P.S this story starts a few years before the start of our favorite DXD verse!
AND I DON'T OWN ANY DXD MATERIAL, ALL CREDIT TO THE ORIGINAL WRITERS!
"Talking out aloud"
'Thinking with ones mind'
"Spirits inside the sacred gears talking"
Without further delay, lets start the chapter!
Kuoh
It had been a few days since the rating game. Rias and her peerage had fully recovered and rejoined school alongside Kenta and Yumi. It was a source of wild gossip throughout the school as to what the group had been doing over the course of last three weeks, especially since some like Issie and Kiba showcased improved physical attributes. Even Asia, the most innocent and peace loving person among them all, showcased noticeable muscle development on her persons. Thankfully, Rias was able to come up with a excuse of 'investigating a supernatural phenomenon' in a abandoned mansion in the outskirts of Kuoh, that had tempered down the questioning but didn't do much to hide the suspicion around the Occult Research Group.
A mansion that Rias and her peerage should have cleansed a few weeks ago but the group had been distracted with Riser at the time. A task that was going to be completed today.
"Amazing tea as always Akeno" Marid complimented Akeno as he sipped her tea yet again while lounging around in Occult Research Clubroom. The clubroom had become a form of relaxing place for Marid who had found himself getting busier everyday with the task of brewing the concoction for the Greek Gods, which was taking a huge chunk of his time.
With another sip, Marid opened up the newspaper from the underworld and begun reading it curiously. Desire to see how the underworld was handling ' Destruction of Lord Riser Phoenix by the Princess of Destruction and the Red Dragon Emperor' as the underworld media had dubbed it. It wouldn't do well for Marid to be caught unawares of any potential news during the meeting with the Greek Gods after all.
"Your Welcome Lord Marid" Akeno smiled back at the son of Lucifer as she continued serving him and Rias, who were the only other two occupants in the room.
"Where are the rest?" Marid asked curiously as he regarded Rias, who herself was sitting at her desk, trying her best to cover all the schoolwork she had missed due to the rating game.
Rias looked up from her desk to regard her nephew, "They should be coming to the clubroom soon enough. Luckily for me and Akeno; we got a free period so we were able to make up a good chunk of our school work" Rias replied back with a smile before taking a swig of her own tea. A sigh left her lips as she let Akeno's tea sooth her senses.
"I see" Marid nodded with understanding as he started having a conversation with both Akeno and Rias. Both of whom were more than happy to entertain a conversation with him to distract them from the mountainous homework they were still left with.
"So how is life treating you now that you are sharing a bed with more than one person Rias?" Marid teased Rias who herself blushed at his words.
It was almost an open secret among the group that after the rating game Rias had moved in with Issie to work on her master-servant relationship, but they all knew what Rias hoped to accomplish. Something Issie was more than happy with, The duo would be subject to a lot of teasing from Marid and Akeno in particular, but mostly everyone was happy for the pair after all both Issie and Rias had been through a lot as far as their romantic lives were concerned.
Asia on the other hand was not happy at the very least and would be prone to actions that would come across as jealousy. Coupled that with Asia's innocent nature, the whole scene would always come as incredibly cute. Which is why when Asia announced yesterday to the group that she too would start sharing Issie's bed like Rias, the group had found it incredibly amusing…. Well everyone except Kenta who was not amused one bit. Seeing someone like Asia, who he had come to see as a little sister, to be pursuing a relationship with someone didn't sit right with him. The fact the person Asia tried to pursue a relationship with was Issie, the self proclaimed future Harem King, didn't help matters at all.
It had taken a combination of Marid, Yumi and Asia herself to convince Kenta to not beat Issie down to a pulp for it. Kenta, reluctantly as it may have been, agreed not to take any drastic measures over Asias sudden announcement but warned Issie that he would burn Issie to a crisp if he did something perverted with Asia without her consent and before they graduated school to which Issie readily agreed. Thankful to come off Kenta's crosshairs.
"My personal life has nothing to do with you" Rias muttered out a response while doing her best to recover from the blush.
Marid who found the whole thing rather amusing laughed openly alongside Akeno. To which they earned a rather stern glare from Rias.
"I am rather surprised no one has opposed to your change in accommodations eversince the rating game" Marid asked curiously.
"I am sure they have learned their lessons from the rating game; I am my own person and wont marry just anyone" Rias huffed.
Marid on the other hand had a different idea about the whole situation, 'Or maybe the idea of having the Red Dragon Emperor on their side has tempered down the noise quite a bit'
"What I am really surprised about that no one has reached out to me about the destroyed mansion" Rias wondered aloud as she looked around the room. Like she had thought Akeno was thinking carefully about the situation. Given Rias's issues with her family, Akeno had vowed to herself to be better at politics to assist her king in a more efficient manner.
Marid on the other hand barely hid the grin that was on his face, "Is there something you would like to tell us Marid?" Rias asked her nephew.
"I might have reached out to a construction company to have that manor fixed before we handed back the wards of the property to our family" Marid simply replied.
"Why would you do that? I thought you enjoyed angering father" not that Rias could argue against it considering how much of an ass her father had been to her in the last few weeks.
"I would have left it like that but the meeting with Greek Gods is coming close and I would rather have my 100 percent focus on it rather than be mixed with a family drama with Zeoticus" Marid sighed at the end.
"Me as well" Rias sighed at the end.
"I am sure you are. Handling the thought of making yourself the alpha wife in your pawns ultimate Harem must be rather stressful" Marid laughed at Rias blush but was forced to dodge a pillow thrown his way.
"Idiot" Rias muttered as she hid her face in embarrassment. An act Marid and Akeno found very cute.
In the end Marid decided to have some pity on Rias and changed the topic, "This is interesting though" Marid turned the newspaper to rankings section of the newspaper before passing the newspaper to Rias
Rias curiously looked over the paper before reading its content with an eager look. Nevertheless, the content of the paper left her rather shocked and angry.
"How could they change the rankings of Youth Devils?!?" Rias exclaimed in anger.
"Because you got a victory over a genuine rating game prospect, dumb dumb" Marid replied without a care in the world.
"But they didn't have to change your rankings. That is just stupid! Most of the underworld already knows that it was you and your peerage that trained us for the rating game! Going by that logic how could they change the rankings" Rias replied hotly.
'Not to mention, changing the rankings of the strongest Devils of the next generation this close to the Greek Meetings was purely a political move by the Great Satan Faction. Having a person as the weakest Devil of the next generation acting as a representative from their side could be seen as an act of disrespect by the Olympians, no matter how talented the said Devil might be' Rias thought inwardly as she glared at the rating game rankings announced on the newspaper.
YOUTH DEVIL RANKINGS
Rias Gremory ↑ Sairaorg Bael -- Diodora Astaroth ↑ Cleria Belial ↑ Sona Sitri ↑ Seekvaira Aagres ↑ Dagon Glaysa Llabolas ↑ Zelph Glaysa Llabolas ↑ Marid Gremory 7↓
Professional Rating Game Rankigns
Diehauser Belial -- Roygun Belphegor -- Bedeze Abaddon -- Lord Damon Sallos -- Lord Raim Stolas -- Ruval Phoenix ↑ Rudiger Rosenkreutz ↓ Lord Hadrian Berith -- Former Dragon King Tanin ↑ Lady Bella Stolas ↓
Rankings improved ↑
Rankings reduced ↓
Same rankings –
"You got to realize Rias no one has truly seen me fight since our rating game from way back when and they don't even know who's in my peerage. Hells I don't even think my parents and the rest of the Satans know all of my peerage members despite their hidden connections throughout the supernatural world" Marid countered logically. "I know it may seem harsh and doesn't portray me in the good light for the meeting with the Gods, but there is nothing we can do to change that now and there is nothing we should. This is the consequence of my desire to keep myself and my peerage hidden for so long and I am ready to deal with its consequences"
"But still" Rias fumed inside. Without Marid and his peerages help, she was sure her peerage were doomed to fail but alas like Marid had said there is nothing they could do about it. She vowed to give a passing interview to the underworld press before the Greek meeting to showcase her support of Marid.
The trio continued to talk to each other for the next hour at which point members of the Occult Research club slowly started to trickle in.
When the trio of Issie, Asia and Kenta arrived, Rias brought the club to order.
"Welcome back everyone! I hope everyone is working towards completing their missed school work" Rias regarded the group and was happy when she saw everyone nod. Even her Issie, the one who liked the school work the least, gave her a grim nod confirming he was working on his missing school work. It didn't help that Rias was sleeping in his room and as his master and future lover she made sure Issie kept up with his studies.
"That's good since I need you all caught up soon since the workload is starting to pile up" Rias informed her and Marids peerage.
"Eno… What kind of workload?" Asia cutely raised her hands, an action almost everyone in the clubroom found incredibly adorable.
Rias smiled back at her adorable Bishop, "Like Devil contracts and our work as Occult research Club. As it turns out there is a abandoned property in the southern outskirts of Kuoh. At first me and Akeno had thought that the property must be grounds of illegal Yakuza territory but now we can confirm that the house does in fact house a angry spirit. Something we should have cleansed a long time ago but as you all know we have been incredibly busy recently" her peerage nodded back in understanding.
"Which is why I have asked of Sonas help today" as if on que there was a knock on the door, from there the entire Student council walked through.
"Sona Kaicho!" Issie straightened his back, not wanting to ruin his streak of avoiding trouble with the stoic Devil, while others respectfully welcomed her.
"That is two you owe me now Rias" Sona smirked slightly as she walked with her peerage into the clubroom.
"True but I am sure it is only a matter of time before you ask me of help" Rias replied teasingly again. It was no secret that Rias peerage held the power advantage over the two heiress. So it had been rather frequent during their earlier years in kuoh that Sona had to enlist Rias help in hunting down strays Devils on night they received multiple orders for extermination of stray Devils.
"One could dream" Sona narrowed her eyes at her rival.
"No wonder they need help, they have the worlds biggest pervert on their side" Saji taunted his fellow pawn who himself was almost tempted into a fight but both pawns were stopped by their respective Kings.
Marid could only sigh in return, again his dream of the two pawns scrapping in the clubroom failed. Not that it mattered since everyone knew who would have won that fight if they had fought.
"Moving on" Rias gave her pawn a glare, to which he gulped nervously, "I assume you and your peerage know of the location of the abandoned property that host the evil spirit?"
"Yes, it is rather hard not to ignore the property. Me and Tsubaki had warded off the property with human repelling spells to ensure the humans don't accidently, enter the property during the time you were gone in the preparation of the rating game" Sona replied with a subtle sass she was known for having.
Rias barely shook her head in amusement. It was like Sona to be extra careful with everything. Every 't' crossed and every 'i' dotted, it was just her style.
"Then I appreciate your help in this matter. My peerage need to complete our school work as soon as possible. The contracts are starting to pile up" Rias sighed to which Sona nodded. As her peerage also dealt with a lot of Devil contracts, she knew it wasn't a good thing to sideline those for a long time. Especially since both Rias and herself would be under a microscope for the next few weeks. After all the Devils from the Great Satan Faction weren't happy considering how their carefully laid out plans had been wiped out after Rias had won the rating game.
"That's good, I figured me and my peerage will accompany you on the mission as well" Marid said out of the blue, catching both Devil heiress off guard.
"I thought you and your peerage still had more work to do?" Sona asked indecorously but not truly opposed to having Marid and his peerages company her to the mission.
"I could use some distractions from the near constant repeated cycle of brewing the concoction, while my peerage are almost done with their school work. It helps that they are also part of the Occult Research club. Them joining this little expedition would give them the perfect opportunity to also write the paper on their clubs behalf" Marid replied with a easy smile on his face, not really paying any attention to Kenta who was groaning at the thought of doing more work.
'Not that me and my peerage need any help but it will be a good idea to get a measure of Marid and his peerage. After all, I have never seen them perform under pressure" Sona thought up an excuse internally.
"Just don't hold us back" Sona sighed as she gave Marid a nod.
Marid smiled in return, "Good then lets out" with that Marid stood up and approached his own peerage.
Within the next few moments, both Marid and Sona teleported out of the clubroom with their peerages leaving Rias and her peerage the sole occupants of the room.
"What the hell was that?!?" the silence of the room was broken by Issie who exclaimed aloud in confusion.
"You will get used to it" Rias just shook her head in amusement, knowing better than most that this was just how both Sona and Marid interacted with eachother.
'I wonder if Sirzechs Oni-sama and Lord Sitri will create a marriage contract for Sona and Marid' Rias briefly wondered before shaking her head, 'Probably not! They would probably want Marid and Sona to figure things out on their own paces'
"So what now?" Issie asked as he looked around the room in confusion.
"Now we complete our late assignments so we are caught up. We won't get opportunity's like this anytime soon" Rias smiled sweetly at the growing horror that was etched upon her pawns face.
Elsewhere
Two magic circles appeared outside a Japanese estate; surrounded by woodlands of Kuoh. The estate included a decent size Japanese style house that connected to a dojo, swimming pool and a shrine, that looked like that hadn't been used or upkept for a few years, but had an essence and modern day amenities as a sign of the previous owners intentions of renovating the property to increase its value. Not to mention the estate of the art 50m swimming pool attached to the backyard along with Gazebo and a algae infested pond.
"It's a rather secluded property don't you think?" Marid glanced around.
"According to the information I was able to get from the city council, it's a Japanese style property that's been on the property market for more than a year. The records show the property has 8 bedrooms and 10 bathrooms" Sona informed the group as she adjusted her glasses.
Marid in return just chuckled to himself. It was just like Sona, to have every 't' crossed and every 'i' dotted.
"Our very own haunted house" Tomeo, Sona's knight, spoke with such intoxicating excitement that it earned a smile of most of the Devils of the group but a glare from her King.
"The area does have some kind of a supernatural presence to it" Kenta voiced his opinion as he looked around the place with a keen eye. As a Kuroshishi, his senses were far sharper than most Devil. "So how are we going to do this?"
Marid and Sona grew thoughtful at Kenta's question. They could obviously use Marids device to locate the supernatural presence that had been terrorizing the property… but where was the fun in that.
As if reading each other's thoughts, Marid and Sona smiled at each other before looking at their peerages who grew considerably nervous after seeing their smiles.
"We split into three teams and try and locate the supernatural entity" Sona spoke for the both of them as she looked directly at the group of Devils in front of them.
"Three teams would definitely make sense. We cover more ground while ensuring we aren't vulnerable to any of the traps hidden by the said supernatural being" Both Yumi and Tsubaki nodded in understanding.
"Then the only question that remains is what will be the teams?" Kenta asked.
Barely a few minutes later the group of Devils were divided into three teams.
First team included: Tsubaki, Saji and Tomeo
Second team included: Yumi, Ruruko and Tsubasa
Third team included: Kenta, Momo and Reya.
Three teams, perfectly balanced but all remained was one final question.
"That means Lord Marid would go with Kenta-san team because" Saji stopped mid sentence when he saw the harsh glare Sona threw at him.
"Saji apologize now" Sona glared at her pawn with supreme anger.
"I am sorry Kenta-san" Saji almost shuddered under his masters glare but was surprised when he saw Kenta. To his surprise, he didn't felt any anger from Kenta rather… acceptance which surprised him even more but before he could think about it his attention was drawn towards Kenta's own master.
"I have absolute confidence in Kenta and know he will perform admirably during this ordeal but to answer your question… me and Sona will not be taking part in this Hunt"
"What?!?" Saji exclaimed in shock earning another glare from Sona for acting in such a manner.
"Saji-san, cleansing the estate of any unwanted supernatural entities provides me and Marid with a unique opportunity to gauge your skills. Since this is your first time in a situation like so, I won't judge you too harshly as the rest of my peerage but I will expect all of you to learn from today. It is not every day that we have such an opportunity to test our non-combative skills in such a controlled environment" Sona regarded her peerage.
"Same goes for both Yumi and Kenta" Marid gave his own peerage a nod.
"No pressure then" Saji fixed his shirt collar which suddenly became too tight.
"No Saji-kun, just do your best" Tsubaki reassured her charges before guiding them towards their assigned section. Other two teams soon started walking towards their sections as well.
"Oh by the way Kenta and Yumi" Marid called out his own peerage members, "Just a heads up, both of you are not allowed to use your sacred gears to help you"
"What?!?" Kenta snapped his back towards Marid.
"Like Sona said, this is a test to evaluate your skills. You both can pretty much take out middle class Devils easily on your own. With your sacred gear this whole task would be too easy… wouldn't you agree?" Marid asked with an easy going smile on his face.
'Not that it wont make that much of a difference considering what I have heard about them' Sona inwardly snorted before imposing the same rules on her Queen.
"Time to head out then I guess" Momo Hanakai, Sona's Bishop, sighed as slowly the three teams begin to walk towards their destination.
"You know, even without the sacred gear its not going to take them more than five minutes before they kill the evil spirit that's been lingering in the house" Sona looked at Marid curiously. Part of her wondering what else Marid had planned for the two groups. It was a lesson she had learned pretty early on, Marid didn't have one dimensional thinking that most Devils did.
"I know but where is the fun in that" Marid grinned at that before simply creating a summoning magic circle.
Sona continued to watch Marid curiously before finding her eyes shooting into her hairline when she realized what Marid had planned for the teams. She recovered soon before narrowing her eyes, "My peerage is not going to fall for this"
"You fell for it easy enough" Marid teased causing Sona to let out a groan.
"You are not going to let me forget it are you?" Sona asked rhetorically.
"Nope" Marid grinned before giving Sona a curious look. "How about a bet!" Marid suggested.
"I am listening" Sona replied, hiding her curiosity in her tone.
"Whoever's peerage doesn't get distracted or gets the least distracted gets something from the other King. If you win, I will never mention about that chess game that I definitely won"
"What if you win?" Sona asked curiously despite knowing what Marids answer going to be.
"I will officially have that chess game in my wins column. Dare to play this bet with me Sona Sitri" Marid spoke challengingly at the end.
After taking a moment to think about it, she couldn't help but create a summoning circle for herself.
Afterall it was meant to be the perfect test…. Right?
Team 1
Not long after, the three teams of Sitri and Gremory Devils were out of the earshot of the two high class Devils, Tsubaki, Saji and Tomeo found themselves heading towards their assigned area to clear western end of the estate, the one that housed the small shrine attached to the algae infested pond.
Sona had specifically entrusted her Queen to clear out the shrine and its surrounding area due to her history. Trusting a former human belonging to a Japanese noble family who are well known for purifying evil spirits in the name of Shinto Gods was a safe bet after all.
"Why do we have to look for evil spirits outside?!? We could have been inside away from the sun and this pond" Saji whined not before covering his nose at the sharp smell that invaded his senses.
"Wow Saji-kun, I never knew you were interested into horror movies like that" Tomeo said in awed tone.
"What no?!?" Saji exclaimed aloud before coughing into his hands to regain his composure. In truth, Saji extremely hated horror movies as they frightened him to death most of the time, something his younger siblings had fun teasing him over but he couldn't act scared now. He had his master to impress after all.
Saji's reaction earned a giggle from Tomeo and a small smile from Tsubaki.
Unfortunately the moment was cut short when the group heard a shriek from the shrine.
"Everyone alert" Tsubaki commanded her charges seriously before taking point with Tomeo and a scared Saji right behind her.
"We are ready" Tomeo replied before she took out her favored Katana from its holster on her hip.
"Lets go then" Tsubaki said before she walked cautiously towards the shrine with Tomeo and Saji following her closely.
Tsubaki spent a few minutes searching for any wards, barrier or any clue in general that would indicate that the shrine was still active. A Devil entering an active Shinto Shrine would result in a huge diplomatic incident that she didn't any part of.
After ensuring the shrine had no such barriers and was indeed inactive, which gave the Devils the right to enter the shrine under suspicious circumstances, Tsubaki and others climbed the stair slowly entering the shrine.
As soon as Tsubaki climbed the stairs, she was met by statues of Shichifukujin, or the Seven Lucky Gods of the Shinto Pantheon; Gods of good Fortune in Shinto religion.
Among the statues, the trio could also see overgrown weeds, cracks in the status of the Seven Lucky Gods and dirt, leaves and grime everywhere, showing clear signs of abandonment.
"Its rather ironic isn't it? A shrine of the Seven Lucky Gods is in such a state" Saji couldn't snort aloud at seeing such a sight of the shrine in such a state.
"Saji-san! It is not our place to judge a place of worship for other religions" Tsubaki scolded her junior. Clearly Saji's words had affected the former Shinto devotee.
"I am sorry" Saji apologized again, clearly chastised over his actions. Tomeo couldn't help but comfort her junior in understanding.
As the group continued moving forward, the group found even more signs of abandonment of the shrine, parts of the wall broken and smell of rotten flesh slowly filling the air.
"Ughhh what is that?!?!" Tomeo asked in confusion after she had covered her nose to block out that smell of rotten flesh. The smell had been so pungent and foul that it had almost made her want to join Saji in puking her guts out.
"It smells like rotten flesh… A lot of rotten fleshes to be more accurate" Tsubaki muttered in obvious disgust before conjuring a smell filtration spell around her group.
"Now that I think about it, there have been a lot of missing people reported in the last few months. I had thought it might have been related to local gang activity's but now it looks like the more humans were just victims of a Oni" Tomeo spoke aloud in sadness. As former human she felt guilty of not having done enough to protect them.
"This is too much for us, we should get Sona-Kaicho to help us out" Saji finally wheezed out after spilling all his gut onto the floor.
"No! Kaicho and Lord Marid have set this task for us, and we need to do our best in it!" Tsubaki shot down Saji's suggestion sharply.
Before anyone else could respond, the group heard high pitched noise of nails dragging across the floor, a bit further ahead from the place three Devils were standing.
"What was that?" Saji immediately asked as color drained from his face.
"Someone's here… be prepared" Tsubaki spoke quietly before getting into a defensive stance.
Tomeo followed her Queens lead and grabbed her katana firmly. Saji did what he could to the best of his ability, put on his brave face and raised his guard high should it came down to a fight. But putting on his brave face did little to hide the fact that he was absolutely terrified, given his shaking legs as he followed his two seniors.
"HELPPP!!!!!" Someone's scream shook the three Devils.
"Lets go before this Oni kills someone else" Tsubaki commanded before she took off running followed by Tomeo and Saji.
As the trio continued forward, the smell of rotten flesh grew worse as did the cries for help, further increasing the pace of the Devils.
In their desperation to save the innocent victim, they stopped following the most imperative rule when invading someone's domain, always checking for traps.
The moment Tsubaki and Tomeo turned the corner, they found that the floor beneath them had vanished.
"What the hell?!?" Tomeo exclaimed in confusion before her and Tsubaki fell into the trap door.
Situation got worse for them when the trap door above them closed, separating them with the sole male of their team who was also the most inexperienced in this case.
"Tsubaki-fuku-kaicho!! Tomeo-san" Saji screamed for them but didn't immediately get an answer back that made him even more fearful of whats to come next.
His fear sky rocketed to new heights when he started to hear heavy footsteps from a few feet away from him. The silhouette took form of a 7 foot tall beast with a spiked club in his hands.
"Nope I aint dying today" Saji gulped before sprinting off into the opposite direction.
*Boom*
The sound of small explosion with rocks flying all over the place was the confirmation for Saji that he had made the right decision. He would get Sona to help out the others, he just hoped Tsubaki and Tomeo could hold it out until then.
However, reality couldn't be further from the truth.
"Where is he going?" Tomeo asked aloud as she saw Saji run off in the opposite direction.
"He probably thinks that we are incapacitated and is heading to get help from others. Whether its cowardly action or a smart choice will depend on his answer once when we question him about it later" Tsubaki replied as she rose from the trap door, she had burst open with her magic.
"Incapacitated with what? Has he not forgotten that we are Devils that have far more strength than an average human?" Tomeo replied back, clearly unimpressed with Saji's reaction.
"Incapacitated by that?" Tsubaki pointed out to Tomeo before taking a fighting stance.
"huh?" Tomeo turned around in confusion. Her confusion turned to understanding when she saw a seven-foot-tall ogre with a spiked club in his hands.
"Move" Tsubaki warned as the ogre swung his bat, targeting the spot where the two female Devils were.
With swift movements, the two Devils easily moved out of the way but what surprised them was that the Ogre's attack didn't have any impact they had thought it would. The floor caved inwards yet the ground didn't shook nor the wind blew past them, clear signs of something was amiss.
"You got to be joking me" Tsubaki muttered in frustration.
"What?" Tomeo asked the Sitri queen but she didn't hear any response. Instead she saw Tsubaki rush towards the Ogre without a care in the world. Before Tomeo could do anything, she was shocked when she saw Tsubaki simply just punching through the Ogre before the Ogre disappeared in thin air.
"What the hell was that?" Tomeo asked the Sitri Queen in clear confusion.
"There was never any Ogre… It was all an illusion" Tsubaki simply replied to her charge while doing her best to limit the tone of frustration from her voice.
"Illusion…" Tomeo muttered before her eyes widened in realization of what the Queen was hinting at.
Outside the Shrine
"Did I survive?" Saji asked to no one in particular as he struggled to catch his breath. It was only now Saji understood why his master was strict on him for doing his physical trainings everyday of the week.
'If only I was stronger, then I would have faced that beast myself and saved Tsubaki-fuku kaicho and Tomeo-san instead of leaving them to their own fate and running away like a coward' Saji berated himself for his weakness but he didn't have too much time.
He first had to get his master to come and rescue her Queen and knight. He could think about things he could do to atone for his cowardice later.
Unbeknownst to him, he was being watched by a purple raven hidden in the trees right behind the pond and the raven in question glared at the Sitri pawn in silent rage.
Before anything else could happen, raven leapt off his branch and flew towards Saji at its full speed.
As if his supernatural instincts finally came to life, Saji felt something approaching behind him. As he turned he came across not a raven, something which Tsubaki and Tomeo saw as they finally made out of the shrine at the same time, but rather the same ferocious 6 foot tall ogre that pounced on him with a spiked club in his hand.
"Please no!?!?" Saji screamed in pure fear as he tried to run away only to find him closer to the algae infested pond right behind him.
"What the?" Saji shrieked as he lost his balance on the edge of the pond at the same time the ogre was finally in the striking distance.
'This is going to hurt isnt it' As if surrendering himself to his faith, Saji clenched his eyes shut and awaited the pain that was bound to find him.
To his surprise, instead he felt claws on his collar before being yanked backwards into the pond.
Spllssh
With a loud splash, Saji lost his conscious, not understanding what just happened to him.
A few minutes later
Cggh coghh
Saji coughed brutally as the water flushed out of his mouth.
Slowly he found his vision, only to find Tsubaki and Tomeo looking at him with various looks of worry, amusement and anger.
"Welcome back to the land of the living Saji-san" Tomeo welcomed back junior with a smile on her face. Her anger over Saji's alleged act of cowardice forgotten for the time being.
"Are you alright?" Tsubaki sighed in relief, she wouldn't have been able to look her King in the eye if one of her charges, that were assigned to her by the said king, was injured.
"What was that?" Saji asked as he started to shiver due to the combination of wet clothes and cool wind that took over the shrine.
Tsubaki noticing the shiver promptly applied a heating spell on the young pawn.
"It was a mixture of illusions by Lord Marid" Tsubaki replied with a straight face which perfectly hid her frustrations of getting caught by Lord Marids illusions yet again.
"Why would he do something like that?" Saji questioned in outrage.
"Because clearing out this whole estate was meant to be a test for both peerages. I knew something was amiss when both Lord Marid and Kaicho insisted on having both peerages hunt down the Oni living here; a task that either of the two peerages could have completed with their eyes closed"
Before anyone else could reply, there was a sound of a loud bang that originated from the house.
"I am sure they can handle the Lord Marids illusions" Saji commented gulped in fear.
"And what if its not the illusion and the other team is in genuine danger?" Tomeo asked aloud.
"Then we would be abandoning one of our own on a false pretense" Tsubaki answered seriously, before quickly walking towards the sound they all heard.
"Better safe than sorry I guess" Tomeo nodded in understanding before grabbing a unwilling Saji by the collar and hurrying behind Tsubaki.
Team 2
Yumi, Ruruko, and Tsubasa stood at the edge of the abandoned swimming pool, staring into the murky water. The once-clear pool was now a festering pit of dirt, with algae floating on the surface and twisted, unidentifiable objects lurking beneath.
"Ugh, it stinks," Ruruko grimaced, covering her nose.
Tsubasa crouched near the pool's edge, eyes scanning the water. "The estate records mentioned strange occurrences here. Let's be careful."
Marid, smirking from his hidden vantage point, gave his familiar a silent command. The creature fluttered toward the pool, its wings shimmering as it conjured a subtle auditory illusion—a whispering voice rising from the depths.
"Get out… get out before it pulls you under…"
The voice was layered, distorted, and eerily childlike. Ruruko jumped back, nearly slipping on the wet tiles.
"Did you hear that?" she hissed.
Yumi frowned. "That could be an echo… or something worse."
As the three hesitated, Marid's familiar created another illusion—dark shapes shifting beneath the water, mimicking the appearance of shadowy hands reaching upward.
"Something's down there!" Tsubasa yelled, drawing her weapon in reflex.
Ruruko, heart pounding, picked up a small stone and hurled it into the pool. The splash echoed through the empty yard, and for a brief moment, the illusion dissipated. The water rippled harmlessly, showing nothing but decaying leaves and debris.
Sona, enjoying their paranoia, had her raven caw suddenly, mimicking human speech. "Drown… Drown…"
Ruruko spun around, fists clenched. "Who said that?!"
The raven perched on a nearby branch, watching with eerie intelligence. "Drown… down below…"
"Aghhh I hate this" Tsubasa groaned as she pushed her supernatural senses to their limit, doing her best to locate anything out of the ordinary.
"Keep your cool Tsubasa! Whoever is here just messing with our heads so that they can strike us down when we are most vulnerable" Ruruko did her best to comfort her fellow Devil while keeping her keen eyes on her surroundings.
"…This place is messing with our heads," Yumi repeated Ruruko words, as if she was trying to connect her words to some old memory.
"What?" Ruruko asked Yumi in some hope that she would be able to figure something out.
Fortunately for her, Yumi did figured out what was going on but based on her expression Ruruko figured it was something that annoyed the blond bishop. As it turned out she was right about that and by the time Yumi was done with her explanation, both Tsubasa and Ruruko were livid.
"So you are telling me that all of these voices and movements that we just saw were illusions that were made by Lord Marid and Kaicho" Tsubasa asked rhetorically.
"Yes, Lord Marid is someone who is incredibly skilled in illusions, that's not including his own familiar, 'Kage', that could amplify Lord Marid's illusions as well. That's how he was able to trick Souji-sama. He used illusionary magic that was amplified by Lord Marids familiar. That enough created illusions potent enough to trick even the best knight of the underworld. I wouldn't have even figured out had I not been part of Lord Marids peerage for that long" Yumi explained causing both Ruruko and Tsubasa's eyebrow shoot towards their hairline.
As if to prove a point, Yumi punched through illusion of a four legged beast that had appeared out of nowhere. Much to Ruruko and Tusbasa's surprise, the beast fizzled out of existence as soon as Yumi's punch connected the supposed head of the beast.
"What in the…." Tsubasa muttered in shock as she finally grasped the depths of Marids deception. "So there was never any stray Devil or a Oni here?" She asked still shock.
"No, Lord Marid had me check Kuoh police records of any missing person and murders in Kuoh. It was to find any traces of supernatural involvement when we first moved here. This mansion has had a notorious reputation for the last few years. It looks like this was meant to be an added test by Lord Marid and Lady Sona to test ourselves in a controlled environment" Yumi concluded at the end. Both Tsubasa and Ruruko could only nod in understanding as things made way more sense now.
"Anyhow, its good that we don't have to worry about any spirit sneakily attacking us. Most Oni and Stray Devils don't have that kind of patience anyway" Tsubasa sighed in relief.
"I wouldn't be that relax if I were you Tsubasa, if anything I have learned from Lord Marid while serving all these years is that he always has more than one plan in the works" Yumi wisely warned her fellow Devils.
"Come-on Yumi, you have to agree with Tsubasa here. Its not like Lord Marid will somehow have us embarrass ourselves by throwing us in this pool" Ruruko sighed as well but tensed up when she saw the pitying look Yumi gave her.
"People really need to be careful about tempting the Gods of Irony" Yumi sighed in defeat before turning away from the two Sitri Devils.
"Gods of What?!?"
Any reply from Yumi was halted when the trio of Devils heard a sound of a loud bang followed by an explosion that erupted from the abandoned mansion behind them.
"What was that??!?" Ruruko asked hurriedly as she turned around to face the mansion, all wondering the same thing what was going on in the mansion.
Group 3
Inside the abandoned mansion, the air was thick with dust and the lingering scent of rotting wood. Kenta pushed open a shoji door, the creaking sound felt unnaturally loud in the silence. Momo and Reya followed, their expressions tense.
The house's interior was just as ominous as the exterior—cobweb-draped hallways, faded tatami mats, and half-rotted furniture. Candles, long since extinguished, sat in their holders, as if waiting to be lit once more.
Kenta led the way, scanning the surroundings. "There have been reports of spirits appearing here. Let's not take anything lightly."
As the group moved forward, their advanced senses picked up the smell of gas leak.
"Be careful ladies, there seems to be a gas leak here. No fire spells" Kenta muttered as he slowly walked along the corridor.
"You should be reminding yourself about that considering your sacred gear" Momo teased back causing Reya to giggle.
Kenta wanted to reply but considering what Momo had said was true, Kenta couldn't do anything but groan in response.
Marid's butterfly, unseen, took flight above them, preparing another illusion.
A sudden thud echoed from the ceiling.
Momo jumped. "What was that?!"
Reya gritted her teeth. "Could be rats… or something worse."
A faint, translucent figure stood at the end of the hallway, facing away from them. A woman in an old kimono, her long black hair cascading down her back.
Kenta balled his fist as he glared at the woman that appeared in front of them. "Do you see that?"
The figure turned slightly, revealing half of her face—pale, featureless, and grotesquely stretched.
Momo let out a sharp breath. "That's… not normal."
Then, the figured withered away right in front of them leaving behind nothing but empty space. As if there was nothing there in the first place.
"What the hell? I sensed nothing from her, no spiritual nor demonic energy" Kenta spoke in confusion that was laced in frustration. He was used to dealing with problems with force, his current situation required slick tact, something he lacked and had no desire of developing at the moment, despite Marids countless efforts.
Reya whispered, "Is someone messing with us?"
Sona's raven, ever the trickster, let out a haunting chuckle from the rafters. "Gone… but watching…"
Momo swallowed hard. "Okay, that thing needs to stop talking."
As if responding, the raven cawed, "Leave… before you disappear too…"
Kenta exhaled slowly, regaining control of his nerves. "We're not falling for this. Let's move."
But as they proceeded, Marid's butterfly worked again, this time creating flickering shadows along the walls—imitations of figures moving behind the paper-thin shoji doors. Each time one of them turned, nothing was there.
The paranoia set in. Every creak felt deliberate, every shift in the shadows seemed purposeful.
Reya stopped abruptly. "Something touched my shoulder."
Kenta and Momo turned. "What?"
Reya's eyes narrowed, her posture tense. "I'm not making it up. I felt something."
This time, Marid couldn't hold back a quiet chuckle from his hiding spot.
Momo groaned. "This is so annoying."
"What do you think we might be facing Adara?" Kenta asked Adara curiously.
"Its unlike any supernatural being I have ever seen" Adara shrugged out a response.
"Great so even the hundred year old snake has no idea what we might be up against" Kenta teased his partner crime with a small grin in his face.
"I never said that" Adara fired back hotly.
"Then what do you think this might be Adara-san" Momo asked respectfully of the sacred gear spirit. She like Reya was slightly unnerved when she heard Adara's voice for the first time. They obviously knew some sacred gears, powerful ones in fact, sometimes hosted spirits that not only acted as guides to their sacred gear wielder but also influenced powers of the sacred gear itself. However, never in their supernatural life they had seen it in action so when Adara casually replied to Kenta's question, both Sitri Devils were slightly spooked.
"To be honest considering who Kenta's master truly is… I wouldn't put it past him in using illusions to make this house more alive than it is" Adara replied honestly but something about her reply made Kenta pause for just a moment. It was like Adara was doing her best to hide a sly grin but before he could ponder on it, his thoughts were interrupted by simultaneous groans from both Momo and Reya.
"You got to be kidding me!"
"That makes total sense! I knew something was amiss when both Kaicho and Lord Marid had those sly grins on their faces"
"I will make Marid regret playing around with us like we are damn fools" Kenta clenched his fist in frustration.
"A wise man shouldn't be angered after taking a glimpse of himself in the mirror" Adara replied cheekily.
"Shut up Adara!!" Kenta shot back.
"There is that witch illusion again" Momo got the attention of Kenta as she located the not-so-scary-looking-illusion.
To their surprise, this time the illusioned goth witch wasn't facing away from the group of Devils, rather was looking directly at them. That surprise turned to shock when the goth witch sped towards with the clear intentions of attacking the trio.
"That is not going to work with us Marid" Kenta replied with some smugness. He had already checked, there was traces of magic on the goth witch that was speeding towards them, meaning Adara was right; this was a pesky test from Marid.
"That smugness is going to be your downfall Kenta" Kenta was shocked when the spirit spoke in Marids voice. He could still feel the disappointment in his masters tone, even though he couldn't see his face.
"What the?" was all Kenta could say before he saw the goth witch, that now spoke in Marids voice, reel back his fist in an attempt to hurt him.
Kenta decided to meet the witch head on and threw a punch at the same time.
What happened next was something none of the three Devils will forget for the rest of their days.
BOOOM
The trio were hit by a fiery explosion before being flung back out of the house, going straight through room after room with no chance of stopping as they struggled to get the daze of the explosion out of their minds.
Outside
Any reply from Yumi was halted when the trio of Devils heard a sound of a loud bang followed by an explosion erupted from the abandoned mansion behind them.
"What was that??!?" Ruruko asked hurriedly as she turned around to face the mansion, all wondering the same thing what was going on in the mansion.
The three female Devils didn't had to wait for too long as they were soon witnessing Kenta, Reya and Momo flying towards them at break neck speed.
Yumi, being the most agile one of the trio of female Devils that were investigating the pool side area, jumped out of the way of the incoming cluster of bodies.
"Watch out Ruruko and Tsubasa" Yumi called out for the other two Devils to do the same but it turned out to be a little too late since the very next moment Yumi saw Kenta, Momo and Reya collide with Tsubasa and Ruruko, taking them along for a very wet ride.
*Sppllsssh*
Algae infested water of the swimming pool roared out into the air as the bodies of five Devils crash landed into it, leaving a dumb founded Yumi on the surface.
"Despite having some promising moments, turns out both of our peerages need quite a bit of work" Marid said aloud from his place inside the house.
"Looks that way" Sona nodded in agreement, her thoughts churning, already making plans to improve her peerages performance…. And ways to beat cowardice out of Saji.
A few minutes later
The three teams stood in front of their Kings in various states frustration, exhaustion and anger in the main courtyard.
By this point, they all had figured out that their masters had been responsible of the state they were in and they were ready to dish out punishment. Unfortunately, they hadn't come across the Oni that was supposed to be terrorizing the estate and with only a few minutes left in the time clock, they were running out of time.
The thought of facing punishment over the tribulations they just went through wasn't pleasing to anyone but there wasn't anything they could do at the moment.
"What should we do now? We barely a few minutes left?" Tsubasa, still shaking from her forced dip into the pool, asked the group of Devils with her.
"We can send out our familiars to cover more territory. Maybe one of our familiars get lucky in finding the Oni" Yumi suggested to the group.
Everyone nodded in agreement, while Yumi, Tsubaki and Kenta begin to summon their familiars. However, before they could do it a sharp clap got everyone's attention.
"A sound strategy that came a little too late for you all" Marid replied with a smirk.
"We still have a few minutes left" Momo tried to argue, not wanting to disappoint her Kaicho.
"While you do have a few minutes left, what was the goal you all were assigned that you had to complete within the time frame?" Sona asked as she adjusted her glasses, something Saji thought was incredibly cute but had to divert his attention to the ground when he saw Marid glaring at him.
"That we needed to kill the Oni in the required time frame" Momo replied slowly.
"So whats this?" Marid pointed behind him and Sona where the remains of the Oni laid charred on the ground.
"You guys killed the Oni?" Saji asked with wide eyes, "If you had killed the Oni, then why did you guys put us through such a debacle!"
Sona narrowed her eyes onto her pawn, "As we said earlier Saji-san, this test was supposed to test out your limits and ability to adapt in a changing yet safe environment" Sona's tone then gained a sharp clip to it, "From what I have seen most of you have performed to an acceptable standards while others showcased glaring areas of vulnerabilities that require my immediate attention"
By the end Sona was glaring solely on Saji who couldn't help but gulp in nervousness. His hope that his master wouldn't find out about his actions earlier in the hunt was left in shambles. He could only hope that his upcoming punishment wasn't as brutal as the glare he was under right now.
"Wait if the Oni was already dead then who was behind the fireball attack" Kenta asked furiously. As a feline creature, he hated the water and being forced into the most disgusting pool he had ever seen had shortened his temper.
"It was me. I just added a small spark behind my illusion inside the house… The gas leak did the rest" Marid smirked at his Rooks growing anger.
"We could have been seriously hurt" Kenta roared back in anger.
"True but you weren't since I had cushioned the blow for you by applying a last minute barrier that protected you all from the flames" Marid shrugged.
"But why!"
"Because you broke the rules"
"What rules?!?"
"I think he is referring about the fact that you used me during the whole hunt" Adara chimed in out of nowhere, shutting Kenta's reply in a moment.
Now that Kenta thought about it, it did made sense why Adara was suddenly acting so giddy when he had asked her a question during the raid.
"What about us?" Tsubasa and Ruruko asked in unison, waving off their wet clothes to both the young masters.
"Wrong place" Marid simply shrugged.
"Or perhaps it was the Gods of Irony?" Yumi added much to Tsubasa and Ruruko embarrassment.
"What did you both do?" Marids gaze snapped towards the two Sitri Rooks.
"I think the exact words they used were 'Come-on Yumi, you have to agree with Tsubasa here. Its not like Lord Marid will somehow have us embarrass ourselves by throwing us in this pool'" Yumi quoted the two rooks much to their embarrassment.
"That would do it" Marid sighed at the end.
"How did you created illusions in the four different places at the same time? Sure you have a familiar that could helped you out but no familiar is that strong" Reya asked curiously.
"My familiar Kage" Marid casually summoned his familiar that appeared to look like three butterflies, "It is a beast I brought into my service during my travels. Its specialty is illusions which on their own are powerful enough to trick a middle class Devil. However, if Kage starts to use my own magic to fuel its illusion then it should be able to trick a powerful high class Devil!"
"That's amazing!" Tsubasa's eyes widened at that.
"But they look like three different butterflies" Tsubaki questioned curiously.
"That's more of Kage's survival instincts. Having a physical appearance of three different bodies is bond to fool most predators that Kage has. I take care of the other predators of him" by the end Marid affectionately looked at his familiar before summoning some peanut butter on his finger.
Much to the amazement of the Devils watching, One of the three butterflies landed on Marids hand before starting to nimble on the treat Marid has summoned for his familiar all the while the other two butterflies flew defensively its main body, looking out for any predators.
"What familiar do you have Sona-kaicho?" Saji asked in wonder.
"Mine is a bird named Wally" Sona summoned her own familiar, a small black bird that looked more like a crow in the first glance but after a closer observation, anyone could tell there was something mythical about that bird whose eyes were unnaturally orange. "She is a very smart and can mimic speech pattern for all beings that have humane like voices and most animals as well" with that Sona also decided to show some love to her own familiar.
"That's so cool" Saji spoke with awe in his tone.
"It is" Marid replied as he fixed a glare at Saji, who again averted his gaze from his master, finding the ground far more interesting under the glare of Lucifers oldest son.
Sona who had enough of the whole charade decided to intervene, "Regardless, your test has concluded as me and Marid-kun have verified ourselves that the Oni, that had been terrorizing this whole estate for the last few years has been dealt with. With Oni's death, this estate is now officially cleansed off all the hostile supernatural forces that once occupied it" Sona announced to the group.
Others couldn't help but nod in agreement. At least something positive came out of this.
"Since that matter is closed, lets head back to our respective home, I am sure everyone has a lot of work left and a few reports to write" Marid gave Kenta and Yumi a pointed look at the end there.
Noticing Marids look, Yumi nodded in understanding while Kenta groaned in frustration, academics were never his strongest suits. Kenta was sure that had Yumi wasn't pushing him to his limits, he would have been one of the weakest students of his year, right beside the perverted trio, which in of itself was demeaning.
"Actually there is one thing we have to do before we can leave" Sona cut through the moment, halting everyones preparations to leave.
Despite herself, Sona couldn't help but smirk at Marid's surprised look. She had finally caught Marid off guard, a rare opportunity that she will make sure that Marid doesn't forget anytime soon.
Later
"From everything I was expecting this was not one of them" Marid commented off handedly as he overlooked a bunch of Devils that specialized in construction, refurbishing the estate according to Sona's demand. After all she was now the owner of this magnificent property located at the edges of Kuoh city.
"You are not the only one that could make good decisions in the spur of the moment" Sona scoffed.
"That's true but I am talking about you surprising me by asking Sera-chans help in acquiring the rights to the property. How did you manage that?" Marid turned towards Sona with an expecting look.
"Apart from my own reluctance, there was hardly a reason not to reach out to Serafall-sama to acquire this property. The estate is equipped with a decent size swimming pool and a training area that I could use for training my peerage while its secluded location along with its infamous reputation ensures the humans don't accidently come across the estate. Not to mention the main house has eight bedrooms which makes it more than capable of housing my peerage" Sona replied as she adjusted her glasses.
"It was hard but with swift diplomacy by Serafall-sama, I was able to acquire the whole property including the rites to the shrine as long as me or any other Devil in Kuoh doesn't damage it and upkeeps its maintenance"
"That's a fair deal I suppose" Marid shrugged before turning around to head out of the newly constructed wards of the property. "I would have loved to stay but there are a few things I need to touch on before the meeting with the Olympians next week"
"That's too soon" Sona replied, slightly surprised how quickly things were moving.
"While the Great Satan Faction had less than positive intentions behind their goal of scheduling the meeting as soon as possible, there is no denying the rest of the Devil nation is looking forward to the same thing. I imagine the Satans want to give their people some news regarding their situation with Olympians, whether it may be war or peace with them" Marid replied seriously, his usual playfulness missing in his tone.
"I imagine so as well" Sona agreed somberly. The prospect of war wasn't the most appealing to her. After all, should a war happen between them and the Olympians then she would have to give up on her dreams and spear head into preparations of war. Considering she was the heiress of one of the biggest families in the underworld, incredible war efforts would be demanded of her and her family, may that be on the front lines or logistically.
This is not even considering the apocalyptic loss of lives the Devils would suffer should the war actually start. There was a very real chance they might not even survive this war. But all the Devils were prideful creatures and they wouldn't bow their heads for no one, may that be the Gods of Olympus or Dragon Gods themselves. Such a resolve was in their very being.
Chapter End
This was a chapter that I was meant to write for last Halloween lol! Goes to show how far I am behind my own schedule. By this time we should have been around or perhaps even past the Peace Meeting arc if I had my way but life has means to mess up your plans smh!
Hopefully will meet you guys in June with another chapter that would officially start the next arc which is going to be something special.
Furthermore, before I end this chapter, I just wanted to urge you all to please COMMENT on the chapters and let me know what you all think. Please write constructive criticism so I know where I am lacking or if my story has some plot holes. These help me greatly improve the quality of my chapters.
Until then stay safe and have fun!
DGZalama out!
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