Things went back to normal more quickly than I think they probably should have. After all, one of the walls of my room had been broken by a corpse flying through them. 

 

Sure, just with one flick of his fingers, my brother was able to create a brand-new one but it didn't change that a corpse had landed in my room, the corpse of a pillar devil.

 

There was also the fact that my brother was still covered in blood. The metallic smell was strong, almost nauseating to my senses. It was as if was smelling rotten meat, something that once could have been delicious but was now totally disgusting.

 

"If you expect me to hug you while you still look like an overblown Pad, you're mistaken brother," I told him.

 

His eyes widened "Overblown pad?" he repeated my words as if he couldn't believe the words I just said.

 

Behind me, Akeno didn't even try to keep her composure. The expression My brother had on his face made him look like a wet outraged kitten.

 

Sirzechs shook his head "An overblown Pad," he whispered. "I have heard it all." Dark scarlet flashed over his form leaving behind a pristine Satan.

 

"Is this better?" he asked.

 

"Yeah, I now recognize my brother," I teased him before crossing the distance between us to hug him.

 

I felt his body stiffen for a moment before he hugged me back as if it would be the last time he would be able to do so.

 

' Are you alright?' I asked him using my demonic energy as a medium to telepathically talk to him.

 

'Yes, I am Rias. Better than ever,' he answered me. I would have left it at that if my senses didn't indicate that he just lied.

 

'I thought you were never going to lie to me,' I told him.

 

'It's not that Rias. It's just that I ca-'

 

'Hush,' I cut him. 'I am your only sister, your only sibling Sirzechs. I don't care if you did the most despicable things. I wouldn't be mad at you even if you forcefully removed a baby from their mother's womb. You've always been there for me. Since the beginning, you've always been there. Why don't you allow me to do the same? Do you think I don't love you enough?' I asked him.

 

'The self-inflicted rules I never wanted to break. I broke them Rias. Those last days showed me that I needed to do what needed to be done if I cared about our people, my family and you, my sister.'

 

Breaking his rules? I felt my eyes widen in realization. 'This was a devil lord staining my beautiful carpet! I wasn't wrong! The members of the parliament you didn't like, you killed them all, didn't you?'

 

'I wasn't the only one to kill them. The other Satans are also doing their part. It's not even finished. Probably because Falbium likes to take his time with things.'

 

'The remaining pillars won't like this even if they were unaffected,' I warned him 'but you probably already know this.'

 

'I know they won't like it but I don't care anymore about what they think Rias. All this time, I tried to lead toward something better. If they don't want me to… I'll just drag them to this better future whether they want it or not.'

 

He seemed resolute. I couldn't see hesitation and doubt. I just felt sadness. He felt like the master of many pets who had to put one of them down because that animal became rabid, dangerous to the other pets.

 

I retreated from the hug to look at him in the eyes  'No matter what happens Sirzechs, I'll be at your side.'

 

He kissed my forehead softly before retreating 'I know this Rias. I know this.'

 

The clock was ticking, the pieces were moving. It was a new age. Queens, Lords and kings died. Gods fell and devils rose.

 

No matter what happens. There was no point In hesitating except courting death. I turned toward the corpse.

 

"What do plan to do with it?" I asked my brother out loud.

 

"He was my last target. I'll put him back in my spatial inventory and wait until we've all finished."

 

"Good," I simply said. Smoke poured from nothing and fell obscuring the body of the once devil lord. It disappeared leaving nothing behind.

 

"Oh, I almost forgot," I said to my brother. "Why was he here in your castle, in my room?"

 

"He was paranoid, more than expected. I counted. He had exactly 666666 wards supposed to protect, attack, defend and in the worst case teleport him away. Cliché but effective. I guess when you've been alive for millions of years, you learn to be cautious. He almost escaped. At the last moment, I modified his last ward and that made the two of us reappear here instead of wherever he wanted to flee to."

 

"Good," I simply said.

 

I heard steps echo loudly as they came closer and closer to my room. It was the guards and the servants.

 

Circles and weapons made of demonic energy were displayed seemingly ready to take out any possible threat. I saw at their front coming closer to us a particular maid, a sliver-haired one.

 

"Grayfia," I greeted my step-sister as she came closer.

 

Her frigid gaze softened a little bit. Coming from Grayfia, it was as close as screaming in joy "Rias, I'm glad to see you are here unhurt."

 

Her gaze turned toward my brother "Husband? What did I see flying the corpse of the head of a pillar clan?"

 

"I don't know, maybe he wanted to have a breathtaking, life-taking new experience. You never know with old Devils and their fetishes."

 

"I see, it must have been a particularly stupid lord. Such a shame." Her gaze flickered toward the members of my peerage before going back to Sirzechs.

 

"It seems the disturbance was handled without problem," the queen of my brother said. I recognized the dismissal in her voice and the servants and guards did too, leaving at that moment.

 

"Rias, Grayfia," my brother said recalling my attention toward the Demon King. What looked like a phone had appeared in one of his hands and pressed against one of his ears.

 

"I may have completely crushed all of those annoying flies but there is something important that must be done. I have to go now. I'll try to be back as soon as possible."

 

"Understood brother."

 

"Understood my king."

 

A red demonic circle began to form under him "Also before I forget. I think it would be a good idea to watch the national channel in the next hour. I'm sure interesting things will be announced". With those words, he sank into the magical circle under his feet disappearing.

 

I couldn't wait. I felt anticipation bubble into my body. I knew things would be changing. I couldn't wait to see the chaos that would unfurl.

 

"Grayfia?"

 

"Yes Rias," she answered me.

 

"Are the other members of my brother's peerage there too?" I asked her.

 

"Yes," she confirmed.

 

"I was the last one to come back one hour ago. We knew the last days were hard on you. We knew you wouldn't have wanted to be disturbed." Her gaze turned toward Akeno "We thought you deserved some rest."

 

They knew didn't? Of course, they knew, I was the sister of a Satan and the pure-blooded devil heir of the Gremory clan. I should have expected myself to be under surveillance.

 

Akeno's gaze locked with Grayfia, my brother's queen. Her head stood proud, unbent, not scared.

 

"Yes," I said to Grayfia. "One of the best rest of my life. I only hope it won't change in the future. It would be something irritating."

 

A tense silence was left as Her gaze stayed locked with the one of Akeno. "We'll soon be going to war. You're a pure-blood devil, the heir of a clan, the future of our race. Your actions could be seen as displeasing."

 

I understood her words. Akeno was due to the fact she was a reincarnated devil a low-class devil in status even if I knew she would probably been able to crush most pure-blooded devils with ease. More than that, she was the Nephilim daughter of a fallen angel cadre. Devils hated fallen angels, some would say even more than pure angels.

 

"I don't care Grayfia," I told her. "With the actions my brother is taking, I would be surprised if anyone dared to complain and even in that case, they did."

 

I released the hold of my demonic energy letting my essence permeate reality, destroy it, corrupt it. It was a warning more than anything else so the only thing that was destroyed was everything in a small radius around Garyfia and me. Colours, matter, time, space, logic, they died under my presence. They were destroyed. We were in a breach. A kaleidoscopic sea of colours out of the human imagination surrounded us before beginning to break too. Far away, I could feel a roar, an angry one, the roar of a dragon.

 

"I'll make sure they regret ever trying to dictate my choices."

 

 

 

The queen of my brother finally turned toward me. I couldn't read her but I didn't care "Is there a problem Grayfia?" I asked her something more, something hungry laced into my voice.

 

"No, it won't be a problem Rias." For an instant, my gaze remained still on the ultimate class devil before me.

 

"Good," I simply said before putting a lid on my demonic energy. The world around us corrected as my oppressive demonic energy stopped it from doing so.

 

We were back in my room as if nothing had happened "You've changed," Grayfia simply said. Her smile bloomed on her face. "Good."

 

She began moving toward the door "Just like that?" I asked her.

 

"Just like that. I'm not one to speak on what kind of relationship should be proper. The both of you didn't back down. It means that this relationship is important for the two of you, that you are ready to fight for it. That's all that matters."

 

She stopped in her walk "Also, your brother talked about an announcement, interesting news. It would be a shame if we missed it. The other also wants to see you Rias," she spoke her back turned toward me before leaving.

 

I turned toward Akeno. A smile split her face as she looked at me 'Love you,' I told her telepathically.

 

Her smile grew even more radiant, as bright as a star. She moved, more stepping through the crack of space than anything else, her hand, appearing and touching softly my right cheek before she kissed me.

 

I closed my eyes and let myself lose myself in her touch. It hadn't been the first one she and I shared yet it still felt that way. It was everything that had stopped existing around us to only leave behind bliss.

 

"Akeno and Rias together?!" Gasper's voice said brutally making me come back to reality. Damn it! I had forgotten that Koneko and Gasper were still present. I had forgotten that no member of my peerage had known that something was different between Akeno and us.

 

 

"How?!" Koneko's voice reached us, the rook seemingly too shocked to speak in her usually quiet manner.

 

I gently pushed Akeno away. I could see displeasure in her eyes. I understood it but making sure that our relationship didn't negatively impact or affect our peerage was primordial. Sure, I didn't expect my family members to be girls-kissing haters but hey, some easing into things before always helped.

 

'Later,' I said mentally to Akeno. I watched her nod. I watched mischievousness bloom in her eyes before she turned back toward the other member of my peerage.

 

I wasn't able to stop what I knew was going to scar Koneko and Gasper forever. Akeno was a sadist after all. "You see, when two devils really like each other," she began.

 

"Come on!" I cut her up. That was really hell, truly hell. I understand it now.