Chapter 7
Alexander knew things were going too well and that he was having far too much fun. Here he was, heading to Kuoh Academy all because Sona had asked him for a favor. Her best friend, Rias, wanted to talk to him about something. Not too long ago he probably would have flat out refused on principle if nothing else. Except... Sona had changed since their date night. She was still pretty strict and stoic, but there was a... softness to her when she spoke to him.
So, since she actually asked nicely, he felt like he should show his fiancee some respect. He accepted her request and even went out of his way to drive to Kuoh Academy rather than force Rias to come to him. He was honestly kind of disappointed that Rias hadn't come back to the resort since the meeting with her brother and Serafall. Not that he blamed her, Big Red was a terrifying monster. Who would want to risk running into him again?
He pulled into the parking lot and let out a heavy sigh. He'd even taken the time to get properly dressed for whatever this was about. Lucy was bad enough about his state of dress in public, but even Tali had started to get on his case about it. Her and Lucy got along and had combined their nagging might into one super-nag conglomerate. Thank god his precious Asia didn't get in on the nagging. Speaking of her, he needed to spend more time with her and do something special for her.
Poor Valerie was still in recovery, but was getting better by the day. The last time he'd seen her she'd actually been able to recognize him and say his name. It was quite a lot of progress and it seemed to be getting faster.
He pulled into a parking spot and got out of his Regalia. While walking toward the old school building where Rias was waiting for him, he paused and looked toward the upper floor. His senses had been growing sharper and clearer on a near constant basis since he became a Perfect Lifeform but it had taken longer for his magical senses to grow stronger. Now he could sense several presences within the building, one of which dwarfed all the others, and himself.
He shrugged it off and entered the building so he could make his way to the second floor where he was meeting Rias. Since he'd been invited, he didn't bother knocking and just let himself in. He paused at the sight that greeted him. Everything looked normal at first glance. Rias was sitting behind her big desk. Akeno was in the small kitchen making tea. Kiba was standing near the door Alexander had just come through as if he were standing guard. Raynare was sitting on a couch, or rather she was lounging in a skimpy outfit that left little to the imagination. At least it was better than her outfit on their one horrendous date.
Then there was Koneko the little white haired girl he'd once shared his sushi with, on the only day of school he attended. Her wide golden eyes were locked on him and following his every move. It was kind of uncomfortable since he couldn't tell if she wanted him to give her sushi, if she wanted to eat him, or if that was... There was no way in hell that was lust in her eyes, right?
Lastly, standing next to Rias was someone he'd never seen before and by far the strongest person in the room. She was a beautiful young woman with a voluptuous body wearing a real maid outfit, 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. Her red eyes locked on him when he stepped into the room.
He studied her while Rias spotted him and smiled brightly, “Alexander-san, I'm glad you could join us. Oh! Allow me to introduce my brother's Queen, Grayfia Lucifuge.” She gestured to the silver haired maid next to her.
Alexander gave her a polite nod of his head while making his way to the couch where Raynare was sitting. There was no way he was sitting on the love seat next to Koneko when she was looking at him... that way. Whatever way it happened to be. As he sat he smiled at Rias in a polite fashion while answering her, “Thank you for having me.” Then he gave Grayfia a polite nod of acknowledgment before addressing Rias once more, “So, why am I here and not at home gaming to my hearts content?”
Grayfia quietly studied the young human who'd just entered the room. He was the source of Sirzechs recent concerns, the boy in contact with Great Red. Perhaps this meeting would give her a chance to get some more information she could provide to Sirzechs to help the situation.
Rias opened her mouth to explain but was cut off by a burst of flames coming out of the teleportation circle inscribed on the floor. When the flames receded a man was revealed. The man was tall and handsome appearing to be in his early twenties 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 he wore a white dress shirt that was not fully buttoned.
The moment Alexander saw him the first word to come to mind was 'douche'.
Rias scowled at the sight of the man. When she addressed him her voice was filled with loathing, “Riser, you're early.”
Riser spread his arms in a 'what can you do' manner with a smile he clearly thought made him look charming but really made him look sleazy, “I simply couldn't wait to see you, my dear Rias. I come bearing good news. Our parents, in their wisdom, have seen fit to move our wedding forward. We're to be wed immediately.”
Rias glared at Riser with more hatred than Alexander had seen from anyone before. She scowled and spit out, “I refuse, I have said it for years, I will never marry you Riser Phenex.”
Alexander felt extremely uncomfortable. Koneko was still staring at him like she either wanted to eat or rape him, and now he had to sit and watch a lovers spat right in front of him. This is NOT what he came here for. He slowly began to slide down off of the couch and toward the floor, it was time to make his escape from the awkward situation.
Riser scowled at Rias, flames danced around him as he growled out, “You don't have a choice in the matter. Our parents have decided, that is all that matters. You will be returning with me to the Underworld, even if I have to burn this entire place to the ground.”
Flames roared around Riser as he practically shouted the last part. His head snapped to the side where Alexander had just managed to make it to the floor and had begun to crawl away while everyone was paying attention to Riser. Riser, clearly thinking he was being mocked pointed a finger directly at Alexander and demanded, “Who the hell are you? Another new piece in Rias's collection of misfit trash?!”
Alexander paused, then everyone did as the temperature in the room plummeted despite the flames roaring from Riser. Riser's flames vanished when a cool voice spoke up, “I am here to make sure things remain civil. You will both behave in a manner befitting your stations.”
Riser plastered a placating smile on his face, “Of course, I would never go against the Strongest Queen in the Underworld.” His gaze moved back to Alexander who had resumed his trek toward the exit and asked, “Who is the sniveling worm crawling away?”
Alexander paused in his crawl toward freedom and let out a sigh. He knew he was many things, lazy, a little greedy for the right things, a Hiki-NEET, and in general just someone who would ignore the rest of the world if he could. One thing he had never considered himself to be, was a coward. Did he want to fight people? Fuck no. Would he fight people? Yes. Great Red had proven that by throwing him into two combat situations. Sure, he wasn't the greatest fighter in the world, but he wasn't too shabby, especially with magic involved.
He pushed himself to his feet and slowly turned to face Riser. His eyes were lidded and matched with the dark circles under them that were there because he wanted them to be to make his gaze look almost dead, “Weaklings should know not to provoke random strangers. You never know what kind of monster you might be provoking.”
Riser's face screwed up into a countenance of pure rage, “Are you, some pathetic little human, calling me weak?!”
Once again flames roared to life around him, only this time Grayfia didn't interfere. Alexander, contrary to Riser's expectations, didn't seem the least bit bothered. In fact, Alexander lifted his hand to his mouth and covered a yawn. That only induced further rage in Riser. He raised his hand and conjured up a roaring ball of fire before he paused and a condescending smirk curled his lips. He dismissed all of his flames then straightened his clothing out.
With a smirk he addressed Alexander, “Allow me to show you just how weak you are, human.”
With another flair of flames the summoning circle activated once more, this time a bevvy of women appeared from the flames ranging in ages and looks to cover a variety of tastes. Alexander looked at the group of women and couldn't help but wonder if his current home world was a hentai of some sort. Some loser like Riser had a group of pretty girls like that? Definitely a hentai world of some sort.
They all moved to stand near Riser while the man himself lifted his nose slightly in the air with a look of superiority, “Mira. Teach the human his place beneath us.”
The girl he addressed, Mira, stepped forward. She was a young girl with blue hair and light brown eyes. Her hair was styled with six short ponytails. The front of her hair features split bangs going across her forehead, with side bangs framing her face. Her outfit consisted of a white haori with a red obi, which is worn under a red happi coat. She wore bandages on her forearms and shins and wore black guards over her hands. For footwear, she wore a pair of zõri.
She twirled a long wooden staff while smirking at Alexander. Without warning she suddenly dashed forward at high speed while leveling her staff like a spear and thrusting it right at Alexander's heart. If it had been Alexander back when he first came to his new world, he would have gotten his ass handed to him on a platter.
Now though? Mira looked like she was moving in slow motion through molasses. Honestly, he thought he had time for a quick nap while waiting for her to get within striking range. It was even worse because his Grandmaster Math was making calculating her trajectory and striking strength as simple as breathing.
From his point of view, he slowly raised his hand in front of his chest and caught the end of the thrusting staff. He could see Mira's eyes slowly widening in surprise. He didn't give her much time to really understand what was happening. He twisted his body to the right while pulling her staff forward with his left hand to keep her moving, then stepped into her personal space. He lowered his posture and buried his elbow into her stomach.
Mira gagged from being forced to bend over his arm from the blow. When he stepped back she collapsed to the ground while clutching her stomach. Aside from Mira gagging, the room was silent while everyone stared at Alexander in surprise. He was a little annoyed that even Rias and Akeno looked surprised. They both knew he was of interest to Great Red so they could have at least expected him to be capable of defeating someone as incredibly weak as Mira.
She was so weak compared to him that she didn't even rate a bronze gacha ticket for her defeat. Though he could feel Winner Takes All kick in. He could demand something small from her for the defeat. It was a small fight with small stakes, so his reward was small. The question was, what should he demand? There was no time limit on it so he could demand something later. Except, he had to make the demand face to face.
Didn't mean he had a damned clue on what to demand though, so he remained silent and stood tall over the collapsed form of Mira.
Amazingly, Riser was the second person to recover from their surprise, Grayfia had barely shown her surprise. His face turned bright red from embarrassment from seeing Mira so easily defeated after his boasting. That embarrassment quickly transformed into a towering rage from the damage to his pride. Alexander's bland expression of boredom only made his temper flare even higher.
Alexander sighed as, yet again, flames roared around Riser and the temperature in the room rose yet again. With a flick of his hand a spell circle appeared above Riser and released a torrent of below freezing temperature water. Riser's flames were extinguished and the man himself was instantly coated in a layer of frost as the ice froze on contact. Other spell circle protected everyone else in the room from any excess splashing.
Both spells ended pretty quickly leaving Riser wet and covered in frost with a small area of frozen carpet around his feet. Now everyone, bar Grayfia, was staring in shock for a whole different reason.
Alexander sighed in boredom, “There, that aught to cool you down. Honestly, flaring up every time you get a little upset. What are you a child throwing a temper tantrum? Grow up.”
Riser looked like he was going to flare up, yet again, when Grayfia's cold voice cut through the tension in the air, “That will be quite enough.”
Riser was so caught in his rage that he actually turned toward Grayfia with a snarl on his lips, only to pause when he realized just who he was staring at. He forcefully calmed himself down with a deep breath. Finally as calm as he could make himself, Riser addressed Grayfia, “I apologize for my rudeness. This... human, is infuriating.” Riser clearly wanted to call Alexander something derogatory, “I demand a duel. He has tarnished my honor and dared to lay a hand on me. It is my right to do so.”
Normally, he would have just killed Alexander for everything he'd said and done. There were no laws against murdering humans. Unfortunately, he was in territory controlled by two pillar clans, the Gremory and Sitri through Rias and Sona. Normally not much of a problem either, but then there was their siblings to consider. Riser might have an inflated ego, but even his head wasn't big enough to think he could take on either Sirzechs Lucifer or Serafall Sitri if he pushed too hard. So, he asked the highest ranked person there, even if she liked to pretend she was just a humble maid.
Grayfia considered the situation. Sirzechs had told her of the human's connection to Great Red, but they didn't know how deep that connection ran. They needed a measure of the boy's strength and this presented a good opportunity to learn it. She considered all the pros and cons and finally decided to allow the duel to happen. In the worst case scenario, they could resurrect him as a Devil. Her cold red gaze turned to Alexander, “Do you have any objections?”
Riser seethed at the human being given a chance to weasel out of the duel. Alexander, however, gave Grayfia a bland gaze, “What's in it for me?”
Riser turned to face Alexander and scoffed derisively, “You would refuse a duel like a coward?”
Alexander sighed, “That's not what I said. I said, what's in it for me? Why would I duel a pompous blowhard like you without their being something worthwhile in it for me? It's not like kicking your ass would give me any satisfaction.”
Fortunately, right now his Pride curse wasn't kicking in because he hadn't been challenged directly yet. Only asked if he would duel. He didn't mind kicking the blonde douche-bag's ass, but he wanted something other than satisfaction out of it.
Grayfia studied Alexander for a time, “And what would you want out of it?”
Alexander stroked his chin in thought, then grinned broadly, “I want the most valuable thing he owns.”
Riser scoffed. The Phenex family was the wealthiest in the Underworld and he owned many many expensive things. In the impossible event that he actually lost, he probably wouldn't even notice what he lost. He was not about to let the human get the better of him and liked the human's idea, “In that case, I demand the same from you. When you lose I will gain something of equal value to what I am betting.”
Alexander shrugged his shoulders, “Alright, deal. When do we do this?”
Grayfia stepped away from Rias's desk and between the two men. When she spoke she did so with an officious tone, “Then I, Grayfia Lucifuge Queen of Sirzechs Lucifer, will make the arrangements for this duel. Both parties have wagered the most valuable thing they possess of equal worth. The duel will be held at midnight tonight. Are there any objections?”
Alexander shook his head. Riser had a look of gloating as he commented, “I will be looking forward to seeing you grovel at my feet, human.”
Alexander lifted a hand to his mouth to cover his yawn. Riser scowled but didn't rise to the bait with Grayfia still standing between them. He turned to look at Rias, “I will return tomorrow to finish our discussion.” His gaze turned to his harem of a peerage, which included a recovered Mira who'd returned to her place unnoticed, “We're leaving.”
They all moved to the teleportation circle and teleported out in a burst of flames. If nothing else, Alexander would give him props for the cool factor of that entrance and exit.
There was a long moment of silence before Grayfia turned to Rias, “I will be taking my leave now. I have a dueling ground to prepare.”
Before she could leave, Alexander spoke up, “I'd like to make a request.”
Grayfia paused and turned to look at Alexander with curiosity. He continued, “I'd like for this duel to be broadcast like I've heard Rating Games can be.”
Grayfia frowned minutely, “Might I ask, why?”
He shrugged, “Simple. I'm hoping once people see me pound that arrogant idiot into the ground with an excess of ease, they will be less willing to be a problem in the future.”
“You intend to use your defeat of Riser as a warning to others? Are you that confident in your victory over him? He is a powerful High-Class Devil with the powers of the Phenex clan at his disposal, including immortality.”
Alexander shrugged his shoulders, “So? There's no such thing as true immortality. I'm certain there are ways around it. So, will you do it?”
Grayfia considered it before shaking her head, “No. A small matter like this is unworthy of being broadcast.”
Not only was that true, but she was also certain that the Satans would not appreciate Alexander being broadcast to the supernatural world. She ignored the look of disappointment on his face and teleported out of the club room. She had much to report to Sirzechs.
Alexander grumbled and walked back over to the couch and sat once more while the other occupants continued to stare at him. Finally, he broke the silence by addressing Rias, “So, why did you want me to come here anyway?”
Rias quickly shook herself and straightened up in her seat, “I was hoping to talk to you about potentially training with my peerage. We train together but it would be nice to have someone else to train with to get more experience. Sona has told me how good you are with magic and I was hoping to train against it.”
Alexander considered it for a moment before shrugging, “I suppose I could, if you make it worth my while. What can you offer me?”
Rias paused to consider what she could give him. Money was out, his resort made him plenty of that. Not to mention everything else Lucy was running. She wasn't hiding her work so it was easy enough for those interested to follow her in the human world. They estimated she was worth several trillion yen, and growing, at this point.
Magic was already something he'd mastered to an unheard of degree in such a short time, so that was out of the question. Obviously, she couldn't offer to turn him into a Devil, he wasn't interested in that. Although... he didn't seem to mind spending time with Devils so perhaps...
Her lips curled into a playful smile, “How about a date? You, me, somewhere nice.”
Alexander stared at her blankly. Then he let out a long sigh before he answered, “Why would you offer me something like that? You know I'm engaged to Sona. I'm not some sort of scumbag who will chase after every good looking woman with a descent rack. It might have been against my will to get engaged, but I would never disgrace Sona by cheating on her.”
Rias was struck silent, though her cheeks colored. In that moment she was very impressed with Alexander. She knew how unwilling he was to be engaged to Sona because Sona told her. Yet he was still unwilling to even appear to be cheating on her. That, combined with his good looks, made him remarkably attractive.
“I understand where you're coming from.” she began, “but there are apparently things about devil society that you are unaware of. For a start, monogamy really isn't a thing among Devils. In fact, the vast majority of Devils are members of, or have, a harem. It really is a very common thing. Ask Sona, she'll say the same.”
Alexander considered doing that, not that he wanted a harem or to date Rias, mostly he was just curious. If they continued to fail to end their engagement, he would end up forced to marry Sona. Knowing more about her culture wouldn't be a bad idea. She knew all about human culture... presumably.
“Maybe if you think of something to make it worth my while I might consider doing it. Until then, I've got a game to get back to!”
He hopped off of the couch and made his way to the door while everyone watched. Though the golden eyes of Koneko were watching him a lot harder than anyone else. He did his best to ignore the uncomfortable feeling being stared at by her engendered in him.
-----Line Break-----
Alexander stood in a small room and wondered just what his life had become. After leaving Rias's club room and heading home, he'd told Lucy all about what happened. She'd laughed at him and refused to say WHY she was laughing. It was really annoying.
He'd called Sona to ask about the harem thing. It turned out that Rias was right. Harems were by far the norm when it came to Devil relationships. Both men and women had harems with just a few exceptions. She'd given Sirzechs as one example sine he'd only married Grayfia and refused to have anyone else. She also gave Roygun Belphegor, who despite the awesome name was a woman, as another example. Especially since Roygun was one of the most eligible bachelorettes in the Underworld being the second ranked Rating Game champion.
Sona had informed him that she had no qualms with him dating Rias. She recommended against it through due to her engagement to Riser. Wasn't that something interesting to find out? Sona had explained that much like Rias, she'd been forced into a marriage contract to someone she didn't like, before Alexander. She'd managed to get free but Rias had no such luck. Rias's only hope was victory in a Rating Game. Hence her desire to train with Alexander to make her peerage stronger.
When she'd learned about the duel she'd been annoyed with him. He'd teased her about another bet but she'd declined, for obvious reasons.
Then the time for the duel approached. Grayfia had come to fetch him and taken him to where he was now. She'd also informed him that the match would, in fact, be broadcast at the request of the Phenex clan. It looked like Riser had a very similar idea to Alexander, showing the world what happened when someone crossed him.
Alexander could appreciate that. Especially since it would work out best in his favor. Sona had told him all about Riser's powers and abilities. His so-called Immortality was just an extremely powerful regeneration factor fueled by his demonic power. His clan all specialized in their use of hellfire and wind magic. Nothing too special as far as he was concerned, but he decided to stack the deck in his favor as best he could.
He was pulled out of his thoughts by Grayfia's voice coming out of thin air, “Greetings ladies and gentleman. I am Grayfia Lucifuge, Queen of Sirechs Lucifer, and I will be presiding over this duel. The challenger, Riser Phenex of the Phenex Clan has challenged Alexander Smith to a duel. This will NOT be a duel to the death. The first to render their opponent unconscious or make them give up will be declared the winner. This duel will take place in a Rating Game area specially modified for this event.”
There was a paused before she continued, “The duelists will now be teleported into the arena. Good luck, Gentleman.”
Alexander blinked the light out of his eyes from the teleportation. He looked around and found himself on a path in the middle of a dark forest. Down the path he could see what looked like the ruins of a once majestic castle. Well, that was just... lovely.
He stuck his hands on his pockets and began to walk. Between one step and the next his eyes transformed to reveal his two tomoe sharingan. All of his senses were on high alert, including his newest one, magical. He quickly detected Riser and rolled his eyes when he did. The man was just sitting there, waiting for him near the castle. Probably in a courtyard if he had his guess.
Alexander slouched and let out a deep sigh while making his way toward the castle. Upon walking through the main gate he saw Riser, in the same outfit he'd worn earlier, standing in the middle of the courtyard with his arms crossed. The moment he saw Alexander, Riser tilted his head up and smirked, “Ah, finally you arrive human. I give you this chance, this one chance to get down on your knees and beg for my forgiveness. Do so and I will not burn your face so badly that your mother wouldn't recognize you.”
Alexander could help himself, he laughed. Naturally, that did not please Riser. Riser scowled at him, “What's so funny worm?!”
Alexander finally finished his laughter and stare Riser in his eyes giving the man the first true look at his blood red sharingan eyes. Seeing them caused Riser to take an unconscious step backward. Alexander just smirked at him, “Sorry. It's just, you sounded so much like a cliché that I couldn't resist laughing.”
Riser stared at Alexander, “Your eyes. What is wrong with your eyes?!”
The tomoe in Alexander's eyes began to slowly rotate around his pupils, “Wrong? Nothing. These are the eyes of a god and they see right through you.”
Well, that was sort of true if you stretched the meaning of true. The Sharingan was, after all, just a much weakened version of the Rinnegan which were the eyes of a god-like being. Riser didn't seem to think much of Alexander's claims as he laughed.
When he finished he smirked at Alexander, “Whatever those mutant things are, I will pluck them out of your skull and crush them beneath my heel.” He raised his right hand and conjured a massive ball of hellfire, “Now. DIE!”
Riser threw his hand forward and launched a torrent of flames directly at Alexander. Alexander felt his heartbeat increase as adrenaline pumped into his veins. Yet, he remained calm, his absolute control over his biology kept the adrenaline from giving him the shakes. Instead, he used the adrenaline to enhance his focus. His eyes whirled while Grandmaster Math calculated things he couldn't consciously comprehend. He'd noticed that his skill knew more than he did as it calculated exactly how much power Riser was using and let him know how much he needed to use in turn to cast a shield spell.
So, he did just that. A white shield sprang to life between himself and Riser's flames blocking them completely. Alexander didn't even feel the heat when the fire blasted by. He calmly observed the flames and concluded that he couldn't mimic them. There was something... unique about their properties that he couldn't emulate. Probably had something to do with Devil physiology. Well, he could fix that.
It was time to make the arrogant Phenex bleed.
While the flames continued to part around him, he created another new spell that harnessed pure light. He held the spell back until the flames finally finished. The moment he spotted Riser, he launched the spell. A tiny dart as small as a pinky-finger short through the air at light speed and pierced clean through Riser's raised hand.
Riser screamed and clutched his hand protectively against his chest. He looked at the hole through the middle of his hand that refused to heal and was bleeding heavily. His manic gaze turned to stare at Alexander, “What did you DO?!”
Alexander didn't answer, instead another spell circle appeared and flowed down his hand covering it in a golden glow. Riser's eyes widened at the sight, “Light magic?! HOW?!”
Silence is the answer Riser gets. Alexander bends his knees slightly, then dashes forward at blinding speed. Not only was his magic at the peak of High-Class on the Devil scale, but so was his physique. Combined they made him more powerful than most High-Class devils who only focused on their magic, such as Riser.
Alexander's blitz put him right in front of Riser with his fist pulled back. He still didn't have a good fighting skill, but Gooning at least let him throw a proper punch! His fist slammed into Riser's face with bone cracking force. At the same time, his left hand snapped out and touched the wound on Riser's hand to absorb some of the blood that had leaked out. The force of the blow from Alexander's glowing hand cracked Riser's jaw and sent the arrogant jerk flying.
While Riser slammed into the ground and groaned in pain from his broken jaw, Alexander analyzed the blood he'd stolen. It was more instinct than knowledge but he did understand the blood and he knew he could integrate it into himself. Doing so would give him all the powers that Riser had. He would, essentially, become a member of the Phenex clan. Yet, he wouldn't become a Devil, he'd just gain their basic abilities and the ability to emulate a devil, if he wished to.
While Riser writhed on the ground trying to work through the pain of a broken jaw, Alexander casually lifted his hand and summoned a writhing ball of Hellfire without the need of a spell circle. He chuckled as he played with the fire. This whole fiasco might have actually been worth it.
-----Line Break-----
Everyone in the room stared in shock at the display in front of them. Lord and Lady Phenex, Sirzechs, Serafall, Ajuka, and Falbium stared. Along with them Rias, Sona, and their entire peerages stared. The guests Riser had invited including his friends Diodora and Zephyrdor all stared.
They all watched as a supposed human somehow began using the Phenex clans famous Hellfire moments after punching Riser in the face with light magic. Just the fact that the human used light magic would have been surprising enough. While not impossible, it usually took the greatest of mages or someone of extreme faith to be able to do so.
The moment of shocked silence lasted until Lord Phenex jumped to his feet and pointed at the screen in accusation, “That's impossible! He's somehow stolen Riser's power!” His blue gaze snapped to Sirzechs and the other three Statans, “I demand this duel be stopped and that human executed for daring to steal the power of the Phenex clan!”
Serafall was the one to speak up as the one in charge of foreign affairs, “Lord Phenex, there is no law against what has happened here. This is a sanctioned duel issued by your son. Interference from you would constitute a forfeit on the part of Riser. Do you wish to officially withdraw your son as the Head of the Phenex Clan and declare the match his loss? Keep in mind, this will make Alexander Smith the winner and Riser will be forced to pay his debt regardless of what happens after.”
Lord Phenex glared for a long moment before he dropped into his seat, “Riser will not lose to a human, even one that can steal the powers of a clan.”
Everyone's gaze returned to the screen where Riser was just beginning to push himself to his feet. The Satans knew the matter wasn't closed. Alexander had shown an ability that all the remaining pillar families would want him dead for possessing. He'd just given them all a massive amount of work and none of them were pleased by it.
-----Line Break-----
Alexander snuffed out the flames and turned his attention back to Riser as the man finally calmed himself down enough to face Alexander once more. The broken jaw, that would take time to heal, prevented Riser from talking, let alone shouting. Not that he needed to with how much hatred there was in his eyes as he glared at Alexander. Clearly the man wanted to kill Alexander for hurting him. Not that Alexander was going to give him the chance.
“Well, this has been fun, but I'm not interested in dragging things out. Time for you to lose in spectacular fashion.”
His piece said, Alexander raised his hand above his hand and conjured a massive golden spell circle. Normally he wouldn't have been able to pull this off even using all of his magical reserves, but thanks to his Blessing of Ophis he had more than enough power. With a grunt, he began pouring massive amounts of power into the spell circle which proceeded to conjure up a gigantic ball of pure light, almost like a miniature sun.
Riser stared in horror, he could feel his skin prickling from the power of the light spell. If it actually hit him, he knew he would die. Alexander calmly flicked his wrist and sent the massive ball of pure light directly at Riser.
Even with his broken jaw, Riser managed to scream, “I quit!”
Blue light immediately surrounded him and transported him out of the dueling arena. The light spell hit the ground where he'd been standing and detonated like a supernova of pure light that would obliterate any devil below Ultimate-class, though even someone that strong would be seriously injured.
Another moment later and Alexander was transported out with the same blue flash of light. When the light cleared, he found himself in a room filled with people he didn't know, and some he did, all staring at him. Quite a few with clearly hostile intent.
Before any of them could say anything, he looked at Serafall, “Just deliver whatever I won to my place. Peace!”
He teleported out and left a big mess behind himself. Not that he would have cared even if he'd known.
-----Line Break-----
Alexander sat in his chair and stared at the holographic screen and the brightly colored characters on it. He was in heaven. The duel had been three days ago and no one had bothered him since. Not even Lucy to make him give people massages!
He was in his heaven and had been for days. So, he wasn't the least bit surprised that someone had come to ruin it. He slowly turned his chair around to stare at the magical girl standing in his doorway. He wasn't too surprised to see her. In fact, he'd been expecting her. He'd just hoped she would have come either much sooner or much later. What he had not expected was for Rias to be standing next to her while blushing and looking embarrassed.
Alexander focused on Serafall, “So... what do you want?”
Serafall smirked, “I'm here to deliver the most valuable thing that Riser owned.”
Now, Alexander was lazy as hell, but he wasn't stupid. He could put two and two together even without Grandmaster Math. His eyes moved between Serafall and Rias before he let out a long suffering sigh, “It was the marriage contract to Rias, wasn't it?”
Serafall giggled and posed with a peace sign, “That's right! You are now the proud owner of a marriage contract between yourself and Rias! Yaaaaaay!”
Rias's face was flushed red from embarrassment and she couldn't meet his eyes. Alexander sighed and slumped even further in his chair, “Figures. Now what?”
Serafall cheerfully shrugged her shoulders causing her breasts to bounce far more than they should have, “That's up to you two! Have fun and don't do anything I wouldn't do!”
He let out a sigh as Serafall left Rias and him alone. He looked at Rias and frowned, “Is there a chance to get out of the marriage contract like there is with Sona?”
Rias paused, then shook her head, “A rating game was the only chance but as a non-devil you can't participate in them. I suppose we could duel, but I'd never win against you in a one on one.”
A groan of pure frustration was her reply. She pouted a little, “Would it really be so bad to marry me?”
He shook his head, “It's not that. You're gorgeous and seem like a descent person, but I hardly know you. What really bugs me is that I now have to take you out on dates too.”
Rias crossed her arms under her breasts and huffed, “Are you always like this?”
“Pretty much. I'd much rather stay here and watch anime or play video games than go out on dates!”
Rias paused and slowly took in the room they were inside of. She'd been too embarrassed at first to really pay attention but now that she was mildly annoyed, she took a look around. Her eyes widened as she took in the whole room being dominated by the massive holographic display of a paused game, “Is... is that a holographic TV?!”
Alexander looked over his shoulder then back to Rias, “Yes, it is. I was just using it to play Final Fantasy XX.”
She stared for a moment before her gaze narrowed at him, “The last game was Final Fantasy XIII and it was an MMO that got shut down!” She paused, “Though there are rumors of it coming back next year. After being revamped. How the hell could you possibly be playing Final Fantasy XX?!”
Alexander froze at the question. Right... he was supposed to keep his ability to travel all of reality, which included time and space, a secret. Time travel was not something normal people should have access to. He felt it was alright in his hands through, naturally. So, obviously he needed to lie now, “You're right of course. It's not Final Fantasy XX. It's... Something else.”
Rias stared at him, then laughed, “You don't expect me to believe that do you? So, what are you a time traveler or something?”
“Or something. And lets leave it at that. I don't know you well enough to tell you anything more.”
Rias studied him for a while before she let it go, “Fine, I can respect that. For now.” Her gaze turned bright, “So, what's it like to watch anime on that thing?!”
While she bounced up to him, which did interesting things to her chest, he nodded and replied, “It can. I have a massive library of anime as well as games.”
He might have gone back to the Mass Effect Universe to grab digital copies of every anime for the last hundred or so years. It cost a pretty penny, but he could afford it. Rias sauntered right up to him with her eyes wide and bright, “Show me!”
Alexander chuckled and spent the next twelve hours watching anime with Rias until Akeno came and literally dragged her out of the mansion.
-----Line Break-----
Alexander stared into the alley before him, the sight one of shock that filled him with joy. He looked at the colorful and crazy display of magic and magic wares all around and couldn't help whispering, “I really am in Diagon Alley.”
The idea had come to him while he was spending time with Rias. They'd watched an anime involving magic with wands and it had reminded him of Harry Potter. Then, thinking of Harry Potter reminded him of something else about the series, Arithmancy, the ability to use math to predict the future. But, also, in a lot of fanfiction it was how spells were designed.
Spell design using MATH! How could he resist such a possibility? The more kinds of mathematical magic he knew, the more kinds of spells he could create. Plus, Harry Potter magic was just convenient!
He also wanted to look into runes to see if they could be used for enchanting or if they really were just dead languages that Wizards and Witches read for fun.
So, he opened a door into Diagon Alley with the intention of buying books on those subjects. Now though? He was going to buy books on all the magical subjects. He was especially interested in Transmutation. The ability to change one thing into another with the wave of his hand sounded awesome.
There was also the fact that Harry Potter magic didn't require spell circles. Something like that would be extremely helpful in his home world as no one would be able to see his spells coming. You know, except as flying balls of bright light flying toward them.
Okay! First stop, Gringotts, he needed some Galleons. He could see the massive marble edifice of the building from where he was and started walking toward it. He ignored all the looks he was getting from the witches and wizards walking up and down the alley. He quickly figured out why. The only kids he saw were really young, as in under eleven, and accompanied by parents.
Oh, he also supposed his fully 'muggle' clothing of boots, jeans, a tee-shirt, and jacket also made him stick out. He always forgot just how attractive the ROBs had made him. He didn't even pause when he got to the doors of Gringotts. Given what he'd been through, the sight of the short ugly goblins didn't even really register as more than mildly noteworthy.
There were only a few people in lines and no free tellers, so he calmly got in line behind a man wearing dark robes. The man turned to glance at Alexander then sneered before turning back around while muttering, “Filthy mudblood.”
Alexander blinked then remembered that was supposed to be some sort of insult toward the muggleborn. He supposed he counted as a muggleborn. On the other hand, he ignored the idiot because he was seriously weak. The magical power he could sense in the man was pathetically weak. To him it felt like a guttering candle about to go out at any moment.
He waited in line quietly. Though he paid attention when the man in front of him, presumably a 'pureblood' of some sort, yelled and shouted for the goblin to do what he wanted it to do. No wonder goblin rebellions were such a common thing. He'd rebel if he was treated that way. Not that he planned to be overly polite himself, he just wanted to get his shit done and leave.
Finally, it was his turn. He pulled a pouch out of his pocket that he'd cast a temporary spell on and set it on the counter while addressing the bored looking goblin in a nice suit, “I'd like this gold converted into galleons.”
The goblin raised a think bushy eyebrow and picked up the bag to empty it onto a scale. The bag contained five pounds of pure gold which was a surprisingly small amount, physically speaking. Gold weighed a lot. The goblin ran though some calculations before returning his attention to Alexander, “Eighty ounces of gold is currently worth twenty thousand seven hundred and twenty British Pounds. That comes to four thousand one hundred and forty-four Galleons. Minus a ten percent conversion fee, that leaves you with seven hundred and forty five Galleons, fifteen Sickles, and nineteen Knuts.”
Alexander paused, then shrugged, “Alright.”
The goblin got to work refilling the sack with wizarding money. Lucy's spell had temporarily expanded the interior to fit a fair bit more than normal. Something the goblin didn't even comment on. After several minutes of counting our gold, silver, and copper coins, he finally finished and held the bag out to Alexander. With a slight sneer the goblin asked, “Will there be anything else?”
Alexander took the bag, “Nope.”
He left the bank with a bright grin. His first stop? A trunk store. He planned to get a lot of books and he needed something to store them all in. He was tempted to buy a trunk or suitcase like Newt Scamander's but he honestly didn't need it. He spent significantly less just to buy a normal trunk with some wheels and a handle.
With the trunk trailing behind him, he made his way to Flourish and Blotts with a spring in his step. When he entered the shop he found a young bored looking woman sitting behind the counter with her head resting on the palm of her hand. As he walked he, she perked up, “Well, hello there! Welcome to Flourish and Blotts, is there anything I can help you with?”
He walked right up to the counter and dropped five galleons onto it, “I'd like every book for all seven years of study at Hogwarts for all classes, including the electives.”
The clerk blinked at the money and then at the request. She brightened up and grabbed the offered money, “You got it!”
She pulled out her wand and quickly began waving it. Books came flying from every direction to form stacks on the counter. While books continued to fly toward her while she began calculating the total. He grinned at the massive pile of books on magic and magical subjects. It was amazing to see. Up to this point he'd only seen a single tome on the subject and now here were dozens.
When all was said and done he parted with almost half of his galleons but gained over fifty books on magical subjects. He was definitely going to dig into them when he got home! However, he had one more stop to make. Dragging his trunk behind him he stepped in front of the only other store he was interested in at the moment.
He looked at the famous shop sign, 'Ollivander's Wands since 382 B.C.' with a big smile. He opened the door and calmly walked into the shop causing the bell over the door to ring. There was some noise from the back before a very curious looking older man came walking out, “Curious. I wasn't expecting any customers today.”
Ollivander stepped up to the counter and looked Alexander up and down, then put on a look of disappointment, “I take it you've broken your first wand and are here for a replacement?”
Alexand set his trunk to the side, “Something like that.”
Ollivander's eyes widened, “American? How unusual! The last time and Ollivander wand was sold to an American was back in eighteen eighty-nine. This should be quite interesting.” He waved his wand and summoned a tape measure, “Which arm is your wand arm?”
Alexander lifted his right arm, “I'm a righty.”
The tape measure flew over and began measuring various parts of his body. Meanwhile, Ollivander was pulling box after box off of the shelves around the place and setting them on the counter. Once he had enough he snapped his fingers and the tape measure fell to the ground. He picked up a red box and flipped it open to pull out a dark wand, “Ebony with a dragon heart string core.”
Alexander accepted the wand but the moment he touched it the wand let out a loud wail that shattered a glass vase. Ollivander quickly grabbed it out of his hand, “I think not.”
The next wand let out a burst of green smoke that reeked of sulfur. Another sent out a violent burst of flames. The fourth actually jumped out of his hand and broke itself in mid-air. Ollivander stared at the broken pieces of wand on the floor then at Alexander, “A tricky one eh? My favorite.”
For the next four hours Alexander tried wand after wand. Several times Ollivander had to stop to make repairs to his shop and the things in it. The only thing he couldn't repair was the one suicidal wand. Ollivander walked back from the back room holding an old box covered in dust, “Now let's try this one.”
He set the box down and opened it to reveal a highly polished pitch black wand with a thick handle. He held it out to Alexander, “Ebony and Threstral hair, not something my family has used in a century.”
Alexander picked up the wand and gasped when he felt a rush of warmth flow from the wand, down his arm, and into his magical core. A shower of rainbow sparks erupted from the end of the wand. Ollivander clapped his hands in excitement, “Wonderful! That particular wand was created by my grandfather in his later days, ten and three quarters inches, and unyielding. A wand for a wizard with hidden depths.” Ollivander's silvery eyes locked onto Alexander's, “I expect I will hear great things about you in the future, Alexander Smith.”
Alexander paused in his revelry to look at Ollivander with some surprise. He'd never mentioned his name. He thought about it for a bit before he shrugged. It was definitely some kind of enchantment, probably similar to the one on the Marauder's Map that showed peoples names in Hogwarts.
Ollivander closed the box that had held the wand, “That will be one hundred and forty Galleons.”
There was a pause before Alexander practically shouted, “One hundred and forty?! I thought they only cost seven Galleons?!”
Ollivander chuckled, “They do, for first years heading to Hogwarts. They're subsidized by the Wizengamot. You are not a first year heading to Hogwarts so you must pay full price for each wand. Seventy Galleons each for the one in your hand and the one you broke.”
Alexander grunted in annoyance before asking, “Do you sell wand holsters and cleaning kits?”
Ollivander huffed, “Of course I do! Proper wand maintenance is a must.” He pulled out a small box and a small leather bracer, “Your total comes to one hundred and forty five Galleons.”
Alexander quickly counted out the money which left him with very little left over. Between dozens of books and two full priced wands, he was nearing broke. Well, he could always get more gold and exchange it, but he was too lazy for that.
He strapped the wand holster to his wrist and slipped his wand into it before leaving the shop. There was just one more stop he wanted to make. He walked until he found his destination, Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. He loved ice cream so why not try some made by a wizard?
It might have been plain, almost boring, but he ordered a banana split. He took it to an empty table and sat down with a happy hum. Sure, he'd left the house and his gaming, but it had been worth it! Any Potterhead would kill to have had the day he did! He dug into his sweet treat with relish.
“Excuse me young man, do you mind if I sit here?”
Alexander waved his hand dismissively, “Sure.”
He was too focused on his delicious split to care about some company. Seriously, the split was definitely made by magic. There was no other way it could taste so good! He heard the clink of glass hitting glass and finally looked up from his food to see that the person sitting across from him had a lovely looking sundae. Though it wasn't chocolate or caramel, it was definitely lemon given the yellow color and lemon candies on top.
Given the man sitting behind the sundae, he wasn't too surprised at the amount of lemon it contained. The man was wearing a fuchsia colored robes, had a remarkably long beard, half-moon spectacles, and a kind smile all topped with a star covered pointy hat. Dumbledore.
Alexander quickly looked back down to his banana split and decided to politely ignore the man across from him. No good would come to his life by getting tangled up with Dumbledore. They both ate in silence for a bit before Dumbledore broke it by asking, “So, what brings an American teenager to Britain right after the beginning of the school year?”
Alexander sighed in mild annoyance while looking up from his almost finished split, “Just doing some shopping. Nothing that you need concern yourself about.”
The old man hummed and took another bite of his lemon sundae before he spoke again, “It just seems to me that a young man of schooling age, such as yourself, should be in school. Ilvermorny, if I'm not very much mistaken they begin their school year the same time as Hogwarts, September the first. Seeing as it is September the twenty-second, you can understand the confusion caused by a student currently wandering the streets of Diagon Alley.”
Alexander finished the last of his split and looked at Dumbledore once more, though he avoided eye contact. He didn't remember if Dumbledore was really a Legilimens or not but he wasn't going to take a chance, “Well, luckily no one will have to worry about it again anytime soon.”
Before Alexander could stand, Dumbledore held up a hand to stop him, “I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to stick around for a bit longer. At least until your parents can be contacted and this all cleared up.”
Alexander snorted, “Good luck with that, they're long gone.”
Dumbldore frowned and gave Alexander a look of sympathy, “I'm sorry to hear that. But, if you're an orphan it's even more important for you to get a full and proper education.” He stroked his long beard, “Hogwarts has long since supported the less fortunate in receiving a proper education.”
Alexander grunted, “Is this one of those situations where I don't have a choice?”
Dumbledore shook his head, “Of course not. You can choose not to go with me to Hogwarts where we can establish your identity and get you properly enrolled in a wizarding school. Or, I can escort you to the Ministry and hand you over to the Aurors for them to do basically the same thing, establish your identity and then bring you to Hogwarts where you will be enrolled.”
Alexander sighed and let his head flop back, “Annoying. Fine. We can head to Hogwarts.”
That earned him a congenial smile from the old man, “Excellent. Once we get you enrolled we can do a little testing to see where your education is currently at.”
Waving his hand Alexander explained, “That won't be necessary. I have no education in wand magic.”
Once Dumbledore finished his sundae, the pair left the parlour and walked back to the entrance of the alley. As they stepped into the apparition point, Dumbledore offered Alexander his arm, “Have you ever apparated before?”
Alexander shook his head, “No, but I've heard about it.”
“Well then young man, brace yourself.”
Alexander lay his arm on Dumbledore's, the next moment he felt like he was being squeezed through a tube ten times too small to contain anything. The feeling lasted an eternity and only a moment at the same time before he found himself standing in front of a majestic castle. He breathed heavily for a few moments but his enhanced physique made the unpleasant travel method a lot more bearable.
“Wow.”
A soft chuckled greeted his statement, “Indeed. Hogwarts is a truly beautiful place. Come, we can handle everything in my office.”
As they walked, Alexander might have been fanboying, just a little bit, on the inside at walking through the actual Hogwarts castle. This moment is entirely why he didn't just make an excuse to walk to a bathroom or something so he could exit into his mansion and leave the world behind. If he wanted to leave there was literally nothing Dumbledore could do about it.
In fact, as he followed the old man, he sensed his magical power and felt mildly disappointed. While the man in the bank had felt like a guttering candle, Dumbledore felt more like a small fire. There was a clear power difference, but even so Dumbledore had far less power than Alexander did. That didn't even get into Alexander's physical advantages.
The two of them drew some looks from students walking down the hallways in their uniforms. Several with green trimming sneered at the sight of him in his regular street clothes. Slytherins, naturally. Oh well, let them stick their noses in the air. He figured that by the time this world caught up to his original one, the Statute of Secrecy would completely fail. With almost everyone walking around with smart phones with their cameras connected to the cloud, there was just no way they could stay hidden.
He wondered just how paranoid he could make the Slytherins. How many could he give existential crisis's to? That might be something worth pursuing if he ever came back to this world after today.
After entering Dumbledore's office, which was a visual feast of gizmos and gadgets, he spotted the one big thing he'd really hoped to see in person. Sitting on a perch was a glorious red and gold bird with intelligent eyes that was looking at Alexander as hard as he was staring at the real live Phoenix.
Seeing the bird, Dumbledore smiled brightly, “Ah, Fawkes, back from your trip already?”
The Phoenix let out a beautiful song-like trilling sound that buoyed their spirits. Alexander slowly walked closer to the Phoenix with a massive smile, “Fawkes, you're gorgeous.”
The bird preened at the comment, puffing it's chest out and lifting its head high. Dumbledore chuckled, “Don't give him too many compliments, he'll get a big head.”
Fawkes squawked at Dumbledore and gave him a piercing glare. Then quickly turned back to Alexander and preened once more to put on a better look. Alexander chuckled and walked closer to the bird while holding his hand out and asking Fawkes directly, “May I?”
The bird seemed to study him for a moment before lightly nodding his head. Alexander reached out and gently ran his hand over Fawkes' head. As he did, he collected every last spec of DNA he could from even the smallest bit of dander. He quickly incorporated it into his own giving himself another layer of immortality. If he died, or was killed, he would burst into flames and be reborn from his own ashes.
There were obvious limits, like he needed at least some of his body so full erasure would still kill him dead easily. He would also be reborn as an infant. The only bright side is his aging would be accelerated until he reached his prime. Lastly, the ability to teleport with flames in complete comfort. Now that was style!
After a few moment of petting Fawkes, he took the seat Dumbledore wanted him at. The paperwork was fairly easy to deal with as it only requested basic information. Once he finished, Dumbledore looked it over before giving Alexander his signature grandfatherly smile, “Everything looks in order. Tomorrow we'll have to head back to Diagon to get you everything else you need. For now, I believe we should head down to the Great Hall for your sorting and supper.”
The trek through the castle was nice, but arriving at the great hall was rather nerve wracking. The tables were all filled with students from all seven years. They seemed to turn as one as Dumbldore made a grand entrance through the main doors rather than the teachers entrance as he usually did. He walked up to his podium with Alexander trailing behind. Whispers followed in their wake, naturally.
Once they arrived at the head of the room, Dumbledore stood at his podium and cleared his throat. The room slowly grew silent. Once it was he spoke in a loud clear voice, “Students, teachers, today we have an unusual event, a late arrival in need of sorting. An event like this hasn't happening in over a century.”
He gestured to the side and a three legged stool appeared with a ragged looking hat sitting upon it, “We will have a sorting. Then, tomorrow, young Alexander here will be joining the sixth year students.”
They'd agreed that despite Alexander being seventeen, there was no possible way he could learn all seven years of Hogwarts curriculum in a single year. Not that Alex would be attending, of course. Still, it made sense.
Dumbledore shifted his gaze to Alexander while a stern looking woman had already made her way to the stool while looking quite put out. He walked over and the woman whispered, “Your full name?”
“Alexander Smith.”
Minerva McGonagall nodded and straightened up, “Smith, Alexander.”
Alexander sat on the stool and a moment later the hat was on his head. There was a pause before he heard a gruff male voice within his mind, “My my my, aren't you the interesting one?”
Alexander chuckled and answered back mentally, “I'd say you don't know the half of it, but you know it all don't you?”
The was a chuckle in his mind, “True, true. Still, a traveler from another world? I must say you're by far the most interesting student I've ever had the privilege of sorting. Still, as interesting as your mind is, I have a job to do. Even if you do plan to leave back to your world tonight.”
Alexander smirked and let the hat do its job, “Ravenclaw is right out. While you do crave knowledge on magic, you're far too lazy and your attitude would drive the rest of the house up the walls. Slytherin is right out as well. Not only would they provoke you but they would be unlikely to learn from the beatings you would give them.”
Alexander outright laughed out loud at that one. It was true! If he was in Slytherin it wouldn't even be a day before he would send someone to the infirmary. He was just too powerful to deal with their petty little shit and would make his displeasure known quickly.
Also, Draco. Nuff said.
“That just leaves us with Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. You have plenty of courage and are willing to face your fears but, again, you are lazy and would rather someone else deal with the problem and left you alone. At least in the last house you will find open minded people willing to let you be you so it better be HUFFLEPUFF!”
[Feat Achieved! Become a student at Hogwarts! +1x Random Silver Gacha Ticket]
The hat was plucked off of his head and he was met by the loud clapping and cheering from the Hufflepuff table. He made his way over to the table where some older students made some space for him while giving him curious looks. He ended up sitting between two rather attractive girls.
Perhaps this would be a rather nice evening after all.
AN
10k words
I had fun with this one. Arithmancy is used in many fics as a way to create custom spells, but officially in canon, it's actually used to mathematically predict the future. Imagine that combined with Grandmaster Math! Ancient Runes is just translating ancient writing in canon, but fanon has used it for enchanting. But Transfiguration, that's where the real power in Harry Potter lies.
Anyway, I hope you guys liked this! And no, he will NOT be sticking around in Harry Potter. Though there may be a return trip in the future.
Let me know what you thought of everything that happened!