An Ascending Flame 1 (Riser Phenex SI)

I could feel the cliche building in my chest as I opened my eyes to see an ornate ceiling made of materials that my middle-class eyes were nearly blinded seeing. The dollar signs just never seemed to end as I looked at the aesthetic of my room. 

And just to prove my point, the room's door was inlaid with pure gold! The designs of the entire room just screamed rich and/or spoiled brat. And that is when the memories hit me like a freight train.

But what stood out to me was how picturesque it was. Riser/I had a loving family, if a bit strict on his Father's side, with two older siblings who were my heroes. They, to me, represented the height of ambition as one operated a popular devil radio network, and the other was a Rating Game Champion or one of the champions.

Yet then there was me, Riser, the third born, and while strong at birth, never really took advantage of the privilege he had. His strength came from his bloodline and his inability to really lose unless my healing was negated or I just ran out of demonic power. Those nine wins were relatively easy, but those four losses were brutal.

That was mostly due to Riser being matched up against Diehauser at the beginning of the rating game season and then Sairoarg, which, while demoralizing for a while, was made up for by those previous wins. He or I made excuses for losing, citing a disadvantage in bloodline abilities and overall power and experiences.

I still lost, though, and now I am presented with a choice. 

Unlike a decent amount of reincarnation, I had no time to prepare. Just yesterday, Mother told me to inform Rias of our "marriage" being sped up, which I assume had to do with Rias gaining the Red Dragon Emperor in her peerage. My family wanted to take advantage of Rias's inexperience and the inexperience of said dragon host.

I know why they wanted me to get married as I was the third son, and I had relatively few political prospects. My family wanted to take advantage of my father's friendship with Zeoticus to ensure his son had something in the Underworld. But I assume that due to this universe's innate stupidity, they forgot that the princess of Destruction had an older brother who hated me to the bone.

Although I would describe it as more dislike than genuine malice, and at worst, Satan Lucifer only sees me as a pest in his sister's path. Now, I am stuck between a rock and a hard place socially, at least. Because I know that the spoiled princess will agree to a rating game, and we will fight, and I will win, and now, thanks to my newfound perspective, I probably wouldn't even lose against that cheating Pawn of hers.

Yet what would come next? I would have to be worried about getting NTR'd by the boob Dragon Emperor. And based on our political positions, I would be marrying into her family and not her marrying into mine due to her position as a clan heir. But if I were to throw the fight, even if I made it look good, my family would still be humiliated due to losing to a newcomer to rating games.

Where is the punch first, ask questions, never anime?! My mood was starting to affect the room; however, it started to heat up very subtly due to my irritated state. My bedmate noticed as my queen Yubelluna rose from the bedsheets beside me and asked in a concerned tone, " Lord Riser, are you alright?"

I smiled at her concern, which made her somewhat shocked as I said, " I am fine, my queen. I am just ruminating over my present circumstances."

"Worried the redhead will refuse?" My queen asks with venom in her voice. I would have chided her for her informality, but I am in the same mood right now.

"I know she will. She does detest me, after all. But I'm not worried about her; I'm more worried about the consequences of what today will bring. Besides, why would I be thinking of another woman when I have you right next to me?" My corny line made her chuckle as I observed my queen's naked form with a smirk on my face.

While it was a bit wrong to be happy that I hit that as I wasn't the original Riser, I found that I simply did not care. Mental issues aside, I got up from bed, and as I did, Yubelluna was already leaning on my side with a lustful expression on her face. I simply tapped her nose and watched as she frowned at me.

"Down Yubel, we have all day for me to enjoy your amazing body after we finish our business." Ironically enough, even though I was incredibly lustful based on my memories, my peerage did not help in that regard, as they were all very horny. To be honest, if this was a cultivation world and I had access to dual cultivation, we would already be nearing the peak of mortal realms.

The only reason that my queen is the only one here is because each member of my peerage gets a day to sleep with me, and they sometimes want to use their rooms for one reason or another. So often enough, they usually ignore the schedule and try to sleep in the same bed, which I will not complain about even now.

I took my queen into my arms, and with a small yelp, she gave me a smile and said, " Am I going to be absconded by the lustful Phenex? I gave her a small kiss on her forehead while groping her right tit, and as she moaned like a common whore I placed my mouth near her ear.

"All in due time, my bomb queen. Control yourself, or there will be punishment." The warning had nothing to it, so she simply leaned closer to me, and with a heated expression, she took her lips on mine as our lips met. My experience with her made itself known as I took the chaste kiss and deepened it.

"What if this naughty queen wants to be punished?" Yubelluna asks breathily, and I shake my head in amusement before opening the door to the bathroom.

But before we could continue, I walked us into the shower and turned on the water, and as I put her down while controlling my raging erection, we sat in my private shower, simply holding one another. And yes, I can confirm there was a lot of mutual handholding. 

 While I would be making a lewd joke, I am literally a devil, so that comes with the circumstance. Thankfully, showers for Devils last a much smaller amount of time due to our race's innate cleanliness, and the use of imagination-based magic definitely helps. Walking out of the shower, I left my queen to continue powdering her nose while I put on my suit.

While waiting, I found something new on my bed: three vials of liquid that definitely were not there before, and none of the maids had entered as I would have sensed them entering the room. I narrowed my eyes at the vials. As I picked one up, a note appeared on top of it and read:

"To DXD's resident fodder villain, this was a cliche ROB scenario, and yes, you did pass in your sleep. Currently, I am too busy to meet you, but I give you a gift for your new life. Three meta essences from me to you. There is no goal for you, but do be aware that alien gods, super devils, and rogue gods will be gunning for your world. So have fun!" - From Blank.

My emotions while raging did not show on my face as the note, after I finished reading it, disappeared in a flash of fireworks and magic, and before I could do anything else, the three vials had already entered my form.

As I fell on the floor, I felt my entire body brimming with unbridled strength, and I felt invincible! Soon enough, information began to appear in my mind, and as I went over it, a wide smile crested my face. Lifting my left arm, I opened my palm and summoned a small flame in my hand, which turned from orange to a deep and dark blue after a small bit of focus.

Holding this flame that was burning at over 3000 degrees Fahrenheit, I felt absolutely nothing, and as I stared into the flame, my smile never left my face. As I extinguished it before my queen left the washroom, I pondered on ways to use this essence for more than just producing hotter fire.

Then the thought hit me: I am thinking too small. There is an entire multiverse of flames that I could use. Dying Will Flames, cultivation flames, spiritual flames, etc. I had so much potential, not to mention my demonic power, which gave me access to imagination-based magic. I was almost about to start bouncing off the walls in happiness before Yubelluna came out looking as ravishing as she usually was.

Strutting towards me with that classic seductress grace that I oh so enjoy, she sat on my lap, and as she noticed my expression, she smiled and asked, " Are you so happy to see me master that you just can't hold off your excitement?"

"Would you believe me if I said yes?" I asked cheekily as she laughed a bit before exiting my room outside. I found a few maids bowing before me, with one saying, " Lord Riser, your father is expecting you."

Looking at my queen, I told her, "Gather the peerage and meet me in the dining room." With a more serious gait, my queen teleports away, but she does make sure to kiss me before doing so. Looking at the maid, I bid that she may go, and after bowing, the two maids left while I walked towards my father's office.

The mansion was vast in its size, comparable to a large hotel, and as wide as an average apartment complex. Some days, I would get lost due to the endless winding hallways, and I definitely think that my father designed it like that to keep us on our toes. Mother would argue otherwise, but the smirk on my father's face when I got lost was very telling.

Rogal Phenex was a devil who loved to build. In addition to our Phenex tear business, he runs a large construction company and many other construction companies in the human world. There is barely an architectural design that he had not created, and when I asked him why he left to build so much, he gave me a simple reply.

"Because I could and because I knew that if I could not kill, I could build." My father was a veteran of the devil Civil War. While our ancestor did perish near the end of the Great War, he was able to leave my father to take over my mother, Rayla Phenex; while being the daughter of our ancestor's second wife, she married her half-brother out of duty and love.

The two are nigh inseparable, as while my father loves to build, my mother loves managing businesses. There's barely a day that I could not see her walking around with large stacks of papers floating behind her. While she could get assistance to help her with her work, her reasoning was similar to my father's, as she simply needed something to do to occupy her time other than taking care of us.

I believe that is where Ravel got her desire to manage things, but that was mostly her choice anyway. But I will never understand the necessity of naming us all starting with the letter R, and every time I asked, they simply gave each other a knowing look before not answering. I do admit not knowing why all of our names have to start with the letter R used to drive me insane, but I eventually got over it.

My thoughts were then put aside as I knocked on the door of my father's office, and as the door opened on its own, I entered and gave my Father a small bow.

"Welcome, my son and I heard that your mother gave you notice relating to your engagement with the Gremory family?" Like with most old Devils, every single question that comes out of their mouth has so many meanings.

"Yes, Father, I have, and I was about to depart. Is there anything you require of me, Father?" he gave me a once over, and with a small smirk, he walked over to me,

" Should I require a reason to see my own son?" he was bullshitting me, but he knew that I knew that.

I took a small breath and responded, "Out of anyone's mouth, I would have believed that. I would ask for the point of this, Father?" Taking me by the arm, he led me to a bench in his office.

" I am not a fool, my son. I know what position this marriage puts you in and the girl's disposition towards you. I am offering you a way out. I could discuss canceling it with Zeo about this." Again, it had double meanings as he knew I knew this, but he also knew the consequences of canceling them without due cause.

Simply disliking each other is not enough to cancel an engagement, as a decent number of the current devil marriages are arranged, and a decent number of them started off on a terrible foot. It was the culture as personal feelings mattered little, and all that mattered was power and influence.

It was barbarism or the law of the jungle disguised as civilization.

Shaking my head, I answer firmly, "I must go through what this father. You know as well as I that we are in no position to refuse them, and I would rather not have a Lady Gremory appear at our house and start disintegrating our staff due to slighting their house." The response brings a smile to my father's face as he pats me on the shoulder, albeit more solemnly than I would have liked.

" I do not envy you, my son, and I do apologize that things have not been working out." he then sits back down on his chair behind his desk as I stand back up.

" I am under no illusion that this was entirely her fault, as the rumors revolving around me do not sweat the pot for her." A surprised look appeared on my Father's face for but a moment before he nodded.

"While that is understandable, and I am proud that you realize that it may be your fault, you're thinking about it incorrectly. Devils are allowed to have harems for a reason: it helps to birth more children, and usually, harems, if done right, are a boon much more than they are a hindrance. Although your mother and I are a bit of an exception, that fiery woman always takes up all of my time."

" I did not require such an image, Father, but I understand. Regardless, Lord Lucifer will not stand for this wedding, and would it be weak of me to say that I somewhat fear for my life." The room then goes dark as my Father's power rockets towards an ultimate class for but a moment as he calms down.

"You need not worry about him. If he so much as harms a hair on your head, the Underworld will then find itself bereft of Phenex tears for a long time. And even if they do not cave into this, the current underworld cannot afford to lose another pillar house. As long as you do not do anything drastic against the princess of destruction, Satan Lucifer shall be appeased. Now, I have kept you long enough, but do be sure to say hello to your mother for me." I gave him a small bow before he then, as quickly as I could stand straight, hugged me deeply.

" You will always be my son, Riser. Take pride in that. Now off you go, my boy." And as quickly as he appeared, he was sitting back in his chair, writing his documents as if nothing had happened.

I then left the room and closed the door while a nice feeling formed in my chest. While it was nice to have a caring family, it is also slightly saddening to know that a pillar house would be reduced to a side character, a mere footnote in someone else's journey.

Returning to the dining hall, I saw my entire peerage waiting for me, and as I entered, they all stood up and bowed to me other than Ravel, and as I bid them to rise, they did so.

Ni and Li excitedly jumped me, and Ni asked, " Lord Riser, are you ready to meet the tomato head?"

Again, with the names, I believe that some members of my retinue spent hours working on nicknames for my fiance. Patting them both, they purred in my arms before getting down.

I looked to my knights, and as I did, they bowed to me, and as I smiled at this, I said to them all, " Before we head to Japan, I would like to let you all know how proud of you I am. Our rating games, while not all victories, could not have been accomplished without each and every one of you. While this meeting may be peaceful, it will eventually end in conflict. Are you all with me?"

Yubelluna is the first to respond as she stands next to me and says, " I speak for everyone here. Say that we will follow you until the end. We are here because of you, Lord Riser. There is nowhere else we would rather be." I do admit in my old life, I would have almost shed a tear at the pure devotion I heard from her; such loyalty is very hard to find.

But I needed to show a strong front, so I simply nodded and looked at them all. " Your loyalty to me means more than you all may comprehend another thing before we go: the recent Red Dragon Emperor has joined my fiance's retinue, and according to my familiar, he is very much the pervert of perverts, so do let me know if he makes you uncomfortable. Ravel, if he gives you any looks, let me know. Your older brother will straighten him out."

My sister almost seems to trip due to my statement but soon enough catches herself and, trying to recoup her dignity, says in a proud voice, " Of course, brother, I will let you know besides, such a lowly lizard shall not take in my form so easily."

Canon would say otherwise, but I digress. Ravel asked me another question before I could teleport to Kuoh: " Brother, you are no longer referring to yourself in the third person?"

Thankfully, I had turned away so that they could not see the embarrassment on my face, but I said, " Yes, I believe it was time for a change. Our parents also started to complain about my little verbal tick. That and I realized that I was speaking like one of those Chinese young masters in those cultivation novels you read in your spare time, little sister."

Sputtering, my sister tried to respond again while my peerage laughed good-naturedly. As I teleported away, I could vaguely hear my sister yelling my name in anger while I just chuckled to myself. I tried to enjoy this good feeling before having to deal with that woman and her group of therapy cases.

Essences Used: Elements, Binder, Blank (Diluted: Only Gives Limitless Potential For Power And Element Based Magics.)