Disclaimer : I own nothing.
Chapter 8 : Roasted Turkey? Cockroach? Holy Crap, its a Gundam.
- Shin –
I have planned this fight for a while. Let's see how this goes.
'BOOOOOOM'
"You lowly insect. You have truly made Riser mad. Riser will burn you to ashes."
Yup, Hulk Mad and all that crap.
"Wow Boss, you were right. He really said that." Meredith comments from behind me. Okay now that was just me guessing but this idiot was really that predictable.
Right now, I want to concentrate on taking him out without suffering any damage. The rewards are not something I would like to miss.
"Everyone get back, I would like to fight this myself. Do . Not . Interfere . until I say so. This is a fight between me and him, also don't get caught in the collateral."
I do have some plans for this part though. I would like to keep my Fire God Slayer Magic a secret. I don't know what kind of trouble that will attract if they find out that I know specific magic to kill Gods of all beings.
I have my plans for my PoD too. So that leaves only.
[Sacred Gear : Mirror Alice(Expert) ](Active)
Reflects all magical attacks back to the caster with two times the force.
Max Reflected Amount = [(INT + WIS) x 20]
Number of Mirrors : 4
Store the absorbed power : [0/(INT+WIS) x 100]. (0/259200).
Costs : 200 SP per use.
Cooldown Time : 5 seconds.
Please Note that to unlock the Balance Breaker you have to upgrade the Sacred Gear to (Expert Level) and every level requires Level x 1 number of upgrades to reach the next level.
Apparently the last update needed for Balance Breaker was to complete the Expert Level. Then I have to select the Balance Breaker myself. Sub-species are such a pain in the neck to decide. Tsubaki's Mirror Alice's Balance Breaker was summoning characters from Alice in wonderland. It reminded me of the reality marble of Alice from Type/Moon a bit. So much potential.
I need proper time to devote to that. It is too precious to waste.
No to mention the number of reflections required for the update is insane right now. It is truly grinding in the purest form.
Getting to Master Level is going to be a major pain in the ass. What is even there in the Master level. Maybe a Juggernaut Drive equivalent to Mirror Alice?
How would that even look like? Who knows.
I step aside using Shadow Walk dodging a small barrage of fireballs. Not that it would hurt me but the Phenex also use wind magic. Who knows if it will cause damage to me? I don't want to risk my quest by trying my luck here.
"Will you stop running around pest. Stand in a place and face your end." shouts out a certain chicken who doesn't even know that he is about to be cooked.
"Why so chicken guy, is it too much for you? I thought that chicken blood is supposed to be a make you energetic. Wasn't there a saying about that?"
"You plebian, Riser will turn you to ashes." yup the flames are increasing in power. Not that it would make any different. It will also reduce the chance of him using wind magic. Good for me actually, not that making fun of him is great as it is. I am really having fun here.
He throws a five meter radius fireball at me. Fucker has no creativity. Just going around throwing fireballs and expecting the work to be done. No direction, no concentrating the fire or explosiveness. Such a waste of great power.
"Mirror Alice"
A beautiful mirror appears in front of me and absorbs the fire till nothing is left. I am using the store power of Mirror Alice. It is an excellent and versatile power.
"Was that supposed to do something chicken guy? If so, then I am waiting." taunting him to make him angrier and more prone to mistakes.
"I was really waiting for something better than that to be honest. After all that chicken shit you were spewing about Riser this and Riser that. Who is Riser anyway? You have been talking about him since the first time we met and I haven't even seen him yet. So where is this Riser Idiot?"
"You are talking to Riser, you fool." another giant fireball in making while he himself seems to be on fire due to his anger. Too bad for him I am going to destroy him completely. For that, he needs to get angrier.
"What the….wait YOU are Riser? Why in the nine hells would you talk in third person. Isn't that what deranged people and kids too young to know proper speech do. Then again looking at you, I can understand."
"Shut up, shut up, shut up you commoner. This is how high-born royalty speak. You low class scum will never understand this." he barks as he throws that fireball at me with all his power. Observe shows that he is at 37% of his MP.
"Mirror Alice"
I make another mirror appear in front of me as fireball is about to strike. The entire mass of fire disappears inside the mirror as if it was all an illusion.
Make him talk for five seconds and then make his attack disappear. Not that he could make attacks of that scale any faster. He is too weak for that.
"Dude, I have been staying with The Great King for the past few weeks and even He, doesn't speak like that. Neither do the two Satans that I have met till now. So, who died and made you the King? I think you should go and get checked and then take proper grammar lessons. Believe me people won't laugh at you. Some people are just 'special' that way. What do they call it…..ah yes 'specially gifted'. Yeah, that's the word." Hell yeah, this is the life. He looks like he will blast from the anger I can see on his face. Red turning to the rotten purple like his obnoxious shirt, his snobbish looks doesn't help him either.
"You, you you…."
"See, limited vocabulary is one of the signs of the 'specially gifted' ones too. You should really tell you daddy to take you to a psychiatrist next time. They won't give you any injections and if Riser behaves like a good kid, then he will even get a candy from the doctor. Isn't that a great deal." Trash talk lesson from MMOs take you a long way.
He makes four giant fireballs. His MP levels falling at critical 5%. "Riser is greater than any of them. Riser in an immortal and you all will bow in front of him. Riser will kill you and then Riser will take your peerage as my slaves, make them keel and serve the King that Riser is. Riser will make them and everyone close to you his toys and break them one by one. You wretch, Riser will turn you to ashes for this insolence against him.
"Mirror Alice"
Four mirrors appear and absorb the fireballs one by one, leaving nothing behind.
Only Riser is left behind huffing from exhaustion.
I could feel the disgust and anger of my peerage members at his words. To be honest, it is affecting me as well.
Somehow, I feel rage at his words. I didn't know I was so easily affected by his words. Is there something wrong game?
It is your Sin of Greed Trait, host. A greedy man is extremely possessive and when he threatened to take what is yours. It is natural for you to feel anger.
Fuck this shit, it's much more troublesome than I thought earlier.
I really hate losing control of my emotions. Maybe I really should practice occlumency when I am free.
- Observation Room –
The atmosphere of the Observation Room was incredibly tensed. The tension in the air could be cut by a knife. Riser's words were causing too much effect on others. If only he had any resemblance of control, (or intelligence) he would have understood, the true depth of the pit he dug for himself this time. The pressure radiated by the Satans, Zekram Bael and even Siaraorg is enough to make it difficult for even high class devils to breathe. Rias, Sona and the other young devils were being protected by Grayfia who herself looked as cold as the depths of Cocytus, threatening to freeze anyone who dared to look into her blood red eyes at the moment.
"Is that really what House Phenex thinks of us Oggan Phenex?" the voice of Zekram Bael held no emotion chilling the already cold atmosphere even more if that was possible. This was not a matter to joke around with.
"N…No Great King, I am sure Riser didn't mean anything with his words. It was just said in a moment of anger in mid fight. Please don't take it seriously." replied Lord Phenex, sweating as if Riser's fireballs were hitting him instead.
"His normal behavior doesn't help your reasons or his actions in anyway either Lord Phenex. Riser is known to be arrogant but this crosses lines even for him. There are only so many things you can pass off as childish squabbles." Sirzechs Lucifer speaks for the very first time since the start of the Rating Game. His voice lacking his usual free-minded tone for which he is known for.
"I assure you Lord Lucifer that Riser means nothing by that. I will be sure to make him understand not to lose control of his tongue in middle of battle. I apologise for his behavior" Oggan Phenex speaks out in a hurry.
Rias couldn't help but suppress a scoff at this. It wouldn't do well to act at this time. Her actions carry weight. Any rash decision can become a big blunder. She learnt it the hard way, so she will have to keep her emotions in control.
"I hope that is the case." Sirzechs finishes with an unsaid warning to Lord Phenex.
"Is that Mirror Alice?" Sona Stiri's queen breaks the silence with her question.
Her interest in this matter overcoming her disgust at the words spoken by the filth that is Riser Phenex. She had the same Sacred Gear. It is only natural that she has an interest on the matter.
"Yes, that seems to be the case. However it is certainly different from the other Mirror Alice Sacred Gears that we know of or have recorded. I certainly haven't heard of any that could produce more than one mirror or one that did not reflect the attacks, just made them disappear instead. It seems to be sub-species. I wonder what other functions this one has." Ajuka speaks up to break the tension and divert the attention of the people in a different direction.
"He really did it." Kuisha's astonished whisper was heard by the others in the room, who look at her for further explanation.
"Umm, I was the one who was helping Shin with his Sacred Gear. As you know that Mirror Alice reflects magic attacks with double the power back at the caster, so he wanted me to help him out with it. I just had to use small magic projectiles which he would reflect and I could just wave them off with my Hole ability. While we were training, he wanted to experiment with his Sacred Gear and see what else he could do with it. Reducing the time needed to reflect the attacks, if increasing the number of mirrors is possible or not, if we could reflect the attacks at more than double the power or if physical attacks could be reflected of not. He had heard of the sub-species sacred gear so he wanted to develop his own in a way that suited his needs. I honestly didn't think he could do all that but I did see him reducing the cooldown time of the successive reflections from one minute to fifteen seconds in just one training session. His ability to understand artifacts is astounding to say the least. Now it seems that he has added new abilities to his Sacred Gear as well." Kuisha explains her reasons to the surprised audience of the observation room about Shin's Sacred Gear.
"What do you mean 'His ability to understand artifacts' Kuisha-chan? Did he do the same with another artifact or Sacred Gears?" asks Serafall, he voice carrying a hint of curiosity and something else one couldn't quite put a finger on.
"Shin likes to make artifacts. It is his hobby or as he says 'It helps him de-stress himself and take a break.' He has made a few artifacts for me and Kuisha already. All the members of his peerage are also using the same artifacts at the moment. Siaraorg replies as he shows everyone the bracelet he was wearing. The energy suppression bracelets that Shin had made as a test products for his artificing skills.
"These bracelets suppress the energy levels of the one wearing them. The amount which is suppressed can be adjusted. The energy is used to make a barrier which can block a certain amount of attack before dissipating. Right now every member of his peerage is using these bracelets. According to what Shin told me, it can even suppress the energy levels of a Satan Class Devil to a High Class Devil and hide them in plain sight. A simple but great invention if I say so myself. He said that he didn't want to attract too much attention when he goes to earth so he uses them all the time to keep his power hidden." Siaraorg hands over his bracelet to Serafall who looks at it with curiosity.
Slipping it on her wrist, she feels the excess demonic power around her forming a coating or sorts to cover her body.
"Amazing. It's like you are a High Class Devil. I can't even feel any difference standing so near you." sounds the voice of Sona.
"Onee-chan is amazing right, Sona-tan. I knew it Sona-tan loves Onee-sama the best and is just shy." Serafall chimes in a singsong voice causing Sona to sigh.
"It is indeed an interesting artifact. Simple but really useful for travelling. Ultimate Class and above devils attract too much unwanted attention wherever they go. It wouldn't do any good for us in covert meetings. This can really help out." says Ajuka while analyzing the bracelet. "Are there any other inventions that you know of? I can definitely have someone with an innovative mind sharing ideas with me."
"Not that many that I know. He did mention magic batteries which will basically let us store magic and refill ourselves at any given time, I did hear him mumbling something about a magic disruption device when he was in midst of experimenting. He likes to talk to himself sometimes in such moments. He was saying that he will try making his own Sacred Gears or anything close to it if he can. I don't know how much he progressed with that. I couldn't meet him much in the last 10 days because of the Rating Game preparations." Kuisha answers the Beelzebub and the others in the room.
"Interesting indeed." Ajuka goes back to his thoughts.
"So, if Shin is wearing these bracelets to suppress his demonic power, how much power is he actually suppressing? How powerful is his peerage members? We didn't get a chance to see the much of them as it was too….." Rias' words were completed by a smirking Siaraorg.
"Fast. Yeah, it was barely enough time to see any of their capabilities. As for how much power Shin is holding back. I won't reveal it because he is hiding it for his own reasons. If you want you can ask him." He finishes off not really answering anyone about their doubts.
"Shin-kun is really strong Rias-chan. Don't worry about him." Serafall replies with a chime of her good natured, high-spirited voice enjoying the look of the rage and panic on Lord Phenex's face as she says those words. The idiot finally realised that he was truly fucked.
"I really wonder how you would do any of what you just said. Even if you were to kill me, what makes you think that you can get a hand on my peerage? Do you think that the Satans would allow that?"
Shin's voice brings a hint of smile on both Serafall and Zekram's face. He really was preparing to break Riser completely. Physically, mentally, socially and emotionally. He could have finished the game anytime he wanted. The power that they saw from him during the High Class Devil promotion examination was enough to end this game in an instant. He was intentionally provoking Riser while acting casually. Making him so lost in his rage that he wouldn't understand what he is speaking and lowering his opinion in front of the whole underworld.
"Riser can do whatever Riser wants. Riser will marry Rias. Even Sirzechs Lucifer won't do anything aginst me. You will be crushed. Riser will make rape them in front of you and make you hear their screams before Riser turn you to ashes. You will pay for going against Riser, against an immortal. Your peerage has good girls. Riser will take them as his. They have better uses under someone like Riser than a low-born plebian like you. it will at least replace the wastes in Riser's peerage who couldn't even fight a bunch of weaklings."
"You say you will marry Rias. Rias Gremory? She is a good friend of mine and as far as I and more than half the underworld knows, she detests the very air you breathe. What makes you think that you will marry her? She will probably kick you chicken ass all the way to Sunday and send you crying to KFC all cooked up and ready to be served."
Rias couldn't help but let a giggle escape at this. Shin was really having fun in this.
"He looks like he is having fun out there." She couldn't help but mutter out.
"I seriously doubt that Ria-tan. I am partly sure that if Riser doesn't stop talking right now, he might actually die. Shin might be speaking casually but I have seen that look in his eyes a lot of times before. That look never means well for their opponent." replies Sirzechs answering to Rias while taking a look at his best friend, Ajuka remembering where he had seen that kind of look before.
"He can't kill Riser. That is against the rules." shouts Lord Phenex suddenly finally understanding the gravity of the situation. Riser was the only child of his that understood and followed his way of thinking. Losing him would just not do. His marriage with Rias Gremory was a very vital part of his future plans for becoming the King of the underworld. to overthrow even The Great King and finally sit on the throne of the Devil race as its ruler.
"She doesn't have a choice. Riser will make her marry. If she resists, Riser will kill of her entire peerage. She is contracted to marry Riser. She BELONGS TO RISER. Riser will break her if he has to, just like he will break you. DIE."
Suddenly the whole Observation Room descends into an uncomfortable silence before an enormous pressure envelopes the room. Ajuka hurriedly casts a barrier over the other members of the room before they fall to their knees or even worse happens to them due to the wrath of the Crimson Satan who looks completely devoid of any emotion straight into the screen showing the Rating Game. This was the monster who was known as the Strongest Devil in the world as well as the man who was know to be a Sis-con rivaling Serafall Leviathan.
"This Rating Game is under the observation of the Satans personally. DO NOT INTERRUPT IT IN ANY WAY DUE TO EXTERNAL CAUSES. I wish to see this till the end. No rules will be broken but no interference will be allowed either. It seems that people have forgotten that Satans have a standing in the society that cannot be insulted easily. They need to be reminded of the fact again" voice so cold leaves Sirzechs' lips that people would think he was the one specialized in Ice Magic instead of the Leviathan yet the sheer atmosphere of destruction that he gives off can deny no one of his identity as the Lucifer.
The look of disgust on the faces of the other occupants of the observation room doesn't differ much from the Lucifer's though of much lesser magnitude.
This game was turning into something much more than what they expected.
Good or bad, only time can tell.