Disclaimer : I own nothing
Chapter 17 : Birds of a Feather
- Shin –
The early levels of a class are really easy to level up. My alchemist got to level 25 in the first night. The fact that I almost incinerated the entire area with my PoD was no less of a reason either. I wanted to summon the Champion Rank boss. Sakuya had accompanied me on the second run along with Rias.
Rias knew she would not be of much help but still wanted to come with us even if it was to sit back and watch. She wanted to get used to fights above her level. It was actually something I appreciate. Her being a dead weight would have been a problem but if it gave her enough bearing to act properly in times of crisis then it will be worth it.
All Satans are Champion Tier and although they are much stronger than the Boss of the IDs, the presence of the Boss was not something to laugh about either. She did get her wish and I am fucking proud to say that even on her knees and literally huffing in a puddle of her own sweat, she did not stop looking at the fight.
She got to see me and Sakuya going all out for once. Sakuya was honestly terrifying with her new Legendary Sword Birth. If I had to fight her, I am not ashamed to say that I will be defeated 8 out of ten times and the rest two times will be me self-destructing to kill both of us.
Time Magic is fucking BS.
The boss was a summoning type that gained immunity to all damage as long as its summons were alive. He summoned them every thirty seconds. If we couldn't finish the summons in time, we are bound to die after being overwhelmed by sheer numbers.
That would have normally worked if not for Sakuya going all Unlimited Blade Works on their ass. My new Legendary Rank shadow weapon creation was pretty handy too. Spawning weapons from the shadows of the swords that Sakuya rained down and impaling them from below. A two pronged attack from the skies and the ground.
Even if not a Satan Class fight, I can say for sure that this is atleast at the top of Ultimate Class.
I did notice a trend though. The classes with a maximum level of 50 level much slower than those with maximum level of 100.
So, overall it takes the same amount of time for both of them to reach level cap. Things balance out somewhere.
Skill Gained
[Poison Resistance(Novice)](Passive)
Higher skill already exists.
+10 CHA added.
Skill Gained
[Herbology Proficiency(Novice)](Passive)
Gain the knowledge to grow and harvest simple plants.
Skill Gained
[Create Poison](Active)
200 MP per poison from your recipe list.
New Recipes – Damage Health, Damage Mana, Damage Stamina.
Skill Gained
[Poison Resistance(Apprentice)](Passive)
Higher Skill already exists.
+25 DEX added.
I did get a bunch of ingredients as well.
Bear Claws
Effect : Fortify Health,?,?,?
Blue Dart Wing
Effect : Restore Health, ?,?,?
Briar Heart
Effect : Restore Mana,?, Paralysis,?
Butterfly Wing
Effect : Restore Health,?,?,Damage Mana.
Charred Skeever Hide
Effect : Restore Stamina,?,?,?
Chicken's Egg
Effect : Resist Magic,?,?,?
Crimson Nirnroot
Effect : Damage Health,?,?,?
The notes of Nicholas Flamell did help a lot. The man is a genius without a doubt. I did gain a decent idea about transmutation of metals from his notes.
Skill Gained
[Transmutation(Apprentice)](Active)
Cost : Depends on the materials.
Right now, I can only do transmutations like wood to iron and copper.
Higher level transmutations are all out of reach for me. But it is a great start.
I kept spying on the stray exorcists and the Fallen Angels all day. I did quite a lot of information gathering. Apparently Azazel wants me untouched and only to be observed. Understandable, I suppose. He assigned them to not make any contact with me or my peerage. Again, understandable I guess. The Satans will not take any Fallen Angels making contact with me lightly.
The fact that confused me was the stray attack at Ruruko Nimura. Sona was going to recruit her to my knowledge. But I didn't know the reason why. Again Sona is someone who has recruited even normal humans so I don't really know what to think of it.
Did they really kill her just because she was making contracts with Devils?
Are they really that dumb?
Again, you can never tell with this world's common sense.
Meredith had been working nonstop since yesterday while being guarded by Sakuya or Akeno, Morgiana, Koneko and Kiba when she is in any area not under our watch. Serafall had mentioned something about this place being guarded. I call absolute BS. I haven't found a single thing that would indicate that claim yet. Japan is a mixed bag of beans as in, it has people of all three factions roaming about but the ones that control the area are still the Shinto Pantheon and under them the Youkai faction. No one will cause major trouble here unless they want a war.
But the most important thing that they forgot was the fact that this world has many insane morons that WANT to cause a war.
I shouldn't be surprised though. This is the very same leadership who send a bunch of teenagers to fight Fenrir and Loki along with all the little wolves and artificial Dragon Kings while they sip tea in their meeting rooms and discuss peace. A bunch of royal morons. If they ever ask me to fight such battles, I am going to shove a King sized fuck off in their faces.
I guess not knowing what is going on is getting to me.
It was during that time that I got more news.
A second attack happened to another one of the regular contractors but this time it was Rias' contractor instead of Sona's.
The person had passed away before we reached there and his body was completely mutilated. I guess they learned from their previous attack when Sona reincarnated the last one as her pawn.
It was the evening of the second day when everyone had gone to do the contracts that I got a message from one of my shadow servants.
Morgiana got a contract.
"I will be back in a while." I got up from our couch where we were watching the abridged version of DBZ. At least we got a good laugh out of it. If only Rias had seen the real version, she would have thrown an Extinguished Star over the production studios of this world the very next day. I will show her the real DBZ someday…in real life.
"Did something happen?"
"Nothing much, I just need to do something."
"Okay."
"Don't worry, I'll be in town."
With that I took off in a quick Shadow Walk.
- Unknown Mansion, Kuoh, Japan –
The house was right inside the town and no one knew about it all this while. Maybe it was because the wards were not active when there were no residents in the house. A clever move for hiding in plain sight. The fact that this place is outside of our coverage is also a reason.
Well now that I am here and the fact that Morgiana is unharmed, I guess I will try a civil approach.
Let's sneak in quietly.
I shadow walk right across the wards to a door of the room where they are.
- Azazel –
Azazel was spending some quality time with his son, skipping paperwork and meeting people that actually interested him. It was not hard to get a pamphlet of the Red Dragon Empress girl. He summoned her the same evening and till now, he could say that his meeting has been enlightening.
The girl was not human. Even before she became a Devil, she was not human. Half-human or not, he was not sure but she had an aura similar to the Youkai and dare he say it was a Youkai he had no idea about.
That however did not mean she was weak. Quite the contrary, she was at the very least at the top of High-Class Devil Level even without her Boosted Gear. That was something worthy to be proud of considering her age. She barely looked sixteen.
Vali had been pleased to sense her power. Not quite at his level but for someone with extremely high standards for an opponent like him, she was a good choice of rival. After all, she was slightly stronger than Vali was at her age although that might change depending on the usage of their sacred gears.
He had been having simple talks and found the girl to be quite adorable. He was not a lolicon, mind you. He still only went for girls above the legal age.
It was just that the girl was very polite and well-mannered but she had that competitive spirit that made her refuse to lose. It was so utterly similar to Vali that he was having déjà vu. In his talks, he was also able to glean that she had a troubled childhood like Vali as well. Her respect for her King comes from the fact that he lent her a helping hand when she needed it the most.
That brought him to the second part. The King.
He had been dying to know about her King, Shin Kageyami.
The boy appeared out of nowhere and all traces about him were personally cleared by Serafall Leviathan herself. There were absolutely no holes in the job and none of his spies could find anything about him for the longest of times.
Yes, for the longest of times. He did get something out of it though. A children's story book from Serafall Leviathan's office.
The Tale of the Three Brothers.
Normally this would have not attracted his interest if not for the fact that the book was from the wizarding world, a place which was left abandoned by all factions. Those Salem Witch Trials were a big bunch of political mess. The three factions decided that it was better to leave them to their own world as long as they don't come out of there.
Naturally, he took a read of the book and for some reason the story gave him the shivers he hadn't felt since the Great War.
Death.
One word was enough for him to leave everything and take his first time off to Kuoh to meet the elusive Miracle Maker. The title was quite apt though he will never accept the fact that it made him jealous as fuck.
Why does the newbie get a cool title like that? He had been making artificial sacred gears for years and yet no one gave him a cool title like that.
Perverted Fallen, Scapegoat, Governor General of Fallen, etc were so not cool or just plain boring.
Anyways, he did not get much out of her except the fact that her Master liked girls, anime and experiments and hated troublesome things. He was also a pervert, a big plus in Azazel's books.
He also caught a sight of the special bracelets around her hand hiding her presence to an inconspicuous level. A handy tool indeed.
As he was thinking about all this, he felt a presence right inside his wards. It was so light that he did not even feel it until the very last second.
"Vali, we have a guest."
Vali tensed up at that. The people who were capable of sneaking up on them were very few and none of them were weak.
As he was preparing himself, there was a knock on the door.
- Shin –
The door opened to reveal a silver haired boy with a cautious look on his face and muscles tensed to attack at the moment's notice.
"Hello, I am from the Kageyami Devil Services, here to conduct an inspection to ensure the satisfaction of our customers from our services. I hope you don't mind me asking a few questions. Don't worry about it, it is just a normal survey." I give him my best smile
His face went blank for a moment which I capitalized on and slid inside the room. The sight in the room was something odd to say the least.
Azazel and Morgiana were sitting on the floor joystick in each one's hand playing Mario Kart.
The intense look on their faces was broken by my arrival.
"Master." Morgiana spoke as she started to get up.
"Chill out Morgiana. I am here just to see if you were having any troubles in your contracts. You didn't have any problems did you?"
"No, Master."
"Good girl. You remember what I told you about someone who tries to do something perverted?"
"Break their hands and legs and kick between their legs before leaving."
"Yup. Perfect."
This got a sweatdrop look on Azazel while Vali finally broke out of his stupor.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, raising his voice.
"It's fine Vali. He is here for a customer satisfaction survey right? You are Morgiana's boss I guess. Nice to meet you. Please take a seat." I obliged him by sitting right in front of him. "What questions do you have? By the way do you do these inspections for others too?"
"Thanks. No, not really but when the customer is someone like The Governor General of the Fallen Angels, Azazel himself, I have to pay special attention."
Vali got tensed and so did Morgiana but Azazel for his part laughed after a raised eyebrow.
"HAHAHAHA, you really are interesting Shin Kageyami. It is nice to finally meet you, The Miracle Maker of the Devils."
"Nice to meet you too, Azazel, The Sharpest Mind of the Fallen Angels."
What, you don't spit on someone who smiles at you without any reason.
"I must say I like your style. What will you take, tea, coffee, wine?"
"It's fine. If you don't mind, I will get a bottle of wine from my own collection?" I say while bringing out a bottle that I got from the Peverell Vaults.
"This is some old stuff. Even I find it hard to get stuff like this nowadays."
"Just had it lying around. Now, will you tell me, why the leader of the Fallen Angels is in our territory without informing anyone." I ask as I pour two glasses for the two of us.
"I wanted to meet the Red Dragon Empress of this generation and you, though I did not hope to meet the two of you the same day."
"Neither did I hope to meet you under these circumstances. So what do you need to meet me for? Is it due to him?" I ask pointing to Vali. "His aura is similar to Morgiana. A Devil and a Dragon and the presence of a high ranking sacred gear, I will hazard a guess that he is the current White Dragon Emperor."
"You are quite calm even while knowing that you are in the presence of the leader of an enemy faction and a Longinus Wielder." Vali speaks arrogantly. I guess he doesn't like it that I was ignoring him all this while.
"I am calm because this guy in front of me has a brain. I am someone who can make artifacts rivaling a Longinus. What makes you think I will walk in without some kind of trump card with me at all times. If there is a fight, I'll make this area explode with a spell strong enough to vaporize half the country."
"You will do that even with your peerage member sitting here." He taunts trying to get a rise out of me.
This kid is getting way over his head.
"If a fight does break out, I will die anyways. Morgiana will not stand there and watch that happen and fight, most definitely dying as well. Since, the two of us are dying anyways, I would prefer taking both of you with me as well. I was already prepared for this before I entered this house, the question is," I smirk at him "Will you dare to make the move Little Luci."
Crack.
Dense demonic power erupted from Vali's body, blowing away the furniture in the surrounding.
Morgiana's boosted gear manifests on her arm as well.
"Now, now no need to get that tense. We are just having a friendly discussion here."
I simply take a sip of my wine. Ignotus Peverell definitely put his Invisibility Cloak to good use.
"Though I must ask, how did you know about Vali?" Azazel asks, still unperturbed by the situation.
"I know things. That's what I do. Anyways before we start this meeting, can I ask you something about some of your subordinates?"
"Sure."
"Why are your subordinates attacking our contractors in this town? There have been two attacks in two days. First one was reincarnated while the second one was badly mutilated to even reincarnate them after that. I know it is not by your orders, still I must ask you why such blatant neglect of the ceasefire?" I throw the question at him, which honestly takes him by surprise.
I am not relying on my eyes, more on my Observe to know his mental state.
"I have no idea what you are talking about. I assure you that I will look into this matter myself. Sirzechs has been on edge since his little sister got attacked last time and now some idiots are causing this problem."
"Sure."
"My question then. How did you give her the boosted gear?" he asked, catching me off guard for a second.
"What makes you think that I gave her the boosted gear?"
"There are no half-Youkai and half-human in the world. A child with a Youkai always becomes a Youkai so there is no chance for them to get a sacred gear if not through artificial means."
"Point. I got it from the previous wielder. He was too magically and physically weak. Even a newborn low class Devil child had more magic than him. He was on the verge of awakening his sacred gear. I took it off of him, you know all that safety that you send your subordinates to do, to prevent him from going into a Juggernaut Drive and all that. I took the boosted gear as the price of my service."
"So is the person dead."
"Unfortunately."
He sighs a bit. "Fine."
"What? Not going to blame me for killing someone and stealing their sacred gear?" I asked a little surprised.
"Would that really matter to you?" he asked, taking a sip from his own glass.
"No, it wouldn't. Point duly noted."
"It's not like I haven't done the same for my research. Can't blame others if they do the same thing, though I have to ask, how did you make Ddraig agree to cooperate." He asked, a bit intrigued.
"Ddraig took a shine to Morgiana. He likes her as a host. He is a bit neutral towards me."
"I hate you Devil." suddenly a red gauntlet appeared on Morgiana's hand.
"I love you too, Ddraig. He can be a tsundere sometimes."
"I am not a tsundere, you damned bat."
"Master, please don't bully Ddraig." Morgiana asks me in a polite tone with a pouting face.
"HAHAHAHA, nice to see you in good health Ddraig." Azazel laughs.
"I see that you are still alive Azazel. Then again people like you are harder to die." Ddraig quips in.
"So you were already awake Red One. Did you not wish to talk to me again?" came a voice from the pair of wings which manifested from Vali's back.
"My host didn't want me to appear White One. She is here for her work and did not want to disappoint her Master by ruining it. I respect her enough to grant her this simple request."
"It seems like you have taken quite a shine to your current host. Is she really that special?"
"She is just as special as your own host. As much as I hate the devil for tearing me from my previous host, I cannot deny the fact that I am also grateful to him for allowing me to meet this one. I can say without a doubt that she will surpass both Belzard and Elsha combined. I hope you will be ready for our fated fight because this time it will be a battle to remember."
"Such praise from you must mean that my host will get the challenge he is looking for. Though, I must say that I do not sense much hostility from you."
"Your own words are much calmer White One. It seems that both of us have found something more important in life this time."
"Indeed. I look forward to our fight."
"So if we are done with deciding dates for the world shaking battles between two heavenly dragons, can we move on to more boring topics?" Azazel speaks up as he pours another glass of wine for himself. "What are your views on Sacred Gears? I have been trying to recreate those for years and haven't been able to copy my father fully yet. Have you tried to create any yourself or are all of your collections your originals?" he fires off one question after another but this time I could see that there was just plain curiosity in his voice.
"I mainly make my originals. I did copy some of his designs though. I recently made a Sword Birth for my Knight."
"The Sexy Time Stopping Maid."
"Yes. I added a few things to increase its power. It was mainly the work of the core powering it but I have to agree that your father was a genius at his work. The sheer number of runic arrays that move around in the sacred gear is astounding. The part where he created a miniature copy of the prayer and blessing system to increase the power of sacred gears based on the will and wishes of its user is a masterstroke. Then again it is one of the reasons behind the Balance Breaker and mutation of sacred gears. Anything less than a masterstroke would be an insult."
What? I like talking to someone who understands what I say.
"So, it was a prayer and blessing system. No wonder I was missing that part. I tried to use the power of the core itself to create a Balance Breaker, and while it did succeed, the gear couldn't take the load and broke down after every use." He said scratching his goatee. "Something to think about. So what changes did you make? And for that matter, how did you even map all the arrays in the sacred gear." He asked while thinking about his own inventions. It does interest me. He has spent more than a century making his artificial sacred gears, I am sure his research can help me as well.
"Here, have a blueprint for the Sword Birth as a gift from a fellow inventor." I passed on the sacred gear's blueprint to him.
+15 Reputation with Azazel(35/100) for giving him a great gift.
I had +20 Reputation with him already? Not that I am complaining.
"This is…really detailed. I have been working on a Dragon Type scared gear. Haven't been able to stabilize it enough to withstand more than one Balance Breaker. This will help me a lot. Thank You. Though you are a Devil so what is the price for this blueprint." He asked, looking me right in the eyes.
"If I can get it, I would like any Vritra type sacred gears that you might have. I am collecting them for a reason. It will help my research a lot if I can get it. If this is lacking, maybe we can exchange some other notes of your liking." I lay out my terms.
"Vritra type sacred gear. I guess you got the Absorption Line then. Hmm." He strokes his goatee for a bit before answering me "Very well. I agree. I will provide two other sacred gears to you. I only ask for the data and research you do on it. Take this as a thanks for consulting me about my subordinates and if you can help me handle this situation."
"Deal."
"Great. Now, I did notice the use of 'was' when you mentioned my father, can I ask you what that meant?" he asked, getting serious for once.
"The very fact that people like him" I point at Vali, "and me exist was a BIG warning sign for me."
"I did know you were smart when I saw that Rating Game but this was unexpected, too big of a stretch if I might say."
Here Vali joins the conversation again.
"Why did your team hold back during the whole game? You could have crushed them easily?"
He was honestly asking the question out of pure curiosity. Guess there is no harm in telling him.
"Rating Games are more like an exhibition match. We don't blast them off just because we can. We have to put on a show for others to see."
"Then why did you break your opponent in the end? I know that you could control yourself much better. Your presence here has shown me that much."
"I was sending a message. Well, tell you what. Take a guess. If you can't think of it before I leave, I will tell you myself. If you can, I will give you a gift."
Leaving him to his thoughts, I turn towards Azazel to answer his question.
"Tell me Azazel, have you ever wondered how I actually found out about other sacred gear users?" I asked him playfully.
"Yes. It does make me curious. The Devils haven't developed the technology for that yet. How did you do it?"
"I am not even going to ask how you know the current status of Devil's technologies however I will give you a hint." I take out my phone from my pocket. "This place has a nice wifi. Thanks for that."
The other two occupants of the room looked confused…never mind Morgiana, she was still playing Mario Kart with full concentration.
It was a few moments later that Azazel's eyes widened and at the very next moment, he burst out laughing. "Oh, this is hilarious. Michael is gonna be soooo pissed off if he ever finds it. He won't be finding it from me though, you can be assured of that."
"If he does, I will completely deny any and all claims of such."
"As will I my friend, as will I."
+10 Reputation with Azazel(45/100) for pulling one over Michael.
"So, how did you do it? I am really curious about it. I will throw all the Vritra sacred gears for this one and one extra reward for taking care of my subordinates."
"I used the signals they receive when the sacred gears go back to the cycle of reincarnation. A fake signal is sent and it in return resonates with the nearby sacred gear. It does require a high amount of demonic power to charge but the effect is well worth it."
"And since Michael is too busy watching over the other parts of the system, that goes completely ignored. Genius. Here is my contact number. Feel free to call me whenever you like. If you ever need a drinking buddy or need a wingman for a night out. Japan has some amazing Oppai Clubs." He speaks up enthusiastically.
"Sure, sounds like a plan."
"Hoh. Your fiancé doesn't mind it?" he asked me curiously.
"Not really, Rias is fine with it as long as I treat her fairly. She is my first wife and everyone needs to know that kind of thing."
"Devil girls are more understanding. Good for you."
"You talk as if Fallen girls don't understand. Especially you? It will be easier to count the number of Fallen Angel females that you haven't slept with rather than the ones you have."
He raises his hands in mock surrender. "Guilty as charged."
"Then we will take our leave for today." I got up as did Morgiana although a bit reluctantly. It seems like we have a budding Gamer in making.
Vali, who had been eyeing me for a while steps up. "Fight me."
"No."
"Why, you are strong."
"I don't like doing things for free." I say as I turn back to walk towards the door.
"Then I will make you." and with that said, he shoots off from the place he was standing in directly towards me.
Unfortunately for him, I was already prepared. A Shadow Stitching Spell stopping him in place as several shadow weapons rose from his own shadows and stopped millimeters away from his skin.
Before he could Divide them, I asked him a question. "So Vali, did you figure out the message behind the Rating Game?"
Getting no answer from him, I turned back towards him, with my eyes closed.
And when I opened my eyes, my MEoDP flared in all of its incomplete glory.
"The message was DON'T FUCK WITH ME."
His body froze for a moment as sweat dripped from his forehead. I could see even Azazel become nervous for a moment, his fingers twitching before stopping when he saw that I had no intent of making a move.
I stared at him for around ten seconds before turning away.
"Cya."
With my parting words said, I placed a hand over Morgiana's shoulder before Shadow Walking out of there.
- Vali –
A few moments after that man….Shin Kageyami left, Vali dropped to his knees breathing roughly. "What exactly was that Azazel? I have never seen something like that."
Azazel took his own seat as he poured himself the rest of the wine from the bottle in a glass. "There are some things in this world that are better left untouched. It was one of those things." His tone somber as he downed the glass in a big gulp. "No wonder Serafall was hiding him so rigorously. His crafting skills are only the tip of the iceberg." He muttered to himself.
It was Albion's voice that broke the silence of the room.
"Vali, whatever happens, DO NOT FIGHT THAT MAN. His eyes gave me a feeling I haven't felt since I stood in front of Great Red or Ophis, just that this one was more dangerous, cold, it felt like…"
"Death" Vali completed the sentence. "It felt like looking right into the eyes of Death, as if I would die if I looked at those eyes any more."
"It is good that you now know about people who can be much stronger than you. Keep this experience in mind when facing others in the future. Shin is a calm person who doesn't prefer violence if possible. That said, I felt that ruthlessness in him that is not present in any of the current Satans. Do not provoke him for any reason. Even without that power he has a mastery over the PoD second only to Sirzechs and his mastery over Shadow Magic is almost comparable to Tobio. He must not be underestimated." Azazel concluded before leaving for his room, with a dozen more thoughts in his head.
"Albion. We have more training to do. Let's go back to the Headquarters." and with that Vali too left the house in a flash of a magic circle.
- Shin –
Fuck that was tense. My head hurts even with ten seconds of using these eyes.
"Master, are you alright?" Morgiana asked worriedly.
"Yes, it is nothing Morgiana. Just a bit of headache." I assure her as we enter our home.
"Welcome Home Master." Sakuya's voice greets us.
Everyone was already sitting in the living room and we also had guests. Sona and her peerage were already here. Good.
"So, what's the occasion?" I ask as I take my seat near Rias.
"There was another attack. This time however we were able to react before any casualties occurred. I used the potions you gave me on them and healed them. The assailants had not been able to complete the work and had only caused lethal injuries before we arrived. They escaped upon sensing our arrival but we were able to identify the attackers. There were two Fallen involved. One with a trenchcoat and a fedora and the other was a blonde who looked to be very young." Rias explained the situation.
"Hmm. What are your thoughts on this matter Sona?"
"I would like to talk to the Fallen and warn them first. If they continue this again, we will take lethal actions after I inform the Satans about these incidents. As they have not attacked us directly we cannot take any overtly aggressive actions against them." She explained as she raised her glasses.
"Sure. We will go with your plan. Let's go. I got a contract too. I might as well take care of it on the way."
"Okay. Will you be accompanying us as well Rias?"
"Sure. I am also one of the rulers of this territory. I have responsibility towards this place too. They have attacked my contractors. I cannot let our name be tarnished by my inaction on this matter."
And this is what my life has become now.
What was that song again?
'There ain't no rest for the wicked.'
- Abandoned Church –
We reached the Abandoned Church and were greeted by the Fallen right outside the gates of the church. All four of them present to greet us.
All four stooges less than level 50. Hell the lowest one is level 22.
Sona takes the role of our speaker, something I don't actually mind. I can do politics but it doesn't mean I like doing it.
"I am Sona Stiri, the Heiress of Stiri House of the 72 pillars of the devils. These are Rias Gremory, the Heiress of Gremory House of the 72 pillars of the devils and Shin Kageyami, the ward of Bael House. We are the ones in charge of this territory. May I ask, why you are in a devil's territory and murdering our contractors?"
"They were wanted by the Fallen Angels for stealing our private information, so we suggest that you keep minding your own business unless you want to say that you are supporting and hiding them." speaks up the fedora idiot.
"Is that a threat?" Sona's gaze hardens.
I am quite surprised to be honest. I would have thought that Rias would have shouted something at them already. She is quite calm in this situation.
"It is just a warning. Your actions can cause another Great War. We are just trying to avoid it."
I could see Sona's muscles tighten slightly as she tenses a bit.
Playing the Great War trick now?
Okay, I will play along.
"Sona, let me talk for a while." I interrupt her before she could give her a reply.
She looks at me for a while before backing down.
"So, before you start this whole Great War shit, tell me something, who are you working for? Who sent you here?"
"We were sent by Lord Azazel, the most magnificent of the Fallen Angels." states the black haired one, Raynare, I don't even have to use Observe for it.
"Oh really? Well it is such a coincidence isn't it? I got a certain contract from someone with black hair, blond fringes and twelve jet black wings on his back about an hour ago. It was to take care of certain strays who have gone against their orders." I smile at them as I observe the reactions of all four of them.
I could feel Sona's gaze boring into me but I conveniently ignored it.
I got what I was looking for soon enough as the fedora idiot started sweating imperceptibly but before anything else could happen Raynare shouted and broke the flow.
"LIAR. AZAZEL-SAMA WILL NEVER ABANDON US. HOW DARE YOU SPEW SUCH LIES IN FRONT OF ME." with that she created a light spear. But I interrupted her before she could throw it at us.
"Oh, really? Why don't you see that for yourself?"
I took out my phone and dialed the number Azazel had given me putting it on speaker. It took a few rings before the call was picked up and a voice I had heard about an hour ago sounded through it. "Oh Shin. Wassap? Did you change your mind about going to the Oppai Club so soon? I am telling you that you won't regret your choice."
Sona's gaze on me got even sharper. I ignored it just as I had previously.
"Azazel-Sama! You scheming devil, you dare imitate his voice."
"Is that Raynare's voice I'm hearing there?"
"Azazel-Sama! No, how do I believe you are who you are claiming to be?"
Well, would you look at that? She is smarter than she was shown.
"Hah. Well you spilled coffee on Penemue's favourite panties and she made you clean her home for the next two months."
Everyone's gazes were concentrated on the phone and on the now brightly embarrassed Raynare.
"That was actually you. We were all wondering who would be the one suckered into cleaning her room." the one with blue hair spoke.
"Hahahaha, we all know that she likes going commando. Her favourite is wearing no panties at all." The little blonde one laughed making her even more embarrassed.
The fedora idiot on the other hand was sweating even more. I could feel his magic slowly creeping to cast a magic.
"So, did we confirm my identity? Now tell me who told you to attack the contractors of the devils in that territory." asked Azazel's voice from the phone.
"I-it was …" and at this very moment a few things happened.
The fedora idiot formed light spears and threw one towards Raynare and the other towards the phone in my hand.
Too bad it was too slow for us.
Rias blew apart the Light Spear coming towards me while my shadows emerged from within Raynare's shadows and shattered the light spear coming towards her.
It took me a moment to shadow bind him before raising a wall to block the hail of light bullets from the exorcists hiding beside the Church's windows.
The very next instant, the church was covered in a huge shadow and all the exorcist's had a shadow spike through their heads.
It grew quiet all of a sudden before the peace was broken by the sound of bodies falling one by one.
"Well, Azazel, I guess we have a traitor. You can come and collect them, in the meanwhile I will get some information out of him. I will leave them all unharmed…mostly." I speak into the phone.
"Sure. I will be there in ten minutes."
I couldn't help but facepalm.
"At least pretend that you are not closeby. You are supposed to be the leader of a faction dammit."
"Would it work on you?"
….
"No. Point understood and accepted."
With that the line was cut and I took a step forward.
Several magic circles appeared behind us at that very instant. Our two peerages appeared from the light of the magic circles. I must say that the response time of the whole bunch was quite fast.
"Well, not that we got a clean chit from Azazel, I guess I can have my answers out of you, Mr. 80s movie villain. As for you three, stay quiet and don't move around or I might slip and accidentally run a shadow spike through your heads. That will be too bad wouldn't it?"
"You will get nothing out of me, you filthy devil. Your time is already up. You are going to die very soon anyways."
"Ara Ara ufufufufu, tough talk from a cornered insect. Shin-kun why don't you let me interrogate this worm. I promise I won't kill him…much" Akeno speaks up from behind me and it was easy to feel the hate and disgust in her voice.
She really did hate the Fallen Angels.
"Why don't you give me this chance to show my skills Akeno? I have been working my skills in this field as well. I promise you, that it will be a great show." I smiled at her.
"If you say so Shin-kun. But if I am not pleased, I am going to punish you instead." she licked the corner of her lips seductively and for a moment I felt fear at the thought of that punishment.
I walked up to Dohnaseek all the while casting the tortue debuffs on him one by one. On reaching him, I stomped directly on his crotch.
The crunch sound followed by the shouts of the no-more-man echoed throughout the area.
"Do you have a thing for kicking someone's crotch?" Sona asked from behind me.
"Well cock-Y people need to have their cock removed to get that Y for your demands."
"…. That was a bad joke."
"It was? I thought it was hilarious."
Bringing one of my artifacts out from my inventory, I used it on the squealing pig in front of me.
"Shun Shun Rikka : Soten Kishun I Reject."
Slowly, the blood and gore on his lower body was reversed and the bleeding stopped until he was fully healed."
"So, who was the one ordering you?"
"Huff, huff arghhhhh, I will never answer you."
Still has some fight left in him I guess? Well it wouldn't be fun if he gave up this easily.
BAAMMM
"AAGGGHHHHH"
"Shun Shun Rikka : Soten Kishun I Reject."
BAAMMM
"AAGGGHHHHHhhhhhhh"
"Shun Shun Rikka : Soten Kishun I Reject."
…
…
Five more times before he started speaking.
"WA-WAAIT, I-I WILL SPEAK."
BAAMMM
"AAGGGHHHHH"
"Shun Shun Rikka : Soten Kishun I Reject."
I continued it two more times.
"Now, in case you haven't noticed the pattern, I will explain it to you. Everytime you refuse to answer me or lie, and believe me I will know if you lie, I will start the punishment again and it will be increased by ten times every time I do so. So the next time, I won't stop before a hundred and the next time, a thousand." I give him my best sunny smile I could in this situation.
"Now, who told you to attack the contractors?"
"Ko-kokabiel."
"One of the cadre's of the Fallen Angels?" the piece of crap is starting to move much sooner.
But then again the future is irrevocably fucked up.
"Why were you attacking the contractors here?"
"I was told to provoke the devils here to make them attack us. Then I was to leave the three of them fighting and escape. L-Lord Kokabiel wanted to incite others to attack the devils using their deaths."
I could feel the tension in the air rising.
To be perfectly honest, it might have worked easily and even if not many would have been convinced, there were plenty of idiots who would have taken a chance to attack us.
"Who else was with you in this plan?"
"Freed and the exorcists."
"What is that shit about stolen information from the Fallen Angels she was spewing about?"
"That was false orders that I had changed to make them go along with the plan."
"What was the final goal of all this?"
"To start a…to start a war by killing the relatives of the Maou."
The silence that descended after that was haunting to say the least.
I had to pretend to be surprised even if I knew what was going on.
"What else is Kokabiel planning?"
"I-I don't know. He didn't tell me anything about it."
Finishing everything I had to ask him while looking at Rias and Sona who had nothing else to add, I turned to face him again and shouted loudly.
"I guess you have heard all you wanted to. You can take them away now."
Azazel came out from behind the trees in the shadows.
"Is it that spying magic of yours? You have got to teach me that. How can you see inside even the clothes of opponents? It is a pretty handy skill to have." he starts speaking in a jolly tone not caring about the situation around us.
Everyone else except me, Sakuya and Morgiana tensed up a little.
"Don't mind him. He is just here to take the strays. Please do send a message to Serafall though. I would hate to have extra paperwork if you were being too lazy to make a call."
"I will. Paperwork is never good. Anyways, Is that the?" he asked, pointing at the hair clips that I wear like a badge on my shirt. "Shun Shun Rikka? I must say that it is much more interesting when looking from close by. If I am not wrong, it works on the process of inversion, correct." I got a bit tensed at this subject. Turns out that my previous guess was wrong about this artifact.
I'd rather not discuss this with anyone yet. Temporal inversion was BS enough but this shit is absolute apocalyptic.
It honestly deserves the title of a Longinus because of what it can do.
I couldn't even scan it as it was a Mythical Grade artifact.
"It does. Anyways, I think we should discuss this Kokabiel problem first."
At this, his eyes got serious as he took on his leader of the Fallen Angels persona. "I will personally investigate this matter and have my people keep watch on Kokabiel. I will make sure to have a correspondence with Serafall as well. It was good that you decided to let them live because even with me backing you up, there would have been more than one Fallen Angel dissatisfied with the decision. It prevented a major headache for me." He says in a bit of a tired tone.
"Don't worry about it. War is never a path I would willingly get behind if I am not forced to. I'd rather spend my time in quiet and peace with my family here." I pull Rias into a one-armed hug.
"HAHAHAHA, well said. I guess then I have to make sure that these idiots don't go and cause wars all of a sudden and ruin our peaceful life. Anyways, I will send you payment soon after I am done with this…mess"
"Sure. Give me a call." I waved to him as he disappeared back in a flash of light from his magic circle.
As I turned to the confused audience behind me, I couldn't help but let out a nervous chuckle. "Well, that was a surprising visit wasn't it?"
Sona was not distracted this time?
"You will explain everything in detail."
"Hmm, Okay."
We got to cleaning the dead bodies from the church. I actually stored all of them in my inventory for later use. I did get the necromancer class and I had no idea what materials I might need for my skills there. It is better to be prepared in case I needed a few bodies to make zombies or other undead. I prefer not to dig graves if I can avoid it.
- A Few Hours Later –
It was tiring to explain everything to Sona. She is such a stickler for rules. I am soooo gonna get her dressed in that Magical Girl costume.
It drained me more than the fight with the Fallen Angels and the exorcists did. Good thing that Azazel took them with him when he was here.
I did notice that Akeno was a bit silent since then.
Maybe I need to take care of her problem soon.
This day was full of ups and downs though. I can't help but want to just lie down and take a nap.
Beings like Azazel made me realise a major problem.
If I fight somewhere near my loved ones, I will have to hold back until they are strong enough or risk blowing them up as well.
Maybe I should start expanding my peerage again.
As soon as I can create that cure for the Devil's sleeping disease, I am going to get Ingvild out of her monitoring place and get her to join me.
I need to use my summoning companion gems too.
This has been on my mind for a while.
Jibril, I can imagine the problems she will cause and I have no idea which Merlin we are talking about.
After a few….okay several rounds of sex with Rias, I let her rest as I walked out of my room. It seems like we have a guest again.
What's up with people in this world being Voyeurs?
I put on a loose sleeveless T-Shirt and a pair of loose shorts before using Shadow Walk to meet our guest near our home.
I picked up the little black cat and hugged her as I rubbed my face on her silky soft black fur. She is really fluffy in this form. "Did you miss me, my adorable kitty cat?"
The cat changed into the curvy Nekoshou filling my lap with her plump ass as my hands rested on her breasts when she completed transforming.
I couldn't help but get a little harder which she no doubt felt as she got a strange half smug and half irritated look on her face and grinded her ass in my lap right above my hardening cock, enveloping me between her soft ass cheeks with only our clothes separating our privates. An involuntary groan escapes my lips at this as her smirk turns smugger and less irritated.
"Who would miss you nyaa?" she said but she leaned back slightly. "You seem a little different nyaa? You seem more like….death?"
Wee, she sure doesn't mince her words.
"I had a special life changing encounter of sorts. Don't mind it. You will get used to it. Though, I could move away if I am making you uncomfortable." It did tell me that people who are connected to life will be uncomfortable around me.
"Don't worry nyaa. Yojutsu has a similar aura. Not this dangerous but still something that harms lifeforce. I am used to it. I also don't want to sit on the cold floor. My skin will get rashes." she says as she grinds herself into my now rock solid cock once more as she adjusts herself in my lap making my rod firmly stuck between her asscheeks.
This naughty horny cat. I am soooo gonna pound her into a mindless ahegao the first chance I get so that she will never try to tease me again.
"So, how have you been?"
"Fine." there was slight heat in her voice.
….
….
"Aren't you going to ask me how I am?"
"You were having sex all night, I am sure that you are fine."
"….fair point. But I did say that I will collect a price for the next show. So what are gonna pay nyaa?." I whispered the last part huskily near her ear trying to imitate her.
I could see her blush rise up along her ears.
"I will tell you the truth, everything that you wanted to know." She answered after taking a deep breath. The absence of a nyaa telling me that she was being serious here.
"Sure. Go on but I am not going to let go of my kitty while you tell your story. "I say while hugging her a bit tighter.
She turned to look into my eyes for a moment and I sensed a probe on my being. My Lifeforce.
After getting 'The Blessing of Death' I have been more sensitive to such powers. I looked back with my usual look while giving her waist a slight squeeze. She continued looking for a few seconds before putting her head on my chest and melt a little in my embrace.
+10 Affection with Kuroka(40/100) for supporting her in her moment of weakness.
"I was taken into the peerage of a High Class Devil of the Naberius House. He was not that strong, but was born in a Pillar House so he had a set of evil pieces. He offered to take care of me and Shirone if I became his bishop. I agreed to it. He was kind at first, fought normal Rating Games. I even won him some games with my strength alone. Then he started to become envious of me. He wanted to find the secret of my strength to get stronger himself but did not want to work for it. So he started making me participate in experiments to find out the secrets of my power. It was very painful but I endured it. He was kind to Shirone and she was happy."
Here she paused for a second and snuggled into my embrace. I didn't need an Observe to tell me what her emotional state was right now.
"My strength was also growing so I was convinced that he was meant well for us. It wasn't until I heard him speak about something with the other researchers. My body had stopped giving high enough results. They were going to stop the experiments. I was really happy then. It would all finally end but after that I heard him talking about using Shirone as a test subject."
Her power started flaring unconsciously and slight bits of my skin were burning so I covered it with my Touki and suppressed her aura with my own. I kept hugging her all the while gently drawing circles on her back.
"I snapped and killed them all. Everyone involved with that research in the lab. But the alarms had already informed everyone outside of it. I had to run. I couldn't take Shirone with me because I was extremely weakened and I couldn't drag her with me. Even if I died as long as she was not connected with these killings, she would be safe…atleast that's what I thought. When I heard that she was taken to be executed by the Devils. I was utterly terrified before I felt rage. I was going to attack them all and even die if I could protect my sister…my Shirone. I only backed off when I heard that she was saved by Sirzechs Lucifer. She was with the Gremory House and was being protected all the while so I couldn't take her away with me. I also needed time to heal myself. I could only see her from hiding when she came to this town."
My T-shirt was wet with tears by the time she ended her explanation. It is not surprising. She was in her teenage years at that time and she had to go through all this mess. It is even a wonder that she is sane right now.
This is also one of the major reasons that I like Kuroka. She was extremely loyal to those she cared about.
"Shirone hates me, her heritage, her name and everything related to me. She doesn't even smile anymore. It hurts. It pains me a lot. And then you came. That Red Dragon Empress came. She got close to Shirone. I was happy that she was breaking out of her shell again. But she calls her Onee-chan. That last bit of solace that I had is now slipping away. I wake up from nightmares at times when I remember it, when I think that she will completely replace me with that girl, …completely forget me. I AM HER ONLY ONEE-CHAN. I WON'T GIVE THAT POSITION TO ANYONE." she finishes with a shout.
"No one is going to take that position from you." I pat her back before continuing, "Shirone loves you a lot. It is just that she has a little misunderstanding. I am sure that she too desperately wants a single hint to prove that you did not abandon her. But she is just a young girl. When she can't find that, she avoids things related to you to avoid pain. Can you really blame her?" I ask her in a soothing tone. To be honest I feel really sorry for Koneko. She is suffering due to a misunderstanding and I am not stupid enough to say that she should grow up. She is barely fifteen for fucks sake.
I know I was a dumb moron when I was fifteen. I don't expect others to grow up at such a young age. People might call Rias, Akeno and others in her peerage lazy and stupid. I know that they are just too young right now. Sairaorg and Vali are exceptions because they were forced to see the truth of the world much faster. This pushed them to grow stronger. These girls didn't have much of that, especially Rias. She was always shielded and spoiled by her family and that was one of the main reasons that I organized that Runa incident. She needed to know what kind of place this world is, the real world and not the bright and sunny place that Sirzechs has shown her all this while.
"I know." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "I know that she is suffering because of me, and somewhere deep in my heart even if I wanted not to, …..I felt a little glad. No matter how much it made me disgusted with myself, I also felt relieved that she will not forget me." her voice sounded broken at this point, "I don't know anymore."
"I'm really the worst sister, aren't I? No wonder she hates me."
We keep quiet for a moment. I give her some time to collect herself.
"I don't think that you are a bad person Kuroka. You were around fourteen back then and you did something that most of the people in this world wouldn't dare do. You were younger than Koneko is now and you still fought with your life on line for your sister. You turned the whole underworld against yourself just to give your sister a better chance at life. I think that any person in this world will be glad to have you as family."
I pause a bit to collect my words better before starting again. "There are many people in this world that are called brave, it is mostly dumbheaded rashness though, they do things without knowing the consequences and sometimes by some miracles they succeed and are called heroes….but I think that it is the people who step into it knowing every consequence they will face and even then are able to take that hard decision just to protect that one person close to them, they are the true heroes. Not some idiotic musclehead with overinflated egos slaying a Dragon. It is just unfortunate that these true heroes are more often than not forgotten or misunderstood or worse vilified." I raised her head and looked into her golden eyes which were slightly red with the tears that she had been shedding all this time. "You Kuroka, are an extremely brave and wonderful person who anyone in this world would be lucky to have as family." I speak with all the conviction I could muster within me.
+20 Affection with Kuroka(60/100) for believing her.
Perk Gained
[A Black Widow's Kiss]
Playing with fire has its own thrill. You are someone who dances in fire without getting burned. Femme Fatal are drawn to your presence.
Easier Affection and Obedience gains with Female Fatal.
And then all dams broke. It was probably the first time someone said something like that to her. No matter how much we are convinced that we are right about something, even if it is to the extent of betting our life on it, it always helps when someone else verifies it and states that trust in us. We are social beings for a reason after all.
_x_x_
Author's Note :
Beta Reader : LuluViBritania(FF.N)/LuluViB|99th Britannian Emperor(Discord)
Thanks for your hard work Lulu. I really appreciate it.
Now, some people had questions. First of all, No, the Omake of Chapter was not canon.
I know how much you wanted that to be canon, believe me I got over 30 messages asking me the same and that is not counting the reviews.
I want some things done with baldymort so unfortunately he needs to live for now. I might write more Omakes about Ophis Goodness in the future though.
Second, I have plans for the MEoDP. Right now it is more of a bluffing tool without too many practical uses.
Third, I am not summoning companions easily for a few reasons which will be explained in the future chapters.
Enjoy the new chapter.
Good Day, Peace Out.