Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
February 5, 2008 – Grayfia Pov
I knocked firmly on the door and waited patiently.
"Come in." I gently opened the door. "Ah, Grayfia-chan! What a joy to see you again!
"I was only gone for a couple of hours, Lucifer-sama." I let the Japanese honorific slide off my tongue, a request from Rias that the entire family was happy to comply with.
"Too much time!!" Sirzechs complained childishly.
"Control yourself, Lucifer-sama, it is not appropriate for someone of your status to throw a tantrum." I scolded Sirzechs. He just pouted.
"Grayfia-chan, we're alone, don't be so cold to your husband!" he complained once again. I sighed but nodded.
"I'm back... Sirzechs." I smiled softly at him. Sirzechs smiled widely.
"Welcome home, Grayfia." he said happily.
"I see your meeting with the High Prosecutor is over." Sirzechs groaned loudly.
"It was torture, Judgement -Chan was enraged." Sirzechs complained as he massaged the bridge of his nose, then looked at me. "And you ? Were there some good seedlings that joined the ranks of high-class devils?" Sirzechs asked curiously, without saying a word. I handed him the copy of all the papers related to that person. I was certain that it would be something that really interested him.
Sirzechs raised an eyebrow, but grabbed the folder and opened it as he read the first page.
" Serena Prince?" Sirzechs asked, confused, but still reading. "A succubus!? " He exclaimed, slightly surprised. He began to read the papers faster; the more he read, the more his brow began to furrow.
"This… is all of this correct?" Sirzechs asked seriously. I nodded.
"It is, once the promotion tests were over, I went to check all the papers handed in personally. They are completely true, not a single one is falsified." I assured. Sirzechs nodded without doubting my word.
"Two contracts, even if they are long-term, just two contracts would not be enough for a succubus to take the demonic power test and just pass it like nothing." Sirzechs said seriously while thinking. "Even if they were possessors of Sacred Gear, they couldn't raise the amount of Demonic Power needed for that. But... a long-term contract would give a devil permission to stay in the Human World for much longer periods of time. Was she feeding from another source?" Sirzechs asked out loud.
"No," I replied confidently. "I thought it was weird too, so I made a quick trip to the human world. I looked in Wallachia and California, and there weren't any cases of mass disappearances of people, or anything like that. So either she was extremely restrained from killing her food, her hunting grounds were elsewhere, or she simply didn't absorb enough to kill them, but…"
"But that wouldn't be enough." Sirzechs finished for me. "Absorbing that little life force wouldn't do, not with humans; it would be so little that she would have to have slept with hundreds of thousands to reach that level. Even during the time of the old Satans, when they could steal whatever they wanted, no succubus reached that level of power." Sirzechs frowned.
"Lust, her sin is lust," I said quickly. Sirzechs looked at me. "Her demonic power was also imbued with lust. When she joined with her Evil Pieces, I could feel her demonic power; it felt like… like she was swimming in lust. It was strong." I explained, Sirzechs became thoughtful. "And… she did something strange, for a few moments, I could feel that her power shot up to an ultimate-class devil." Sirzechs's eyes opened widely.
"So much power? Are you sure?" He asked, surprised. I made a face while nodding.
"I don't know what she did; she definitely doesn't have that level naturally, but I think it was a method to make her demonic power explode for a single instant. If she can take advantage of it whenever she wants, seriously-"
"Interesting, depending on the side effects of using that method, it might or might not be usable in a fight." Sirzechs hummed before shaking his head. "Leaving that aside, we still can't rule out that this new Lady Prince hasn't been absorbing life force from humans on a large scale." He sighed with a grimace. "Any contact with any other factions?" I shook my head.
"None, besides the brothel where she was raised in Lucifaad, most of her time is spent in the human world with her contractors. The only contact with the other factions is secondhand, and simply thanks to her contractor's sister and her fiancé, both of whom belong to Golden Dawn and Grauzauberer, respectively." I explained, and Sirzechs nodded.
"Send a message to Mephisto, ask him if a Succubus has been visiting his organization." I nodded at his command. "This is all the information we have on their contracts? Contractor: Bellatrix Black, Wish: Food, Payment: Food. It really doesn't leave much to be found out." Sirzechs said with a grimace.
"Unfortunately, yes, should I contact Lady Lucifer-sama and ask for a full report of Lady Prince's contracts?" I asked, and Sirzechs shuddered.
"No, Lucy-chan hates me, I don't want to deal with her if possible." Sirzechs said, snorting.
"That's why you won't stop calling me that way." I said dryly, and Sirzechs smiled and shrugged.
"Well, I can't call her Lucifer when I'm Lucifer, I really don't know what her parents were thinking when they named a devil Lucifer." Sirzechs said amusedly, and I sighed, changing the subject.
"Returning to Lady Prince, there is something else." Adding, Sirzechs frowned.
"What else?" I asked, more curious than anything else. I pulled a small device out of one of my pockets and placed it on the desk in the office. A projection of Lady Prince's fight quickly began.
"She's a succubus?!" Sirzechs repeated to himself in surprise, and rightly so, Lady Prince dressed too prudishly for devils in general, not to mention succubi. The only ones who typically wore that much clothing were the pillar devils, and it was simply because they liked to wear ostentatious clothing and not a simple black dress. "She uses fire? Curious."
"She doesn't use demonic power to generate fire." I added, Sirzechs raised an eyebrow. "The fire… it just appears when she snaps her fingers. There's no fluctuation of demonic power at any time; either it's too marginal for me to notice, or she's not using demonic magic." I stated.
" Sacred Gear?" Sirzechs asked, wrinkling his nose.
"A pure-blooded devil? She may be a lesser devil like a succubus, but both of her parents are devils." I said in disbelief, Sirzechs hummed.
"What if… she stole it? Succubi are known to steal life force through sex; actually, what they take is the soul of their prey. That was in the old days, now they are only allowed to take a fragment, no, a splinter of the soul of humans when they have sex with them." Sirzechs began to explain, "and if she found a way to steal a Sacred Gear? Those artifacts are linked to the soul of their bearer thanks to the system that Big G created, if she fed on a Sacred Gear holders Gear…"
"That... that's possible?" My question dripped with disbelief. Sirzechs grimaced, apparently not even believing it himself.
"Oh? Ice too?" Sirzechs said as he watched the fight. He immediately frowned as she summoned her bow and sword. "Call Beowulf immediately."
"Yes, Lucifer-sama," I said. Immediately recognizing Sirzechs' tone of voice. It was a quick message through magic before I turned to my King, "So it's the real one? Beowulf's Hrunting? " I asked, unable to hide my curiosity.
"That's what we're going to find out," Sirzechs said seriously. Immediately, a teleportation circle appeared, and Lucifer's pawn emerged.
"My king, have you summoned me?" Beowulf asked seriously as he bowed.
"I want you to look at something, Beowulf," Sirzechs said as he pointed at the paused hologram.
"Oh? New devils, you want my advice on -HRUNTING?!?!" Beowulf squealed in surprise and took long strides until he was practically glued to the hologram. "W-what?! How?! Has anyone found Hrunting!? Who has it!? Who is that woman?! " Beowulf asked quickly. He seemed to be about to continue with his interrogation when Sirzechs raised his hand to stop him. Beowulf clamped his mouth shut as our king pulled back the hologram just as she summoned his ancestor's sword.
Beowulf's expression underwent many changes, ranging from complete horror when she transformed the sword into an arrow or caused it to explode, to one of thoughtful contemplation when he saw her rebuild the sword several times.
"So? Is it the real Beowulf's sword?" Sirzechs asked. Beowulf thought for a few seconds before grimacing.
"It is... and it isn't," he said. Sirzechs just looked at him for him to continue. "It's Hrunting, definitely, its form is identical to my ancestors' documents about it, including its ability to deliver the most optimal blow with a simple, ordinary blow... Even though she used it like an arrow. But... It's not as strong as it should be, and there's... a feeling of discordance, as if I'm seeing something... something hollow, something false. Even though I don't use Naegling very often, my blood reacts to it, even when I see an image. With this Hrunting, it's different, my blood vibrates, but to a much lesser extent."
"It's a copy." Sirzechs finally said. Beowulf nodded.
"Definitely a very well-made copy that somehow managed to copy the skill of the original and is able to deceive my heritage; it is somewhat reduced in power, but all in all, an excellent copy. Not just anyone could copy a sword of that caliber; otherwise, we would be flooded with all kinds of powerful weapons everywhere." Beowulf said seriously.
"Sword birth?" I asked calmly, and both of them wrinkled their noses.
"I don't think so, Sword Birth is in the possession of Rias' knight, and I must say that dear Yuuto is not up to the task of creating such a sword." Sirzechs said, being brutally honest.
"Blade Blacksmith?" Beowulf asked, now it was my turn to shake my head.
"I didn't sense any holy power from those swords. Besides, her opponent wouldn't have come out alive if it were imbued with holy power, no matter his level of regeneration." I said without hesitation, and both of them nodded.
"So… an original magic?" Beowulf ventured.
"That would be most feasible," Sirzechs said as he began manipulating the hologram once again.
" I am the bone of my sword."
"An interesting chant," Sirzechs hummed. "Most devils use names in their attacks to help focus on the magic they want to cast; it's not very common to see a phrase used for it."
"No," Beowulf said directly, while frowning. "My apologies, my King," he added, as he moved closer and rewound the video over and over again. "It's not… magic, at least not the chant, it's… how to say it… It's autosuggestion." Beowulf snapped his fingers.
"Is she hypnotizing herself?" I asked, confused, Beowulf grimaced.
"Close, but I don't think so, there's a difference with her before and after that chant, she... feels like a weapon, no, she is a weapon," Beowulf stated. "I think that any magic, whatever it is that she uses, she first needs to be in that state of mind to achieve it."
"Interesting." Sirzechs said as he looked at the hologram. "And the displeasure clearly shown towards that chant?" he asked.
"Maybe she hates using it? Or if someone taught it to her, she hates that person? " I tried to guess, Beowulf shook his head once more.
"No, it's the weapons," said Beowulf, utterly sure of himself. "She hates weapons for some reason; she can barely stand to hold and use them."
"But she still uses them," I said dryly, and Beowulf shrugged.
"They are useful and powerful, you don't have to like them to use something like that," Beowulf said simply, and he was right. "But back to the chant, it is incomplete."
"Incomplete?" Sirzechs asked, Beowulf snorted.
"If a chant as dramatic as 'I am the bone of my sword ', it's only that long, I'll eat my wings," Beowulf snorted. Sirzechs chuckled.
"Although I admit that it is dramatic, it is not a reason to assume anything, but... what would it mean if it had a longer chant?" Sirzechs asked more seriously, and the three of us remained silent.
"The question is... what weapons can it copy?" Beowulf said thoughtfully. "Hrunting, while a good sword, is not one of the flashiest weapons, or even one of the most powerful in history. In fact, it is not even very well known. Even in the supernatural world, it is likely that only 1 in 10 supernatural beings knows about Hrunting."
"But it is useful. At least as an arrow or, rather, as a magic bullet." I pointed out, Beowulf nodded.
"And that's the most interesting thing, in some way, she copied Hrunting and modified it to suit her needs, and that says a lot. If she could create swords with magical effects like Sword Birth, it wouldn't make sense for it to be a copy of Hrunting."
"It needs a base," Sirzechs said, and Beowulf snapped his fingers.
"Exactly, I don't know what the mechanics or conditions are for her to be able to copy or replicate a weapon, but at least we know that it must or should exist." Beowulf said.
"Then that would make it capable of replicating any famous weapon," I said solemnly. "That's dangerous." Beowulf shrugged.
"Again, I don't know what conditions she needs to replicate a weapon. I really doubt she can just go and pull out a copy of Excalibur whenever she wants, regardless of whether she uses her full chant, whatever it may be." Dismissing Beowulf, Sirzechs nodded.
"It may even have a limit, you said that Hrunting is weaker than the original; it may be a direct limitation, like every replica is weaker, or it is simply the limit of power that it can reach, and all its weapons would reach that level." Sirzechs added.
"Should I contact her?" I asked after a few seconds of silence had passed. Sirzechs looked at me, surprised.
"Oh no no no no, definitely not, she didn't do anything wrong, let her do whatever she wants." He said nonchalantly while smiling. "If I started making demands on any devil, I would be no better than the old devils; she has every right to keep whatever power she has hidden." Sirzechs shrugged. "Although, keep an ear out for the news, if they mention anything about her, I want to know. I'm really interested to know what limit she can go to as a succubus." He said with a smile.
"Wait!! She's a succubus!?" Beowulf exclaimed in disbelief. Sirzechs burst out laughing.
"Yes! The first succubus to become a high-class devil, a succubus with a noble title! Ha! Those old devils are going to be shocked when they hear this! " Sirzechs said jovially. I snorted.
"Of course, Lucifer-sama," I said simply. Sirzechs nodded.
"Oh, and take a copy to Ajuka, see if he can discover anything we missed. I'm sure he'll be really interested in whatever magic this Lady Prince is capable of using." I nodded once more. I didn't know whether to feel pity or guilt for the newly promoted Lady Prince; she already had the attention of a Satan, and it might just turn out to be two of them. It could be perfect for her, or something awful. Only the Satans would know.
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