Something was going to happen today, and I could feel it in my bones from the moment I set foot into the school. I didn't need Rias to tell me what because one look at her face told me that whatever it was, it was going to be highly unpleasant.
So, when we had class together, I pulled her aside. I was genuinely curious.
"What's got you so down today?"
"*sigh* I got a word that Riser is coming here today. The engagement got pushed forward." Well, fuck. They were not even remotely at the level they needed to be.
"Wait, what? Why?" Okay, so I was not expecting that at all. They were not ready at all. Sure, they got a lot stronger, but not nearly enough just yet.
"I have no idea… I wasn't told." Her shoulders slumped heavily, and I could see the building anxiety on her face.
"Though, maybe a word got out that I am actually training seriously? That, or my father is growing impatient." She threw out a few ideas.
"How would that be possible? I highly doubt that Sona or her people would tell anybody. You guys are good friends. And I have not sensed anybody watching us while we trained either." My mind races with possible scenarios, possible traitors, and even the possibility that I had somehow missed a spy.
"M–Maybe we were watched while in the Familiar Forest? We used quite a lot of strength while fighting that Hydra."
Then a thought hit me, and then another. That Familiar Master was with them the whole time, and he must have seen everything, heard everything. That fucker must have snitched. It was not Tiamat, since besides my mentioning training them, we have not dwelled on that topic too much. It was one of those: Oh, yeah, I'm also doing that.
"Don't worry about that for now. When does shithead arrive?" I waved off her concerns. I would deal with that later. And by later, I mean tonight, and by deal with that, I mean threats of dishing out untold amounts of violence on the responsible party.
"Like an hour after school." Rias said with a look of disgust.
"Kay, I'll be there." I gave her a little pat on the shoulder to cheer her up a bit and went on to finish my lesson.
Thankfully, there was only one more class to teach after this. And so, after taking out my slight frustration on the annoying children, they totally deserved it by the way, I went directly to the ORC and waited for others to arrive.
That, thank god, did not take long, and a short while after the bell rang, we were all sitting around the table, sipping tea, and waiting. And now that I think about it, I'm drinking way too much tea now. Back then, I may have had it on a special occasion, but other than that, I was more of a Redbull kinda girl.
"They are coming." I said when I sensed that unmistakable feeling of devil teleportation. And before I even finished my sentence, Riser Phenex and a… maid? Were here. Wait, I know her. Wasn't she in the office with Sirzechs when I went there? That's his wife, right?
"Good afternoon, my lovely Rias." He said with practiced smoothness, and Rias just scrunched her face in disgust.
Now that I was looking at him in the flesh, one thing stood out. The Phenex immortality. It burned with vigor underneath his skin. It was potent, and I immediately understood why they were forcing Rias to go through with this farce. Not to sound like some freak eugenecist, but their kids, if they managed to have any, would be insanely powerful. It's obviously still fucked up thing to do, don't get me wrong, but I get it.
"Ugh— Have you come to gloat, Riser? If so, go back. I have no desire to look at you, much less speak to you." If he noticed the disgust etched on her face, he did not show it.
"Tsk. Rias, Rias, Rias…Your father would be sorely disappointed. That is not how you speak to your future husband, but fret not, I shall take it upon myself to correct that sort of behaviour in the future." Well, that was a threat if I ever heard one, and the woman he came here with did nothing besides shooting him a look to shut him up. Fuck that. The game is not happening.
You know what? Fuck them. Nothing is fucking happening. Absolutely fucking nothing. Sorry, Rias, but I'm already mad, so might as well go all out.
"Hey, maid. You gonna let him run his mouth like that? Are you for real?"
"T–Those are merely the words of a brash young man, pay them no mind, please." She stuttered out.
"Who—" "Shut up." Immediately, I was in front of him, his lower jaw firmly grasped in my hand with my fingers digging into the flesh of his chin, and a majority of my power concentrated directly on his person.
"I wonder how your immortality works, Riser… Tell me, if I cut off your head, does the head grow a new body or does the body grow a new head, thus erasing the current you?" Of course, he couldn't answer that, and I wasn't really interested in the answer either. All he could do was to whimper like a beaten dog.
"Release him."
"No, I don't think I will, maid." I increased the pressure slightly, snapping his jawbone in half. Then the immortality tried to kick in, only for it to be smothered instantly by me. Life was mine to command.
"You will not heal, Riser, not unless I allow it. Your trump card is meaningless." Oh shit, he pissed himself.
"Maid, call Sirzechs here right now." I turned to her and gave her an order. She just stood there, watching, not comprehending what I just did to him.
"Takumi… enough, please…" Rias called out from behind me, her voice strangely strained. Ah, I've been leaking power all over. I was actually mad.
"Go and bring Sirzechs. MAID!" I ignored Rias completely, but I did pull my aura in to make it easier for them to breathe. The maid just gave me a startled look, glanced at Riser writhing in pain, and teleported away.
"Don't worry about a thing, Rias. I will take care of everything." I gave her a small smile, but her chance to respond was cut off when the teleportation circle appeared again a few seconds later.
Sirzechs stepped through, looking mildly concerned, with the maid in tow. He took one look at me and at the disfigured face of Riser before sighing and tiredly running a hand down his face.
"Don't sigh. This is what you wanted, right?! I'm not stupid. You wanted ME to take care of this. Well, there you have it. The stupid game? The marriage? Not happening. What is going to happen is that you will go back to the Underworld with me, call your father, the Phenex patriarch, and Zekram Bael."
He had no retort, since I hit the nail on the head. He wanted this. Well, probably not exactly this, but something akin to it. I fucking saw it in his eyes! They danced with happiness. Like I just fulfilled his biggest wish.
"Very well… Though it might take me some time to gather them all. I highly doubt that you want to have your hand in his mouth for so long, you might as well drop him now." He gestured to Riser.
"Oh~? You hear that, Riser? Isn't that soo nice of him? It is, isn't it? Thank him." I threw him at his feet, and he scrambled to his knees with a speed that should not have been possible in his state.
"F—Fank Uu—" He mumbled over and over again. Sirzechs paid him no mind and only raised his eyebrow at me.
"What? He ran his mouth. I just caught it." I shrugged.
"Why isn't he healing?" He asked, more curiously than anything.
"I have not allowed it. When you're weak, words have consequences."
"*sigh*... You've made quite a mess, you know that, right?"
"Please… just disappear him. It's not like he matters, it's just his genetics." I scoffed.
"... Let's just go. Bye~Bye Ria-tan!" His expression did a one-eighty when he was waving at his sister.
I glanced at Asia before I left, since she was the only one I cared about deeply here, and, well, while she did not look scared at all, she did look at me with a sad and confused expression. I'll have to talk to her when I deal with this whole thing.
I gave her a little smile and a nod and teleported after Sirzechs. I just assumed that he went directly into his office. And yep, he did. When I came, he was already slumped in his cushioned chair, looking at me with an unreadable expression.
"Please… You wanted to do this, too, didn't you?"
"Perhaps, perhaps not. What are you going to do? While yes, I had hoped for you to help my sister… this— this was not the way I imagined it going. When did you figure it out, by the way?"
"When Rias told me about the shit going on behind the scenes. And as for what will happen next? Depends entirely on them. They might all die, or they might just walk away." I said with a careless shrug. But we both knew that was not going to happen. Not when old cunts were involved. Heads are going to roll. The question is how many.
"I fucked up, didn't I?" Sirzechs asked, not as Satan, but as a person, a person who knew what was about to happen.
"Nah. Unfortunately for you, you do not have the strength to ignore politics. You are strong, there is no doubt about that, but not strong enough."
"Unfortunately, you are correct. I cannot fight a whole civil war with only three other people."
"You think it would have gotten that bad if you stopped it yourself?" I actually pitied the man. His position was not an enviable one, that's for sure.
"Yes, maybe not right away, but in a year? Absolutely. And even when we would win, the losses would be tremendous, thus leaving us vulnerable and at the mercy of other factions."
"Well then. This is a bit bigger than I imagined, but that doesn't change the fact that I did make a promise. For this, Sirzechs, you owe me. Not Rias, but you. Personally." Of course, I was still going to help. My ego would eat me alive in my sleep if I didn't. But averting a civil war was definitely not on my list of things I was going to do in the immediate future.
"*sigh* I know… I know."
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Somehow the story got away from me and went in a completely different direction than I imagined, but that's okay.
Takumi was already pretty mad when she found out about the spy, and with Riser running his mouth, it just made sense for her to say fuck it.