DXD: The Awakening Of Phenex

Lilith City

Riser materialized in the center of the city, where there once stood a majestic square, now reduced to a field of debris. His black boots touched the cracked, dirty ground, and he immediately felt the oppressive heat of the flames around him. His sharp eyes quickly analyzed the scene, and he couldn't help but frown at the extent of the destruction.

As Riser slowly advanced through the devastated square, a muffled sound caught his attention. "Someone... help... please..." The voice was weak, almost inaudible under the crackling flames and the distant roars of dragons.

Riser stopped and looked around, his eyes narrowing as he tried to locate the source of the sound. He then spotted a small movement under a nearby pile of rubble. With a decisive move, he approached and began to remove the stones and pieces of concrete with a simple gesture of his hand, his magic pushing the debris aside as if they were mere grains of sand.

"Please... help..." The voice, now clearer, belonged to a devil child, whose eyes were filled with tears and fear. She was trapped under a collapsed wooden beam, immobilizing her legs. Her face was dirty and stained with ash, and her weak hands tried, unsuccessfully, to free herself.

Riser, without wasting time, lifted the beam, raising it easily. He then tossed it aside as if it were a mere piece of paper, freeing the child.

"Stop crying and get out of there," Riser ordered, his voice harsh but with a touch of impatience. He knew he had no time to lose, but he also couldn't simply ignore the child's situation.

The devil child looked at Riser with wide eyes, scared and confused, but managed to crawl out of the rubble with the help of Riser's magic. Once free, she tried to stand, but her legs were too weak to support her.

"Are you... Asmodeus-sama?" the child asked, her voice full of reverence and fear as she finally recognized who was before her.

"Yes, I am Asmodeus-sama," Riser replied, his voice firm as he looked at the devil child.

He observed the debilitated state of the small devil, her trembling legs and eyes full of pain. Without hesitation, Riser extended his hand and, with a smooth motion, opened his inventory.

From within the inventory, he pulled out a Phoenix Tear, a small but radiant vial containing a single Phoenix Tear. The liquid inside the vial radiated a comforting warmth and emitted a soft golden light, almost hypnotic.

"Take this," Riser said, handing the Phoenix Tear to the child with a severe look, but with a genuine intention to help. "It will heal your wounds. Drink it all."

The child, still dazed, took the vial with trembling hands, her eyes wide with surprise and gratitude. She didn't hesitate to open the vial and drink the golden liquid. Immediately, a wave of comforting warmth spread through her body, and the wounds began to close, the pain disappearing as if it had never existed.

"Thank you, Asmodeus-sama!" the devil child exclaimed, her voice full of admiration and relief. She tried to stand again, and this time, her legs did not falter. Her eyes sparkled with new hope as she looked at Riser, who was already standing, ready to move on.

"Go to a safe place," Riser ordered, already standing, ready to face the chaos engulfing Lilith.

The devil child nodded quickly and, without saying another word, ran in the opposite direction, seeking shelter. Riser watched for a brief moment to ensure she was out of danger before turning and continuing his way through the destroyed city.

Riser advanced through the ruins of Lilith, his eyes vigilant for any sign of the Evil Dragons. The heat of the flames and the smell of destruction permeated the air, but he remained focused. Then he heard a peculiar sound, a cold and metallic noise that stood out among the roars and crackling flames.

CRACK!

The sound came from a side street, and Riser quickly moved in the direction of the noise. As he turned the corner, he encountered one of the Evil Dragons, but this one was different from the others. Its body was composed of translucent blue scales, shimmering with deadly coldness. Clouds of cold vapor escaped from its nostrils, and each beat of its wings spread a lethal frost wherever it passed.

"So, you're the Ice Dragon," Riser murmured to himself, his eyes narrowing with determination. He knew this creature was even more dangerous, capable of freezing everything around it in an instant.

The Ice Dragon roared, a sound that seemed to cut through the air with a biting coldness.

ROOOOAAAARRRR!

The roar was followed by a blast of ice from its mouth, freezing everything in its path. The ground, the walls of destroyed buildings, and even the air around it became covered with a thick layer of ice. The temperature plummeted drastically, and the environment around Riser became a deadly ice field.

"Let's see if you can handle fire," Riser said, a defiant smile forming on his face.

He raised his hands, and immediately, intense flames enveloped his arms. The flames were a burning red, starkly contrasting with the ice around him. Riser then fired a burst of fire directly at the Ice Dragon.

WHOOSH!

The flames advanced quickly, colliding with the burst of ice that the dragon launched in response. The meeting of the two opposing forces created an explosion of steam and smoke, obscuring the vision of both combatants for a brief moment.

KABOOOM!

Riser moved quickly, not waiting to see the outcome of the first exchange of blows. He knew the Ice Dragon wouldn't be defeated so easily. Taking advantage of the confusion, he launched himself to the side, creating a new fireball in his hands and hurling it at the creature's flank.

The fireball hit the Ice Dragon, melting some of its scales, but the creature quickly turned, its eyes glowing with fury. It opened its jaws again, firing its ice blast once more, this time in a wide arc, aiming to freeze Riser in place.

Riser dodged skillfully, jumping back and using his magic to increase the temperature around him, melting the ice that tried to form at his feet. "You won't freeze me so easily," Riser said, his voice filled with determination.

He extended his hand and invoked a magic circle in the air, from which emerged a flaming spear. With a fluid motion, he launched the spear directly at the Ice Dragon's chest.

FWOOOSH!

The spear pierced the dragon's scales, and the flames began to spread across its body, attempting to consume the ice that made it up. The Ice Dragon roared in pain, its wings beating frantically as it tried to extinguish the flames, but Riser's fire was relentless.

However, the Ice Dragon was not willing to fall without a fight. With one last effort, it opened its wings and flapped them forcefully, generating a storm of snow and ice around it, trying to suffocate the flames that burned it.

Riser, seeing the dragon preparing its final attack, concentrated his magic even more, his flames growing in intensity. He knew he needed to end this quickly. With a battle cry, he channeled all his power into one last explosion of fire, firing it directly at the Ice Dragon.

BOOOOM!

The explosion was devastating. The fire consumed the dragon completely, melting the ice and turning the monster into a pile of steam and ashes. When the smoke cleared, all that remained of the Ice Dragon was a heap of melted debris on the ground.

"Thank you, Asmodeus-sama," a female voice suddenly sounded behind Riser, just after the Ice Dragon had been defeated.

The woman emerged from the shadows of a destroyed building, her body covered in soot and her clothes torn, evidence that she had barely survived the attack. Her face was marked by exhaustion, but her eyes shone with gratitude.

Riser, who was about to continue his way through the devastated city, paused for a moment, hesitating. His immediate instinct was to ignore the woman and move on, focused on eliminating the remaining dragons. However, something in her tired and grateful expression made him reconsider. He opted to be kind, despite his urgency.

"Are you okay?" Riser asked, his voice firm but with a softer tone than usual. He turned completely to the woman, his eyes quickly assessing her condition. Though she was injured, she didn't seem to be in immediate danger.

The woman quickly nodded, tears beginning to stream down her dirty cheeks. "Yes, I'm... I'm okay now, thanks to you, Asmodeus-sama." She held her trembling hands in front of her, as if about to drop to her knees in gratitude.

"Get out of here, it's dangerous," he said, trying to maintain authority in his voice while gesturing toward a safe escape route. "The dragons are still out there. You need to find a safe place."

The woman hesitated for a moment, as if wanting to say something else, but finally nodded in agreement. "Yes, Asmodeus-sama. I... I will. Thank you once again."

She took a few steps back, still casting quick, grateful glances at Riser, before turning and running in the direction he had indicated. Even in her rush to flee, she seemed to carry with her a new hope, inspired by Riser's presence and protection.

Riser watched the woman disappear among the ruins for a brief moment before turning again to the chaotic scene around him.

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