The Underworld, Phenex Family estate.
When Riser regained consciousness, it was already the next day.
Looking up at the familiar ceiling above, a look of confusion appeared on Riser's face.
Why was he in his own room?
In his memory, after receiving the letter yesterday, he immediately went to Kuoh Town to confirm the matter's truth with Rias.
After that...
"I lost?"
"Yes, you lost."
A familiar voice came from not far away.
Riser turned his head and saw a young man who looked very similar to him pushing the door open and walking in.
"Elder brother? Weren't you participating in a Rating Game? Why are you here?"
"Heard you almost got beaten to death, of course I had to come back and check on you."
Revel walked to the bedside. "How do you feel? Any discomfort?"
Riser: "My head hurts a bit."
Revel shook his head. "That's not a headache, it's mental trauma. You were burned by the Evil Dragon's Dragon Flame for so long. It's only because he showed mercy that you got to keep your life."
Riser fell silent: "..."
He had to admit, he had been a bit overconfident.
Originally, in his plan, he and Lynn should have been evenly matched, and he would wear the other down with his Immortality.
But during the actual fight, he couldn't fight back at all, getting ground into the dust the whole way.
"Elder brother, is Ravel okay?"
As his memories gradually returned, Riser finally remembered that just before he lost consciousness yesterday, he vaguely heard his sister's sharp scream.
"Ravel is fine. *You're* the one in trouble."
"Me?"
"Yes. You don't think this is over just because you got beaten up, do you?"
Revel snapped his fingers, and a semi-transparent screen burning with flames appeared in the air.
On the screen was the entire process of Riser disrespecting Lynn and actively challenging him.
"This was delivered not long ago by a servant sent by His Majesty Sirzechs. He said you were somewhat disrespectful to Rias and, for his sister's sake, intends to annul your engagement."
"What? That's a joke!" Riser's eyes widened, getting worked up. "I'm the victim here! Even a Satan can't be this unreasonable!"
Revel replied calmly, "Judging from the process, the one being unreasonable is you."
Riser opened his mouth to protest but stopped: "But..."
Revel cut him off. "Riser, let this matter end here. Considering the Phenex Family's interests, we cannot excessively provoke that Red Dragon Emperor. Don't forget, he didn't even use a Longinus when fighting you."
Riser fell silent again.
Only after Revel's reminder did he notice the fact that Lynn hadn't even used a Longinus.
Lynn was already this powerful in his normal state.
If he were to activate the boosted gear, his strength would definitely rival that of a Satan.
Thinking of this, no matter how unwilling he was, Riser could only lower his head. "I understand."
"Good that you understand."
Revel patted Riser's shoulder. "Don't worry too much about temporary gains and losses. Your Devil life is still long; you'll meet someone better in the future."
"I will handle the Gremory Family and the Red Dragon Emperor side of things for you. For now, just rest here and recover. Don't show your face for a short while."
As the words fell, Riser turned and left the hospital room.
A few minutes later, the room door opened again.
Riser, who had been lost in thought, looked up and saw Ravel walking in from outside.
"I heard from big brother that you woke up. How is your recovery going?"
"It's alright. Thank you for yesterday."
"No need to thank me."
Ravel casually pulled up a stool and sat down beside him. "Can you tell me about that Red Dragon Emperor?"
Riser froze for a moment. "You want to get revenge for me?"
Ravel gave him a look that suggested he might have hit his head and gone silly. "Don't overthink it. I'm just curious how he managed to beat you up like that in just a few minutes."
Riser's eye twitched. "..."
So you came here just to twist the knife!
...
Kuoh Academy, Occult Research Club.
Because the mountain used for training was damaged by Lynn, Rias and the others did not train today.
As the culprit, Lynn, as usual after skipping class for a day, joined Rias and the others at the club.
Although the training grounds were gone, the old school building area was quite large, so teaching the kitten immortal arts was not a problem.
Furthermore, the compensation from the Phenex Family had arrived.
"One corpse from the Phenex Family, ten bottles of Phenex Tears, and two Sacred Gears."
"Not bad, a little more than I expected."
Lynn summoned the Mist and swallowed all the compensation.
One of the two Sacred Gears could summon water to attack enemies, and the other could summon lightning to attack enemies; both were very ordinary.
However, Lynn could understand.
Not everyone had high-quality Sacred Gears readily available in their laboratory like Ajuka.
For the Phenex Family to gather this much in one day, Lynn thought it was already quite good.
Moreover, compared to the Sacred Gears, he valued the Phenex Family corpse more.
"I didn't expect the Phenex Family would actually agree to your request."
Rias looked at the empty coffin after the Mist swept over it, somewhat amazed.
Devils placed great importance on bloodlines.
Unlike families whose lineage had already been severed, the Phenex Family was doing quite well among devils.
Because of the Phenex Tears, devils from the Phenex Family were all buried in the ancestral grounds after death.
To be able to produce one corpse for Lynn now was already considered a huge concession. At least, Rias hadn't thought they would agree to that condition initially.
After waiting in place for a moment and seeing the aura around Lynn return to calm, Rias walked over and asked.
"Did it succeed?"
"Of course. They wouldn't dare give me a fake one."
Lynn raised his hand and summoned a ball of golden-yellow flame.
Without a doubt, this was the Undying Fire of the Phenex.
Inheriting this flame basically meant indirectly inheriting the Immortality of the Phenex Family.
Rias sighed, "It feels like you are walking further and further down the path of a monster."
Lynn retracted the flame. "I'm still far off. By the way, can you get me a corpse from the Great King Bael family?"
Rias's eye twitched. "You might be overestimating me a bit. Even a Satan would have a hard time accomplishing something like that."
Rias didn't need to think to guess why Lynn wanted the corpse of the Great King Bael family.
It was obvious that he was interested in the Destruction Magic.
However, unlike the Immortality of the Phenex Family,
The Destruction Magic of the Great King Bael family was not something everyone could awaken.
For instance, none of the devils of the current generation of the Great King Bael family had awakened the Destruction Magic.
From this, one could see how low the probability of awakening Destruction Magic was.
Obtaining a corpse from the Great King Bael family was possible.
But obtaining a corpse that had awakened Destruction Magic was basically impossible.
This was because most devils who could awaken Destruction Magic would be cultivated as the family head.
"It seems I'll have to rely on luck for the Destruction Magic."
Lynn dismissed the idea of obtaining the Destruction Magic after hearing this.
The status of the Great King Bael family among devils was, to some extent, more important than the Four Great Satans.
There was no need to offend the Bael family for the sake of one ability.
Or rather, even if he were to offend them, it would have to be after he had fully developed.
Feeling the rich vitality within his body, Lynn planned his next move while greeting the kitten, leading her toward an open space outside the club.
The training grounds were gone, and he didn't need to give Rias special training today. The remaining time was perfect for teaching the kitten immortal arts.
Meanwhile, on the other side, after watching Lynn and the kitten leave the club, Akeno walked up to Rias and asked.
"Did the Phenex Family give you any trouble?"
"No, or rather, they apologized instead."
Rias let out a wry smile. "The successor of the Phenex Family, Leval Phenex, personally contacted me this morning to apologize for Riser's remarks. After asking for my opinion, he made the decision to dissolve our engagement."
"They even dissolved the engagement?" Akeno showed a look of surprise.
Devils placed great importance on face.
As one of the Seventy-Two Pillars of Devils, both the Gremory and Phenex Families were major houses.
Leval proactively proposing the dissolution of the engagement was equivalent to voluntarily taking the negative repercussions onto the Phenex Family.
In this incident, Rias and the Gremory Family behind her became the victims instead.
Thinking about the compensation Lynn had just received, Akeno's expression became a bit subtle.
"It seems Lynn's deterrent power is quite significant."
"But this is good too. Weren't you worried about the engagement before? Now it's resolved."
"That's true, but the favor I owe Lynn is even bigger now. How do you think I should repay it?"
"Try to find information about Sacred Gears. If all else fails, information about the Holy Sword and Demonic Sword will do; he likes those things the most," Akeno replied.
Through contact over so many days, Akeno had gotten some understanding of Lynn.
The thing he valued most was strength.
Aside from recovering after daily training, the thing he liked to do most was devour Sacred Gears to increase his power.
"Speaking of which, Rias, you could also offer yourself to Lynn to repay the favor."
Thinking of the recovery after training, Akeno chuckled and teased, "I think Lynn likes you quite a bit too. Maybe if you confess your feelings, he'll write off this debt."
Rias shook her head after hearing this. "I don't want to repay a favor in that way."
The Gremory Family were devils who valued emotion.
As a member of the Gremory Family, Rias was not surprised; this was also the reason she rejected the engagement.
She didn't want her love life to be tied to benefits, even if they were just byproducts. However, ...
"Confess to Lynn..."
Rias fell into contemplation.
Although they hadn't known each other for long, she did hold a certain level of fondness for Lynn.
It couldn't be helped; Lynn was too proactive.
Recalling the intimate contact after every training session, Rias subconsciously glanced to the side.
Thinking carefully, she wasn't the only one receiving the special healing treatment in this room.
"Akeno, what do you think of Lynn?"
"Me?" Akeno chuckled. "If you don't make a move, Rias, I won't hold back."
Rias's eye twitched. "..."
It seemed she needed to make up her mind quickly.
...