EPIC: Path of Demons and Dragons

"How was Saji-kun during your stay in the Corridor...?" questioned Sona, sitting behind Vahn and washing his back as they prepared for their bath. Tsubaki had volunteered to lend her services, but since Vahn had helped to alleviate her stress, Sona felt compelled to wash him herself.

"Hmmm..."

Thinking back on his interactions with Saji over the past two and a half months, Vahn revealed, "We were in different groups, and since I got the impression he was avoiding me, I did my best to give him space. Because of that, we only really interacted when he traded in his drops or requested specific items..."

"Mmn...I suspected that might happen..." remarked Sona, exhaling a faint sigh before expressing, "Just give him time. Saji-kun is a kind boy, so while he can be obsessive, he isn't good at holding grudges against people who don't antagonize him. Fortunately, his feelings appear to have mellowed at least a little during his time in the Corridor..."

Seemingly finished talking about Saji, Sona said, "Close your eyes," before creating a deep blue Magic Circle above Vahn's head, from within which a warm torrent of water emerged. Afterward, it was his turn to wash her, an experience that left Sona feeling somewhat taken aback as she was accustomed to having her hair, back, and body washed by others. Having Vahn do it, however, was far more stimulating...

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"Did you enjoy your time with Sona?" asked Rias, smiling from behind her desk as Vahn entered ORC's club room shortly before 10 PM, giving them a little over two hours before the Rating Game got underway.

"It was fun," confirmed Vahn, approaching as Rias got up from her desk and walked around its front, allowing him to embrace and kiss her before separating their lips to ask, "How are you feeling...?" with clear concern in his expression and tone.

"Nervous but confident," responded Rias, exhibiting concern of her own as she asked, "What about you? I appreciate it, but you don't need to be here for this..."

"I choose to be," responded Vahn, his expression softening as he leaned in for another kiss. Rias readily reciprocated, causing the nearby Akeno to cover her mouth and stifle a soft chuckle. Unfortunately, the atmosphere was ruined when a crimson Magic Circle appeared a short distance away, followed by the arrival of Grayfia.

"Good evening, Vahn-sama, Lady Rias, Akeno-san," said Grayfia, offering a courteous bow before raising her head, her silvery eyes meeting Rias's deep blues as she asked, "Are you prepared, my Lady?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," responded Rias, separating from Vahn and guiding him to take a seat before sitting at his side. At the same time, Akeno made her way around to stand behind them, leading to a marked increase in the room's tension as Grayfia closed her eyes for several seconds.

'Time to see what this jerk looks like...' thought Vahn, his expression grim and serious as a large, fiery orange Magic Circle appeared a few meters away, unleashing a loud torrent of flames that, despite hitting the ceiling and spreading across it, thankfully didn't set fire to the building before it abruptly disappeared, revealing a tall and relatively handsome man with an arrogant expression, short, somewhat spiky blond hair, and sharp, dark blue eyes in a burgundy blazer with gold embroidery on the right, a broad collared white undershirt, burgundy slacks, and dress shoes.

Though Vahn's gaze remained fixed on the arrogant-looking man, he couldn't help but take notice of the fifteen exceptionally diverse girls who had appeared alongside him. The two that stood out the most were a tall and voluptuous woman with long, wavy purple hair and a decidedly more petite girl with the blondest hair Vahn had ever seen, fashioned in stylish, drill-like twin-tails that framed a very pretty face set with intelligent, deep blue eyes. But the rest of the girls didn't exactly fade into the background as there were busty, pink and blue-haired cat girls in skimpy sailor outfits, a pair of youthful-looking green-haired twins wearing gym uniforms, a girl that looked like she was from the Edo period, an Amazoness with bronzed skin and a wild hairstyle, a tough-looking woman with a mask concealing the right half of her face and a biker outfit, a woman dressed like a knight, another with a giant sword, two girls in maid outfits, and last, but certainly not least, a short but busty girl with distinctive Chinese features, a double bao hairstyle, and a skimpy, royal blue, qipao-like outfit.

"Are you serious, Rias?" asked the man, Riser Phenex, slipping his hands into his pockets and directing a disdainful look at Vahn as he questioned, "This brat is the person you're trying to elope with? His face isn't bad, but what are appearances to a Devil?"

Catching Riser a little off guard, it was Grayfia who stated, "Riser-sama, it would be prudent not to insult Vahn-sama. He is capable enough to form a pact with me, so you may find yourself in a difficult position if you speak down to him too harshly."

"A human managed to form a pact with you, an Ultimate-Class Devil? Is he the descendent of Solomon...?" asked Riser, his expression making his disbelief apparent. At the same time, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl at his side, modeling a bright pink gown reminiscent of a Princess, narrowed her eyes with her arms folded across her stomach.

"Vahn's origins are none of your concern," declared Rias, sporting an ill-tempered expression and sitting with her arms crossed as she asserted, "Now, take a seat. You're the one who arranged this pre-game meeting, so say what you came here to say."

Recovering from his slightly slack-jawed disbelief at Rias's words, Riser's expression became serious as he approached and sat on the sofa across from her and Vahn with the buxom, purple-haired woman standing behind him and the drill-haired blonde taking a seat next to him.

"I arranged this meeting with the hope that you would see reason and come to your senses," revealed Riser, crossing his arms as he added, "If you would only take a step back and accept our engagement, I could do the same and withdraw from this farce. It benefits neither of our families if I am forced to defeat you in such a public manner."

"You're assuming that your victory is assured, but let me assure you— the outcome of this Rating Game is far from decided," contended Rias.

"Rias...it's sixteen to five, and the most recent addition to your Peerage hasn't even been a Devil for a full month..." reminded Riser, exhaling from his nose and shaking his head as he added, "But, even if that weren't the case, you, the most powerful member of your Peerage, lack the strength to defeat me. I'm certain you've devised an excellent strategy, but within the bounds of the Rating Games' rules, I'm invincible..."

"Perhaps," conceded Rias, adopting a menacing smile as she asserted, "But even invincibility and immortality have their weaknesses. This game will be very educational for you in that regard."

"Haaaaaaa...that won't do, Rias..." sighed Riser, shaking his head before staring at Rias with a look of pity as he stated, "I understand the impulse to rebel, but think of the situation of your family. Are they in a position for you to be this willful? Your father and brother wouldn't have arranged our marriage if your circumstances permitted such selfishness."

Leaving Riser at an even greater loss than before, Grayfia chimed in to state, "Pardon my intrusion, but Riser-sama's grasp of House Gremory's circumstances is somewhat dated. This Rating Game was approved out of respect for Riser-sama's father, Marquis Phenex. If you voluntarily pull out of the engagement, neither Sirzechs-sama nor Duke Gremory will press to have it reinstated."

"That...is it because of this boy...?" questioned Riser, his usually arrogant expression giving way to a look of bewilderment as he stared at Vahn with his right brow craned to its limit.

"That's none of your concern," asserted Rias, adopting a provoking smile as she added, "And unless you have something important to discuss, I will end this conversation here."

"Isn't Rias-sama being a little too rude?" asked the drill-haired girl next to Riser, followed by her pointing out, "His many flaws aside, Onii-sama is, at the present moment, your fiance. I believe a basic amount of deference is expected as a courtesy."

"You're not wrong," conceded Rias, sitting back, crossing her right leg over her left, and shrugging as she questioned, "But do you think your beloved Onii-sama was concerned with propriety when he showed up with you and his entire Peerage for a chat with his would-be fiancee...?"

"Do you see now, Onii-sama? I warned you this would happen..." said the girl, Ravel Phenex, staring at her older brother with narrowed eyes and an ill-tempered expression.

'Wait...this girl is his sister...?' Vahn asked himself and Sis, his surprise noticeable. He had learned from Rias that Riser's Peerage was also his harem, and while he was aware that such fetishes existed as a result of his research, he never expected to meet a legitimate brother and sister couple...

"What's with you...?" asked Ravel, noticing the rather drastic change in Vahn's expression.

Before Vahn could respond, Riser snorted loudly and said, "It would appear there is a behind-the-scenes effort to have me play the fool. But we'll see who's laughing after I've defeated your Peerage and secured our engagement. Our wedding may not occur until you've graduated from university here in the human world, but we will celebrate our inevitable union at a party two days from now. There, I will have you don a wedding gown and present yourself before all the most influential figures affiliated with our houses..."

"It's good to have dreams, even if they're delusions..." countered Rias, her expression and tone flat.

"We're leaving..." declared Riser, rising to his feet and retreating to his Peerage, its members glowering at Rias and Vahn with disapproving, hate-filled glowers. His sister, however, remained seated, mirroring Rias's cross-armed posture with her left leg crossed over her right beneath her dress, prompting Riser to look over and ask, "Ravel, what are you doing?"

"It's been some time since Rias-sama and I have had the opportunity to chat," responded Ravel, staring back at her brother with half-lidded eyes as she stated, "Onii-sama should go on without me. I will rejoin you once the Rating Game is about to get underway."

Though he frowned deeply, Riser didn't attempt to get Ravel to leave with him. Instead, he responded with a curt, "Very well..." before turning to his Peerage, grasping the waist of the purple-haired woman and giving her a deep, passionate kiss as the group was enveloped in flames.

"And what do we have to discuss...?" asked Rias, regaining her usual smile the moment Riser was no longer present.

"I'm not particularly fond of surprises or being kept out of the loop regarding matters that ostensibly concern the entire Underworld," stated Ravel, looking between Rias, Vahn, and Grayfia as she asked, "Just who is this boy? He must be extraordinary for Sirzechs-sama and Duke Gremory to no longer support Onii-sama's and Rias-sama's engagement. I assume his power is at least tangentially related to the exception made regarding the use of magical items for tonight's Rating Game."

"As clever as always," remarked Rias, exhaling a faint sigh from her nose but retaining her smile as she confirmed, "It is, indeed, related, but while Vahn might not be participating in tonight's Rating Game, we are making a concerted effort to keep his abilities under wraps. You will need to wait to hear the specifics from Marquis Phenex in the coming days."

"Mmm...that suggests that Vahn-sama's power is related to me or, more likely, concerns all female Devils..." remarked Ravel, her blue eyes settling on Grayfia, who returned a faint smile.

"I see..." hummed Ravel, gaining a confident smile as she looked to Vahn and reasoned, "My guess is that you can produce or create magic items, that you possess a tremendous life force, and that you can either increase the rate of conception or draw out the latent power of Devils. That would certainly explain why the members of Sona Sitri's Peerage accompanied you these past ten days and why Sirzechs-sama and Duke Gremory-sama aren't too concerned with maintaining Rias-sama's engagement."

Following an exasperated sigh, as Vahn's slack-jawed expression told Ravel everything she needed to know, Rias adopted a serious expression and remarked, "It's no wonder you have a nickname like the Genius of the Phenex Clan. For argument's sake, let's say that all of your suspicions are correct. Where does that place you?"

"I imagine somewhere near Vahn-sama's bed~" hummed Ravel, feeling incredibly pleased by the exasperation she had provoked. There were few things she relished more than apprehending and exposing the secrets of others using her inherent powers of observation and deduction, and now that she had a better idea of what she was dealing with, she couldn't help noticing that Vahn was very handsome...

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