Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
I took the box in my hands and looked at Hood as he began to regenerate, only to be met with the restrictive size of the box. His head was pressed against the walls of the box, but his growth was halted. Hood didn't look happy at all. He tried to move and scream. A quick, silencing charm solved that problem.
Still holding the Hood head-box, I appeared near Grayfia, who had been overseeing the entire fight, not seeing her blink the whole time she was within my range of vision.
"Is this enough?" I asked as I held out the Hood box. Grayfia simply continued to stare at me for a few seconds before nodding and taking the Hood box.
"That would be enough, Miss Prince. No, Lady Prince, let me be the first to congratulate you on your ascension to a High-class Devil." Grayfia said simply, an involuntary smile growing on my face. I was a High-class Devil.
"Thank you, Lady Lucifuge." I thanked her with a smile, and she nodded before teleporting us back to the stadium. Now that I thought about it, was there a reason we had come to the stadium if we were going to use a separate dimension?
"Congratulations, Miss Prince, with this, your promotion to High-Class Devil has been completed. Once we return to the office, we will complete the required paperwork." Pandemonica began to say. "You, Mr. Hood, cannot retake the test-" Pandemonica stopped and looked at Hood. "- Why are you still in a box?" She asked, confused.
"Ah, my apologies." Grayfia said easily before looking at the box in her hands. I could see her fingers press against the box hard, only to stop and blink. She tried once more, this time with much more force, and generated a small shockwave. The box didn't even flinch. Grayfia stared at me. "Lady Prince, can you undo the box, please?" she asked politely. I made a face but nodded.
I took the box and, as the first thing, removed the silencing enchantment from it.
"-GET ME OUT OF HERE BITCH!!!" I froze slightly and looked at Hood.
"Ah, you can talk." It slipped out involuntarily.
"OF COURSE I CAN TALK BITCH! WHY COULDN'T I TALK?! JUST GET ME OUT OF THIS DAMN BOX ALREADY!! " I shrugged.
"You were screaming a lot during the fight, that's all you did," I said simply.
"YOU SET ME ON FIRE! YOU TURNED ME TO ASHES! YOU EXPLODED ME! OF COURSE I SCREAMED YOU INSENSITIVE BITCH!!! " I stopped once again.
"Touche." I said simply, and he growled loudly. I quickly undid the unbreakable charm; the box immediately cracked. I made it disappear before it shattered. Once released, Hood immediately regenerated.
"Finally!!! It hurt like a bitch to be in that damn box and keep trying to regenerate!! " Hood shouted. Ah, I hadn't considered that. I shrugged.
"I had no other way to contain you," I said simply. Hood snorted.
"Ahem, as I was saying, Mr. Hood, you cannot retake the exam for the next two months, you will be given a leave of absence that exempts you from the remaining tests dur-"
" Yeah, yeah, yeah, two years leave, just take the combat portion, I heard you." Hood interrupted rudely, although I could hear a hint of sadness in his voice. Pandemonica barely flinched at the interruption, just nodded.
"Very well, we will be returning to the offices now." Pandemonica said before looking at Grayfia. "Thank you very much for your time, Lady Lucifuge. We will be taking our leave." Pandemonica said as she bowed slightly.
"If it's not too much trouble, Madam Pandemonica, I'd like to accompany you to finish the paperwork," Grayfia said simply. Pandemonica paused for a moment but nodded. Without saying anything else, a circle surrounded the 6 of us. A few seconds later, we were back in the office.
Once back, Pandemonica moved quickly, or, well, as quickly as possible for someone who looked bored while doing her job. She promptly handed over the licenses and signed papers to both of the devils that had been defeated, then moved on to the other winner.
"Finally, you, Lady Prince. Your sponsor, will they be holding a promotion ceremony?" Pandemonica asked and tilted her head.
"Sponsor?" I asked confused, and Pandemonica stopped stiffly; she blinked a few times.
"Yes… sponsor, who helped you train? Provided Resources? Teaching? " Pandemonica asked quickly. I wrinkled my nose.
"Nobody helped me; I did it all by myself." I said simply, and Pandemonica looked at me incredulously. In fact, it was the first time I had seen any expression on her face other than a bored and sleepy one.
"But… you're a succubus." Pandemonica muttered. I grimaced.
"And what the hell does that mean?" I growled under my breath. Pandemonica's eyes widened.
"What?! You're a succubus!? I lost to a hooker!? " Hood exclaimed, behind me snap "AAHHHH!!! ENOUGH BITCH! "
"Why are you still here, loser?" I huffed as I let my fire die out.
"Damn, psycho, you almost set my papers on fire! I had some things to ask that boring girl over there, then I heard you're a damn succubus, I lost to the weakest race of all devils." Hood huffed as he regenerated. I rolled my eyes.
" Yeah, well, go away, no one wants you around." I replied, annoyed, before looking at Pandemonica once more. "So? Is there a problem with being a succubus without a sponsor? " I asked again with a grimace on my face.
"No! I mean, of course not, I was just… surprised, that's all." Pandemonica said quickly.
"You're a succubus," Grayfia interrupted, staring at me. I grimaced.
" Yes, I am." I said simply while crossing my arms.
"…may I?" she asked as she pointed to the folder containing the papers I had brought.
"It's not like I can stop you." I shrugged. Grayfia simply nodded before taking the folder and quickly began to read it.
"Only two contracts?" Grayfia asked, and I could hear her voice, slightly surprised.
"Only two contracts?! How the hell did you qualify to take the promotion test?!" Hood asked, and I looked at him.
"You're still here?" I asked dryly, and he shrugged.
"I still need my answers." He said simply. I grimaced before sighing and looking at Grayfia.
" Yeah, just two long-term contracts." I said dismissively as I crossed my arms. "Once again, is this a problem?"
"No… none," Grayfia simply said as she turned back to the documents. "You passed the demonic power test," Grayfia said.
"I did." I answered. That she hadn't said it as a question, but I confirmed it anyway. I heard Hood whistle, but ignored it.
"That shit is tough; they're supposed to match one of those Pillar kids in magic power." Hood added, but I ignored him.
"And… perfect scores on all the other tests… you… Didn't have anyone to teach you?" Grayfia asked more curiously than anything else, from what I could tell. I shrugged.
" Are you talking about some devil? No, none. But one of my contracts is from the high society of the human world, and I learned from her and her family." I said honestly, Grayfia reviewed the papers once more.
"I suppose this is it, Bellatrix Black, princess of Wallachia, right? " She asked, and I just nodded. Hood whistled once more.
"A princess? Huh, you're lucky," Hood said, amused. I rolled my eyes.
"So, everything seems to be in order," Grayfia finally said as she closed the folder with the papers. "It seems more congratulations are in order; you are the first succubus to be promoted to a high-class devil."
"Thanks," I nodded in her direction. Grayfia nodded and looked at Pandemonica. She nodded and looked at me.
"Alright, let's continue, as I was saying, you don't have any sponsors, I assume you don't have any promotion ceremony planned either?" Pandemonica said, taking control of the conversation once again.
Issei had in canon when he ascended to a High-class Devil. For starters, he was a pawn of Rias Gremory, the sister of the current Lucifer. Second, he was the Sekiryuutei, the Red Dragon Emperor of his generation. Third, by then, he was extremely famous and popular in the supernatural world, so much pomp was natural.
From what I could find out, not many have that kind of ceremony. Sometimes it was something more private, only between the Peerage itself; other times, they were more grandiloquent, when a Pilar family was involved. Other times, like me, I didn't have any kind of ceremony, but that usually happened when both the King and the devil he promoted hated each other to the core, which happens more often than one would expect.
"We'll just sign a few more papers, and we'll give you your Evil Pieces directly." Pandemonica said as she took out some papers and placed them in front of me. I quickly read each paper and promptly signed it. Pandemonica placed another paper on top of it.
"Anything else?" I asked after the tenth signed paper was received.
"One more, about your new property." Pandemonica said simply, I blinked slightly.
"Property? Are you giving me a house? " I asked, confused, I thought the land papers would be generated with the other Papers.
"Of course, you're a Baroness now, even though the title is actually the lowest ranking title among high-class devils, you still need an estate in your name to make it official. Plus, as a new King, you need a house to keep your Peerage in if necessary." Pandemonica said simply. She placed a slightly thick folder on top of the table. "You have several options to choose from. Please take your time." I quickly looked over the papers, ignoring the Hood approaching behind me.
Actually, none of them detailed the house, but rather the location of the territory. All of them were the 15km2 that my pocket dimension needed to place itself in the underworld.
"Here it details the members of the pillars that are closest to these territories," she began, pointing at the papers. "Am I expected to have some obligation to them?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. Pandemonica and Grayfia's silence was revealing, and I grimaced.
"Officially…no," Grayfia finally said. "But…there are some who will force some obligations." She added later.
"Tch, damn pillars," Hood snorted behind me, and I couldn't agree more.
" And I can't refuse any of these territories?" I asked dryly, and Pandemonica gave me an apologetic smile; I growled loudly.
There weren't any territories near the Gremory. Despite not wanting to follow canon closely, the Gremory were a kinder group of devils than was detailed in the series. Or, on the contrary, there were several such territories that I immediately ruled out. For example, a territory near the Bael? No thanks, the last thing I wanted was to be near Zekram. Bael, with my luck, that was precisely what I would get.
Serafall Leviathan's toes. But it was really the best of the options I had available. I was determined.
"This one." I pointed at the island, and Pandemonica took the paper, nodding. I quickly obtained the necessary paperwork, and in no time, I now owned an island in the underworld. Great.
"Perfect, when do you want the construction crew to pass through your territory?" Pandemonica asked, wrinkling her nose.
"No need, I'll build everything," I said simply. Pandemonica looked at me.
"Are you sure? There is no extra charge for the first job done in the territory," Pandemonica insisted.
"No thanks, I'm fine," I insisted again. Pandemonica frowned, but nodded.
"Very well, but remember that in case of any problems, you can still call to hire construction services at no cost." Pandemonica said simply. I nodded. With that, she stood up once again. "Now, we will go collect your Evil Pieces."
I started to follow Pandemonica as she began walking. Behind me were Grayfia and Hood; I snorted at the latter but didn't say anything. We walked for several hallways before reaching another room. The door was very finely carved; it was truly the most elegant door I had seen in the entire building.
Pandemonica entered without stopping, and I followed her. In the center of the room, a stone monument floated in the air, glowing black. We approached it, and Pandemonica stopped in front of the monument.
"Please place your hand on the monument and let your demonic power flow out. You will be registered as a new King in the system." Pandemonica said, I placed my hand on the monument and let all my demonic power overflow out of me. With a beat of my heart, the memorial glowed a crimson color. "Congratulations on a successful registration. These are your Evil Pieces." Pandemonica took out a briefcase, but I don't know where she had just taken it from.
With a bit of anxiety, I grabbed the briefcase and opened it. Completely inert black pieces, very similar to the same material as the monument next to me.
"Let your demonic power flow over the pieces again. If you want, you can use everything you have; maybe you'll get lucky and some piece will turn out to be mutated." Pandemonica said, I nodded. I took a deep breath. I released all my power as a devil, as a magic girl, as La Verità, as a witch, as a forger, as an alchemist, everything.
I could feel the stars of power fluttering across my face, even on my hands, as I let out all of my demonic power.
When I was about to place the demonic power into the Evil Pieces, I swallowed duralumin.
My demonic power exploded an order of magnitude stronger. It was a brief but powerful burst. The chess pieces shone brightly as they became imbued with my demonic power. I could feel the connection immediately as they finally joined with my soul.
I sighed, tiredly, as the effects of the duralumin wore off.
"Shit! What the hell was that!" Hood exclaimed in disbelief. I looked over my shoulder. Grayfia was staring at me; she was standing in front, protecting Pandemonica and Hood with her body.
"Ah, I forgot you were there." I said simply as I shrugged and ignored them once again. I didn't have to explain anything to them. I started looking at my pieces, and they were now glowing violet. For some reason, they gave me a feeling of lust. I was really cursing my new nature as a succubus. "Two pawns and a rook," I said, as a smile grew on my face. I had three mutated pieces; even though the pawns weren't the strongest, they were still valuable, and the rook was much more important.
"Congratulations on the acquisition of your Peerage, Lady Prince." Grayfia congratulated.
"Thank you!" I smiled widely.
A/N: First off, if you don't know who Hood is yet, he's the first High-End Nomu, who fights Endeavor in My Hero Academia. That being said, Hood isn't essential; he's unlikely to appear again after this scene ends.
Second, the Evil Pieces, in the novel, state that 1 in 10 devils have mutated pieces, so I decided to roll the dice, although I increased the difficulty. Roll 1d20 8 times for the pawns; two of them came out as a natural 20. Then, roll 2d20 7 times for the rest, in order of the value of the pieces. One of the rooks got 40. And that's how Serena got three mutated pieces. Honestly, I didn't expect such good luck; at most, I was hoping for just one piece. Now I'll have to figure out what to do with them.
And third, Ciara, Serena's wand, I had plans for her, several actually. Still, the novel deviated from the original plan, and I'm in parts unknown, so I'll leave her aside for now. She may or may not come back; she will still appear, but it won't be important for the moment. I'm sorry. (In case you're wondering, the plan was for Ciara to accumulate all of Serena's magical foci, for example, a Black Clover grimoire or a Mashle Wand, maybe even a Metal Vessel ( Djinn ) from Magi: The Labyrinth Of Magic, if I dared to get into that world)
Anyway, thank you for reading and for your support!