5 Chapter 5 - Duel for Marriage

Ryuuga strode into the Phenex Mansion as if he owned the place. Some guards noticed his presence and attacked, but they quickly passed out.

"Let me see." Ryuuga grabbed the neck of one guard and activated his [Mind Reading] to locate the clan head.

"In the hall, huh..." After obtaining the location, he dropped the guard and continued towards the hall.

In less than ten minutes and after battling guards, he arrived. The hall lay behind a giant fiery red gate with golden patterns. Without hesitation, he pushed the gate open with his pure strength.

Krakkk! Krakkk!

As he stepped in, he saw hundreds of guards ready to attack. They were the elite of the Phenex Clan, likely on the cusp of becoming High-Class Devils.

Without the Phenex bloodline, it was rare for normal devils to reach High-Class status. Even reaching Middle-Class was considered genius.

"Welcome, intruder." spoke the middle-aged man seated atop the throne. He had short blonde hair and a beard, emanating authority and power. He was Raevan Phenex, the clan head.

Beside him sat a frivolous-looking young man with the same blonde hair, reminiscent of the blonde stereotypes Ryuuga had read about.

Behind the blonde young man stood several beautiful girls of different ages, eyeing Ryuuga curiously.

"Sorry for disturbing you, Clan Head-san." Ryuuga answered with a smile, as if he had done nothing wrong.

"... I will ask straight to the point. What is your intention for barging in here?" Raevan was quite dumbfounded by the young man's audacity and asked with a frown. There was no history of the Phenex Clan being attacked before, given their numerous connections and the rarity of Phoenix Tears they produced. Even the Bael Clan would think twice before invading.

"Then, I will answer straight to the point too. I want Riser to sign the engagement annulment letter for his marriage."

"Oh?" Riser's agitation was evident upon hearing Ryuuga's request. It seemed like a direct challenge.

"Who made this request to you? Is it the Gremory Clan? But that's not possible. They also want this marriage to happen. Is it Sirzechs? But that's also unlikely because he supports this marriage. So, is it Rias Gremory, then?"

As Ryuuga listened to Raevan's speech, he was quite impressed by the clan head's intelligence, though he found him talkative. Unlike his third son, known for his dandyism and stupidity.

"No, it's because I fell in love with Rias that I want to marry her. But I heard that she was engaged. That's why I want to challenge Riser to a duel for her hand in marriage." Ryuuga replied, opting for the simplest explanation.

He didn't want Rias to be implicated here, even though she was the one who made the request. After all, he couldn't risk dissatisfying his customer.

"Is it really just because of love?" Raevan was surprised by Ryuuga's response. It seemed he didn't fully believe it.

"A weakling like you wants to challenge me?" Riser intercepted, mocking Ryuuga with a grin.

"Accept it then. If you dare, of course." Ryuuga glanced at Riser, his eyes conveying disdain.

Riser, seeing this, was immediately enraged. His arrogance couldn't tolerate such disrespect.

"Fine then! Father, you won't mind, right?" Riser's aura flared as he turned to his father, seeking approval.

"... Okay, I accept this duel." Raevan decided after a moment's thought.

"Otou-sama, are you sure?" One of the girls behind Riser interjected. She was the youngest princess of the Phenex Clan, Ravel Phenex. She also served as a loaned bishop in Riser's peerage.

"Un." Raevan nodded slightly. He never agreed to anything he wasn't sure about.

"Then, if I win, can I ask for Riser's entire peerage?" Ryuuga didn't forget his original intention. He needed to recruit them as his waitresses. So, he asked the clan head again because he was the one who made the decision.

"I agree!" Riser didn't wait for his father's answer and immediately assented. He wasn't patient enough to wait to beat Ryuuga into a pulp.

"Onii-sama, you…" Ravel, behind Riser, was stunned because she never thought that Riser would accept the duel. She is heartbroken because her brother would sell her and the others if he loses.

Riser's entire servant group is also disappointed when they hear his words. It seems like they mean little to him.

In this world, Riser is still a virgin because his dad has warned him that he could only lose his virginity to his fiancée because of how Devil Energy works. Not only his virginity, but also his first kiss.

That's why he never kissed or had sex with the members of his peerage.

"Ravel, you don't think I would lose, do you?" Riser glanced back and glared at Ravel. He's arrogant on the outside, but inside, he harbors an inferiority complex towards his brothers. He doesn't like to be looked down upon.

"N-No…" Ravel didn't dare to meet her brother's gaze and answered in a low voice.

"You always say as if you will win against me. What if you lose?" Riser was not really that foolish. At least he needs to get something for winning. That's the true meaning of a bet.

"If you win, then I will tell you where the holders of the longinus were at. How about that? You could capture them or make them your servants. I don't care." Ryuuga decided to use his knowledge of this world as the bet.

"Oh? How did I know that you're telling the truth? What if you lie?"

"I even know about King Piece." Ryuuga said slightly. When Raevan heard it, he frowned. Because, only some of the old devils knew about the existence and origin of King Piece.

"Accept it. He is telling the truth." Raevan said to Riser. He believed that Ryuuga really knew about the Longinus holders if he knew about the King Piece.

"Fine! Let's duel then!" Riser grinned and said to Ryuuga. He can't wait anymore!

"Ravel, you become the referee." Raevan said to his daughter.

"O-Okay…" Ravel was still stunned by her brother's action. Hearing her father's order, she immediately moved and flew to the ceiling.

Meanwhile, Raevan created a circular barrier around Riser and Ryuuga so that their fights won't affect the outside of the barrier.

Ryuuga glanced at the barrier and thought. It seems like he could go on par with Raevan Phenex if they fought. It should be easy to defeat Riser here.

"There's no rules for the duel and the winner would take everything from the opponent." Ravel explained and both the fighters nodded.

"3, 2, 1, Start!" Seeing no one intercepted or rejected, she counted down and announced the start of the duel.

"Haa!" Riser immediately opened his palm, and a burst of orange fire shot out like a cannon, aimed at Ryuuga. The attack lasted for five seconds before Riser stopped. In his mind, Ryuuga should have been incinerated to dust by now.

"Weak shit. How dare you want my fiancée with this puny power?" Riser grinned and was about to turn back. He thought the match was over because Ryuuga had died.

But as the smoke cleared, Riser saw Ryuuga standing there, smiling as if nothing had happened. Ryuuga had defended himself with a [Defensive Barrier].

[Active Skill [Hell Fire] has been copied.]

"Ho? You withstand my Hell Fire, huh? Interesting." Riser was quite surprised that his Hell Fire didn't work against Ryuuga. He thought Ryuuga was just a bluffer and a weakling.

"Binding Chain." Ryuuga muttered, and a black chain emerged from the ground, binding Riser so that he couldn't move.

"Cheap move." Riser grinned, activating his Hell Fire to burn the chain, but nothing happened.

"My chain can't be destroyed. You're just too weak." Ryuuga said, satisfied with Riser's stunned expression.

"Damn it!" Riser cursed, forcefully tearing his arms from his body. With his Immortality, his arms regrew rapidly, but the chain reappeared and this time, bound his whole body.

[Passive Skill [Immortality] has been copied.]

"You coward! Release me and fight me head-on!" Riser screamed at Ryuuga. He knew this meant that his Devil Energy couldn't match Ryuuga's at all.

"A duel is a duel. Cry about it." Ryuuga replied coolly. He didn't like Riser at all. In the Light Novel, he was just a pure douchebag. Although he wasn't in the wrong because, in the end, he simply proceeded with the engagement as agreed upon.

What Ryuuga disliked about him was his arrogance. Riser thought he was immortal because of his Immortality. Today, Ryuuga wanted to show him that he could still feel pain.

"Riser lost. This boy is really good at hiding his power." Raevan, who was watching the duel, said to Ravel and the others. He checked on Ryuuga's power before and categorized him as a High-Class Devil in power. But, it seems like the boy concealed his power so that he will agree to this unfair duel.

"Let me experiment on you." Ryuuga grinned, activating his Power of Destruction, surrounding Riser with it. He wanted to see if Immortality would disappear if used continuously, to know if all wounds could be recovered.

He then concealed the inside of the barrier with his own barrier, but his barrier is not transparent, so no one could see what happened inside. With that, he started to torment Riser.

It's a suicidal move, knowing that Riser's father is outside, but he didn't care. If he wanted to, he could escape without any interference.

But, he also knew that Raevan is not the type of man who will avenge his son as long as he didn't die. Maybe he is also fed up with Riser's arrogant attitude and wants him to see how wide the world is and that there are countless beings stronger than him.

After two hours, Riser's Immortality stopped working. His body was full of wounds, and his eyes were dull.

"S…to…p…for…giv…e… me…"

Riser kept muttering those words as he was tortured. The Immortality didn't stop working directly but gradually, plunging Riser into despair with the pain.

"You lose, right? If you admit it, then we'll stop here." Ryuuga whispered in Riser's ear so he could hear it.

"Yes! I lost! I LOST! PLEASE RELEASE ME!" Riser's eyes somehow returned to normal, and he nodded quickly while screaming loudly.

"Okay, then." Ryuuga nodded with a satisfied smile and released his Defensive Barrier. The result of the experiment is Immortality could also be worn out as the Devil Energy was used. So, his theory is right and proven.

"Onii-sama!"

"Riser-sama!"

When the girls saw the condition of their brother and master, they were worried about him and wanted to rush to protect him, but they couldn't do so because of the duel barrier.

"Riser has lost. You guys now belong to me." Ryuuga grinned at the girls and explained the situation. It was like he was the villain here…

"Hmph! Dream on. We won't follow you!" Ravel scoffed at Ryuuga's words. Though Riser lost, she didn't want to follow Ryuuga because he seemed to do something to her brother that made him this way. In her heart, she wanted to believe that her father would cancel this bet because of how unfair it is.

"Oh? It seems like the duel hasn't finished, Riser. Let's do it again then." Ryuuga grinned, addressing Riser.

Hearing Ravel's words, Riser immediately felt a chill down his back, glaring at Ravel and his peerage.

"Ravel, you bitch! Do you want to kill your brother?! I lost, so get the hell away from my sight, you bitches!" Riser yelled at them, stunning them.

Though Riser sometimes scolded them for their mistakes, he had never cursed at them like this before. Tears started to fall from their eyes.

When Raevan heard his son's words, his face darkened. Deep inside, he cared for his daughter the most. But this useless son had lost the face of the Phenex and even scolded his own family. He was really disappointed with Riser.

"The duel has finished. The winner is the young man over there." Raevan announced the end of the duel, noticing Ravel's tears. He then removed the barrier, signaling the end of the confrontation.

"What are you all crying about?! Go away, damn sluts!" Riser continued, struggling to stand up and dragging his body out of the hall. He didn't even dare to make eye contact with Ryuuga.

Raevan's frown deepened. It seemed like he needed to do something to discipline this bastard son.

"As agreed before, the engagement with Rias Gremory will be canceled, and Riser's servants will become yours." Raevan said, glancing at Ryuuga.