◉◉◉◉◉
"I have come to convey Lord Sirzechs's will."
Grayfia spoke calmly, as if nothing present could disturb her composure.
"Lord Sirzechs says that he was unaware Rias already had someone she loved. However, he is also quite satisfied with the young lord of House Phenex."
"Between his sister's personal will and the continuation of devil bloodlines, he believes it is best to leave the decision to the younger generation themselves."
"If either side can make the other withdraw, Lord Sirzechs will have no objection."
"That is the stance of Satan Lucifer, Sirzechs."
Grayfia finished reading in a formal tone, her emotions still seemingly unchanged.
"Isn't that the same as saying nothing at all?"
Riser silently complained in his heart.
No... In truth, she had said quite a lot.
Lady Phenex saw far more than Riser did.
First, Satan Lucifer was clearly leaning toward his sister's true love. There was no mistaking that.
Otherwise, he would not have stated that the other party had entered the Underworld through the Satan's special authorization. House Phenex could even have chosen to summon the enforcement corps and have this human intruder arrested.
Second, for House Phenex, reputation stood above all else.
They absolutely could not allow it to spread that the young lord of House Phenex wanted to marry a high-class devil who already had a boyfriend, and then refused a confrontation with that boyfriend.
If that happened, House Phenex would lose all face.
This was the difference between Lady Phenex's experience and Riser's. She could already see Satan Lucifer's attitude clearly.
He was standing behind his sister.
"So there are no restrictions on how we make the other side withdraw, correct?"
Anos smiled.
He could sense that ever since Grayfia arrived, all of her attention had been on him, as if she were trying to see something from him.
She was probably worried he would bring out the true Savior Star Dragon and render the entire Phenex family powerless.
"That is correct. There are no restrictions. As long as both sides are satisfied, it is acceptable."
Grayfia nodded.
In truth, she had already foreseen the result.
She had known the outcome from the moment Anos used that crystal dragon to make her lie there helplessly and watch two live performances.
"In other words, I just need to beat this guy down, right?"
Riser stepped forward directly.
It was obvious he would never allow his parents to act in his place. That would be an insult to him.
If he did such a thing, he felt he would no longer be worthy of bearing the name Phenex.
"Oh? You seem rather confident in yourself."
Anos smiled.
Did this person really think he had only been able to unleash such power by borrowing the strength of the leylines?
"Riser, step back."
Just as Riser was about to step forward and spit fire to test him, a large hand stopped him.
Ruval Phenex.
His older brother.
"As a son of House Phenex, I cannot remain indifferent after watching someone do this to our family."
Ruval adjusted his glasses as he spoke.
He was Riser's older brother, and an absolute top-tier expert in the adult division of the Rating Games. He had seen far more than his younger brother.
The holy power radiating from this person was not something his younger brother could handle.
"Mm. So it will be a duel, then? Ruval, you do have a suitable reason. After all, I destroyed your mansion."
"And I also have a suitable reason. After all, your family tried to take Rias away from me."
"In that case, this is quite fitting."
Anos smiled and stretched his hand forward.
Golden light flickered.
Along with the radiance of a spirit crest, the holy sword that slew Demon Kings manifested.
"An unknown holy sword."
Everyone's attention was drawn to the brilliance of the holy sword.
A holy sword and a young man of holy power who wielded it.
It seemed like a perfect combination.
"An unknown holy sword wielder. It seems Princess Rias has fairly good taste."
Ruval smiled.
It was not as if he had never encountered holy sword wielders before.
If this were all there was, it would not be enough to make him afraid.
He was a descendant of Phenex at the level of an Ultimate-class devil. Even a Satan could not easily deal with him.
"Thank you for the compliment. But let us end this quickly."
Anos had no intention of wasting time here.
The longer he stayed in the Underworld, the more likely he was to attract attention.
Compared to making a huge scene at Riser and Rias's wedding and making every devil know his name, he would rather end this quickly here in Phenex territory.
He did not particularly like having too many eyes focused on him.
Unless, of course, he had already reached the full power of the Biblical God, or even surpassed it.
"Brother, please be careful."
Ravel cheered for her brother.
Although even she was not quite sure whether the "be careful" she said meant that her brother should avoid getting hurt, or that he should be careful not to hurt the person opposite him.
"Hm?"
Right after Ravel said that, Anos saw purple light appear above her head.
[Ding.]
[Congratulations, host. A treasure chest has been triggered.]
[Treasure Chest Level: Purple.]
[Treasure Chest Unlock Condition: A Candidate for Secretary.]
[When there is work, let the secretary handle it. When there is no work...]
[Make Ravel Phenex your secretary. This is the job most suited to her.]
"Well, I'll consider it when the time comes."
Anos smiled and temporarily added this treasure chest to the list of unopened chests.
Doing that now would be far too inappropriate.
However, that girl did seem to be quite interested in him.
Out of personal curiosity, Anos judged the reason, then revealed an understanding expression.
So that was it.
Ravel's tastes somewhat overlapped with the girls from Orario. She liked boys with heroic qualities and masculine courage.
That was why Ravel had thought her brother was too frivolous, yet ended up moved by Issei Hyoudou, who recklessly risked everything to save Rias.
The current situation was similar.
She had not expected someone to directly strike at House Phenex for the sake of his lover. It was truly... heroic and manly.
Especially since Anos was now wielding a holy sword.
That gave him even more points in her eyes.
Unfortunately, Anos had blown away her house in one move earlier, causing her to be thrown out of the room by her brother. Otherwise, she would probably have been even happier.
"Relax, Ravel, don't you know your brother's strength?"
Seeing his little sister's worried expression, Riser decided to reassure her.
In truth, it was more like poisoning his older brother with a terrible omen.
...
"Just as you said, let us settle this quickly."
Temporarily putting aside the unlucky flag raised by his troublesome younger brother, Ruval's body ignited with phoenix flames.
Like his father, he had also failed to notice Anos's presence earlier.
This young man was absolutely not simple.
That was why Ruval brought out his full focus.
"Since you wish to represent your younger brother, and since your younger brother Riser has agreed, I have no objection."
Anos gently raised the holy sword.
Putting everything else aside, the feeling of wielding Est, as if she had fused with him, was indeed very comfortable.
It was a feeling no other holy sword could ever bring him.
After all, the other holy swords were merely his creations, while Est was a sword spirit connected to him.
Boom!
With an eruption of flame, Ruval's speed instantly rose to its limit.
"Useless."
Anos smiled faintly.
He already knew which direction the other party would attack from.
After slaying the Black Dragon, he had risen to Level 6, and his own realm had already reached the peak of a high-class devil.
If he wanted to deal with Ruval, he did not need any explosive methods at all. His current abilities alone were enough to crush him easily.
Because the two of them were no longer on the same level.
After evolving through the Ark Sphere, Anos's physique had already surpassed Hestia, who had served as the original base. At this point, he was basically equal to the Biblical God of the past.
All he needed now was time to grow.
"Here."
Anos aimed the holy sword at a certain spot.
Sure enough, in the next instant, Ruval appeared there.
Hiss~
Ruval had not expected Anos, who had shown almost no movement and seemed to be standing there blankly, to suddenly swing his sword in the exact direction where he was about to appear.
Slick!
A line of blood appeared across his face.
That was the result of failing to stop in time.
"Do not think you can get away."
Ruval had originally intended to take a moment to breathe, but he had not expected that even his retreat to this position had been within Anos's calculations.
Splurt!
In the surrounding space, trigger-type magic circles that had been arranged in advance activated instantly.
[Simulated Noble Phantasm: Magic-Breaking Crimson Rose.]
Several self-made versions of the Magic-Breaking Crimson Rose shot out from the formations.
They pierced through Ruval's usual magical barrier as easily as paper and stabbed into his body.
"Cough, cough."
Ruval nearly fell from the air, but he still barely managed to remain afloat.
◉◉◉◉◉
~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
◉◉◉◉◉
For early access to advanced chapters on P-atreon:
P-atreon/iamxeno
(Just remove the - hyphen to access normally)
Thank you so much for your support and for reading!