"Or what?"
Adrien's voice echoed through the audience hall. The laughter died almost instantly.
"What are you going to do about it?" he asked lazily.
Serafall's eyes widened. She had been seconds away from speaking herself. Tears had already gathered at the corners of her eyes after hearing the nobles mock her little sister's dream.
One of the elderly devils frowned and turned toward Adrien. "Prince Adrien, this matter has nothing to do with you."
Adrien's eyes shifted toward him. "And does it have anything to do with you, you dried-up old shit?" Close your mouth before I put your head on a stick."
The entire hall froze. Before anyone could react, Adrien spread his eight wings and flew down from the Demon Kings' platform. He landed in the middle of the stage with a heavy thud, standing directly in front of Sona.
Everyone's eyes widened. Sona stared at his back, stunned. Her face slowly turned red when she realized Adrien had stepped in to defend her.
"Adrien…" she muttered under her breath.
"Just out of spite for you old bastards," he said, his voice ringing through the hall, "I, Adrien Agares, an Ultimate-Class devil who outranks every single one of you, will make sure this school gets built. And I dare any of you to stand in my way."
This was no longer a young devil making a childish argument. This was an Ultimate-Class devil from the Agares house openly declaring his support.
Serafall wiped her eyes quickly, then clenched her fists with a bright smile. "That's right! Sona-tan's dream is super important!"
Adrien glanced at Sona, she stared at his eyes, they were warmer than they ever were.
"Now say it again," Adrien said. "Tell everyone your dream one more time."
Sona nodded and stepped forward, "Thank you..." she muttered.
"I want to build a school here in the underworld to teach demons how to fight in the Rating Game."
After she finished speaking, Adrien turned around and walked back up the stairs toward the Demon Kings' platform.
Saji stared at him with shining eyes, looking like he had just witnessed something legendary. "That was cool as hell!"
Even Issei, who had been trying to keep some distance from Adrien lately, couldn't help but blurt out, "…Yeah. That was seriously cool."
Sirzechs spoke from his seat, still wearing a smile that made it obvious he was in a very good mood.
"Very good. In that case, why don't we hold a Rating Game between two of our six up-and-comers? Rias, Sona, Would the two of you compete against each other?"
Rias's Familia and Sona's Familia all gawked at the sudden proposal. Rias and Sona glanced at each other, blinking in surprise.
"We were already planning to schedule Rias's first match in a few days. Azazel has also been gathering Rating Game fans from among the Three Great Powers under the pretext of watching our bright young talents compete before their official debuts. This seems like an excellent opportunity. Rias versus Sona would make for quite an interesting match, would it not?"
Rias let out a deep sigh, then slowly smiled. Across from her, Sona adjusted her glasses, a faint smirk forming on her lips.
"It may not be an official match," Sona said, "but it does feel like fate that my first Rating Game opponent would be you, Rias."
"I'm not about to lose, Sona."
"Neither am I," Sona replied calmly.
"Yay! A match between Rias-tan and Sona-tan!" she exclaimed, winking joyfully. "This is going to be so exciting!"
"Then it is decided. The match will be held on August thirtieth by the human calendar. Until then, you may spend your time preparing however you see fit. The full details will be given to you closer to the date."
With that, the match between Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri was officially set.
--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>
After the gathering ended, Adrien's Familia and Rias's Familia returned to the Gremory estate.
Inside one of the estate's rooms, Rias and her peerage gathered around Azazel and explained everything that had happened at the Young Devils Gathering.
"Heh," Azazel said with an amused grin. "So you'll be facing the Sitri girl, huh?"
"Yes. It seems my brother decided that on the spot."
"That sounds like Sirzechs, alright. It's still July twenty-eighth in the human world, so that gives us around thirty days."
"F-for training, you mean?" Issei asked nervously.
Azazel grinned wider. "Of course. We start tomorrow. I've already planned a full training regimen for each of you."
"Wait, already?"
"Obviously," Azazel said. "You think I came here just to drink and watch you kids run around?"
Kiba smiled politely, though he looked a little tense. "Is it really acceptable for us to receive direct advice from the Governor of the Fallen Angels? Only our side, I mean. Wouldn't that be unfair?"
Azazel waved his hand casually. "It's fine. I'll be giving the other side plenty of data too. Besides, the angels have their own backup system in place now. The rest depends on you devil kids. If you're serious about getting stronger and making sure your species survives, then take whatever help you can get. Pride won't save you in a real war."
"And my lieutenant governor is already giving advice and information to the other devil houses anyway. Honestly, Shemhazai's input might be even more useful than mine. Hahaha!"
Rias nodded. "Then we'll be in your care."
"Good." Azazel pointed at the group. "Everyone besides Issei, meet me tomorrow morning. I'll get you started on your individual training programs."
Issei blinked. "Huh!? Why am I not included?"
"Because you're leaving today with Adrien's peerage." Issei froze. "Leaving… where?"
"To Agreas Island," Azazel said. "For the next thirty days, you'll be trained by Adrien himself."
Rias's Familia fell silent, they glanced at each other. They were sure that Azazel had no idea of the decision made by both the Agares and Gremory family.
"A-Azazel, you can't..." Asia said looking between Issei and the fallen angel.
"Issei if you don't feel comfortable you don't have too."
"What are ya'll talking about?" Azazel looked confused as he saw everyone's reactions.
"Rias will be engaged to Adrien when he becomes eligible for the Rating Games."
Azazel's eyes widened, then a grin formed on his face, "that's a genius idea, it's the first time I can confidently say that Sirzechs made an excellent decision."
Everyone seemed surprised by Azazel's excitement.
"One, your position becomes much stronger. You're already a Gremory and the Demon King's little sister, but with this engagement, you'll also be tied to House Agares—the Archdukes. That's a nasty political shield right there. Two, you gain a terrifying deterrent against enemies. Adrien is probably already considered as dangerous as us big shots by Khaos Brigade. They saw him become the main reason Katerea and Vali lost, after all. And three, you'll have a way to get Adrien to train you and your peerage without me having to stick my neck in and offer the shit I have for him to give us a bit of his precious time"
Rias lowered her gaze, her expression conflicted. "Yes, I understand the benefits. But there's no proof he'll truly help us. Our bond would only be tied by paper, not real feelings." She paused for a moment, then admitted, "I do think he's cool, but I'm not in love with him. And I don't think he's in love with me either."
"It's mostly politics, yeah," Azazel said "But don't get it twisted, Rias. This is politics that works in your favor. Love is important, sure. I'm not heartless enough to deny that. But survival? Survival comes first. And Sirzechs made the best move he could to make sure you stay alive."
Rias frowned, her pride clearly stung. "But I can take care of myself. I'm not that weak—"
"Can you really?" Azazel cut in, his voice calm but sharp. "You're still a High-Class devil who's only just about to reach the four-winged stage. That's impressive for your age, princess, but the people we're going to be fighting aren't normal enemies. The Khaos Brigade have monsters, Ultimate-Class fighters, descendants of the Old Maou, Longinus users, gods and dragons"
Rias went quiet.
"I'm here right now. Sirzechs is here right now. But what happens if we're hit from multiple different sides at the same time? What if Sirzechs is forced to defend the Underworld, I'm dragged into a fight with some fucking God-class idiot, If the Khaos Brigade comes for you then, can you honestly say you and your peerage could hold the line alone?"
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Yo we reached the power stone goals so I'll be dropping a bonus chapter today.
When we reach 400 powers tones and I'll drop another bonus chapter.
If you can put reviews so I can know what you think about the story so far I'd be a real help!