Altair found himself studying the Sacred Gears. He couldn't access a real one directly; he only had the vague copy that Azazel sent him. Layers of summoning magical fire. It was powerful, yes, but it didn't reach the point of FiendFyre, which was capable of burning magic itself.
God created the artifacts. He took concepts and turned them into tools. His goal was to equalize the power of humans against the supernatural world. To a certain extent, he succeeded, but it wasn't efficient. Over time, supernatural factions began to seek out and recruit humans blessed with Sacred Gears.
They could also be created from historical weapons or supernatural creatures. For example, in the books he read about Longinus, the spear with which Jesus Christ was killed, he found that his blood blessed it. His blood, imbued with magic, bathed the steel and gave it special abilities. That made it special, but then God took it and added more things, giving it the ability to kill gods and devils of Maou rank.
Altair thought of Issei. The boy had the Heavenly Dragon, Ddraig, in his gauntlet, which retained its consciousness despite being a Sacred Gear. It gave him power and some of its abilities.
'A Longinus is wasted on a man like him,' he thought. The boy pursued breasts with such emphasis that he neglected everything else.
Chasing boobs is fine. Altair wouldn't blame him. However, you also need to focus on other things. Being a degenerate only isolates him. He has to be a degenerate with different skills, like himself.
Altair had no idea how to start creating a Sacred Gear. From what he could gather, Azazel signed a contract to make the Sacred Gear he gave him. A creature of fire was locked inside the artifact.
Altair could imitate it with runes, although it would be weaker, and he wouldn't know how to bind it to his soul.
He was never a religious man, but he found himself wanting to talk to God. He just wanted to ask him how he created them. They were magnificent.
Linked to the soul and with the ability to adapt to its user. Not to mention the ability to go from one host to another after the previous one dies.
"Ouch!" he complained when the fire burned his hand. It didn't cause any significant damage, but it wasn't pleasant to be burned.
Distractedly, he smeared Phoenix Powder mixed with a healing potion on the wound. He already had it prepared, since when interacting with the Sacred Gear, it reacted aggressively towards him, as if trying to defend itself.
He had studied Asia a little, but he couldn't find anything notable. The Sacred Gear was hidden; Altair could feel it but not see it.
He was about to call Azazel to ask for more material. But doing that would be going against the devils.
"Altair," he heard Katerea's voice calling him. "The bitch is here," the woman had been standing guard outside his laboratory.
'Which one?' he wanted to ask.
"Let her in," it didn't matter who it was.
"Ah-ah, you can't call Miracle Levia-tan that, Altair-chan," was the first thing Serafall said, slightly annoyed.
"I didn't know who you were talking about. Katerea, wait outside," Altair said, without apologizing. His eyes did not stray from the Sacred Gear.
He could feel a tug on his soul, as if it were seeking to join the artifact, but he resisted it. It could be a poisoned gift. Better not to trust it.
"Ah... I heard about Sona."
"It's no problem, Lord Sitri had every right to make his demands," and deep down, he believed her words.
That didn't mean he didn't hold a grudge.
"I brought a gift!" said the magical girl enthusiastically.
Altair continued studying for a few seconds. He turned and looked at Serafall, holding out a chessboard.
"Those are—"
"Evil Pieces," she said enthusiastically.
"What a gift," he muttered.
It was as if Serafall wanted to take credit for giving him the pieces. In reality, they had already been his, having been promised to him long ago.
"Altair-chan~," she continued in a sing-song voice. "Open it," he obeyed.
As for why he was acting distant, it was simply to give the appearance of indignation. He wasn't a lapdog wagging his tail for his owner. Nor was he being rude; he didn't want to give the impression that he had become an enemy.
The board had black pieces. Each one was detailed, looking like they were handmade by the finest sculptor. He picked up a pawn. At first glance, the piece looked smooth, but up close, he could see inscriptions on it, like those on magic circles.
The Knight, the Bishop, and the Rook were the same.
"Two pieces are missing," he said.
Neither the king nor the queen was on the board. However, he had heard that he would not be given a king. He will be linked to the pieces in another way.
"That's my gift." She held out her hands, showing him the king and queen.
Both were very different from the other pieces at first glance. Both seemed more alive, more charged with magic. The queen piece seemed to absorb light. He couldn't see the lines on it. It felt as if he were holding a shadow.
"I understood that the king piece didn't exist, since it's not necessary to reincarnate the owner," he commented lightly.
"It doesn't," she admitted. "It's a secret. But that piece gives a huge boost to whoever possesses it, as well as giving them greater control over their reincarnated devils. It's forbidden, and there are very few existing pieces. Right now, you're... High Class?" She was surprised to sense it.
"Then I would go higher than that," he said.
"Yes. The other piece, the queen, aren't you curious?" She seemed to be waiting for him to ask about the piece.
"It feels different from the others." At first, he didn't know if it was just because it was the queen, the strongest piece of all.
"It's a mutated piece!" she explained enthusiastically.
Looking at her so happy, Altair even felt a little bad about wanting to cuckold his father.
"I've never heard of such a concept before."
"Under certain conditions, pieces can mutate; we don't know why. But this gives them the ability to become super strong. Evil pieces give the reincarnated person an increase in power. Rooks improve physical strength and endurance. Knights increase speed and agility. Bishops increase magical ability. Queens do all three things. A mutated queen takes everything to an even higher level. Ajuka had this one, and we decided to give it to you," she didn't say why they decided that.
"Do pawns increase anything, too?"
"They increase everything, but to a lesser extent. It's like a queen but very, very weak," she explained.
"And you're just going to give it to me like that?" It was pretty generous.
"There is one condition for its use. You must use it on a witch, such as Lav-chan, Har-chan, or Aza-chan," she said, lowering her voice.
"What are the conditions for a piece to mutate?" he asked.
Using the piece on a witch was a sure thing. The girls would probably increase their strength to that of a High Class devil or beyond.
From a logical point of view, it was a waste.
It was evident that they wanted to prevent him from using it in Katerea. It was an Ultimate Class devil. The Ultimate Class was intermediate between the strength of a High Class and a Maou. If Altair used it on the Leviathan, he would control a devil with Maou's strength—a danger to the underworld.
"Huh?" She looked puzzled. "Well, it varies, depending on the reincarnated devil. If there is a big difference in power between the reincarnated and the king, the piece may mutate to adapt; it's not common, as kings didn't look for pieces stronger than them, which would make them uncontrollable," she said.
"Tell me, what happens if I reincarnate someone and regret it? Can I get the piece back?" he asked.
"You can kick them out of your nobility. That would make the piece return to the board. You'll know how to do it instinctively," she said with a bit of concern at his strange questions.
"Then I'll accept. I'll talk to the girls," he said, turning his back on her.
"It's something the Maous decided."
"I understand, you don't have to worry," she seemed to mumble something after hearing him before leaving.
He was surprised she didn't ask him about Ketarea.
Altair wasn't upset by the restriction at all.
At that moment, he began to feel a little euphoric, actually.
"Katerea, come in here," he called to his slave.
He put the king's piece aside. For the moment, for his new plan, it was best to be weak.
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I was supposed to upload chapter 115, 2 days ago... so double chapter