Silenced filled the rooftops of Kuoh
Academy as Riser glared at Suk-chin.
"You." He spat. "The bastard from the human world."
Suk-chin adjusted his gloves. "Yeah, me."
"I was hoping to have the chance to destroy you." Riser started, clenching his fists. "But I was under the impression you were not one of Rias' servants. That is what you said in the human world, is it not?" He asked. "And yet, here you are now."
"Things can change." Suk-chin said, staring Riser down. "It just so happened that I was offered quite the favorable deal. Sucks for you, doesn't it?"
Riser sneered. "No, this is good." He said. "I told you I was hoping to have the chance to destroy you. With this, I will be able to both lay this matter to rest, and pay you back for insulting me." His hands were cloaked in flames.
"Thank you for being foolish enough to come here. I will enjoy crushing you."
Riser's face was caved in as Suk-chin's fist hammered into it. The Phenex hunched over, grabbing onto his face.
"All of your servants I met along the way told me the same thing." Suk-chin stated. "But, none of them were strong enough to do so."
"And you know what?" Suk-chin asked, tilting his head. He raised his fist high into the air. "I don't think you're strong enough to pull it off either."
He swung down, his fist colliding with Riser's face again. He sent the blond devil into the rooftiles head first. They broke instantly, sending Riser down into the building.
Suk-chin floated down into the school. They were now inside of the main entrance area. Riser had been sent hurdling all the way past the second floor and onto the first.
Riser stood back up, and rubbed his face. All form of injury was soon gone.
"You're far too arrogant, boy." Riser glared at him.
Suk-chin let out some air from his nose, laughing a little. "Wow. Coming from you of all people? I've really hit a new low, haven't I?"
"You haven't even come close to seeing everything I am capable of." Riser spoke, floating back into the air to meet Suk-chin. "You will come to regret messing with the affairs of your betters."
"My betters?" Suk-chin asked, tilting his head. "In this world, there is only a single person I would ever consider to be my better."
Again, Suk-chin punched him before he could react. His fist was buried in Riser's face.
"And that person is dead and gone."
Surprisingly, Riser wasn't sent flying by the attack. He held himself strong, and punched Suk-chin back.
"Then rejoice." Riser spat back, covering his fists in fire once more. He punched Suk-chin in the jaw, before following up with a punch to the stomach, sending Suk-chin flying into the wall behind him. "Because you'll be joining them soon."
Suk-chin floated agains the wall. Ignoring Riser's taunt, he reached up to feel his jaw. His eyes widened slightly. It was just a little, but...
Did that attack just now... sting a little bit?
Suk-chin's eyes fell back on Riser. "Riser..." He started, a small, sickening smile grew on Suk-chin's face his eyes glowed.
"Let's go again, okay?"
Before Riser knew it, he was sent flying back by a heavy punch to the head. He crashed into the wall behind him, and went right through it.
The infrastructure gave way until Riser found himself collapsing inside a room. His momentum finally ceded, and he bounced right off the furthest wall.
Riser took a moment to to reorientate himself. He didn't know it, but he had just landed inside the student council room.
The second he found himself, he was immediately hit in the head by a metal paper tray. It didn't hurt, but it stunned and blinded him momentarily as individual sheets flew across the room.
"It's okay if I fight seriously, right?" He heard Suk-chin ask. Suk-chin flew into the room, crashing right into Riser, further dazing the devil.
Suk-chin then lifted his right foot, and connected it with Riser's chin.
"It's okay if I actually try, right?" He asked before wrapping his arms around Riser, crushing the devil's body in his grasp.
"I don't have to just play with you, do I? You can take it, right?"
Suk-chin suplexed Riser into the ground. He lifted him back into the air, before suplexing him a second time. When he lifted Riser a third time, he slammed him into the ground and followed up by punching him.
Riser was then bombarded by a barrage of blows, being pummelled further and further into the ground.
"Enough!" Riser roared, sending out a fiery shockwave around himself. Suk-chin backed up, and Riser surged to his feet.
"Don't get ahead of yourself!" Riser snarled as he lifted his foot off the ground and kicked Suk-chin in the face.
"You're right." Suk-chin said, firmly standing his ground, not outwardly reacting to Riser's foot being on his face.
He grabbed onto Riser's foot, squeezing it tightly. Riser grimaced slightly.
"I shouldn't get too excited." Suk-chin continued, having calmed down from his earlier outburst. He raised his fist, yanked Riser closer by his foot and slammed his fist into the devil's stomach.
"It's bad practice to put pleasure over business, after all."
The first thing Riser noticed as he recovered was that the large table in the middle of the room was missing.
Suk-chin grabbed onto the large piece of furniture and hoisted it over his shoulder. "But that doesn't mean I can't do a little bit of both, right?"
He swung the table like it was a regular weapon, smashing Riser's entire body with it. The whole thing shattered into pieces as Riser was once again sent flying through the school's walls.
Riser scowled as he tried to stop, but all he could do was brace himself as he finally reached the next room. He barreled right through several desks, but finally skidded to a halt, his back hitting the wall softly.
He growled as Suk-chin walked through the hole in the wall. "Man, this school is big as fuck. Never even seen this classroom before."
Suk-chin looked around, then stared at the chalkboard. "I hate this thing, you know? The sound of chalk really grates my ears." He picked up the chalk eraser. "I don't like loud noises."
Riser snarled as he got up again. "You will regret this. Do you undersand that!?" He charged forward. "You will regret treating me like some-"
Riser never got to finish his sentence before being interrupted.
"Mind holding onto this for a sec?" Suk-chin asked as he shoved the eraser into Riser's mouth, stifling his attempts to speak.
He followed up by repeatedly punching Riser in the head. "Maybe that'll finally get you to shut the hell up."
Riser was sent back again, his back hitting the wall. But Suk-chin didn't let up, appearing in front of Riser, lifting his leg up and kicking him.
This time, Riser was sent hurdling down to the floor below, falling into the classroom directly beneath them on the first floor.
As Suk-chin descended into the room as well, he heard Riser angrily writhing about.
"Hm, guess not. Shame, really." Suk-chin sighed as the room was filled with flames.
"You've disrespected me for the last time!" Riser howled, slamming himself into Suk-chin.
Unfortunately, it just felt like slamming into an unbreakable wall that Riser just bounced right off of.
"Nah, I'll do it some more." Suk-chin replied, slapping Riser into the ground.
"It's really weird." Suk-chin started, staring down at Riser.
"You're actually kind of strong."
Suk-chin rubbed his head. "But you're... so weak at the same time. It kind of pisses me off."
"Weak?" Riser growled. "You think that I, Lord Riser am weak?!" He surged upwards, uppercutting Suk-chin. He followed up with a barrage of punches, knocking Suk-chin back.
He surrounded his entire body in fire, and charged towards Suk-chin again.
Only for his momentum to be stunted as he felt a hard object slam into his head, knocking him back.
"That was a little better." Suk-chin said. Riser glared at him hatefully. Suk-chin had picked up a chair and whacked him over the head with it.
"You... damned bastard." Riser said lowly. "More and more, you insist on treating this like a mere game for your own amusement!"
"Don't be ridiculous." Suk-chin whacked him with the chair again. "I'm being completely serious here, honest!"
"You are the ridiculous one here!" Riser shouted, trying to attack Suk-chin. "Using such laughable weapons!"
Of course, he was merely whacked again, getting sent flying across the room.
"Laughable? What? You think a chair isn't a proper weapon?"
Riser rushed at him, throwing a punch that Suk-chin leaned backwards to avoid. He raised the chair into the air and thwacked Riser once more. "These treasures are what supports your lazy ass all day, so show some respect."
"Besides..." As Riser was momentarily dazed by the slightly stronger blow, Suk-chin stood tall, lifting the chair even higher.
"There are no laughable weapons. Only laughable wielders."
Thwack Twhack Twhack Twhack Thwack Twhack Twhack Twhack
Thwack Twhack Twhack Twhack
Thwack Twhack Twhack Twhack
Thwack Twhack Twhack Twhack
Thwack Twhack Twhack Twhack
By the end of the brutal assault, the chair had been broken into pieces, leaving behind only the leg that Suk-chin was holding onto.
As for Riser, he was a brutally beaten mess. But, of course, he was a mess that quickly reformed itself.
"Don't be a fool." Riser seethed, as he slowly stood up.
"You are mighty, I will not refute that." Riser admitted. "But you are foolish, naive. You have such confidence that things will end how you want." He said, his voice filled with anger. "But when will you understand?" He asked.
"I. Cannot. Die!" Riser declared loudly, bumping his chest emphatically with each word. "You cannot kill me! You cannot harm me in a way that matters! It is a fool's errand to try and defeat me! In the end, I will always return, until you die!" He said, his eyes glowing with magic power. "And you only make yourself look more foolish by using such laughable objects as weapons!"
Riser charged at Suk-chin once more. But Suk-chin didn't react to him. He wasn't looking at Riser, but at the broken wooden leg in his hand. "I told you before..." He started slowly.
"There are no laughable weapons."
Riser's charge fell short, as he felt something slash across him.
"A 'strong' weapon becomes weak in the hands of a weak wielder."
Riser's left arm fell to the ground, cut clean off.
"Conversely, a 'weak' weapon becomes strong in the hands of a strong wielder."
Another slash, and Riser's right arm followed suit.
"Weapons are tools meant to kill."
Suk-chin brough the leg to his hip, wielding the wooden chair leg as if it was a sword.
"So, as long as you wield it with intent to kill..."
He drew the leg, and swung it in a succession of rapid strikes across Riser's body.
"Anything can become a weapon."
Once it was over, Riser crumpled, his body falling apart into countless pieces that ultimately dissolved into fire.
"Although..." Suk-chin held up the chair leg. "This one happens to be a little dull." It was broken in two, the top half dangling as it stayed connected through the smallest thread.
It took some time for Riser to return. The mass of flames remained stagnant for about a minute before finally reforming into the blond devil.
"What garbage." Riser scoffed angrily, as he slowly retook his ground. "Anything can be a weapon? Don't be absurd." He sneered. "You just want to justify your own arrogance and foolishness. Just admit that this is but a mere game to you."
Riser stood tall. "You're nothing. Nothing but a human turned lowborn. You simply cannot get any lower than that. Yet you arrogantly believe you have the right to involve yourself in this?" Riser asked. "This situation is far, far beyond you. Your strength means nothing, and your little display changes nothing!"
Suk-chin opened his mouth, but then closed it. His face went through a few different expressions, before falling flat.
"Do you even hear yourself when you speak?"
Riser's anger flared even higher at Suk-chin's question. As he started to speak, Suk-chin socked him in the face. Riser fell to the ground in shock- the blow far stronger than any he had suffered so far.
"Fuck. You're just like your queen, you know that?" Suk-chin asked, laughing angrily. "You just go on and on. I'm arrogant, I don't know my place. I'm mettling in the affairs of my betters. You're angry, aren't you? Angry that I'm treating you like some toy."
"But your hypocrisy disgusts me." Suk-chin scowled. "You're so quick to froth at the mouth whenever someone disrespects you. But what about you? You've been nothing but discourteous this entire time. How many times have you directly belittled Rias? Called her efforts meaningless, even unsightly?"
"I heard that joke of a speech you made earlier." Suk-chin said, kicking Riser in the head. "And it just pisses me off even more."
"You demean Rias for victimizing herself, and then immediately, you do the same fucking thing." He kicked Riser again. "How stupid are you?"
"Hey, dumbass. Did you ever maybe wonder why she wants nothing to do with you?" Suk-chin asked. "The reason is fucking simple. The way I'm treating you right now, that you hate so much? That's exactly how you treat her."
He picked Riser up, just to slam him back into the ground.
"You're the laughingstock of the underworld because your fiancee wants nothing to do with you? Maybe if you tried being likeable, you wouldn't have that fucking problem."
Suk-chin kicked him once more, sending Riser rocketing into the wall. "And yeah, I heard the part about you not wanting this marriage either. But that's the worst part of it all. Somehow, you're real reason for going through with this is even more pathetic."
Suk-chin stared down at him. "You're doing all of this just so you can get a good ol' thumbs up and pat on the back from dear ol' daddy."
Riser snarled viciously. "You have no idea what you're-"
Suk-chin clamped his hand around Riser's mouth like a vice, practically crushing his skull. "Fuck... not only are you a complete hypocrite, but you're so weak and desperate for attention that you role over and do whatever you're told just for the chance of getting some attention."
"You're so pathetic it makes me want to scream."
Suk-chin tore out Riser's jaw, tossing it away.
Riser regenerated almost immediately. But he didn't say anything at first, or even move.
But eventually, he started trembling. "Enough..."
His entire body violently burst into flames. "I WILL NOT ALLOW MYSELF TO BE TREATED LIKE THIS ANY LONGER!"
The flames rapidly expanded in size, quickly envelopping the entire classroom.
"NOW DIE!"
Suk-chin's eyes widened as he was beset by a massive explosion of fire and brimstone.
...
"So..." Issei trailed off awkwardly. "Are we just supposed to stand here and wait?" He asked.
He, Kiba and Koneko were all standing around on the track field. They didn't have much else to do after Suk-chin had come around and wiped basically everyone out.
Technically, Ravel was still in the game.
"Rias said to wait." Koneko replied, sitting on top of Ravel's tied up body.
"Get off of me you savage animal!" Ravel demanded angrily, but Koneko ignored her.
"It feel a little anticlimactic." Kiba admitted. "But either way, if we can win this game than I'm happy."
"Yeah..." Issei thought. "I guess you're right. I can't complain too much."
Out of nowhere, an impossibly loud noise tore through the entire campus as the school building erupted in a fiery explosion.
"What the fuck is that!?" Issei cried as he rapidly covered his eyes and ears.
"I don't know, but it isn't a good sign!" Kiba shouted, doing the same.
A massive pillar of flames shot through the sky, whatever was left of the school burning away into ash.
"Everyone, are you alright?" As the explosion started to die down, the trio heard Rias' worry stricken voice descend on them.
They looked up, and saw Rias hurriedly flowing down to them, holding onto Asia tightly. They both had some burns on them.
"Yeah, w-we're fine." Issei stumbled. "But what about you guys?"
Rias frowned, fear evident on her face. "We barely managed to escape the blast. Thank the stars I noticed something was wrong before it started."
"President," Kiba started, swallowing thickly as he started at the mountain of smoke that was once a school. "What just happened?"
"I..." Rias stared at it as well. "I'm not too sure. But what I do know is that it isn't good."
I didn't hear an announcement yet, so please...
"You don't think anyone died in that, do you?" Issei asked. But as soon as he did, something emerged from the smoke.
It shot out like a projectile, soaring through the air. Its trajectory eventually let it to start falling towards the track field.
Directly where they were all standing.
"Run!" Issei shouted, and they all scrambled away. Except for Ravel, who was left behind.
Whatever it was crashed into the ground, creating a small explosion of its own.
[Riser Phenex, one bishop eliminated.]
"Fucking hell..." They all heard a voice groan from within the smoke.
"Wait, isn't that..." Issei trailed off as everyone's eyes widened.
The smoke cleared, revealing Suk-chin. He was sitting on his ass, rubbing his head. "Damn, that actually hurt like hell." He stood up, stretching his body. "Push enough buttons and one of them will eventually go boom, I guess."
"Suk-chin!" He heard multiple people shout. He winced, covering his ears.
"Shit, I'm right here! No need to yell."
He was quickly surrounded by the occult research club members.
"You..." Rias started. "You're truly okay?" She asked. "What happened just now? Was that one of Riser's attacks?"
Suk-chin nodded. "Yeah, it was probably the strongest one he could muster."
"But you're still standing." Issei pointed. "So doesn't that mean you can..." He started, but trailed off.
Something else had caught his attention.
"Yeah, it hurt like a bitch though. Don't think I'll let him do that again." Suk-chin said. "You guys should back up a bit though, just in case. If Rias gets torched it's over anyways."
Nobody responded to him. "Guys?" He looked around. Everyone was looking at him, but not at his face. They didn't seem to register his words at all.
Suk-chin started to feel that something wasn't right. For the first time, he felt an uncomfortable feeling in his chest. "What the hell are you..."
He raised a hand to his chest, but his body went cold as he made contact with himself. The sensation was not one of his gloves touching his shirt.
It was a sensation of skin touching skin.
Suk-chin's eyes lowered.
"Your..." Issei muttered out, unable to say anything else.
"Your..." Rias was much the same, incapable of formulated a coherent sentence.
"Are you wearing gloves in school?"
"I don't think I've ever seen your hands before."
"Why do you wear those gloves all the time?"
"I don't mean to sound crazy or anything, but it feels like I've only ever seen you with your hands in your pockets, or wearing gloves."
"Ah, you know, I was curious as well." Riser's voice sounded out as he too emerged from the smoke. He quickly descended from the sky, landing near everyone. His anger had calmed slightly, and he now felt some sort of retribution.
"But I can see why you were hiding your hands all this time."
The skin on his palms were so red they almost seemed purple, almost completely disfigured by horrid burn scars.
"But if you don't mind me asking..."
The top of his hands were covered in scars, both from burns and lascerations.
But that was not all.
On the top of his left hand...
Were the numbers...
0
Suk-chin felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. His entire body turned rigid.
0
"Oh, what a sweet looking child. What are you doing out here all alone in the rain?"
1
"What is 001 supposed to mean?"
For the longest time, Suk-chin remained completely still. He said nothing, and did nothing.
The battlefield as a whole had come to a deathly halt.
...
"Grayfia." A male voice spoke. "What did you think of the child that left just now?"
Grayfia lowered her head as she spoke. "He was rude and uncouth, my lord. In fact, I'm shocked you were able to reason with him at all."
The man laughed lightly. "I see. But that wasn't exactly what I mean. How powerful do you think he is?"
Grayfia narrowed her eyes. "He seemed somewhat strong for a human. But there is a strange energy surrounding him. That is why I informed you of him to begin with. His power is difficult to quantify, almost as if there's a sort of seal in place."
"I can quantify it, roughly." The man revealed. "When you first told me about him, I decided to do some research. If I wanted him to help Rias, I would need to know what he wanted first."
"It was difficult. But I managed to find something rather interesting." The man admitted. "And what I found..."
"Almost made me consider him for my own peerage instead."
...
Slowly but surely, the ground in the rating game's pocket dimension began to shake.
Everyone was still staring at Suk-chin, who had now hunched over.
"Hey..."
There was a grotesque sound as his body began to expand, his muscles growing in size slightly.
"Hey..."
Dark clouds began to fill the sky.
"You stupid motherfucker."
Suk-chin looked up, an almost crazed expression in his eyes, as tears streamed down his face.
"Why did you have to do it?"
A purplish white mist began to wasp off of Suk-chin's body.
"If you knew I was hiding it, then why did you do it?"
The ground was shaking more violently now, leading to some people losing their footing.
"There was no reason to, so why did you do it?"
Thunder crackled in the sky, and rain began to fall onto the ground.
"Riser Phenex." Suk-chin called out, making Riser instinctively take a step back.
Powerful lightning bolts began to strike the ground wildly, as the wind picked up considerably.
"I won't let you run."
"I won't let you hide."
"No matter how long it takes..."
Suk-chin's eyes glowed brightly, power erupting around him violently.
"I'm going to torture you until you die."