Chapter 5
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, setting, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. All other concepts and ideas from other books or stories belong to their respective authors. No copyright infringement is intended.
Harry had returned to Heaven a bit after his stunt with Riser. As much as he wanted to know what the deal with that bastard was, he had duties to attend to in Heaven. He left Raynare to watch over Asia while he was away though he place a powerful holy barrier around the church just in case. Not even the devils' familiars will be able to come within one hundred feet of the church's grounds.
When Harry had finally returned to Heaven, he called for a meeting of the Seraphs short for Seraphim also known as Burning Angels. They are Angels who are guardians of the Throne of Heaven and basically his personal guards. They were also the ones maintaining the system used by the God from the Bible following his death.
But now that Harry/God was back in the driver's seat, that was no longer necessary. The members of the Seraphs are the Archangel Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel, who were also known as the "Four Great Seraphs", equal in power to the Four Great Satan's of the Devils. The other six Seraphs were Metatron who apparently was currently living as a ninja in the human world due to his fascination with the craze, Sandalphon who was Metatron's twin and Raguel, Raziel, Sariel as well as Remiel.
Things in Heaven had changed ever since Harry's decree about the three strikes before falling system and the abolishment for the need for that creepy purification ritual. Some of the angels were not as uptight as they used to be and more carefree. That's not to say all of them had changed overnight. Some of the lower ranked angels still walked around like they had a steel rod firmly up their assess but that wasn't important.
The real kicker came from re-production; apparently one of the many couples had become pregnant. This was thanks to Harry/God's return, because apparently God was needed in order for Angels to re-produce the normal way.
Certainly Angels could do 'it' without God but even if they did, then nothing would come of it no matter how hard they tried, so that made the act kind of pointless. Especially when you take into account that Angels who were supposed to be benevolent, pure beings who didn't or weren't supposed to in anyway, act selfishly or needlessly and who were supposed to carry out the will of God. Doing the act for pleasure would just cause them to Fall. Something that was prevented at all costs before his return.
All in all everything looked much better, Angels could finally re-produce normally and with the stone Harry could change any human he wished into an Angel. Of course it would defeat the purpose if he changed people that had no wish to be angels. An unwilling soldier was generally useless in battle, and Heaven didn't need cannon fodder it needed good useful troops.
Which was the reason behind his current meeting with the Seraphs.
"I have been thinking about our current position in terms of combat troops," said Harry quietly. "Even with the many Angels I have created and the more I plan to create, we simply don't have the ability to match the Underworld in our current state."
The Seraph looked concerned and Uriel spoke. "Why do you think this, my Lord? Our numbers thanks to your efforts far outnumber the current amount of devils, even including the ones they've forcibly conscripted to their side."
"Because what they lack in numbers," said Harry with a sigh. "They make up in quality. While the number of devils is still below what they used to be, the percentage of those with Ultimate-class strength is large. Almost 40% of their current forces have Ultimate-class strength and of those, at least 60% equal a Satan. Compared to the great war where only the Four Satans had Satan-level strength and there were maybe two dozen Ultimate-class Devils, they are much stronger than before."
"Then what do we do?" asked Remiel worriedly.
"Luckily, I've recreated an option to make up for this," said Harry reassuringly. He then waved his hand and ten packs of cards appeared before each Seraph. "These are the Angelic equivalent of the Devil's Evil Piece System. I call them the Brave Saints. Instead of chess, I used playing cards as a basis for it. Unlike the devils who boost their reincarnated devils depending on the chess piece, the reincarnated angels won't receive a boost per se. Rather, by working together with other reincarnated Angels to create a 'hand', they will receive a certain boost in power depending on the hand."
The Seraphs reached out and took their 'suit', inspecting them curiously.
"For now, only you Seraph will have a Brave Saints deck," said Harry seriously. "Later on, if everything works out, then I'll allow it to filter down to lower ranks. I'll probably make it a requirement to have at least six wings to become a King of your own suit though."
"Are there any requirements for those we can reincarnate?" asked Michael in curiosity.
"I'm glad you asked," said Harry with a sigh before leaning back in the Throne. "As you saw, I've changed the System since I've returned. I made it so anyone reincarnated into a devil loses their Sacred Gear to make sure the devils can no longer get their hands on them. The same will happen to those reincarnated as an Angel but with a few differences."
Harry leaned forward as he continued to explain. "They will lose the Sacred Gear itself but will gain an Angelic equivalent to their Sacred Gear's power. For example, a Twice Critical holder will gain the ability to double their power for a limited time much like what their Twice Critical allowed them to do. This ability will be a permanent part of them not limited to a Sacred Gear, allowing more freedom than they normally would. The downside would be that they would have train themselves to reach a level of power with it equivalent to what they had before."
"Other than that," finished Harry calmly. "My only requirement would be that they be good people, whether or not they are Christian, Jewish or any other of my religions. Obviously, I would prefer they not Fall after we go out of our way to reincarnate as Angels so I suggest you give them some sort of test to prove they won't fall into temptation before reincarnating them."
"Very well, my Lord," chorused the Seraph.
"One more thing," said Harry before they can leave. "I have my own suit to reincarnate Angels. While I could easily do it without help, my suit is special."
"How so, my Lord?" asked Gabriel innocently.
"The twelve I plan to reincarnate will be reincarnated not as ordinary Angel but as Archangels," said Harry, surprising them greatly. "As you remember, before the War there were several Archangels, each in charge of their own aspect of Heaven. I will be returning this system to reduce the weight on Michael's shoulders. Michael," said Archangel stood at attention. "Once I reincarnate all the Archangels, you will be in charge of them. In terms of hierarchy they will answer only to me or you but will not be able to order anyone not in their area of domain. You Seraph will return to your previous positions as well and like before, only I will be able to order any of you but you will be above all others. Understood?"
"Yes, my Lord," chorused the Seraph, some looking very relieved. With all the deaths from the Great War, they'd had to take up the jobs of the fallen to keep Heaven running. It had been meant as a stopgap gesture but with God's death, it had become permanent since they had no other way to increase their numbers and refill the empty positions.
Now, however, with God/Harry's return, that looked to change.
"There is one final thing to do before this meeting is over. Michael," Harry gulped and steeled his nerves for his choice. "Prepare God's Thunder for immediate use at a moment's notice."
The Seraphim all froze and gasped and began muttering amongst themselves again in terror.
"God's Thunder?" gasped Michael in shock. "B-but My Lord! That hasn't been used since the start of the Great War. The other factions might see it as an act of aggression and another war could start."
"You don't mean to reignite the War, right Father?" asked Gabriel in fear.
"NO!" yelled Harry in denial before sighing and speaking more quietly. "No. The God's Thunder is not meant for the Devils or Fallen but rather for another potential threat to the Heavens. I'm sure you're all aware of Ophis, correct?"
The Seraph's eyes widened and they all took a step back in shock. "The Ouroborus Dragon?! You wish to use it on her?!"
Harry grimaced. "Yes and no. It has recently been come to my attention that Ophis has created her own Faction, so to speak. I don't know the name but I do know that three of my Longinus' holders can be found amongst the group, one of them being none other than the True Longinus." Harry nodded grimly at their looks of fear. "Exactly. I don't know what she plans to do with this group but it cannot be for anything good. I fear we may even have traitors among our ranks so she could already be aware of my survival. If necessary, I want the God's Thunder ready for use in case her intentions towards us are hostile."
Michael looked troubled but nodded. "As you command, my Lord. It will be ready for your order as soon as possible."
"Thank you," said Harry gratefully. "You are dismissed."0
With that the Seraphim left to carry out Gods orders.
Once they left, Harry agonized over his decision. God's Thunder was nothing short of an Apocalypse-level device. He had unleashed it in the beginning of the Great War on the Underworld to signal the start of the War. It had completely devastated the Underworld and it was the reason there were no bodies of water in the Underworld anymore.
God's Thunder had evaporated them all to the point that even now, none had returned.
He had meant to destroy the Devils in one fell swoop but enough had survived by escaping to Earth to continue the War later. Either way, the effects had been so horrible that he had sworn never to use it again. Yet here he was preparing it for use once more.
He only hoped it would become unnecessary.
Deciding that he needed a break, he decided to pay a visit to his favorite devil and her peerage.
Issei was allowed to activate his Sacred Gear which he was initially forbidden from using since he got to the mountains. Issei was allowed to use it now but what was he supposed to do with it?
"Your opponent will be Kiba," said Rias calmly.
"Yes." Issei got ready as Kiba approached.
Kiba came forward after Rias ordered him to do so. He then stood in front of Issei who was slightly alarmed that he had to fight Kiba. Kiba had been a devil for far longer so he would obviously be much stronger. How can he be expect to beat him?
"Issei, activate your Sacred Gear before the spar. We'll start the fight two minutes after you activate your Sacred Gear." instructed Rias with a critical eye.
"Y...yes." agreed Issei nervously. Issei made his Boosted Gear appear on his left arm just like Rias ordered him to and took a deep breath before activating it. "Boost!"
[BOOST!]
The Sacred Gear made a sound after his words, and he felt power coursing through his body. With this, Issei felt his power double. Of course, considering his already pathetic level of power, that wasn't saying much.
Then after ten seconds.
[BOOST!]
Issei's power doubled again. He felt the Sacred Gear channeling more power to his body. While it was okay that his power was getting doubled, there were things that he needed to keep in mind when he used his "Boosted Gear".
Initially, he'd thought that there were no limits to his powers, but that was not the case. Once, Issei activated his Boosted Gear to see how far he could increase his power but after a few minutes he'd fainted. The reason for this was simple. Issei's body couldn't handle the power when it increased beyond a certain level.
When Issei asked Rias why this was, she explained as best she could.
"For example think that you are a truck," explained Rias calmly. "If you carry more material than the truck can carry what would happen? It won't be able to move right? The same thing applies here: too much power and you'll pass out, unable to move at all."
The 'material' in question was his power. If the quantity of power keeps on doubling, then the 'truck' (his body) would decrease in speed (lose stamina) and by the end, it won't move (pass out). So in other words if the power gets too much, then it puts stress on his body. That's why he fainted.
Issei's body is a vessel which couldn't withstand the increased power. That's what happened when Issei activated it for a few minutes the first time. Even if there are no limits to the Sacred Gear, the user does have limits. That was the Sacred Gear's weakness.
Well, it's more like his weakness. It's not the Sacred Gear's fault. Issei was the one that made the 20th power up after the president ordered him to power up. At that, Rias ordered him to stop his Sacred Gear.
"Let's go Boosted Gear!"
[Explosion!]
This sound represented the stop of the power up and acts as a sort of stopper so the Sacred Gear would stop boosting. Once the power up stops, he could fight with that power for a certain amount of time. The length of time he can use it however depended on his actions during the power up. The more he moved, and the more he attacked, then the less amount of time he had.
This also affected Issei's stamina, and if he was in a tired state, then the time he could use the power would also be shorter. One of the ways to use the Sacred Gear would be to make sure he didn't receive any damage. So right now, when he had no damage and was at full stamina, was the best time to use the Gear.
Issei's power was growing while was getting a boost, but it was still unstable compared to the time when he stopped the boost to use the power up for a limited time. If Issei moved around too much, there were risks that it might change him back to his normal self. So it was better to stop the boost then to continue to use the power up.
It would also be wise to run and hide while getting a boost. Now, his body was in an unthinkable state because of the two minutes boost. The power that he felt within his body wasn't normal and his body was instinctively rejecting it. This would pass as he used the power more often but for now, it was yet another weakness.
"Issei, I want you to fight Yuuto in that state," said Rias firmly. "Yuuto, I will leave you to be his opponent."
The two faced each other. Kiba had a determined look on his face and held his wooden sword in a ready stance while Issei was slightly nervous but put up his fists.
"I won't go easy on you," said Kiba firmly.
"Good," replied Issei just as firmly. "I wouldn't get stronger if you did."
With that signal, Kiba seemed to vanish, his sheer speed astounding Issei as he remembered that Kiba was the Knight and that gave him a serious speed advantage. He appeared just above Issei who managed to only just block Kiba's strike with the Boosted Gear. The Knight remained in place just long enough for Issei to kick him away.
"Ok, try using it all on him now," ordered Rias.
Issei opened the hand of the Boosted Gear and small red orb the size of rice ball appeared. "Gah that's all I have?" complained Issei as he saw the small red orb.
Kiba began charging for a second attack, getting Issei's attention.
"Trust yourself," said Rias forcefully. "Now go for it!"
Issei went for it and punched the orb which suddenly turned into a huge red beam. Kiba's eyes widened as he tried to get out of the way. He mostly made it but was clipped on the shoulder and flung away like a rag doll. The beam didn't stop and kept going until it tore a large chunk out of a nearby mountain.
"Looks like it worked," said Akeno with a chuckle.
"You broke the mountain," deadpanned Koneko with her usual blank face.
Meanwhile, a certain figure was watching the training in a nearby tree. Said figure chuckled and snapped his fingers, planting a suggestion in the unknowing Rias' mind.
"Alright everybody," exclaimed Rias after they got over their shock. "That's enough for today now let's all go have a nice warm bath."
The peerage looked relieved as they followed their King inside while the figure chuckled and disappeared.
"Ah," groaned Rias pleasurably as she settled into the bath alongside Akeno and Koneko. "Now this feels good after a long day."
The girls were separated from their male friends by a fairly high and solid wooden fence. Of course, this didn't stop Issei from trying to peak, much to Kiba's dismay.
"Say Akeno?" called Rias to her Queen.
"Yes Rias?" answered said Queen, knowing where this was going.
"Do you think my breasts have gotten bigger?" asked Rias holding her boobs for emphasis. On the other side of the wooden fence, they could almost hear Issei desperate clawing at the wall, trying to get a peak.
"I don't know, let me check," said Akeno as she waded over to Rias. Both girls smirked as they heard Issei's struggles to see them naked double and become even more desperate.
"Eh, I've seen bigger and better," Came a comment from above.
Everyone froze as they refused to to believe what their ears heard before they woodenly looked up. The girls looked up to see none other than Kirei Kotomine leaning forward and eying their bodies in seeming disinterest while still balancing on top of the wooden fence perfectly. Rias face promptly went beet red and gathered the Power of Destruction in her hands.
"Rot in hell you annoying, perverted bastard priest!" growled Rias and threw the orbs at her nemesis. Though one had to wonder whether she was angry at his peeping or at his comment about seeing better breasts.
Regardless of what Rias tried, Kirei jumped and dodged them, twisting his body to avoid the orbs skilfully all while in mid air. He continued to do so for a while before landing on the fence again, with a disappointed expression on his face.
"Tsk tsk tsk and you kiss your mother with that mouth Rias?" Kotomine tutted wagging a finger at the heiress.
Her reply came in the form of another larger orb which he dodged again. Several more orbs and dodging later and Rias was out of breath.
"A-ke-no," Rias panted out angrily. "Get *gasp* him!"
Akeno focused on the priest and managed to stop laughing at her president.
"Sorry but perverts have to be punished," said Akeno, chuckling as her S-mode activated. "It's nothing personal."
Kotomine close his eyes and breathed evenly as Akeno charged up her lightning up with a grin on her face. He pointed two fingers towards the men's side and the two fingers of the other hand towards Akeno.
Akeno sent the lighting at Kotomine who took it and directed down his arm. "Wandering Priest: Secret Technique" He chanted sending the lightning into his stomach. "Lightning Rod!"
The lightning then left his stomach and went out the other arm, directly to the other fingers which were pointed at a certain perverted Sacred gear user.
"GAAAAHHHHHHHKKKKZZZTTT!" came Issei's cry of pain.
"Ufufufu, oopsie I didn't know he could do that," said Akeno with a giggle, not looking at all put out with having electrocuted her own peerage member. "My bad."
Meanwhile, Rias had hunched over in the hot springs, trying to hide her naked body from Kotomine's eyes. For some reason, the idea of Kotomine seeing her naked caused her to blush in nervousness, feeling almost like she was a schoolgirl (which she was) standing naked before her crush. "Some priest! Peeking on naked girls to satisfy your desires!"
"If it bothers you that much then I'll get naked too," said Kirei calmly. "As a priest I am above earthly desires of the flesh after all." This was an outright lie but they didn't need to know that.
With that, Kirei jumped down into the girls' section and disrobed showing off his well-toned body (thanks to receiving the power of God and his own exercises since). Rias began drooling and Akeno seemed to be mumbling under her breath while Koneko was blushing and trying not to get caught sneaking occasional glances.
On the boy's side, Issei's groans at the unfairness of the situation could be heard along with Kiba's sighing.
Later on, Kotomine had invited himself to stay with them and decided to take a shower. When asked why, he said that he had walked a long way and wished not to smell up the place. Of course, in reality he had teleported to the location using his powers as God but Rias and her peerage didn't need to know this.
"What is this guy even doing here?" asked Kiba in annoyance.
"Oh Rias," called Kotomine from the shower before she could answer. "Where's the soap?"
Sighing to herself, Rias turned to the bathroom door. "We don't have that for showers. We have a special cleansing powder," replied Rias, having now calmed down from the earlier escapade.
"The hell is cleansing power?" asked Kotomine in genuine confusion.
"It's that yellow jar with powder in that looks like sugar," replied Rias patiently.
"That sounds awesome!" The sound of a jar being opened was heard and the sound of pouring could be made out. "Bah! This tastes nothing like what you just said!"
"OK, I change my mind. This is pretty funny," said Kiba with amusement.
"Is that the beta male?" asked Kotomine with annoyance.
"No, Issei just got here from the infirmary!" said Rias as Issei entered the room with a groan, his burns still hurting. Though she winced and whispered sorry at Kiba once she realized that she'd admitted that Kiba was the beta male.
"Oh Lord above, they're breeding!" declared Kotomine dramatically.
"Ufufufu. Are you sure we can't keep him Rias?" asked Akeno while chuckling. "He'd certainly lighten the mood of our little group."
Rias rolled her eyes at Akeno but couldn't help but wonder if she could actually seduce Kotomine into her peerage. He was certainly skilled if the way he snuck up on them was any indication and was obviously fit if his muscled body was a clue.
She had absolutely no secondary reason for wanting him in her peerage. Nope, none at all.
Back with Kotomine, if one listened at the door closely, they would be able to hear the sound of someone snapping their fingers. Back outside the bathroom, Rias suddenly got a glazed look in her eyes but it left as quickly as it came.
"Uggh, I'm going to go take mud bath. Just tell me when he's finished and dressed," sighed Rias and went off into another room.
Soon enough the shower was turned off and the sounds of a towel being used were heard. After a few seconds, Kirei exited the shower donning his priest robes once again.
"Hmm where did Rias go?" asked Kotomine curiously.
"She went to take a mud bath," Akeno explained politely. "I think she might be a bit stressed"
"I wonder why," asked Kotomine innocently before shrugging. "Oh well it's a good thing you didn't join her."
"Oh and why's that? asked Akeno with a raised eyebrow and a smile.
"Because I slipped something into her water when she was training with you all earlier that takes away one's sense of smell and it should be wearing off right about now," explained Kotomine with a broad smile.
"But what does that have to do with me not joining her?" asked Akeno in confusion.
Kirei simply smirked and looked at the door that Rias had entered. He gestured at everyone to be quiet and motioned for everyone to listen to Rias in the bathroom. Curious, they obliged him and listened.
"Ahhh," squealed Rias joyfully. "Now this feels better, its like the mud is washing away all my *sniff sniff* uggh what's that smell?"
Rias could be heard sniffing loudly. "Oh it's awful," complained Rias loudly. "It smells almost like…like...dog..."
"You didn't," said Akeno with an amused look that bordered on hysterical laughter.
"I'm afraid I did," confessed Kirei in faux shame.
"AAAAGHHHHHH THIS ISN'T MUD! ITS DOG CRAP! BUT WHO WOULD-" Rias paused in her screaming for moment as if coming to a realization. "KOTOMINE! YOU ARE DEAD!"
"And that's my cue everyone," said Kirei before running for the door.
Rias was quick to give chase, heedless of her naked body half covered in...well, you know. She flung the Power of Destruction at her target who continued to dodge her shots with ease while running away.
"STAY STILL AND DIE!" shrieked Rias in anger.
"I'm afraid I can't do that," called back Kirei in a calm voice. "Who would look after my church if I died?"
"JUST STAY STILL AND DIE YOU LECHEROUS, ANNOYING, FAKE PRIEST!" shrieked Rias in rage and indignation.
Akeno lost control of herself and began laughing hysterically at the scene of her normally collected president flinging orbs of destruction at one of the few beings able to annoy her so much. The rest of the peerage couldn't help but smile at the sight as well, the sight of their normally composed King acting her age being an endearing sight. As for Akeno though, she couldn't be happier. It seemed that her president was able to be happy even at a time like this, even if she didn't show it.
Night had fallen and Rias' peerage had all gone to sleep. However, said King had not gone to sleep yet, still trying to think up a strategy to beat Riser.
After attempting to kill Kotomine (and failing), Rias had returned to the cottage to take a very thorough bath before coming out again for the afternoon sparring session. While everyone was improving, it wasn't as much as she hoped and she couldn't hope that in the remaining twelve days, her peerage would miraculously get a power boost. Therefore, she'd have to create a strategy based on their current skill level.
Rias sighed as she took in the information she had on Riser's peerage and tried to think up a strategy to beat them. While her peerage beat Riser's in sheer quality and she could probably easily beat most of the peerage, there were a few problems.
Specifically, three: Riser himself, Ravel and Yubelluna.
The latter two were key to Riser's victories being his battlefield commander and strongest Piece respectively. While she had no doubt that Akeno could beat Yubelluna, there was always the chance that she could use Phoenix tears to tip the scales in her favor. As for Ravel, she was not only skilled and a good battlefield tactician, she had the same Phenex regeneration her brother had, meaning putting her down for any length of time would be difficult.
Sighing as she simply couldn't think of a way around the Phenex regeneration beyond overwhelming brute force, Rias was startled when she heard a chuckle.
"You know," said Kotomine as he stepped out of the shadows. "I thought you devils didn't need glasses."
Rias blushed and glared at Kotomine, a ball of Power of Destruction forming in her hand.
Kirei quickly raised his hands up in surrender before speaking. "I come in peace. I even brought gifts." Seeing Rias pause at his words, Kirei took out a box from his cloak and set it down in front of Rias.
Curious despite herself, Rias let her Power of Destruction fade before opening the box to show it filled with vials of water. "Holy water?" asked Rias curiously, getting a nod from the fake priest. "How'd you get this?"
"I am a priest," teased Kirei, getting a blush of embarrassment from the girl for forgetting. "Holy water is a devil's weakness, after all. I use them for my exorcisms and when hunting stray devils. I always carry around a box or two of vials for emergencies."
Not really. He'd simply gone to a nearby stream, conjured the vials and box and filled them with water before blessing them. Same difference really.
Both Kirei and Rias looked uncomfortable at the reminder that they were technically enemies before Kirei cleared his throat. "So... glasses?"
Rias looked glad for the change in subject. "I don't need them but they help me think." Rias blushed at the last part, embarrassed for admitting her childishness in front of Kotomine for some reason.
Kirei simply looked at her with an unidentifiable emotion in his eyes before speaking lowly. "They look good on you. It makes you look cute."
Rias blushed wildly at his compliment, unable to look him in the eye while Kirei looked equally embarrassed for the admittance. Eventually, Kirei caught sight of what she was doing and walked over to sit beside her on the couch.
"So what's this?" asked Kirei quietly.
Rias shook her head to get her mind back on track and spoke. "Just some rough ideas on how to beat Riser in the Rating Game. The folders have the info on his Peerage and their abilities."
Kirei quietly took the folders and studied them, intently looking at each Peerage member's abilities and skills. Rias just watched him, a blush starting to stain her cheeks. This may be the first time she saw him without him pranking her or doing something to annoy her. Without that mocking smile on his face and his eyes intense and focused, Rias admitted in the privacy of her own mind that he was very handsome.
Rias blushed further at her own thoughts, wondering where they came from. She couldn't... like Kirei, could she? All he did was annoy her and get her angry and... treat her like any other girl her age like she always wanted. He constantly pranked her... which she had to admit some of his pranks would have made her laugh if they were done on anyone else. He was cocky and arrogant in his skill... which she had to admit was kinda attractive since he never lorded it over them, simply stating it as fact.
Rias was broken out of her confused thoughts about her feeling for the boy before her when Kirei spoke. "As far as I can see," said Kirei clearly. "You have less than 10% chance of winning the Rating Game as is."
Rias' heart dropped at his words. "What? But if we train-"
"It'll make little difference," said Kirei calmly. "The problem isn't that you won't be able to negate his numbers advantage. The problem is that Riser's entire strategy involves around sacrificing his Pieces to weaken his enemy enough so they don't pose a challenge to him. With your Peerage's strength, you'll be able to knock out most of his, maybe even everyone but him. But by then you'll be so weakened that he'll be able to defeat you with ease."
Rias opened her mouth to refute it but found that she couldn't. That was Riser's strategy and the one she had been contemplating would be falling right into his hands.
Seeing Rias' distress, Kirei sighed. "I see two ways you could win. One is to train Issei up till he achieves Balance Breaker. With that, you save him till the end and unleash him on Riser. Hopefully, Issei will be able to hold it long enough to deal Riser enough damage for him to pass out."
"And plan two?" asked Rias as she filed that strategy for later perusal.
"Blitz them from the very beginning, aiming to take out Riser quickly," said Kirei bluntly. "It could possibly catch them off-guard enough so you'll break through easily. However, the problem is that you don't have a sure-fire way of taking him down quickly. Without that, you'll be quickly surrounded and taken out."
"That's the problem," said Rias in frustration, leaning back on the couch and crossing her arms beneath her breasts. "There are very few ways to take down a Phenex. In fact, the only way I know we can do it is repeated brute strength until his mind breaks down."
Kirei stayed silent at her words. He could think of many other ways though they mostly revolved around forbidden curses. The Cruciatus would be perfect to use against a Phenex since it doesn't do anything physically but rather tortures the mind into thinking the person is being tortured. A simpler way would be to attack his mind directly but not only was he not good at that, he was wary about teaching it to someone else for fear of them abusing it.
Another way would be to use a cursed weapon like Gae Bold or Gae Buidhe. Both inflict wounds that can never be healed in any way so they would be the perfect counter to the Phenex regeneration.
Of course, both weapons belong to the Tuatha De Danaan Patheon. He'd have to ask them to lend them to her, if they haven't already given the weapons to someone else, and that wouldn't go well with his plan to stay under the radar until he revealed himself. Plus, there was little chance of them doing it even if he asked. They never liked devils and while he had a good relationship with the Lady of the Lake, it wasn't so good that they'd give one of their best weapons to what amounted to their natural enemy.
The final way is... "You could use the Holy water I gave you," said Kirei calmly. At Rias' speculative look, he continued. "If he's arrogant enough to let you get close, bathing him in all this Holy water would damage him greatly. And for the coup de tat..."
Kirei reached into his coat and pulled out a Light gun. ",... this. With the Holy water weakening him, getting shot by this could be potentially lethal or at least incredibly damaging. My suggestion is to use both strategies. Train Issei to get Balance Breaker and blitz Riser. Use the others to keep his peerage back and use the Holy Water and Issei's Balance Breaker to damage him greatly before finishing him off with the Light gun."
Rias hesitantly reached for the offered Light gun before pausing. "Is it really okay for you to give this to me? I know how much the Church guards the mechanics behind these guns. Is it really okay for you to basically give one to me, one of your enemies? I don't want you to get in trouble."
Kirei smiled at Rias' concern, unneeded as it was. "It's fine. I'll just say I lost it and as long as you don't snitch on me, I'll be fine."
Rias frowned but took the offered Light gun and putting it on the night table before turning to him with a grateful look. "Thank you, Kirei. This will help a lot."
"You're welcome," said Kirei quietly, his eyes drifting to her lips.
Inevitably, Kirei's eyes were drawn to Rias' breasts for a moment, their sheer size and the way she was leaning back with her arms crossed under them, making it impossible not to. He forcibly looking away with a slight blush when he realized what he was doing, chastising him for letting his hormones control him. He wasn't a teenage boy, dammit, no matter what age he looked.
As for Rias, she had noticed where his eyes had wandered and subconsciously made her breathing more exaggerated to emphasize her bust, blushing at the feel of his eyes on her. It was only now that she noticed how close they were sitting, to the point that she was almost in his lap and she could feel his body heat.
The two's eyes met and slowly started to lean toward each other, consciously unaware of what they were doing. The two paused for a moment, only inches away before their lips met in a chaste kiss.
The kiss was chaste at first but quickly became passionate, Kirei moaning into Rias' mouth as their tongues came into play. Rias' innocence in this became obvious in the way she had no idea what to do with her tongue. Therefore, Kirei gently coaxed her, teaching her through example.
The two continued to kiss and at one point, Rias had straddled him while wrapping her arms around his neck while Kirei had his arms around her waist and had his hands drifting south to her well-shaped bum.
Kirei's hands had just drifted to her bum and given them a gentle squeeze, getting a throaty moan from the seductress on his lap, when they were interrupted.
"Ara, ara, I'm not interrupting something, am I?"
Rias and Kirei separated as if burned and turned to see none other than Akeno standing at the doorway. Both blushed like the teenagers they appeared and quickly fixed their clothing to make it seem like nothing had happened despite having been caught cleanly in the act.
"Akeno!" said Rias with an embarrassed blush. "We were just... discussing viable strategies to use against Riser in the Rating Game!"
"Really, Buchou?" asked Akeno innocently. "I don't think choking Riser to death by putting your tongue in his mouth will work." Smirking in Kire's direction, she continued. "And I don't think Kirei-kun will like it very much if you do anyway."
Kirei turned to hide the dark look that crossed his face at the though of Rias kissing anyone else, much less Riser, but not before Rias caught sight of it. Said girl blushed and turned away to hide the tiny smile that the sight of Kirei's jealousy brought her.
Trying to save what dignity he had left (which was none at all), Kirei stood up. "Well, it's late and I better get going. I'll need to walk back to town anyway so it'll be a long journey. Better start now."
"Wait!" Kirei turned at Rias' call, said girl blushing and refusing to meet his eyes. "You can... stay here if you want. I wouldn't want you to walk all the way back after all the help you gave."
"There's plenty of room to sleep in Rias' bed if you want," said Akeno slyly. "You can keep each other warm and comfortable and continue to discuss... 'Rating Game strategies'."
Both teens blushed at the obvious innuendo and eventually Kirei decided a strategic retreat was in order. "Well, on that note, I'm going to go. Don't worry," said Kirei, seeing Rias' depressed look. "I'm not going anywhere just yet." Kirei smiled at her. "I still have to kick your asses in a spar anyway."
Rias blushed and nodded, not able to meet his eyes. With that, Kirei left the room, leaving the two childhood friends alone.
"So, Rias," asked Akeno slyly. "Did he show you his 'Holy Sword' and was it big, long and hard?"
"Akeno!" yelled Rias in mortification, causing her friend to giggle at her embarrassment.
Out in the woods, Harry was having a much less fun time.
"You can't fall for her, Potter," muttered Harry to himself while pacing. "She's a Devil. An evil, manipulative being that leads men and women to temptation and evil. She's your enemy, even if you want peace between the Factions. She's a Devil and you're God of all people! I mean, I've heard of Romeo and Juliet but even they would have given up in our place."
He continued to pace, nobody but the woodland creatures witnessing his conflict.
"You can't, Potter. No matter how much you liked her kisses... and her touch... and her smell.." Harry shook his head as if to ward off his current thoughts. "You just... can't!"
Harry tried to block off thoughts of Rias but met little success. All that he could think about was her taste, her touch, her smell. How right it felt to have her in his arms and how well they fit together.
"You can't, Potter," continued Harry, each time more quietly as if running out of steam. "She's probably getting married anyway so..."
Just then, the image of Rias in that bastard Phenex's arm crossed his mind and a nearby tree exploded as his rage escaped his control. A familiar feeling of an angry dragon rising up out of his chest appeared, the image of Rias in another man's arms making him angrier than seeing Ginny with another man ever did.
Harry forcibly shut his eyes, trying to fight back the jealousy. "You can't, Potter..." Harry gave a defeated sigh. "Even if I wanted to, once she found out who I was, she would reject me. Heck, she doesn't even know my real name. Once she finds out I'm God... how could she possibly accept me then?"
And so the night passed, with only the nighttime creatures being witnesses to the God of Gods' misery.
The night passed quickly and soon it was morning again. Kotomine had just finished taunting and defeating Kiba and now he was facing Issei who had deployed his Boosted Gear. On the sidelines, Kotomine tried not to look in Rias' direction, as every time they did, they would blush and look away. No one but Akeno knew the reasons behind their strange behavior and every time they asked Akeno, she would just giggle and smile mysteriously.
Back in the spar against Issei, the boy tried to use his Sacred Gear to attack Kotomine only for said fake priest to once again lazily jump out of the way.
"Come on boy stop trying to hit me and hit me," taunted Kirei with a smirk.
Issei roared in anger and threw another punch, which shattered a tree but completely missed its main target once again.
"Come on I know trolls with more grace and speed than you," mocked Kirei, frustrating Issei even more.
[BOOST!]
Issei's power increased and he tried to punch Kotomine once more. This time, his punch managed to actually graze the priest who leant backwards of the way, the hit taking some his hair with it. Of course, he had only managed to do this because Kirei was limiting himself to peak human abilities at the most.
"So it is you," echoed a voice from the Boosted Gear, startling everyone there. "It's been a long time."
Kotomine quickly regained his composure as he realized who was speaking and smiled. "Ah Ddriag," greeted Kotomine with a grin. "Its been a while."
"I take it these people don't know who you are?" asked Ddraig in curiosity and getting a nod from the fake priest. "I guess I can keep it to myself for now."
"Thank you, old friend," said Kirei in gratitude before smirking. "So, Ddraig, are you still into Salsa dancers?"
"You are not going to let me forget that, are you? It was one time, one!" yelled Ddraig with a groan. At this point, everyone had stopped what they were doing to watch the byplay. Rias, especially, was curious to see if she'd find out more about her reluctantly admitted crush.
"Nope," said Kirei with a snicker. "I am never going to forget a certain incident involving three hundred gallons of ketchup either."
"Hey! Damn you! How do you feel about me reminding you about a certain foxy ex-flame of yours?" Ddraig snapped back in annoyance.
"Hey we were only friends," Kotomine snapped back. "And besides we never got past the flirting stage."
"Yeah right," said Ddraig with a scoff.
"And as I recall," continued Kirei, trying to change the subject when he saw Rias narrowing her eyes at the information she was receiving and the unmistakable jealous glint in her eyes."You're the one who screwed up that time when we tried pranking Albion."
"Oh for the love of-" growled Ddraig. "It was a great set up! It was not my fault!"
"How was it a great set up?" demanded Kirei incredulously. "It involved mystery meat and a hundred and forty jars of mayonnaise. That's not a prank, that's just weird."
"It would have been hilarious if that bastard white dragon had just gone where I'd planned," defended Ddraig with a whine. "How was I to know that he'd change his plans at the last second?"
"You're his rival. That sort of thing should occur to you," shot back Kirei with a mocking smile.
"You know what? Screw you!" said Ddraig, now sulking. "Stupid bastard always getting pranks to work..."
Issei was stunned, having not gotten a word in edgewise during the entire conversation. He was so surprised that there was something alive inside his Sacred Gear that he'd been rendered mute during the entire thing.
"W-wait just a second now!" stammered a stunned Issei. "There's someone inside my Sacred Gear and you can talk?!"
"I can do more than talk," replied Ddraig with a sneer in his tone. "I can articulate. Which is more than I can say for you."
That was how Issei discovered the presence of the Welsh dragon inside the Boosted Gear. Kirei walked away and decided that it was best to leave Issei alone with his newly discovered partner.
"So who is Kotomine really?" asked Issei as the rest of the Peerage leaned forward in curiosity. "You seemed really familiar with him."
The whole peerage leaned in interest at the dragons reply, especially one crimson-haired King.
"That guy is…" Ddraig paused as the peerage leaned in closer. "A wandering priest."
They all face vaulted and let out groans of annoyance at being denied answers once again.
Harry woke up with a groan as his head felt as if a thousand construction workers were working overtime inside it. Thankfully, being God had its perks and the hangover instantly disappeared at the wave of a hand.
Looking around, Harry's eyes widened when he realized he was in a prison cell. Seeing a guard pass by, Harry quickly got up and called him. "Hey! Why am I locked up in here?!"
The guard looked incredulous at his question. "You really don't remember? You were really hammered last night, weren't you? You were arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct as well as assaulting a police officer."
"Drunk and disorderly conduct?" asked Harry in shock. "Assaulting a police officer?!"
"Yeah," continued the guard with a smile. "I wasn't there but the boys said you cleaned out three casinos before going to the highest building and tossing the winnings over the edge of said building while proclaiming yourself God. Apparently, you started spouting some Bible shit about being God and how you're giving money to the poor or some such. Then, you went out, assaulted a police officer and stole his cop car before going around screaming how you would punish all the evil-doers since it's your job as God." The guard just shrugged with a smile. "All in all, not too out of the ordinary for a night here in Vegas."
Harry's eyes widened at the guard's words, even as said guard walked away. "Vegas?! How the hell did I get here?! Last thing I remember I was-"
Harry's eyes widened even further when he remembered his last memory of what he guessed was the night before. He had stayed up late with Rias once more and they had talked strategy, with Rias trying to weasel out something about his past as well.
However, the important part was the memory of Rias serving him tea and him drinking it.
Instantly realizing that Rias had gotten her revenge for the dog shit prank, Harry narrowed his eyes even as a part of him felt his respect rise for the female Devil. "That manipulative, evil little Devil! She drugged me!"
Despite his words, he couldn't help but let a small fond smile cross his face. Her actions were underhanded and manipulative, using his feelings for her to get revenge for his prank in an incredible way. She had probably spiked that tea with some sort of hallucinogen that could pass off as him being drunk before dropping him in Vegas where drunk priests were distressingly common.
He had only one thing say to that.
"Well played, my rival," said Harry solemnly. "Well played."
In the cell across from him, a large fat man who Harry knew was nicknamed Big Bubba eyed him. "Hey boy! Youse got a puuurty mouth!"
Harry sent the man a deadpan look even as his right eye twitched in annoyance.
Hours later, after kindly leaving Big Bubba in the hospital when said man tripped and hit his head against the wall... five times... Harry was walking out of Vegas, having erased all memory of his being there last night.
'Revenge shall be sweet, my dear Rias,' thought the God of Gods, already contemplating his revenge prank.
AN: And there's chapter 5!
I was so pumped from the last chapter that I finished this quickly. Hope you laugh as much as I did during the scenes, especially the last one. I totally got the idea from a mix of the movie Hangover and just what we all fear will happen when we're locked into a city jail. Lol.
Some Harry/Rias action this chapter. Next chapter will introduce the second girl with some development there as well as other gods and Harry's relationship with them.
As always, Read and Review!