Zeoticus and Venelana weren’t sure what they expected from this meeting. Grayfia had been quite clear regarding how unconcerned their daught

Zeoticus and Venelana weren’t sure what they expected from this meeting. Grayfia had been quite clear regarding how unconcerned their daughter had been when caught in the act. They couldn’t imagine why that was. Perhaps she had a plan to avoid any punishment for what she had done? Or perhaps she just expected Sirzechs to take her side (like usual) and allow her to get away with humiliating the family like this with a slap on the wrist?

A quick glance at their son showed that he was still stewing in that same Siscon level of rage that he had been ever since Grayfia had first informed them of what Rias had done.

With all the information they had, they truly did not know what Rias’s game was. Would she act contrite? Would she be angry that they had not immediately gone to the Phenex to cancel the arrangement? Or would she be as unconcerned and combative? They were ready for a great many possibilities when their daughter walked through that door.

What they did not expect her to do was practically skip into the room, all sunshine and rainbows. “Mother!” She walked up to Venelana and kissed her cheek. “Father.” She did the same to her redheaded parent, and then did the same to her brother, who was most certainly still fuming, and then gave Grayfia a short hug before taking her seat on her comfy chair. She filled her teacup and dropped three sugars in, the clinking of the spoon on the cup tinkling in the silence of the room.

“Rias-chan.” Completely disarmed (and honestly caught a little flatfooted), Venelana raised an eyebrow at her daughter, “You realize you’re supposed to be in trouble, right?”

“Why, what for?” Rias asked, a nearly cherubic look of innocence on her face. Butter wouldn’t have melted in her mouth.

Zeoticus’s eye twitched lightly. “Oh, I don’t know.” When in doubt, default to sarcasm, “It couldn’t possibly be due to Grayfia catching you fornicating with a human in the hopes that losing your virginity would get you out of your betrothal.”

“Ah.” Rias’s look of faux innocence did not disappear, “That didn’t happen.”

Grayfia let out a rare emote in shock, and more than a little irritation, “Are you calling me a liar, Rias-sama?” She asked archly.

Rias looked aghast, “Of course not! Do I look suicidal?”

Venelana sat back in her chair, bowing out for now as she continued to observe her daughter. Her brows were furrowed. What game was her daughter playing?

“So, then you admit that my wife did catch you having sExxx-” The word was strangled, much like Sirzechs wished to do to the human she’d been caught with. How DARE he defile her nubile young body?! “-with a human.”

“Mhm.” Rias sipped at her tea with a smile.

“What game is this, Rias?” Zeoticus demanded, “Why claim Grayfia was giving a false report with her in the room and then immediately turn around and claim it wasn’t?”

Rias’s eyes and smile sharpened, “I wasn’t questioning the validity of her report, merely her interpretation of what she saw.”

“…What…” Zeoticus was confused.

“Is that supposed to mean?” Sirzechs finished for his father, looking equally befuddled.

It was Venelana who let out a noise that was half groan, half exasperated sigh, “You were not losing your virginity at all. You had already lost it.”

Rias’s answering smirk told it all, “I assure you, mother, Riser Phenex wasn’t even a thought in my mind the first time I had sex with my future husband.” Zeoticus almost felt his entire body spasm, but she continued before he could explode, “I simply took what I wanted. That’s what we Devils do, isn’t it? You and father got to fall in love. So did onii-sama and Grayfia. Why should I be any different?”

“He is a human.” Zeoticus snarled out after rubbing his nose. “I forbid this!”

Rias’s gaze turned frosty, “You’ve never given off any indication that you hate humans, father.”

“Of course not.” Zeoticus looked affronted, “I’m merely looking out for you, daughter! What exactly do you think is going to happen in a hundred years when he’s in his grave?! Do you think I want that for my daughter?!”

“Ah.” Rias flushed a little in embarrassment. But she was also glad she had misread her father.

He settled down, “I would have accepted a reincarnated Devil. I would be happier with a Pureblooded Devil, of course, and you’re well aware of that, but I would have accepted it. I will not allow you to marry a boy whose very biology will leave you a heartbroken wreck in a hundred years!” And in his mind, that was a sure thing. If this boy intended to become a Devil for his daughter he would have already done it. She had eight Pawns. The only reason for him to still be a human was that he rejected her gift.

“If you intend to mARrY this boy, why have you not reincarnated him yet?” Sirzechs asked, still freaking out at certain words.

“Because I can’t.” Rias said, back to smiling confidently. “I tried all eight of my Pawns. It did not work.”

Silence. Her parents and brother were staring at her, wide-eyed. Grayfia was the only one who kept her head, “All eight?” She repeated, “You had all eight Pawns and could not turn him? He must be a possessor of a powerful Longinus.”

Rias smiled as she sat back. She hated the necessity, but it was time to sell her love to her parents, “That’s right.” Her smile turned into an evil smirk, “Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention. I reincarnated the Red Dragon Emperor a few weeks ago. Took all eight of my Pawns.” Zeoticus had grabbed a drink for himself and basically aspirated his tea. He sputtered into the cup, and began to cough loudly. “She has a base-form Sub-Species too.”

“By the Burning Fields, who is this boy?” Venelana stared at her in shock as she began to pat her husband on the back.

“His name is Midoriya Izuku, and he is not a normal human.” Rias said, “He’s stronger than me and it’s not even close. He also does not have a Sacred Gear, Longinus or otherwise.” She stared at her father intently. “And yet I would rank his multitude of different abilities far above the Phenex Regeneration.”

“This is insanity.” Sirzechs declared, but he could see the stirrings of greed in his parents’ eyes. Rias had already hooked them. Now she just needed to reel them in. “How could a human like this escape our notice? Escape Grauzauberer? The Church? The Fallen? Any of the local deities or even the Youkai Association?”

“Okay, before I go into that, I need you to seal this information, onii-sama. It does not leave this room.” Rias demanded of her brother, “We would be hounded for the rest of our lives if the other Devils knew half of what I’m about to tell you. Only those we trust with our lives can be brought into our confidence regarding this.”

Sirzechs gave her a hard, stern look, “Very well. You heard Rias-chan. By my authority as Maō Lucifer, what we discuss in this room will not leave it without permission from Rias and her… intended.” They all nodded, their faces serious, ignoring the way Sirzechs’s jaw ground at the final word. “Now tell us, Rias-chan. How did this guy escape our notice?”

Rias chuckled, “Because he’s not of this world.” She declared, and her parents froze, “He’s from a different Earth at least a couple hundred years in the future, one in which eighty percent of the human population have abilities like the Mutants from X-men. They’re called Quirks.” It was one of her father’s favorites, and he predictably twitched in interest. “He was involved in a battle and his enemy used a suicidal technique that ended up throwing Izuku through the multiverse.” She grinned impishly, “He quite literally landed in my lap after getting ejected out of the Dimensional Gap.”

Grayfia’s lips twitched, which for her, might as well have been gut-busting laughter. Zeoticus and Venelana didn’t have a chance.

“By the Morningstar’s Unholy Light…” Zeoticus mumbled as he rubbed his chin, “How powerful would you say he is?”

“You remember those earthquakes in Japan from a few months ago? The one where I needed to have my mountainside retreat repaired?” Rias asked her brother, and Sirzechs nodded, “That was from Izuku and our cousin Sairaorg sparring. They broke the Bounded Field Akeno-chan, Lavinia-chan, Abaddon-san, and I were maintaining.”

Sirzechs let out a whistle, “That’s… something alright. Our cousin is strong. And I’m fairly certain we haven’t even seen how strong.”

Rias grinned at her brother, “You haven’t.” She declared, “He has Regulus Nemea.” Jaws dropped. Even Sirzechs hadn’t known that! “He used it during the spar, and Izuku matched him. It was all Akeno, Abaddon-san, and I could do to get them to stop once we couldn’t keep our Bounded Field up anymore. We got lucky there was a lull in the action!”

“I confess myself confused, Rias-sama.” Grayfia declared as she stepped forward, “That is impressive, yes, but not so impressive that you could have failed to reincarnate him with the available resources.”

“I think it’s a combination of him being much stronger than me, as well as his actual powers themselves.” Rias replied, looking over at the silver-haired beauty, “Honestly, his powers themselves grant him limitless potential. I think, at least. He’s done some things that blew my mind from the sheer impossibility!”

“Tell us of his powers.” Zeoticus ordered.

Rias smiled, “Well, first and foremost, he’s the only reason Aunt Misla is awake.”

Zeoticus bit back a groan. That was that for the betrothal. As predicted, his wife gasped, before smiling brilliantly, “When can I meet him and when is the wedding?”

Rias let out an audibly relieved laugh, “Soon, hopefully, and not for a while. I do want to finish school first, after all.”

“How did he do it?” Sirzechs asked, baffled, “How did this human from another world cure what none of us could?”

Rias started to explain, “His primary ability is a sort of reality-warping power.” She told her parents, “You know that series I’m obsessed with? One Piece.” They all nodded. None of them had ever read it themselves, but they knew she was obsessed with it. “Well, his world has it too, and unlike here, the series is actually complete in his timeline. He can bring anything but flesh and blood characters from that series to life. One of which was a special power that allows for the user to declare a large space as their operating theater, and to perform medical miracles. The user of this power can do things such as remove a person’s heart from their body without actually ‘disconnecting’ the organ from the user. They can then do surgery and put it back in perfect condition.” She then started to giggle, “Or he can mess with people by doing it to two different people and put the hearts in the other’s body. They would swap personalities.”

“…What the fuck?” Sirzechs asked, only for his head to whip to the side as Grayfia gave him a light smack from her metal fan for his language. Her parents weren’t much better.

Rias continued, “Basically, Sairaorg and Abaddon-san explained to him that they couldn’t find anything in a deceased person’s brain at autopsy, and so Izuku asked them ‘but what about a live brain?’ He removed it from Aunt Misla’s skull, and they saw that there was some weird sort of magic attached to her hypothalamus. It was such a faint signature that even the skull was enough to block it from outside detection completely. All they had to do was dispel it and put it back where it belonged and Aunt Misla immediately started to wake back up, no worse for wear.”

“I’m with Sirzechs.” Zeoticus was well and truly gaping, “What the fuck?” Grayfia bit her lip and stiffened her wrist, her natural inclination to smack her husband when he was being a fool almost making her do so reflexively to the elder Gremory.

“Can this be taught?” Venelana looked a little squeamish, but still asked the question.

Rias shook her head, “Unfortunately not. See, most of the powers in One Piece are tied to objects called Devil Fruits.” All of them quirked grins, “There is only one instance of each fruit in the world, and only one person can get the power inside them when they eat the fruit. To anyone else, it would just be a regular albeit completely disgusting fruit that wouldn’t get you anything at all except a bad taste in your mouth. Each person outside of some very specific circumstances can also only ever eat one fruit. For another example of what they could do, if you take a bite out of the Mera Mera no mi, you gain the ability to produce an endless amount of fire as well as turn into fire. Any attack that doesn’t have elemental superiority would just pass right through you and get burned.”

“That sounds very interesting.” Sirzechs mused, “Still, I agree with Grayfia-chan. What you described so far, even that amazing medical power, doesn’t exactly scream ‘limitless potential’ as you said.”

“Agreed.” Zeoticus was frowning, “I still can’t understand how you were unable to turn him when you were able to turn the Red Dragon Emperor of all things.”

“Because Izuku’s use of the Ope Ope no mi is him being way more brilliant than even he knew he was,” Izuku had not, in fact, informed Rias that using Indra with Ace was Katsuki’s idea. He was still embarrassed about that. “-combined with a fair bit of luck. He cheated to get himself a second fruit. His fruit is the Soru Soru no mi. The ability to manipulate souls.”

They exchanged glances, “I mean…” Venelana made a wishy-washy motion, “We can do that too at least to some level. We generally don’t anymore outside of some hardcore traditionalists, but-”

Rias shook her head, and her mother stopped talking, “No, it’s different. Very different. Izuku can directly manipulate souls without contracts or anything like that. He could take out a small piece of his soul and place it in this table, and the table would be brought to life with its own personality and start walking and talking.” They stared at her, agog, “He can use much larger pieces of soul to create incredible things. When he was eleven, he and his family took a trip to Venezuela, and he used his soul to drain a powerful storm of electricity. Using it, he created something that looks very much like a Kirin that can walk, talk, and even fight on its own. It can eat lightning, attack, and even be ridden like a horse through the sky. He literally created his own mythological creature, and can fuse with it to increase his own power. The next year, he did the same with a volcano.”

“…Rias-chan..” Sirzechs said with faux calm, “What even is your luck?” Rias started to giggle in response. “I’ll say, his potential is certainly starting to rise.”

Rias smirked at him, “Anyone that is afraid of him loses control of their souls. If he wants, he can rip part of their soul out and consume them to fuel his own, taking part of their life force, or he can take their soul entirely. He generally doesn’t because he doesn’t like killing, but he can.” Her eyes glinted, “I took him on a Stray Hunt a few weeks after we met, and he ate the soul of one of the ugly little monsters.” She leaned forward, “Before that, I had sensed zero magical potential in him. Which made sense. His world didn’t have magic, after all. But after?” Her grin sharpened, “He was able to start learning from us and even started creating his own spells.” Her mother gasped, and even her father had nothing but excitement in his gaze now, “He absorbed the Stray’s potential and magical pool and made it his own. He could do that with anyone as long as they fear him.”

“How scary.” Sirzechs grinned, “And he’s your age at most, right?” Rias nodded, and informed them that Izuku was even a wee bit younger than her, “And he’s capable of fighting the strongest young Devil we have on an even footing on top of it. Similar potential to the Red Dragon Emperor, but with the strength of a High or perhaps even Ultimate-Class Devil… Yes, I can see exactly why you could not reincarnate him with just your Pawns.”

Rias nodded, “Exactly. And you don’t have to worry, father. If anything, Izuku will be outlasting me in age.”

Zeoticus let out an elated chuckle, “I’ll say, Rias-chan. I had my doubts, but you certainly hit the jackpot with this one.”

“Indeed.” Her mother smiled lightly, “Will this ability of his breed true? The original one?”

“We’re not sure.” Rias replied, “As I have no Quirk of my own, we only have conjecture to go off of. But his Quirk was nothing like his parent’s Quirks, so random mutations can happen. But it is possible. His best friend had an explosive Quirk that allowed him to detonate his own sweat, which acted like a nitroglycerin substitute. His mother’s skin secreted glycerin and his father had oxidizing sweat.”

Grayfia smiled lightly, “The Power of Destruction, as well as this reality-bending power of his… inheriting either would be a boon. And nothing says a child between the two of you could not inherit both.”

“I have no more objections.” Hells, Zeoticus was excited enough for this union he’d even go to bat for his daughter against any who dared insinuate his future son-in-law wasn’t good enough for her.

Rias beamed. She had hoped, but this truthfully could not have gone better. “Oh, and there was one more…recent thing that we discovered.” She turned to her brother, “Izuku saved Aika, my new Pawn, from a Fallen Angel. She was in mine and Sōna’s territory and attacked Aika when she felt the Boosted Gear was awakening. She was evil enough that Izuku had no compunctions about killing her and took her soul.” Her grin turned impish as the adults all visibly grew shocked. “Can you guess what happened next, onii-sama?”

Sirzechs inhaled sharply, “No. No, you’re not saying…!”

“After eating her Soul, Izuku gained the ability to use her Light. Without injury or even discomfort.” Rias sat back and basked in the absolute shock on all of their faces.

“Well.” Her father stood abruptly, “I’m off to let our friends know the engagement is canceled. And if Riser has a problem with it, I’ll give him the option of fighting me for your hand.”

“No, you will not.” Rias snapped, and he froze. Venelana looked confused as well. “Father, I’ve been preparing for this for months now. I want to fight him, if it comes to that, and I am so confident I’d win I’d bet my life on it.” She crossed her legs, “If I know Riser half as well as I think I do, he’ll be both insulted by this, and even more determined to have me. Just not as a wife since I’d be ‘soiled goods.’” Her family scowled.

“You really hate him, don’t you?” Zeoticus let out a chagrined laugh, “If you’re this serious, I underestimated how much you disliked him. I’m sorry, Rias-chan.” She looked surprised as her father kneeled in front of her, “Sorry for not taking you seriously.” Despite herself, she teared up, and gave her father a hug.

“I won’t say I’m not mad.” Rias said, “But it all worked out in the end.” She let go of him, “And he won’t be satisfied with just making me his slut. He’ll want to kill Izuku for this.” She growled, “The flaming cunt.”

“Language!” Grayfia’s hand reflexively snapped out with her fan. She just barely remembered to pull her blow in time, leading to Rias just wincing instead of faceplanting like she would have if Grayfia used the strength she reserved for her husband.

“Oww…” Rias rubbed her head, and shook it, “Your friends might be willing to drop it, but he won’t, and will try to use this to his advantage. I did, after all, violate the contract. Don’t fight it if they want to renegotiate. In fact, I want to be present for it and lead the negotiations. He didn’t care about me at all. He just wanted me to be his trophy. And he didn’t even want just me either. He wanted Akeno and Koneko to be his sluts too.” She growled out, her power spiking, which impressed her parents, “Just for that, I would have fought him. Now, I’m going to destroy him.”

“Hmmm, your demonic power has increased drastically since I last saw you, Rias-chan.” Venelana tapped her chin, “But Riser is no slouch himself and he has a full Peerage to boot. Just why are you so confident?”

Rias looked incredibly smug, “That might be so, but I have Izuku. He’s been training all of us really hard, and that’s not even going into… hehehehe!”

“What special surprise have you cooked up, Rias-chan?” Her father asked.

“Izuku gave me my own Devil Fruit.” Rias declared, “And it turned out to be way better than even we expected.”

“Which one?” Sirzechs asked immediately, very interested, “And was that why you had me set up the meeting with Ajuka?”

Rias nodded, “Yes, we needed his help. See, the Devil Fruits are cursed. That’s why they’re Devil Fruits. In the story, they are the aspirations different people had for Humanity’s evolution. All the different powers represent the diverse futures of humanity. But with that ‘unnaturalness’ comes rejection from the mother of Nature: the sea. Any person who eats a Devil Fruit will lose all strength if they are submerged in water. Even just taking a bath in a bathtub could cause you to drown.” She chuckled at their looks of horror, “Lavinia-chan, Akeno-chan, and I tried for weeks to break the curse, and eventually gave up and admitted we needed help. Ajuka-sama needed eighteen spells in three concentric rings cast simultaneously to do it. 6-6-6.” She let out a little chuckle at the odds of that. “Izukun was ecstatic to be able to swim again.”

“So once the curse was broken, you ate one too. Did it really taste that bad?” Grayfia asked her curiously.

They watched as Rias turned green on the spot. If she were any weaker, she would have curled up into a ball, “I wanted to rip off my tongue.” She moaned. “Izuku still remembers the taste almost a decade later any time someone mentions it. It’s generational trauma.”

“Well, hopefully it was at least worth it. What power did you choose, Rias-chan?” Venelana asked her daughter.

Rias gave them an impish grin, “To that, I have only one thing to say: Seeeecreeeet~” Her parents and brother pouted as she sing-songed her response. “If Riser does as I expect and challenges the cancellation, you’ll find out along with him.” She grinned viciously, “Oh!” She became serious again, “And Onii-sama, this information I’m about to share is the actual reason that I requested the information not be shared. Father, please sit.” Zeoticus sat back down at the seriousness in her voice, “Something went wrong when I ate the fruit. Something Izuku had never seen before. I damn well collapsed and had a seizure right in front of Ajuka-sama.”

“WHAT?!” They all exploded, “Why?!” Sirzechs growled out, “And why was I not informed that my little sister almost DIED?!”

“It’s because the fruit did not affect me the way it was supposed to. We’re Devils. We’re technically artificial beings. It’s one of the reasons our birthrates are so low.”

“We know this.” Venelana still looked pale, “What does that have to do with your crisis?”

“Because our bodies are malleable.” Rias said softly, “They’re practically just vessels for our souls. That’s why Strays who become cannibals also become monsters. Their souls become putrid and the outside warps to match the inside.” Again, this was all info they all knew, “So when I ate the Devil Fruit, it reacted in a way Izuku couldn’t possibly have expected. It changed every cell in my body and bound itself to me. Permanently. Normally when the user dies, the fruit itself reincarnates elsewhere in the world in the closest fruit that matches it. A Devil Fruit that was a banana turning a fresh banana into it, for example. As far as Ajuka-sama can tell, not only will that not happen,” Her smirk turned vicious, “But House Gremory might have a new Clan Power.”

The four elder Devils practically blew the top off the manor from how loud they were.

-]|[-

“Lord Gremory.” Lord Revan Phenex raised an eyebrow as one of their servants allowed his friend into the sitting room. He rose to shake his friend’s hand, “You usually call ahead before coming. Has something happened?”

“I’m afraid so, my friend.” Zeoticus kissed Lady Phenex’s knuckles before he accepted a cup of tea from the servant. She bowed her head and left them.

“Regarding the engagement?” Lady Leylana Phenex asked shrewdly, “Riser was going to head over to speak with Rias tomorrow.”

Zeoticus nodded, “Yes, I’m afraid Rias was much more unwilling to fulfill the contract than we were led to believe.”

Revan chuckled, “Ah, daughters. I’m not looking forward to when Ravel is a little older. So, what has she done?”

His wife pursed her lips, “…She hasn’t done what I think she’s done, has she?”

“If your assumption is that she had sex with one of the humans at her school in the hopes of the contract being voided?” Zeoticus snorted, “I’m afraid I can’t deny it.”

Revan laughed, “Well, she’s brave, I’ll give her that.”

“She’s certainly gone and destroyed her value as a bride for other pureblooded Devils.” Leylana said softly, “Fool girl. I hope this human of her gives her a fleeting sense of happiness, for I certainly can’t see many pureblooded devils being willing to overlook that.”

“Bah.” Her husband waved his hand, “It’s not like she did anything Riser hasn’t been doing for years.”

Zeoticus laughed lowly, “Even claimed that we weren’t Catholics and that saving themselves for marriage was their thing.” The three of them shared a laugh.

Leylana smirked and shook her head, “True. It is rather ridiculous when looked at it from that angle. And yet high society does what high society does. What are your plans now?”

Zeoticus sat back, “It’s a shame to end things like this, but I suppose it is for the best to cancel our agreement.”

“Agreed.” Leylana nodded.

“This would have been a good marriage between two fine pure-blooded Devils, but it would appear that all parties concerned may have been acting out of more than a touch of avarice.” Her husband was still chuckling good-naturedly, “We both already have pure-blooded grandchildren to our names. Perhaps, being Devils, we cannot help but desire the absolute best? Or perhaps we pushed this so hard because of the hell we witnessed during the last war?”

“…No, I would say that I merely forced my own desires on my daughter.” Zeoticus shook his head, “Things got… quite heated at home, and her dislike of him was far greater than I knew.”

“I won’t deny that my son is a hothead.” Revan shrugged, “I’ve wanted to box his ears a few times myself.”

“That habit of his does wear on you.” His wife rolled her eyes.

“But I thought a good woman could bring out the better man I know is in there.” Revan finished, “Shame that won’t be your Rias, but there’s nothing for it now but to inform our son.”

The redhead of the three nodded, and soon, Riser joined them in the room, “Lord Gremory? Riser is surprised to see you.” Ah yes, that habit. “Has something happened?”

“It has, Riser-san.” Zeoticus replied, “I am here to inform you that the arrangement between our houses is canceled.”

“What?!” Riser looked incensed, “Riser does not understand?! He was set to visit Rias-chan tomorrow to tell her the good news! What has changed?”

“What’s changed is that my daughter is no longer a virgin.” Zeoticus deadpanned, watching Riser carefully and trying to see what his daughter saw in him that made her dislike him so much.

Fury erupted in the man’s face, and a brief flare of flame erupted, “…She has done what? This is an outrage! Riser is insulted!” He growled out as his mask broke for the first time in front of Zeoticus, “And who dared claim what belonged to Riser?!”

‘Ah.’ Zeoticus stared at the boy with serious eyes, “Belonged to you? You were not married yet, Riser Phenex. Take care I don’t get insulted myself.”

Riser seemed to backpedal, “Ah, that was not Riser’s intent. Despite that, you must see it for the insult it is for not only Riser, but Riser’s family. It was well known in our society that she was to be mine, so I doubt it was another pureblooded devil.”

“It was not.” Zeoticus crossed his arms and glanced at his friend, who was quiet and observing carefully, “It was a human – a rather remarkable one to be sure, but human nonetheless – at her school.”

Riser’s face went cold, “This is unforgivable. A filthy, lowbrow human?!” He said, “You must see this for the insult it is, Lord Gremory. Riser cannot abide this!” He declared angrily.

“And what would you do then, Riser Phenex?” Zeoticus demanded back, staring him down with no amusement on his face.

“Riser declares that a new agreement must be made, with reparations!” He would show that redheaded bitch her place for this!  “Riser is still willing to accept her, once she has been punished and this human destroyed.”

‘Rias was right.’ Zeoticus was full of chagrin, ‘And I cannot believe I didn’t see it sooner. That mask of his was well constructed.’ He glared, “You ask for much, and what you don’t say speaks louder than what you do. She is still my daughter. You think I will accept her being your concubine in all but name? Is this how you acted when alone with her? I can perhaps see why she disliked you so.” He growled out.  

“Perhaps,” Leylana said delicately as she sensed that their friend was becoming very angry, “We should allow time for our heads to cool down?”

“Indeed.” Revan looked quite done with this argument already, “If you are unwilling to let this matter lie, my son, then perhaps we should reconvene in a few days? Lord Lucifer and Lady Lucifuge can preside over a meeting between our families.” He eyed Zeoticus, “I’d even be interested in meeting this so-called ‘remarkable’ human of hers.”

“Very well.” Zeoticus looked away from Riser, visibly dismissing him, “One week from now?” He asked, and got a nod from Lord Phenex.

“Yes, that sounds good. Here or at Castle Gremory?” Leylana asked the redhead.

“Here would be simpler. You have more family members who would need to make the trip.” Zeoticus replied.

“One week then.” Revan confirmed, and Zeoticus shook his hand, before placing another kiss on his wife’s knuckles, before teleporting away.

“Fool!” Revan glared at his son the second Lord Gremory had left, “We had already agreed ending the agreement was for the best!” He started chastising Riser while his wife watched on.

…

“How did it go?” Rias and Venelana asked once he walked back in, but he surprised them by immediately walking up to Rias and engulfing her in a hug. “Father?”

“I’m sorry, daughter, for almost subjecting you to that.” Venelana’s expression grew worried as her husband placed a kiss on their daughter’s brow, “The second I informed that cretin what you had done, his mask broke, and he did exactly what you said he would.”

“I told you.” Rias mumbled, hugging the man back.

“You did. And we should have listened. He has none of the class and good nature his parents have. He was just too good at hiding it.” He growled out, “One week from now.” He said, “We will be having a meeting between our families. Midoriya-san will be coming with us.”

Rias smiled, “Hope he’s not nervous about meeting the parents then.” She giggled, and the two elder Gremorys smiled.

-]|[-

“Gasper?” Izuku blinked at the name as he followed her into the forbidden area of the old school building they practically lived in. “The friendly ghost?”

Aika sputtered, “How do you even know that movie?” She started to giggle, “It’s old even for us!”

Rias followed her Pawn in giggling, “We were bored and watched it a few months ago.” She shook her head, “But no, Gasper is actually a member of my Peerage who you’ve never met.”

“Really?” Izuku’s eyebrows rose, “Why is that?”

Rias sighed somewhat despondently, “Because of my weakness.” She said, some wariness flowing through her tone, “Gasper has a particularly troublesome Sacred Gear. One he can’t control, and one which I was far too weak to help him with.”

“Oh!” Aika exclaimed, “That’s why you couldn’t just use both Bishops on Lavi-sensei!”

“On a scale of Jaku Jaku to Gura Gura, how bad is it?” Izuku asked.

“Za Warudo.” Coming from Koneko’s deadpan tone, that made Izuku sputter slightly as he looked at her.

“Seriously?” He asked the petite catgirl.

She smiled slightly, “He’s even half-vampire too.” A rare bit of amusement from the resident kuudere.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Izuku deadpanned as they arrived at the door.

“Nope!” Rias chuckled, staring at it. A large ‘KEEP OUT!’ sign was taped over the door, along with several layers of magical seals engraved into the wood. “He’s inside. He stays in the classroom all day long… He’s allowed out at night, so long as he stays inside the old school building, but he refuses even to do that much.” The redhead explained.

Aika let out a sigh, “Are you seriously telling me we have a hikikomori half-vampire who can stop time in our Peerage?”

“Well, when you put it like that…” Rias smirked as she reached out to the door, a magic circle expanding from her palm.

“We forgot to mention he’s our highest earner too. Ufufufufu.” Akeno smirked at the deadpan look of just… abject disappointment? Confusion? Bemusement? Something on Aika’s face. “He specializes in special pacts with clients online. Ones who are like him who don’t like meeting in person.”

“But how does he handle languages he doesn’t know?” Aika asked, “Our language cheat doesn’t work through text!”

“Oh, he only takes clients for the languages he knows.” Rias said as she finished removing the seal, while Kiba pulled the tape back. “In terms of ability, I think he’s second only to Akeno. Not only that, but he comes from a venerable vampire family, and thanks to his human half, he possesses a mighty Sacred Gear. He has the natural abilities of a vampire and is skilled in the kind of magic that only humans can cast. I was able to reincarnate him, but I could never control him.” She sighed, “So onii-sama had to order me to seal him away.”

Izuku chuckled as well, “Well, in any case, it’s good we’ll be getting him out of here then.”

Rias was also eager for this. She yanked the door open and-

“KYAAAAAAA!” Izuku and Aika flinched very slightly as a feminine scream pierced the air.

Without even the slightest hint of surprise, Rias walked in with Akeno as Aika asked Koneko, “I thought you said he was a guy?” in total confusion.

Koneko’s smirk was apparently all the response she had to give as she followed her King in. Izuku and Aika shrugged, before following Lavinia in. “It’s nice to see you, too! It’s good to see you’re so spirited today.”

“Wh-wh-whyyyyy?!” Yeah, that was definitely a girly voice.

Izuku stopped and twitched when he saw the Bishop. ‘Okay, I’ve seen feminine guys but holy shit!’ He was even crossdressing apparently, wearing the female uniform for their academy!

Gasper Vladi not only had a feminine voice, but also looked like a very petite girl. He had a doll-like face, blond hair, and glowing red eyes. He was sitting helplessly on the floor, looking for all the world like he wanted to run. His trembling betrayed his immense fear.

Aika’s eye twitched, “It’s a trap!” She channeled her inner Admiral Ackbar. ‘Above average too. That’s fucking hilarious!’ She grinned in amusement, wondering how best to use this fact the next time she wanted to mess with the Perverted Duo.

Gasper flinched, “Ah…” He poked his fingers together in a brutally cute manner, “I-I-It’s just girls’ clothes are so much cuter than boys’ ones!”

Izuku laughed it off, “Hey, you do you, Gasper.”

He seemed to perk up at the accepting response, “Ah, Rias-sama, who are they?” He asked his King.

Rias smiled, “This is Midoriya Izuku, my future husband.”

Gasper let out a gasp, “R-Rias-sama! You got Ph-Phenex-san away from you?”

Akeno giggled, “Officially, not yet, but it’s a foregone conclusion.”

He smiled slightly, “C-Congr-a-atulations!”

“Thank you, Gasper!” Rias beamed, “And this is Kiryū Aika-chan. She’s our new Pawn.”

“Sup!” Aika gave him a wave.

“Now, it’s time to come out.” Rias stood and offered him a hand, and he was right back to being terrified.

“Nooooo! I don’t want tooooo! I don’t want to go outside! I don’t want to meet people!”

“Jeez, that’s some anxiety…” Izuku mumbled.

“Oh dear. It’s okay, you know? We’ve lifted the seal. You don’t have to be cooped up in here anymore.” Akeno asked gently. Izuku could hear the sympathy and kindness in her voice. She was clearly trying hard to connect with the Bishop. “Why don’t we step outside together?”

“Nooooo! I can’t cope out there! I’m scared! It’s terrifying! Please, I’ll just cause problems for you if you make me go outside!” Gasper continued to whine, wiggling back and forth.

“It’s only when you’re scared that you can be brave, Gasper.” Izuku said, taking a step forward. He reached out to offer the boy his hand, but apparently that was the final straw.

“YAAGH!” Gasper clapped his hands to his head, and closed his now-glowing eyes. A bubble of power escaped him and enveloped them.

“What was tha-” Izuku stopped as he looked around. Akeno, Kiba, Koneko, and Aika, were all frozen stiff.

Lavinia on the other hand, was also unfrozen. “Ah!” Lavinia exclaimed, and they turned their heads, “Hey, I got out of it this time!”

Rias squealed happily, “So did I! You see? There’s no reason to be afraid anymore.” Rias pulled Gasper into a hug, and the boy gasped, “It’s okay, Gasper.”

“Y-You’re not all…” He said, a note of wonder in his voice. His eyes had changed completely, forming a ring of trapezoids around a now-hexagonal, glowing pupil.

“That’s right. You can’t freeze me anymore.” Rias said, rubbing the back of his head gently, “And you can’t freeze Izuku or Lavi-chan either.” She blew her beau a kiss.

“Rias, how did you reincarnate him if you couldn’t reincarnate Lavi-chan?” Izuku asked, “You said you froze last time, right?” Lavinia nodded at him.

“Ah, I used a Mutation Piece.” She said, “They’re special pieces that have much higher point values than their regular counterparts. But they’re also really rare. They’re more of a glitch in the System that Ajuka decided to keep in. Generally, only one in ten High-Class Devils even have a single one, so I didn’t have a second one for Lavi-chan.”

“I see.” Izuku kneeled, “I know it’s scary, Gasper.” He put his hand on the boy’s head, “But moving forward when you’re scared is part of life. You can’t be cooped up here forever. Maybe I don’t know how to help you control that Sacred Gear, but I can help you find a way.”

“We.” Rias smiled, “We can help you find a way.”

Gasper’s eyes returned to normal, causing Akeno, Kiba, Koneko, and Aika to unfreeze. “What happened?” Aika blinked, “Izu, how’d you get over there?”

“So, he couldn’t freeze you tree, huh?” Kiba asked, and got nods from all three of them.

Gasper was still worriedly squeezing his hands together, “D-Do I really have to come out?”

“Yes, you do.” Rias said, standing and offering him her hand, “It’s time to come out and learn how to control that power of yours. With how much it grows in strength day by day, I don’t want to risk it eclipsing me again.” She smiled kindly at him, “Besides, once we can teach you to control it, we won’t have to fear it anymore.”

“O-Okay…” He sounded absolutely miserable agreeing to it, but took Rias’s hand as she led him out. Except he froze right before crossing the threshold before he screamed girlishly again. Izuku watched as he moved close to Soru speeds as he flew into his coffin.

“Oh, bother.” Rias sighed, giggling in bemusement.

It took several more false starts with him holding Rias and Akeno’s hands before they got one step out of the room before he fled. Izuku rolled his eyes and Aika was starting to lose her amusement and get irritated, “Gasper, do I need to carry you out in your coffin?” He asked sardonically, which predictably got another scream from inside the coffin.

“I have an idea.” Koneko said, before leaving the room. A few minutes later, she came back with a cardboard box.

“What’s that for?” Kiba asked with a raised eyebrow.

“This.” Koneko walked up to Gasper and put the box on top of him. He immediately became one with the box, hiding inside of it. “I hereby name you Solid Snake.” Everyone sputtered at Koneko’s solution and joke, but it worked. Gasper took his first… steps outside without fleeing.

-]|[-

It was only a day later that they were preparing to set off for the Underworld. “Well, we’re off.” Rias smiled at Sōna, “Please keep Asia-san safe, Sōna.”

“Of course.” Sōna gave her a dry smile, “I’ll keep your pet nun out of trouble. Honestly, Rias.” She shook her head in amusement.

“Blame Izuku.” Rias giggled, before she got into the limo carrying the rest of her Peerage… and Gasper’s box.

“You still haven’t told us why we’re not just teleporting there.” Izuku said, looking at his love curiously.

“That eager to meet my parents?” Rias smirked at the very miniature wince from him, “And it’s because a person’s first visit must be made through official channels. If new Peerage members like Aika-chan don’t enter through an official port of entry for their first time, it’s counted as illegal entry, which means punishment.”

Izuku blinked, “But…” He stared at her in confusion, “I’ve already been to the Underworld. Multiple times even.”

“Yes, but that was to visit Ajuka-sama, who could simply grant you entry. They were excused as special cases.” Rias waved it off.

“And curing Sai’s mother?” Izuku raised an eyebrow.

Rias opened her mouth… and then closed it, a look of abject confusion crossing her face, “…Huh, you have a point.”

“Your entry should have at least merited some questions.” Akeno slowly nodded, “But Sairaorg-sama hasn’t mentioned anything, and questions would be directed to him since you were with him.”

“Something to ask Ajuka-sama, I suppose. Or your brother.” Izuku said, and Rias nodded. “So how are we getting there?”

“How else?” Rias grinned, “By train!”

“…We’re going to Hogwarts?” Aika deadpanned, causing Rias and Lavinia to spittake and begin laughing.

…

“Woah, it’s huge!” Aika said as she slowly turned around to look at the underground station she hadn’t even known existed. This room was bigger than the actual station above them! “Guess Devils don’t do anything small.” She grinned, getting an eyeroll and a gentle elbow from Koneko.

Rias directed them to platform three, where a train was waiting for them. “It couldn’t be more cliché if it tried.” Izuku laughed as he eyed it. The train was composed entirely of harsh angles and sharp edges, with demonic patterns engraved into seemingly every surface. The seal of House Gremory was glowing on it, alongside another seal that Izuku didn’t recognize.

“Ufufufu.” Akeno laughed at his reaction, “The seal next to the main Gremory one is the seal of Lord Lucifer.” She explained, knowing he was likely curious.

‘Damn, even Yaomomo didn’t own a private train.’ The thought crossed his mind suddenly, making him frown momentarily in melancholy.

“Izuku?” Rias grabbed his hand, “You okay?”

He shook his head and smiled at her, “Yeah, just had a sudden ‘I’m in a new world’ moment when I remembered one of my extremely rich classmates never had a private train.” Akeno claimed his other hand, and he felt Lavinia hug him from behind, “It’s okay, girls. I imagine I’ll get those from time to time.”

“If you’re sure.” Rias said, pecking him on the cheek, “Come on then.”

They made their way in, and Izuku was surprised when Rias informed him and Aika that she would have to sit in the lead carriage while the rest of them sat in the one behind her. “Oioi, some of these rules…” He shook his head, but got into the carriage with Lavinia and the rest of Rias’s Peerage. Akeno immediately sat side-saddle in his lap and began to get some lip time with him.

“Hey, no fair!” Aika immediately pressed herself into his side and began kissing his neck.

Koneko growled, “If I have to smell it all the way there, one of you is going out the window.”

Izuku started to chuckle, pulling away from a pouting Akeno, “So, what can we expect out of this?”

“A lot of posturing between Buchou and Riser.” Akeno replied, knowing what he was talking about, “While her parents and his parents just try to run damage control, if I’m being honest. Lord and Lady Phenex were really pleasant every time I met them, and are actually friends with Buchou’s parents. They’re not going to want to allow that relationship to be ruined, but they’re also not going to just roll over.”

“I see.” Izuku said, looking past her out the window, where he could see magic circles floating around the tracks. “And her parents?”

“Are really nice.” Lavinia said, before grinning uncharacteristically impishly, “You’ll probably have more trouble with Sirzechs-sama.”

Izuku winced as he remembered exactly how he and Rias had been caught by the man’s wife.

“I’ll handle onii-sama, if it comes to it.” Rias declared as she stepped into the carriage.

Izuku raised an eyebrow at her, “What happened to sitting up front?”

“I sensed Akeno and Aika were having fun without me.” She replied dryly, making her way in, and bumping Akeno off his lap.

“Buchou…” Akeno whined, “I’m the one supposed to be stealing him!” Rias stuck her tongue at her best friend.

An elderly man wearing a conductor’s outfit stepped in, “It’s all well and good to communicate with your servants, but might I ask you to follow the proper procedures, Lady Rias?”

“I’m afraid I’m feeling a mite rebellious, Reynald.” Rias replied, wiggling her hips a bit for Izuku’s benefit.

“The little Princess certainly has grown, hasn’t she?” Reynald raised an eyebrow, “I’ve certainly lived a long time, haven’t I?” He took his hat off his head and bowed, “Greetings. It’s a pleasure to meet the newest member of the Princess’s Peerage. I am Reynald, the conductor of the Gremorys’ private train.”

Aika stood and curtsied, “Kiryū Aika. Nice to meet you, Reynald-san. I am Rias Gremory’s new Pawn.”

Rias stood so Izuku could as well, and he bowed politely to the man, “Nice to meet you, Reynald-san. I’m not a member of Rias’s Peerage, but my name is Midoriya Izuku.”

“Well met.” He smiled a bit sinisterly at Izuku, “And it appears you’ve won my lady’s heart. I would endeavor to keep her happy.”

“Preaching to the choir, Reynald-san.” Izuku replied with a short chuckle.

“Now, miss Kiryū, if you would approach?” He took a strange doodad from his pocket. It looked like some sort of weird monitor.

“What’s that?” She asked curiously as she walked to him.

“We use this device in the demon world to confirm your identities. All vehicles entering through formal channels, as we are, require inspection. Forged identities and fraudulent entries are grave offenses. And these days, you can’t be too careful when it comes to preventing hijackings.” Reynald replied, and the device beeped.

“You were all registered in the system when I used my Evil Pieces to reincarnate you. This machine checks you against that data. You don’t need to worry. You’re who you’re supposed to be.” Rias grinned mischievously. “You on the other hand…” She glanced at Izuku.

“Yes, as you’re not a member of the Princess’s Peerage, I will have to register your data now.” Reynald said, and Izuku stepped forward. “Please summon up some of your power, Midoriya-sama.”

‘I’m getting the sama?’ Izuku almost balked, having never been called that in his life. But he obliged, summoning his power.

Reginald waited. And waited. And furrowed his brows. “…Midoriya-sama, might I inquire as to just what you are? Some form of Yōkai, perhaps?” 

“Is there something wrong?” Rias asked immediately, her smile dropping.

“Uhh, I’m human, Reynald-san.” Izuku replied after her question.

“Surely not!” Reynald exclaimed, “The device is reading your race as just a regular soul.”

Rias sputtered, “Wait, that means he won’t trigger any intruder alarms!”

“Yes, since souls have free passage to all domains and a very wide range of wards aren’t effective against them, you can essentially come and go as you please.” Reynald confirmed her suspicion, “I’ve never seen anything like this!”

Kiba let out a light chuckle, “Well, that certainly explains that.” Kiba said, referring to their conversation in the car.

Rias started to chuckle as well, “Yes, I suppose it does. Rest easy Reynald. We’re aware of the why, it’s just surprising that it affected even his reading.”

“Very well.” Reynald realized this was above his pay grade, and so moved on, “Entry procedures have been completed. The identity of your new Peerage member has been confirmed, Lady Rias. You can relax now until we arrive at our destination. We have beds in the sleeping carriage and a dining hall for meals, so please do make use of all the facilities before we arrive,” Reynald said with a pleasant smile.

“Hmm, yes, that’s a good idea. I am feeling a bit peckish. Let’s go, everyone.” They all said their farewell to the conductor, before making their way to get themselves some food.

…

“You didn’t tell me the sky was purple!” Aika grinned up at the sky during her first glimpse of the Underworld.

“It is really pretty.” Izuku agreed with a smile, “And such an amazing landscape too. Mountains, trees, lakes…”

“Go ahead and open the window.” Rias said, and Aika did just that.

“Woah…” She said, breathing in the Underworld’s air for the first time. “That feels weird.”

“Yeah, it’s almost like it has some sort of texture to it, somehow.” Izuku agreed, “I’m still not used to it.” The temperature was just right though!

Aika stuck her head out, “Huh, is that the dimensional barrier?” She asked, eyeing the seeming black hole that the train was coming out of. “How do they hide that?”

“With wards, of course.” Akeno replied, ready to educate her kouhai.

“When do we get to your family’s territory?” Izuku asked Rias curiously.

“Get to it?” She raised an eyebrow.

Izuku froze for a moment, “…Love…” He said tonelessly, “How big is the Gremory territory?”

Rias tapped her chin, “About the size of Honshu, if I’m remembering correctly.”

Izuku started to cough after choking on his spit, and his hand had to flash out and grab Aika by her school uniform to prevent her from falling out of the window. “What?!” He rasped out, while Aika shrieked the question.

“Ufufufu, how cute.” Akeno laughed.

Lavinia was the one who replied, “Well, you have to remember, the Underworld is just as big as the human world.” She told them, “And while the Underworld is shared by Devils, Fallen Angels, and other species, the population isn’t even a tenth of what it is there.”

“Not to mention that while we have plenty of lakes and water, there aren’t any oceans.” Kiba threw in, “So most of the land is actually available to settle on, if needed.”

“Damn…” Aika shook her head, “That’s crazy! You basically own most of a Japan-sized territory! No wonder they treat you like a Princess!”

She truly was super-wealthy, at a scale beyond comprehension! “…Never thought I’d meet anyone who could make Yaomomo look poor…” Izuku mumbled.

Rias shook her head, “Honestly, it’s mostly untouched wilderness.” She mumbled, before clapping her hands together as if remembering something important, “Oh, I almost forgot! Aika, you will be requisitioned your own territories later, so please let me know what kind of places you want.”

Aika seemed to bluescreen, “What?” She managed to squeak out after several seconds.

Rias smirked, “I am the next head of House Gremory, you know. And you’re all my family. You’re all free to live within your territories. Akeno, Koneko, Kiba, and Gasper already have theirs. And Lavi-chan might not be my Bishop like I want.-” She pouted momentarily, “But she has her own spot here too.” Lavinia gave her a hug and a smile. Rias pulled out a map and laid it on the table, “The areas in red are already in use, so they’re off-limits, but everything else is available. Point out which places you want. I’ll let you have them.” She told Aika.

She looked at Izuku, “Oh, and we should pick out our own spot too, Izu. Can’t live in my parent’s house forever.” She winked.

Now it was Izuku’s turn to bluescreen.

…

In the end, Izuku and Rias had settled on a fairly flat region with plenty of nature, a huge lake, and surrounding mountains. The map had spells to display the region in its entirety in full detail like they were looking at a Google Earth. The picturesque little area had immediately drawn their attention. Thankfully, they wouldn’t have to worry about actually managing the land for a while yet.

Reynald announced that they were approaching, and Izuku glanced outside. There was a huge crowd of people waiting on the approaching platform! His sharp eyes even caught what looked like military uniforms, making him wonder if they were soldiers under Gremory control. He closed the window at Rias’s urging, and they got ready to disembark.

They continued down to the platform, when- “Lady Rias, welcome home!” -the crowd erupted in jubilation!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Fireworks lit up the sky before he had a chance to regain his composure. The group of soldiers gave a customary gun salute, and a band of musicians began playing a celebratory song. Not only that, but a group of military people riding atop some mysterious flying creatures were waving huge flags through the sky.

Izuku and Aika gawked, but followed Rias towards a large group of maids and butlers, “Lady Rias, welcome home!”

“Thank you, everyone!” Rias replied pleasantly, “How are you, Grayfia?” She asked the leader.

“I am well, Lady Rias. I’m delighted to see that you and your Peerage made it here safely.” The silver-haired beauty smiled at her, and then looked at Izuku, “And I suppose this will be a much better meeting than our first, Midoriya-sama.”

Oh, there was the -sama again. Izuku controlled his reaction well and gave her a smile, “Yes, I imagine it will. I’m looking forward to it, Grayfia-san.”

“Please, this way.” Grayfia led them to some actual, luxurious horse-drawn carriages. The steed was no ordinary animal, either. It was far larger than any Izuku had ever seen, and its eyes were far more discerning, too. Perhaps all underworld horses were like this?

“Hmm, we won’t all fit in one. Grayfia, Izuku, Akeno, and Aika, please join me in this one. Yuuto, Koneko, Lavinia, and Gasper will ride the second one.” Rias said, and they hurried to follow her instructions.

The maids began loading their luggage into the remaining carriages, and the two they were in took off early. Looking out at the landscape, Izuku saw a paved road surrounded by rows of neatly trimmed trees stretched out before them. The path ran straight ahead, and at the end of it stood a ridiculously colossal building. “…Is it bigger than Ajuka-sama’s home?” He gaped at it.

Rias chuckled, “My parents like to live it up, and even if we have our own homes and territories, we’ll still often come back here.”

Outside, a garden of beautiful flowers was in bloom, with expertly crafted fountains gushing water and birds of every color imaginable fluttering about. Izuku shook his head with a small, exasperated smile. He wasn’t sure he would ever get used to this amount of luxury, even though he knew full well he would have to.

It only took a few moments more to reach their destination, and they stepped out of the carriages. Maids and butlers flanked a literal red carpet that had been rolled out for them towards the huge castle. Grayfia urged them forward, but they were interrupted, “Auntie Rias! You’re back!” A redheaded boy leapt out from the line of maids and quickly hugged Rias.

“Millicas!” She beamed as she embraced her nephew, “Look how you’ve grown!”

“Who is that, Buchou?” Aika asked curiously. “I didn’t know you had a nephew.”

Rias released him and introduced him, “This is Millicas Gremory, my brother’s son.”

Aika swallowed heavily, “Brother as in ‘Lucifer?’” She asked with some trepidation.

“That’s right!” Millicas stepped forward, “I am Millicas Gremory. It is a pleasure to meet you all.” He gave them a short bow, which they returned.

“Not Millicas Lucifer?” Izuku asked curiously.

Rias chuckled, “No, the names and titles of a Satan belong only to the individual who earned them. Even though Millicas is my brother’s son, he is still considered a Gremory. He’s also a potential heir to the House of Gremory.”

“I see.” He smiled at the boy, “I’m Midoriya Izuku. It’s nice to meet you, Millicas.”

“Oh!” He gasped, “So you’re Auntie Rias’s…” He stopped and held up his pinky.

Rias laughed lightly, “That he is.” She and Izuku grabbed each other’s hands, “But let’s not keep standing around. Let’s head inside.” She took Millicas’s hand as well and they continued on their way in. “Grayfia, are my parents and brother in?”

Grayfia nodded, “They are. I believe they are waiting inside. You arrived a bit earlier than planned.”

“I see.” Rias said, “Well, best not keep them waiting.” They entered through the towering entranceway and ventured into the castle.

“This was overkill before the train arrived.” Izuku mumbled as several rows of gates opened one after the other. “I don’t even know what to call this now.”

Rias giggled lightly. Finally, they arrived at what looked like an entrance hall. There was a huge staircase in the atrium ahead of them that led up to a second floor, and a huge chandelier hung from the ceiling. It was gigantic! It was a genuinely palatial hall.

It was so big Izuku figured they could have held a Hero Course exercise inside of it!

“Grayfia, might you escort everyone to their rooms? I assume our belongings have already been brought in.” Rias looked to her brother’s wife.

“Of course. Chambers have already been prepared.” Grayfia raised her hand and a bunch of maids stepped forward.

“Thank you.” Rias would have continued, except a new woman’s voice rang out.

“Rias! I see you’ve arrived.” Descending from the grand stairwell ahead of them was a gorgeous woman garbed in a resplendent dress. Izuku eyed her and mentally dyed her hair, finding her to be a very close match to Rias herself. She smiled at Rias and Izuku, eyeing Izuku a bit longer than her daughter as she took him in for the first time, “You must be Midoriya-kun.” She said softly.

“You didn’t tell me you had a sister, Rias.” He smiled back at her, though his tone for Rias was playful.

Rias’s mother beamed, “Oh my, what a charmer.” She teased back, seeing it for what it was. She even put her hand on her cheek. What a dangerous weaponization of her cuteness!

“I don’t.” Rias said dryly.

Izuku chuckled, “Venelana Gremory, I presume?” Offering her his hand. She took it with a nod, and he kissed her knuckles, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, finally.”

“The pleasure is all mine.” Venelana replied, “And I see you’ve trained him well thus far, daughter.”

“Of course.” Rias smiled back, “He had much to learn, but is a willing student.”

“Excellent.” Venelana gestured, “Come. I wish to get to know the one who stole my daughter’s heart. Please come with us, Grayfia.”

“I’m afraid she stole mine first.” Izuku chuckled as he, Grayfia, and Rias followed her mother.

…

“Well, here they are.” Zeoticus said rhetorically as his wife and daughter-in-law led his daughter and her intended inside their sitting room. He looked up at Izuku, “My, you’re almost as big as Sairaorg.”

“I’ve still got a few years to grow.” Izuku chuckled and held out his hand, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lord Gremory.”

“None of that. You’re apparently to be my son-in-law.” Zeoticus smiled, and just from their handshake could feel the power within him. “Please, call me Zeoticus.” They released one another and Zeoticus waved over to Sirzechs, “My son, Sirzechs Lucifer.”

“Yes, I’ve been… quite eager to meet you.” Sirzechs took his hand, and squeezed altogether harder than he needed to. Izuku didn’t flinch, and squeezed back with a pleasant smile.

Rias rolled her eyes, “Onii-sama.” She said, flatly.

Sirzechs let go, apparently satisfied that Izuku passed his little test. “You obviously know who I am.” He smiled for real this time. “I may not be known for being as… cruel or violent as my predecessor, but it is a rare person who can look me in the eye so unflinchingly when I am irritated.”

“If I could not even meet your gaze, would I be worthy of asking for your sister’s hand?” Izuku questioned rhetorically.

Sirzechs let out a laugh, “Oh, I think I like this one, Rias-chan.” He sat back down, “Much better than the previous model.”

“The feeling’s mutual.” Rias said dryly, getting some chuckles as Izuku took his seat next to her.

Grayfia had tea prepared, and served all of them before taking a seat next to her husband at his insistence. Venelana seemed happy, and began the questioning, “Rias-chan tells us you’re from another world. You certainly made quite the entrance according to her.”

Izuku grimaced slightly, “You could call it that.” Still, he let out a little chuckle, “The Dimensional Gap is no joke. Just a few seconds in there felt like it was going to tear me apart with how drained I was.”

“Yes, the void will do that to you.” Grayfia replied softly, “It is said that without some form of protection or resistance, you would inevitably perish when exposed to the ‘nothingness’ within.”

“Well, I’m fairly certain I was still able to breathe in there, so I’m not so sure how accurate that is.” Izuku told the silver-haired beauty.

“So, what did you do back in your home world?” Zeoticus asked, changing the topic. He grinned slightly, “Rias tells us yours was a world where nearly everyone had an individual power of their own, such as my wife’s Power of Destruction. It reminds me of the X-Men.”

“It’s true.” Izuku replied, “Took a few centuries and a dark age to get to that point, but by the time I was born, 80% of the total population had an ability to call their own. Within my generation it was more like 95%.” He sat back, “As for what I did?” He grinned, “Well, X-Men isn’t too far off. Criminals with powers required people with powers of their own to combat. A policeman’s gun would do nothing to someone who could grow thirty meters tall and make their skin rock-hard. So, I was training to be a superhero.”

Zeoticus’s eyes lit up and he grinned widely, and Sirzechs let out a short laugh, “Perhaps we should have you on our show?”

“Show?” Izuku blinked, having not heard of this at all.

Rias let out a little laugh, “Oh, that’s right. Onii-sama and the other Maō have a Sentai Squad. He’s Satan Red.” She grinned, “Satan Green is already taken though, so I don’t think Izuku can join.” All of them started to laugh.

“Superhero huh?” Venelana continued to giggle, “My daughter didn’t stand a chance.” Her husband nodded, amusement plain on his face. “From what Rias-chan shared with us, you’re quite a bit more powerful than was the norm for your people.”

“You’re not wrong.” Izuku replied, “Most Quirks honestly didn’t spend long enough in the oven, as it were.” He said dryly.

“Give us some examples, please.” Grayfia requested, interested in this new world.

“Hmm…” Izuku rubbed his chin, “Well, most of the Quirks in my class were powerful, though most of them were also really simplistic. One of my classmates was Kodai Yui, and she had the ability to enlarge and shrink anything she touched.”

“Interesting. What were the limits?” Sirzechs looked fascinated.

“There weren’t any hard limits if I recall.” Izuku scratched his chin, “But it kind of depended on the materials used.” He started to snicker, “Before I gave her one of my Devil Fruits, her favorite tactic for dealing with enemies was the good old pocket sand.” That got another round of laughs from the surrounding Devils, “But if she made each individual grain too big, eventually they would hit less like boulders and more like Styrofoam boulders. We had a bit of a saying back home: ‘Quirks are bullshit.’ But there was only so much they could do. You could only violate Conservation of Mass so far before it starts violating back.”

“Very much not magic then.” Zeoticus chuckled, “As I’m sure Reni-chan has taught you, magic has much more ability to ignore the so-called laws of physics.” Izuku nodded with a chuckle, “Still, this is fascinating. Tell us more!”

“Well, Todoroki Shōto had the ability to produce fire from his left side and ice from his right side.” Izuku replied, going straight for one of the powerhouses since he wasn’t sure if Rias had told them about Kacchan.

“How much?” Venelana asked in interest, “Rias did tell us these Quirks normally had limitations.”

“They did.” Izuku confirmed, “Shōto could only produce so much of either before starting to get either frostbite or heat exhaustion. If he used both in balance, it would be dehydration that would get him eventually.” Man, Endeavor had been pissed when he found that out. So much for the perfect Quirk with no weaknesses, “As for how much? He could fill a 100,000-guest capacity sports stadium with ice.”

Sirzechs let out a whistle, “That’s not bad at all. It has nothing on Absolute Demise, but when you combine that with Incinerate Anthem…”

“Why are Sacred Gear names so cool?” Izuku mumbled, and the rest of them started to laugh again. He continued with one last one, “Anyway, Yaoyorozu Momo had the coolest one in the class. Her body could produce literally anything that wasn’t living as long as she understood and could conceptualize it. On our first day of class our teacher had us take a ‘Quirk Aptitude Test’ so he could see our Quirks in action himself, and during the marathon run she pulled a whole electric motorcycle out of her tummy to ride.”

“You didn’t tell me about that!” Rias yelped, looking at him with wide eyes.

Zeoticus’s eyes went wide, “Wait, she could literally make a nuclear bomb with that ability!”

“Ayep.” Izuku confirmed, “I’m fairly certain the only reason why the government didn’t try to adopt her and raise her themselves is that her family was richer than Mansa Musa.” He stopped, and made a show of looking around, “And yet not as rich as you lot, I think.” They all smirked in amusement.

“Hmm, these are interesting for sure, but you said most were… half-baked?” Sirzechs looked at him questioningly.

“Yeah, my classmates were the thirty-nine best students to apply to the accredited best school in the land. Each year had only forty Hero students, and by the time you got to third year, the classes put together usually no longer had enough students to even be in the double digits.” Izuku replied, “Before U.A. was a different story. One of my old classmate’s Quirk was that he could extend his eyeballs a foot and a half.”

They stared at him, with Venelana looking vaguely disgusted. Rias turned to him with the most incredulous look he’d ever seen on her face. Grayfia hesitantly asked, “…And? Did it give them better vision somehow?”

“Nope.” Izuku looked entirely too amused, “That was literally it.”

Sirzechs couldn’t resist, “Forget not being in the oven for long enough. It’s fucking raw.” He took his wife’s metal fan (which had not been present a moment ago.) in the head dutifully.

“And that was the norm?” Zeoticus scratched his goatee, “I must say, I’m struggling to believe that someone as powerful as Rias claims you to be could come from this world if that was the kind of power most people could have.”

“I am also quite confused how someone who Rias tells me can stand toe-to-toe with Sairaorg-chan while he uses Regulus Nemea could be displaced as you were by an enemy.” Venelana followed her husband’s train of thought.

“Oh, it shouldn’t have been possible.” Izuku replied, his tone going flat.

Rias cut in, “And Izuku is actually much stronger now than he was back in his home world.” She said, “Even if you cut out all the lessons we’ve given him, the magic he’s learned, and the Devil and Fallen’s Souls he ate, just his spar against our cousin Sairaorg put him leagues ahead of where he was.”

Izuku nodded in agreement. “He was extremely powerful, yes, but I was stronger. If I faced him today, it wouldn’t even have been a fight. I’d have killed him with my first attack.”

“Rapid growth through combat.” Sirzechs mused, “You’re not the first person I’ve met like that. But that just makes his pyrrhic victory against you even more confusing.”

“Well, I’m fairly certain his attack was some sort of suicide boost because that particular Quirk did not function the way it did when it sent me here.”

“That Quirk?” Sirzechs raised an eyebrow, “What was it?”

Izuku growled, “His name was forgotten to history. Everyone only knew him as All For One. The same name as his Quirk.” He looked to Venelana, “A man who could steal other Quirks and leave the victim with nothing. A man who could pass around Quirks like party favors and indebt others to him. Imagine your Power of Destruction, your very individuality, being taken from you and used against you. Forever.”

The slightly airheaded and pleasant demeanor of his host vanished and Izuku instantly saw why Rias had only inherited the title of Ruin Princess. Her dark, ruinous aura almost became visible. “I see.” Her voice was icy and furious.

“Well, fortunately our powers are not Quirks.” Zeoticus said, his throat suddenly dry.

“And this man is dead.” Sirzechs said, eyeing his mother with some slight surprise.

Rias’s mother took a small breath, and returned to normal, “Ara, my apologies. I don’t know what came over me.” She smiled happily again.

No one was buying it.

“His last act during our battle was to use a stolen Warp Quirk against me.” He said, and got a few ‘ah’s.’

“I see.” Sirzechs said, “Well, even if you can’t go home. Things didn’t turn out too poorly, did they?”

“No.” Izuku smiled, and he and Rias grabbed each other’s hands, “No they did not.” All of them could see how much he adored Rias, and could see she adored him just as much.

Her father smiled at the sight. “While learning about these Quirks is fascinating,” Zeoticus said, “I think it’s past time we get to know who my daughter’s intended is. What makes you tic? What were your accomplishments back home?”

“Indeed.” Venelana quickly took the attention off her little lapse of control, “You say you were still a student, and I can’t imagine it was common practice for a student to be facing such a dangerous foe.”

“It wasn’t.” Izuku chuckled, “My Quirk meant that I was at the top of my class by such a wide margin that me and my best friend were actually disappointed by how easy the Hero Course was. Has Rias told you that my Quirk affects the world around me?”

“I did not.” She smirked, “I figured it would be more fun in person.”

“Affects the world how?” Sirzechs asked, intently. If this was going to cause problems, he needed to know about it.

Izuku chuckled a bit nervously, “Well, while no one else would be able to get any Devil Fruits except from me, there were other powers in the story that others can acquire even without me teaching them.” He frowned, “Even some of our enemies.” He said, pursing his lips.

Sirzechs grimaced, “And you can’t stop that?”

“No, it’s passive. Works whether I want it to or not.” He sighed, “And let me tell you, finding that out caught me by surprise so hard I almost lost an arm.”

Grayfia’s face was expressionless, “Are you telling us that the regular humans could start developing fantastical abilities unrelated to magic?”

“Yes.” Izuku said, “Though it is not like it was a common ability. People in the story, for the most part, never used the abilities at all. It was a very small portion of the population who ever used any of them. And for the most part, without being taught by someone experienced in its use, most never even got close to their full potential.”

“What are the abilities?” Sirzechs asked, his tone businesslike.

Izuku and Rias both stood, and a quick spell had a blindfold in his hand. He quickly put it over his eyes as the elder Devils watched in interest, “Whenever you’re ready, Rias-chan.” His wife-to-be raised her hand, “A fireball cast at my head.” They all blinked at his words as Rias summoned said fireball and made to throw it, but stopped short. “A kick at my left leg.” He said as he was raising it to dodge her kick. “A palm thrust powered by your Power of Destruction.” He grabbed her wrist and parried her attack around him. “Elbow to the nose.” He ducked her retaliation. He then looked at Venelana, “Yes.”

“Are you seeing the future?” Venelana asked incredulously. And then her eyes widened, and she let out a little gasp.

“That’s the advanced technique for Kenbunshoku Haki.” Rias informed her, “At the basic level, he can sense others around him as well as their intentions and react accordingly. It’s not quite mind reading but there’s some overlap. With Izuku’s skill with it, he can see into the future.”

“And we can learn this?” Greed appeared in Zeoticus’s eyes again.

“You can.” Izuku said as he took off the blindfold, “Or at least, you will eventually be able to. At least at the basic level. The effect diminishes with distance as far as I know, though it covers at least a good chunk of Japan seeing as several of my enemies had some manner of skill with some of the abilities. The closer we are, the quicker you change. And obviously, having an actual teacher is best of all.”

“I see.” Sirzechs said, “Better and worse than I thought. Inevitably, it means humanity will start to develop abilities of their own that have nothing to do with magic or Heaven’s System.” He rubbed his forehead, “Ah, whatever. That’ll be a problem for future Sirzechs.”

“But it is not the only ability, is it?” Grayfia asked, “There are others?”

“Rias?” Izuku turned to face her again. Her Power of Destruction rose, and she launched a very powerful attack at him that had her mother’s brows rising in alarm. He raised his hand calmly and all but told the attack to stop. It didn’t even reach him, instead splashing on what seemed to be an invisible shield. The attack dissipated harmlessly, and Rias pouted. She still had so far to go! “Busōshoku Haki.” He told them, “The ability to essentially surround yourself with a suit of armor made of your own will. This increases your defensive power as well as your attack power. I believe Rias-chan told you about Logia-Type Devil Fruits? Well, with Busōshoku, you can touch the untouchable. Like the other type, there are also more advanced techniques.” He raised his fist, and they watched as his flesh blackened, looking shiny and almost vulcanized. “This is what I used to survive in the Dimensional Gap long enough to cut a hole out.”

Zeoticus chuckled somewhat ominously, “Oh Rias-chan, you’ve given us such a gift.” He grinned, “How do you train it?”

“Uh…” Izuku chuckled nervously, “Yeah, about that? I only know what the story showed in terms of training.” He scratched the back of his head, “And what the story showed involved a wooden bat and a blindfold for Kenbunshoku.” They blanched, “And it never really showed the basic Busōshoku training, so Kacchan and I kinda just beat the stuffing out of one another until it came out when we were kids.”

Venelana looked at her daughter, “Rias-chan, please tell-”

“Don’t ask questions you don’t want answers to.” Rias said with a bit of a dead tone. Her mother began to rub her forehead.

“Moving on.” Sirzechs said quickly, trying to hold back both an irritated growl and a laugh, “Are those the only two types?”

“No, there was one last type.” Izuku said, “But whereas the other two were rare but learnable, the last was a more ‘chosen one’ type of thing. Only one in a million had it, and you had to be born with it.”

“That must be important. What did it do?” Zeoticus asked him.

“It’s called Haōshoku, and it allows one to assert one’s will over others to dominate them.” He said, “Those of inferior spirit can be intimidated or, if much weaker, knocked unconscious.” He told them, “And the absolute strongest can layer Haōshoku to massively empower their attacks.”

Sirzechs smiled, a small plan forming in his mind. “Very interesting. I would quite like to see that in action.” He sat back, “But not now. I think you had a story for us?”

Izuku rubbed his chin, “First, a bit of a non sequitur, but in the world I’ve described, what do you suppose happened to professional sports?”

Taken aback at the odd question, the four elder Devils looked at him strangely, “I’m not sure what you mean.” Venelana said slowly.

“Well, think about it. Sports are highly regulated. You can’t even take performance enhancing drugs to build yourself up faster. What do you think Quirks would do to those rules?”

“Oh!” Rias exclaimed, “Wow, I didn’t even think of that! How do you keep things fair when everyone has powers?”

“Exactly.” Izuku smiled at her, “There were attempts to keep things fun and engaging, but for the most part, as the percentage of the population with Quirks grew and without them diminished, most sports slowly realized that they simply could not keep things regulated and fair with the sheer variety of individuality people developed. It was either they become inherently discriminatory and ban, say, a person with an aquatic Quirk from swimming competitions-” His hosts were all frowning, “Or try to develop multiple alternate leagues and immediately ruin themselves by splitting their viewer bases.”

“I’m guessing they still tried?” Zeoticus asked curiously.

“They did, but honestly, most were complete failures.” He chuckled, “The only sports that actually gained popularity were fighting sports. Much like your Rating Games, people found they liked watching people beat the snot out of each other.” That got chuckles from all of the Devils. Guilty as charged. “They already had weight classes to keep a featherweight from getting trounced by a heavyweight, so why not Quirk classes as well? There were a lot of underground fighting rings as well. For the rest, while the sports themselves still existed, for the most part, there were no more grand leagues with popular athletes getting paid tens of millions. Most kids wanted to be Heroes, not sports stars.” He chuckled, “And that’s where the U.A. ‘Sports’ Festival came in. For the Hero Course students, it was an opportunity to… strut our stuff, as it were. Get the interest of pros for internships. By my time, it was popular enough to be televised worldwide every year, with many considering it the ‘replacement’ for the Olympics. The events were random every year to keep things fun, except for the final event, which was always some sort of one-on-one tournament between the sixteen finalists.”

Rias started to laugh, “Let me guess,” she drawled, “You and Bakugō-kun ended up fighting one another and blew the rest of your classmates out of the water.”

“And it was a good thing we did.” He chuffed, “For the first time ever, the Pro Heroine Miruko decided to take an intern: me.” He grinned a little evilly, “Which directly led to me capturing a Serial Killer that targeted Pro Heroes.”

“Ha!” Sirzechs let out a laugh, “Not even out of school yet, and already doing more than most around you, huh?” He chuckled to himself in nostalgia, “Sounds familiar.”

Izuku grinned at him, “Yup. The festival itself was pretty fun. We had a direct competition for our first event.” He sniggered as he remembered that one, “If you’ve ever watched Takeshi's Castle-”

Rias squealed, “Oh, I love that show! It’s always so hilarious!”

Venelana laughed, “I introduced it to her when she was just a little girl. Oh, the laughs we had.”

Izuku’s grin widened, “We’ll have to watch it at some point. Anyway, the first event was… basically a U.A. rendition of that as we raced around the campus. I don’t think I want to know what was in that mud I faceplanted into.” Everyone started to laugh.

“Isn’t this supposed to be a school?” Grayfia asked, hiding some amusement expertly. “Where do they get the budget for something like that?”

Izuku’s amusement died. “First rule about U.A.’s budget: no one talks about U.A.’s budget.” Sirzechs and Rias roared in laughter again. “I’m pretty sure I heard a couple accountants crying for their mommies, while one of them started to chant in tongues.”

Zeoticus had to try very hard not to join them, while his wife lost her battle and giggled behind her hand.

After the chuckles died down, Izuku continued, “The second event was a cross between King of the Hill and Capture the Flag. We had these bases we needed to defend while also capturing flags and returning them to our base to score points. That one was a team game and ended up being a lot more fun than the first one.” He grinned, “Yui-chan got to show off her new Devil Fruit for the first time. She was actually a far better artist than I am, and I gave her the ability to bring her art to life. A couple times she just drew tidal waves to knock opponents away from our base.”

“Oh, I remember you telling me about that one!” Rias laughed, “You inadvertently turned her into Hokusai from Fate Grand Order.” The two of them shared a grin, while the elders rolled their eyes lightly. More references they didn’t get. “Who else was on your team?”

“Ochako and Setsuna.” He replied, “Gravity Girl and a girl who could split herself into tiny pieces.” He added for the rest of their benefits.

“I’m guessing you won?” Venelana asked, amusement plain on her face.

“Mhm, so we ended up moving to the final round.” Izuku replied, “There were a couple powerhouses, but only four teams could make it in, so some got left behind.” He started to chuckle as he remembered what happened next.

“The matchups will be decided by drawing lots!” Miss Midnight declared, holding up a box of lots. “With only a… slight modification.” She added, sweatdropping slightly. “Midoriya, you’re number one, Bakugō, you’re number sixteen.”

The crowd immediately erupted, “Hey, what gives?!”

“Why are they getting special treatment?!”

“It should be random just like it is for everyone else!”

“Silence!” Midnight cracked her whip, “We appreciate the comments, but this is frankly for everyone’s benefit. No one wants to have to delay until tomorrow to rebuild the stadium.”

Rias started to laugh, “Oh boy, I don’t think that made them any happier.”

“Practically admitted it was a fight for third place, didn’t they?” Sirzechs admitted in amusement.

“You two boys didn’t actually destroy the stadium, right?” Venelana asked, still smiling.

“Of course not.” Izuku said in affront… before his lips twitched, “There were barriers around the stadium.” He grinned madly.

Izuku walked confidently back to the stage for the final time. Seeing everyone’s Quirks had been super exciting, and Izuku couldn’t have cheered any louder when Yui surprised everyone by knocking Todoroki out of the tournament in the very first round. He had made his way through his own opponents (Setsuna, then Iida, and finally Tokoyami,) and was finally ready to face Kacchan on what felt like the world’s biggest stage.

All around, he could hear the talk from the families and the Pro Heroes watching the event live. Several of them were still pissed that U.A. had ‘rigged’ the event so that they would face off. But there was actual discussion regarding how strong they were. He grinned over at his best friend. “Finally here, eh Kacchan?”

“You better give me your all, nerd.” Katsuki cracked his fingers and elbows, before giving him that mad, intimidating grin and setting off a few firecrackers in his palm.

“Should I even bother requesting that you leave the ring intact?” Midnight asked dryly.

Izuku chuckled, “I suggest you get to safety behind the barriers, Miss Midnight.”

“Right.” She squeaked slightly, “Ready, set, go!” She cracked her whip, and then ran away and jumped into the stands, and the crowd gasped as the shields that protected them activated.

“What the hell?! They can’t be strong enough to merit turning these on before they’ve even started!” One of the Pros called out.

Aizawa sounded exhausted, “That’s where you’re wrong.” He deadpanned, “Neither of these boys have shown anything they’re capable of yet.”

Izuku laughed, “Hear that, Kacchan?” He grinned, “Sounds like they don’t believe the teachers about us!”

“Let’s fuckin’ fix that!” Kacchan yelled back, before stopping as Indra and Pele descended beside Izuku and transformed into their weapon forms.

“ROOM!” Izuku and Indra yelled, before a couple familiar suitcases appeared. Katsuki grinned as Izuku yelled, “Shambles!” And then their PE uniforms were swapped for their RAID suits.

As Izuku tossed the suitcases back and hefted Takeru, Katsuki roared, “NOW WE’RE FUCKIN’ TALKING!” The two of them blasted towards one another, black lightning trailing his arm and Izuku’s kanabō, “TSAR BOMBARD!”

“RAIMEI HAKKE!” Izuku met him in the middle. His weapon and Katsuki’s fists clashed, and then the crowd and everyone watching understood why U.A. had purposefully split these two up until the final round.

A massive explosion rocked the stadium, with a localized earthquake rocking all of campus and parts of the surrounding town. Thankfully, Nezu had done a good job making sure all buildings were reinforced and that the townsfolk were well prepared for any possible damage. Black lightning roared out, striking the barrier in various spots, and dispersing it, but were unable to penetrate and actually strike anything. The barrier regenerated quickly enough. Still, the feeling of Haōshoku rocked the crowd, and several people who didn’t have the weakest of wills like those who passed out still pissed themselves. Those who managed to stay awake screamed as the sun suddenly beat down upon them, and they realized the two boys had split the sky with their clash.

In the crowd, Usagiyama Rumi was so moved by the monstrous Wills pressing on her that she grinned, resolving that whoever won this fight would be her first ever partner.

Finally, the attacks died out, and all that was left was smoke covering the entirety of the field and arena. Endeavor was shaking, feeling despair all over again as he glanced out at his equally shellshocked son in the competitor’s box.

The smoke cleared, and gasps and screams both rang out as they saw the devastation the two boys had created. The entirety of the ring was gone. In its place sat a massive crater that reached from end to end of the destroyed field. And as for the two boys? They were simply floating in midair, not even panting like they should have been.

Murmurs and comparisons to All Might started getting thrown around, but neither of the two heard them. They were now hyper-focused, and not paying attention to the, as Katsuki would call them, extras. “Gungnir!” Izuku roared out, tapping Ace, and gathering lightning.

“AP Shot!” Katsuki retorted, cupping his hands and firing out a stream of plasma at Izuku. The two attacks collided and dispersed one another, but it had only been a distraction. In a burst of Soru, Katsuki appeared behind Izuku and threw an axe kick straight down at the crown of Izuku’s head.

Izuku didn’t even turn around as he raised Takeru to block. Katsuki blasted downwards to send himself up as Izuku whirled around, “Hakai!” He swung his kanabō and a blast of wind reminiscent of All Might’s Detroit Smash barreled into the barrier surrounding the stadium and made it flash angrily. “Tch, let’s go higher up!” He yelled at his friend, before kicking up and soaring into the air.

Katsuki raced after him, looking not unlike a fighter jet as his explosions propelled him upwards even faster than Izuku. From the stadium, dozens of camera bots were released and flew up after them. He abruptly flipped, kicked off the air using Geppō and screamed down towards his friend. With a roar, he stuck both arms out, “AP Machine-Gun!” Little bolts of explosions started to rain down at Izuku.

“Kamisori!” Izuku started vanishing and reappearing so fast he even appeared to leave afterimages. The angry orange bolts rained down past him and continued to blow more and more chunks out of the already mangled field down below. Izuku finally appeared behind him, and his kanabō was gone. Instead, a massive magma fist was engulfing his right arm. “Dai Funka!”

“Howitzer Impact!” Katsuki spun like a top and righted himself before throwing an arm out.

BOOM

Both attacks found their marks, blowing the two boys away from each other, screaming in pain. Izuku’s lava fist smashed into Katsuki’s face, which only didn’t melt from his shielding of Busōshoku, and his own explosion landed in Izuku’s chest, shredding the top of his RAID suit.

The two floated away, panting. Katsuki grunted, reaching up to his head and pulling it away, seeing both blood from the sheer impact of the hit and soot from burnt hair. Izuku’s chest was also reddened like he’d gotten a sunburn.

Izuku grunted, “Maybe we should just stick to fists…” He said, before spitting up a small wad of blood, “I’d say our attacks are getting a bit too powerful to really train with.”

“Tch.” Katsuki clicked his teeth, not wanting to admit his best friend and rival had a point. If either of their Busōshoku claddings faltered, they could be down a limb or worse. “Fine.” He started to take off his gauntlets and Izuku released both Indra and Pele. “Here.” Katsuki tossed his equipment at Indra, who caught them on some solid clouds. The two Homies raced away, while the two boys stretched.

And then they fought some more. Down below, a rabbit couldn’t stop thumping her leg.

Izuku chuckled as he decided to end the retelling there. “The fight lasted for three more hours with us just using our bodies, and finally, I got a lucky shot in and knocked Kacchan out of the sky.” He laughed, “It was pretty lucky I did, because even the crowd had started getting bored and Aizawa-sensei had been about to call it off and allow the attending pros to vote for which one of us took home the gold.”

Venelana clapped politely, “It’s such a shame we don’t have any memory-sharing devices. I would have loved to see that for myself.” She smiled at him, “You’re a fantastic enough storyteller that I felt I could envision everything though.” Izuku smiled back at her.

“Yes, that was quite entertaining.” Zeoticus clapped as well, “I can’t wait to see you in action. And I’m quite interested in hearing about this Hero Killer you mentioned as well. But…” He stood, “It’s close to dinner time. I suppose it can wait until another day. We still have plenty of time. It’s time we all get refreshed.”

“Before that,” Sirzechs joined his father on his feet, “I would like you to accompany me outside. You may also call for your Peerage, Rias.”

Rias blinked, “What for?”

Sirzechs smiled mysteriously, but surprisingly did not respond to his sister. He merely walked away, with his wife following with the barest amount of confusion visible on her face. Zeoticus and Venelana looked at each other, shrugged, and then followed.

“That was…different.” Rias said slowly, “He’s never done that before. Not to me at any rate.”

“Best go see what he wants.” Izuku replied softly. The couple made their way outside, and were joined by the rest of their friends. “What’s this about, Sirzechs?” Izuku asked the redhead curiously as he was beckoned closer. And then he twitched as what felt like the most powerful Bounded Field he’d ever experienced slammed around them.

“As I’m sure you are aware, when two masters cross fists, they learn more about each other than they could ever learn through words alone.” He took off his cape, and handed it to his wife.

Rias’s eyes widened, “Onii-sama, are you cra-”

Sirzechs held up a hand, silencing her, “I’ll be frank. I think I like you, Midoriya-kun. I did not expect to, much as I do not like Riser Phenex.” He smiled at him, “But I can see how much my precious little sister adores you, and how much you adore her in return.” His expression closed up as he walked deeper into the courtyard to stand away from them, “But the rest of the Highborn Devils will neither see it nor care if they happen to notice it. More than anything else, we respect power, ability, and prestige. The last of which, you currently have none, and the first two of which no one knows for certain how much you possess. With the arrangement between House Gremory and House Phenex in place, Rias-chan was… safe, shall we say, from the multitude of fools we are surrounded by. Unless you can prove to them with strength, power, and ability that you deserve my sister’s hand, they will attempt to steal her from you. By force even, should they care enough to force the issue. So, I wish for you to prove to me right now, Midoriya Izuku, that you can weather any storm thrown at you.”

Izuku and Rias both growled. Izuku out of fury at the thought Sirzechs had put into his head, and Rias because of his lack of confidence in her own strength, “Baka onii-chan!” She stomped her foot, “I’m much stronger than that little girl you knew! If anyone tries something, I’ll crush them myself!” She hissed out. She also glanced at her parents, but she could see they agreed with their son’s words.

Sirzechs laughed loudly, “Yes, I can tell. You’ve certainly grown indeed, my little imouto.” He directed his gaze to Izuku, “But that doesn’t change things. I wish to see your strength for myself.” Sirzechs told him, “So I want you to hit me.” He declared, “I want you to hit me with everything you have.” And then he raised his hand and made the ‘come on’ motion.

Izuku took a breath, and then Indra and Pele appeared next to him. He cracked his fingers and elbows, before cracking his neck. “Combine.” He commanded, and his two Homies grinned widely. The two flew into one another and started to meld. Lightning and magma boiled and roiled together as it formed into the shape of Takeru, except with what seemed like lightning spikes sticking out everywhere. The soup of molten rock and plasma made several of them shield their eyes as Izuku grabbed it with both hands, “Kōsanze…” He said as his Haōshoku started to crackle around the weapon. “Kazan Taifū!” He roared as he charged forwards.

Sirzechs smiled as he raised his hand.

BOOM!

Lightning and magma spewed everywhere before they were buffeted by a massive windstorm. Everyone except Rias gasped as they were forced back. Grayfia was the most well off, simply shielding her face. Rias, Lavinia, and her parents defended well, but were forced back a few feet. Koneko, Kiba, and Akeno were forced to their knees. Gasper’s box flew away, and he ‘eeped’ and hurried to hide behind Koneko.

And Aika? She hadn’t prepared nearly as well as she thought she had, and ended up having her clothes blown completely off. She blushed in embarrassment, but that was more because it happened in front of Rias’s parents than because she was naked.

The cataclysm before them died down, and Zeoticus sighed, “Honestly, it’s a good thing he put up that Bounded Field.”

“Our garden!” Venelana looked around in mild horror. She didn’t care what title he had! If Sirzechs’s little experiment had done this to their real garden she would have had him over her lap and his ass purple! The pristine environment had been shattered completely. A crater sat in the middle of it. The trees had all been bent sideways from the blast, and everything had been scorched black.

“Zeoticus-sama. Venelana-sama.” Grayfia sighed, before pointing.

And then their eyes widened as they followed her finger.

Sirzechs had been forced back roughly twenty meters. His right sleeve had been blown completely off his arm. His hand was still in the air, but it was smoking and very minutely spasming. He was staring at it with an unreadable look on his face.

On the other end of the attack, Izuku was well and truly gaping at Sirzechs. Never before had he met any opponent who could tank an attack like that. Sirzechs hadn’t even left his feet. He saw the twin tracks the older redhead’s feet had carved into the terrain as he slid back!

Sirzechs clenched his fist, before releasing and starting to shake his hand out as he walked forward. The Bounded Field fell, and all evidence of the quick clash vanished with it. Finally, Sirzechs came to a stop before Izuku, who hadn’t even stood up straight yet, so great was his shock. Sirzechs smiled, “Well met, Midoriya Izuku.” He looked at his hand, turning it back and forth, “That was the strongest attack I’ve personally taken since the Civil War.”

“…How?!” Izuku asked, finally finding his tongue.

Sirzechs chuckled, “Once you get to a certain level of power, it inherently grants you resistance to damage. I’m sure Rias has mentioned that, but even if someone fired a nuke at me, it wouldn’t singe a hair on my head. You need to have enough power behind the attack to break through that magical resistance. The more power you possess, the higher that threshold is. And you?” He chuckled as he gave his hand one last shake, “You just numbed my arm.”

“That… that makes him Ultimate Class.” Venelana stared at her daughter’s boyfriend in a new light. She started to chuckle as her airheaded expression came back, “Well done, daughter.” She patted Rias’s shoulder, and saw her daughter looked incredibly smug.

Zeoticus opened his mouth, but was cut off as Izuku began to laugh. He raised an eyebrow and traded a glance with his wife and son, but allowed Izuku to get his hysterics out. Finally, Izuku gave Sirzechs a grin Monkey D. Luffy himself would have been proud of, “So… that’s the height I should aspire to, huh?” He bowed his head, “Thank you for the lesson, Sirzechs Lucifer.” Sirzechs’s grin split his face.

Zeoticus smiled wide as well, ‘This kid…’ He thought to himself, ‘No, man. This man.’ He looked at Rias and her Peerage, ‘And it’s plain to see that Rias-chan and her servants have grown an incredible amount as well. Perhaps that is a power in and of itself. The ability to make everyone around you rise with you. Yes, I think I am quite pleased with this match you’ve found for yourself, my daughter.’

-]|[-

Dinner had been as decadent and delicious as Izuku had expected. Granted, there were a lot of them in there, but whole roast pigs, racks of dinosaur ribs, mountains of vegetables, and other assorted food items was still a bit much for a group of their size. He hoped the staff got to eat whatever they didn’t finish. He’d be a bit irritated if all of this went to waste. Aika looked nonplussed from all of it, and poor Gasper was shaking the entire time as Venelana had been quite insistent that there be no cardboard boxes at the dinner table. Apparently the only thing the effeminate boy was more afraid of than ‘outside’ was Venelana’s very minor level of irritation.

Koneko was nonchalantly giving him headpats to try to set his nerves at ease.

Once the table was cleared for dessert and Millicas was put to bed, Zeoticus got back to business. “Izuku.” He said, drawing the verdette’s attention, “Sirzechs alluded to it prior to your clash with him, but there are three things Devils respect more than anything.”

“Power, ability, and prestige.” Izuku said softly.

“Exactly.” Zeoticus nodded, and Venelana smiled in approval. “We’ve already seen your power, and you’re going to have to show off perhaps a bit more than you were interested in doing during this battle. Your abilities, Rias informs us, are varied and growing more every day. All of this is good. But prestige?” He crossed his arms, “That, you currently have none of.”

“I know this is not what either of you were interested in…” She eyed her scowling daughter and her boyfriend, “But quite simply, you must BE someone in our society if you wish to marry someone of Rias-chan’s station. Normally this would be done via the Rating Games, but you are not a Devil and therefore not a part of Rias-chan’s Peerage.”

“Luckily,” Sirzechs said silkily, “You already have done a great service to our people.”

“Curing the Sleeping Sickness in Misla Bael.” Izuku said, holding back a grimace, “You wish to reveal that feat was mine.”

“Exactly.” Zeoticus smiled in satisfaction, “You did what not even Ajuka Beelzebub could. That disease has plagued our people since time immemorial.”

“Ajuka will be present.” Sirzechs stated, “Because this has turned into a bit of a grudge match between Rias and Riser, there will be a lot more interest and we can invite more people to our private party than we normally would. I know you wished to keep your involvement secret due to the fact that you are only one person and your ability to perform this operation cannot be copied, but with Ajuka’s help, you won’t need to personally cure everyone who requests it. There’s never been a magical problem Ajuka could not solve once he had every piece in hand. He simply has no way to record data on the actual cause.”

“So, we get Bael-san involved,” Izuku said, thinking it through, “-and she publicly thanks me for curing her. Once that’s done, Ajuka requests that he be present the next time I perform the operation so he can record the data. The two of us then go on to be the co-founders of the method of the cure, and perhaps even a preventative measure.”

“Precisely.” Venelana beamed at him, “Of course, we will not force you to do this. However-”

Izuku raised a hand, “No, I agree. I simply wasn’t thinking it through when I first did it. I had yet to even meet Ajuka-san at that point in time, and had no idea how intelligent he was. That was perhaps fortuitous, as we can maximize the impact of the reveal.”

Zeoticus chortled, “Marvelous! You’re better at this than I expected!” Sirzechs nodded, and smiled lightly as an idea popped into his head.

Rias smiled, “Surprisingly, he already knew quite a bit that I did not have to teach him.”

“Well, one of my best friends was rich in our world the way you are in yours.” Izuku said modestly, “She taught me some.”

“Hmm, and were you perhaps a bit more than friends?” Venelana asked softly, hoping she wasn’t stepping on a landmine. After all, it was exceedingly likely they’d never see each other again.

“No.” Izuku shook his head, “None of us ever had the time. We were too focused on pursuing our careers, and with the number of Villains that had gotten emboldened by All Might’s apparent decline, we were just constantly busy. Even our secret summer camp was cut short by a Villain attack.” He chuckled, “If it hadn’t… I suppose that question could have had a different answer…in a number of ways.” He said, sweatdropping slightly. Maybe he had always been destined to have something vaguely resembling a harem?

Venelana smiled, “Well, I’m glad you at least did not have to deal with romantic heartbreak on top of homesickness.”

“Thank you.” Izuku bowed his head to her.

“So, the meeting is in four days.” Sirzechs said, “What will you be doing in the meantime?”

Rias spoke up, “We will be training.” She declared, “There will be time to relax and enjoy a vacation after Riser Phenex is dealt with. Up until then, I wish to familiarize myself with my new abilities.”

“You still haven’t told us what these mysterious abilities are.” Zeoticus grumbled, lightly glaring at his daughter.

She stuck her tongue out at him, before focusing up, “Onii-sama, would Okita-san be willing to train Yūto some more? And can Surtr Second take Koneko-chan?”

“I can certainly ask.” Sirzechs replied, smiling.

“Excellent. Mother, Grayfia, may you take Lavi-chan, Aika-chan, and Akeno-chan?” Rias turned to her mother.

“Oh, it’s been quite some time since I’ve gotten to train you three.” Venelana smiled, before tilting her head, “Will you not be joining them?”

Rias shook her head, “No, Izuku and I will be disappearing into our territory and setting up a Bounded Field somewhere in the wilderness as soon as it’s morning tomorrow.” She smiled at her father, “Father, please help Gasper. I’m strong enough now that he can no longer freeze me, but it would be better if he got Forbidden Balor View under control.” Gasper squealed, and immediately left the table and flew into his box.

Zeoticus chuckled, “Having the honeymoon before you’re even married, daughter?”

“No.” Rias chuckled, “I just don’t want anyone to see this before I’m ready. Izu is still the only one who knows what Devil Fruit he gave me.” She grinned cheekily.

The three direct members of her family grumbled, “This better be one Hell of a surprise, Rias-chan.” Zeoticus told her.

“Oh, it will be.” Rias said, her tone darkly amused. “I dare say even Grayfia-chan will jawdrop in surprise.” Grayfia looked affronted at the very thought. Rias grinned cheekily at her again.

“Well, I suppose we all have a big day tomorrow.” Zeoticus stood and clapped his hands, “I suppose it’s time we all retire.”

“Yes, I suppose it is.” Sirzechs stood as well and took his wife’s hand, “It was a pleasure to meet you all, but the night is young.” He waggled his eyebrows, and chortled when Grayfia let out a sigh of irritation.

“Indeed, it is.” Venelana said silkily, grabbing her husband’s hand, “Good night, everyone.”

A chorus of ‘good night’s’ followed, as they all made their way to their rooms. Or rather, Rias and Izuku went to their room and Akeno followed eagerly. A couple hours later as the trio lay sated in Rias’s massive bed, the redhead grinned and cast a small spell, calling Aika and Lavinia. The two were still awake, and Aika grinned as she appeared in Rias’s room. She could certainly smell what they had been up to, and she threw her clothes off before diving onto Izuku.

Izuku gave Rias a queer look as he allowed Aika to hug him like a body pillow. Rias laughed, “I feel like sleeping with a booby pillow today.” She said cheekily as she lay atop Akeno, nuzzling her even more prodigious chest with her cheek.

“Ara, such a needy Buchou we have.” Akeno let out some of her own amusement as she gave her best friend’s ass a squeeze.

“Why did you call me, Rias-chan?” Lavinia looked confused, eyeing the now-foursome with a blush.

“I figured getting you here now was better than risking you sleepwalking into the wrong room looking for cuddles.” Rias deadpanned, imagining what would happen if Lavinia accidentally walked into her parents’ room or her brother’s room.

Surprising even himself, Izuku let out a little growl at the thought. “Lavi-chan, come here.” He beckoned her.

Lavinia blushed more at the suddenly possessive tone from Izuku, but slowly stripped before crawling on the bed towards them. She was so sexy and innocent that Izuku even started to twitch a little down below, despite having felt like Akeno and Rias had wrung him dry already. She joined Izuku and Aika on his other side, and Izuku pulled her close and tight. She let out a little squeal mixed with a moan as he gave her pert rear a squeeze. Aika didn’t bother and just moaned when he did the same to her.

Rias and Akeno let out a laugh, “Looks like we’ll make a proper Devil out of you even without reincarnation, Izu.” Rias giggled, and they all let out some short laughs. She snapped her fingers, and the room was completely bathed in total darkness. “Good night, everyone.”

“Night, Rias-chan/Buchou.” They all responded, before slowly falling asleep.

-]|[-

“Honestly, daughter.” Venelana let out a rare scoff, “We told you what time this was going to be.” The entire family sans Millicas as well as Rias’s Peerage was waiting at the Gremory teleportation circle. Lavinia would not be joining them, and was instead with the young redheaded boy for his lessons. “How were you almost late?”

Rias radiated such smug satisfaction that it was clear what she and Izuku had been doing before coming back home. Izuku rubbed the back of his head a little sheepishly.

“I’m still irritated you wouldn’t even tell us where you went.” Zeoticus glared lightly at them, “Why are you so intent on keeping this new power a secret?”

“So that your reactions when I reveal it are genuine.” Rias said promptly… before she smirked, “And a little light payback for the betrothal in the first place.”

Sirzechs let out a chuckle, before turning to Izuku, “Nervous?”

Izuku looked at him blankly, “Should I be?”

He grinned, “I suppose not.”

“We are ready.” Akeno announced, as the circle lit up. They all made their way into the center, before with a red flash, they were elsewhere.

“Greetings.” A young woman welcomed them once the light had died down. “I am Yubelluna, Riser-sama’s Queen.” She had rich, wavy purple hair, and wore a dress that had a long slit that showed most of her left thigh, and a navy tunic that put her cleavage completely on display. A golden chain kept a white overcoat over her shoulders. “Please let me welcome you to the Phenex Castle, and bring you to where Lord and Lady Phenex are waiting.” She said formally.

“Thank you, Yubelluna-chan.” Venelana thanked her informally, having known her for some time already due to her friendship with the Lady of the house.

“That’s the Bomb Queen.” Akeno whispered to Izuku, “She’s fairly famous amongst younger low-class Devils.”

“Thank you, Akeno-chan.” Izuku whispered back.

They were led into a large room with a massive table with seats all around it, orientated so the two families could face one another. Revan smiled once he saw their arrival, “Zeoticus, Venelana, a pleasure to see you once again.”

“Revan, Leylana.” Zeoticus and Venelana greeted them warmly.

With them standing next to each other, it became apparent just how large a man Revan was. He bowed to Sirzechs and Grayfia, which his wife and family copied. “My Lord Lucifer. Lady Lucifuge.”

“It’s good to see you again, Lord Phenex, Lady Phenex.” Sirzechs greeted them in turn.

Zeoticus spoke up, “May I present Rias and Midoriya Izuku, as promised.”

Revan’s eyes flashed in interest, and he walked over to Izuku. “So, you’re the one who stole Rias from my son, hmm?” He held out his hand, which Izuku took calmly.

“I was unaware she was Riser’s possession, and Rias-chan never seemed too enthused about his courting of her.” He replied lightly, “It is a pleasure to meet you, Lord Phenex.” He then accepted Leylana’s hand and kissed her knuckles too, “And you as well, Lady Phenex.”

“My, you certainly aren’t easy to rattle.” Leylana smiled lightly. “I am curious though, what about you has Zeoticus so impressed? I never would have thought he would allow a match like this.”

“I’d say that talk is a bit premature, isn’t it?” Ruval Phenex interjected. He was somewhere in between his father and younger brother in size.

“Yes, I suppose so, what with our discussions today.” Revan chuckled, “My son and heir Ruval.” He introduced his oldest son.

Rias smiled at the older man, “How are we today, Ruval?”

“It has been a good day, the necessity of today’s events notwithstanding.” Ruval replied good-naturedly.

“Yes, such a pity.” Rias said silkily, “Riser.” She smirked at the fuming blonde, who was clearly fed up just looking at Izuku.

“Rias-chan.” He said, glaring at her. “This is what you soiled yourself with? A filthy human?” He turned his gimlet gaze at Izuku.

“Starting off with insults?” Izuku asked rhetorically, “I see why you wanted nothing to do with him, Rias-chan.”

Off to the side, Leylana sighed, “Why couldn’t Ruval have been the younger one.” She muttered to her friends.

Venelana let out a little laugh, “Yes, she might actually have been more enthused with the match had that been the case.”

“Riser.” Ruval said warningly, and Riser tamped down on his retort, “Please be known to my younger sister: Ravel.” He waved at the youngest of the blondes. She was as cute as Koneko and had twin-drills for curls and dark blue eyes.

Ravel curtsied, “I am pleased to meet you.” She said formally, but very much appeared to not want to due to present events.

“You as well, Ravel-san.” Izuku kissed her knuckles, “I like your hair. Don’t often see the drills pulled off.” He smiled at her, and was rewarded with a bit of a blush. Riser let off a growl.

‘The best part is he’s not even doing it intentionally.’ Rias thought to herself in amusement as she looked at the suddenly bashful, slightly younger girl.

Revan chortled at the sight of his younger daughter, “Well now, perhaps this truly shall be interesting.” He clapped once, “Let us sit.”

Everyone made their way to their seats. Sirzechs and Grayfia both took their place at opposite ends of the table as they were presiding over the meeting. Rias and Izuku took the very middle on one side of the table, with Venelana and Zeoticus flanking them. Revan raised an eyebrow at the sight, taking it to mean that his friends were letting their daughter take the lead here. With that, he had Ruval and Riser do the same on the opposite side, so they were facing Rias and Izuku, and sat on either side. Ravel sat next to her mother, and the Peerages, which were filled with Low-Class Devils, stood behind their respective families.

Sirzechs started them off, “We are here to resolve the dispute between Clan Gremory and Clan Phenex regarding the betrothal agreement between Rias Gremory and Riser Phenex.” He said formally, “I would take care to keep cool heads, as I do not wish to intercede.” He warned them, “Please begin.” He nodded at the Phenex side of the table.

“We know why we’re here.” Riser started immediately, “We had a contract between our families. Rias Gremory was to be my wife. Despite that, without ending our agreement before doing so, she lay with this human cretin. This is unacceptable and an insult to Clan Phenex.”

Rias looked as nonchalant as possible, “And I suppose you are a blushing virgin yourself, Riser?” She asked snidely, “What was it you did the last time we met, and I rejected you? Ah, yes, you laughed and pulled your Queen to you and started to maul her breasts before I had even left the room.” Riser’s expression didn’t change.

Venelana’s carefree expression broke for a moment, and her eyebrow twitched. “Devils have a more than healthy amount of lust.” She said evenly, “But that just shows a lack of control as well as a complete disregard for your intended. I often wondered why you never tried to actually court my daughter and why she claimed to despise you so much. I suppose you figured she would be yours regardless of anything you did?”

“And now, you’ve missed your chance.” Rias smirked, “You’ll never have me, Riser Phenex.”

“Riser disagrees.” He smirked back, “Riser is still willing to have you. Even sullied, a High-Class Princess is still a High-Class Princess. And let’s face it, no one else will make a better offer than Riser, especially now. No one did prior to this, after all.” He chuckled, “Not with that strange obsession you have with the human world.”

Rias was going to respond, but Izuku did first, “Are you speaking in third person? Seriously Rias, this is what you had to deal with?”

Riser glared at him, “How typical for a filthy human to not underst-”

“No, no, I get it. It makes total sense.” Izuku cut him off, “After all, neither your brother nor your parents speak that way, so I guess it’s only fitting that the third son with delusions of grandeur be the one to speak in third person.”

Several people at the table had to fight very hard to hold back their snorts. Ravel looked horrified at how he spoke with her brother, but their father hated that habit of his son’s, and almost wanted to clap Izuku on the back.

“Midoriya-san, Rias-sama, Riser-sama, please comport yourselves.” Grayfia said warningly. She got a nod from Izuku and Rias.

“You dare…” Riser on the other hand was too apoplectic to listen. “You insult Riser in his own home?!”

Rias had a faux look of apology on her face, “Izuku has a tendency to pay back in like coin, I’m afraid.” She lost the look and smirked broadly, “It makes him a very generous partner.” She shot off, knowing that was going to be the final nail.

“This will not stand!” Riser proved her right by rising and slamming his hands on the table, “Riser can see this matter will not be settled with words.” He glared at the two of them, “Riser demands this be settled through a Rating Game!”

“Done!” Rias said before another word could be said, “Terms?” She put her hand on her mother’s thigh and gave it a little squeeze when she opened her mouth.

“After this insult, Riser can see that you are not worthy of being a bride! Rias will become Riser’s concubine, and will be forbidden from trading your pieces away!” He spat at her, and Ruval, Revan, and Leylana paled as Zeoticus and Venelana both started raising their power as they stood. The fool didn’t even remember Sirzechs was at the end of the table and glaring at him with such fury that it was a miracle he didn’t disintegrate on the spot. Before the yelling could commence, Riser glared at Izuku, “And Riser will have this filthy human’s head!”

“That is the heiress of a Pillar Clan you are insulting, Riser Phenex!” Zeoticus snarled as he glared at the blonde. “You expect me to agree to-” He was cut off by Rias.

“Mother, father, sit please.” Rias said as she helped her mother back into her chair.

“Rias-” Zeoticus’s head snapped towards her, but she just gave him a smile. He clenched his jaw, but sank back down.

Ruval quickly hopped in, “I assure you, this insult will not be treated lightly, Lord Gremory.”

“Oh, no need, Ruval.” Rias smiled at the Phenex heir before staring at Riser, “This is simply Riser showing everyone exactly what he’s shown me all these years. Now you know exactly why I was so against this match. I wonder how such a lout can come from such an upstanding family? It’s such a pity he couldn’t have been more like your heir.” She shook her head in some overplayed disappointment, before focusing on Riser. “If you wish to ask for so much, I suppose you’ll be willing to put down just as much in turn.” She stood and glared back at him hatefully, “You will renounce your position as a High-Class Devil and disband your Peerage completely. Furthermore, you will be forbidden from regaining that position for a minimum of one millennia, and will be dependent on me allowing it. And even if I do allow you to regain your status at some point in the future, you must never have another woman in your Peerage.”

Riser smirked broadly, “Oh, that is certainly-”

“AND-” Here Rias smirked, “You will personally create one batch of Phoenix Tears a month for House Gremory for the rest of your life.”

Every Phenex in the house could not help but cringe, and even Riser felt a little unnerved as her eyes bored into his, unblinkingly. He quickly regained his arrogance, “Ha! Riser is impressed. That certainly is quite the demand, Rias-chan. Very well.” He declared before his family could stop him from making a mistake, “Riser agrees!” He smirked at Rias, “And Riser is even willing to be magnanimous and give you ten days to prepare. After all,” He sneered at Rias’s small Peerage, “Look at this sorry sight. A mere five members.” He waved his arm backwards, “What hope do you have against Riser’s full, complete Peerage?” He smirked at her, “Why, look at that cute little girl! She’s shaking like a leaf!”

Aika grinned broadly, “Actually, Gasper is a boy.” She said, before pausing, “Phenex-sama.” She tacked on at the end.

Riser’s smile dropped, “What?”

Ravel was incredulous, “But those legs look better than mine in a skirt!” Finally, some levity, as half of the room started to laugh as Gasper blushed bright red.

“I’m sorry.” He squeaked out, looking like he wanted to be anywhere but there.

Riser coughed into fist, his cheeks holding just the slightest tinge of pink from his embarrassment, “Uhh… moving on.” He coughed again, glaring at Rias as she smirked broadly at him. “Riser is a good sportsman. Take these ten days, Rias-chan. Riser is eager to see what you do with them.”

Izuku raised his eyebrow, “You wish to take my head and my Rias-” She smiled at this, “-and you won’t even fight me for them? I’m not a member of her Peerage, after all.”

“Riser-” Ruval tried to interject, but Riser was far too arrogant to listen.

“Ah, that’s right.” Riser glared at him, “You are still a filthy human. Why Rias has not turned you escapes Riser, but Riser is eager to put you in your place. Very well! Riser will agree to the filthy human joining the Rating Game as Rias-chan’s Champion.”

“Then we have an accord.” Rias said, before smiling sweetly at her brother, “Have these terms been witnessed and accepted, Lord Lucifer?”

Sirzechs’s jaw ground for a moment, “They have. The wager between Rias Gremory of Clan Gremory and Riser Phenex of House Phenex is witnessed and now ironclad.” He stood, “And with that, I declare this negotiation closed.”

They only stayed around for a few more minutes as the members of both families mingled, but there was noticeably more tension than there had been prior to that disastrous negotiation. The second that they were sure all members of Clan Gremory had left, Ruval whirled on his brother and grabbed him by the lapels and actually lifted him off his feet, “ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!” He bellowed so loud that Ravel squealed and backed away in a little fear.

“B-Brother?” Riser actually stammered, having never been manhandled in his life. Especially not by family.

Revan was furious, “Do you not comprehend what you’ve done, FOOL?!” He boomed, “You’ve possibly just ruined MILLENNIA of friendship between our houses! Lord Gremory looked like he wanted to GUT you and Lady Gremory wasn’t much better!”

“And that’s not to mention that you did all of that right in front of LORD LUCIFER!” Ruval let go of his brother with a snarl.

Riser swallowed, “R-Riser-”

“You will speak normally.” Leylana hissed, glaring at him, “Was THIS how you acted every time you were alone with Rias?! It’s no wonder she wanted to marry anyone but you!”

Riser had a lump in his throat as he saw no support from his family, “I-I-”

“Played perfectly into Rias’s hands!” Ruval snarled, “Are you that much of an unmitigated MORON that you cannot comprehend that?! You gave her EVERYTHING she wanted! One doesn’t make a bet like that without absolute certainty of victory! Do you not understand that?! You’ve forgotten everything we’ve taught you!” Ravel watched on, her hand over her mouth in shock. She had never seen her family like this!

“You will trade Ravel to me.” Leylana said, “Immediately.” She raised her voice when it looked like that broke through and he made to protest.

“Who knows what monstrous ability her human lover has if she’s THAT confident. And you allowed him to join the battle on top of it! Where did we go wrong?!” Revan growled out, “I should be grateful you gave her ten days.” He cracked his knuckles, “Because it gives me ten days to whip you into shape!” He grabbed Riser by the ear and practically marched him away. Ruval followed, still gnashing his teeth.

“M-Mother…” Ravel practically whimpered, worrying her hands together, “O-Onii-sama is the strongest, isn’t he? He’s never lost! So why…”

Leylana sighed, “Daughter, take note of this day. If things play out how we fear, your brother just made the biggest mistake of his life. Do not be fooled into thinking the immortality your blood provides is the same as invincibility. Clearly we failed to teach your brother that lesson.” She put her hand on Ravel’s shoulder, “Come, let’s get some tea. I need to calm my nerves.”

“Y-yes mother.” She whispered, allowing Leylana to lead her out of the room.

-]|[-

“Rias,” Venelana still had a look of worry on her face despite the fact that she knew how strong Izuku was. “Are you mad? How could you wager your future like that?!” She looked at both her daughter and future son-in-law, “What if something goes wrong? They’ll have gallons of Phoenix Tears if that’s what it takes!”

“We know-” Zeoticus raised his hand when Rias went to talk, “-that you’ve grown much stronger, but you’ve apparently grown more arrogant too. That was not a bet I ever expected you to make. Riser has age and experience on you, and no matter how powerful Izuku is…”

“The only reason I’m not taking you to task is that I’ve seen firsthand how powerful Midoriya-kun is.” Sirzechs said mildly.

“Ufufufu…” Akeno let out a giggle, “Rias-sama and Izuku-kun are going to shock the world. I can promise you that.”

Rias smiled, and hugged her parents, “I’m not only confident in our victory, but I’m also sure of it.” She let go and stared confidently at her family, “All you need to do for me…” Her grin widened, “Is enjoy the show.”

Zeoticus clicked his teeth, “Can you two win?” He stared at them seriously.

Izuku smiled, “Zeoticus, Rias could win this on her own.” He put an arm around his girl’s shoulders, and she hugged him lightly. “I’m just along for some fun.”

Venelana actually let out a frustrated growl, “This damned ability you’ve given her! You will tell me what it is!”

“Nope!” Rias laughed at the frustration on their faces.

“Oh, you’re trying to give me grey hairs! I will have my vengeance!” Her mother declared melodramatically.

-]|[-

In the end, despite the confidence that Rias, Izuku, Lavinia, and her Peerage were projecting, Zeoticus and Venelana were on tenterhooks for the entire ten day wait for the Rating Game to begin. They continued training the children where they could, but they had too much responsibility to just skive off to dedicate themselves fully to training them for the Rating Game.

The days crept on, and finally, the final day arrived. When most people in the human world would have either already been in bed or going to sleep soon, the Underworld was sitting in eager anticipation for a battle. Not only was this the debut of the Heiress of a Pillar Clan family, but the stakes for both sides were just so high.

Many more Devils were tuned in than otherwise would have been, and many famous clans were in physical attendance at the ‘party’ the Phenex and Gremory Clans were hosting. Big names such as Bael, Belial, and Belphegor were all in attendance. And that was without mentioning the presence of three of the four Maō, with only the lazy Asmodeus having failed to show interest.

“A good turnout.” Revan chuckled as he kissed Archduchess Roygun Belphegor’s knuckles.

The beautiful woman with hair the color of Sakura petals let out a small giggle, “Indeed, it isn’t every day the heiress of a Pillar Clan bets her life as a concubine. It was sure to draw interest.”

“Not much of a bet.” Sairaorg let out a laugh from beside his mother (who most of the Devils there were still utterly shocked to see awake), “After all, it’s no wager at all when victory is guaranteed.”

Diehauser Belial, a man with grey hair and eyes who stood atop the Rating Game ladder, raised an eyebrow, “And how are you so sure of that?”

Sairaorg grinned, “Oh, you’ll see.” He cracked his neck, “Honestly, I almost wish I asked Riser to allow me to be a Champion for him too. That would have been fun.”

“Sairaorg-kun,” Venelana gave her nephew a sweet smile, “Would you care to retract that statement?”

“Hey, I said almost!” Sairaorg raised his hands in surrender, “I can just fight him later.”

“Ah, that’s right.” Sirzechs side-eyed his cousin, “I’ll need to have a little word with you later, Sairaorg.” Sairaorg let out a very small wince as his mother patted him on the shoulder. “Are we ready to begin?” He looked at Grayfia.

His wife nodded, “Yes, Sirzechs-sama.” Zeoticus and Venelana grabbed each other’s hands, trying to keep their apprehension from showing.

“Let’s get this show on the road then!” Sirzechs clapped, and Grayfia cleared her throat.

…

“Welcome, everyone. I, Grayfia, servant to the House of Gremory, will act as the arbiter for today’s Rating Game between the House of Gremory and the House of Phenex.”

Izuku raised his eyebrow at their surroundings, wondering for a moment just where they had been plopped down, ‘Wait… a glass pyramid? Isn’t that… the Louvre?’ He thought to himself incredulously. ‘Did they make a whole ass Paris replica for us to fight in?’

“In the name of His Lordship Sirzechs Lucifer, I will ensure the fairness and impartiality of today’s proceedings. Based on Lord Riser’s wishes, as Lady Rias deferred the selection to him, the battlefield will be a replica of Paris.”

“You Devils don’t do anything by half, huh?” Izuku mumbled, “Does this place even have a sewer too?”

Rias chuckled, “You get used to it.” She grinned at him, “I remember this one Rating Game from a few years ago. They created a replica – a smaller one, to be sure, but a replica nonetheless – of the moon. Complete with altered gravity!” Izuku and Aika turned to her and boggled.

“Both teams have been transported to an area that will serve as their respective home bases. Lady Rias, your home base will be the Louvre. Lord Riser, yours will be Notre Dame. All Pawns, please proceed to the immediate vicinity of the opposing team’s home base when using a Promotion.” Grayfia explained to all of them.

“Would be a shame to wreck any of this, even if it’s a replica.” Izuku sighed.

“It’s time. The match will continue until there is a victor or until dawn in the human world. Let the game begin!” Grayfia announced, before a loud bell seemed to ring throughout the entire city.

“Alright everyone.” Rias smiled as she knew they were all on camera and being watched through the recording spells, “You all know what to do.”

“Do we have to, Buchou? I want to have fun too.” Akeno whined, and the watchers raised their eyebrows. Just what did Rias have planned that made her Queen think she wouldn’t get to have any fun?

“Yes. Off with you.” Rias smirked, knowing just what kind of stir this was going to cause.

“Good luck, Buchou.” Her Peerage told their King, before they all declared, “We retire!”

And pandemonium erupted as they were whisked away and Izuku and Rias walked out of the Louvre, hand-in-hand.

…

“What have you done?!” Venelana sounded utterly horrified as her daughter’s entire Peerage retired from the game the minute it had started. They all went to go join Lavinia in their seats except for Akeno, who went up to Rias’s parents.

“What Rias-sama asked us to.” Akeno pouted, “Pity, I was looking to have some fun of my own.”

“Rias asked you to abandon her?” Zeoticus sounded as dumbfounded as his wife was horrified, “By the Burning Fields, why would she ask you to do that?!” They weren’t the only ones thinking it. Practically the entire ‘party’ of watchers, High and Ultimate-Class Devils alike, as well as most of the attending Maō, had uncharacteristic looks of abject confusion on their faces. Sirzechs looked like he was one step away from cancelling this entire debacle. The only one who wasn’t reacting was Grayfia… though getting a reaction from the supermaid was usually difficult enough.

“Who said anything about abandoning?” Akeno’s S switch flipped, “Ufufufu, really Gremory-sama; after all that, you think she would simply give up? Oh no. Rias-Buchou wants to send a message.”

And with that, the onlookers turned back to the ‘Rating Game’ between Rias and Riser.

…

“Oh wow, it’s really there! I totally forgot! The Eiffel Tower is still standing in this world!” He was gushing but still had the presence of mind to cast a spell to blur his and Rias’s lips, and spoke low enough to keep from being detected through the sound spells.

Rias almost tripped over her own two feet, “What do you mean ‘It’s still standing?!’”

“Terrorists took it out in… ehhh… 2033?” Izuku scrunched his nose as Rias goggled at him, “Yeah, something like that. I never really learned all that much history that wasn’t Japan, USA, or Hero related.” He said apologetically.

“Gosh, how much more could be different?” She wondered, before brightening up, “Hey, this means we can go there for a date!”

“That should be fun!” Izuku nodded eagerly, “We-”

“Riser has seen some extreme displays of arrogance,” An unwelcome voice cut across their conversation, “But Riser must say, you two do it better than anyone Riser has ever seen.” Riser sneered at them, his Peerage smirking out at them. They weren’t surrounded, but it wasn’t by very much, “Your entire Peerage fled before Riser’s might without even fighting for you, and here you are taking a casual stroll in enemy territory. You don’t even have any weapons out.”

“Aaand he’s still talking in third person.” Izuku let out a sigh, “Yare, yare.”

“And calling us arrogant.” Rias shook her head. “Irony knows no bounds.” She said, smirking dryly.

“Don’t ignore Riser-sama!” Ile and Nel, the two lolis in Riser’s Peerage, yelled out.

Rias laughed, “Well, it’s good you showed up so quickly, Riser. This would be a good time for you to surrender.”

Yubelluna, Riser’s Queen, simply stared at the younger girl incredulously. “We have you surrounded.” She said, as if speaking to a particularly dimwitted child.

“Oh, I get it.” Rias let out a chuckle as she snapped her fingers, “You think you have the advantage.” She returned the ‘talking to a dimwit’ tone, “Honestly, my loyal Peerage leaves me without taking a step outside of our home base and you think it wasn’t ordered?” She smiled silkily as Riser’s smirk dropped for a moment, “Well, time to correct that.”

“Yes, let’s get this over with.” Izuku dropped her hand and strode forward, hands in his pockets. Unlike Rias who was still wearing her Kuoh uniform – they were still workshopping her own battle outfit – he was wearing his RAID suit. Ace was on his left hip, and Takeru was behind his back. He took one of his hands out of his pockets, “Well, come on then.” He made the ‘bring it on’ motion with his hand.

The all-female Peerage let out growls of rage. “Riser-sama!” His Knight Siris called out, “Let me take care of this arrogant cretin!”

Riser chuckled, regaining his cool, “Very well. Make it fast.”

“Yes, Riser-sama!” Siris called out, before drawing her huge Zweihänder, “Die, for your insults to Riser-sama!” She blazed forward at an impressive speed, before swinging her blade with a huge roar.

Izuku stood still… and just let the blade hit him. Gasps rang out from the rest of the Peerage as she was unable to make him even move back an inch. He raised his eyebrow, “Is that it?” Siris took a step back in shock, her blade trembling in her hand. Izuku let out a sigh and raised his hand, tucking his middle finger back in the ‘flicking’ position. Siris jumped back right as Izuku flicked, making it look like he was flipping her off.

And then she hacked as a massive blast of wind smashed her in the chest and sent her rocketing back. She crashed into a building before breaking through it, and then continued backwards, smashing into three more buildings before she came to a stop. Light enveloped her and she vanished.

“Riser-sama’s Knight Siris has retired.” Grayfia declared, shaking the confidence of Riser’s Peerage.

“One hit?” One of the twins took a step back.

Izuku rubbed the back of his head, “Man, I thought this was going to at least be a little bit of fun.” He complained, playing it up for the watching Underworld. “You guys aren’t even worth humoring if that’s the best you got.”

Riser’s Rook Xuelan looked affronted. “As if you could take me on so easily! I’m tougher than Siris!” Her fists and feet ignited in flames.

“Then I look forward to facing you.” Izuku smirked at her, “If you can stay on your feet.” His tone was ominous as his pupils shrank to pinpricks and his face hardened.

An invisible force blasted out from him, and immediately, both Riser and Yubelluna sagged as they developed intense flop sweats. It felt almost like there was something telling them to kneel. Both of them buckled and only barely managed to catch themselves. The rest of his Peerage wasn’t so lucky. One by one, feeling as if the Sword of Damocles was hanging over their necks, Riser’s entire Peerage fell to the ground, insensate and unconscious, foaming at their mouths.

There was a stunned silence even from the intercom, before Grayfia, audibly shocked, confirmed for every onlooker that, “Riser-sama’s Bishop, remaining Knight, both Rooks, and all Pawns have retired.” Their bodies glowed before vanishing from the pocket dimension.

…

“By the original Sin, what was that?!” A High-Class barked out in awe. He was one of several ‘classy’ people staring open-mouthed at the viewing screens.

“He almost made Riser-niisama fall to his knees.” The youngest Phenex breathed out in shock, one dainty hand over her lips. All of a sudden, she felt very glad that her mother had forced her brother to transfer her over. “I-Is everyone okay?”

Everyone took a moment to wait for a response, and Grayfia had barely managed to get her reaction under control, “They seem to be in good health, though strangely they are still all unconscious. Whatever Midoriya-san did, it appears their psyches have taken a major blow.”

Leylana turned to Venelana, “Where did Rias-chan find this guy?” She asked incredulously, “They were all Low-Class, yes, but none of my son’s Peerage were untrained. Some of them could even have taken their Mid-Class tests in the next few years. How have we heard nothing of this young man?”

The ice that had frozen Venelana’s spine had almost instantly thawed in hot relief, and she couldn’t help the almost nervous giggle that escaped her, “Well, as Rias-chan tells it… he quite literally fell into her lap.”

Several groans and yet more laughs rang out, “Well now, this seems like a lot more fun than I thought!” Serafall looked gleeful, “When is Rias-chan going to reincarnate him?”

“She isn’t.” Akeno said, and everyone there froze once more. Akeno smiled, her eyes glimmering with amusement, “Or rather, she can’t. She’s already tried.”

Ruval shook his head, “My brother was a fool to accept this game and allow Rias her Champion. I’m sure that he figured as long as it wasn’t Lucifer-sama, he’d be fine.”

“To be fair,” Lord Phenex chuckled, “I don’t think anyone could have called this without some form of prior knowledge.” He laughed a little harder, “Well, I suppose he still has a chance to win, even if it is looking rather remote at this juncture. This will be a good lesson for him, though it’s a shame it has to be such a harsh one.” He said good-naturedly.

“How powerful is this Midoriya Izuku for her to be unable to reincarnate him?” Roygun Belphegor asked with a small amount of incredulity.

“Ufufufu,” Akeno looked amused again, and luckily Rias had talked with her what information she was free to disclose, “Perhaps it might interest you to know that Buchou used all eight of her Pawns to reincarnate the Red Dragon Emperor a few weeks ago. This was after attempting the same with Midoriya-kun.” Aika gave them all a wave and a wink.

The party froze once more, with the entire Phenex party turning to look at her with incredulity. “The Red Dragon Emperor?” Ruval asked, looking at Aika, “She could reincarnate her and not him?”

“Indeed, Ruval-sama.” Akeno bowed to him slightly.

Zeoticus couldn’t help but laugh, “Well, if Rias-chan wanted to make a big splash for her debut, she certainly couldn’t have done much better than this!”

Venelana had relaxed completely, “My, Sairaorg-kun, you sure look amused.” She eyed her sister by marriage and her son, “Care to share with the class?”

Sairaorg couldn’t help the belly laugh that finally erupted from him, “Sorry Lords and Ladies Phenex, but your son couldn’t have gotten played any harder. I told you all Rias would only make a bet like this on a sure thing.” His grin was decidedly toothy, “Sparring with Izuku is the most fun I’ve had in over a decade.” That statement from the widely acknowledged strongest young Devil was enough to shake every single remaining remnant of confidence that the Phenex clan had in their young heir’s victory.

Serafall started and stood up straight, before staring at him, “…This wouldn’t have anything to do with those earthquakes that shook Japan a few months ago, would it?”

Sairaorg’s laugh turned sheepish, “Ehehehe, maybe?”

Everyone else immediately refocused on the screen.

…

“What was that?!” Riser growled, getting himself straightened out with difficulty.

Izuku chuckled, “Wouldn’t you like to know?” He said, before looking at Yubelluna, “You even managed to stay on your feet, Miss Queen. I’m impressed!”

“This…this is.” Riser glared at Rias, “You tricked Riser! This isn’t a fair contest! Who is this man?! Where-”

“Oh Riser, don’t be so sore.” Rias smirked at her unwanted and soon-to-be-former-officially fiancé, “Just because you’re too much of a fool to notice an obvious trap for what it was is no reason to accuse me of cheating.” Her eyes narrowed into a hard glare, “Especially when I easily could have handled this on my own.”

“You!” Riser growled out through gritted teeth, “Yubelluna!” He called out furiously.

Yubelluna leapt into the air revealing her wings, “Disappear!” She called out, thrusting her staff at the couple and shooting out a large and speedy ball of her magical power.

Izuku chuckled, “They never quite get a clue, do they?” He raised his hand, palm out. Before the ball had even gotten within three feet of him, it detonated prematurely. A massive explosion engulfed them, and Riser allowed the blast to float him up into the air next to his Queen.

“Did that get them?” Yubelluna asked her King, but was dismayed when he shook his head, looking incredibly stressed.

Indeed, the smoke cleared and revealed Izuku and Rias unharmed. Izuku allowed his hand to fall, but not before Yubelluna noticed his hand wasn’t even scuffed up or covered in soot. Her pride took a huge blow.

Riser immediately started to create a massive fireball above his head. Yubelluna hissed as she was forced to move away from her King as the sheer heat started to burn her.

The ball grew and grew and compressed until it looked like he was holding a miniature sun above his head. “Great Flame Commandment!” He roared, throwing the ball forward.

Izuku chuckled as he flipped Takeru in front of him and let it hit the ground, “Pele.”

His Homie erupted from the kanabō, and grinned wide as the fireball approached, “Ooooh, that looks tasty!” She declared, before grabbing the ball and inhaling it whole. Riser’s face was the perfect picture of dumbfounded shock as she slurped down his fire, “Oooooh, Izuku, this fire is delicious! GIVE ME MORE!” She demanded as she actually started to glow blue from the amount of heat she was pumping out.

Riser ground his teeth together, before trying something else, “Coward!” He called out, not to Izuku, but to Rias herself, “Are you even going to do anything yourself in this match?! Or are you going to hide behind him forever?!”

Rias looked up at him, before she smirked. “Izuku.” She said, “Why don’t you take Yubelluna out and then go relax with the others?” Riser’s eyes bulged over his plan actually working.

Oh, the poor fool.

“Sure.” Izuku shrugged. If that was what she wanted, that was what she would get. “See you on the other end.” He pecked her on the lips, incensing Riser, before he vanished.

“Wha-” Yubelluna didn’t even have a chance to finish her question before Izuku’s right hand clamped on her face and she found herself on the other side of the city and falling to the ground like she had been fired from an upside-down rocket silo. She flared her wings in panic to slow down, but was unable to stop and shattered the ground beneath her. “GAH!” She hacked out in agony as she got to her feet.

“You’re surprisingly tough.” Izuku said approvingly, “But I’d suggest you surrender. I’m pretty sure you can understand you’re not going to win.”

“N-Never.” She rasped, shakily taking a vial out from between her breasts and allowing a drop to fall on her tongue. Instantly, her injuries glowed and then evaporated, returning her to full health.

“Oooh, so those are Phoenix Tears.” Izuku marveled, “Those are really cool! I can see why they’re so sought after!”

Yubelluna was taken aback at the genuine praise, “Indeed, and they’re why the Phenex family is so incredibly wealthy.” She put the vial away, and readied herself.

Izuku sighed, “You just don’t get it, do you? This match was over before it began.” His eyes snapped to hers, “I’d rather not hurt you, so I’d appreciate it if you’d surrender.”

“As Riser Phenex’s Queen, I will never surrender unless he orders it!” She glared at him, “Prepare yourself!” She raised her staff, “Exp-”

Izuku left behind a trail of afterimages as he appeared behind her with Ace in hand, before she quite literally fell apart into multiple pieces, with her head flying through the air.

…

The party reacted with horror, with Revan and Leylana standing in grief. That kind of damage was actually far more than the systems protecting those in a Rating Game could contend with. Just a decapitation alone was iffy, but having their body cut into chunks as well? And that fast?! The system couldn’t react in time. Ravel had curdled like milk at watching her friend and a good mentor die.

“My, he’s much more ruthless than I expected from someone with such a cute face.” Roygun said, though her tone was anything but light.

Leylana was practically a Gremory herself in how she cared for her family’s servants. She looked furious, “This… there will need to be reparations for this! Yubelluna was a valued servant and a member of our clan.” She said, her voice ice cold.

“I don’t think so.” Akeno said, and the furious Phenex almost started to make their way towards her. Akeno had a light blush on her face and was squeezing her thighs together as she pointed at the screen, “She’s not dead.” She said with full confidence, even without knowing about Indra. “Izuku only kills those who deserve it.”

“She was sliced to bits.” Ruval spat, “How is she not dead?”

“Even the dead would still be summoned away via the system.” Sirzechs replied, finally speaking up. And they abruptly realized he was right.

“See for yourselves.” Akeno again directed her attention to the screen… where they all realized Yubelluna’s head was screaming in Izuku’s hand.

As they realized that she was indeed very much alive, and that none of her wounds were actually bleeding, one of the Devils couldn’t help but ask, “What the fuck?”

…

“I did tell you to surrender.” Izuku said dryly, with her neck stump held calmly in the palm of his hand.

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!” She shrieked, making Izuku wince.

“Just surrender and you’ll be back to normal, Miss Queen.” Izuku said reasonably.

“I’ll tear your throat out!” She snarled at him.

“Well, if you’re going to be like that.” Izuku said, before tossing her head into the air, “Room. Shambles.” He put Yubelluna back together.

And she fell over, seeing as her head was currently her right leg. Her left arm was her head. Her butt was her chest, and her boobs and back were her bottom half. Her staff was her left arm, and so on.

…

“BWAHAHAHAHAHA!” Sairaorg and Serafall were nearly falling off their couches as they roared with laughter.

“…Oh my.” Ravel looked half disgusted.

“That is not a good look for our son’s dear Queen, is it?” Revan muttered. His wife had merely slumped in relief that she was alive and didn’t care one bit about her current humiliation.

Rias’s parents were staring owlishly at the screen, “I… have no words.” Venelana mumbled, and her husband nodded in agreement, equally weirded out.

“I take it back.” Roygun was laughing lightly, “That is the face of pure evil. Beware!”

Sirzechs was only able to keep his laughter in with the stone-faced glare from his wife. ‘I know I’m supposed to be impartial, but this is COMEDY!’ He settled for simply vibrating in his seat as he tried to keep the spasms under control.

…

“I surrender! I surrender, damn it! Fix me!” Yubelluna cried out pitifully. Izuku immediately canceled his power’s effect on her, returning her to normal as she was whisked away from the false dimension. “I suppose that’s me done too then. I retire.” He glowed, and popped up into the party room rather than the med bay, where he immediately felt like a piece of meat being dipped into a river filled with piranha.

“My, my, Midoriya-kun. That was certainly a show.” Venelana said dryly.

“Venelana, Zeoticus.” Izuku bowed to his girlfriend’s parents respectfully, before straightening. “And I did tell her to surrender.”

“That you did.” Ravel swallowed, and truth be told, she was as unnerved by him as she was interested in him now. Her heart was going doki-doki and she was blushing, “Thank you for not killing Yubelluna.”

Izuku smiled at her, and her blush deepened, “She did nothing to deserve death, so why would I serve it?”

“Far more merciful than many Devils would be.” Serafall said, staring at him and calculating the chances he would let her be his master.

Beside her, Sōna let out a sigh as she pinched her sister’s side, already knowing what was going through her mind.

Izuku shrugged, before walking over to Sairaorg, “Sai.” He grinned, before the two men clasped each other’s forearms. Some of the Devils in the room were bemused that just that simple action caused a small shockwave and a very loud clap.

“My man.” Sairaorg grinned, “I haven’t laughed that hard in ages! Thanks for that!”

Izuku turned his gaze to Misla, “Lady Bael.” He greeted her with a kiss on the knuckles, “It’s good to see you awake this time.”

“Oh, none of that, Midoriya-kun.” Misla smiled brightly at him, “I think the Hero who cured me deserves to use my name, no?” She asked cheekily.

Every Devil not already in the know inhaled so sharply the oxygen levels in the room dropped, “Well, I could hardly presume…” He demurred.

“Wait!” Roygun stood, staring at him in shock, “He’s the reason you’re awake, Misla? How?!”

“That he is.” Misla smiled, “Though I would save those questions for later. There’s still a Rating Game to watch, no?”

Very, very begrudgingly, the party returned to their viewing. The atmosphere told Izuku that the battle had definitely become second fiddle compared to the new revelation. He smirked, wondering just how long it would last.

…

“Well, it’s just you and me, Riser. Just like you always wanted it, I suppose.” Rias drawled, smirking at what she had seen Izuku do to Riser’s Queen.

“Fool!” Riser spat, “You could have won! You threw away your only chance of victory! Riser is getting mixed signals here, Rias-chan.”

“You didn’t hear me, did you, Riser?” Rias asked sardonically. “I told you, I could have done this on my own. This was just a bit of fun.”

“Bah!” Riser spat to the side, “Your bravado will do you no good! Riser will win this, and will immediately claim his prize!”

“No.” Rias smiled as she was engulfed with the black and red of her Power of Destruction. “You won’t.” She was off like a shot, moving far faster than Riser had ever expected before her fist plowed into his head and exploded it like a grape.

His head turned into flames and reformed. This was the vaunted Phenex Regeneration. The power which had left Riser such an arrogant lout. “With your fists?” Riser asked as he finished reforming, “Since when do you fight like that? You’re a Magician Type!” Her body was liberally coated with the Bael clan’s specialty, and off with the watchers, her mother and brother looked delighted, even if confused at her usage of it.

“I branched out.” Rias said lightly, “Don’t think I can’t do this though.” Her Power of Destruction grew in her hand, shining with fell light.

“Don’t underestimate Riser!” The blonde roared, thrusting his hand out and matching her power for power. A massive conflagration erupted in front of him, and the two attacks fired out.

The two impacted one another, and it was like a very small nuke had gone off. The resulting explosion let out a massive shockwave that ripped trees from the ground and shattered the fake streets of Paris below them. As the conflagration crackled with lightning, Rias appeared before Riser with a Soru, her Power of Destruction forming large claws around her arms. With a yell, she swiped through Riser’s chest, cutting him into five different pieces.

He immediately regenerated from the attack and whirled around, another ball of flame in his hand, “You cannot defeat Riser’s Regeneration! Riser is immortal!” He crowed as he flung the ball at her feet. It exploded, and the Hellfire contained within engulfed her like the eruption of a volcano.

“I don’t have to!” Rias was no worse for wear, her Power of Destruction wreathing her in a protective cloak that annihilated anything and everything that Riser could throw at her, “I could simply wear you out! Even a phoenix needs to rest!” She crossed her claws and swiped both arms, sending out a net of her Power of Destruction. Riser tried to dodge it, but merely got cut into little cubes of meat like that scene out of that Resident Evil movie she had watched years ago. He flamed up, and was sweating just a bit when he put himself back together. “You look tired.” She smirked.

“Damn you, Rias-chan!” Riser growled out, “Do you have any idea what this marriage meant?! You fight against what’s best for Devil kind!”

“I fight against what’s best for you.” Rias spat at him, no longer amused, “I know exactly what this marriage would have meant. Just another lowly notch on your bedpost.”

His words had just been meant to delay as he gathered his magical power, “Great Flame Purgatory!” He roared, before engulfing himself in fire that rapidly expanded outwards in an absolutely massive sphere. Rias’s eyes widened as she crossed her arms in front of her and allowed her Power of Destruction to shield her. But this time, it was tough. The flame felt almost like a physical force. Everything it touched not only burned but was flattened. It touched the ground below and the earth roiled, quaking like an earthquake had hit. The sphere kept expanding outwards, forming a vapor ring in the atmosphere as it did so, and it crushed and immolated all the trees, melted the cars, and turned the buildings to ash. Finally, it evaporated, revealing Riser in its center, gasping for air. The ground below was melted slag in a perfect crater.

And Rias? Rias fell from the sky and crashed into the ground, still engulfed in her Power of Destruction. She shook her head as her power dissipated, “Damn…” She grimaced, feeling all of the burns that had gotten through even her defense. She let out a pained chuckle, “Okay, credit where it’s due, Riser. That was a hell of an attack.”

“Riser is more impressed you’re still awake.” Riser replied, finally something resembling respect in his gaze as he stared at Rias, “Riser changed his mind. Riser thinks you’d be a wonderful bride with strength like that.”

Rias got to her feet, “Oh, I will. It just won’t be to you.” She grinned, fiercely, “Time to show off my new party trick.” She set her feet and roared to the sky, “RAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!!!!!” She clenched her fists as lightning and her Power of Destruction crackled around her, before her skin became completely black.

Not with shadows, but with scales. Her body started to grow and warp, with the disgusting sounds of bones popping and changing erupting from her. Riser rapidly backed away, a look of incredulity on his face as Rias’s face warped, her eyebrows turning into swirling tufts, and her eyes turned dragon-like, black on red sclera. Horns started to grow from her skull, and her body continued to grow, and grow, and then elongate. Dozens of meters became hundreds as she lifted off into the sky, her massive, serpentine body coiling through the air. She was hundreds of meters long. Maybe even more than a kilometer! You could hardly tell how big she truly was with parts of her body hidden in the clouds. Just her head alone was bigger than the Occult Research Club’s building.

This was what the Uo Uo no mi, Model: Seiryū had mutated into when she had eaten it. Her Power of Destruction had the greatest of influences, and where flames had floated near Kaidō’s elbows, her mother’s clan’s signature rippled. Her scales were pitch black and yet still glowed with an odd iridescence, except for her belly, which was as red as her hair. Said hair had formed her mane, contrasting beautifully with her body. “Ehehehe! It feels good to finally get a chance to transform, Riser!” Her voice was the same as ever, but it now boomed throughout the land.

“WHAT IS THIS?! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!” Riser howled in horror as he stared at the dragon. It was a question being yelled out at practically every TV tuned into this Rating Game in existence. All around the world, Devils, Fallen, Angels, and Gods alike gaped at the impossibility before them.

“HAHAHAHA!” Rias laughed, “I TOLD YOU I COULD HAVE HANDLED THIS ON MY OWN, DIDN’T I?!” Her draconic face grinned, “Now I suggest you forfeit, Riser. Otherwise, this really might kill you!”

“I-I-It’s a trick!” Riser belted out, “It’s not real!”

“THEN I HOPE YOUR IMMORTALITY IS AS GOOD AS YOU SAY!” She roared as a massive ball of the Power of Destruction started to form in her maw. The ball of crimson-tinged darkness grew and then compressed in her gullet, with the red scales of her belly shining with that same fell light. She reared back, “EXTINGUISHED STAR!” She roared, flinging her head forward and blasting her variant of Kaidō’s Bolo Breath out at her hated fiancé.

The roaring cannon approached him, and Riser only had the barest of moments to realize this was actually real before he did the only thing he could. “I RETIRE!” He yelled in complete and utter terror before vanishing from the battlefield.

The cannon of Power of Destruction smashed into the ground and carved into it. Everything it touched was simply annihilated, and even its surroundings crumbled and shattered. As Grayfia in the viewing room grunted and had to exert more of her power to maintain the false dimension, a massive black and red mushroom fireball rose into the air like a literal atomic bomb had gone off.

The explosion seemed to pulse and shrink for a moment, before a towering pillar of the Power of Destruction seemed to erupt like a volcano, dwarfing literally everything there. The winds that buffeted the city were so intense that several of the closest buildings practically evaporated. Ones farther way groaned and creaked as they started to lean. The Eiffel Tower itself let out a tortured groan of metal as it took on a shape that made it seem like it was melting.

And then the explosion seemed to reverse course, imploding in on itself and devouring anything and everything that had been in its path. The clap back as air rushed to fill the void was insane, with the groaning Eiffel Tower replica screeching as it was ripped out of the ground and shredded as it flew to the center of the crater along with everything else that had just been on the edges of the blast. Finally, the devastation settled.

And as the very conspicuously loud silence from Grayfia said more than her words could, Rias started to cackle.

She got the sudden urge to ‘Wororororo,’ but even Izuku would tease her mercilessly for that.

-]|[-

 Damn man, my first monster chapter in a long while. Hope you all enjoyed!

It was REALLY fun watching 90% of you be wrong about Rias lmfao. I’m actually shocked at how few of you actually guessed correctly.

I’ve been planning this since before I even started writing the bloody story. I’ve been wanting to write this for so long that the last bit actually got written more than a year ago, I think. I just NEEDED to get it written.