When Sirzechs left, he took his wife with him. Mostly because he could see it on her face that being in the same room as me right now and alone made her uncomfortable.
Yeah, I get that. I wouldn't want to be with me right now either. I was itching to dish out some violence, and that must have shown.
So they just left me there, in his office, with what I must assume are important documents, but then again, what would I even do with those?
In the end, I just turned one of the chairs in front of the desk and sat down facing the spot where they disappeared from, really hoping that it would not take him long.
Fortunately, it didn't take long, and a few minutes later, Sirzechs returned, dragging three people behind him. It was easy to identify them since one man looked just like Rias and Sirzechs, while another bore a striking resemblance to Riser, differing only in hair color. The older man was Zekram, and he was the only one not being dragged.
"What is the meaning of this?!" The red-haired man shouted as he struggled against the grip of his son.
"I've brought them." Sirzechs spoke, completely ignoring his father. Lord Phenex, meanwhile, was looking utterly bewildered by everything that was happening. And Zekram was looking directly at me, with an expression that I could not quite assign.
"Thanks." I nodded at him.
"Now then, gentleman. What is going to happen is quite simple. The marriage is null and void as of this moment, as are any potential future marriages Rias does not agree to." Even though I was speaking to all of them, my eyes did not leave Zekram's face.
"Huh? Why?" Lord Phenex asked confusedly. Fucking hell, did this guy even know what was going on?
"Who do you think you are, woman?! You dare—". "Zeoticus." He was silenced with one word spoken by the older devil.
"I do not know who you are, my lady, but what you propose is preposterous. These are internal matters of the Pillar families, not something an outsider such as yourself should interfere in." He spoke with measured calmness, sounding absolutely certain of himself.
"Hmm~ You are talking back to me, why? I gave you an order." I slowly stood up from the chair and walked up directly to Zekram, whose facade cracked just the tiniest bit upon hearing my true voice. The other two stood unmoving like statues, fear emanating from their bodies.
"Oh my, I can hear the gears spinning in your head. Plans upon plans… all meaningless." I said sweetly and grabbed the back of his neck, dragging his face to be directly in front of mine.
"I think that you are mistaken, my lady. While yes, I did advise Zeoticus to pursue this marriage, but that was merely the advice of an old man. I have no say in the matters of his family." He said, still completely calm and composed. But his eyes told me a different story entirely. They shook ever so slightly when I spoke. His irises were nothing more than pinpricks.
"Mistaken, huh? You know what? Sure. But before I move on to Zeoticus, tell me, do you remember this?" With my free hand, I conjured a set of brightly glowing white runes. He was there during the Great War. He, and only he among the people present, knows what they represent.
He recognized them immediately, and for the first time since he came here, his composure crumbled completely. He started shaking with anger and fear. More fear, though.
"Do you want to reconsider your previous statement? " I whispered to him.
"How is this possible?! No, no, no… stay away!" He tried to frantically back away, but the grip I had on his neck would not allow it, and all of his previous fight left his body. His eyes became hollow, distant, as if looking at his worst nightmare.
"You remember the chaos, the pain, the destruction this brought upon your kind back then, correct? Zekram, I will unleash all of that again, and then, when your kind finally picks up the pieces and builds something new, I will do so again, and again, and again. And every time, I will proclaim that it was your fault, that you spat on the chance I am offering you right now… That's all you truly care about, right? Your legacy." He just stared at me, near catatonic, and unable to form even a single sentence.
Zeoticus, not so much. Sure, the man probably knew that their situation was not great, given that his backer was shivering like a leaf in the wind, but he had not grasped the true scope of it all.
"Are you mad, woman?! Why are you doing this?" He shouted at me with a look full of loathing. Okay, so maybe the guy was actually dumb? I let Zekram fall to the ground and fully turned my attention to dear ol' daddy.
"Why? Did you just fucking ask me why? Have you not been listening this whole time? I guess you don't need your ears since you're not using them for their intended purpose." Two little tugs were all it took to separate them from his head. They tore like a piece of paper, leaving behind bloodied holes with bits of skin flapping around. I healed it over so the sound of cartilage being torn apart would be the last thing he would ever hear correctly.
It all happened too quickly that by the time his brain registered what had just taken place, the brief surge of pain was already gone. And yet, he still fell to his knees and clutched his ears, slobbering like an idiot.
The strangest thing though? Sirzechs let it all play out. He just stood to the side and watched it all happen with disinterest, and maybe a small hint of satisfaction.
"Well, you're useless. Phenex?" I kicked him to the side.
"I–I–I have the contract at my mansion! P–Please allow me to bring it to you." He stuttered out, and I honestly did not know if this guy was even involved in all of this. He just looked so lost.
"Go." I waved him off, and he teleported away.
"Wow! Damn dude. I kinda missed doing this." I exhaled into the silence that followed after his departure, and was met with blank stares from all around the room.
What I felt in those brief moments reminded me of exactly why I enjoyed my previous life. And sure, I was way more aggressive now than before, but hey, I could afford to now.
"Takumi, he won't be able to heal that, correct?" Sirzechs asked.
"I removed them from his soul, so nothing but me could heal that." I said with a shrug.
"A fitting punishment for not listening to us then. What of Zekram? He seems… completely out of it."
"Yep. I put the fear of god back into him. Do you want me to just kill him?" I said, and that statement had more truth in it than he recognized.
He thought about my question for a few seconds, weighing the pros and cons in his head. It was not an easy decision to make on the fly, but a chance like this won't present itself ever again, and he knew it.
"Do it."
I walked up to the still catatonic Zekram and placed my finger on the middle of his forehead. A small amount of death-laced power burrowed its way into his brain.
"He won't wake up tomorrow and will die a week later. You can blame the sleeping sickness if you wish. I heard it's incurable after all."
"That— That actually makes things much easier, thank you. Again." He sounded relieved.
"It's fine. But it's your father who is inevitably going to cause more issues should he stay as the lord of Gremory house. Does he stay alive?" I asked.
"Yeah. I'll take care of him. He is my father after all."
"Suit yourself." I shrugged.
After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, lord Phenex was finally back, clutching an ancient-looking piece of parchment. Upon seeing that, I just rolled my eyes. Talk about dramatic props.
Wordlessly and with shaky hands, he approached and gave it to me.
"W–Where is Ruval?" He asked hesitantly, and I whipped my head around to look at him. Sirzechs followed suit, both of us looking absolutely confused.
"Ruval? Dude what? It's Riser who was supposed to marry Rias." I said.
"What are you talking about, Raniel?" Sirzechs asked at the same time.
"R-Riser? Why would Riser marry Rias?"
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A bit of a shorter one today.
Also, do any of you smell that? It smells like a conspiracy in here.