DxD 0175: Return

"What a troublesome situation," Abaddon leaned back on the couch in Sirzechs' office. "Do you have any idea how much I had to hold back? Seriously, Draig had to meaninglessly shout boost so many times that the poor dragon's throat is sore."

Sirzechs didn't believe a word Abaddon said, "Stop exaggerating things. You did well in not exposing all of your abilities in the fight against Loki," He said. "While you may have felt that it was meaningless, it does save us a heap of trouble that we would've had to deal with."

"Yeah, whatever," Abaddon said. "I just want to return and enjoy some fluffy time with my women. Plus, I have a new cat to train, which is going to be very fun."

"Putting your eroticism, which, concerningly, my own sister is a part of, aside, I would like for you to apply for a promotion to Ultimate Class. I received a message a few days ago that you are finally ready to be promoted."

"Finally indeed," Abaddon sighed.

"Pity really, your timing," Sirzechs shook his head sadly. "The annual Youth Raging Game Competition is coming up. I would've loved to see you completely steamroll everyone else. Now your brother will be taking the spot, and while very strong, his fights aren't as flashy as yours."

"You just want to use me to generate more revenue," Abaddon said dryly. "And don't act like you won't be making a big deal of the incoming Rating game between me and the family head of the Naberius clan.

"Oh, that's going to be a battle of the decade. It's not always that Ultimate Class devils battle in an official public rating game," Sirzechs seemed excited.

"Then the preparations should at least take like half a year or so. I have no interest in fighting so many battles back to back. And I have a few people in my eyes to join my Peerage, I need time to take care of them."

"Six months it is," Sirzechs nodded. "For now, you need to do the needful for your promotion test. I will let you know when it is prepared."

"Sure," Abaddon leaned back. "Anything else?"

"Just be ready for the eventual move against the Khaos Brigade. You will play a vital role when the time comes."

"Yeah, sure," Abaddon said. "Just keep an eye on Astaroth in the rating game competition. He could very well cause problems."

"I can't promise anything," Sirzechs said. "Giving him free rein and feigning incompetence is the best way to get everyone in one fell swoop."

"I know," Abaddon sighed, "Just don't end up getting someone important killed in your schemes." A red magic circle appeared beside Abaddon's ear as he raised a brow. "Sure." The circle disappeared as he turned to Sirzechs, "The train's about to leave. I'll be off."

"Take care," Sirzechs said. "And make sure my sister doesn't come complaining about you to me. I can do things to you. Things that you really don't want happening."

"I'm so terrified that my legs are shaking," Abaddon said dryly as he stood up and teleported away.

…

"Mine," On the way back home, Koneko had hogged Abaddon's lap and was hugging him tightly while mumbling in her sleep. Abaddon was gently caressing her hair and exposed cat ears as her tail excitedly swayed slowly behind her.

"Is it just me, or does Koneko-chan seem a little more clingy than usual with my lord today?" Xenovia spoke, using the couch as a makeshift bed for herself.

"She does, indeed," Aika agreed, having done the same with another couch. "It seems that she is ready to take the next step with him."

"Aika," Abaddon said lazily. "If you don't have anything useful to say, then put your mouth to some better use."

"I can?!" She perked up, racing toward Abaddon. "You won't mind even though Kokeko-chan is in your lap?" Abaddon smiled at her excited expression.

"You did well during the fight against Loki, not only finding the weakness in his spell but doing so in a completely different magic system as well," Abaddon said, shifting Koneko a little so that she was on one of his thighs, freeing Aika to pull down his pants and take him in her mouth. It was only Xenovia and Aika, alongside Sona and Rias in their current cabin, so Aika's actions weren't a problem. As for everyone else, they were tired and sleeping in a separate cabin.

"You haven't yet told her about the guest at your house," Rias said, showing a slight expression of jealousy and neediness. "Are you sure about it?"

"Don't worry, she's going to love the surprise." Abaddon said, "She might feel a bit weird about it at first, but it's going to be perfectly fine."

"If you say so," Rias said.

"Did you guys hear about the rating game competition coming up?" Abaddon asked her.

"Oh!" Rias looked at him intensely, "Why is your name not on the roster? It's been there every year for the past three years, so why not this year? Everyone's participating, Seekvaira, Sairaorg, even Zephyrdor, despite not even being the heir of the Glassya-Labolas family, is participating, why not you?"

"Will we not be participating in the game, lord?" Xenovia asked, turning her head to the side to look at Abaddon.

"No, the game only accepts High-Class devils," Abaddon said as Xenovia turned her head again, deciding to go to sleep instead. She wanted to rest for a while.

"And that matters because …" Rias trailed off before her eyes widened, "You're applying for promotion to Ultimate-Class?"

"Yep," Abaddon nodded. "That's what I was talking to Sirzechs about when you called me."

"Already?" Sona chimed in from the side, disbelief apparent in her expression. "I know that you're strong enough to beat up an Ultimate Class, but to be promoted at such a young age. It's amazing."

"Yeah, inflate my ego further," Abaddon smiled. "Go on," He spoke while playing with Koneko's ears. "I seriously love her soft fur …"

"Moving on," Rias rolled her eyes. "Who is your first opponent, Sona?"

"It's actually Abaddon's childhood bestie." Sona looked at Abaddon, who was caressing Aika's head as she blew him. "Seekvaira Agares. She's my first matchup."

"It's going to be a bracket-style battle, right?" Abaddon asked.

"Kind of," Sona said. "I don't have the complete information, but there is a revival aspect as well. If you lose one of the battles, you can still come back by battling the loser of another round. I don't have the full information about how this is to be implemented, however.

"I see," Abaddon said. "So, taking a situation where you're fighting Vaira and lose, and Rias fights the Glasya-Labolas heir — I can never remember the dude's actual name — where he loses, there's a high chance that you will be matched up against him."

Sona had a twitchy expression on her face. "I'm a little offended that you think that your little bestie will be able to beat me."

"Don't be too jealous, Sona," Abaddon said. "I've been training with Vaira for a good number of years. The only way you can win against her is if you quickly eliminate her peerage and gang up on her, which will still be pretty difficult, what with her ability to stop time and all. Of course, you can take advantage of a special format in the Rating Game to win against her, but that's up to chance. You would have it horrible if you ended up in a frontal face-off against her."

"She's that good?" Rias asked, probing for some information as Sona also perked up, not feeling too bad.

"I don't particularly know much about Gasper's Forbidden Balor View, but Vaira's time power is enough to compare to what I assume his Sacred Gear's Balance Breaker could output. At least somewhere close to that. I haven't studied the Sacred Gears too much beyond The Thirteen Longinus." Abaddon's words made a serious expression appear on Sona and Rias' faces.

"You're in for a difficult fight," Rias told Sona.

"Who are you fighting?" Sona asked.

Rias turned to look at Abaddon, "The Glasya-Labolas heir."

"So he just asked us the question for fun. He already knows everything," Sona sighed. "Do you know about the other matchups, Abaddon?"

Abaddon closed his eyes and leaned back, seemingly ignoring the girls. Moments later, Aika pulled back from his crotch with a smack of her lips. "Thank you for the meal, master." She gave his tip a loving kiss, stroking it a few more times and licking off the excess.

Abaddon hummed deeply, "You did good, Aika." He then opened his eyes and turned to Sona and Rias. "I do know about the entire bracket because I was a part of the arrangement process. Zephyrdor Glasya-Labolas is going to be fighting another high-class devil with nothing of renown, same with Sairaorg. There's no chance of either of the two losing. So the second round, where they will be facing each other, should be a nice fight."

"Can you tell me about the elimination system?" Sona asked Abaddon.

"I'm getting to it," he said, "Come here. Your jealous expression toward my cat seems dangerous."

Sona blushed, "I'm not …" She trailed off, unable to answer.

"Jealousy is fine, Sona. That just tells me that you truly want me. I just don't want that jealousy to become something unhealthy."

"I'm also jealous," Rias pouted.

"Fine, fine, come here," Abaddon said. "You can sit on my other side."

"My question …" Sona pulled Abaddon's sleeve with a shy yet curious expression on her face that made Abaddon's heart skip a beat.

"Damn, girl …" He pressed his lips against Sona's making her release a surprised squeal into his mouth.

He spent a few minutes teasing both Rias and Sona before finally getting back to the topic.

"There are a total of twelve teams in the bracket. This means that there will only be three teams in the semi-finals. Now, for the six teams that lose in the first round, they will be matched up in pairs to bring them down to three teams. Lastly, there will be a three-way battle to decide on the fourth semi-finalist team." Abaddon said.

"I see," Sona nodded. "Continuing your example. When I win against Seekvaira," She gave a pointed look at Abaddon, making him smile amusedly. "Seekvaira and another battle's loser will fight against each other, and the winner between the two will move on to the quarter-finals to get into a three-way battle."

"Yes," Abaddon indulged Sona a little. He knew that she would give it her best regardless and decided to just cheer her on.

"What about Diodora Astaroth?" Rias asked. "I remember you really beating him up in the previous year's rating game tournament."

"If he wins against his first matchup, I think his next battle should be against Seekvaira … or Sona," Abaddon shook his head at Sona's pointed look, "Depending on which of the two wins their battle."

***

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