Chương 31: The Satan Lucifer
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The mood in the clubroom was tense. Everyone could feel the hairs on the back of their necks stand up as a grim silence loomed over them.
It would only be a matter of minutes until they would face Riser Phenex.
Each of them had put everything they had into the last 10 days, scrambling to find whatever edge they could use to challenge the possessor of [Immortality].
And now, their efforts would be put to the test.
"You all look like you're about to fight a war rather than partake in a game."
A voice broke the silence, preceded by the sound of the clubroom door opening.
Every member of the Gremory peerage turned towards the sound, astounded by the figure their eyes were met with.
He was a grown man with slicked-back brown hair, with a single strand falling down towards his lower lip.
His eyes were bright amethyst, illuminated by the rays of sun piercing through the clubroom's windows.
There were slits under his eyes, presumably scars of some sort.
He wore an all-white outfit with a pink sash around his waist, and a katana with a green hilt neatly tucked into it.
"What's with the stares? You're not fighting me, you know?" The man seemed serene, his hands clasped together behind his back as he corked his head in the direction of the Devils.
The most jarring thing about the man was the fact that not a single one in the group could read even the faintest bit of his presence.
Which meant only one of two things, either the man was a ghost, or the difference in strength between them was simply too high.
"Hello? Is no one going to say anything? I won't bite, I promise."
"Who are you?" Rias asked the individual.
The man only chuckled dryly, as if he had heard a good joke.
"You know who I am."
Chills ran down their spines.
All the man had done was release a little bit of his Mana in hopes that they would recognize him, but to his dismay all it seemed to do was terrify them to no end.
Strangely, Raynare wasn't even remotely startled by my Mana. Huh, I guess she's become even stronger than I imagined.
"Sorry, I think I went a little overboard there. Didn't mean to frighten you. However, I trust you're now aware of who I am?"
"Are you–" A woman with black hair tied up into a ponytail seemed to be the only one capable of speaking at the moment. "Taka's - father?"
The man blinked repeatedly, wondering if he had misheard the girl.
"Sorry, would you mind repeating that for me? I think my hearing's a little wonky today."
"You're Taka's father, aren't you? I didn't know you were a Magician as well. It's a pleasure to meet you."
I knew they'd be a little put off at first, but not even I could have anticipated a reaction like this…
"Uh, I'm not his father…"
The brown-haired individual wasn't quite sure how to react.
"Oh, his older brother then?"
"I'm not that either…"
"A relative?"
What's with this level of denial?
"No. I'm Taka…"
This time it was Akeno's turn to blink repeatedly, thinking what she had just heard was also a misunderstanding.
Azazel might have been right, I probably should've concealed my new self for a little longer. Oh well, the cat's already out of the bag.
"Eh?" That word resounded with basically everyone present.
["Riser-sama, Rias-sama, both teams will be teleported to the arena grounds now. I hope your teams have made all their necessary preparations."]
A mature, feminine voice was heard from some sort of speaker device.
"It looks like our meeting's going to be cut short. You can bombard me with questions all you want later, I wish you all the best of luck."
Before they could say anything, the group was whisked away by a teleportation circle.
Well… that certainly didn't go the way I expected it to. Anyhow, where exactly should I go to watch the match?
"I didn't know someone was already here," another figure had appeared at the doorway.
He was a handsome young man, who seemed to be about the same age as Takauji, at least physically.
He had shoulder-length crimson hair, and ocean-colored eyes just like Takauji's contractor. The figure wore a dark-colored suit with golden lining and ornaments that gave him the appearance of a high-end noble.
I just felt a chill go down my spine, I think it's pretty obvious who this guy is.
"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Sirzechs Lucifer-sama."
Takauji bowed respectfully in his presence, wisely following Azazel's advice and acting accordingly.
"Haha, please, just call me Sirzechs. I wasn't sure at first, but you must be Ashikaga Takauji correct? My sister's contracted Magician."
"That I am."
This guy's actually pretty friendly. But I shouldn't allow that to make me complacent. He's still a Satan, and probably the strongest one.
"Hmm. I must admit I'm a little confused by both your appearance and presence. I was informed that you were also a third-year like Rias and a human as well. But now that I look at you, neither of those seems to be true."
Calm down Takauji. You already knew he would see through everything, just say what you rehearsed.
"I went through a ritual of sorts to increase my strength recently, which caused my features to become altered."
"A ritual you say?" Sirzechs hummed. "Interesting, now I don't wish to be rude, but might I ask what race you belong to? I'm afraid I've never encountered yours before. Of course, if you don't wish to tell me that's alright. I don't intend to pry."
Here we go.
"A good chunk of my humanity, if not all of it was lost during the ritual I partook in. However, I'm not quite sure of what I've become either."
The Satan narrowed his eyes, causing beads of sweat to drip down Takauji's back.
Shit, did I mess up?
"How unique. Your power also seems to be above what I had been told, compared to a Devil you would be of the Ultimate-Class if I'm not wrong. You've taken quite the leap from the last time I received an update on your progress."
It's probably a good thing that she was feeding information about me to her brother, otherwise, he might've suspected that I was an Ultimate Class hiding my power the whole time.
I can't believe I'm saying this but, good job Rias Gremory.
"I don't wish to toot my own horn, but I do consider myself a fairly hard worker."
"That much is obvious. And I didn't mean to interrogate you, I was just a little surprised upon meeting you, that's all."
The atmosphere started to lighten a little as Takauji heaved an internal sigh of relief.
"I assure you I've taken no offense, I understand where you're coming from."
"That's good to hear. You wish to view the Rating Game between my sister and her fiance as well right?"
"Indeed."
"Then you can just go ahead and take a seat over there," Sirzechs motioned towards the couch nearest to him.
Takauji took a seat but flinched upon having Sirzechs take one right next to him.
The Lucifer tapped the air, causing a set of screens to appear in front of them.
One screen displayed the Gremory group within what looked to be the clubroom, and the other the Phenex group from the student council's chambers.
"The match is taking place in the school?"
"Of course not, the Rating Games we Devils partake in make use of a separate space which acts as the arena. We're able to change its appearance to whatever is deemed suitable, and in this case, it was decided that Kuoh Academy would be the match grounds."
That's pretty darn advanced. Interesting.
"I see," he replied despite not having a clue how that worked.
The Game Field was actually utilizing a section inside the Dimensional Gap, which was a space that existed in between the three worlds; Heaven, Earth, and the Underworld.
Thanks to the brilliant mind of Ajuka Beezlebub, one of the four Satans of the Underworld. It was made possible to mold the space into a sub-dimension they could use for the Rating Games.
"So, who do you think will win?" Sirzechs asked.
Well, obviously I can't answer Riser if I want to continue living.
"It's hard to say, I've heard of the Phenex's [Immortality]. However, I've never actually met with Riser himself or his peerage so it's hard for me to gauge them accurately."
The Satan nodded in understanding.
"Fair enough, from what I've heard you've played somewhat of a role in bolstering the growth of my sister's subordinates. Do you think they're adequately prepared for the match?"
"I think so, putting their growth aside each of her members is in possession of a variety of potent abilities. Unless Riser Phenex's peerage is also just as blessed my contractor should be just fine."
The arena and the strength disparity are in her favor. She'd need to be actively trying to lose to botch this match.
"I concur, and how about you? If you were there, how do you think you'd fair up against Riser Phenex?"
Takauji swallowed a nervous gulp as Sirzechs leaned a little closer to him, making direct eye contact with the Magician.
Telling a direct lie to a Satan is suicide. Let's not be idiotic.
"Not to sound cocky, but I think my presence would be overkill."
Riser and his entire peerage could barrage Takauji for hours on end as the latter didn't move a muscle, and even scratching the Mage would be beyond their abilities.
"Yes, I think so too."
Much to his relief, Sirzechs leaned back and returned his attention to the screen.
I have no clue what's going through his head, it's a little scary if I'm being honest.
["Both teams will be allocated 5 minutes worth of preparation time, after which the match will officially begin."]
"I've been meaning to ask, but who is that voice I'm hearing?"
"That's my wife, Grayfia. She's acting as the referee for the match."
Grayfia? I feel like I've heard that name before.
"She's a lucky woman."
"It's the other way around if you ask me."
They sat in silence momentarily.
"Out of my sister's peerage, who do you think is the strongest?"
"Are we talking strongest as in who's going to be the most useful during this match? Or strongest as in generally speaking?"
"How about both?"
"Well, for this match it'll probably be Akeno Himejima. Her destructive power combined with her natural advantage over Riser will be invaluable for their victory."
"Indeed, her Fallen Angel lineage is probably one of the most potent ones out there. As a matter of fact, I hear you were the one responsible for bringing her out of that shell?"
Ah, he knows.
"I may have nudged her, but ultimately it's her resolve that pushed her forward isn't it?"
Sirzechs smiled a little.
"Yes, it is. But I'm surprised you knew of her background before my sister informed you, could it be that you've already developed a talent for information gathering?"
The Satan turned to him again, his cerulean eyes locking with his amethyst ones.
"Not sure what you mean by that."
Right as the Lucifer was about to speak, another announcement came through the speaker system.
["The five minutes allocated for the preparation period has now ended, the barrier will be lifted in 5… 4… 3…"]
"Looks like it's starting."
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Word Count: 1952
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