Chapter 17: 17
"Urghh, that mission took longer than expected," a young feminine voice groaned out in annoyance.
The owner of that voice was a petite young girl with pale skin, golden eyes, and long purple hair that was tied to a braid. She was wearing a dark blue sleeveless dress that barely reached her knees. She was also wearing a short cape with a hood in it that had two pointy tips. In her hands was a scythe with a cartoonish skull between the pole and the blade.
This girl's name is Bennia, a Reaper-Human hybrid. She had just came back to the underworld from a mission that should have taken her a few days, but ended up being more than a week, and now had to report to Hades.
"I just know that Lord Hades is going to yell at me," Bennia complained while scratching the back of her head. She wasn't too young to notice that the Greek God of Hell didn't like her, even though she never actually did anything to him. "Whoa!" Bennia stopped herself as she almost fell over something.
Looking at what she almost fell into, Bennia was surprised to see a big crater… a VERY big crater at where Hades' castle is supposed to be. Not only that, but she can see that the crater covered the entire area of the underworld that is owned by the Greek pantheon.
"What… what happened here?" Bennia couldn't hide the shock in her voice as she looked in disbelief. However, her look suddenly turned to one of excitement. "Wait, does that mean I don't have to report to Lord Hades anymore?" she asked, seeing this as a way out of Hades' anger.
…
"What got you so gloomy?" Judai asked Rias Gremory as they were on their way to school.
The four brothers, Xenovia, Koneko, Akeno, and Kiba were also with them on their way to school. In contrast to the others, who looked awake, the Gremory heiress looked a little sleep deprived with a cloud of depression over her head.
"It's the day of the family class visit," Rias replied as she sighed heavily. "My brother is coming, and from what he told me, my father is as well. I just know they'll do something to embarrass me," she loved her family dearly, but they can be a bit too much for her sometimes.
"I think that's pretty much the whole existence of being a family, they embarrass you," Yuto commented.
"Yup/Yeah/True that," his brothers all agreed with their way, causing the Gremory Peerage to be somewhat surprised that they didn't feel insulted.
The Gremory heiress sighed again. "It's not that I don't want them to be there, it's just that they sometimes take it a little too far," she admitted, remembering how her father and brother act.
"I think that's because Zeoticus and Venelana always wanted another kid, and that Sirzechs wanted a little sibling," Judai mumbled with a hand on his chin. Rias wasn't really surprised that the Supreme King knew her parents considering who he is. "But, either way, what else do you have planned for today?"
Rias shook her head. "No, nothing special. Just go through school as usual. Except with the parents visiting," she said taking a deep breath.
"Yes, go through school like usual," Yuri started as his smirk turned somewhat dark. "Just ignore that your parents are there, giving out embarrassing stories about you, and filming you to embarrass you later," he listed out, causing the depressing aura around Rias to grow. "What about you, Akeno?" he asked turning to said woman.
The Gremory Queen tensed for a second. "I… really don't have any family to pay a visit," she replied.
"I'm sorry for asking," Yuri apologized, which caught his brothers off guard because the apology sounded sincere.
Rias was getting concerned over her Queen, her former depression gone. However, much to her relief, the Supreme King changed the subject. "By the way, did any of you invite the White Dragon Emperor?" Judai asked much to their confusion.
"Uhmm… no," the Gremory heiress answered before raising an eyebrow. "Why would you ask that?"
"Because he's right there threatening Issei," Everyone's eyes widen and they immediately looked at where Judai was pointing.
They saw Issei standing in front of Vali with Asia hiding behind the former. The white Emperor was apparently trying to intimidate the confused Red one by pointing a finger at where his heart is supposed to be.
Thinking that their Peerage mates might be in danger, Kiba and Xenovia immediately summoned their respective swords and moved in, appearing beside Vali while pointing the edge of their blades at his neck.
Vali did not seem surprised, which means he knew they were coming. "I hope you are not planning any harm towards my family, White Emperor," Rias threatened getting closer.
The White Emperor smirked. "I'm not. I'm simply here to see my so-called 'rival'," what he said, despite the situation, sounded genuine. His eyes then fell on the four brothers. "But, with you four here, I suppose I don't need him anymore," his smirk got a rather insane glint.
"I guess that Albion told you about us," Yuya stated rather than asked. He and his brothers already knew that the white dragon would explain who they are after their last meeting.
Yuto narrowed his eyes, understanding what Vali was saying. "If you expect us to fight you, then you're delusional. We have no interest in joining that pathetic showdown between those two pathetic excuses for Dragons that you two have," he commented harshly.
The White Emperor glared slightly. He might not care about many people, but he did care about Albion. "Are you too scared to fight me?" he mocked.
"Please," Yugo scoffed, crossing his arms. "You're just hosts powering through your Dragons, but we're actual Heavenly Dragons. You're a few hundred years too young to actually fight us," he and his brothers can tell that Vali is talented, but wasn't on the level of actually challenging them.
"I don't know," Yuri hummed curiously as he stepped closer to Vali. "We already know how pathetic Ddraig and his host are," Issei flinched at his words. "But we still don't know how weak you are, maybe I should test that for myself," he added with a sadistic smile.
Vali smirked back, excited about the proposition of a fight, only for Albion to suddenly speak into his head. [Vali, get back, now!] his host followed the White Dragon's words and jumped back a few paces, making distance between himself and the Starve Venom Dragon.
Most of those around looked confused, except for Haou and the four brothers. Vali kept a cautious eye on the pink-haired sadist. "(Albion, what's wrong?)" the white-haired young man asked his Dragon telepathically.
[Vali, I will let you fight any of the other Heavenly Dragons, except Yuri,] the Dragon turned Sacred Gear replied, causing further confusion for his host. [Trust me, you do not want to fight him. You should leave while you can,] he instructed.
Vali decided to listen to the spirit inside his Sacred Gear, despite his desire to fight. "I guess I'll be leaving," he said before adding, "Soon, the leaders of the three Factions will meet together in order to speak about what Kokabiel had done. I will be coming over with Azazel." Just as he was about to leave, he looked at Judai. "But, before I go, I would like to know, who are you? I can tell you are powerful, yet you don't feel like any race I've encountered, or that you have a Sacred Gear."
Judai grinned and pointed at himself with his thumb. "I'm your friendly neighborhood Spi- oh wait, I don't have copyrights to say that," he cut himself off, earning a laugh from the four brothers, a smirk from Koneko, and a deadpan look from Vali.
The White Emperor was somewhat confused. This was definitely not the person he saw kill Kokabiel. He couldn't see why Azazel feared this guy. Not to mention that Albion couldn't tell his host anything about the Supreme King.
"Well, it doesn't matter, I suppose," Vali dismissed it, believing that he would get his answers soon enough. "Issei Hyoudou, you and I are destined to battle, so you better get stronger. Otherwise, you won't be able to put up much of a fight," with that, the White Emperor walked away, seemingly done with what he would say.
When he was gone, Yugo immediately said, "I can tell he has major Daddy issues," rather rudely.
"You can't just say that!" Yuya scolded his brother for the remark that he would expect from Yuri.
"I didn't hear you deny that," was Yugo's reply.
"One thing is clear, he's taking being the Dragon Emperor more seriously than Issei," Yuto commented, noticing his attitude.
"Hey!" Issei looked rather insulted. "I'm trying my best!" he said.
"At being a better fighter or being a Harem king?" Judai asked causing Issei to start having a look of conflict.
Truthfully, Issei really couldn't tell at this point. He did want to be a Harem king, but he also wanted to be a better fighter in order to protect his friends. Ever since what Haou had said to him about his friends dying if he couldn't choose, the Red Emperor has been in conflict.
"Well, there are a few things we should talk about, so we'll be going to the club room after school," Rias said, trying to change the subject from her Pawn was getting uncomfortable.
"Okay, now we just have to go through the parents' meeting," Judai said, which caused Rias to flinch, remembering the current predicament.
…
The day went on as normal as it gets for when parents are visiting their children's school. Rias was keeping a calm posture while going through classes, surprisingly enough. Akeno was looking at a few students' mothers with something similar to envy and Judai… well, he slept through most classes like usual.
While Zeoticus looked shocked at seeing the Supreme King walk into class, he still managed to regain his cheerful attitude. It was obvious that Sirzechs had already informed his father of Haou being here.
Truthfully, the Supreme King wasn't completely interested in this event. However, he had to admit that the embarrassed look on Rias whenever her brother or father waved at her was hilarious.
Plus, this event gave him a chance to see Serafall again, so he wasn't complaining. Judai can hardly wait to see the look on Sona's face when she realizes that all her efforts at hiding this day from her sister were for nothing.
Judai yawned as he came out of class. "Man, school is boring," he complained.
"Why are you complaining? You slept most of the time," Rias pointed out as she speed-walked out of the classroom, hoping to get away from her father.
"Well, that just proves that class is boring even to those who are sleeping," Judai retorted as he and the Gremory Queen tried to keep up with the runaway heiress.
Rias didn't stop walking until she got the courtyard and saw Issei with Asia. Issei seemed to be holding something in his hands that he was trying to hide, while Asia looked as cheerful as always.
"Oh, hello, president," both Gremory pieces greeted seeing their King and Queen.
"Hello, Issei, Asia," Rias greeted, the sight of those too distracting her from her earlier thoughts about her father.
"How's it hanging, you two?" Judai asked, hoping to get over the boredom of school.
Asia smiled brightly. "We're doing great. Today is so much fun. Issei's parents are so nice, and we got to make sculptures in class today," she said enthusiastically. She had never experienced a normal school, much less events like these, so it was all new and exciting for her.
Asia's cheerful attitude seemed to be infectious, as it clearly helped Rias get over her embarrassment from her father, and Judai to get over his boredom. "Well, I'm glad you're having fun," Rias said before raising an eyebrow. "You made sculptures? What did you make exactly?"
Issei seemed to tense for a moment before presenting something. "I-I made this for you in class," he mumbled.
What Issei was holding was a small, grey sculpture of Rias. Her hair was moving around her to make sure that it covered her privates, while she was standing in a sensual pose.
Rias took a hold of the sculpture, while Judai gave Issei a deadpan look. "Seriously, dude? You had to take your perversion into class?" he might not be someone who always followed the rules, but he still knew that there were limits to such actions.
"Hey, I honestly didn't mean to. It just… happened," despite the pathetic excuse, the Supreme King can tell that Issei was honest, so he let it go for now.
"I'm very flattered, Issei," Rias said with some pink on her cheeks. "I'm definitely going to keep this."
"Maybe you should make one for Asia as well. I'm sure she'd like to pose for you," Akeno teased, causing Issei and Asia to blush imagining such a scenario.
"Come on!" "Hurry up!" "Hot Milky Magical girl, here we come!" a few boys said as they ran by them.
The Devils seemed to look confused at what just happened, while Judai smirked. "It looks like my date is here," he said as he started going after the boys.
"Date?" Rias asked confused before her eyes widen. "You don't mean…" she trailed off, only to see Judai smirk at her.
Having a pretty good idea who he was talking about, especially after remembering what the boys said, Rias started speed-walking towards where the boys went, with her Peerage members and the Supreme King following close by.
When they got there, Rias' suspicions were confirmed when they found none other than Serafall Leviathan, standing on a stage while taking poses in her magical girl costume as the boys were taking pictures.
"Wait, isn't that Sona's sister?" Issei asked, remembering seeing the girl after Kokabiel's attack. "Why is she dressed like the Milky Magical girl?" he added.
Asia looked at Issei in confusion. "How do you know what her costume is called?" she asked.
The Red Emperor crossed his arms. "I have a friend who is really into this stuff," he said rather proudly, causing the Gremory Bishop to tilt her head in confusion.
"Knock it off!" Saji suddenly appeared between the students and Serafall. "This is still school ground, so behave yourselves and leave," the boys obviously didn't like that, and they started voicing their complaints. "President has given me the authority to dish out punishment, so I'll say it again, leave!"
With that, the boys thought it was no longer worth it, and they all started walking while muttering many unkind things toward Saji for stopping their show. The Gremory members and the Supreme King stood aside as the boys got out.
"Alright, are you here for someone?" Saji asked, seemingly forgetting who Serafall is as she nodded her head. "Well, I'm sorry to tell you, but your clothes are not appropriate for today's event, so please go change," he said to her.
Serafall did a spin while twirling her wand. "Sparkle shine, your command is mine!" she sang out with a wink which surprisingly burst some sparkles to appear.
Saji looked taken back and seemingly didn't know what to do. However, before he can say anything else, Judai spoke out. "Looking good, Serafall!" he called out walking towards the stage.
The current Leviathan looked and saw the Supreme King, causing a huge smile to appear on her face. "Judai!" she cried out, jumping off the stage towards the Supreme King.
Judai caught her and spun her around as they laughed together. The Gremory Devils thought it was sweet, while Saji was silently panicking as he realized who Serafall is after hearing her name.
"I'm so glad that you made it," Judai said as he stopped spinning around and simply held Serafall in his arms.
"And I'm glad that you told me about this," Serafall replied, confirming Rias' suspicions that the Supreme King told her with Sirzechs. "Can you believe that Sona kept this a secret from me? when you told me, I was so mad that I almost attacked heaven," she complained while pouting cutely.
"Yeah, that sounds like something you would do," the Supreme King chuckled, knowing that she was being serious. While most wouldn't find this a laughing matter, he honestly couldn't care less if heaven was attacked.
The doors to the court suddenly burst open. "What's going on here!" Sona called out as she got in. "Saji, I thought I told you to handle-"
"So-tan!" the Sitri heiress tensed as her sister yelled out her nickname while jumping from Judai's arms and running towards her. "There you are, So-tan!" Sona simply remained frozen in her place. "What's wrong? Why do you look embarrassed? Your face is turning red."
True to her words, Sona's face gained a small blush of embarrassment. "W-Why are you dressed like that? It is inappropriate for school grounds," she replied, trying to keep her respectable aura.
"But I just want to be a magical girl! Why are you being mean to me? I just wanted to hug my little sister and visit her on this special day. We should run into each other, hug, and kiss like really close sisters!" Serafall complained, flailing her arms with a childish pout.
Sona's embarrassment seemed to only grow. She then caught sight of Judai walking closer. "You, you told her about today, didn't you?" the Sitri heiress questioned, knowing that she did her best to keep this event a secret.
"Yeah, I told her," Judai said, rather proud of himself.
"So-tan, aren't you going to give me a hug?" Serafall questioned again, spreading her arms.
The Sitri heiress took a deep breath and tried to get her embarrassment under control. "I am the student council president, and this is an important event, as such, I have a lot of work to do?" she said, obviously making up an excuse.
"But isn't greeting your family part of your duties?" Judai asked with a raised eyebrow, obviously seeing a weakness in Sona's excuse. "You are the student council president, so you should set a good example for the students and greet your family properly," he said making Sona flinch. He suddenly grabbed Serafall by the armpits and lifted her in front of Sona, almost like holding a puppy. "Come on, how can you say no to this cutie."
"All I want is a hug, So-tan," Serafall pleaded, giving her sister the strongest puppy-eyes look anyone has ever seen.
The Sitri heiress looked troubled. While her sister tended to be embarrassing, Judai had a point about setting a good example for other students by greeting her family properly, even if that family tended to embarrass her a lot.
"I-... I suppose one hug can't be-"
"Yay!" Serafall didn't even let Sona finish as she immediately enveloped her in a hug. The current Leviathan looked at the Supreme King. "Come on, Judai, group-hug!"
Sona's eyes widen. "W-Wait, I didn't agree on-" Judai didn't allow her to finish either as he also joined in the hug, trapping Sona between himself and Serafall. The Sitri heiress simply blushed deeper at the situation she was in. "You're both crazy," she mumbled, which caused the two holding her to laugh.
"Well, this seems to be the lively place," Someone suddenly said.
Rias turned around and saw Zeoticus. "Father," she, greeted giving a respectful bow. The others did the same.
"Uncle Gremory," Serafall let go of her sister and went towards the current head of the Gremory family.
"A pleasure to see you again, Lady Serafall," Zeoticus greeted. Despite being older, he still had to pay respect to a Satan. "Though, I'd say it's been longer since I've seen you," he added towards Judai.
Haou's golden eyes appeared as he also let go of Sona, much to her joy. "It certainly has been a while, Zeoticus," the Supreme King offered a handshake, which the red-haired man accepted. "How have you and Venelana been?" he asked.
"Pretty good," Zeoticus replied with a friendly smile. "Although, she misses you and Yubel. Everyone was surprised when your people suddenly vanished."
"I'm sorry, but I had to think of my people," Haou replied and Zeoticus nodded, understanding that Duel Monsters must have had a problem.
"Understandable. At least I can see that you're alright," Zeoticus said as they all started walking out of the court, with Serafall linking her arm with Haou.
It wasn't long before they saw someone else with red hair. "Isn't that Sirzechs?" Haou asked, making Rias tense, not wanting her brother and father at the same time to embarrass her.
The current Lucifer had also caught sight of them and smiled. "Ah, father, Rias," he greeted with Grayfia at his side like always.
However, they weren't alone as there were two other people with them that Issei recognized. "Mom? Dad?" he asked.
"Oh, hello Issei, there you are," Issei's father greeted while crossing his arms.
"Greetings Mr. and Mrs. Hyoudou," Asia greeted with a bow, being respectful to the people that took her in.
"We met Sirzechs and thought it was Rias," Mr. Hyoudou said before chuckling. "I suppose red hair is a family trait."
"Indeed it is," Zeoticus said, chuckling at the joke as well. "I am Zeoticus Gremory, the father of Rias and Sirzechs, Zeoticus. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Hyoudou," he greeted with a friendly smile.
"The pleasure is all mine," the older Hyoudou replied before turning his gaze to the Supreme King. "And who might you be, young man?" Issei's father asked seeing Judai and Serafall.
"My name is Judai Yuki. I guess you can say that I'm your son's friend," Judai replied, surprising Issei that he said he was his friend.
"Ah, it's great to know that my son has friends that don't look like shameless perverts," Mrs. Hyoudou sighed happily, causing her son to flinch and Judai to chuckle.
"We were about to invite Sirzechs to join us, would you also like to come," Mr. Hyoudou suggested, much to Issei and Rias' horror, almost hearing all the embarrassing stories already.
"Sure, that sounds lovely," Zeoticus accepted, wanting to get to know the family of his daughter's obvious crush.
"What about you, young man," Issei's father asked Judai, which actually caught the interest of others.
The brown-haired teen shook his head. "Sorry, but I have some business to take care of with friends from out of town," he politely declined, remembering that he has to go to the Greek Pantheon pretty soon.
While most were confused, Sirzechs and Serafall seem to have understand why he declined, which is implied by their serious looks. "Well, that's such a shame. Anyway, we hope to meet you again soon," Mrs. Hyoudou replied.
The Supreme King nodded and was about to leave when Serafall suddenly kissed his cheek. "Good luck," she whispered to him before suddenly grabbing Sona's hand and began skipping away. "Come on, Sona, we have the entire day to enjoy!" she sang out, her enthusiasm not shared by her sister from the look on her face.
Meanwhile, Judai just waved goodbye towards the two sisters before going on his own way as the Gremory and Hyoudou family went towards the latter's house, much to Issei and Rias' embarrassment.
…
At the end of the day, we find Haou and the four brothers along with Xenovia at the front of their house. "So, you're leaving to deal with Greek pantheon?" Yuri asked, to confirm why Haou was leaving.
The Supreme King nodded. "That's right. If I want to be back by the time for the meeting between the Three Factions, then I need to leave tonight," he explained his reason for leaving at such a time.
"Lord Haou, are you sure it's a good idea to leave alone?" Yuya asked with a raised eyebrow. "I don't doubt that you'll do fine, but I still believe that you should someone by your side."
"I already have that planned out," the Supreme King replied. He already expected people to demand he takes someone with him. It was one of the downsides of being the king of an entire world, people were always frantic about your safety.
Suddenly, a golden portal appeared on the ground behind Haou. From the portal, came out a humanoid Warrior. He was wearing a pure white bodysuit that covered his entire body under a golden and white angel-like armor. He was also wearing a golden helmet with a grey visor and red eyes. On his back was a pair of metallic wings. There was a large cleaver on each side of his waist. On his left shoulder was a red '39'.
The four brothers looked surprised at seeing the Warrior, while Xenovia was entranced by his looks which looked like the very definition of 'guardian angel' to her.
"Good to see you again, Utopia," Haou said, turning to face the Warrior.
The Warrior nodded his head before giving a bow of respect to the king of Duel Monsters. Xenovia can see that he was not much of a talker. Either that, or he couldn't speak at all.
"A member from the 39 squad?" Yugo whistled, impressed that someone so important was assigned to go along Haou.
"We'll be leaving now, is that alright with you?" Haou asked, wanting to know if Utopia wanted to rest after traveling here. However, the Warrior shook his head. "Very well," the Supreme King then turned to the four brothers. "Yuri, you're in charge until I return. Just make sure you four don't burn this town up," he said, insulting the four brothers and causing them to flinch.
With a wave of his hand, Haou created a golden magic circle around himself and Utopia before they both vanished in a flash of light. "Who… who was that?" Xenovia asked after a moment of silence.
"That was Utopia," Yuto was the one to answer her question. "He is a part of something called squad 39, an elite group that answers to Haou alone," he explained.
"What do you guys want to do until Haou returns in the meeting?" Yuya asked, not seeing anything to do.
"Just make sure it's nothing chaotic," Yuri instructed, not wanting to disappoint the Supreme King for leaving him in charge.
However, that statement only got deadpan glares from his brothers. "Did you, of all people, tell us to not be chaotic?" they and, surprisingly, Xenovia asked at the same time.
The Starve Venom Dragon looked confused. "What?" he asked.
They all looked away and gave the same reply. "Nothing."
…
Somewhere else, Vali was standing at the forest in Kuoh. However, he wasn't alone. Behind him were two other figures covered in shadows, and in front of them was what appeared to be a little girl, standing in the middle of a clearing.
The little girl had long, pitch-black hair, pale skin, grey eyes, and was wearing a Gothic Lolita dress with the chest part being missing and replaced by mere duck-tape. She had an emotionless expression on her face as she kept gazing at the moon, her back facing Vali and the other two figures.
"Katerea Leviathan is planning to make an attack on the peace summit," Vali reported, putting his hands in his pockets.
The little girl simply kept looking at the moon and replied. "Let her do as she pleases. What happens between them is of no concern of mine," she replied. What the descendent of Leviathan had planned wasn't really important to her or her goal. "I can feel his presence…"
Vali raised an eyebrow, wondering what the girl was talking about. "Whose presence?" he asked
"It doesn't matter," the girl shook her head before finally turning to face Vali. "Just proceed as planned, and don't fail," she instructed before tilting her head to the side. "Also, get me a fried shrimp sandwich."
Vali and the two figures all blinked in surprise. "What?" the White Emperor asked, not sure that he heard her correctly.
"Get me a fried shrimp sandwich," the little girl repeated, somewhat annoyed.
"You… you're not serious, right?" one of the figures asked in a female voice.
The girl's eyes narrowed as purple aura started covering her, causing them to panic slightly. "I said: Get. Me. A. Fried. Shrimp. Sandwich."
(A/N: Thank you for reading this.
First, I am so, SO, sorry for the late update. You have the right to be mad at me. I admit, I was lazy. I will not make up any excuses and take all your hatred head-on.
Second, as you can see, Bennia appeared, and yes, she will have another appearance soon.
Third, I'm sure you noticed that Issei is starting to change. As much as he needs character development, I can't do it overnight, so it's going to happen slowly, but you'll definitely notice it's there.
Fourth, not much action happened in this chapter. Mainly because this part of the series itself was just fillers and the two families meeting. I'm sorry if you didn't like it.
And lastly, about the meeting with Vali. To put it simply, wouldn't you have done the same if Yuri was standing in front of you?
Again, thank you for reading this. Please comment, review, and give me your thoughts on my story.)
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