"Riser Phenex, you were once a pawn to be disposed, however...now you shall be seen as something else entirely. You are now my instrument, my advance guard. The one who will reveal my new enemy's abilities and provide me victory in the future through your sacrifice." Lucifer muttered quietly.
Right before him, a pendant appeared on his chest, bearing a symbol.
The symbol was composed of right-angled, intertwined lines that overlapped without a beginning or an end.
An endless knot.
"Come forth...! Telos Karma...!"
Naruto was staring at the damage he has done with his seal.
Maybe it was a bit much...
...Meh, Riser's regeneration could handle it.
But he suspected that the damage would force his regeneration to stall, as when he used his rasengan on him last time...it took a while to heal.
So the bastard probably doesn't heal for a period of time, depending on how intense the damage is.
"You...bastard...!"
Naruto raised a eyebrow, as he noticed that the smoke has cleared enough to see his opponent in the middle of a crater.
He was pretty messed up.
Both of his legs were blown off, completely.
...
"So...when's your healing supposed to-?" the shinobi tried to ask.
But before he could, fire enveloped his lower body, repairing the damage done by the explosion.
Ah. There it was.
The high-class devil got onto his feet, a snarl in place as he gave his enemy a heated glare.
"...Look, what's the point of all of this? Why try to beat me? All you're doing is making a fool out of yourself. In front of an audience no less." Naruto sighed, getting tired of this ridiculous fight.
There was no point to it, he got what he wanted out of this...a bit of a stress reliever and some extra knowledge, just in case he has to deal with someone with a similar random power up.
Riser gnashed his teeth together.
That man...that man promised him extra power if this wasn't enough.
If he could just stall, then surely...!
"The point? What's the point? You don't get it, do you? The fact that you're just a human, yet you've defeated me...it's something that cannot be tolerated! There is a social order that must be adhered to! One that has been present in devil society for over two thousand years! Your mere presence could very well threaten all of that! So...I must put you down, to prevent you from becoming a focal point of resistance." Riser stated seriously, a grimace forming on his lips.
Naruto said nothing, giving the devil a level stare.
"That's bullshit, and you know it." the shinobi retorted.
The devil's grimace turned back to a snarl.
"Oh don't give me that look you arrogant fuck. I have no idea if devil society is really as you say it is, or if my presence could really unravel it. What I do know however, is that little speech of yours if just a convenient justification to get back at me. Seriously, I've dealt with your kind before, so trying to frame your excuse as something high-minded is something I've heard before." Naruto pointed out dryly, before stretching his back, totally at ease with the situation.
Before Riser could say anything in reply however, Naruto continued.
"...There is one thing that I'd like to know though. Say...aren't you being a little too ballsy with your actions? I don't know about you, but challenging me to a duel in the middle of a Maou-sponsored party is a bit...much, don't you think? Why would you do that?" the blond human asked, genuinely curious about the devil's reasons.
Riser opened his mouth to retort, prepared to keep up with his stalling tactic...
Then paused.
Wait...why did he do that?
Sure, there was a chance to get out of any possible trouble with authorities by playing his cards right...but didn't he also lower public opinion of his family? His actions reflect the Phenex clan after all...
More than that, didn't he basically defy the Maou? Sure, the Maou couldn't interfere with clan affairs, exemplified in why the Maou couldn't just outright cancel his engagement with the Gremory heiress. But...if he really wanted to, the Maou could still make life miserable for him.
And his clan.
So why did he...?
Riser grasped his head, feeling a prickling pain in his skull, bringing him down onto his knees.
"Wha...? Why? I don't get it...?" the high-class devil muttered, questions beginning to filter into his head.
"Woah. Hey, you doing alright over there?" Naruto questioned, confused at his opponent's behavior.
Riser was just staring at the ground for a moment, trying to decipher his own actions.
The name of that Sacred Gear was...
His eyes widened.
"Hey! Listen to me, Uzumaki! You have to-!" Riser warned desperately.
He stopped suddenly at mid-sentence, mouth wide open as he tried to speak.
But instead of words, he instead sucked in and released a large amount of air quickly, desperately trying to breathe.
Naruto, alarmed at this behavior, tried to move in to help.
But before he could reach the hapless devil...
He exploded.
An extreme amount of heat flew outward from the devil's body, engulfing him in his own flames. Continually spreading outward like some sort of living being that was hellbent on killing the shinobi.
Accordingly, Naruto jumped away from the fire that suddenly had a life of his own.
Once he reached a minimum safe distance, he stared at the conflagration of flames in horror.
Did...did the Phenex just...?
Before he could ponder the question, the flames that he was eager to get away from began to coalesce.
Coalesce into something.
Fiery red grew into gargantuan sizes, growing and growing.
The shinobi noticed that the large conflagration spread large appendages from the general shape of the...thing that it has become.
.
.
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