Chapter 31: Party & Entrance

A/N:

" " : Dialogue,

' ' : Thought,

"Italicized text" : Telepathy,

[ ] : Spells, Techniques and Sacred Gear Casts,

"Bold text" : Ddraig & Albion.

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Location: Underworld, Gremory Main Residence

Narrator POV

Two hours after Rias and her entourage had left the residence, everyone suddenly felt two powerful auras approaching them at high speeds. This sent them into a state of alert, as they did not know why two beings possessing Satan levels of power would approach them with such urgency.

Venelana had stepped out, hoping to keep things from escalating, if these beings had come with less than savory intentions. But one could only imagine her surprise when she saw a man and a woman who were seemingly trying to calm the people around them.

Although, as a devil, Venelana was familiar with multiple beings whose appearance would literally be cause for wars because of how beautiful or handsome they were, she was somewhat flustered at the sight of these two beings. The man had wild green hair that reached just past his shoulders, and the woman had blue hair that seemed to flow down to her lower back, as well as a pair of spiked horns coming out of her head.

"Ah, Venelana-san. Thank goodness you're here. I was wondering where Rias and the others went." The green-haired man said to her with a smile, which made her realize that the man in front of her wasn't a stranger, but rather Haruki, her future son-in-law.

But this realization didn't reduce her surprise, rather, it amplified it, as the boy who was at the Ultimate Rank just a month ago had reappeared holding power at the same level of the original Lucifer. But she soon forced herself to regain her composure, as she couldn't embarrass herself in front of her servants and future son-in-law.

"Oh, Haruki. They've all gone to the party that Sirzechs is hosting on the edge of our territory." She said, her face maintaining her usual smile. "By the way, I hope you don't mind me asking; Who is she?" Venelana asked, as she looked pointedly at the blue-haired, horned woman.

"Ah, she's…" Haruki began speaking, but stopped as Tiamat suddenly put a finger over his lips. "Now, now, Haru. I can speak for myself." She said, lightly shushing him, to which he looked at her with a deadpan expression.

"I am the Chaos Karma Dragon, Tiamat. And seeing as we're in Gremory territory, you must be the lady of the house, Venelana Gremory." The reveal of the blue-haired woman being one of the most powerful dragons alive sent Venelana's mind spiraling into another bout of amazement that left her speechless.

"Oh. *Snap.* *Snap.* I think I broke her." Tiamat said, trying to snap Venelana out of her confused state. "Well, you should have eased her into it. Not everyone can be as nonchalant about meeting someone in the world's top 100 as I am. Granted, Sirzechs, her son, is in the top 10." Haruki said, then walked up to Venelana and waved his hand, clearing her mind.

"Oh… my apologies. I just didn't expect that one such as yourself would come here, Tiamat-sama." Venelana said as soon as she regained her composure. "It's no issue. We're the ones that came without informing you." Tiamat said, acting as a proper guest.

"Well, since we've established that there are no issues with our presence here, can you tell us where exactly we have to go for this party?" Haruki said, and Venelana nodded, then used her demonic power to form a projection of the map of the Gremory territory. "We are here." She said, pointing to the location of the Gremory main residence. "And the party is being held here." She pointed to the location of the venue of the party, which was to the east, within a forest at the edge of the Gremory territory.

"I see. Thank you, Vene… No. Mother-in-law." Haruki said with a smile, then with a quick swipe of his hand, tore open a gate through space that opened up at the entrance of the forest. He and Tiamat walked through the portal, leaving behind a somewhat surprised Venelana.

"You couldn't just send us there directly?" Tiamat asked with clear exasperation in her voice. "Well, I can't make a proper entrance like that. Now, can I?" Haruki said as he manifested his dragon wings and horns. Tiamat simply rolled her eyes, then brought out her wings as well, then the both of them began flying to the party venue.

…

Tannin and the dragons following him landed in what looked like a large sports ground, letting the devils that rode on them get off. "Okay, then. We'll be heading to the area exclusively for large devils." Tannin said. "Thank you, Tannin." "Thanks for the ride, Ossan!" Rias and Issei said, then Tannin and the other dragons flapped their wings and flew away as they made their way to another area of the party grounds.

Rias and Sona's groups were soon approached by the hotel employees, who then took them all into an expensive limousine. Rias and her servants sat in the compartment directly behind the driver, while Sona and her servants sat at the compartment at the back of the limo.

Asia helped to fix Issei's appearance, while Rias gave them a short expo of the hotel and the area around it. She also let them know that Azazel and the Satans would coming into the party a bit later, mostly due to them getting along a little too well.

"Issei, I don't know if you heard this, but I declared war on Sona." Rias said, her eyes holding a staunch amount of determination. "I heard. Her dream is honestly something that I also wish comes true, but unfortunately, she and her peerage are our opponents. So, we have to give it our all for our own dreams, even if it means beating up our friends." Issei said, showing similar levels of determination to Rias'.

As they were talking, the limo arrived at the hotel, and shortly after, they headed into the building, where they were welcomed by more of the hotel's employees. They quickly confirmed their invitation at the front desk, then headed into the elevator and began heading to the top floor, where the party was being held.

"By the way, Buchou, was the party prepared by Sirzechs-sama for the young devils?" Issei asked Rias, to which she sighed before explaining. "Officially speaking, that is the case. However, the reality is quite different. It might seem like we're the ones that the party is being held for, but we are just extras today. It's an annual custom. They make up some excuse to party so the members of all the distinguished families can meet, and the current heads and elders come together before the young devils arrive, and they enjoy themselves. As things are, I won't be surprised if they've already finished most of their alcohol." She said with a displeased face, which Akeno and Yuuto empathized with.

After another minute, the elevator arrived on the top floor, and they stepped out of it and into the party venue. It was a large, gorgeous hall with a huge chandelier hanging from the middle of the ceiling. The devils that noticed their entrance began to speak with admiration of Rias, mainly complimenting her beauty.

Despite the sheer number of devils in the hall, the usually timid Gasper was actually facing them without even shaking. But he did have a clearly displeased expression on his face. Of course, his improvement was noticed by Rias and the others, causing them to smile, pleased that he was breaking away from his misanthropy, albeit slowly.

Soon, they began making their rounds of greetings, mostly as a formality. Many of the devils that came up to them were interested in Issei, as the current generation's Red Dragon Emperor, who had become a devil. Issei, who wasn't used to the formalities of high society, quickly got tired of the greetings. Fortunately for him, they didn't take anywhere as long as he dreaded.

Once he was done with his rounds pf greetings, he went to a set of chairs in a corner of the hall and sat there, with Asia and Gasper doing the same. While on his seat, he looked around the hall, observing the others while they mingled with other devils. Occasionally, some other male devils came by to greet Asia, and out of respect and more likely, fear of Issei, they made sure to remain respectful towards Asia.

Eventually, Xenovia approached them while holding a surprisingly sizable quantity of dishes with extravagant foods, and offered some of the dishes to them. Each of them took some dishes from Xenovia's arms and began to eat as cleanly as they could.

In the corner of his eye, Issei noticed someone approaching Rias, someone he knew he had seen before. As he turned his eyes to look at the person, he recognized them. It was one of the girls that was in Riser Phenex's peerage. With blonde hair that had been styled into drill-like, curled twintails being held in place by ribbons, the girl, Ravel Phenex, went up to Rias.

Focusing his hearing on the two ladies, he heard Ravel asking about Haruki, which confused him, but he shrugged, deciding that it wasn't his place to interfere or judge. But as he released the focus on his hearing, he began to wonder as well, what exactly Haruki was doing.

As time passed, he continued observing the devils in the hall, when suddenly a familiar face caught his eye. It was Koneko, and she was looking almost lost, as if her mind was absorbed in something, something unpleasant. Seeing her like that caused a pit of anxiety to form in his stomach.

"Asia, Xenovia, please wait here." He said as he stood up. "What's wrong?" Asia asked, her eyes catching the worry in her boyfriend's eyes. "I'm not sure, but Koneko's not looking good." He said, still keeping his eyes on the Nekoshou. "Will you need any help?" Xenovia asked, fully prepared to pull out Durandal at a moment's notice.

"No. I did well against Vali. Whatever could try to fight us would be light work." He said, then began heading out of the hall. As for Koneko, she had gone into the elevator. As he headed out, he saw her and began making his way to the other elevator, hoping to catch her before anything unsavory could occur.

But before he could go any further, his arm was grabbed from behind, and he turned around, only to see Rias looking at him sternly. "What happened?" She asked curtly. "I don't know, but Koneko suddenly walked out of the hall with a pretty serious face. I was just following her in case I could help out." He replied truthfully.

"Okay." Rias said with a sigh, then began walking to the elevator. "What are you waiting for? Didn't you say you wanted to help?" She said to Issei, who had stood in place as she walked to the elevator. With a quick nod, Issei followed Rias into the elevator, all the way down to the ground floor. After stepping out, Rias and Issei quickly described Koneko to the other devils around, wanting to find out where she'd gone.

The devils told them that they saw her heading outside the hotel grounds, but they couldn't tell where exactly she'd gone. Having heard this, Rias released her bat familiar to search for Koneko's traces, while her mind grimly pondered on what it was that would have caused Koneko to come all the way out here.

But she couldn't brood on that for long, as her familiar returned only after a little while, and it reported that Koneko had gone into the forest. She commanded the familiar to guide them, and it flew towards Koneko's location, with Rias and Issei following close behind. And for the next few minutes, they moved through the forest, moving further away from the hotel.

Issei lurched as Rias suddenly pulled him aside, hiding within the shade of a large tree. Issei wondered why, until his senses caught someone. He sensed Koneko, but also another person, who, to his draconic senses, also happened to smell a lot like Koneko herself. He peeked out from behind the tree to see the situation.

"It's been quite a while, hasn't it, Shirone?" The voice of a woman rang out pleasantly. "It really has, Kuroka-neesama." Koneko replied, looking at her elder sister. She had jet black hair and wore a black kimono, and just like Koneko, had a pair of cat ears on her head and a pair of tails growing out of her back. Right at Kuroka's feet, a black cat snuggled up to her, its tail held high in pleasure.

"Onee-sama is quite impressed that you came this far following after this black cat that snuck into the party. And a bit shocked. I didn't believe that you had learned to use senjutsu so well. You can imagine my surprise when Vali and Bikou told me that they saw a white nekomata that looked a bit like me." Kuroka said, pleased with her younger sister's progress.

However, Koneko wasn't feeling particularly talkative. "Enough, nee-sama. Why are you here? Why now?" She asked, her expression impassive. "Now, now. It's nothing all too serious. I just had some minor business to take care of. I got a little interested when I heard that the devils were throwing a party here. Nyan~" Kuroka replied playfully.

At this point, Rias and Issei stepped out of their hiding spot, with Issei having manifested the Boosted Gear. "Oh, so you two finally felt like you should stop hiding~." Kuroka said as she looked at them. "We already knew it was useless to hide. After all, being in the sensory range of three senjutsu users is basically telling them your location. Now, come out, you monkey." Issei said as a deep [Boost!] went off.

"Hah, you've gotten quite a bit better since then, Sekiryuutei-kun." A male voice said from the darkness. Then, a man wearing what looked like ancient Chinese armor and holding a staff came out from behind the trees. "Back then, you didn't even think you could face me. So, what changed?" He said, playfully spinning his staff.

"Back then, I also had to face Vali. But without him here, I can take down the both of you." Issei said calmly, as he cracked his fingers and flared his touki, then another [Boost!] rang out, raising his power to four times what it was when he and Rias arrived. As his power increased, Bikou understood that Issei truly meant what he said.

The only reason that Issei hadn't continued his battle with Vali when Bikou interrupted was because he was being cautious. Otherwise, the possibility of Bikou meeting his demise in Kuoh wouldn't have been far-fetched, given the level of power that Issei had exhibited in his Balance Breaker.

"Now, why exactly are you here? It would be in your best interest to not lie to us." Rias said as her body began emitting a black aura tinged with her Power of Destruction, which caused Kuroka and Bikou to feel a mild, prickling sensation.

"Now, now. No need to get your panties in a twist, Rias Gremory. We're not here to attack the place. You see, me and Kuroka are off-duty right now, and she suggested that we visit the devils' party to kill some time. Since she likely wouldn't have returned easily, what with her being an SS-class fugitive here, I came along with her. Okay?" Bikou said, but Rias wasn't satisfied with his explanation, and began concentrating her aura into solid constructs.

"Really? Then why lure my lovely servant all the way out here?" Rias said, her voice showing her mounting impatience with the two Khaos Brigade members. "Oh, that~? Well, since we can't stay for the party, I decided that I'd at least take back Shirone, since I couldn't bring her with me last time~." As Kuroka said that, Issei wasted no time entering into his Balance Breaker, and Rias put up a Bounded Field.

"No, Onee-sama. I won't be going with you." Koneko said resolutely, then sharply clenched her fist, and using senjutsu, created a shockwave that pushed Kuroka away. "Hey now, Shirone. You can't go disobeying your nee-sama like that, you know~." Kuroka said, her playful voice contrasting with the evil aura coming off of her.

"Now, just what is going on here?" A voice seemingly came from the sky, surprising everyone. They looked up, and they saw a man with green hair, dressed in a black, long-sleeved shirt, beige cargo pants, and black boots. But the most noticeable features he had were the pair of black dragon horns on his head and large wings growing out of his back. This was, of course, Haruki, who had only brought out his horns and wings.

Kuroka and Bikou immediately shifted their hostility to him, as they felt that he was the greatest threat to them amongst all those who were present. "[Kintoun!!!]" Bikou shouted, causing a golden cloud to manifest underneath his feet, then he flew off into the sky, or at least he tried, as the instant he got a meter off the ground, he was immediately hit with a powerful wind tunnel that had crystal shards within it that peppered his body, leaving him with multiple cuts on his body.

"Damn it! [Extend, Nyoi-Bo!!]" He said, causing a long staff to appear in his hand, and extend towards Haruki at high speed, only to be stopped by his palm, without even a sound. "What the?!" Bikou said, wondering how so much force had basically been snuffed out. "So this is how it is when you aren't taught by the old monkey, huh?" Haruki's voice came out almost dismissively.

"Oh, well." Those were the last words that Bikou heard before he was punched in his solar plexus with a fist charged with crimson lightning, and subsequently knocked out. Kuroka flinched in shock as she noticed something that scared her. 'I didn't even sense his movements until after Bikou was knocked out.' She grit her teeth and clenched her fist as she prepared to grab Bikou and retreat.

Unfortunately for her… "And, where do you think you're going?" … Haruki said from behind her, then grabbed her nape, with his hand glowing an eerie white. She tried to turn to attack him, but her body felt weakened, to the extent that she felt like moving was too difficult for her. She was confused, wondering what the source of this weakness was.

*Grumble.* Her stomach loudly grumbled, as if she had been starved for a long time. She couldn't help but wonder how she suddenly got so hungry that her body had become so weak. "It's only because you're Koneko-chan's sister that I'm going easy on you. So for now, just sleep." Haruki said, and beyond her control, her consciousness fell as her body went limp in his grasp.

Using his other hand, Haruki swiped, opening portals below Bikou and Kuroka's unconscious bodies, sending them into his pocket dimension. After dropping off the two Khaos Brigade members, Haruki was rushed down and wrapped in a tight hug by Koneko, who vigorously rubbed her head against his chest. Haruki smiled as he returned her hug, then turned to face Rias.

"I told you I wouldn't be late." He said as he opened his wings, and she understood the signal, as she walked over to him and hugged him, while she was wrapped by Haruki's black wing. Underneath the wing, she uses her right arm to hug Koneko, holding her greedily, almost scared that Koneko would have been taken from her.

"Huh? What happened here?" A familiar voice said from the sky, and everyone looked up to see Tannin, prepared to attack whoever it was that had come with the intention to cause chaos. "Oh, Tannin. You're late." A female voice came from within the trees, and as Tannin looked to the source, he saw a woman with blue hair and white horns, who was dressed in a blue and white dress, red leggings and blue shoes. "Tiamat. I didn't think that you'd leave your lair."

"Well, when I had witnessed the birth of the world's newest Dragon King and Sage, I decided to leave. After all, things will be more interesting now." She said, smiling as she looked at Haruki. Tannin also looked at Haruki, a glint of intrigue in his eyes. As he felt the power emanating from Haruki, he held the same thoughts as Tiamat. 'Things really are going to kick into high gear, huh.' He thought, as a grin made its way onto his face.

Chapter End.

Word Count: 3,460

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