Chapter 158: The New Third Pillar Demon God, Ravel Phenex?
This magic circle was specifically designed for teleportation.
Different families' magic circles would bear their respective family emblems.
Currently, the Gremory emblem had transformed into another family's symbol, the emblem of the Phenex Family.
This indicated that the person about to arrive would undoubtedly be from the Phenex Family.
And who could it be?
It was the third son of the Phenex Family, Riser Phenex, who was engaged to Rias.
Not only did Rias despise this person, but Sona loathed him as well.
"Sona!"
Rias didn't need to say more, as childhood friends, Sona surely understood her meaning.
"Understood! Tsubaki, attack!"
"Roger!"
At that moment, as a figure appeared within the magic circle, flames erupted simultaneously.
These flames were actually unnecessary, merely this guy's habitual dramatic entrance to show off.
Therefore, the instant before the flames' heat could spread from the magic circle, lightning strikes, water impacts, and destructive Magic Bullets all came crashing down.
"Wha--!"
The newcomer was startled by this sudden assault but reacted with exceptional speed.
In an instant, terrifying flames erupted from his body, blocking all attacks. Not only did they deflect the assaults, but they threatened to reduce everything in the room to ashes.
But just as the flames were about to explode, multiple ornate giant mirrors instantly surrounded him.
Crack!
The mirror instantly shattered, seemingly offering little defense.
However, the rebounding attack and the encroaching pillar of fire were eerily compressed back.
Originally, Tsubaki could only summon a single mirror.
But after being transformed into a pillar demon god, she discovered her Sacred Gear could create this four-sided enclosure.
So, could such an attack actually harm the target?
But with the Phenex Family's trait—being hailed as the immortal phoenix—unless overwhelmingly powerful force was used, attacks could hardly inflict substantial damage. Their bodies would transform into flames, as if having no physical form.
So, what was the outcome?
"Uwaaaaaaah—ah!"
The scream meant the attack had reached a level capable of harming Riser.
Seeing this, Rias unhesitatingly followed up by hurling magic bullets in large quantities, preventing the screams from ceasing.
"Huh? Please stop, Lady Rias! Stop it! My brother has gone silent. If this continues, you'll kill him!"
Another person, who seemed to have just reacted, pleaded with a tearful voice and stepped in front of Rias, finally halting her magic bullet assault.
The one with the tearful voice was a petite, golden-haired girl with twin drill pigtails—Riser's younger sister.
Thus, after Rias ceased her attack, a severely battered body lay in the crater formed by the destroyed ground.
The person had completely lost consciousness.
"A... cross?"
Embedded halfway into Riser's body was an object feared by devils—a cross.
It was this cross that prevented Riser's body from transforming into a flame-like, intangible state, allowing him to be solidly struck by the attacks.
"Lady Rias, even if you despise my brother this much, collaborating with the Church is going too far!"
As his sister, Ravel angrily glared over, also directing her fury at a nun, while painfully pulling out the cross and smashing it forcefully onto the ground.
Clearly, it was this nun who had given the cross to Rias, catching her brother off guard.
"I will return and report your brutality to Lord Sirzechs and Lady Serafall!"
After saying this, Ravel prepared to activate the transfer magic circle to return.
However, no response?
Ah, the magic circle had been destroyed by the earlier attacks.
So, she took out a slip of paper from her pocket, inscribed with a magic circle that would directly transport her to the Phenex Family home.
Yet, a cold glint flashed, and the paper was cleanly sliced in two. The one who did this was Tsubaki.
She had drawn her sword and destroyed the teleportation magic circle.
"Wh-what are you trying to do?"
Ravel began to feel afraid now.
"What are we doing? Do you think you can escape after discovering a secret?"
Sona adjusted her glasses as she spoke.
"Secret?"
Ravel was bewildered.
"Playing dumb is useless. Whether you heard anything or not, Ravel, we can't let you leave for now!"
Rias added with some apology in her tone.
Their sudden attack on Riser was initially intended to severely injure him, ensuring he would be bedridden for a while and unable to come to the human world's Kuoh Academy, thus avoiding any offense to Solomon.
And this cross was suddenly snatched from Asia by Koneko and thrown at Riser, which allowed all their attacks to truly land on him.
Therefore, Rias didn't think Ravel hadn't heard it. It might be because her focus was mainly on worrying about her brother at the moment. When she returns and carefully recalls the details, she might remember what Asia said.
And this child is particularly clever, capable of deducing the truth from just a few pieces of information, so she absolutely must not be allowed to return to the Underworld.
So what should be done now?
It's also impossible to detain her indefinitely, right? Killing her is even more out of the question—this is very troublesome.
Then there's another way to handle it, just like Tsubaki.
So, both Rias and Sona looked at him.
"I don't want to kill this child. If possible, could you make her your servant? Since she's a pure-blooded devil from the House of Phenex, she should be a more suitable candidate, right?"
Rias said this to him.
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
The twin-drill-tailed girl—Ravel murmured in confusion.
What exactly is the secret?
She quickly recalled the events just now and immediately realized the secret they were referring to.
And she herself is an exceptionally intelligent person, skilled in strategy. But now she was so flustered she didn't know what to do.
Moreover, with the reactions of Lady Rias and Lady Sona, and their respectful attitude toward this person...
Finally, there's a joke circulating in the Underworld these days about the Church and the angels: the transported holy coffin fell and was found empty inside.
Not a trace of the remains was left.
So, isn't the so-called secret quite obvious?
No, it can't be!