With the number of girls crowding over him, Abaddon instantly became the center of attention in the room. Unfortunately for the girls, they were in a formal gathering and needed to maintain their image. There were some, like Aika and Xenovia, who didn't give a fuck about their image, but the others' prudence made them hold themselves back as well so as not to embarrass their lord.
"Come here, Vaira," Abaddon said. "I haven't seen you in so long and you're acting all shy." She smiled lightly and shook her head before approaching Abaddon.
"What were you busy with that even your brother doesn't know where you were?" She gave him a brief yet tight hug as he hugged her back.
"I was fighting laser dolphins in Guam," Abaddon said with a flat expression, expecting at least one of the people in the surroundings to react. Indeed one of them did. It was a very faint, suppressed snort, but Abaddon heard it. He turned to the source, only to see Sona looking down, her face red with a blush. A faint smile crept up on his face at her reaction.
"What?" Seekvaira asked.
"Nothing. It's a reference," Abaddon shook his head, "What were you fighting this douche about?" He asked her while pointing down at the devil, who had become no better than a rug at this point, considering how many devils had stepped on him. Abaddon was still standing on him, alongside Rias, Akeno, and Xenovia.
"Nothing much," Seekvaira said. "He called me a virgin, I hit him, and he retaliated. The usual."
"But you are a virgin," Abaddon whispered in her ear, "A disgrace among devils of our age really, but still."
"One more word about this and I slap you into tomorrow," She threatened a very probable threat. Seekvaira, if she truly unleashed the potential of the Time power of her clan, did have such capabilities.
"Fine fine," Abaddon said. "Where's Diodora? I thought he'd be here. I was looking for a nice punching bag after my big power-up."
"He hasn't shown his face in the outside world ever since your rating game against him," Seekvaira said. "Why do you think that he would be here?"
"Because the agenda of this meeting is pretty important to his interests," Abaddon said. "Forget it, since he's not here, it doesn't matter. I'll go meet people."
"You mean you'll go meet your brother," Seekvaira said. "You don't just converse with anyone at these balls, right? Your words."
"You know me well enough to be my wife at this point, Vaira," Abaddon said. "What do you say? We could elope, our clans be damned."
"Har har," she laughed dryly. "Have fun." She patted his arm and turned around to continue mingling with the rest of the people.
Abaddon's gaze inadvertently met Rias' eyes. She gave him a look that told him, 'Once this thing is over, we're doing a special one-on-one training session and I'm not taking no for an answer.' The thirsty look was copied by all of his girls, each of them in varying intensities. Sona was shy yet greedy while Akeno was also a little shy, but her denial had won out against her modesty as she gave him a blatantly thirsty look, as intense as Aika's. As for Xenovia, Abaddon was sure that she was feeling just as, if not more needy. But she just wasn't as expressive about it.
'What's on Koneko's mind?' Abaddon realized that Koneko seemed to be completely distracted. 'Now that I think of it, she didn't even react when I squeezed her butt. Under normal circumstances, she would've acted like I stepped on her tail …'
As the girls dispersed to do their own things, Abaddon was approached by a fiery blonde woman.
"Greetings, Red Dragon Emperor," Ravel Phenex stood beside him, acting demure and slightly haughty.
"You are …" Abaddon raised his brow questioningly.
"You!" She seemed infuriated. "You fought against my brother and even talked to me when you unfairly intruded on the rating game. I'm Ravel Phenex."
"Hmm …" Abaddon made a thoughtful expression as he looked her over, "Doesn't ring a bell."
"You …" She got angry enough that her hair seemed to come to life, ready to explode into flames.
Abaddon laughed, patting her head, "I'm just messing with you, Ravel," He said as her flames seemed to instantly get doused. "As someone whom I've previously invited to become my Bishop, of course I remember you. You were just acting so stuck-up that I couldn't help but tease you a little."
Ravel's face was red for a whole different reason now, "I-I see …" She said before shaking her head and stepping back, looking at Abaddon as if he'd violated her privacy.
"How's your brother doing?" He asked, not caring about her reaction, deciding to make some small talk with her.
"He's fine," Ravel said with a huff. "At least as fine as he could be. Father has punished him with imprisonment for two hundred years to atone for his actions."
"How tragic," Abaddon said. "So that means that you're actually up for grabs now?"
"Wait up, Red Dragon Emperor," Ravel turned to look at him, turning her head up to meet his eyes. "Were you serious about the offer?" She asked. "I thought that you were just messing with me."
"Of course I'm serious," Abaddon said. "You'd be the perfect bishop. Not only can you tank attacks like nobody's business, but you can even supply me with as many Phoenix Tears as I want. Of course, I would love to have you in my Peerage.
"You know that's not how it works, right?" Ravel asked. "Generating Phoenix Tears is a very complicated process. Do you understand, Red Dragon Emperor?"
"It's a mouthful, isn't it?" Abaddon said. "I'd rather fill your mouth with something else. How about you just call me by my name?"
"Fill my mouth with something … else?" Ravel didn't understand what Abaddon meant initially before her face turned red. "P-pervert!" She said agitatedly in a low voice. "I-I'll just call you Abaddon-sama, is that fine?" She wanted to change the topic quickly.
"That works," Abaddon smiled before offering Ravel his hand, "How about a dance while we talk?"
"I-it would be my honor, Abaddon-sama," Ravel felt a little disoriented at Abaddon's random topic jumping, but she was quick to adapt. She extended her hand and placed it on top of Abaddon's while suppressing her excitement as he led her to the dance floor. The duo slowly started swaying with her to the beat of the music along with the other devils who were dancing together.
"I thought that you would hate me after I not only beat up your brother but even caused him to be punished for so long," Abaddon said, keeping one hand on Ravel's waist as his other held her hand and extended it away from them.
"N-no …" Ravel stuttered a little, her grip over Abaddon's shoulder tightening as she followed his lead in the dance. "He had it coming, partnering up with our enemies and all. He even supplied them with a large amount of our Phoenix Tears."
"Well I'm glad," Abaddon said. "That means that I can still take you for myself."
Ravel's blush increased as she stepped over her foot, almost tripping. "T-thanks," she said as Abaddon held her upright preventing her from embarrassing herself. "The thing with the tears reminds me … I have a gift of friendship for you. It's in the back pocket of my dress …"
"A gift for me?" Abaddon said as he switched his hands, his right hand placed on Ravel's waist and his left holding her right hand. He slowly slid it closer to her lower back. "I'm flattered, Ravel."
"I hope that you appreciate it," Ravel said, blushing as she felt Abaddon's hand slide closer to her back pocket. She could clearly feel his fingers as they slid along her back and went lower. A light squeal escaped her lips when he finally put his hand inside her pocket and pulled the vial out. She distinctly felt him squeezing her butt in the process.
"How soft, Ravel ..." Abaddon said, making the girl blush even more. "And I do very much appreciate your gift." Abaddon pocketed the vial that contained a single Phoenix Tear. "But I want something else from you as well."
"What is it?" Ravel asked.
"You." The girl's eyes widened at Abaddon's words, "Talk to your family about joining my Peerage, okay? I will come by the Phenex domain soon to take you away. Be ready by then." Ravel didn't have any words to say, so Abaddon continued, "Do you understand, Ravel?"
"U-understood, Abaddon-sama," Ravel said. "I will talk to my mother about trading myself into your Peerage."
"Good," Abaddon said, continuing to dance with Ravel for a few more minutes, making sure she knew about how he appreciated her.
Just as the song finished, the duo stopped and Ravel heard a familiar voice, "Hello, Ravel. Do you mind giving me some space with Abaddon? I need to talk to him about something." It was Rias.
"Sure," Ravel nodded, not paying too much attention to Rias' confrontational tone. "I need to greet some of the other guests anyway." She walked away, leaving Rias with Abaddon.
"I missed you so much and here you are, dancing with the sister of the man who almost stole me from you," Rias said, sticking close to Abaddon as the next song started.
The duo started swaying much more intimately as Abaddon answered, "I'm taking revenge on him. He dared to try and steal you from me, so I'm going to take his sister for myself," He wrapped his arm tightly around Rias' waist and held her close, hastening the pace of his movements while making sure that she was keeping up.
"Are you never going to be satisfied?" Rias asked as Abaddon twirled her once and pulled her close before dipping her on the other side. He leaned forward with her until their noses touched before pulling both himself and Rias up.
"I won't let you feel unsatisfied if that's what you think, okay, Rias?" Abaddon's hand moved to her ass and he gave her a discrete squeeze. "You must be desperate for my cock after so many days away from me. Once I satisfy you, you won't have any complaints about my promiscuousness."
Rias snorted and looked away, but still followed Abaddon's lead until the song ended.
Akeno was quick to push Rias away and pulled Abaddon to dance with her for the next song. This was then followed by Sona, Aika, and Xenovia doing the same. Abaddon even pulled Tsubaki with him to dance as she stuttered embarrassedly and tried to refuse unsuccessfully, ultimately ending up dancing with him for a song.
Once everyone was finished, Abaddon recalled a cute cat-girl who didn't seem to have asked him for a dance.
'Where's Koneko?' He thought to himself.
***
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