The morning sun filtered through the blinds in Daniel's room, painting golden stripes on the wooden floor. The previous night had been laden with intense emotions: Rias's desperation, the catharsis of her tears, Grayfia's unsettling appearance, and the promise of imminent conflict. Yet, upon waking, Daniel felt strangely at peace. He had done the right thing. He had planted a seed of self-esteem in Rias, and now he had to water it with his unwavering support.
He dressed in his Kuoh uniform, the impeccable fabric fitting his musculature, now as natural to him as his own skin. Descending for breakfast, he was greeted by the aroma of coffee and pastries Reynare had prepared with care. Asia, already dressed in her new uniform, radiated a mix of nervousness and excitement.
"Good morning, Daniel-sama!" she exclaimed, giving a small bow. Her integration into the household dynamic was becoming smoother, though her adorable jealousies remained, shown in how she hurried to take a seat next to him.
"Good morning, Asia. You'll be fine," he reassured her with a smile, placing a hand over hers. "Remember, Sona and I are there if you need anything."
Sakura Matou, also in her new uniform, waited for them at the entrance. Though in a different class, she insisted on walking with them. Her silent presence and gentle smile were a pillar of serenity for the group.
"Your energy is... very calm today, Daniel," Sakura commented in a whisper as they began the short walk to the academy. "Despite everything."
"I made an important decision last night," he replied without going into detail. "And I'm at peace with it."
Beside them, invisible to all except Daniel and those with exceptional spiritual perception, Tamamo-no-Mae walked in her spiritual form. Her fox tail moved with ethereal elegance, and her golden eyes, full of love and pride, never left her "husband."
"Walking with you to your place of human learning is a singular pleasure, my lord," Tamamo's voice whispered directly into his mind, a silky and intimate sound. "Watching you interact with this world... is like witnessing a poem in motion."
Daniel didn't respond, but a slight wink in her direction was enough for her to smile, satisfied.
The entrance to Kuoh Academy was a controlled bustle of students. Right at the main gate, as if she had been waiting for him, stood Sona Sitri. The student council president, with her impeccable posture and glasses reflecting the morning light, waited with a serene expression.
"Daniel," she greeted with a nod.
"Sona," he responded, stopping before her.
Without another word, she raised her hands and with meticulous precision, fixed his tie, which he, as usual, wore slightly askew. Her fingers moved with an efficiency bordering on affection, pulling the fabric, smoothing the creases of his shirt over his chest. The gesture was intimate, domestic, and several passing students stared with curiosity. They looked like a newlywed couple on their first morning together.
"You can't present yourself before possible Underworld authorities with a tie like that," she murmured, her voice low but firm. "Perception is a weapon, Daniel. And every detail counts."
"I always appreciate your meticulousness, Sona," he said, allowing himself a genuine smile. She was his strategist, his logical counterpart, and in that small gesture was a whole message of support and belonging.
Asia watched the scene with a slight pang of envy, but also admiration. Sakura just smiled, happy to see him so well cared for. Tamamo, on her spiritual plane, arched an eyebrow with a playful smile, appreciating the dynamic.
Classes proceeded with an almost surreal normality. Daniel sat next to Asia, who, despite her initial nervousness, was soon captivated by the lessons. For Daniel, whose intellect and perception were light-years beyond the standard curriculum, it was an exercise in patience. His mind, however, wasn't on equations or literature. It was tuned to the energy flow of the school, to the very heartbeat of the supernatural world unfolding behind the scenes.
His Observation Haki, always active like a low-power radar, periodically swept the surroundings. He perceived the contained anxiety of Issei Hyoudou in another classroom, Koneko Toujou's simmering frustration, Sona's calculating serenity in her student council office... and the familiar, distressed presence of Rias Gremory in the occult research club building.
It was toward the end of the day, when the sun began to dip, that his Haki captured a new energy signature. It was cold, precise, immense in power but contained with iron discipline. A power he had felt just hours before. Grayfia Lucifuge was in the occult club.
Daniel needed no more. He knew the moment had arrived. The family meeting, the decision about the marriage, it was all unfolding right then. He wouldn't wait for Kiba, Rias's Knight, to come fetch him with his characteristic elegance and tense smile. He wouldn't let Rias face that pressure alone again.
He rose from his seat with a calm that was pure tempered steel.
"Asia, stay with Sakura," he said, his voice making it clear it wasn't a suggestion. "I'm going to the occult club. Something important is happening."
Asia's eyes went wide, but she nodded with determination. "Be careful, Daniel-sama!"
Sakura looked at him with worry, but also confidence. "Come back soon."
Daniel left the classroom and headed with quick, decisive steps toward the old school building. His heart beat with a steady rhythm, but his mind was an ocean of calm. The approaching storm had a name: Riser Phenex.
The door to the occult research club was closed. Daniel didn't knock. He opened the door and entered with the naturalness of one who belongs.
The scene unfolding was tense and silent. Rias was seated in her usual chair, but her posture was rigid, her hands gripping the armrests. Facing her, standing with an impeccability that cut the air, was Grayfia. Her icy eyes fixed on Daniel the moment he crossed the threshold, and for a split second, a spark of genuine surprise crossed her frigid gaze. She hadn't expected a human, however powerful, to present himself like this, unsummoned, defying the unwritten protocol of such meetings.
Rias, upon seeing him, couldn't help but let a tender, relieved smile touch her lips. The tension in her shoulders lessened slightly. She wasn't alone. Daniel was there, just as he had promised. His mere presence was a shield against despair.
"Daniel," she murmured, and in that single word was a world of gratitude.
The rest of Rias's peerage arrived shortly after, summoned by the palpable energy of the crisis. Kiba, Akeno, Koneko, and Gasper grouped near the door, forming a united block behind their King. Akeno, in particular, couldn't take her violet eyes off Daniel. Her breathing was a little faster than normal, and a slightly playful smile, laden with something deeper than mere curiosity, played on her lips.
Daniel's aura at that moment was an electrifying mix. The serene confidence emanating from his Observation Haki intertwined with the latent draconic power of the Boosted Gear, creating a presence that was both a beacon of calm and a forge of raw power. For Akeno, whose half-fallen angel heritage made her hypersensitive to powerful energies and, in particular, to the fascinating and fearsome aura of dragons, Daniel was like an irresistible magnet. She saw him not just as Rias's savior, but as an incarnation of the primal strength she secretly craved.
"It seems we have an unexpected guest," Akeno commented in her melodic and slightly mocking tone, directing her gaze toward Grayfia, but her attention remained fixed on Daniel.
The tension was sliced through when a magical circle, different from Grayfia's, erupted in the center of the room. This one wasn't silver and orderly, but gold and turbulent, emanating suffocating heat. From its interior, a column of dancing fire smelling of sulfur and arrogance burst forth. And from the flames emerged the figure of Riser Phenex.
*'Let the game begin,'* Daniel thought, unflinching.
Riser was just as he had imagined: tall, with ash-blond hair and arrogant eyes. He wore an ostentatious crimson suit and a smile of superiority that seemed carved onto his face. His mere presence screamed "privilege" and "contempt."
Daniel fully activated his Observation Haki, analyzing Riser in milliseconds. The flow of his demonic energy, the structure of his Phoenix power, his weak points... everything unfolded like an open book before him. And the conclusion was instant and almost disappointing: Riser couldn't even tickle him. The power disparity was abysmal. Daniel's battles against conceptual entities like Nyx and Angra Mainyu had forged his spirit and body in a crucible of pure adversity, elevating him to a level where a high-ranking but complacent devil like Riser might as well be compared to the first, weak fallen angels he had defeated before his true evolution. It wasn't even funny; it was pathetic.
The "negotiations," if they could be called that, were a disaster from the start. Riser didn't see Rias as a person, but as a possession, a trophy to complete his collection. His comments were crude, possessive, and his gaze swept over Rias's and then Akeno's bodies with a dismissive lust that made anyone with a shred of decency's blood boil.
"Come on, Rias," Riser said with an unpleasant laugh. "Stop throwing a tantrum and accept your place by my side. It'll be fun, I promise."
Daniel remained in his spot, immobile as a rock, but every muscle in his body was ready to act. His promise to intervene if Riser got "too intimate" was a line he was prepared to enforce with extreme violence if necessary. For now, he merely observed, his silent presence a sword of Damocles over the Phoenix's head.
It was then that Riser's arrogant gaze landed on him.
"And what is this?" he asked with disdain. "Is he part of your peerage, Rias? I don't remember seeing a pawn so... vulgar."
Rias, with the spark of pride Daniel had instilled in her, responded firmly:
"No. Daniel is not my servant. He is a friend. And he is a human."
The word "human," from Riser's mouth, sounded like an insult.
"A human?" he spat, his nose wrinkling as if he'd smelled something rotten. "What is a worm like him doing in a meeting of superior beings? He should prostrate himself or be eliminated for his impertinence."
Riser's innate racism toward humans was evident. And in his stupidity, he decided to act. A flash of fire appeared in his hand, a small but lethal pillar of flames meant to incinerate Daniel where he sat.
But Daniel's Observation Haki had already seen the attack coming a second before Riser even thought of it. It wasn't a vague premonition; it was a clear, sharp image of the fire sprouting from Riser's palm and projecting toward his chest.
The world slowed down for Daniel. While everyone else only saw the start of Riser's movement, he was already in action. He didn't use the Boosted Gear. He didn't need magic. He simply moved. His body, strengthened to a level that transcended the human, shifted with a speed that was a mere blur to those present.
The pillar of fire struck the empty chair, reducing it to ashes in an instant. And in that same instant, Daniel appeared behind Riser. There was no teleportation, just pure physical speed.
His voice was a low whisper laden with a blood-chilling threat, right at the Phoenix's ear:
"Is this a declaration of war?"
The fury, the promise of instant and absolute retributive violence, vibrated in every syllable. Daniel already had his arm raised, his fist imbued with an Armament Haki so dense it distorted the air around it. He was going to strike. And that blow, loaded with all his base strength and the intent to end the threat, would likely have shattered Riser's head or, at the very least, left him at death's door, forcing his Phoenix ability to work at its limit.
But Grayfia, whose perception was razor-sharp, felt the imminent danger. She interposed herself between them with speed rivaling Daniel's, her raised hand emitting a silvery glow that formed a shield of pure energy.
"Enough!" she ordered, her voice cutting like ice. "Lord Riser, control yourself. Daniel Hernández, restrain your power. This is not the place for bloodshed."
Riser, pale and with a galloping heart, took a step back. He had felt the scythe's edge. For a moment, arrogance had been replaced by pure survival instinct. He panted, trying to regain his composure.
"That... that human tried to murder me!" he shouted, pointing a trembling finger at Daniel.
Daniel, for his part, didn't relax his stance. His eyes, now cold as a predator's, remained fixed on Riser. He knew the Phoenix wouldn't back down. His wounded ego demanded vengeance.
"It seems your peerage is insufficient to control even a 'simple human,' Riser," Daniel said in a deliberately provocative tone. "Maybe you need more dolls to protect you."
Furious and wanting to prove his superiority, Riser did exactly what Daniel expected. He traced a magic circle on the floor, summoning his entire peerage. They appeared one after another, all women, all with expressions ranging from fanatical loyalty to silent resignation. Among them, one younger girl stood out, with the same ash-blond hair but eyes full of intelligence and concern: Ravel Phenex.
Daniel could only sigh internally at the depressing spectacle. Riser was a walking cliché.
"Yubelluna!" ordered Riser, pointing at Daniel. "Teach this stupid human some manners toward his superiors!"
A Pawn, a girl in light armor, lunged at Daniel with an enchanted dagger. To the eyes of Rias, Akeno, and the others, the attack was fast. To Daniel, it was like watching a movie in extreme slow motion. The girl moved with a languor that was almost tragic.
He didn't bother to dodge. He didn't use the Boosted Gear. He didn't activate his Armament Haki defensively. Simply, the instant the Pawn was within reach, Daniel moved his arm.
It was a movement so fast it was almost imperceptible. A simple, clean, straight punch, loaded with the physical strength that had shattered steel and the bones of far more formidable monsters. His fist connected with the Pawn's abdomen.
The effect was instant and brutal. A sonic "BOOM" accompanied the impact. The girl folded in half, eyes bulging, before being projected backward as if hit by a cannon. She crossed the room like a meteor, smashed through the brick wall of the club building's second floor with a deafening roar, and was sent flying outside, falling several meters beyond in the academy gardens, where she impacted the ground with an explosion of dirt and turf that cracked the earth in a crater a meter in diameter.
The silence that followed was absolute.
There wasn't a hint of effort on Daniel's face. He simply stood there, arm still extended, his fist unscathed. That had been just his base strength. Not a Boost, not Balance Breaker, not even a significant Haki reinforcement. It was a terrifying reminder of the beast that lurked beneath the surface of the seemingly normal exchange student.
Rias stared at him with eyes like saucers, her mouth slightly agape. It wasn't fear; it was pure awe. Grayfia watched him with a much more analytical and calculating gaze, completely re-evaluating the threat—and the potential—that Daniel Hernández represented. And Akeno... Akeno brought a hand to her mouth, but not to stifle a scream, but a wide, excited smile. A blush rose to her cheeks. The display of raw power, so cold and efficient, moved her on a deep, primal level. Daniel's dragon aura seemed to intensify for her, enveloping him in a halo of dangerous allure.
Riser was furious, humiliated. His Pawn had been dispatched with a single blow.
"YOU...!!"
"Enough!" Grayfia's voice boomed, capitalizing on the general shock. "This childish squabble has gone too far. Lord Riser, Lady Rias. The traditional solution to such disagreements is a Rating Game. If Lady Rias wins, the engagement is dissolved. If Lord Riser wins, Lady Rias accepts the marriage without complaint."
It was the logical way out, the established script. But Daniel was not about following scripts. He saw the perfect opportunity to exploit Riser's weakness: his wounded ego and his contempt for humans.
"A Rating Game?" said Daniel with a mocking smile. "Do you really want to keep hiding behind rules and your peerage, Phoenix? After a 'simple human' just humiliated you and crushed one of your servants like an insect? Everyone will see that you can only beat Rias because you have more pieces on the board, not because you're stronger."
He took another step closer, defiant.
"If you had any honor, any real pride, you wouldn't face a desperate girl. You'd face *me*. Dissolve the engagement right now, with your word, and face me in a real fight. Or admit you're a coward who needs rules and his dolls to feel powerful."
Ravel Phenex, Riser's younger sister, paled. She was the strategist, the lucid mind amid the chaos. She saw the trap immediately.
"Brother, no," she pleaded in an urgent whisper. "That's what he wants. He's provoking you. Don't change the terms; the Rating Game with Lady Gremory is the safe path..."
But Riser's ego, bleeding from the humiliation, was deaf to reason.
"Shut up, Ravel!" he cut her off with a snarl. His eyes, full of hatred, fixed on Daniel. "You think I'm afraid of a human monkey? Fine! Forget the Rating Game with Rias! I, Riser Phenex, challenge you, Daniel Hernández! If you win, the engagement with Rias is dissolved. If I win... you'll take your miserable life away from here and Rias will be mine!"
Daniel smiled, a triumphant and cold gesture. He had succeeded. He had changed the fate of the contract. Now Rias's freedom didn't depend on her winning a nearly impossible game, but on him, with his monstrous power, crushing Riser before everyone's eyes.
Grayfia sighed, but it was a sigh of relief. This solution, though unorthodox, was much cleaner and avoided a greater political conflict between the Gremory and Phenex families. If Riser lost due to his own stupidity, the blame would be solely his.
"Very well," she declared, her voice regaining its formal tone. "The conditions are set. The duel will be a single-battle Rating Game: the nobility of Riser Phenex, versus Daniel Hernández. The date will be set within the next 48 hours."
Riser's Queen, a stern-looking woman, had already moved to retrieve the unconscious Pawn from the exterior crater. Riser, his face still contorted with rage, spun on his heel and, followed by his peerage, disappeared in a circle of fire.
Once they were gone, the tension in the room broke. Rias could no longer contain herself. She ran to Daniel and hugged him with a force that seemed to want to merge with him, burying her face in his chest.
"Thank you!" she murmured, her voice choked with emotion. "Thank you, Daniel! You did it... you changed everything."
Daniel wrapped his arms around her, stroking her crimson hair.
"I just kept my promise, Rias. Your freedom is priceless."
Akeno observed the scene from a distance, an enigmatic smile on her lips. She felt no jealousy. Only a growing fascination and an excitement that ran down her spine. She had found something, or rather someone, infinitely more interesting than any other man she had ever known. She let the couple have their moment, her own thoughts already beginning to gravitate around the powerful hybrid who had arrived to turn her world upside down.
When they finally separated, Daniel looked Rias in the eyes.
"Now," he said, his voice regaining its strategic tone, "I must prepare. Winning is not enough. I must defeat Riser in a manner so absolute, so humiliating, and so definitive that no noble devil will ever look at you as an object again, Rias. I must break not only his body, but his spirit and his reputation."
"And how do you plan to do that?" asked Kiba, with genuine curiosity and respect.
Daniel clenched his fists. He felt the energy sleeping in the deepest part of his being, the seed of the power that had peeked out the previous night.
"I have a plan," he replied. "But to execute it, I must gain total control over one of my most elusive abilities. I must learn to wield my Conqueror's Haki at will."
The battle against Riser wouldn't just be a fight; it would be a declaration. And Daniel Hernández would make sure the message was heard in every corner of the Underworld.