Rias rubbed the light injury on her head, giving Meguna a mildly dissatisfied look as she spoke. "You should be a bit more gentle, Fushi-san." She wasn't seriously hurt, but the fact that Meguna had struck her at all was enough for her to complain about it.
Meguna, still sitting on the bed, simply looked at her without showing much reaction. "You came out of nowhere and demanded something totally unexpected. And you even disturbed my sleep."
"But still, you should be gentle with it," Rias replied, refusing to let the matter go so easily. She continued rubbing the spot on her head before turning her attention back toward him.
After a moment of silence, Meguna finally asked, "Anyways, what's your reason for doing this, Gremory?" His expression became slightly more serious as he brought the conversation back to the matter that had originally brought Rias to his room.
Rias faced away from him with a frown. "It's a matter of the devils, and I didn't want to get you involved." Her answer was simple, but the way she avoided looking directly at him made it clear that she had no intention of explaining everything.
Sighing, Meguna rubbed his forehead with one hand before replying, "Gremory... I already told you, if—" He stopped mid sentence when a white, glowing magic circle suddenly formed on the ground, interrupting whatever he was about to say.
"Looks like she's here," Rias murmured softly, a dissatisfied smile appearing on her face as she looked toward the magic circle.
The figure then materialised from the circle, revealing a woman dressed in maid clothes. She looked toward Rias and began to speak. "With this lowborn? The master—"
She was cutoff when she suddenly felt something graze her neck. Her expression changed immediately as she raised a hand to the place that had been struck, only to realise that a small streak of blood was coming from the wound.
Meguna slowly got off the bed and stood before them. His previously relaxed expression had disappeared, replaced by a cold and threatening look as he stared down at the woman. "Choose your next words carefully, or..." He paused, his face darkening as his gaze remained fixed on her. "They might be your last." (Image)
Sensing the threat in front of her, the woman immediately prepared herself to attack. The atmosphere in the room became tense as the situation threatened to escalate.
"Both of you, please stop!" Rias shouted, immediately stepping in before things could go any further. Her voice was kept low enough that the people outside the room couldn't hear what was happening, but it was still loud enough to get the attention of both Meguna and the woman.
Meguna slowly put his hands into his pockets and clicked his tongue in annoyance. He then looked toward Rias before asking, "What's her deal anyway, Gremory?"
Rias answered calmly, "Fushi-san, she's the maid of the Gremory household and also my brother's queen, Grafiya." She introduced the woman while looking between the two of them, hoping to prevent another confrontation.
"Fushi-san?" Grafiya immediately realised who Meguna was. Her expression changed as she understood that he was the person Rias had been referring to, and she gave him a slight bow. "My apologies. I didn't realise that you were Rias's benefactor who's helping her maintain balance over Kuoh."
Changing her gaze back to Rias, Grafiya continued, "Still, you shouldn't give virtue to anyone like that." Her tone was disapproving, clearly reflecting her concern over Rias's actions and the position she held as a member of the Gremory household.
"My virtue belongs to me. Whom I decide to give it to is none of anyone's business," Rias declared firmly. She didn't appear willing to accept Grafiya's criticism simply because of her position within the Gremory family.
Grafiya sighed before looking at Rias with a serious expression. "Rias, you're the next head of the Gremory household, so have some respect for yourself." Her words carried the weight of someone reminding Rias of the responsibilities expected of her.
Rias then glanced back at Meguna, her expression becoming somewhat apologetic. "I'm sorry for disturbing you, Fushi-san. I wasn't in my right mind. I shouldn't have come here"
'That's what she said,' his thoughts remarked.
The two then teleported out of his room within the magic circle. Seeing that they were gone, Meguna simply yawned, no longer caring about the situation, and immediately went back to sleep.
The magic circle appeared beneath Rias and Grafiya, and the two of them disappeared from the room. Seeing that they were gone, Meguna simply let out a tired yawn. "Finally..." he muttered as he returned to his bed and immediately went back to sleep.
------
Deep within the Underworld, inside the Phoenix household, something had happened. The man who was supposed to be Riser Pheonix was no longer the same person. The body was still Riser's, his appearance had not changed, and anyone looking at him would have believed that nothing was different. However, there was now another soul residing inside that body.
The newly transmigrated man stood in front of the mirror inside his room, staring at his unfamiliar reflection with disbelief. He raised a hand and touched his face as if doing so would somehow convince him that this was all a dream.
No matter how many times he looked at himself, however, the reflection remained the same. The face staring back at him belonged to Riser Phoenix.
"Why in the world did I have to transmigrate as Riser of all people?! Damn it!" he shouted in surprise and frustration, his voice echoing throughout the room.
He continued staring at himself for a moment, trying to make sense of the situation. Out of all the characters he could have possibly become, he had somehow ended up as one of the most disliked people in the story. It wasn't exactly the kind of transmigration he would have wished for.
"Onii-san, are you okay?" Hearing the voice from outside his room, he immediately stopped shouting. He quickly composed himself before turning toward the door and replying, although his voice came out slightly stammering because he was still trying to process everything that had happened. "Oh, I'm fine. No need to worry."
There was a brief silence from the other side of the door. 'Wait, the real riser isn't supposed to spoke so gently like this' He had almost forgotten one of the more obvious traits of the original Riser. If he wanted to avoid suspicion, he couldn't simply behave like himself. He had to imitate Riser as closely as possible, especially around people who knew the original well.
Ravel, however, had already noticed that something was slightly off about him. Riser didn't have the same brash that his voice carried something she was accustomed to hearing, and it immediately made her somewhat worried. After a moment, she spoke again from outside the room.
"Onii-chan, are you feeling okay? If you're not feeling well, you can just postpone your visit to Rias." The man inside the room paused before answering, but Ravel had already started walking away, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
'Wait, I'm supposed to meet Rias today?' His eyes widened as the realisation finally sank in. 'It's all happening too soon.' his thoughts began spiralling as he tried to remember exactly where he was in the timeline.
He had expected to need some time to adjust to his new life, but apparently, he had been thrown directly into the middle of the events he knew from the original story.
He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, forcing himself to calm down. Panicking wasn't going to accomplish anything, and he needed to understand his situation before making any decisions. 'Let's calm down for a bit. So, I'm supposed to meet Rias today, which means...'
His thoughts suddenly paused as he went over the timeline in his head. His expression gradually changed, and the corners of his lips curled upward into a smile filled with hopefulness. 'I'm around Episode 8!'
The moment he realised, he had something that the original Riser never possessed the previous panic in his face almost completely disappeared. He now the knowledge of the future events that were supposed to happen.
He began jumping with excitement, unable to contain himself as his thoughts continued racing. 'I already know the plot and the upcoming events, so I just need to avoid getting into trouble unlike the original.'
The more he thought about it, the more confident he became. He knew what was going to happen, he knew the people he would encounter, and he knew enough about the events ahead to avoid making the same mistakes as the original Riser. As long as he didn't recklessly interfere with things, he should have a considerable advantage.
Now radiating confidence, he finally walked out of his room and made his way downstairs. He headed toward the living room, where his sister was already sitting and waiting.
As soon as Ravel noticed Riser entering the room, she immediately looked toward him with concern. She studied him for a moment before asking, "Are you feeling okay now, Onii-chan?"
'Oh, yeah. I still have to keep up the Riser act so that they don't get suspicious,' he reminded himself. He quickly adjusted his expression and posture, making sure that his behaviour appeared more like the Riser everyone knew.
" I'm fine, sister no need to worry. We will soon embark to Rias Gremory's headquarters." Ravel looked at him for a moment, apparently reassured by his response, while he maintained his confident expression.
'Just you wait, Rias. You're going to see a very different Riser. And I'm going to beat that Red Dragon of yours.' The thought of defeating Issei, humiliating Rias, and then choosing to show mercy afterward amused him.
For the first time since discovering that he had transmigrated into Riser's body, he felt that perhaps his situation wasn't as bad as he had initially thought. After all, he knew the plot, he knew what was coming.
And unlike the original Riser, he had no intention of allowing himself to be defeated so easily. But unbeknownst to him, some of the plot had already undergone major changes due to the presence of another person.
------
With a grand entrance, a teleportation circle suddenly appeared inside the Occult Research Club's room. Flames burst outward from the magic circle as Riser Phenex emerged from it, making his arrival impossible to overlook.
He stepped forward confidently, carrying himself with the pride expected of a high-class devil from one of the most prominent households in the Underworld.
"I've come to see you, my beloved Rias." However, the moment Riser's eyes landed on Rias, he paused for a brief moment.
Despite already knowing what she looked like from the anime, seeing her in person was an entirely different experience. The sight of her caused his thoughts to momentarily freeze before a single thought immediately surfaced in his mind. 'Oh shit, she looks even more beautiful in person.'
He quickly composed himself before anyone could notice his momentary reaction. Riser straightened his posture and returned to the confident expression he had been maintaining since his arrival, acting as though nothing unusual had happened.
"Shouldn't you be happy to see me, Rias?" he asked with a confident smile, expecting her reaction to be similar to what he remembered from the original scene.
"And who are you supposed to be?" Issei suddenly shouted, his voice filled with confusion as he looked directly at Riser.
Before Riser could answer, Grafiya calmly stepped forward and explained the situation. "This gentleman is Lord Riser Phenex, a pure-blooded upper-class devil, the third son of the Phoenix household, and lastly, Rias Gremory's fiancé."
The moment the word 'fiancé' left Grafiya's mouth, Issei's expression immediately changed. He quickly turned his attention toward Riser, clearly shocked by the revelation.
"Buchou's fiancé?" he murmured, staring at Riser in disbelief. Riser couldn't help but feel satisfied with the reaction. Everything seemed to be proceeding more or less as he remembered from the original story, and for the moment, there was nothing that appeared to threaten his plans.
-----
Now sitting comfortably on the couch, Riser took sip of the tea that had been prepared for him. He savoured the taste for a moment before glancing at the person who had prepared it.
"Ah, the tea made by Rias's queen is indeed special," Riser remarked, clearly pleased with the drink.
He then shifted his gaze toward Akeno, who was standing nearby with her usual polite smile. "When Rias and I get married, you should become a servant at the Phoenix household."
"I might have to decline that," Akeno replied with a polite smile, turning down his offer without losing her usual composed expression.
"Too bad. Looks like I won't be getting to taste the delicious tea of my beloved Rias's queen," Riser said in a flirtatious manner, seemingly disappointed by her answer.
Akeno simply maintained her usual smile, showing little reaction to his words. Riser, meanwhile, continued enjoying the tea as he observed the situation around him.
'Seems like everything is going the way it should, with only slight differences. It may be because I arrived earlier than the original Riser, but that shouldn't matter much.' He felt increasingly confident as he watched the scene unfold. From his perspective, things were still following the events he remembered from the anime, and as long as the major events remained unchanged, he could use his knowledge of the story to his advantage.
Just as Riser was enjoying the scene and watching everything play out almost exactly like the episode he remembered, a sudden knock at the door completely snapped him out of his thoughts. His attention immediately shifted toward the entrance, and he looked at the door with mild curiosity.
"Come in," Rias answered from across the room.
'Seems like someone has just arrived at the door.' Riser thought about it for a second before quickly dismissing the matter.
'Not like it matters. It's probably just one of Sona's members' He didn't think there was any reason to be concerned about it. After all, nothing significant had changed so far, and he had no reason to believe that one unexpected visitor would affect his plans.
With that thought, he calmly dismissed the matter and brought the cup back toward his mouth, taking another sip of his tea.
However, the moment the door opened, Riser's entire expression changed. Standing in front of the door was a man he had never seen before.
Riser's eyes widened in surprise, and he stopped midway through sipping his tea as he stared at the unfamiliar person standing there hands in pocket. For a moment, he simply remained frozen, unable to understand why someone he had absolutely no memory of had suddenly appeared in the room.
"ah Fushi-san!" Rias said with a smile.
'What? Who's this guy?' Riser's thoughts immediately began racing. 'I don't remember anyone being named Fushi-san. What the hell is happening?' He continued staring at the unfamiliar man, trying to recall whether there had ever been a character like him in the story. Nothing came to mind. No matter how much he searched through his memories, there was no Fushi-san among the people he remembered from this part of the plot.
'And why is this guy more handsome than every single male in this show?' that thought only made the situation even more confusing. Riser had expected some minor differences after his transmigration, but he hadn't expected an entirely unfamiliar person to appear at such an important moment.
His previous confidence began to disappear as he realised that his knowledge of the original story might not be as reliable as he had initially assumed.
'Just calm down.' Riser forced himself to remain composed and carefully observed Meguna. 'Looks like there are some changes in the plot. I need to gather as much information as possible about him. I can't let a variable like him ruin my good ending.'
He didn't know who Meguna was, where he had come from, or why Rias seemed to know him so well. He slowly placed his teacup down, maintaining a calm expression, he addressed the unfamiliar man. "And who are you supposed to be?"
---------
Alternate timeline:
Riser: "who are you supposed to be?"
Meguna: "can't you see the Potential?....man"
Riser: (confused) "what?"
Rias: "Don't you know potential?"
Grafiya: "he has 0 feats 0 relevance and the potential to even surpassed the dragons"
Riser: (completely lost) "wtf are you all talking about?"
Everyone (excluding meguna and riser): "cause it's.....POTENTIAL MAN!"
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[A/N: do give your thoughts]