Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
Rias POV – September 14
"Hmm, Buchou? Who are we waiting for?" Issei asked uncertainly. I grimaced.
"More bodyguards." Azazel-sensei answered for me. I could only sigh.
"As you know, Ise, the meeting between Odin-sama and the Shinto gods of Japan will take place soon. You know it's been decided that we, for the duration of Odin-sama's stay in Japan, will be his bodyguards. Along with Azazel-sensei and… Barakiel." I said with a sneer. Both because of Barakiel's name and the situation in general. "But… the situation is rather sensitive, so they're sending more people." I sighed.
Sending reinforcements was like saying that we—my dear Peerage and I—weren't strong enough to protect Odin-sama and needed help. It was almost insulting. The worst part was, I could understand it.
The Khaos Brigade was dangerous. The situation with Shalba Beelzebub was a wake-up call. If Lady Prince hadn't been there, it was quite possible that Asia… I gritted my teeth tightly as I pushed those thoughts out of my mind.
"Even so, we're lucky. Because of the Hero Faction's attack on the various groups, the Underworld, Heaven, and Valhalla are all in chaos, so they can't send reinforcements. We're lucky they volunteered." Azazel hummed. I just sighed.
Yes, that was the case too. The Hero Faction was becoming bolder with their attacks. They had even attacked Kuoh several times. And that was the reason we had been assigned as Odin's bodyguards.
"So, who are you going to send?" Issei asked curiously. Azazel just chuckled slightly.
"You'll soon know. They'll be arriving in... now." Azazel said just as a teleportation circle appeared.
"What's up, chooms!" exclaimed a high-pitched, amused voice as she stepped out of the circle. My eyes widened slightly as I recognized her immediately. It was impossible not to recognize the pale blue skin and turquoise hair: Rebecca, one of Lady Prince's pawns.
"Greetings, Lady Rias, Lord Azazel, Lord Odin," said her companion, Lucyna Kushinada, another of Lady Prince's pawns.
"Oohh?" said Odin-sama, intrigued, as he appeared behind Rebecca and lifted her jacket to look at her backside. "You're as flat as a preteen and as short as one, but I admit you have a huge backside and well-formed, thick thighs." Odin laughed lasciviously.
"Odin-sama!" Rossweisse exclaimed in horror. I could only sigh.
"Ha! Of course! My thighs are for squeezing heads, and my butt is for suffocating people! I'm proud of them! Completely organic!" Rebecca said, puffing out her chest proudly. I blinked at the last part; was it really necessary to point that out?
"I volunteer as a tribute for a demonstration!" Ise said immediately as he raised his hand and stood up excitedly with a lewd smile.
"Back off, kid, I'm first." Odin grumbled, still staring at Rebecca's backside.
"You could try it. But I won't be responsible if Serena goes crazy over in the Norse pantheon," Lucyna said with a cold smile. We all froze slightly. Rossweisse looked like she was about to faint; she was so pale.
"I'm sure she won't mind me looking," Odin said casually.
"If you want to take the risk. By the way, Serena can see right through our eyes." Lucyna said with an amused smile. Odin just blinked before shrugging.
"Well, she's not here, so there's no—" Odin tried to say before a portal of black mist appeared, and a ring-covered hand emerged, trying to stab him with long, sharp claws. Odin raised his staff and stopped it before it could strike. Odin chuckled. "You'll have to do better," he said mockingly.
The hand stopped before it retreated. It paused before it vanished and moved its fingers. Odin snorted in pain as a small lock of his hair was magically ripped out and flew toward the hand. Lady Prince's hand caught it and disappeared.
"Okay... what was that?" Odin asked, confused. Lucy laughed slightly.
"She's creating a voodoo doll with Lord Odin's hair," Lucy replied playfully. Odin's eyes widened slightly, intrigued.
"Voodoo? That little thing won't do anything to me," Odin said playfully. Rebecca stopped herself before bursting into laughter.
"Ha! She's not trying to hurt you, old man! She's cursing you so your dick can never get hard again!" Rebecca laughed gleefully. We all fell silent, especially Odin, whose eyes went from bewilderment to clarity to horror. To my surprise, Issei was the first to scream in horror, clutching his crotch and then fainting, foaming at the mouth. Even Azazel looked horrified.
"Wait, wait, wait, let's not jump to conclusions!" Odin said quickly, panicking. "It was a joke, it was a joke!" Odin said panickingly as he looked at Lucyna. Or rather, looked at Serena through her eyes.
"I... she can curse the gods? Wouldn't she need a catalyst or something?" Akeno asked cautiously.
"Hmm, I think she's using Lady Freya's blood that she obtained illegally and was saving for special occasions," Lucyna said distractedly. Now Odin paled completely.
"Okay, okay, you win! Stop! That will definitely work! These two girls are safe!" Odin said immediately, grabbing Lucy's shoulders and shaking them. She just raised an eyebrow. "Good! And all your Peerage!" Odin exclaimed in defeat. The portal opened again, and a small doll shaped like Odin was launched toward the real Odin.
We all saw the small, incredibly realistic rag doll of Odin. It had dozens of needles stuck in it all over, and many more near its groin. Most importantly, you could feel the enormous amount of curses and dark magic emanating from the doll—so much so that it made me wrinkle my nose at the malice contained within it. Odin looked at it in horror, picked it up, and threw it at me.
"Gremory! Erase that thing from existence with the power of destruction!" Odin exclaimed in a panic as he threw it at me. I reluctantly created a circle and held it in the air. I paused to consider it, then sighed and created a sphere of destruction that completely obliterated the doll. Odin finally sighed in relief as he fell. "That girl is the worst enemy I've ever faced," Odin sighed, catching his breath. Everyone just stared at him for a few seconds; the only sound was Rebecca's laughter. Finally, Azazel cleared his throat to drown it out.
"Very well, as you may or may not know, these are Rebecca and Lucyna Kushinada. Serena Prince's pawns. They will remain for the entire time the old man is here in Japan and will act as bodyguards." Azazel introduced them easily, oblivious to what had transpired. I suppose it was best to do the same.
"Only Lucy," she said easily. Azazel nodded.
"Very well. And I was thinking, what better way to get to know each other better than by training? Kiba, Issei, and Gasper were going to train, but we can train together. After all, it's the best way to understand what each other is capable of, and that way we can organize ourselves better," Azazel said while clapping. He glanced at me and winked.
My eyes widened slightly in surprise, and I straightened up, appreciating the opportunity Azazel was presenting us. Both Lucy and Rebecca had participated in a few official Rating Games. But in the few they'd entered, they'd completely dominated their opponents without using their full strength.
The tournament's final Rating Game would take place in less than a month, and Lady Prince's Peerage was the most challenging because we had almost no information about them. Training with Lucy and Rebecca might give us some ideas on how to face them.
"That's a great idea!" I exclaimed immediately, jumping to my feet and clapping excitedly. "We have a spacious battlefield created by Azazel-sensei and Onii-sama that we can use without any problem," I said cheerfully, before glancing at the two pawns. "If you'd like, of course," I added.
"Ha! Of course, Chooms!" Rebecca laughed gleefully as she pulled a… revolver out of nowhere and twirled it between her fingers. I wasn't exactly a gun expert, and I didn't recognize the weapon in her hands, but it was enormous compared to her small hand. I could only make out the word 'Malorian' on the barrel.
Was that the name of the weapon? From the manufacturer? Was there a manufacturer called Malorian?
"Nice pistol," Azazel said, whistling in amazement.
"I know," Rebecca said proudly, showing off the gun. "It's a Malorian Arms 3516." Azazel looked confused, as did the rest of us. That name was completely unfamiliar.
"Bah, let's stop wasting time! If I can't see any of your butts or tits, at least have the decency to put on a good show!" Odin said dryly. I could only sigh wearily once more. I just looked at Lucy, the only one who hadn't spoken yet, who simply nodded calmly.
Once everyone agreed, we headed to the teleportation circle in the house, which would take us straight there. It was truly a privilege. Among the young people, besides us, only Sairaorg had such a private and spacious place to train.
There was also a rumor that Lady Prince could easily build and create things in the Dimensional Gap, but it was one of many rumors about her, and I didn't know if they were true.
I mean, the Distracted Globe arenas where the fights took place are supposed to be in the Dimensional Gap. But… there were dozens of arenas. Almost 100 in total, and I seriously doubted she could have created 100 spaces in the Dimensional Gap just for that.
Creating things within the Dimensional Gap was no easy feat. The Gap's very nature, non-existence, would fight anything that existed there, including spaces created within it.
Creating something there, and of a considerable size, was difficult. So I took that rumor with a grain of salt.
"Okay, how do we do this?" Rebecca asked excitedly, twirling her Malorian between her fingers.
"As I said, the idea was for Ise, Kiba, and Gasper to train on their own, but if you don't mind, you could train against the three of them." I said gently.
"For my own good," Rebecca said, shrugging.
"N-no c-can't! S-she's s-really scary! " Gasper squealed as he hid in a box.
"A talking box?" Lucy asked playfully.
"Now, now, Gasper-kun. I know you can do it; I'll be cheering you on." Valerie said, crouching down beside the box. The box stopped shaking before slowly opening.
"I-I'll try," Gasper stammered, trying to muster a brave face. I chuckled as Valeria smiled and patted Gasper on the head. Many questions remained after Valerie arrived in Kuoh, but she'd done Gasper a lot of good, so I couldn't complain.
"Very well! Don't think that just because you're part of that Succubus Prince, it doesn't mean I won't hit you! Especially after threatening to take away the Old Man's manhood! I will fight with all my might for Buchou and for all the erections in the world! " Ise exclaimed with determination. I only stopped short of sighing in defeat. It would have been a flattering speech if I had left out the erections.
"Oh?" Rebecca said, sounding genuinely interested.
"Very well! Prepare yourselves, all of you!" Azazel said, clapping his hands. Lucy and Rebecca simply nodded. I could see a faint iridescent light envelop them before weapons materialized above them. I narrowed my eyes.
The same weapons they always used in the fights that had been recorded. Lucy had a huge sniper rifle on her shoulder and a revolver on her thigh, while Rebecca carried a heavy machine gun on her back and a shotgun on her hip; she had also put on some armor.
Below the waist, she was fully protected in leg armor, but her arms were armored only up to above the elbows. Finally, her torso was completely bare, still wearing a black bra without a care in the world. It was truly baffling; was there any point in wearing armor only there?
Ise and Kiba also prepared. Ise summoned his Booster Gear, and Kiba created a holy-demonic sword. Gasper stayed behind them, trembling slightly. They stared at each other from a distance. Azazel simply raised his hand.
"Begin!" Azazel said, lowering his hand. And everyone moved immediately.
"Welsh Dragon Balance-breaker!!" Ise immediately used his Balance Breaker. It seemed like a good decision, because Rebecca, enveloped in lightning, immediately charged at him. She planted her armored knee in Ise's stomach and sent him flying. Rebecca didn't even stop for Kiba or Gasper; she enveloped herself in lightning and shot off after Ise.
Lucy, on the other hand, jumped back before vanishing into the shadows. I frowned. Invisibility? That complicated things. I couldn't find her, even when I searched with all my senses, and Kiba seemed to have the same problem, since he just stayed on guard.
Then the sharp sniper shot from Lucy's gun rang out. She had moved and retreated dozens of meters in a fraction of a second before firing. Kiba reacted instantly, dodging the attack before launching himself toward Lucy, only to find her already fading away once again.
Then she did it again. Lucy moved incredibly fast and in random directions before firing several times. Kiba had to stop and adjust his movement each time she fired as he tried to catch up. But no matter how fast Kiba was, Lucy escaped just as quickly, then closed the distance again, turning it into an endless chase. I could see Lucy smile slightly as she fired without any problem, as if she were simply stalling. I grimaced.
On the other side, Rebecca began fighting Ise and stood up to him. Ise launched himself forward at great speed, extending his fist, and it collided with Rebecca's lightning-fast fist. A massive explosion stopped them both in their tracks.
Rebecca moved through the air. She drew her shotgun with terrifying speed and fired at Ise's chest without hesitation. My eyes widened slightly as I saw the pellets lightly crack Ise's armor. What the hell. A gun shouldn't be able to damage Ise's Balance Breaker at all.
Ise growled and punched Rebecca, but she created a small shield of violet energy to protect herself. Even so, Rebecca was sent flying backward and crashed to the ground, creating a cloud of dust.
Ise lunged toward her, only to take cover as a fiery hammer hurtled toward him. The hammer collided and exploded violently, sending Ise flying once more. The hammers kept raining down with pinpoint accuracy as Ise tried to dodge them all. Ise finally stopped as his armor resonated, extended his fist, and unleashed a fully powered Dragon Shot.
The enormous blast destroyed everything in its path toward Rebecca and kept going. Ise seemed pleased, but the effect of his Dragon Shot vanished when, in Rebecca's place, a huge, translucent violet dome appeared, with Rebecca inside, protecting her from harm.
Rebecca laughed and launched herself at Ise once more. Ise growled and tried to clash head-on again. This time he was more powerful, so he shouldn't lose the exchange. To my surprise, Rebecca's fist was coated in ice—no… it… it looked like ice, but it wasn't.
She struck Ise with it, and ice immediately spread from her fist, enveloping him and freezing him in place. Rebecca didn't even hesitate to pull out her machine gun and squeeze the trigger as she aimed at Ise.
The machine gun spat metal at a terrifying speed. The bullets shattered all the ice before hitting Ise's body, and then began to tear through his armor. Each bullet slammed down and ripped off a fragment of armor. Ise tried to shield himself with his arms, but it did nothing; his armor was rapidly breaking apart.
Finally, Ise took off, flying at high speed with jets on his back, dodging the gunfire. Well… "flying" was a bit of an exaggeration, since Ise, despite unlocking his Balance Breaker, still couldn't truly fly; the jets only propelled him in one direction. Even so, Ise shot off at high speed, and the hail of bullets immediately followed as Rebecca burst into laughter. I could only sigh.
I turned to the other fight and saw the three of them still locked in a stalemate. That was until Lucy appeared once more and Gasper made a move.
"I've got her!" Gasper shouted excitedly as Lucy froze in time thanks to his Sacred Gear.
"Well done, Gasper-kun!" Kiba said, running toward Lucy. He finally reached her, and they were close enough for him to strike. He raised his sword to strike her as Lucy began to move. She smirked before shifting her entire body and aiming her sniper rifle at Kiba, firing.
The bullet struck Kiba's body with force, sending him flying. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw broken swords scattered across Kiba's chest. He had managed to create some blades to protect himself from the shot. Even so, the blast knocked Kiba back several meters, giving Lucy enough time to become invisible again.
"Huh?! It's not working?!" Gasper exclaimed in a panic. Kiba said nothing; he just got back into a fighting stance, until some kind of wire appeared in the air and tangled several times in Kiba's sword.
Then Lucy appeared on the other end of the wire. The wires seemed to emerge from her wrist; she pulled hard and snatched the sword from Kiba, catching him off guard. Then, she spun around and threw Kiba's own sword.
Kiba simply created a new one and rejected the old one. Instead of disappearing, Lucy approached Kiba. Wires emerged from her other arm, and both extended fully, several meters long. Then she began to move rapidly. She started attacking with those wires at high speed.
My eyes snapped open as those wires slammed into the ground several times. They left a long gash behind, along with a black, burnt slash mark. Whatever that wire was, it seemed capable of cutting through heat at a terrifying temperature.
Even so, they were now fighting hand-to-hand, Kiba's specialty. Even with her speed and the unpredictability of using a wire as a weapon, Kiba defended himself with ease and even began to gain ground.
Even when Lucy jumped aside and became invisible before attacking from another angle, Kiba reacted quickly enough to defend himself without issue.
That was until several icons appeared above Kiba, like video game debuffs. His movements visibly slowed, and before he could react, Lucy wrapped those wires around Kiba's arm. They burned Kiba's arm, leaving a burn mark. Then Lucy spun around and threw Kiba toward Gasper.
Kiba, still slowed down, couldn't get his bearings in the air, and Gasper, too nervous, couldn't escape, and they both collided. I winced in pain.
"Very well, that's all!" Azazel said, clapping loudly. Rebecca and Ise stopped dead. Rebecca sighed in boredom, then put her weapons away again.
"That was preem, choom. We have to split it." Rebecca said, a smile of amusement returning. I could only sigh. What were preem and choom? It wasn't any identifiable language if I couldn't understand it. It must be American street slang.
"Are you alright?" Lucy asked, approaching Kiba, who winced in pain. To my surprise, Lucy simply grabbed a sphere of light and threw it at Kiba's feet. The sphere exploded with a warm light and a loud pop, and then Kiba's wound began to heal rapidly. My eyes widened.
Were they also able to heal others? Their abilities just kept growing.
"Thank you." Kiba said with a smile as he stood up and dusted himself off.
"That was painful. Did you have to launch those missiles at me at the end?!" Ise complained as his armor disappeared and he sighed wearily.
"Ha! It was just a few missiles, choom, nothing to worry about!" Rebecca said cheerfully.
"That was more than enough!" Ise exclaimed. "I didn't even know missiles could hurt me! Why did they hurt and cause more damage than I thought?!" Ise asked incredulously. Rebecca burst out laughing.
"Secret, choom!" Rebecca said, putting her hands behind her head and starting to walk carelessly.
"Well, fought." Azazel said with a smile as the others approached.
"That thing you used, it almost looks like what that little girl Prince used." Odin hummed, looking at Lucy and Rebecca.
"The Light." Lucy confirmed. Azazel's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Are you able to use it too? I thought it was part of Serena's nature." Azazel probed. Lucy simply nodded.
"We can use it through her," Lucy said simply. Azazel's eyes widened slightly.
"Through her?" I asked curiously. Lucy just hit her chest.
"Our Evil Piece acts as a conduit; she modified them slightly. We can extract the Light from it to use for ourselves," Lucy explained. My eyes widened. Was... was that even possible?! Was she able to modify the Evil Pieces?
"Oh? That sounds a lot like—" Azazel cleared his throat, interrupting a very amused Odin. I could see a complicated expression on Azazel's face as he sighed.
"That's incredible, really," Azazel said, nodding. "I suppose with this there won't be any problem defending the old man during his stay in Japan," Azazel said cheerfully. "Did you have anything planned while you're here?" Azazel asked, addressing the two pawns.
"Besides being our job, not really," Lucy said, shrugging. "Maybe if we have time, we were thinking of traveling around Japan. It's our first time here," Lucy said casually. My eyes widened slightly.
"The first time? But... aren't you Japanese?" I asked, confused. "Your name was Lucyna Kushinada, wasn't it? Isn't that Japanese?" I asked to confirm. She felt.
"Mixed race. I'm half Japanese on my father's side, and half Polish on my mother's. I was born and raised in Warsaw for about a decade before my parents sold me to a soulless group along with 12 other children."
"A couple of years ago, I ended up escaping, but I was the only survivor. I was on the run for a couple of years, trying to avoid being tracked by my mother, until I finally escaped to California, USA. There I met Rebecca and then Serena," Lucy said easily, shrugging her shoulders. I stared at her in horror. I could see Kiba shudder slightly. I couldn't help but notice how similar they were.
"I'm sorry," I said immediately. Lucy just shook her head.
"Don't worry. Serena helped me kill everyone involved," Lucy said casually before smiling slightly and sadistically. "My parents must still be alive in Warsaw. I'm sure they found out about that group's disappearance. I'm sure they're going crazy waiting for me to come after them," Lucy sneered. I could only blink uncertainly.
"If you're okay..." I said uncertainly. Lucy just nodded.
"I am, don't worry," she said simply. I just nodded. "As I was saying, we'll do our work, and if we have time, we'll explore," she said simply. Azazel just nodded.
"Very well! I'll make sure to give everyone a schedule," Azazel said, clapping his hands. "Now, let's go back upstairs to finish coordinating everything," he said as a circle appeared beneath us. I just nodded, glancing at the two pawns. I guessed they were far more dangerous than they looked, especially for pawns.
The Rating Game will be difficult, especially if we have to fight Sairaorg at the same time. At least… hmmm, I could convince Sairaorg to fight Lady Prince from the start. That's an option to consider.