's face. It was intended: his goal was truly to help her out despite the fact that there seemed to be... disagreements between her group and himself.
"...Very well. Then I shall consider your wish as 'To grant a wish to Anya Adramelech'. I will allow it. Stand up, Riser-kun. Both of you gentlemen, face each other."
They obeyed the order. "Orochi Kamakura, Riser Phenex. Your Rating Game will commence three days from now. You may prepare as you see fit, but you will swear that you shall fight fairly no matter what."
"...I swear." "I swear!" They shook hands.
"Then I'll see you two at the Rating Game. Good day."
And just like that, Ajuka had disappeared.
Silence reigned in the room for a short while.
"I'll be leaving too then. I'll look forward to what a paltry three-days training will be able to accomplish for you."
With that statement, Riser also disappeared using his own circle.
Only the Devils and Orochi remained. Anya immediately took the chance she was granted, or at least she wanted to. She had every intention to start calling that foolish human a bunch of names until his ears fell off to compensate for the chaos he caused in the span of a few hours, but her train of thought was abruptly stopped by his words.
"Don't even start, my head is about to split open and I don't need this right now." He turned around, picked up his schoolbag that he had thrown to the floor after deciding to attack Riser, and walked to the door like he had originally intended to do. "I'm not doing it for your sake, at any rate. I'm just paying back my debts."
The door of the ORC clubroom closed behind him.
Raynare was not going to like this development, he thought.
(1): A combination of two references from DBZ Abridged. In the episode where Vegeta has been injured by Krillin in the Frieza Saga, the Saiyan asks Dende to heal him, and Dende agrees on the condition that he says his name, which he doesn't get right. And the "Should I?" part is from the Meta Cooler special, where Cooler doesn't recognize Vegeta because, to be fair, they never met. "Do you really not know who I am?" "...Should I?"
Welcome to the bottom.
So, be honest, who expected all this? This is one of the points in the story where having Ajuka in Sirzechs' place serves me well. The big shot that created the Evil Piece system and the Rating Games surely has a way of accomodating for a human in a special battle, yes?
Speaking of the human, he was kinda vulgar in this chapter, courtesy of the headache he's been having the whole day. Whenever he isn't completely there with his head, I plan to have him behave like this, by highlighting his aggressiveness towards people, so please bear with it, as you should be able to since this is a M-rated fic.
Let me just say, he's reaching his boiling point for the day. So be hyped for next chapter.
It's going to be a 16 against 2 Rating Game! Well, more like 15 against 1 while Raynare fights Yubelluna. I intend to publish only a single chapter where Orochi and Raynare train with the help of the Devils, because I want to explain the rest of what those two will be capable of during the RG itself.
Not much else to say this time. Next chapter, Inversion.
Thank you for reading, see you soon. Ciao!