Underworld.
Far away from the Gremory mansion, where there was nothing but bare wasteland with rocky low hills, lit by the light of the artificial moon, I, hidden by magic, watched with interest one interesting picture.
In the middle of all this vast space right on her back lay Rias, who was breathing heavily and looking up at the sky. Her school uniform was covered in dirt and soot, and sweat had almost completely soaked the fabric and her hair. A tiny trickle of blood flowed from her bitten lip, and the palms of her hands looked like they had been burned with sulfuric acid.
But most importantly, the general condition of her body resembled that of having been starved for a week or more. Her skin had taken on a pale hue, her cheeks had sunken slightly inward, and her limbs were one-fifth the thickness of normal.
It didn't take long for Akeno to contact me that night, telling me that Rias had gone to 'training'. And I saw everything with my own eyes, I honestly don't even know what to think about it.
Rias thinks too straightforwardly and doesn't pay attention to what she considers small things, again, unlike Sona. She considers this kind of 'training' necessary because she hasn't been able to do much about it in view of recent events, including the unofficial Ranking Game with canon incident. When Asia supposedly died, to be precise.
Her zeal is commendable, true, but the rest of it? I wouldn't say so. The demons' words about this situation are very accurate. Her body is already at its limit, and if it continues like this, it will break down. It's like going to the gym on a regular basis with no breaks, and the body just doesn't have time to recover and rebuild.
The strain on the body is so great that it throws all of its energies into treating rather than improving. Because of this, the body cannot build a solid foundation for further development, that is, it becomes fragile. And at some point, it will simply fail. In short, what Rias is doing now is not improvement, but harm. Both to herself and to others.
When Rias's breathing more or less stabilized, she slowly straightened up, lifting her body with uncertain movements of her arms, and standing unsteadily on her feet, she gathered mana in her palms, causing a spear of Power of Destruction to appear behind her. Seeing this, I shook my head and decided to start.
- "You really are an idiot, tomato-san." I said, appearing beside her and grabbing her arm, blocking her mana flow. Rias stared stunned at the hand and looked up and saw me, her eyes and mouth open in surprise.
- "Sensei?!" she asked in a hoarse voice, "What are you doing here?!"
- "Your question has the wrong wording. Instead of 'you', it should be 'I'."
I tripped her, causing her to fall onto the soft grass that had just bloomed and stare at me in disbelief, and then squatted down, looking her in the eye.
- "There are many different methods of killing yourself, but this is the first time I've seen such a twisted variation of it. I suppose it's safe to call you the masochist of the year."
- "Why are you here? And it's not a suicide attempt, it's the training I need." Ignoring my words, Rias asked.
- "Interesting choice of words. You said 'I', not 'we'. The fat from your breasts has obviously gone to your head and finally flooded the rest of your brain," I grinned, to which she didn't respond, "Do you think the rest of us will like this? How do you destroy your own body for them?"
- "Your actions seem very suspicious to me. You are a selfish man who doesn't pay attention to those you don't care about. What's changed? What do you care what I do?" she said coldly.
- "Why so rude?" I tilted my head sideways, "I remember I gave you guidance from time to time and you even thanked me for it."
- "You didn't do it because you care about me, but because it benefits you. Do you think I'm a complete idiot?"
- "Yes." I answered quickly, to which I received her twitching eyebrow.
- "And why is that?"
- "Only an idiot would do what you're doing right now. I don't even need magic to see what state your body is in. At this rate, your death will come sooner and more unexpectedly than you realize. The rest of us will be sad, you know."
- "Your manipulation won't work. Even if I die, I can still protect them. Better I do it than they do. They've suffered enough from my mistakes already, so I have to take it upon myself. Why are you stopping me?"
- "There seems to have been a misunderstanding between us," I shook my head, "I don't mind what you're doing, believe me."
- "Then why are you here? Why are you bothering me and lecturing me? If those words are true, then what you're doing makes no sense at all." Rias began, raising her voice a little.
- "Have you thought about the consequences if you continue?"
- "It doesn't matter if I can protect them." She said firmly, which made my eyebrow twitch.
- "Oh? In that case, good luck," I said, and Rias gave me a surprised and suspicious stare, "No, really. Good luck. I chose that word because it's the only one that can characterize your future life. Luck? Protect and survive. Bad luck? Protect and die. True, in the second case, your entire entourage will be in mourning and unable to accept it."
- "But they'll live," Rias insisted, which irritated me. Not because of the actions, but because of the stupidity, "Eventually they'll get over it and move on with their lives."
- "Wouldn't they? Then let's simulate the situation, shall we? Each of them will blame themselves for your death, that they weren't strong enough, even if they weren't. Let's say Asia will consider herself useless and try to kill herself, just like Xenovia and Kiba. Koneko will shut herself in again and run off into the unknown, where she will be caught and do something disgusting. Akeno will try to remain united after your death, but it will fail afterward, causing every bit of her soul to slip away rapidly, just like every member of your entourage. Are you still with me?"
I paused for a moment to keep her attention, but she didn't react, staring at me with an impenetrable gaze.
- "Ah, Issei and Gasper. Under the influence of intense feelings of sadness, frustration and loss, what do you think they'll do? Don't bother, I'll answer that myself. Both the former and the latter will go on a rampage, basically killing everything in the neighborhood and not controlling themselves. And that's not the best part. Imagine how Sirzechs will react when he finds out you're dead? He'll start what could be called 'The Second Great War'."
Now there was fear in her eyes.
- "Out of a genuine sense of vengeance, he will kill first your killers, and then those who have anything to do with them. Family, friends, casual acquaintances, basically everyone. And then they, who he actually attacked, will start attacking his family, friends and casual acquaintances. So, even if some of the people you care about survive to that point, they'll be an Earth-sized target."
I went on to recount an assumed scenario, but a very real one. And with each word I spoke, realization reached her mind, painting the picture I'd described, and her eyes filled with moisture.
- "You'll say that I could step in and fix this, but from your own words, I'm selfish. I just won't care. I'll take the few I care about with me into the Space Between Dimensions, and I'll move on with my life. No one will dare to go there and invoke the wrath of the Great Red, Ophis and me included, because they will be instantly destroyed. And, going back to the beginning of this huge rant, good luck. Because your death will not only affect you, but the entire world due to your origin and its circumstances. As for me? Such a development I can survive, though there will remain some rather unpleasant consequences."
Of course, the same goes for me, but I understand it perfectly well. Tia, for example. She will no doubt try to destroy this world, and Grandpa and the others will try to stop her if I suddenly fall off my hooves. It's a slim chance, but still. And that's why I'll run away without a second thought if the situation calls for it. After all, even though I have 3rd magic, I'm still afraid of death, or rather, of losing what I have now.
- "T-then... What should I do...? How do I protect them…?"
- "Not try to kill myself? Act as one? Make new acquaintances? Build relationships, since this is where power can be fueled by emotion? Ask for guidance from more powerful beings? Who knows?" I shrugged and straightened up, "Either way, I'm outta here. And again, I wish you great luck, for you will need it."
A magic circle lit up beneath me that would carry me home, but there was a problem. Rias hugged me around the waist with trembling hands and a crying face.
The feeling that came from that action was familiar to me. Her embrace held the same desire for comfort that Akeno had then, and my reaction matched it, both mind and body. That same discomfort pierced my core again, as if she just didn't want to accept the situation. But in addition to the discomfort, I felt something else. Something I would call... sadness and loss.
And in response to Rias' actions, I simply teleported home, leaving her alone, as I had before I came to this wasteland.
Right now, I need Tia. And she's the only one who can extinguish this nauseating feeling I'd rather not have. Definitely...
-0-
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