Location: Occult Research Club (ORC) Clubroom
Time: After School, The Next Day
Status: Bored
Raiden sat in the high-back chair usually reserved for the Club President. He was currently eating a bucket of fried chicken that Koneko had reluctantly given him (as a peace offering to keep him from eating her snacks).
"So," Raiden mumbled, crunching through a bone. "You devils have a caste system based on Chess. That's cute."
Rias sat on the sofa, looking exhausted. "It's not 'cute,' Raiden. It's the foundation of our society. And please, get out of my chair."
"No," Raiden swallowed. "It smells like authority. I like it."
Akeno giggled from the corner, though her eyes were still wary. "Ara ara, he's quite the dominance assertor, isn't he?"
Suddenly, the room temperature spiked. The air smelled like burning sulfur.
A massive magic circle appeared on the floor - the sigil of the House of Phenex.
"He's here," Rias's expression darkened.
Fire erupted from the circle, coalescing into a man with blonde hair, a smug grin, and a suit that cost more than the school building. Riser Phenex.
Behind him stood his peerage - a harem of fifteen women.
And among them, holding a staff, was a petite blonde girl with drill-tails and a haughty expression. Ravel Phenex.
"Rias, my beloved!" Riser spread his arms. "I have come to take you to the Underworld for our wedding!"
Rias stood up, her aura flaring red. "I told you, Riser. I will not marry you."
"Nonsense!" Riser laughed. "It is decided by the Great King Lucifer and your father! You have no choice!"
Riser's eyes then scanned the room. They landed on Raiden, who was licking grease off his fingers in Rias's chair.
"And who is this?" Riser sneered. "A new servant? He looks like a common vagrant. Rias, your standards have fallen."
Raiden stopped licking his fingers. He looked at Riser.
"Did the chicken just speak?" Raiden asked the room at large.
The room went deadly silent.
Ravel Phenex stepped forward, her face red with indignation. "How dare you! That is Lord Riser, the heir to the House of Phenex! You lowborn—"
Raiden stood up.
He didn't teleport. He didn't dash. He simply was in front of Riser in the next frame of reality.
Riser, reacting on instinct, flared his Phoenix Fire. "Burn to ash, mongrel!"
A torrent of hellfire engulfed Raiden.
Rias screamed, "Raiden!"
But the fire didn't burn. It swirled. It spiraled into a vortex... right into Raiden's open mouth.
Slurp.
Raiden inhaled the flames of the Immortal Phenex like he was sucking up spaghetti. Within seconds, the fire was gone.
Raiden burped. A small puff of smoke escaped his lips.
"Spicy," Raiden critiqued. "But lacks texture. A bit greasy."
Riser stared, his jaw dropping. "You... you ate my fire?"
Raiden grabbed Riser by the collar of his expensive suit and lifted him one-handed off the ground.
"Listen here, KFC," Raiden's eyes glowed with the terrifying violet light of the Void. "I am Raiden Ragnvaldr. I have eaten gods, stars, and concepts. Do not annoy me while I am digesting."
He threw Riser across the room. The noble devil crashed into the wall, embedding himself in the concrete.
Ravel Phenex gasped, raising her staff to defend her brother. "You monster! I'll—"
Raiden appeared in front of her.
Ravel froze. The sheer pressure radiating from him made her knees weak. She looked up, terrified, expecting to be eaten.
Instead, Raiden leaned down and inspected her.
"You," Raiden pointed a clawed finger at her forehead.
"Eep!" Ravel squeaked.
"You're smarter than him," Raiden observed. "I can smell the brain activity. It's rare in your family, isn't it?"
Ravel blinked, blushing furiously at the backhanded compliment. "I... I am Ravel Phenex! I am a genius tactician! Don't patronize me!"
"Feisty," Raiden smirked. "I like you. You're not food. You're... dessert."
Ravel's face turned steam-engine red. "D-Dessert?!"
Before Raiden could tease the bird further, the door to the clubroom was kicked open.
"Sona-chan said there was a Super-Duper Dragon here! Where is he?!"
A girl in a magical girl outfit (complete with a twirling wand) burst in. Serafall Leviathan, one of the Four Great Satans.
And walking calmly behind her was a tall, elegant woman with crimson hair like Rias, but with a much colder, sharper aura. She wore high-class devil noble attire.
Runeas Gremory. The sister of the Gremory clan (an obscure figure to most, but a terrifying authority to Rias).
"Sister Runeas? Lady Leviathan?" Rias looked like she wanted to faint.
Serafall zoomed over to Raiden, ignoring the unconscious Riser in the wall.
"Wow! You're huge!" Serafall poked Raiden's chest. "I'm Levi-tan! Magical Girl of the Underworld! I sensed your energy from Maou territory! Are you a bad guy? If you are, I'll have to punish you~!"
Raiden looked down at the Satan.
"System Analysis: Serafall Leviathan. Ice Magic specialist. High energy density. Threat level: Low (Personality is... chaotic)."
"I'm not a bad guy," Raiden said, patting Serafall's head as if she were a child. "I'm a gourmet."
Serafall froze. Nobody patted a Satan on the head. Her cheeks puffed up. "Hey! I'm an adult!"
Meanwhile, Runeas Gremory stepped over Riser's body without looking at him. She stood before Raiden.
"So," Runeas said, her voice smooth as silk but cold as ice. "You are the anomaly my brother Sirzechs is panicking about."
"And you are?" Raiden asked.
"Runeas Gremory," she introduced herself. "Rias's ancestor. I came to oversee this engagement mess, but it seems you have handled the groom rather... roughly."
She looked at Riser, then back at Raiden. A small, impressed smile touched her lips.
"I approve," Runeas stated. "Riser is an idiot. But politics are politics, Dragon Lord. You cannot simply beat him up and expect the engagement to vanish."
"Watch me," Raiden crossed his arms.
"No," Runeas stepped closer, her eyes gleaming with calculation. "There is a system. A Rating Game. If Rias wins, she is free. If she loses, she marries."
She turned to Rias.
"Rias. You will fight him in ten days."
"Ten days?!" Rias panicked. "But Runeas-neesama, he has experience! I can't—"
"You have him," Runeas pointed a manicured nail at Raiden. "If this Heavenly Dragon is as strong as he claims, surely he can whip you and your peerage into shape?"
Raiden grinned. It was a sadistic grin.
"Oh, I can whip them into shape alright."
He looked at Rias, Akeno, Issei, and Kiba.
"Training starts tomorrow at dawn. If you vomit, you clean it up. If you die, I'll resurrect you so you can do more pushups."
Location: A Train Station near Kuoh
Time: Sunset
Two figures in church cloaks stepped off the train.
One was a blue-haired girl with a green mesh in her hair. Xenovia Quarta.
The other was a chestnut-haired girl with twintails. Irina Shidou.
Irina paused, clutching the long object wrapped in cloth on her back.
"Do you feel that, Xenovia?" Irina asked, looking toward the academy.
"Yes," Xenovia frowned. "A massive concentration of Dragon energy. And... something else. Void."
Irina shivered, but then smiled brightly. "Maybe it's a new friend! Lord Amen surely guides us!"
"I doubt a Void Dragon is a friend of the Church, Irina," Xenovia sighed. "Come. We have Stray Priests to hunt."