That was usually the same for Rias as well, but instead of her usual actions...
The heiress of the Sitri clan glanced at her friend's clenched fists, watching as her eyes changed from their normal blue-green to the swirling Power of Destruction.
Yes, she wasn't happy at all.
She supposed it made sense, Rias may very well be indebted to the mysterious teen.
It was then, that a familiar face walked past them in order to get a closer look on the battle outside of the castle.
"...Mio-chan?" Rias asked, surprised that the younger red-head didn't greet them when she passed them.
Mio blinked, breaking out of the daze that she was entrapped in.
"Ah...Rias-sempai. I didn't see you there. What's up?" Mio stated quietly, looking slightly disoriented while doing so.
Both high-class devils noticed.
"Um...Mio-chan? Are you ok? You seem kind of...out of it." Rias pointed out, regarding her younger friend with a worried look.
Mio grimaced. "I'll live, I heard some unpleasant news recently...and it's left a bad taste in my mouth. More importantly though, how's Naruto doing?"
Sona glanced at Rias, noting that the 'sister' of Uzumaki was being evasive.
If Rias noticed, then she didn't acknowledge it.
"We think he was holding back at the beginning, but he's throttling Riser now. Kind of satisfying actually...I was so focused on my engagement before, that I wasn't really paying attention to the beating that Riser was getting. So seeing this fight is a plus for me." the Gremory heiress replied happily, enjoying herself immensely.
Mio wasn't paying attention however, she was focused on the other voices that grabbed her attention.
"Hey, that kid is pretty strong, is it possible to trick him into being my slave?" a high-class devil muttered to himself.
Mio's eye twitched.
"Hah! You're not the only one wondering about that. I recently heard some schemes being bandied about to get that kid to work for them. It's an...attractive idea."
Her fists clenched and unclenched, trying to get rid of the emotions that were rising to the forefront.
"Hmm...surely Maou-sama brought him here as a prize, no? After all...we lost the chance to get another pure-blood child through the engagement that was canceled. So perhaps a chance to get at this powerhouse is his attempt to smooth over the feathers he is ruffling?"
"Oh! Excellent point! Then perhaps it is open season on the boy! Perhaps promises of wealth and women could entice him..."
Teeth grinded against one another, as the bastard of the Original Lucifer heard these words.
...Was this it?
Was this what the other half of her blood contained?
This complete and utter selfishness?
Maybe it was due to the bitter realization of her origins...but she couldn't help but look at the devil blood flowing through her veins as a curse by this point.
Her family was killed because of it.
She was hunted down because of it.
Her trash excuse of a father gave it to her.
Now?
She was hearing high-class devils talk about someone precious to her like they were some kind of horse at an auction.
It was disgusting.
"...Mio-chan?"
Mio's dulled eyes cleared.
Pink eyes turned to see the worried blue-green eyes of her friend.
...That's right.
Not all devils were like that.
Rias-sempai, Sona-san, Sairaorg-san, the current Maou...
Not to mention their Peerage...
She took a deep breath, willing her dark mood to go away.
"...Sorry, I was thinking about something. I think I'm better now." Mio admitted, giving her friend a grateful smile.
Rias stared at her, searching her eyes for any deception.
She found none, and that relieved her.
"Rias, Mio-san. Be quiet for a moment." Sona stated briskly, staring at the rocky area that comprised the area outside the castle with intensity.
Both red-heads regarded the Sitri heiress with surprise, shocked that she would-
They both felt it at the same time.
All three devils turned to focus on the battle occurring outside the castle. Watching as the Phenex devil's fire expanded well beyond what he was capable of before.
Nearly catching their human friend in it's confines, the young man jumped away from the flames.
But that wasn't what the three devils were worrying about.
"...Is that Riser...?" Rias asked quietly, sweat beginning to form on her face in nervousness.
This demonic energy she was feeling...it wasn't upper high-class level anymore.
No...this was...!
"...Ultimate-class." Sona said seriously.
Mio's eyes were wide as she felt the demonic energy continue to rise.
Rise...
Rise...
Rise...!
What was going on out there!?
*BOOOM*
Lucifer stared down at the battlefield, as the blond menace that he wanted to study has outmaneuvered his pawn.
Not only has Riser Phenex not been strong enough to face the mysterious man, he also didn't force him to use any techniques.
Not even the one that destroyed Diodora's face.
Worse yet, the human has studied Riser's growth in power, no doubt he had an overall grasp of how his power up has worked...
It was specific, a large rise in power that not even his benefactor could give.
Mostly due to it's source.
Now if he was too liberal in giving out these power ups...no doubt the boy would know who to connect it to.
"...Annoying." the devil muttered darkly.
Nevertheless, he may as well go all in by this point.
If Uzumaki Naruto was going to find out more about his abilities than he'd like, then he may as well make damn sure that he learned more about the human's abilities as well.
The young Phenex would no doubt claim that his regeneration would eventually give him a victory, but the entire point of this engineered battle was to study, not to actually give Riser a victory.
"...Riser Phenex, I saw you as a pawn, something to be used and thrown away like trash. An unnecessary tool that could be easily replaced." Lucifer muttered quietly, bringing his hands together around his chest.
Diodora, who was fuming at Riser's weakness, immediately turned to face his master. Shocked that he would give the Phenex more power.
"But Lucifer-sama! Riser doesn't deserve the increased power! He isn't doing any better than before!" Diodora protested.
Lucifer sent him a dark look.
"Exactly. No matter how much power I give him...he will always lose to that human. Power isn't the answer to forcing Uzumaki Naruto to fight harder...it's to circumvent his strength. The strength that relies on close quarters combat. I may be giving Riser more power...but I doubt he will appreciate it." Lucifer said, glaring at the battlefield.
It angered him that he was forced to do this to make any sort of positive impact on this debacle.
But...it should still be entertaining.
The devil leader then continued to mutter to himself, bringing forth a power deep within himself.
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