A few years had passed since Makima had reincarnated into the devil world and become a Gremory. And now Makima and Rias found themselves in an forest owned by the Gremory family, it was a quiet place where the young devils could practice their spells, and that's exactly what the two were doing
"Hiya!" Rias yelled out, a red magic circle forming in front of her as she blasted a giant red ball of destruction at a tree
When the attack hit the tree it basically stopped existing, being reduced to less than atoms in a single blast… along with a whole area in around 20 square meters, making Rias do a little jump
"Yes! Now it's your turn, Maki-chan!" Rias turned to her sister with excited eyes
"Okay, but don't expect me to match that level of strength." Makima gave her sister a smile
Makima had already gathered that Rias had a lot more brute power than her, it's was actually quite easy to see, however her power didn't seem to have much substance to it, just big blasts, which taking her strength and the nature of the Power of Destruction into consideration, less experienced opponents would be defeated by such simple tactics
"Hiya!" Makima mimicked her sister's movements, pointing her hands forward and creating a red magic circle in front of her
She then shot out a basket ball blast of destruction towards another tree, hitting it and destroying the middle section of the trunk, making the tree fall down on the ground. Compared to Rias, Makima's raw power was quite less impressive
"Oh… W-Well, you can get better with time!" Rias tried to be nice but her disappointment was clear
"I think you just are more powerful than me, there's not much I can do about that." Makima sighed, scratching the back of her head a little
Rias frowned a little at that, she seemed to disagree with that statement
"That's not true at all!"
"Eh?" Makima blinked, tilting her head and torso a little to the side
"You're just as strong as me!" Rias balled her hands into fists and rose them up to her chest while looking at her twin sister
"Did you not see the difference in our blasts?" Makima questioned while pointing at the trees
"That's not the point. Maybe you can't do big blasts like me, but you're super smart! That makes you just as strong as me because you can make strategies and stuff!" Rias explained with determination
"Strategies and stuff?" Makima sounded amused
"Yeah!" Rias nodded, little sparkles coming out of her head
"Haa~..." Makima sighed with a small smile being on her face "I suppose you're right. I can't argue when you get like that."
Rias smiled, glad that she managed to make her sister feel happy. The fact that she was weaker than her sister wasn't really something that bothered Makima, her saying that she wasn't as strong as her was more her stating a fact, but her sister seems to be a little too kind for a Devil
"By the way, what do you think mommy and daddy are talking about with those two?" Rias asked while going back to training her magic, this time trying to use a fire spell
"With the Phenex? Probably boring politics stuff or whatever." Makima said, playing more into the child persona, practicing creation magic now, managing to create some chains
Makima still had the abilities she had in life, that included her chains, however she can't just go throwing chains out of her fingers like it's nothing, she needed to at least have some proof that she has been practicing magic to use that as a excuse for her abilities and not raise suspicion
Makima looked at Rias who shot a fireball to the skies, seeing how far up it would go before exploding, but as soon as it went above the trees, another fire blast hit it causing it to explode
"Huh!?" Rias widened her eyes at her blast being so easily overpowered
Makima turned to the side, her eyes glowing slightly as she sensed a different magic presence approaching them. Another Devil has come, and this one was unknown to her
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you ladies." A blond boy walked up to them
Rias turned to where Makima was looking to see the boy too, this boy was wearing a red jacket over a white button up shirt, red pants and his blonde hair extended to a little above his shoulders, he seemed to be somewhat older than the Gremory twins, but it was hard to tell by how much
"Who are you?" Rias asked, frowning at the stranger on her family's training grounds
"Oh, where are my manners? My name is Riser Phenex, of the Phenex family, it's a pleasure to meet such fine ladies of the Gremory family." Riser did a small bow, a smile on his face as he did so
Makima couldn't tell why, but she felt bothered by his face, the smug look he had felt mocking, and Rias felt similarly given her slightly confused look
"Uh… It's nice to meet you, I'm Rias. And this is my sister Makima." Rias introduced them
Riser walked up to the girls, holding their hands and kissing their hands, making Rias blush slightly while Makima looked more confused than anything however this advances at her sister did bother her slightly
"The pleasure it's all mine." Riser said, standing straight again "I hope we can get to know each other a lot better."
Makima made a little "oh" noise as she realized what he was doing, this Riser was trying to get into their pants. Makima did expect that such advances would happen thanks to the two of them being nobles, however she didn't know that it would happen when she was so young
"I see you three have already met." Zeoticus walked up to the group, a tall blonde man with blonde spiky hair
"Daddy!" Rias walked up to her father, with Makima following her
"Who is that?" Makima asked, pointing at the blonde man
"Oh, this here is Lord Phenex. The father of Riser, and the head of the Phenex Family." Zeoticus explained, giving his daughters a hug as they approached him
"It's quite a pleasure to meet the Twin Princesses of Destruction." Lord Phenex smiled and did a small bow at the two
"Ooh! That name sounds cool, right Maki-chan?" Rias looked at her sister
"Sounds like something from a movie." Makima nodded
"And I also have some news for the two of you." Zeoticus said
The twins looked at him, both noticing how Riser has approached his father with a smug look on his face
"You see, me and Lord Phenex have talked, and we have decided that it would be for our best interest that when, you get older, one of you marry Riser." Zeoticus said putting one hand on a shoulder of each of the girls
Rias and Makima looked at their father, their eyes widening in surprise
"What!?" Rias yelled in shock "Why!?"
"Well, the Gremory family needs to continue the bloodline. You girls are young do I don't expect you to understand yet, but there's no need to worry about it right now, it will only happen when you're much older. And besides, you will have time to get to know the young boy." Zeoticus said trying to make the girls more eager to the idea, which didn't work
Makima turned her sight towards Riser, noticing the look in his eyes, remembering the one Denji have her whenever he stared at her chest, a look of lust. If she had to guess, he was probably expecting that both her and Rias would end up like her mother, who was a very attractive woman, that was a fact
"Lust is something very easy for me to take advantage of, and having a noble at my hands could be useful… However, Rias doesn't seem so eager to the idea, so I probably shouldn't be either. And I also don't know the extents of his abilities so can't really say how useful he can possibly be." Makima thought, rationalizing what advantages this could give her "Besides, I don't find the idea of marriage something appealing."
Rias was meanwhile trying to convince her father that this was a bad idea, however he seemed to have already finished the deal so there was no way of changing it right now. Makima looked at her sister trying very hard to get out of this, and she actually liked Rias, she was quite a lovable person and seeing her this bothered made her bothered… Huh, so this was how having a family was like…
"I refuse." Makima stated
"Dear, I understand how you feel, but you need to-" Zeoticus began
"You, chicken boy." Makima pointed at Riser
"Chicken boy!?" Riser sounded offended
"Fight me." Makima told him, making Rias look at her sister in shock "If you win, we can go on with this marriage idea. If I win, you have to stop lusting over me and my sister."
Riser blinked, as if trying to figure out if she really was serious about this, before he then began to laugh
"You fight me? Do you think just because you're a Gremory with the Power of Destruction you can match the strength of a phoenix?" Riser asked, walking up to Makima
Makima looked up at him, smiling as she put her hands behind her back
"I don't know, that's what I'm trying to find out. I can't have my potential future husband being some weakling, can I?" Makima had him figured out now, she was going to try and abuse his pride to get what she wanted
"Don't you underestimate me!" Riser had a vein pop out at the side of his head, making Makima's smile widen
"Hm? Still not accepting? Maybe I should up the reward…" Makima put a finger on her chin "Perhaps allow you to marry both me and my sister if you win? Many boys would dream of having two women with the genes of my mother as wives."
Riser widened his eyes. That was genius! Why didn't he think of that!?
"Deal!" Riser immediately accepted
"Knew it. The lustful types are always the easiests." Makima smiled at Riser
"Haha, it seems the kids want to have a sparring match." Zeoticus laughed
"Well, I suppose I'm not against it. After all, it could work to show how strong the new generation of our houses are." Lord Phenex nodded
"I'll try and organize a small stadium for you both. Let's make this a whole event." Zeoticus smiled, liking Lord Phenex's idea
Makima and Riser stared at each other before Riser left with his father and Zeoticus
"Sister!" Rias whined, giving Makima a little punch to the side "Why would you include me as a prize!?"
"Sorry, it's just that his face annoyed me so much I had to try and punch him." Makima chuckled while making up an excuse for this
"Well… he did look annoying." Rias pouted while looking away
"Don't worry, I won't lose to him. After all, it's just like you said, I'm strong." Makima smiled, patting Rias' head
"It's weird how mature you are, makes you look like my big sister even though we are the same age." Rias said with a smile
Makima chuckled a little at that, finding this pretty ironic.
The fight with Riser was going to be complicated, she was aware of the Phenex's regenerative capabilities, it was the trademark of that family along with their specialty in fire magic, but Makima had a plan. She only needed to make him give up the fight, and she had just the idea for this… Another thing that makes people easy to use is fear.
—
The arena had been set, it seemed to be a replica of the forest the Gremory used as a training ground, Makima analyzed that this set up for a battle was quite similar to one of those Rating Games she read about. Well, those games did seem quite important for Devil culture in this world so it probably makes sense
However, what she didn't plan for was the small change of plans that she found out last minute, some other young members of other houses ended up joining in too, probably as a way for the other devils to show of their strength or just to have fun
"This complicates things. I had only planned on a way to battle against Riser, however now with the introduction of other variables into the battle, this can cause some trouble." Makima pondered a little, she remember the list of participants that were shown when she got there
Makima Gremory, herself.
Riser Phenex, the third son of the Phenex family, his fire and wind magic along with his regenerative capabilities make him quite the threat.
Rias Gremory, her twin sister, in raw power she is beaten by her but she doesn't seem that strategic. Makima suspects she's the one who made the suggestion of allowing other houses to join in so she could join the fight too so she wouldn't have to fight alone.
Sona Sitri, the younger daughter of the Sitri family, a friend of Rias and incredibly smart, her control over water is not seen as a big threat but her intellect could prove tricky.
Seekvaira Agares, the younger daughter of the Agares family, another friend of Rias, doesn't seem as smart as Sona however her time magic can prove itself a big threat.
Zephydor Glasya-Labolas, one of the sons of the Glasya-Labolas family, Makima doesn't think he's that remarkable, however his rudeness does annoy her. Apparently the other son couldn't appear so he was chosen instead.
Diodora Astaroth, the main son of the Astaroth family, in terms of magic variety and cunning he seems to almost match Makima, and his personality doesn't quite trick her, she knows he is faking his gentleness but doesn't quite know the extent of it.
Sairaorg Bael, heir of the Bael family and Makima's cousin, her mother was from the Bael family and is the one who gave her and her sister the power of destruction, so she had some knowledge about him, however he didn't seem to have the power of destruction, so he probably wouldn't be much of a threat, however his aura does feel dangerous.
Makima mentally sighed, all of this being out together really messed up her plans, but it also kinda helps, because now she has a way of analyzing how each one of her noble rivals fights and how to possibly take advantage of their strengths and weaknesses, alliances with the likes of Seekvaira and Sona could be helpful.
"Ladies and Gentleman!" An announcer was heard all around the area "Welcome to the exhibition game of the royal families! After an agreement between the houses, the younger generation of each house is going to participate in a free for all battle to show the potential of each house! However, you must remember, this is just a friendly competition and will not apply to the Rating Game record of any house. So let's get ourselves ready!"
Makima blinked while looking up
"Devils here sure have a thing for showmanship." She mumbled before focusing on the task at hand
Her main target was Riser for now, after taking him out she will deal with the other members. The Phenex boy was one of the bigger threats of the game after all
"And, begin!" The announcer said and a loud horn played
Makima nodded and ran off into the forest, trying to get a feel for any surrounding magical signatures around. Catching onto Riser's familiar signature and stopping, putting her hand on a tree and making a magical circle appear on it before disappearing
"He's close. I better start setting up the traps." Makima said touching the ground next and planting a magic circle there
Riser was probably also trying to find her thanks to the jabs she made before, and Makima counted on that, already having a way to try and counteract his regeneration and beat him
"Found you!" Riser yelled, grinning and throwing a fireball at Makima, who jumped to the side to dodge the attack
"And the first encounter has started! Riser from the house of Phenex is trying to fight Makima from the house of Gremory!" The voice of the announcer echoed
"Did you come directly for me? Didn't expect to make such an impact on you." Makima said, cracking her knuckles
"Of course, I can't way to make you regret that smugness from before. But I must say, it did make me more interested in you." Riser grinned while crossing his arms
"I'm flattered." Makima said with an amused look
"And breaking that attitude will be all the more fun." Riser raised a hand, creating a fireball there
"Hmm, cocky, powerful, and idiotic." Makima said before the fireball was blasted towards her, and just before it hit Makima created a barrier in front of herself, blocking the attack "It will be the perfect things to put on your tombstone."
Makima then snapped her fingers, three magic circles appearing on the trees around Riser and blasting him with ice, forcing Riser to blast fire around himself to block the attack, before the Control Devil took a step forward and pointed her finger at Riser, doing a little finger gun
"Bang." She smiled and winked at the young Phenex
Riser looked confused before he felt something hitting him in the chest and sending him flying back, Makima then tapped her foot down, activating a teleportation circle under her, teleporting to behind Riser as he flew and did her finger gun attack once more
"Bang." And so he flew back to their fighting area
Makima then snapped her fingers again, making a magic circle appear on the ground, preparing a blast of the power of destruction, but Riser widened his eyes and spun around, using his wind magic to dodge the attack away from him when it was shot, landing on the ground as Makima approached him
"You're a tricky one…" Riser said, looking clearly upset
"Well, I'm not as strong as my dear sister, so I have to compensate in some way." Makima smiled
Riser then spun his hand around, a current of wind running under Makima and taking her off balance, making her widen her eyes slightly before the Phenex sent him arm up, sending her to the skies with a blast of wind
"Uh oh." Makima blinked
The Control Devil then saw a fireball coming her way, she pointed her hands towards it and sent a blast of the power of destruction towards it, causing an explosion that stopped the attack. But that was more of a distraction, Riser had flew behind her and prepared another fireball, hitting her in the back and sending her flying down, hitting the ground so hard she bounced on it and rolled back
"He's faster than I expected. I didn't take physical capabilities into much consideration." Makima frowned, getting up as she saw that her body was already somewhat bruised "Still not fully used to taking damage so easily again either."
Riser laughed, landing down while looking at Makima
"You may be smart, but against the great power of a Phoenix, you are nothing!" Riser boasted
"This will be trickier than expected." Makima narrowed her eyes
And so a little game between the children has begun! How cute, they're having fun.
And so, I have come up with the peerages for the both options of choice, these are
just CSM characters:
King: Makima
Queen: Quanxi
Rook 1: Galgali
Rook 2: Kishibe
Bishop 1: Baren (Flamethrower man)
Bishop 2: Reze
Knight 1: Miri Sugo (Long Sword Man)
Knight 2: Katana Man
Pawn 1: Kobeni
Pawn 2: Himeno
2 Pawns: Princi
2 Pawns: Whip Hybrid
2 Pawns: Spear Hybrid
Pawn 3: Fumiko
Pawn 4: Yoshida
2 Pawns: Nail Fiend
2 Pawns: Angel Devil
2 Pawns: Santa/Doll Devil
Including other anime characters:
King: Makima
Queen: Quanxi
Rook 1: Mash Burnedead (Mashle)
Rook 2: Medaka Kurokami (Medaka Box)
Knight 1: Don Quixote (Limbus Company)
Knight 2: Rukia Kuchiki (Bleach)
Bishop 1: Shigeo (Mob Psycho)
Bishop 2: Tatsumaki (One Punch Man)
Pawn 1: Kobeni
Pawn 2: Carrot (One Piece)
14 Pawns: Ilulu (Kobayashi Dragon Maid)
You guys can choose which one you'd think would be more interesting to see, and I hope you enjoy the chapter