Ben 10: Dragon God of Life

by DragneelGiant96

Ever since he was 10, Ben Tennyson has been having dreams of strange creatures, strange events...and a strange green dragon. No one can explain them; they're a mystery. But when he attends Kuoh Academy, he learns that there's more to his dreams than he realizes. Powerful, original version of Ben Tennyson. OOC and AU. Rated M for swearing, violence and DxD nudity. [Ben x Harem]

26. The Gathering

A/N: Hi guys! I'm baaaaaaaaaack!

Sorry for the late update, guys! I was taken by surprise by the amount of uni work thrust upon me for third-year Law. Not only that but my beta reader also had personal issues to resolve before he could get around to checking this chapter. That's all sorted now so it shouldn't be a problem next month.

Anyway, I hope you've all been doing well since my last update.

One thing I'd like to tell you all before reading this that I've listened to your requests and have done what you requested. As you read this chapter, I'll be working on plans for a filler chapter with the fountain of youth. Obviously, it'll be different from the canon episode but I hope you'll enjoy it. I plan to put it up after the Rating Game between Sona and Rias, just before they return back to the human world for the start of the Juggernaut arc.

Without further ado, here's the chapter you've all been waiting for!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

After dinner was finally over and Rias had suggested to her peerage that they should get some sleep after the excitement of today. Taking her advice, Ben now found himself slowly making his way down the long corridor towards the bedroom that had been designated for him, his mind having drifted elsewhere, namely recalling what was discussed at dinner and the plans Rias' mother had in store for him.

'So, not only am I going to be busy with whatever hell Azazel's going to put me through but I've also got a crash course in the ins and outs of 'sophisticated' devil society…and be taught by Rias' mum of all people?' he thought to himself. He didn't know what to expect when he met with Rias' parents but this was certainly not among his list of possibilities.

"Don't forget how Rias' father basically straight up told you to call him 'dad'," the voice of 'Raynare' whispered to him from the depths of his mind.

'What's your point?' Ben asked with a thought as he rubbed his forehead from yet another headache which suddenly came about out of nowhere.

"It's amusing how badly he wants you to marry his daughter. Forget a union between two 'noble' Devil houses; a union with the wielder of two of the most powerful dragons in existence? Now there's a union that would benefit the Gremory household, wouldn't you agree?"

'You know that's not true. Rias was taken aback by his statement just as much as I was.'

"I suppose you're right. The only other way to explain her actions was if she had been trained at a young age to control her emotions masterfully…but stuff like that is only saved for nobles, isn't it?" the silk-smooth voice muttered quietly.

Ben ignored the voice as he reached the doors to his room. Just like everything else in Rias' home, it was ridiculously large and only became even more extravagant as he opened the doors and entered his room.

It may have appeared to be the same size as his room back home in his family's newly refurbished mansion but due to the distinct lack of all his junk back home, this room definitely appeared to be bigger.

The only thing that occupied the room was the absurdly huge canopy bed which took up most of the empty space in the room. He looked towards the doors on the other side of the room and recalled back to when Grayfia showed them their rooms after their meeting with Venelana. Apparently, they each led to necessities such as a toilet, small kitchen complete with a refrigerator. She said that, although each room also had a bath, there was a huge bath elsewhere in the house that acted as the main one.

After going through his usual nightly routine in the attached bathroom, Ben exited the en-suite and approached the bed. He was just in the process of removing his clothes before climbing into bed but just as he had taken off his shirt he heard a knock on the huge doors. Not expecting anyone else to visit him and believing that Rias and Asia were going to sleep in their own beds…at least for the first few nights, Ben diverted towards the doors, opening them to see Xenovia and Asia standing before him, Xenovia wearing a pair of short, baggy, shorts and a loose, blue tank-top while Asia was clad in a thin, pink nightdress.

While not overly surprised that Asia was standing before him – he suspected that she had become too accustomed to sharing his bed with him – he was surprised to see Xenovia standing beside her.

"We're not disturbing you, are we?" Asia asked timidly, keeping her head tilted down as her cheeks blushed slightly at the sight of his muscular chest in full view of her.

"No, of course not," Ben replied, shaking his head dismissively and giving her a warm smile. "What are you two doing here?" he went on to ask, already suspecting Asia's answer.

"I can't settle down in my room. It's simply too big for one person," Xenovia explained innocently, crossing her arms under her impressive chest. "Asia felt the same way and we thought we'd come and stay in your room."

"You did, huh?" Ben asked, the corner of his lips turning upwards slightly at her simple explanation.

"Asia said that you wouldn't mind letting us sleep in the same bed together, is that incorrect?" Xenovia asked, matter-of-factly.

Ben sighed and opened the door wider to let the two of them enter. "No, it's fine. There's plenty of room after all," he said, gesturing towards the gigantic bed in the middle of the room. Without needing to be told to, the two of them entered the room as he closed the door behind them and followed after them, joining the pair of them as they climbed onto the bed and crawled under the covers with him in settling in between the two of them.

"I guess you're still not used to this kind of living, are you, Xenovia?" Ben deduced, tilting his head towards Xenovia who, subconsciously or not – Ben couldn't tell which – had moved herself closer to him so that their bare arms were touching and he could feel the heat from her touch. On his left, Asia had already adopted her usual position and had taken Ben's left arm and wrapped her arms around it, embracing it tightly as she rested her head in the crook of his neck as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

"You're right. It still wasn't too long ago that I lived with the Church. Life was simple back then so all of this luxury is a little overwhelming," the bluenette explained as she stared up at the ceiling.

"Hmm, I can see where you're coming from. I can't imagine how Gasper must be feeling with all this…open space," Ben chuckled lightly so as to not disturb Asia who, amazingly, was already fast asleep.

"He's fine. We checked in on him before coming here. He was perfectly content with staying in his box, playing with his video games."

"Huh, well I guess I'd be kidding myself if I thought he'd be able to sleep in a bed like this," Ben murmured with a small smirk.

"We'd better go to sleep," Xenovia stated as she closed her eyes.

"You're right. Who knows what's in store for us tomorrow," Ben grumbled as he also closed his eyes and the two of them gradually began to drift off to sleep.

. . . . .

(The next day)

BOOMPF!

Ben grunted under his breath as he rubbed the sore spot on the back of his head where Venelana Gremory had just struck with the thick book in her hand.

While everyone else was being taken on a sightseeing tour of the Gremory grounds by Rias, specifically her family's castle and the exclusive castle which Sirzechs uses when he returns to his family's land, and just generally enjoying themselves, Ben found himself, instead, in the large Gremory library with the matriarch of the Gremory family as she gave him an extensive lecture on how to act as a high-class devils, to behave as one of the upper echelons of devil society and its nobility, among other various topics which he had been told would be essential for him to learn.

Even though he was able to grasp some of Venelana's lessons due to what he'd been told by Rias and the others as well as his own limited knowledge on the subject from what little he knew on different class systems which exist in the human world. This, however, was nowhere good enough for Rias' mother who had taken up the hobby of 'tapping' him on the side of the head with the large book in her hand whenever he got a question wrong.

Something which was happening more frequent than he would've liked.

"Wrong again," Venelana sighed as she stopped in front of him and stared down at him. "I promise you this, Ben; you won't leave this room until I am satisfied that you have sufficient knowledge on these things," she chastised him as she returned to circling the table he was sat at. The table was stacked high with numerous books as well as the notebook in front of Ben within which he had been furiously scribbling notes into as he struggled to take in every word that she said.

Despite the intense lesson he found himself in, he couldn't help but subconsciously compare the teaching styles between Venelana and her daughter. He didn't exactly know what that actually meant, about him, about the two of them or anything else, it was simply a comparison he couldn't get out of his head.

The sound of muted giggling drew Ben's attention to his learning partner sat beside him. Ben wasn't alone in suffering through Venelana's strict lessons as Millicas was sat next to him. He glanced over at the young devil who had already turned away from him and had returned his attention onto his grandmother.

Ben glanced down and was dismayed to see that Millicas' notebook was distinctly fuller than his own and his notes were extremely detailed in comparison to his own. It was clear from this…and the fact that he hadn't been struck once by their teacher that, despite his young age, Millicas was an extremely intelligent and diligent young man.

"Sorry, Lady Venelana," Ben groaned as he rubbed the back of his head.

"And stop with the whole "Lady Venelana"! I've told you already to drop titles while you're here," Venelana admonished him again.

"Sorry," Ben apologised again. There was so much stuff that she had been telling him for the last few hours that he was having trouble understanding it all.

Venelana merely sighed in response as she came to a stop on the opposite side of the table to her two students and looked at him. "You're just as Sirzechs and Grayfia described you," she commented offhandedly.

Ben looked up at her, anxious about what Rias' mother had been told about him.

"You work hard at everything you do, no matter how difficult the task might be, particularly if it interests you," Venelana explained for him, the corner of her mouth turning upwards in a small smile when she caught the very quiet sigh of relief from her student. "However, all that tells me is that you don't find this subject interesting. That's a problem as you need to have at least a basic knowledge of the way things work here in the Underworld if you are to be an effective companion for Rias."

"Speaking of which, she should be returning soon. After all, she's to attend the customary gathering of young devils," Venelana informed him as she glided across the floor and disappeared behind a bookcase in search of a particular book.

As she disappeared behind the large bookcase, Ben glanced over to Millicas who had continued to write while he and Venelana had been speaking.

"What's this gathering of young devils about exactly?" he asked the young devil quietly, not wishing to invoke the wrath of Rias' mother's ire at his lack of knowledge on such an, evidently, important event within devil society.

Millicas looked up from his notes and turned towards Ben with excitement in his eyes. "It's where the devils, around the same age as Rias, who have yet to participate in their first official Rating Game gather. High-class devil heirs from the oldest and most noble families are gathered together by the Devil Kings so that they can get to know each other. It's quite rare for heirs to do so otherwise due to the work they have to do for their families," Millicas explained happily.

Ben nodded in understanding. He could imagine that it was difficult for the heirs of noble families to find the time to see, never mind talk, to other heirs of important families. He had seen it with Rias and Sona. Despite going the same school and being friends since they were little, Rias and Sona barely encountered each other the majority of the time. The last time he recalled them seeing each other was briefly during the Kokabiel incident.

If it was difficult for the two of them to be able to talk to each other, how bad was it for the other high-class devil heirs within the whole Underworld?

His thoughts were broken when Venelana returned from behind the bookcase, a new, leather-bound book in her arms. Millicas seemed to recognise the book as his eyes lit up with poorly contained excitement.

"Oh boy, this is my favourite," Millicas gasped excitedly under his breath to Ben.

"Now, I had planned to teach you the history of the Gremory family but I fear that there wouldn't be enough time for you to get a sufficient grasp on it in the time we have left. Thankfully, though, there shouldn't be much cause for its immediate use for the time you have left with us. Rias should be able to answer any questions about our family if you have any questions," she explained as she returned to the table.

"I have been informed by Rias that, because of the nature of Azmuth's Sacred Gear, you have a strong desire to learn more about the various demons that inhabit the Underworld, is that correct?" Venelana asked Ben.

"Uh yes, that's right," Ben replied, caught off guard by the sudden change of topic. "I know a bit about the abilities of the demons I can transform into which, while useful in a fight, doesn't tell me much about the demons as a whole. I want to learn more about them as a species; the kind of habitats they live in, how their societies work," Ben told her as he thought back on the various times he had transformed. He knew about the physical abilities of the demons he could take the shape of thanks to Azmuth's Gear, but he knew next to nothing about the demons themselves.

"In that case," Venelana said as she placed the book in her hands down on the table in front of him. He looked down at the book before him and read the title etched into the dark leather with gold stitching:

'The Demonomicum: A Comprehensive Guide to the Demons of the Underworld'

Just by looking at it, Ben could tell that the book before him was extremely old yet it didn't seem to have been hit by the ravages of time.

"This is one of our family's many priceless tomes, and one of my personal favourites. It's been in the Gremory family since it was founded, millennia ago, and belonged to the first lord of the Gremory Household, Zacharias Gremory, Rias' great-grandfather. Out of all the noble devil families, even before the Great War, the Gremory family was always the one most fascinated with the Underworld and the demons which dwelled within it. They were also the only family which strove to learn as much as possible about them as they could. The other high-class families simply regard demons as mere pests and nuisances; creatures to be ignored and dealt with if they come too close to our borders or simply hunted for sport and prestige," Venelana explained as she lightly caressed the ancient tome, obvious attachment to the book shown in her actions.

Ben couldn't help but feel his excitement grow as Venelana said all this. She hadn't told him a single thing about demons yet he was already determined to learn as much as he could from her.

"I'm able to admit that I, myself, used to share that same belief before I married Zeoticus, back when I was part of the Bael family. I discovered this book completely by chance while perusing the library but it was enough to open my eyes to the world beyond our borders and draw my fascination to the demonic inhabitants of that world," she told him with a warm smile on her face.

"Unfortunately, that same fascination didn't seem to pass on to my children," Venelana added with a sigh as her thoughts turned towards when she used to tutor her children. Despite all that he had learnt in the limited time he had, Ben was unaware just how unusual it was for the matriarch of such an old and esteemed family to take it upon herself to personally teach her children. The customary thing to do was to have them taught by a private tutor. However, the Gremory family was known throughout high-class Devil society for frequently acting outside what is widely considered normal. While a number of noble families owned and controlled demons for their own personal use, varying from workers to soldiers, the Gremory was one of the only families, if not the only one, which treated the demons fairly, from the sentient demonic species who they treated with the same level of respect as their devil servants, and the non-sentient species – such as their Vulpimancer mounts – were also treated with dignity and respect.

"Even though they passed any test I put before them, it was clear that they didn't possess the same fascination that I did. No matter what I did, Sirzechs and Rias didn't develop the spark to learn more about the demons like I did."

A warm smile slowly formed on her lips as she stared at her two students. "You two are different though. I can't tell you how pleased I am to see the same look in your eyes as I did when I started learning about the demons of the Underworld," the Gremory matriarch told them with a smile on her youthful face. "I thought I would have to just be content with Millicas until I was blessed with another grandchild…but your arrival was just as much a blessing as anything. Even if I only have a short amount of time to teach you, I'll make sure you know as much as you can before you return back to the human world."

"You'd do that for me?!" Ben asked her with disbelief. Even though he had made it clear that he wished to learn more about demons, from what he had been told of the attitude the Underworld had towards demons he believed that he would have to find a way to teach himself. He didn't ever consider the possibility that Rias' mother would offer to teach him.

"Think of it as my personal gift to you for taking care of my daughter while she's in the human world." She raises her hand to stop Ben when he made to reply to her statement. "I know you didn't do it for a reward, but nevertheless, this is the very least I can do. Now, let's not waste any more time, shall we?"

With that, the Gremory matriarch returned back into 'strict tutor' mode and immediately began her rigorous lesson though this time both Ben and Millicas were paying close attention to her words as their hands turned into blurs as they furiously continued jotting down notes as she spoke.

. . . . .

(Later)

Ben continued on with Venelana's strict yet extremely informative lesson, doing his absolute best to keep up with her furious pacing, for the next few hours before they finally came to an end. The only reason they came to the end of the lesson was actually when Rias and the others finally returned from their sightseeing tour around the various Gremory castles dotted around their territory.

Upon seeing the condition her pawn was in after his lessons with her mother, Rias sympathised with him but couldn't help but giggle at the exhausted condition she found him in, though she did have the decency to appear shameful as she did so. When she had gotten control of her small giggling fit, Rias brought Ben's face down into her breasts, wrapping her arms around his neck in a warm embrace before apologising for forgetting to warn him about her mother's aggressive style of teaching.

"I should have warned you. I'm so sorry!" Rias declare comically as she embraced her favourite servant affectionately. "I still get flashbacks of when she taught me when I was Millicas' age."

Almost immediately after Rias and her peerage had returned from their trip and Ben had changed into a clean change of clothes after being rescued, their group bid Venelana and Millicas farewell as they left the mansion and made their way down to the Gremory private station where they boarded a train destined for the territory which Sirzechs controlled as the Devil King, Lucifer. The trip was uneventful except for the several magic circles the train passed through, each one meant to aid with long-distance jumps around the extensive territory controlled by Devils.

After around two long hours of this jolting trip, the train finally came to a stop at its destination.

Not knowing what to expect in a city inhabited by devils, Ben was taken completely by surprised when he exited the large train station to a sight which could easily be mistaken for one in any city in the human world. There were even a set of vending machines arranged just past the station entrance!

As he stared at the expanse of modern buildings and homes before him Ben couldn't help but compare it to the images he'd seen of London. It may be a very loose comparison due to the staggeringly differing patterns and designs from the buildings in the British capital city, however, it reminded him more of London than any city he'd seen or visited in America namely due to the lack of abundant skyscrapers. That didn't mean there weren't any though as, even from where he stood, he could easily see several tall towers rising up into the air, far above the majority of the buildings he could see. These towering features were so few and sporadically spread out from each other that they all stood out like lonely mountains.

As he took in his new surroundings, Ben failed to notice Kiba walk up behind him and come to a stop on his left.

"So, what do you think?" the blond-haired knight asked as he followed Ben's gaze.

"I didn't expect it to be so…modern," Ben replied, unable to think of any other way to describe it.

Kiba simply chuckled at Ben's response. "This is the city of Luciferd, the main city within the territory controlled by Lucifer. It also just so happens to be the old Devil capital where the previous Lucifer used to live and hold court."

Unable to say anything in response to Kiba's revelation, Ben simply nodded his head slightly as he continued to take in the sights of the first urban area of the Underworld he had ever been to. He may have been to the Underworld before, and to Rias' house, but this was different. They were unique places where only the upper echelons of Devil society lived.

Now, though. Now, he was staring at normal devils who were just living out their daily lives. No family troubles which would have significant effects on society, no private events or even homes with armies of servants to look after their every need.

He only knew he was still in the Underworld because of the dark purple sky above him. The people living out their lives before him could very easily, at first glance, be mistaken for regular humans.

"Come on," Kiba continued as he patted Ben on his shoulder to attract his attention from the throng of people before him. "We're going to head down to the subway and take another train to our final destination. There would be trouble if we used the surface route."

If he hadn't mentioned the 'trouble' part, Ben would have chuckled at the mention of a subway and the notion of going underground in the Underworld. However, since the Gremory knight didn't just say that, he concentrated on the latter part of his statement.

"Why would there be trouble? Do the people not like her for some reason?" Ben asked, tearing his gaze away from the city sights and looking at Kiba as he asked him.

Before Kiba could respond to Ben's question, he was cut off by a high-pitched shriek from a young woman close by who pointed in Rias' direction.

"Kyaaah! It's Rias Gremoryyyyyy!"

Her declaration was quickly followed by a loud cheer as every devil in the vicinity glanced in the direction the young devil woman was pointing and spotted the red-haired heiress.

"Quite the contrary!" Akeno told Ben above the noise of the growing crowd of adoring fans who glanced at Rias with looks of amazement and longing.

"So…she's popular in the Underworld then?" Ben asked loudly as he covered his enhanced ears which were not appreciating the screeches from Rias' crowd of fans.

"What do you expect? She the younger sister of the Devil King, Lucifer. And not only that, she's also beautiful and intelligent," Kiba explained with a faint smile on his lips at the large crowd which continued to grow as time passed.

"All of that makes her a yearned after person amongst the low and middle-class devils," Akeno added

"So, Rias is some kind of celebrity in the Underworld," Ben summarised as he interpreted what he had been told. He knew Rias was a known figure throughout the upper part of devil society but he had no idea just how popular she was with the rest of the people though. He couldn't help but smirk as he thought about the young heiress who never enjoyed receiving attention; that being one of the reasons she wanted to go to school in the human world.

"So many people!" a small voice whined out behind Ben before he felt a body move closer to him for safety and comfort.

Smirking, Ben looked down to see Gasper staring, wide-eyed, at the throng of devils in front of them.

"And I suppose the same admiration doesn't extend to us mere servants, does it?" Ben asked the blond-haired with a slight chuckle.

"I'm afraid so," Kiba replied with a small chuckle of his own. "Every devil in the Underworld has heard of Rias Gremory whereas the rest of us are known simply as her retainers…."

He was suddenly interrupted when a young woman in the middle of the throng of devils took notice of Ben and, instantly recognising him, pointed at him and yelled over the noise of the crowd, "Hey! Isn't that the Dragon All-Father?!"

Despite not being loud enough to be heard by everyone in the throng of admirers, the small number which did hear her followed her gaze onto Ben also, seemingly noticing him for the first time.

"Yeah, that's him!" another young female devil cried out in recognition. "He's the one who made it possible to change The System and make it so we can pray again!"

"However, that doesn't seem to be case for you," Kiba chuckled as he patted Ben on the shoulder.

Even as he said this, the number of devils directing their attention towards Ben slowly started to grow though the majority of the throng's attention was still directed towards Rias.

"Looks like someone's popular," Akeno sniggered from Ben's right as he stared at the crowd of devils with surprise.

"We'd best switch to the underground train as soon as possible," the red-haired beauty announced as she turned towards one of the black-suited men who were acting as their escorts. "Has the private train been prepared for us?" she asked him, eager to get out of there before the crowd grew anymore restless.

"Yes, Lady Gremory. If you would please follow me," the escort said before turning and leading the way towards the stairs closest to them and down into the underground part of the station, a part exclusively reserved for the private trains of the noble devil families.

As they descended the staircase to the subway train reserved for their trip to the gathering of young devils, Ben couldn't fail to miss hearing the cries from the crowd above until they reached the lowest section of the station where their train was waiting. While it was still a magnificent sight from the trains he had been on in the human world, this train paled in comparison to the private Gremory train they had travelled on when they came to the Underworld.

It was at this point, when everyone else was boarding the train, Ben stopped for a moment and admired his surroundings, chuckling to himself at the very notion of there being an underground level for subway trains…in the Underworld, the world supposedly situated at the lowest level possible.

Quickly collecting himself from his thoughts, he followed after the others and, soon enough, the train departed the station and disappeared down the dark tunnel before it.

As the train gently jolted it occupants, Ben turned to Rias who, again, had taken her usual spot right next to him and asked her a question he had been meaning to ask her for a while. He'd forgotten about his question till now but, after encountering that crowd of devils just now, he suddenly remembered the question he'd wanted to ask her.

"There's something I've been meaning to ask you, Rias," he said, attracting the heiress' attention.

"What is it?" Rias asked curiously.

"I heard from Azazel that the fallen angels reacted positively to the changes that I've caused to the System which would allow them to pray again without issue feel close to Him again. However, I haven't heard what the reaction has been with devils," Ben explained as he glanced out of the window, out into the pitch-black tunnel the train was travelling through. "So I was wondering, what the reaction been like amongst devils? They seemed to recognise me back at the station because of it but I couldn't tell if they were happy to see me like they were when they saw you or if they were angry with what I did."

Rias was silent for a moment as she thought about her answer. "To be honest with you, I don't know how it's being taken fully by everyone. I do know that my family appreciate what you have done for the peace between the Three Factions and that it has been received positively by those who live within my family's land but I can't speak for every devil in the Underworld. You should try asking my brother…or my parents when you next get the chance. They live in the Underworld more than I do and they have so much more knowledge in the attitude of the noble families and the people than I ever will."

Ben slowly nodded his head as he listened to Rias and made a mental note to wait for a moment to present itself to him.

. . . . .

(Ten minutes later)

The train finally began to low down as it reached its destination, coming to a final stop in, what Rias had revealed to them as, the largest building in the entire city.

As it was the place for the gathering of the young noble devils, the old families, and the other high-class devils, Ben wasn't surprised that the chosen place for this event was in such an impressive building.

The bodyguards accompanying their group continued to escort them as they exited from the train and made their way to the lifts at the end of the platform. When the lift doors opened and Rias entered along with her entourage, the black-suited escorts remained where they were and didn't follow them, their work being done with their charges having reached their destination without any problems.

As the spacious lift ascended through the many floors of the large building, Rias turned to face her retinue.

"I don't think I need to tell everyone that we need to be on our best behaviour tonight. We may be meeting other young devils from noble families but, no matter what is said or done, please don't start a fight with anyone. We are about to meet our future rivals in the Rating Games to come and I don't want to show them an unsightly side of us. Remember: as my servants, you are not only representing me in there but also the whole Gremory family," she explained to them in the tone of voice of someone preparing themselves for battle.

The lift continued upwards for another minute before it finally came to a stop and opened its doors for them, revealing a wide hall.

Ben couldn't help but wonder how huge the building actually was if every floor was as spacious as this one.

'I don't think I will ever get used to this place,' he thought to himself as he stared up at the ornately decorated ceiling high above him.

Almost immediately after everyone exited the lift, they were approached by a person who, based on the professional suit they were wearing, appeared to be an employee of the building and bowed to them respectfully.

"Welcome, Lady Gremory. It's a pleasure to meet you. If you would please follow me, I'll take you to the gathering."

Without saying anything else, they were led down the spacious corridor. After following the building employee down the corridor for a while, Ben quickly noticed the figures of several people standing in a group outside a large set of heavy wooden doors at the end of the corridor.

As they approached the group, Rias seemed to recognise one of them as her face perked up in recognition.

"Sairaorg?!" she asked with disbelief, attracting the attention of one of the young men in the group who turned around at the sound of Rias' voice.

He had the appearance of a good-looking young man, though with a rugged quality added in. Even at first glances, Ben could see he had an energetic personality from the way he stood and, by the looks of his impressive physique which did a poor job hiding his muscles, he looked like a pro-wrestler. Without any further information, Ben would estimate the young man as being the same age as Rias, maybe slightly older.

One thing that stood out in Ben's mind as he stared at the mysterious young man was the set of piercing purple eyes which stared back at him and the others.

"Hey, Rias. It's been a while since we last saw each other. It's good to see you again," the young man, now known as Sairaorg, said cheerfully as he walked towards Rias and shook her hand with a smile on his face. He didn't know anything about this Sairaorg but Ben couldn't help but feel that he was being sincere with his greeting.

As the two of them greeted each other, the other devils behind Sairaorg turned their gazes upon Ben and the other ORC members. As they did so, Ben couldn't help but feel power radiating off them…though they all paled compared to the power coming from Sairaorg himself.

There was no doubt about it. Each one of these devils was strong and could handle themselves in a fight.

"It has been ages, hasn't it? I've missed you," Rias replied cheerfully. "It's good to see that you're doing well."

She suddenly turned back to her peerage. "Oh, I'm sorry. Some of you haven't met before." She gestured towards Sairaorg. "This is Sairaorg. He's my cousin from my mother's side."

Cousin?!

Ben was taken by surprise by Rias' revelation but, as he looked closely at Sairaorg, he couldn't fail to notice the faint similarities in his features which reminded him of Sirzechs.

Rias then turned back to her cousin, gesturing to Ben, Asia and Xenovia.

"And these are the newest additions to my peerage. This is Asia, my second bishop, Xenovia, my second knight, and finally, this is…."

"Ben Tennyson," Sairaorg said, cutting Rias off mid-sentence as he approached Ben, coming to a stop in front of him. "I've heard a lot about you."

"All good I hope," Ben chuckled, caught off-guard by Sairaorg's attention being directed on him. As this was the first time he had been in the Underworld since his fight with Riser, he had no idea what had been said about him among the families who watched the fight and, no doubt, spoke about it with the other families.

Sairaorg laughed at Ben's response. "Depends on who you ask. I, for one, like what I've heard about you. I've heard about the abilities you possess with wielding the Dragon All-Father and Red Dragon Emperor's Sacred Gears and wish I could have been there to see you wipe the smugness off Riser's face."

"I also heard you gate-crashed the party by taking on the form of a Vaxasaurian and literally crashing through the wall. Is this true?"

"Uh yeah, I kinda did," Ben replied, unsure of what else to say. His response was met another hearty laugh by Sairaorg who then held out his hand for Ben to shake. Ben took his hand and shook it. He couldn't help but notice the intense pressure Sairaorg put into the handshake. Not wanting to show weakness to a potential rival in the upcoming Rating Games, Ben decided to play Sairaorg at his game and applied pressure of his own. It wasn't stronger than Sairaorg's but it was enough to balance out their handshake so neither backed down.

Sairaorg must have felt this as his smile grew after a few seconds. "It's good to finally meet you, Tennyson. I'm Sairaorg Bael, the next head of the Bael family," he said in greeting.

Despite his struggles to take in everything he had been taught in Venelana's lessons on the various noble devil families and their members, the one she had taught him first, and with great detail was the Bael family, the family she had been part of before marrying Rias' father. As one of the oldest and most powerful families in the Underworld, they held the distinguished ranking of "Great King", just one rank under the Devil Kings themselves! It was from them, and through her mother that Rias and Sirzechs inherited their fabled 'Power of Destruction' techniques.

So…despite holding the rank of 'Duke' – one of the highest ranks in devil society – the Gremory family also has close ties with the 'Great King' Bael family and has one of the Devil Kings directly related to them.

When the two of them finally finished their handshake and released each other's hand, Rias looked at her cousin with a question on her lips.

"Why are you standing out here, Sairaorg? Hasn't the gathering already started?" she asked curiously.

"Oh, it started all right," he replied with a sigh as he gestured over his shoulder at the large wooden doors behind him. "We just came out here to get away from them. It's just too idiotic in there for my liking."

"Idiotic? Who's arrived?"

"Well, Seekvaira and Diodora were already here by the time I arrived and Zephyrdor arrived not long after I did. Perhaps not surprisingly, almost immediately after he arrived he got into an argument with Agares," Sairaorg explained with poorly contained distain.

"What could they possibly be arguing abo—," Rias began to ask but was interrupted by a loud explosion which knocked the large doors off their hinges and sent them crashing to the floor with a loud 'BANG!' and released a cloud of dust and smoke from the room within.

Sairaorg sighed and turned to look at the commotion behind him. "This is precisely why I was against this gathering before our formal debut," he muttered as he made his way into the room, his peerage close behind him as Rias joined him, her own peerage following in her wake.

As they entered the spacious room, the first thing they all noticed was how smashed up it was. Almost every piece of furniture, from the tables and chairs to the decorations adorning the walls, appeared to have been destroyed beyond repair, the debris strewn across the floor.

In the centre of all this carnage were two devils standing opposite each other and each glaring at the other intensely, their peerages standing behind their masters, weapons drawn and facing each other.

While these two groups faced each other down, a single male devil was sat down at the only intact table left in the room and was drinking a cup of tea normally and watching the two groups face off with a look of slight amusement on his face.

Concerning the two devils glaring at each other, the epicentre of the ice-cold aura permeating around the room, one had the unique appearance which reminded Ben of a tall, dark-skinned goblin, while the young woman facing him looked like a relatively ordinary devil. She appeared to be in her late teens, just like everyone else in the room, with long light-blonde hair and distinct pink eyes. Her outfit consisted of a beautifully decorated blue robe which gave her an aura of respectability which befitted a noble devil like her.

The goblin-like devil standing opposite her, however, had a completely different appearance and aura. The parts of his body which were visible sported multiple tattoos, mainly on his face. His green hair stood on its end and matched the colour of his eyes. He wore a yellow with black stripes, open-flared collar jacket and black trousers.

Whilst his opponent gave off an aura of respectability and refinement that, somehow, reminded Ben of Sona, he gave off a strong aura reminiscent of a delinquent.

As they entered the room proper, they were able to make out the argument the two devils were having.

"Zephyrdor, are you incapable of not starting fights wherever you go, even in a place like this? Is it your wish to be destroyed? If it is then I won't hesitate to do so. I doubt I'd even be blamed by the higher ups if I did kill you," the young woman stated coolly, maintaining her composure.

"It's no wonder you're still a virgin, bitch, if you brush all guys off like that! That's why I'm giving you this generous offer to perform a 'virgin purgin' service on you. You're all alike, unwed women of Devil King families – unbearable stuck-ups and virgins! You should be grateful I'm offering to give you a private 'opening ceremony' for you!" Zephyrdor retorted with a sneer.

"Well he's charming," Ben muttered from beside Rias as he watched the two devils face each other off.

Sairaorg appeared on Ben's other side and nodded his head slightly at his comment.

"This is what happens when you gather to many hot-heads together in one place. It's bad enough doing that with normal hot-heads but when you do it to hot-heads who also happen to be the heirs of their respective families, this is what you get," he explained with a sigh. "I struggle to fathom why the old devils from the old families and high-class devils assume that this is a good thing. It's so time-consuming."

"I guess I'd better go and break them up. They're really annoying me," he then declared as he cracked his neck muscles and rolled his shoulders before stepping forward towards the two quarrelling devils.

"Ben, I want you to watch Sairaorg carefully," Rias instructed him under her breath so as to not be overheard.

"Sure. Any particular reason why?" Ben asked as he did as he was told and watched her cousin approach the hot-headed devils.

"Because he's ranked number one amongst young devils. When the time comes that we face him in a Rating Game, we'll have to beat him if we're ever to take that title from him."

Even though he could feel power coming off of him, Ben had no idea that Sairaorg was considered the strongest amongst the young devils and he stared at Sairaorg with greater respect than before.

When he got close enough to them, the two devils broke their glares and turned their attention to the newcomer.

"I've grown bored of your bickering, Seekvaira, heiress of the Agares family, and Zephyrdor, problem child of the Glaysa-Labolas family. If you intend to go any further with this then I'll be your opponent. I know this might be hard for you to grasp, but this is your last warning. Your words and actions will determine the next steps I'll take," Sairaorg told them in a threatening tone.

While Seekvaira seemed to understand that Sairaorg wasn't messing around and backed down with a slight nod of her head to signify she understood his words, Zephyrdor didn't follow suit. Instead, he sneered as a vein started to throb on his forehead at Sairaorg's words and his face turned red with anger.

"Like fuck I'll listen to anything Bael trash like you—," Zephyrdor began but never finished his sentence as, quicker than lightning, Sairaorg brought his fist up and punched Zephyrdor in the jaw with such power that it sent him flying through the air until he connected with the opposite wall with a loud 'CRASH!'

Dazed from the sudden blow, Zephyrdor could only groan in pain as he fell from the wall – a Zephyrdor-shaped indent in the wall- and fell into an unconscious heap on the floor.

It seemed that the unconscious Zephyrdor's peerage had more sense than their master as they made no move on Sairaorg even though it was clear in their eyes that they wanted to do just that.

Sairaorg seemed to sense this as he turned towards them and gestured to their fallen master.

"Look after your master. That is your first priority as members of his retinue. The function will be starting soon and it won't do for the heir of the Glaysa-Labolas family to be unconscious during it," he told them simply.

As they rushed towards their fallen master and tried to rouse him from his current state, Sairaorg turned around to face Seekvaira who, while she retained her cool, dignified composure, stiffened ever so slightly at the expression on the Bael heir's face.

"There's still time to put your make-up on again," he told her, noting the distinct signs revealed during her spat with Zephyrdor. "It wouldn't do if you attended the function in your current shape."

"I understand," she replied with a nod of her head before turning away from him and re-joining her peerage who immediately sprang into action to help their mistress prepare for the function.

"An interesting display."

Ben and Rias glanced back to see Sona standing behind them, the entirety of her peerage standing behind her too. Like Ben and the ORC, they were all wearing the familiar Kuoh Academy school uniform.

"Hello, Sona," Rias greeted her childhood friend with a sincere smile as Sona approached them.

As the two of them became lost in their own conversation, Ben felt a hand on his shoulder and, upon looking to the hand's owner, came to find Saji standing next to him.

"Hey there, Tennyson!" he said cheerfully and Ben couldn't help but smile too and return the greeting.

"Hey, Saji. I was just wondering when you would finally turn up."

Saji chuckled and looked at the carnage throughout the room just as the building staff entered the room from a side door and began to repair the extensive damage with their magic. "Can you believe we're actually here, and in such distinguished company?" he said in wonder.

"I know what you mean," Ben said back to him, understanding what he was referring to. They were in the presence of the heirs of the four families which produced the current four Devil Kings as well as the heiress to the Archduke Agares family and the heir to the Great King Bael family.

What a star line-up of influential figures!

'What the Khaos brigade wouldn't give to destroy everyone in this room,' Ben thought to himself with a faint shake of his head. He shouldn't be thinking of stuff like that.

. . . . .

(A few minutes later)

"Greetings. I am Seekvaira, the next head of the Agares family."

After the incident between the heirs of the Agares and Glaysa-Labolas families had been cleaned up by the building staff and returned back to how it used to be, the young devils began to interact with each other again and exchanged greetings, though this time without the threat of violence hanging in the air.

Ben now found himself stood behind Rias along with the other members of the ORC while she was sat at a table situated near the back of the room along with Sona of the Sitri family, Sairaorg of the Bael family, and Seekvaira of the Agares family. Each one of the heirs' peerages stood behind their respective master and mistresses, just like Ben and the others, on standby should they be required.

Also sat at the table, though without his peerage there with him, was the young man who had been drinking tea and watching the squabble before from the side-line. Ben had learned, from Saji, that he was the heir of the Astaroth family.

Remembering the facts and information Rias' mother had drilled into him, Ben recalled how the Agares family held the rank of Archduke which, in turn, made them act as direct agents to the Devil Kings, carrying out their orders and passing judgement on the lives of other devils should they break any laws.

The organisation of the power structure within Devil society still confused Ben somewhat but he realised it wasn't just going to change to suit something he was familiar with so he would just have to get used to it as quickly as possible.

As these thoughts passed through Ben's head, Rias and the other heirs continued with their formal introductions.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Rias Gremory, the next head of the Gremory family," Rias announced herself to the Agares heiress.

"And I'm Sona Sitri, the heiress to the Sitri family," Sona added with a formal nod which was returned by the next Agares head.

"I'm honoured to meet you all at last. My name is Diodora Astaroth, the next head of the Astaroth family," the young man from before introduced himself as he drank his tea gracefully.

Ben couldn't put his finger on it. Even though Diodora spoke with a gentle voice, there was something about him that rubbed Ben the wrong way and he couldn't explain it. The Astaroth heir didn't outwardly do anything to raise Ben's suspicions but every fibre in his body was warning him to be cautious of him.

"Zephyrdor's appearance at this gathering has been the cause of much discussion. The Glaysa-Labolas family has been hit hard recently. His older brother met with an unfortunate accident recently and died. Zephyrdor's rise to be the next head of the family has been a shock to many," Sairaorg informed everyone, though his attention was mainly directed towards Rias and Sona who had been in the human world when it happened and he wasn't sure if they had been informed about it yet.

The two of them revealed that they had been made aware of the unforeseen development within the family but, before they could move to discuss it further, a door opened and an employee of the building appeared as everyone's attention was directed towards him.

"Everyone is ready for you. If the young lords and ladies would please follow me."

. . . . .

The first thing the young devils all noticed upon entering the room was the strange atmosphere.

They had emerged in what looked akin to the standing area of a theatre where they were surrounded by multiple levels, each one holding seats which were occupied by distinguished-looking noble devils at each level until, at the very top level of the room, there were four ornately decorated thrones which were occupied by the four Devil Kings – two of which he recognised as Rias' older brother and Sona's older sister, the Devil Kings Lucifer and Leviathan. Rather than her usual magical girl costume, Serafall was wearing a formal suit today.

Ben had to admit that he wasn't fond of the situation he had walked into. From the positioning of the noble devils above them, it felt as though the higher-ups were looking down on them with condescending eyes.

While he stood a few steps back from Rias with the other peerages, the six young heirs were stood in a line looking up at the high-class devils with the dignity that befit them as members of distinguished families. Zephyrdor had recovered from Sairaorg's punch though he now sported an impressive swollen cheek which left a vivid mark on his face.

When directed by one of the noble devils in the upper levels of the room, the six young devils stepped forward one step. Once they had done so, all eyes looked up to Sirzechs who motioned for silence.

Once this was done, he addressed the six young devils before him.

"You six represent the next generation of your esteemed families and each possess outstanding power and skill. as such, this meeting is performed on a regular cycle so as to ascertain the promising young devils within the noble Houses in our society," Sirzechs said, his voice echoing throughout the silent hall.

"It appears they didn't waste any time and have already started to fight each other," an elderly-looking devil said with a solemn voice as he noted Zephyrdor's swollen cheek.

"That's true," a thick-moustached devil conceded sarcastically as he twirled a curl of the thick bush under his nose. "However, as I'm sure most of us would agree that, despite being from such powerful and noble houses, they aren't completely beyond the folly of youth, are they?"

A few noble devils chuckled at this but were quickly silenced as Sirzechs raised his hand for silence once again before continuing.

"As you six are to be the next generation of noble leaders for our people, I hope to have you compete against each other before your formal debuts and increase your power even further."

'Were these the Rating Games Azazel was talking about while we were in the Underworld?' Ben thought to himself.

"You're proposing a set of Rating Games between the six of us?" Seekvaira summarised.

"Something like that. I was actually envisioning something of an exhibition," Sirzechs clarified. "I'm hoping to invite representatives from both Heaven and the Fallen Angels so we can turn these upcoming games into a spectacle to build bridges between our three factions. An incredible step has already been taken to strengthen the new peace between us…." Ben couldn't miss the subtle glance Sirzechs gave him as he said this nor the ones from Serafall and several other devils around the room. Doing his best to avoid their gazes, he kept his gaze squarely on Rias.

"And what about the Khaos Brigade?" Sairaorg asked suddenly, attracting the attention of all the noble devils with his abrupt question.

"I can't say anything now but I'm aiming to keep you young ones out of the fighting for as long as possible," Sirzechs explained calmly.

"Why?" Sairaorg demanded. "We may be young but we're as skilled as any other devil. We can fight."

"I'm not doubting your courage nor your skills. Far from it. Should any one of you perish in combat, it would be an immeasurable loss to the Devil world. In that sense, you all are more of a treasure than you can ever realise. We want you to experience the important things in life before its marred by battle. We lost so much in the last war, over half of our population from the war and civil war. We are still recovering from these losses. Every one of you must be protected at all costs. If we lost even one of you, the loss would be terrible."

"I…understand," Sairaorg relented with a small nod of the head.

"The six of you must understand this. We see the hopes and dreams of our species in you young ones. We hope for a bright future with you, and so we wish to hear your goals for the future," Sirzechs continued, hoping to return to what they were there to discuss.

Before anyone else had the chance, Sairaorg was the first to respond.

"Mine is simple really. My dream is to become a Devil King," he declared firmly, ignoring the quiet murmurs from the higher-ups around the room.

"A Great King family has never produced a Devil King before. This is highly unprecedented," a noble devil just one level down from the four Devil Kings commented.

"Once I prove to the people that I'm the only worthy candidate, I have no doubt that it'll happen," Sairaorg countered with a confident smirk.

[You have to admire the young man's confidence,] Ddraig muttered in Ben's mind who found himself agreeing with the crimson dragon.

"An admirable goal to strive for," Sirzechs said before turning his gaze towards Rias. "And what about you, Rias? What's your goal?"

"My goal is to live on to become the next head of the Gremory Household, and to become the highest ranked Rating Game player in the Underworld," Rias declared proudly.

'So that's Rias' goal, huh?' Ben thought, hearing Rias' goal for the first time just like the rest of her peerage. He would gladly help Rias achieve her dream, and he knew full well that everyone else in the ORC would gladly do the same thing.

The other young heirs also stated their goals and aspirations for the future until all that was left was Sona.

"And you, Sona Sitri," Sirzechs said, turning towards the Sitri heiress standing at the end of the line. "What is your goal?"

Sona didn't answer the Devil King immediately. After a few seconds of silence….

"My wish is to establish a Rating Game school in the Devil realm," she announced loudly and with conviction.

Assuming that she must have gotten the idea from her time living in Kuoh and from her duties as Student Council President, Ben admired Sona's plan and, from the expressions on the faces of her peerage, they fully supported her goal.

However, the same couldn't be said for the higher-ups in the room who raised their eyebrows at Sona's statement and muttered amongst each other.

The only ones who remained silent were the four Devil Kings.

"If you're talking about schools where you can learn about Rating Games then there are already facilities like that," one noble devil pointed out with confusion on his face.

"Those schools only accept high-class devils and other small, privileged portions of the population. I want to build a school where low-class and reincarnated devils can attend without discrimination."

The noble devils throughout the hall suddenly burst into laughter at Sona's outlandish statement.

"What an absurd notion!"

"Preposterous!"

"You're just a little girl with stupid dreams!"

"It's a good thing we were able to hear this before your debut, Lady Sitri."

Confused by the raucous laughter from the higher-ups, Ben leant towards Saji who was stood next to him and asked what was so funny about Sona's dream.

"Even though the Underworld has changed so much in the millennia since the current Devil Kings took over, discrimination between the high-class devils and the low-class and reincarnated devils is still running strong. There are still a lot of powerful people who believe that it's natural and should be upheld," Saji explained with a strained voice, disgruntled by the way the higher-ups were treating his master.

An image of Riser Phenex suddenly sprang into Ben's mind and he understood exactly what Saji was talking about. He had never seen any form of discrimination or hostility when he was with Rias' family…but then again he recalled being told how the Gremory family was famous throughout the Underworld for their unusual affection towards their servants, even for the demons who work for them.

"I'm completely serious," Sona declared, unfazed by the dismissal from the higher-ups above her.

"Sona Sitri, if a low-born or reincarnated devil has the aptitude to participate in the Rating Games then it is the duty of their master to recognise that potential and act upon it. The Underworld may have experienced great reforms but it simply wouldn't do to educate the rabble like you're suggesting," a stuffy Archduke stated, unable to remain silent any longer.

This was apparently the last straw for Serafall who couldn't remain silent any longer as her little sister was mocked.

"Oh yeah?! Well, in that case, what if my little Sona is spectacular in the games? You won't have any complaints then, will you? Those who prove themselves during the games get all sorts of requests granted so Sona's wish isn't completely out of the question!" Serafall bellowed, stunning everyone by her sudden outburst and pissed off mood.

"To me it looks like all you old geezers are just here to bully my sweet Sona! I've only got so much patience, you know. If you fossils keep this up, I'll start doing some bullying of my own," she added dangerously, causing the devil lords to fall silent as they felt her glare fall on them.

Sona hid her face with embarrassment at her older sister's actions. Ben couldn't help but smile as he recalled how Sona and Rias' older siblings became overly affectionate for them, greatly embarrassing them greatly whenever they did so.

"In that case, this is the perfect opportunity for a game between these young ones," Sirzechs announced, redirecting attention back to where it used to be.

"How about we start things off with a game between the two of you?" the Devil King suggested, gesturing towards Rias and Sona with a small smile on his face.

"!" Rias and Sona blinked in surprise at Sirzechs' suggestion and stared at each other.

So, the first match between the young devils was to be against the two groups which attend Kuoh Academy?

"With that decided, the details for the match will be revealed at a later date. Until then, you may divide up your time and train yourselves until then."

With Sirzechs' declaration, the Rating Game between Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri was formerly announced and the gathering came to an end.

. . . . .

Back at the Gremory manor

"So, your first match will be against the Sitri group, huh? A showdown between the devil groups of Kuoh Academy," Azazel stated after being told what had happened during the gathering. After returning from the city, they had all gathered in the huge living room and given the Governor-General an account of the meeting.

"Right, I've been told the date of the match and I have twenty days to train you guys as much as possible before your showdown. I have a training plan for you all already prepared to start tomorrow morning. I've carefully tailored a regime for each and every one of you, each one designed specifically to your individual needs," Azazel announced to them with a clap of his hands. "I want all of you to gather in the garden early tomorrow morning where I will give each of you our training regimes. Be ready."

He was met by a series of nods and murmurs of agreement by the assembled devils but he didn't decide to comment on it. He'd wake them up with the special training he had in store for them.

They were interrupted when Grayfia entered the room and bowed to its occupants.

"The Hot springs have been prepared for you and your companions, my lady," the silver-haired maid announced in a professional manner.

. . . . .

Several minutes later and Ben found himself slowly melting in the relaxing hot spring bath he was sitting in. Unlike the baths they were in after their fight with Tannin, this hot spring separated the two sections with a simple wall. Also, unlike last time, Ben was able to get Gasper into the bath without any real issue. He still whined when he entered the pool with other people in it, but when Ben reminded him what he did to get the dhampir into the bath last time, Gasper was remarkably compliant and didn't offer much resistance.

"Ahh. I gotta admit it, you Devils sure know how to do hot springs right," Azazel sighed from his spot in the huge spring.

"The Gremory family is known to boast some of the best springs in the Devil Realm," Kiba stated as he lowered himself into the warm water.

"You guys anxious about your upcoming fight with the Sitri group?" the Fallen Angel asked them after a few moments of silence.

"Not particularly," Ben replied offhandedly as he felt his aching muscles loosen up in the healing water. "We've been through a lot already and, if I know anything about you, you're not going to go easy on us with our training."

"You got that right, kid," Azazel chuckled with a small salute with his middle and index fingers.

Their conversation was brought to a sudden stop when their enhanced hearing picked up the voices from the other side of the wall separating them from the women's side of the springs.

[Oooh, Rias. Have your breasts grow even larger again?] the unmistakable voice of Akeno called out.

[Have they really? H-hey, Akeno! Your touching me in a dirty manner! Moreover, haven't your breasts grown larger than mine?] Rias' voice spoke up in response.

[You might be right. However, I believe that a woman becomes bolder when she has someone she wants to show them to.]

[This again? I won't tell you again, Akeno. Stay away from my Ben. I don't like you stimulating him so much.]

[Ara. I can't help it if Ben can't get enough of my girls. You shouldn't worry about it though, Ben's capable of handling more than one of us.]

Their conversation was joined by Asia's meek voice from another section of the spring.

[I'm envious of you two. Mine aren't nearly as big as yours.]

[I wouldn't worry about that, Asia,] Xenovia's voice spoke out. [Anyway, haven't yours grown bigger from before?]

[You think so? I haven't really noticed a change.]

[I've heard that you can help them grow if you fondle them regularly like this….]

The sound of splashing water could be heard from the other side of the wall along with Asia's embarrassed yelp.

[Eek! S-Stop it, Xenovia!]

Ben didn't know when but he found himself listening to the girls' conversation intently.

"That reminds me. How far have you gone with those girls?" Azazel asked with a sly smile.

"That's something I'll never tell you, Zaza," Ben retorted firmly, using Azazel's stupid choice of name when he was pretending to be human when they first met.

"You don't need to be so crass, kid. I promised you that I'd teach you about women, didn't I?"

"You did, but I don't remember agreeing to that."

"So, you're not going to take a peek then?"

Ben looked at the large wall separating him from the voluptuous young women on the other side. Despite his initial dismissal of the idea, he found himself drawn to the idea. He found himself going through various ideas as to how to go about peeking on them bathing. The most logical plan he came up with was using his devil wings to peek over the wall.

He sighed and turned back to Azazel.

"It's tempting, it's certainly tempting. However, you underestimate how Koneko would react if she caught me peeping on her."

"What kind of cowardly talk is that? If you're a real man then you take any opportunity you can and do it with a bang!" the Governor-General declared proudly as he stood up and, in one quick motion, took hold of Ben's right arm and shoulder and launched him high into the air, in the direction of the large wall separating the two sides.

"Azazel! You bastaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrddddd!" Ben yelled as he cleared the high wall before splash-landing in the hot water, dazing him in the process.

"You can thank me later, kid!" Azazel shouted back from the other side of the wall.

"Azazel, you son of a bitch," Ben groaned as he brought his face up out of the water and ran his hand down his sore face.

"My, how bold of you to enter the bath of us innocent maidens," Akeno's sultry voice called out as she pressed herself against his muscular back and wrapped her arms around his waist to pull herself closer to him, her large breasts squashing against him.

"You are many things, Akeno, but you certainly aren't an innocent maiden," Ben retorted, turning his head as far as he could to face Akeno who moaned at his comment.

"You make me feel so tingly when you scold me," she groaned with pleasure and tightened her grip on him.

"Hey! Get away from my Ben!" Rias exclaimed as she pressed her own body against his chest and glaring at Akeno fiercely as she began trying to snatch Ben out of the clutches of Akeno though the raven-haired beauty was having none of it and refused to let go of him.

"No way! I've been wanting to enjoy a trip to the hot springs with Ben for ages. I'm already starting to feel hot all over. Ben's body just feels sooooo good, I can't get enough of him," Akeno retorted fiercely as she retained her hold of Ben.

"I demand you stop that at once! It's because of me that embracing Ben feels so good! It's because of me that it feels so good when he touches you! Everything, from the hair on his head to his warm embrace, belongs to me and only me." Rias took a sharp intake of breath as Ben placed his hand on her bare waist. "Hah! You're touch feels so good, Ben! I can't get enough of it!"

Ben couldn't help it when he felt his heartbeat quicken as Rias' breath grew heavy from his touch.

Watching the three of them from the side-line, Asia whined at how touchy-feely Akeno and Rias had become with Ben and found herself extremely jealous of the two young women as they embraced him.

"Hhhhnnn! I want to enjoy the hot spring with Ben too," she whined cutely.

"As I thought. It'll be all but impossible to snatch Ben away from those two as they are now," Xenovia mused to herself. "I have no choice but to watch from afar for now."

As Akeno and Rias continued to argue with each other over who should get to feel Ben's wonderful embrace, Ben spotted Koneko sat on the side of the pool, her arms wrapped around her legs which she had pulled up to her chest. She appeared to be in her own world, not appearing to have noticed Ben's sudden arrival at all.

'What is going on with her?' Ben thought to himself as he recalled how strangely the white-haired rook had been acting.

He was determined to find out exactly what was going on with Koneko while they were in the Underworld and do everything he could to help her.

. . . . .

(The next day)

As instructed, the next day saw every member of the ORC gathered in front of the humongous Gremory garden. All of them wore training jerseys supplied by Rias for the duration of the training and were currently waiting for Azazel to give them their special regimes for the training camp, the upcoming match with Sona only made them all the more anxious to begin raising their power.

"Good morning, everyone," Azazel said in greetings as he stood in front of them. "Let me begin, firstly, by telling you that this training camp has been designed to help you focus on the immediate future, namely your upcoming fighting exhibition. Some of you will produce results from your regime whereas there are others who will have to look at things in the long run. I promise each and every one of you, though, that even after this training camp is over, I will continue to help you young people grow in power. Any questions?"

When he received nothing but silence from his students, the Fallen Angel began to walk up and down the line.

"Right then. Miss Gremory, let's start with you," he stated, coming to a stop in front of the red-haired heiress.

"From the very beginning, you are a high-spec devil who has been bestowed with everything: extraordinary talent, physical ability and immense magical power and potential. Even without any help from me, those traits will continue to grow and develop you into a candidate for the highest-grade devil rank available when you reach adulthood. However, you wish to become stronger than this, don't you?"

Rias nodded her head firmly at his question. Azazel nodded his head and continued, producing a sheet of paper which he proceeded to present to her.

"In that case, I want you to follow the instructions on this to the letter, even all the way up to the day of the match, got it?"

Rias looked at the piece of paper she had been given and examined it closely, her head tilting in confusion as she reached the end.

"This training doesn't appear to be anything special. Are you sure this is correct?" she asked, looking up at the Governor-General with a confused look on her face.

"Yes, I'm sure. All you really need is a basic training method. You already have all the skills and abilities you will ever need. The only way to improve them is through basic training and practice. The only issue you need to rectify is something I've found most Kings in the Devil Realm lack. A king doesn't always need to be strong to be an effective one; sometimes they need brains instead of brawn. What I want you to do is learn to be a more effective king. Learn all you can about the Rating Games, from documented images of past games to data about those games. The most important traits of a good king are good judgement, confidence, and the correct knowledge to overcome any obstacle they encounter. It is your job to ensure your peerage can bring out the best of their abilities to the fullest."

"Just remember," he added. "Just like on a real battlefield, you won't know what the Rating Game will be until the actual game. Being able to effectively adapt to this also helps separate the good kings from the bad."

As Rias nodded her head solemnly in understanding, Azazel moved on until he came to a stop in front of Akeno.

"Next up is you, Akeno."

Ben couldn't put his finger on it but whenever Akeno was in the same room as Azazel, she would always look sullen when staring at the fallen angel leader. Ben believed that it must relate, in some way, to her hatred for her father. He found himself wondering; did that hatred extend to fallen angels in general?

"There's no other way to say this so I'll just get on with it. You need to accept the blood that flows through your veins," Azazel stated bluntly, ignoring the piercing stare that Akeno gave him.

"I've looked over the recordings of your battle with Riser Phenex. What the hell was going on with you? With your current specs, you should have been able to walk over that brat's Queen without an issue. Why didn't you use you Fallen Angel powers? By denying your own heritage and potential you can never create true lightning, only that imitation stuff you make at the moment. True lightning can't be created without adding Light into the mix."

Ben had to agree with Azazel's assessment. As she had the blood of a fallen angel pumping through her veins, Akeno had the unique ability of being a Devil and being able to harness the power of Light. However, for some reason known only to her, she outright refused to acknowledge that side of her and restricted her true potential.

"I can do just fine without having to resort to that side of me," Akeno declared with a sullen expression.

"You're a fool to deny yourself. All we have, in the very end, to rely on is our body, right? Denying your whole being makes you weak. If you're weak then you bring down the rest of the peerage.

Not waiting for a reply from her, not that he expected her to give one, Azazel moved on along the line until he reached the blond-haired knight, Kiba.

"For your training, Kiba. I want you to maintain your Balance Breaker state for a full day at the very least. If you can manage that during this training session then you'll be able to do it in an actual battle. Once you have succeeded in doing this, I believe you'll be able to become sufficiently strong by carrying out basic training like Rias. I, myself, will teach the intricacies of sword-type Sacred Gears at some point during your training."

"On to you, Xenovia," Azazel continued, moving on to the next person. "For your training, you need to be able to master Durandal's power. Your current power is fickle and not much to brag about despite being one of the extreme few able to possess such a powerful Holy sword. You need to learn to handle its power and wield it without difficulty."

"I understand," Xenovia replied, bowing her head slightly.

"And the next devil on my list is…."

"Eek!" Gasper gulped as he shirked away from Azazel and sank lower in his cardboard box.

"This is exactly what's holding you back, little dhampir. You have been bestowed with such substantial gifts, and yet you waste them. Your vampiric blood along with your Forbidden Balor View give you such an advantage over others yet your fear holds you back. What I want for you to do is try and overcome that fear of yours, in doing so you can then move on to develop your skills and magic potential," Azazel informed him sternly, determined to ensure Gasper overcame his fear.

"I-I'll do my best, sir!" Gasper cried, shaking as he said this.

Next up is you, Asia," Azazel said to the blonde-haired ex-nun.

"Y-Yes?" Asia replied, taken by surprise at suddenly being the centre of attention.

"Your Sacred Gear's power resides solely in healing others, offering nothing in terms of offensive power, not that that's bad. There is more than enough power within your peerage and the unlimited potential your Sacred Gear is more than enough. For your training, I want you to improve your body and magical potential with basic training. While you're doing this, your main task will be to strengthen your Sacred Gear."

"What more could Asia's Gear possibly do?" Ben asked with confusion. "She can already heal anyone of anything, can't she?"

"That's true," Azazel conceded. "It's true that her power is already impressive. However, there still remains the problem of the requirement of her needing to physically touch her target to heal them. Her power isn't really useful when she needs to heal someone from a distance."

"She can learn to do that?" Ben asked with amazement at the prospect of Asia being able to heal others from a distance.

"Potentially, yes. I may not have understood the significance of the history behind your Gear when I was researching it, but knowing it now has only made me all the more determined to learn all I can about it. From what I have learned, I believe its potential can lead to its wielder healing anyone from a distance, an incalculable boon during a battle as it will mean that Asia will be kept away from the fighting."

"Other results of my research on Twilight Healing also found that it is possible for the Gear to heal all allies within the wielder's surroundings, as well as healing complex organs such as the mind, the most complicated organ in any sentient species," the Governor-General added, much to the interest and amazement of the gathered devils.

"The only issue that I have discovered about the Sacred Gear is that it relies on its wielder to differentiate between allies and enemies. This wouldn't be much of an issue for most wielders…but I'm worried about Asia's nature."

"What do you mean?" Rias asked with confusion. Ben already had an idea what had Azazel worried and he had the same thought when Azazel mentioned Asia's nature.

"To put it simply…she's too kind," Azazel explained to the Gremory heiress. "Should she see an injured foe on the battlefield, I believe Asia's large heart would compel her to heal. Learning to enlarge her healing range could prove to be a double-edged sword for your team, but I would like her to eventually learn the skill anyway just in case. For now, though, I'd like for her to concentrate on learning to heal someone from a distance. It'll be less powerful than if she was physically touching her target but it will allow her to play a more active role in battle."

"Y-Yes sir! I'll do my best!" Asia declared.

Azazel gave her a small smile before moving on.

"Miss Toujou," he said, coming to a stop in front of her.

Koneko looked up at Azazel with a blank expression as the Governor-General turned his attention towards her.

"What," she asked in her usual neutral tone.

"Your rook piece granted you incredible offensive and defensive capabilities. By all accounts, the only ones who should beat you in terms of offensive power should be Rias and Akeno due to their king and queen pieces. Unfortunately, though, that's not the case now, is it?" he stated knowingly.

"I know," Koneko begrudgingly relented, lowering her head in frustration.

'Is this why Koneko has been acting so strangely lately?' Ben wondered as he glanced at Koneko out of the corner of his eye. He was aware of Koneko's secret and wouldn't reveal it as he believed that it was Koneko's secret to tell whoever she wanted.

"At the moment, the members within Rias' group with the greatest offensive are Ben, Kiba and Xenovia. With the two knights, their offensive power comes from Kiba's immensely powerful demonic holy sword and Xenovia's Holy sword Durandal, and Ben's power obviously comes from Azmuth's Sacred Gear which is still a mystery to everyone."

"But do not let this discourage you. If you truly want to overcome this barrier in your development then you have to stop playing cat and mouse with your identity, exactly the same with Akeno. If you can truly accept yourself – every part of yourself – then you will be able to grow without limit."

Koneko's gaze shot up at Azazel's speech but said nothing in response to it. The previous enthusiasm she had at the start of the day seemed to have fled her at the mention of her accepting her true identity.

'Just what is going on with you, Koneko?' Ben thought with concern. Was there something particular about her secret that made her hesitant to increase her power?

"And finally, we have you, kid," the Fallen Angel stated as he turned his attention towards Ben. He looked down at his watch before handing Ben's training regime to him. "I had a little trouble deciding what I wanted you to do for this training camp but I eventually decided what I wanted you to achieve while you're here. Your instructor should be here any moment…."

He stopped talking at the sound of heavy flapping above them. They all looked up as a large shadow appeared in front of the Underworld sun and grew larger as the mysterious object approached them.

Ben quickly recognised the large figure as he landed in the Gremory grounds before them with a dull 'THUD' and furled his huge wings behind his back.

It was Tannin!

"Just in time. Thanks again for doing this, big guy," Azazel shouted up at the huge dragon.

"Don't mention it. I consider it an honour and a duty to help train the wielder of the All-Father's Sacred Gear. It will also be a unique opportunity to teach the one who wields Ddraig too," Tannin stated with a slight nod of his head.

[Looking forward to it,] Ddraig barked in response.

[I admit that I'm curious to see what you can do,] Azmuth admitted reluctantly.

"I've got a unique training regime set up for you," Azazel revealed with a smirk which didn't fill Ben with confidence.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like this?" Ben groaned as he looked up at the large, purple dragon.

The purple dragon in question's stomach rumbled as he chuckled heartily at Ben's statement. This did even less for Ben's confidence.

"I'm going to regret this, aren't I?" Ben muttered to his draconic companions within his head.

[Stop whining,] Azmuth chided while Ddraig chuckled in the recesses of Ben's mind.

Azazel turned to look up at the huge dragon.

"Alright, big guy. You've got twenty days to help train Ben. In twenty days, I want you to strengthen his body and mind through rigorous training. As well as this, I expect him to strengthen both his Sacred Gears and reach Balance Breaker with at least one of his demonic forms. Sound good?"

"Sounds good," Tannin growled in response and bent down, extending his clawed hand out and delicately picking up Ben by the back of his jersey.

"Good to hear. One more thing, Ben…," Azazel called up to the young devil rapidly rising into the air.

"Yeah?" Ben cried back at the Fallen Angel.

"Do your best out there. Remember…if you survive, that's a bonus you should be proud of."

"Fuck you, Azazel!" Ben bellowed back at the laughing Azazel as Tannin unfurled his wings and took off, out of the Gremory gardens, and flew out into the wilderness.

. . . . .

Demonomicum extract:

(As written by Duke Zacharias Gremory – First duke of the House of Gremory)

The Underworld

"Despite being the home of Devils for millennia, even before the Fallen Angels arrived to carve out territory of their own to call home, very little is actually known about the Underworld apart from the dangers which exist within it in the form of the demons which inhabit it. Many secrets of the Underworld are hidden and only revealed by those curious or unfortunate enough to discover them.

One secret, known only to a very select few noble Devil families, reveals that, despite what many have been led to believe, the original Devil, Lucifer did not actually create the Underworld when he fell from Heaven, only use his power to alter it to suit the needs of his future kingdom.

This merely raises an impossible question to answer: If Lucifer didn't create the Underworld, then who…or what did?

It is the belief of myself and my family that the answer to this question and the many secrets within the Underworld reside within the original inhabitants of this land. Therefore, I shall undertake this great quest and strive to answer the many mysteries surrounding our new home…."

. . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A/N: Annnnnnnnd we're done!

First off, I'll talk about the last bit of this chapter (the Demonomicum extract above).

Because I loved the detail and effort ACogintheSystem put into helping me come up with backstories for the different alien-turned-devil forms for my story that I want to make sure you all know about them. Therefore, for the foreseeable future of this story (or until I run out of them), I plan to finish each chapter with a little extract about each of the different forms and how they fit into the Underworld.

I hope you like it!

I know I put in another bath scene and I know some of you may be asking why but I couldn't find it within me to just remove it entirely.

Moving on, the glove has been thrown; the first match has been decided. Rias v Sona! ORC v Student council! Friend v friend! You get the idea. I decided to write about the fight because it was completely skipped over in the anime and I wanted to see their fight and how it would go with Ben instead of Issei.

As I said in the above Author's note, I'm working on a fountain of youth filler arc (so please don't pester me anymore!) and plan to release it after the fight between Rias and Sona, and just before the start of the Juggernaut arc so stay tuned until then. It'll be a nice concoction between Ben 10 canon and a little DxD spice thrown into it!

. . . . .

Reviews

Nivek Beldo: Thanks for your review, as usual. I'm glad you're still enjoying my story after all this time.

I'm glad you liked my change to the Galvans. They played a big part in the cartoon and acted as the big wigs in it. I didn't want this for my story so I made their background a bit bleaker. Also, the change I made to Upgrade came with the unique world it exists in. Unlike the world of Ben 10 where everything is scientific and magic plays a minor role, my world is obviously different and change was needed to comply with that.

I've things planned for the next chapter with Ben's training with Tannin. All I'll say right now is that he won't go easy on him.

In regard to the Vulpimancer. I plan to give a more detailed background for it with my Demonomicum extracts over the next chapters. Essentially though, Ben's Vulpimancer form is pure whilst the DNA of the wild ones have been corrupted and mutated from the damage inflicted during the Great War between the three factions as well as various wars between the different demon clans and factions throughout the Underworld.

I've already come up with several ideas on how to use the Mr Hyde formula within my story but, sadly it won't be for a while yet so I hope you continue to stick with my story until then.

Ultimatrix bearer: I'll admit that I was inspired by the entrapment arc. It will have some similarities to it, though that's just because Ultimate 10 is such a good writer, but I promise that it will be different for my story. I'm working on it every now and then so I hope that it'll be epic enough for you.

P.S. I'll admit that I was a little disappointed with the ending. It left so many questions unanswered but I will say that Erza's 'meteor-exploding' move was a bit too much for me to accept.

OechsnerC: I'm glad you're enjoying the story.

P.S. love your cover image.

MikeX713: Thanks for the review. I'm glad you like how my story has progressed over its course. I understand that you might not like the whole 'girls fighting over Ben' thing but the majority of people seem to like it (I haven't had any other request to change it) and, to be perfectly honest, it is a pretty big part of harem stories like this.

However, if enough people want me to change it, I'll see what I can do.

In regard to your request for more originality. I have plans for original arcs in the future but, for now, I'll do my best to add more of my own work into it.

E-BLOK5290: Thanks for the review as well as the suggestion. I'll keep it in mind for the future.

. . . . .

I'd like to give another large thank you to everyone for reading my story and I hope to hear more of your reviews for this chapter.

Don't forget to leave a review.

Until next time, see ya!