A Fake Familiar Reborn

Chapter 13: Phenex Scion

"Enough!"

Both Asia and Issei, the latter nearly raising his voice at Riser and demanding to know who he thought he was, flinched at Rias’ tone. The redhead was more pissed off than they'd ever seen before, her murderous intent showing as she glared at the nonchalant Phenex Devil. "I already know why you came here, and I want to let you know in advance that I haven't changed my stance on this in the slightest. My mother and father can say whatever they want, but I still won't ever marry you whether it be in this life or the next."

This time, his smile fell a bit. "Rias, is it just me or are you acting more arrogant than last time?"

"Say that again after taking a good look in the mirror, you arrogant ass."

"Now now, it's not good for a beautiful young lady like yourself to be so feisty towards your future husband," He walked toward her with open arms. The Gremory heiress stayed in place, not moving away or flinching like she used to do before. Elation bloomed within his heart, as to him it suggested that she must have come to terms with their impending union and that her small hand smack was merely her being shy around him as she usually was. Ah, he'd make sure to have her get used to public displays of affection from him as soon as possible.

"Archer."

"—!?"

Instantly, a heavy sense of dread washed over his body with a strong feeling of imminent danger that crawled around his skin. Hastily taking a couple of steps back, he came to stare into the steel gray eyes of a tall tan man who’d appeared out of nowhere between him and Rias with his arms crossed.

"H-Holy energy…" Recognizing this energy, Riser's body tensed with flames coating his hands. It was nothing close to the likes of a holy sword’s level of intensity, but it was there all the same. This quickly earned a hostile reaction from him, but the newcomer spoke first.

"I would rather you give my Master some space, Phenex. Seeing as direct contact with you seems to be the last thing she desires." Archer spoke calmly, noting the blonde's reaction to his shroud. Just how sensitive to holy and light energy were the Devils of this world? Koneko mentioned how their base instincts compelled them to avoid touching his shroud at all costs, but would a mere touch actually cause any major burns or poisoning for them? If so, then even a scratch from a holy weapon might very well prove far more lethal than he would have initially predicted.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Riser shouted, regaining his nerve after seeing the human, "Who are you!?" It was already clear to him that this man couldn't be a Devil, much less a peerage member. He looked fully human, so he couldn't be a Youkai. That shroud gave him the impression of an exorcist… but surely Rias wouldn't be so crazy as to involve the enemy in their internal affairs. "Wait, Master?"

Only then did Rias' single phrase that seemed to have somehow summoned this person register in his head that he started to grow increasingly confused over this new arrival.

Rias could only chuckle at Riser’s flabbergasted reaction to Archer's arrival, feeling the creeping fear and anger disappear instantly now that her Servant had made his presence known. While from the beginning, she held utter certainty that Archer would protect her against Riser in every way, shape, and form, old habits just died hard when she saw this bastard teleport inside her club and immediately start strutting around as if he owned the place and treating her as though she was just another of his possessions. The years' worth of stress he caused her just by reminding her of this impending wedding and how it would affect her life if it came to pass had left quite an impact on her. Regardless, there was nothing to fear now. She smirked soon after when she saw he’d finally noticed Archer calling her 'Master' and the implications it carried.