"RIAS BUCHOU'S VIRGINITY IS MINE!!!" her cute pawn screamed, his voice echoing for everyone gathered to hear. All she could wish for was that the ground would open and swallow her whole.
She was grateful, touched even, that she held such a place in his heart—that he had crashed the wedding proceedings so fearlessly. But still… he could have been a bit more subtle, a bit less Issei about it.
She hated it when she was treated as an object, a beautiful trophy to be displayed and possessed. She hated how the world decided she must be protected and coddled simply because she was the sister of Lucifer. Oh, she had heard the whispers, the jeers—that she was an incompetent High-Class devil, a disappointment to the Gremory House.
And maybe… maybe all of it was true. After all, she was being sold off to the Phenex House. Her match with Riser would benefit both Gremory and Phenex. Her family would gain access to the exalted Phenex Tears—capable of healing someone even from the brink of death—while the Phenex would gain political clout by binding themselves to the house that had produced the strongest devil since the Original Lucifer.
Her fist tightened as she thought about how powerless she truly was, how little she could alter in the grand scheme of things. Her fate was not in her hands, just because she was nothing more than a weak, spoiled princess.
So lost was she in her musings that she didn't notice when her brother—the Lucifer himself—slipped into the seat beside her. He still wore that damnable, affable smile that always masked his true thoughts and emotions. She loved her brother, truly. He had been the object of her admiration and the source of her insecurities for as long as she could remember. She could still recall, with fondness, how attached she had been to him as a child—how she had looked up to him, wanting to be strong and charismatic like him. But not everyone could be a prodigy, a monster of talent, like him.
When he was only a little older than she was now, he had led the charge against the Old Satan Faction and won, defeating a legitimate descendant of the Original Lucifer himself. He had been such a force that he was conferred the title of Lucifer at a very young age.
This was the shadow she had lived under her entire life. She could see it—the awe, the respect, the fear—in the eyes of devils much older than her brother. He knew it, too. And it was under his leadership that the Underworld had known peace since the Civil War.
That very same brother of hers had just declared his desire to watch the Red Dragon Emperor and the Phenex clash—and, of course, the winner would have her hand. Did he consult her? Of course not. Yet she couldn't bring herself to protest. She wanted out of this marriage contract more than anything. But the only question was: could Issei really defeat Riser, when he had failed before?
"Hell yeah!" Issei grinned with utter confidence. "I'll beat your ass and take Buchou away!"
"Big talk for a bug," Riser sneered. "Red Dragon Emperor or not, you're nothing."
"Very well then," Sirzechs interjected smoothly. "The bout will take place—"
Fear. Terror. Death.
Rias was slammed into the ground by an unseen pressure. She couldn't breathe. Couldn't make a sound. Blood refused to flow to her head, leaving her lightheaded. She lay sprawled on the floor, confused, terrified.
Step. Step. Step. Step.
Footsteps echoed against the cold, hard floor. Faint, yet deafening in the silence of the hall. She couldn't move her head against the weight pinning her down, but from the corner of her eye she saw the shadow of her Queen, her best friend, Akeno—pinned in the same desperate position.
She wanted to call out, but no words formed. Only shallow, greedy gulps of air.
Step.
The echo stopped. Whoever it was stood just a few paces away. Silence reigned.
"Sirzechs."
The voice was deep, human, male. He spoke her brother's name. Even her parents addressed him only by his title in public. What gave this stranger the right?
"Who are you?" her brother's tone was different now—guarded, wary. Was her brother… threatened?
"Do you not recognize me?" The stranger sounded both amused and weary. "Not surprising. You were just a kid when we last met." He sighed, his steps shuffling slightly. "Oh? Why are you all prostrating? I don't need all these formalities, you know." His voice echoed, playful, mocking.
Then came a sharp intake of breath. The pressure lifted.
Rias sucked in air like a drowning woman and scrambled to Akeno's side, ignoring the trembling in her legs. She slid beside her, lifting her head gently into her lap.
"Akeno! Are you alright?" She shook her, but her friend remained unconscious—though breathing evenly. Relief washed over her.
All around, devils stirred, mutters rising in the hall as they recovered from the crushing force. The stranger, meanwhile, stood scanning the hall, eyes fixed on the dais where the twin staircases converged.
"Sirzechs." This time his voice carried fatigue. Every syllable seemed to weigh a ton, and the silence that followed proved everyone else felt it too.
The stranger pointed toward the dais. "There used to be a throne there—more magnificent than anything humans could conjure. A seat of power and inspiration." His eyes met her brother's, and Rias felt something awaken in him. A light, terrible and divine, burned in his gaze—like the sun rising, but with the fury of a volcano poised to erase all in its path. She shivered violently, hugging herself.
The monster was waking up.
Her father stirred. To her shock, Zeoticus Gremory—the unshakable pillar of her life—walked toward the man. His expression was a strange mix of confusion and excitement.
"How…" his voice trembled. "How do you know about the throne?" His eyes locked on the stranger. "Who are you?"
The man turned back toward the dais, pointing beside where the throne once stood. "There was another chair. Some called it a throne, but it was always just a chair. A chair that lived to serve the throne. The throne was its reason to exist."
His hand fell listlessly to his side. Rias's father's eyes widened. Her mother flushed with excitement. The rest of the hall remained utterly bewildered.
And then—her father fell to his knees. Not regal, not proud. Just trembling. Her mother followed suit.
"All hail Adam Phenex."
Gasps echoed. Rias's breath caught.
"Progenitor of the Phenex Clan," her father's voice reverberated. "The one true Sword God. The Eternal Sword Saint. And…" Zeoticus raised his eyes, filled with ecstasy and reverence.
"The Knight of Lucifer."