Fabricator v2 - Chapter 37

Junichiro sat calmly in the middle of an elaborate ritual circle. It was one he'd specifically designed for a singular purpose. Fixing himself. He had not been thrilled at his complete lack of any form of empathy for the fallen angels and stray exorcists. It deeply bothered him that it was so easy for him to take their lives without a care.

That wasn't him.

Sure, he'd never been a bleeding heart and was definitely narcissistic, but he would have never described himself as a psychopath. He'd never been in any life or death battles before, still hadn't, yet he knew he'd be accepting of it if he had to kill someone to defend his own life or the lives of his loved ones.

Dohnaseek had presented no threat to himself or anyone he cared about. He could have captured the fallen with the same ease he had dispatched him. Then there was his attitude over how he'd destroyed 'perfectly good materials' by destroying Dohnaseek's heart. That... was disgusting. Enemy or not, Dohnaseek had been a sentient being. It wasn't like the fallen angel had been a mindless monster or something equally easy to justify the death of. Yes, Dohnaseek was a murderous bastard that would have happily killed Junichiro if he was capable of it, but did that mean Junichiro had to respond in kind when the power discrepancy was so great?

He didn't know. All he knew is that the multiple deaths he was responsible for were not weighing on his mind, and that was not acceptable to him. He could very easily see himself going down a psychopathic path of death and destruction while justifying it as them all being 'enemies' or 'evil'. Worse, he would happily dissect their bodies for parts to use in his creations.

Thankfully, he wasn't so far gone that he couldn't see the problem for what it was. Thus, the ritual circle he'd designed and was now powering. It was designed to scan his entire being, mind, body, and soul. Then it would provide him with all of that information so he could look for any anomalies that needed to be addressed. Should this prove to be a failure, he would think of something else and try again.

He would not allow himself to become a murderous monster.

-----Line Break-----

Junichiro studied the detailed readings from his personal scans. He'd spent the last few days doing everything he could to scan himself with as much detail as he possibly could. He'd even gone to a hospital and used a bit of hypnosis to have things like CT Scans and CAT scans performed on himself.

After compiling all of the data he'd gathered and going over it with a fine toothed comb, he'd come to one conclusion.

It was half his fault.

First, and most dangerous, was that the entire Devil species was actually a genetically engineered weapon. The whole species had been created by the Fallen Angel Lucifer specifically as a weapon to fight against heaven with. Violence and bloodshed was a literal part of their makeup, a core tenant of their very being.

That is not to say that they couldn't overcome it. Sirzechs and the other Satans were all good examples of people who overcame their base instincts and fought for peace. So the inborn violent tendencies weren't one hundred percent responsible for his bouts of violence against the stray exorcists and Dohnaseek. It was just a contributing factor and one he could mitigate with enough willpower. It had merely snuck on him as he hadn't been in a single real fight since he became a devil.

Second, devils, also as a species, self actualize different aspects of themselves with their limited ability to shapeshift. However, that ability was more than skin deep. It was a fundamental part of their being and while the process was slow, it was always ongoing. In the case of himself, Junichiro had accidentally made modifications to his own mind due to his obsession with crafting. By spending the last few years of his life as a devil just looking at things as being materials for him to make stuff, it had become a part of his identity and had an effect on his empathy. He hadn't completely negated or removed his empathy, after all he still cared about his fellow peerage members and friends. Rather, if he even remotely considered someone to be materials he could use, he no longer sees them as an individual, but as a thing for his use.

It was supremely fucked up, in his opinion, but it was also something he could exert some control over. Simply put, if they were living, they were not materials. Even if they were enemies, as long as they didn't pose a legitimate threat to him or those he cared about, they were not materials. On the other hand, if they did pose a real threat, they were materials and they would be cut down with extreme prejudice.

It would require a focused shift in mentality from him for a while until it became automatic and his empathy functioned properly once again. It was something he would need to keep an eye on, luckily, he had someone sharing head space with him to help out, “Ddraig, have you been following my thoughts?”

The red dragon automaton nodded its head, “I have. I don't see why you're so bothered by these things, but I can see what you're going for. I'll speak up if it looks like you're slipping.”

Junichiro let out a sigh of relief, “Thanks buddy.”

With that taken care of, he got back to work. He was just putting the finishing touches on Odin's monocle. The enchantments had been a pain since this was clearly not the first time Odin had tried such a thing. All the women of the Norse pantheon had anti-peeping spells and tricks they used to counter the old pervert. Junichiro had to make something capable of piercing those defenses and it had taken some time, and maybe a bit of abusing the Boosted Gear, but he'd completed it.

The only reason he'd even bothered was the offer Odin had made him in exchange for the monocle, Uru. Uru was a mythical metal of the Norse pantheon that their strongest weapons were said the be made of, the most famous of which was Mjolnir, Thor's personal warhammer. What the exact properties of Uru were, he hadn't a clue. That just made it all the more exciting as he hoped to make something truly epic with it.

At the moment he was putting the finishing cosmetic touches on the monocle, then it would be sent off, along with a few other items and potions, to Azazel for distribution to their purchasers.

It really was good to be him.

-----Line Break-----

Junichiro stopped his work and looked at a small console within his shop as it blinked. He walked over, checked what the alert was for, and pressed a specific button. The console's screen cam alive and showed a video feed. On the screen was a very familiar young blonde girl in a nun's habit. He sighed at the sight of her and pulled his phone out, which brought a smile to his face. He pressed selected the appropriate contact and waited while it rang.

As soon as it was answered a very annoyed voice issued from it, “No.”

“Alright then.” Junichiro hung up without another word.

Thirty seconds later his phone rang. He let it go to voice mail. Another thirty seconds after that it rang once more. This time he answered it. The moment he did the annoyed voice of Azazel came from the speaker, “Not funny you little shit. Why are you calling me again?”

“Asia Argento.”

A deeply frustrated and annoyed sigh came from Azazel, “Right, her. Raynare's plan for her was half baked and plain stupid so I almost forgot all about it. Just do me a favor and let her stay at your place for a bit? It's too dangerous for her to be out all alone and unprotected. The idiots running the Church didn't see fit to give her a proper education so she's very naive. Take care of her until I can come up with something, alright?”

Junichiro nodded, “Sure thing. I'll go pick up the little girl and drag her back to my place with promises of safety and security. That's not creepy at all.”

Azazel laughed for a bit, “Shut up and go do it you prick.”

“Asshole.”

They both hung up chuckling. Azazel liked to complain, heavily, about all the 'extra work' that Junichiro had been giving him since Kokabiel went rogue. It usually devolved into name calling that neither of them took personally. Overall, they had an excellent relationship as colleagues and friends, despite the enormous age difference. It helped that Azazel was generally very immature.

Azazel truly wished for peace and was honestly happy every time that Junichiro would call him with good news. It made things so much easier when there were fewer deaths and a lot less collateral damage than there could be. He understood that sometimes deaths were necessary, but he would do whatever it took to try and preserve as many of his brothers and sisters as he could. Even with Kokabiel clearly up to something bad, he had no plans to kill the man. He'd much rather put Kokabiel on ice somewhere than see him dead.

With Azazel's request in mind, Junichiro stopped his work and made his way into his house to change into clothing more appropriate for going out in public. For some reason, people thought he was up to no good when he walked around in dirty jeans with burn marks and a tank top. Go figure. As far as getting clean, while it wasn't as nice as bathing, he did have magic and it came in handy for little things like that. Within five minutes he was as fresh as a daisy and wearing a clean outfit that wouldn't get him any dirty looks.

“Val! I'm heading out to pick up a lost nun for Azazel!”

“Okay!” came Valarie's reply from deeper in the house.

A simple device of his own make kept him on track for hunting down Asia and getting her back to his place. He followed it's directions as it kept track of the wandering nun. Over the years he'd seeded the entire city with tens of thousands of small enchanted objects that kept track of peoples coming and going. It was an enormous invasion of privacy and Junichiro didn't care in the least. He mostly didn't care because anything mundane was flat out ignored by him. He didn't care about normal people. What he cared about was the supernatural. The moment anything stepped into the city, he wanted to know about it and track it.

Of course, the system didn't do a whole lot of good if he didn't pay attention to it or set specific alerts. He was usually far too focused on his work to pay it all that much attention. It would let him know if anyone above a certain level of power was detected though, so it wasn't completely useless.

The walk to hunt down the very lost Asia Argento only took a few minutes. When he finally tracked her down she was trying, and failing, to ask a middle-aged man for directions. Unfortunately for her, she was a native Italian speaker and just a week or two of trying to learn Japanese was little help. Her accent made her Japanese borderline incomprehensible to the locals. Lucky for her, he could understand any language. That was definitely one of the much more useful abilities that becoming a devil granted!

“Asia Argento?”

At the sound of her name, spoken in flawless Italian to her ears, she turned and spotted Junichiro, “Y-yes?”

Junichiro gave her a little wave and a soft, for him, smile, “I'm Junichiro, I was sent to pick you up.”

She looked a little confused, “I was supposed to meet someone named Raynare.”

Junichiro nodded his head, “I understand that, but there was a bit of trouble and she's currently unavailable. I was asked to bring you back to my place by Azazel, her leader, for a while until they figure out what to do with you. Sorry about that.”

While he was talking, he took the time to look Asia over and could see why everyone found her so adorable. Long golden blonde hair, big bright blue eyes, and an aura that just screamed how gentle and kind she was.

See looked up at him, he was taller than her by a rather large margin, and gave him a gentle smile, “Thank you for taking the time to find me.”

He waved her comment off, “It's not a problem. Here, let me get your bag. It's a bit of a walk to my place but we've got some wonderful weather to enjoy on the way there.”

“A-ah you don't have to do that.”

Again he waved her comment off, “It's not a big deal. C'mon, once we get to my place I'll introduce you to my friend Valarie and make us all some lunch.”

It was a bit late for lunch, but he'd skipped it, like usual, and was feeling a bit hungry now that he wasn't sidetracked by working on something. Asia blushed and fidgeted a little before meekly nodding her head, “O-okay.”

During the walk back to his place, he engaged Asia in a little small talk and pointed out various things on there way to his home. Asia was clearly a little out of her depth, nervous, and possibly a little scared. He could understand that. Her entire life had just been destroyed and she was floundering. When they arrived at the gates to his property, Asia's eyes widened as she took in the long driveway, practically a short road, that led up to the virtual mansion he lived in, “You live here?”

He opened the gate and invited her inside, a requirement of his wards so they would let her pass unmolested, “That's right. You'll be staying here until we know what's going on. While you're here we can also go out into the city and do all kinds of things. Think of it as a nice vacation!”

He wanted to make sure Asia had a wonderful time staying with him. Not for any nefarious reasons or to 'collect' her like some people would. Mostly, he felt terrible for the poor girl. His life had been shit for years before he'd gotten his abilities. He'd lived on the streets, gone days without eating, and had to avoid getting kidnapped by sick perverts. Even after awakening his memories and skills, he'd lived in a junkyard for quite a while. Yet, he still felt like HER life was worse than his.

If that wasn't a condemnation of the Church, he didn't know what was.

Asia looked all around at the expansive grounds around the house as they made their way up the drive. Just before they reached the door it was enthusiastically thrown open by Valarie who grinned broadly, “Welcome home Juni!”

Jinichiro smiled softly at the enthusiastic greeting from Valarie and gestured to Asia at his side, “Thanks Val, this is Asia Argento, she'll be staying with us while Azazel figures out what to do after Raynare's mistake.”

Valarie's mood dropped a bit at the mention of Raynare, “Ah, the fallen that tried to kill you? I hope they're getting their just desserts.”

Asia gasped while Junichiro rolled his eyes. Valarie was very protective of him and he honestly feared what she might do to anyone that actually managed to hurt him. Despite the loss of Sephiroth Graal, Valarie was still a Dhampir. Dhampir's had the ability to gain power from those they drank the blood of. In her case, Junichiro was usually the one she snacked on. In short, Valarie could crush pretty much anyone below the Ultimate class with ease.

Asia looked up at Junichiro, her innocent blue eyes wide with surprise, “Did Raynare really try to kill you?”

Junichiro waved it off, “She did, but it's no big deal. I just captured her and her friends to turn over to Azazel. He'll be the one to take care of things.”

Asia looked conflicted but didn't say anything else. Raynare had been so nice to her when she had nowhere to go and nothing but the clothing on her back. To hear that she'd attacked and tried to kill someone as nice as Junichiro? That almost seemed impossible.

Together, the three of them made their way into the house. Junichiro led Asia through the corridors until they came to one of the many empty bedrooms in the place. He'd never, not once, had enough people staying in the house to use all of the rooms. At most, he'd used four. His own, of course, one for Valarie, and occasionally Naya and Rias would stay the night. Rias often got stressed from dealing with Riser and liked to run away to his place to get a break.

After sliding the door open, he gestured to the large room, with it's own ensuite bathroom and smiled at Asia, “This will be your room while you stay here.”

He watched, almost feeling terrible at how overwhelmed she seemed to be by the size of the room. She looked lost as she turned to him, “All of this, for me?”

He nodded, “Sure, why not? Pretty much every room in the house is like this one. There's a futon in the closet, the door there leads into a smaller bathroom. Or, if you prefer, there's a much larger bathroom that Val can show you. Though, fair warning, the bigger one is open to the whole house and is the one I prefer to use.”

Asia blushed at that but still nodded in understanding, “Thank you for everything Junichiro.”

He turned to look at Val, “Would you mind showing her around and how things are done? I don't think she's ever used a futon before. If you do that, I'll get started on lunch.”

Valarie grinned broadly and clapped her hands together, “Deal!”

Asia looked at them curiously so Valarie explained, “Juni-kun is the BEST cook EVER. I love it when he cooks! You will too.”

Juncihiro chuckled and made his way to the kitchen leaving Asia in Valarie's more than capable hands. As he worked on lunch, he couldn't help wondering about Asia's future. In the original story, long since destroyed by his actions, Asia had become an important part of Rias's peerage. She still could, technically, but there was also no reason for her to do so.

Originally, Asia would have died and been reincarnated to save her. There was zero chance of Asia dying and needing to be reincarnated to come back to life now that she was under his protection. He also needed to make sure she was protected from that sick piece of shit Diodora. She could still, technically, join Rias's peerage, or even join his own when he was promoted to High-Class. Or, she could go to the Grigori. He'd ask Azazel to personally keep an eye on her in that case.

He'd leave her future up to her to decide. For now, her future included the most delicious meal she'd ever eaten in her life. He'd make sure of that by putting all of his skill into the meal.

-----Line Break-----

Junichiro sat in the ORC room with the rest of the peerage. There was a new addition to the room though. Standing out of the way, but close to Rias, was a beautiful woman with gray hair and red eyes wearing a maid uniform. A proper uniform too, not a cut down or slutty one. She was Grayfia Lucifuge, the wife of Sirzechs Lucifer and the so-called Strongest Queen. They were all patiently waiting for the final person they were expecting to show up any moment, Riser Phenex.

Rias wanted to be free of him and everyone else wanted her to be free. She'd been itching to pull Riser into a Rating Game for her freedom since the day she recruited Junichiro into her peerage. He'd forced her to remain silent and train up. Now, not only was she strong enough to take on Riser and his peerage solo, but so were Akeno and himself. Kiba and Koneko were both very strong High Class fighters, but there was no guarantee that they could take the whole peerage solo. It would definitely be a close match though!

If Kiba had awakened his Sword Birth's Balance Breaker then there would be no doubt he would win. Unfortunately, they'd had no success in that department and Junichiro was certain it would require the confrontation with Valper Galilei. As for Koneko, she was a little more complicated as her trauma involved her sister. It would require tracking down and capturing Kuroka and having the tricky nekoshou tell Koneko the truth of matters.

So, both of them were being held back by their trauma and pasts. Akeno was as well, to a certain extent, but she'd been High-Class in power to begin with and had just gotten stronger with training. She'd be a lot stronger if she got over her past.

Junichiro had hoped to help them all recover from their pasts, but he just wasn't sure how. He'd tried talking to them and considered them all good friends, but it wasn't much help. He just... well he wasn't super great with people. It had been awkward and uncomfortable and he'd given up pretty quickly, if he was being honest.

The room lit up as flames roared out of the teleportation circle in the room. When the flames receded they revealed a man in his mid-twenties wearing a burgundy suit unbuttoned enough to show off his chest. Given how much Rias despised the guy, one would expect that Riser was some sort of disgusting freak of nature with hideous looks. He was, in fact, conventionally handsome with his golden blonde hair and his dark blue eyes. Though, his hair style left a lot to be desired. Between the upward swoop in the center and they way his bangs curved around his face, it looked life a bird was on his head.

Riser looked around the room and smiled, though their was a clear hint of distaste behind the smile, “Ah, Rias. It's good to see you again. Are you ready to return to the underworld with me?”

Rias let out a little sigh and shook her head, “Riser, are you perhaps an idiot?”

Riser froze for a brief moment before his eyes narrowed and he began glaring at her, “Excuse me?”

Rias rested her cheek on the palm of her hand as she casually looked at him from across her desk, “I've been telling you, since the beginning, that I would not marry you. I do not care what our parents agreed to.” She locked her blue eyes on his, “We will not be getting married, you will never be my husband. Frankly, I don't know what my father was thinking by engaging me to some third son loser with no prospects in life. At least if he'd engaged me to your brother Ruval it would have made some sense.”

There was dead silence as she'd finished speaking. Junichiro had been keeping an eye on Riser, and more interestingly, Grayfia. As Rias had ranted, he'd seen a very brief flash of shock on her face. It was gone in a flash, but he'd seen it. Less interesting, and more predictable, was the look of mounting rage on Riser's face. His lips were curling into a sneer as his face flushed red and his eyes narrowed in rage, “Who do you think you are?!”

Calmly, Rias leaned back in her chair and looked Riser straight in the eyes, “I am Rias Gremory, Heir to the house of Gremory. Who do you think you are to be even remotely worthy of me?”

Riser's answer was an inarticulate growl of rage while flames erupted around his body burning the lush carpet on the ground and singeing the couch he was standing near. The temperature of the entire room climbed drastically for a few seconds before a burst of ice cold power from Grayfia countered it, “That is enough.”

Riser instantly calmed down, at least externally. He was arrogant and cocky, not suicidal. Grayfia looked between the two, “As it seems clear the two of you cannot reconcile the situation amicably, I have been authorized by both of your families to offer a final solution. You two will have a rating game upon the conclusion of which the winner will decide the status of the engagement.”

Rias calmly nodded her head, it was the solution she'd expected and been preparing for, “Acceptable. The sooner we do this, the better.”

Riser took a bit longer to speak. He might have cut off his flames and outwardly calmed down, but inwardly he was still enraged. He continued to glare at Rias even as his lips slowly curled into a smile, “I agree, the sooner the last of your insolence is crushed, then perhaps you will see the wisdom of our parents.”

He pulled his eyes away from Rias to look over the room. His lips curled into a sneer as he asked in a condescending tone, “Is this your entire peerage?”

He knew it wasn't. She had one more piece that she was took weak to control and he was deliberately needling her about it. Rias though, didn't even react to his bait. Instead she smiled brightly, “That's right, they are.”

Riser's angry gaze swept over the room and fixated on Junichiro, who chose to wear a prosthetic that day that was simply a solid piece of black plastic, rather than anything complex. He had a ruse to maintain, after all. Seeing Riser's lips curl into a smirk, he knew the ruse was working flawlessly, “Ah, yes, I had heard you'd recruited a useless cripple.”

Junichiro didn't even react to the comment, he merely gave Riser a bland smile. Not getting a reaction from Junichiro clearly irked Riser, but before he could say anything else, Rias interrupted him, “If you're quite done making a fool of yourself. I believe Grayfia can give us some details about the Rating Game.” She glanced at the maid, “How soon can we get this started?”

Grayfia, ever wanting to give off the air of a professional, answered swiftly, “It can be done as soon as tomorrow evening.”

Rias nodded in acceptance, “I can work with that.” She looked at Riser, “Unless you wish to delay so you can enjoy the prestige of me remaining your fiance for a while longer?”

Riser glowered at Rias, “Tomorrow evening will be fine.” He smirked as he stood tall and proud, “The sooner your insolence is over with, the better. Enjoy your final day of freedom. As soon as your loss is confirmed we will immediately leave to the Underworld and get married. I will allow no further delays.”

Rias didn't rise to the bait, instead he simply nodded her head. Grayfia spoke then, “I have confirmed consent from both parties. The Rating Game will be held tomorrow evening at ten o'clock.”

Riser spun on his heels and stormed over to the teleportation circle where he immediately vanished in a blast of fire. There was a moment of silence before Grayfia looked at Rias. It was clear by the look on Grayfia's face that she did not approve of what she'd just witnessed, “Was that wise Lady Rias? You could have possibly gotten more time for some last minute training if you hadn't pushed so hard.”

Rias, rather than looking concerned, chuckled and shook her head, “Grayfia-nee, I've been training for this day for the last two years. There is nothing to be gained from a further few days of training that would make any difference.”

Rias's smile turned into a vicious smirk, “And I am not the only one who has trained hard.”

Grayfia didn't sigh, but she clearly looked exasperated, “I am aware of your one-armed Knight gaining his balance breaker recently, but to rely on that alone to win... It is short sighted Lady Rias.”

Instead of the contrite look or hasty defensive statement that Grayfia expected, Rias address Junichiro, “Juni-kun, remind me again, how long have you had your Balance Breaker?”

Junichiro hummed in thought while pulling out a large suitcase with his good hand, “Ohhh about two and a half years or so now.”

Grayfia spun to look at Junichiro with wide eyes. She glanced back to a smug looking Rias, “You kept his balance breaker a secret for over two years?”

“That's not the only secret I kept.”

While the two talked, Grayfia's eyes moving between Rias and himself, Junichiro opened the suitcase before detaching the inconvenient prosthetic. Grayfia watched, internally shocked, as he pulled out what looked to be a severed arm with a bit of metal at the end. Her shock grew as he slotted the socket of the arm over a post and clicked it in place. Her surprise grew when the arm began to move as fluidly as an arm of living flesh would.

She turned to face Rias fully, “What is going on?”

Rias smirked, “I will only say that not everything is as it seems.”

Grayfia narrowed her eyes at Rias, but Rias had nothing further to say and remained silent on the subject. Grayfia eventually gave up and moved toward the teleportation circle, “I must leave to begin preparations. I had expected additional time to make them, but the arena will be ready on time. Until next time Lady Rias”

Grayfia gave a shallow bow while she teleported out in a flash of blue light. With her gone, Rias turned to Junichiro, “Are you sure this is wise?”

He nodded, “If there are any sudden changes to Riser's peerage after these small reveals, then we will know whose side she is truly on.”

Rias frowned, “I do not like this. Grayfia has been like an older sister to me my entire life.”

Junichiro shrugged, “Look what happened so soon after you told your family the good news of my growth in power. Instantly they began working harder to tie you to Riser as soon as possible. Suddenly the promise that you could attend college means nothing. You saw the true colors of your father when he immediately reneged on that promise the moment he felt you might be strong enough to actually beat Riser. It is imperative that you know who is, and isn't, on your side.”

Rias sighed and flopped back into her seat with a frown. Junichiro wasn't wrong. She'd shared the 'good news' with her family about Junichiro growing stronger. Days later the promise to go to college means nothing and she'd to marry Riser immediately. It was suddenly very clear to her that she was only allowed to remain free as long as she remained weak. If they knew even a tiny bit of the truth about Junichiro, they would have tried to marry her to Riser years ago.

Fortunately, for her, it was far too late. When the Rating Game rolled around, they would crush Riser and his peerage and she would have her freedom. She glanced at the smiling Junichiro, including the freedom to date and love whomever she wished to.

-----Line Break-----

Junichiro stood in the living room of his home with Valarie and Asia. As he looked at them, he couldn't help wondering if he had a thing for blondes. His first girlfriend was Mittelt, a blonde, now he was living with two more blondes. One of whom was very clearly interested in him and one that was too innocent to even know what being interested in a man would be like. Still, three beautiful blondes that spent a lot of time in his life and living in his house. He just might have a type.

Asia looked nervous, he didn't see any reason to keep the Rating Game a secret so they both knew where he was off to. Asia held her hands together in front of her heart, “Good luck tonight Junichiro-san.”

Valarie and he had been helping her with her Japanese so she could talk to the locals and she'd taken o adding honorifics to names. Valarie, as opposed to Asia, didn't look worried for him. In fact, she was smiling brightly since she had full faith in him, “Go kick some ass.”

Junichiro laughed lightly as Asia's little gasp from Valarie's swearing. He swept Valarie up in a hug, “I'll do just that.”

After a brief hug with her, he turned to Asia and held his arms open in case she wanted one as well. She looked embarrassed, her face flushed red, but she stepped into his arms and happily hugged him. Valarie had found out that Asia hadn't gotten much physical attention growing up in the church. Hugs were exceptionally rare so they'd taken to offering her one whenever the chance presented itself. Something Asia seemed to really enjoy.

The hug seemed to end too soon from the look of mild disappointment Asia had, but he had to go. He walked over to his teleportation circle and gave both girls a bright smile, “I'll be back soon enough.”

Asia, ever the cinnamon roll, clasped her hands together once more and looked earnestly at him, “When you get back, I'll be waiting to heal you!”

Junichiro gave Asia a warm smile as he teleported out. The next moment he arrived inside of the Occult Research Club's room where everyone else was waiting. Rias smiled brightly as she greeted him, “You're right on time Juni.”

Junichiro didn't move off of the circle, rather everyone else joined him on it. It was their ticket into the Rating Game's space. It wasn't a long wait before they were teleported into an exact replica of the ORC's main room. They all stepped off of the circle and looked around. Junichiro let out a soft whistle, “Impressive.”

Rias giggled and made her way over to the replica of a couch where she sat down, “You all know why we're here and what we're here to do.” She patted the couch next to her, “Juni, sit with me.”

While Junichiro went to sit next to Rias, the others left the room to take care of their parts. They'd had years to plan how they would fight Riser and all the plans were made with no particular place in mind. Given they knew the school likethe back of their hands, it was easy enough for them to all adapt to their expected roles.

Kiba, Koneko, and Akeno were all setting up their defenses right now. Once that was done they would truly begin the match. Rias wanted to drag it out, to make Riser think he stood a chance. Then, when it was just him and his sister left and he was throwing a hissy fit, she would personally crush him. She wanted to see the look on his face when he realized that all of his dreams were coming crashing down around him.

She might be a tad vindictive.

As for Junichiro, at Rias's request, he was not going to be participating much in the Rating Game, if at all. Everyone in her peerage was strong, Junichiro was broken. So, unless something went horribly wrong, she just wanted him to provide some support to the others.

Speaking of, as he got comfortable next to her, he held out his hand and, in a flash of golden light, conjured up a small sword in the shape of a ring. He held it out to her with a grin. With a matching grin, Rias accepted the ring and slipped it onto her right hand middle finger. Just a little something in case of emergency.

-----Line Break-----

Kiba and Koneko moved through the woods surrounding the old school building. Koneko had summoned her white kitten familiar and had it hopping along tree branches. Every time its paws settled down a magic circle would appear for a brief moment as a simple trap was laid. Meanwhile, Akeno was flying low through the area and setting up complex and detailed illusions to trick any trespassers.

Shortly after they finished they all returned to the clubroom to see Junichiro lazily laying down with his head on Rias's lap while she played with his hair. The group collectively rolled their eyes at the sight prompting Rias to giggle. Once everyone settled down, Rias laid out the simple modified plan, “Koneko, I want you to head to the gym to claim the center. Kiba, I want you to patrol the woods we just secured. I am one hundred percent certain Riser will send people to both places. Akeno, I want you patrolling the air and keeping an eye out for Riser's Queen. She's a simple artillery piece, you know what to do about that.”

The sadistic giggle coming from Akeno convinced everyone that she did, indeed, know what to do. The three had their marching orders and left the room once more. They could all communicate through magical devices they had, but they were in no rush to crush Riser so meeting in person was just polite.

Shortly after the others left, Rias began playfully smacking Junichiro upside his head, “Get up already. I need to get to the roof and keep an eye on things.”

Junichiro laughed and sat up to free her from his diabolical clutches. Rias shook her head in amusement and made her way out of the room. Junchiro sighed and lay down on the couch to relax. He'd spent two years working already, he definitely did deserve a break.

-----Line Break-----

Koneko marched directly to the school gym. She fully expected to run into at least a couple of pawns, possibly a rook or a knight as well. Upon stepping inside she sniffed the air and smirked a little. She could smell four other girls in the room. Not that she really needed her nose to know that since they were all standing out in the open.

She knew three of them were pawns. Two were about her size, Ile and Nel, two pawns with shirt green hair who used chainsaws as weapons. The third pawn was also Riser's newest pawn, Mira, a girl with blue hair who used a bo-staff. Lastly, a single rook, Xuelan who had dark hair with some pulled into cloth covered buns on the sides.

All four were facing her with looks of confusion that turned into condescension pretty rapidly. Xuelan was the one to speak for them all, “Just you? That's it? Is your king even trying to win or is she just hoping to delay the inevitable for a few moments longer?”

Xuelan scowled when Koneko didn't say anything back. Rather, the small Rook tugged on the hems of her gloves to make sure they were on nice and tight. They were a little something Junichior had cooked up for her and she loved them dearly. Her love had nothing to do with the adorable little smirking cat faces that her fists became when she clenched them. Well... not a lot to do with the faces... maybe.

Xuelan stepped in front of the others and glared at Koneko, “I'll take care of her. All four of us ganging up on her would be an insult to Lord Riser.”

The other three pouted at not being able to fight, but accepted Xuelan's words. Xuelan walked closer to Koneko until only a couple of meters separated them, “I am Xuelan, a Rook of Lord Riser, and I will be your opponent.”

After she finished speaking, Xuelan dropped into a stance reminiscent of Kung Fu and narrowed her eyes at Koneko who took a stance that looked like a boxing stance. At the same moment both Rooks launched at each other, the wooden floor of the gym cracking beneath their feet. They met in the center where Koneko slipped beneath the kick Xuelan had aimed at her head. Unable to dodge, Xuelan clenched her abdomen in preparation for the blow she knew was incoming.

Koneko's small fist slammed into Xuelan's stomach with the force of a freight train. The blow was so powerful it bent Xuelan's body over her arm while a shockwave blasted through her body and exploded out of her back completely shredding the back of her dress. Xuelan gagged on spit and bile as Koneko removed her smoking fist from Xuelan's stomach and let her collapse to the ground. Xuelan's eyes were white while blue light surrounded her and teleported her out of the Rating Game arena.

Grayfia's voice announced the result of their clash, “Lord Riser's one Rook has been retired.”

All three Pawns stared at Koneko in undisguised horror. Mira turned to the more experienced Ile and Nel, “W-what do we do?”

They didn't get the time needed to answer as Koneko seemingly vanished from her original position and appeared right between them. With a soft 'Hei.' Koneko buried her fists in their stomachs causing explosive shockwaves to blow the backs out of their clothing at well. Mira's eyes only had a moment to widen before Koneko's fist was buried in her stomach and the back of her clothing was exploding as well.

“Lord Riser's three Pawns have been retired.”

Koneko had a tiny smirk on her lips as she looked down at the gloves Junichiro had made for her. There was little she loved more than sweets, but these gloves were right up there among the sweetest of sweets. The gloves were lightly armored and heavily enchanted. The enchantments on them were scary as they gathered all of the force from her punches and redirected all of it into her target. In short, it took Newton's Third Law of Motion and told it to take a hike. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. For punching the action was delivering force to the target via her fist. Every time she hit someone their was always the feedback at her fist and up her arm, the opposite reaction. With these gloves, the energy that would come back at her through her arm is absorbed into the gloves and added to the punch.

In essence, when she punched someone she felt nothing and they felt a punch with DOUBLE the amount of force she was capable of without the gloves.

She calmly walked out of the gym while reaching up to touch her ear, “All done.”

Rias smiled at Koneko's report, “Well done Koneko. Find Yuuto and give him support, if he needs it.”

Koneko nodded and vanished in a blur of speed that would put some Knights to shame.

-----Line Break-----

Kiba leaned against a tree as he watched a group of pawns wander through the woods filled with traps. Clearly they were hoping to make their way to the Old School building and promote to Queens. He had been observing them for a bit now and was finding himself... disappointed. They'd found plenty of the obvious traps, but had completely missed the fact that they were caught in an illusion.

Part of him hated fighting this way, the way of tricks and traps. He would much prefer to battle in a duel format, one on one where he and his opponent could give their all. Unfortunately, this game was too important for him to indulge in his hobbies and habits. This was especially unfortunate for the four girls he was observing.

Kiba calmly walked out of where the illusion of the old school building had been hiding him instantly getting the attention of the four pawns. Oddly, he had two matching sets. The first set was a pair of nekoshou in matching sailor uniforms that had been modified to be rather skimpy. Meanwhile, the second set was a pair of maids in skimpy maid uniforms that he was certain Grayfia would despise.

The nekoshou with red hair was the first to spot him, “Oya? Just little you? I almost feel bad for the beating you're about to receive.”

Kiba didn't rise to the bait, rather he drew his rather plain looking sword. At the same time, both of his hands glowed golden. When the golden light faded he'd donned a half dozen different swords in the shape of rings. He was very grateful for that trick. He leveled his sword towards his opponents, “I'm sorry for what's about to happen.”

The nekoshou twins sneered while the maids scoffed. It was the last thing any of them were able to do. Kiba vanished in a blue of speed beyond anything they could comprehend, faster even than Riser's own Knights could possibly move. During their training, Kiba ahd focused heavily on enhancing his speed, to an extreme degree. As Junichiro had explained it to him, speed was power. The faster he was moving, the harder he could hit. As long as he could keep a grip on his sword and the sword could handle the impact, then he could deliver devastating blows.

When Kiba appeared on the other side of the small clearing from the four pawns, they were all bent over, clutching their stomachs and gagging in pain. As each one collapsed onto the ground face first, they were surrounded by a blue glow and vanished.

“Lord Riser's four Pawns have been retired.”

Kiba looked at the heavily bent sword in his hand and sighed, “Not good enough yet.”

The sword in his hand was actually dull, dealing blunt damage rather than slicing into his opponents. Mostly because if he did use a sharp blade, he likely would have completely sliced those girls in half. Their goal was to win the match, not slaughter Riser's peerage. Yes, that meant he was actually holding back.

He tossed the damaged sword away, letting it shatter into pieces as he dismissed it. He kept the rings on though, it would be a waste of energy to dismiss them when they could still be of use. With a flash of white light, he resummoned his dull sword and slid it into the sheath hanging on his waist. It was time to look for more opponents. Riser only had one Rook, two Knights, Two bishops, and his Queen left.”

“Lord Riser's Queen has been retired.”

Oh. Nevermind the Queen then.

-----Line Break-----

Akeno watched Koneko as she left the Gym. Originally, if it was necessary, Akeno was to destroy the gym building with Riser's peerage members still inside. It wasn't expected to be necessary, but Rias had the foresight to make several layers to their plans. It seemed like that was about to pay off as she spotted a familiar figure flying in the air and looking down at Koneko with malicious intent.

Akeno shot through the air and came to a stop where Yubelluna, Riser's Queen, could easily see her. It distracted Yubelluna from attempting to blast Koenko. Akeno doubted it would achieve anything, but there was no point in letting the enemy know that. It was much better to have them continue to underestimate them and believe they were just 'lucky'.

Yubelluna studied Akeno with her one visible eye, her other covered by her long purple hair, “You all are not doing too bad, though your struggles against Lord Riser are futile.”

Akeno smiled, it was not a pleasant one, “It appears I will be your opponent Queen Yubelluna, or should I call you 'The Bomb Queen'?”

Yubelluna clicked her tongue a little, “I hate that nickname, it lacks refinement. Wouldn't you agree, 'Priestess of Thunder'?”

Akeno's answer was a violent blast of lightning magic. Yubelluna thrust her staff forward causing a magic circle to appear in the path of the lightning and detonate, both magics canceling each other out. Yubelluna's explosions were extremely dangerous and contained a lot of power. However, her focus on them left her lacking in pretty much every other aspect of magic. That was not to say she was completely useless, she did know a few other things, but she was nowhere near as well rounded as Akeno.

Her lack of training in any other aspect of the Queen piece was why she was shocked when Akeno came blasting out of the smoke cloud generated by their clashing attacks. Her eyes only had time to widen before Akeno's fist slammed into her jaw and snapped her head to the side. She had zero time to recover before the air was driven from her lungs by a powerful palm thrust from Akeno that slammed into her breast bone with bone breaking force. The power of the blow sent her flipping end over end through the air until she managed to recover.

Yubelluna placed her free hand over her chest, wincing at the pain from possibly cracked bones. Without the defensive power of a Rook, her bones would have been completely broken for sure. She glared hatefully at Akeno, who was just now lowering her open palm from the martial stance she'd taken to deliver the blow. Akeno was supposed to be like her, someone who relied heavily on magic, not someone who ran into melee and used their fists like some brute.

Her eyes widened in shock as Akeno blasted toward her at high speed with her fist cocked back. She had no idea what Akeno was thinking, but she lifted her staff and fired off smaller explosions at a much faster rate, almost like a flak cannon firing at an airplane. It did her no good as Akeno deftly weaved through the explosions and closed the distance between them. Yubelluna fired off an explosion directly in front of herself in a last ditch effort to catch Akeno in it.

The explosion so close to herself sent Yubelluna flying back and down through the air until her back collided with a tree to stop her momentum. She groaned in pain but pushed through it while reaching into her cleavage. She didn't detonate that last explosion without a plan, she had a trump card. She retrieved the small vial hidden between her large breasts and smirked. Akeno had to be hurt by that last explosion and with this, she would fully recover and beat the still injured Akeno.

As she opened the small vial, a thin needle-like bolt of lightning ripped through the air and through the bottle, destroying it and spilling its contents on the ground. Yubelluna looked up in shock to see Akeno floating in the air calmly. The upper portion of Akeno's Miko outfit had taken significant damage, practically leaving her topless with only shreds of it remaining. Yet, beneath the damaged clothing, her skin was still flawless. Akeno looked down at the hurt Yubelluna with a sadistic smile, “Oh my, was that what I think it was? That's too bad.”

She giggled as sparks of electricity snapped between her fingers. Yubelluna's eyes widened as a bolt of lightning snapped through the air and hit her sending searing pain through her nervous system. Her eyes opened as she screamed in agony. He screams of pain were accompanied by Akeno's sadistic giggling.

“Lord Riser's four Pawns have been retired.”

Unfortunately, for Akeno, she was slightly distracted by the announcement and put a little too much power into her next attack. A thicker, more powerful, bolt of lightning snapped through the air and struck a lightly smoking Yubelluna.

“Lord Riser's Queen has been retired.”

Akeno clicked her tongue in annoyance. She hadn't wanted to stop playing with her new toy so soon. She quickly forgot about it and looked herself over. Aside from the damaged clothing, she was perfectly fine, “I still need more practice to avoid suicidal attacks, it seems.”

She'd been caught by surprise when Yubelluna had detonated an explosion so close to herself, but it made sense in hindsight thanks to the Phoenix Tear. If she'd been allowed to drink it, Yubelluna would have fully recovered from the fight and it would have been back to square one.

With her main job done and the majority of Riser's peerage already defeated, she turned and made her way toward where she knew Rias would be coming.

-----Line Break-----

“Lord Riser's Queen has been retired.”

Rias smiled at the announcement while looking over the battle ground from atop the old school building, “Well done, Akeno.”

She was extremely proud of how her peerage had done so far. Seven Pawns, one Rook, and his Queen all defeated without her members taking more than a scratch. They hadn't even had to pull out any real tricks yet. She reached up and touched her ear, “Yuuto, Koneko, find the rest of Riser's peerage and handle them, I'll be taking on Riser. Akeno, maintain over-watch and help the others if they need it.”

She didn't want to get cocky and assume that everything would go the way she desired. There was always a chance something could happen and any of them could end up eliminated. The only thing she didn't want to compromise on, was that Riser was hers to deal with personally.

Her wings snapped out from her back and she took to the air to fly toward the student council offices, Riser's home base. As she got closer she spotted Riser on the roof of the building waiting for her. Even now, he stood with a cocky pose, his hands in his pockets and a smirk on his face. As she gently touched down he pulled his hands out of his pockets to give her a sarcastic slow clap, “Well done Rias, truly, I am in awe.”

If the clap wasn't clue enough, the sarcasm dripping from his words would have clued in even the dullest of people. Rias didn't rise to the bait though, even going so far as to maintain her confident smile. Seeing her like that clearly irked Riser as he narrowed his eyes at her, “Still, even if you manage to beat everyone else, the fact is that you cannot hope to beat me! I am immortal, untouchable by you or your peerage.”

Rias cocked a delicate eyebrow while she maintained her confident smile, “Is that so?”

Riser rolled his eyes over dramatically. Rias started walking over to him, her hips swaying far more than usual and drawing his attention to them. When she came to a stop right in front of him, he finally managed to pull his eyes away from her short skirt. They shot open wide in surprise as he saw a feminine fist inches away from him.

Rias smirked darkly as she slammed her fist into Riser's face with her not inconsiderably physical might. Sure, she was nowhere near as strong as Koneko, Kiba, or Junichiro, but she was no slouch either. Junichiro wouldn't let her be. And honestly? At this moment she would happily kiss Junichiro in thanks for all the annoying exercise he made her get. The feeling of Riser's nose breaking under her fist as it plowed into his face mercilessly sent a spark of pleasure down her spine that had her worried for her panties.

She suddenly had a much better understanding of Akeno's sadism.

The blow snapped Riser's head back causing him to stumble and lose his footing on the sloped roof until he tripped and feel on his ass. He stayed on the ground, eyes wide with shock, his hand hovering over his nose as blood poured out from his nostrils. He stared at Rias in undisguised surprise as he tried to understand what was happening. Her punch shouldn't have done anything to him!

Rias smirked down at Riser as she lifted her fist up to her lips and blew on her knuckles, “I've wanted to do that for years.”

She narrowed her eyes and glared down at Riser, “Your immortality means nothing against me.” She lifted her arm with her palm facing up as she conjured a pulsing sphere composed of the Power of Destruction, “You know, accidents happen in Rating Games all the time. Wouldn't it be such a tragedy if I were to erase your head, fully expecting your Immortality to protect you, only to find that it didn't work?”

Riser's eyes widened at the blatant threat. It didn't register with him at all that it was the same kind of thing he would happily do to Rias to make her quit. His nose still throbbed and he had no idea why it hadn't instantly healed like every other injury he'd had before. He now realized, Rias was fighting for keeps and wouldn't be adverse to killing him to get away from the marriage.

He climbed to his feet while glaring at Rias, he wasn't about to quit. He was older than her, stronger than her, so what if she was trying to kill him? All he had to do was not let her hit him while he took her down. He narrowed his eyes at Rias while summoning his wings of fire and flaring them, “I don't know what cheap trick you're using, but it wont be enough to stop me!”

Rias considered him for a moment before a sly smirk curled her lips, “You know, I was planning to save this until later...”

She was cut off by an announcement from Grayfia, “Lord Riser's one Pawn, two Knights, and one Bishop have been retired.”

Riser looked over to the area where their had been a fight going between their peerages. The only members left of his were himself and his Sister. He scowled and turned to glare at Rias, “This means nothing! You still have no chance of defeating me!”

Rias sighed and shook her head, “As I was saying, I was planning to save this until later but...” She touched her ear and ordered, “Armageddon.”

“Lady Rias's Knight, Rook, and Queen have retired.”

The announcement from Grayfia shocked Riser. He had faith in his sister, but no way did she just defeat all three of those people on her own in a single shot. It left both of their peerages with just a single member, aside from themselves. He turned to Rias, clearly confused, “You're giving up? Just like that?”

Even he wasn't dense enough not to think something was very wrong about the situation.

-----Line Break-----

“Armageddon.”

Hearing the command from Rias, Junichiro raised an eyebrow in question but didn't say anything out loud. Armageddon was the code word for a scorched earth strategy they had. It was supposed to be used if things were looking bad for them, but everything had been going great. Well, he wasn't going to argue since he found the idea of the Armageddon scenario fun.

He hopped off of the couch and held up his arm to summon the Boosted Gear. He wasn't so opposed to showing it off now as he was before.

[BOOST!]

With the first boost active, Junichiro began conjuring multiple spell circles that hovered around himself and began gathering ambient energy into themselves.

[BOOST!]

Without the need for dramatic tension in an entertaining show, ten seconds wasn't really all that long. With the second boost active, Junichiro summoned another batch of larger spell circles that surrounded him in a second layer and began gathering even more energy.

[BOOST!]

With the third, and final boost, he summoned yet another batch of spells circles that were even larger than the second batch and made up a third layer surrounding him.

[EXPLOSION!]

With the burst of energy gained, Junichiro conjured one that layer of large spell circles. He grinned like a madman as the first circles finally reached their breaking point, having stored nearly too much energy. He took a long drag on on his cigarette, and spoke as he slowly exhaled a cloud of red smoke, “Armageddon.”

The first layer of spell circles burst and streamed their stored energy into the second layer. The second layer burst and streamed into the third, which also burst and streamed into the fourth. The last line held the immense power for just a moment before releasing it in an uncontrollable explosion.

There was no sound as the entire Rating Game arena turned into pure white light that lasted for nearly a minute before it slowly faded away. When the light was completely gone, it revealed a flat plain of nothing. Everything had been erased from existence but the final layer of the arena.

All four people that had been inside when the explosion happened were still there. However, their was a clear difference among them. Both Ravel and Riser were on the ground panting and looking all the worse for wear. Both were very clearly terrified and questioning their life choices up to that point.

Meanwhile, Junichiro was standing where he had been when casting the spell and still smoking his cigarette and emitting red smoke with every exhale. Rias, on the other hand, was floating in the air contained within a bubble of magic that had fully protected her from the spell of pure mass destruction. The bubble slowly cracked and then vanished, along with the ring Junichiro gave her at the beginning of the match.

“I... I surrender.”

“Lord Riser surrenders, Lady Rias wins.”

It was hard to tell, but there was definitely a note of surprise in Grayfia's voice. Not that anyone else who had watched the match would complain.

-----Line Break-----

10.3k words

So, how was that? We got Asia, hints of Odin being a perv, and some existencial stuff about his willingness to absolute wrek people in the last chapter with no qualms. Pretty good fight or too boring? Lemme know!

Armageddon was inspired by the Atomic spell from The Eminence in Shadow. It's not nuclear, but uses layers of spell circles that charge up to the breaking point with ambient mana followed by the last layer that converts all the mana into pure explosive force. Shockwaves, heat, light, etc. In short, BIG BOOM!

I've already kinda sorta maybe written half of a chapter to The Phenex Rises and plan to go work on that now. (This would've come out sooner if I hadn't)

I couldn't help it okay?! That story is too much fun!