At this moment, Rias had completely abandoned any thought of recruiting Raize.
He was far stronger than she was—how could there be a situation where a weak person made a strong one their servant?
Although she coveted Raize's strength, she was not foolish. If she voiced such an idea, she would inevitably be mocked at best; at worst, the other party might simply take action on the spot.
"Heh, your way of resisting is really laughable, devil."
Raize curled his lips in disdain at Rias's explanation. In this world, strength was supreme—everything was ultimately decided by power. Even if Rias wanted to rebel, she should not have chosen such a ridiculous method.
"If you can't control your own fate, then become stronger. If you yourself are stronger than that so-called fiancé of yours, you can turn the tables in this matter. With overwhelming strength, if you state your requirements for a partner, does he even have the face—or the qualifications—to marry you?"
"The Gremory family has produced a Satan, and that Satan is your own brother. With conditions like that, instead of working hard to grow stronger, you run here to escape a marriage?!"
As Raize delivered these blunt and merciless words, the expressions of both Rias and Sona visibly wavered. Their servants could not help but look toward their respective masters.
The words were harsh, but they were true.
Both Rias and Sona possessed exceptionally favorable conditions for growth.
Saji looked tense as well. He could not help but think of his own president's situation. Compared to Rias, perhaps the president he admired might face something similar one day.
If that day came, what would be needed was exactly what Raize had mentioned—strength.
Among devils of the same generation, Rias was not weak. Yet she herself knew it was still not enough. Rather than diligently seeking guidance from her brother on how to grow stronger, she had prioritized developing her servants, focusing on recruiting powerful subordinates whenever possible.
That was putting the cart before the horse.
From the original story's perspective, Rias's talent was by no means lacking. With a Transcender-level brother carefully instructing her, would she really have been unable to defeat a mere Phenex?
Just as Raize said—if her strength surpassed that of the Phenex third son, would that man still have the face to marry her?
When the man is stronger than the woman, it is considered normal for him to take the initiative and act dominant. But if the woman is stronger than the man, then forcibly marrying into that situation starts to look like blatant freeloading.
Would a pure-blooded devil family that places such importance on bloodline and family honor really tolerate that?
Raize had no intention of meddling further in Rias's personal affairs. Their staying here would only cause the trouble clinging to them to spread to others.
He himself did not fear trouble, but some people around him did.
Hiratsuka, the Shirogane siblings, Mashiro—those were the few people he cared about outside his household. Letting Rias and the others remain here would only implicate innocents.
He directly withdrew the spiritual pressure surrounding them and, with what could be considered excessive politeness, issued an eviction order.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the devil race, since you have no malicious intent toward this place, I will not take action against you. However, you are all extremely troublesome. If you stay here, you will make this entire region even more—"
RUMBLE—!!!
Before Raize could finish his sentence, a deafening roar erupted from outside, followed immediately by an intense, violent tremor.
Earthquakes were common in Japan, but this was clearly not a natural one. This violent shaking was caused by the eruption of supernatural power.
"Trouble…"
Raize muttered the final word with an ugly expression, perfectly matching the sudden situation.
Rias and the others also sensed it—not just one, but a large cluster of high-energy magical reactions appearing in the area, and they were not far from the campus where they currently were.
"President, the sky…"
Koneko's cute, expressionless face turned tense as she raised a finger and pointed toward the sky outside the window.
Everyone immediately looked over.
Above the clouds outside, the previously clear blue sky had suddenly become shrouded in dark clouds. At some point, a gigantic black vortex of space had appeared.
It was an enormous spatial gate, with arcs of energy lightning constantly bursting within it.
Gloomy, oppressive auras leaked out, spreading downward toward the city below.
"Damn it! What kind of suicidal trash dares to cause trouble here—and in a group, no less? Heh. I'll kill you all."
Sensing that a massive group of beings radiating vile, corrupted auras was descending from the huge spatial gate in the sky—and that directly beneath that gate, not far away, was his own home—Raize felt as if someone was dancing on his reverse scale.
He had already been in a foul mood after dealing with Rias's today. Now, these new bastards instantly ignited his fury.
Laughing in extreme anger, Raize erupted with terrifying killing intent and bloodlust. Leaving behind a shadow clone to watch over Hiratsuka, Mashiro, and the others, he kicked forward.
With a single blow, he blasted through the wall in front of him.
Like a demon god radiating murderous intent, Raize charged out under the stunned gazes of the devils. Using Ashura Senku, he plunged into subspace and vanished in an instant.
Only the stiff, pale-faced devils were left behind.
"Rias… I'm starting to seriously doubt whether coming here with you was the right decision."
Sona was the first to recover. Cold sweat trickled down her forehead, triggered by the killing intent Raize had just unleashed. She pushed her crooked glasses back into place and looked toward the terrifying sight in the distant sky, her expression grim.
They had barely arrived before receiving a "warm welcome" from the local powerhouse. Now this sudden development felt like being thrown straight onto a battlefield.
The beings flying out from that enormous spatial gate were clearly ill-intentioned. Even from afar, one could sense that deeply unsettling aura.
"Ara ara, Rias, what should we do now? To have something like this happen right after arriving—how unlucky."
Akeno wore a solemn expression. Although her tone tried to remain light, it was clearly just her habitual demeanor.
Facing such an unexpected situation, it was impossible for any of them not to be tense.
"President, does this kind of thing happen often in this area?"
Issei's face twitched as he stared at the ominous sight in the sky. Having only recently become a reincarnated devil, he could still sense how dangerous the situation was.
"…Let's wait and see," Rias said as she wiped the cold sweat from her brow. Staring at the anomaly in the sky, she felt a deep sense of her own weakness and helplessness, and spoke bitterly. "Besides… the things coming out of that spatial gate are not something we can handle."
Having been directly confronted with what she lacked most, Rias finally felt a moment of awakening.
What she desperately lacked on the path to becoming strong was an intense desire for strength itself.
Rather than seeking out capable servants, it would be far better to first arm and strengthen herself.