It took everything for the blonde to not go crazy then and there and fight the crimson-haired devil to the death. That attack on his sister, an attack that would've no doubt tore through her brains, made him simmer with far more rage than he ever felt before, rage equaling or even eclipsing the anger he felt at the Himejima. To have his sister almost die in front of him, was not something he could tolerate.
But he had to. Not because he feared Sirzechs or the consequences. But because he understood how the man felt. If he was in his position and Asia was the one kidnapped, he knew exactly how he would act.
However, if Sirzechs even showed ANY intention of trying, he would fight to kill. To hell with the peace and understanding.
To hell with consequences.
"To hell with politics."
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|DxD|
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The air was tense, so tense that it was palpable. It was as if their region itself was filled with methane gas, and only one spark was needed for chaos to descend. Five entities stood, three against two. Yet two of them from opposing sides were eyeing each other…gauging one another.
Igor was glaring at Sirzechs directly in the eye, a few multipliers of his Kaioken active. His vigilance was at an all-time high, his gaze not wavering in the slightest.
"..."
Sirzechs was more surprised than angry at this juncture. It had been a very long time since someone threatened to kill him directly. A few death threats in the form of letters? Sure. But there was no one who had the gall to do the same in the flesh. The boy had some spirit in him that was for sure.
Regardless, whether their reasons were malicious or miscalculated, it was a fact that they kidnapped his only sister, the sister of a Maou. He would not let them go.
"?!"
Igor felt it again, that sensation of killing intent. It was so faint, so brief that he might've pegged it for an illusion. But he wouldn't take chances, not when his sister's life was at stake.
In response, he raised his hand and aimed at Sirzechs.
Vwomp
A small golden yellow orb formed in his palm, but the amount of ki compressed within it was anything but small.
"Try me. I dare you to try me."
"..."
If the tension in the air was methane, now it was a powder keg on the verge of exploding. This was a blatant threat, the equivalent of drawing a sword against a king. Igor was no longer disrespecting Sirzechs. He was stepping on his authority as a Maou, a crime punishable by death itself.
If nothing happened, a battle of epic proportions would ensue and if either side lost their sister, an irreconcilable grudge would form against these two behemoths.
Azazel and Ajuka eyed each other. The fallen gave a nod, his thoughts aligning with the devil.
"Wooaaah. Calm down, Igor. Calm down."
"Stay your hand, Sirzechs. There is no need for unnecessary conflict."
""…""
The two would-be fighters regarded each other. It seemed that neither one was willing to back down first. There was no aura coming from Sirzechs, but just him circulating his magic power released an immense pressure.
There was an invisible battle of sorts, one invisible to the naked eye. They were fighting each other with pressure, one fighting to overpower the other. Demonic Energy against Demi-ki, an invisible battle that only sensors could see.
Naturally, that included the little girl who was peacefully sleeping with her familiar.
"Hm?"
Rias felt as if her skin was being pricked all over by a needle. She was content to ignore it, but it never stopped. Frowning, she tried to swat the needle, but it kept poking her.
"Mou…"
Rubbing her eyes, she sat up along with her familiar who was also waking up. Once she removed her hands from her eyes, she looked up to see five people, three of them unfamiliar to her.
Her gaze slowly moved towards the person she was most familiar with.
"Onii-tan?"
.
.
.
It was a simple word, but it was like pouring a tsunami over a candle. Her little voice, meek yet cute, was all it took to dissolve the tension in the air, a tension that two faction leaders couldn't dissolve.
"Ria-tan!"
Completely disregarding Igor, Sirzechs rushed towards his little sister and hugged her tightly, his cheek pressing against hers.
"You're okay!"
"Onii-tan! That tickles~."
The little redhead was completely oblivious to the chaos around her. Or to be accurate, she didn't care. She didn't even show a trace of fear. No one could be sure if she was just that oblivious, or if she trusted her brother that much.
All eyes were focused on the little heiress, not a single one of them containing hostility. As her blue eyes looked around at all these new people, her gaze stopped upon Igor's.
With a smile, Rias greeted him.
"Hello~. Who are you? My name is Rias."
"..."
Critical Hit!
That innocent closed-eye smile, her cheery voice, her words, all of it culminated to form a concoction that would make even the angriest of bulls docile. As angry and vigilant as Igor was, all of it evaporated like dew in the morning sun.
Subconsciously powering down, the blonde smiled at her as he proudly introduced himself.
"My name is Igor, Igor von Dimori. The number one fighter in the universe. You'd do well to remember that, Rias."
The little heiress found his introduction funny.
"Hihihi~. Okay, Igor-nii."
"..."
Rias used "nii". It was super effective.
The blonde was enraptured in her laugh before he looked away with a huff.
[Cute. Of course, not as cute as Asia. Maybe they can tie.]
Picturing the smiling face of his little sister alongside Rias, that thought was bolstered in his head. However, his happy thoughts were sent flying with Rias' next words.
"You know, I thought you were a pretty sister. Teehee~."
"..."
Igor…did not know how to respond to that. Unfortunately, Ajuka also decided to fan the flames.
"You are right, Rias-chan. Now that you mention it, he does make a convincing woman."
"..."
The blonde was not liking this situation. He could hear Azazel struggle to restrain a laughter, his shoulders shaking as a few pints of chuckles escaped through his lips.
"..."
His face turned darker than the bottom of a pot, a result of his manliness being questioned.
"Tch. To think I almost put you on the same level as my little sister. I guess you're not cute after all, Rias."
"You take that back!"
The retort came not from Rias, but from Sirzechs. The satan immediately marched up to Igor with a face full of righteous indignation.
"Ria-tan is the cutest little sister in the whole world!"
The blonde was not going to be outdone.
"Lies! My cute little Asia is the number one super cutest little sister in the whole world!"
"Nonsense! It is my little sister who's number one!"
"Bullshit! Asia's number one!"
"NO! RIAS IS NUMBER ONE! YOUR ASIA CAN ONLY BE THE SECON-"
" 'SECOND' YOUR MOTHER!"
The two of them were already bashing skulls, their eyes trading sparks as they competed for who had the cutest sister. Both sides had crimson aura wafting off of them as they tried to intimidate the other into submitting.
This little scene probably would've lasted longer were it not for Azazel interfering. Separating the two of them by the shoulder, he spoke with a small smile.
"Well. I see that everyone is happy now. Why don't we call it a day?"
The pair glared at each other before Igor relented first.
"Hmph. You'll soon realise how outclassed your little sister is over mine."
"So you say. As if that would ever happen."
Igor was about to retort when Azazel strengthened the grip on his shoulder.
"Igor. We have to leave."
"..."
Noticing the seriousness in the fallen's gaze, Igor agree.
"Yeah, Uncle A. You're right. "
After calming down a bit, he did realise they needed to leave. As they spoke, Baraquiel was probably in pain and here he was bickering with a Maou.
Thinking back to how he hurt Baraquiel, he felt very regretful. It was only fortunate that he had advanced enough in Spirit Control to figure out how to use his ki to heal.
"Please wait."
It was Sirzechs who stopped them. He quickly crouched down to Rias' level, said a few words to her before making her vanish in a magic circle.
Vwong!
With his little sister gone, he stood up, his gaze narrowing as he regarded the only two humans here.
"The both of you. Are you…?"
This time, it was Aurelia who spoke. With a light bow, she confirmed his guess.
"Yes, Lucifer-sama. We are Aryans."
She knew he was asking out of cordiality. He already knew what they were. And even if he did, she was sure that Ajuka would. In fact, she was sure he realised it at first glance. But that was unimportant. Now that the real talks were about to begin, she didn't want for any grievances to linger, especially between herself and Sirzechs.
"I would further like to bestow my apologies to you, Lucifer-sama. We meant no harm to the young heiress."
If it weren't for Igor stopping her with his ki, her bow may have been lower. Out of the corner of his eye, she could see that the blonde was not pleased with her lowering her head to another.
"Please do not worry about it any longer. I shall educate my sister to not peek into other people's business."
"Thank you, Lucifer-sama."
"Now, continuing on our previous-"
"Bloody politics."
Igor had enough. On another day, he might've remained quiet. But he didn't want to waste time today.
"Lucifer. All of us here are very busy people. I know you knew what we were, but you skirted around the issue. I hate politics. Maybe its because I'm still young, but I think they're a waste of time. So let's not waste time and get straight to the point. In fact, let me start us off."
Content that he had everyone's attention, he started listing off with his fingers.
"No. We are not a threat to you. We prefer keeping to ourselves. Our reason for coming to the Underworld is personal. Yes, I know Uncle Azazel. No, I won't tell how, when, or why. Yes, you are welcome to investigate me. Yes, I will most likely kill anyone you send to investigate me. No, I am not afraid of anyone of you or your reputation. Yes, my balls are that big. Any more questions? Or does that cover it?"
Four different people, all with four different reactions. Aurelia seemed as if she was about to die on the spot. All her effort in teaching him politics was for naught. His brash words, especially the last part truly made her wish she could rewind time.
Azazel was struggling not to laugh out loud. His shoulders were quivering every moment or so with tears almost leaking out of his eyes.
Ajuka had an almost similar reaction to Azazel. He was amused, a small smile forming on his face as he watched the blonde with a gleam of interest.
Sirzechs was…lost for words. Igor's words weren't maddening by any aspect. Rather, he found them…refreshing, especially given that the blonde had the strength to back his rather lackadaisical (careless) words.
In fact, he found this situation a bit funny.
"No, Dimori-kun. I must say that you have covered everything that needed to be covered."
"Oh, good. Come on, Uncle A. Let's- oh right."
The blonde laughed ominously as he grabbed both Aurelia's and Azazel's hands.
"I also have another little sister. That means that your Ria-tan is number three."
Without waiting, the three of them vanished.
Tswii!
"..."
Ajuka walked over to where they disappeared. He noticed the very minute spatial fractures that were already repairing themselves after their teleportation.
"Well, well. Such an intriguing teleportation spell. I never quite thought that he would use the Dime-"
"Not now, Ajuka!"
Sirzechs was pissed.
"How dare he say that someone is cuter than Ria-tan? No one! No one is. And I'll prove it!"
"..."
Some days, Ajuka just couldn't understand his friend, or the boy they just met. Just a minute prior, they were this close to killing each other. A few moments later, they're bantering over who has the cuter sister.
It was simply illogical.
[Siscons, the one thing more complicated than women.]
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AN
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From enemies to frenemies. The power of the little sister is infinite.