Chapter 155: Forbidden

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"Remember that you are from the Gremory Clan, Rias-san. A Clan that has long been known for its affectionate devils.

It was the generation of most of the current clan heads that first turned against the Old Satan Faction, even if it wasn't until the current Four Great Satans rose up that the war was won.

Almost every devil from before that generation was a follower of the old ways. They've basically been forced into retirement to prevent their beliefs from influencing the next generation.

Your grandparents might be an exception, but my children haven't been allowed to meet with their grandparents due to the conflict in beliefs," Lady Phenex explained to them.

"I knew that Sona had never met her grandparents, but I never was told it was because of differing beliefs," Rias muttered in surprise.

Lady Phenex nodded before looking at the chuckling clan heads and elaborating, "Being criticized like that probably have caused those two to reminisce of those days. Back when they were teens fighting against their parents just like you two are now."

"I see," Rias muttered, still looking somewhat confused. Finally she turned to Lady Phenex and asked, "I saw Ravel earlier, but not Riser. Is he attending?"

Lady Phenex sighed before admitting, "No, he isn't present. I tried to get that child to attend, to show he isn't a sore loser, but he locked himself in his room. He seems to be brooding. This is Riser's first actual loss in a Rating Game. Not to mention Riser's first real defeat, on a personal level. He no doubt feels mortified by the result. Not to mention the engagement being broken. Despite his behavior and attitude, he really did on some level desire to marry you, Rias-san. Even if it was just lust."

"I'm so-" Rias started.

"Don't even say you are sorry, cause we know you are not sorry to have broken the engagement with Riser," Lady Phenex quickly interrupted with a sigh. Looking Rias in the eye, she announced honestly, "You need not worry, Rias-san. My husband and I hold no hard feelings. I particularly am somewhat happy with the result. I never agreed with the engagement in the first place. Matching devils up for the sole purpose of producing stronger devils is disturbingly similar to the old way. I myself refused the husband my parents chose for me, instead choosing my husband personally. I'd be a hypocrite if I refused you the same opportunity just because it was my son you were going to marry."

Lord Phenex seemed to have recovered from his amusement, and came over to add, "Our family is not so weak that a broken engagement will hurt us. The opposite actually. Riser was in need of a humbling. Our family is not by any means invincible. He needed to be shown that, and your rook went above all expectations to deliver Riser a complete and utter defeat. Hopefully Riser takes the time to think about that. If he comes out of this with more humility and a greater understanding of his own weaknesses, then we'll happily accept this defeat."

"It seems the task of humbling or changing people frequently falls to me," Naruto remarked in amusement.

Neji, Gaara, and who knows how many others had changed after fighting Naruto. It might be because of Naruto's hero complex that he insists on beating the stupid out of people.

That whole spiel he told Riser at the end of the battle was actually an attempt to force Riser to acknowledge that he wasn't invincible.

Naruto simply couldn't be around so much arrogance without doing anything.

"Speaking of your defeat of Riser," Lord Gremory said as he came back into the conversation. Looking at Naruto, he commented, "I figured you would use Excalibur Ruler, Naruto-san."

"Excalibur Ruler?" Lord Phenex repeated in confusion.

"Yep. Rias sent me a letter explaining that this boy was the wielder of Excalibur Ruler," Lord Phenex informed them simply.

Seeing attention turn to him, Naruto told them simply, "Excalibur Ruler was one of my backup plans."

"Backup plans?"

"Yeah. The seals I used on Riser have a few weaknesses that meant they might not have been usable.

If they failed, I had a few backup plans. Excalibur Ruler was one of my last resorts," Naruto explained to them.

Naruto had multiple backup plans. He still had ten gallons of holy water sealed. Holy water alone wouldn't be enough to defeat Riser, but enough of it might just do.

He had a few more seals in backup to weaken Riser. He had even sealed one of Raynare's light spears. Even if the main seal had failed, Naruto was sure he could have pulled out a victory.

"Why one of the last resorts? It seems like using it would be a sure victory?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly as he admitted, "Well I'm not too fond of its Ruler ability. It isn't a power I want to use too often."

Rias quickly pitched in, "I also felt that the Ruler ability will probably be restricted during Rating Games. Its use might have called the entire game into question."

"That was smart of you, Rias," Lord Gremory claimed before explaining seriously, "Rating Games are meant to be similar to real battles, but they aren't real life battles. There are rules and special conditions that make the game more intense and entertaining. Items or abilities that would in a sense 'ruin' the game are forbidden. Like phoenix tears. If every team could use as many as they could afford, there would be a long period of each side simply restoring their fallen comrades. So their use is restricted. Excalibur Ruler will probably be limited in the same way. Controlling your opponents would make the entire game pointless. I actually expected you to use Excalibur Ruler to win. In which case I planned to give Riser a rematch. I would have made it a year from now, but that was my original plan."

Rias looked relieved by his words.

"So Excalibur Ruler will be forbidden in all future Rating Games?" Naruto asked.

"Not totally. Just the Ruler ability. It could still be used as a holy sword," Lord Gremory answered.

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