Kenji turned, his pleasant fatherly smile vanishing, turning into a mask as if carved from stone. He looked at the creature in front of him. Yes, Creature, because he didn't even consider this thing a devil. Looking at him, Kenji could see the red hair, blue-green eyes, and a face similar to Rias's, but that was only when he was looking with his physical eyes.
The moment he used his Mana Sensitivity, the sight became a whole different nightmare. It was like looking at a glitching TV, a corrupted signal. Below the human-looking man was a horrifying sight.
It was like watching a mass of destructive energy trying desperately to pretend to be humanoid. It was nothing but a swirling, terrifying vortex of destruction, glowing a thick, ominous red and black, a force of pure calamity barely contained by a shell of makeshift flesh.
'Monster,' he thought to himself, the word flat and damning. He was honestly sure that this man was not a devil, but rather just something that thought it was a devil.
Sirzechs Gremory maintained his polite, extended hand. Kenji just stared at the man for a while, then looked at the hand extended to him, forcing the Devil King to wait in silent, awkward tension. Then, Kenji reached out and grasped the hand, shaking it firmly, but his golden eyes never wavered from the entity he saw lurking beneath the humanlike façade.
In the anime/light novel, it was said that this thing was 10times stronger than the original Lucifer, while Kenji wasn't sure if that was really true or not, it didn't matter because this thing had power more than he had ever seen.
"A pleasure," Kenji said, his voice flat, his gaze boring into the Maou. The two men stared at each other.
"Oh, Mr. Sirzechs, you know Mr. Takahashi?" Miki Hyoudou, Issei's mother, interrupted, oblivious to the tension hanging in the air. Like their son, it seemed the parents didn't know how to read the room.
Sirzechs turned to the woman, his friendly smile snapping back into place instantly. "Ah, yes, I heard of him from Rias. He had helped her when she was in a little trouble, and I wanted to have the opportunity to thank him," he said before turning back to Kenji. "If you have the time."
"Oh," Miki said, covering her mouth in a gasp.
"I hope it was nothing serious," Gorou Hyoudou, Issei's father, added, his expression concerned.
"Just a little trouble with a few simple thugs that thought they could bully children, that's all. Not really anything serious," Kenji said dismissively, waving a hand.
Most of the supernatural beings who knew what he meant, Rias, Akeno, and the Gremory parents, couldn't help the twitch in their lips. 'Simple thugs?' Was that what they were calling a dozen Fallen Angels and their leader, Kokabiel, who had threatened to start a world war?
"Well, you helped both Rias, Issei, and their friends," Sirzechs said, strategically directing the conversation to include Issei's parents.
"What?" Miki asked, looking surprised. "Was my Issei involved?" she asked, looking worried.
"Oh, did Issei not mention it?" Sirzechs said, feigning surprise and looking like a concerned older brother. "He was with Rias and the others when it happened. I guess since nothing serious happened to him, he didn't want to bother you."
Rias looked surprised. She hadn't expected her brother to bring up Issei like that, dragging the boy and his parents into the social dynamic. She instantly realized Sirzechs was using the human family's gratitude as leverage, making it impossible for Kenji to simply refuse an introduction.
Kenji had to keep himself from glaring at this manipulative, tomato-haired Devil.
Miki turned to Kenji. "Thank you for helping our boy," she said, bowing deeply to him. Gorou quickly followed suit.
Kenji's eyes softened a little. He may not have been fond of the little pervert, but he didn't hate him, and he could understand their gratitude. If someone told him one of his children had been in trouble and was helped, even by a stranger, he too would be grateful.
"Don't mention it, I was just around," he said, getting them to stand back. "And besides, my daughter was there too, so I wasn't really going to just leave them there."
"Still, thank you. I wish there was something I could do to repay you," Gorou said. "I know, why don't you come over to our home? We could have lunch together. Let me tell you, my wife is a great cook," he said, walking over to Kenji and starting to pat his back. Kenji, who was much taller than the man, didn't mind.
Gorou turned to the Gremorys, too. "Why don't we all go? It will be more fun this way," he said, getting a smile from them.
"Are you sure? We wouldn't want to impose," Anastasia spoke up, her voice calm. She could see that Kenji had tensed the moment the red-heads came over and had quickly recognized Rias as the Devil girl. She knew her husband didn't want to go, but she was curious to observe these beings up close.
"Nonsense, we have plenty of space," Miki insisted.
That was how they ended up in the living room of the Hyoudou family residence. The Gremorys, Sirzechs, Venelana, Zeoticus, were sitting on the large couch by the right side of the room. Kenji and Anastasia occupied the left side chair. Miki was in the kitchen preparing food, with Asia, Akeno, and Rias helping out. Ayaka and Aoi sat close to their parents, and Issei sat on a chair at the front.
They sat there, chatting awkwardly. Issei watched as the man who had effortlessly killed Kokabiel sat in his home, engaging in polite, small talk with the parents of the Devil King. They seemed to be getting along, though Issei noticed Kenji primarily focused on talking with Zeoticus, ignoring Sirzechs, while Anastasia and Venelana engaged in a quiet conversation with each other.
"Food's ready!" Miki announced, breaking the tension as the girls brought the meal over.
As everyone ate, the domestic normalcy was unsettling to Issei. Laughter and conversation flowed, and everything seemed just normal. One minute it looked like an uncomfortable table, then the next, everything was like they had known each other for years as they talked with each other.
It was freaky.
It wasn't until after the meal, when Miki decided to tackle the dishes and Gorou announced he was heading out to buy some beers for the guests, that an opportunity to speak seemed to have arisen.
It was no coincidence that the only normal people there seemed to leave the room, and even the children seemed to understand the gravity of what was about to happen.
The door clicked shut behind Gorou. Silence fell.
"Did you have to do that?" Kenji said dryly, looking directly at Sirzechs. The man had used magic to get Issei's parents to give them so room to speak.
Sirzechs smiled sheepishly. "Well, I had a feeling that you would have continued to avoid talking to me if I didn't."
"And you'd be right," Kenji shot back.
The room was quiet. Rias's parents seemed comfortable watching. Anastasia merely watched her husband, allowing him to take the lead. The kids were watching tentatively.
"With the way you speak and act towards me, I'd have thought you hate devils," Sirzechs said, with a small smile on his face. "But you don't seem to care that my parents are devils, so I guess it's not that. That means it's personal, just me then. Have I offended you in any way?" Sirzechs asked, his tone genuinely curious.
"No, you have not," Kenji answered back, making the Devil King raise a brow. He could sense that Kenji meant that, yet it didn't feel that way. "Then what is it?" he asked.
Kenji looked at the man before he decided to answer. "I don't like your kind generally. That's just it," he told him.
Sirzechs's confusion deepened. "And yet, as I said, you don't mind my parents." Even the Gremory parents were a little thrown off.
"I said generally," Kenji clarified, his voice hardening. "Devils by nature are a race of sin, and while that itself is not really something to hate about, a lot of your kind go around doing whatever they please without thinking about the consequences those actions have."
He saw the Devil Lord try to talk, but continued, waving him off. "Yes, yes, I know what you want to say. Your kind has changed, and 'peace is coming,' blah, blah." He leveled the man a look of severe disappointment. "But is that really true? There are hundreds of devils that go around causing trouble now more than ever, and do you know why that is?"
He paused, his golden gaze fixed on Sirzechs. "It's you four New Satans."
That seemed to take the man by surprise.
"You four, no, more like you and Ajuka Beelzebub. You two have given them the courage to act and then hide behind you as a shield, knowing you won't do anything about it. And their victims are afraid of you two," Kenji stated bluntly.
He looked at the devils in the room, his gaze sweeping over them. "But at the end, it's not just the Devil race I have a problem with, so don't feel targeted. It's all of the three factions. The Fallens are similar to you devils, and the Angels have no control over their own people, causing problems left and right, then blaming others for it without taking responsibility."
He stopped his rant, taking a deep breath. "I have no problem with a devil, Fallen, or angel individually, but as a whole, I don't like your factions. All you three do is bring problems for others."
Sure, it seemed always fun in anime or fanfics, but think about it, where was all that trouble coming from. Every damn time, it was something from one of those three. Even when an enemy attacked, it had something to do with one of the three.
Sirzechs let out a slow breath, the room heavy with silence, thick enough that even Issei held his breath as if he were underwater.
Rias looked stunned. Venelana blinked in quiet surprise. Zeoticus cleared his throat awkwardly. Even Akeno, normally unshakeable, looked between Kenji and Sirzechs like she was watching a bomb steadily counting down.
Ayaka and Aoi just sat there, not really knowing what was really happening.
Sirzechs didn't move. Didn't react. He just stared at Kenji with an unreadable expression.
"…I see," he finally said, voice calm, far too calm. "That is… quite the perspective."
"It's the truth," Kenji replied simply, leaning back in his chair like he hadn't just verbally slapped the strongest devil in existence. "I don't care what propaganda the Underworld feeds its citizens. You three factions have spent centuries running around making trouble and gathering enemies like Pokémon, so is it any wonder when I would prefer if you and your kind stay away from me and my family."
Sirzechs's parents exchanged glances. Rias inhaled. And Sirzechs… gave a small, tired smile.
"You remind me," he said quietly, "of someone who used to speak to me like this. Before I became Lucifer."
Kenji didn't bother to react. "Good for you."
For the first time, Sirzechs chuckled—genuinely.
"You truly don't fear me."
Kenji tilted his head. "Should I?"
Both Aoi and Ayaka stiffened. Even Rias seemed to stop breathing.
Sirzechs leaned back.
"You're very strange, Mr. Takahashi," Sirzechs murmured. "I don't believe there has ever been a human who has talked to me like this before."
Kenji shrugged. "Like I said, should I?" he repeated as he stared the man in the eye. "There is no doubt you are stronger than me, but I can tell you this with full confidence".
He stopped looking him straight in the eye as the light in his eyes seemed to vanish, "That a fight between us will end in your death."
Rias coughed hard, nearly choking on air. Akeno discreetly stepped back. Asia crossed herself.
Even Sirzechs paused.
"…I appreciate the humor," he said finally, "but I think you're underestimating me." a little edge in his voice now.
Kenji's eyes narrowed.
"No, you are the one who seemed to be under the impression that simply because you have a lot of power, that I'd lose. I'm telling you right now I won't."
The entire room went dead silent.
It may seem like Kenji was bluffing or something, but he was not. Yes, sirzerch would win if this was everything he had, but it wasn't. If they started fighting, his stat shift alone would make a huge difference, and then there was his jumping to another world to gain more power and come back to the exact time and kill the bastard, and even if by luck, Sirzechs kills him, he would just spawn back and use that chance to go and get more power. Honestly, it was already too late for anyone except for the two dragon gods and Shiva to kill him just like that. Because as long as he had a small window of time, he could leave, get stronger, come back, and win.
The only reason he just didn't keep jumping mission after mission was that he wanted to enjoy life and not waste it like his late one.
Sirzechs blinked. Venelana choked. Zeoticus covered his mouth. Rias stared at Kenji like he had just personally declared war on Hell.
But Sirzechs… Sirzechs laughed.
A deep, thunderous, genuine laugh filled the entire room.
"You are refreshing," he admitted. "And troublesome." His smile faded, becoming more serious. "But still refreshing."
Kenji raised an eyebrow.
"I'm not here," Sirzechs said, "to fight. I'm here because your involvement with my sister and the events at Kuoh concerns all three factions. And because…"
He looked at Rias.
"…you protected someone precious to me."
"Again, thank you for saving Rias," Sirzechs said gently. "My sister loves her school. Her friends. Her life here. And you protected her and all that… I am grateful."
Kenji didn't respond.
Sirzechs turned back to him.
"Regardless of your opinion of devils," he continued, "I would like to make something clear."
He leaned forward, eyes glowing faintly.
"I am not your enemy."
Kenji stared at him, unblinking.
"…But," Sirzechs added, allowing the tiniest sliver of demonic pressure to leak out, "if you ever become a threat to Rias, I will become one."
Ayaka choked. Aoi grabbed her sister's arm in panic. Anastasia tensed.
But Kenji simply released his own aura to shield them.
Sirzechs's aura snapped off instantly. The two men stared at each other
A moment passed.
Then Sirzechs leaned back and exhaled.
Rias let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. Akeno sagged against the wall. Asia, on the verge of tears, quietly prayed to God.
Before anyone could say anything else—
THUMP.
The front door opened.
"I'm back! I bought more—Oh?"
Gorou Hyoudou paused at the doorway, holding three bags of snacks and a pack of beer, oblivious to the apocalyptic tension hanging in the room.
"Did I miss something?"
Everyone froze.
Kenji stood.
Sirzechs stood.
Both men looked at each other.
"No," Sirzechs said. "We were just finishing."
Kenji nodded once. "Yeah."
Gorou blinked. "Great! Who wants beer?"
Both men said at the same time:
"I'll take one."
Everyone stared.
———————————————————
If you want to read ahead and access 30 advanced chapters, check the patreon. $4 Dollars
Link:patreon/Phantomking785