Resolution and Judgment

A/N: You can expect at least one chapter per week. Often more than that, probably two. Maybe three if I'm in the mood. I'll try to keep at two, but no promise.

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~First day of training

"Here, I'll restrain my speed and strength to your level. What I'll do is try improving upon your strength and teach you what I think is the best way to use them. Said otherwise, we'll be sparing."

Julian stood before Koneko, his arms Akimbo and his eyes fixed on her. "What you'll learn during these two hours will hopefully be helpful in achieving your task afterward."

He pointedly stared at an obstacle course, and at various targets in the form of magical projections that would light up randomly and erratically for an equally random amount of time.

"While this is a spar, I want you to aim for the kill. Nothing of what you can throw at me can harm me anyway." Julian sniggered at the frustrated and bitter face of his 'student'.

"Am I wrong, Koneko-Chan?" Julian asked her, and seeing her stay silent, smiled.

"Now enough talking, just know that there is a possibility I let my control over my strength slip during our spars. But don't worry, I can heal you."

Saying that, Julian smiled kindly and immediatly used his fastest speed to reapear before Koneko. His arms poised for a palm strike to her jaw.

"Told you."

Koneko tried to dodge but even if the blow was limited to her own speed and power and was well within her reaction speed. Her body was too slow and heavy to properly evade the attack. She was thus clipped and sent stumbling back, a bit stunned from the impact on her jaw.

Julian pressed on, jumping in the air with the intention of using his own weight and her instability to crush her into the ground with a kick.

Koneko, seeing this. Had the reflex of jumping back during her tumbling. Landing and rolling to her feet a good ten meters away.

*BOOM*

Julian didn't cancel his kick as his foot landed on the ground, cracking it.

"Making distance at all cost was the choice to make as since I was in the air, not only it made you escape a crippling strike. It also gave you the time to stabilize yourself. But your initial decision of dodging my palm was wrong." Julian praised her and then chastisized her.

Koneko took little time to get back her cool from the sudden confrontation. And Julian's words, when they registered, made her frown.

"Your are a tank, a rook. Koneko, powerfull, heavy, and slow. You should never opt to dodge an attack. You have to be unmovable, like a wall, or a mountain. Dodging is for the knight, or the pawn. If Kiba is like the wind, fast and sharp. You are akin to earth, steady and strong." Julian patiently explained his own understanding of the basics of the peerage system.

Seeing a grumpy but attentive catgirl. Julian nodded. "This said, you should seek to take attacks directly. Blocking and redirecting them. This is what we'll work on for now. But first, let me show you how it's done."

"Come." Julian made a 'come and get me' gesture with his hand to the waited-haired girl.

—————

~With Kiba

"I'm a bit disappointed that we're too pressed for time for my lesson on swords. But hey, that's life for you." Julian shrugged as he faced off Kiba.

"I am as disappointed as you, Julian-San. But if I got it right, you are here to train me, right? Then, where is my sword?" Kiba smiled wrily as he stood there, not even a wooden sword on his person."

"Well, maybe we'll have to pospone my training with swords. But that doesn't mean we have to pospone your martial art ones." Julian said offhandely, cracking his knuckles.

"Anyway, you are way too reliant on that sword of yours. And martial art are an extremely useful foundation to build weapon mastery upon. So we'll begin with that."

Kiba raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Julian shrugged. "I guess? In truth, I just want to beat you up."

"What! Why? Did I do something wrong?" Kiba dumbfundly asked.

"Calm down, my guy. It was a joke." Julian expression didn't change a moment.

"Ah, please don't do that, Julian-San. Made me fear for my life right there." Kiba sighed in relief.

"Or was it?"

"Please either stop or just beat me at this point."

—————

~With Akeno.

Akeno, on this first day, had teach the basics of magic to Issei and Asia. Luckily, it was a task only needing any more time than the morning could offer. So, that was why Julian and her were currently somewhere in the vast outside territory of the manor.

"Tell me if I'm wrong, but from what I understood. The queen has the same boost a rook, a knight and a bishop has. All at the same time. I'm a wrong?" Julian asked Akeno. To which she answered with a nod.

"Then why are you so specialized in magic and lacking in other aspects?" Julian had an headache in coming.

"Mmh, because magic is what I'm the better at?" Akeno stated innocently. A hand on her cheek. However, she already predicted where this was going.

"This is foolish. The queen is the most powerful piece in chess because it is the most versatile and the one with the most mobility. To restrain yourself to the role of a glorified bishop is stupid." Julian frowned.

Akeno stayed silent, not only because she was well aware of the logic behind his words. But also because the reason why she was sticking to magic wasn't anything grand or even valid. Magic was convenient, that's all. There was no risk to getting physically hurt in close combat with it. It was also versatile, and she could easily toy with opponents weaker than her with it.

Julian closed his eyes for a few seconds before reopening them. "Time is too precious to use it to teach you the basic of melee combat. So we'll be focusing on your battle awareness and positioning. I also have some restraining and area spells you should absolutely integrate in your repertoire. Lightning is great and all, but it's too offensive oriented. Unless you are creative with it."

"With your task, you'll have all the time in the world to practice your magic and your new spells. Now, it's high time to begin." Julian eyes met Akeno's as a cheeky smile slowly rose on his face.

"Now, Akeno-Senpai, try your best to keep up. Will you?"

—————

~With Issei.

"I see your making fast progress in controling your sacred gear and the subsequent increase in strength it gives you. That's good, but you shouldn't forget that the boost it give you is multiplicative in nature. So the stronger you are in your basic form, the stronger the boost is."

"Beside that, I have honestly no need to teach you anything personally. We both experienced thousands of spars and matches since young. So I'll just fight with you a bit while you use your sacred gear. I'll add some killing intent in it so you never freeze when someone inevitably want to kill you in the future." Julian shrugged at Issei.

"It's a bit crazy when I think about it. It's almost like you already knew all of this would happen. And thus you made sure we were prepared by drowning the both us in martial art lessons." Issei scratched his cheek, a pensive expression on his face.

Julian rose an eyebrow at Issei, only to chuckles and grins immediatly after. "Who know? Now fight me! I bet you'll not even be able to scratch me today. And if you can't scratch me, you can't scratch Riser. And here I was thinking you wanted payback for what he did to you?"

"Payback? You're goddamn right! I want to beat the shit out of this lucky bastard! How dare he have a harem and shove it up in my face?! He'll also pay dearly for disrespecting the president!" A fire lit up in Issei's eyes as he sprinted toward Julian, his sacred gears materializing on his arm. Initiating the 1237 rematch between them. Only this time with superpowers.

—————

~With Rias.

"Rias... it wasn't my business before. But now that I'm training you all, it is. And I can assure you. You will not like my words. But they have to be said. Even if I would have like you to come to this resolution on your own." Julian grunted, annoyed at the situation.

Julian was pleased as when his eyes met Rias' own, she bore his gaze firmly and didn't shy away from it.

Leaning against a tree, Julian wondered if there was no better way to convey what he wanted to say to her. But unfortunately, tact would have no purpose in this.

"You were born with a golden spoon in your mouth, much like Riser. At your birth, you were already a high-class devil... And 17 years later, because of your own laziness. You are in this predicament. Because you are too weak."

Rias clenched her fists, she expected something like this. But the words still filled her entire being with indignant furry.

"SO WHAT! Is this really all my fault!? Aren't you the same!? You are a Pure-Blooded devil too! Can you blame me for not trying when... When..." Rias snapped then trailed off as tears of frustration, shame and anguish began to leak out of her eyes.

"When you'll always be inferior to him? Always be in his shadow?"

Rias widened her eyes in surprise as Julian finished her sentence for her.

"No, I can't blame you. Nor can I understand your situation. I tend to be on the other end of the scale for a matter of facts." Julian calmly continued, his eyes closed.

"And I was not blaming you. I was merely stating things as they were. Honestly, I don't even know what to say about this. People compare to each other all the time, and they will inevitably compare you to your brother. Everyone has to learn to stop giving a fuck about other people opinion at one point. It's that or allowing yourself to feel hurt or humiliated, again and again."

"I think my case is different, but I learned to not bother about it long ago."

Julian opened his eyes and looked at Rias smilingly. "But I can't force you to do it, just tell you to."

"Anyway, I'm not the most qualified to say that. But whatever, what you did with your past don't really matter. What really matter is what you do now and tomorrow." Julian adopted a self-depreciating smile at the words leaving his mouth.

"I already said it, Rias. But at this point, it's do, or die."

Julian expression became solid ice as his gaze pressed down upon the shaken Rias. "So? What do you choose? Do you want to avoid becoming Riser' trophee wife?... Or do you give in to what seem to be your fate?... Either way... I can help you with it."

—————

~Rias' POV

She froze as she had the impression of choosing between life and death. The ominous meaning behind Julian's words not helping.

But in the end, her teeth began to grind against each other as memories of the past couple of days flashed in her mind. Making all her feelings of anger, indignation, of frustration and weakness burst out as a result.

The mere fact that her younger newphew was miles ahead of her, that RISER was miles ahead of her amplified her indignation and lit up a spark. She fueled all of her raging emotions into the spark. The transformation of the ember into a raging bonefire made her mind crystal clear for a moment.

Julian was right, the shadow of her brother did not matter. He was Sirzechs Lucifer, the leader of the demon kings. And she was Rias Gremory, proud heiress to the noble clan of Gremory.

She was tired of being a puppet, of having no real control over her fate... Of having to rely on someone else for solving her own troubles.

In the end, Julian had showed her. Nothing spoke louder than strength in this world.

And she would make sure the world understood that she was not "Lucifer failure of a little sister."

No, she was Rias Gremory.

The Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess.

And she was determined to show them why.