CxC Chapter 29: Ira (Patreon)

By the way, I have a question for you guys, what are your opinions on Expies? Do you guys want to see some characters from other fiction made to fit the world of DxD or do you guys not like Expies? I'd love to know. And if you do, I am more than open to hearing suggestions.

~Yuta Yukimura~

I recognized who this man was, Riser Phenex, third son of the Phenex Family and Rias' fiancee, I learned about it from Rias' Devilpedia page. I didn't think much of him when I first learned about him but he really rubbed me the wrong way for some reason I just couldn't place.

He glanced around the room with those condescending eyes of his before strutting toward Rias languidly like he owned the room. I could see that no one in this room felt comfortable with him around.

"What's with the silence, is this any way to greet your beloved fiancee Rias?" I reigned myself in, I knew nothing about this situation, I only became a devil less than a month ago, I shouldn't poke my nose into where doesn't belong.

At least Rias seemed similarly displeased as she frowned.

"What are you doing here Riser? I made it quite clear that I don't wish to marry you!" Riser reached his hand out toward her but she slapped it away, making his face contort in annoyance before sneering.

"Really? You still want to act like a child Rias? Do I need to remind you of your family's circumstances? They are the ones who want to marry into the Phenex because of their rough spot, not the other way around. If your family is desperate enough to not care about your childishness, think about how your rejection will reflect on your family." His voice is just... so goddamn irritating.

When did my temper become this irritable? I faced much more irritating situations before. I have faced much greater injustices yet here I am getting riled up so easily.

"I do not intend to bring my family down, but at the same time, I refuse to marry the likes of you. If I am going to marry, I am going to marry whoever I like." Riser frowned, closing the gap between them and looking down on Rias.

"Rias, your father and brother already agreed on this with the future in mind, I'm sure I don't need to lecture you about the decline of pureblood devils. Yet you are the only one refusing the olive branch my family extended."

"Still, I won't marry you, Riser." Rias scowled similarly.

I felt the room heat up as Riser glared at Rias grabbing her chin as I clenched my fist hard enough to draw blood from my palm. You don't know what you are doing, I said to myself. You are just going to make things worse if you act without knowing. I repeated in my head.

Know your place I heard in my mind.

"You know Rias, I have been quite patient with you for a long time but even I have my pride as a son of the Phenex Family, I will bring you back to the underworld with me, even if I have to incinerate your servants to do it." As the brewed I closed my eyes.

My patience finally fell apart.

I struggled to connect with people, after my parents died I stopped making an effort to connect myself to anyone, life was oh so fragile and fell apart in a second. I stopped trying to memorise names, I developed a view of apathy toward the world, if I don't care I won't get hurt. That is what I told myself. Eventually, I stopped talking to people altogether and stopped leaving my house.

Gacha or not, Rias revived me. Not only that but she cared for me without expecting anything in return, she just wanted to get along with me and for me to get along with her peerage. If Rias hadn't done that... I probably would have ended up the same as my old world.

I would have shut myself away from the world and just cared about nothing but tinkering with the gacha or something without Rias putting a foot in the door. I may have never asked for anything she did to me but she never tried to hurt me and always tried to help me.

So seeing Rias, the reliable girl who gave me my chance at a proper life and introduced me to so many people get so uncomfortable and uncertain did not sit right with me, I couldn't sit still, my body refused to.

Before I had even thought about it my body moved and I roughly grabbed Riser's arm and yanked it away, making him turn to me as I glared at him.

"Do not touch her. It should be pretty clear that you aren't welcome here."

Riser frowned and looked at my hand holding his arm, he reached out with his other hand and grabbed my arm, pulling it off his with a scathing look, his arms felt like they were iron, he was definitely stronger than me, by magnitudes even.

But I didn't care.

"Who the hell do you think you are to lay a hand on me? Do you even know who you are talking to, you plebian?" He squeezed down on my arm with his hand and I felt it fracture but my face didn't twitch, I felt much worse before, he frowned when he saw my lack of reaction.

"I do, you are the fucking bastard who barged in like he owned the place, insulted my king and my friends, and threatened to kill us. I don't care about anything else, you could be Satan himself or the god of death, it doesn't change shit What about it?." I looked him dead in the eyes as silence reigned over the clubroom and Riser snarled. His hand shot up and grabbed my neck, choking me but not trying to break my neck.

"Riser stop this right now!" Rias said, snapping out of her trance but Riser didn't seem to hear as he applied pressure on my throat, I didn't bother grabbing his hand but my gaze didn't waver in the slightest.

"Care to repeat that? Who the fuck do you think you are? You are acting quite arrogant against your future king, aren't you? If you apologize, I might just put you down." He applied a little more pressure on my throat, cutting off my supply of air but I didn't say anything.

"Make me, you little bitch."

Riser's face hardened and silence reigned over the room once the words left my mouth while I indignantly smirked at Riser who looked ready to kill me. The room got way hotter as his fist got covered in flame and he glared at me.

"Alright then! Fine! Since Rias won't it falls to me to discipline her servant!" I phased out of his hand using ghost form before rematerializing along with a violent sandstorm that came to life on my arm, ready to shred Riser's face or get maimed trying.

Riser was surprised for a moment but raised his hand anyway while I saw Kiba and Koneko ready to jump into action in the corner of my vision. But just as I swung my hand to release a sand blade and Riser was about to grab me everything felt like it was frozen in place as a wave of incredibly thick magical power swept over the room, stopping everyone in place and extinguishing all of the attacks.

"I will not tolerate violence happening in this meeting." Say that to my broken arm. I saw Grayfia was emanating such power that even Riser had to step back. "From either party."

Then I saw behind Riser, Rias with her hand raised, glowing with a red-black aura that screamed danger, the Bael's Power of Destruction, this was the first time I saw her use it. And unlike before when she looked uneasy. she looked completely certain and angry as she glared at Riser.

"Riser, try to hurt Yuta again and I will shred you." Rias' voice was angrier than I had ever heard of before, she looked completely ready to blast Riser right here and now. Riser's face twisted in anger before he clicked his tongue and swaggered over to the couch, splaying himself across it with an exaggerated motion.

"Now now, Rias, is that any way to treat your fiancee? I feel insulted. Especially after you let your pet disrespect me like that." Kill him, I'm gonna kill him, I will make him envy what Freed got.

Rias simply levelled a glare at the nonchalant Riser, she was finally done taking his shit.

"Do not call me that Riser, I refuse to be married to someone like you." Riser scoffed.

"And? So what? The decision has already been made so stop acting like a petulant child and accept reality."

The air grew heavy as Rias exchanged a look with Grayfia, as if having agreed on something beforehand and staring at Riser with fire in her eyes.

"Riser Phenex, I challenge you to a Rating Game to settle this." Riser raised an eyebrow as Rias' peerage looked with shocked eyes, I on the other hand just watched with intrigue, mostly because I couldn't remember what a rating game was.

"Hey now Rias, you can't be serious, you aren't even qualified to participate in a Rating Game anyway." That was when Grayfia intervened.

"Actually, I have received permission from Lord Sirzechs Lucifer to officiate a rating game between you two if Lady Rias insists on refusing the arrangement to settle the matter." Riser scoffed loudly.

"Really? You are really challenging me to a rating game Rias? You haven't had a single game yet and I have had numerous, and even putting that aside, you don't even have a full set of pieces. Are you trying to joke with me?"

"These are my conditions Riser, if you do not like them you are free to annul the wedding yourself." Riser and Rias held each other's gazes before Riser stood up with an angry expression.

"Fine, I accept your ridiculous challenge. I'll put an end to your stupid resistance once and for all, maybe your precious servants getting a little burnt will teach you a lesson to not be such a stubborn bitch next time."

Rias glared at him with hateful eyes.

"Since you have accepted, leave now Riser, you have no reason or right to be in my territory until the game date. Leave, or I will have to ask Grayfia to escort you out." Ah, I forgot that as much as Grayfia seemed like a neutral party here, she was still a servant of the Gremory's and had full justification to throw Riser out, and from her eyes, I knew she was fully willing to.

Riser created his magic circle but not before turning around to spit out some last words.

"You will regret this Rias, maybe not now but when I break your precious servants you will." And with that, he vanished into a burst of flames and teleported away as Rias slumped down, like her soul had been sucked out of her. While Asia sprinted over to me, fussing over my neck and quickly healing the bruises.

That was... infuriating.

I shook my head, frustration can come later, since nobody felt like speaking right now I addressed Rias.

"So, Rias, what happens now?"

Rias got up from her chair and stood in the middle of the room, her pose trying to convey confidence.

"The Occult Research Club will be taking a temporary break from school to go on a training trip to prepare against Riser Phenex." I nodded and so did my peerage mates, showing their solidarity but I still had a question remaining.

"So... anyone care to inform me about what a Rating Game is?"

I was met by flat stares all around, Akeno looked at me with concern.

"Yuta-kun... you didn't know? Why did you accept then?"

I shrugged my shoulders.

"Well, it looked like it was pissing off that bastard, I didn't need any other reason beyond that."

I was going to tear that bastard apart.

A/N: This was only going one way, unfortunately, Yuta is barking up a very tall tree, Riser at this stage is magnitudes stronger than Yuta is, hardcore training and plenty of tickets are needed to get Yuta on the same weight class. May RNGesus smile on him because Yuta will need all of his grace.

Anyway, time for some real training to get this show going. Yut will start getting power level up and acquire more rolls before we get to the Riser fight and the training camp part this time will be rather... unique to say the least. Anyways, what did you guys think about the confrontation and this chapter? I would love to know.