The Underworld.
I was in the living room of the Gremory mansion, staring blankly at the ceiling, sprawled in a chair.
The operation had been more or less a success, albeit with a few minor adjustments. Rias's entourage had escaped with relatively minor wounds without any risk of death. And now they were all unconscious in the Gremory Infirmary. Which certainly didn't please Rias's parents, looking at me at the moment and not hiding their anger.
Zeoticus Gremory and Venelana Bael.
To be honest, I wasn't really interested in their opinions. Rather, what I was really interested in was the question of the Gremori's power as a clan.
The Sitri control water, Agares control time, and Belial control the overlay of uselessness. At the same time, the directionality of the Gremori is not mentioned anywhere. What is their inherited power? Do they possess Clairvoyance, albeit severely limited like the Goetia Pillar? Or some trivial use of the elemental? So many questions...
- Ahem... - Rias's mother drew her attention, falsely clearing her throat and trying to speak calmly - Do you understand the reason for our anger, Romani-san?
- Not really. They're alive after all," I shrugged, to which both Venelana and Zeotikus clenched their fists, "Even if you think my methods are unacceptable, it was necessary.
- Necessary?! - Father Rias couldn't stand it - You put them through the slaughter!
- Oh? You should understand the situation yourself. Rias brought this upon herself by adding a Ddraig bearer to her retinue. Power attracts power. That means that whatever he does, trouble will come to him like family, and Rias, too. This experience will linger in their memories for a long time to come, showing the possible consequences of overconfidence and childish attitudes.
- They are still children! - Venelana exclaimed.
Well, that's true. But because the canon is in relative shit and I can't cover for them all the time, I have to act this way. What if they meet a Shadow Servant who doesn't care what, how, or why at all? The chance of that happening is close to zero, but it's not zero, right?
- If they do nothing, they'll stay kids.... in the grave," I looked at them blankly, "I showed them they were weak, shattered their idea of a rosy world with butterflies and rainbow ponies. What was the chance of their survival against Kokabiel if it wasn't for me? Zero or zero? And your daughter, I might add, was almost the first to rush to the front lines.
They chose to remain silent in response.
Rias and her entourage had already gotten a smackdown from Azazel and Sirzechs over it, but it was pretty weak. I realize they would have survived anyway since Vali or the world itself would have intervened, but attacking someone who could definitely kill them if he wanted to? The height of stupidity.
A far preferable choice would have been to run away. What was the point of rushing into battle, risking one's life if nothing would change? Then again, Vali would have dealt with him even without their "heroic" intervention. Just hold the barrier along with Sona's entourage and that's it. In short, no self-preservation instinct at all.
I'm probably going to be very ambiguous, but I only care about Issei's death.
In an instant, while silence hung in the room, the doors opened. It was Rias, Akeno, Issei and Azazel.
- Rias! Are you awake?! How are you feeling!!! - Venalana jumped up.
- Yes, I'm fine," Rias replied calmly. And when she saw me, she got into a fighting stance, and the Power of Destruction gathered in her hands - Why is he here?! He almost killed us!
- Yes! Kiba, Zenobia and Koneko are bandaged up like mummies, and Asia and Gasper still haven't woken up! How could you do that, sensei?! - Issei supported her, glaring angrily at me and summoning a gauntlet, while Akeno chose to remain silent and just stare.
- If I wanted to kill you, you wouldn't be standing here," I rolled my eyes, showing that I wasn't particularly interested in their accusations, and then turned toward Azazel, who was crouching down, "I take it you didn't tell them anything?
- Only that it was your doing," he said, "And I thought it was best to leave the explaining to you.
- What?" Rias asked in confusion, looking at Azazel.
- Consider your training started earlier than expected. - I shrugged.
As soon as I finished my sentence, she got the most incredulous look I'd ever seen on her face. A couple seconds later, it changed to an extremely indignant and angry one, as if I'd insulted her mother in front of her.
- Training? Training?! Do you have any idea how I felt at that moment?! My entire entourage practically died in front of me! I thought I'd never see them again! You call this training?! - Rias shouted, then glared at Azazel - And you supported him, Sensei?! That crazy bastard who put us through something like this!
- Ha... - Azazel sighed heavily, rubbing his forehead - To be honest, I didn't like his methods either.
- Then why?!
- I wanted to show you your own weakness, as well as assess your skills and behavior in a critical situation. Where you failed miserably, in fact. You quickly realized you couldn't contact anyone, but this was Gremory territory. Which meant you could have delayed the fight as long as possible so that someone would notice what was going on. But instead of grouping together and supporting each other with minimal mana and stamina, every member of your retinue was focused on their opponents. Well, except for you, who had to hold off six of them at once. And your vanguard was scattered to the sides.
I paused and pointed at Issei, who looked in my direction and blinked his innocent and incomprehensible eyes.
- Your only orders were about Issei. Why? Why didn't you give instructions to the others? Are they useless compared to him? Everyone in your retinue acted individually as they received no orders other than 'do not attack'. You, quite frankly, gave up on them. However, neither did you keep your cool and, after judiciously assessing the situation, form the working strategy I mentioned earlier.
At my words, Issei flinched, Akeno hesitated, and Rias pointed a finger at me with an indignant expression.
- But I didn't know if they could use magic! They could have just blasted us with one spell!
- So you're admitting that in the first twenty seconds when the assassins did nothing, you didn't do anything either? No analyzing your opponent or anything like that? - I grinned, to which she instantly shut up - Don't take my actions as some kind of personal revenge. Just remember how many times you tried to push me around, and then what I did to those who attacked the academy during the summit. I mean, if someone else with the same powers as me were in my place, what would it take for them to deal with you and your entourage?
I straightened up and looked at her.
Basically, anyone else in my position would have wiped her out by now because of the pressure and false sense of superiority, if they had the power or connections, of course. Who would like it when someone much weaker than him starts pushing his rights?
I realize this is Sirzechs's fault, as I mentioned earlier, but still. The same Sona has a much nicer character and mature personality, even considering Serafall doing the same thing as Sirzechs. She's more responsible, independent and considerate than her friend, even though the circumstances are pretty much the same.
- You are not the navel of the earth. There are hundreds of creatures capable of crushing you and your brother. It's the same with me. There are definitely those who are stronger than me, and there will definitely come a time when I will be powerless. But I, unlike you, am well aware of that. You can't hide behind Sirzechs forever. He can't save you anywhere, anytime. And neither can your entourage. You do realize that your annulled engagement to Riser wasn't their problem, but yours personally, right? A princess waiting to be rescued, huh? Just a trophy, nothing more.
Rias stood like a statue, frozen in time. Her gaze stayed fixed on me, her teeth clenched and her hands clenched into fists. Issei looked at her worriedly, as did Akeno, who occasionally gave me a judgmental glance. Azazel shook his head and sighed tiredly, and her parents did the same as Akeno.
Some might say that I'm being too hard on Rias, that she's just a child, etc., etc. Except that she is the heiress of an ancient clan in an equally ancient society. And as such, she has a duty and responsibilities that she MUST fulfill. After all, she's very proud to call herself the heiress of the Gremory clan, isn't she?
Getting back to the main plot, it's worth considering that she didn't even think to get her lazy ass up to study the terms of the contract, talk to Riser himself ADEQUATELY, ask Sirzechs to train her, and all that sort of thing. After all, if she did that, there would basically be no need for Issei, who she had turned into a demon for the same reason.
Though, who knows what the world would have undertaken for this unforeseen event. There are quite a few variations where Issei doesn't become a demon and yet is able to wreck a good half of DxD.
Also. I think we'll have to replace Archer with someone tougher. His training method is too soft for them, considering the progress. Or rather, lack thereof.
- This is my farewell to you. Have a good day. - I said and teleported home.
I need a hug from Tia. Definitely.
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