Gragg Forneus was the perfect example of Devils taking their talent for self transformation entirely too damned far. His form was that of a fat humanoid angler fish with a literal glowing lure hanging over his head as well.
But... He was also just fat and smelled like shit as well.
"How does someone wake up in the morning and think. Dear devils and demons of hell... I am going to better myself by making myself even uglier then yesterday." I said in honest amazment on just how ugly this dude was.
It was one thing to be a fat bastard who smelled like he coated himself in all of the water used to wash an entire Magic the Gathering tournament player's stank. But he also went above any beyond in making himself look like a damned angler fish.
"What... Did you say to me?" Gragg said in honest confusion with an ember of anger filling his voice past his confusion.
Sona who was standing a bit down the way from me as her peerage and I, stood across Gragg and his own Peerage plus the ten Contracted Magician's promptly covered her face as I continued.
"Dude... You are literally the ugliest bastard I have ever seen in my life. I can smell you from down the hallway before we even entered the stadium. How does your peerage even deal with you?" I asked in confusion.
And my face twitched as one of the contracted magicians, a woman said rather dryly. "That stench is the oils his body is covered with so it doesn't dry up. And he is so fat because his body is made to be under deep pressure in the depths of the sea and the great lakes."
Now I actually felt a bit bad, but then the fae descendant who was a rather hot silver haired woman said rather blandly. "His current state is indeed a bit appalling but regardless, we are here to fight now."
To which Sona stepped forward and outlined the deal for the Forneus clan's actions in the human world to be curtailed in interfering with the Sitri's beach territories in the human world.
As apparently the Sitri's had a large scale operation in Florida in which they used their healing magic to heal the old people of Florida and run dozens of hospitals. While the Forneus clan was apparently responsible for the Bermuda Triangle and helped calm the many hurricanes that would have instead hit Florida.
Either way, the two's dicussion was quickly ruined as Gragg himself was quickly outed as a sexist pig who made rather lame remarks about Sona's all female peerage and called Sona a useless lesbian and other nonsense.
He was total fodder to me so I honestly didn't bother to pay attention to his bullshit as it would be more difficult for me to not instantly kill him. Then to allow the Rating Game system snatch him out when I break half his body with a slap.
"So your whole game plan is just to have this man carry you through the Rating Game huh? Are you pimping out your peerage to keep him on your side as well?" Gragg taunted Sona as he pointed at me and drew me back into their nonsense.
Which made me blink rather boredly and I said in some confusion, "Huh? Are you wanting my attention right now? Why are you trying to anger me when I am so much stronger then you?"
And Gragg made me blink at his utter stupidity as he puffed up... Quite literally, as I saw tiny little spines on parts of his skin that were clearly poisonous and he shouted out.
"Because! I am the heir of the Forneus clan, and you can't hurt me beyond what the Rating Game allows unless you want trouble from your master! Not to mention my own clan and the Satan's coming down on you for reaching beyond your station!"
I looked at the fat bastard for a long moment before I tilted my head to the side and said in some confusion. "Do dumbasses like you truly exist? Is it because I am not a giant fucking dragon like Tannin that you dare to mouth off? I am well into the Ultimate Class of power, and I can kill you with a single blow if I so wanted."
And I realized that yes this guy was this retarded as he grinned and licked his lips as he said shamelessly. "Yeah you probably can kill me with a slap... But you wont haha!"
To be fair... I really didn't want the Satan's pissed at me for killing an heir for being mouthy as this wasn't a cultivation world where it was expected to slaughter a clan for making another lose face.
But, I was a proud cultivator now... Even if the Doulou Dalu cultivation system was the most bare bones method of them all.
I gave Sona a sideways look and I asked calmly. "So I know you wanted to stand up for yourself and all... But can I beat all these people half to death with a single move. It's not like your peerage can beat their numbers anyway."
Sona's face pinched at my reminder that they were more than doubly outnumbered but she then snorted and said rather flatly with a sigh. "Fine. Although allowing my peerage the personal loss would be good for them to gain motivation."
She then shook her head and said more firmly. "Having you stomp them out will send an invaluable message to the Sitri clan's rivals which is the most important thing for me to do as the clan's heiress."
-
"Soooo. As the Satan of Foreign Affair's I make it a point to recognize all the movers and shakers of the world. I have to assume you both are also from a different world right?" Serafall said without looking at Bibbi Dong and Qian Renxue.
Both women shared a look but didn't say anything but still Serafall huffed and said. "I am also Jake's contracted devil. And he took me on a trip to another world as well. I know his little secrets so you need to be worried about me."
Bibbi Dong then said calmly. "Then I suppose you are correct. Does it really matter?"
Serafall finally looked over at the two even as all three women snorted as Jake began tearing into Gragg Forneus for his conduct. But still Serafall was focused on the two foriegn women as she said calmly.
"Yes it does matter actually... As with your arrival, the Hindu faction has been reacting oddly. And if my spies in the church are correct. Even Heaven has stirred for some reason when previously Jake's antics hadn't caused any unrest, even with Madoka a goddess coming here."
Bibbi Dong and Qian Renxue however, didn't say anything, though they both clearly knew what was going on seeing as Bibbi Dong was almost the successor of the Rakshasa god, and Qian Renxue was the inheritor of the Angel God.
And Jake had already made it clear that their power sources would have people asking questions. Though the power the two ladies had... They had the ability to keep their secrets and woe be to anyone not in the Satan class that got mouthy.
"We will watch out for those two factions then. Thank you for the warning." Qian Renxue said with a soft voice and Serafall snorted at realizing the deflection but also admittance that they were responsible.
But then all three of them were forced to look back as Sona and her peerage pulled back as the terrain of the arena shifted as they entered the pocket dimension that would host the Rating Game.
"Wait... Sona! Why are you letting Jake be the star of the show! Jakeeeee! I am going to spank you if you embarrass my Sona!" Serafall roared into the microphone that officiated the Rating Game.
And all three women in the private section of the stands saw Jake just wave at them in dismissal and while Serafall built up 'totally righteous' steam at being ignored Bibbi Dong said calmly. "Relax Serafall. It is physically impossible for Jake to lose unless he decides to."
Then Jake's voice filled everyone's ears. "You call yourself equal to the Leviathan? A deep sea monster equal to the Serpent of the End? Fine, let me show the might of an Ocean your kind will never see."
Jake floated into the air and within his hands formed a Yin-Yang symbol of differing colors of water... But not any kind of water, a divine holy water in the Yang, but in the Yin was something akin to the Underworld rivers that could wash clean souls to wipe away karma and all attachments.
Then Serafall gasped as 'odd' divinity hit her senses as several massive rings formed behind Jake's back with his energy freezing Gragg's peerage in place as his Ultimate class mana pressure slammed into them with more weight then it should be able to?
"Did... Did Jake become a god? What is that mana pressure he has?" Serafall demanded quietly with some concern as she knew that this Rating Game was being streamed and she coudn't cut off the stream with how popular Rating Games were.
"Come on then! Show me the strength of a coward afraid of the Satans haha!" Gragg snarled sarcastically and Serafall's face twitched at the weight in Jake's voice as he said coldly.
"You court death!"
Then one of the rings behind Jake flared with light, with power and then even Serafall grimaced at the holy aura that flooded out of the pocket demension as from behind Jake came a thousand-foot-tall wave that was also thousands of feet wide that rushed over Jake and towards Gragg and his peerage.
And even as Serafall hurriedly began pulling the Gragg's peerage and especially himself out of the Rating Game the instant the crushing wave of holy water slammed into them. She heard the daughter of the Fae Lord Vivian say sarcastically.
"Picking a fight with some kind of Ocean demi-god who can call upon a divine ocean as a water user? That's a damned fool's errand."
The arena that was previously a mountain-filled forest was now a flattened mess as Sona and her peerage were flying... Very fucking high in the air as they avoided even the mist coming off the divine holy water that rose up from the breaking down wave of destruction.
"Haha, that's the end of the Rating Game! Please, everyone, give a standing ovation to my wonderful and perfect Sona, who orchestrated such a perfect blowout of a victory!" Serafall shamelessly called out to the audience and the live stream of the Rating Game.
Then Sona, her peerage, along with Jake were teleported away from the battlefield with Qian Renxue standing up casually and saying quietly. "Perhaps we should have just spent our time watching the replays of the so-called kings of the Rating Games. That young master wasn't anything special frankly."
Serafall coughed at that and said with a wry smile. "To be fair. Gragg is at best barely a high class devil without his Pirate Ship and his peerage helping him control the magical artifact. Jake is well into the Ultimate Class of power."
"Hmm, so a powerful bloodline but a worthless scion. I am well used to the sight." Bibbi Dong said with eye's filled with her own thoughts. Still she stood up as well and said calmly. "Either way, Renxue, follow me I imagine Jake isn't going to be intertaining much in the way of nobles demanding his time."
Qian Renxue likewise sniffed and with a glance at Serafall whose happy-go-lucky smile turned a bit brittle at her words, she said. "I bet that within the day. The other devil clans will be fighting to set limits and such to prevent Jake from fighting in their lower-level Rating Games."
And then as the two left the box Bibbi Dong hummed and said quietly as she picked out something with the previous conversations she had, had with Jake before. "Hmm, I bet the Phenex family will use this very Rating Game as a tool to forbid Jake from interfering in the coming Rating Game when Rias refuses her engagement."
To which Qian snorted and her golden eye's landed on Serafall and said in some schadenfreude as she said with finality. "Yes... I am sure that conversation between Jake, Sirzechs and Rias will be wonderful. Good luck with that Serafall."
Which made Serafall herself freeze as she knew all to well the heads of the devil families would be screeching to the deepest hells about how allowing Jake, who wasn't even a Reincarnated Devil or anything, to interfere with devil affairs so much through the Rating Games was a disgrace.
And if Serafall and the other devil nobility wanted to keep the sanctity of the Rating Games that were a lynchpin to the current Devil society. They couldn't allow Jake, a Human to ruin said Rating Games.
Serafall all alone now in the announcer box could on sag in place and whimper. "Oh dear... Zechy is going to be soooo mad at me."