Chapter 105 - Secret Revealed
Even though Riser hadn't immediately gone after Mahiro, the outcome was pretty much inevitable, and that had Riser feeling damn good about himself.
Mahiro, just some regular human, was going to face not just him but his entire peerage.
Even one-on-one, Riser had a solid chance of beating Mahiro. Add in his fifteen battle-hardened servants, and it wasn't even a contest.
Was there really any doubt about how this would end?
"Enjoy the last ten hours of your life, human."
Riser laughed like a maniac, leaving those words hanging as he and his peerage stepped into the magic circle.
In a burst of flames, the group vanished from the ORC.
"Well, I'll take my leave too. I need to report this to Sirzechs-sama," Grayfia said politely as the magic circle under her feet began to glow again.
"Oh, and Mahiro-sama, Sirzechs-sama asked me to pass on a message to you."
Standing within the magic circle, Grayfia turned to Mahiro.
'Mahiro-sama?'
Mahiro blinked, a bit thrown off by the title.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Sirzechs-sama said, 'Becoming Gremory's son-in-law is no easy task. If you want to win Rias, prove your worth.'"
Grayfia looked straight at Mahiro as she delivered the message.
"Tell my brother-in-law I'm not giving up on Rias, and I'll be Gremory's son-in-law."
Mahiro's voice was firm.
"Very well, I'll relay your message to Sirzechs-sama," Grayfia said, giving him a long look before bowing slightly.
"Good luck."
With those parting words, a silver-white light flooded the room, and Grayfia disappeared.
After she left, the room went dead quiet, the air growing heavier by the second.
"Why so serious?" Mahiro grinned, cutting through the tension.
"Mahiro-kun, why did you accept Riser's terms? Can't you see he just wants to use this chance to crush you?" Rias asked, worry clear in her voice.
"Wouldn't it be better to end this all at once?" Mahiro shrugged casually.
"I get that it seems like the best solution, but do you even know who you're up against? It's Riser, and he's on a whole other level from anyone you've fought before. I hate the guy, but I've gotta admit, he's crazy strong."
"If I even struggle to beat him in a one-on-one, how the hell do you expect to take him and his whole peerage?"
Rias was freaking out, pacing back and forth. Guilt weighed on her heavily too.
"I know what I'm doing. I wouldn't have agreed if I wasn't confident. Do you really think I'm gonna die? Come on, my life's just starting to get good," Mahiro said with a smirk.
His carefree attitude only made Rias even more anxious.
In her eyes, Mahiro was still just a human who'd barely scratched the surface of the supernatural world. He had no idea what Riser was capable of. Sure, Mahiro had talent, but he was still young and hadn't trained enough.
Compared to an adult Devil like Riser, the gap was massive.
And on top of that, Riser was a fucking Phenex, with the powers of the legendary phoenix.
"It's my fault... I should've explained how strong Riser is. You agreed to this without knowing the full picture."
Rias looked like she was about to cry. Mahiro was her guy, and now, because of her, he was about to get killed by Riser.
"This is on me--I was so focused on ending my engagement to Riser that I didn't think about how insane and underhanded he could be. I didn't think about the consequences for you."
Rias stepped closer, staring up at Mahiro desperately. "Mahiro-kun, why don't you just run away?"
She started pacing again, clearly grasping at straws.
"Yeah, that's it."
"I'll handle the Phenex Clan. Mahiro-kun, as long as you get out of here, you'll be safe."
"Rias... Rias!"
Mahiro gripped her shoulders, stopping her in her tracks. "You're overthinking this..."
Rias looked up at him, her eyes full of worry and helplessness.
Mahiro's heart skipped a beat--this girl seriously cared about him.
And that's why he couldn't let her down.
"Rias, it's pointless for Mahiro to run now," Akeno chimed in.
"Oh, forget it. I'm not getting involved in whatever's going on between you two, but right now, the priority is the Rating Game between Mahiro and Riser," Akeno continued.
"We've got less than a day. That's way too tight," Yuuto said with a frown. If Mahiro could've delayed the match for even a few more days...
"Even with just a day, we need to figure something out," Koneko insisted.
"If push comes to shove, I'll ask my asshole dad if he's got anything useful," Akeno said with a smirk, a weird look crossing her face.
Hearing that, Mahiro raised an eyebrow.
Asshole dad? Was she talking about Baraqiel, the Fallen Angel cadre?
Seemed like Akeno still had a strained relationship with her old man.
"By the way, Rias, I haven't told you yet--I actually awakened a Sacred Gear," Mahiro said, grinning.
"Sacred Gear?"
Rias blinked, muttering, "If you have a Sacred Gear, that would definitely boost your combat power, but it's still not enough. Riser's immortality is bullshit to deal with, and most Sacred Gears wouldn't even faze him."
"Actually, I've awakened a Longinus... and something more."
Mahiro continued.
"Even if it's a Longinus, that still wouldn't--wait, what did you just say?"
Rias froze, staring at him like he'd just dropped a bomb.
Mahiro's words hit like a punch to the gut, instantly flipping the room's mood.
Not just Rias, even Akeno looked at Mahiro like he'd just said something completely insane.
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