"Talking"
'Thinking'
"Flashback"
"Attack/Name"
"Narrator"
He was a monster, she shouldn't have trusted him, but now, it was too late. Should she refuse his orders, he would kill her just like he did to Riser.
His presence was sickly to her, at least when he allowed it to be felt. Other times he could hide it, almost pack it into a much denser form. Regardless, both were intoxicating, as his aura alone felt like it could cause her to overdose on the very fuel the supernatural ran on.
She didn't know quite what it was, he called her race, her home, the Higher Planes. The energy he manipulated and controlled felt like a much more potent form of magic. So potent that it seemingly represented what he was capable of.
Someone like that wouldn't be able to do what he did without experience. He referred to the Earth as his, just how long has he existed for?
Now that she thought about it, the great being that killed Ddraig and wounded Albion was said to have a similar, intoxicating, poisonous presence that he did. If he were the same being she'd heard about, it would answer the question of how long he's existed.
Actually, what was that creature's name? She's only heard it being said once, by her father. He was more serious than he'd ever been when telling her and Sirzechs the story, and he was normally a carefree individual.
If she remembered correctly, it was a Japanese word, certainly not Sekaino Kami, but something else.
What was it?
"G-
Before she could whisper the name, a set of three knocks interrupted her thoughts. She didn't feel a presence, certainly, it couldn't be him.
Quickly readjusting herself and getting off her bed, she called out, "Come in."
The door creaked open, yet no one peered their head past it. Rias, huffing in annoyance, asked, "Who is it?"
Sighing, he stepped forward into the room, his golden eyes glimmering in the moonlight for a brief moment. Rias felt her heart race, her breath hitch as she froze in place. Her blue eyes flashed red from her instinctual fight-or-flight response.
Sekaino trudged forward, stopping only a few feet away from her. He could tell she was scared, though he didn't care, after all the truth of who he was would eventually come out. He never spent time with people, honestly, this was probably the longest he's ever spent with people, it was a trial run if anything.
"You're scared, aren't you?" His voice had an odd reverberation to it which echoed into the walls. Rias furrowed her brow, rebutting with, "Why would I be?"
Sekaino laughed mockingly, answering, "I can tell you are, everyone was after the show I put on today."
"The show?! You tore Riser apart in front of everyone, and then threatened the entirety of the Underworld!" Rias shouted, Sekaino sighing before saying, "I'm surprised you out of everyone are mad about what I did to Riser."
"It's not that I'm mad, it's just the shock of what you did to him. Honestly, I'm glad he got humbled, but.. the sight of his body like that..." Rias whispered, her voice growing shakier the longer her sentence went on. Sekaino sighed, before replying, "Makes sense, you are still very young, especially compared to me."
Rias nodded slowly, pushing herself back onto her bed, before carelessly flopping down onto the mattress. Closing her eyes, she asked, "Is that what you came in here for?"
Sekaino shook his head before sighing slowly, stating, "No, I thought it'd be best to wrap up some loose ends before we move on."
"Are you referring to–"
"Earlier today, before Riser? Yes." Sekaino interrupted, walking over to the foot of the bed.
"Why? Why would you resort to such drastic measures as that?"
Pausing, she opened her eyes, taking a deep breath before answering, "I- I don't know, I guess I was desperate."
"Damn right you were. What the hell would that even accomplish in the first place? Because I guarantee you that Riser wouldn't have cared, honestly it would've ruined your reputation in the Underworld."
His words left an uneasy feeling in her, he was entirely right, but her pride hesitated to let him know that, though she was sure he knew that he was right.
"Let me ask you this, did you do that believing it would've helped had you not been able to win this fight?" Sekaino asked, however, she didn't answer right away, rather, she searched her thoughts. Why did she do it? Was it a preventative measure as he said originally, something which stemmed from her own fear? Looking back on it, that was exactly what it came from, she had already given up long before the battle had begun, and she tried stooping to something so low.
"I did it because.. because I gave up," Rias admitted, a feeling which instantly relieved her of the pressure she felt. Sekaino, transformed his firm grimace into a compassionate smile, though he wasn't done. Choosing his words carefully, Sekaino started with, "You believed that had you gone through with it, Riser wouldn't want you anymore, thus you wouldn't have to fight. Essentially, you surrendered your will to fight, your reason to win.
But in reality, had you done that, Riser would have still fought for your hand in marriage, and you would've lost." Sekaino continued, before turning towards the door to leave the room. "After all...
You can't win without a reason too."
Flashing open her eyes, she saw the man she once feared standing before her. A cruel smile was present on his face, as flames raged behind him from the damage he caused with his introductory attack.
The two had ended up on the roof after the start of their battle, the school building below them was torn apart, threatening to crumble away.
She didn't know where her allies or enemies were, only the man in front of her. As if hearing her thoughts, Riser lurched forward, leaving a trail of flames in his wake. Rias managed to peel to the side, straining her body right as Riser raced past her. Turning around, Rias channeled energy into her right palm, stiff-arming him in the ribs before launching a massive burst of destructive magic.
Red boomed from the sight, disintegrating the top half of his body. Rings of crimson magic echoed from her hand, as the beam of energy dissipated, revealing Riser's body. Unfortunately for her, the attack merely slowed him down, as a torrent of flames launched from his lower half, his upper body forming from the fire.
With a sadistic smile on his face, Riser swung his right arm, embroidered with fire at Rias' skull. Luckily she had met someone who used melee attacks, allowing her to weave past the blow, watching the flames swirl in a crescent of orange light.
From below, Rias' conjured her magic into her hands, before shoving them under Riser's chin. The man widened his eyes in surprise, as another pulse blew his head off.
Jumping backward, Rias watched as his head formed again. Despite the injury, Riser had a grin on his face, clapping his hands as he stated, "You've certainly improved on your combat prowess, Rias. Whoever your coach is, they have skill."
"I guess you could say I learned from the best," Rias replied, a firm glare on her face as a miasma of red, coated her body.
"Guess that means you'll be more durable too," Riser commented, before launching himself forward, his fist reeled back before he propelled it at her.
The orange light reflected off of Rias' features, highlighting her face. Her eyes mirrored the exact scene laid before her, her blue eyes now glowing just as bright as the flaming fist hurling toward her.
Her mind told her to fight, to back away from him as fast as she could. Yet she didn't, she couldn't, she was frozen in fear.
'Was this it? Is this all I am destined for?' She thought to herself, her mind was racing. The moment she watched her demise race towards her seemingly lasted forever, though, in reality, it was less than a second.
Looking over, she saw Riser's face, a sadistic smile present on it. Even so, she couldn't summon the hatred for him, she doubted his anger was towards her though. At this point, it merely seemed like he wanted to hurt people, her included.
Closing her eyes, she resigned herself to the fight, waiting for the blow to arrive, yet it never did.
"Don't give up, Rias!" Issei yelled, his left hand planted on Riser's extended fist, the boy now present in front of her. Riser looked over in disgust, recoiling his hand in revulsion.
"So the human boy finally shows himself!" Riser mocked, jumping away a few feet.
"BOOST!" With one more boost, Issei took his stand in front of Riser, shouting, "I'm not the only one!"
From behind Riser, both Kiba and Koneko appeared from the flames. Riser looked at the two, shocked that they were even in the game still, yelling, "What the hell happened to the others!?"
"Lord Riser's Rook, both Bishops, both Knights and remaining Pawns... retired," Grayfia announced Riser took in the information, considering it. Unexpectedly, laughter erupted from the man, confusing the group.
"You think this sorry group can save you, Rias?! It's laughable." Riser yelled, continuing his boisterous laughter before suddenly cutting it off, saying, "Fine then, I don't even need a Peerage."
Riser darted towards both Kiba and Koneko, Kiba barely parrying the man's fist, sending it recoiling in the opposite direction. However, the Phenex didn't let that stop him, choosing to spin around in the direction Kiba sent in, conjuring flames around his arm before releasing it in a wave of fire. Seeing this, Kiba retaliated, "Sword Birth!"
Just before the flames could hit the two lesser Devils, swords erupted from the ground, blocking the attack. Jumping above the makeshift wall, Kiba swung his sword down towards Riser, the man lurching backward to avoid taking damage. Straining his arms back up, Kiba pulled his sword behind him before slicing to his left across Riser's chest.
The man sneered at this, not from the pain, but rather from being hit by Kiba. As the younger male's blade was towards its owner's left, Riser attempted to grab Kiba's face, however Koneko, just in the nick of time, crashed into Riser, feet first.
The man's body caved in where Koneko struck, the air being blown back from the force behind the impact. Riser's face contorted into a viscous indignant grin, trying to overpower the pain. In that same split second, his body was launched back toward Rias.
Twisting his body around, he watched as Rias stood in front of Issei, both hands extended as crimson energy rippled from her palms. With his left arm behind him, Riser injected flames into his limb, before launching a surge of fire at her. Both energies collided in a show of magic, shockwaves of fire and flame rippling from the impact zone, shredding the building below them.
From the wall of fire, a blade of raw energy split the flames in two, creating an opening. Looking through, Riser watched as Rias dashed towards him, her hands engulfed in a crimson aura. Behind him, he took notice as both Kiba and Koneko darted toward him, ready to attack the instant they reached him.
Time seemed to crawl to a standstill, though there was an exception to this, Issei. He watched on as the Devils weaved back and forth against each other. He watched as the three struggled to even keep the man at bay.
'Dammit, I need to get in there!' Issei thought to himself, Ddraig shouting, "BOOST!"
"Ddraig! Is there any way you can go faster? I don't think I could keep up with them even if I tried!" The boy demanded, the dragon however shut down his hopes, answering with, "Unfortunately no, not yet at least, you have yet to reach that power."
"Damn! Looks like I have to keep waiting...' Issei cursed, his words trailing into his thoughts as Ddraig yelled, "BOOST!"
Funneling energy into his hands once more, Riser spread his arms apart, jettisoning flames in both directions. Panicking, Rias stopped in her tracks, creating a barrier to hide behind while the flames raced past her. Kiba on the other side quickly extended his arms, shouting, "Sword Birth, Flame Delete!"
Just as the inferno neared the two younger Devils, a wall of icicles exploded from the ground, sprouting as though it were a forest growing thousands of times faster than it should. Riser's flames reflected off of Kiba's wall, boiling water churning and pooling downwards where the flames hit.
Kiba gnashed his teeth as he poured magic into his construct, Rias similarly struggled to hold her ground against Riser. Seeing this, Riser smirked, his cruel features highlighted by the flames which ejected from his hands. Though he didn't stay complacent, seeing that the Devils were holding strong, he decided to change his technique. Drawing his arms inward, he conjured a ball of magic in between his palms, his entire body glowing from the force behind his coming attack.
Everyone present watched Riser's aura grow, though they were too late to do anything to prevent his next action. As though they were watching a supernova, a massive ball of orange tore across the area, colliding against the meager defenses the weaker Devils created.
Their bodies were thrown across the roof, rolling across the heated metal. Kiba and Rias managed to get their footing, Kiba stabbing a blade into the metal, while Rias poured energy from her back, stopping her momentum. Koneko wasn't so lucky, tumbling across the roof before crashing as she slid against the ground.
Her limbs shook as she attempted to pick herself up, Kiba looked behind with concern, inwardly hoping she got up. Rias shook with anger, doing everything in her power to hold herself back. She knew Riser would prevent her from getting to her Rook, and should she fall here, everything they fought for would be thrown away.
'Come on Koneko! Get up, please!' Issei thought to himself, Rias taking note of his apparent worry as she stood by his side. The three watched as the girl struggled to get up, Kiba near her was tempted to help her, but he knew that would be no better than throwing her into the fray again.
Riser stood calm, a brazen smile on his face. His back was turned to the girl, for he knew she wouldn't be able to get back up. Expectedly, the girl fell to her knees, though she didn't disappear yet, rather, she looked back up at Rias and Issei. Grunting, she began to speak just loud for the group to hear, saying, "Beat him, all of you..."
Immediately after she spoke, her body faded into a cloud of blue dust, Grayfia coldly announcing, "Lady Rias' Rook.. retired."
"That's one, Rias. I'm surprised it took this long for one of you weaklings to fall, but I guess I have to do everything myself." Riser admitted, a patronizing demeanor oozing into his tone as he added, "Your situation is looking even direr than before, tell me.. do you really think you can beat me?"
"Well, we're sure as hell not giving up!" Rias yelled, her form flooding with crimson energy before she darted toward Riser. The man sneered at this, engulfing his right hand with flames once more. Rias did the same, a streak of red highlighting her body as she hurled her fist towards Riser, the older male responding to her attack with an open palm.
Rings of orange and red swirled together as their attacks collided, a shockwave launching from the epicenter of the combined attacks. Riser, being the much more experienced combatant, quickly took hold of her wrist, before tossing her towards Kiba behind him. Kiba ducked underneath Rias, a sword forming in his hands as he swung at Riser.
Dodging backward, Riser channeled flames over to his left hand, before attempting to grab Kiba's face. The blonde dodged left under Riser's arm, before slashing upwards against Riser's torso.
The man's body nearly split in half, though before any blood could be spilled, flames engulfed the wound restoring his body to what it once was. Riser stood still, staring down at the younger swordsman.
Kiba, deciding to take the opportunity, swung back down. Before the hit could land, Riser grabbed the blade, shattering it between his hands. Kiba attempted to summon another sword in his hands, however before he could, Riser snagged his wrist, crushing it in his grip. Kiba cried out in pain, his remaining arm clutching his broken appendage.
Riser grabbed the Devil by the collar of his school uniform, lifting him to eye level. Bringing the boy closer to his face, the nobleman whispered, "And there goes another..."
Flames burst from his hand, tearing through Kiba's clothes and launching him backward. The force behind the attack caused his body to tear through the roof of the school, a cloud of dust covering the blue light of Kiba disappearing from the game.
"Lady Rias' Knight, retired."
Issei watched in horror as Riser turned toward him, the silence only being filled with Ddraig yelling, "BOOST!"
Sweat dripped down Issei's face from the sheer dread he felt in the Devil's presence. Looking past him, Issei saw Rias, her crimson hair falling flat against the burnt roof. Issei moved forward, though before he could even move an inch, Rias held her hand out, shouting, "Stop, Issei!
Run away, get out of here!!" Rias pleaded, her will to fight had long been utterly extinguished. Issei's eyes were wide, his body stationary as he listened to her begging.
"Don't even try to fight."
"BOOST!"
"Get out of here while you still can, you're not attached to my Peerage. Just stay away!" Hearing this, Riser's calm yet satisfied grin grew, he knew Issei couldn't win this. He doubted Rias would stay conscious for much longer, let alone actually win.
"BOOST!"
"You can't.. win..." Just as he predicted, her body slumped downwards, the pestilent ability of Issei's yelling once more, "BOOST!"
As though his body created it, a metaphorical shockwave launched from Riser as the man's attention was locked onto the human. Issei shook, something that the Devil in front of him undoubtedly noticed, though felt no need to point out.
Looking up at the sky, the blue star flashed once more. His labored breathing rose in volume as the effort it took to stand grew exponentially greater. Despite everything pointing at him buckling at the moment, he didn't run, he couldn't, not now, not ever. Figuratively picking himself up, he stood silent as Riser boasted, "Come now, don't worry, at least you'll be joining her soon."
"BOOST!" Issei growled at his words, summoning back his fighting spirit as Riser looked away from the boy, as though scanning the environment, "Now that I think about it, both of our queens are still fighting around here somewhere, no matter...
You're next, Issei. Time to die." Riser declared, pointing a provocative finger at him.
"BOOST!" Issei shook, though it wasn't from fear. Through gritted teeth, Issei stated, "You piece of shit!"
"Oh, so you still want to talk big? How ungrateful can you be-?"
"BOOST!"
"Ignoring the pathetic pleas of a weakling just so you can yap like some dog!" Riser yelled, his arms splayed out as if hinting at Issei to try and attack him. Though Issei stopped, asking, "How can you insult the one you're supposed to marry so blatantly? Without any regard for her."
Chuckling, Riser asked, "You sound envious, are you telling me how I'm supposed to treat her?"
Issei sneered at his words, once again boosting in power, "BOOST!"
"Come on now. Tell me, did you love her? And now you're fighting for her hand?" Riser laughed at his own question, before locking eyes with Issei, "She's weak, nothing compared to the likes me. So tell me, why should I even pretend to care about her?" Riser asked, his smile turned to lunacy. However, his question filled Issei with something, something so intense he might as well have been set ablaze.
RAGE
"How can you just disregard life so easily like that?" Issei demanded. He had learned to value life, value his life, and his choices. To have someone completely disregard all of that, just because someone was weaker than them. It made him mad, his rage boiled against all logical thought. With a furrowed brow, Ddraig yelled, "BOOST!"
"You saying that.. it pisses me off!" Issei spoke, barely holding back his anger. Around him, a miasma of red began to churn and bubble. Red lightning sparked around him, burning the metal slats beneath him.
"BOOST!" Issei struggled to even hold himself still, his entire body shaking as though he were a wild animal. His gaze was cast downwards, booming grunts resembling that of a dog on rabies.
Issei looked back up, his pupils dilating back and forth at the mere sight of Riser. The Devil had a curious expression, as though he were observing a monkey in a cage. Ddraig gave one last shout, "BOOST!"
The added power snapped something in Issei. His head was raised towards the sky, his screams echoing across the battlefield. Everything around him seemed irrelevant as his vision was flooded with red. For a brief moment, he thought it was blood leaking into his eyes.
Looking back at Riser through his murky vision, Issei gave one last roar.
The boy exploded into a beam of light. The energy surrounding him swirled into flames as electrical bolts cracked in the air. Rings of light constantly boomed from his body, launching Riser back. The Devil lurched down, doing what he could to keep himself against the occurring winds.
The energy hummed as it lit up the roof of the school building. Riser grinned viscously, flames engulfing his body. Only his eyes and mouth appeared through the light he produced. While his aura was launched backward, the flames never died down like they should've. Even with their impressive resilience, he looked meager compared to Issei.
"BOOST!" With one last shout, Issei exploded into a raging wildfire of light, Riser's flames being absorbed into Issei's aura. The entire region was painted with a dim red, it looked as though a star had been placed on the battlefield.
When the light finally died down, Issei was fully enveloped in a shining red suit of armor. His black happi was now draped over his waist, the cloth blowing in the artificial wind. Even through the green visor, Riser could feel Issei's eyes upon him.
Rias by now had woken up, having witnessed Issei's transformation. Even though she was much further than Riser was, nearly at the edge of the school grounds, she could still feel the warmth of Issei's might.
It gave her hope, yet it scared her, the raw power before her. She didn't know how he compared to Sekaino, but she didn't care, that thought wasn't at the forefront of her mind; something else was...
"Balance Breaker."
A/N: Looks like one more chapter to go, it'll be a good one as it's only Issei vs. Riser. I didn't intend to extend this arc for another chapter, but I got caught up writing this and decided to extend it rather than cram everything into one chapter, luckily that'll mean I can go into much further detail for the upcoming fight.
Edit - If you're reading this after October, 7th, 2023, that means you've just read the edited version. For those of you wondering why I chose to, I just felt this chapter needed it since the writing was a bit amateur compared to what I want the par for not only my story but also this scene specifically.
Also, since this is my first actual update since chapter 14 I did want to state that the rest of part 2 is underway, with chapters 15-21 currently completed. However, I want to wait until chapter 24 is finished so I can post the entire arc together, hopefully, that'll be soon since there are only 3 chapters left to write.
Word Count - 4,069