Ficticious Chaos
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Chapter 32: The Crown Prince of Wrath
🕑 Added 2025-04-08 22:26:07 +0000 UTCThe Devils were not merrily on their way.
Enku and Kosara had already restored the Occult Research Club building, magic smoothing over blasted ruins as if Kokabiel had never been there. In the time Ichigo had taken to exchange intel with Sirzechs and Serafall - and tear into them for ignoring his command - the younger Devils had made themselves presentable and clean. Washing away the weariness of the battle, at least the physical signs.
When Ichigo finally entered, he deliberately sat opposite them all. In an ornate armchair, polished and black, he faced a long sofa where Rias and Sona sat comfortably. Idly, he thought the furniture was a little gaudy, too gothic.
Enku stood silent at Rias’ side, and Kosara mirrored him beside Sona, expressions neutral yet guarded. Behind the two heiresses stood their peerages, shoulder to shoulder in a line of anxious silence.
“Well, let’s hear it.”
At his command, Rias and Sona began recounting what had happened in the lead-up to Kokabiel’s incursion. As they spoke, disbelief and wonder, colored his mind. Soon enough, a good part of him began regretting asking them to recant their story.
I should have left them to Sirzechs and Sera, he thought with mild horror.
Ichigo’s mood soured with each word they spoke. Sentence by sentence, wonder became irritation which soon gave rise to ire. And as ire slowly churned hot into rage, waves of heat began to roll off of his skin.
By the time they’d finished, he was honestly left wondering how Sera and Sirzechs had allowed their younger sisters to grow so utterly stupid.
Their gazes remained fixed to the floor, as if looking at him might incinerate them on the spot. There was a small part of him which was honestly tempted to do just that.
As their peerages shifted uneasily behind them, some glancing at each other, Ichigo's fingers pressed into the leather of the chair, smoke rising from his burning fingertips.
Enku and Kosara exchanged a look behind the girls’ heads, one part awkward, one part knowing. They didn’t share in his fury, but they understood exactly where it came from.
“Let me get this straight,” Ichigo said, his voice low and held firmly tight, while his hands began clenching hotly, “you illegally negotiated with the Church. A hostile foreign power.”
The Noble scions cringed.
“You illegally granted permission for two exorcists to run a military operation in Devil territory.”
The temperature in the room began rising sharply until it became uncomfortably hot.
“You ignored protocol. You refused to pass on critical intel, including but not limited to a group of Fallen squatting here months ago, the Excalibur fragments being stolen from the Church and moved into our territory, and the presence of the Genocide Bishop, Valper Galeli.” Each syllable he spoke was controlled and damning, with a deep undercurrent of latent anger racing through. “One of the most wanted humans by our government. And you didn’t think, not once, to tell any-fucking-one!?”
When neither of them answered, Ichigo lashed out. “Are you fucking morons?!”
Sona’s grip on her skirt trembled. Her eyes were locked to the floor like a prisoner awaiting sentencing. “We… we didn’t think that -”
“No!” Ichigo spat, and his voice cracked through the air like a whip. Everyone started, even Enku and Kosara. “That’s kind of the problem! You didn’t think at all!”
Both girls visibly flinched.
“Because if you had,” he his voice began to raise, “we wouldn’t be in this Lucifer-forsaken mess!”
Rias lifted her chin, not in defiance, but in a restrained effort to speak as she weakly protested. “I-It’s our territory… we have a right to-”
“It is not your territory!” Ichigo’s voice warped demonically as his fist came down on the armrest.
The arm of the chair splintered into pieces beneath his hand and a concussive burst of demonic pressure erupted with the blow, blasting through the room. The newly repaired walls cracked, and the glistening windows shattered into a thousand little pieces, causing glass to cascade and tumble onto the floor. The furnishings in the magically renovated room were thrown into the walls and clattered helplessly to the ground.
The effect was immediate.
The girls recoiled, pressing into the sofa cushions as if trying to vanish. Their peerages instinctively backed away, retreating toward the far wall, faces pale and drawn.
Enku and Kosara both winced while their brows furrowed, not out of fear, but disapproval. Ichigo could plainly see it in their frowns.
Not that he cared.
Indulging the egos of these two teenage girls is what led to this horrid fiasco in the first place.
Wrath stirred within the confines of his soul. Like a vile purr in his mind, urging him to break them. To burn the flesh from their bones and make. Them. Kneel.
“This territory,” he said, each word like a falling hammer, “is registered under the Dukes Gremory and Sitri. Not you.”
He leaned back into his broken chair, feeling his eyes burning in demonic power as his rage continued to mount.
“Maybe you’ve both been spoiled so long you’ve forgotten, but you’re not Pillar Lords! You don’t own this land. Even then, it’s being leased to your fathers! Brokered by treaty between our Empire and Empress Yasaka of Kyoto!”
A fresh spike of anger stabbed into his ribs at the thought of his wife and the shitstorm she was dealing with at the very moment. Once she learned the full scope of what had happened, and he would ensure she would, Yasaka’s temper was liable to dwarf even his own.
“A treaty,” he snarled, “that includes the mandatory sharing of intelligence vital to both states’ national security. A treaty we are now in violation of, because of you!”
The room went quiet.
Disturbingly so.
He inhaled sharply, ash and brimstone burned down into his lungs. Demonic energies churning volcanic and black under his skin. Ichigo ran a hand through his hair, trying to cool the inferno rising in his flesh.
After a long moment, Ichigo opened his eyes, voice slow, sharp and deliberate.
“Do you have any idea,” he leaned forward in his chair, “how badly you’ve fucked up?”
No answer.
Rias trembled.
Sona had tears in her eyes now, silent and unacknowledged. Ichigo could see it, even if she kept her face turned down.
He ground his jaw, the muscles in his neck taut.
“Even now, as we speak,” he pressed on loudly, “Falbium and Ajuka have stationed themselves at our shared border with the Fallen. A border that hasn’t seen this much military buildup in over four hundred years!”
His hands curled into fists again.
“Legions have been amassed! By both sides! Hundreds of thousands, just waiting for orders! Logistsics, manpower, armaments, spells and a ridiculous amount of money! All of it pooling together, waiting for a bloody signal to reignite the war! A war we’ve been desperately trying to avoid!”
“Meanwhile, your sister,” he sent Sona a furious glare, “is frantically scrambling to hold diplomatic relations together! Trying to keep every ally assured while making sure there aren’t any intelligence leaks from within! Worse still, the neutral factions circling us like sharks! Because let’s be honest, there are a lot, and I mean a lot, of mythos who would benefit from the fallout of a war!”
Then, he pointed an accusing finger toward Rias.
“And then there’s your brother! Juggling half the Empire, stamping out treacherous and overly ambitious elements from the inside all the while keeping out the Old Satan Faction, who are probably happily banging on our front door right about now!”
The girls were shaking now. Neither dared to look at him. Their shame hung like chains around their necks. Ichigo didn’t enjoy it though, not in the least. There was no satisfaction in watching them unravel. No twisted sense of justice in seeing them drown in their own misery.
He was too stressed. Too angry. Too worried.
He ran a hand through his hair again.
“It’s a complete shitshow,” he yelled loudly. “A shitshow we could have avoided, if you had just told us everything from the start!”
He slumped back into his broken chair, hands dragging down his face, breath ragged. His shoulders rose and fell as he tried, really tried, to wrestle his Sin back into the deepest confinement of his soul.
Don’t burn the kids. Don’t burn the city. Breathe, Ichigo. Breathe.
He breathed in brimstone, out ash. In and out. Inhale, exhale.
Eventually, he pulled his hands away from his face and exhaled a long, bitter sigh. He shook his head, not so much in resignation, but in bone-deep sense of resigned frustration instead.
“Right,” he said, staring at the ceiling and doing his best to push the anger away. And in desperate need to change the direction of the conversation towards something less rage-inducing, he continued in a flat tone, “The Excalibur fragments. I’m assuming the exorcists have taken them and left? They’re back in Church custody?”
And apparently whatever semblance of good news he was hoping for wasn’t coming, because there was a collective shift amongst the younger Devils.
“Oh no,” he said, groaning with worry. “What did you do now?”
There was a wave of shuffling from the bunch, before everyone turned to look at Rias.
“One of the exorcists stayed,” Rias said hesitantly, shrinking from everyone’s gaze.
“Stayed?” Ichigo repeated with some small trepidation. “Stayed where?”
Slowly, almost painfully, one of the teenagers in the back raised a hand. And as Ichigo laid eyes on the pretty, young girl with blue hair, he could clearly feel the pulse of demonic power from within. She was a Devil.
Ichigo dragged his eyes back to Sirzechs’ little sister. He didn’t think it was possible, but the girl looked even more mortified than before.
“You poached one of the exorcists,” he whispered disbelievingly. “Does the Church know?”
Rias winced and spoke as quiet as a mouse, “They’re probably finding out right about now.”
Ichigo let out a long-suffering groan and pinched the bridge of his nose as he shut his eyes. Sirzechs had spoiled his little sister downright stupid.
“Hey, Xenovia is great! She’s got a holy sword!”
Ichigo managed to look up in time to see a blonde-haired teenage boy elbow the brown-haired boy next to him and hiss angrily, “Issei, shut up!”
“Please,” and at this point he was practically begging as he looked at Rias who was angrily glaring at her loudmouth Piece, “Please tell me you didn’t keep one of the Excalibur fragments.”
Rias turned to him to respond, but before she could, the brown-haired boy – Issei – beat her to it and proudly exclaimed. “Nope, she has Durandal!”
Ichigo felt something die inside and even Enku and Kosara gaped.
The blonde-boy lunged for Issei – who Ichigo now recognized as this generation’s Boosted Gear wielder. And wasn’t that a can of worms he wasn’t touching? Because the last thing he needed right now was Tiamat swooping down with fire and fury.
The other members of Rias’ peerage quickly joined the fray and dogpiled the boy into silence.
Ichigo stared at Rias, and in vain desperation he asked, “She has Durandal? You mean she had Durandal?”
When Rias’ answer was to look away in shame, all the anger and potent rage came flooding back.
That was all he needed. The proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.
Hellfire exploded from his body as he rose, and everything in the immediate vicinity was disintegrated, scorched black or reduced to ashen nothingness. Magic shields snapped into place as Enku and Kosara threw barriers between the younger Devils and Wrath Incarnate.
“YOU STOLE DURANDAL?! ARE YOU INSANE?!”
Ichigo’s roar began to warp localized reality as even space and time were pressed and burned in the unending fury of Hell.
“My Prince,” Enku shouted in a frantic plea over the roar of fire, “please, stay your anger! I beg you!”
And though his endless rage had no desire to pay Enku any heed, a chime of calm flooded through his mind like cool water pouring over stone.
“Little one.”
Tiamat’s touch immediately soothed his palpating anger and wrestled reason from his berserk demonic instincts. And though Hell receded back into him, latent fury still coursed through his blood and pounded in his ears. Ichigo levitated above the now cowering younger Devils, the floor beneath him utterly annihilated in his infernal might.
“Fucking hell, you kids are idiots!” He growled out. “Between you and Kokabiel, I can’t tell who’s trying harder to start a fucking war!”
He jabbed a fire wreathed finger at both girls.
“No. I’m done with this shit! Your families can take turns cleaning up your crap!”
His voice turned cold.
“What you’ve done is tantamount to treason.”
Rias and Sona flinched back as if he had struck them.
“Return to the Underworld immediately! You’ll be placed under house arrest until proper judgement has passed.”
He didn’t stop there.
“You, and your peerages, are also banned from the Human World for the next ten years! No exceptions!”
He turned to Sirzechs and Serafall’s respective servants, and with a voice sharp and still burning in demonic fire he said, “Enku, Kosara, get them the fuck out of here! And if I see another Devil in Kuoh without my permission, I’ll cut their heads off myself.”
Then, without another word, the Crown Prince of Wrath vanished, leaving behind only scorched ruin and the echo of judgment.
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“Holy crap, that was terrifying.”
About to agree with Issei, Kiba quickly remembered what had triggered the Satan’s apocalyptic anger in the first place.
“Issei, you stupid idiot!” He grabbed the lapels of the boy’s blazer, even as he lay on top of him, and began to shake him violently. “What part of ‘don’t piss off the literal embodiment of anger’ did you not understand!”
Head bobbing back and forth as Kiba shook him, Issei began to protest. “Hey! I didn’t do anything! I was just defending Xevovia-chan and Buchou!”
“You nearly got us killed!” Saji roared as he grabbed Issei’s head and put him in a headlock
As they all began to get up from the dogpile, Akeno reached over and pinched both of Issei’s cheeks, stretching them to unnatural and painful lengths.
“Please, don’t ever do something like that again,” she said dryly.
“Ow! Akeno-san I’m-ow! Sorry! Please let-ow! Go!”
As they all began to back off from the Longinus wielder, Kiba cast a glance at his master. Her face hidden behind her long red hair as her head hung low, Kiba had never seen her look so dejected before. Not even when they had lost the Rating Game against Riser and nearly doomed her to spend the rest of her life as that manwhore’s wife.
Kiba’s heart broke at the sight of her deep-seated sorrow. Even within their own Peerage, his family, he doubted anyone truly understood how he felt. Rias Gremory had saved him. Not just saved him from dying. She had saved him from obscurity. Rias Gremory was Kiba’s everything.
And for one stupid moment, he had taken his eyes off her.
After years of dreaming of revenge, he had finally slain Valper Galeli and avenged all his childhood comrades who had been tortured to death under that psychotic monster.
How did he do so? The answer was to stay loyally by Lady Rias’ side. And just like that, the opportunity for revenge basically fell right into his lap. He didn’t even have to lift a finger. The Genocide Bishop had literally come right to him. Lady Rias was his lucky star. She was his guiding star, his one fixed point in the chaotic ocean that was this life. And just by being by her side, he finally claimed glorious revenge!
And what did he have to show for it?
A new Balance Breaker for his Sacred Gear.
Kiba raised a hand and blankly looked at his empty hand, searching for some meaning in the lines of his palm. He had gotten his revenge. He had become even more powerful than he had ever dreamed of being in the process. In an unprecedented fashion, he could now forge swords that were both Holy and Demonic in nature. An unheard-of power. One that made him stand out from the countless other Devils of their generation.
And what did he do with this newfound power once he had achieved his revenge?
His face twisted into a grimace as he curled his fingers into a tight fist, his nails piercing the flesh of his palm hard enough to draw blood.
Absolutely nothing.
He could not protect his master. He could do nothing for Rias Gremory except for stand by her side when certain death came calling under the guise of the ten black wings of Kokabiel. Rias Gremory had given him everything. The clothes on his back. The food that he ate. His very name.
And he had failed her.
Completely.
Absolutely.
He could not free her from the shackles of Riser. He could not deliver her from the danger of Kokabiel. And he had been utterly helpless when faced with the sheer unadulterated fury of the Crown Prince of Wrath.
As blood dripped from his hand and fell to the floor, Kiba made a vow to himself in that moment. That he would become stronger. That he would do whatever it took to ensure the happiness and security of his master.
As he looked up, he caught Akeno’s gaze. The older girl looked at him with a certain softness, recognizing that he was coming to terms with his shortcomings. He had a feeling she was having inner turmoil of her own. He wouldn’t be surprised if they all were.
Except for Issei.
He held back a sigh. His friend would probably have to have some sense, quite literally, beaten into him.
Akeno moved around him and towards the sofa. Placing a delicate hand on their King’s shoulder, she gently asked, “You okay?”
Red hair moved, and Kiba felt a painful pang in his chest. Those green eyes looked so forlorn, so broken.
She opened her mouth, but all that came out was a strangled and hoarse sound. Halfway between a sob and a choke.
Kiba felt his heart break even more.
His lips parted, the word ‘master’ on the tip of his tongue, but he slowly shut his mouth. What would he say? What could he say? As dreadful as Lord Ichigo had been, nothing he said had been technically wrong. Yes, he did not agree with the way the Satan had said it. He sure as Hell did not appreciate the yelling and the blast of Hellfire. In fact, there was a small suicidal part of Kiba that wanted to punch the Demon Lord in the face. Rias Gremory was his master and, Satan or not, he did not appreciate the misery that Lord Ichigo had pushed her into.
Nonetheless, Lord Ichigo wasn’t wrong.
They had screwed up. His master and Lady Sona had royally screwed up.
But he should have said something. He was his master’s Knight, not some unthinking yes man. He should have pointed out the better path. He should have advised her on the correct course of action. But he hadn’t. He had been too blinded by revenge.
In a rare moment of vulgarity, all of Kiba’s frustrations pooled into a single word.
“Fuck!”
Everyone turned towards him and Kiba felt a hint of color hit his cheeks as he coughed into his hand, trying to hide his embarrassment.
“Erm, sorry.”
Lady Rias’ lips twitched briefly, she understood. They all did. But that mirth was short lived as her face fell dejected again.
“Enku,” and his chest clenched at how hollow she sounded, “I think we should leave now.”
The Qilin looked at the Gremory princess with such deep sadness, but wordlessly he nodded. Kiba looked to the side, where Lady Sona was having a similar moment with her own Peerage and Lord Serafall’s Piece.
Tsubaki and Akeno exchanged glances, giving each other a silent nod of acknowledgement, knowing both would have their hands full with handling the delicate moods of their respective Kings in the coming weeks.
“Wait, what about our families!” Kiba looked over to see Momo, Sona’s Bishop, worriedly looking between Rias and Sona. “He said we won’t be allowed to return to return to this world for the next ten years!”
Both Kings looked at each other helplessly, but luckily for them, Enku cleared his throat and said, “I am sure that both House Gremory and House Sitri will ensure things be properly arranged for you and your families.”
A pregnant pause passed, before Sona gave a humorless laugh.
“I guess I won’t be graduating High School, after all,” she said mirthlessly.
“Lady Sona,” Kosara cried sympathetically. “I-I’m sure Lord Ichigo will change his mind once he’s calmed down!”
Inwardly, Kiba doubted it. Lord Ichigo was the Sin of Wrath. Not the Sin of Forgive and Forget. And judging by the way Sona was biting her lower lip in unease, Kiba was quite sure she felt the same.
“W-We should go,” Sona stuttered out. She rose to her feet as her fingers touched nervously below her navel. “If we stay any longer…”
Everyone grimaced. She didn’t need to finish that sentence. The few seconds of Lord Ichigo releasing his aura was enough to fill them with enough terror for a lifetime. And given how long-lived Devils were…
His master rose as well, and the two Kings looked at one another, their gazes marked with uncertainty and worry. After several moments passed, Lady Rias approached her opposite and the two embraced warmly.
“Take care of yourself, Sona,” she said, her voice gaining some color back.
“You too, Rias. Make sure to keep in touch with me, once you’re back,” the Sitri princess said as she pulled away. Both girls firmly held onto each other’s hands. “There’s a lot we both need to talk about. After we’ve done a lot of self-reflection.”
Lady Rias nodded sadly. And as they pulled their hands apart, Sona cast a glance at Kosara who nodded in understanding. Sending a sad wave in their direction, Leviathan’s Bishop formed a grand magic circle on their side and spirited the entirety of the Sitri peerage to the Underworld.
His master’s gaze lingered for several moments before she let out a heavy breath. “I’m in a lot of trouble, aren’t I, Enku?”
“Oh, my dear princess,” Enku sighed gloomily. “I am sorry, but I cannot lie to you. This is not something that we can sweep under the rug.. A thing of this magnitude cannot be hidden. You know how the Pillar Lords are constantly waging a silent war amongst themselves: a desperate bid to keep each other’s power in check. This will be used against your House, and against my Lord Sirzechs.”
Lady Rias nodded, tears forming in her eyes. Akeno moved towards her, a conjured handkerchief in hand as she wiped at their Kings cheeks.
“There, there,” she whispered consolingly. “We’ll get through this.”
“Luckily,” Enku continued, “the Lord Wrath’s forethought has saved us some significant headache. We should be thankful for his kindness.”
Kiba almost choked in disbelief. And he wasn’t the only one. Everyone was staring at Enku as if he had grown a second head. Kindness? He damn well near incinerated all of them. Kiba would very much like to know where the kindness was.
At their baffled looks, Enku patiently explained. “By placing you under house arrest, the Prince has allowed both Houses to directly shield you from the immediate fallout. Had you remained in the Human World, the narrative would have been far worse and far more damning. The other Pillars could have called for much harsher punishment. Also, that the order came directly from one the Satans, namely not Lord Sirzechs or Lord Serafall, there is no room for accusations of favoritism.”
After mulling it over for a moment, Kiba nodded, accepting the logic of the words. Still, he doubted the Satan had any real intentions of being kind. He was broken from his musings at the sound of a newly familiar voice.
“I-I’m very sorry.” They all turned towards the newest member of their group. Xenovia was bowing at a direct 90° angle at the waist. “My selfishness and reckless anger at being lied to my whole life is what led to this. I-I should have given Durandal to Irina when she left with the Excalibur fragments.”
“No.” And Kiba felt warmth and pride spread through his chest as his King pushed past her own sorrow and walked over to Xenovia and lifted the girl up. A genuine and concerned look in her eye, she gave the girl a soft hug. “This is not your fault, not in the least. I am responsible for you. All of you. It’s me who should apologize.”
“Never,” he said immediately, with an absolute conviction. “I told you before Kokabiel and I’ll tell you now: forever and always. And I’m sure the rest of us agree.”
There was a chorus of agreements from the rest of his family, making Lady Rias give the very first real smile since the departure of the Crown Prince.
“Well said.” Enku smiled as he dipped his draconic head in Kiba’s direction. “Alas, we cannot tarry much longer. I can sense His Highness is still within the vicinity, and I would rather not risk his temper again.”
They all gave an eager nod and Enku wove powerful dimensional magic to pull them into Underworld. And they disappeared in a flash of crimson light.
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Ichigo stood on the roof of a ruined apartment complex, arms crossed and a deep scowl on his face. He kept his senses stretched wide in case of any overly confident Hollows breaking through from Hueco Mundo. He was surprised that no Shinigami had shown up yet, then again, Soul Society did like their bureaucracy.
Not that Devils were any different, he thought to himself.
As he felt the two Peerages and their accompanying chaperones fade back into the Underworld, Ichigo shook his head in frustration.
Stupid, stupid, stupid kids.
He cast a glance to his right, where Saviġuk’s large, furry frame was coiled up. Behind them was Nihil’s shadowed form, the exceptionally powerful Reaver burning with primal hate. And before him stood his Tiamat, in all her ancient glory. Her gigantic sapphire physique standing several stories tall to where he could look her in those ocean blue, serpentine eyes.
Briefly his eyes flicked over the numerous shallow wounds scattered across her shimmering scales. Wrath slowly churned again within him, his eyes narrowing in a silent fury.
He let out a harsh breath.
No matter, Tiamat would heal in time.
But the greater damage was something beyond the physical realm. With magic in his eyes, he could see it as clear as day.
Nihil had let him know: eleven thousand four hundred and twenty-two humans had died. The sudden influx of souls and death energy would have been manageable. But the added clashing energies of thousands of Fallen and Tiamat herself. And most damning of all, Rhongomyniad. Kokabiel wasn’t wrong. The Slaying Spear was cabale of horrific things. Even when Kokabiel had missed a thrust or a swing, even when the Slaying Spear did not cut Tiamat herself, it would still cut reality. Because whenever it moved, it always sundered something.
Tiamat let out a deep growl, shaking the ground below.
“The Veil is Tearing.”
Comments
Daniel Fowler
On the contrary, when he invaded Soul Society his actions didn't put millions of lives at risk. It was stated earlier that the tearing of the veil could potentially put the entire world at risk too. So, him invading Soul Society to save Rukia, or Hueco Mundo to save Orihime, was tame in comparison. Not to mention he was assisted by people who were older and wiser than him such as Yoruichi and Urahara. Rias and Sona were arrogant and foolish to do all of this on their own.
Its_Ezra
I know he's the lord of wrath but I think you let Ichigo get to angry, he wasn't much better when he was just as young as them.
