Standing near the center of the main room of the Occult Research Club, I stared at Raiser Phenex with a defiant stare without flinching.
The expression on his face was a mixture of surprise, anger, hatred, and a hint of haughtiness. Just seeing him like that, without a word of reaction, gave me satisfaction, but I knew I couldn't get too confident, or it would be my undoing.
Grayfia tried to keep order, casting a stern look in my direction, as if to reprimand my behavior.
"All of you, calm down." Grayfia ordered. "This is neither the time nor the place for conflict. Mr. Raiser, I ask you to take a deep breath and step back. Leonard, you need to control yourself."
Raiser, clearly irritated, took a step back, closing his fingers and forming the hand in which he was about to create a fireball, for even he knew he could not disobey the direct order of Grayfia, Queen of the Crimson Satan.
"A duel... is that what you want? A duel to the death? Very well. But remember, Leonard, you asked for it." His eyes burned with rage.
At the same time, I could see the eyes of the members of the Occult Research Club on me.
Asia looked worried. Koneko frowned as if trying to understand what I had in mind, and Akeno kept a serious face but gave me a slight nod when I looked at her, as if she agreed with what I had done.
Rias, on the other hand, was incredulous. Her eyes were fixed on me and she took a few quick steps towards me.
"Leonard, what do you think you're doing? You can't just challenge Raiser like that. This is madness!"
"Rias, I couldn't stand by and let him treat you like that. You want to cause trouble with someone you love, right? So if you can't fight for that right directly without being an unfair evaluation game, then I'll do it. It's the only way."
Rias shook her head, still incredulous. "This isn't about me, Leo. It's about you. Raiser is a powerful devil, a Phenex. He doesn't feel pain, he can't be hurt. How do you think you can defeat him?"
"I can't be sure if I don't try. If I did nothing and just watched you get taken by that guy, I'd never forgive myself. You're too important to me, and you're too important to your other servants."
Her eyes widened, and then she looked at the others. Kiba, Koneko, Akeno and Asia also looked at her. No one dared to stop me because they knew I was right.
Rias lowered her head and shoulders. "Leo... this is insane. This isn't the only solution. I don't want to lose you. Don't make me..."
I took her hands and cradled them, just as I had done earlier, to calm Asia.
"I heard about the rating game. I know you can appeal that decision in a game of [Pieces] versus [Pieces]. But do you really think you can beat this guy in such an unfair game? He's powerful, he's older, and he comes from an important family. Surely, this man has many more [Pieces] than you. There are only six of us. If he has all the [Pieces] that fit on one side of the board, a rating game won't be fair. The best way to try to reverse all this is one-on-one."
Rias looked me in the eye and saw that I was serious. "But how? How can you beat him?"
"I had a dream about the Red Dragon Empress a few days ago. I could speak with her. When I need it, I know I can count on that power. Besides, you've locked away a part of my power. I can use it too, my body can handle it after those days of hard training we had."
"What? How did you...?"
"I can feel it. Just like I've always felt the presence of Boosted Gear like a tingling in my left hand." I said looking at my left hand.
Grayfia, realizing that the situation was becoming emotionally tense, said: "Lady Rias, there is no need for violence. Accompany us to the underworld and..."
Raiser added with a sarcastic smile on his face, "Yes, Rias. Listen to your family's maid. Otherwise, I'll kill this brave servant of yours and the others as well."
I ignored the implied insult and looked directly into Raiser's eyes. "I stand by my challenge. If you are as strong as you think you are, accept my challenge."
"Lady Rias, you'd better tell your servant to stop." Grayfia said. Her silver eyes glittered with unrelenting severity.
Rias slowly raised her head with an expression that showed the inner struggle she was going through. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again, now more determined.
"No! Leonard has my permission to continue," Rias said, looking me in the eye.
"But he's going to..."
"It doesn't matter. Leonard can definitely win."
Raiser clicked his tongue, and his voice came out with a tone of contempt. "Tsk! Okay! I accept this childish duel. I'll show Rias how things work and give her a reality shock. But let's be clear, I wouldn't normally accept a challenge from a low-level devil like you, Leonard. I'm only doing this, so I don't have to waste any more time on this nonsense. I don't want to delay the ceremony another day."
Grayfia sighed in resignation and said: "If that's the way it's going to be, this fight will be regulated and fair, according to devilic tradition."
I knew that by challenging Raiser to a duel; I was sacrificing practically all of my knowledge of the future of this world, at least the order of events. But was that knowledge really that important? To be honest, I wasn't so sure anymore.
In the beginning, yes, the knowledge I had about the things that were going to happen was the key factor in keeping me grounded and alive. But the most fun things that happened to me in this world so far, like Akeno's blowjob, the morning with Asia in the kitchen, and Rias's kiss, were the things that I decided to do on my own.
And I wanted more of that, I wanted more new things, and I knew that a lot would change if I killed Raiser and announced to the entire underworld that I would one day become Satan. Well, maybe that last part of the plan was too bold, because first I had to be the first to kill a Phenex,
The arena for my duel with Raiser Phenex was prepared in about an hour, a pocket dimension in a parallel space that wouldn't destroy anything. Thousands of underworld devils were quickly notified of the duel.
This time, it wouldn't be like the duel in the anime between Issei and Raiser. No, this wasn't a duel for orders, it was a duel for life.
This had been a tradition in the underworld many, many years ago, before the war that devastated the Angels, Fallen Angels, and devils, but now that there were few devils left, this practice had been replaced by rating games to prevent many devils from dying. Thus, such a rare event attracted the attention of not only most of the lower-level devils, but also the noble devils.
Dozens of nobles were in the arena to watch my duel, most of them glaring at me from their high platforms above the stands. I didn't care. I wasn't doing this to please them, but to show myself that it was okay to do things my way!
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NEXT CHAPTERS:
Chapter 35 - Raiser Phenex, The Worst
Chapter 36 - Boosted Gear X Phenex
Chapter 37 - Explo... sion?!
Chapter 38 - Devastation of Destruction
Chapter 39 - Gremory Mansion
Chapter 40 - System Update
Chapter 41 - Your chances? Very High! (R-18)
Chapter 42 - Asia Deep Throa... Khum! (R-18)
Chapter 43 - My First Time with a Nun (R-18)
Chapter 44 - Rhythms & Poses (R-18)
Chapter 44.5 - Asia Argento POV (R-18)
Chapter 45 - Attribute Points
Chapter 46 - Welcome Back
Chapter 47 - Collecting Artifacts
Chapter 48 - New System Challenge!
Chapter 49 - Heating Akeno (R-18)
Chapter 50 - Tight Walls (R-18)
Chapter 51 - Arara~ (R-18)