DxD: The Sorcery System Chapter 48

Chapter 48: The Consequences (½)

[Hours Later — Lucifer’s Office, Lilith]

{Quest Completed: Show the Phenex that immortality is not a boon but a bane!

Defeat Riser Phenex!}

{Reward Obtained: Intermediate Elemental Magic}

{Intermediate Elemental Magic: Allows Reo to use the derived forms of elements available through Basic Elemental Magic and allows for their combinations.}

{Additional Quest Completed: Defeat Riser Phenex without suffering any damage from his magic!}

{Additional Reward Obtained: Intermediate Healing Magic}

{Intermediate Healing Magic: Allows Reo to recover from any disease, debuff or status influencers as well as instantly heal any injury as long as the injury does not sever a part entirely.

Lost limbs cannot be healed.}

{Quest Completed: Humiliate Riser in front of everyone!

Show everyone that a human can defeat an immortal!}

{Reward Obtained: Magic Circulation}

{Magic Circulation: Allows Reo to circulate Magic skillfully around his body to strengthen his physical abilities and improve magic casting time, accuracy and consumption.

It also allows Reo to increase his lifespan by a few years.

This skill pairs directly with Magical Physique}

It felt cold—colder than before.

There was no fire, no Phenex—only the ticking of the clock.

And a man.

“Do you know why I brought you here?”

He stood in red, his back to me as he gazed out through the glass walls.

“To my office? To Lilith?”

Lilith, the capital of Satan's Territory, was one of the most influential and beautiful places in the Underworld.

“To save me?” I asked, already guessing the answer.

“Lord Phenex demands that you be handed over to him, punished even.” The man who had been cheerful at dinner was now stern and serious.

This was the difference between a brother and a leader.

“I only saved myself. I did nothing wrong.” The fact that Riser couldn’t heal his lost hand surprised even me.

“You should know this,” he sighed, still looking out. “People with political power don't care about such things. And we’re talking about Lord Phenex’s son here. He lost an arm, is in excruciating pain, and neither Phenex regeneration nor Phoenix Tears are helping.”

That…

I had no idea it was that bad.

Right after the match, Sirzechs Lucifer had me brought to his office in the heart of Lilith. Grayfia escorted me while everyone else searched for the members of Riser’s and Rias’ peerage to heal them.

“Don't worry about the political issues,” the Devil sighed. “I’ll handle it. What you did was an act of self-defense.”

He turned and walked toward me. “I saw it, and I believe the others did too. They’re just too emotional to understand.”

He pointed at my hand.

“You might have healed your fingers,” he said with a hint of amusement. “Which I’m surprised you could do, but that’s not the point.”

He seemed more relaxed and calm now that the main issues were laid out.

“The point is that you were injured while using that magic. We all saw the magic depleting from your body, your fingers burning, and you barely staying conscious as you cast that spell.”

I’m still confused about what that spell was, why I named it that way—no, I didn’t name it. It was as if the spell already existed, and I simply cast it.

And how could a barrier, one meant for defense, have such a destructive outcome?

“I’ve gone over every detail about you,” he said, standing just a meter away. “You are the child of two humans who had nothing to do with the supernatural world. Your mother is a housewife with no ties to the supernatural, and your father was a man respected by those around him for his kindness and humility. He, too, had no connection to the supernatural.”

I already knew that.

“So, while it’s unheard of, it’s almost ridiculous.” He pointed at me, “but you have magic that’s not linked to any Sacred Gear. It’s as if you were born with it.”

No, I wasn’t.

It was all because of the system, but that’s something I could never tell anyone.

“Given your position, with no one to back you up, you would have been in serious trouble.”

He wasn’t lying. I was in trouble.

I had made an enemy out of a political figurehead, which I never intended to do.

Humiliating Riser wasn’t something I planned by having his hand chewed off. I wanted to embarrass him by either countering all his magic or not letting a single spell of his hit me.

None of what happened was my intention.

“You’re special,” the Satan’s voice was calm. “But sometimes, being special isn’t a good thing.”

“I protected myself,” I repeated. “If I hadn’t done what I did, I would have been worse off than Riser—dead.”

He nodded. “Almost certainly. Hellfire is already tricky to deal with, and he cast a spell forbidden even within his own family.”

“Then—”

“He’s a noble from a powerful devil family, and you’re a human with no political support.”

What he meant was…

I was a nobody, and if the Phenex wanted me dead…

I would be dead.

“Which is why,” he finally took a seat in front of me, “I’ve made an arrangement.”

“What… is this arrangement, exactly?” I asked, suspicious.

He was a good person, but he was still a devil. Inherent tendencies are hard to hide.

“Well, I’ll have to let someone else explain it.” He smiled calmly as he closed his eyes, and the lights around us flickered unnaturally.

And then came a voice.

“You’re not much different from the other kid.”

A familiar voice.

“One actively seeks trouble, the other ends up swallowed by it.”

Wings flapped, feathers black, presence strong.

{Supernatural Being Detected!}

“You’re late.” Sirzechs looked at the man as we both spoke his name together.

“Azazel.”

The Fallen smiled, grinning as he looked at me.

“Looks like we have a lot to talk about, don’t we, boy?”

…

…

[Sometime Later — Nursing Chambers, Gremory Estate]

{Rias Gremory}

“Ugh!”

“You shouldn’t move too much, honey,” my mother’s voice rang softly beside me as she pressed a bandage against my knees. “You’ll displace the herb patch from your injury.”

I...

I remember taking down Riser’s pawn, bishops, and even his queen.

But I had lost so much strength and magic that I could barely walk away. I was certain I was going to be crushed by the rubble falling from above.

But I wasn’t.

I lost consciousness.

D-Did I…

“M-Mother…” I looked at her, my heart pounding uncontrollably.

“Yes, dear?” she responded, noticing my unease.

I looked around, but there was no one else with us.

None of my peerage, not my brother, not even my father—no one.

My brother would’ve been the first to be here, taking care of me when I fainted. I knew him well enough to know that he would stay by my side until I regained consciousness.

But he wasn’t here.

Why?

“W-What happened to the Rating Game?” My throat felt dry, and my heart was racing.

I was nervous.

I was... worried.

Had all my effort, all those days of hard work, been for nothing?

Was my peerage going to suffer because of my weakness?

My worry only deepened when I saw my mother’s sad expression.

“The Rating Game… it didn’t go as anyone expected.”

Her words froze me in place.

Did that mean I had lost?

I-I couldn’t bring myself to ask directly.

But I had responsibilities.

“And... what about everyone?”

Her face softened slightly. “Kiba and Koneko are resting and recovering, while Akeno is still asleep, exhausted from using up all her magical reserves.”

“And Reo?”

But when I mentioned Reo, she fell silent.

Completely silent.

“Mother?” I looked at her directly, anxiety tightening my chest. “What… happened to Reo? Where is he?”

Again, she didn’t answer. She just stared at me with those sad eyes.

“Mother?”

“Do you remember anything before you fainted, Rias?” she asked, “Anything about an announcement?”

“Well… I do.”

“I did hear Grayfia start the announcement, but I lost consciousness right after that.”

My mother’s expression was filled with worry, and I held my breath as she explained the situation.

“You see… as you faced Riser’s Queen and his bishop, Reo had to face Riser himself,” she explained, causing my worry to grow even more. “Their battle started slowly, each throwing spells—fire, water, lightning.”

Phenex fire was terrifying, and while I had seen Reo’s magic… it couldn’t compare to the bloodline magic of the Phenex.

“But as Reo continued to counter Riser, Riser grew angry and lost control of his fury.” She took a deep breath. “And then he used his family’s strongest magic, Hellfire, against Reo... the strongest and most unstable version of Hellfire.”

My heart nearly stopped.

“Mother… Where is Reo?”

But instead of answering, she continued.

“Reo didn’t have direct magic to stop the Hellfire, nor could he deflect it.”

Of course… Hellfire was terrifying even for us, the Gremory devils.

“So, in a last-ditch effort to survive, he cast a spell that even he wasn’t fully aware of.” Her face turned pale. “It was a horrifying, ghastly magic that none of us had ever seen before.” Her eyes trembled. “Yet, we all felt it.”

She exhaled deeply. “He cast a spell that not only countered the Hellfire but also defeated Riser.”

W-What?

“H-How?” My voice cracked. “That’s impossible. A single spell shouldn’t be able to counter Hellfire.”

“It wasn’t a simple spell,” my mother corrected. “It was a spell that sent shivers down the spines of even the Ultimate-Class Devils. Even Ruval and Grayfia were shaken.”

Reo...

How could he cast magic of that level? He wasn’t even comparable to a High-Class Devil yet.

“And it was a terrible magic,” my mother’s voice shook. “It not only devoured the Hellfire, swallowing it like air… but it also severed Riser’s arm.”

“That… how?”

How did he do that? But even then, it shouldn’t have been enough to defeat Riser.

Riser was a Phenex, and losing an arm meant nothing to them.

“I don’t know,” she shook her head. “But because of this, Lord Phenex wants to punish him, maybe even kill him.”

Wait.

“Why?” I was confused. “Why did he get so angry over Riser losing an arm? He’s a Phenex. They can regrow limbs as easily as a lizard regrows its tail.”

That’s when my mother explained the real issue.

“Reo’s magic… it didn’t just sever Riser’s arm; it made it unable to heal.” She took a deep breath. “He countered the Phenex’s bloodline ability, Immortality, causing Riser to lose.”

My eyes widened in shock.

It didn’t just mean that I had won and gained my freedom—it meant that Reo had done something nearly impossible.

However...

“And that’s why he’s being hunted by Lord Phenex.” This was the real problem. “No matter what the Phenex try, even chopping the entire arm off in hopes of growing a new one, it doesn’t work. The arm regrows only up to the point where it was devoured by Reo’s spell, recreating the same injury—causing extreme pain and continuous blood loss for Riser.”

This...

I see.

I understand now.

Why Lord Phenex wants Reo punished.

Riser is suffering with no foreseeable cure.

And the reason for it is Reo—or at least, that’s what Lord Phenex believes.

“Where is he?”

“With your brother.”

The moment she said that, I jumped out of bed.

The pain, the exhaustion, and the injuries didn’t matter.

“Where are you going?” My mother looked at me with concern.

But I couldn’t stay here.

I had to go.

“To Reo.”

Reo had helped me, freed me.

And now...

Now I can’t let him suffer because of me.

________________________________________________________________________

[A/N: Will Post Two More Chapters Tomorrow.]