Disclaimer: I do not have any rights of ownership for the characters used except the OC's. All the credit goes to the authors. Only the plot belongs to me.
Chapter 13
~ Rias Gremory ~
The corridor leading to the VIP viewing suites of the dimensional arena screamed opulence. The floors were paved with black marble, veined with gold that seemed to pulse with a magical luminescence, reflecting the exhausted, battered visages of the victors. The air here was scrubbed clean, filtered off the sulphur and ash of the battlefield, cooled to a comfortable temperature that felt pleasant against skin still radiating the heat of combat.
Rias Gremory walked at the head of her peerage, her heels clicking a sharp, authoritative rhythm against the stone. She was a vision of ruined elegance. Her crimson hair, usually a curtain of perfect silk, was windblown and tangled. Her school uniform was smudged with dirt, and her breathing was still regulating itself, the adrenaline of the battle still regulating itself into her body.
But she did not walk like a girl who had merely survived. She walked like a Queen who had just executed a usurper.
Her hand was firmly clamped around the massive, soot covered forearm of her Rook.
Taurus was a stark contrast to the refined architecture of the hallway. He was a mountain of bronze muscle, occupying a significant portion of the corridor's width. He wore only his battle-damaged loincloth, the leather scorched and frayed. His skin was covered in a layer of soot, dried blood—mostly Riser's—and the glistening sheen of sweat that rolled down his defined pectorals like oil on a machine. He radiated heat, a physical warmth that Rias could feel seeping into her palm, a constant reminder of the inferno he had taken head-on for her sake.
Behind them, the rest of the peerage trailed in a state of euphoria. Issei Hyoudou was grinning so wide it looked painful, clutching his ribs but walking with a swagger he hadn't possessed hours ago. Akeno Himejima walked with a sway in her hips, her eyes fixed on Taurus's broad back with a predatory, shimmering hunger. Kiba Yuuto wiped the last of the grime from his sword, his expression one of profound professional respect, while Koneko Toujou quietly ate a celebratory chocolate bar, her eyes soft as she watched her King and Rook. The Fallen were grumbling about not having their master's attention, but they knew they would have their time later on. Today, was not their day.
They reached the massive double doors of the VIP suite. The Gremory crest was embossed in red on the wood.
Rias stopped. She squeezed Taurus's arm.
"Ready?" she whispered, her voice husky.
Taurus looked down, his golden eyes glowing in the dim light. He didn't speak, but the corner of his mouth twitched upward—a small, private smirk that was shared only between them. He nodded.
The guards, high-class devils in full armour, bowed low and pushed the heavy doors open.
The sound of the room hit them first. Or rather, the silence.
The VIP suite was a cavernous space, draped in velvet and illuminated by crystal chandeliers. One entire wall was a transparent magical barrier looking out over the smoking ruins of the rating game field below. Gathered inside were the architects of the Underworld's society.
Sirzechs Lucifer stood near the window, his crimson hair matching his sister's, his presence a calm ocean of infinite power. Beside him stood Grayfia Lucifuge, the Silver-Haired Queen, her face an unreadable mask of stoic duty, though her eyes held a glimmer of the same hunger that bound the women who had shared Taurus's bed.
Serafall Leviathan was bouncing on her heels, her magical girl sceptre clutched in her hand, barely contained energy radiating off her.
Sitting on the plush velvet couches were the pillars of the Old Families. Lord Zeoticus Gremory, a man of imposing stature and flaming red hair, sat next to his wife, Venelana, whose Bael features were composed in a look of serene pride. Across from them sat the Sitri heir, Sona, with her peerage standing at attention behind her.
And in the corner, standing stiffly, were Lord Richard and Lady Layla Phenex.
As Rias and her retinue crossed the threshold, the silence held for a heartbeat, thick with the weight of political upheaval. Then, it broke.
"Rias-chan!"
Serafall Leviathan blurred into motion. She bypassed the formalities of the Satan class entirely, launching herself across the room and wrapping Rias in a hug that threatened to crack ribs.
"You did it! You actually did it!" Serafall squealed, pulling back to beam at the younger Gremory. "That was amazing! The explosions! The drama! And that finishing move? sending him through the wall? It was like the season finale of Magical Girl Milky Spiral where she defeats the Dark Lord of the Void!"
Rias blinked, the sudden assault of glitter and enthusiasm jarring her out of her warrior mindset. "Lady Leviathan... thank you."
"Call me Levia-tan!" Serafall corrected, twirling her sceptre. She then turned her gaze upward, craning her neck to look at the towering Minotaur. Her eyes went wide. "And you! Mr. Moo-Moo! So strong! You tanked a Phenex Fire nuke! I've got to get an autograph later for the fan club."
"Serafall, give them room to breathe," a calm, resonant voice cut through the bubbling energy.
Sirzechs Lucifer stepped forward. The room seemed to orbit around him. He smiled, a genuine, brotherly expression that softened the terrifying aura of the Lucifer.
"Brother," Rias breathed, feeling a fresh wave of emotion welling up.
"You fought beautifully, Rias," Sirzechs said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You commanded with the wisdom of a King and the heart of a Gremory. I have never been prouder."
He turned his gaze to Taurus. The Maou looked up at the Rook but his eyes held the same glint that they did whenever he addressed the Underworld as Satan Lucifer.
"Taurus," Sirzechs said. "You protected my sister. You upheld the honour of the Rias Gremory's name when it was most at risk. The Underworld watched you walk through hellfire today. They will not forget it."
Taurus grunted, shifting his stance. "I did my job. Riser was... insufficient."
A ripple of amusement went through the room. Sona Sitri pushed her glasses up her nose, stepping forward with Tsubaki by her side.
"Insufficient is a polite way of putting it," Sona noted dryly. "Statistically, the Phenex clan has a 98% win rate in attrition battles. You didn't just beat the odds, Rias; you rewrote the equation. Your strategy of using Taurus... it was brutal, but brilliant."
"It was satisfying," Akeno chimed in from behind, her voice dripping with sadistic pleasure. "Listening to him scream was music to my ears."
Sona nodded toward Taurus. "Your Rook is a singularity. I admit, I underestimated the variance a Minotaur could bring to a Rating Game. I won't make that mistake again."
"High praise from the Sitri genius," Rias said, regaining her composure. She squeezed Taurus's hand tighter. "But my peerage is more than just stats, Sona."
"Clearly," Sona conceded, a small smile gracing her lips, her cheeks glowing with a faint pink hue as she remembered her own encounter with the Bull.
The atmosphere shifted as the heavy footsteps of Zeoticus Gremory approached. The room quieted again. This was the moment of reckoning between father and daughter.
Zeoticus stopped a few feet away. He was a man of tradition, a man who had arranged this marriage to secure the bloodline, who had valued the purity of the 72 Pillars above the desires of his child. He looked at Rias, really looked at her, seeing the dirt on her face, the fire in her eyes, and the unbreakable bond she shared with the man beside her.
Beside him, Venelana Gremory smiled softly, her eyes misty. She reached out and brushed a stray lock of hair from Rias's face. "My brave girl," she whispered.
Zeoticus cleared his throat. He looked at Taurus, then back to Rias. He took a deep breath, and to the shock of everyone in the room—including the Phenex family—the head of the Gremory clan bowed his head.
"Father?" Rias gasped.
"I apologize, Rias," Zeoticus said, his voice deep and thick with emotion. "I apologize for doubting you. I apologize for forcing this engagement upon you. I thought... I thought I was securing your future. I thought I was protecting you."
He lifted his head, his eyes burning with a fierce, paternal pride.
"I see now that you do not need my protection. You have found your own strength. You have forged a peerage that shall be worthy of the Gremory name in the coming years. Watching you tonight... watching you command this battlefield... I realized that you have surpassed my expectations a thousand times over."
He stepped closer, placing his large hands on her shoulders.
"The engagement is null and void. You are free, my daughter. And you have earned that freedom with fire and blood. I am proud of you. The House of Gremory is proud of you."
Rias let out a shuddering breath, a tear tracing a path through the soot on her cheek. "Thank you, Father. That... that means everything."
Zeoticus turned to Taurus. The patriarch of the Gremory clan looked up at the Minotaur. There was no disdain in his eyes, only the evaluating gaze of a veteran warrior.
"Taurus," Zeoticus rumbled. "Since the day my wife and daughter brought you home, you have been our family's protector. Tonight, you gave it a terrifying new meaning. You have my gratitude."
Taurus nodded respectfully. "She is my King. I break what threatens her."
"Well said," Zeoticus murmured.
Then, the air in the room grew heavy and hot. From the corner, the Phenex contingent moved.
Lord Richard Phenex walked with the stiff, rigid posture of a man holding onto his dignity by a thread. He was tall, blonde, and handsome in the way all Phenex were, but his face was drawn, his eyes hard. Beside him, Lady Layla Phenex glided rather than walked. She was a woman of breathtaking, dangerous beauty—curves that defied logic, blonde hair set in drills that seemed to reflect flames, and eyes that held a knowing, sultry intelligence.
The Gremory peerage tensed. Issei's hand drifted toward his Boosted Gear. Kiba's hand hovered near his sword.
Richard stopped in front of Rias and Taurus. He looked at Rias first.
"Lady Rias," Richard said, his voice devoid of warmth but respectful. "You have won. The House of Phenex honours the contract. The engagement is dissolved."
"Thank you, Lord Phenex," Rias replied cordially.
Richard turned his gaze to Taurus. He stared at the Minotaur for a long, uncomfortable moment. He looked at the massive fists that had pulverized his son's face. He looked at the horns that had gored the Phenex pride.
"You," Richard said, his tone sharp. "You are a brutal creature."
Taurus didn't flinch. "War is brutal."
"You didn't just defeat him," Richard accused, stepping closer. "You humiliated him. You broke his bones, yes, but you shattered his spirit. You played with him like a cat with a mouse. It was excessive. It was savage."
"It was necessary," Taurus countered, his voice low and rumbling like thunder. "He thought he was invincible. I showed him he was not."
Richard's jaw tightened. For a second, it looked like he might summon his own flames. But then, the tension leaked out of his shoulders. He let out a long, weary sigh.
"Yes," Richard admitted, his voice dropping to a whisper. "He did think he was invincible."
The Phenex Lord looked up at Taurus, a strange mix of resentment and gratitude in his eyes.
"Riser... Riser has been spoiled since the day he came out of his mother. Because he can heal, he never learned to fear. Because he is a Phenex, he never learned to lose. He was becoming... intolerable. Arrogant. Entitled. A cunt, if I am to be blunt."
Richard straightened his jacket.
"I hate what you did to my son. No father wants to see his child beaten into a pulp. But... I thank you. You gave him the one thing I could not. You gave him limits. You humbled him. Perhaps now, when he heals, he will grow into a man instead of a petulant child."
Richard extended a hand. It was a gesture of supreme difficulty for a Noble of his standing toward a reincarnated devil of a "monster" race.
"Thank you for saving him from himself," Richard said stiffly.
Taurus looked at the hand. He enveloped it in his own massive palm. The size difference was comical.
Richard winced at the grip but nodded. He stepped back.
That was when Lady Layla Phenex moved.
She didn't stay back with her husband. She stepped right into Taurus's personal space. The scent of her hit him, something richer, deeper. Like spiced wine and exotic perfume heated over a slow fire. She was undeniably the mother of Ravel and Riser, but she possessed a maturity and a raw, sexual gravity that her daughter lacked.
She looked up at Taurus, her blue eyes scanning his body with a hunger that made Akeno look tame. She looked at the sweat on his chest, the scars, the sheer width of his shoulders.
"My, my," Layla purred, her voice a sultry contralto that vibrated in the air. "Richard is so concerned with politics and lessons. But a lady of my standing... I am interested in more... primal things."
She reached out, her manicured nail tracing a line down Taurus's bicep, ignoring the soot.
"You took Riser's full power," she whispered, leaning in so close her breath ghosted over his skin. "You stood in the fire that melts steel, and you called it a sauna. That kind of durability... that kind of endurance..."
She licked her lips.
"Come closer, Taurus," she asked softly.
Taurus raised an eyebrow. He glanced at Rias, who gave a nearly imperceptible nod. He lowered his head until his ear was level with Layla's lips.
"My daughter, Ravel..." Layla whispered, her voice dropping to a range that only he and Rias could hear. "I saw the interaction between you two. And later, she watched you destroy her brother. And do you know what the women of the House of Phenex crave more than anything?"
She trailed a finger down his chest, stopping just above his loincloth.
"We crave fire that doesn't burn out. We crave a force that cannot be consumed. Ravel is young, but she is a Phenex. She will come calling. She will want to seek the beastly hunger of the Minotaur."
Layla pulled back slightly, her eyes locking with his golden ones. There was a challenge there, a promise of future complications, and a deep, simmering arousal.
"Be prepared, Taurus," she murmured. "Handling Riser was child's play. But handling the fire of a Phenex woman? That requires a different kind of stamina. We burn hot, and we burn long. Do you think you can handle that kind of heat?"
The challenge hung in the air. The other devils watched, sensing the shift in tone but unable to hear the words.
Taurus didn't shy away. He turned his head, looking Layla dead in the eye. A dark, confident smirk spread across his face, revealing his sharp canines.
"Lady Phenex," Taurus rumbled, his voice dropping to a gravelly purr that made Layla's breath hitch. "I walked through hellfire tonight and didn't even break a sweat. I can handle a Phenex girl."
He let his gaze rake over Layla's body, bold and assessing, stripping away her noble pretence.
"And I can certainly handle a Phenex woman."
Layla's pupils dilated. A flush rose from her cleavage to her neck, a reaction she couldn't control. She stared at him, genuinely taken aback by the sheer confidence and hunger radiating from the Rook.
"Oh..." she breathed, a small, genuine smile curving her lips. "I believe you can. What a pity I'm already married."
She stepped back, fanning herself with her hand, her composure rattled but her interest piqued even higher. "Come, Richard. We have a son to take home and give a spanking to."
With a final, lingering glance at Taurus, the Phenex couple departed.
The tension in the room finally broke completely. Sirzechs chuckled, a deep, hearty sound.
"Well," Sirzechs said, "I think that is enough excitement for one night. Rias, take your peerage home. Rest. Celebrate. You have earned it."
"Thank you, Brother," Rias said. She looked at her peerage. "Let's go home."
~ Rias Gremory ~
The magic circle deposited them in the living room of the Gremory mansion in Kuoh. The familiar, comfortable silence of the house was a balm to their senses.
"I'm going to sleep for a week," Issei declared, collapsing onto the sofa. "Wake me up when pizza gets here."
"I need a bath," Koneko mumbled, heading for the stairs.
"I will prepare some tea," Akeno said, though her eyes lingered on Rias and Taurus. She smiled knowingly. "Unless... you two have other plans?"
Rias stood in the centre of the room, still holding Taurus's hand. The adrenaline was fading, replaced by a different kind of energy. A heavy, magnetic pull that had been building between them since the moment she had looked into his eyes on the battlefield.
"We do," Rias said quietly. "Everyone... take the night off. That is an order."
The peerage exchanged glances. They weren't stupid. They scattered, disappearing into their respective rooms with haste.
Rias and Taurus were left alone in the dimly lit living room.
The silence stretched, thick and pregnant with unsaid things. Rias turned to face him. She looked up at the towering figure who had saved her life, her future, and her dignity. She saw the grime, the blood, the exhaustion... and the raw, unfiltered masculinity that lay beneath it all.
"Taurus," she whispered.
"My King," he replied softly.
"No," Rias shook her head. She reached up, her trembling fingers undoing the ribbon at her collar. "Not King. Not tonight."
She stepped closer, her turquoise eyes shimmering with a vulnerability she had never shown anyone else.
"Tonight... I am just Rias. And you..."
She placed her hands on his chest, feeling the slow, powerful thud of his heart.
"You are my man."
Taurus stared down at her. He saw the girl beneath the crown. He saw the desperate need in her eyes—not just for sex, but for connection, for ownership, for the final seal on the bond they had forged in fire.
Without a word, he stooped down and swept her up into his arms. Rias gasped, wrapping her legs around his waist, burying her face in his neck. He smelled of battle, of musk, of power. It was the most intoxicating scent she had ever known.
He carried her up the stairs, his footsteps heavy and deliberate. He took her to the master suite. Her room.
He kicked the door shut behind them, sealing the world away.
He set her down by the edge of the massive four-poster bed, the silver moonlight filtering through the sheer curtains like liquid mercury, casting long, jagged shadows across the room.
"You're a mess," Taurus rumbled, his voice like grinding stones. He reached out, a large, calloused thumb smearing the soot across her ivory cheekbone.
Rias let out a breathless, jagged laugh, her chest heaving under the singed fabric of her uniform. "Look at yourself. You're covered in the same filth."
"I am a Minotaur," Taurus countered, his golden eyes burning with an intensity that made her knees weak. "I was built for the mud. You were built for a throne." His massive hands moved to the buttons of her torn, singed blouse. "But tonight, the throne is mine."
Rias didn't hesitate, her gaze defiant yet hungry. "Is it now?"
With a predatory hunger that was not uncharacteristic for the Rook, Taurus undressed her. The jacket was discarded like scrap, the skirt shredded further as he peeled away the layers of her nobility until she stood trembling in nothing but scraps of lace. Her pale skin glowed, a stark contrast to his dark, towering silhouette. Her breasts, heavy and tipped with flushed peaks, rose and fell with her erratic breathing. She felt fragile, yet the heat radiating from him promised the safety of being utterly consumed.
"Your turn," she whispered, her voice gaining a sudden, sharp edge of desire.
She reached for his loincloth, the simple knot giving way under her shaking fingers. When the heavy fabric fell, the reality of the Minotaur—the sheer, monstrous size of his cock — was laid bare. Rias's breath hitched. Regardless of how many times she had her lips wrapped around him, it never failed to marvel her.
"Taurus..." she breathed, her eyes tracing the thick, pulsing veins of his length. "You're... you're going to break me."
"I won't break you," Taurus growled, stepping into her space and towering over her. "But I am going to ruin that Gremory composure. I'm going to fill every inch of you until you forget your own name."
He hoisted her onto the bed, her plush ass sinking into the silk sheets before he moved over her, a mountain of muscle that blocked out the everything else. He caged her in, his weight a delicious threat against her narrow waist.
"On the field, you held my leash," Taurus hissed into her ear, his teeth grazing the sensitive lobe. "You directed my rage. You were the King." He bit down, hard enough to make her arch her back and whimper. "But in this bed, Rias... who owns who?"
Rias's nails dug into his massive shoulders, drawing faint red lines across his dark skin. She was tired of the strategy, tired of the weight of her lineage. "You do," she gasped. "I'm yours to do what you wish. Claim your prize, Taurus. Take what's yours."
Taurus let out a low, guttural roar of satisfaction. He didn't kiss her with sweetness; he devoured her. His tongue invaded her mouth, owning her breath, while his hands, large enough to crush her skull, pinned her wrists to the pillow. He worshipped her body with a madman's hunger, his rough tongue charting a path of fire over her throat and breasts, his teeth nipping at the soft, pale mounds until she was thrashing beneath him.
He parted her legs with a forceful shove, his knees prying her thighs wide. Rias looked down, her heart hammering as he positioned himself. The broad, blunt head of his shaft brushed against her entrance, hot and slick with her own mounting desire.
"Relax, Rias. Look at me," he commanded. She met his golden gaze, and then he drove forward.
It wasn't a gentle entry. It was a slow invasion into her depths. Rias screamed into the quiet of the room, her fingers clawing at the sheets as he stretched her to the absolute limit. The sensation was overwhelming—a sharp, stinging fullness followed immediately by a heavy, throbbing ache that set her nerves on fire. He was monstrous, filling her so completely that she felt his every pulse deep within her.
Taurus stayed still for a moment, letting her internal muscles accommodate his girth. He leaned down, licking the tears from her lashes. "So tight... good girl," he whispered, a dark pride in his voice.
Rias panted, her hips twitching instinctively as the pain transmuted into a dark, heavy pleasure. "Move," she pleaded. "Fuck me, Taurus. Claim me!"
"As my King demands," he quipped, and then the rhythm changed.
The steady, deliberate pace snapped into something sharper, harder. He began to thrust, each stroke a deep, punishing lunge that hit the very back of her. Hips snapped against her ass with a meaty smack that echoed in the room, the sound alone making Rias's head spin. Her pale flesh rippled under the impact, her breasts bouncing wildly as he kept her pinned.
He repeated the motion, pulling back just enough for her walls to flutter around the retreating length before slamming back in, each thrust bringing that lewd, wet slap of skin on skin. Every deep stroke seemed to find that same sensitive spot inside her, the one that made her moans turn into helpless, high-pitched cries.
"Ahhh! Ohhh—nnnghh, f-fuck… ohhh Lucifer!" Her voice was raw, breaking with every slam into her soaked core. Her mind swam, torn between the desperate need to catch her breath and the blissful shock of each deep plunge. Her hips had started to push back instinctively, meeting his rhythm even as she was being overwhelmed.
"That's it," Taurus growled, his own control fraying as she squeezed him with impossible tightness. "Let it ruin you."
The friction built into a firestorm of sensation. Taurus abandoned all restraint, his hips slamming against hers with bone-shaking force. He gripped her ass, thumbs keeping her cheeks spread wide so every thrust bottomed out fully, his thick length pushing into the deepest part of her over and over.
"Taurus! I'm—"
"Cum for me!" he roared, his pace turning feral.
She shattered. Her climax hit like a physical explosion, her vision white-lining as waves of ecstasy racked her body. She clamped down on him, her walls pulsing in a frantic rhythm that finally broke the Minotaur's iron will. Taurus groaned, a sound of pure, primal release, and buried himself to the hilt. He filled her with a staggering warmth, marking her internally, claiming her soul and her body in one decisive, seismic surge.
They stayed joined for a long time, the only sound the ragged synchronization of their breathing. Taurus descended down onto his elbows, careful not to crush her, and pressed a lingering, possessive kiss to her forehead.
Rias lay there, limp and thoroughly used, a sleepy, triumphant smile on her lips. She traced the corded muscle of his neck. "You really are a beast," she whispered.
Taurus chuckled, the vibration thrumming through her chest. He rolled to her side, pulling her small frame against his massive heat. "And you," he said, closing his eyes, "are finally, completely mine."
The politics, the Gremory name, the weight of the underworld—it all faded. Rias Gremory, the King of her peerage, drifted off to sleep listening to the steady, powerful heart of her Rook. She had won her freedom, but in the quiet dark of the room, she knew the truth.
She was tethered to him. And she had never felt more powerful.
Author's Note
More smut to come in the upcoming chapters. Until then, peace.