It might have been his first time seeing Mephisto, but Riser knew Mephisto as he had investigated everything about Tannin. He might seem like a reckless type who would charge to every one of his problems, solving them with power, but if a problem could be solved by talk, why should he fight?
However, ironically, most of the problems in the supernatural world could only be solved by power.
Without power, everything was meaningless.
So, even if Mephisto was in the same generation as his ancestor, Riser didn't show much respect since their position made them hostile to each other.
Still, the most important point was that he didn't think he would lose to Mephisto.
Yet, even with a lack of respect, Mephisto still smiled as if he wasn't troubled by Riser's attitude.
"You don't seem that surprised when you see me," Mephisto said after sitting on Riser's opposite side with a kind smile.
"Because if we fight, I don't think I will lose."
"Fufufu..." Mephisto laughed. "You are right. If we fight, I will lose. I don't think that I can win against you." He was frank and didn't hide the fact that he was weaker than the younger one in front of him. "Still, your relationship is so close." He couldn't have but said those words when he saw Riser and Ravel.
"What do you want to say?" Riser narrowed his eyes.
Ravel, who was standing behind Riser's, was also startled, but when he held her hand, she felt relief.
"I am sorry. I don't have a bad intention to mention that." Mephisto quickly apologized as he knew he had touched Riser's nerve, and he could tell that there was no doubt that more rude remarks would give him a painful death.
Yes, death.
Mephisto could see that Riser would really kill him as long as he dared to say the next words that he was supposed to say. Even now, he could feel something sharp that was about to slice apart his body. This sharpness was something that he had never felt before as he felt not only his body but even his soul could be cut, which was outrageous.
Still, due to this, in front of Mephisto, there was no need to hide anything.
However, in case their news were known, there was no doubt Mephisto would be Riser's target.
Nevertheless, Mephisto felt helpless and wanted to curse his mouth for some reason, as he hated trouble. However, he really didn't intend to say anything, as what Riser and Ravel did was something cute compared to what the Old Satan did in the past. Moreover, he could see they were sincere with each other, and this was also what made him feel Riser wasn't a bad individual.
"Are you not here to ask us to stop bothering your peerage members?" Riser asked.
"Well, partly I come for that, but I realize that I have messed up, so I think that's not possible, right?"
"You are right."
"Moreover, to be honest, even if Tannin died, I don't really care, so you don't need to worry since no enmity will be born among us."
Riser frowned. "You are so cold."
"Really? I think it is you who is weird for thinking of your peerage members as your family." Mephisto chuckled and felt that this young man was kind, but the world was just unkind toward him.
It was as if fate wanted this young man to bow down and just follow a certain force obediently like others, which forced him to become evil.
While Mephisto wasn't sure where this source originated from, he made his decision to stay away from the storm so as not to get involved. It was the same case as the Devil Civil War that happened previously, as he stayed away and didn't join either side.
As for Tannin?
As Mephisto had said before, he didn't care. He had let Tannin do whatever he wanted without giving him instructions or anything. In other words, all of these problems were due to Tannin's carelessness in joining this whirlpool.
Still, Mephisto smiled and said, "Still, you are kind."
"...I am kind?" Riser felt weirded out.
"You know, if you wish, you should be able to kill Tannin directly, yet you still do this troublesome method, harassing him. To be honest, with your power, even if you kill Tannin directly, no one will say anything, so why do you do all of this? Moreover, you should have realized that Tannin has been abandoned by the Great Four Satans. No, it should be Sirzech who had abandoned Tannin, as the other Great Four Satans didn't get involved in this matter.
"Yet, even if you know all of those facts, you didn't do it. You didn't massacre Tannin and his people and give them a chance to stay alive, right?"
"...."
Riser didn't say anything since what Mephisto said was correct.
Frankly, Riser tried to give Tannin a chance. He didn't doubt Tannin's power, and like what he did with the East Youkai Faction and the Grigori, he thought to dominate Tannin and his races.
However, in the eyes of Mephisto, Riser's method was gentle.
As Mephisto had said before, Tannin was already at his disposal.
Sirzech had abandoned Tannin and let Riser do whatever he wanted with Tannin.
Why?
If there was an answer, it was all due to peace.
Yes, peace.
As Azazel had said before, the three factions meeting would be held soon in Kuoh Town.
Everyone had anticipated this peace and wished for it to happen especially Sirzech, Azazel, and others.
In order to make this meeting smooth without any problems, they decided to give Tannin to Riser, hoping that it would appease his anger so as not to cause trouble, giving everyone the peace that everyone had sought.
After all, if Riser really wanted to make trouble, they couldn't stop him since his methods had always been out of the box. No one could predict what he would do, and everything was based on his whim. Moreover, he had the power to back up action.
His action might be like a dragon, but Riser was different from a dragon as he never made the first move. In the eyes of others, he had always been on the side of justice and righteousness. No matter how cruel his action was, he had never been pictured as a villain by others.
So, they were afraid if they really made peace, then they would be pictured as villains.
This was why they let Riser do whatever he wanted with Tannin.
"You are young, so you don't know how we, devil, are originally born. In the eyes of Lucifer, we're nothing but tools used to wage war against God and heaven.
"As we're tools, you should know how Lucifer treats us, right?"
How did the devil treat a tool?
Was there even a need to answer?
Riser fell in silence for a moment as he thought that everything was meaningless. He wondered why he did all of this, even though he didn't hate Tannin that much. Frankly, sometimes, he also wondered why he wanted to fight Sirzech, as it was better to hug this fat thigh, having him to protect him from anything.
Yet, the world was like this.
Even if Riser didn't do anything, it would mess with his life, and everything was too late.
Nevertheless, Mephisto misunderstood him as Riser had never intended to give Tannin a chance.
Tannin was different from Nurarihyon.
The dragon was much stupider than the other races, so Riser didn't have any hope for Tannin to beg him, apologizing like a beggar, bowing his head so low until he kissed the ground.
Especially when Tannin sent Mephisto to mediate everything, trying to scare Riser to leave this territory.
Facing such a stupid lizard, Riser didn't have mercy, but...
'This isn't the time.'
If Riser killed Tannin, he would give an opening to Sirzech, so he needed to wait for a while.
"One year."
"What?" Mephisto was confused.
"If Tannin and the others can hold on until one year, I will leave and forgive him. While I still forbid their access to the Dragon Apple and stop the cultivation research of this fruit, I will still give them a minimal amount of Dragon Apple for them to stay alive, but they have to pay, so in this one year, tell him to do his best not to cause trouble and anger me."
Riser said those words magnanimously, but what was he thinking inside? No one really knew, but then again, he felt it was too early to erase Tannin; at least, he wanted to maximize Tannin's value before he erased him.
"......"
Mephisto blinked his eyes and wanted to say that Riser was quite naive as it was better to erase all the enemies clean without leaving them behind, yet since Riser had said so, and it was good for Tannin and the others, then why should he reject?
"Then, I will tell him that."
Still, haring Riser asked Tannin to pay.
Was Riser interested in money and wealth?
Mephisto learned something good, but he knew that it was his time to leave, even if Riser didn't say anything. However, before he left, he said, "By the way, do you want to make a contract with a magician?"
"...what?"