Chapter 10
Riser yawned as he walked out of his room. Despite the early hour, he was smiling brightly. His date the night before with Ingvild had been a smashing success. He'd loved every moment of it and gotten to enjoy watching her sing for two straight hours. It was breathtaking. He had no doubt in his mind that if she wanted to, she could easily become the number one idol in Japan. Hell, the number one singer in the world. Well, he'd help her fulfill whatever dreams she had, all she had to do was ask.
He spent some time getting ready for his day. Today he would be doing quite a bit. He looked at the invitation that had been delivered and sighed. It looked like the next event was beginning. The invitation was for the Young Devils Gathering. A little event where the younger generations were meant to meet up and hang out.
Oh, and participate in ratings games against each other.
He scratched his head a little at that. Currently his peerage consisted of himself and Xenovia. His real peerage was now under his sister, Ravel's, control and he wasn't allowed to have them back. He was still a tad upset over that concession he'd had to give to Rias. He was proud to have Xenovia, and pretty sure he'd be gaining Ingvild, but that didn't change the fact that his previous peerage meant a lot to him and he would much prefer to simply be making them stronger.
He briefly glared in the direction of Rias' half of the house. Prissy little bitch.
He sighed and let it go. There was nothing he could do about it, for now. Maybe once he was stronger than Sirzech's he could do whatever the hell he wanted, but until then he had to obey.
Thankfully, there would be at least one friendly face at the Gathering. He'd get to spend some time with his bro Sairaorg. He grinned a little at the thought of getting into a rating game against the behemoth. He was certain he would lose that fight, but he'd go down swinging! It wasn't a matter of him being weaker or stronger, but a simple matter of numbers. Sairaorg's peerage vastly outnumbered his own while also being exceptionally skilled. He and Xenovia were powerhouse, but not quite that strong.
Even Ingvild joining wouldn't guarantee a win, though it would definitely help.
As for the others, he wasn't the least bit worried about facing them. He could probably solo their peerages.
With a stretch, he steps into the dining room and smiles when he spots Xenovia and Ingvild sitting with Asia and Koneko to eat breakfast. Those four got along surprisingly well. He was glad for that. He wouldn't want his issues with Rias to come between them and their friendship.
When he sat down, Ingvild glanced over and blushed slightly before looking away. He wasn't dressed different from his usual so he expected it was from remembering their date. It had been a rather nice and innocent date. They hadn't even kissed at the end, which was a little disappointing if he was honest about it. He had no intention of pushing Ingvild though or he would risk her rejecting his offer to join him peerage. He'd much rather have her in his peerage than in his bed!
Xenovia looked between the pair and smirked playfully, “So, how was the date last night, Riser?”
He had no doubt Xenovia had heard everything from Ingvild the moment they got home. Those two, being in close proximity in the house, had grown surprisingly close to each other. In response to her question, he smiled brightly, “It was wonderful. I'm looking forward to a second one sometime soon.”
Ingvild blushed deeply while looking excited at the prospect. Xenovia just chuckled and looked at her friend, “So, you going to tell him, or am I?”
Ingvild's blush faded and was replaced with a pout that just made her look adorable, “I'll tell him!”
He looks between the pair with an arched eyebrow, “Tell me what?”
Ingvild gives Xenovia a little glare before moving her attention to Riser and smiling softly, “I decided that I want to join your peerage.”
Riser's heart skipped a beat at the adorable sight of a slightly nervous Ingvild expressing her desire to join him. He quickly grew excited at the prospect though, “I'd be happy to have you join us, Ingvild. We should do the ritual before we head to the underworld.”
Ingvild blushes and nods while the other girls scoot closer and all begin talking in whispers. Even Koneko was getting in on the action. Riser enjoyed the sight of them all getting along like that. He gave them some time while he finished his breakfast. Thank hell there was house staff. While he could take care of cooking, cleaning, and laundry himself, why the hell would he? He was rich! He would happily pay someone to do that stuff for him.
It took a while for everyone to finish and Riser was glad that neither Rias or Akeno had shown up to breakfast. They usually didn't since both of them liked to sleep in. That left just the people he could stand. As for Kiba, even now he preferred to do things alone so seeing him anytime but scheduled group dinners was unlikely.
The group made their way to a living room, or was it a sitting room? He honestly didn't care what the proper term was. It had seating for everyone and that was what mattered. While the other girls got comfortable, Riser and Ingvild stood a distance away. It was a simple matter for Riser to summon the box containing his Evil Pieces. He retrieved the Queen piece and set the box to the side. The Queen piece was the only one he could use to reincarnate Ingvild as they were now.
A part of him felt like it was a waste since Ingvild would never use some of the enhancements the piece provided. She just wasn't a melee fighter. Still, he would rather waste some of the potential of the Queen piece to reincarnate Ingvild now rather than hold off until he could recruit her as a bishop. There was just too much of a risk that someone else would forcefully reincarnate her and steal her freedom.
He held up the Queen piece with a smile as he looked into Ingvild's eyes, “Are you ready?”
Ingvild nodded, “I am.”
The ritual was extremely simple. He stepped forward and placed the piece against her chest, just above her breasts, while feeding it his demonic power. The piece glowed bright orange as his energy fed it. There was a soft ripple in the air as the piece sank into Ingvild's chest and out of sight.
[System Alert! Hidden Quest Completed!
A Stolen Queen
Goddamn boy, you just stole the woman that would become Issei's Queen for yourself! I'm so goddamn proud of you right now! While you've already dealt death blows to the canon story, this is yet another death knell for Issei as the protagonist. Well fucking done. Take your prize and enjoy it!
Reward: Summoning Gem]
Right, he was just going to ignore that for the moment. There was no telling what would happen if he focused on it right then. There was a moment of silence before Ingvild tilts her head and asks, “That's it?”
Riser chuckled, “Well, you were already half devil so it didn't have to do much there. It'll give you the other boosts over the next twenty-four hours as it empowers you. By this time tomorrow you'll have all the advantages of each Evil Piece.” He smirked playfully, “As if you didn't already have a ton of demonic power.”
Ingvild giggled and placed a hand on her chest innocently, “Who? Me? I can never have enough.” She winked playfully, even as she tried to fight the light blush coloring her cheeks.
Riser did his best not to chuckle at just how cute Ingvild looked whenever she tried to be extra sexy. It wasn't that she wasn't sexy as hell, it was more that she was even better as cute. Though it was adorable how she would blush and fidget whenever she did something 'sexy'.
“Now that you're a member of the peerage, we'll have to start training.” His gaze moved to Xenovia, “All of us, together. When it was just Xenovia and I, there wasn't much point. Kiba was a much better training partner for Xenovia than I. However, now that there's more than the two of us, we should work on teamwork and covering each other's weaknesses.”
He paused for a moment and considered granting his Demon's Extract to Ingvild. Ice and water were related fields... No. At least, not yet. She needed to get full control over her water magic and her Sea Serpent of the End, not to mention Nereid Kyrie which still hadn't awoken. That last one wasn't a surprise as he didn't expect it to do so for a while longer still. He'd try to help her awaken it, but no one anywhere living or dead had any idea she had it. He'd not been super secret with his new abilities, but he'd also not been using them in public. Only Sairaorg really knew everything he was capable of and he would prefer it stay that way for a while.
He hoped giving her the Queen piece and boosting her power would help it awaken sooner. He honestly couldn't wait to see what her power to strengthen and weaken dragons could do. With his Fire Dragon Slayer Magic possibly being boosted by her singing... Well, there was no telling how powerful he could become with her help. That didn't even take into account how strong she would become with the power to control the sea.
Frankly, Ingvild was broken as hell. Even more broken than himself!
“Alright ladies, we should start getting ready to head into the Underworld. We'll be leaving soon and taking the Gremory train there. Unfortunately, we will need to make time to register you Xenovia. It's part of something all new reincarnated devils have to go through on their first visit to the underworld. It's painless and only takes a minute.”
Xenovia gave a stoic nod then everyone went to go pack a little. They didn't need to pack a lot because they would be doing some shopping in the Underworld to get outfits for the Gathering. Or at least, Xenovia and Ingvild would be. Koneko and Asia were Rias' responsibility.
He made his way toward the training room with a sigh. There was a major downside to visiting the underworld via the Gremory train. They would be arriving in Gremory territory where the sex offender was. It took so much effort on his part to not simply burn the little shit to death every time they met. He knew his threats were starting to ring hollow which meant he'd need to do something serious if the little shit stepped out of line.
On the bright side, they would be in the underworld for a while. Not only was the Gathering a multi-day affair, it also didn't officially begin for another month. They were all heading to the underworld early to meet with their families, get in some last minute training, and to have an official meeting between all participants. From his memories of his last life, Riser knew he hadn't participated due to trauma Issei had given him. Just those memories made him shiver in disgust at what could have been.
Frankly, he was insulted by that version of himself. Even without all of his boons and items from the quests he'd performed, he still should have been more than capable of defeating Issei. Even with the little bastard cheating by using holy water and a cross. There was something fundamentally wrong wit that version of himself. He blamed it on the writer and his boner for Issei. In any other duel, the one using holy items like that would have been disqualified and shamed as a scumbag cheater. But not Issei. Oh no, he's a 'hero' so it's not cheating.
Riser shook his head. Well, that wasn't how things went this time. Issei was nothing and had no one to support him this time. Honestly, he was looking forward to a match between his new peerage and Rias' in the Gathering. Until then, he planned to hang out with Sairaorg and get some last minute training in. He'd been pumping demonic power into his Visored Mask every chance he got so it was ready for another evolution. Having his little Spark of Divinity that quadrupled his demonic power recovery made feeding the bottomless glutton of a mask easy. It was now a sort of ritual for him to dump every last drop he had before bed.
Stepping into the training room, he stripped off his jacket and made his way to one of the many different weight machines he'd had installed. It might be weird for him to work out in nice clothing, but that was what magic was for! A few spells would have his body clean, his clothes dry cleaned, and his hair perfectly styled.
Man, it was good to be a devil.
-----Line Break-----
Riser hummed in appreciation as he took a sip of an excellent single malt Scotch. It was awesome being filthy rich.
Around him three peerages mingled, his own, naturally, as well as Rias's and Sona's. All of them were heading to the underworld so they all shared a ride on the lavish train owned by the Gremory's. Honestly... Riser kind of preferred taking it over taking the own that his family owned. While well appointed and luxurious, just like the Gremory train, his families was also rather garish in how much gold was used.
His gaze moved from the decorations to the people causing him to smirk. Rias was upset, which always made him happy. Even if he wasn't willing to put forth the effort to hate her, it didn't mean he couldn't enjoy her misery. She was currently upset because Ingvild had joined his peerage as his Queen. All of her attempts to put distance between them had failed.
Ironically, he mostly owed Issei for Ingvild choosing to join him so soon. She'd seen how he behaved and how Rias didn't stop him and realized she could easily end up with them, or someone worse. Now she was protected by one of the most powerful families in the Underworld. No one fucked with the Phenex clan.
It also didn't hurt that Riser was becoming a true powerhouse himself. He was an ultimate class devil in his base form and had two different techniques to make himself even stronger. Not to mention being able to use Boost on himself and Divide on his enemies. It put him in a whole different realm of power. He was confident, but also knew there were still those stronger than himself.
Riser lifted his glass to take another sip of his drink, but stopped when the door to the compartment opened and someone he didn't want to see came walking in. He set his glass down and scowled as he watched Azazel strut up to where they were all gathered. By the time he arrived he had everyone's attention.
With a sly smirk on his face, Azazel lifted his hand and waved casually, while simultaneously showing off that he had a new replacement, “Yo, everyone. Since this gathering will be having some members from other pantheons attending, Sirzechs asked for my help dealing with a few things so I'm just hitching a ride with you all.”
Riser grunted, but kept his thoughts to himself. This wasn't his train, and he wasn't in charge of the whole underworld, so there was nothing he could say to prevent Azazel from riding along with them. At least he'd managed to keep the guy out of Kuoh. Though Azazel didn't really fight all that hard to get in since Issei wasn't there and Riser was only mildly interesting. Though he expected that to change once he showed off some of his tricks during the rating games between them all.
After all, who cared about the Red Dragon Emperor when Riser had his Devil Fruit, Devil Trigger, Visored Mask, and so many other nifty little tricks. He'd never shown his full transformation from his Devil Fruit so he was really looking forward to shocking the hell out of everyone when he became a real phoenix. Just the thought has him smirking.
Riser was pulled from his thoughts when the train conductor made an announcement, “We will be arriving at port Sitri in five minutes. Everyone disembarking then, please be prepared.”
Sona, Saji, Tsubaki, and the rest all stood up. Sona gave Rias a small nod, “I'll see you at the Gathering.”
Rias nodded back, “See you then, Sona.”
Sona and her peerage departed. Just a few moments later the train came to a stop in mid air where they all flew off and made their way toward Sona's home. The train then resumed its course for the Gremory territory. Riser really wasn't looking forward to their arrival.
The train didn't get much further before it came to a violent halt. Everyone looked around confused at the unexpected stop. Once again, the conductors voice came over the speakers, “Apologies ladies and gentleman, we've run into an issue. It should only be a moment before we're on our way again.”
Azazel turned and made his way toward the door, “I'll go check in and see what the issue is. It's probably something with the engine.”
As the door closed, Riser frowned. Did something like this happen before, in the anime?
Before he could think more deeply on it there was a massive pulse of magic as a black circle formed beneath the entire train. Riser grunted as a magic circle appeared beneath him and crushing gravity began pushing him down into the ground. His head jerked up when he heard a scream, just to see Ingvild and Xenovia disappear along with Rias's entire peerage. The only two left in the carriage were himself and Rias. He also noticed her looking at him smugly while being completely free of any restraint.
That infuriated him.
Instantly a pillar of blue fire roared to life around him that drastically increased the temerature in the room by hundreds of degrees in a second. Rias was forced to retreat toward the door while the very temperature of the air ignited the furniture in the room. The floor beneath Riser instantly had the carpet turned to ash and the metal beneath turning orange.
Riser struggled against the immense weight of the gravity spell holding him down, his feet sinking into the melting metal below them. He glared at the panic stricken Rias as she tried to force open the door to the next compartment with the reptilian eyes of a dragon.
“WHERE ARE THEY?!” He roared.
Just as he shouted at Rias, the door she was at opened and Azazel stepped through. A magical shield immediately wrapped around Rias protecting her from the dangerous level of heat filling the area. He clicked his tongue and focused seriously on Riser, “They're fine! It's just a little test!”
“A TEST?! YOU DARE KIDNAP WHAT IS MINE FOR A TEST?!”
Riser's feathery flame wings erupted from his back while his Skill Eater gloves appeared.
[BOOST!]
The blue flames instantly color shifted to white spiking the temperature even higher. The flames instantly melted through the top and bottom of the carriage killing the gravity spell and leaving a truly enraged Riser floating in the air with his glare fully focused on Azazel while his fully released demonic power suffocated Rias.
Azazel grimaced under the glare of Riser, “It was Sirzechs idea and plan! They're fine! We just wanted to see how strong everyone was!”
The was absolutely the wrong thing to say.
[BOOST!]
Azazel had to reinforce his shield as the temperature grew exponentially and Riser flames shifted to black. The entire area around him was melting so quickly one would think the train was made of ice rather than steel as metal dripped like water.
“Take me to them. NOW!”
“Sure! No problem!”
A teleportation circle formed beneath all three of them and quickly activated. When the light of the spell faded, Riser found himself in a dead area filled with mountains and rocks everyone. From where he was floating he could see Tannin battling both peerages, though the dragon was obviously holding back.
Before Riser could do anything, Azazel shouted, “Tannin! That's enough!”
That drew everyone's attention to the trio. Eyes widened when they spotted Riser floating with his wings out while black flames roared around his body. His draconic eyes quickly found Xenovia and Ingvild. His flames roared even higher when he saw that they were both scuffed up and their clothing was torn.
[BOOST!]
While the ground beneath him had already been melting, it now began to bubble and pop as the heat rippling off of his body literally boiled stone. His gaze fell upon Azazel. When he spoke his voice had a growl to it that sent a shiver down the weaker people's spines, “You're lucky. If I'd seen a single drop of blood you would have been reduced to ashes and the Great War would have begun anew.”
Azazel looked dead serious as he replied, “Those are some dangerous words.”
Riser didn't back down, “Kidnapping my peerage is a dangerous action.”
“Sirzechs...”
Riser cut Azazel off as he roared, “I DON'T GIVE A FLY FUCK WHAT SIRZECHS SAID! HE IS NOT IN CHARGE OF ME OR MINE! HE HAS NO RIGHT!”
Azazel grimaced but didn't say anything more.
[RESET!]
The flames around Riser drastically dropped in temperature and shifted down to orange before his dismissed them. He turned away from Azazel and a shivering Rias, “Ingvild, Xenovia, we're leaving.”
While they flew over toward riser and he made his way to a spot that wasn't bubbling lava, he called out to Azazel, “I leave it to you and Sirzechs to explain to Lord and Lady Gremory why I will not be attending them today.”
He touched down and dismissed his wings so Ingvild and Xenovia could stand beside him, “I will call on them tomorrow.”
With his final words said, a teleportation circle appeared beneath the three of them and they vanished in a pillar of flames. Once they were gone, Tannin turned his head to look at Azazel. He did not look pleased as he spoke, “If I had known that Riser Phenex had not given his permission for this, I would not have participated.” He growled before he continued, “I do not appreciate being deceived and used by Sirzechs. You can explain to him why I will not be giving him any further favors anytime soon.”
His piece said, Tannin took off and flew away from the site. Azazel sighed and muttered to himself, “I suppose it could have gone worse...”
-----Line Break-----
Lord Phenex scowled as Riser finished explaining what just happened, “You did well to come to me first, son. I will deal with this. Take care of your peerage members and I will deal with Sirzechs' interference.”
Riser nodded and left his father's study with a smirk. It seemed like Sirzechs just couldn't stop making mistakes. The man truly couldn't seem to comprehend the principal of 'FAFO' as he continued to Fuck Around and Find Out. In this case the idiot dragged Tannin into his scheme. Tannin was the Queen and only peerage member of Mephisto Pheles. While Mephisto didn't bother with the affairs of the underworld, having his Queen abused could lead to him sticking his nose into things. Riser couldn't even imagine the shit that old monster could fling at Sirzechs. He didn't think too much would come of it, but he could dream about Sirzechs having to kowtow to Mephisto, couldn't he?
Shortly after leaving his father's study he met up with Xenovia and Ingvild. Both were in perfect health since he'd forced the pair to use a Phoenix Tear each when they're arrived at the manor. He didn't care how little they'd been hurt, he wanted to make sure they were in perfect health after the incident. Also, it let his father claim, without lying, that Riser had felt the need to use such expensive items on his peerage members after they were thrown into a fight. More leverage was always excellent. Plus, they were going to bill Sirzechs for the potions and with their fluctuating price on the market... Well, it just so happened they were low in supply so the price was at an all-time high.
Or it would be in three days when the bill was sent.
Riser led the girls out of the manor and to a training ground he'd requested his father prepare for them. Once they arrived, he turned to face them with a smile, “Today we learned that we always need to be prepared. We never know when an attack might come, even from our supposed allies it seems. For the next twenty days I'm going to personally work with the pair of you to increase your strengths and lessen your weaknesses. It's just the three of us that will be participating in the rating games and we will be at a disadvantage simply due to numbers.”
“I fully believe in your strengths, but even the three of us would be in serious trouble if an entire peerages Pawns all promoted to Queens. We also shouldn't forget that I have been helping Koneko and Kiba to get stronger alongside Xenovia thanks to the breathing technique. Even if the rest of their peerage members haven't improved much, those two will pose a threat.”
He focused on Ingvild, “My father has contacted an acquaintance of his that is a descendant of a Sitri. This individual will be joining us specifically to train you in water magic since I have zero skill in that area. You will train in magic with them and physically with me.”
He turned to Xenovia, “Similarly, he's hired an expert swordsman to train with you and I in that area while I will continue to help with your exercise.” His lips curled into a grin, “I will also be training you two in something special that will shock everyone we face in a Rating Game.”
Ingvild looked a little nervous as she asked, “Do I really need to lift weights and stuff?”
Riser nodded, “I know you don't like fighting much and I respect that. However, I believe a strong body leads to strong magic and I dearly want you to be able to protect yourself in situations where your magic might not be the best answer. I don't expect you to become a melee fighter like Xenovia and myself, I just want you to be capable of protecting yourself.” He smirked, “Besides, what I have planned will make anyone who thinks of getting close to you regret it dearly.”
Ingvild still looked a little pensive, but she accepted it. Xenovia, on the other hand, just looked plain excited for what was to come. Riser looked between the pair, “For now, we'll just get some practice in. Tomorrow we'll be going to the Gremory estate for dinner, as we were supposed to tonight. The day after that our training will begin in earnest with your new tutors.”
After that, they split up. Riser and Ingvild made their way to the magic range to practice spells while Xenovia headed to a fighting ring to practice using Durandal. The sword was a picky bitch and hard to work with. It might have accepted her as a user, but that didn't mean it was fully in sync with her, yet. If he wasn't using it to be capable of wielding Arondight, Riser would have given her his Natural Holy Sword Wielder ability to go on top of her own. Combined the two sources might make Durandal more inclined to her. Sadly, Arondight was just took good of a weapon for him to give up using it.
Sadly, while he had plenty of nifty things, none of them really fit Xenovia or Ingvild. He also hadn't been getting any quests lately, which sucked. Though, he expected he would be getting quite a few with the upcoming events. If he wasn't mistaken, Diodora was about to turn himself into a massive target and Shalba Beelzebub would be coming out of hiding as well. Not to mention Kuroka and Loki maing trouble. He would have plenty of chances to mess around and earn more rewards that he could share with his girls.
They all split up to do their own thing. Riser watched Ingvild for a moment as she conjured up a magic circle and began firing off blasts of high pressure water. He nodded in approval then focused on his own practice. He'd gotten his wind element mastery and hadn't done much with it. What could he say? Fire was just plain cooler!
He lifted his hand and pointed his finger down the firing range. Air began to gather and swirl at the tip of his finger. He compressed the air down into a small rapidly spinning sphere and smirked. That was one thing he loved about his natural affinities, both could be compressed for more power. After letting the small ball of air gather more from the atmosphere, he took careful aim at a target and let it fly. With a crack like a bullet breaking the sound barrier, the small ball of compressed wind shot through the air until it collided with the end of the range.
The moment the ball hit the target and its structure was disrupted, there was a deafening boom as all the compressed air was released at once causing a powerful explosion that ripped the target, and the surrounding area, into shreds as thousands of small wind blades sliced everything apart.
Riser hummed as he considered the damage he'd done. It reminded him of an attack from an anime in his last life. One that, in his humble opinion, wasn't quite as good as the one he starred in. Still, it did have one exceptional wind attack within it and he had sort of but not really just fired a similar attack.
He lifted his hand and concentrated on what he wanted. After all, if he was going to copy the renowned Rasenshuriken, he had better do it properly! Chakra was just ninja demonic power, after all! Well, it was as far as he was concerned.
The process started with him recreating the Rasengan. Given his complete mastery over Wind magic, making it wasn't an issue. In moments had had a small white ball of swirling wind held within a thin shell of power that looked like it would grind through anything. Just to make sure, he walked up to a target and pressed the Rasengan into it. The small ball of power ripped through the target with devastating ease and even went on to destroy part of the wall behind it. Riser hummed in approval and smirked a little. It was too bad Naruto didn't exist in his current life or he was certain Rias would have a conniption over him recreating the protagonists signature attack.
He returned to the firing line of the range and focused on the still spinning Rasengan in his hand. E began feeding more and more power into it pushing it toward what he desired. Unfortunately, while the ball did begin to emit a high pitched whining sound, the shuriken blades did not form. Riser frowned slightly but tested it anyway by throwing it at the rebuilt target. The magic of the firing range automatically repaired all damage after a short time.
The ball flew through the air and when it collided with the target, it exploded into a dome of chaotic slicing winds. It wasn't quite the micro needles of wind that dealt damage on a cellular level that the true Rasenshuriken was, but it was still a deadly attack.
Unfortunately, it looked like making a true Rasenshuriken would require two separate energies working together. After all, in Naruto the Rasengan had no elemental affinity, it was just pure chakra. He didn't have the ability to just pump out pure demonic power and shape it into a ball. Sadly, that was not how magic worked. However...
He created another Rasengan and began to feed fire into it. The moment the wind and fire magic began to mix, the temperature in the air skyrocketed. There was a gasp from the side. Glancing over he saw Ingvild retreating with a shield of water between them. He frowned and quickly dismissed the ball of magical wind and fire, “Sorry Ingvild, I didn't realize it would do that.”
Judging by the steam coming off of her water shield, it had been extremely hot. He hadn't even noticed, to be honest. Ingvlid slowly lowered the shield as the temperature returned to normal, “It's alright, but maybe next time a little warning?”
Riser nodded and looked at his hand remembering how the spell had felt, “Yeah, I think I'll practice that one alone.”
He'd definitely need to make sure the heat didn't leak in the future. Combining the two elements like that clearly had a multiplicative effect and would require more control and preparation on his part. He dropped the idea, for now, and went back to playing with his wind magic by using basic attacks like wind bullets, wind blades, and vacuum attacks. After all, if he could ADD air, why couldn't he SUBTRACT it?
They spent the next few hours working in silence and practicing their skills.
-----Line Break-----
Riser put on his best smile as the flames of his teleportation vanished to reveal the entrance of the Gremory manor. For dinner with his future in-laws he'd chosen to wear a simple black suit with a white shirt, glossy black vest, and crimson red tie.
Naturally, he did not come alone. To his left stood Xenovia. For the event she'd chosen to wear a somewhat conservative deep blue dress that went down to a little past her knees. To go with it she'd worn a classic pearl necklace with matching earrings and a pair of white high heeled shoes. The shoes had surprised Riser as he'd not taken her for the kind of woman to wear such footwear. Clearly he was wrong.
On his right stood his brand new Queen, Ingvild. She'd chosen to wear a dark purple spaghetti-strap dress that showed off a deep valley of cleavage. To go with it she added a matching shawl that was draped over her neck and beneath her arms and black high heels.
Both ladies looked drop dead gorgeous and would have made anyone jealous of their beauty. Riser knew he was one lucky S.O.B. To have them on his arms, literally.
The trio walked to the open doors of the manor and into the interior where they were greeted by the household staff. On either side of the hallway, lined up in perfect precision were the maids and butlers that served the Gremory family. The butlers all bowed at a perfect forty-five degree angle while every maid gave a perfect curtsy. It was a wonderful display of not just wealth, but precision and skill.
Standing at the end of the long hallway were the hosts for the evening, Lord and Lady Gremory. Riser calmly walked down the center of the hallway with Xenovia and Ingvild's arms within his own. As they arrived before their hosts, he gently released his hold on his peerage members and offered his hand to Lady Gremory first.
Lady Gremory, Venelana, looked like she could be Rias's slightly older sister. It was easy to see where Rias got the shape of her face and body, though Venelana's hair was shorter in length and flaxen colored while her eyes were violet. Honestly... Riser was getting kind of tired of seeing women with violet or purple eyes. They were everywhere! Still, his growing dislike of the color aside, Venelana was a gorgeous woman making Lord Gremory a very lucky man indeed.
Lady Gremory, in response to Riser offering her hand, held her hand out. He gently grasped it and bent over slightly to kiss the air above her knuckles, “Greetings, Lady Gremory.”
Venelana giggled behind her other hand and gave Riser a sincere polite smile, “You're to be my son-in-law Riser, please call me Venelana, or mother.”
Riser gave her a polite smile as he straightened up and turned to offer his hand to the Lord of the manor, “Lord Gremory.”
Lord Gremory, Zeoticus, looked like a man in his mid to late twenties with long crimson hair and a well trimmed beard of the same color. His bright blue eyes glittered with amusement as he clasped hands with Riser. If Venelana is where Rias got her body and face, Zeoticus is where she got her hair and eyes. The older man squeezed Riser's hand in a firm handshake, “Please, call me Zeoticus, Zeo, or father. You've earned the right after everything my daughter has put you through.”
Riser returned Zeoticus' grip, neither going for a macho show of dominance, just a pair of equals shaking. Once they released each others hands, his arms were once more occupied by Xenovia and Ingvild's arms, “As you wish, Zeo. I apologize for not attending dinner the previous evening, but circumstances being what they were I would not have been good company or an appropriate guest.”
The Gremory's both frowned slightly, though it was Zeoticus who spoke, “Yes, our son's latest stunt. I don't know what that boy was thinking. I can only apologize for his actions.”
So saying, Zeoticus lowered his head toward Riser. Immediately, Riser held his hands up in a spot motion, “There's no need for that. Lord Lucifer is his own man and should be the one to apologize for his own actions.”
Zeoticus was quick to straighten up and give Riser a nod, “On that, we agree.” He slightly turned while gesturing for Riser to follow him, “Come, let's not let my son's thoughtless actions put a damper on tonight's festivities.”
Zeoticus and Venelana walked arm in arm leading Riser and his peerage into their home and directly toward a large dining room with a massive table in the center of it. There were already others present when they arrived. Rias and her entire peerage, minus the sex offender and shut-in dhampire, were all already seated at the table. That was one change that Riser had taken a while to notice. Due to her utter failure with properly controlling Issei, Rias had never been given permission to unseal Gasper.
Sucked to suck.
Riser led Ingvild and Xenovia to their seats, even pulling their chairs out for them like a proper gentleman, before taking his own seat near the head of the table across from Rias. Rias who, naturally, refused to look at him. Riser smiled a little and turned to Zeoticus, “Thank you for the invitation, Father.”
Rias flushed in anger and glared hatefully at Riser for what he'd just called Zeoticus. For his part, Zeoticus just smiled and nodded, “You're quite welcome. Now, let's begin.”
At his command, the maids and butlers lining the walls immediately got to work. With choreographed precision, everyone was served their dinner simultaneously. Most at the table dug into their meals with their best manners. Gentle conversation was shared between friends while they ate. For a while, the atmosphere was rather nice, until Zeoticus opened his mouth to ask the taboo question, “So, Riser, when do you think you and Rias will finally tie the knot? I would love to have more grandchildren to spoil.”
Rias choked on air then glared hatefully at her father. Riser, for his part, calmly finished the food in his mouth and turned to answer Zeoticus, “Well, Father, I plan to hold to the original agreement. Rias and I will wed shortly after she finishes her schooling. So, unless she chooses to go for a PHD in her chosen field, I don't see it being more than another four and a half years.”
Out of the corner of his eyes he could see Rias register his words, internalize them, and then begin to smirk in a defiant manner. Hook, line, and sinker. He didn't want to marry her anymore than she wanted to marry him. He'd been looking for a good opportunity to put the idea of a PHD in her head without making it obvious. Zeoticus had just provided that golden opportunity.
At the same time, Rias would now think it was her idea and stubbornly follow through on gaining a PHD just to 'stick it' to Riser and make him wait even longer. He did so love it when a plan came together! Hopefully she would pick a PHD that took ten years or more to earn! All the more time to figure out a way to get out of the marriage.
Zeoticus hummed, “I see. Well, Rias hasn't shown much interest in higher education so I doubt she would be in college beyond the standard four years.” He smiled, “We'll have to begin wedding planning in the near future. It will be quite the glorious event in the underworld to bring our two families together!”
Rias frowned and glared at her father. Internally, Riser was throwing a mental party. Zeoticus had just given Rias yet another push toward a PHD! He could kiss the man for the help he was providing! Riser felt himself relaxing, as if a weight was being lifted from his shoulders. He was certain that Rias would now search for a PHD that would take a long time to receive just to continue to push their wedding down the road. He'd just bought himself at least a decade of freedom. He was certain that before that decade was up, he would be stronger than Sirzechs and capable of calling the wedding off on his own.
Dinner continued from there and was soon over allowing Riser to make his way home. He had the next twenty days to train for the Young Devils Gathering and he was looking forward to spending much of that time taking a pounding from Sairaorg!
…
That came out wrong, even in his mind.
-----Line Break-----
Riser hummed as he looked at the fist sized gem in his hand. It had the appearance of Ruby but his knowledge of it let him know he could easily crush it in his hand. It was the last reward he'd received a few days ago. It had gone on the back burner as dealing with it in the middle of Ingvild's reincarnation would have been rude.
After that, he'd had no opportunity to work with it. The moment he cracked the gem, someone from somewhere in the infinite multiverse of anime and manga would be summoned into the world of DxD. There was no telling who it would be, only that they would be someone capable of combat, who willingly agreed to come, and was guaranteed to not attempt to murder him on sight for his race.
After that? Well, there was no promises of loyalty, only that they would be incapable of revealing their true origins. It was up to him to convince them to stick around with him. The summoned person could be male or female and from any point along their journey in their own world. In short, his dream of snagging Sakuya Izayoi and having a time-stopping knife wielding maid that Grayfia was mildly based on was impossible.
Now that he was alone while Xenovia and Ingvild were off with their respective trainers, it was time for him to crack the gem and see who he would be claiming. With a simple flex of his hand the shell of the gem cracked releasing bright rays of light. The shell shattered releasing a burst of light that summoned whomever was selected. Riser could feel their presence and soon the light faded to reveal the person.
“My my, at first I thought this was some sort of strange Nen technique. But I really am in a different world. How interesting.”
The owner of the sweet young voice was standing before Riser. She was a young girl that honestly reminded him a bit of his little sister Ravel. Like Ravel, the girl had golden blonde hair split into pigtails that became drills at the end. She was short, tiny even, and looked very much like a pre-teen in her sleeveless dress with a mantle and frilly skirt. She was currently standing in front of him, looking up with curious pink eye from beneath her white lace umbrella.
Riser would have had no idea who she was if it weren't for a single word she'd said, Nen. Nearly forgotten memories resurfaced with that word and let him know exactly who he was dealing with. He placed his right hand over his heart and gave her a small bow of respect, “Welcome to the Underworld, Biscuit Krueger.”
The now named Biscuit blinked her large eyes at him guilelessly, “The underworld? Does that mean I'm dead?”
Despite her young appearance, she isn't panicking like a child would. She's calmly assessing the situation and taking in all the information she can. Riser straightens from his bow and shakes his head, “No, you are still very much alive. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Riser Phenex, third son of the House of Phenex, a Marquis ranked house of the Seventy-Two Pillars of the Underworld and the one to summon you here.” His feathery fire wings erupted from his back, “I am also a Devil.”
Biscuit jerked back, looking scared, “Why would you summon me here Mr. Devil?” she gasped and turned to the side while giving him a coy look, “It's not for my body is it?!”
Riser choked on his own spit and coughed several times to clear his lungs before shouting, “NO!”
“Then why did you summon me Mr. Devil?”
Riser takes the time to collect himself before giving Biscuit the stink-eye, “I didn't summon you specifically. It was random.”
“But you knew my name.”
He shrugged, “I know lots of peoples names from lots of worlds. You're one that stuck out so I remember plenty about you. Things like your actual age.”
Biscuit dropped her act and scowled. He voice took on a slightly deeper tone and a dark edge to it, “Don't ever mention that again.”
Riser lifted his hands in a placating manner, “Of course not. Though, if you're willing to accept my offer, age will mean nothing to you any longer.”
With clear suspicion on her face, she asked the obvious question, “What offer?”
Riser straightened his clothing to look more presentable, he proceeded to explain about devils fertility issues, their losses from war leading to near extinction, and the invention of Evil Pieces and Rating Games. Biscuit listened without interrupting then asked, “So you want me to join your peerage and participate in these games? What's in it for me?”
Riser smiled, “I realize saying you would become a Devil doesn't quite convey just how impressive that is. Devils, as a species, live for tens of thousands of years. In fact, no Devil has ever died of old age. Only disease and being killed in combat has ever put one of us down. Which means your current age, would make you extremely young by devil standards.”
Here he smirked, “But I think the thing you will find most interesting is our limited ability to shapeshift.”
That quickly drew Biscuit's attention, “Explain.”
Riser shrugged his shoulders, “It's a slow process, but because of our agelessness, our bodies slowly shift into the shape we consider to be our best look. Devil's who are thousands of years old can appear in their twenties, or have a more distinguished appearance with gray hair and such. Though, even our 'older' appearing members lack wrinkles.”
His grin grew, “But there's more.”
He really had Biscuit's attention now, “More?”
Riser held his hand up, “I have an ability called Overhaul. With just a touch I can reshape a persons body into whatever they wish, as long as they have the appropriate mass. For example...”
Biscuit's eyes widened as she finished for him, “You could reshape my true form to be the appearance I desire most!”
Her eyes were practically glittering with greed as she stared at him, “If you do that for me I'll join your peerage or whatever!”
Riser held his hand out, “Deal!”
Biscuit slapped her hand into his and squeezed surprisingly hard, “Deal, but if you're lying I will rip your dick off and shove it down your throat for daring to mess with a maiden's heart!”
Riser had no doubt she would try. In all honesty, he had no idea how strong Biscuit really was or how Nen would interact with magic. It was all up in the air and completely unknown and unknowable. He finished the shake so he could turn his hand palm up and conjured an image of Biscuit as she currently appeared, “Tell you what, let's design your new appearance first. When we're done you'll appear exactly as you desire.”
Biscuit nodded excitedly and they got to work.
-----Line Break-----
Riser groaned and glared at Biscuit. They'd spent the last six hours working on her appearance. She'd demanded they work on every last detail. He was now intimately familiar with every last inch of the new body Biscuit would obtain. She'd shown zero hesitation as she had him custom sculpt every last detail of her genitals.
On the other hand, she would be gorgeous.
Biscuit finally stopped tapping her lips as she examined every last detail of the life-like image floating above Riser's palm, “I think that will be just perfect.” Her pink eyes focused on him intensely, “Are you sure you can do this?” Riser nodded. “And I won't lose any strength?”
He shook his head, “No. In fact, you might be even stronger since this form is smaller than your true form. That means the excess biomass needs to go somewhere. I'll use it to increase the density of your muscles and bones, to reinforce your tendons, and so on. You will have the same weight, but your size will be what you desire.”
She pouted, “Do I have to weigh the same? A true ladies weight should be light as a feather!”
Riser sighed. Comments like this were why things had taken so long, on top of her exacting detailed requirements, “Yes, Biscuit. I can remove the excess mass and lower your weight, but doing so would weaken you.”
Biscuit sighed in disappointment but nodded, “I worked to hard to gain that strength just to throw it away.” She looked over the image once more, “Fine, this is acceptable. Though I reserve the right to request minor adjustments in the future!”
Riser sighed with resignation, “Fine! Fine!” He held his hand out to her, “Now drop your transformation and lets get this over with.”
Biscuit grumbled, “I hate how this makes me look.”
Even while saying that, her body shifted drastically. The tiny pre-teen was suddenly replaced with a massive muscle bound woman. Despite the fact that she was actually approaching her sixties, Biscuit didn't look that old in her true form. However, he could see why she didn't like it. She had a very masculine appearance with arms thicker than Sairaorg's and legs like tree trunks. She wasn't ugly, but she also wasn't beautiful. She was most definitely a powerhouse though.
Riser reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder, “This is going to hurt for a brief moment and be very disorienting when you're new body forms.”
He'd learned the latter from subsequent meetings with Mil-tan to deliver magical tomes to her. Mil-tan was very happy with her change, but it took a while to get used to her new proportions. Even walking was a problem for a while, as was getting used to not being able to reach the top shelf anymore.
Biscuit nodded in acceptance, “I'm ready.”
At her word, her body exploded into a bloody cloud. The particles that made her up quickly swirled back together to reform her. Thanks to the hours spent on every detail, Riser managed to perfectly reassemble her into her new look with no issues. He even resized her dress slightly by thinning the material so it fit her more appropriately in her taller appearance. And what an appearance it was.
Biscuit had kept her hair and eyes the same since she liked them just the way they were. She'd just changed everything else. He'd still made her hair more luscious, but that was a bonus. Biscuits new body was slim yet had all the right curves in all the right places. Her bust was a modest B-cup, her hips flared out showing she was all woman, while her legs had some meat to them without looking too thick or muscular.
She blinked a few times and grimaced, “You weren't kidding about the pain.” She paused and reached up to touch her throat, missing it the first time but getting it the second, “My voice, it's... so soothing. Not that rough manly one I had before.”
She lifted her gloved hand and quickly pulled off the glove and examined the smooth skin of her much thinner fingers and arm. She smiled brightly while running the fingers of her other hand over her arm. She quickly began stripping off all of her clothing and examining every last inch of herself. It wasn't like Riser didn't already have detailed knowledge of every intimate inch of her body.
After examining herself from head to toe as best she could without a mirror, she focused on Riser with glee, “I'm beautiful!”
Riser smiled softly, “As long as you're happy, that's all that matters to me. Though yes, you are gorgeous.”
Biscuit placed her hands on her hips and puffed her chest out, “Damn right I am!”
Riser chuckled and summoned the wooden box containing his Evil Pieces, “Are you ready to remain that way for as long as you live?”
Biscuit nodded excitedly, “Hell yeah!” She paused and cleared her throat and changed her posture until she presented a demure appearance. Or, at least, as demure as a complete naked woman could present, “I mean, yes, I am ready to join your peerage Lord Riser.”
Riser rolled his eyes at the shift but didn't comment on it. He looked between her and his pieces a few times before he selected the rook piece. He felt like he could recruit her with two pawns, but didn't think those piece fit Biscuit. A rook though? She would definitely benefit from the enhanced strength and durability as it would just build on the foundations she already had there.
The ritual went flawlessly. When it was over, Biscuit released her wings and looked at them speculatively, “Why are they different from yours?”
“It's simply a matter of origins. I was not just born a devil, but into a clan. This gives me inherent abilities not possessed by anyone outside of my clan. My wings are one of those things. Your wings have the same appearance as the majority of other devils. To put it another way, I'm an outlier and your wings are perfectly normal.”
Biscuit considers that while her wings vanish. She focuses on something else by lifting her hand and extending her index finger. With hardly a thought a clear cloud of Nen energy appears and begins shaping itself into numbers going from zero to nine, “It looks like my usage of Nen hasn't been changed.” Another thought has her shrinking down into her child form once more. Which is slightly more disturbing with her still being naked. Thankfully, she shifts back and smirks at Riser, “Everything looks good.”
Riser nods while rolling his eyes, “Yeah, now get dressed. I'm starving and we've missed lunch.”
Biscuit gives him a teasing playful look as she runs her hands down her sides while coking her hip and thrusting her chest out just enough to get her breasts to jiggle, “Are you sure you want me to get dressed and hide all of this?”
Riser rolled his eyes and began muttering to himself as he turned and began walking toward his home. Now, all he needed to do was come up with a suitable lie about how he found Biscuit and pulled her into his peerage. That shouldn't be too hard, right? It's not like she had a completely unknown never before seen ability that anyone could potentially learn, right?
Fuck, this was going to be a complete pain in his ass, wasn't it?
-----Line Break-----
AN
9.5k words. Seemed like a good place to stop. some stuff went down and something new was introduced. Nifty, yeah?
So, what do you guys think about Biscuit Kreuger from Hunter X Hunter being introduced and becoming Riser's new Rook? How did I choose her? I asked ChatGPT for a list and rolled a die. Honestly, I don't think I could have picked a more interesting character. She brings a lot to the table and could be very interesting as a new element to the story. Especially since she can introduce Nen. But, should I make it possible for other people to learn, like Total Concentration Breathing, or make it unique to her since she's from the world Nen comes from?
Now! The next chapter is coming from Fabricator with 47% of the vote. Though I'm a little sad that fewer people overall voted this time. Though 'The Book of Solomon' coming in at second place with 20% was a surprise. Anyway, I'll get to work on that next Fabricator chapter, but keep in mind there WILL BE A DELAY! I need to reread the story and double-check my notes to remember what I was doing there.
I'll put up the next vote a little later. I hope you all enjoy this chapter of The Phenex Rises! Be sure to let me know what you think!