Chapter 68 - Riser: I'm going insane!!
"There's no need for detailed explanations about my relationship with Roy," Rias explained.
"As you can see, we're a couple."
Seizing the opportunity, Rias hadn't anticipated the tangled history between Roy and the Phenex clan, but it handed her a strategic advantage—a potential wedge to dismantle her engagement.
Riser's gaze locked onto Roy, his frustration mounting.
The audacity gnawed at him.
How dare this human entangle himself with the Phenex clan twice?
"After you and Ravel came to dissolve our engagement, I took a trip to Japan," Roy explained casually.
"Pure chance, really—I met Rias and fell for her at first sight. So, I transferred to Kuoh Academy."
"We grew close over time, and today, we made it official."
Rias smiled at Roy, nodding.
"That's right. Roy's the one I've chosen for life."
"For life?" Riser's face turned ashen, his voice low and bitter.
"Then what am I, your fiancé?"
"Our engagement isn't suitable, so I'm ending it," Rias said bluntly.
Riser's expression darkened further, her words twisting his own earlier defense against him.
But then, a smirk crept across his face as realization dawned. "Rias, I know you've been fighting your clan to cancel our engagement. You despise me, fine."
"But using this brat as a shield? You're either humiliating yourself or mocking me."
"Rias, your Gremory name weeps," he added, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
In Riser's mind, the "dating since today" claim was too convenient.
More likely, Rias was wielding Roy as a ploy to escape their engagement—a naive tactic, he thought.
Rias's next words, however, shattered his assumptions.
"Riser, stop deluding yourself," she said, her smile steady and unwavering.
"We Gremory are devoted devils. Once we choose a lifelong partner, we never waver. Roy isn't a shield—he's my mate. I've given myself to him completely."
"Completely?" Riser's face froze, his glare snapping to Roy.
"You're joking, right? You gave yourself to a human?"
"Yes," Rias said, her calm unshaken.
"I've chosen Roy, and I hold nothing back."
Murderous intent flared in Riser's eyes, flames surging around him.
As Rias's fiancé, he'd never so much as held her hand.
Yet this brat—whom he scorned—had claimed her entirely.
Even if the engagement was in name only, the betrayal stung.
"Rias, do you understand what you're saying?" Riser growled.
"Lord Riser, what's done is done," Grayfia said evenly.
"Anger won't help. We need solutions."
Solutions? Riser wanted to lash out, to erase the human who'd stolen his fiancée.
But Grayfia's presence—and the subtle pressure—silenced him.
Even without summoning her demonic power, her authority was suffocating.
Riser felt cornered, bullied by everyone. Had he ever been this humiliated?
Taking a deep breath, he suppressed his rage. "Rias, our engagement is a union of the Gremory and Phenex clans, not personal. But you're blind to the bigger picture."
"The Gremory clan's position is precarious, isn't it?" he sneered. "Centuries of war with angels and fallen angels have decimated pure-blood devils."
"Even in this fragile peace, skirmishes persist. Young devils like you, lingering in the human world without clan protection, are vulnerable."
"It's not unheard of for a pure-blood heir to die in a clash, severing a clan's bloodline," Riser continued, his confidence growing.
"Your clan has only two heirs. Lord Lucifer, can't inherit the dukedom. That leaves you to carry the Gremory legacy."
"As a pure-blood, you're duty-bound to preserve the bloodline," he said coldly.
"I don't care if you're no longer a virgin. This marriage is about lineage."
"Abandon your defiance, fulfill our engagement, and I'll overlook your indiscretions."
"Riser, stop talking nonsense," Rias said, unfazed. "As the Gremory heiress, I'll ensure the bloodline continues—through Roy's children. I'll bear his heirs and choose one to lead the clan."
"Choose one?" Riser's lips trembled with rage.
"How many brats do you plan to have with this guy?"
"Lord Sirzechs, Queen, I've tried to compromise," Riser said, turning to Grayfia, who remained impassive.
His gaze shifted to Roy, the source of his humiliation. "Even if I burn this human to ashes, I'll drag you back to the Underworld to complete our engagement."
"Riser, you want to fight?" Rias's expression chilled, her demonic power simmering.
"Don't worry. We owe his family a debt, so I won't kill him," Riser declared.
"But I'll make him suffer until you comply."
Roy's family had once saved their father, a debt that bound Riser from outright killing him.
To murder a benefactor would tarnish the Phenex name.
But Roy's interference in the Gremory-Phenex marriage demanded retribution.
"Buddy," Roy said cautiously, "what if—and I'm just saying—there's a chance you can't beat me?"
"Is your brain broken?" Riser shot back, seizing the chance to vent.
"Think Rias's protection makes you untouchable? A mere human, delusional enough to challenge me?"
"Rias, your taste is abysmal," he sneered.
"Lord Riser," Grayfia said calmly, "Lord Roy is the host of the Boosted Gear, this generation's Sekiryuutei."
Riser fell silent, his face stiffening.
Grayfia's words carried undeniable weight.
The Two Heavenly Dragons—Sekiryuutei and Hakuryuukou—were legendary, their power eclipsing other Longinus.
Their storied battles had cemented their fearsome reputation, synonymous with raw might.
The Phenex clan, by contrast, was known for immortality, not strength—a trait more frustrating than formidable.
No wonder Grayfia used honorifics for Roy. Everyone knew he was the Sekiryuutei except Riser, it seemed.
Roy caught Riser's stunned look, confirming the Sekiryuutei title's weight. "Riser," he said with a sigh, "we nearly became family, and our families have history. Fighting would sour things, don't you think?"
"I was actually glad to learn Rias's fiancé was you," Roy continued. "Sure, you've got a temper, but you're reasonable. Knowing Rias and I are truly in love, you'd support us, right?"
"Reasonable? Him?" Rias scoffed, her contempt for Riser undisguised.
She doubted he'd ever be swayed by logic.
"Trust me," Roy said, pulling out his phone and navigating to a video—a surveillance clip from when Riser and Ravel visited to dissolve their engagement.
He placed the phone on the table, ensuring everyone could see.
The footage showed Riser's initial rage, barely restrained by Ravel's intervention, until Roy agreed to end the engagement, easing the tension.
In the video, Roy said, "Honestly, I'm not keen on arranged marriages. It's outdated—family dictating marriage without considering our feelings."
"Love should be mutual for happiness, don't you agree, buddy?"
Riser replied, "Hmph, a brat with some sense. I'll give you that."
Roy paused the video. "See? Buddy's reasonable, isn't he?"
"Riser, you agree with this view?" Rias said, her teasing glance cutting.
"Then dissolve our engagement already."
Riser's face burned with shame under the group's curious stares.
"You stalked me?" he demanded, mortified.
"What?" Roy blinked, feigning confusion.
"Why else would you have this video?" Riser growled.
At the time, Riser's anger had blinded him to Roy's maneuvering.
Watching it now, as a bystander, he felt played—led along by Roy's words. The scrutiny of the room amplified his embarrassment.
In his mind, Roy had orchestrated this, a calculated trap.
"Riser," Roy said, his tone laced with mock pity, "you're a cultured devil. Why think so small? Surveillance cameras are standard in human homes these days."
"Exactly," Rias added. "Even Kuoh Academy is lined with them."
"This clip was just preserved from that day's footage, not overwritten," Roy said, inwardly praising Riser's paranoia.
Riser's humiliation peaked.
How was he supposed to know humans rigged their homes with cameras?
Even in the Underworld, such measures were rare.
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