Moving Forward

Gremory Mansion Zeoticus's Office (Night)

*Knock* *Knock*

"Father you called?" Rias asked. She had been summoned by her father to his Office. 'I guess it's time to talk next steps.

When she walked in, she saw her father sitting at his desk with her brother leaning on the wall.

'Looks like this is a bit serious' she mused.

"Yes, I wanted to catch you up on what went on in the past three months after a certain someone thwarted an invasion" he said straight faced, while Sirzechs chuckled.

"Yes, Falbium asked me to 'thank you' for throwing all that work on his desk. We've been raiding Old Satan Faction compounds since the news. At this time, they are a shell of their former selves. One of the downsides to respecting a single apathetic leader so much is that they hold the keys to your destruction." Sirzechs chimed in. After chuckling a bit, he continued.

"There's also the fallout that needs dealing with after the disappearance of the sacred gears you destroyed. Factions across the world are spooked at the potential revival of the dragon of domination, though it seems their worries are a little misplaced" he said, mirth clear in his voice.

"As such, the three factions are holding a joint meeting to discuss the recent events. One of the items Azazel has been pushing for is a peace treaty. It is to take place at Kuoh Academy in the human world due to it being neutral territory." Before he continued, Rias interjected.

"Wait, they needed a well secured compound in neutral territory and they chose an academy in the human world!? They're just asking to be attacked!" Sirzechs chuckled and nodded.

"Yes, they are. That's part of the objective. Create a united front by putting on a show of a mutual enemy. We have intelligence that Kokabiel plans on allying with Loki to attack along with members of the hero faction."

"And do you have a plan for how to have that fight without causing significant collateral damage? In that location, neither of us would be able to 'stretch our legs'". Everyone chuckled.

"We were hoping you would come. Then, you, Michael, and myself would hold the barrier, while our forces engage theirs. Ideally, you would only bring two pillars. The goal would be to make it look like the fight was a challenge. The pillars would really just be there to limit the damage to our forces." He explained.

Rias's hand gripped her chin as she contemplated the situation.

'That makes sense. I may not have the best control over my new authority, but if it's just to act as a massive battery, there aren't many who are more qualified. That, and I can field test some of the pillars.' After finishing her thoughts, she looked in his direction.

"Aright, I'll ask for volunteers then".

"Actually" Sirzechs interjected "We were hoping you could bring Ingvild and Valerie. Considering the disappearance of their sacred gears, they'll likely come up in conversation. Plus, the other two factions seem to want to meet the new Dragon Emperor." Brows furrowed; Rias took a moment to contemplate then responded.

'If I really bring them, I'll be announcing my status to the world. Once that happens, there will be no going back.' She thought as her eyes seemed lost in the ceiling. Then, she looked back at Sirzechs, then at her father.

"Are you two really ready to do this? After this is done, we really won't be able to go back. I may not even be able to be a permanent resident of this household anymore." This time Zeoticus was the one to respond.

"I'm not sure you've realized, but the box was opened three months ago when you created your four new pillars. It wasn't hard to figure out what happened with Rizevim dying at the same time. Sona Sitri already confirmed that it was devils that killed the boy projected to be the next Red Dragon Emperor by ripping out his gear. After further investigation following the ceasing of the numerous Old Satan Faction compounds you helped us find, we confirmed that those devils were direct servants of the Euclid Lucifuge. With that information available to various involved high ranked devils, it wasn't hard to link the disappearance of the sacred gears to you. That's even more true with the rumors of you attaining your true form. Long story short, people may not know all of it, but they've guessed at least half." He explained mirthfully. 'Did she really think no one noticed, especially after the large set of raids she triggered. The information Was practically given to us.

Smiling, he finished "You have a lot to learn about keeping secrets *chuckle*".

Rias was stumped. She hadn't thought of that. She hadn't considered how immediate the reaction would be to the shattering of the sacred gears; she didn't realize Heaven had the means to detect their disappearance.

'It looks like these old farts are better than I gave them credit for' She chuckled ruefully. She really started to realize that she wasn't giving them enough credit. Now that she thought about it, maybe she should've been more patient. That's been a problem for her, impatience. When she sees a pillar candidate, she wants them in the fold as soon as possible. While she trusts her 'vision', she really should take some more time to build a rapport.

She'll probably need to spend some time getting to know her five new pillars soon. Valerie and Ingvild should be fine since they used parts of herself to reconstitute themselves. They will inherently trust her by default; she'll still put a focused effort into them, but her priority really should be the others, especially Artoria. She specifically told her that she didn't know her. She didn't even trust her; she trusted Laeticia, who trusted her due to her revelation skill.

"Rias?" Zeoticus asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Sorry about that, just surprised is all." He nodded. "It looks like you're right. Alright, when's the event?"

"Honestly, we were waiting on you, so two weeks give or take. Would you be willing to stay in Kuoh until the conference? The Grigori set up a large three-story mansion for anyone who plans to attend. Each floor corresponds to a faction. I've even set up a teleportation array that leads to a private training space modeled after what we use for rating games, just try not to use too much power; They may be sturdy, but we're at the top for a reason." Sirzechs explained. He was glad that his sister was more reasonable than she had been as a child. It really helped in situations like these. She was still willful though. That hadn't changed as was demonstrated by the raid she conducted three months ago without permission or even notification.

Rias nodded. "That's reasonable. As long as we can do our training, it should be fine. I'll warn you now though. Make sure you set up more than one dimension. I'm training my Divine Ability and I'll probably destroy a couple of them" she finished saying as a smirk rose to her face.

"Well, that settles that then. I'll make the arrangements to get your stuff moved and you'll go there with all your pillars. While, only two may be attending, your rash creation of pillars needs to be dealt with. I imagine that you still need time to reinforce your bonds." Rias's eye twitched. How did her father know? She just realized that a moment ago.

With a sigh, she returned to the conversation. For the next hour, she discussed the specifics of responsibilities she would take on in the underworld in her new capacity of 'super devil'. She was warned that those may change though depending on how the meeting turned out. While she may be leaving the Gremory house soon, she still cared about the Ars Goetia. She would create her paradise, but that didn't mean they would be forsaken.