8 Chapter 8: Blame the waitress

"Well then." Sirzechs coughed as he adjusted his collar.

He, and a collection of specific individuals, were sitting around the dining table of Gremory estate within Rating Game grounds.

Sirzechs was, naturally, sitting at the end of the table that was now packing a decently sized breakfast-slash-lunch, the hour being roughly midday the following day after the undead attack had happened.

To his right was Grayfia, now healed but with a bandage around her right knee. She had told the doctor who had healed her that she was well capable of using her leg now, but since the knee had become a bit stiff, she hadn't objected to the extra support. Or the extra support Sirzechs had provided her on their way to the dining room from the family head's master bedroom they had commandeered for the duration of their stay in the estate. Specifically now that Grayfia was walking slightly bow-legged after the busy night the two had experienced together, right after the undead attack had been dealt with and the command of the cleanup had been transferred to others.

The resolute face of the woman combined with 'battle damage' in the form of hickeys around her neck and laced with a twinge of a blush when she looked at him was already straining Sirzechs self-control despite the nightly activities, so he turned his eyes elsewhere.

To his left was Beelzebub who had spent the night hunting for concentrations of undead and crushing them, taking no chances with the occasional Death Knights that had appeared due to Grayfia's warning that the things could become quite dangerous if underestimated or played with thanks to their cursed weapons. Few explosions had rocked the ground as well when the Blaze Meteor Dragon had gone around the area and encountered several floating brain-balls that had locked onto the dragon, exploded and tossed him around the area, causing no end of frustration and rage for the dragon.

That being said, Sirzechs somehow felt that the dragon was actually enjoying the explosions even if he'd never admit it himself. Specifically since Tannin's specialization gave him almost complete immunity to explosive damage. He guessed that it was even more the case since the dragon had been scouring the grounds for more mines but hadn't found any since roughly midnight, yet hadn't let up the search. He had even taken to the air to find out if he could 'clear' the mines in the air above Phenix estate, but to the dragon's disappointment it had seemed that the mine Grayfia had stumbled into was the only airborne mine in the area.

It hadn't stopped the dragon from flying around and searching them, going as far as to ignore Sirzechs invitation for the dinner-lunch.

On the opposite side of the table sat what remained of Phenix family and Riser's Peerage, the group having accepted Sirzechs invitation to stay at Gremory's estate to heal and recover.

He had found the noble devils in the basement of the estate, hidden behind numerous wards Lady Phenix had established after realizing the area around the estate had been turned into a minefield and thus escape from the estate's grounds wasn't possible.

Alongside them were remnants of Riser Phenix's Peerage that hadn't been turned undead and subsequently killed when Sirzechs had gone through the estate for a second time with a tight comb, namely Riser's sister and Bishop, Ravel, his Queen, Yubelluna, and the chinese-dress wearing Rook, Xuelan.

The trio had apparently been with Lady Phenix and the sole remaining son of the family, Ruval, when Riser had captured the patriarch of the family and had learned of what the blonde man had intended to do to the females of the family.

The trio had chosen to escape with Lady Phenix rather than support their ex-King upon learning of the man's plans. Sirzechs had been quite surprised by Riser's Queen's decision to abandon the man, since he had figured the two had been quite close, even past the obvious physical interaction happening inside the blonde man's harem-peerage.

He considered the possibility that Riser had planted the Queen as a spy and decided to keep an eye on the surviving Peerage, just in case. However since the Queen hadn't turned Lady Phenix over to Riser despite having the chance to reveal their hiding spot told Sirzechs that the violet-haired woman's decision was likely to be genuine.

It seemed that Phenix family's ex-heirs betrayal had shaken up the surviving trio to a near-catatonic state and as a result were poking at the breakfast-lunch on their plates lifelessly, occasionally moving a small clump to their mouths in a forced attempt to get some food into their systems.

Lady Phenix was faring better, but not by a large margin. At least she seemed to be in control of herself on the surface, despite the fact Sirzechs hadn't found her husband on the third floor of the estate where he had left him. The youngest of the family, Ruval, had been nearly unresponsive since the incident.

In the middle of the dining table sat Rias's peerage, having mostly recovered from their wounds but not from fatigue despite getting a full night of rest. Issei specifically looked between shell-shocked, nervous and lost, which was expected considering what had happened and who was in the room with them. The fact the young man grown pale and panicked when the remains of Riser's peerage had been brought in only reinforced his belief that Issei's amnesia was genuine- after all, the last time the boy had seen the girls had been when they witnessed and guarded his 'execution' in the Rating Game.

Rias had woken up after a full night's rest after the undead attack, which wasn't surprising since she hadn't slept the night before, and Sirzechs had approached to ask what had happened to her Peerage after he had left Gremory estate and after he had disposed of the undead within and left to clear out the rest.

Sirzechs wasn't sure what to think when he learned Rias's peerage had faced off against one of the undead Knights. Both because he hadn't found it during his initial scour of the area, and also because his mistake had led to his adorable little sister facing off against the monster.

The fact one of the knights had fought Grayfia and nearly won was still causing Sirzechs a degree of possessive worry towards his wife, albeit the gray-haired woman's mistake with the creature had been complacency rather than lack of power, which allowed the Knight's minions to land a cheap shot on her and turn what would have otherwise been a quick and decisive cleanup into a prolonged battle, a battle where Grayfia's weakest ability had been forced to test against the Knight's strongest. If Sirzechs wasn't so angry with Riser he'd have given the man credit for his strategies and tactics.

Sirzechs had been quite surprised when Rias had told him that one of the undead maids controlled by the Knight had attacked Issei and had attempted to rape him, but at the last moment when all seemed lost Issei had seemingly discovered the power of flame manipulation, complete with lack of magic circles that usually accompanied traditionally-cast devil magic, and had blasted his female assailor away before blasting away the rest of the undead.

Rias's recollection had turned a bit foggy after that point, but Sirzechs could guess what had happened afterwards from the blush that had reached up to Rias's ears.

'And so the mystery thickens…' Sirzechs prepared himself as the remaining food was cleaned off the table as the breakfast-lunch came to an end.

The service staff that had survived the attack had been sent back to Gremory family's main grounds to be treated and seen by a cadre of psychologists, doctors and associated services. And so instead of maids and butlers, the estate was currently patrolled by reinforced guard detail and 'service staff' were actually highly combat-trained middle-class devils serving Gremory house. Granted, the switch in staff reduced the service quality by quite a bit, but it was acceptable tradeoff considering the circumstances.

"And so we move to the next item on the list." Sirzechs opened the meeting that followed instantly after the meal. "I'll be brief, and I believe that I'll speak for everyone when I say, what the literal hell happened yesterday?"

A lot of glancing around followed Sirzechs statement so he followed with a conversation-starter. "I believe lady Phenix was closest to the epicenter of the attack at its first moments, so while I regret having to request this so soon, could you please explain your point of view on yesterday's events?"

"We… we were mourning my son. We had left the infirmary where we left him and had moved to the living room, hoping to find some time to organize our thoughts. Ravel was playing on the piano. Riser's Queen and Rook had come to us to complain about a pervert or a peeping tom they had seen in the baths, while others were with Riser's c-corpse." The matriarch of the Phenix family spoke quietly. "Then, we felt… dread. Not quite energy nor anything physical, but more like aura. It was almost as if we were standing on the gate of an ancient crypt which was beginning to open."

She reached out to grasp both her children's hands. "Then… Riser came through the door to join us. We were so happy. We thought he had recovered… but as soon as the feeling came, it was squashed. He… was not the same Riser we had known. The Peerage that followed him… they weren't the same either. Hollow, lifeless. And behind Riser stood a… a…"

"A undead knight?" Sirzechs filled in as Lady Phenix's voice seemed to disappear.

"Y-yes. Riser spoke with odd, growly tone, completely unlike his normal voice. It was methodical, calculating. Cunning and laced with malevolence. It spoke of… horrible things. Horrible experiments." Lady Phenix visibly collected herself. "My husband… he chose to fight while we fled. I took Ravel, Ruval and the Peerage who hadn't been with Riser when he had woken up. We fled to the basement where you found us, and you know the rest."

"Yes, you erected wards to make Riser think you had fled the building, and kept them up until I could find you." Sirzechs nodded. "Now, the next point of interest… Issei-kun."

The young man visibly flinched as Sirzechs called for him. "I didn't do it on purpose."

"I'm not angry for whatever you did with Rias. What she does with whom she decides is not my business." It didn't take much power to deduce why the young man wasn't particularly willing to meet Sirzechs eyes since he had found him cradling the unconscious body of his sister for the second time in a row. Perhaps he'd have stronger objection for it if Rias was objecting the touch afterwards, but the reality seemed quite the contrary. "Anyway, what I'm asking is if I could reveal what Beelzebub and I have discovered after the fateful Rating Game relating to your… state."

"Ah, well, umu, go ahead." Issei scratched the back of his head and turned away, clearly uncomfortable with the whole situation. Sirzechs couldn't blame him. "Please explain what happened to, um, my body for everyone."

"Alright. First things first, Issei-san has learned to regenerate, manipulate flame without magic circle, teleport through flame, and has developed an extensive amnesia. All of this started when Rias Phenix stabbed Issei Hyoudou at the end of the Rating Game between Gremory and Phenix families." Sirzechs went over the observations, causing everyone on Phenix family's side to freeze up. "However, Issei's biological parents are both fully human so the dignity of Lord Phenix is intact, and Issei hasn't shown any traits related to Phenix family until the conclusion of the game. In addition to this, Issei occasionally displays attitude and manners that can only be attributed to nobility and even shows restraint, which clashes with his previous attitude, that of being a shameless pervert."

Issei seemed to blush from the last statement but nodded along nonetheless.

"Sirzechs-sama. Are you perhaps trying to say my Riser has somehow been… transferred… into that thing over there and he has forgotten about us?" Lady Phenix's voice was filled with disbelief and Issei seemed to be mildly confused by the way the woman referred to him. "That my noble son…"

"Lady Phenix, if I may." Beelzebub interrupted. "I believe that the last attack directed by Riser Phenix against Issei, a flaming spear through the heart which from what I've gathered would have been fatal, seemed to cause an odd reaction within the dimension where the game was held. This isn't widely known, but Issei Hyoudou possessed a Longnius Gear called [Boosted Gear] before the incident, but he has lost it during the event between Issei and Riser. This, combined with the observations thus far, makes me conclude that in the aftermath of the battle the Longnius gear was sacrificed and Riser-san's soul was… shattered."

"Excuse me?" Lady Phenix's tone was scandalized.

"It seems that parts of Riser Phenix's soul were imbued into Issei Hyoudou, the parts which conferred to him the signature abilities of Phenix family and royal bearing, at least from what we've observed thus far, and some parts were left in Riser-san's 'real' body. Particularly maleficent ones if what we've found out is correct. Perhaps the event shattered both of their souls, and imbued even parts of 'Issei's soul to Riser's body." Beelzebub adjusted his glasses so they turned opaque. "From what Riser himself told Sirzechs-san, it seems that the shattered soul in his body formed a contract with someone called 'The Supreme Being', a deity which, according to Riser, 'sits on the Throne of Kings' and whose approach heralds the 'End of the Final Era'."

Issei seemed to spit-take his drink from the news and Yuuto whacked the boy a few times in the back.

"Well, his actual speech was quite a bit longer with much more boasting about things that couldn't be true, as there's no way this 'Supreme Being' could have defeated 'one thousand five hundred gods who assaulted his fortress' or hold reign to 'ten worlds laid on top of eachother', but that's more or less the gist of it. Although I'm somewhat curious what the 'treasures of the forty-one' are." Sirzechs rolled his eyes. "Ah, could someone perform a heimlich on Issei? I think he inhaled something and I'm not sure how well regeneration works on suffocation."

"A-Ah, it's alright, I'm alright, everything's alright." Issei coughed out. "It's just, yeah, sounds pretty, uh, well…"

"Don't worry. A madman's ravings should not be taken at face value." Sirzechs moved onwards, noting out of the corner of his eye that Issei's expression had collected itself and had returned to neutral and perhaps even regal. 'Oh, good, he's learning fast. Good work Issei-kun.' "Regardless, this 'Supreme Being' has effectively declared war upon the entire Underworld with this attack, so we should begin preparations for further undead invasions."

"Indeed. And it seems that Riser's, and partially Issei's, greed, lust and cruelty, which I'm assuming were left in Riser's 'original' body, were an easy target for this 'Supreme Being' to seduce to his side. It's possible he might use Riser to create similar undead attacks in other parts of the Underworld, so we should stay alert." Beelzebub continued from where Sirzechs left off.

"So, you're saying that my Riser has been divided in two." Lady Phenix's tone was unamused.

"Longinus gears are known to be able to do quite baffling and honestly illogical things." Beelzebub shrugged. "The fact the gear was, well, not quite destroyed but rather lost signifies that a lot of energy was expelled to make what happened happen. I'd have zero doubts about what happened if Issei's gear had been inhabited by the White Dragon Emperor as his gear's trademark ability [Divide] would have fit the situation quite well, but Issei-san had a gear with the Red Dragon Emperor, who is the eternal rival of said White Dragon Emperor, and confers the ability to [Boost] to its wielder. However it wouldn't surprise me of both the rivals had learned something from each other during their eternal fight, so while what has happened seems improbable, it definitely seems possible."

"..." Lady Phenix seemed shocked, which Sirzechs couldn't fault the woman for. She glanced at Issei and then turned towards the boy to look deep into him. From what Sirzechs could tell, the woman found something in the visage but he couldn't quite tell what. "Ah…"

Sirzechs glanced to the side and saw that Issei's stance was that of a born ruler, displaying aura of arrogance befitting of might but solidarity of a king in a way that caused even Sirzechs to pause for a moment. 'Whoa he's learning really fast, Rias, you better keep hold of this one...'

The boy's current stance was a far cry from the nervous mess he had been at the start of the meeting, to the point he almost seemed like an entirely different person. It seemed that the change hadn't been missed by the others.

"H-him!" The violet-haired Queen near Lady Phenix seemed to choke on thin air, as did the chinese-dress wearing Rook. "He was the peeping tom who appeared in our bath!"

Issei blinked in sudden realization and nodded. "Ah, you're correct. I wanted to escape when Beelzebub-sama attempted to vivisect me and harvest my organs."

Sirzechs shot a glance at the Maou beside him who shook his head in panic.

"I teleported away and appeared to a bath where a group of fair ladies were present. Sensing that my presence was unnecessary and even detrimental, I teleported again." Issei explained calmly. "My teleportation eventually reached Rias-san and Lucifer-sama. My deepest apologies for the whole incident, it was not my intent to cause you shame and I shall bear the responsibility of the mistake should you seek satisfaction."

Sirzechs mentally thumbed up Issei. 'Ooh, good one.'

"Well then. That's quite… interesting." Lady Phenix blinked as she seemed to contemplate the situation. "I find it quite interesting that, hm, Issei-san teleported to my Riser's peerage…"

"Indeed. I analyzed the King piece that had fallen from Riser's body…" Beelzebub brought out the inert piece and placed it on the table, ignoring Lady Phenix's outraged question about where he had gotten it from. "Ah, don't worry, don't worry. There won't be penalties levied towards Phenix house for having a King Piece, since it seems like Riser had somehow acquired it by himself, and his, well, being as he was is penalized hard enough with his current state. Nevertheless, it seems that the Piece is, well, non-functional. I believe that whatever happened to Riser has destabilized the Piece system to a great degree, to the point that I think the traditional connection between the King and a Piece is no longer possible for Issei-Riser. But it seems that some parts of it remained as Issei-kun was first drawn to his..."

"Riser's." Lady Phenix interjected.

"Yes, Riser's Peerage. Afterwards he was drawn to Issei's King, Rias Gremory." Beelzebub finished and pointed his finger at the inert Piece. "Quite the coincidence, considering he teleported through a flame. Moreover, Rias told Sirzechs who told me that one of the undead maids serving Riser's undead Knights apparently got confused when she got close to Issei-san, and instead of attacking him, she tried to molest and rape him. Apparently Riser had used undead girls as his new harem and being so close to another part of Riser's soul must have caused her to confuse the two."

Lady Phenix just stared at Beelzebub with incredulity in her eyes. "...Are you perhaps implying that the part of my son remaining in my son's body is a necrophiliac?"

"Anyway, I believe we've strayed from the original topic." Sirzechs coughed to bring the conversation back on track. "It seemed that Riser-san had contracted with this 'Supreme Being' and unleashed an army of undead against us in an attempt to distract us from his 'research'. When I confronted Riser, he revealed that his new master had intended to have him create a 'undead phoenix', which is why he sought to capture the rest of the Phenix family. I learned parts of this goal from Riser, and from Lord Phenix who had been experimented on but was lucid enough to talk…"

"YOU FOUND MY HUSBAND AND DIDN'T… ah, my apologies, please continue." Lady Phenix managed to collect herself mid-scream and sat back down.

Sirzechs coughed to hide his rising nervousness. "Well, I discovered that Riser had planned a series of thoroughly unethical tests to fulfill his goal. After ascertaining the fact we fought, but as Riser had used Grayfia as a hostage, I had to reposition myself to protect her. Unfortunately, Riser used the chance to escape via unknown means. Because I couldn't find Lord Phenx afterwards I assumed Riser had taken him as well."

"Sirzechs-sama. I believe an explanation is in order." Lady Phenix ground out. "You found my husband, who had been experimented on, and you… what, left him to rot?"

"I couldn't be sure of anyone's allegiances within the building. As far as I was concerned, the whole Phenix family was in on the attack." Sirzechs pointed out but it didn't look like the woman would care for his reasoning.

"I demand satisfaction for this.. gross dereliction of duty! A Maou that refuses to help a noble under his care, this is an outrage!" Lady Phenix simmered in rage but got herself under control after taking a few deep breaths. "You left my husband to the tender mercies of the torturer and madman who wore the face of my beloved son, you, you…"

She took a deep breath, her nostrils flaring and Sirzechs could only watch in awe as the woman's rage seemed to disappear and turn to cold, calculating determination.

"If this Issei is indeed carrying the soul of my son, as you seem to insinuate, then I'm sure that you agree that the Rating Game between our families…" Sirzechs got a bad feeling as the woman began her speech. "...has concluded in Phenix family's victory, no? After all, 'my son' stood victorious at the end while your… sister… fell unconscious."

"Ah, I don't think that it's quite…" Sirzechs lifted his hands to stall the woman. It didn't work.

"Very well, if you claim Issei to be my son, then I claim victory of the Rating Game, and that this Issei is turned over to my care, and that woman to be married to my sonthis instant as per agreement between our families. The contract was thought broken because of my son's death and loss in the game, but if neither are true, then the contract still stands." Lady Phenix pointed a finger at Rias, whose mouth had been open since near the beginning of the conversation but now her jaw practically hit the floor.

Issei merely sipped his tea with bearing of a born ruler, seemingly completely fine with the situation unraveling around him.

'Yes, words, the communication method where specific vibrations transmitted through the air are picked up by the ear and translated.' Momonga sipped tea. 'So, to recap, everyone thinks that I'm a phoenix because I used silent fire spells, teleported to a fireplace and used silent [Stitch]. That blonde boy who attacked me apparently died at some point and my distraction spell turned his body to a Elder Lich who spouted a bunch of stuff about character Momonga. And apparently I'm now at war with, well, entire hell, and soon to be married to the sister of the lord of hell.'

Momonga sighed and sipped the tea in resignation. 'I wonder who designed this eroge.'

He glanced to the side as a maid announced the arrival of someone called 'Tannin' and saw a fifteen feet tall lizardman walk into the room, barely fitting through the wide doorway.

The lizardman sniffed the air few times, frowned its nose, sniffed again, and then beelined straight to 'Issei' and sniffed once again.

"You. You have the same scent of Death as the undead I fought last night." The lizardman rumbled with barely held back violence. "Explain or die by my hand."

"I'm unsure what you're talking about, sir." Momonga intoned with a flat voice. 'Right, if I ignore him will he go away? My crazy quote is full for the day, thank you. Please direct complaints to my secretary, the trash bin.'

"Ah, Tannin, welcome. We were talking about, well, last night. Sit down. Issei, can you explain where the smell of 'death' comes from?" Lucifer commented easily while Tannin grabbed Momonga's shoulder, clearly intending on going through with his threat if Momonga didn't answer.

"...The maid... " Rias groaned form her seat. "Tannin-sama, please stop. The scent of death, um, isn't his."

"..." The lizardman focused his eyes on the red-headed girl who blushed bright red while explaining Momonga's 'incident' with the undead maid.

"...Right." The lizardman sniffed Momonga again, deeper, and his eyes shot wide open. "You have the scent of the Great Red on you!"

Momonga sighed and sipped his tea again as the conversation around the table seemed to come to a halt at the lizardman's announcement.

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