Hellsing Kuoh Base
If it were possible, the tension in the air could be cut into with a butcher knife. This was due to the fact that the Gremory peerage was literally facing the ENTIRE Hellsing Japanese section within their home territory the morning following Rias's little… stunt, back at Issei's room.
Everyone sat within the base's living room which had been reorganized so that everyone could fit inside… as well as to make it less homey and more like a courtroom similar to the one that a certain pirate captain actor and lying manipulative water bitch engaged in their second legal batte.
Rias herself sat on a stool in the room's center looking like a deer caught in some headlights, refusing to meet anyone's gaze and looking like she wanted to disappear off the face of the earth. She couldn't even do that though, and she had discreetly tried to shortly after the preparations had been complete. Her peerage took seats positioned behind her like they were a jury looking down on her for her failure, each of them wearing different expressions. Though these expressions all had one thing in common: fear, fear and dread which dominated them so thoroughly that none of them, not even Akeno Rias' second in command, could act like her usual self.
Before them were the Hellsing members, with Meredith sitting atop a sofa opposite Rias with her arms crossed beneath her breasts (something which Koneko would have glowered at if these were normal circumstances) with her right leg hanging over her left. Begins her seat stood Vali and Kuroh who acted like silent bodyguards, both matching their boss's posture regarding their arms. Off to the side like some kind of 'spectators' sat Mio, Maria, Shelia, Hijikata, Arthur, Issei and Theseus. Asia fortunately was still being trained by the Exorcists in their temporary base so she wasn't able to make it here, something which the brunette dragon emperor couldn't help but be relieved at.
Nevertheless, none of them were too happy to see the Gremory peerage, especially Theseus who had his trident at the ready with the weapon leaning against his arm shoulder, the male in turn leaning against a nearby wall. His face was hidden beneath some ominous shadows but clouds of vapor left his mouth every time he exhaled, demonstrating all too well how utterly pissed off the shark king was.
For a while, nobody said anything due to the tension in the air. The Hellsing group remained as silent as statues, not moving an inch from their current positions yet their combined deadly auras suffocated the atmosphere around them… all of their irritation being pointed at Rias and her peerage by extension. Said peerage didn't DARE to say anything or even twitch, knowing just from this intensity that they were on thin ice at the moment and that the slightest miscalculation could spell disaster for their King… or worse.
Finally, Rias' silent pleas for something to change the stalemate were answered when the silence was broken by a magic circle that appeared on the Hellsing base's floor. A couple seconds passed before it glowed brightly for a bit as the light condensed into several figures, figures who walked out of the circle the moment that they were fully materialized.
One of them was a familiar red head male: Sirzechs, Rias older brother. He wore his classic devil Noble robes whilst striding forwards with the poise and stature someone of his position was supposed to have.
Following behind him in a subdued yet equally confident manner was a beautiful young woman appearing to be in her early twenties with back-length silver hair that featured a long braid on each side with small blue bows at the ends, while the rest was let down which ended in twin braids and silver eyes. Her attire, compared to Sirzechs, was significantly less extravagant and predominantly resembled a french Maid's attire from medieval times.
Rias widened her eyes in surprise to see her older brother. "Big brother! What are you doing here!?" she asked her brother with confusion on her face. As far as she was concerned, she didn't call for him and neither did her peerage as well.
Instead of the usual attitude he has when he was with Rias, he puts in disappointment which was aimed at his younger sister. "Trying to fix the collateral damage you have caused that goes against the agreement we made with the UK faction. I'm disappointed in you Rias, very disappointed." He shook his head while expressing his disappointment to Rias who looked very hurt.
To hear it from her own brother, not only from him but Grayfia gave her own wordless disappointment in the form of a hard stare, which stung even worse because she didn't even feel it necessary to say anything. Her actions and posture spoke volumes.
Breathing through his nose, the oldest Gremory continued to speak. "You are only lucky that Grayfia sensed something wrong in Kuoh city and informed me about a potential disaster to not only the reputation of the Gremory family but also ALL of the devil race. If I wasn't here…..I dare not say what would happen next." Sirzech put his hand on his forehead, trying to avoid a huge headache that was coming to his mind. "Mother and father should've been more strict with your actions." He put down his hand and hardened his expression. "When I'm done, finished with fixing the damage you have caused, we will speak more of this at home. No expectations, do you understand Rias Gremory? Because I hope this will not happen ever again."
"..."
Rias was silent, she did not answer back to her big brother for a moment as she put her head down in both shame and disgrace. Never before had her eldest brother scolded or apprehended her. And now she's getting the full geist of the consequences, she was not getting away from this one
"I will not repeat myself Rias, do you understand?"
"...Yes, Lord Lucifer."
Sirzech nodded his head in acceptance. "Good." he turned to face the leader of the Hellsing Japanese branch organization. He leaned his whole upper body forward and bowed to them in an English manner since they are from London. "Forgive my sister for causing so much of a disgraceful act she caused yesterday. Rest assured she will be punished for this, I promise."
"Spare me the theatrics, Lucifer." Meredith uncrossed her arms and leaned forward while sharpening her eyes. "I care not for what is happening now. What your sister has done is despicable on multiple levels, from violating our constitutional agreements by acting unilaterally to daring to steal someone both under our protective custody AND a recent recruit. Such conduct is more befitting for a wild animal than a free-thinking individual of her station." She stated calmly…
…
…
… then the floodgates opened!
BOOM-FWOOSH!
At once, an explosion of bloodlust erupted from Meredith's form even as she just sat there not doing anything. Her eyes practically bore holes into her targets of aggression and if it were possible, her laser-like gaze (with how pointed it looked) could have very well headshot the two older Devils in front of her like they were stationary targets in Call of Duty (something which the boys liked playing in their off time) and she were a sniper primed for the kill.
Immediately Sirzechs and Grayfia tensed and stood straighter than they had ever done before. Rias and her peerage behind the adults turned corpse-like in terms of skin complexion. Before them sat a human, but yet her demeanor resembled something completely different, something unlike her. It took the form of a massive, looming visage that hovered behind her, it's unnatural gaze leering at the two with barely restrained bloodlust.
'Wha…what the…?!' Was all Rias could think as she struggled with all her might to retain control over her bladder. She did NOT want to admit that Meredith had successfully scared her to the point of nearly making her faint.
Meanwhile, Meredith's eyes closed yet her bloodlust didn't diminish in the least. In fact, her subordinates EACH released their own bloodlust with some being more noticeable than others (#cough#Theseus and Hijikata#cough#). Before long however, her eyes once more opened, and her glare could have incinerated the very heavens themselves with how dark and foul it looked. "I am angry, Sirzechs, EXTREMELY angry… so I will NOT overlook this." she gripped her hands hard and veins showed underneath her gloves, displaying much anger she's also feeling. "The only reason why I allowed Gremory and Sitiri to say in Kuoh city was a sign of my good faith to the both of them in hopes that they would honor the agreement when you gave us this land. For months, we have had to fix their filthy mess around the city from day one, unearthing conspiracies and piles of problems they in their own selfish pursuit of their own agendas neglected. I only hoped that the original owners would see our actions as governors as an example and learn from it so that they could improve themselves later on. But alas, I was wrong."
That word felt like a huge boulder that got slammed against Rias' gut. To hear that Meredith had hoped that her example would inspire her and Sona to improve their behavior and act like proper leaders. And instead, she blew it, all because of her desperate attempt to get out of her situation.
Seeing that her efforts have yielded results, Meredith continued her speech whilst keeping the pressure on. "Like what a certain person says, the devil can't keep it in their pants, similar to the Greek gods." She insulted the devil libido, comparing them to the Greek faction. "With these accusations being brought to light before the true owners of this land, the Shinto's will come to a decision whether to remove the devils from their land. My superior, Sir Integra, WILL be informed of this and when she finds out….." She stops for a moment as the pressure suddenly turns cold, making the opposite occupant shiver like it was winter season. "You best pray that she is in a good mood or else she will send HIM. You know who I'm talking about."
Instantly Theseus perked up, his bloodlust temporarily abated by the potential chance to meet his master once more. His fanged smile which glowed over his shadowy face, he just can't wait to see his master once more.
Sirzechs widened his eyes before forcing himself to calm down. He glanced over at his sister who she still had her head down. Looking away from her and closing his eyes. 'Rias…why did you have to make things more complicated than they already were? You should've known better when dealing with Hellsing themself.' he mentally said to himself while scolding Rias for her actions.
Yet, he couldn't say he was COMPLETELY surprised at this development either. Sirzechs knew fine well that Rias faced a situation most would never want to be in, as shown by a recent survey he had once had Serafall conduct across the underworld in which the survey asked primarily younger Devils (of Rias' age or somewhat higher) on what they thought about situations like the one she was in. The responses had been overwhelmingly negative, from both the males and the females, creating evidence towards yet another change that needed to take place regarding their outdated society.
A change that would be fought tooth and nail against by the older conservative members of their race such as those damn Elders.
Having followed his sister's situation closely over the years, as well as the meetings between her father and a certain family, Sirzechs had anticipated that things would be spread along without Rias' consent and permission due to seeing how 'greedy' they were. Greed was a Devil's best friend, part of their very nature, which was why they usually had to rely on contracts as a way of controlling that greed. There were far too many cases throughout history proving that excessive greed could only end in one's downfall, Sirzechs had seen a bunch of them himself and studied the lot throughout history. It was one of the reasons that led to the Devil Civil War too, a desire for change compared to remaining the same. Rias also likely anticipated it but unlike him, she had the gall to act in ways that were unbefitting of her station, as well as the lack of care for any political scene she may cause.
He should have expected this, but he didn't and thus, the Sirzechs would have to bear the brunt of it.
Opening his eyes, he prepared to make a comeback to Sir Integra's apprentice knowing full well that she may be just like her teacher when it comes to politics. "I understand the full consequences of what my sister has done. As per our agreement to the Shinto when we rented their lands. At first I thought she and Serall's little sister Sona would be able to handle governing the territory we gave them, I thought this would help Rias hone her leadership skills, but like you said she failed to meet those expectations."
Meredith maintained her expression, remaining unaffected by the assessing that he had been doing much like her teacher. She even had this feeling of 'i'm so done with this' right now. "That's hardly the case, Lucifer." she stated coldly.
"Forgive me lady Meredi-"
"Ordinton."
Sirzechs winced at the harsh tone that was accompanied by the narrowed eyed glare that Meredith shot him with. That all but confirmed how little she regarded him. "...Ordinton. it's only natural that I make mistakes, Ordinton. I am currently swamped with my duties at home, keeping various interested parties from destroying the last fragile strings binding the peace my people are currently enjoying." Nonetheless, Sirzechs still tried to explain things from his perspective if only so that Meredith could be convinced to be a bit more compromising, as foolish a hope that may be considering who her mentor in politics was.
Sir Integra was not a woman to be messed with just from her political behavior alone, there were many supernatural factions who regarded her with the same wariness as they did Alucard. It wasn't her physical strength that worried them when it came to her, it had been her will, the way she looked at people like they could combust into flames at any time. When in a room with her, it felt like talking with a slab of iron, which helped him understand why she had the moniker of the 'iron maiden'.
"You have to understand that there are elements in leadership that we cannot control, especially when our subordinates are as rowdy as they are." Sirzechs declared, briefly glancing towards Theseus who glowered at him in response, making him internally smirk at having his point proven. A fact which he knew Meredith to also be aware of given the way her gaze hardened but nothing left her mouth. "It is impossible for us to control all of them, we can only try to smooth over the aftermath left in their wake."
"This comes from your own negligence as well Gremory, your weakness as a leader that impedes your efforts to bring your subordinates into the fold. I don't need to tell what has happened in the underworld because I can already guess what each pillar family are doing and half of them are correct." Meredith sneered back, wiping the smirk off Sirzechs face whose eyes started to narrow.
"What do you mean, may I ask Mrs Ordinton?"
Meredith did her best to remain neutral-faced and not roll her eyes, knowing that such a thing could reflect badly on her image. However Sirzechs was really testing her patience here. "Oh come now, none of us are fools… well, most of us here." she stated coldly, her hands interlocked atop her lap. "The Underworld may seem like it is unified under Satan's rule, but that facade vanishes when prying deeper. Your faction has been steadily losing support over the years with each of the failures your administration possesses piling up within the Devils' consciousness." Taking a pause, the woman sighed as she placed an index finger and thumb atop her nose's bridge. "You truly don't seem to understand it."
Silently arching a brow, Sirzechs asked the unspoken question of what her meaning behind those words whilst behind him, Rias' bristled at the insults being directed at her brother. She was only stopped from intervening by a hard glare from Grayfia, whose frosty gaze doused the rebellious flames within the female redhead.
Silently noting this in her mind, Meredith decided to elaborate. "You Sirzechs Lucifer, no, Sirzechs GREMORY…" she spat, and it was all the older male could do to keep his composure when hearing her address him with his family name and not his title as 'lucifer'. Those words were telling enough, though the woman wasn't finished there. "You seem to misunderstand one crucial thing about Devils: they value strength in their leadership. Not just physical strength, but strength of mind, strength of will, and strength of heart. Why do you think that they put up with your predecessors, the original satans, for so long? Simple, because unlike you they were both cruel AND powerful. They took no nonsense, and they made sure people knew what happens if they dare to cross them. They had public massacres to spread that premise, and that resulted in the Devils universally following them through fear of their own lives. Devils are a cowardly race, more so than others due to how powerful their emotions can be as creatures of desire. They were horrific yes, but they also had the respect of their underlings because of their leadership."
Off to the side, Issei looked over to Mio and (while trying to ignore the sight of her huge honkers since Theseus would likely crush his balls if he tried anything), asked her something barely above a whisper. "What's she saying, Mio? Why is she comparing that big red guy to Satans?"
Looking back at him, Mio gave her answer after thinking back on the history lessons about the underworld she had with her mentor. "Its said that the new satan faction only came into existence when the original satans died. Nobody knows how they died, but they did and their direct children were said to be in line to replace them. However, because they weren't around anymore, Devils who were dissatisfied with their rule launched a revolution, leading to a civil war which only made things worse for the Underworld. Sirzechs was part of that civil war, being around 60 years old with the war lasting for over 500 years. I think what Meredith is saying is that they would never have gotten the support they did if the original satans were still alive because of not only their physical strength but their ability as leaders to keep them together. There was almost a fanatical reverence in Devils towards them at the time, especially since they often fought in the front lines with their troops and were utterly ruthless to their enemies."
"They sound hardcore…"
"Hardcore would be an understatement, Issei. I heard that people like the UK's prime ministers Winston Churchil, Margaret Thatcher, the american president Teddie Rosevelt and the German Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck are the closest to human versions of the original satans."
Ignoring the hushed conversation between Issei, Mio and Maria who had interjected into it, Meredith kept her gaze focused on the Devils before her. "They would not let such plots go unpunished, yet you let those fools go without as much as a slap on the wrist simply because you 'fear' their power. At this point, you're not the ones holding the peace together, and that's your problem. You're WEAK, you let these old codgers who refuse to change rule everything for you and shift the blame onto others when their own failings are brought to light. That isn't a leader, GREMORY, that is a puppet."
Sirzech remained silent for a few minutes, carefully thinking of the optimal words to suit this situation and smooth it over… but so far, his efforts were rendered moot. It became increasingly apparent that everything he could think of, each trick in the book was all worthless before lady Ordintons' eyes. The way she stopped him from speaking her first name meant he had lost any respect from her, the way she looked at him reminded him so much of the way that Sir Integra eyed him in their meeting after those elders had launched that failed assassination attempt. He tried to come up with something but then there was one thought that came to view. Immediately he grimaced at the thought and wished he had never thought of it…
But what choice did he have? The Devils had already been on thin ice with both Hellsing AND the Shinto pantheon for their own reasons. The Shinto Pantheon had been exasperated at all of the leaders the Devils had posted who had been failures at maintaining the peace their people sought, leaders who failed to uphold… HER legacy, the only one whom the Shinto members actually appreciated universally even SUSANOO of all people respected her. Sirzechs knew for a fact that even with Serafall's assistance in diplomacy that one false move and the Shinto faction would kick them out of the country without exception.
As for Hellsing, the fact that the Devils had soured their image in their eyes with those assassination attempts and the way that Alucard probably warned them about his kind was bad enough. He could still remember the utter HUMILIATION he had felt when Sir Integra had blasted him by calling him an incompetent leader who couldn't control their underlings, someone who listened to the masses instead of leading them by example, something his predecessors for all the horrific things they did were MORE than capable of doing.
But then the redhead male Devil considered how practically ANY supernatural faction would be treated with caution and distrust by the Hellsing Organization. He remembered well of the UK faction which may not have the same amount of power in it's hayday during the era of the British Empire, but nonetheless it remanded a force to be reckoned with for any entity. There may be a growing anti british/UK faction sentiment within and without the faction, destablizing it's foundation, but that faction practically GREW with adversity from it's infancy. Nothing short of something catastrophic would shake them… not even the Devils no matter how much he would want to.
BOTH of these factions were not to be offended, yet Sirzechs had to take the blame for offending BOTH of them.
He could just FEEL the jeers that the old satan faction would launch at him for this.
With the heavy heart, and hard decision he decided to make his choice. There was only one way to end this diplomatically after all, as much as it pained him to admit it. But this had to be done if only to salvage what little remained of the Devils' honor and reputation. "Lady Ordinton….I know why Rias has broken the agreement we made. There is a reason why she's as desperate as she is." he begun to say, catching both Rias and Grayfia's intention. Their gazes turned into ones of shock and disbelief, as if they couldn't believe what Sirzechs was about to do.
This did not go unnoticed by the Hellsing faction let alone their boss, who slightly leaned forwards at the news. "Desperate?" Meredith raised her eye brows, still maintaining her expression though internally she remained rather curious about this development. From the way Sirzechs said it and how Rias looked away, it told her that there was more to the redhead's actions. "What would make that child so desperate that she would get into the pants of our recruit?"
Internally relieved that he had aroused her curiosity instead of her anger, Sirzechs made to explain. "Its about the-"
WHOOSH!
Before he could complete his sentence, a bright glow appeared on the floor next to the chair Rias currently occupied, and in the following seconds a new Magic Circle formed itself into existence. The symbols changed into an unfamiliar patterns.
Meredith widened her eyes before angrily getting up from her seat and unleashed her own aura. "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS, SIRZECHS?!" She bellowed out, her anger erupting when the last restraints got broken.
In turn the older redhead widened his eyes in surprise and shock… though this soon turned into a mix of dread and anger as he cursed under his breath. "Dammit, he wasn't supposed to come here!" Gritting his teeth, the Lucifer satan turned his attention to Grayfia who also looked to be in stunned disbelief. "Grayfia, didn't you relay the message to the Phenex family that they were to not interrupt this important meeting?" he questioned/demanded of his queen wondering what the hell the said family was thinking.
"I did, lord Lucifer." She neutrally replied, nodding her head to her King though judging from how she had stiffened so discreetly, she seemed to have been affected by this change as much as the rest of them. "I told lord Phenex that his son is not to enter the human world until any further notic-"
"ANSWER ME! OR ELSE I WILL HAVE ALUCARD BE BROUGHT INTO THIS MATTER!" Meredith interrupted them whilst her subordinates each started radiating additional malice, toxifying the atmosphere with their hostility combined with the horror created by mentioning the no life king's name.
Sirzechs, Grayfia, Rias(And also Maria) paled in dread and shivered in fright, though Rias slightly more so since she knew EXACTLY who would be coming. She could think of only one person who would do something as brazen as this.
Soon flames started to surge forth forming a ring around the circle. The room's temperature practically skyrocketed within a few seconds, sort of like when men get caught cheating on their wives with their mistresses… but it wasn't enough to get rid of the chills invoked from the Hellsing faction's collective fury.
From there, a figure strode out from the flames: a tall and handsome young man in his early 20's with short blond hair and dark blue eyes.
His outfit consisted of a burgundy blazer with gold embroidery on the right with matching pants and black dress shoes. Underneath his open blazer lay a white mostly unbuttoned dress shirt, giving a slight view to his chest.
Meredith glanced at him before slowly, almost like a corpse, shifting her attention to Sirzechs with eyes like a dead person's. "Who. Is. He?" she asked with a fake sense of calmness. Though, her tone matched with the demonic voice Theseus had exhibited when he had intercepted the younger Gremory when she'd snuck into Issei's room.
The blonde(Not Theseus, the other one) ignored the scenario, and confidently walked towards Rias like he owned the situation he was in, stopping right beside her. "My lovely Rias. I've come to see you."
CCREAKK!
Veins started to appear across Meredith's forehead and cheeks at being ignored by this new arrival in her OWN HOME no less, completely going against her usual teachings on how to be a proper lady. One could just SEE how she was inching ever closer to calling out the no-life kings name and turning this whole room into a bloody smear. If that wasn't enough, then off to the side Theseus was also in a similar situation with his anger judging by the sea green glow that was starting to form within his eyes… though like her, he kept on battling his inner beast's desire to cause a massacre since the last time he did, it did not end well. Given how Meredith's light blue aura surrounded her, her sacred gear appearing on her forehead in response to its wielders' emotions one could imagine how she might not be so against him letting loose. The scarred boy had his usual dark green aura surrounding him, lightning cackling and dancing around his upper body.
Behind their leader, Vali and Kuroh mirrored their colleagues in terms of radiating their respective energies and killing intent, but their fury was NOTHING compared to that of Meredith and Theseus.
Sirzech and Grayfia paled in dread when they took a glance Hellsings expression. Sirzech quickly shifted his expression from dread to furious.
Apparently the male devil did not even paid attention to his surroundings and instead threw his arms around the obviously uncomfortable Rias, leaning down so their faces were inches apart. A smug smirk plastered itself onto his lips as a small chuckle accompanied his following words. "Now then, Rias. Let's go and take a look at the ceremony hall. The date of ceremony has been decide-"
"Riser Phenex!"
The male devil, named Riser Phenex, raised his eyebrow when he heard someone unexpectedly say his name, and with a tone which he did not appreciate either. His eyes briefly narrowed in irritation before he stood up and turned around while speaking. "Who dares to call my na-" he began to say, but stopped for a moment when he saw Sirzechs with that furious expression on his face. The blonde man widened his eyes in surprise and shock to see one of the leaders of the devil faction here. "Lord Lucifer? What are you doing here in the human wor-"
"Never mind that! What in the name of Lord Satan himself!(Mio stiffened when Sirzechs invoked her fathers name) are you doing here?! You were given clear instruction to not enter the human world, not to enter Kuoh, until I am finished with an important meeting!" the angry Satan demanded, doing nothing to hide the anger he felt behind his stern demeanor.
In stark contrast however, a mildly sweating Riser played the anger off with a casual dismissal and disrespect to Sirzechs, bowing his head to him. "Forgive me, lord Lucifer. But I have come to meet with my beloved fiance." Riser said, grasping Rias by wrapping an arm beneath her right armpit and lifting her up from her seat before bringing her close to him. This forced Rias to bury her face into his chest area, something which she CLEARLY did not appreciate judging from what could be seen of her expression. Though whether or not Riser knew or cared would be up for debate as he kept his lopsided, playboy-like gaze on the man before him. "The wedding plans have been moving along smoothly, and I wished to pay her a visit to bring her the good news."
Rias grimaced and, after a brief tug of war between the two of them, managed to push Riser off of her and get some much-needed distance between them. "Get off of me Riser." She spat, her face contorted with disgust. She would have to wash these clothes she was wearing (having put her uniform back on after the whole debacle at Issei's house) a thousand times over to get the man's stench out of them. They were her favorite clothes too, since they signified the human life that she enjoyed so much, and Riser had DARED to desecrate them with the cologne that he usually wore which often drove her to gagging fits in the past.
On her side of things, Meredith's anger slowly left her when she heard multiple words like 'fiance', 'beloved' and 'wedding plans', words which implied something much bigger if her knowledge of ancient medieval customs was accurate. Before long she put it all together within her mind and then came up with the following conclusion. "Marriage plan." She muttered under her breath, a hiss escaping her lips as she put her hand atop her forehead and shook her head in annoyance.
Behind her, Kuroh raised an eyebrow in confusion when Meredith muttered those words while Vali just scowled, not saying anything. He didn't need to, his superhuman hearing doing the work for him. "What was that Meredith, I didn't hear that well. Did you say marriage plan?" the samurai male questioned her.
When Theseus heard those words, he widened his eyes before shaking his head, mimicking his leader's action. "Goddamnit, so that's what's going on… I should've expected those bluebloods to stick to their old ass, outdated traditions."
Mio was literally confused, she didn't understand what was going on, the way that both Meredith and Theseus were facepalming themselves brought her into some new level of confusion she's trying to comprehend. She decided to ask one person who might know what's going on. "Mr. Kuroh." She called out his name.
"Hmm? What is it Mio?" Kuroh shifted his attention to the redhead girl(The one in Hellsing group).
"What's this all about marriage plans?"
Kuroh perked up, standing up straight. "Ah! You still haven't completed the etiquette training. Allow me to give you some insight about the current situation in better terms. (CLEAR THROAT)!" He clears his throat before preparing a speech to Mio. "You see Mio, the devils are afraid that each different household will become extinct over the years. They lost a great number of pure-blood Devils in the last war. Even if the war has ended, their rivalry with the Fallen Angels and God hasn't ended yet. It's not rare for the successors of pure-blood Devil to get killed in the worthless battle against them, which leads to the household becoming extinct. So for a pure-blood Devil that also happens to be a High-class Devil, getting together would be the obvious solution for the forces of Devils. A pure-blood High-class Devil. Even you know that these children will be important from now on, right?"
This explanation got further reinforced by Riser, who had overheard the conversation although he aimed his words towards Rias, so he didn't pay the other two much mind. "The newly produced Devils. The ones like your servants, the reincarnated Devils, are expanding in strength, but that would make us, the High-class Devils with an old history background, lose our place. There are old nobles who get close to the reincarnated Devils because they are very powerful. Well, that might be alright. The newly produced Devils are also important for our future. But we can't allow the pure-blood Devils to go extinct right? You and I were chosen in order to prevent the pure-bloods from going extinct. My house is safe because I have my older brothers. But there are only two siblings in your house. And your brother is someone who left the house. Then there would only be you, Rias, who can inherit the House of Gremory. If you don't take a husband, the House of Gremory will go extinct in your generation. Are you trying to crush the household that has been continuing for a very long time? Because of the past war, there is not even half the number of Devils who were referred to as "72 pillars". This marriage has the future of the Devils on the line."
Nevertheless, stubbornness and a genuine dislike resulted in the following words leaving an equally stern Rias' mouth. "I will marry whom I acknowledge, and it's not you Riser." she spat, refusing to comply with her fiance.
Sirzechs interject into the argument. From the way things are getting out of control here, based on how the two devils looked to be close to brawling, the devils lives are at stake here. Worse, if those two were to go at it in their territory Hellsing would not stand idly by and let it happen, and worse the Shinto could get involved which would shred any mercy they had left for them. "But that does not give you the right to disrupt an important meeting as this one Riser. I am willing to overlook this if you return back to the underworld at once!"
Riser shifted his attention to Sirzechs. "Lord Lucifer, surely you know that love is just as much of a desire as Greed, and that we Devils are creatures of desire. We take what we want when we want it. You should know as well considering who you chose to give your heart to." Basically what Riser is saying to Sirzech is that he doesn't have any moral higher ground thanks to a certain someone whom Sirzechs had married, the Phenex boy practically insulting her in his face without actually doing so.
CCREAKK!
Sirzech almost reached his boiling point at the implications behind Risers' words, considering how much power he is radiating with his red aura leaking out. Pulsating veins could be seen across his hands. Judging from the way Riser smugly smirked at him, he knew very well who was in control over this situation as well as how impactful his words had been on the Satan. 'Damn you Riser and that pride of yours! Don't you know you'll get us all killed because of that attitude of yours?!' he raged inside his mind, already imagining how Hellsing would respond if threatened by this asshole's prideful nature.
Before things could spiral out of control, the leader of the Hellsing japanese branch decided to interject into the conversation. "Enough of this, let me see the marriage contract." Meredith basically demanded.
Grayfia for the first time since she arrived here with her husband turned to the said woman and delivered a verbal response. "Forgive me for saying this, but this is a personal matter between the Gremory and Phenex family. You have no rights to enter the devils affai-"
"Shut your mouth, one more word comes out of that filthy tongue and I will have one of my associates sew it together." Meredith threatened Grayfia, making her close her mouth an instant. Normally Sirzech wouldn't tolerate this insult to his queen in more ways than one, but this was Hellsing their facing. Meredith continued to speak. "Since a member of the Devil race and more importantly a Gremory, which is this brat…" pausing to gesture to an indignant Rias, Meredith continued. "Residing in Kuoh, we Hellsing have the right to enter the clan's affairs since it would potentially disrupt our governing efforts. Page 34 section 8 line 7 of our agreement states that 'Hellsing has the right to enter any political affairs if it is proven to impede their governing.' So let me see that damn contract, the original one signed by both clans, NOW."
Immediately shut down by Meredith's words, Grayfia complied with her wishes in an instant. As a society based on Contracts and abiding by them, one of the jobs that Grayfia was usually tasked with was memorizing countless contracts so that they may be enforced on the participants. Thus, she knew exactly what Meredith was referring to, and a quick look towards her Husband told her everything she needed to know. Putting her hand forward and conjuring a mini magic circle which glows for a while before a pair of papers are conjoined at the table. The auburn girl took the paper and read through the contents.
For a while she read through the contract, examining it intently and making sure to memorize the entire thing. In less than 5 minutes she was done reading the contract. "In this original contract, what it says here is….." Pausing for a moment, she ran an index finger across one of the lines while recanting it for the observers. 'Rias Gremory is to be wed by Riser Phenex after she graduates the human world's Kuoh Academy's university branch, if she doesn't cause damage or anger the Shinto gods in any way, so per say Zeoticus Gremory and Lord Phenex.' This has their signatures as witnessed by Sirzechs Lucifer Gremory and…" she looked up, paying attention to the devil group(Not including Vali, Mio or Maria). "Serafall Leviathan." She finished reading that particular line and the contract. "Are these terms agreed and notarized?"
Sirzechs nodded his head. "Yes, that is correct." he stated, wondering where Meredith was going with this. He had no idea where this could end up, but with how she was acting he hoped this didn't blow up in his face
Humming at this, Meredith put the contract down and placed her hands over her lap. "Then by law, Rias Gremory still has several years yet to spend time in the human world before the wedding ceremony's assigned date. Nothing in the contract stipulates that the date may be changed in any way. According to the devil's society and law, from what I learned anyways, Devils are centered around contracts in the first place to reign in their desires. Strict rules have been written into official decrees that have lasted for centuries and are constantly updated to fit with any minute changes that Devil society undergoes. It is given the precedent that to a Devil, their word is LITERALLY law and any attempt at subterfuge is to be met with ruthless punishment decided by those who have been vexed by the defendants trickery. Such punishments can range from minor sanctions to outright mass extinction."
Rias widened her eyes and had a hopeful feeling inside of her that's growing. One mirrored by those amongst her peerages' ranks. "What…does this mean?" she whispered, trying to keep her face neutral yet her inner emotions still somewhat slipped through.
Meredith shifts her attention to Rias, tossing the contract back towards Grayfia who then disperses it by sending it back through the same magic circle which spawned it in the first place. "What it means girl, is that there will be no wedding until further notice. As stated in the original contract, you cannot change what was written and signed, so consider this as a favor I've done for you as much as I loathe it."
Theseus widened his eyes, as he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Are you freaking kidding me here?" He questioned, bringing everyone's attention over to him. His body radiated his own anger-fuelled dark green aura as his glowing eyes bore into Meredith's own. "You SERIOUSLY offering some BENEFITS to that brat for basically shitting all over us for some petty grievances?!"
"Ignoring how you view arranged marriages as petty…" the auburn-haired woman began, noticing some complicated looks forming on Maria and Mios' faces at the words the male had said. She could imagine what those two were thinking about that. "This is merely me stating what the contract decrees. That brat WILL be punished for her actions, whatever her reasons were." she stated, narrowing her gaze at the redhead Gremory who trembled under the anger behind them. "And I have ZERO intentions on being lenient. You may not know these Theseus but Devil laws are even stricter than human ones. They make China's policies look like paradise by comparison."
Oh, she was severely understating that last bit Meredith believed, as she had studied Devil laws and societal rules immensely before coming to Kuoh. She'd learned some startling things about it, one being that in Devil society their word was law in the most literal sense possible, and there were a whole arsenal of punishments that were available to those who suffered from the broken contracts. Many of these laws were first put into place during the time of the original Satan and she had gotten a good insight into how ruthless that bastard was to his own people by making mass extinction of entire houses a possible punishment with all their possessions handed over to the military for use in the great war.
Nevertheless, given the way Devils have acted over the centuries she could understand WHY he did that knowing how they were creatures of desire and that chaos could very well be self-destructive on their society.
Riser narrowed his eyes and glared at Meredith, crossing his arms as he stepped up to the woman, looming over her using his height to try and make himself look more intimidating. "You seem to have the gall to say those words in front of me, human. Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"
"Just some incompetent devil who thinks too highly of themself." Meredith replied smoothly, not being intimidated by the devil in front of her. She brought up her hand after leaning back on her chair, her index finger and thumb together in a snapping position. "Do you know what this is? Do you Riser Phenex? With just a snap of a finger I can just simply wipe out your entire family."
"?!"
Sirzech, Grayfia, Rias and her peerage each gasped with expressions of stunned disbelief over what she had said. In any other circumstance they would have called that as a bluff but considering who it was that said it such presumptions didn't manifest within their minds at all.
Ignoring their reactions, Meredith still continued her speech whilst never breaking her gaze away from the blonde devil looming over her. She also ignored the way her bodyguards Vali and Kuroh looked ready to intervene in the more… classic Hellsing manner. "Did you not learn from past events what happens if anyone, even any gods, attempt to mess with the Hellsing organization? Let me enlighten you, we make an example of those who try to threaten Hellsing. I can just simply snap this finger and HE…would be very delighted to raze the Phenex family to ashes." darkness enveloped Meredith's face, her eyes glinting over the shadows as they sharpened. "Do you take me for a fool, Phenex? Because I can very much well call HIM anytime and anywhere as I like." she spat, her tone as venomous as a serpent's toxins.
"Hmph." Riser scoffed at Meredith's threat. Despite the seriousness the girl sported, he remained unfazed by her words ``You think the phenex family would ever be afraid of one mere person? Our regeneration is superior to that of any being in the world. If we wanted to, we could get rid of Hellsing if they dared try to intrude on our lands." Riser boasted, grinning smugly while gesturing to himself.
'Shit, shit, shit! Riser, you fucking MORON!' At this point Sirzechs was deliberating on eliminating Riser himself to hell with the rules, because if he kept going on the former Gremory feared that the arrogant fool would bring Hellsing's wrath down upon their heads. Something that seemed more likely judging from how the said organization's members were starting to radiate increasing amounts of killing intent. If he didn't think of some way to get Riser to leave soon, things would go from bad to downright apocalyptic for the Devils as a species!
Riser on the other hand, paid no attention to how the Satan looked to be inches away from wrecking him a new one. Instead, his gaze shifted to the side where a pair of different prizes lay in wait for his superior self. Those being two hot-looking ladies sitting next to a wimpy-looking brown haired kid and the moment he saw them his eyes perked up and a smug grin formed on his face. "Well-well, what do we have here?" He wondered, chuckling while stepping away from Meredith. "Why did nobody tell me such fine ladies were part of this establishment? I should have worn my best suit."
"U-Um…" Mio shuddered in revulsion at the gaze being directed at her by this arrogant Devil, ESPECIALLY when she followed his line of sight to her chest area, immediately cluing her in to where he was looking. She glared angrily at him as a result while crossing her arms in front of her chest, her power briefly flashing through her eyes. "You DO have a fiance, you know, so stop trying to flirt with other girls when she's RIGHT THERE." She stated while trying to match Meredith's coldness. Something she found easier to do than she'd expected, which also could be said about her own refusal to back down from the blonde Devil.
Mio REFUSED to let this asshole player push her around or use her for his own ends. Unlike him, she had a little something called standards.
Said Devil merely chuckled and brushed her words off. "That is of no importance, Rias and I are bound by both oath and contract to be wed no matter the circumstances, nobody will be able to contest the legal binding from such a contract. Therefore, we can do whatever the hell we want, or rather by we I mean myself since I am from a superior family to hers." Riser proclaimed, ignoring the HEATED glares sent his way by both Rias for the insults towards her family as well as Grayfia of all people.
Sirzechs looked like he was about to go nuclear.
Before she could respond, Mio's eyes widened somewhat when Maria stepped in front and threw her arms out in front of her charge in a protective manner. "Don't waste any more breath on this worm, Mio." she sneered, her eyes glowing with power as her own supernatural aura began to manifest. Irritation and fury flowed through the Succubus with the source being this smug bastard in front of them. A bastard who reminded Maria WAY too much of those whom she had to make 'concessions' to so she could help protect Mio during their days as nomads. "He's not even worth your time and effort."
"Oho!" Meanwhile Riser cackled somewhat darkly at the rudeness being directed towards him by this female. He'd seen that look plenty of times and judging from the way she was dressed like she was begging for attention he wouldn't mind giving her till she was his in mind, body and soul, he could guess what species she hailed from. "Such sluttiness coming from a Succubus isn't new, it appears. You do your race proud, creature." he sneered back, leaning forwards to which Maria held her ground. Though behind her defiance lay a layer of fear and dread that she desperately masked so that it wouldn't be used against her. "Why don't you just accept reality and come with me to somewhere private? My estate has sound proof walls, so your kind should be honored to service the mighty-"
GRAB-SLAM!
BOOM-CRACK!
"?!"
Everybody let out a unified gasp when out of nowhere, a black and yellow blur shot forth and slammed into Riser faster than one could blink. The blur grabbed him by his neck and pinned him to a nearby wall with the impact being so great it caused an indentation, cracks spreading out across the wall from that indentation.
That blur's true identity?
A ROYALLY pissed off Theseus.
"You… touch her… and you're dead…"
The said blonde Shark King practically snarled at the shocked Phenex Devil, having immediately acted before anyone could stop him. He didn't care if the beast inside of him had been unleashed nor did he care for the consequences. The moment he saw that Maria and Mio were being harassed by this guy, specifically how he regarded the latter of the two as some hooker on the street to be used in any way he saw fit IN HIS PRESENCE no less, the gloves had come off.
In his free hand, Theseus held his Trident as if he were going to pierce his prey through his torso while all around him various water sharks suddenly formed from seemingly nothing but the water molecules in the atmosphere itself. Conjured into existence by Theseus' fury and given the sole directive of keeping others away from them to stop them from impeding their master.
"U-UNHAND ME, PEASANT! YOU DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO-"
Whatever Riser was about to say got cut off, and likely for good reason too, when an idea appeared in Theseus' mind that caused him to chuckle darkly, sadistically even. Memories of his time journeying with Vali resurfaced in his mind, more specifically of the time he had used his Divine Dividing to try and absorb Theseus' energy. The energy had been rather toxic to the half devil at the time…
So what would happen if a full pureblood Devil were exposed to it?
To that end, Theseus grinned like his namesake as he began sending his energy through his arm and into Riser through his hand.
SIZZLE-SIZZLE-SIZZLE-SIZZLE-SIZZLE-SIZZLE-SIZZLE-SIZZLE-SIZZLE-SIZZLE-SIZZLE-SIZZLE-SIZZLE-SIZZLE-SIZZLE-SIZZLE-SIZZLE-SIZZLE-SIZZLE-SIZZLE-SIZZLE-SIZZLE-SIZZLE-SIZZLE-SIZZLE-SIZZLE-SIZZLE-SIZZLE-SIZZLE-SIZZLE-SIZZLE-SIZZLE-SIZZLE-SIZZLE!
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"
Screams, pure unfiltered SCREAMS ripped free from Riser's throat seconds after the energy entered his body through the contact Theseus' hand had with his face, condensing around said area. Steam trails rose up from the point of impact as the Devil for the first time in his life began to feel what it was like to be burned by fire, something that had never happened to him as a Devil of fire and wind.
"What is he doing?!" Rias shrieked in shock, having never heard Riser scream so badly in her entire life. Not like she minded such, but the political implications quickly reared their ugly heads in her mind causing a sense of emergency to flutter within her chest.
Sirzechs quickly turned pale as similar thoughts crossed his mind, before he looked urgently towards Meredith who was calmly sipping some tea presented to her by Kuroh like nothing was wrong. "Mereidith, you have to stop your subordinate! He'll be-"
"I don't think you understand, Gremory." Meredith didn't let the man finish, calmly sipping her tea like a classic British noblewoman without a care in the world. She then opened one eye and gazed through it towards the older redhead Devil, a look of complete nonchalance about her. "What is my subordinate doing? Simply executing Hellsing's foreign policy towards rowdy privileged brats who think crossing us or those affiliated with us is a good idea." she stated like she was talking about the weather.
Though behind her teacup the woman hid a devious, downright malicious smirk as she watched the blonde Devil getting tortured by her subordinate with no small amounts of pleasure. She did NOT take kindly to uppity brats trying to throw their family's weight around without fear that it'd backfire on their asses. Although she would have liked to execute such punishments herself, she figured that Theseus would have a better chance at it than her with that chaotic divinity of his being as toxic to Devils (as it was now apparent) as holy items were.
It was a good thing that she had been recording the audio for her report to Sir Integra using her phone since the meeting began, because she'd been saving a copy of Riser's tormented screams for when she would be sleeping at night.
After a short moment, Theseus finally threw Riser down to the ground with the said blonde landing in a crumpled heap, the shark king glowering over him like he were regarding an insect. He even converted his sharks into a single sphere of water that he jammed the hand he'd burned Riser with into so it could be cleansed of the 'filth' it had been touching… before he sent it onto the man himself.
This had the result of causing Riser to gasp and sputter, nearly choking on the water when some went down his throat against his consent. Pushing himself upwards after a few seconds of coughing, Riser raised his head and aimed a ferocious glare in Theseus' direction, revealing… the entirety of his face's lower right portion now looked just like the entire upper portion of Theseus' own: brutally burned and horrendously scarred.
A perfect slap in the face for someone who was so prideful about his clan and prestige earlier.
"Huh, now there's a face only a mother would love…" Yet another derogatory sneer left Theseus' lips, the male raising his hand to caress the marionette mask over his face. Though it didn't hide the smug grin on his lips as the blonde Devil finally got to his feet.
"You…..you…..you!" Riser cannot fandom the anger he was feeling. His body was shaking and flames surrounded him matching his unrestrained anger, the fury he had inside of him. No one had ever laid hands on him before, not even his parents or any opponent he had ever faced. The injury he felt was slowly healing but not as fast as before, the wound inflicted by the boy in front of him who had wounded his pride in more ways than one.
An action that demanded an appropriate response.
"I DEMAND A RATING GAME AGAINST YOU, HELLSING!" his words echoed through the hellsing manor.
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That did it.
Silence regained its holding back in the Hellsing manor and this time not even the sound of any birds or environment was heard. It was like even the very Earth was silent from the moment of that declaration.
Sirzechs could only stare in complete befuddlement at what Riser had just done. Rating Games were usually more of a Devils' only kind of thing, the only ones who participated (or were allowed to) were Devils and their Peerages. There had been some ideas floating around, but very rarely did other races get to participate in a Rating Game for some reason, Sirzechs just couldn't recall it. Nevertheless, it wasn't unusual since he vaguely recalled some records of such events happening. So it was theoretically possible for Hellsing to be challenged to a Rating Game.
Though the rules for it were somewhat different compared to the usual.
'To think that I came here to try and smooth things over with Hellsing…' the crimson Satan lamented in his mind.
The one who broke the silent was Sir Integra's student, who chuckled like a certain blonde buff time-stopping vampire. "Hohoho? Did I hear that correctly?" the queen's granddaughter questioned slowly, shadows covering her face. Still sitting on the chair keeping the same pose before she uncrossed her legs and slowly got up from her seat. "You challenge us….to a rating game, is that correct? Perhaps." her eyes began to glint with sharpened glare and aura starts to surround her. "Your not as spineless as I thought, Phenex."
Flames started to surround Riser's feet like a ring, in an attempt to intimidate the Helsing group. "Who are you calling spineless, peasant! I am a Phenex! I match the very power of the original Phoenix! My bloodline is superior than any of your filthy human blood!"
Meredith was not affected by his flames, they didn't even come CLOSE to the same levels of intimidation that Alucard in his restraint level one form had. "If that's the case then…... We accept the challenge Phenex." She puts her hand forward and puts out her index finger and middle finger. "Two months, we'll give you two months to prepare. Or more for your burial graves. Given if there will be any part of your body left to bury, that is."
"You don't scare me Hellsing, I will prove to you that the devils are superior than the humans of the world-"
SHING!
Soon enough, a Trident was aimed at Riser's head courtesy of Theseus. The trident shone brightly with both power and lightning dancing over the weapon. Water droplets glistened across the shaft and the blade, ready for use in battle while the wielder himself aimed a gold glare in Riser's direction, as still as a statue.
"That's where you're wrong Riser." Meredith continued while walking forward, sliding her fingers on Theseus trident. "You see, humans are the dominant race over Planet Earth because there is one thing about them you don't mess with…... .it's their will to survive the impossible, no matter what is aimed at them." She stopped her fingers at the Trident's blade, gently caressing it whilst its glistening surface was reflected inside her eyes. All before she shifted her attention back to the devil. "I hope that you realize it later: how much you've screwed up, and when the time comes…" Suddenly Riser felt that the pressure was increasing each minute when she got in front of him and summoned a holy nail into her hand. She slid the holy nail along the devil's skin, the UNMARKED skin, making his flesh sizzle from the holy energy the nail gave out. Her next words DRIPPED with enough venom to kill an elephant despite being barely above a whisper. "I'll gladly send you to the deepest part Hell where you will meet the lord of evil himself. I promise you that Riser Phenex."
SHING!
"AAAAHHH!" Riser screamed in pain when Meredith slashed his face with her holy nail. He held his face in his hands for a few seconds, before returning his attention to the rest of Hellsing by peering through the gaps between his fingers at the group. His eyes trembled with both anger and somewhat insanity. "YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS, DAMN ABOMINATION! I SWEAR ON THE HOUSE OF PHENEX, I WILL REPAY THIS HUMILIATION TENFOLD!" Soon a magic circle was conjured nearby him, he quickly runs to it, when he was about to enter the circle, stops and turns his body and points at them with a mad glare aimed at them. "YOU WILL REGRET THIS HELLSING! ALL OF YOU!" he turned back and ran toward the circle, entering it. The phenex circle shines for a bit before disappearing.
Meredith stares at the spot Riser has run away. "We shall see." she declared as not only darkness envelopes her face, eyes glint over the shadow but her associates as well. "We shall see about that, Phenex."