Challenge and Return

Phenex Mansion

Rather than allow Grayfia to direct her back to Gremory mansion. Rias teleported herself directly to the Phenex mansion, the home of her life's nightmare, the symbol of her childhood's despair. Looking at the monolith of a building, she shook her head. The structure that used to bring her fear, now looked quite small in comparison, metaphorically at least.

'It's now or never. This ends now!' As she finished that thought, a tsunami of high ultimate class energy erupted from her form as she roared. "Riser Phenex I Rias of the Gremory demand your presence by invoking the marriage contest clause of devil law!" Her voice boomed against the mansion as guards poured out of the mansion like ants out of a colony.

Walking out slowly among them is a young man with short blond hair and dark blue eyes, wearing a burgundy blazer with gold embroidery on the right with matching pants and black dress shoes. Underneath his open blazer is a white dress shirt that with the top two buttons unbuttoned, giving a slight view to his chest. His expression clearly showing an arrogance befitting a young master.

"Well. Well. Well." He stated slowly, his eyes climbing upon her form, drinking it in like fine wine. "So the runaway princess has come to face her fate" he stated derisively as if looking at a cheap whore.

"Indeed, I'm here to settle this Riser" She stated firmly, glad that her outfit concealed a good part of her skin.

"Well, it looks like you learned a thing or two while hiding away. Bluffing. It doesn't suit you. Honesty is more your speed." He sneered as he talked, fully confident in any challenge she could throw. He clearly didn't believe that the energy she was emitting was her actual power. This isn't him being arrogant, just realistic. Devil power climbs slowly and the highest she could be expected to reach by this age considering what he knew about her personality was upper high class. What she was presenting was absurd. 'She would've had an easier time bluffing her way through this if she posed as a low ultimate class. At least then I'd have to think a little' *Snicker*

"I agree, honesty is more my speed. That's why I'm here to say this. Riser Phenex, I officially challenge you to a death match in accordance with devil law. If you defeat me, I will marry you immediately. When I defeat you, you will die. Your only alternative to this match would be to rescind your bid for marriage. Otherwise, we will battle in three days. Good day." With that said, she turned around and began to walk away, a teleportation circle igniting beneath her feat.

"Wait!! You can't challenge this marriage! It's for the good of devil kind and our families! Even if you did, it would be through a rating game! He roared in anger. 'How dare this bitch challenge me! She hides away for a decade and expects to challenge me, with all the training I've done! Ignorance!'

Turning to give one last look, Ria's gaze briefly flickered over to an approaching couple she could only assume were Riser's parents, then back to him.

"I just did. It will be in three days. I've already notified Grayfia, so the official details will be presented later. See you on the battlefield Riser" Ria's last words rang as she vanished in the circle.

Riser snarled and turned around to see his parents grimacing in contemplation.

"Riser, we need to talk" said the man who looked like an older version of his son garbed in a white suit.

Gremory Mansion

Approaching a massive complex easily the size of multiple football stadiums, Rias was once again reminded of the luxury devils and by extension her family were known for.

'In a weird way, I missed this. In another, I really don't.'

What the financially prosperous devils lack in hardships, they make up for in chains taking the form of responsibilities to the house and devil society. This would need to be a temporary stay. She would not suffer the madness of the aristocracy for long.

She would make her contributions to society elsewhere, preferably in the sin lands, where she can shape her ideal paradise away from devil society proper.

Walking up to the door, she raised her hand and flashed her old magic crest, the crest of Gremory. While she doesn't use it anymore for anything practical, it does server to identify her as a member of the house.

Stepping inside, she sighed. 'Why am I not surprised they already know I'm here'.

Just ahead were a legion of maids lined up on both sides of the central walkway as if for a procession. In the center were four people. On the left side were Grayfia and Sirzechs. On the right side were her parents, the people she wasn't sure what to feel about.

Her father Zeoticus Gremory was a tall man that looked like a male version of her old appearance. Long crimson red hair and blue-green eyes with the same white skin that she shared. He appeared to be wearing a similar suit to Lord Phenex with the top buttons unbuttoned.

Her mother Venelana Gremory stood next to him with her long flaxen hair and violet eyes, a common feature of those hailing from house Bael. She was wearing a simple white dressed with exposed arms and long white longs going up to her upper arms. She would have honestly looked like an older version of herself with different coloration were it not for the additional features she acquired through her journey to become a demon goddess.

Once her mind finished processing the scene in front of her, she froze. Tears pooled in her eyes as she captured their forms. While she didn't agree with their decisions or their perceived notion of where she fits in the 'big picture', that didn't mean she didn't love them. On the contrary, as a Gremory, she loved them to an excessive degree. It was a very hard first couple of months after running away from home. Seeing them again made all those thoughts and feeling rush back to her.

Before she could regain her wits however, her mother slammed into her, bringing her into a strong embrace.

"It's so good to see you again!" She cried while hugging Rias. "Please don't ever disappear like that again. It was so hard without you!" She was clearly struggling to get those words out through her sobs.

Seeing her mother cry like this, it really struck home just how much her disappearance affected them. Joining in on the hug, her father came in on the side.

"It's good to have you back" he stated with a large smile. Times like these really reminder her that, while this man may be the callous Duke Gremory that sold her off like some prized breeding mare, he was still her father who clearly loved her on some level.

Grayfia and Sirzechs stood on the side smiling. Sirzechs especially wanted to get in on the hugging, but he knew his parents needed this. They had blamed themselves for years after Ria's disappearance, especially due to crushing realization that it was their actions that drove her away. They hadn't yet mentioned where they found her. That conversation would be a can of worms in itself.

After a few more minutes of bonding, Sirzechs suggested they move to Zeoticus's study to talk more on her journey and discuss the particulars of the death match challenge that had just been issued. While he would've preferred to save this conversation till the family's had its time to bond, this was a very serious affair for the underworld.

A death match was something that hadn't been called for in a long time dating back to the days of the original Satans. The reason is that it goes against Devil society's very nature, to make a permanent arrangement that fractures relationships and burns bridges. It's one of the reasons rating games were so popular. Why burn a bridge and dwindle the pure blood population further, when you can have a rating game, get what you want from the other team, and the loser is still a contributing part of society. The biggest problem is that he was very aware that Rias would not let this go unless Riser surrendered beforehand or died during the match. It would send a clear message that this should never happen again, a very Bael move to do; destroy everything that stands in the path to your ideal.