"Why not keep them on?" Rias mischievously said as she watched her best friend take off her glasses and then take a good look at herself in the mirror.
"No reason," Sona replied and then smiled at Rias. "Why did you change into this dress?" She asked.
As soon as the dinner finished, Rias hurriedly excused herself and returned a short while later, wearing a red princess dress.
"I want to look my best." She honestly answered, making Sona smile some more.
"My Ladies," The yellow-haired maid of Pandora Darcaedes entered the waiting room and politely greeted them. "Please come with me. Lady Pandora is waiting for you." She informed them, and the two took deep breaths before they nodded and followed her to the throne room.
As soon as the massive door of the Hall opened, their hearts thumped hard against their chests. And even from a distance of hundreds of meters, they could see Queen Darcaedes sitting on her throne, wearing her dark crown.
Every step they took towards her weighed on their hearts.
The last time they had met Pandora was years ago, and it was the only time they had met her.
And just like the last time, as soon as those crimson eyes landed on them, they felt their blood rage and this caused them to feel lightheaded.
"My Lady." They both courteously bowed to her, and kept their heads lowered until Pandora acknowledged their presence and accepted their greeting.
"I would like you to address me as Mother the next time you come to see me." Pandora lightly smiled and then stood up. "Come here." She asked, and both of them subconsciously responded by stepping forward.
They climbed up the steps and arrived at the royal platform, and their bodies shook a little as they stood in front of the most powerful Devil in existence.
It was only after they felt her gently place her hands on their heads that they relaxed, and a smile crossed their faces.
However, it soon stiffened when they heard her next words.
"Quite weak, aren't you?"
The two of them were wise enough to not speak anything and try to defend their weakness. They silently accepted her words and kept their heads lowered.
"Since you are going to belong to my Raizel, I suppose I should help you a little."
Their eyes widened in surprise at her words, but before they could think anything, they saw a brief flash of crimson before their minds went blank.
The two girls, who were now unconscious, floated up in the air as a crimson light surrounded their bodies, and soon, their Demonic Powers burst out of their bodies.
Pandora watched the changes take place as she fixed the Blood in their veins, allowing them to better understand and grasp their Clan Traits.
However, she soon returned to her throne, and she did not even spare them a glance for the rest of the process.
"Mother." Suddenly, two girls entered the Hall, and she smiled at them.
Velzard and Freya were following Alebdo as they walked over to them, and all three of them curiously looked at the two girls who were floating in the air, surrounded by their Demonic Power.
"They are his Fiancées?" Velzard curiously asked, and Freya nodded to her words.
"Yes." She replied and watched a dangerous smile cross the True Dragon's face.
"Raizel will be upset with you if you traumatise them." Pandora, who seemed to have read her adopted daughter's thoughts, lightly reminded her.
The smile on Velzard's face stiffened a little as she understood that her mother was asking her to go easy on them, and she obediently nodded her head.
A few minutes later, under the watchful eyes of Freya and Velzard, the Demonic Power receded inside the bodies of Rias and Sona, and the two girls woke up as soon as their feet touched the group.
They stumbled a little before they managed to regain their bearings, and they confusedly looked around them.
Even though some time had passed, what they went through only seemed like a second to them, and they did not even know what happened to them after they saw that crimson light.
"Rias, Sona." Freya smiled at them, and the two girls turned around, shocked to see the two people they were familiar with, and a stranger.
"Lady Asmodeus!" They immediately greeted Albedo and then smiled at Freya.
"When did you come?" Rias asked.
"It's been a few minutes." She replied and then glanced at Velzard. "Meet Velzard. She's Raizel's older sister." She introduced them to the True Dragon.
The two Devils looked at Velzard in surprise, and they could instantly tell that she was Raizel's adopted sister since they could not sense any Demonic Power from her. This meant that the girl with silver hair and blue eyes was not a Devil or even a half Devil.
"The two of you will spend the next year with her." She informed them, and the two instinctively turned to look towards Pandora.
"Your parents are already aware of the arrangement. You will be safe with Velzard and she will help you grow stronger." The Darcaedes Queen informed them, and the two immediately turned pale.
"Raizel and your peerages have been informed as well. Now, come with me." Velzard grinned, catching their attention, and then they watched her create a strange silver magical circle that bore the sigil of a majestic dragon.
"Go," They heard Pandora speak. "The next time we see each other, I hope you will be much stronger than you are today."
Rias was extremely nervous and apprehensive right now, but Sona was faring quite well.
She grabbed her best friend's hand and gently squeezed it, helping her calm down.
"Thank you, Mother." She bowed to Pandora, and Rias followed her lead.
Velzard patiently waited for the two girls to enter the Magical Circle that she had created, and then she disappeared together with them.
"She won't go easy on them." Freya sighed, having caught the smile on Velzard's face before she left.
Her words made Albedo grin, and Pandora just smiled.
Soon, a devilish smile crept on Freya's face as well.
"I wonder what their reaction would be when they learn that after Velzard, they will have to spend another year in training under you." The young Lucifuge looked at Albedo, who lightly giggled at her words.
"I expect them to be quite upset." She said and then looked at her Queen. "I will see you in a while." She smiled.
"Be safe." Pandora smiled back at her and then affectionately looked at Freya. "Work hard."
"Yes, Mother." The girl politely bowed to her and then left the Hall together with Albedo.
It was not just Sona and Rias who were going to be away from Raizel for the coming years. She too was leaving to train under Albedo.
At the same time, at another place, two young girls curiously looked at the floating islands in the sky and then looked at the lush green land where they stood.
"Where are we?" Sona curiously asked, watching Velzard tap her finger on her chin as she thought about something.
The Dragoness suddenly smiled as an idea crossed her mind, and both Rias and Sona felt chills run up their spines.
"We are inside an Isolated Dimension. No one will disturb us here." She informed them, and then her eyes briefly shone in a blue light.
"What are you?" Rias frowned, subconsciously clenching her fists, and her reaction brightened the smile on Velzard's face.
"I am a predator, Little Devil. And you are my prey." She mischievously said, tensing them up even more. And then to their horror, she changed into her dragon form.
Sona and Rias stared at the colossal Silver Blue Ice-Dragon, a being that was Majestic and Godly, dwarfing the likes of Dragon King, Tannin. As soon as they compared this Dragon to the Dragon King they remembered, they felt embarrassed in their hearts for even thinking about it.
There was no comparison.
The one before them was one of the most beautiful and terrifying beings in existence, and they could sense it because this Isolated Dimension had started shaking in fear too.
"Not scared?" The majestic dragon spoke, and strangely enough, her voice had remained the same even in this form.
"You are beautiful!" Rias exclaimed, now brightly smiling at her, and then an excited giggle escaped her lips.
Sona was simply enchanted now by the beauty of the dragon, and the smile on her face was devoid of any hint of fear.
"Interesting." Velzard narrowed her eyes at the two Devils. "Why are you not scared?" She curiously asked.
"You won't harm us." Sona shook her head and answered her. "I doubt that Mother Pandora wants us dead."
"Besides, are not you Raizel's sister? Why would you harm us?" Rias pouted but then excitedly smiled again. "I can sense it. You are strong!"
"Hmph!" Velzard scoffed at her words. "At least, the two of you are not completely dumb. But though I won't kill you, I will very much harm you." She mockingly laughed. "I will break your bones if you don't run away now." She said and returned to her previous form.
Sona and Rias tensed up with they saw her form an Ice Spear in her right hand.
"And remember to shield against it." She grinned, preparing to throw it right at the crimson-haired Heiress.
When Rias saw the spear flying at her, intending to impale her, she instinctively shot out a ball of Destruction from her hand, and her face paled when she saw her attack prove useless.
"Rias!" She heard Sona call out her name before she saw blue Magical shields appear in front of her, and before the Spear could crash into them, she erected her own shields as well.
"Not bad." Velzard grinned some more when she saw her Spear get stopped, and then she created another in her left hand.
However, both Rias and Sona were already flying away from her now, as fast as they could.
"Watch out." She warned Sona as she targeted her, and smiled in her heart when she saw Rias stop as well to protect her friend. "Oh, I am going to have a lot of fun with the two of you."
Velzard created more spears in the air around her and then kept throwing them at the two girls who were now running for their lives.