"A tournament, you say?" Altair asked Lily.
The Hogwarts professor and he were having tea inside his mansion. She was his queen, in other words, his subordinate. He didn't treat her as such, even calling her professor on occasion. But Lily, whether due to the influence of the Evil Pieces or not, was responsible for telling him in great detail about what was happening in the magical world.
"The Triwizard Tournament," Altair heard from her lips. He gestured for her to continue, as if he didn't know the details. "It's an international tournament in which three schools will participate: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. It's a dangerous tournament with a high mortality rate... Father wants to use it as a trap," Lily said with a frown. "That's why he's asking you to participate and be Hogwarts' champion."
Altair was surprised by the request, even more so because the old headmaster had decided to be quite direct with him. A trap, he said, and the one who would fall into the trap would be Voldemort. How strong was Voldemort? The man was a pseudo-devil in the first war, according to Lily, capable of overwhelming Dumbledore by far. It was only because of his vulnerability to sacred magic and the instability of his soul that he was defeated.
"The cup will choose me?" he asked. He wasn't afraid that he wasn't the best student at Hogwarts at the time. But he believed that perhaps his race or manipulations could change the results. He wondered about Barty Crouch Jr. and whether he would follow the same path.
"What cup?" Lily asked. Altair mentally scolded himself. "You know about the tournament then?" she asked. Altair nodded; that mistake was no big deal. "Then I'll skip the details. The cup will choose you, and Albus will make sure there's no manipulation. Besides, the cup doesn't discriminate between wizards and devils. It doesn't care about race; in the past, Veelas have been chosen," Lily explained.
"Then I'll be the Hogwarts champion, I guess," he didn't even ask about the prizes; they would be insignificant to him, except for the reputation, which could elevate him socially. If he had overwhelming dominance, he would probably gain respect and fear. They hadn't treated him or his sister well.
"Good," Lily let out a long sigh, as if she feared he would refuse. "This will take us one step closer to hunting him down," she said with a shaky smile.
"You've seen him... tell me, compared to him, how strong am I?" Altair asked.
"You're... close to him," Lily said with a frown. "Although, since you don't have a weakness to sacred magic, you're superior," she nodded.
'Superior' Altair wanted to accept her words, but he wasn't entirely sure about them. Not because he didn't trust Lily's judgment, but because he didn't believe Voldemort was a complete idiot who wouldn't correct his weaknesses. He knew from Rias that the church had experimented extensively with sacred power in search of users to wield the fragments of Excalibur.
If Voldemort came across that research, he would likely be able to correct that weakness of his. He was a proud and intelligent man. He saw mortality as a mistake in his existence and created Horcruxes to ensure his survival.
"What happened to the Horcruxes?" Altair asked. He had given Dumbledore locations to find them.
"Dad found them," Lily said. "But he said they didn't look like Horcruxes, they were more like trinkets with a huge trace of dark magic. They looked like junk, as if whoever put them there wanted to deceive... they were impregnated, according to my father, who felt disgust just being near them. A desire to destroy them and never have anything like that near him again," she said with a frown.
Another wizard would have eradicated them, and even Dumbledore could have done so. In the canon, the man had fallen prey to the curse in the Gaunt ring.
Altair warned him about it. The old man smiled and said he had already made peace with the dead. Seeing the man's daughter before him, Altair understood how.
The fact that the Horcruxes screamed to be destroyed instead of being used meant that Voldemort had changed his plans. He might have reunited his soul. Or that he had changed his vessels. The man was already immortal thanks to his devilish side, and as long as he wasn't killed directly, Voldemort would live for thousands of years.
Was he proud enough not to have a guarantee in case he died? Altair doubted that, too. But he wasn't the person who knew Lord Voldemort best; he could well be completely different from how he's portrayed in the canon.
"You look tense, King," Lily said, her voice turning honeyed.
Altair watched her walk toward him, the buttons of her shirt undone, part of her cleavage exposed. She approached, knelt in front of him, and began to caress his legs.
He didn't know why she was doing it, but how could a man remain still with a woman like that? Altair would never understand the lack of libido in the damn magical world.
"Altair!" a shout interrupted them. Lily got up immediately, adjusting her clothes as Azalea entered, her eyes shining with concern. "They're attacking Kuoh!" she said, showing Altair a message. It was from Lavender, who was spending time with Akeno and Rias.
Kokabiel is in Kuoh
"Where the hell is my cell phone?" Altair wondered aloud. He found it in his inventory, where he couldn't receive notifications.
It didn't matter; he had to leave the mansion and head to Kuoh immediately.
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Rias didn't know why people like Kokabiel existed. They were bitter beings who only sought to make things worse, to break the fragile peace that existed. She didn't believe the Fallen could fight the devils on equal terms. Their population was very different; the Fallen had no one of Sirzechs' caliber.
And yet, that madman was there, wanting to start a war. A person trapped in the past, he had fought for so long that he didn't know what it was like to live in peace—a warmongering imbecile.
Rias suppressed her anger at seeing her school partially destroyed. The man had unleashed a horde of monsters. Her nobility fought against them, slowly reducing their numbers. Rias was afraid. Messages were sent to her brother and the Maous... she was sorry to say it, but the situation was beyond her control. Only Katarea could stand a chance against him, but she was protecting Lavender.
"Enough!" she scolded herself.
Kokabiel was in the sky, his twelve black wings spread. His smile was malicious, relishing the chaos and possibly imagining the killing that would follow.
"Be gone!" Rias launched a burst of Power of Destruction at the fallen one. He received it head-on, showing no fear. The power struck, and a wave of air blew everyone away. It was strong, much stronger than anything else she had ever launched. In the end, Kokabiel managed to deflect it, his clothes slightly damaged. Rias smiled... she can hurt him.
She still couldn't hit her boyfriend, but Altair was constantly trying to dodge her. Kokabiel was not. The fallen angel was proud, and Rias could take advantage of that.
Now she needed an opening, a sure hit.
She looked at Kiba and Xenovia, both of whom ran forward, fighting together despite their hatred. They both attacked Kokabiel simultaneously. Kiba had activated his Balance Breaker, which was terrific for Rias... he had improved, matured, and put his hatred aside a little.
Rias, even though Altair had told her not to, began to charge up an attack. She needed more power. Kiba looked at her and continued fighting. He understood his king without needing direct orders.
"Ah, the daughter of Baraqiel," said Kokabiel when Akeno threw a lightning bolt at him. "And that blonde girl is the Saint Sinner's partner," he said when he looked at Lavender. The young witch was not a fighter. But she wasn't a coward either.
"Saint Sinner?" asked the blonde, confused. "Saint? My boyfriend is a damn womanizer... damn beautiful Altair," she muttered, looking a little angry.
"Saint Sinner... yes, God tri—" Rias interrupted him, unleashing her attack. Damn, she really wanted to hear what he had to say, but it was such a perfect opportunity to attack that Altair would scold her if she didn't take it.
The attack hit him; this time, he couldn't block it. There was silence, then an explosion. Smoke filled everyone's view. Rias looked around. There were no monsters left.
"Stay on guard!" she shouted to her nobility. She couldn't see Kokabiel anywhere.
"Buchou, the sky!" When Rias looked up, a rain of white spears appeared.
Rias matched the number of spears with Power of Destruction orbs. She was grateful for the training; thanks to it, she was able to do it so quickly.
'Thank you, Altair.'