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The Phenex Rises - Chapter 5
🕑 Added 2024-09-04 22:02:58 +0000 UTCAfter the flames of his teleportation died down, Riser took a moment to examine the lavishly decorated room he'd found himself in. He'd just been summoned by someone looking for forge a contract. Apparently, Rias had thought it would be amusing to distribute fliers with his summoning circle inscribed on them without consulting with him first.
His first instinct had been to ignore the call. He hadn't volunteered to do contract work and honestly had no need to do it either. He was already a High-Class devil and there was no promotion exams or anything similar to be promoted to Ultimate class. Either you were Ultimate class, or you weren't. Unlike Low, Middle, and High Class, there was no official political connections with Ultimate class, though reaching such lofty heights naturally afforded those with the strength the appropriate respect.
As an example, both he and Rias had been born as High-Class politically, but their Demonic Power was closer to Low-Class being at the bottom of Middle-Class. Neither of them were considered to be monstrous prodigies, merely above average. Even if they stayed at Low-Class power for the rest of their lives, they would have remained High-Class politically. Although, they would have been looked down on as completely useless if they didn't at least make it to High-Class power wise.
That was the exact problem poor Sairaorg, and others like him, were dealing with.
So, back to the point. He didn't need to do the 'grunt work' of fulfilling contracts for any other purpose than profit. That wasn't exactly something he actually had any need of. He could spend a few minutes making a Phoenix Tear and sell it for a few million Lilum, the equivalent of a few billion yen. Money was not something he ever had to worry about for as long as he lived.
It took everything he had not to show his annoyance at being summoned. He might not have volunteered for it, but he also wasn't about to treat a potential customer like trash and make the reputation of Devils as a whole worse at the same time. He would deal with this, and any other future contract summons, in the simplest manner possible. Perform the task, if it was appropriate. Deny it if it was inappropriate. And, once finished, recommend they summon someone from Rias's peerage in the future. He'd even stolen a few hundred of the Gremory summoning fliers just for that purpose.
Thankfully, he wasn't forced to wait for very long as middle-aged man in a yukata walked out of a separate room while running the back of his head. He paused as he spotted Riser and Riser spotted him. The man standing in front of Riser was a very familiar one for anyone who watched the anime or read the manga for DxD. Even more so for someone who grew up in the underworld and got a proper education on the movers and shakers of every faction. Hell, the man in front of him was so unique just the description of his black hair with blonde bangs was enough for most individuals to know who he was.
Azazel, the Governor General of Grigori and, ostensibly, Kokabiel's boss.
Azazel, apparently not realizing that Riser had recognized him right away gave a casual wave, “Oh, you came devil-kun. It's nice to meet you.”
Riser said nothing as he burst into flames and instantly teleported out of the, admittedly, nice room. Azazel looked a little put out as he sighed, “That's not good.”
He moved over to his couch and sat down to pour himself a glass of sake. He was more of a whiskey man, but when in Rome and all that. He took a sip and barely had time to savor the flavor before his phone rang. He swallowed the drink and pulled his phone out. A single look at the caller's name had him sigh deeply. He put on a cheerful smile, knowing it would be heard in his voice, and answered, “Serafall! How nice to hear from you. What can I do for you?”
“You can tell me why I just received a call from Lord Phenex demanding to know what the leader of the Fallen Angels, the Governor General of Grigori himself, saw fit to summon his son from within devil territory?”
Azazel could swear her voice was so cold that it was actually freezing his phone as she continued, “I assured him that it must have been some kind of mistake. After all, the Azazel I know isn't stupid enough to enter devil territory without discussing it with me first. ESPECIALLY after one of his most powerful friends and fellow Cadre of Grigori just attempted to murder several high profile members of the devil nobility.”
“Well...”
“Leave Kuoh, now. Do not make things worse by thinking you can hide out there undetected. Thanks to you, I now have to make regular, random, trips to Kuoh to check for members of Grigori hiding out. Thank you SO much for the extra work.”
“I don't suppose...”
“Tut tut tut. Hang up and leave town. Now.”
Azazel sighed and ended the call. He knew there was some small amount of risk in coming to Kuoh in order to meet the devil that had intrigued Vali so much. He simply hadn't expected the young devil to recognize him on sight so easily. Nor did he expect the kid to immediately rush away and tattle on him to his daddy. Everything he'd been able to find on Riser Phenex portrayed the boy as extremely arrogant, perverted (which he approved of!) and, in general, someone who would have thought he could deal with anything.
Apparently not all was as it seemed with the youngest son of the Phenex clan. Now he REALLY wanted to talk with the boy. Granted, he was more interested in talking to the Red Dragon Emperor that had been recruited by the Gremory Heiress, especially if the rumors were true. He was pretty certain they were since the boy hadn't been seen in weeks. Too bad, he'd heard rumors of the boy's behavior followed by rumors of how badly he'd been crushed by the Phenex boy.
They were both just so... interesting. Well, maybe he'd be able to learn more during the peace conference. That gave him a little smile as he teleported out of the home he'd purchased and made his way to his office.
-----Line Break-----
Riser sat silently in his father's study watching the man himself waiting on the phone. The moment he'd seen that he one to summon him was Azazel, he'd teleported out of their and straight to the underworld and quickly found his father. He reported the incident and let his father, as the Lord of their House, make the calls and deal with the situation.
Riser wasn't actually afraid of Azazel. Oh, he knew Azazel was even stronger than Kokabiel and could stomp his ass into the ground with little effort, but it didn't matter. Mostly because Azazel was a true proponent of peace between the three factions. Riser agreed with the Azazel about peace and had no problem with the man himself. What he did have a problem with was the Governor General of Grigori letting himself into Devil territory and then summoning a member of a pillar clan directly.
There were appropriate channels for this sort of thing and Riser was far more comfortable using those channels. Especially when it came to Azazel. There was no way in hell he wanted to be alone with possibly the second smartest man alive who could deduce who knew what from even the most basic answers Riser gave him. Riser considered himself intelligent, but no way in hell was he about to try and match wits with Azazel.
Aside from that, he was a patriot. Heading home and reporting Azazel would give his race a small, tiny really, advantage in negotiations with Grigori in the upcoming peace talks, which he isn't supposed to know about. To those not inside of his head, it would just look like he was doing the right thing. A win-win as far as he was concerned.
Though, he did owe Azazel a little something. This had made for a perfect excuse to drop into the underworld. He planned to take full advantage of being back home.
“Thank you Lady Leviathan. I will be sure to let him know. Yes. Goodbye.”
Riser focused on his father as he hung up the phone and gave Riser a proud smile, “I must say, well done. Serafall contacted Azazel and dealt with the situation. He's been warned to leave and not return. This is especially good due to an upcoming event that will be held in Kuoh soon.”
Riser patiently waited for his father to continue. It was a lesson he'd been taught early on, to wait for the full details before asking questions of jumping to conclusions. Soon enough, his father continued, “This is still a secret. You are only allowed to inform Rias and Sona Sitri of what I am about to tell you.”
He continued after Riser nodded in agreement, “In a couple of weeks there will be a conference held in Kuoh between the three factions. You will be attending, along with your fiance, as part of the devil delegation. The purpose of this conference will be to discuss the possibility of turning our current ceasefire into true peace. This is a pivotal moment in our history. If peace is achieved, we will truly have the time for our race to recover. The Evil Pieces have helped, but we both know that those reincarnated are not true devils.”
Riser wanted to scoff at the last statement but knew it was the truth. His father did not mean they weren't devils genetically, it was their mentality. Almost all reincarnated devils were human at one point. Thus they had a human mentality. It led to a lot of friction between pure-blooded devils and reincarnated devils due to differing ideologies.
Of course, some pure-bloods were just plain racist.
Riser nodded his head, “I understand, father. I'll do my best to bring honor to the Phenex name.”
Lord Phenex studied his son for a moment. Riser had always been his favorite. Though he would never, ever, admit it aloud. He knew his son had great potential, it's why he'd been named Riser to begin with. He knew his son would rise to great heights from the moment he'd held him in his arms at the day of his birth.
One could not imagine his disappointment when Riser had failed to live up to his potential. He'd grown lazy, arrogant, and spiteful. That last one was mostly on the Gremory girl and her constant despicable treatment of Riser. Arrogance, well, that was to be expected. He was a Phenex and they were the pinnacle of what devil-kind should strive for. Rich, powerful, and indispensable.
The laziness though? He'd despised seeing his son like that. Indulging in his harem constantly, doing the absolute minimum in his Rating Games, and so many other little annoyances. He had no issue with his son having a Harem, he was his son and a harem of beauties is the least he deserved! But the overindulging was a problem. It's why he hadn't fought nearly as hard as he could have when it had been 'requested' that Riser leave them behind in the underworld.
Yet, now, he was exceptionally proud of his son. It seemed that Riser had been training at least his fire abilities in secret. Though why that was, he couldn't fathom. All Riser had to do was ask and he would give the boy all the support he could possibly want to do anything he wanted. Perhaps he was spoiling Riser, but he couldn't help it.
However, lately, he'd been feeling true pride in his son. The Sirzechs incident, how he was handling things now, and what he'd heard about the fight against Kokabiel... Well, he could see the way his son was growing and he approved, fully.
After a moment of silence Riser asked, “If there's nothing else, Father? There are some things I would like to do while I'm home.”
Lord Phenex shook his head, “That will be all, son. You did a good job today. Keep up the good work.”
Riser gave his father a smile and polite bow before making his exit. He swiftly walked through the halls of his home to one of the private teleportation circles. While he could teleport from anywhere with ease, it was considered rude to teleport outside of a circle in a home. Except in emergencies, of course.
It was also polite to inform the destination of your imminent arrival. Something Riser pulled out his phone to do while walking. After a few rings it was answered, “Where is he?” He listened to the voice on the other end and smirked, “Excellent. I'll be there shortly.”
He hung up and smirked to himself while pulling out his favorite new pair of gloves. He pulled them on just before he stepped into the circle and teleported to his destination. When the flames faded away he found himself outside in a large open space standing in front of a gigantic being. Riser tilted his head back, and back, and further back until he could finally spot the bottom of Tannin's chin.
Tannin was a fifteen meter tall western-style dragon that stood on two legs like a humanoid with purple scales over most of his body. He was originally a Dragon King known as the Blaze Meteor Dragon, until he was reincarnated by Mephisto Pheles as the Extra-Devil's Queen piece, and the only member of Mehisto's peerage. He was also the one to train the sex offender in the original timeline and, apparently, to train him in this timeline as well.
Sirzechs must have called in several favors to get Tannin to train Issei. Hopefully the dragon was doing more than just making Issei stronger in his base form. One of the requirements his father insisted on to not outright kill Issei was that he be trained in proper etiquette. Part of him hoped Sirzechs had failed in that respect, it would be nice to report that to his father and put another screw to the Satan.
Tannin tilted his head down to, literally, look down on Riser from his great height, “Lord Phenex, it's good to see you. I take it you're here to see his progress?”
Riser nodded, “I had reason to come to the Underworld and felt it was my duty to check up on my fiance's Pawn.”
Tannin huffed but didn't argue so Riser continued, “How is he doing?”
Tanin turned and began to walk, leading Riser, as he spoke, “I have never seen someone so stupidly stubborn about anything in my life. The boy, to this day, insists that he must leave to hunt you down and save his King from, and I quote 'that filthy yakitori's perverted desires' end quote. I have fight him and my son Bova just to burn their energy before I can try to hammer any other lessons into them.”
As they topped a small hill to look down into Dragon Valley, Tannin's home and where he grew his Dragon Apples, he finally spotted the reason for his trip, the sex offender himself. As much as Riser wanted to use Serafalls skills to learn Ice Magic, he knew another battle was coming. He was here to copy Issei's basic Boost ability. Between Boost and Divide there were few threats he wouldn't be able to become a match with.
Honestly, he personally believed that Albion's Divide ability was significantly more effective when facing a superior opponent. A single touch and he could turn someone like Azazel from a massive threat, into a more manageable threat. He highly doubted a single Divide would turn Azazel into his bitch. The major downside? Actually touching his target. Once it became known that he had copied the Divide ability, people intending to fight him would avoid his touch as if he were plagued.
That's where getting the Boost ability came in. It didn't require him to do anything but will it to work and he would double his power. He could do that to make himself faster to get close enough to touch someone and Divide their power. Making his enemies weaker while making himself stronger would be the ultimate combo. Of course, he couldn't forget that Dividing someone's power actually gave him that power. So, in the end, he would become a true force to be reckoned with.
There were limitations and flaws to it though. For starters, he would only have the skills while wearing the gloves. Second, the gloves weren't invulnerable to damage and could be destroyed. Or worse, third, they could be stolen and used by someone else.
In the end, they were not the end all, be all, of powerful items, just a simple tool at his disposal. Though, after the peace conference was finished, he might consider talking to Azazel about them. After all, if anyone could turn such a powerful item into an Artificial Sacred Gear, it would be him. Though there were pro's and con's to that option as well.
In the end, the only thing he could truly rely on was his own body. It was a good thing he planned to forge it into a monstrous machine of destruction.
Tannin gestured to where Issei and a smaller dragon that looked similar to Tannin were laid out on the ground sweating, bruised, and breathing heavily, “There he is.”
At the sound of his voice, Issei and the dragon looked in their direction. Iseei's eyes widened as he shouted, “YOU! GIVE BUCHOU BACK!”
Tannin sighed deeply while Riser just shook his head, “Unbelievable.”
Tannin grunted, “I never thought I'd say this...” They both watched Issei struggle to his feet and face Riser, “But it's possible that he is simply far too stupid to actually be trained. He has been told, multiple times, that Lady Rias has returned to Kuoh safe and sound, that the wedding has been postponed, yet still it is all he talks about.”
[BOOST!]
Both of them focused on Issei who'd found the energy to start running up the small hill toward them while screaming, “GIVE BUCHOU BACK!”
Both Tannin and Riser sighed in exasperation. Riser looked up at Tannin, “I'll handle this. I promise not to kill him, if for no other reason than he is under your protection. I wouldn't dare do something to hurt your reputation.”
Tannin sighed but nodded, “That is... acceptable. Perhaps it will knock some sense into him.” He sighed deeply, “Though I doubt it.”
Riser chuckled and calmly waited while Issei struggled to climb the hill.
[BOOST!]
With the surge of energy from the second boost, Issei picked up some speed and actually managed to get close enough to Riser to throw a punch. It was... sad. Riser barely tilted his head to the side to dodge the completely telegraphed punch. Iseei glared at Riser from up close and opened his mouth to spew some nonsense of other, but was interrupted as he gagged and spit up bile. Riser calmly pulled his fist out of Issei's stomach, the Boost skill easily copied from the blow.
He calmly stepped back and allowed Issei to fall onto the ground where he curled up like a shrimp and clutched at his stomach. Riser turned to once more look up at Tannin, “Thank you for agreeing to see me on such short notice Lord Tannin. I will inform Rias that her pawn is being well taken care of, even if his attitude still leaves a lot to be desired.”
“I will tell her you are doing a wonderful job. Thank you for your time.”
With nothing else to do and the sex offender still unable to move, Riser calmly walked back to the teleportation circle he'd used to arrive. This had been an excellent use of his time.
-----Line Break-----
Riser stretched and yawned as he awoke in his bed located within his own, personal, mansion. Every member of the Phenex family had their own personal mansion located somewhere within the huge territory that the Phenex Clan controlled. Riser's was the largest, mostly because Riser had spent his own money expanding it to make sure it was the largest. Before he'd awoken memories of another life he'd struggled with his place in the world. He'd done anything he could to try and stand out, not knowing that just doing the best he could was good enough.
Hell, knowing what he did now, he had no doubt that he could become a Satan class individual given enough time and resources. His innate talents and abilities alone were enough. The things his little quest system were giving him were just helping to diversify his abilities and give him more options.
Speaking of the Quest System...
[System Alert! Hidden Quest Complete!
Bow-Chicka-Bow... No, fuck you!
You're Riser-Fucking-Phenex the man with a peerage of fourteen young women more than willing to slip into bed for a little under-the-covers-fun-times, and it took you TWO FUCKING WEEKS to get laid?! No. Fuck you, you do NOT deserve a reward for this! I'm giving you the absolutely most useless reward I possibly can.
Oh! And fuck you if you think sleeping with anyone in your peerage will count for anything in the future! Fucking slacker.
Reward: Instant Sexual Recovery]
Riser chuckled a little at the system's outrage at how long it took him to get laid. The system wasn't entirely wrong. If he'd wanted he could have pounded Yubelluna into the floor the night of the duel with the sex offender. He hadn't and then things had kind of been out of his hands with the new changes in his life and moving to the human realm. But, he could have come home anytime he wanted and taken any member of his ex-peerage, minus his sister, to bed whenever he wanted.
As for the reward, well, the system wasn't lying, for him it was useless. His regeneration meant his refractory period was about five seconds. He, basically, had infinite sexual stamina and was as potent with his one hundredth shot as he was with his first. His new reward took that five second recovery period and made it zero. Definitely useless.
He was brought out of his musing by a pair of feminine moans that sounded similar to cats mewing. On either side of him the covers shifted as two of his ex-pawns, Ni and Li, popped out of the covers. The pair were the nekomata, aka cat-girls, of his previous peerage and were extremely affectionate. He'd spent half the night making up for lost time and going until they'd both passed out. The two of them were twins and did everything together, including him.
The two lazily stretched, giving him a wonderful view of their bare breasts and the hard little nubs of their nipples. The pair were almost always aroused when he was near them, even in their sleep. They claimed it was because he was their mate and he'd never seen a reason to argue with them. Still didn't, in fact. He simply lay back and enjoyed the view as the two slowly roused themselves to wakefulness.
He glanced to the side and saw that it was almost noon, pretty early for him to be waking up after a night with Ni and Li, if he was being honest. It usually took him until almost morning to wear the twins out and he'd managed to do it around one or two in the morning this time. His improved strength and stamina had rendered the twins comatose earlier than usual. He was kind of proud of that.
He climbed out from between the twins, though he did take a moment to enjoy the sight of them naked and content. They both looked at him for a bit before scooting together and hugging each other. They were quickly back asleep.
Riser quickly dressed in his new style and made his way out of the bedroom. Marion and Burent were waiting outside of his room, as they always were. He was going to just walk past them, treat them as the maids they wished to be, except he saw the slight flush on Burent's cheeks and the way she was surreptitiously rubbing her thighs together.
Ah, it was about that time, wasn't it? He looked directly into Burent's eyes and she immediately looked away with her cheeks flushing more. Burent had a rather... unique fetish. She truly wanted to be a proper maid, but sometimes she also wanted to be treated like a 'proper maid' and be taken advantage of by her Lord 'against her will' as it were. It wasn't something she wanted all the time, but when the mood struck it was easy enough to tell and he was always happy to help his girls indulge in their fetishes.
“Burent.” His voice was cold, uncaring, just the way she liked it, “Come with me. Marion, stay put.”
Burent's already flush face became even darker. Marion, seeing the state Burent was in, playfully rolled her eyes before giving Riser a curtsy, “As you wish, My Lord.”
Riser turned and began walking away, knowing Burent would follow him as he'd commanded. He walked until he found one of the supply closets. Perfect. He grabbed Burent roughly and opened the closet to pull her inside with him. She let out a little squeak as he slammed the door behind them.
-----Line Break-----
The door to the supply closet opened a little more than an hour later. Burent was the first out, limping a bit as she walked. Her face a mess as her carefully done makeup had been completely ruined, tear track runs of mascara, and her lipstick rubbed all over around her lips. Ddespite how she looked, there was a definite glow about her as she carefully limped her way over to Marion was waiting for them and giving Burent a knowing smirk. Burent just blushed but said nothing.
Riser didn't acknowledge the little byplay, it would ruin the whole thing for Burent if he did. But, he did notice that his system was true to its word and hadn't made a peep about his rendezvous with Burent. Well, that was fine. Xenovia would probably be joining him in bed soon enough. She was on a baby kick and devils were notoriously difficult to impregnate.
Unless they were a Phenex, of course. He was the only third son of a pillar clan in the entire Underworld. Most clans struggled to have two children, usually having to settle for one due to the sheer difficulty of the process. Though many families never stopped trying, they just hadn't succeeded thus far.
Then there was his family. His parents had birthed four children, two in an unheard of short period of time. Having a gap of less than a few hundred years between children was insane. The less than a decade separating his and Ravel's births was considered a miracle in most circumstances. It all came down to their immortality, an aspect of life itself. Both of his parents being from the Phenex line, though not brother and sister like some sick fucks liked to claim to lower the families prestige, made the odds skyrocket.
Still, it would probably take years to knock Xenovia up. They might as well practice in the meantime! Or they will, once he actually had some feelings for the girl and she wanted more than just a strong kid. As much as he loved sex, he much preferred it when it was with someone he loved. Especially if he was going to be a father at the end of it!
He shook those thoughts off and went about his morning. He was expected to be back in Kuoh by that afternoon to report the coming peace conference to Rias. It wouldn't be for a few weeks, but they would still need to make some preparations ahead of time. Riser planned to work his ass off and get as strong as he could before the fight he knew would come. He wanted to be strong enough to fight through Gasper Vladi's time stop power all on his own.
It was a good thing he could plan ahead.
-----Line Break-----
Riser stepped off of the teleportation circle and was calmly greeted by Kuisha Abaddon, the beautiful Queen that ran Sairaorg's peerage. He'd made an appointment to meet up and spar with Sairarog the previous evening. He knew, with one hundred percent certainty, that Sairaorg was about to beat his ass like a drum, and he couldn't be more excited.
Kuisha straightened from a formal bow, “Welcome, Lord Riser.”
Riser smiled at her, “No need for that, Lady Abaddon. I'm about to let your King pound my face into the dirt, the least you could do is call me Riser so it's more comfortable.”
Kuisha chuckled a little at that. At least Riser wasn't looking down on her King and knew what he was in for by asking for a spar. She studied him a bit before saying, “You've changed.”
She knew he'd changed from their encounter at the party Sirzechs had held, but seeing him again just brought it more in focus for her. Before that night, the times they'd met Riser had involved Riser looking down on Sairaorg for being 'less of a devil' than he was supposed to be. So, seeing Riser happily walking into an ass beating was definitely different.
Riser nodded along with her statement, “True, true. All I can say in my defense is that I used to think one way and it has recently changed. My eyes have been opened and I'm a different man because of it.”
Having memories of a life lived as a regular human for longer than he'd been alive in his current life would definitely have an impact. Sometimes he had to remind himself that he wasn't a regular human but a powerful devil.
Kuisha led him through the halls of the small manor house that Sairaorg lived in on the very outskirts of the Bael territory. By the standards of devil nobility, Sairaorg was living in poverty in the middle of nowhere. By the standards of anyone else, he was living in a pretty nice place in the middle of nowhere. Sairaorg's place was probably only a tenth the size of Riser's, not that Riser actually cared, it was just something he noticed. The same way he noticed the beige walls and tan carpets in one of the rooms they passed.
Together they arrived outside where Sairaorg was sparring with a member of his peerage. Unfortunately, Riser wasn't quite as familiar with every member of Sairaorg's peerage. He hadn't paid super close attention in either life. He silently watched Sairaorg and the tall, lanky, and somewhat gaunt man with dark green hair and red eyes fight against each other with some force behind the blows. It was a rather impressive display of martial skill, something that made Riser wish he'd started on this path sooner.
It wasn't long until the spar was over. There was no clear winner, though if Riser had to say, it would have been Sairaorg since he had barely broken a sweat while the other guy looked winded. After a quick chat, they both turned and spotted their audience. Sairaorg actually showed a surprised look when he spotted Riser. The reason was imply explained by the man himself, “You know, part of me didn't really believe that you would actually show up. That your interest in a spar and everything else was some sort of ploy for some end.”
Riser didn't take the comment personally. A few weeks ago talking friendly to Sairaorg and asking for a spar would have been a ploy of some sort. There was no need for that kind of thing here. Instead of being offended, Riser grinned and nodded in agreement, “A few weeks ago it might have been, but things change.”
Sairaorg was clearly curious as he asked, “What changed?”
Riser looked slightly uncomfortable but answered the man anyway, “Well, for starters, I stopped caring about what Rias had to say to or about me. I was letting her get me down with her constant negativity about our arranged marriage. She blamed me for it and lashed out at me when it was all our parents idea. I admit I didn't handle it well and when I realized that and got some perspective, I realized I was wasting my life pointlessly. After that, I realized something else.”
Sairaorg was silent, not judging until he Riser had finished his say. He would remain silent as long as Riser didn't insult Rias to his face, so far he hadn't, “What else did you realize?”
Riser gave a somewhat superior grin that kind of irked the people he was with, “The Phenex Clan's Immortality presents itself as extremely powerful regeneration.” Everyone nodded at that to show they knew, “Our regeneration heals any damage to our body near instantly, within seconds at the longest. So, tell me, what advantage would that give when one wants to get physically stronger?”
There was silence for a moment before Kuisha gasped in shock. Sairaorg and the other guy, who hadn't been introduced yet, looked at her curiously. Kuisha stared at Riser in dismay, “That's just plain cheating!”
Sairaorg, still not understanding, asked his Queen, “What am I missing?”
Kuisha looked to her King, “His muscles heal as he works out. He has no recovery time when it comes to improving his body. As long as he pushes it, it will grow stronger continuously.”
Sairaorg's eyes widened in surprise. He turned to look at Riser with a more calculating look. Paying more attention, he could see it. Riser had grown stronger in the last week or so since the party. He hadn't been looking closely before, but now that he was he could see the signs rather obviously. Sairaorg wasn't a genius, but he wasn't a dullard either. He could put the information together and the answer had a grin slowly growing on his face while his eyes practically glowed with glee, “So, what you're saying is, the more I fight him, the stronger he'll grow?”
Kuisha looked at Riser and smirked wickedly, her next words sealing his fate, “That's right.”
Seeing the looks on both Sairaorg and Kuisha's faces, Riser couldn't help wondering if he'd just made a horrible mistake. Oh well, he knew he would be getting his ass handed to him when he came here. If he wasn't comfortable with it, he should have just gone back to the human realm.
-----Line Break-----
Riser stood across the large clear area that would be the sparring ring. They'd moved further from the house to protect it from damage. Riser had permission to go all out and while he wasn't as strong as Sairaorg, he was still very powerful. His recent gains had him hovering the edge between High-Class and the bottom rungs of Ultimate-Class. A stray blast from him would be more than enough to destroy a good portion of the house. Let alone what Sairaorg could do.
Riser started his Total Concentration Breathing, his body swelling for a moment as all his parameters increased. Sairaorg watched, his eyes narrowing slightly, “Interesting! I've never seen a technique like that before.”
Riser grinned broadly, “If you want, I can teach you later.”
That got a laugh of excitement from Sairaorg. As for Riser's reasoning, simple, Sairaorg was taking his time to spar with someone who had previously treated him and his peerage like trash. Riser was being given a golden opportunity to improve himself from one of the best in the Underworld. Aside from that, Sairaorg was just a total bro and making him stronger made the entire Underworld stronger. It would also secure Sairaorg as an ally. He just wished there was something he could do for the guy's mother.
He refused to consider the bullshit of Issei using his understanding of boob language to somehow help Sairaorg's mother come out of the sleeping sickness. That was just too stupid for him to comprehend.
Riser ignited his fists with Hellfire and grinned at Sairaorg, “Here I come!”
Hellfire burst out of his feet and launched him across the open distance like a rocket. Sairarog dropped into a basic stance and intercepted Riser's fist with his own. There was an explosion of flames as their fists met and Riser hid a grimace as he felt the bones in his hands break for just a moment. Yeah, hitting Sairaorg was literally hitting something stronger than steel.
Riser didn't let it stop him though as he began to throw out strike after strike, his fists becoming a blur as he used as much speed as he had without tapping into things like his new Devil Trigger or trying to use Arondight. Those were great, but he wanted to improve his base strength as much as he could. Total Concentration Breathing actually helped with that, it was the only reason he was even using it.
Unfortunately for Riser, his every blow was met and over-matched by a blow from Sairaorg. Riser was giving it his all, punching as hard and fast as he could, throwing in the occasional kick, even enhancing his punched with Fire Dragon Slayer Magic, and Sairaorg was just meeting and exceeding him every time with ease.
After a few more blows, Sairarog dodged a punch for the first time and slammed his fist into Riser's chest with enough force to break bone and send Riser flying back to land roughly on the ground a dozen feet away. Sairaorg looked at Riser with a wide grin, “Not bad! Your offense is pretty good. Now, let's see how your defense is!”
Riser's eyes widened as Sairarog moved for the first time and charged right at him before he'd even gotten up. Riser barely had enough time to roll out of the way and jump to his feet. Sairaorg didn't stop pursuing him and began to throw punches of his own. His punches hit like a freight train with a hundred cars of cargo behind it. Every blow that Riser managed to block earned him shattered bones. The ones he didn't block actually punched through his body. If he'd been anyone else, he would have been dead a dozen times over in less than a minute.
Instead of being scared, discouraged, or frustrated, a massive grin split Riser's face as he continued to spar with the unstoppable juggernaut that was Sairaorg. He was getting his ass beat and couldn't be happier. He was no masochist, he didn't enjoy the pain. No, what he enjoyed was the feeling he was getting. He could feel it, he could feel himself growing stronger. With every exchange of blows he could feel the change in his fighting style. He was adapting, his torn muscles, broken bones, and ripped skin were coming back stronger.
Not only his body was improving, but so was his Dragon Slayer Magic. He'd been using it non-stop for the fight, clashing it against Sairaorg's fists and learning how to harness it better through sheer experience. It was exhilarating in a way that he couldn't describe.
-----Line Break-----
Riser collapsed onto his back on the ground breathing heavily and soaked with sweat. He was completely spent, lacking even the energy to fuel his Phenex Regeneration. He had for quite some time and it was only his Phoenix Devil Fruit regeneration that let him push his body past its limits. He felt like he could sleep for a week.
Meanwhile, Sairaorg was barely scuffed up, Riser having only managed to land a few blows on his body, for all the good they did. He was barely breathing faster than normal and only had a slight sheen of sweat one might get from a light workout. Yet, despite how easily he'd manhandled Riser, Sairaorg was grinning from ear to ear as he looked down at him, “Not bad. If I'm being honest, I expected you to give up an hour ago, but you didn't! You didn't hold back at all and fought with everything you had. I'm impressed, honestly.” His grin grew, “I can't wait until our next spar!”
Riser, despite his exhaustion, laughed and gave Sairaorg a shaking thumbs up, “It'll be awesome!”
Sairaorg laughed boisterously and leaned down to grab Riser's arm and haul him to his feet with ease, “It will! Now, let's get you home.” He looked over to his Queen, “C'mon Kuisha, let's send him back.”
After giving Kuisha the coordinates for his personal manner's teleportation circle, he was sent home to a concerned looking Marion and Burent. The two ended up dragging him to the bathroom while complaining about how bad he smelled. Naturally, the pair took advantage of the situation and joined him within the large and luxurious bath and made sure every inch of him was scrubbed down. They may have also chosen to take advantage in other ways, not that Riser had any complaints about that!
-----Line Break-----
It was late afternoon when Riser awoke from his nap sandwiched between his two loyal maids. He was pushing it by staying so late when his father wanted him back in the human realm to continue farming those pity points from his fellow nobles. Sirzechs might have publicly apologized, but that didn't erase all the ramifications of his actions, the nobles were still using it to their advantage and him being 'exiled' to the human realm was a part of that.
He placed a kiss on the forehead of each exhausted maid, and climbed out of bed. Once dressed, he made his way to the family crest and teleported back into his 'home' in the human realm. The only good thing about the place was the awesome gym. He stepped out of the teleportation area and smiled a little when he spotted Asia and Xenovia sitting together and chatting. The two ex-church members got along famously. It was nice to see Xenovia making a friend given how awkward she was around other people. She really didn't know how to talk to people without inevitably pissing them off.
He didn't bother the girls and instead made his way down into the training area of the house. He had a skill he wanted to try out that he'd not used yet. He didn't want his first time using it to be in live combat, and given he knew a fight was coming in the next few weeks, he wasn't going to waste his time.
Standing alone in the training area, he reached inside of himself and tapped into a small pool of energy he'd recently gained, his Devil Trigger. As soon as he did a blast wave of fiery red energy erupted out of him as his entire body transformed into something far more sinister. Two massive horns that curved back had sprouted out of his forehead. From his back were two feathery wings not too dissimilar from angel wings, only the feathers were colored like flames rather than black or white. His flesh had become chitinous and scaly with his fingers ending in vicious claws. Even his legs had changed becoming digitigrade and ending in cloven hooves.
He looked himself over with eyes that literally glowed and seemed to emit wisps of flame. When he smiled in approval of what he could see, it revealed a mouth full of fangs made for rending flesh from bone. He inhaled deeply and when he exhaled there was a small wisp of flames that emerged with his breath.
He could feel the energy in the pool within himself draining while he maintained the new form. He could also feel the huge, if temporary, boost the change had granted every aspect of his being. Strength, speed, durability, regeneration, demonic power, even his senses were all greatly enhanced by the change. The shift definitely put him into the lower rungs of Ultimate-Class.
There was another burst of energy as the form faded away and returned him back to his base state. He let out a sigh at that, as it stood the pool of energy he had was only good for a minute. He felt he could improve it through use and practice, but that would take time. The energy pool was refilling, but slowly. So slowly it would take him about six hours to refill it all, or in other words, ten seconds of use per hour recharge.
Though, and this was key, violence helped it refill faster. How fast, he wasn't sure, but if the fight was going hard enough it might be enough to maintain the Devil Trigger for a while.
With that taken care of, he started moving through the kata that had been imprinted into his mind by his first prize from the system, the Fire Manipulation Mastery. It was something he did every day because it gave a small improvement to his Demonic Power capacity and density. Doing it every now and then wouldn't have him improve very much at all, but doing it daily would add up over time and inexorably make him stronger by the day.
As he finished the kata a system notification appeared in front of him that kind of pissed him off.
[System Alert! Quest Complete!
Training Montage
I totally didn't forget to give this to you before the fight against Kokabiel. I am giving it to you precisely when I mean to and not a moment sooner.
…
Fuck you! You try keeping track of these things without anything to write them down on!
Okay, so since that's out of the way and I may have made you wait a bit too long for it... Well just fuck off and take your reward!
Reward: Broken Limiter]
Riser wanted to be mad, he really did. Those two little words and their meaning made it impossible for him to be angry over not getting it sooner. Broken Limiter was just plain... well broken. With it he now had no cap on how powerful he could become. His growth potential was literally limitless. Given time and training he could surpass every god and even Trihexia itself. It did more though! He also wouldn't experience any bottlenecks in his growth, his path would always be smooth sailing. Lastly, it prevented deterioration of his abilities from lack of use. If he became a black belt in karate and then didn't practice for a thousand years, he wouldn't lose any of his skill in all that time.
So, while the nice new ability didn't give him any power itself, it made sure he would always be able to grow in strength and the more he pushed himself, the more powerful he would become with nothing but himself to stand in his way. As far as 'I fucked up.' presents go, it was acceptable.
Riser smiled to himself and went to put his new ability to good use with the weight machines. Between Broken Limiter and his regeneration, it was time for him to get some serious gains!
-----Line Break-----
Riser walked into the living room still wet from a nice shower to clean off the grime from working out. It had been an exceptionally good day for him with his spar against Sairaorg and his gains in his workout. He was feeling great and even seeing Rias didn't lower his mood... much.
When she spotted him and saw him smiling, she narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Rather than lowering himself to her level he just delivered the messages he was meant to, “Rias, I've got a few things to tell you. First, I dropped in on your Pawn.” She perked up at that, “He's still delusional and it doesn't look like he will be allowed to leave anytime soon if he doesn't change. He even went so far as to try and attack me the moment he spotted me. From the way he was acting, you would think he was under the impression I was doing all sorts of horrible things to you. I wonder where he could have ever gained such a biased opinion of me.”
Rias had the decency to flush slightly at the not so subtle accusation. She still stood by her word though! Even if Riser hadn't done anything but be a perfect gentleman since he won the rating game. It kind of pissed her off that he wasn't acting like she expected him to.
“Second, I've been informed that there will be a meeting between the three factions within the next few weeks to discuss a more permanent peace treaty. For some reason, they've decided that such important talks will be held here, in Kuoh. Probably at the school knowing their bad decision making habits. Both of us are expected to be there as the primary defenders against Kokabiel's attempts to restart the war.”
Rias scowled, but he wasn't sure which part had annoyed her enough for it. She finally nodded her head, “That's fine. Though I would appreciate it if Issei was allowed to visit for the family visit event.”
Riser shrugged and turned to leave the room, “That's not up to us. Maybe you should send him a message to shape up. Lord Tannin is trying to train him and seems about to give up. If word of how badly your pawn is behaving gets out, it will greatly undermine you. Perhaps it's time to stop coddling him.”
He left without waiting for a reply from her. He didn't need to hear it because he honestly didn't care what happened to the sex offender. Halfway to his room he bumped into Akeno heading in the opposite direction. The instant she spotted him, her whole countenance changed to her 'testing minx' mode. With a sly smile, she stepped close to him and happily invaded his personal space, “Ara, back so soon Riser-sama?”
Her tone was coy, as if she was implying he was back so soon for her. He remembered that he had a quest about dealing with her issues. He already knew how he wanted to deal with it. He wasn't some simp that would say nice things in the hopes she would let him touch her breasts. Frankly, he much preferred brutal honesty.
“Is there something I can help you with Akeno?”
She giggled, “My my, calling a girl by her first name? You're a bold one.” She moved closer, her chest pressing against his, “Not that I mind. After all, you're practically my King's husband, making me yours to command however... you... please.”
The last few words came out as a breathy whisper that probably would have had a virgin bleeding from the nose. He could also admit that Akeno had a fantastic pair of tits. With them pressed against his chest he could feel how soft they were. He'd never deny that Akeno was beautiful, he'd have to be blind to think she wasn't.
However, he hated her personality and that was a major deal killer for him. Telling her no was a simple matter, “While what you say might be true... I'm not interested.”
Akeno took a step back as her eyes darkened and her smile became a forced fake one, “I see. Of course a 'noble' like yourself wouldn't wish to taint himself with someone like me.”
Fuck, she went from zero to self hating in not time didn't she? He knew Akeno had issues but goddamn! And the way she said noble? He didn't think she could put more scorn into a single word if she tried. He wasn't about to let her comment go though. There were plenty of reasons he didn't want to be with her, her race was not one of those reasons.
He gave her a flat unimpressed look, “Your race means nothing to me. I honestly couldn't care less.” She looked confused, like she honestly couldn't believe what he was saying, “Frankly, you being the daughter of Baraqiel is the least disturbing thing about you.”
Even her fake smile fell at that as she glared at him. Unperturbed, he moved on, “I knew you were half-fallen before being reincarnated from the beginning. Just as I know Rias researched my peerage, I researched hers.”
He'd done no such thing. The original him of the past was far too lazy for that, believing victory would be his simply because he was Riser Phenex. He only lost when he meant to lose. It didn't help that he'd been kind of right and won the Rating Game without any real preparation for it. Regardless, he knew a lot about Akeno and her past and felt he could use it with that excuse.
As she continued to stare at him, he elaborated, “What I find disturbing about you is your choice of name.”
She looked confused, “My name?”
He nodded, “Himejima. I find it disturbing that you carry the name of the people who murdered your mother, and tried to murder you, with pride.” Her eyes widened at that but he pushed on not letting her talk, “You hate and blame the entire Fallen race hating them so much you even seem to hate yourself, all because daddy wasn't there?”
She scowled, her beautiful face turning ugly in her anger, “They killed her for loving him and tried to kill me because of his filthy blood in my veins!”
Riser snorted, “Yes, I'm sure they told you the truth about why they were trying to kill you all because murderers never lie. It's their best known trait, after all! Did they actually tell you that? Or did you just assume that was why?”
Her silence and piercing glare was all the needed for an answer, “I get you hating daddy, I even understand it. But what have the rest of the fallen got to do with it? More importantly, do you hate all humans since it was them that actually murdered your mother?”
Silence. Not that he expected anything from her. So he continued, “So, you hate all fallen because daddy wasn't there, but give the humans a pass despite committing the murder. I get you were a kid back then and could have your priorities screwed up, but as an adult? There's no excuse for that kind of stupidity. If you're going to waste your time hating people, then at least have the decency to hate the right ones.”
If Akeno had laser vision, his head would be on fire from the heat of her glare. Her voice dripped with acid as she asked, “Oh? And who should I hate, according to you?”
Riser shrugged uncaring, “That's easy. Your father for being a fucking loser who left you stranded and alone to wonder aimlessly for so long. He doesn't even have the balls to try and talk to you despite knowing where you've been for years. He's a weak willed coward and deserves all the scorn you can give him.”
Akeno looked a little taken aback as his voice took on a bit of heat near the end. Sue him for actually thinking that Baraqiel was a piece of shit father. He was as bad as the fathers that went out for a pack of smokes and never returned. A true piece of garbage. He wasn't finished though and continued, “You should also hate the Himejima clan for what they did to your mother. Whatever their shitty excuse was, the bastards killed a member of their family, someone they were supposed to protect and cherish. Everyone who participated in the murder of your mother deserves a painful death. Hell, so does anyone who agreed that she deserved to die.”
He stared into Akeno's eyes, his own glowing with the power of Hellfire, “Those are the pieces of shit that deserve your hatred and scorn. They're the ones you should want to punish and kill for your suffering.” He narrowed his eyes at her, “Or are you content with acting like them and murdering innocents who had nothing to do with it and don't even know you exist?”
Akeno seemed to pull into herself and take on a contemplative look. He walked around her and left her to her thinking. He didn't care if his words had an impact or not. However, it did feel good to vent over how stupid she was being. Frankly, if she cleaned her attitude up and improved herself, she'd be one hell of a catch... For someone who wanted a sadomasochistic girlfriend. He didn't mind if his girls were masochists at all, but he wasn't and wouldn't pretend to be.
Though maybe when she was in that mood he could pawn her off on someone who enjoyed it? Something to think about. Maybe she'd have some compatibility with Siris or Isabela? Who knew.
[System Alert! Quest Complete!
She's a Fallen, but will she have fallen for you?
If you had Akeno's interest before, she's now laser focused on you! NICE! I can see you're a man of culture with exquisite taste. Akeno and Xenovia, two excellent members for your new harem! I think this reward will help you build it better than your last one!
I'll be sure to reserve a nice reward for you when you get her into bed! Look forward to it you dog!
Reward: Power Lending]
Riser considered the new ability and nodded to himself. It was pretty useful, that was for sure. With it he could finally do something with the Demon Extract. He'd been wanting to, but there was just so much else for him to work on that it had been neglected. He'd even copied Serafall's skill with Ice magic using Skill Eater and never got to use it due to circumstance. Sure, he could have waited to copy the Boost ability, or forgotten the Divide ability, but they were too good and he couldn't think of anything more impressive than having both of those at his disposal.
But, aside from letting him give his powers out to other people, he could also recall those powers at anytime he wished. Though once he did they would be unavailable for an entire week. Only after that would he be able to use it himself or pass it out again.
The most interesting thing though, was that any skill someone using his power gained, would be copied and given to him when he took the power back. So, if he gave the Demon Extract to, say, Serafall and she developed it to the point of freezing time, then he took it back, he would have the power to freeze time himself and all the other skills she developed in its use.
He stepped into his room and sat down with a thoughtful look on his face. He could also forge contracts with people who wanted power, lending his powers out to them for a limited time. In essence, those people would be paying him to help develop his powers and increase his own skills with them. That made him smile as he considered the possibilities.
The only downside was his limited stock of abilities on offer. He was only willing to part with the Demon's Extract and his Unlimited Sexual Stamina. He was certain some old fogey somewhere would pay through the nose to go until his heart gave out.
He would definitely give it some serious thought and see what he could come up with. Until then, he was hungry and it was time for some dinner. Now... where should he order from tonight?
-----Line Break-----
10k words almost on the dot, but this was a good place to stop.
So, a bit happened in this chapter, what do you guys think? I'll be looking forward to your comments!
Comments
Cody S.
Aside from me not really wanting to write that kind of story? Probably not. I could imagine a few ways something like that could work. I just have zero desire to write that into this particular story.
King_Gluttony
Is anything stopping Riser from creating some Dual-Cultivation-esque magic, giving the sexual stamina perk to a member of his peerage, and fucking like rabbits until he, she, or both of them reach a desired level of strength? As a devil, magic is imagination-based, so if he and his partner could imagine it, it should be possible. Furthermore, with the fact devils are always thought of as sinful beings and the fact this is a world based on an ecchi anime, it is hard for me to imagine that devils don't have some kind of tantric strengthening magic.
Cody S.
Can you give me the specific line you're referencing so I can fix it?
Alex I
Why does he mention not copying boost like he didn't just copy boost? Your MCs seem to have a habit of the author making them forget things that happened.
