The last chapter I posted was a bit of an infodump and I think you guys didn't like it very much. So here's an alternative chapter. See if this pacing is better. And do tell me which one you prefer in the comments.
If you like this one better, tell me if I should delete the previous chapter or keep it and just let this be chapter 3.
Thanks for reading.
Cya in the comments section~
This chapter captures a family moment, and mc pretends to act his age to keep up his cover. Still the same mc, he's just acting cute and bonding with his new family.
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Crimson flames burned in an arc, as a figure flitted around the courtyard, dodging bursts of fire and nigh invisible blades of wind.
"Not fast enough!" The woman at the center of the courtyard announced, flicking back her golden hair with one hand as she leisurely redoubled upon her attacks as the courtyard was reduced to rubble, deep gullets carved into by the wind blades and ash and dust raised into air from the fireballs.
"Just watch, I know I've got it." The figure of a young boy with matching golden hair and wine red shirt and shorts became visible as he deflected the fireballs with a flurry of waves, whipping up gales the steered the fire away.
"I'm not seeing any 'it' here~" His mother teased with a gentle smile.
"Almost… " The boy teleported from one end of the courtyard to the other, as a wall of chilly winds began to gather around him, trailing the flames behind him, feeding them into a tornado of dust and ash, "there…"
"That's better but-" His mother spoke her eyes tracing his form, until all of a sudden, the tornado of dust exploded with a blinding flash, disorienting her for the briefest of moments, and that's when she felt it.
Five sharp talons digging into her shoulder blade, mere fractions of an inch off from neck, and with them the tumbling ten year old to whom they belonged barrelling into her.
She stumbled from the impact, almost instinctively reaching out to grab her son, her motherly instinct overtaking her, as she lost her footing, taking both of them down to the ground.
She looked down at the little boy, his once beautiful coat and shorts, scattered into ash, his back charred to a crisp- actively regenerating, but it still hurt her to see him like this- and then she saw it.
The pained, yet triumphant smile beaming upon his face.
Her loss.
She smiled.
"I win!" He jumped of her, ripping his claws out of her shoulders as he ran around in a cheer.
"Yes, dear. You won." She reached out and grabbed the young boy, pulling him into her lap as she teleported to a bench nearby, "But at what cost."
The boy looked down at his tattered clothes and shrugged nonchalantly.
"Eh, fashion is a small price to pay for the sweet, sweet glory of victory!" He pumped his fists into the air.
She pouted, hugging him tighter.
This boy. Humph, he doesn't even care about the pain?
He seemed to notice her expression as his face softened.
He knew his mother didn't like to see him hurt.
"It'll heal up soon enough. I'm a Phenex."
"Uh huh?" She intoned and poked his back, right into middle of the burns, and let out a pained yelp, "And what'll you do about the pain?"
"Pain is inevitable, suffering is a choice." He quoted the Buddha, putting on a pondering expression only to be flicked across the forehead.
"Your opponents won't give you the choice." She scolded, "And pain can cause you to lose concentration. How will you fight without your magic then?"
He lowered his gaze and she felt a little bad. At least he improvised, she thought
"It was great tactic. Using my attacks to break the sandstone and create dust and ash, and then using it to trigger a dust explosion to blind me. But if you were fast enough to teleport from one end of the courtyard to the point of explosion, why not just teleport behind me and attack?" She asked as they reviewed the training exercise.
"Because then you'd see me coming. It's predictable." He said, preening.
"I also glided on the wind to cover my tracks!" He added proudly and she couldn't help but sigh.
"Mou….so reckless. Both you and your oldest brother. Why couldn't you be more like Rigal, and be reasonable." She ran her fingers through his hair as she complained, defeated.
"Because I wanna be the greatest! And great men take great risks!" He parroted another quote.
"You're spending too much time in the library." She giggled softly, in that way parents do when you say something unexpected, her voice like a wind chime, "And yet somehow not nearly enough."
"But no more suicidal attacks." She added sternly, her finger wagging authoritatively in his face.
"But moooom-"
"No means no. Promise me." She said, with the same certainty that Asian mother talks when you don't pickup their first 10 calls.
"I promise." Riser complied.
"And don't think I don't see you crossing your fingers behind my back."
"Ack!" Riser muttered, "Caught again- I mean oops~"
Rubela shook her head and sighed.
"Fine. Just make sure you don't get in unnecessary trouble. Can you at least promise me that, baby?"
"Okay." He agreed, reluctantly and his mother patted his now healed back.
"Now come lets go get you changed. Its your big day!"
"It certainly is." A magic circle appeared before them and a man with similar features emerged from within it.
"Rigal!"
Rigal Phenex, the second son of the Phenex clan, and one who rarely visits home due to the nature of his duties managing their clan's holdings in the human world. A true and through workaholic, but his work could not be disputed, for he had nearly tripled their mortal holdings since he had taken over. And even though he wasn't the strongest or the most social, there was something to be said about his unusually high talent in management.
"How's my favourite little brother?" Rigal Phenex asked, ruffling his hair.
"But I'm your only little brother?"
"Exactly." Rigal replied with a mischievous smile.
"Well, screw you too." Riser playfully stuck out a tongue at him and jumped down to kick his shins, only to be dodged.
"Aww, and here I thought I would be welcome at my beloved little brother's tenth birthday. But what is this, I'm being attacked?" He feigned a swoon and swirled on his leg, pretending to fall, "I guess I'm not wanted here. Maybe you don't want my gift either~?"
Riser's eyes perked up, "What's the gift?"
"Tch, tch, tch!" Rigal wagged a finger, "So greedy~ "
"I am a devil." Riser shrugged.
"Of course, you are. And that's why I have a very special present for a very special devil." He said, as he pulled out an envelope from thin air.
"Is that what I think it is?" Riser's breath hitched in excitement.
"Contracts. Only the first of many." Rigal smiled, "But enough to raise you to the bare minimum standard of high class."
Contracts, the specialty of the devils. It is how they gain power, prestige and influence over their world. When a devil is summoned by someone to a job, they get paid in proportion to the difficulty of the job and alongside that, they get a miniscule boost to their demonic power as well, an effect that seems small at first but compounds with the number of contracts a devil fulfills. So, the more contracts a devil has the more powerful they become.
And aside from becoming more powerful, they also grant benefits in tiered classes of social hierarchy, from the bottom feeders that make up Low Class devils to the ruling leaders of the devil faction, the Satan Class Maou.
The most prominent benefit of this class system is of course, the Evil Pieces, the tools used to reincarnate other creatures into devils subservient to their holder, their King, forming their peerages, each based on one set of pieces on a chess board from Queen to Pawns.
Usually, to get access to Evil Pieces, a devil has to earn the rank of High Class, before they are trusted with the devil faction's crowning achievement, and allowed to form their peerages.
However, as with all governments, nepotism and privilege open many doors closed to the general public. One such door was the lowered requirements and a little grace in quality and power given to the children of the 72 pillar clans and other assorted nobility- it was why people like Rias Gremory could have entire peerages filled before their actual power even reached Middle Class- by way of unsigned contracts. Contracts that a family member or their peerage gathered, completed and left unclaimed specifically for their clan's younger generation. The only problem was, this was usually done in secret, days before the ceremony, to allow for the gain in power to settle down. But Rigal being Rigal….well-
"Only, you'll have to spend the rest of the day signing them all if you want to make it in time for the ceremony. That part I can't do for you." He added, tapping his watch, "And oh, look at that. Just enough time if you start now~"
"Rigal!" His mother protested, "You were supposed to bring them over yesterday!"
"You did this on purpose, didn't you?" Riser sighed.
"Oh, no need to thank me. What are brothers for, if not to torment you on your best days~?" Rigal stifled a laugh, as a line of magic circles lit up behind him, and from them appeared a host of women wearing typical office lady attire, each with a brooch labelled 'Sexy Secretary' and carrying file boxes stacked one on top of the other.
"Girls, why don't you help my little brother get started on his chores."
"I hate you." Riser groaned as he walked over to the secretaries, following them inside.
"Love you too, chubby cheeks." Rigal smacked him on his exposed butt, further enraging him, "See you tonight. Bye~"
"Rigal Rain Phenex, that was completely inappropriate- Don't you dare-" but before Rubela could finish, Rigal had already formed a teleportation circle.
"Loveyoutoo,Mom.Bye~"
He added before instantly teleporting away, giggling like a maniac, leaving only an echo of 'heheheheh' in his wake. A sound spell, purposely made to irritate Riser, no doubt, but there was nothing he could do about it now.
"Brothers….haah." He sighed, "Well better get to work. Those Evil Pieces won't wait for me."