Chapter 11

I woke up slowly, bits of my body finally deciding that yes, the brain is awake so time to pulse, pound, and ache in unison.

I opened my eyes and looked to one side, my queen asleep next to me. I groaned as I sat up, running a mental checklist of my various injuries. I apparently also woke Luna up because I was promptly squashed by my sobbing queen. I patted her awkwardly on the back for a few moments before gently pushing her off.

"I'm alright, but more importantly, situation report Yubleluna."

My queen immediately straightened.

"Yes, as soon as you arrived we triggered the siege wards, at the time all other members of the Phenix family were out so that is a non-issue. The majority of the peerage have arranged themselves, guarding the significant entry points as well as the emergency escape. However, a number of Lucifer-sama's peerage appeared shortly afterwards, with more appearing every hour. If I had to guess, they are merely waiting for Lucifer-Sama to appear."

Crap.

CRAP.

CrapcrapCRAP!

What the hell!?

Fine, if Sirzechs wants to push, I had a dozen places I could go, but if I really had one of the Maou's set against me, I needed to head topside and go hid amongst humans.

And of course, just as I stood up to get out of bed the entire house shook.

I turned to my wide eyed queen.

"Get the peerage together now. We are leaving."

She nodded and we rushed for the emergency teleport downstairs.

Scene Break

Sirzechs Lucifer stared and snarled at the resolute form of the Phenix Manor and its bulwark of protective Wards, his peerage had been beating at them for a couple of hours, and now, even after he had arrived and thrown his effort into the mix, the sheer number and complexity of the protections around the house were making it almost impossible to make any sort of meaningful headway without using the power of destruction to destroy the protections, rather then undue them.

But, if Sirzechs estimation of Rizer's intelligence was right, he had an emergency escape somewhere, and that meant he needed to get in now.

Concentrating, he brought a sphere of concentrated power of destruction, and the compacted it in a denser sphere, and the called up another sphere to overlay it, and another, and another until there were almost a dozen layers of refined and compacted power of destruction.

With a cry of rage and effort, Sirzechs sent the ball spiraling into the protections around the Phenix home.

The protections came down with an almighty shriek and a whoomph of collapsing air.

Scene Break

I was racing by the main doors, my peerage with the exception of Kuroka who was stained at the escape hatch, and had just made it to the entrance to the basement when the main doors to the manor exploded inwards, showering me and the rest of my peerage with wooden splinters.

In strode Sirzechs Lucifer, And he did not look happy, his eyes were a smoldering crimson, his voice thunder, his steps an earthquake.

And then I learned why Sirzechs was a Maou, and the power that I had gained thus far was still, not enough.

As one of my peerage turned to confront him, darting forward, all he did was wave one darknesses wreathed hand, and a bolt of sheer nothingness lanced out and erased my knight.

And then he spoke.

"Rizer Phenix, for the crimes of attacking a Maou, of attacking members of one of the 72 pillars, I summarily sentence you to death."

And then he waved his hand again, and another member of peerage was erased from existence.

I stopped, and I stared, my lips curling.

"So, because I was kidnapped, and then threatened, and lashed out trying to escape, you think thats worthy of a death sentence for not only me, but for my peerage?"

Sirzechs stared, stoic, and as still as the grave.

"Yes."

"Screw you then."

Sirzechs hands lit up in a corona of dark light, and he was about to blast me, when I felt a hand on my neck, and I was thrown backwards, and into the basement. I had one last glance, at my peerage, at my queen, at my pawns, at my rook.

At my family, who mouthed as one.

'go, live, flee.'

And then door to the basement slammed shut.

Scene Break

Sirzechs turned to look at the members of Rizers peerage that were arrayed around the door, ready to confront him, and lay down their lives for their king. It was admirable, but futile.

"Are you sure you want to lay down your lives, for him of all people?"

They all stayed resolute, but the queen stepped forward, and spoke, her voice soft but resolute.

"I speak for every member of his peerage, when I say, he rescued us. And never asked for anything in return other then we do our best in whatever we choose. And we choose to protect him."

Sirzechs just shook his head.

"Very well."

And then a wave of destruction erupted from his body.

Scene Break

I stared numbly up at the closed and locked door, before I shook myself and turned to Kuroka who was standing nearby, a large duffle in her hands. I rushed to her, hand grasping at the duffle.

"Is this all of it."

Kuroka nodded jerkily, letting go of the duffel and grabbing another bag from nearby on the ground.

"It should be, I placed the cross you asked for in it, the materials, and the couple notebooks."

I breathed a sigh of relief, the cross was one of the two crosses of Saint Peter, so blessed that even the un-ordained could use it to bless water, I on the other hand just used it as a spell catalyst, a couple scrapings from the cross, ground up into dust, and it could be used to fuel any of my spells with an added holy element, or when added to any amount of water, immediately purifying it into holy water. it had literally cost me millions of dollars to acquire, and thus far it had been worth every penny. The materials were some associated ampules or vials worth of reagents or spell catalysts that had taken me a significant amount of time to acquire.

The books though, the books were going to be what I needed the most. The first was a black book of my contractee's, people who I had either done favors for and now were owed them, or people who had borrowed money from me. The second, was a an identical book, except this one had various supernatural entities in it. Everything from devils, both stray and otherwise, to fallen and rogue angels, and a smattering of Greek, Norse, and Japanese deities.

I closed the duffle back up just as the door to the basement shook, the roof, shedding dust.

I turned to Kuroka, and jerked my head to one corner of the room, dominated by a crimson teleport circle that would send me and anyone else in the circle with me to a safe house in Japan before self destructing, taking most of the mansion with it.

We both sprinted towards the circle, and got into it, just in time for the door to the basement to disintegrate in a spray of dark energy.

I turned, and almost pissed myself. Instead of one Maou, there were two.

Kuroka was screaming in my ear as I triggered the teleport, just in time too see Serafall Leviathan scream in rage.

Scene Break

In the aftermath of the explosion that destroyed most of Phenix Manor, Serafall turned to Sirzechs with a snarl on her face.

"What the hell Sirzechs?! You don't have the right to decide that Riser is sentenced to die! That needs a majority!"

Sirzechs scoffed, shouldering past Serafall.

"I didn't need yours, or Ajuka's okay for this, he attacked a Maou, that is a summary death sentence."

Serafall scowled.

"Not if it was self defense you ass! At most it should have been Exile! I know what you did! You had Grayfia kidnap him, and then you were standing right behind your parents, your mere presence was a threat."

Sirzechs turned and frowned.

"So what? It didn't excuse his leveling a bunker buster. How the hell did you get here anyway?"

Serafall fists tightened by her sides as she stepped closer to her fellow Maou.

"If someones faced with an opponent of Maou level, it excuses quite a lot, not saying it excuses everything, but still, you've taken this way to far Sirzechs."

She took another step closer, coming nose to chest with her fellow, taller, Maou.

"I got here, because his queen, and your sister managed to get a a pair of messages to me, detailing your, and your parents actions. We need to get into contact with Rizer and explain the situation, and you, need to get your head on straight."

Authors Note

Going a little darker, many thanks to my sounding board, you know who you are, and despite a rocky start, your ideas are great, and Ima use them, but Im still leaving a little something something.

As always, do rate and review.

And also. GIVE ME YOUR CRITICISM SO THAT I MIGHT FEED OF IT AND BECOME STRONGER!

But no pure flames, if your a flame, you can go screw yourself, I write cause I like it, you don't like it don't read.