Reborn in Flames

by The Goal of All Life

I hadn't been overly special in my first life. When I'd died, I'd expected nothingness - oblivion. Instead, I rose again with the powers of a phoenix in a world of magic, monsters, and all-powerful Dragon Gods. If I wanted to avoid dying again, I would have to use everything at my disposal.(Riser-SI. I do not own Highschool DXD or any other established property.)

13. Chapter 13

I made the first move.

I wanted to test myself, so I decided to hold nothing back. The eager grin on Seekvaira's face was only convincing me to fight my hardest. If she couldn't take it, she'd be retired soon and I could be there for Arondight. If she could take it…

I threw my arms wide with a yell, Hellfire poured from me in all directions, leaking down my body to the tops of the trees below, Wind buffeting the flames all around to drip throughout the forest. Several superheated tendrils shot forward, spreading wide to assault Seekvaira at multiple angles.

The Agares heiress grinned, letting the flames reach her. A millimeter before connecting with her skin, my approaching fire hit an impenetrable wall. My flames kept flying towards her only to come to a jarring stop just shy of her skin.

"You'll have to do better than that, Riser." Seekvaira taunted, flying higher into the air to get an angle to level two spell circles at me. I noticed the fire remained where it was when she flew up. She wasn't using any type of barrier I was familiar with.

Two bolts of pure demonic power shot forth from Seekvaira's extended hands, crackling against the air as they flew towards me.

I summoned a rudimentary shield that easily absorbed both of them. When I looked back up, Seekvaira was gone.

Fearing being caught in a trap, I covered myself in fire, concealing a created flame clone in the inferno while stealthily slipping into my fire form and propelling myself to the forest floor with my Wind where I'd intentionally dropped my fire in order to give myself a marker and to start the forest aflame.

Rematerializing on the ground, I looked up just as reality fractured around my clone. Seekvaira emerged from a fold in space, slamming a spell circle into my clone's body. A torrent of demonic power poured out of her, scattering my clone against the wind and dispersing all flame in its vicinity. Seekvaira's eyes widened as her target evaporated in front of her.

The area around her filled with black smoke as I cast a spell. The lessons I'd received from Clarissa had never seen the light of day. I was glad to finally be testing some of what I'd learned from my mentor.

The dark, noxious cloud expanded throughout the sky, a sickly, green light zipping through it periodically like a flashing lightning bolt.

I watched the edges of the cloud, expecting Seekvaira to dart out once she fell under the influence of one of the various nasty effects the spell transferred to the target. A full thirty seconds passed – giving me time to spread more Hellfire into the surrounding trees and create even more clones – and the cloud began to fade.

Seekvaira was revealed to have not moved an inch from where she was when the cloud had first appeared. She was completely unharmed and unaffected by any of the curses the cloud should have directed towards her. The only change in her appearance was a faint, blue shimmer of energy around her body that faded with my cloud.

Seekvaira looked around the arena with calculating eyes. "That was new. What else have you been hiding, Riser?"

I held my hands together in a spherical shape and the air around Seekvaira turned into a churning vortex. Blades of air slammed ineffectually into whatever barriers she was using as she grinned.

"I must say, Riser, I'm disappointed. I expected you to–" she was cut off as a dozen of my clones, created from the nascent forest fire around me, took to the sky around her.

Seekvaira looked around with panicked eyes as they all began to attack. Some flew forward with flaming swords while others supported them with long flame whips. Before any of my clones' attacks could connect, reality splintered and Seekvaira disappeared again.

I stayed in my fire form and flowed through the trees of the forest below, spreading my fire and concealing myself from her view. I hadn't expected her to be able to do whatever this was, so I needed to learn all I could about the ability if I didn't want to be caught by surprise. I reformed at irregular intervals so I could watch Seekvaira. Becoming corporeal gave her a chance to see me, but it was also the only way I could see her.

Seekvaira reappeared above the clones that had rushed her with swords and threw her arms wide, a spell circle before each hand. A thin, undulating sphere of demonic power expanded out from her to encompass all of my clones that had made it close. The clones were buffeted back and forth as the fire that made up their bodies was torn apart. Before the rest of my clones could attack her, Seekvaira disappeared again.

The remaining clones began creating a tornado of flaming whips around themselves. I was hoping to catch Seekvaira with one of them if she reappeared close to them like she had with my melee clones.

Rather than appear near my clones as she had the past two times she used this ability, she appeared a fair distance removed from all of them. It was as if she could see while she was using the ability. If she could see, it wasn't teleportation.

Seekvaira clapped her hands together then threw them wide. A blade of demonic energy, not unlike my Wind blades, shot out from her. Two of my clones were too close to dodge, but the third escaped. It turned to retaliate when its movement was stopped by an unforeseen force. I commanded it to rise higher into the air, to dive, to move left and right, but it was trapped in an invisible box.

Seekvaira scattered my final clone with another demonic orb. She took a deep breath as she began to look around the arena once more. "That is more like it, Riser."

Before she was able to figure out where I was, I controlled the flame clinging to the tops of the trees to rise in unison, using my Wind to fan the flames and enhance their speed as they flew upward. Seekvaira was met with a veritable wall of flame flying up towards her, too close for her to dodge. The flame wall washed over her. The majority of my fire flew right past her. What little would have hit her froze just before her skin like the tendrils I'd initially fired towards her, leaving a humanoid cut out in the flame wall that traveled past her.

Seekvaira darted away from the flame wall, giving me a good view as the Seekvaira-shaped arrangement of fire continued on its path, delayed ten seconds from the rest of the wall.

That was when it clicked. Seekvaira had some sort of time barrier erected around herself. She could delay any attack coming towards her, but she would have to retroactively dodge or still be caught in the attack's path. That was also likely how she had managed to trap my clone. Her barriers were invisible which would allow for them to be the perfect trap. They would be difficult to work around, but not insurmountable. But how had she survived my cloud of curses? It lasted far longer than ten seconds.

"Found you."

I was in my flame form before Seekvaira was able to fully emerge from whatever space she kept slipping into, rocketing up into the air on a gust of Wind towards my only airborne marker, the flame cut-out that her time barrier had stopped.

I emerged from my fire form and turned downwards, only getting the briefest glimpse of a large orb of demonic power before it collided with my chest, sending me spinning further into the sky.

Growling in frustration, I searched the area for Seekvaira while my chest seared itself closed.

"You can't see when you're made of fire, can you? You have to navigate with your fire. You can feel where it is." Seekvaira said, stepping out of another crack in reality directly in front of me, her hair and dress flapping to her right. I was ready for her this time.

The flame trail I'd left in my wake as I took to the sky coalesced around Seekvaira, splitting into dozens of ribbons that converged on her from all angles only to be stopped against her temporal barrier. Two spell circles flared in front of me as I erupted fire like a volcano, leveling the Hellfire towards the surrounded heiress. Subtly, I summoned a spell circle under the flames on my chest to hide its activation as I sent another spell at Seekvaira. There was no visible effect, but I had to suppress a grin as I felt it connect with Seekvaira.

Seekvaira's eyes were wide as she watched the wave of flame flow towards her, trapped in her own barrier by my flames. She held a hand up, casting a spell circle. A blue shimmer covered the area around her reminiscent of the one she'd used in my cloud. The heiress froze, becoming stock still as the wave of fire crashed over her.

I hardened cords of the fire as they passed her, converting them into solid chains that wrapped themselves around Seekvaira's form. The next moment, Seekvaira's frozen form vanished, leaving my chains to fall uselessly out of the sky.

A pulse from the hidden spell I'd cast from behind my flame warned me Seekvaira had somehow rapidly teleported again. The spell was a rudimentary tracking charm. It didn't travel to its target so Seekvaira's barriers didn't stop it. Now I just had to find a way to bypass them with something that would actually hurt her.

I turned with two spell circles raised, fire pouring off of me as I summoned shields to defend myself. My shield was struck by dozens of bolts of demonic power. Seekvaira held one hand out to keep me pinned while an opaque, gyrating orb hovered above her other hand. The fire falling from my form obeyed my call, gathering into tendrils that snaked towards Seekvaira. All of them slammed uselessly into Seekvaira's time barriers, stopping dead. The remaining fire poured over her entire barrier, enveloping her entire form and covering her body from view. I was trying something new. She had to move or else she'd be hit by the fire when it continued its path. I was just arranging things to take advantage of that fact.

"Do you know the definition of insanity, Riser?" Seekvaira taunted from within the inferno. A small hole erupted through the pouring flames as the small, space-warping orb Seekvaira had been holding flew towards me.

I poured more fire into my wings, rocketing high into the air to avoid the orb. The space behind me froze. The fire and air within ceasing any form of movement. Seekvaira could create bubbles of frozen – or at least dramatically slowed – time. I needed to not get caught in one of those at all costs.

I grinned as I felt a small fragment of my flame rapidly darting around the space in conjunction with the tracking charm I'd used earlier. My assumption was correct.

When Seekvaira had 'teleported', her clothes and hair had swayed away from her body. Not only that, but she responded to the battlefield around her as if she could see the battlefield around her. She wasn't teleporting. She was somehow speeding up her perception of time to dash around the arena at unprecedented speeds. Since I was able to get her to move directly through my fire when she dodged the attacks delayed by her barrier, I was able to sneak a small flame past her temporal barriers and latch it onto the bottom of her dress. That flame was rapidly zipping around the area faster than I could move. The tracking charm didn't handle extreme motion well, but I had absolute control of my flame. I could find an ember in a sandstorm.

I spun around and summoned a large spell circle, fire erupting forth in a cone reminiscent of a dragon's breath.

The small sample of my flame attached to Seekvaira drastically slowed as it approached the affected area. Seekvaira's reduced speed allowed me to catch a glimpse of her body as she tried to maneuver over my attack. A shocked, wide-eyed expression flashed across her features before she began moving too fast for me to track again.

There had to be limits to her ability. If she were able to travel that fast at all times I would have lost already. There was a reason speedsters were so terrifying in the DC universe. Seekvaira's ability must have either required all of her concentration or prevented her from attacking somehow. So long as she was moving, I was relatively safe.

The flame attached to Seekvaira's dress came to a stop directly above me. I was already sending flame tendrils towards it when Seekvaira materialized, a dangerous light shining in her eyes.

My tendrils halted against her temporal barrier as she raised her hand. The air around me began to condense. I rapidly shifted into my fire form and dashed towards the fire I'd placed on Seekvaira. Something impossibly sturdy barred my path, sending my fiery form cascading across its domed surface. It took a moment, but I was able to draw myself back together and regain my normal form. When I did, I did not like what I saw.

I was trapped in a dome of translucent, shifting energy. I felt the fire beneath me spreading through the forest ten times faster than it should be. Seekvaira's dress dashed around the air around me with a speed that she should not have been able to achieve. With each passing moment, a dozen blackened orbs of demonic energy appeared on the opposite surface of the sphere I was trapped in, following in Seekvaira's wake.

I was trapped in a time bubble. She'd slowed time down drastically for me and was giving herself what might very well have been a relative hour to prepare for when I was inevitably released.

Not seeing what else I could do, I coated the interior of the temporal orb in fire, filling the space with scalding Hellfire. I swam through the fire, conjuring dozens of flame clones in my wake. When the barrier fell, I would use all of them to absorb the impending attacks. Seekvaira was layering demonic orbs onto the sphere I was trapped in. It stood to reason that they would all continue on their path once the dome fell like my fire continued on its path through her barriers. I needed chump blockers or Seekvaira's preparation had the potential to overwhelm my regeneration.

There was a loud rushing of air as all of the pressurized fire held in place by the dome exploded outwards. Simultaneously, the sky and ground were swallowed by hundreds of spheres of demonic power as the attacks Seekvaira had spent her extended time firing towards me all continued their path at the same time.

My flame clones closed ranks around me, layering themselves between me and the attack that closed in on all sides. Only four clones were not used as blockers. I sent them directly downwards. They scattered against the spells layered there, absorbing a large number of them before the rest closed in on the clones around me.

All of my clones and my actual body were torn apart by hundreds of Seekvaira's attacks. On their own, the small orbs were not overly damaging. In massive quantities like I was facing now, they had the potential to overwhelm my regeneration. I deflected what blasts I could with rudimentary shields, but there were just so many of them. Each of my clones ate a good number of the attacks for me, but they were destroyed quickly, their meager forms unable to weather Seekvaira's assault. I was struck in my chest, stomach, arms, legs, head…everywhere, each hit blasting a chunk of me away.

I screamed in exertion as I rocketed towards the ground as fast as I could, summoning up the forest fire I'd created at the start of the battle and had been carefully cultivating throughout towards me as I fell. The clones I'd initially sent downwards had already cleared the majority of the path for me, allowing me to reach relative safety relatively unharmed. When I fell into the veritable tornado of fire below, I only had one arm and leg left, half of my torso had been blown to pieces. Smothered as I was in my own fire, I quickly recovered. Both my lost arm and leg had almost regrown when I felt Seekvaira's influence fall upon my flaming tornado. I felt whole spheres within my dominion fall out of my control as they froze in place. She didn't know exactly where I was, but she was still trying to freeze me before I could fully regenerate.

Screaming as even more fire exploded out of me, I held my arm and my half-regrown stump out at my sides, flying up into the air and dragging the entire inferno with me. Surrounded as I was in the fire, I couldn't see what was happening around me, but I could feel through my flames. The spheres of frozen fire began to rapidly centralize as I flew higher and higher. Seekvaira had altered her goal from trapping me to stopping the fire from surrounding her. I didn't know when, but at some point she had snuffed out the flame in her dress, leaving me to guess where she was, my tracking charm having timed out while I was still trapped in the bubble. At that moment, my best guess was the area where three separate spheres of frozen time ate at the same part of my fire.

Like a great, all-encompassing curtain, I reached up with my fire to surround the area. Flames rose on all sides of the area like a blanket lifted from all four corners, reaching towards the sky to trap Seekvaira. My flames began to freeze more rapidly and I felt several areas where a great wind passed as if Seekvaira was using her speed trick to beat my fire to the top of the cone I was creating.

Smiling as my limbs fully healed themselves, I shifted back into my flame state and rode my fire to the top of the curtain I was creating. I shot out of the top and reformed just in time to see Seekvaira freeze another section of the flame. Her eyes widened as she realized what I was about to do.

Even more fire erupted out of me as I closed the top of the tornado myself, trapping Seekvaira in a rapidly condensing vortex of flame as large as the Roman colosseum.

She reached out, summoning a spell circle to attack me, but I rode a gust of Wind back into my fire, swimming out of the danger zone as the area of relative safety within the flaming orb I'd created rapidly shrunk smaller and smaller, hemming Seekvaira in. All the while I kept pouring fire from my body to add to the great inferno.

This had been my plan since the start of the fight: Blanket the arena in fire and allow it to spread, then use all of that flame to trap Seekvaira and overwhelm her. It was working and seemed like it would win me the fight. I didn't know Seekvaira had a trump card.

Seekvaira curled in on herself, retracting her arms and legs as she rolled into a ball. A large spell circle flashed into being in front of her. I sent flaming tendrils towards her to interrupt her casting, but I was too late.

Seekvaira screamed, throwing her arms wide as space shifted and crumpled around her. The spell circle in front of her exploded as everything around her ground to a halt. Her hand was shaking as she slowly turned it counterclockwise. The sphere of fire that I trapped her in began to unravel, slowly backtracking through its movements.

I threw more fire to fill in the gap that was about to be created, but the moment it entered Seekvaira's influence it began to slowly flow back towards me. Seeing my fire was ineffective, I shot lightning bolts, blades of pressurized air, orbs of demonic power and every other ranged attack I could think of at Seekvaira. Without fail, each attack started to slowly move back towards me when it came within a certain distance of her. She was rewinding time in her vicinity, preventing me from hurting her and unraveling the cage that threatened to consume her. I needed to figure something else out.

A flame clone spilled off of me and flew towards Seekvaira. I cast a spell targeting my clone as it flew on. The clone's image became semi-transparent. It flickered unnaturally as if it was only half here. My clone pulled flame out of its stomach to create a sword and slashed towards Seekvaira, its form unaffected by Seekvaira's temporal manipulation. I'd made it partially ethereal in an attempt to bypass Seekvaira's influence, an effort that proved successful. Clarissa's lessons were proving amazingly useful.

The heiress dodged backwards, holding up her free hand to blast my clone with a demonic orb, scattering it into nothing. She was visibly panting, sweat pouring from her forehead as the sphere unraveled enough to pass through. The spell circle in front of Seekvaira crackled into nothing as she flew out of the fire. She had been free for less than a second when I slammed into her.

Seekvaira grunted in pain as I tackled her, whatever barriers she'd constantly had in place around her didn't stop me. As I'd been able to guess from the exertion evident on her face as she rewound time, her entire focus was dedicated towards that singular endeavor, causing her to lose focus on her personal barriers. I would likely not get another chance to hit her without her near-impenetrable shields, and I planned to take advantage.

The moment my arms wrapped around her midsection I unleashed Hellfire. My hands, my chest, my shoulders, my mouth – any point of contact or path my flame could travel became a vessel to transfer my fire into Seekvaira.

Screaming in agony as her entire body lit on fire, Seekvaira's hands clamped down on either side of my head. Reality fractured around us as another sphere of locked time condensed around us.

I didn't know why she'd trapped us both, but this didn't change anything. I kept pouring my fire into her when her body began to shimmer with the same blue energy she'd used to escape my attacks before. I was blasted backwards as the glow lifted off of Seekvaira's body to form a translucent wall that divided the sphere of slowed time in half. I was trapped on one side as Seekvaira crumbled to the bottom of the other half of the sphere.

"You…got me." Seekvaira said, blackened flesh from my Hellfire visible all across her body, her dress burned away in several places. Her wings were bent at an unnatural angle as if they'd been snapped. Her left wing was missing a substantial portion of its membrane. "I…lost." Her head lolled back she looked up at me with a knowing glint in her eyes, smiling brightly despite her half-melted lips. "But I'm…a sore loser. If I can't win…Neither can you." She clenched her fist, and the sphere collapsed on itself, tearing at odd angles as it severed limbs from both Seekvaira and I.

The last thing I heard before blackness was her manic laughter.

X

My eyes fluttered open to a plain, white ceiling. I felt a strange form of regeneration that I wasn't used to active in my body.

"Riser?" a voice said.

I sat up with a groan, realizing that both of my legs were slowly growing back. "What happened?" I said, searching for the source of the voice.

"Oh thank fuck." Ruval said, falling back into a chair a short distance from where I sat on my white medical bed. "Do me a favor, Riser, never screw with her again."

A pit formed in the depths of my stomach. "I lost?"

"No."

I looked at Yubelluna as she approached the sofa I was laying on, an unreadable expression on her face.

"After heiress Agares trapped the both of you in a sphere, something happened that caused both of you to be torn limb from limb. The announcers immediately called the match and healers were sent to both competitors. Lord Ruval administered a Phenex Tear immediately and called off your healers when we saw marked progress. It is a miracle it worked so fast."

"So…it was a draw?"

Yubelluna's eyes narrowed. "Yes, my king. The match was declared a draw. I must insist you refrain from becoming dismembered in ways your regeneration cannot fix in the future.

That little tidbit caused me to raise my eyebrow in surprise. "Her attack stalled my regeneration? That's…one more thing to go over when we meet later, I guess. Are you and everyone else okay? I know there were Phenex Tears on hand, but that knife the knight used–"

"Was excruciatingly painful." Yubelluna said with a serious face. Her features softened into a smile. "But I am fine, my king. Thank you for your concern."

With my arm and legs fully regrown, I swung them over the side of the bed and tentatively stood, a pleased smile spreading across my face when I didn't collapse into a parapeligic heap. That would have really sucked.

"Where's everyone else?" I said, looking around for the rest of my peerage but finding no one.

Ruval stood, looking like he wanted nothing more than to fall onto the floor and go to sleep. "This is the infirmary they send you to if you're in critical condition when you retire. The rest of your peerage is in the standard waiting room. It's right through that door." he finished, indicating a simple "Do me a favor? Once you're done with the mountain of shit you'll have to do after your rather…shocking display, set a time for me to head over to your house so you can explain everything to me. Somehow, you getting dismembered is the least shocking thing I've seen today. Now, I'm going to get Zissa, go home, and pass the fuck out. I'm glad you're alright, little brother." He walked through the door he indicated without another word. A flare of magic on the other side showed he had already teleported.

I looked at Yubelluna with a raised eyebrow. "It wasn't really that bad, right?"

Yubelluna hummed noncommitedly and said, "In the spirit of fairness, my king, a descendant of Dracula did use Sephiroth Graal to summon the spirit of Sir Lancelot the Brave to fight a dragon. You then reincarnated Lancelot's legendary sword as your knight."

"Well when you put it like that, it just sounds plain ridiculous, doesn't it?"

Yubelluna smiled warmly. "Come, my king. The others are waiting."

Together, we walked through the door and into the waiting room. Ruval and Zissa were gone. The only other people in the room were the four missing members of my peerage. They were all sitting around a coffee table, a tense silence filling the air. Valerie was the first to notice me.

"Riser!" she said, a bright smile lighting up her face as she stood and ran forwards to hug me.

The others noticed me following Valerie's stunt, and several expressions of relief greeted me as they slowly followed after Valerie.

"I'm fine." I assured everyone, returning Valerie's hug. "How are you, Valerie? I would have thought you'd still be unconscious."

Valerie stepped back and shrugged. "I woke up a little after Sir Lancelot left."

At the mention of Sir Lancelot, I saw the shoulders of my newest peerage member sag ever so slightly.

Looking at the silver-haired woman, I said, "Are you alright, Arondight?"

She smiled sadly at me. "I am, my king. I will miss Lancelot, but he has finally found his peace. I will ensure I am useful to you."

I frowned. "I didn't reincarnate you because you'd be useful."

Arondight's smile turned bright. "And that, my king, is why I chose you."

I smiled back, then looked at my other two peerage members. "Clarissa? Kalawarner? You're both alright?"

"I am well, my king." Clarissa answered simply.

Kalawarner huffed, shooting me a displeased glare. "Next time, let me fight the insane devil heiress with you. It wasn't exactly fun watching you get dismembered twice."

"I promise I will do everything I can to avoid getting dismembered in the future. But I will say, I'd rather I get dismembered than any of you. My limbs grow back in seconds."

"That does not mean you should seek out harm, Riser." Yubelluna said scoldingly from my side, a disapproving glint in her eyes.

Now I felt like I'd spent the afternoon kicking a puppy. Everyone was looking at me like I was actually trying to hurt myself.

"I'll be more careful." My eyes returned to Arondight and I took in the simple gown she was wearing. "We should have something else at the manor if you want to change quickly. Serafall left a lot of stuff behind when she gave it to us."

Arondight's eyes fluttered in bafflement. "That…is not a concern I have ever possessed the need to address before, my king. I believe I will return to the manor and…change my attire." she said, a growing excitement evident on her face.

"Yube? Could you go with her?" I didn't want her to be too overwhelmed. She'd literally just got a body. "Return here when you're done unless I say otherwise. We still have to meet with Seekvaira." That was a conversation I was very much looking forward to.

"Of course." Yubelluna walked forward and held her arm out. Arondight grasped it immediately, anticipation evident in her every motion. "We will return as soon as we are done, my king." Yubelluna said. An orange light covered the pair as Yubelluna teleported them back to the manor.

"Actually," I said, a thought occurring to me. "Has anyone heard anything about Seekvaira? If it took a Phenex Tear to heal me and she was similarly injured, devil healers probably aren't going to cut it."

Clarissa blinked. "That had not occurred to me, my king. I recommend we make haste to heiress Agares's infirmary."

As we all began at a brisk pace towards the opposite team's waiting room, I said, "How many Tears do we have left – enough for the whole peerage?" We'd done as much damage to them as they had to us. It would be a good gesture to get Seekvaira's peerage back on their feet.

"We only have two remaining." Clarissa said. "We will not be able to help them all."

"I can do it." Valerie said, Sephiroth Graal appearing in her hand. "So long as we use the Tears on whoever is the most injured I can heal the others. I've mostly recovered from summoning Lancelot."

"Thank you, Valerie. If it's too much for you, say so and I'll figure something else out. You've already suffered blowback from overusing it once today. I don't want you to do it again. Kalawarner will be able to at least keep them comfortable until more healers arrive." The former Fallen Angel had lost the vast majority of her healing capabilities when she'd become a devil, but she could still handle minor wounds and numb pain.

As we exited the hall and entered the large chamber where the opposing peerages separated to move to their separate starting areas, it was as if the final act of a magnificent play had just finished. Hundreds of voices filled the space, screaming and cheering as the four of us entered the chamber. Instantly, dozens of cameras were trained on us as devils with microphones swarmed forward.

"Riser! How does it feel to–"

"Riser, do you think that–"

"Riser, what do you–"

"Clarissa?" I had to yell over the roar of the full chamber to be heard. "If you would?"

Clarissa nodded. She pulled a small, green, glowing stone from within her robe and threw it down the hallway that led to Seekvaira's waiting room. We all held onto Clarissa as she said, "Ba'al initium." We were swallowed by a rainbow vortex that sucked us away from the raucous crowd. We rematerialized a short distance from the door to Seekvaira's chamber. Only Clarissa and I were able to stay on our feet. I was only able to do so because I'd shot out my wings to keep me aloft. The room still spun like a top around me.

I pulled my wings into my back as I recovered and Clarissa and I helped Valerie and Kalawarner to their feet.

"That sucked." Kalawarner said, her eyes focused on nothing.

"If you can figure out a different way to traverse the space within one-way wards, I will happily use that method." I said as I walked to the door in front of me. A quick glance over my shoulder showed my peerage to be mostly recovered. I knocked on the door.

Several seconds passed before the door opened. A woman with short, golden hair answered the door, her eyes narrowing as she saw me. "You." she said, her voice not quite a hiss but far from pleasant.

Noting some resemblance with Seekvaira, I surmised this was likely a relative. Deciding to get to the point, I said, "If Seekvaira was injured in the same way I was, I can help her. We're also willing to assist any members of her peerage that are still injured."

The woman's lips pulled into a line as if deciding whether or not to send me on my way. With a sigh, she pulled the door open and stepped aside. "The healers are unable to help her. If you can, then please do."

I nodded respectfully to her as I entered the room, my peerage following behind me.

The room was nearly identical to the one my peerage had been in. The only major difference was the number of figures inside. Six devils wearing white uniforms with a red cross visible on the chest were casting spells and supplying elixirs to three people who were all grimacing in pain.

Issei's shirt was removed, revealing several small puncture wounds and a large, deep hole just under his right arm that two of the healers were prodding at. The hole was blackened with necrotic flesh. The light spear Kalawarner had impaled him with had seriously messed him up. Alivian had returned to his devil form, his only clothing a pair of black underwear. The queen's entire body was covered in stab wounds and deep lacerations. The brown-haired knight, whose name I still did not know, was by far the best off. She was wearing a bra and pants, revealing the stab wound Yubelluna had inflicted on her stomach. Only one healer was tending to her. The wound in her stomach was scorched black with dead flesh, but it was nowhere near as deep as Issei's.

As we entered the room, the woman who had opened the door stepped around me. "If you can help her peerage I would appreciate it, but please see to Seekvaira's injuries first." She began to lead me towards a door at the end of the room, positioned exactly where the infirmary was in our room.

"Kalawarner, help the knight as much as you can. Valerie, focus on Alivian. Clarissa, give one of the Tears to Issei then help Kalawarner with the Knight. I'll give the other Tear to Seekvaira."

I heard a few gasps, and the woman in front of me's step faltered as I spoke, but I didn't pay attention. They were likely amazed at the casual use of Phenex Tears, unrivaled healing items that the Phenex family charged small fortunes for. I didn't care. I wasn't a Phenex anymore. The Tears were honestly not that hard to make, it was just a matter of taking the time to do it. The only reason they were so expensive was because the Phenex Family closely controlled the supply and jacked the prices up to increase their wealth and political power.

My peerage set about resuscitating Seekvaira's peerage as I walked into the infirmary. It was not a pretty sight. Four healers frenzied over a gurney with a dismembered body atop it. Seekvaira was in pieces, her arms and legs cut into several segments and arranged next to her body where they should be attached. A piece of her sternum was missing and her body was littered in burns. Aside from the healers and Seekvaira, there were two other people in the room. A man in a red suit with green hair was comforting a woman with golden hair as she cried into his shoulder. They were likely Seekvaira's parents.

"Marza." the woman who'd led me into the room said, drawing the attention of the crying woman. "Riser has brought a Phenex Tear."

The crying woman's eyes filled with hope as she ran towards me, clasping my hand between hers. "Thank you! Please, hurry!"

I nodded, not sure what to say to the panicked woman, and walked up next to Seekvaira's bed. There was only a slight amount of air moving in and out of her mouth. Phenex Tears couldn't replace missing organs, and the hole in Seekvaira's sternum used to house a liver and a sizable chunk of her lung if I wasn't mistaken.

"I need the room." I said, knowing there was only one thing I could do. "The Phenex Tear won't be enough so I need all the healers to leave now." I turned to the frightened gazes her parents were shooting me. "I understand you probably don't trust me right now, so as long as you give me your word you won't tell anyone what I'm about to do, you can stay."

The green-haired man stepped forward, his eyes dangerous. "Are you trying to harm my daughter?"

I met his gaze and said, "No. I can save her, but I'm going to have to do something that I don't want anyone to know I can do. Please clear the room."

He held my gaze, searching my eyes for any trace of a lie. "Clear the room!" he bellowed without turning away from me. He leaned in close and whispered, "If you harm my daughter, you will not live long enough to regret it."

"Understood." I stepped away and moved to the head of the bed. The healers protested my presence, but after Seekvaira's father literally threw one of them through the door and out of the room, the rest followed, leaving only myself, whoever had let me into the waiting room and Lord and Lady Agares.

Not wasting any time, I poured the Phenex Tear over Seekvaira's body. It wouldn't completely heal her, but it would make my job far easier. I gently placed my hands over Seekvaira's ears and flooded them with the fire of my Immortality.

The sound of a whip cracking resounded throughout the room, and I noticed a dagger a mere millimeter away from my throat. Seekvaira's mother's features were twisted in fury as she strained to drive her dagger into my neck. The only thing that kept the knife from tearing open my throat was a spell circle in front of Seekvaira's father's hand, a shimmering, blue barrier just like those Seekvaira had used during our fight created by his spell to absorb the knife's momentum. His eyes were focused on the body of his daughter even as he idly saved me from getting my throat cut by his irate wife.

Looking back on my actions with the benefits of hindsight, I really should have warned her what I was doing. It would have been surprising if she didn't respond violently to someone she'd never met, and who had just burned her daughter in a tornado of Hellfire, pouring magical fire into her daughter.

"Marza," Lord Agares said, his voice a bizarre mixture of disbelief and elation. "Look."

The murderous woman followed her husband's gaze. The dagger slipped from her fingers, clattering to the floor.

The two of them watched in awe as phoenix fire swam through Seekvaira's body, replacing everything that was lost and paving the way for the Phenex Tear to finish healing Seekvaira.

Once it was clear the Tear's effects would be sufficient to complete the job, I withdrew my fire from Seekvaira. Her eyes fluttered open just as I pulled the last embers from her body.

She blinked up at me in confusion. "Yours is not the face I was expecting to see when I awoke, Riser."

Before I could say anything, Seekvaira's mother knocked me aside, falling onto her daughter to crush her in a hug.

I felt a gentle hand come to rest on my shoulder. I followed it back to its owner and saw the woman who had led me here.

"Come." she said. "We should give them the room."

"Do not ever use that attack on yourself aga–"

Lady Agares's panicked scolding was cut off as the door closed behind me, a sea of expectant faces waited for the verdict.

"Thank you for healing my niece." the woman next to me said quietly before turning to the rest of the room. So she was Seekvaira's aunt? I had wondered about her relationship given Seekvaira was an only child. "Seekvaira is fine." she said, addressing the room. "She is awake and speaking to her parents."

The various healers went into an uproar, demanding to know what I'd done to resuscitate her.

The woman stepped in front of me, glaring at the healers. "Your services are no longer required. Leave." A deadly aura pressed down on them with the word.

The healers quickly shut up and filed out of the waiting room, leaving only mine and Seekvaira's peerages. Taking a quick look around, everyone looked far better than when I'd entered the infirmary. Alivian was standing again, his back turned as he pulled a suit onto his completely healed flesh. Issei was staring slack-jawed at the fully healed skin beneath his arm. The knight was the only one who was not fully healed. Valerie was sitting next to her on a sofa, her hand glowing a porcelain white as she pressed it into the knight's stomach. After a few moments, Valerie retracted her hand, revealing a patch of healthy, pink skin.

"Thank you." the knight said, nodding gratefully at Valerie. "That was incredibly uncomfortable."

Valerie laughed. "I can imagine." She stuck her hand out, smiling brightly at the taller girl. "I'm Valerie – Valerie Tepes."

The knight smiled, taking Valerie's hand and shaking it. "Bafeel Furcas." she said.

Hah! The knight finally had a name! I could stop mentally referring to her as 'the knight'.

"Furcas?" Clarissa said as she sat down across from her. "That would explain Pegasus."

Bafeel laughed as she pulled a sweater over her head to cover herself. "Yes. My family has something of a gift with horses."

"While I'm glad you are all getting along, I believe we had agreed to have this conversation when all members of both peerages were present."

All eyes turned to the voice behind me. Seekvaira was walking out of the room behind me, a simple, red gown draped over her. Her parents followed behind her, her father stepping around his daughter to hold out his hand to me.

"Thank you." he said. "I had feared the worst."

I shook his hand, my grip firm. "No thanks are necessary. Despite what I said before our battle began, I didn't actually want us to kill each other during our fight."

Seekvaira smiled at me, a strange glint in her eyes. "And what a fight it was, Riser. I had not expected you would be able to bypass my temporal barriers. They have proven sufficient against all I have faced previously."

I smirked back. "And I've never come across someone who was able to overwhelm my regeneration to that degree. How much time passed outside the bubble while you were setting up that attack? It was barely over a minute for me."

"An hour." Seekvaira said proudly. "Yet you still managed to escape an hour's worth of attacks and defeat me with ease."

I shrugged. "It did cost me an arm and a leg."

Kalawarner's groan broke into the conversation. "How long have you been sitting on that one?"

I turned to her with a pleased smile. "I just thought of it now, actually. If you want, I can keep going."

"As amusing as that would be, I would prefer we have that conversation we planned." Seekvaira said. "May I ask where Yubelluna and your new knight are?"

"They went back to the manor to get Arondight something to wear. If you want to talk now, I'd be happy to host everyone in my home while we talk."

An easy smile settled on Seekvaira's face. "That would be agreeable." She turned to her peerage and said, "Prepare yourselves to leave. Bafeel, retrieve Pegasus." She turned back to her parents, a question in her gaze.

Her parents looked at each other and a silent conversation passed between them. They turned to Seekvaira and, in unison, gave her the barest of nods.

Seekvaira's face lit up as if she'd just won the lottery.

I watched the byplay with my confusion growing by the second. My attention focused on something else as Bafeel opened a large door in the side of the room, a door that my waiting area did not possess.

Bafeel walked into the center of the room, clearly enjoying the attention, holding the reins of a great, dark steed. Pegasus's intelligent eyes studied each of us as he was led into the room.

"Beautiful." I'd only realized I was the one who spoke when Seekvaira looked at me with a smile.

"He is, isn't he?" She stepped forward and offered me her arm. "Now, I believe you have invited us to your home?"

I took her arm with a grin and led her to the center of the room. "Is everyone ready to go?"

"Wait, we're just going to ignore the press?" Kalawarner said, motioning back down the hall.

"Fuck 'em." I said, clamping my mouth shut immediately as I turned in fear towards Lord and Lady Agares. I'd completely forgotten they and Seekvaira's aunt were here. I let out a sigh in relief when I saw all three of them laughing.

"I see you hold the same opinion of reporters as my daughter." Lady Agares said, the corner of her lip pulling up in amusement. Gone was the terrifying murderer who'd tried to open my throat not five minutes ago. Between her and Serafall, I was beginning to think Devils became bipolar as they aged.

"Enjoy your discussion, Seekvaira. We will be waiting for you at home." Lord Agares said, waving to his daughter.

Seekvaira waved back then turned expectantly to me. "Shall we?"

A quick look around the assembled peerages showed everyone was ready. A large teleportation circle extended out from me to encompass everyone, including Pegasus, and pulled us to the front yard of my manor. I would have taken us inside but the large, winged horse seemed like he needed more space. There was a terrace in the front with enough chairs to seat everyone and it was a beautiful day in the Underworld. We could have our conversation outside.

As we arrived, I sent a ping through the wards to let Yubelluna know we were here. It wasn't a very effective method of communication, but it was enough to let her know not to travel back to the Rating Game venue. Yubelluna returned the ping. She hadn't left yet.

"Make yourselves comfortable." I said, motioning to the various chairs and sofas around the area.

Seekvaira released my arm and took a seat at a large, circular table. Alivian followed behind her and stood at her back. Issei looked around as if he was unsure what to do, but in the end he sat down in a chair a little ways back from Seekvaira. Bafeel didn't need to be told twice. She picked up a long, reclining chair and carried it over to the edge of the cement patio by the grass. She sat it down there and took a seat, fiddling with the seat so she could lay down in it. Pegasus followed her progress in the grass and laid down next to her, laying his head in the devil's lap to let her run her hand over his coat.

Valerie and Kalawarner sat together on a sofa while Clarissa took a chair. I moved to sit down across from Seekvaira when we were joined by two more figures.

Yubelluna walked out the front of the manor carrying a large tray with small sandwiches and drinks. She had exchanged her torn dress for the flower-patterned one she'd made. Walking behind her, Arondight carried a second tray, though that wasn't what was eye-catching about her. In place of the gray dress she'd appeared with when I'd reincarnated her was a suit of dark gray plate mail. The color was halfway between that of her shining form as a sword and the dark color of Lancelot's armor. At her hip she wore a sword, one stronger than any other in the house.

"Forgive me, my king." Arondight said as she and Yubelluna approached, having seen what I was looking at. "I noticed it resting in the armory and…"

I held up a hand and shook my head. "Compared to the skills you've likely picked up from Lancelot, I may as well be an idiot swinging around a pointy stick. Between the two of us, I would much rather you wield Hrotti. Besides…" I held a hand out to my side and conjured a flame sword. "I have alternatives. I like the new look." I said as I banished my flame sword.

She blushed, a faint tint of red prevalent on her pale cheeks. "Thank you, my king."

Yubelluna and Arondight placed both trays on the table in front of Seekvaira as I sat down across from her. Yubelluna poured us both a cup of tea and placed a small sandwich on a plate in front of each of us. Arondight made herself a small plate and looked down at it in disbelief as she walked over to a chair. It was likely that would be the first thing she'd ever tasted. Yubelluna, when she was done serving us, stepped behind me and stood at my back.

"So…" I said.

"So…" Seekvaira repeated with a smile.

"So much insanity has transpired that I don't even know where to begin." I said.

"Then allow me to start." Seekvaira said, her eyes drifting towards Valerie. "I would assume that Valerie received the mutation bishop you traded from me?"

"Yes. She did."

Seekvaira's gaze returned to me, an amused shine in her eyes. "Did you have anyone in mind for my mutation rook, or did you only want Velerie?"

I smirked. "While it would be nice to have a mutation rook, I have yet to find anyone I would use it on."

Seekvaira chuckled. "Well played, Riser. Was Lancelot's arrival planned as well?"

"That was actually as much of a surprise to me as it was to you."

Seekvaira's eyebrow rose. "Oh?"

"Yes. Admittedly, I didn't even know Arondight's name until Lancelot appeared."

Seekvaira's eyes widened as she looked at the former sword. "Then was it your plan?"

Arondight froze mid-bite of her sandwich, her eyes darted between Seekvaira and I guiltily. She put her sandwich down after quickly swallowing her bite and said, "I apologize, Lady Agares, but would you be so kind as to repeat your question?"

Seekvaira laughed at the display. "There's no need, Arondight. Enjoy your taste buds."

I smiled as Arondight perked up and continued to devour her sandwich, completely ignoring everything happening around her.

"To answer your question, yes. She revealed who she was when Lancelot appeared and broached the topic of reincarnating her for the first time in the arena. She has shared some of her history, and I believe she wanted the freedom a body provides." I answered in my knight's stead, more than happy to field the question while Arondight discovered what taste was. "Speaking of Lancelot…" I looked over Seekvaira's shoulder at Alivian. "You're a dragon."

The butler bowed politely. "That I am, my lord. I was being hunted by the church when my king found me. I joined her peerage and have been content ever since."

"And I could not ask for a better queen." Seekvaira added, smiling over her shoulder at Alivian. Turning back to me, she said, "I suppose we have fallen into a rhythm, so I will continue it. Clarissa's magic is unique. I have never seen anything quite like it."

I looked at Clarissa. "Do you want to take this or should I?"

"I have nothing to hide." Clarissa said, standing from her chair and bowing her head towards Seekvaira. "I was born in 1684. My mother was a pagan witch who had moved to the New World to spread her craft. She taught me everything I know. I can cast normal spells, but I am most powerful and versatile when utilizing various prepared, physical components to create a wide array of magical phenomena. When my mother was killed by the church's witch hunters during the Salem Witch Trials, I joined Lady Phenex's peerage to protect myself. I instructed Riser as he grew, and joined his peerage in exchange for a mutation bishop – a foolish trade that I will be forever grateful he made."

I couldn't help the smile that grew on my face at those words. I'd make that trade a dozen times over.

Seekvaira nodded at Clarissa. "Thank you, Clarissa. I am sorry for forcing you to think of your mother's fate."

Clarissa bowed deeply and said, "I have had ample time to come to terms with it, my lady." then retook her seat.

"I suppose it's my turn now." I said, having fallen into the rhythm of our little game of trading questions. I turned to Issei, who tensed under my gaze, and said, "How exactly did you already unlock the Balance Breaker? From what I know, a Sacred Gear's balance Breaker is near impossible to unlock."

Issei swallowed nervously, his eyes heavy as he turned to Seekvaira questioningly.

The heiress's eyes were soft as she said, "You need not answer if it is too difficult. I am sure Riser will understand."

Realizing I'd accidentally stepped into a minefield, I quickly said, "I apologize for asking. I didn't know it was something so impactful. Your secrets are yours to share or keep at your own discretion. Do not feel pressured to say anything you do not want to."

Issei took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, my lord, but I do not know you very well."

I held up a hand. "Say no more. I apologize for prying." The atmosphere of the conversation had grown more tense as I turned back to Seekvaira.

"Instead, how about Bafeel tells you how she came to meet Pegasus?" Seekvaira redirected rather skillfully.

Bafeel looked up at the mention of her name, looking rather guilty as Pegasus gobbled a sandwich she'd held out to him. "Um…right!" Her eyes fell on the great steed, her tone full of reminiscence and joy. "There isn't really all that much to tell. I'm third in line to the Furcas name. I don't exactly have an issue with that. I love my older sister, and she'll make a great head, but I wanted to do something with my life other than stand in her shadow. Lady Agares offered to take me into her peerage after she'd 'found a way to put my talents to use'. Turns out her family had somehow managed to find Pegasus. My family magic lets me tame horses so it was a good fit. She gave me Harpe and I began bonding with Pegasus. There's no great tale of woe. Seekvaira helped me become someone important. She introduced me to my best friend." The knight's gaze landed on Seekvaira as she smiled. "And I'll always be grateful for that."

There was a pleased glow about Seekvaira as she turned back to face me. "I believe it is my turn. During the Rating Game you said you couldn't speak about what your goals were when you faced the Fallen Angels in Kuoh Town. Now that we are in a more private setting, are you able to elaborate further?"

I hadn't been expecting that question. I began to wonder why she hadn't asked about Kalawarner's origins when I remembered she did ask in the arena. Kalawarner had reacted with hostility, so Seekvaira was likely trying to approach the topic in a different way and fill in the gaps herself.

I took a sip of tea before answering. "I honestly do not know if I can tell you anything more. I'm probably cleared to say I was doing work for the Satans, but I doubt they want the exact nature of that work to get out." If the fact that both the Fallen Angels and now the Devils could remove Sacred Gears – humanity's greatest weapon against them – got out, heads would roll. I didn't want to be responsible for the start of another Great War.

Seekvaira's eyes widened as she set her own teacup down. "That is not what I was expecting. This was likely the errand Lady Leviathan mentioned when she let me into your home. Do you often do work for the Satans?"

I grinned. "That's two, but I'll allow it. To date, that is the only job I have done at their express request. I have worked with Satan Leviathan in the past, but you already know the results of that endeavor." I said, motioning to the manor a short distance from us.

"Thank you, Riser." Seekvaira said with a nod. "I believe I owe you two answers now."

"What the hell did you do to us in that orb?" I said, really wanting to know what exactly I needed to avoid to never let that happen again.

Seekvaira looked sheepish as she said, "I…may not have thought that particular attack through very well. I have always been competitive, but I took it a little too far. As you saw during our fight, I have control over certain aspects of time. The more complex the effect or larger the area, the more difficult it is for me to do. That attack convinces reality that the target, or in this case targets, is simultaneously occupying a dozen different positions it has recently been in. Since you tackled me through the air, reality decided different parts of our respective bodies were strewn about across our path."

"That is equal parts absurd and terrifying." I said as I began to comprehend just how lucky we both were that one of the pieces that rewound through time wasn't either of our heads. Time was a busted ability. If I wasn't so in love with Hellfire, Wind and Immortality, I might have been jealous.

"And your second question?"

"The blue shields you were using weren't like your temporal barriers. Your father also used one. Do the Agares family have a second bloodline they've been hiding from everyone?"

Seekvaira tilted her head curiously as she said, "My father showed you his magic?"

"It was a…byproduct of my efforts to heal you." I said cordially. I didn't hold Lady Agares's actions against her, and Lord Agares had kept there from being any harm done to me. I was just curious as to where the magic came from.

Seekvaira seemed curious about my word choice, but she elected not to pry. "My father's magic does not come from the Agares family. He married into our family near the end of the Devil Civil War. His own family, the Dantalions, had become nearly extinct with the passing of his mother. He alone now carries the Dantalion name. As such, he is both Lord Agares and Dantalion and little is known about his power, and I will become Lady Dantallion when I ascend to Lady Agares. I do not know how much he would be comfortable with me revealing, but I will say his powers allow him to be adept with wardcraft. He has been steadily teaching me as I have grown."

That was interesting. 'Wardcraft' seemed like Seekvaira was deliberately hinting her father's magic was broad. It was very likely that she, and certainly her father, were capable of far more than the simple blue shields I'd seen thus far. The fact that her father came from a different family was a little surprising to me, but it made a scary amount of sense in hindsight. In order for her father to also have Time, he would need to have been born an Agares. The fact that both Lord and Lady Phenex possessed the Phenex bloodline was something I was trying extremely hard not to think about as Seekvaira asked her next question.

"You used more than Hallfire and Wind against me – most notably the noxious cloud at the start of our match." she said, a curious light shining in her eyes. "I would assume you are capable of far more magic. How long have you been hiding this capability?"

"Clarissa has been teaching me since I was very young." I said with a nod toward my bishop. "That cloud specifically was learned later as it is a fairly advanced combination of evocation and necromancy, but I've been adept with magic for quite some time now. Yubelluna as well. More often than not, she would attend lessons with me. The reason we tend to stick to our other abilities is simply because they're more powerful. Plus, we have Clarissa to do the magical heavy lifting for us."

Seekvaira made a contemplating humming sound as she shot Clarissa an appraising look. "I believe it is your turn to ask a question again, Riser."

"What was the point of all this?" I said, asking a question that had been at the back of my mind since she approached me, inadvertently drawing the attention of everyone present. Arondight turned away from her sandwich and Bafeel stopped trying, and failing, to sneak Pegasus snacks without anyone noticing. Even Pegasus looked our way, idly snagging one last bite from Bafeel before he watched us in silence. "You had some end goal in mind when you organized all this, and I still haven't been able to figure it out. I've thoroughly enjoyed meeting your peerage, but I'd like to know why you set all this up."

Seekvaira's eyes were fixed on her teacup as she picked it up and idly swirled it. "As I told you, I made a request of my parents some time ago. As Issei continued to progress, I did my best to keep tabs on you. By all accounts, you should have become a cautionary tale by now, Riser." Her eyes rose to meet mine, her teacup laid forgotten on the table next to its saucer. "Your parents cast you out and left you to the wolves. Yubelluna should have been stolen from you within the first week of your banishment with Clarissa taken days later. If you yourself had not been taken into a peerage, it is very likely you would have been kidnapped and used to produce Phenex Tears. The fact that you are not only free but thriving is nothing short of astonishing." Seekvaira broke off, picking up her teacup and placing it purposefully down on its saucer.

"I'm not sure whether to be insulted by that or to thank you for the compliment." I said, looking at Seekvaira with a blank expression, wondering where she was going with this.

"It is a compliment." Seekvaira said, her tone unquestionable. "It is the highest of compliments. Had anyone else found themself in your position, they would have succumbed to the myriad factors dragging them down. But not you. You overcame everything stacked against you and grew. You restored your nobility less than a week after it was taken from you. You secured Serafall Leviathan's place as a Satan, gaining a powerful friend in the process. You skillfully manipulated your dealings with me to acquire all you wanted and more while still leaving me feeling as if I'd gotten the better part of the deal, earning yourself another powerful friend. Your peerage has over doubled in size. I imagine there are some Pillar Lords and Ladies that would trade half the wealth of their house for Valerie or Arondight alone. Despite everything stacked against you, you've thrived."

No one from either of our peerages so much as twitched. The entirety of their attention was locked on the small table Seekvaira and I sat across from each other at. All of them were waiting to see what would happen next.

"Thank you for the summary of the trials I've been through, but none of that really answered my question. Why go through all of this? What 'request' did you make of your parents?"

Seekvaira's gaze left mine, traveling over my shoulder to Yubelluna. "Rias Gremory seriously offended you. Would I be correct in assuming it was not due to the situation, but instead because of her actions towards Riser?"

Seemingly shocked at the sudden question, Yubelluna floundered a moment before saying, "I…yes, my lady. That is correct."

Still looking Yubelluna in the eye, Seekvaira said, "And what if she had treated him well? If she had cherished him and given him everything he deserves?"

Yubelluna froze, her fists clenching as her breathing grew deep and controlled. "I would not have allowed her to take him from me." Yubelluna said simply, her eyes dangerous.

"You wanted your parents to sign a marriage contract." I said, the pieces finally falling into place. "You wanted them to betroth you to me. That's why you insisted on the Rating Game. You wanted to prove to them that I was good enough for you."

"Yes." Seekvaira answered me, still holding Yubelluna's gaze. "I will not take him from anyone. We are devils. It is in our nature to love many and often. I would be open to Riser taking multiple wives." Her eyes returned to mine, her expression serious as she said, "All I ask in the event you do marry others is that I be able to have a say in the matter. I will only ever bed a single man. The odds of corrupting my bloodline with an illegitimate pregnancy, while slim, are not something I am willing to risk. However, I intend to take multiple women as my lovers. If we can agree on which women we welcome into our relationship, all the better."

"Okay we need to back up." I said, standing from my chair with my hands raised. "This conversation just took a U-turn so sharp we somehow crossed a dimensional boundary." Looking Seekvaira in the eye, I said, "You arranged all of this," I spread my arms wide to indicate our two peerages sitting around us. "To convince your parents to let you marry me." I took a moment to gauge the reactions of the members of our peerage.

Their reactions to the current line of questioning varied drastically. Kalawarner looked on in slack-jawed disbelief, blinking as if to test whether reality was functioning properly. Valerie was blushing as bright as a rose, doing her level best to look at nothing and no one. Bafeel was studiously running her fingers through Pegasus's mane, a faint dusting of red present on her cheeks. Pegasus almost looked amused. It was hard to tell emotion from a horse, but there was a shine in his eyes as he looked between Seekvaira and I. Arondight chewed on a sandwich, a happy smile on her face as she watched the spectacle. Clarissa and Alivian weren't reacting at all. The two of them had simply accepted the events around them and were acting as thought it was completely expected. Issei looked at me with something resembling…encouragement? From what I knew of him, that was the opposite of what he should be feeling. And Yubelluna…

Yubelluna had yet to twitch, her gaze locked on Seekvaira. I could see the wheels spinning in her head. She was processing things at a million miles a minute as she absorbed the conversation.

"Yes." Seekvaira said. "I have no deeper goal. I have no hidden intentions. I enjoy your company. You are intelligent, powerful, compassionate, loyal to those close to you and you are not self-absorbed. The last quality alone makes you unique among all the devils I have to choose from. My parents' original choice was a two-hundred year old first-born son of a lower Pillar that spends his nights and mornings whoring and his afternoons asleep. I refuse to allow myself to be given to such a man. I am not asking for you to make a decision right this moment, but I would ask that you consider it. Unlike your contract with Rias Gremory, I will ensure there are escape clauses if either of us cannot continue with the betrothal."

"So you intend to use Riser to shield yourself from other suitors?" Yubelluna said, all traces of decorum gone as her presence bore down on Seekvaira.

"No." Seekvaira said, meeting Yubelluna's gaze unflinching. "I intend to marry him. I will not, however, force this upon him. This is an offer. A question. I will respect his answer – no matter what it is." The two women stared into each other's eyes, neither one blinking.

"Okay. This conversation has gone the exact opposite of the direction I thought it would. Why don't we–" Yubelluna's words cut me off.

"Very well."

I looked sidelong at her, staring uncomprehendingly. "Come again?"

Yubelluna folded her hands in front of her, the dangerous, oppressive presence she'd exuded moments before gone. "You are a lord, Riser. I never believed I would have you all to myself. I made my peace with it long ago. I reacted as strongly as I did against Rias Gremory because she was an abusive harpy that would have thrown you aside the first chance she had. I believe Seekvaira is genuine with her intentions. So long as I am able to remain at your side, and none hurt you as Rias intended to, I will be happy."

I blinked once. Then I blinked again. Then I tried to restart my brain so it would start processing information again. Forcing my gray-matter to function again, I said, "I have never even considered this. Marriage, let alone multiple marriages, has been the furthest thing from my mind for…Actually, I don't think I've even thought about it since the whole fiasco with Rias Gremory. Before that, I hadn't considered it at all. Seekvaira," I said, trying to regain some footing. "Why me? I heard all the ticks in my favor, but I'm not even a Pillar devil anymore. If you marry me your standing will–"

"Frankly, I don't care." the Agares heiress cut me off, looking me in the eye. "Your lack of Pillar standing is inconsequential. Whether you bear the name or not, Phenex blood flows through your veins. That was the only reason my parents even considered this arrangement. But even if you could not summon the Wind, I would still choose you. I would much rather have a husband who stares down the impossible and does his best to conquer it than a sniveling worm that leeches off of those around him. The strength of your character is most important to me. The fact that you are immensely powerful for your age and command the flames of Hell is merely a much welcome bonus." Seekvaira took a deep breath, standing from her chair and walking around the table to take my hands in hers. "I am not asking for your answer right now, Riser, but please think about it. I do not seek to chain you. I desire a partner. Our duel banished all of my doubts. I will wait as long as you need. Just…" Seekvaira released my right hand, summoning a scroll of paper with a flash of black magic. She turned my left hand over and placed the scroll in it, curling my fingers around the parchment. "Think about it." She released me and stepped back, bowing her head slightly. "Thank you for hosting myself and my peerage, Lord Riser. We will be retiring to the Agares estate for some much needed rest. I wish you well."

"Riser." I said, rolling the scroll between my fingers.

"I beg your pardon?" Seekvaira said.

"Call me Riser. Drop the 'lord'."

Seekvaira's smile was as radiant as the rising sun as she said, "Thank you for hosting us, Riser." There was an exuberant air about her as she gathered her peerage together.

Bafeel hid her face bashfully as, when she tried to swipe one last sandwich, the tray levitated up to Pegasus's mouth on a bed of warm air currents controlled by my Wind, allowing the mighty steed to gobble up the few snacks Bafeel hadn't already hand fed him. Bafeel really needed to work on her sleight of hand.

Alivian bowed deeply to me as he joined his King, Issei following his example.

"I look forward to hearing your answer." Seekvaira said as she cast a teleportation spell. The next moment, a black flash pulled her and her peerage away.

"That proceeded better than I had anticipated!" Arondight cheered, a cupcake in either hand. Where had she gotten cupcakes?

"Indeed." Clarissa said, standing and starting to walk towards the manor. "There is much to prepare."

Valerie tackle-hugged me, squeeing adorably. "Congratulations! Don't worry! I know a lot of people who can help plan the wedding. They're all dead, so their fashion sense is a touch out of date, but they were the best at what they do!" Valerie darted off, already talking to people only she perceived, one of the downsides, or upsides depending on your perspective, of her Longinus.

I looked at Yubelluna in confusion. "But I haven't agreed to anything yet?"

My queen smiled at me. "Of course, my king. Of course."

"Kalawarner? Help?" I said, turning to the last bastion of sanity in the vicinity.

The blue-haired woman studied me with calculating eyes. "So…someone just has to pass her little test to be able to fuck you, right?"

I fell back into my chair, cradling my head in my hands. "That's it. The world's gone fucking crazy."

I felt Yubelluna's hands gently massaging my back. "Do not worry, my king. We will help you through this."

As insane as the entire situation was, that sentence was oddly comforting. My peerage was here for me – I had people I could rely on. A spark of joy won out in the tornado of mixed feelings within me and a small smile settled onto my face.

---

A.N.

Sorry this took longer. The fight took forever and I realized it was a cliff hanger. I hate cliff hangers, both writing and reading them, so I rolled the next chapter into this one too.

Thanks for reading.