章 26: Chapter 26: Helping Hand
I was back at my apartment, dressed in a black kimono that Azazel had given me with his parting words: "Good luck, Ryou. It's going to get hectic for you."
Looking in the mirror, I gave myself a final once-over. I looked as ready as I could be.
[Pic]
Grayfia arrived via a magic circle. "It's time, Sasaki-san." With that, I was teleported to the Underworld, in front of the building hosting the ceremony.
"It will start soon. You will be signaled to enter at the right moment. The match between you and Riser Phenex will be broadcast to private networks. Understood, Sasaki-san?" Grayfia asked sternly. 'She really doesn't seem to like me.'
"Understood, Lady Grayfia," I responded, and she teleported away while I waited.
Azazel's words played in my head. I wasn't sure what Sirzechs had planned. It could be anything, he might try to get me to turn into a devil or draw the Old Satan Faction's attention to me. But what I did know was that this was a chance to put a real step forward in this world. It was my chance to show that there's another human challenging the status quo.
I heard footsteps behind me and felt a draconic aura approaching. Turning around, I saw Issei walking towards me.
"Yo, Issei, how's it going?" I asked. He stopped in front of me and looked me up and down.
"You've changed... for the better, Ryou?" he said, and I gave him an awkward smile.
"Yeah, I think so. You planning on interrupting the marriage?" I asked, figuring he might step in even without Sirzechs talking to him.
"No, I'm your signal to enter," he replied. We walked to the building's closed doors together.
Turning to him, I asked, "Want to make this entrance memorable?"
In response, Issei summoned his Boosted Gear, and I summoned Muramasa, still sheathed.
"BOOST" the gauntlet echoed.
"So, how many boosts can you handle now?" I asked, watching as he clenched his fist.
"BOOST" he replied again, "If I push myself, I could use seven... but not for long. It drains too much stamina."
"Pretty good," I said, comparing it to canon where I recalled him managing only five with "Scale Mail" against Riser.
He turned to me. "You ready?"
I nodded, and with a shout of "Transfer!" I felt a surge of power flow into Muramasa. Swinging it at the door, it cut through like a hot knife through butter, carving a path right between Redhead and Riser.
"Seems like I missed," I said with a smirk, walking in with Muramasa slung over my shoulder. Issei slipped past me and joined the rest of his peerage.
Yells and shouts erupted from the crowd. Guards began approaching before Sirzechs intervened.
"Enough," he commanded. He didn't even need to flare his aura to quiet everyone down. Redhead watched me in shock, while Riser grew increasingly pissed.
"You are Ryou Sasaki, correct?" Sirzechs asked, to which I nodded, still unsure of his plan.
"Judging by your entrance, you object to Rias Gremory marrying Riser Phenex?" Again, I nodded.
Clapping his hands together, he surprised everyone in the room, myself included. "Splendid! I'm moved by your bravery. I must reward you for that. Do you wish to take Rias Gremory's hand in marriage instead?"
'What? Does he want to bind me via marriage?'
"No, I don't," I replied firmly.
He wasn't phased by my answer. "Then there's only one thing to do. Riser Phenex, you will fight Ryou Sasaki. If you win, Riser, you may swap one of your pieces to reincarnate Ryou Sasaki, the wielder of the Cursed Blade, Muramasa. And if you win, Ryou Sasaki, instead of her hand in marriage, you shall hold the contract. Are the terms agreed upon?"
That sly bastard. If I were challenged by someone who declared their intention to marry Redhead, I'd have to accept, as long as it was within reason.
Riser shocked at who I was, readily agreed, and so did I.
"Splendid. To save everyone's time mainly mine, the match shall take place now," Sirzechs announced, and with that, both Riser and I were teleported to an arena.
The arena was pretty basic, an open space with a floor made of stone tiles. On one side stood me, while on the other, a furious Riser Phenex. Grayfia's voice reverberated around the arena.
"I, Grayfia Lucifuge, shall be the judge. Begin."
Riser ignited like a blazing inferno, trying to end this quickly by launching a mass of flames in my direction. Undeterred, I withdrew Muramasa from its sheath and released a "Cursed Slash" to cut through the flames. With a clear path, I blitzed towards him, catching him off guard. But Riser demonstrated that he wasn't just a High-Class Devil in name, he swiftly leaned back to avoid a slash aimed at his head. He retaliated by throwing fire in my direction. I leapt back, and we found ourselves about twenty feet apart.
"You filthy monkey! I'll show you the might of Riser!" he yelled.
"Hell Fire!" A massive charge of fire erupted from his hand and shot towards me at high speed. In response, I charged Muramasa with Cursed Magic and unleashed another "Cursed Slash!" The two magical attacks collided, combining into a single mass that exploded after a few seconds.
KABOOM!
Dust obscured my vision, and the sound of the explosion left me momentarily stunned. Then, I felt heat approaching from my right and saw Riser charging at me again. This time, he swung a fire-charged fist towards my ribs, landing a solid blow and cracking them.
Ugh! Coughing up a bit of blood, I retaliated by charging my hand with Cursed Magic and landing a strike right into his nose. Both of us were sent staggering back from our attacks.
He healed before even landing on his feet and began yelling at me, "Filthy monkey, know your place!"
I shifted into a quick-draw position, channeling Cursed Magic through my body which created a dark aura around myself. Blitzing towards him faster than before, I caught him off guard, and this time he didn't have time to react. With one swift motion, I cut him in half at the waist, the cursed energy from Muramasa preventing him from healing.
"It's over, Riser Phenex. I've won."
He didn't take that well. "No! Filthy monkey, I'll show you why I'm superior!"
I pointed Muramasa at his neck, which changed his tune. "H-Hold on! Do you even know what you're doing?! This engagement is important and necessary for the future of Devils! It's not something a human like you can interfere with!"
I shrugged. "So? I'm going to become the Strongest Human. I won't let things like this set me back."
At that moment, Riser's sister, Ravel Phenex, appeared. "W-Wait! Onii-sama can't fight anymore!" I glanced over at her. "Will you take his place then?"
Before Ravel could respond, Riser, showing why I still had some respect for him despite my disdain, said, "I surrender. Ravel, do you have a Phoenix Tear on you?"
He said it in such a different tone that I almost wouldn't have thought he was the same person. Then again, no one wants to see their little siblings hurt.
Grayfia's voice rang out again over the arena. "Due to the interference by Ravel Phenex and Riser Phenex's surrender, Ryou Sasaki has won."
With that, we were teleported back to the ceremonial building.
I barely had time to unsummon Muramasa before a bullet of red hair was in my arms. "Thank you! Thank you so much for helping, even though you didn't want to!" Rias exclaimed, repeating her thanks so frequently that it became a bit annoying.
"Rias, I helped because I wanted to," I said.
She froze in my arms, looking up at me with wide eyes. "W-What did you say?"
I tilted my head, confused. "I helped because I wanted to?"
She shook her head. "No! The thing before that!"
Before I could respond, her peerage approached, all wearing relieved smiles. Akeno was the first to speak up. "Fufu~ Rias-chan clinging to Ryo-kun, are we?"
Redhead jumped out of my arms, quickly covering Akeno's mouth before she could say anything further. "Well, I don't know about you all, but I'm beat, so I'd like to go home."
Then a voice that made my body involuntarily shiver filled the air.
"Oh~ But it's quite the joyous occasion that should be celebrated with everyone close to Rias, right Ryou-kun?"
I didn't want to turn around, but I had no choice. Following Sirzechs was Venelana. 'Fuck.'
She looked at me with an amused yet intimidating expression. "It's been a while, and it seems you've grown quite close to Rias. Ara~ was my warning not enough?"
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