19 Chapter 19 I'm sorry, my king.

On her final word, an explosion tore out from Yubelluna, blowing Rias back through the air, and forcing me to brace on the ground lest I be knocked away too. Where the hell did this power come from?

"You were born with everything, Rias Gremory. Wealth. Servants. A castle to call home. Even your blood is filled with the power to destroy. But you didn't earn a scrap of it." Yube brought her hand up and a massive spell circle appeared before her. Rather than an orb like before, this time a cone of pure, explosive devastation exploded out from Yubelluna's hand.

Rias hastily created a shield, but even though she escaped the full force of the blast, she was pushed even further back. So far back that she hit the ground and had to roll back to her feet.

Yubelluna's face was dispassionate as she advanced towards Rias. "When we met in the restaurant, I discovered something. Did you know that anger and wrath are two different emotions? I'd always thought I was a Greed devil, but I learned my true sin at that moment. Wrath." Another cone of devastation blasted forth from Yubelluna's outstretched hands, but Rias was ready this time.

The Gremory heiress dodged the blast and screamed out in exertion as a wave of pure destruction rushed towards Yubelluna.

A spell circle appeared beneath Yubelluna's right foot and she kicked downwards. An explosion erupted beneath her foot, sending her flying higher into the air and out of the path of Rias's attack.

"You were born with everything." Yubelluna seethed, her voice dripping venom. "And you were going to take the one thing I had! The one who saved me. The one who remade me, who gave me a future. The one who saw me!" Yubelluna threw her arms wide and a massive spell circle rose in front of her, large enough to encompass her entire body. "Then you had the gall to reject him. To scorn him. To hurt him."

There was a great rushing sound, as if a great wave was about to crash into the coastline, then nothing. Absolute silence. Silence akin to what I'd imagine the vacuum of space was like. Silence that was broken by seven words.

"I'm going to fucking anhiliate you, bitch."

A great booming sound like ten thousand cannons firing in unison erupted from Yubelluna. Pouring out of the glyph before her was a tidal wave of death, a cone of blinding white light vaporizing all it touched. The rubble from destroyed buildings and shattered trees just disappeared, consumed by Yubelluna's power.

The only thing that didn't immediately succumb to her fury was the object of her rage. Whether by luck or skill, Rias had erected a barrier from the Power of Destruction a bare instant before Yubelluna's attack that was annihilating Yubelluna's assault before it could reach Rias. Rias stood as one break in a river, Moses parting the sea. Her forehead was creased in concentration and sweat poured down her face as her arms shook, straining to maintain her shield.

With a growl of rage, Rias shouted, "I retire!"

The Gremory heiress was engulfed in a blue light and pulled out of the path of Yubelluna's wrath.

"Rias Gremory has retired. Riser Phenex is the victor."

I paid no mind to Grayfia's declaration. I was too busy running towards where Yubelluna had collapsed. She'd forced too much power into her final attack and fell over when the cost caught up with her.

I fell to my knees and checked her over, letting out a sigh of relief when I saw she was not only breathing, but conscious.

She was laying on her back trying to get her breath back. She turned to look up at me and said, "Did…Did I get her?"

I smiled, nodding as I said, "She retired. You won."

Yubelluna smiled tiredly. "Good. I'm sorry, my king."

"Sorry for what? You won." I asked, overcome with confusion.

"I'll never have the courage to do this again." Yubelluna reached up and grabbed the back of my neck, pulling herself up towards me while she pulled me down to meet her halfway. She pressed her lips against mine.

I didn't fight it. Instead, I deepened the kiss. I didn't think Yubelluna felt this way about me, but the past ten minutes went a long way to convincing me.

Yubelluna pulled back, a content smile on her face. "I really want to do that again, but you need to make your declaration before we're pulled out of the arena and away from the cameras."

My eyes widened as I realized my window was closing. When we'd first started planning this, we knew we'd need to make the most of this opportunity.

Carefully withdrawing myself from Yubelluna, doing everything I could to not cause the exhausted young woman any more discomfort, I stood and faced the barrier, hoping there was a camera in this direction. "As per the contract signed by Lords Phenex and Gremory and Ladies Phenex and Gremory, control of the betrothal now falls to me. I hereby dissolve the betrothal contract between myself and Rias Gremory. May her future husband treat her as she has treated me." The moment the last word left my mouth, I was engulfed in a blue light and found myself in the waiting room once more. A quick search of my surroundings found Yubelluna stubbornly climbing to her feet, wincing with each movement.

"Yube, wait!" I rushed over to her and pulled a phial from my belt.

Yubelluna shook her head, saying, "No, my king. I will be fine. There's no need for–"

"Hush." I cut her off as I uncorked the phial, carefully pouring it out onto Yubelluna's stomach. The Phenex Tear flashed white as it made contact with Yubelluna's skin, and the minor abrasions and cuts visible on her body rapidly healed. Yubelluna's panting breathing evened out as the Tear did its work.

"Thank you, Riser. You didn't need to waste–"

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