It's Monday! That means it's time for me to release a new chapter. This week, I'm releasing both Resounding Healer and Finding My Image!

If you need to reach me, PM me on this site or visit my Pat Reon under the same username. Have a great week, all.

Chapter 4: Diplomacy X Discourse

The world shook as Behemoth, the legendary monster of Hebrew mythology, let out a trumpeting roar. An elephant can hear another elephant over four kilometers away. Behemoth… let's just say there was a good reason that the wards in his special training area were so strong. Otherwise, everyone in the Leviathan territory would have long since gone deaf. When I first created Null Space, I made it as something of a cantrip, something to keep the idiotic Egyptian national orchestra and their affront to music from assaulting my sensibilities. I didn't really expect it to be useful as anything more than a gimmick, but I sure as hell was grateful I had it now.

Trees whipped and were pulled from the ground by their roots, but I stood still. Around me, the boundaries of my Null Space was clear to see, the vegetation surrounding my person in a perfect circle marked the place where all air ceased to exist. Lyric Armament, what I had chosen to call Serafall's gift, was strapped to my right arm in the form of a tuning fork. With sharpened edges, it was basically a wrist-mounted dagger. Not waiting for Behemoth to move, I shot a basic fireball straight into the earth to kick up as much dust as possible. Using the ensuing dust cloud as cover, I rushed forward, hoping that the giant elephant wouldn't be able to see me. My hopes were violently dashed when his trunk, the girth of most redwoods, slammed into me with the force of a wrecking ball.

"Guh!" I coughed out a mouthful of blood as I bounced off an already toppled log. The poor tree didn't stand a chance.

The voice of Behemoth rumbled, somewhat musical, somewhat nasal, with a bass tenor that seemed to resonate with my very bones. "An elephant can hear using the pads of our feet too, young one. I know you're coming because I can hear your footsteps, no matter how light."

'Well fuck,' I thought, 'I already tried moving through the air and a fat lot of good that read the vibrations in the air with those ridiculous ears of his.' "So how am I supposed to hit you then? No matter how I approach, you'll always know where I'm coming from."

Behemoth gave a rumbling laugh. "Indeed, catching me by surprise is a fool's errand."

Still, despite his words, the massive mammoth seemed to be in no rush. He did not take a single step, choosing to remain rooted, as still as a statue. 'He wants me to find a way,' I realized. Behemoth was that kind of teacher, the type to present a seemingly impossible task, if only to prove to his disciple that nothing is truly impossible. 'No matter what medium, as long as he has a way of hearing, he can tell where I'm going to strike. But that's a catch twenty-two. If I want to take away his hearing, I need to hit him. If I want to hit him, I need to take away his hearing. Then again, if it were truly impossible for me to land a single hit, he would not have given me this task in the first place. Slowly, my gaze turned to the tuning fork attached to my wrist. In reality, it may look like a weapon, but no musical tool would ever take the place of a sword or spear on the battlefield. Their designs and purpose were fundamentally different. This tuning fork just happened to look the most similar to a knife.

I shaped it to look like a two-pronged dagger because I wanted a tool that could send sonic vibrations directly into an opponent. Simply, there were two types of damaging sounds. Most of the time, damaging sound based attacks in pop culture took the form of sonic booms. They basically vibrated the air at such frequency that water vapor could overheat and the air would strike like a solid mass. While those techniques were impressive to look at, especially on the tail end of hypersonic aircraft, the most dangerous types of sonic attacks were actually at the complete opposite end of the spectrum: low frequency vibrations. There is a concept called resonant frequency. Every bit of matter in the universe vibrates. Sometimes, sound waves can slow down, their frequencies matching that of people and objects. Usually, such low frequencies leave people with minor headaches, but I could increase the decibels forcibly, creating a low frequency, high impact sonic wave that would shake an opponent. The idea was to stab someone, then shake them until they literally crumbled apart on an atomic level.

My problem here was that I had no way of hitting Behemoth and I wasn't good enough to resonate with an opponent's frequency at range. 'But does it have to be the opponent?' I wondered. After a while, I came up with an idea. I tossed another fireball into the earth, creating another dust cloud.

"You know what they say about insanity," Behemoth said.

I ignored the big lug and focused, humming and trying to tune the frequency of my hum to the vibration of the air around me. It's impossible to describe what that experience is like, to disappear, but I'll try. My entire body, for lack of a better word, melded, into the air. I was there physically, I could feel the dust settle on me, but at the same time, the difference between myself and the surrounding air was indistinguishable. Not to wax too poetic, but I was essentially singing a harmony to the song of the sky. God, that sounds horrible even now, but there just isn't a way for me to describe the experience. Still humming, I took flight to avoid the ground and shot forward. This time, Behemoth only noticed me when I broke through the dust, just a few feet away from him.

I stabbed his trunk with a fork. I know, it was probably a pity strike he gave me for a job well done. If he really wanted, he could have promoted to Knight and ran circles around me anyway. I'm still proud of this. How many people can say they stabbed one of the most powerful devils in the world with a fork? A tuning fork at that. As soon as I broke skin, I gave up trying to harmonize with the air in favor of trying to harmonize with Behemoth's flesh. I neither saw nor felt anything at first, but slowly, it spread like a poison, a drop of food coloring in a clear glass. Piece by piece, his trunk broke down. From the point of contact, he more or less liquified, his flesh breaking down due to the high decibel count and low frequency of my sonic blast.

"GRAAA!" he roared and my moment of triumph was as though it never happened.

Bouncing off the ground, I got to my feet on shaky knees. "How was that?"

"Impressive," he rumbled, "what did you do?" So I explained. I can't say he was enthralled, Behemoth wasn't much of a science expert, but he did seem interested. "How did you come up with the idea?"

"Let me heal you first," I said. After a quick rendition of Lugia's melody, I continued. "In the end, sound is just vibrations that your brain interprets to mean something. I figured that if everything vibrates, my personal affinity for sound magic is not just an affinity for songs like a bard, but an affinity for vibrations of all types. It was more of an experiment, really. This is the first time I've used it to disappear from echolocation techniques though. Maybe it's because I wasn't born with super hearing, but I want to see just how many different ways I can extend this."

"I approve. What will you call it?"

"I think I'll call the blending in 'White Noise' and the physical attack 'Resonant Impact.'"

Behemoth nodded. "Good, now come. Serafall told me she wanted to see you." He began wandering off back towards the manor, each step sending light tremors through the earth. When we crossed the barrier of the training ground, I felt a strange tingling through my spine. Never, never would I get used to that no matter how many times I do it.

"Hope she's not passing off paperwork again," I muttered under my breath. Serafall, bless her soul, had a bad habit of shoving the "unnecessary" stuff to me.

Over the past three months, my "internship" with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, MOFA for short, quickly evolved. From the very beginning, I was never relegated to fetching coffee or doing administrative work like handling some bigwig's schedule, the perk of being Serafall's Bishop. No one wanted me to tell her they were shoving me aside, not that I would have, but still. At first, they had me do some research on lower priority projects like visa processing for devils looking to travel to the human world. It may be weird for devils to require paperwork to travel to the human world, but with some thought, it made sense. Most of the human world was the territory of another pantheon.

For example, Kuoh, Japan belonged to the Shinto Faction. Serafall and Sirzechs had to negotiate with Yasaka to keep even that small town. The story was that following the end of the Great War, the devils needed a foothold in the human world. Initially, the Shinto Faction was happy to accomodate and allowed for roughly a third of Japan to be settled by the devil populace in exchange for massive trade benefits, the right to tax said devils, and assistance in putting down some rogue youkai. All of that goodwill evaporated faster than a puddle in Amaterasu's throne room thanks to the Nekoshou Genocide. In order to prevent all out war, the Yondai Maou were forced to make some major concessions. Ajuka designed an additional barrier protecting Takamagahara and a seal that allowed any youkai to teleport to shelter within Amaterasu's domain, removing the possibility of another such event happening. Falbium had to relinquish every military outpost in not only Japan, but most of East Asia for fear of pissing off the Jade Emperor. The Shinto Faction weren't the only group to have close relations with the Youkai. Sirzechs raised taxes in the Underworld by a whopping 12% for a decade just to make monetary reparations. Not even the Pillars were permitted to avoid those taxes. Even after all that, the small suburb town of Kuoh was the only devil outpost in East Asia and Yasaka only allowed that in the hopes of future diplomatic connection, however slim the odds.

It wasn't surprising then that devils now required a visa to travel to the human world. The visa had, and still have, several uses. One, it was to keep arrogant heirs from antagonizing other factions by forcibly drafting people into their peerage. It sent a message to other factions, that the devils were willing to play nice and respect other groups' territory. Two, it punished the Pillar houses for their previous misdeeds by restricting their access to humans with Sacred Gears. Three, it was a source of indirect tax income. The visa process was, while not prohibitively expensive, not something any middling devil would undergo lightly. Four, it helped to keep track of the more radical elements of society. It wasn't foolproof, but knowing where they went was a great help in monitoring them. In turn, they, knowing they were being watched, curbed their behavior, often without the need of force. Finally, and somewhat selfishly on Serafall and Sirzech's parts, they could "guide" Sacred Gear users and other compatible people towards their sisters. This visa process, while inane and frustrating, was important to MOFA, so I learned it first.

At the same time, Serafall or another senior diplomat would take me aside and drill me on the expected etiquette of a diplomatic elite. Diplomatic immunity, while present, was not a license to do anything I pleased and I was expected to know when and how to push the limits of my privilege. As the three months passed, I would help with more and more vital projects such as compiling dossiers on counterparts from other factions and learning about the different incentives and threats a diplomat from the Underworld could offer to another.

At any rate, by the time I finished my random thought of the day, I was inside and Val was greeting me with her usual cheerful smile. Then, her nose scrunched in distaste. "You stink," she whined, "and you're filthy."

"Good, at least that means you won't be bugging me for a drink," I said drily.

"Go take a shower so I can have a snack."

"I feel like a hippo."

"What?"

"Hippos will cover themselves in mud to prevent mosquitoes from biting."

"So I'm a little mosquito, huh? Your precious little sister is an annoying bug to you? I see how it is," she sniffed and shed crocodile tears.

I chuckled. It astonished me just how quickly her mind recovered. It's been nine months since I began singing to her three times a day, once with every meal, and she was now fully capable of living her life on her own terms. Still, she was legally my ward, being a dhampir in devil society, but more or less had free reign. When she wasn't practicing her shadow and blood magic, she was catching up on the education that being a vegetable cost her. Lately, she also took to calling up her father at least once a week to let him know she was well. If I'm being honest, I was trying to butter him up a bit. Slowly, I'd been introducing the idea of Valerie joining my eventual peerage. She would be safer, stronger, and have constant access to me, both for blood and music. I wouldn't say he was fully on board with the idea, but he at least wasn't entirely against it. Now that she was well, she had developed quite the wit. She was something of a dramatic as well, playing along with Serafall's antics whenever she was around.

Speaking of, I turned to look at both Serafall and Ajuka lounging around. It wasn't every day that one met Ajuka Beelzebub, even for someone in a maou's peerage like myself. "What can I do for you, Sera-tan? And Satan Beelzebub if I'm not mistaken," I said with a courteous bow. "Please forgive my appearance, I just arrived from a training session."

Ajuka, true to his reputation, waved off my apology. "No worries, please call me Ajuka, I'm not big on formalities unless the situation calls for it. I'm told you've become something like Serafall's assistant. My condolences," he said with a smirk.

"Mou, you're mean, Aju-tan!" the resident magical girl pouted. With a wave of her wand, the tea he was drinking turned to solid ice and the ever dignified maou blew a raspberry towards her green haired peer.

"Much appreciated, Ajuka," I said with an equal smirk. Serafall whirled to face me, a look of betrayal on her adorable face. She teased me so often that honestly, that one look made my week. I'd probably pay for it in paperwork or by being forced to hold a concert for her "Milky Spiral Grand Tour" or something, but meh. Worth.

"Jokes aside," Ajuka said, "I was the one who called for you, Luca. As you know, every high class devil has the right to an Evil Piece set. Recently, I've received reports from Behemoth and Aziz that you are now strong enough to be counted among that number." He slid over a lacquered box. When I opened it, a set of glass chess pieces greeted me. Despite their significance, they looked utterly unremarkable. The only thing that stood out was the absence of a king piece. If I remembered right, there were only about eight or so in existence. Instead, a crystal cut in the shape of a crown greeted me.

"What? I only barely landed one hit on Behemoth today, and even then because he didn't want to promote!"

"He is an ultimate class devil, perhaps even on par with Beowulf. If hitting Behemoth was our standard, even many of the Pillar lords wouldn't be considered high class."

"That's right, Lu-tan, Behe-tan is super strong too!" my king said, smiling widely. "Lu-tan has grown a lot in just nine months so Lu-tan deserves a peerage!"

I wasn't sure what to say. This wasn't the anime, well, it was, but I didn't have the "plot convenience buff of EXP grinding" given only to the main character. At the same time, I wasn't the type to look a gift horse in the mouth so once I got over my surprise, I accepted the offered set as graciously as I could. "Thank you, Satan Beelzebub, Satan Leviathan," I said, falling into a deep bow.

"Didn't I just tell you to stop that?" Ajuka said with a hint of frustrated resignation. Beside him, Serafall nodded vigorously.

"The moment seemed appropriate."

"Wow, onii-chan is finally going to become a king too?" Valerie said as she looked over my shoulder.

"Yup, Lu-tan just needs to push some magic into the crown."

"Umm, why doesn't onii-chan's set have a king piece? Is the crown some kind of substitute?"

Ajuka looked pleased, if solemn. "Yes, that's exactly what it is, little dhampir. The king piece does not reincarnate and are incompatible with other pieces so your 'brother' would never be able to have one. Instead, the king piece amplifies the wielder's abilities exponentially, sometimes at the cost of the wielder's sanity or health. It was considered too dangerous and removed from circulation. What he is holding now is a substitute. Normally, I would have new kings register at the central monument in Lilith. For whatever reason, Serafall has decided to keep his presence quiet for as long as possible, fair given Luca's relative weakness as a satan's peerage member. This crown will store a bit of Luca's magic and I will later deposit the magic stored within into the central monument under the guise of maintenance. Now, please push some of your magic into the crown."

When i did so, all the pieces seemed to synchronize, turning the vibrant blue of Serafall's sigil, then, starting with the crown, the pieces all shone a deep, burnished bronze. "Pretty," Valerie whispered.

"Not that I'm ungrateful or anything, because I'm thrilled to have a peerage, but does this mean I'm not Sera-tan's Bishop anymore?"

"You are," she pouted and stamped her feet on the floor.

"If I tried to take you away from her, she'd freeze my testicles," Ajuka said drily. "For the sake of my time and sanity, let's say you're still a part of Serafall's peerage. Also, You'll still be a part of MOFA. They've spent a decent amount of resources to train and educate you after all."

"Great, I'm kinda happy for that actually. Hooray for job security," I laughed.

Serafall looked at me with something like an apologetic smile. "It's not all good, Lu-tan. You are a part of a maou's peerage. That means that by rights, you are a noble, even if you weren't really strong enough to be called a high class devil until recently. Now that you are and have your own peerage, you'll be considered a baron, with all the duties that represents." She pulled out a map I recognized to be her territory. A part of it, a small district bordering the Familiar Forest and Behemoth's land, was outlined in red. At its center was a lake, not large, but still respectable. "This is your territory now. Think about what you would like in your manor and I'll have people build it."

"I don't -"

"Yes, you do. I know you don't really care about having a manor or palace or anything, but you are a baron now. You are expected to have a noble's land and bearing so just put up with it. Don't worry about cost because you're going to pay it off one way or another," she said with a dangerous smirk.

I sighed. There just wasn't a way to win against that girl. "Is that all?"

"Nope, now that you're a baron, people are going to expect to see you at social functions. Behe-tan and Azi-tan get a pass because they have duties abroad and they're so big, but you don't get to skip them anymore. I'll also start introducing you to other high class devils your age in preparation for the Young Devil's Gathering."

"Oh… do I have to participate in that too?"

"Yes. You could even say it's doubly important that you participate. Your success at the Gathering will be a subtle message to the old guard that Serafall, for all her… eccentricities, has an eye for talent. You can't just participate, you need to dominate because your performance reflects on her," Ajuka filled in. "To that end, try to gather a good peerage as quickly as possible." He shot a meaningful glance towards Valerie.

"Finally, Lu-tan, you will be made a senior diplomat," she shouted.

"Isn't this a bit quick to be rising through a government organization? Won't people say you're being nepotistic?"

"Yes, it is quick, but devils have always been self-interested."

"I don't get a say, do I?"

"Nope," she sang.

"And… my first assignment is…?"

"Kuoh!"

I brought my palm to my head. In the silence, that slap rang across the room. A maid poked her head in to make sure everything was alright, saw me facepalm again, and left me to my misery. It was a common enough occurrence. "You want to send me, your most inexperienced diplomat, to Japan," a thumbs up, "Japan, the home of the Shinto and Youkai factions," a nod, "the same factions whose hatred of us is only surpassed by Heaven and the Grigori?"

"Yup! You'll do great!" she cheered. No one in the room agreed with her optimism. I looked to Ajuka for help. The bastard chuckled and refused to meet my eyes, pretending to struggle with thawing out his tea.

"You wouldn't do this, not unless you had another reason," I sighed, "You want me to monitor Sona, don't you?"

"If you just so happen to receive the cold shoulder from Kyoto, you can stay in Kuoh to show that we want to talk, Lu-tan. And if you just happen to be in Kuoh, the only devil outpost in Japan, you might, if you have time, check up on So-tan for your awesome king," she said innocently.

"You know, no one in the room buys that innocent look. There's no way in hell this assignment is a coincidence."

"Aww relax, Lu-tan, I won't be sending you alone. I'll be sending a promising foreign service officer with you. You'll love her!"

Seeing how I wasn't going to talk her out of it no matter what I said, I resigned myself my fate. "If Yasaka burns me alive, I'm going to haunt you forever," I muttered, face still cradled in my palms.

Valerie, seeing my distress, patted my shoulder sympathetically. "There, there, onii-chan." She's such a good girl…

X

"No."

"Please?" I tried for what felt like the twelth time.

"No." On the other side of the line, Vladimir Tepes, the strongest vampire, set his jaws in firm denial.

"She'll be safe."

"She'll be a devil."

"She'll have a permanent source of blood."

"She'll be a devil."

"She'll have unrestricted access to healing."

"She'll be a devil."

"She'll be off limits to other scheming devils trying to recruit her."

"She'll be a devil."

"She'll catch up on her education."

"She'll be a devil."

I snapped. "Oh come on, Vladimir Tepes! Your only argument is that she'll be a devil! Whether you like it or not, Valerie is going to be exposed to devils trying to recruit her. Even if I try to protect her from it all, I can't watch her 24/7! You know this is the best option for her! Besides, being a devil isn't all bad; her magic and control will improve in leaps and bounds."

He sighed. "And what is my daughter's opinion on this matter?"

Valerie poked her head over my shoulder. "I don't mind, father. Onii-ch - Luca," she corrected herself, "has been nothing but kind to me. He has constantly looked out for my best interests and made me the person I am today. I… I want to be in his peerage."

Faced with his daughter's imploring eyes, the strongest vampire caved like a house of cards. "Fine! But if you hurt her…"

He didn't need to finish. For all the misogynistic, purist traditions of the Tepes, he did want what was best for her. I was fully willing to bet that he would start a war if I somehow hurt or abused her. "You have my word that I will protect and cherish her," I promised.

"... There is… something you should know…"

Seeing his expression, I quickly guessed what he wanted to talk about. "She has Sephiroth Graal," I said.

"How did you!"

'Because I watched softcore porn in the form of an anime in a previous life,' I thought to myself. Out loud, I said, "Oh, come on, I've been examining her for nine months straight. Who do you think I am? I think I'd notice one of the Longinus." I grew serious. "She's missing a third of it, isn't she?"

"... Yes…"

"It's the reason for her malady."

"... Yes…"

"Why? Who took it?" I asked, knowing the answer.

"Are you sure you wish to know?"

"I would know the name of my enemy."

"... Rizevim Lucifer," he breathed out as though wary of even saying his name. To be fair, he had good reason to be afraid of a super devil. "One of his minions tracked her down somehow and tried to extract the Sephiroth Graal. I got there in time to stop him, but not entirely."

"Then he will pay. With the evil pieces, I will teach Val control. Hopefully, she'll be able to access it without driving herself mad."

"Then I will leave her to you."

That was the end of our conversation. Initially, I wanted to make her my Queen. She pushed the piece away, saying that she lacked the physical aspects necessary to being an all round ace. I offered her the bishop pieces next, but when I tried, I ultimately failed to turn her. In hindsight, that made sense. Issei, a regular human with the Boosted Gear dormant, required all eight pawns from Rias. Valerie's Sephiroth Graal was active, if unused. She also had prior training and a powerful bloodline.

"Are you sure you're okay with being my Pawn?" I asked as I held out the seven glowing pieces.

"Yup, I don't mind. It's just a name anyway."

I grabbed the eighth from the box and added it to the pile in her hand. "You may as well take the last one too. I don't have any intention of resurrecting someone who'd only be worth one piece."

"You shouldn't quantify people like that, onii-chan," she scolded.

"I know, but maybe, having an abundance of pieces will help you control your Sacred Gear. You were there when Sera-tan explained them."

"Yeah, I know, they're like beacons that signal to each other and the king. She said you'd eventually be able to funnel some of your power into me to make me stronger."

"Exactly, so maybe having an extra pawn will give me a bit more influence over your power. I'm hoping that I can help you suppress Sephiroth Graal when necessary."

"Okay… eight it is."

X

My first act as the new senior most diplomat in MOFA, beneath Serafall obviously, was… to take a vacation. More than one paper pusher shot me venomous glares of jealousy and hate. I did feel bad… sort of… but this was kind of important. That's why, a few days after that scintillating conversation with Vlad, I was back in the deserts of southern Turkey.

Valerie was… dying… Daywalker she may be, but she was in no way a fan of scorching heat. "Why are we out here, onii-chan," she whined as she took another swig of her water bottle.

"Because, we need to go pick up my Knight," I said.

"Who?" She asked, curious about this mystery person. "I didn't even know you knew anyone here."

"She's a friend I met while I was human. I was in the area before I moved on to Romania and met your dad."

"Oh… so she's a friend," she said, nudging my side.

I sighed. "I liked you better when you were super shy about everything." Despite my grumbling, I gave her hair a loving ruffle.

"HSSSSSS!"

I snatched my hand away from her ivory fangs. "Did you just hiss at me?"

"... No…"

"You did…"

"No… I didn't…"

"You're adorable." She flushed red. "And kinda creepy… ow!"

So, I dragged Valerie, attached to my arm and happily sucking away, into the village. Her outfit drew some scandalized looks, a white sundress and hip-hugging jeans stood out in the conservative village, but we ignored them. Soon enough, Valerie yelped as she felt cold steel impose itself between her neck and my arm.

"Kindly stop sucking my friend dry, daywalker," Amira hissed venomously. She tried to force Valerie's head away, but seeing my lack of alarm, Val just picked up my arm and dragged it along, lips still firmly attached to me.

"Hey, Amira," I waved with my free hand.

"You… have a vampire attached to your arm…"

"She's just giving me a hickey…"

"Do you seriously expect me to believe that? You know I learned to sense magic, don't you? And she practically reeks of it."

I looked at my little sister then at her. "Jealous?" I asked with a quirked eyebrow.

She threw her arms in the air. "Forget it. Come on, let's go to my house."

"Yes, lets. If you can sense Val, you can sense me. You know I'm not human anymore," I said in hushed tones. All I saw was a minute nod.

In the past few years, Amira had only grown more beautiful. Although her outfit hid her figure, she walked with the grace of an experienced swordswoman and her face was enough to turn heads wherever she went. In her home, I finally pulled my arm free of Valerie and sat down on a cushion. "To start, I am a devil. Valerie is my Pawn. I want you to be my Knight."

She crossed her arms in front of her chest and scowled. "I know you didn't forget why I couldn't leave the village, Luca. You don't even speak to me for years and now you want to talk?"

I raised my hands in front, the universal sign of surrender. "I was busy. You know how I said I wanted to find a benevolent master?"

Her tone flipped from critical to concerned on a dime. "He's not hurting you, is he?" With nary a wisp of smoke, The Shamshir-e Zomorrodnegār appeared in her hand. And by Sera's glittering ass that hurt.

Val and I collectively winced, visibly leaning away from the pure holy power radiating from that sword. It wasn't called the Middle Eastern Excalibur without cause. "Please… put… that… away…" i groaned.

She dismissed it in a wave of fire. "Sorry…"

"No, I'm not trapped in some abusive relationship. And my king is a she. Her name is Serafall Leviathan, one of the four Satans."

Her mouth opened and shut like a guppy. "Your master… is the strongest devil?"

"One of them, yeah. She's actually overly affectionate if anything. Anyway, because she's the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I'm kind of forced to be in it too by default. I was busy getting trained."

"Oh…"

"So… am I forgiven?"

"Yeah… sure…" she nodded absently, still trying to process the fact that the Leviathan was my king. "But then, why are you here now? Aren't you happy?"

"I said I wanted you to be my Knight."

"And you know why I can't leave."

"Think it over," another voice said. Amira's father, looking healthier than before, walked into the room. He seemed to be taking easy strides on a wooden leg. "My leg's fine, Amira. You deserve to see the world." He turned to me. "And you, thank you. I couldn't say it before, but I heard devils speak all tongues."

"Father!"

"Actually…" I laughed… "I think I'm strong enough to regrow a leg now… probably…"

Amira whirled towards me so fast I thought she'd snap her own neck. "You can heal him?"

"Only if he wants to be healed. I'll basically cut off his stump so I have a fresh wound to work with. Then, by accelerating his natural regenerative process with magic, I should be able to make him regrow his leg. Basically, I'm trusting in his body's memory of the lost limb to provide the blueprint of sorts. Also, you'd have to explain to the neighbors how the hell that happened." I gave her a crooked grin. "What, you didn't think I'd come here without a way to help, did ya? Even if you don't join me, I want to do this. I promised I'd be back after all."

She was silent for a long while. She turned to her father. "Is… is this…"

"I'm willing to try. He's given us every reason to trust him, despite being a devil."

She nodded. "Luca… How sure of this are you?"

"Pretty sure," I said, "I spent the past nine months training, working for MOFA, and working at a devil hospital. Some of those times were in the intensive care unit. We're more durable than humans so when a devil needs the ICU, it's usually pretty bad."

She took a deep breath. "Okay, if my father wants to do this, then do it. Please heal him." She moved aside as he rolled up his pant leg and detached the wooden accessory.

Valerie leaned over and examined the injury. "Huh, I expected some huge scars or something."

"I healed the wound so there wouldn't be any bone shards or anything the last time I was here."

"Ah, that explains it. How are you going to do this?"

I wordlessly pulled a knife and motioned towards his knee. "If you have something to bite on, or maybe something to numb the pain, grab it now. I'm not really known for my bedside manners." Taking my advice, Amira's dad stuffed an old shirt into his mouth and gave me the thumbs up. "Good. I'm going to freeze your leg now." I focused on my left hand and a shining ball of icy blue aura appeared.

One does not call Serafall Leviathan master and not know any ice magic after all. I actually only learned one or two basic ice spells from her, mainly so I could use the numbing effect as an improvised anesthetic and a way to stop people from bleeding out. My patient's leg was encased in a coffin of magical ice, specially designed to sap the subject's temperature as quickly as possible without resulting in frostbite. A minute later, the ice shattered and he shivered from the cold. The muffled grunts of discomfort started as soon as I dug my knife into his leg.

"Amira, Valerie, hold him down please. Numb or not, having a knife dig into your leg isn't exactly a pleasant experience." They moved to do so, each pinning the man by one shoulder. I worked quickly, ignoring his moans of pain. With a healthy dose of devil strength, I ripped open the flawless skin in under thirty seconds. Then, I placed one hand on the wound and brought Lyric Armament, in the form of an ocarina, to my lips. Note by note, my favorite melody from my past life filled the room.

Lugia's song, the same song played to call the Guardian of the Sea to Shamouti, was one I associated with peace. It had no words, but it didn't need them to convey a sense of tranquility. It was a voiceless message to all, that everything would be alright, that the storm will stop someday, that there is someone stronger watching over you. It had far more to do with healing the mind than the body, but it was enough. Slowly but surely, his leg began to grow back. First, the bone, the foundation of the body, began to extend and renew itself. Then, his muscles, blood vessels, and sinew followed, weaving together as though a tapestry. Beneath my palm, I could feel the vessels undulate for the first time, telling me that they had connected to the heart. Finally, after what seemed like hours, unblemished skin covered the limb. It was strange to see a man with no hair on his leg, but that would fix itself in time. Finished with my work, I slumped forward.

I wasn't magically exhausted, I had dealt with far worse, both in number of patients and seriousness of their injuries, but I had never been as emotionally invested. This man, I didn't even know his name, was my friend's father. That made him more than just a nameless patient, more than a job. No, my exhaustion was neither magical nor physical. It stemmed from watching father and daughter cry shamelessly. Even Valerie was tearing up a bit.

Honestly, I felt really awkward. Yes, Amira was my friend. Yes, I was the doctor "on call," so to speak. Yes, Valerie was sharing in the moment, but none of that could diminish the sheer joy shared between father and daughter. My Pawn and I exchanged a glance; we felt kinda left out. It was a bit like watching someone in a restaurant eat his food so sensually and joyfully that you can't help but wonder if the food is drugged and end up ordering the same thing to find out. Eventually, they broke out of their hug and Amira launched herself at me.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou," she muttered into my chest. I was proud to note that over the past few years, I had grown significantly taller, about tall enough to break even with Amira, despite her being two years my senior.

'Funny what you think about in the most serious moments,' I mused as I rubbed her back.

In front of me, her father stood and tested his leg. Once he verified that he could place his full weight on the limb, he bowed low. "Thank you, Luca Rossi. I will not forget this."

"I could do with learning your name," I said drily. "We never introduced ourselves to each other because I didn't speak Kurdish the last time around."

"Oh, of course, it seems I have forgotten my manners as host. I am Yasin bin Ejder. Once again, thank you, from the bottom of my heart."

"Nice to meet you, Yasin. Out of curiosity, why does Amira call herself 'bint Arsalan' and you 'bin Ejder?"

"Ejder was my father. Amira instead took the name of our ancestor when Shamshir-e Zomorrodnegār appeared for her."

"Ah, that explains it. Now, once again, I ask you both: Amira, will you join me as my Knight? Yasin, may I have your blessing to claim your daughter?"

The two looked at one another before Yasin spoke. "You may. Amira, my daughter, ever since Shamshir-e Zomorrodnegār appeared for you, you have acted as the protector of this village. The people do not know. They will never know, but more than once did you fight off the supernatural. While other villages rotted away in plagues or were caught up in war, you have been our shield. It is time to relieve you of this duty. Go with him. Become strong. See the world. Find love. You have given of yourself long enough. Now, it is time to live for your own sake."

With a heavy heart, Amira gave her father one final hug and turned to me with her hands outstretched. I placed first one, then two knights into her hands, only to receive nothing. "What… what's supposed to happen?"

"Is she too strong for even both knights?" Valerie peered curiously at the dull pieces.

"Looks like it. Amira, how good are you with that sword?" I asked. "No, actually, just give me a list of all the things you can do."

"I am a proficient swordswoman, though I am entirely self-taught. I wield one of the most powerful holy swords in existence. I am of the lineage of a legendary hero and king. I am also an ifrit, capable of extensive fire and illusion magic," she said proudly.

Both Valerie and I gaped. I had expected her to be good, but I was expecting a Xenovia counterpart. "This, this changes things," I muttered.

"Hmm, a ridiculously powerful close quarters weapon, physical training, and offensive and support magic to boot… Onii-chan, I think you found your all-rounder ace."

I wordlessly replaced the two knights with the most powerful piece in any devil's peerage. "Valerie's right," I spoke, "you have the potential to be strong, fast, and a magical powerhouse. More than that, while passionate, you are also quite mature. Once again, Amira bint Arsalan, will you stand as my Queen?"

With a dazzling smile, Amira held the piece to her heart and a bronze glow filled the house.

Author's Note

I hope my brief take on the relationship between youkai and devils was okay. Let me know what you thought of it. If you think nine months is too short for Luca's growth curve, please keep in mind that most of DxD takes place within one or two years and Issei shot up to "strong enough to fight Ophis" by the end of it. Sure, he had the Boosted Gear as a bullshit crutch, but Luca is smarter, more experienced, trained since he could walk, has access to amazingly powerful teachers, two bishop pieces from a maou, and a relatively powerful Sacred Gear of his own. I briefly mentioned it in chapter 1, but the smart thing to do with Twilight Healing is to work your ass off, then accelerate your natural healing process to get the most out of that workout and extend your stamina. Given DxD, his growth rate is impressive, but not to the extent of godly plot armor.

I seriously hope you guys will read up on Shamshir-e Zomorrodnegār because it's easily as powerful as DxD's interpretation of Durandal and can match multiple Excalibur fragments.

So, by the end of this chapter, Luca has already found his Queen and Pawn, both with extraordinary potential. Who will be next…?

As always, constructive feedback is appreciated.

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