For someone this young to possess such overwhelming power… it honestly bordered on terrifying.
Yet Izumi only downplayed it with casual humility.
Rias couldn't help thinking: This guy didn't reach this level by accident.
The atmosphere in the Occult Research Club's room was light, everyone chatting over freshly-brewed black tea—until the room suddenly lit up with the glow of a teleportation magic circle.
Conversation halted.All eyes turned toward the shimmering sigil.
A pillar of flame burst up from the center—followed by a man stepping out, dressed in the most gaudy, flamboyant outfit imaginable.
"Ahhh, finally back in the Human World.""Yo, my beloved Rias, your fiancé is here to see you.""…Hm? My my, so many guests today?""Looks like the quality of your peerage is improving."
The man was none other than Riser Phoenix, the fiancé Rias absolutely did not want.
He strutted across the room like he owned the place—but the moment he passed by Asia, his eyes lit up like a starving wolf spotting prey.
"Oh? What a lovely girl. I'll be taking—"
He reached out a hand.
But the next instant—
A blade shaped like crackling lightning materialized in Izumi's hand.
And he stabbed it straight toward Riser's eye.
"GYAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"
Riser's scream shook the old school building.
Izumi looked down on him, cold and emotionless.
"Remove your filthy claws from Asia, trash."
His voice resembled ice.
The blade he had used—the enchanted dagger 'Rule Breaker'—was still lodged deep inside Riser's eye socket, its cursed effects suppressing all magical regeneration.
Even the Phoenix's immortality meant nothing against it.
Everyone present froze.
No one had expected Izumi to react that fast.Or that ruthlessly.
Riser clutched the side of his face, blood streaming down his cheek, staining half of his head crimson.
"You bastard…! Who the hell are you!? What did you do to me!? Why isn't my Phoenix Power working!?"
His usually arrogant voice now trembled in panic.
He tried channeling magic to regenerate—But the moment mana gathered near his eye, it was forcefully dispersed.
Izumi had intentionally left a fragment of the Rule Breaker's curse inside the wound.
If Riser didn't heal quickly, the destroyed eye would permanently scar—something unthinkable for a prideful high-class devil.
Izumi watched Riser's expression twist between pain and hatred.
That only irritated him further.
He summoned another weapon to his hand—a long, yellow spear radiating a deadly curse.
Gae Buidhe — The Yellow Rose of Mortality.A spear that inflicted wounds which could never be healed.
"So you're a Phoenix? An immortal bird?" Izumi said quietly."I wonder… does your immortality still matter when struck by this spear? A weapon that causes unhealable wounds?"
He raised it, ready to advance.
Rias snapped back to her senses.
"I—Izumi-kun! Stop!""Please calm down!""He's a pure-blood, a high-class devil of the Phoenix family! If you kill him, you'll cause serious trouble!"
But Riser was too consumed by rage to hear the warning.
"Rias…! So this is it, huh!? You hired some attack dog to humiliate me!?""You cheating woman—both of you, die!"
A wave of blazing Phoenix flame erupted from his body in blind fury.
Izumi didn't even flinch.
He simply flicked his wrist—Rule Breaker reappeared like a shadow.
STAB.
This time, the blade pierced Riser's arm.
His flames sputtered out instantly, extinguished mid-eruption.
Everyone stood in stunned silence.
Especially Riser.
He stared at his arm in horror.
His magic—simply would not gather.
"Th-this weapon…! It's this damn thing, isn't it!?""You damn human! I'll kill you!!"
He ripped the dagger out of his own arm, blood spraying, and charged toward Izumi in pure desperation.
Izumi broke free from Rias's grip.
In one fluid motion—
SLASH.
Gae Buidhe carved a deep line across Riser's chest, spilling blood all over the polished floor.
Izumi kicked him away like a broken toy.
"Shut up.""If you really want to die, just say so. I'll gladly kill you right now."
Riser's face twisted with hatred and humiliation.
He—someone classified as a B-Rank powerhouse, heir to a pure-blood household—was being overwhelmed by a mere human.
No matter how he tried, he couldn't muster even a scrap of magical power.
Rias pressed a trembling hand to her temple.
She couldn't believe it.
Riser really was the unluckiest devil alive.
Of all people to provoke… he chose Izumi.And then he tried to touch Asia on top of that.
Rias glanced toward Asia.
Why did she suddenly feel a strange pang of envy?
Izumi's reaction had been instantaneous—decisive—merciless.The moment Riser reached for Asia, Izumi stabbed him in the eye without hesitation.
He didn't even stop to think.
She looked again at the yellow spear in Izumi's hand, then at the wound across Riser's chest—
That wound will never heal…
She didn't even know what to say.
And as if things weren't chaotic enough—
Another magic circle lit up in silver at the center of the room.
Someone else was arriving.