When she found out that her brother had gone to talk to Gilgamesh, she thought everything would be fine, but when her brother returned and gave a strong warning not to antagonize Gilgamesh, it made his position and power very clear.
But a voice cut through everyone's thoughts.
"Buuuuchooouuu, what's this pretty boy doing here?" Issei shouted indignantly.
It was no secret that Issei didn't like Gilgamesh, whether because he was a handsome boy or because Gilgamesh always stopped Issei from peeping on girls and usually ended up with Issei getting beaten up by Mordred.
"Issei, this is—"
"Buchou, don't tell me he's part of your peerage," Issei shouted.
"Ara ara, Issei, maybe you should be quiet and let Buchou explain," Akeno said sweetly, sending a shiver down Issei's spine.
It was no secret that Akeno had a thing for Gilgamesh, whether because of the power of the descendant of the King of Heroes or because they got along very well at their first meeting.
Gilgamesh genuinely liked Akeno, although her Fallen Angel nature exuded a somewhat sinister aura. The King of Heroes liked Akeno as a good friend; they had talked a few times.
"This is Gilgamesh, the descendant of the King of Heroes and the current user of the Longinus [Boosted Gear], being the Sekiryuutei," Rias said in an explanatory tone.
Issei's eyes widened in surprise.
"Longinus? Isn't that one of the Sacred Gears capable of killing Gods?! No matter, I can easily beat him with my Sacred Gear," Issei shouted as he summoned his [Twice Critical].
His Sacred Gear [Twice Critical] took the form of a small green gauntlet on his right hand.
For Issei, he could beat Gilgamesh without problems. After all, from what Rias had told him, demons were several times stronger than a normal human, so he could win without issues.
All the demons in the room were watching this in fear, as they really didn't want to repeat the situation from when they threatened Gilgamesh last time.
Gilgamesh looked at it all curiously.
From what he knew, Gilgamesh had given Issei three Sacred Gears: [Flame Share], [Twice Critical], and [Night Reflection].
But it seemed Issei had only awakened one of the three Sacred Gears he had received. It appeared that Issei hadn't been able to tap into the power of the other Sacred Gears; it seemed he had only managed to awaken [Twice Critical], which didn't surprise Gilgamesh.
After all, in the canon, Issei wasn't able to awaken the [Boosted Gear], only its [Twice Critical] form, so Gilgamesh wasn't surprised. It's likely that Rias didn't even give Issei proper training upon seeing his Sacred Gear.
Gilgamesh looked at Issei with a gaze that made him freeze.
"Look here, Issei, I am a descendant of the King of Heroes, who was a demigod son of the Sumerian Goddess of Love, so I can tap into some of the powers of that domain," Gilgamesh said to Issei.
"What are you trying to say?" Issei shouted, not understanding, making Gilgamesh sigh.
"Let me explain in a way your underdeveloped mind can understand. I am capable of manipulating those domains, and so I can curse you so that no one will ever love you or feel lust for you," Gilgamesh said, making everyone's eyes widen.
"Y-y-you wouldn't do that," Issei stammered in fear.
"I'll do better," Gilgamesh said as he pointed his finger at Issei, causing a beam to shoot out and hit his head.
Issei and everyone were startled as Issei tried to check for any injuries.
"What did you do?" Rias shouted/asked, only to be ignored by Gilgamesh.
"Issei, what do you think of Gremory-san's breasts?" Gilgamesh asked, to everyone's horror and Rias' surprise.
"What do you mean by that? Of course, Buchou's breasts are wonderful—AAAAHHHHHHHH!" In the middle of his rant, Issei fell to the floor screaming in pain.
Everyone couldn't believe it; Issei was about to say something perverted and suddenly fell to the floor screaming in pain.
"What happened?" Rias asked nervously.
"I used my beam to mess with his nervous system and swap what controls pain and pleasure," Gilgamesh said to everyone, who looked dumbfounded.
"What do you mean?" Kiba asked, not understanding.
"Basically, a person's nervous system works through electrical pulses that interpret the environment. Two feelings are interpreted this way: pain and pleasure. All I did was swap those two," Gilgamesh explained calmly, but everyone still seemed confused.
Sighing, Gilgamesh answered more simply.
"Basically, I used my beam to swap pain and pleasure, so any pleasure will be interpreted as pain by the nervous system," Gilgamesh said, making everyone's eyes widen.
Issei had already passed out.
Obviously, this wasn't so simple because if Gilgamesh had miscalculated the beam's intensity, it could have fried Issei's brain.
"Can you make him go back to normal?" Rias asked cautiously.
"Yes," Gilgamesh said, making Rias smile. "But I won't," he said, smiling, making Rias' smile vanish.
"See this as training for him," Gilgamesh said to Rias, who nodded in agreement.
Rias sighed and looked at Gilgamesh, saying:
"I didn't know you could control other people's emotions; that's pretty scary," Rias said, shuddering.
Gilgamesh laughed a little.
"I can't manipulate feelings; I can only induce them, and that only works with a few of them," Gilgamesh said.
"Induce?" Rias asked curiously.
Gilgamesh looked at her for a while, then his eyes took on a pink hue as they locked onto Rias'.
Suddenly, Rias felt her breathing become irregular and her skin hot as she felt aroused and placed her hand in her panties, noticing they were wet.
"W-w-what did you do?" Rias asked, panting.
"I induced lust in you," Gilgamesh said.
"Please don't do that to me again," Rias said nervously.
"I don't mind," Akeno said, smiling mischievously.
"Akeno!" Rias shouted.
"…perverts," Koneko said as Kiba laughed nervously.
"Don't say that, Koneko," Gilgamesh said, drawing attention back to him. "It's a good ability. Lust is present in everyone, so if I induce it in large amounts, I can make my opponents lose focus during battle," Gilgamesh said in explanation.
Everyone nodded in understanding. Sighing, Gilgamesh returned to the original topic.
"So, what do you want?"
Rias let out a hum for a moment before nodding. She took a deep breath and exhaled before looking at me with a sincere gaze: "I would like to apologize."
…
…
Now that was unexpected… For Rias to want to apologize like that, it was clearly surprising.
High-class demons were very proud; even Sona had that trait. Despite being quite friendly, Sona still showed her proud nature. It showed in how she behaved in everyday school life; she made it clear to everyone that she was in charge, she was their leader. As the student council president, she showed she had the power to punish them, and even the teachers didn't dare mess with her without strong evidence.
Despite all her kindness and how normally she behaved at school, she was still the demon who ruled this school. And everyone who enrolled as a student at Kuoh Academy knew not to mess with her.
"It seems I misjudged you, Gremory-san," Gilgamesh said, smiling slightly, and Rias smiled too.
Rias gave a shy look before clearing her throat and looking at me. "So, Gilgamesh-san, I assume you accept my apologies?"
"Yes," Gilgamesh said, seeing no issue now.
Rias gave me a reassuring smile and waved her hand. "It's all good, though I'm still quite… worried about it, but I'm not too concerned anymore. You only reacted that way because I tried to manipulate your life," she said dismissively. "So, I guess we're good now?"
"Hmmm… Yes, I think we're back on neutral terms now," Gilgamesh replied, and she smiled a little.
"So, can I call you Gil? It feels more comfortable that way."
"If you wish, then great, Gremory-san." Gilgamesh noticed she frowned at the title. "Oh, don't be like that. Maybe we're back to neutral Gremory-san, but not that close, just neutral," Gilgamesh reminded her, and she looked at him before sighing.
"I suppose that's true. Very well then, Gilgamesh-san, but please note that you can call me by my first name if you want," Rias said in a yielding tone.
"I will, Gremory-san," Gilgamesh replied, smiling slightly.
"Right," Rias nodded. "Anyway, I have a request for you."
Gilgamesh raised his eyebrows at this.
He really didn't want Rias to expect him to join her peerage.
"My brother, Sirzechs Lucifer, asked me to apologize and show a demonstration that we don't want you as an enemy, and so I'd like to invite you and your friends to go to the Familiar Forest," Rias said to Gilgamesh.
Gilgamesh considered for a moment.
He was genuinely considering it because he was already interested in the Familiar Forest, and if he could bring his group, it would be even better.
After all, there was someone he wanted to meet in the Familiar Forest.
"Very well, I accept," Gilgamesh said to Rias, who smiled.
"But I won't be able to teleport you since you're not a demon," Rias said.
"Don't worry, I have my own means to get there," Gilgamesh said to Rias before turning and opening the door.
"See you later," Gilgamesh said before leaving.
Rias sighed before clapping her hands, drawing everyone's attention.
"Let's get to work, everyone," Rias said to her friends, who started getting ready and trying to wake Issei.
Later.
Familiar Forest, Underworld.
This forest is beautiful and dense, full of nature. The trees were so tall they blocked out the sunlight, and a thick mist ran through the entire forest, obscuring vision.
In this forest were currently five people who seemed to be waiting calmly.
They were Rias Gremory and her peerage: Akeno Himejima, Yuuto Kiba, Koneko Toujou, and Issei Hyoudou, who were waiting calmly in the forest.
They had just arrived at the Familiar Forest and were waiting for Gilgamesh and his group to arrive.
They turned when they felt a surge of energy in one direction.
Suddenly, space began to warp until an opening formed in the shape of a portal.
From this portal emerged six people.
The first was a man with golden hair like gold and two crimson eyes like rubies, wearing a white t-shirt, black pants, and black sneakers. He had two bracelets, one on each arm, and a necklace around his neck.
The second was a being with long green hair and golden eyes, still wearing a turban and with a smile on their face.
The third was a young girl with short blonde hair and red eyes, with a vampiric aura.
The fourth was a beautiful young woman with long blonde hair and green eyes. Her hair fell to her back, with parted bangs on her forehead and a single strand sticking out from the top, slanting backward.
The last two looked similar, being two girls with blonde hair and greenish eyes.
They were, respectively, Gilgamesh, Enkidu, Valerie, Asia, Arturia, and Mordred.
Gilgamesh's entire group was there for the Familiar Forest, except for Sebas, who had said he had no interest in it.
What stood out the most was a lion cub in Arturia's arms.
This lion cub was one of the thirteen listed Longinus Sacred Gears, the [Regulus Nemea] Battle Axe.
This Longinus, [Regulus Nemea], is an independent avatar-type Sacred Gear that can move independently of its wielder, having its own will.
Regulus usually stays in the form of an immense four-meter lion, but he can also freely change his size and take the form of a lion cub.
He usually doesn't take this form because it hurts his pride as the Lion King, but he grew to like this form for two reasons.
First, the lion is Arturia's favorite animal, and second, she constantly pets him when he's in this form.
So, since then, Regulus spends most of his time with Arturia. Gilgamesh didn't mind much since he could always summon Regulus to him and communicate with him telepathically.
"Gilgamesh-san, I see you brought friends," Rias said nervously to Gilgamesh.
It took a while for everyone to introduce themselves, and Issei was leering lasciviously at the girls, making Mordred glare at him and causing him to back off in fear.
"Who wants me!" Without warning, a man wearing rough, tattered clothes appeared from atop a tree.
"Hey, who's there?!" Issei shouted.
"Hello, youngsters! My name is Satooji from Madara City! I'm a demon in training! My goal is to become the familiar master!" the man named Satooji said.
Gilgamesh's eyes narrowed in annoyance.
"This is the guy? He looks like a homeless bum," Issei said before being slapped by Rias.
"If your goal is to find many familiars, then you've come at the right time, for sure, the full moon is ready to help you decide, and I'll be your guide," Satooji rhymed as Gilgamesh's hand twitched in annoyance.
"As you can see, Satooji is obsessed with making things rhyme," Akeno giggled, finding great amusement in seeing how irritated Gilgamesh was.
Rias walked up to the familiar master.
"Satooji-san, I brought those I told you about," Rias basically introduced Gilgamesh's group and her pawn as well.
"Yo," Gilgamesh said lazily.
"Hello," Issei said in his normal tone of voice.
"Hahahahahaha! I like you youngsters! Gremory-san taught you all well," Satooji praised them.
"So, what kind of familiar do you want? The strong ones? The fastest? Cute ones? Or maybe even the poisonous ones?"
"Who's the strongest familiar in this forest?" Gilgamesh asked as Satooji rubbed his chin before answering.
"That would be the Dragon of Chaos and Karma, one of the Five Dragon Kings, Tiamat."
"That's the one I want then," Gilgamesh replied in an indifferent tone.
Everyone except Gilgamesh and his group looked at him like he was crazy.
"You… Youngster?! Do you have a death wish?! I can take you to her, but I can't promise you'll live?!" the familiar master said in a confused tone. Gilgamesh smiled.
"By all means, show the way." Needless to say, it shocked everyone except Gilgamesh's group.
Gilgamesh turned to his friends and said:
"Guys, I'm going to see Tiamat. You can look for whichever familiar you want, just be careful," Gilgamesh said to his group, who nodded and wished him luck.
Gilgamesh followed Satooji toward Tiamat's lair.
[Ah… Partner, we need to talk.]
"Oh, so now you're going to talk to me, Ddraig? What's so important that you have to talk to me right now?" Gilgamesh asked, somewhat curious to know why Ddraig seemed so nervous.
[It's about Tiamat… I don't think it's a good idea for you to make her your familiar.] Ddraig replied as Gilgamesh decided to push a bit further.
"Why, are you in love with her?" Gilgamesh replied in a cheeky tone, earning a growl from the Celestial Dragon.
[No, I don't like her, Gilgamesh! It's just that she hates me, and I can't remember why she hates me?] Ddraig replied as Gilgamesh nearly fell over.
Of course, Gilgamesh knew why Tiamat hated Ddraig.
She hates Ddraig for borrowing her treasure, which was destroyed into several pieces and scattered across the world, so she hates Ddraig and all his wielders.
"No matter, I'll find out one way or another, and I'll probably have to fix the mess you caused," Gilgamesh replied as he could hear Ddraig grumbling in response.
Satooji stopped about thirty meters from a large cave that seemed quite deep and dark.
"This is the place, youngster. You'll find Tiamat there, though in my opinion, you really should stay away from her, especially as the Red Dragon Emperor," the familiar master replied as Gilgamesh stared at him for a second.
"So, I assume I'm not the first Red Dragon Emperor you've met?" Gilgamesh replied with a raised eyebrow. Satooji nodded while shuddering and rubbing his arm uncomfortably.
"You could say it was almost two hundred years ago when I was nearly killed by one of the previous wielders of the [Boosted Gear]," he said before walking away, ready to join the rest of the group.
Gilgamesh raised his right hand toward the cave, and a wave of golden energy shot from his hand into the cave.
It took a few seconds before a deafening roar filled the area. The roar sounded like a mix of pain and anger, and the cave itself began to tremble as a massive light blue western dragon with celestial blue scales burst out of the now-demolished cave.
"Who dares disturb my sleep!" the dragon roared with a distinctly feminine voice.
"Tiamat, I've come to bargain," Gilgamesh said, smiling.
"Who are you?" Tiamat asked, narrowing her eyes.
"I am Gilgamesh, the descendant of the King of Heroes," Gilgamesh said to Tiamat, whose eyes widened.
"A descendant of the King of Heroes?!" Tiamat said, surprised by this fact. "Wait a minute, that aura."
The dragon's dark blue eyes widened before narrowing dangerously, as a powerful, thick dark blue aura began to seep from her body.
"So, you've finally returned after all this time! You'll give me back what you stole from me, Ddraig! And if you run, I'll incinerate you and your host!" Tiamat roared in anger.
[About that, Tiamat, I don't remember what I did to you?] was the simple response Ddraig gave, while Gilgamesh resisted the urge to facepalm.
"You don't remember? You really don't remember! How dare you!" Tiamat roared, growing angrier by the second. Gilgamesh decided to inject his own two cents into the conversation.
"Tiamat, what did Ddraig do to you in the past?" Gilgamesh asked.
After all, knowing from the anime is one thing, but seeing and hearing it in person is another.
Tiamat growled, obviously not in a good mood, but she seemed to take a deep breath before calming down a bit.
"Since you're the current host of Ddraig, you're responsible for recovering my treasure that he stole from me long ago," she replied as Gilgamesh took on a serious expression.
In the next instant, Gilgamesh smiled.
"Very well, let's settle this," Gilgamesh said, snapping his fingers.
At his side, a massive golden rippling portal appeared, and from it emerged a large number of treasures of various shapes and types, all emitting the same aura as Tiamat.
All these were Tiamat's treasures that had been lost by Ddraig.
"How?" Tiamat asked, perplexed, and Ddraig was also shocked.
"A dragon's treasures are very valuable, Tiamat. They absorb a part of their owner's aura and can use it. I found your treasure in the hands of a group of rogue mages who were trying to use its power, so I kept it and fixed it," Gilgamesh said to Tiamat, who stared at everything in surprise.
This was true. Gilgamesh had indeed found Tiamat's treasures during his travels and rescued them, and with the help of the system, he reconstructed them.
After all, Gilgamesh had wanted to talk to Tiamat before, so the treasures would be useful.
Tiamat stared at her treasures, almost seeming to smile with her draconic face.
She quickly wrapped her tail around her treasures and made them disappear as she stored them with magic.
"With this, our debt is settled, Ddraig," Tiamat said to the Welsh Dragon, who sighed in relief from within the [Boosted Gear]. He couldn't remember how many times his previous hosts had been killed by Tiamat, and now this was very good.
"Tiamat, if you don't mind me asking, why did you pursue Ddraig's users if they couldn't give you your treasures?" Gilgamesh asked curiously.
Tiamat, as she was happy to have recovered her treasures, answered.
"Because it's fun to see their faces when a great dragon starts chasing them and spitting fire," Tiamat said, laughing.
Gilgamesh and Ddraig could only stare at that in disbelief.
"Now I want you to become my familiar, and I don't want you to just roll over for me. I will defeat you with my own power. That means Ddraig won't be helping me in this battle," Gilgamesh explained.
Tiamat was taken aback by Gilgamesh's words; it was a strange feeling that Tiamat felt—a mix of surprise, joy, and anger at the same time. She was surprised and felt a bit of joy that Gilgamesh had returned her treasure, but she was angry that he still wanted to make her his familiar. She was no one's pet; she was the strongest of the Five Dragon Kings.
"You have courage… Though I'm grateful you returned my treasures, I'm no one's pet!" Tiamat roared before charging at Gilgamesh at high speed. Gilgamesh quickly crossed his arms in front of him as Tiamat struck him with her massive claw/paw. The force of the blow sent Gilgamesh flying through several trees before coming to a complete stop.
Groaning in slight pain, Gilgamesh pushed himself up.
"Yes! You really deserve to be my familiar; you're strong!" Gilgamesh laughed with joy before lunging at the ground, charging at Tiamat like a Japanese bullet train. Gilgamesh's body was enveloped in a golden aura. Using his left arm, Gilgamesh punched Tiamat, sending her crashing toward the ground.
Come check out my Patreon!
We already have 73 chapters posted there!
And you'll also get access to other exclusive stories as well.
👉 patreon.com/Vellgrace