DxD: Getting Into Shape 7.5

Five minutes later Rias and her peerage have arrived at the viewing room and are excitedly chatting with us. Rias and Akeno are talking to Sirzechs, Grayfia, Serafall, and Lord Phenex, and the others are talking to Sona and her Peerage. I decide to finally go talk to them while I have this chance.

"-secret training?" I hear Sona asking as I approach them.

"Axton doesn't really want others to know how he trains," Atsuko says, almost apologetically.

"It's fine," I interrupt, surprising everyone. I guess none of them noticed me approaching. "I trust Sona, I don't mind her finding out." I turn to Sona, making sure that my words won't be heard on the other side of the room with [Sound Domain]. "I have access to several pocket realities filled with pseudo-monsters that empower you when you defeat them. I put them through their paces in one of those, empowering them and teaching them how to fight in groups in a real combat situation."

I feel shock from all of Sona's peerage as they process that. Yua takes the chance to leap out of Momo's arms and take her place on my shoulder. As a Palico, she's a little big to be up there, but she seems content, so whatever.

"What, what are these spaces like?" Sona asks, clearly struggling to wrap her head around it. It's a pretty broken ability after all.

"We trained in a forest filled with a bunch of types of monsters," Atsuko explains. "Bears, mushroom guys, gryphons, a big walking tree, a few different kinds of bugs, things made entirely out of plants. A bunch of stuff really."

"If you'd like, I can show you sometime," I say. "I was actually going to ask if you want training as well. I've seen your training already, and it's solid, but some real combat against monsters is invaluable. And I'd like to treat both you and Rias equally."

She looks at me, emotions swirling in a mess. "I'll….I'll think about it." She says.

I shrug. "We can figure out details later. Without a time limit, we'd probably want to schedule things differently, and there's no rush." There's a little bit of a rush actually, as I want to make sure I train them up before Kokabiel arrives. But we're at least a couple weeks out from that.

[Void Detect] picks up something and I tense. It's showtime. I turn to face the door the instant before it slams open, revealing an angry Riser. He and his peerage had appeared in the medical bay and had not come directly here with Riser. Even Ravel had gone there, despite not receiving any damage.

"You!" he shouts, finger pointed at me.

"Me!" I agree with exaggerated excitement.

"Riser, what is the meaning of this!" Lord Phenex demands, anger in his voice.

"The meaning of this?" Riser asks, and it's clear that his anger is practically making him hysterical. "The meaning of this is that mongrel interfered with the Game, and if you think I'll sit by and act like that sham of a Game was within the rules, then you are a fool!"

There's a faint feeling of pressure in the room as Sirzechs narrows his eyes. "Are you accusing Rias of cheating then?"

Riser, with so much confidence it can really only be called stupidity, looks Sirzechs straight in the face as he replies. "I am! That abomination of a weapon that shouldn't have been allowed aside, only two healing items are allowed in a Rating Game, and she used at least a dozen."

And that's my cue to step in. "Wow, you're wrong three times over," I comment. "Pretty impressive." He turns his attention to me, glaring. "First, only one healing item was used by Rias. Specifically, it was used by Koneko. The other potions they drank either restored their magic or stamina and protected them from all forms of fire and heat. Secondly, the only restriction on healing items is explicitly a restriction on Phenex Tears. Third, that weapon is perfectly legal as well, as there are no restrictions on weapons you can use. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it's against the rules."

"You know as well as I do that whatever it is you used should be just as restricted as Phenex Tears," Riser seethed. "The fact that you're blatantly exploiting a loophole like that is not something that should not be allowed."

"And it won't be," Sirzechs says, voice authoritative. "Axton's potions are still extremely new to us. In fact, I don't believe he's even started selling them yet. So there's no way we possibly could have adjusted the rules to account for them."

"So you agree that this Game was Rias's loss due to disqualification?" Riser asks. "Or at the very least, invalid?"

"No," Sirzechs responds firmly. "Axton is right. There are no rules about it at this time. Rias making use of them is perfectly valid."

Riser shakes with anger. "This blatant favoritism-"

"It doesn't really matter anyway," I interrupt. "Even without the potions, they would have won. Of course they would."

Again, he directs both his attention and anger at me. "And what do you mean by that?"

"I mean there's no way a group of young Devils who worked hard wouldn't beat you, who probably sat on his ass all week, not even contemplating training," I shoot back. "Maybe if you spent more time training your peerage rather than indulging in them, you wouldn't be such a disappointment." I shake my head. "It's a shame too, your peerage has such good potential. But under someone like you, they'll never reach that."

His fists are clenched and shaking with anger. I'm surprised I didn't lose more Affection, though I guess it's pretty low already. I'd likely need more than just words to decrease it more. Not that I want to. It's already more than low enough for him to be suitably irrationally angry at me.

"I won't stand here and accept this slander from you," he retorts. "What does a good for nothing human like yourself even know?"

"I know that I was able to train Rias and her peerage to this level of strength in just a week," I start, letting some anger leak into my voice, though all I really felt was excitement as I reached the crucial stages of my plan. "I know that the only difference my potions made was how many people she had left by the end to kick your ass with. I know that you're so arrogant and dependent on your so-called 'immortality' that you don't feel the need to train your peerage."

"You-" he starts, but I cut him off.

"And most importantly of all, I know that I could personally take you and your entire peerage on single-handedly, without the use of a single potion," I say. There's a pause in the room as everyone hesitates, not having expected that. It's an obvious bait, anyone with a lick of sense can see that. Which means Riser misses it entirely.

"Oh, could you?" he asks, smiling through his fury. "Who's the arrogant one now?"

"Still you," I reply casually. "Like I said, your peerage has potential, but it's squandered in your hands."

"Then how about we test out this theory of yours," he says. "Right here, right now. A Rating Game between me and my Peerage against just you. No potions or Phenex tears."

"I'd love to," I reply, smiling. Riser sees it as arrogance, but I can tell the others recognize it as the jaws of the trap closing around his leg. "Any other demands? You're not going to ban my familiar too, are you?" I indicate Yua on my shoulder, and she unsheathes her claws aggressively. "Or would you like me to tie one hand behind my back? If I tie both it might actually be a challenge."

"Just one more thing," Riser says, ignoring my provocations. "As punishment for all that you've said and all that you've done, I want one thing from you when you lose."

Ah, he makes this so easy for me. "Name it," I tell him.

"Those potions of yours, you're going to be selling them?" he asks.

"I'm in the process of setting up a storefront for them now and preparing to produce them in large enough quantities to sell, yes," I reply.

"Don't bother with all that," he says. "Because when you lose, all of your potions are going to be sold through me, and I'll be collecting the profits."

"You-" Serafall starts, fury clear in her voice. "Do you have any idea of what you're saying?"

"It's fine," I reply. "He doesn't know, but it doesn't matter." I make eye contact with Serafall as she turns to look at me. I can tell why she's angry. Riser is trying to gain control of even my Fertility potions and the deals I have arranged with the other factions. But neither of those are public information, or even hinted at. Riser is asking for far more than he realizes.

But Serfall isn't an idiot. She might not know exactly how strong I am, but she has clues, and she should best recognize the manipulating I've done to get Riser to this point. She might not know what I'm aiming for, but she knows I'm after something. Or hell, maybe she has guessed it. She's fairly good at reading my intentions after all.

After studying my face for a minute, she sighs, and the anger leaks out of her. "Fine, nevermind."

I nod at her in thanks and turn my attention back to Riser. He seems a little confused at the interaction Serafall and I had just now, but his anger is still the most prominent emotion of his by far.

"You do realize that I'm not going to agree to something like that unless you put something of equal value on the line, right?" I say.

"Name it," he repeats my own words at me with an angry grin.

"I want your peerage," I say simply.

The room goes quiet as every single person besides Serafall looks at me in surprise. Serafall just sighs, but she doesn't feel angry or annoyed. There's a tension in the air as everyone processes the fact that I, an apparent human, just demanded Riser's entire Peerage, which included his sister.

"Excuse me?" Riser says in a quiet voice shaking with rage.

"Lazy and deaf huh?" I ask. "Your Peerage. If you lose, I want them. If your Peerage can be taken out by a single 'lowly human', then obviously you have failed them as a leader, and you don't deserve them. I'll take them, train them up to meet their potential like I did Rias, and show you what a fool you are."

Riser shakes with anger as he stares at me. This is it. This is where my plan succeeds, or all I've worked for comes to nothing. And it's frustratingly out of my hands. Still, I've stacked things heavily in my favor, so all I can do now is wait for his answer.

"Fine," he replies, and it's a struggle to keep my elation contained. I've done it. "It doesn't matter what ridiculous thing you demand. So you can make a few potions, it doesn't matter. You're just a human, and we'll crush you." He turns to his father and the two Satans. "Ten minutes. We'll be ready then."

With those final words, he storms out of the room. Lord Phenex immediately turns to the rest of the room.

"I'm sorry about his actions," he apologizes with a slight bend of his head. "It's his first loss that isn't a resignation, and it's probably the first Rating Game he truly cared about. I will go talk to him, get him to stop this foolishness."

"It's fine," I say. "Isn't it better this way? Just earlier you were saying he relies too much on the Phenex regeneration. And it seems like even his loss wasn't enough to teach him better. So this is a good chance for him to learn the lesson properly. I can make sure of that."

He looks unsure. I can tell he's tempted, but that the whole affair doesn't sit right with him. "What are your intentions for his Peerage?" he asks. "You are aware that my daughter is his Bishop, correct?"

"I am," I reply. "And my intentions are exactly what I said. To train them to their potential. They're a full peerage with a good mix of skills. None of them have Sacred Gears or amazing talents, but with the right training, they can be a formidable team." I shrug. "It also wouldn't hurt to have a more solid connection to the Devils, and actual Devils to represent me. I'm good friends with both the Sitri and the Gremory heiresses, but they have their own interests and priorities. Having a team to be my official liaisons with the Underworld that could potentially represent me in Rating Games is something that could be useful."

He still looks unsure, so I continue. "It doesn't have to be forever either," I allow. "After a certain period of time, I'd be willing to make a deal to give them back or come to some sort of arrangement with the Phenex clan. At least a couple years, which is practically nothing in the long term. And your daughter would get the best training I could give her during that time."

Not all of the uncertainty has left him, but that seems to have addressed his biggest concerns. "Very well. If the Satans are willing to let this happen, then so am I."

"Sure, sounds interesting," Serafall responds flippantly, but she shoots me a quick look. I'll be hearing from her about this later I'm sure, though hopefully, it'll just be her asking for the full story.

Sirzechs is more serious in his answer. "Normally I wouldn't allow this. A Rating Game between a single human against a full Peerage? Not to mention that Axton isn't keyed into the safety mechanisms due to his lack of Evil Piece." He sighs. "But both of them agreed to it, and I believe it's a match worth having. So I'll allow it."

Lord Phenex nods. "In that case, I will still go talk to Riser. I have plenty of things to say to him."

"Before you go," I stop him. I pull out a bag from my inventory and offer it to him. "In here are potions that restore stamina, enough for his entire Peerage. Even if they've been healed, they just got through a Rating Game and are bound to be tired. This will help, and it'll help keep things fair."

He studies my face for a moment before he takes the offered bag.

<+16 Affection with Lord Phenex>

"Thank you, that is very courteous of you," he says. I nod in reply, and he turns to leave.

I turn to face the rest of the room. "Well, I guess I better get ready. Where should I go?"

"What the hell are you doing Axton?" Rias says before anyone else speaks up. She sounds angry, but [Empathy] paints a different picture. There are a lot of conflicting emotions, too much of a mess for me to make sense of, which probably means she has no idea what to do with them either, so she's getting a little excited.

"I have no idea what you're talking about Rias," I reply coolly.

"Don't play dumb with me," she fires back. "That was the most obvious bait I've ever seen."

I sigh. I guess it's too much to ask that my manipulation goes entirely uncommented on. "Look, he pissed me off, okay?" I lie. Truthfully, I didn't care about him one way or the other. True, there was no way I was going to let him get his hands on Rias or any of her Peerage, but I wasn't angry at him for trying. I mean, I'm aiming for them, same as he is.

"He came here trying to get his dirty hands on you, Atsuko, Aika, Akeno, Koneko, and Kiba," I say. "And not only that, he didn't train a single bit. He didn't take this seriously, and he doesn't take his peerage seriously. It's not a lie when I say it pisses me off to see him squandering their potential. So yeah, I egged him on a bit. He obviously didn't learn his lesson yet, so who better to teach him than me."

Rias calms down a little, but she still looks annoyed. "And his Peerage?" she asks.

I shrug. "I had to ask for something big to even come close to matching what he asked of me," I replied. "And getting those girls the training they deserve was the first thing to come to mind."

She sighs. "So you're not doing this for me?" she asks.

"Nope," I reply. "This is purely for my own benefit. I don't need to do anything for you. You won, you're free." I sigh. "This is going to delay the celebratory party a bit though. I'll try to take care of things quickly."

"Speaking of," Serafall jumps in. "Let me show you where you need to be for the start of the Game," she says, grabbing my arm. "I'll leave the setup to you Sirzechs!" She calls back as she drags me out of the room. I give a quick wave goodbye to everyone as the door closes behind us.

"Is it time for my interrogation?" I ask as we quickly walk through the hallways.

She rolls her eyes. "No, I got the gist of it. You're horny, you want his hot peerage, and maybe some of what you said about him pissing you off is true. You've been riling him up since you first met him just so he'd agree to those terms."

As I thought, her ability to guess my motives is scarily good. "Mostly right, but I do want his peerage for more than just their looks. Though it's mostly Ravel I'm interested in. She's the key part in building my potions shop. She can help me figure out the market price for them and help manage the business sides of things."

She shoots me a look as if she's reevaluating me. "I see," she replies. "Still, there were other ways you could have gotten her."

"Maybe," I admit. "But this way lets me punish Riser for threatening to put his hands on my girls."

"There were other ways of handling that as well," Serafall comments.

"None that didn't require me calling in some sort of favor from you," I reply. "Or at least, none that were less drastic than this one. This was easy to arrange and was something I could do entirely by myself."

"That's true I guess," she says with a sigh. "It's just going to be a bit of a pain in the ass. You really had to ask for his whole peerage, didn't you? You know what a nightmare that's going to be? A human taking the Peerage of a pureblooded Devil?"

"Don't worry," I reply as we come to a stop. "I feel like that won't be as much of an issue as you fear."

She narrows her eyes at me. "You have something planned."

"A special surprise," I confirm with a smile and wink.

She sighs. "Of course," she says. "You better hope it leads to less of a headache for me."

"Don't worry," I reply with a confident grin. "Once this match goes public, me taking his Peerage won't be what they talk about."

"I hope you're right," she replies. She waves at the door. "Go inside, stand on the teleportation circle. In three minutes it'll bring you to the arena. It'll probably be the school still, there's not enough time to switch it." She starts to turn to walk away but stops. "And Axton?"

"Yeah?" I ask.

"Don't overdo it, okay?" she asks.

I grin, showing plenty of teeth. "No promises."

-x-

Back in the viewing room, everyone watched the monitor, waiting for it to change. Serafall had just arrived after showing Axton where he needed to be, but Lord Phenex hadn't come back.

There was a weird energy in the air. Asia and Rias and her Peerage weren't nervous, not really. Even they weren't sure exactly how powerful Axton was, but after facing Riser themselves and having so little trouble, they were confident that Axton wouldn't have a problem.

Sona and her Peerage were less sure. They'd seen so little of Axton's combat prowess, that they had no idea if this was something he could do or not. But he seemed confident, and the others didn't seem worried, so they decided to just settle in and see. They were a little nervous, but more than anything they were expectant.

"How do you think he'll open?" Atsuko leans over and asks Aika. "My guess is that he'll just blitz them with his speed, hit them all before they even know what's happening."

Aika contemplated that. "Maybe. I think he'll use his spells more. His teleportation and that beam of his are a pretty good combination. It's practically the only thing he used in the dungeons."

Koneko shook her head. "Won't need it," she says. "Atsuko's right, he's strong enough to just blitz them."

Rias chimes in. "No, I think Aika has a point. That beam of his is even stronger than my version of it using the Power of Destruction. A few seconds of that could wipe out everyone but Riser and Ravel." She grimaces. "It'd be pretty gruesome though."

"How do you think he plans on handling Riser?" Kiba speaks up. "I know he has holy weapons. And that one potion he discussed as a possible plan for us to use. Oh, but I guess he can't use the potion."

"Probably the holy weapons then," Rias says.

Sona listened in on their conversation with a frown on her face, wondering if Axton was not only so powerful but also flexible enough to have a multitude of options when facing so many enemies alone. Or mostly alone. He had Yua, but Sona was even less sure about her abilities. Even if she looked different than the last time she had seen the kitten. Much bigger for one, and bipedal now. Yua had mentioned using magic tools when they had been talking earlier, but what exactly that meant, she didn't know.

They'd talked about Axton and his training then too. Admittedly, it was mostly Momo and Ruruko asking Asia and Yua about Axton's training methods. She'd been surprised to hear that he sparred with all of them, matching and even surpassing all of them in their specialties. They'd sparred a bit, that one time he had joined her Peerage for training, and he had seemed competent, but not that amazing. She could only conclude that he was holding back then. But she wasn't sure why he would.

"Looks like we're about to find out," Akeno says, drawing everyone's attention back to the screen, which had just changed to show a split screen again. On one side was Riser and his Peerage, once again situated in the Student Council Room.

Sona didn't like seeing him in there, even if it was just a replica. Riser was arrogant and disgusting and seeing him have free range of the place she considered hers irritated her. Though her attention was quickly drawn to the faces of his Peerage. They looked...annoyed? Nervous? It was obvious that they didn't expect or appreciate the second Rating Game right after losing one.

Though none of them looked tired, which meant they'd likely accepted the potions Axton had given them. She wasn't sure they would. Riser definitely wouldn't have, not with how angry he was. But the Lord Phenex either overrode him or gave them to his Peerage without Riser noticing.

"Where's Axton?" Momo asked. Sona looked at the other side of the screen, where the Occult Research Club room was shown. But as Momo had noticed, it was empty.

"Did he leave already?" Sona asked. Leaving during the preparation phase was fine, but seldom done. Granted, there probably wasn't much strategy Axton needed to think over. He knew the battlefield, and he had almost certainly had a plan before Riser even challenged him to a fight. Even Sona hadn't missed how obvious his bait was.

The camera on the left starts changing angle every couple of seconds, flicking through different views of the school grounds and the forestry around it.

"Can they not find him?" Ruruko asks.

"He did say he was more of the stealth type," Tsubaki commented. Sona frowned. He had, hadn't he? On multiple occasions even. But when Rias's group was guessing how he would do things, stealth wasn't even brought up. Why was that?

The cameraman seemed to give up on finding Axton and switched to a birds-eye view of the arena. The other view showed Riser's peerage all filing out of the Student Council office and leaving in groups of three. Riser, by himself, took to the sky, watching over everything.

For about twenty seconds, nothing happened. Riser's Peerage spread out and started looking for Axton, heading to different landmarks.

Twenty-five seconds after Riser's peerage scattered, an announcement was made.

Riser's Queen Yubullena has retired!

"What?!" exclaimed multiple people, Sona included. Everyone leaned forward in surprise as the camera quickly switched to where Yubullena just was. But it was too slow, and it only catches a flash of light as the two with her also retire.

Riser's Pawn Ile has retired!

Riser's Pawn Nel has retired!

"Damn cameras, you missed it!" Atsuko complained.

As if they heard her complain, the screen split into four sections, each one showing one of the teams Riser sent out. All of Riser's peerage looked surprised and scared, understandably so. They could be seen raising their hands to their ears, using earpieces to communicate.

There's a flash of movement on the screen showing Mihae, Ni, and Li. Mihae was blown backward from an incoherent blur.

"Yua?" Momo gasped. Sona started. Was it? She looked closer, eyes sharp as another blurred movement impacted Ni. That was certainly too small to be Axton, and since it was only Axton and Yua on the field, it had to be her. But the idea that she could move that fast was frightening. That was faster than her own Knight by far, though she had seen Kiba move faster during the previous game.

Riser's Knight Siris has retired!

Riser's Rook Isabella has retired!

Riser's Rook Xuelan has retired!

"Again?!" Sona exclaimed, leaning forward even further and looking at the screen those three had just been on. "Did anyone see that?"

"No, I was paying attention to the other screen," Tsubaki answered, and the others nodded in agreement.

Riser's Bishop Mihae has retired!

"Oh, Yua got her!" Aika said. Sure enough, back on the screen they were watching earlier, Mihae was disappearing in a flash of light. As they watched, Yua quickly dispatched Ni and Li, coming to a stop for a single moment, letting them see her clearly. Or they could have, but as they looked, they noticed that she was transparent, and they could see right through her.

Riser's Pawn Ni has retired!

Riser's Pawn Li has retired!

"Is she invisible?" Saji asked.

"I didn't know Yua could do that," Kiba commented.

"I think that's the same thing he taught me, but Yua's a lot better at it it looks like," said Aika.

"Wait, is that why we can't see him?" Rias asked. "Is he running around invisible?"

Yua disappears in a familiar movement. "She can do that too?" Akeno gasped.

"She's been using that to come to see me often actually," Momo said.

"Wow, Yua can kick some serious ass," Ruruko commented. Sona shot her a look for cursing. "Ah, sorry Kaichou." She made a zipper motion over her mouth. Sona sighed and turned her attention back to the screen. Ruruko wasn't wrong. Yua just by herself was more impressive than any of her own Peerage members. That wasn't something Sona liked to admit, but it was true.

Was that the result of Axton's ability? Of those pocket dimensions? To turn a completely normal newborn kitten into something never before seen that can fight on part with Middle-Class Devils? In just under a month? She wouldn't believe it if the evidence wasn't right before her eyes. Maybe she will take Axton up on that training.

Riser's Knight Karlamine has retired!

Everyone's eyes shot to the screen in question in time to see an angle of Burent clutching at...something? Her hands grabbed at the area near her throat but didn't reach them. Suddenly, she slumps over, unconscious, and disappears in a flash of light.

Riser's Pawn Marion has retired!

Riser's Pawn Burent has retired!

They'd only been able to see Burent. By the time Karlamine's retirement had been announced, he had already given the same treatment to Marion and had started on Burent.

"He's...knocking them out?" Rias pondered out loud.

"She looked like she was in an invisible chokehold," Kiba responded.

Riser's Pawn Mira has retired!

They turned to look at the last screen, where Yua once again was attacking. But this time she had wands in her paws, and she was sending beams of light at them. Shuriya and Ravel tried to dodge, but Yua wove another wand in her other hand and Shuriya froze in place, seemingly unable to move. A beam of light hits her chest, and she disappears as well, leaving just Ravel.

Riser's Pawn Shuriya has retired!

Yua pulled yet another wand out of nowhere, waved it, and a mass of ice shot up from the ground. It encapsulated Ravel, who tried to dodge, but she was too slow, still reeling from the suddenness of everything going on. She was trapped in the ice, still conscious, but unable to move. Fire appeared around her, and the ice started to melt, but Yua kept piling on more ice.

It had barely been a minute since Riser's Peerage had left their base, and already all of them were taken care of. Even the immortal Ravel was trapped in ice, though that may only be temporary considering how much steam was coming from there.

The screen cut to show Riser, fury on his face, but there was something else there as well. Fear.

He moved from his position high in the sky and headed in Ravel's direction, presumably to assist her. As he flew above the trees though, an inky black rope of something shot out of them and latched on. Riser, caught off guard, is yanked out of the air and thrown to the ground.

"You dare," Riser seethes as he gets up, unharmed but covered in dirt.

"I do," comes a voice, and even in the viewing room, it's impossible to tell where it came from. In fact, it sounded like it came from multiple directions. But it was definitely Axton's voice.

"Where are you?" Riser demanded, head swiveling.

"I'm right here," Axton replied with multiple voices again.

"Too scared to face me directly?" Riser mocked as he looked around.

"I don't know, are you?" Axton said, and the smile in his voice is clear.

"Come out so I can finish this farce of a Rating Game," Riser spat.

"Are you actually that confident in your ability to win?" Axton said. "I've taken out your entire peerage, Ravel included, with nothing but my own skills and a kitten not even two months old. Do you really think I don't have six different ways to counter you?"

"You said yourself that my Peerage is poorly trained," Riser shot back. "Congratulations on taking out some trash."

Axton didn't reply for a moment, and there's only silence, both at their fight and in the viewing room.

"You really are trash, aren't you?" Axton eventually asked, voice no longer multiplied. Riser twirls around to face the direction of the voice, only for a bolt of light to hit him in the back.

"Gah!" he cried out in pain, and everyone in the viewing room clearly saw that the would didn't heal.

"Counter number one," Axton's multiplied voice came again, tone lecturing. "A simple Light Gun, used by Exorcists. Simple, cheap, and easy to get your hands on."

"If you think a toy like that is enough to stop me," Riser started, voice filled with anger and pain.

There's a flash of light and Riser screamed out in pain again.

"Counter number two," came the voice. "A Light Sword, the melee counterpart to the Light Gun. More efficient in terms of energy use, but lacks the range of the light gun. Many Exorcists opt to use both rather than focusing on becoming skilled with just one."

Riser was breathing hard, eyes desperately looking for the next attack. "So you robbed some Exorcists, big deal. These attacks aren't-"

Riser was caught off by his own scream as three blurs impacted him from different angles. As Riser dropped to one knee, those in the viewing room saw what had hit him. Three simple swords with plain red hilts. And all three stabbed deeply enough into his chest to poke out the other side.

"Counter number three, Black Keys," Axton spoke up again. "A more advanced Exorcist weapon used to hunt down the most dangerous vampires. They can do all sorts of neat things, but for our purposes, the only important thing is their sanctified energy."

"Damn...you…" Riser spat out. He roars and stands up, pulling the blades out of him one by one. His hand sizzles each time he grabs onto the hilts, but he grits his teeth and removes each one. "These toys won't stop me!" he screamed.

"Good, because I still have more to show," came Axton's voice, cold and uncaring. There wasn't even a blur this time, but a gash opened up on Riser's shoulder. Riser let out a bellow of pain and collapsed once again to his knees.

"You…" he panted. "How...dare…"

"Counter number four," Axton said, ignoring Riser. "A little something I whipped up that I call the Cross of Judgement. As far as holy weapons go, it probably has the weakest aura of the ones I've used so far. But it has this lovely little effect where it judges whoever is stabbed by it and either smites them or blesses them, based on how much of a sinner they are."

Sona frowned. "Did he say he made a holy weapon?" she asked.

"He did," Akeno confirmed. "I'm not sure what he means by that though. He made our armor and a few other things. But I didn't know he could make weapons. He can make them magical weapons though, maybe that's what he did?"

Sona had been wondering where their equipment had come from but had just assumed Rias bought it through her own connections so hadn't bothered to ask. But Axton had made them? How many talents did Axton have?

"Enough of your games," Riser hissed. "Show yourself and face me like a man!"

"Like a man?" Axton asked. "What happened to me being just a lowly human?" A dark chuckle echoed through the speakers. "But you know what? Fine."

"What?" Riser said, alongside most of the occupants of the viewing room, as Axton appeared out of nowhere, either teleporting or dropping his invisibility.

He wore a thick armored vest made of black leather. It had several layers laid in a scale-like pattern to protect vital areas such as his heart, lungs, and stomach. And it had a black hood that was pulled up over his head. His arms were covered by a black material she couldn't recognize. Some sort of cloth. It had small metal shoulder guards and wires that ran down the length of it.

He also wore pants that matched the leather vest he wore and heavy-looking boots. On his left hip was a black sheath with the handle of a knife sticking out of it.

But most surprising of all were the two black cat ears poking out of his hood and equally black cat tail coming from his back.

Everyone in the room is stunned. "Is- is that cosplay?" Rias asked.

"I don't think it is," Aika answered. "Look at this tail. It looks real, and it's moving just like Koneko's does."

The mention of the catgirl caused everyone to look at her, her own ears and tail on display. Which had been a shock to Sona. She had known what Koneko was of course, but she also knew why Koneko hid those features. But Aika was right. Axton's cat features weren't some fancy cosplay, they looked exactly like Koneko's own, only black instead of white. Koneko herself stared at the screen, face blank.

"Koneko, do you know anything about this?" Rias asked gently.

Koneko didn't respond at first, but after a moment she nodded. "Sorta. He asked for some of my fur. Said he could make a potion to make himself able to use Senjutsu like a Nekoshou."

Akeno frowned. "So it was his potions huh. I wonder if it was the same one that made him taller?"

Sona blinked. Axton had grown taller? She hadn't even noticed. But if she thought about it...yes, he was, wasn't he? Before he had been the same height as Rias, but when they were standing next to each other earlier, he was a little taller than her.

"I can't believe my boyfriend turned into a catboy without telling me!" Atsuko complains, though her tone is more excited than annoyed.

Sona shot a look at Momo, silently asking if she knew about this, but Momo just shook her head and shrugged.

Sona turned her attention to the screen. Axton had kept so many secrets from so many people, but now it looked like he was starting to reveal them. She made sure to pay attention to what happened next, as her instincts were telling her Axton wouldn't reveal himself for nothing. Something big was about to happen.

-x-

"I thought you were human," Riser spits out, obviously in pain. I check his HP with [Observe]. Still above half. Not bad, considering how much punishment I've put him through. Granted, not even the Black Keys were aimed at anything important. But it was still a lot of Light attacks.

"I was," I reply casually as I step towards him. "Still am, mostly. I've got a few additional bits, but I'd say the majority of me is human." It's hard to be sure, and honestly, it doesn't matter.

"You-!" he shots. "Stay back!"

I tilt my head in exaggerated confusion. "But I thought you wanted to face me like a man?" I ask as I continue moving towards him.

He doesn't reply with words and instead yells as he sends a fireball bigger than himself hurtling towards me.

I could probably tank it. My new armor made of Ender Dragon hide is extremely sturdy, even before the enchantments I put on it. But there's no need, I'm being cocky enough as it is, even if there's a point to my showmanship.

Right before it hits me, I activate [Void Cloak], and it passes harmlessly through me. I turn off the skill as soon as it passes me, still slowly walking towards him. "Counter number five," I say out loud, and Riser flinches. I pull out a bottle of holy water and crush it. The broken glass skitters off the fabric of my gloves and the whole thing becomes soaked.

"Holy water," is all I say before my next step brings me to right in front of him with [Void Travel] and I punch him in the face with my Holy Water covered hand, sending him spinning into a tree ten feet back.

"Not the most efficient way to use it, but it gets the job done," I comment. "Just a bit of that coated on a weapon and that weapon may as well be holy when it comes to how well you can heal it."

Riser is slow in getting to his feet, and I'm not in a rush. I take a moment to glance at the Game windows I've been ignoring.

<Hollow Knight Class has reached level 100>

<New Trait Added>

<[Shade Soul] - Your soul remembers its origins, and embraces the Void. Unlocks Void Form.>

<Hollow Knight Class maxed out, extra XP held>

The Ender Dragon brought me really close to level 100, and I guess taking out Riser's peerage was enough to push me over that line. Each girl hadn't given me much, but I would have been more surprised if they had. All I had done was teleport behind them and used [Void Drain] in conjunction with [Knockout] to reduce their SP to zero.

I didn't want to hurt them, since they are going to my Peerage soon. Knocking them out like that was the cleanest way of doing that. I had spent a bit of time a few nights ago leveling the skill against some bears, but when combined with [Void Drain], it's so effective I didn't need to level it much.

Void Form though...if that's what I think it is, it should be exactly the level of showmanship I need. Perfect.

There's another screen prompting me to choose another class, but I ignore it for now. I'll worry about that later. Riser is getting up though, and it's time for me to end this.

"So far every single one of my counters has been based on using your weakness to Holy attacks against you," I say as I start towards him again. He sends more fireballs at me, smaller ones this time, but I casually step around them. "That's because it's your biggest and most obvious weakness, one that nullifies the advantage you have over other Devils."

Riser stops throwing fire at me and instead sprouts wings of fire and starts to fly away. That's not happening. I activate my Flight enchantment to follow him, but I feel an unexpected sensation on my back. I look over my shoulder and find two black wings sprouting from my own back.

Huh. I guess the Ender Dragon blood gave me more than I thought because those are definitely Ender Dragon wings. They clash a bit with my Nekoshou features, but I guess that's what makes me a Chimera.

I flap my wings and follow after Riser before he gets too far. Flying is instinctual, especially since I believe the enchantment is aiding me. I quickly catch up with him, grab him by his leg, and hurl him back to the ground.

The ground craters slightly where he hits, but it won't have done any real damage to him. Nothing that doesn't instantly heal at least. Not that it matters, I just didn't want this to turn into an aerial battle.

"Counter number six," I say as I land on the ground again and hide my wings again. "Unlike the others, it's not holy damage, and in fact, probably isn't something most people can do."

As Riser scrambles to his feet, I reach inside myself and mentally grab hold of my soul. It feels different. Darker, and more solid, but also more flexible. Normally I direct it to a skill, or in my one attempt, I try to make it physical. Instead, this time I pull it outwards and stretch it over me like a second skin.

I can feel it as it covers me and the world around me changes. I things I feel are both more and less at the same time. No, I just feel things differently. I feel what is not, feeling the inverse of the world around me, like how [Void Detect] works, but for all of my senses. And constantly in the background is that familiar song. The sweet melody of the Void.

Riser looks at me with a horrified look on my face. Curious, I use [Void Sight] to look at myself. I look like a silhouette of myself, covered in a black so dark it defies everything around it. I look like a hole cut into the world rather than a being inside of it.

Except for my eyes. Most of my face is blank, my features only suggested. But my eyes are two slits that glow with a powerful golden light.

Void Form activated

Massively increased connection to the Void while active. Costs Soul to keep active.

I see. Sure enough, I can feel my Soul draining. I probably can only keep this up for a minute at most. But that's more than enough.

"Your healing relies on your demonic power," I say, and there's a new layer underneath my voice. The same layer of Void that is part of the Man in the Wall's voice, making me sound just like him now.

"Normally, that's difficult to exploit, as your healing is amazingly efficient," I continue. All I feel from Riser now is fear as he steps backward, legs trembling.

I [Void Travel] to step right in front of him like I did earlier and grab him by his neck, lifting him up. He claws at my hands and wrists, but he can't get a grip on the shadowy substance that now makes up my body.

"Fortunately for me, that's not an issue," I say casually. "If your healing uses your demonic power, your magic, then I'll just drain that directly."

[Void Drain] activates, though there's no visual difference in my hands, already covered in my Void-laden Soul as they are. I start draining not only his MP but his SP as well.

Riser's fear spikes, even as his movements grow weaker as I rapidly drain him dry of his energy. In just under three seconds, both his MP and SP hit zero, and he slumps over in my hand. I drop him and let him hit the ground. His MP and SP are already starting to trickle back in, but it doesn't matter. I pull my Soul back in, returning me to my normal form.

Riser Phenex has retired!

The Rating Game is over! The winner is Axton!

-x-

The viewing room is silent as I teleport in. Yua has already gone home, tired. She sleeps less now as a Palico, but she still sleeps about half the day. Sirzechs is looking at me with a serious expression as if he's weighing me on a scale. Serafall looks different though. She doesn't look surprised. Which is surprising to me. Maybe her acting is good enough to fool me though? I note that Lord Phenex isn't in the room.

The others are all looking at me with shocked expressions. Some of them even look a little scared, and it would be a lie to say that didn't hurt a little. It was mostly the members of Sona's Peerage I haven't gotten very close to, and Kiba to a slight degree. It hurt, but I understood it. Being scary was my goal after all. But I didn't want to scare them. Never them.

Atsuko is fearless though, and she runs up to me and almost tackles me with her hug. "Holy shit Axton!" she exclaims. "That was fucking awesome!"

I laugh and hug her back. "You looked pretty cool yourself when you kicked his ass, I felt like I had to step up my game." I can feel everyone relaxing a little due to Atsuko's actions. I smile warmly. I really do love this girl.

"Oh, so you were showing me up then?" Atsuko banters as she lets go of me. "You can't let me have the spotlight just once, huh?"

"Nah, you were way cooler," I tell her. "I just needed to teach him a lesson is all."

"And I'd say he learned it," Serafall cuts in as she approaches. "Before you get too wrapped up in celebrating though, we need to discuss something. Riser's Peerage, and how you want to claim them."

"Well, seeing as I'm not a Devil, I can't just bring them into my own Peerage," I guess.

"You could become one though," Serafall points out.

"I'm sure you've noticed the changes I've made to myself with potions," I say, ears on top of my head flicking. "I don't want to complicate that further by becoming a Devil. No, it doesn't need to be that official. Just give Ravel her own Evil Pieces, trade Riser's Peerage to her, and have her officially work for me and my still unnamed potion production company."

"That could work," Serafall nods. "She'd still have to be a Bishop under somebody though. But I believe her Mother has a free Bishop she might be willing to use. If that's fine with you."

I shrug. "So long as Ravel and the rest of the Peerage work for me and not for her, then I have no problem with it."

Serafall nods. "I'll get to work arranging that then. I'll need to talk to Lord and Lady Phenex. I'll drop them off at your house tomorrow evening."

"Got it," I agree. "Thanks a ton, Levi-tan," I say with a wink.

She smiles and spins around, letting her magical girl dress twirl outwards. "See ya later Axton!" she says in a much more cutesy voice as she leaves out the door Riser left earlier, presumably to go find Lord Phenex.

While Serafall was talking to me, the others had gathered around me. Now that the tension from earlier is gone, I can tell they are all bursting with questions to ask me. It's Aika that manages to get one out first though.

"When did you become a catboy?" she asks. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm into it, but that's a big change."

"Pretty early this morning," I reply. "I mentioned earlier that I used a potion on myself and that changed my height? Well, that wasn't all the potion did."

"Is that why you have those wings as well?" Ruruko asks.

"Yep," I reply. "The dragon wings were part of it. I know they don't look great together, but I'm more concerned about function rather than form."

"Those were dragon wings?" Akeno asks with a frown. "But if you got the Nekoshou fur from Koneko, where did you get something from a dragon?"

I blink. Oh, I guess Koneko told them about that. It makes sense, I would have asked her too if one of the girls suddenly had cat ears. "Not too long ago I followed some old records I dug up and found an ancient hoard from a dragon I'm pretty sure died a long time ago," I answer. "There were a lot of interesting things in there."

"More importantly," Sona cuts in, tone serious. "What was that last bit?"

I was both ready and totally unprepared for this. I knew it was going to come up, but I haven't come up with a good excuse for it yet. But telling them an only slightly trimmed down version of the truth should be fine. That was the point of it after all. I'm laying my big cards on the table for everyone to see.

"That...I guess you could call it my soul," I answer.

Sona blinks, obviously not expecting that answer. "What, like your Sacred Gear? Did you reach Balance Breaker?"

I shake my head. "Truth be told, I'm more sure every day that I don't have a Sacred Gear. Or if I do, I haven't awoken it yet."

"We suspected that ourselves," Momo pipes up. "You do too many things too well, it wouldn't make sense. But what do you mean by soul then?"

"I've recently started to learn how to weaponize my soul," I explain. "So far, it's mostly been by using it to empower my magic and other abilities. But I've started experimenting with manifesting it into physical shape, and just using it in more creative ways."

"And that was one of those ways?" Rias asks.

"That was actually the first time I've tried something like that," I say. "But it felt right. Instead of empowering specific actions, it empowers all of me, though I can't keep it up for very long yet. I used it to be flashy. The cosmetic changes were a bit unexpected though."

That last bit is a lie, I fully expected them. In fact, I had counted on them, considering the class that gave me it and the description of the trait.

"That still sounds a lot like a Balance Breaker," Kiba points out. "Especially doing it for the first time in an important moment by just following your instincts." He shakes his head. "Not that you're wrong in that it's unlikely what you do is because of a Sacred Gear. Though maybe this soul stuff you're doing is one?"

"What I want to know is what you mean about using your soul," Rias says. "How is it different from magic? Or Senjutsu?"

I shrug. "For one, it's more universal. I can empower things that use my magic, and things that use my stamina just the same. And it definitely draws from a different pool of energy. A much smaller one, and one that leaves me tired in a way that using magic or exercising doesn't."

"So that black form...that was your soul?" Asia asks.

Ah. I can see how that doesn't exactly make them any more comfortable with what they just saw. "I guess?" I hedge. "It's definitely not as simple as that. Like I said, that's me weaponizing my soul. I'm not sure how that process affects its appearance."

This causes everyone to relax a little. I feel a little guilty about lying to them so directly. I know exactly why it looks like that. My soul is so filled with Void by this point, there's no way it would look like anything else. But I'm not ready to explain all of that to them yet. Not here, not now.

"Look, that's enough about me," I say. "Let's stop hanging around here and head to my place, alright? I have a bunch of food and stuff ready for a big celebratory party, we can talk there."

"Why don't you guys head there, I want a chance to talk to Axton for a moment," Sirzechs says. I almost forgot he was here, but it appears he was listening to the conversation. His expression is friendly, but his emotions are completely flat.

"Great idea," I say. "Go ahead and head to the teleportation circle, I'll catch up after we talk."

Rias pauses, but then nods. "Alright, Axton." She turns to Sirzechs. "Don't keep him too long, okay?"

Sirzechs smiles and puts a hand on her head, ruffling her hair. "Don't you worry about that, I'll be quick."

The others leave, and it's just me and Sirzechs in the room. He doesn't speak up at first, probably making sure that they actually leave and don't try to eavesdrop. They're not, [Void Detect] shows all of them leaving. Well, Atsuko is being dragged by Aika. She might be trying to eavesdrop, but the others won't let her.

Seeing that he's not breaking the silence, I speak up myself. "So, what can I do for you, Mr. Satan?" I ask.

He looks at me, face blank as his emotions. "Tell me, if I were to ask you what Ouroboros is, what would your answer be?"

Why is he- oh. Right. "It's Norse mythology, right?" I ask. "The snake that bites its own tail. It represents Infinity, among other things." I tilt my head. "Wait, if the bible stuff is all real, are the Norse gods real too?"

He studies my face, looking for a sign of a lie. Thankfully, I'm a very good liar. He must have realized my skills are Void related, and in this world, there's only one person connected to the Void. Ophis, the Dragon God of Infinity, sometimes known as Ouroboros.

"They do," he answers, seemingly content in not finding anything on my face. "So do the Greek and Hindu Pantheons. We usually stay out of each other's hair though. Inter-Pantheon relations can be a little...tense."

"Man, the world is a lot bigger than I realized," I comment, continuing to act like I didn't know this already.

Sirzechs smiles. "Get used to that feeling. Even after so long, I still see new things that I never even suspected could exist." He looks at me as he says this. Hah, I guess I do fit that description.

"Is that what you wanted to talk to me about? Ouroboros and the Norse pantheon?" I ask.

He frowns slightly. "I just wanted to know if you knew about it. And for the record, Ouroboros isn't from the Norse pantheon. Or any pantheon. He stands alone. And he's the sort of person you don't want to mess with."

He? Oh right, Ophis is a shapeshifter, and word of her new female form hasn't spread. "Noted," I reply. "With any luck that won't be an issue."

Sirzechs grimaces. "Yes, hopefully, we'll get lucky."

We both know that won't be the case though. I haven't attracted her attention yet, but I'm too connected to the Void to escape her notice forever. And I have no idea how she'll react when she does notice me. Thankfully, I have a few plans to gain her favor.

"If that's all, I have a party to get to," I say.

He nods. "Right right. Go enjoy your fun and celebration. You both earned it. I'll contact you later, we need to discuss how to keep things balanced with your potions in the future of Rating Games. But I'll let you get your shop set up first."

"Much appreciated," I say. Before he can say anything else, I [Void Travel] out of the room and down to the teleportation circle out of the Underworld. All I want to do is celebrate with my girls. Everything else can wait.

-x-

For all my talk about putting together a celebratory party, the actual thing is pretty simple. The banquet hall, which is apparently something I have now, had its chairs moved from the table to around the edges of the room. A spread of food is laid out along the table that runs almost the entire length of the room, and everyone is standing around in groups chatting.

Three of the walls have large screens hanging from them, and footage of the Rating Games is playing on them. Apparently, it's a rough cut they had already put together that Serafall had dropped off. It showed off everyone's fights, and a lot of the talk is centered around the footage.

Momo, Ruruko, Aika, Atsuko, and Asia are standing in one corner. They're not paying attention to any of the screens. Instead, they're talking among themselves. I was just talking with them as well, making proper introductions. They shooed me off a moment ago though so they could have 'girl talk'. I decide not to listen with [Sound Domain]. I'm not worried, they're just finally getting to know each other. It's a good time too because my harem only gets bigger every day. Koneko is almost but not quite part of it, and Rias and Akeno aren't too far off either. Now that the training camp is done, it's time for me to pick back up on all the others I put on pause. Thankfully, the [Harem King] perk should make it so it's not an issue to keep growing my harem.

Sona, Tsubaki, Rias, and Akeno are standing in their own group, and their attention is on the screen. From the bits of conversation I've heard from them, they're discussing my training and the strategies Rias used in her Rating Game. Even when celebrating, those four are so businesslike. But that's what makes them good leaders for their Peerages.

The other members of their Peerages are all grouped together in one bigger group. They're also discussing the training and the Rating Game, though their focus is a little different. Where Sona and Rias are going over things with a critical eye, the others are just excitedly chatting.

One of the screens catches my attention. It's showing my final confrontation with Riser. My nonchalance and my Void Form. It's not as impressive on the screen as it is in person, but you can still tell it's not just shadow or darkness I've covered myself in.

It feels weird to have shown so much after spending so long keeping my head down. But it was my best option. Between Kokabiel pissed at me and everything I know is coming, keeping my head down isn't going to be possible for much longer. Now that I've gained some strength, and now that I have this home I can protect, I opted to flip that.

My nature makes me mysterious, so I'll use that to my advantage. I'll make every potential enemy overestimate me by revealing my connection to the Void. Sirzechs' reaction is proof that I managed it. His first instinct was to tie me to Ophis. And if there's one person no one wants to fuck with in DxD, it's Ophis. Well, there are others, but she's a big one, and it's easy to make people suspect that.

So they'll hesitate, and they'll spy on me, gathering information. And that's all I need. The more time I can buy before anyone makes a move, the better prepared I'll be for when they do. At this pace, in another month I'll be strong enough to handle most of what this world can throw at me. Not the top players, but the ones that are likely to come after me for certain. It's a bit of a risk, but I'd rather take the gamble than desperately try to hide my abilities for as long as possible.

I feel Kyu settle on top of my head in her pixie-sized form. "So that's what you got for maxing out that class, huh?" she comments.

"It looks cooler in person, you should have been there," I reply.

"Nah, you've got the videos, that's enough for me," she says. "I'm more interested in fucking than fighting."

"Fair enough," I say. "You missed me roasting the Phenex brat though."

"I'm sure it was very impressive and very macho," Kyu comments sarcastically, and I laugh. "Ooh, look alive. The redhead is on her way over."

I turn and sure enough, Rias is heading in my direction. She's no longer dressed in her armor. Everyone had taken the chance to get dressed in new clothes before coming here. Now she's wearing a tight white armless sweater and a short black skirt. I recognize the outfit, it's the one she wore back when she and Akeno first tried to seduce me. She flashed me quite a bit using that skirt.

"Hey Rias," I greet her with a smile when she gets close.

"Do you have a moment?" she asks. I can feel that she's a little nervous. But nervousness isn't the only thing I feel. There's a whole slew of positive emotions, and it's lust that stands out the most.

"Sure thing, what do you need?" I say.

She looks around. "Actually, can we talk somewhere private?"

I have to work to keep my smile from spreading even wider. "Sure. I think there are a couple unused rooms nearby we can talk in." She nods, and the two of us slip out of the room. Three, if you count Kyu catching a ride on my head. I'm sure our absence will be noted, but that isn't a big deal.

I lead us down a couple hallways, searching with [Void Detect] for an appropriate room. Finding one, I lead us into a sitting lounge of some kind. The room was sparsely decorated. Two couches facing each other separated by a coffee table, end tables on each side of both couches, and a few empty bookshelf and cupboards around the walls.

I sit down on one of the couches, and she hesitates for a moment, but then she sits down next to me rather than across from me. I activate [Touch of Pleasure] and hit her with [Increase Sensitivity]. Neither of them too high, just enough to spice up what I'm hoping is about to happen.

"So what did you want to talk about?" I ask her as I look at her.

I can feel her steeling herself. "I wanted to do this," she says. She leans towards me, lips puckered, and kisses me. Her lips are full and soft and melt into my own. Our lips embrace for several moments, long enough for me to enjoy the taste of her lips, and then she pulls back.

She smiles, and her nervousness is gone. Love, lust, and happiness are the only emotions I can feel from her.

"I want to thank you, Axton," she says. "I know I've thanked you so many times already, but it still doesn't feel like I've conveyed to you the amount of gratitude I feel. Riser has been a weight on my shoulders for years, a burden I couldn't find out how to get rid of, and one that's only grown heavier as he got pushier. But tonight, that's been lifted. I'm free. And it's all thanks to you."

"I can't take all the credit," I reply. Though in truth, I kind of can.

She shakes her head. "We couldn't have done it without you." She looks at me again. "And so, once again, I want to thank you." She repositions herself, moving from next to me, to straddling my lap. Her legs are spread, pushing her short skirt up, revealing the lacy black panties she's wearing underneath it. Her hands wrap around the back of my neck as she looks down at me. "I want to thank you in a way I couldn't before."

She leans down slightly and kisses me again. But this time there's a heat to it, a desperate hunger. I place my hands on her hips and pull her closer to me. Our kiss quickly deepens, and the soft sounds of smacking lips echo through the room as we make out.

I can tell she's new to kissing, but by this point, I have plenty of experience with inexperienced girls. I'm able to guide and prod her, showing her through example the best way to kiss. The entire time, both of us are only growing more aroused. Her hips move as she grinds her crotch into the bulge of my boner.

She pulls back, and before I can even begin to wonder why, her hands are grabbing the bottom of her sweater and pulling it off of her head, revealing a lacy black bra to match her panties. That's quickly discarded as well, and I waste no time indulging.

My hand squeezes and gropes the voluptuous flesh of her left boob, my thumb flicking the nipple, while my mouth goes straight for the other one, latching on to her nipple, playing with it with my tongue.

She moans, her voice low and needy, but she follows it up with a giggle. "There's no need to rush Axton, enjoy them as much as you'd like."

"Sorry," I apologize. "But you suddenly put such amazing tits in front of my face, and I acted on instinct."

"Completely understandable," she says in mock seriousness before giggling again. I take that as the green light to keep going and return my attention back to her breasts. I focus my fingers on her nipple, pinching it slightly. Just enough to draw more moans out of her. After a moment, I switch it around, moving my lips to her other boob while the one it just left gets some attention from my hand.

The entire time she keeps letting out low moans as her breathing grows heavier, and she pushes down harder on my crotch. I twitch at the sensation, and I pull back for a moment.

"If we keep going like this, we're going to end up crossing a certain line," I say.

She smiles at me and leans down to kiss me. "I'm prepared for that," she says. Then she shakes her head. "No, more like, that's exactly what I want right now. I want to celebrate, and I want you."

I never get tired of hearing those words. My own arousal surges, and I pick her up by her rear, hands sinking into the soft flesh of her ass. I turn us around so she's the one sitting on the couch, and I'm on my knees in front of her. She watches me with eager eyes as I work at my belt, shoving my clothes down enough to expose my full erection.

I move her skirt out of the way before pushing her panties to the side, not bothering to take them off. I line myself up with her entrance, already sopping wet from arousal, and look at her to confirm one last time. She nods, a hunger in her eyes that I'm sure was reflected in my own. With that final confirmation, I push forward into her hot depths.

Being inside of Rias isn't a unique feeling. In fact, she feels remarkably similar to Akeno. But that doesn't detract one bit from the surge of pleasure that runs through me at the sensation of pushing my entire length inside of her.

Rias moans again, but her pitch is much higher this time. Her arms, still around my back, pull me closer to her. I can feel her breath on my ear as she moans with pleasure directly into my ear.

"I've wanted to do this for so long," she breathes.

"Me too," I reply, and I kiss her. Our tongues dance as I make small movements with my hips, thrusting in and out of her a few inches at a time. But I can tell she wants more, and my hands grab tightly onto her ass as I start to increase my speed and depth of my thrusts.

Soon the sound of slapping flesh echoes freely through the room as I pound into her. Our lips separate as she starts loudly moaning in pleasure. I feel her legs lock behind my back, and I can tell she's close. I bump up the level of [Touch of Pleasure] as I come close to my own orgasm, and then I bury myself deep inside of her one last time as I cum.

She climaxes at the same time, and I feel her writhe around me as I shoot my load directly into her womb. I thrust a few more times, making sure to squeeze every last drop of my semen out and deposit it inside of her.

I stay inside of her for a moment as we both catch our breath, recovering from our orgasms. Once she is breathing normally again, I kiss her softly, and she returns the kiss gladly. I pull back to see a smile on her face.

"Thank you, Axton, that was wonderful," she says.

"Any time," I reply with a wink as I slowly pull out of her. "I'd offer another round, but we should probably get back to the party." I cast [Clean Body] on her, cleaning up the mess of our sweat.

She blushes. "Oh no, they're all going to realize aren't they," she says as she gathers her clothes.

"The two of us did disappear together," I reply, pulling up my pants. "And I do have a bit of a reputation. But don't worry about that, none of them will judge you for it."

She nods slowly. "You're right. Of course, you're right." Her bra already back on, she quickly pulls her sweater on and then turns to me. "How do I look?"

Her hair's a little disheveled, and she's still a little flushed, but it's as good as we're gonna get. "Perfect," I tell her, and she nods.

I look at Kyu, who was on the opposite couch the entire time, masturbating. She waves her hand, looking tired from her own orgasm. "You two go on, I'll catch up later."

I mentally shrug. If she says so. I grab Rias by the hand and [Void Travel] us to right outside the banquet hall doors. She takes one moment to smooth her hair down, and the two of us enter.

A few people send us looks when we enter. Akeno and Sona included. Akeno smirks with a knowing look, while Sona just sighs. I smirk even as Rias blushes slightly.

"I'll talk to you later, okay?" I tell her. "I want to go check up on the other girls."

She nods, and we split up. She heads back to join Sona and Akeno, while I head to Atsuko, Asia, Aika, Momo, and Ruruko, who are still in a group.

"You and Rias were gone for a bit," Aika comments as I get close, a teasing grin on her face.

"She wanted to thank me for my help," I say. "And she wanted a bit of privacy for it."

"Oh I'm sure she did," Aika replies.

"More importantly," I say, changing the subject. "How did your 'girl talk' go?"

"Actually, we decided on something," Momo says.

"Oh?" I say eyebrow raised. "What's that?"

"That tonight, all of us are going to stay over," she replies, a mischievous smile on her face. "We want to spend some quality time with you. All five of us." She puts her hands on my shoulder and moves her lips to right next to my ear. "Your bed is big enough to hold six people, right?"

The jolt of arousal Rias's words sent through me doesn't compare to the effect of Momo's words just now, and I can feel my heart pumping in excitement. "It definitely can," I say. "Give me two minutes to send everyone home and I'll show you girls the master bedroom."

They all smile, and I can feel their arousal creeping upwards as well. Quickly, I head to the center of the room and clap my hands, drawing everyone's attention.

"Everyone!" I start. "I'd like to thank you all for coming. And once again, I'd like to congratulate Rias and her Peerage once again for the excellent job they did today." Everyone in the room politely clapped, expressing their support. "That being said, I'd also like to point out that it is a school night, and it's getting pretty late. So I'm afraid we'll have to call it a night here. If you'd like to stay here for the night, bedrooms and baths are available, and if you'd like to go home, the teleportation circle is right next to the entry hall."

There are a few noises of discontentment, but no one actually complains. It is late, and it's been a pretty long day for most of us. I stand by the door, saying my goodbyes to everyone. None of them opt to stay here, though Koneko looks tempted, and instead they all decide to go home. All of them except my five girls, patiently waiting for the last person to leave.

The last person finally teleports out, leaving us alone, and I turn to my girls with a grin. Despite the words I just said, I knew from their expressions of lust that we won't be going to bed anytime soon.

-x-

Kuroka's tails flicked side to side in agitation as she watched the video. She had snatched a copy of the Rating Game almost as soon as it was over. The physical security on one of the servers they stored the videos on was fairly low, and she'd snuck in here frequently to access Rating Game footage to learn more about the different groups of combat-ready Devils.

She hadn't expected to be able to grab two files though. The first one was the one she was after. The one with Shirone fighting alongside her Peerage. Axton's words were true. Shirone didn't play a key part in things, but she showed off plenty of skill. For only using Senjutsu a few days, she was doing well. Kuroka felt a surge of pride at that and made a note to find a way to approach her about teaching her more.

The second video was more surprising. Axton facing against the same Peerage. The video lacked the context of how the fight happened, but it was ultimately unimportant compared to what was revealed in the video. That black form that Axton used.

In each of her meetings with Axton, she felt his energy. Or rather, his lack of it. Most people wouldn't recognize it, and a week ago she would have said there was only one being that felt like that. Ophis. She'd spent enough time around Ophis to recognize that feeling of nothingness, the feeling of the Dimensional Gap.

It was actually possible to sense, but even that was like sensing a blank spot. Like looking at the sky and seeing a chunk of it missing. You could 'see' the hole, but only the shape of it is defined by the area you couldn't see. It was confusing, but you got used to the feeling eventually.

So she knew from the start, especially the first time she had met Axton, that he was connected to the Dimensional Gap. She wasn't sure exactly how. Ophis was unique as far as she knew, the only one of her kind. And after talking to Axton, it was clear that he was something else. But they shared that connection to the Dimensional Gap, and the footage of his black form with glowing gold eyes only made her more sure of it.

The question now was whether or not to tell Ophis. She held off initially, wanting to get more information. But now she had more, and she still wasn't sure. There wasn't a benefit to telling her, nor was Kuroka obligated to do so, but not telling her felt like a mistake. Like something she'd regret if Ophis found out she knew and didn't tell her.

Kuroka closed the video. She'll wait a little longer. Once she tells Ophis, she can't take it back, but she can wait to see how things develop a bit before telling her. A little time won't hurt. In the meantime, maybe she can investigate him a little more, and try to get a little closer to Shirone as well.

Kuroka nods to herself, mind made up. She'll wait, for a little while at least. But the news would circulate soon, and it won't be long before everyone knows of Axton, the second being connected to the Dimensional Gap.