Chapter 24
The days passed relatively peaceful. Relative due to some Makai sandworms that had managed to get out and terrorize a small desert town in Nevada.
"Too bad that we got here so late." Bulleta groused as she saw the carnage that those sand worms had done to the area.
"I know," Atsuko shook her head, "so much wasted life."
"I was talking about killing the sand worms!" Bulleta said with a savage grin on her face while her fingers flexed in excitment. "Those things only pop up every few years, it sucks that I didn't get to kill any!"
Atsuko raised an eyebrow as she looked at the shorter blonde. "...Did you want to get eaten?" She sweat-dropped as Bulleta tapped her chin. "I was joking."
"Wouldn't be the first time I was eaten." Bulleta said and Atsuko gawked in surprise. "One of my earliest solo missions ended with me being mauled by bears." She narrowed her eyes and grumbled. "It's how I learned about my regeneration abilities."
"Ick." Atsuko grimaced. "Sorry about that."
"It's okay." Bulleta said with a solemn look on her face. "I've long since recovered, I don't even have scars from it. And, besides," a savage grin came to her face, "you know that big throw rug I have in my room?" Atsuko slowly nodded. "Bear fur is surprisingly comfortable."
"...Neat." There was a beeping sound and a screen popped up in front of them, revealing Yohko. "Hey, Yohko, how's Kazuma?"
Yohko smiled as she adjusted the sleeping baby in her arms. "He's doing fine. Anyway, are you two going to come to see the Rating Game today?"
"Might not hurt." Atsuko said after thinking about it. "I wanna cheer Serafall and Lilith on."
"Eh, there's nothing here for me, so sure." Bulleta said as the two disappeared in a black flash of light.
(---)
Meanwhile...
Issei sighed as he did some stretching in the locker room. "Man, I'd like to be in the same locker room as Grayfia and wish her luck." At least Grayfia didn't have too much of a problem with being seen naked. At least in private. Issei sweat-dropped as he thought about Grayfia. "Well, she didn't mind me walking in on her in the bath." Then again, she had been drunk, maybe that had been the reason?
While Issei was trying to think of a good reason to be in the same locker room as Grayfia, he started thinking about the maids of the Gremory household wearing skimpy outfits that didn't cover anything. "I mean, seeing them walking around naked in the hallways at home wouldn't be so bad." He grinned at the thought of seeing some of the Gremory family maids topless with tiny miniskirts and tiny thong panties. Though, the mental images in his head soon shifted to the women of his harem. "I gotta get the girls into sexy maid outfits some time soon."
His face broke into a wide, goofy grin as he thought about the kinds of roleplay he could do with some of the girls.
There was a sudden knocking on the door to the locker room and Issei was startled out of his daydream before he shook his head. "Come in! I'm dressed."
The door opened and he was surprised as a young girl with dark red hair currently done in a French braid and purple eyes who was dressed in a small skirt and tanktop. "Oh! Um, Ranma's kid... Rachel, right?"
She nodded and grinned, running up to him and handing him an envelope. "Here! I took pictures of aunt Sona!" She narrowed her eyes and gave him a stern look that reminded Issei of Sona when she was serious. "No looking until the match! Show them to mama when she's kicking your butt!"
Issei sweat-dropped at that. "Ah... Thanks?"
Rachel smiled brightly and turned around. "Okay! Love you, bye bye!"
Issei chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, D'draig, you ready?" He asked the gem that formed on his left hand.
"We are the main event." The multi-colored gem flashed. "Do realize that she won't go easy on you, though she might give you a chance to get back to your feet."
"I know." Issei smirked as heard cheering. "Alright, D'draig, let's get going." He slid the envelop into his pocket and walked out of the locker room, meeting Grayfia along the way. "Nervous?" He asked her as he saw her dressed up in biker shorts and a top to match with her hair in a ponytail. "Also, nice look."
Grayfia gave him a small smile. "Thank you. And I admit, it's been awhile since I participated in a Rating Game. But I'm not nervous."
"Well," Issei grinned as he walked with her with his hands folded behind his head. "I'm glad you're not."
"Are you?" Grayfia asked and Issei gave her a flat expression.
"I'm facing off against Serafall Leviathan, if I wasn't nervous, I'd be an idiot."
Grayfia just smirked at him. "Good, there's hope for you yet."
Issei just gave her an annoyed look before the two smiled and lightly laughed. "Thanks, Grayfia."
"Not a problem." Grayfia said calmly. "I'm glad to talk to you. I would have been nervous otherwise."
(---)
Meanwhile...
Lilith looked at Serafall, who was in casual clothing. "Aren't you going to put on something a bit more flexible?"
Serafall giggled and winked at Lilith. "Well..." She did a piroette and was suddenly in her Mahou Shoujo Levia-tan outfit. "I figure that this is an appropriate outfit to fight in."
"Well, considering that I'm just wearing a leotard..." Lilith gestured at the black outfit that covered her crotch, stomach and breasts and came up to her shoulders, "and I'm using magical bats to cover my arms and legs, I'm not one to speak of practicality."
"I'm kind of surprised it's not a thong." Serafall admitted and Lilith giggled and slapped her own ass.
"Nah, I save that for when I spar with Master." Lilith grinned at her. "So, I hope you're not going to be stupid against Issei."
"Don't worry." Serafall winked at Lilith. "Even if he makes my cute magical girl outfit explode, I'll keep fighting, even if naked."
Lilith giggled and nodded. "Good."
"But what about you and Fia-chan?" Serafall asked as she looked concerned at Lilith. "I know how strong she is."
Lilith just smiled at Serafall. "Don't worry, this is just a conflict between two mothers over their children. I have an idea on how to solve it." She giggled at Serafall's confused look. "Well, at one point in history, there was a princess and a member of the royal court who got into a conflict about flower arrangements and had a topless fencing contest."
"...There's no way that 'Fia-chan will go for that."
"It wouldn't hurt to ask her." Lilith said with a grin on her face.
(---)
"Absolutely not." Grayfia said as she heard Lilith's proposal. "I am not going to have a topless fencing contest with you."
She ignored the loud boos that were coming from the spectators.
Issei looked at Serafall. "Um..."
Serafall gave Issei a sweet smile. "Only if you want to be trapped in a girl's body for the next ten years." Issei closed his mouth and nodded. "Good boy."
"Aww, too bad," Lilith snapped her fingers. "No, not about Issei living as a girl, but rather, I'm sad that you don't want to do the topless fencing contest."
Grayfia felt her eye twitching as she listened to Lilith. "And you wonder why I refused the arrangement between our families."
Lilith just stuck her tongue out.
(---)
Meanwhile...
Sitting in the VIP box, Sirzechs Lucifer looked at Ranma, "so..." He gave Ranma an amused grin. "Topless fencing contest?"
"She only learned about those two hours before we got here." Ranma told him with a sigh and a shake of his head. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'd love to watch it, but did she have to make such a request now?"
Sirzechs chuckled and nodded. "I agree. ...Though I certainly wouldn't mind seeing Grayfia and Rias do some topless or even naked mud wrestling."
Ranma thought about it and sweat-dropped. "Wouldn't it be better to just have a wet t-shirt contest?"
Both men looked at each other with a gleam in their eyes and shook hands, knowing that they had to have the women in their lives get into either a wet t-shirt contest or a mud wrestling contest.
It was a good thing Grayfia wasn't there, or both of them would have had their ears pulled over such thoughts.
(---)
Lilith looked around as she and Grayfia appeared over a rocky outcropping. "I'm guessing that this is so we can go all out, huh?"
"It's been awhile." Grayfia said while ignoring Lilith as her aura started to seep out and become visible. The sensation was enough that it made Lilith turn her head to look at Grayfia, her normal look of amusment replaced with a more serious look. She didn't say a word as she started to glow as well.
"And let the exhibition bout BEGIN!" The announcer yelled before Lilith launched herself at Grayfia with a kick, which Grayfia leaned away from, only for her to get surprised as black tendrils reached down from Lilith's leg and wrapped around her arms before tossing her away before a giant energy sphere followed after her.
Grayfia merely extended her arm as the sphere slammed into a barrier. She smirked as she saw Lilith's surprised expression. "Barriers aren't that hard to do, even if this isn't the same as your master's barriers, it's still strong enough to do this."
"Just chalk it up to me never seeing you fight and forgetting that barriers aren't uncommon for higher level opponents." Lilith stuck her tongue out before her body was covered by a black shroud and disappeared.
Grayfia merely leaned to the side as a kick came out of nowhere that was aimed at her head. She reached up and grabbed the leg, slamming it down when she realized that she wasn't holding on a succubus's leg, but rather a mannequin. "What?" Her eyes bugged out as a powerful strike slammed into stomach from below, launching her up into the air.
Under where she had been, Lilith's arm was raised upwards, her fist high in the air. A black and gold energy beam erupted from her fist and slammed into Grayfia with an explosion. 'Stop holding back.' Lilith growled mentally.
'Oh, you're talking to me with telepathy, huh?' Grayfia shot back as she rocketed out of the explosion and disappeared, only to reappear next to Lilith, slamming an elbow into the Succubus Queen's jaw, causing her to stagger back. Grayfia snapped her arm out and a magic circle formed in front of her before several black tendrils rushed out, slamming into Lilith from all sides.
A bunch of smoke was kicked up and Lilith came out of it, looking a little dirty, but otherwise okay as her wings had turned into a jet pack and was launching her to the side at high speeds as Grayfia followed after her. 'Tell me, why are you against the engagement? Is it because of how I was when I was younger?' She ducked under a kick from Grayfia.
'You're not much older than you were then.' Grayfia shot back as she shot ice shards at Lilith, who let out a yelp as her outfit got tears on it. 'But I don't want Millicas to turn into a louse like you and your husband are!'
Lilith gave Grayfia a flat stare as the silver-haired devil was suddenly surrounded by motes of light that exploded. 'Your son is a fan of the Breast Dragon Emperor. And don't get me started on how most human parents would never let their children watch that show, much less sing the Oppai Dragon song.'
Grayfia merely snapped her arm out to the side to make the dust and smoke dissipate. 'Don't compare me to humans. I might be better than many Devils of my generation, but I'm still a Devil, not a human. I don't have the same morals.'
'And yet you get upset at me for being a corrupting influence?' Lilith shot back telepathically. 'Is this really about our children getting engaged or is this about your pride?"
Grayfia simply raised her left arm and a force of power erupted forward, slamming into Lilith and sending her flying. 'And do you think I would let my son become as perverted as my brother-in-law?'
'Nice shot.' Lilith said telepathically and Grayfia turned her head to see Lilith behind her. The Lilith that she shot suddenly turned a golden color and fizzled into motes of light. 'I see why Serafall had trouble with you. But this isn't about me, is it? Is it about your pride as the Gremory maid? The fact that people question if you're really the strongest Queen when I exist? Or is this just you disliking me for what I almost did to Millicas? If it's the last thing, I'm glad you stopped me.'
'It's not that,' Grayfia shot back as she turned to fully face Lilith. She seemingly disappeared as she leaned forward and rushed into Lilith, wrapping her thighs around Lilith's neck and twisting and spinning, slamming her into the rocky ground below.
(---)
"And Makai's Queen just got taken down!" The announcer screamed into the microphone. "So far the match has been pretty quiet, but I'm sure that things will pick up soon."
In the VIP room, Sirzechs shook his head. "I kind of hope that it doesn't." He looked to his left where Ranma was sitting. "What about you?"
"That wasn't enough to defeat Lilith." Ranma told him. "I'm a bit worried myself, but I'm sure that..."
The door to the room opened up. "Daddy!" A jubliant voice interrupted Ranma, who turned to catch Rachel as she jumped at him as he sat in the chair.
"Oooof!" Ranma did a fake grunt as Rachel looked up from where she was sitting on his lap and grinned. "Hey, Rachel. Have you been a good girl for aunt Sona?"
"Uh huh." Rachel said with a nod and leaned up, kissing Ranma on the cheek. "I've been good. I only destroyed three walls last month."
"I'm sure that there was a good reason." Ranma said and Rachel nodded.
"Yep, yep." She nodded and turned around before sitting down so that she was resting against Ranma's chest. "Aunt Sona was cooking and I was working on a new spell and then suddenly BOOM!" She threw her hands and legs into the air. "Suddenly her food came to life and picked up auntie and ate her."
"Huh?" Both Ranma and Sirzechs gawked stupidly before Rachel reached down her shirt to pull out a phone.
"See?" Rachel pushed a button and both men watched, stupidly as a projection lit up, showing a giant food monster that looked like it was made out of corn bread suddenly grabbed Sona, lifted her up, opened its mouth and shoved her in, head first, into the mouth of the creature. "And it didn't stop until it ate all of her!"
The video showed the creature's stomach swelling after it swallowed Sona. After that, Rachel had jumped in to fight the creature and launched the table at the creature, which broke one wall before the fridge was launched at the creature, destroying a second wall, and then finally the stove was slammed into the creature, which was blasted through a third wall...
And then the thing exploded as ice erupted from the inside of the food creature, revealing Sona, who was mostly unharmed, other than covered in food remains.
"...Do not tell anyone that this happened." Sona said curtly and walked away.
"Ooops." Rachel said before she rubbed her left knuckle on her head and stuck her tongue out. "I forgot."
Ranma gave her a flat stare. "Did you forget or did you just want to embarrass her?" Rachel giggled and Ranma sighed. "I'll deal with you later."
(---)
Back at the fight, Lilith was grimacing as she was pressed into the rocky ground. 'Seriously! What is your deal with me?!' Shadow hands came out of the rocks and tried to grab Grayfia, who let go of Lilith and jumped away from them. 'I get it!' Lilith glowered as she stood up, glowing with power while her eyes shined white. 'I'm lewd, I'm crass, the idea of fucking my mother and my Master at the same time doesn't bother me in the slightest, and if not for him, I would basically be evil itself.'
Grayfia spun around and her eyes glowed as a shockwave of power lashed out, destroying the shadow-like hands. "Why in the world did they scream and have eyes?" She asked, confusion in her voice. Though, she had to admit, they were pretty disturbing with all of that.
She didn't have to wait long for Lilith to appear in front of her, glowing brightly. 'So, out with it!' Grayfia gave her a calm look despite the power she felt coming off of Lilith. 'What is it about me that you really hate?!'
"Do you really wish to know?" Grayfia said softly as she closed her eyes. "Earlier, you wondered if it was my pride that made me take this challenge up. It's not." She opened her eyes. "My pride refuses to let me back down from this challenge. No, the real reason I can't stand you." She pointed at Lilith while narrowing her eyes. "Your actions, your attitude. You refuse to reign them in. You allow your emotions and actions to dictate your life." Grayfia's eyes became distant as she continued to speak. "I've dealt with Devils who did that." Images of various Devils flashed through her mind at rapid speed before ending on her brother. Her eyes sharpened as she continued to glare at Lilith. "You remind me too much of my old allies, the Old Satan Faction, for me to ever truly like you. After all," she lowered her arm and voice, "that was how Rizevim lived his life and for the sake of his own entertainment, he would be willing to unleash a beast so powerful that no pantheon could stand against it."
"I..." Lilith stared, stupefied as her aura flickered out. "I wouldn't..."
"You say that you wouldn't do that, but there's another factor that you aren't thinking of, Lilith." Grayfia said to her. "Who is your mother?"
"She's the former Great..." Lilith's eyes widened in shock and she put her hands over her mouth. "...I had forgotten... I'm technically a Devil King Descendant as well."
"And you know how they have acted." Grayfia told her. "Do you really think I can trust someone like that?" She sighed softly. "Even Vali, who isn't an enemy anymore, isn't someone that I trust." Grayfia turned away as Lilith sank to her knees. "Just surrender, Lilith, if you want to fight for the sake of a fight, you can challenge me again later, but this one is over."
(---)
Sirzechs narrowed his eyes. "I admit, that wasn't something that crossed my mind when I asked to meet with you that day."
Ranma sighed and shook his head. "Lilith's been with me her whole life though. And because of our soul bond, she can never go against me."
"Yes, but you can't control everything." Sirzechs said and Ranma nodded as he patted Rachel on her head.
(---)
"Over?" Lilith whispered as her aura suddenly surged and she stood up. "Over?!" Her eyes glowed and she glared at Grayfia, who was looking back at her in surprise. "Your pride refuses to allow you to refuse this challenge. My pride refuses to just give up. And if you want to know something, Grayfia, I have absolutely no interest in the things that the Old Satan Faction were interested in." She took a deep breath and her aura dissipated. "But, that's only because of Master. If not for him and Genma, I would have turned into everything that Vali's grandfather was. And you say that I don't reign myself in?" She smiled at Grayfia. "That's what Master's for. He keeps me reigned in. But he's too reserved at times. I help him break free and have fun and he keeps me from going too far. Can you say that any of your former allies would have done that?" Grayfia didn't answer and Lilith continued. "And besides, you're being unfair to Morrigan."
"How so?" Grayfia asked.
"If you think that a Devil King Descendant like myself or Morrigan can't be anything more than Vali's grandfather, then why don't you train Morrigan in manners for a year?"
Grayfia closed her eyes and thought about it before nodding. "Make it two years and I'll give you my final verdict then."
Lilith sighed and felt herself getting tired. "Fine. You win." She turned and waved her hand as she walked away, surprising Grayfia. "I'm not in the mood to continue this fight. If this keeps going, one of us is going to get seriously hurt."
"I said that you can challenge me again in the future." Grayfia said.
Lilith said nothing and disappeared.
(---)
Ranma grimaced and looked at Sirzechs. "Could you have them delay the next fight by ten minutes?" He nodded and Ranma picked up Rachel. "I'll be right back, I need to help Lilith out." Rachel nodded and Ranma put her down before disappearing.
"Is everything okay?" Rachel asked and Sirzechs nodded.
"Yes." He smiled at her. "I'm sure that nothing's wrong." Mentally, he sighed heavily. 'Grayfia, I'm going to need to talk to you later.'
(---)
Ranma reappeared in another part of Hell and sighed as he saw Lilith standing on some rocks, looking up. "Lilith..."
"Grayfia's not wrong about me." Lilith said as she sighed. "I really am..."
"If you were anything like Rizevim, you wouldn't have helped Heaven out." Ranma pointed out. "Or helped Issei out when he needed it. You wouldn't have made friends with others. And who was it that helped Mittelt when she had nightmares? You're nothing like the Old Satan Faction."
Lilith looked at him. "Only because of you."
Ranma shrugged. "So what? The only difference between being a good person or bad is usually someone right there with them. Besides," he smirked at her, "do you really think that without you that I would've turned out like I did?" Lilith tilted her head in confusion. "Do you really think my old man would have taught me how to be a good person to girls without you there?"
Lilith blinked a few times and nodded. "...You have a good point."
"Besides, you wouldn't have been bothered by what Grayfia said if it was true." Ranma smiled as Lilith jumped off the rock and landed next to him. "If you were anything like the Old Satan Faction, you'd probably just laugh and go 'that's right! I'm just like them' and continued the fight."
"There was no need for it anymore." Lilith said and shook her head. "Disappointed in me?"
"Nah." Ranma shook his head as he pulled her in and kissed her on the lips. "Knowing when to stop is also important." Lilith nodded. "Come on, let's get back and cheer Serafall on. Rachel's in the VIP box."
Lilith's eyes lit up and the two disappeared to watch Serafall take on Issei.
End Chapter 24
The days passed relatively peaceful. Relative due to some Makai sandworms that had managed to get out and terrorize a small desert town in Nevada.
"Too bad that we got here so late." Bulleta groused as she saw the carnage that those sand worms had done to the area.
"I know," Atsuko shook her head, "so much wasted life."
"I was talking about killing the sand worms!" Bulleta said with a savage grin on her face while her fingers flexed in excitment. "Those things only pop up every few years, it sucks that I didn't get to kill any!"
Atsuko raised an eyebrow as she looked at the shorter blonde. "...Did you want to get eaten?" She sweat-dropped as Bulleta tapped her chin. "I was joking."
"Wouldn't be the first time I was eaten." Bulleta said and Atsuko gawked in surprise. "One of my earliest solo missions ended with me being mauled by bears." She narrowed her eyes and grumbled. "It's how I learned about my regeneration abilities."
"Ick." Atsuko grimaced. "Sorry about that."
"It's okay." Bulleta said with a solemn look on her face. "I've long since recovered, I don't even have scars from it. And, besides," a savage grin came to her face, "you know that big throw rug I have in my room?" Atsuko slowly nodded. "Bear fur is surprisingly comfortable."
"...Neat." There was a beeping sound and a screen popped up in front of them, revealing Yohko. "Hey, Yohko, how's Kazuma?"
Yohko smiled as she adjusted the sleeping baby in her arms. "He's doing fine. Anyway, are you two going to come to see the Rating Game today?"
"Might not hurt." Atsuko said after thinking about it. "I wanna cheer Serafall and Lilith on."
"Eh, there's nothing here for me, so sure." Bulleta said as the two disappeared in a black flash of light.
(---)
Meanwhile...
Issei sighed as he did some stretching in the locker room. "Man, I'd like to be in the same locker room as Grayfia and wish her luck." At least Grayfia didn't have too much of a problem with being seen naked. At least in private. Issei sweat-dropped as he thought about Grayfia. "Well, she didn't mind me walking in on her in the bath." Then again, she had been drunk, maybe that had been the reason?
While Issei was trying to think of a good reason to be in the same locker room as Grayfia, he started thinking about the maids of the Gremory household wearing skimpy outfits that didn't cover anything. "I mean, seeing them walking around naked in the hallways at home wouldn't be so bad." He grinned at the thought of seeing some of the Gremory family maids topless with tiny miniskirts and tiny thong panties. Though, the mental images in his head soon shifted to the women of his harem. "I gotta get the girls into sexy maid outfits some time soon."
His face broke into a wide, goofy grin as he thought about the kinds of roleplay he could do with some of the girls.
There was a sudden knocking on the door to the locker room and Issei was startled out of his daydream before he shook his head. "Come in! I'm dressed."
The door opened and he was surprised as a young girl with dark red hair currently done in a French braid and purple eyes who was dressed in a small skirt and tanktop. "Oh! Um, Ranma's kid... Rachel, right?"
She nodded and grinned, running up to him and handing him an envelope. "Here! I took pictures of aunt Sona!" She narrowed her eyes and gave him a stern look that reminded Issei of Sona when she was serious. "No looking until the match! Show them to mama when she's kicking your butt!"
Issei sweat-dropped at that. "Ah... Thanks?"
Rachel smiled brightly and turned around. "Okay! Love you, bye bye!"
Issei chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, D'draig, you ready?" He asked the gem that formed on his left hand.
"We are the main event." The multi-colored gem flashed. "Do realize that she won't go easy on you, though she might give you a chance to get back to your feet."
"I know." Issei smirked as heard cheering. "Alright, D'draig, let's get going." He slid the envelop into his pocket and walked out of the locker room, meeting Grayfia along the way. "Nervous?" He asked her as he saw her dressed up in biker shorts and a top to match with her hair in a ponytail. "Also, nice look."
Grayfia gave him a small smile. "Thank you. And I admit, it's been awhile since I participated in a Rating Game. But I'm not nervous."
"Well," Issei grinned as he walked with her with his hands folded behind his head. "I'm glad you're not."
"Are you?" Grayfia asked and Issei gave her a flat expression.
"I'm facing off against Serafall Leviathan, if I wasn't nervous, I'd be an idiot."
Grayfia just smirked at him. "Good, there's hope for you yet."
Issei just gave her an annoyed look before the two smiled and lightly laughed. "Thanks, Grayfia."
"Not a problem." Grayfia said calmly. "I'm glad to talk to you. I would have been nervous otherwise."
(---)
Meanwhile...
Lilith looked at Serafall, who was in casual clothing. "Aren't you going to put on something a bit more flexible?"
Serafall giggled and winked at Lilith. "Well..." She did a piroette and was suddenly in her Mahou Shoujo Levia-tan outfit. "I figure that this is an appropriate outfit to fight in."
"Well, considering that I'm just wearing a leotard..." Lilith gestured at the black outfit that covered her crotch, stomach and breasts and came up to her shoulders, "and I'm using magical bats to cover my arms and legs, I'm not one to speak of practicality."
"I'm kind of surprised it's not a thong." Serafall admitted and Lilith giggled and slapped her own ass.
"Nah, I save that for when I spar with Master." Lilith grinned at her. "So, I hope you're not going to be stupid against Issei."
"Don't worry." Serafall winked at Lilith. "Even if he makes my cute magical girl outfit explode, I'll keep fighting, even if naked."
Lilith giggled and nodded. "Good."
"But what about you and Fia-chan?" Serafall asked as she looked concerned at Lilith. "I know how strong she is."
Lilith just smiled at Serafall. "Don't worry, this is just a conflict between two mothers over their children. I have an idea on how to solve it." She giggled at Serafall's confused look. "Well, at one point in history, there was a princess and a member of the royal court who got into a conflict about flower arrangements and had a topless fencing contest."
"...There's no way that 'Fia-chan will go for that."
"It wouldn't hurt to ask her." Lilith said with a grin on her face.
(---)
"Absolutely not." Grayfia said as she heard Lilith's proposal. "I am not going to have a topless fencing contest with you."
She ignored the loud boos that were coming from the spectators.
Issei looked at Serafall. "Um..."
Serafall gave Issei a sweet smile. "Only if you want to be trapped in a girl's body for the next ten years." Issei closed his mouth and nodded. "Good boy."
"Aww, too bad," Lilith snapped her fingers. "No, not about Issei living as a girl, but rather, I'm sad that you don't want to do the topless fencing contest."
Grayfia felt her eye twitching as she listened to Lilith. "And you wonder why I refused the arrangement between our families."
Lilith just stuck her tongue out.
(---)
Meanwhile...
Sitting in the VIP box, Sirzechs Lucifer looked at Ranma, "so..." He gave Ranma an amused grin. "Topless fencing contest?"
"She only learned about those two hours before we got here." Ranma told him with a sigh and a shake of his head. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'd love to watch it, but did she have to make such a request now?"
Sirzechs chuckled and nodded. "I agree. ...Though I certainly wouldn't mind seeing Grayfia and Rias do some topless or even naked mud wrestling."
Ranma thought about it and sweat-dropped. "Wouldn't it be better to just have a wet t-shirt contest?"
Both men looked at each other with a gleam in their eyes and shook hands, knowing that they had to have the women in their lives get into either a wet t-shirt contest or a mud wrestling contest.
It was a good thing Grayfia wasn't there, or both of them would have had their ears pulled over such thoughts.
(---)
Lilith looked around as she and Grayfia appeared over a rocky outcropping. "I'm guessing that this is so we can go all out, huh?"
"It's been awhile." Grayfia said while ignoring Lilith as her aura started to seep out and become visible. The sensation was enough that it made Lilith turn her head to look at Grayfia, her normal look of amusment replaced with a more serious look. She didn't say a word as she started to glow as well.
"And let the exhibition bout BEGIN!" The announcer yelled before Lilith launched herself at Grayfia with a kick, which Grayfia leaned away from, only for her to get surprised as black tendrils reached down from Lilith's leg and wrapped around her arms before tossing her away before a giant energy sphere followed after her.
Grayfia merely extended her arm as the sphere slammed into a barrier. She smirked as she saw Lilith's surprised expression. "Barriers aren't that hard to do, even if this isn't the same as your master's barriers, it's still strong enough to do this."
"Just chalk it up to me never seeing you fight and forgetting that barriers aren't uncommon for higher level opponents." Lilith stuck her tongue out before her body was covered by a black shroud and disappeared.
Grayfia merely leaned to the side as a kick came out of nowhere that was aimed at her head. She reached up and grabbed the leg, slamming it down when she realized that she wasn't holding on a succubus's leg, but rather a mannequin. "What?" Her eyes bugged out as a powerful strike slammed into stomach from below, launching her up into the air.
Under where she had been, Lilith's arm was raised upwards, her fist high in the air. A black and gold energy beam erupted from her fist and slammed into Grayfia with an explosion. 'Stop holding back.' Lilith growled mentally.
'Oh, you're talking to me with telepathy, huh?' Grayfia shot back as she rocketed out of the explosion and disappeared, only to reappear next to Lilith, slamming an elbow into the Succubus Queen's jaw, causing her to stagger back. Grayfia snapped her arm out and a magic circle formed in front of her before several black tendrils rushed out, slamming into Lilith from all sides.
A bunch of smoke was kicked up and Lilith came out of it, looking a little dirty, but otherwise okay as her wings had turned into a jet pack and was launching her to the side at high speeds as Grayfia followed after her. 'Tell me, why are you against the engagement? Is it because of how I was when I was younger?' She ducked under a kick from Grayfia.
'You're not much older than you were then.' Grayfia shot back as she shot ice shards at Lilith, who let out a yelp as her outfit got tears on it. 'But I don't want Millicas to turn into a louse like you and your husband are!'
Lilith gave Grayfia a flat stare as the silver-haired devil was suddenly surrounded by motes of light that exploded. 'Your son is a fan of the Breast Dragon Emperor. And don't get me started on how most human parents would never let their children watch that show, much less sing the Oppai Dragon song.'
Grayfia merely snapped her arm out to the side to make the dust and smoke dissipate. 'Don't compare me to humans. I might be better than many Devils of my generation, but I'm still a Devil, not a human. I don't have the same morals.'
'And yet you get upset at me for being a corrupting influence?' Lilith shot back telepathically. 'Is this really about our children getting engaged or is this about your pride?"
Grayfia simply raised her left arm and a force of power erupted forward, slamming into Lilith and sending her flying. 'And do you think I would let my son become as perverted as my brother-in-law?'
'Nice shot.' Lilith said telepathically and Grayfia turned her head to see Lilith behind her. The Lilith that she shot suddenly turned a golden color and fizzled into motes of light. 'I see why Serafall had trouble with you. But this isn't about me, is it? Is it about your pride as the Gremory maid? The fact that people question if you're really the strongest Queen when I exist? Or is this just you disliking me for what I almost did to Millicas? If it's the last thing, I'm glad you stopped me.'
'It's not that,' Grayfia shot back as she turned to fully face Lilith. She seemingly disappeared as she leaned forward and rushed into Lilith, wrapping her thighs around Lilith's neck and twisting and spinning, slamming her into the rocky ground below.
(---)
"And Makai's Queen just got taken down!" The announcer screamed into the microphone. "So far the match has been pretty quiet, but I'm sure that things will pick up soon."
In the VIP room, Sirzechs shook his head. "I kind of hope that it doesn't." He looked to his left where Ranma was sitting. "What about you?"
"That wasn't enough to defeat Lilith." Ranma told him. "I'm a bit worried myself, but I'm sure that..."
The door to the room opened up. "Daddy!" A jubliant voice interrupted Ranma, who turned to catch Rachel as she jumped at him as he sat in the chair.
"Oooof!" Ranma did a fake grunt as Rachel looked up from where she was sitting on his lap and grinned. "Hey, Rachel. Have you been a good girl for aunt Sona?"
"Uh huh." Rachel said with a nod and leaned up, kissing Ranma on the cheek. "I've been good. I only destroyed three walls last month."
"I'm sure that there was a good reason." Ranma said and Rachel nodded.
"Yep, yep." She nodded and turned around before sitting down so that she was resting against Ranma's chest. "Aunt Sona was cooking and I was working on a new spell and then suddenly BOOM!" She threw her hands and legs into the air. "Suddenly her food came to life and picked up auntie and ate her."
"Huh?" Both Ranma and Sirzechs gawked stupidly before Rachel reached down her shirt to pull out a phone.
"See?" Rachel pushed a button and both men watched, stupidly as a projection lit up, showing a giant food monster that looked like it was made out of corn bread suddenly grabbed Sona, lifted her up, opened its mouth and shoved her in, head first, into the mouth of the creature. "And it didn't stop until it ate all of her!"
The video showed the creature's stomach swelling after it swallowed Sona. After that, Rachel had jumped in to fight the creature and launched the table at the creature, which broke one wall before the fridge was launched at the creature, destroying a second wall, and then finally the stove was slammed into the creature, which was blasted through a third wall...
And then the thing exploded as ice erupted from the inside of the food creature, revealing Sona, who was mostly unharmed, other than covered in food remains.
"...Do not tell anyone that this happened." Sona said curtly and walked away.
"Ooops." Rachel said before she rubbed her left knuckle on her head and stuck her tongue out. "I forgot."
Ranma gave her a flat stare. "Did you forget or did you just want to embarrass her?" Rachel giggled and Ranma sighed. "I'll deal with you later."
(---)
Back at the fight, Lilith was grimacing as she was pressed into the rocky ground. 'Seriously! What is your deal with me?!' Shadow hands came out of the rocks and tried to grab Grayfia, who let go of Lilith and jumped away from them. 'I get it!' Lilith glowered as she stood up, glowing with power while her eyes shined white. 'I'm lewd, I'm crass, the idea of fucking my mother and my Master at the same time doesn't bother me in the slightest, and if not for him, I would basically be evil itself.'
Grayfia spun around and her eyes glowed as a shockwave of power lashed out, destroying the shadow-like hands. "Why in the world did they scream and have eyes?" She asked, confusion in her voice. Though, she had to admit, they were pretty disturbing with all of that.
She didn't have to wait long for Lilith to appear in front of her, glowing brightly. 'So, out with it!' Grayfia gave her a calm look despite the power she felt coming off of Lilith. 'What is it about me that you really hate?!'
"Do you really wish to know?" Grayfia said softly as she closed her eyes. "Earlier, you wondered if it was my pride that made me take this challenge up. It's not." She opened her eyes. "My pride refuses to let me back down from this challenge. No, the real reason I can't stand you." She pointed at Lilith while narrowing her eyes. "Your actions, your attitude. You refuse to reign them in. You allow your emotions and actions to dictate your life." Grayfia's eyes became distant as she continued to speak. "I've dealt with Devils who did that." Images of various Devils flashed through her mind at rapid speed before ending on her brother. Her eyes sharpened as she continued to glare at Lilith. "You remind me too much of my old allies, the Old Satan Faction, for me to ever truly like you. After all," she lowered her arm and voice, "that was how Rizevim lived his life and for the sake of his own entertainment, he would be willing to unleash a beast so powerful that no pantheon could stand against it."
"I..." Lilith stared, stupefied as her aura flickered out. "I wouldn't..."
"You say that you wouldn't do that, but there's another factor that you aren't thinking of, Lilith." Grayfia said to her. "Who is your mother?"
"She's the former Great..." Lilith's eyes widened in shock and she put her hands over her mouth. "...I had forgotten... I'm technically a Devil King Descendant as well."
"And you know how they have acted." Grayfia told her. "Do you really think I can trust someone like that?" She sighed softly. "Even Vali, who isn't an enemy anymore, isn't someone that I trust." Grayfia turned away as Lilith sank to her knees. "Just surrender, Lilith, if you want to fight for the sake of a fight, you can challenge me again later, but this one is over."
(---)
Sirzechs narrowed his eyes. "I admit, that wasn't something that crossed my mind when I asked to meet with you that day."
Ranma sighed and shook his head. "Lilith's been with me her whole life though. And because of our soul bond, she can never go against me."
"Yes, but you can't control everything." Sirzechs said and Ranma nodded as he patted Rachel on her head.
(---)
"Over?" Lilith whispered as her aura suddenly surged and she stood up. "Over?!" Her eyes glowed and she glared at Grayfia, who was looking back at her in surprise. "Your pride refuses to allow you to refuse this challenge. My pride refuses to just give up. And if you want to know something, Grayfia, I have absolutely no interest in the things that the Old Satan Faction were interested in." She took a deep breath and her aura dissipated. "But, that's only because of Master. If not for him and Genma, I would have turned into everything that Vali's grandfather was. And you say that I don't reign myself in?" She smiled at Grayfia. "That's what Master's for. He keeps me reigned in. But he's too reserved at times. I help him break free and have fun and he keeps me from going too far. Can you say that any of your former allies would have done that?" Grayfia didn't answer and Lilith continued. "And besides, you're being unfair to Morrigan."
"How so?" Grayfia asked.
"If you think that a Devil King Descendant like myself or Morrigan can't be anything more than Vali's grandfather, then why don't you train Morrigan in manners for a year?"
Grayfia closed her eyes and thought about it before nodding. "Make it two years and I'll give you my final verdict then."
Lilith sighed and felt herself getting tired. "Fine. You win." She turned and waved her hand as she walked away, surprising Grayfia. "I'm not in the mood to continue this fight. If this keeps going, one of us is going to get seriously hurt."
"I said that you can challenge me again in the future." Grayfia said.
Lilith said nothing and disappeared.
(---)
Ranma grimaced and looked at Sirzechs. "Could you have them delay the next fight by ten minutes?" He nodded and Ranma picked up Rachel. "I'll be right back, I need to help Lilith out." Rachel nodded and Ranma put her down before disappearing.
"Is everything okay?" Rachel asked and Sirzechs nodded.
"Yes." He smiled at her. "I'm sure that nothing's wrong." Mentally, he sighed heavily. 'Grayfia, I'm going to need to talk to you later.'
(---)
Ranma reappeared in another part of Hell and sighed as he saw Lilith standing on some rocks, looking up. "Lilith..."
"Grayfia's not wrong about me." Lilith said as she sighed. "I really am..."
"If you were anything like Rizevim, you wouldn't have helped Heaven out." Ranma pointed out. "Or helped Issei out when he needed it. You wouldn't have made friends with others. And who was it that helped Mittelt when she had nightmares? You're nothing like the Old Satan Faction."
Lilith looked at him. "Only because of you."
Ranma shrugged. "So what? The only difference between being a good person or bad is usually someone right there with them. Besides," he smirked at her, "do you really think that without you that I would've turned out like I did?" Lilith tilted her head in confusion. "Do you really think my old man would have taught me how to be a good person to girls without you there?"
Lilith blinked a few times and nodded. "...You have a good point."
"Besides, you wouldn't have been bothered by what Grayfia said if it was true." Ranma smiled as Lilith jumped off the rock and landed next to him. "If you were anything like the Old Satan Faction, you'd probably just laugh and go 'that's right! I'm just like them' and continued the fight."
"There was no need for it anymore." Lilith said and shook her head. "Disappointed in me?"
"Nah." Ranma shook his head as he pulled her in and kissed her on the lips. "Knowing when to stop is also important." Lilith nodded. "Come on, let's get back and cheer Serafall on. Rachel's in the VIP box."
Lilith's eyes lit up and the two disappeared to watch Serafall take on Issei.
End Chapter 24
- Approve 2
- Show all