Chapter 7: Lust- a Pervert's Greatest Challenge

How the hell is this possible? Issei Hyōdō is now walking into the school, when just yesterday I saw and ALLOWED him to die. But, how is that possible!? I turn to Lucile, who looks less stunned than me.

"Something tells me you've got a clue as to how he's alive."

"Yeah…Do you want a proper answer or on full of B.S?"

"Proper, preferably."

"If I had to guess, I'd say someone reincarnated him as a Devil."

"In other words…"

"Yup; he's been made into the member of a Peerage."

No way…someone SAVED him and made him a Devil? Why would they do that? Is he special somehow? What significance is it to not only kill a random human, but also someone else revives him?

"Don't interfere." Lucile orders me.

"Why? I'm indirectly responsible for what happened to him. Shouldn't I at least do something to help him adapt to his new world?"

Lucile doesn't answer. Why won't she answer? Perhaps she has a personal reason that I'm not allowed to interfere? What is it that personally gets to Lucile? Wait, her inferiority complex…

"He was revived by Rias Gremory, wasn't he?" Lucile adopts a frown. Bullseye. "So I'm not allowed to associate with other Devils? But I am to be of High-Class; shouldn't I communicate with others of my class to bring a better name to the Berith Clan?"

"…You're just trying to kiss ass, aren't you?"

"Like a college freshman."

I step forward to pursue Hyōdō, but Lucile quickly moves in front of me. "Sorry, but there's something I have to tell you."

"…Go on."

"Well, first off, the Gremory Clan is well known among the Devils for their extraordinary affection, especially to their servants. And remember that the Berith Clan was known for the opposite."

"…Okay…"

"Let's see if you can put the pieces together. Extraordinary affection towards one's underlings leads to…?"

"Protection. But why does Gremory need to protect Hyōdō from me?"

"Well, odds are that Akeno gathered some info one him, and likely in the process found out that you two aren't on the best of terms."

"Well, yeah, but I'm not the type to harm someone just because I don't like them. That's for when I become Overlord."

"It's not just your own feelings toward Hyōdō. Its…well…I'm really sorry."

"About what?"

"My dad is a HUGE blabber mouth! Not only that, but he doesn't have the best impression of you…"

"…What the hell did he say?" There's no way in hell…

"My dad…has spread news of your existence, and that you're a power hungry pervert who will remove anyone he doesn't like or sees as a threat to get what he wants."

"…Why the hell would he do that!?" I almost lost my cool.

"I don't know! When I asked him he said something about paying your grandfather Kabel back for his shoulder. Plus, the overall reputation of the Berith Clan is one of a lot more negatives than positives if you recall."

You've got to be kidding me!? I have been trying to establish myself as a neutral force who wishes to restore power to his family's name, and now this old geezer has ruined my reputation before I could even make one! Son of a bitch! What is this old man's problem!?

"No offence, but your old man is an ass."

"As much as I love my dad, I have to agree with you. The guy is always trying to bring other people down just because we lost our rank!"

"Not to mention that he pretty much used you to pay a debt to my mom."

At that, Lucile tilted an eyebrow and seemed confused.

"Eh?"

"Remember? Your dad had some kind of gambling debt to Jenova and used you as payment?"

Lucile then straightened her face and adopted an angry one. Correction: an "angry" one. "Y-Yeah! That bastard!"

At that, I checked my wristwatch and saw that classes would be starting soon.

"I'll leave Hyōdō alone. In the meantime, try to help me figure out how I can complete the last Sin Challenges."

"Fine. I'll see you during the break."

At that, Lucile turned around to go toward the front gate, but turned around and pointed at me.

"I'm telling you. Stay away from Gremory until we can clear your reputation."

"Will do."

She glares at me suspiciously, then sighs and turns around. "Don't blame me if she reduces you to ash."

She then makes her way onto school ground. Gremory doesn't come off as that kind of person to me. Then again protecting her new "boy toy", for lack of a better term, might even mean keeping guys like me away. I can understand that, so I'll back off from Hyōdō. At least he's being taken care of, so I can thank her for both that and saving him in the first place. I went on my way to class as if nothing had happened. I know it sounds childish of me to take responsibility for something I didn't do, but this isn't about me having guilt issues. It's about facing the fact that I allowed him to die for my own sake when I could've saved him by telling Jenova to do it. In the exchange I got four out of seven of my challenges completed, while Issei was killed.

But, I suppose I can let go of a small amount of my guilt since he's alive. Speaking of which, did Jenova know that he was going to be saved by Gremory? She doesn't come off as the type to simply let a human die for the sake of someone else, even is that someone else is her own son. I have a feeling that Jenova is still hiding things from me. Once the bell for break went off, I went off to sit under the tree I always do. To my surprise, Lucile and Yoshida are already there sitting at the stone bench.

"Great to see you two here already." I walked over and sat down against the tree.

I already started eating my lunch as Lucile and Ayumu talked. I zoned out due to me not needing to be involved.

"Wow, that's really interesting Miss Paimon. I didn't know that Ueda has already made such progress!"

Okay, my involvement is needed. I practically jumped from my position and turned to face those two.

"How the hell did you know her real last name?" I asked.

How did Yoshida know? He's seemed rather like a neutral force by this point, so how does he know. Yoshida gasped, stood up, and bowed his head quite low.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Ueda! I should've caught on to you true self earlier!"

"That's not the point. How do you know Lucile's real last name?" Yoshida stood right up.

"Because I've worked with Devils before!" he answers with a smile.

"…Say what?"

"Oh yeah! I've asked Devils to do some Jobs before!"

"…You serious?"

"Oh, sorry. It's just that my family has been working with Devils for a long time. I was told to never tell anyone about Devils to keep things 'discreet'. When I sensed the change in your body, I thought that you had died and been reincarnated. But Miss Paimon here was telling me that you're a Half-Breed from the Berith Clan." He bows again. "It is SUCH an honor to meet a member of such a High-Class family! Not to mention its head!" He straightens up again. "Which is why…if it's not too much…"

"What? Do you want a favor?" I placed my left hand on Yoshida's right shoulder. "Yoshida, listen, you are my ward. I am willing to do you a small favor."

"Actually…it's not really a small one."

"What is it then?"

"When you become High-Class through the Seven Sin Challenge, I…can I become your Pawn!?" he bowed his head again, almost like he's begging. Is Yoshida kidding? He…WANTS to become a Devil?

"Why? What can you gain from becoming a Devil under my command?"

He stood straight up again. "It's because…you're an inspiration to me."

"How?"

"Remember my first day here? When I started going to this school a short while ago?"

"How can I forget? You were almost dragged into the same reputation as the Perverted Trio. You were caught peeping in the Kendo Club's locker room by sneaking INTO a locker. Too bad that poor girl came in late today and wasn't actually sick."

"Yeah. I was taken outside and beaten to a pulp by the Club. I was pretty much dead." He chuckles while scratching the back of his head. "But then, I wake up in the infirmary with you scolding me. You said I had potential; I just needed to improve my methods. Ever since that day, I've wanted to succeed you as the best pervert in the school!"

Best…pervert? Whoa, I'm actually humbled to have such a title. "So, you want to succeed me?"

"Yes! You saved me from falling to the low ranks of the Perverted Trio. When you told me your dream of having a harem, I wanted to have the same dream! And by following you, both as your ward and your servant, I will accomplish that dream too!" he states boldly.

He's dead serious. I see the passion in his eyes. He's dedicated to this dream no matter what. He's starting to look like a more restrained version of Hyōdō; one willing to admit his faults. I couldn't help but chuckle lightly at Yoshida's efforts.

"Alright Yoshida, once I reach High-Class and make Lucile my Queen, then you'll become my Pawn. Alright?"

At that, Yoshida's face gleamed with joy. He immediately went to hold my hand with both of his for a handshake.

"Oh thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You won't regret this, Master!" I quickly reached over and slapped the side of his head with my free right hand.

"OW!" he declared.

"Don't call me Master. I'm saving that one for the harem."

Yoshida released my hand and saluted me. "Understood!" He the widened his eyes and for some reason, smacked his head with his right hand. "OH! I almost forgot! I devised ways for you to complete your last challenges!"

…I am so tempted to waste my first kiss with this pitiful son of a bitch. "HOW!?" I lost control of myself again.

"It's simple, really. Gluttony is basically you taking something in and not really doing anything with it. Like buying excessive amounts of something!"

"I thought Gluttony only referred to eating."

"True, but the Sins are how YOU perceive them! How much money do you have on your credit card?"

"…That's private information."

"Okay, and what's the one thing you're no longer able to do ever since you've started focusing on your Devil life?"

"…Played my ero-games." Which may explain why I've gotten rusty in my perverted ways.

"Exactly! So, what if you bought a rather excessive amount of those games and not even play them!?"

….Oh my word… "Yoshida, you're a FREAKING GENIUS!"

I couldn't help myself, but I gave Yoshida a hug! I can't help it! The kid's not even my Pawn yet and he's already surpassing my expectations!

"I'm glad I can help, Ueda."

I step back and couldn't help but act a little like Hyōdō. Damn it, I really am losing my edge. Hang on, the ero-games!

"The games double count as Lust, don't they! I Lust after the women in the games!"

"Yes! Now you get it!"

I high-fived with Yoshida and one last thought occurred to me. "Wait, then how do we handle Wrath?" I asked him.

"Actually, I don't know. There's nothing out there that I can think of that can make you angry."

"It's understandable. Anyway…"

I dug into my back pocket and pulled out my wallet. I handed it to him. "This has my credit card and my hand cash on me. Go to 'you know where' and buy as many games with as much sex in them as possible. No consideration into story."

Yoshida took my wallet, placed it into his own back pocket, and gave me another salute. "Gotcha!" he then glanced over to Lucile. "Excuse me for a sec, Ueda. I need to talk to Miss Paimon for a moment."

"Permission granted."

Yoshida nodded, and he led Lucile to a short distance away from me.

I wonder what he's talking about? Knowing him, it must be something Devil related that I can't know. Though, the expression on Lucile's face turned from calm to flustered, then to angry. She flat out bitch-slapped Yoshida across the right side of his face, sending him flying left and sliding on the grass toward me. He stopped a few feet in front of me.

"Couldn't hurt to ask…" he mumbled as his face ate dirt.

"Ask what?" I ask.

I look back up at Lucile who had stomped over and is stomping on Yoshida's back.

"This little pervert asked me if you and I had se-!" she stopped her sentence immediately and looked up at me. Her face turned a burning red. "A-Anyway, I gotta go to class! Later!" She began running her left and into the building.

I looked down at Yoshida. "You've got the peeping down, now you just need to learn when to shut you're damn mouth." I scold.

Yoshida simply raised a thumb from the ground.

"Classes are going to start soon. Recover quickly and head back to class."

I gather my stuff and head back to my own classroom. Yoshida will be fine on his own. I return to class like nothing happened, thought the thought of Hyōdō being lost in this new realm kept crossing my mind. To get my mind off of it, I set the teacher's shoe on fire. Hey, I needed a distraction. He's fine; only a small singe. After classes were over, I met up with Lucile at the front gate and headed home.

"You sure Jenova will take Ayumu buying those as technicalities?"

"Well it's MY money, so the principle's the same."

"You just cut corners wherever you can, don't you?"

"…You could say that." I'm not necessarily in the mood to talk at the moment. Once I become High-Class, I need to think of a way to clear my name. For one I need to shut Lord Paimon's mouth before more poison spreads.

Then, I need to somehow make contact with the Occult Research Club. Having friends in high places may come in handy. Now, I also need to make contact with the Student Council. Sona Sitri and Rias Gremory…both of them practically run the school as far as I know. No wonder they're the idols of the school. Now, the real question is: how to establish friendly relations? Even though I've been here for while, I still don't know anything at all. I don't know anything about Gremory and Sitri specifically, other than a few short rumors. Out of those two: the friendliest appears to be Gremory. Sitri comes across as someone who takes everything seriously. While I respect that, I also see it as an obstacle. Now, the other members of the Occult Research Club are Yūto Kiba, Koneko Tōjō, and Akeno Himejima. All together, I need to analyze them based on what I have seen before.

"Hey, Abel." Lucile interrupts my thoughts. I'm not upset, just surprised.

"Yeah?"

"I have…something else to ask you."

"Go ahead, I'm all ears."

"I just wanna ask…do you really care about me?"

"Eh?"

"So far, all we've done is simply talk about your ambition to rise in rank and everything that's in the way. We've never really had a talk or anything like that. I don't know your interests, your life before all of this; I don't really know anything about you."

"Where did this come from? I thought you were just happy using me to get what you want?"

He face turns a slight shade of red. "I still have my pride! I'm just…curious. I mean, I'm going to be your Queen and that means we'll be stuck together a lot. So, I just wanted to know if we could know each other before that happens."

She seems genuinely concerned about this? Why would she? As much as I care about her, I can't do anything unless she actually says that she wants to be part of my harem. By this point, she's gone beyond predictable to me. And for the first time in a while, I think I can actually let down my guard around her. Hm, so this is "trust", huh? Never thought I'd see the day. I guess I really am in…in…Sheesh, you select that word so many times in an ero-game that when it actually comes time to admit it, even in your own head, you can't get the guts for it. I suppose I'm a coward after all.

"I'll tell you what: once we're done with the Sins today, then you and me just hang out around the house and…talk. That sound alright?"

Lucile looks oddly stunned at my response. "You're…taking this seriously?"

"Of course I am. You're going to be my Queen soon, so I need to know as much as I can about you."

"If you were in 'Pervert Mode' you'd probably say 'I already know your measurements, what's left to know', wouldn't you?"

"Hm, fair point. But that was before you became something special."

Lucile's face became a slightly brighter shade of red. "Someone…special…?"

"Yeah." Silence falls.

I actually don't mind these breaks of pure silence. They help me organize my thoughts. Now, where was I? Oh yes, the Gremory Team. Now, gather all the evidence I know and put them together. Yūto Kiba: Prince Charming, apparent nice guy, and acts like a saint. Reality: most likely an attack type of Evil Piece, possibly a Knight. I have noticed that he's quite quick on his feet. Plus, his physical appearance is more of a Knight than a Prince. I can already guess that the smile he wears is a fake. There's something beneath that smile, and I think he doesn't want anyone else to know what it is. Koneko Tōjō, the silent type. Lucile mentioned her being a Yōkai cat-girl, so a little bit of emergency info there. She rarely talks to others, is not very sociable, and is mostly seen eating sweets. Sweets…there's one way to go. Next: Akeno Himejima. Now, being that she's the Queen, she is definitely not to be underestimated or taken lightly. I've seen her around, and she always has that smile on her face. I can something twisted in there, and the real scary thing is that I kinda like it. Wait, Lucile mentioned earlier a few days ago…

"Wait, that list had Sado-Masochists, Mikos, AND cat girls? Man, I should keep you away from the Occult Research Club. I'm afraid you're head will explode. Sheesh, you are perverted."

Koneko is obviously the cat-girl, so that leaves…Akeno is the Sadomasochist Miko! Oh dear…I don't know if I should be turned on or scared the living hell out of. But, out of the whole group, she and Kiba seem to be the friendliest. Make contact with them, and see if I can clear the air around my Clan's reputation. Every bad thing about my Clan seems to come from my grandfather Kabel Berith. People treat his legend as if the guy is still alive. But Lord Paimon said that all members of the Berith Clan were killed. Speaking of which, what did kill my Clan? What could they possibly gain from killing all of them? Was it based on a grudge? A personal vendetta? Damn it, there are too many questions surrounding it all. Okay, calm down, tackle everything one at a time. I finally look up and see that we're at the front gates to our home. Wait, our home? I should let her know I thought that later. But…something seems wrong. Everything is too…quiet. I don't sense…anything. I don't sense a damn thing anywhere. This is bad.

"Lucile, do you feel it too?" I ask her.

"Yeah; something's very wrong here. Do you think Jenova's okay?" Lucile asks.

"I'm sure she's fine. But just in case…"

I haven't done this since I first summoned him. I held out my left hand and thought of the Final Judgment appearing in my hand. At first, nothing had happened. But then, a circle of pale green fire began burning a circle around the palm of the shadow of my left hand. Out of the circle came a long, white and black metal pole. I grab it, and the pole quickly clanks and transforms back into a scythe. It's the same size as ever.

"Do you even know how to use that thing?" Lucile asks as she turns her head left and right to keep an eye out.

"I took some weapon staff training when I was younger, but when I saw that the lethality of it wasn't quick enough, I dropped it. Same basic principle, I'm just forced to be more wary of the heavier end." I took a battle stance with my scythe and walked forward.

"Follow me."

"Got it."

I held the scythe so that its bottom was being held by my right hand and my left hand holds the mid-point, but I hold the scythe so that the blade is at my feet and pointed ahead of me. I walked ahead and saw that the door was several millimeters more open than we left. Jenova said that she would spend the whole day inside cleaning up some of the rooms so Lucile would have somewhere to sleep by herself. So the odds of her leaving the house are low.

"Lucile, stay behind me."

"Got it."

I moved the tip of the scythe to lightly tap the door, and the wind carried it to push open. The house looks normal, albeit a little darker than usual. I slowly take my steps into the household.

"Keep an eye out." I order.

Time to see if I've got what it takes to fight. First: battle plan. Unknown target, unknown motive, unknown circumstances, Jenova absent, and house breached; all poor conditions for us to fight. Now, while I can't counter something I don't even know, I may as well see how they're going to attack. The amount of corners in this house can give the enemy countless places to use sneak attacks, and the amount of rooms is perfect for hiding places. I stop walking and simply look around the room. I don't see anything that stands out, but I do see Jenova's underwear still hanging by the clothes wires above the living room. They are being blow lightly, like something just went passed them. But there's no hiding place in here on the ground to use, so that leaves…

"Lucile, do you still have your special lightning?" At that, I heard sparks of electrical energy building up.

"Always will. Where do you want me to shoot?"

"…Above!"

I turn around and aim my scythe to the ceiling above where Lucile is standing. She looks up as well and without hesitation, shoots a huge bolt of her power at the ceiling. An explosion erupts, and pieces of the roof fall down. I run over and grab Lucile by the arm and pull her away from the debris. I now stand in front of her, ready to attack.

"Keep yourself charged. We're not done yet."

We're far from it. Out from the smoke of the attack came down a person. They were wearing a long grey robes and a grey hood. Where ever the cloth didn't hide, grey bandages took their place. Face, arms, legs, and even feet are all wrapped. They're obviously someone who doesn't want to be recognized.

"How did you know that he was up there?" Lucile asked.

"I picked the most likely place of attack and countered. Now stay ready."

I charged forward with my scythe in hand and went in for the kill. I moved it around and swung it from right to left, and the intruder ducked. I let the weight of the blade carry me and force me to spin from the momentum. But I held to scythe so that the butt of the scythe would from around as the figure got back up. They raised their grey bandaged arm up and blocked the butt from hitting them. I then turned the other direction and swung with the blade from left to right. The intruder ducked again and went for a low right kick. I jumped up and came down on the leg. I then moved the scythe so that the blade was behind me and the butt was in front. I thrust the butt of the scythe into the face of the intruder. Seeing as the butt is a pale green jewel covered in white armor that should hurt. They backflipped, forcing me to do the same.

"Shoot!" I ordered Lucile.

Lucile shot another huge bolt of her lightning at the intruder again. The attack hits, causing another large ball of smoke from the blast.

"Not done yet!"

Whoever this person is, they're holding back. I charged in and fainted and slash. The intruder swung their right arm out so as to stop my blade. But like I said, I faked it. I stopped the blade slash halfway through, and I saw an opening. I swung the blade counter-clockwise and the back of the blade smacked their arm away. Then, I spun around and held the scythe near the blade. I went in and slammed the top of the scythe, where the pole extends only two inches more than were the blade is attached, into their chest. Then I forced the scythe up and slammed the pole into their face, the top of the now upside-down scythe onto their foot. Then I lifted the scythe up and slammed said top up their chin, simulating an uppercut. But the back side of the blade also cut across their chest.

"Shoot!" I ducked and Lucile shot another bolt.

This blast sent them out the doors and onto the front lawn. I stood up and spun the scythe around a few times to keep my adrenaline up.

"How is that even possible?" Lucile asked in surprise. "I hit him with fatal amounts of damage! How is he standing?"

"Is the lightning special?"

"It's a family inherited power, supposedly one of the more dangerous forms of magic. So it should've reduced this guy to ash."

"Maybe he's such a high power magic user, the attack is pretty much useless."

I've noticed something: Lucile is holding back. The amount of power she's sending out is only a pinch more than she usually uses on me when I'm perverted. The figure stood up and laughed. The intruder stepped up, and Lucile and I can clearly see that the attack from my scythe is still on there. Even thought this is Sacred Gear filled with large amounts of power, I'll have to settle with it just being a melee weapon until I can get a better chance to use it. But the wound quickly vanishes as the bandages on their chest move and cover it.

They crack their neck, and I hear muffled chuckling coming from their bandaged covered face. "I don't know who you are or what you want, but you've got another thing coming if you think you can invade my home." Wait a moment…

"What happened to the woman who was in here before us?" They don't answer. "Answer me, or I swear that I'll decapitate you on the spot."

I'm starting to lose my cool. So help me, if you hurt my mother I will hold up to that threat! Instead of physically answering, the intruder held up his left hand and the bandages on it began leaving his arm and twirled in the air above it live a tornado. But there is no arm under the bandages. Then, the twirling bandages merge together into a tight fit, then expand. They then disperse and return to being an arm, something having fallen out from the separation. It's a busty woman with waist long silver hair, pale skin, wearing simple black shorts, and green blouse, and covered in scars. The body drops on the ground like deadweight.

The man then kicked the body toward Lucile and me. It stops moving as it rolls and stops so that I may see their face. I see open, soulless green eyes. It's…Jenova! I kneel down and press my left hand on her wrist while holding the scythe with my right hand. I don't…feel a pulse! I then place my hand on the spot on her neck, and I still don't feel anything! No way…this…bastard…he killed Jenova! I clench my right hand into a first, trying to control my anger. If I lose my cool, my planning and fighting style will be sloppy. I can't…afford…to let him…piss me off!

"Lucile…I don't know why you're holding back, back knock it off." I say barely holding back my anger. "I want you shoot the damn thing at full blast."

"But…"

"Do it! You don't EVER hurt the people I care about."

But before Lucile can comply, the bandage man held out both of his arms, and the bandages expanded out and untied. Now they seem like tentacles. Then, they quickly shot out toward us. I've seen enough porn to know where they're going! I step in front of Lucile and twirl my scythe in a fast circle and cut the bandages before they could reach her. But I know these things! They're going to go around my scythe and head toward Lucile! I use my Black Flame and burn it around my weapon, causing a small fire tornado of Black Flame. The bandages were burning left and right, but they kept coming at a massive rate! As I stand here and keep protecting Lucile while watching the intruder through the scythe's spins, I see my shadow is suddenly being cast in front of me by a blue light.

"You charging up?" I ask.

"Yeah; just a few more seconds!"

I see my shadow grow longer on the ground, and I feel a HUGE amount of power building behind me. Lucile must be powering herself rather high!

"Lucile, fire!" I stop everything and jump out of the way.

"Take this!" I roll on the ground to stand up and watch as Lucile shoots a MASSSIVE blue lightning bolt.

The bolt travels the semi-long distance to the intruder and hits! The explosion causes a mushroom cloud of her energy to erupt on the spot of contact, and I feel pushed back by the force of the explosion, and almost lose my footing. I turn to face Lucile, who is standing proudly with her chin up and cocky smile on her face.

"Ha! Take that!" she then starts laughing.

That was…too simple. I may sound paranoid, but you can never be sure that you've one unless you personally deal the finishing blow. I sense the presence of the intruder is still around us! I look around everywhere and don't see him anywhere! I then look over at Lucile who is still standing proudly with both hands on her waist. Then, out of the ground like a root, bandages appeared and wrapped around her wrists, ankles, and neck! Then, more bandages appeared behind her and form the man's body. I can't make a move without hurting Lucile, and I can't just let her be captured. I imagine a Black Flame fireball appearing behind the man, but then the bandages around his face begin shifting. They take the form of a sick and sadistic grin, teethe appearing there where they weren't before. Then, his body expanded and the bandages completely encased Lucile. I hear her scream as she is captured inside of him.

"Lucile!" I take one step toward him, but then the worst scenario occurs.

Several of the man's bandages that were cut off while holding Lucile turn sharp, and then…they begin stabbing the man. With each stab, I hear Lucile scream in the most agonizing way imaginable. Each bandage that pulls out is covered in red, most likely her blood. This is…this is…


Third Person POV

Katsu Ueda simply watched as his only ally, Lucile Paimon, was being mercilessly slashed to pieces inside this unknown assailant's body. Katsu has already sorted through the methods of attack and can't do anything! If he uses his flame, he can't predict whether or not the attack will actually burn away the bandage man or turn him into a furnace. He goes in to attack with his scythe, the counters the man could make are either flat out finish Lucile off, hurt Lucile with his scythe, or the worst option: expanding and revealing a chopped mess of flesh, organs, and pool of splashing blood cover him. By the time Katsu had thought of all of these ways, Lucile's screeching screams had stopped, and there was only the sound of flesh being ripped, torn, and cut as the bandages continued their work. Katsu already knew why this thingcontinued its work: it wanted Katsu to watch.

It was impersonating a chef who allows his costumers watch him prepare their meal so he could watch the look of anticipation and expectation on their faces. In this case, a monster was wanting to watch Katsu's reaction to the treatment of Lucile Paimon's body even after all signs of life had long since passed. Katsu's eyes became soulless, and he looked down at the ground. He still stood his ground, holding his scythe in his left hand. The creature soon stopped, and decided that it was time. It was going to show Katsu its work. It moved one of its spear like bandages inside, and began digging through the mess of torn flesh and blood. Once it found its item, it pulled it out. A small lock of Lucile's deep blue hair was now covered in her own crimson red blood. It held the hair and dangled it like a set of keys.

At that, the air around the area suddenly began growing cold. A grey cloud began building up above and only above the household. Then the creature noticed something really odd. The grass around them, it all began dying. All plant life around them began dying, even the trees around the household. It turned around and looked at the house itself, which also began to look as though it is decaying and rotting. It turned back to face Katsu when a green flash appeared behind him.

When he got all the way around, he saw that Katsu was engulfed in fire. But not the Black Flame. No, he was covered in a pale and sickly green fire. Katsu then began growling. It sounded like several vicious animals were growling in unison as Katsu lifted his scythe with his left hand. The creature took a steady stance to reveal its contents inside in case Katsu would attack. But then, a massive pale green fireball attacked him from behind. The fire began engulfing it. While it wasn't affected, it noticed that the fires were digging beneath his bandages. The fires began burning his insides, removing the evidence of Lucile's presences. While it was hoping to surprise him, it knew that it had to do something to stop Katsu. It began moving the bandages on its body to reveal its contents, but a SCORCHING wave of the same pale green flame came from Katsu's body and engulfed him. The fires instantly burnt away Lucile's remains.

"Now that those are out of the way…" Katsu spoke in a deep voice, the sounds of several predators growling going along with his voice. "I'm gonna kill you…!"

The flames around Katsu then moved to engulf the scythe. He charge forward at lightning speed. The creature could run, but it had done its job. It simply stood in wait as Katsu came barreling toward it like a blood thirsty animal. Katsu raised the scythe up, and then jumped into the air. He came down and slashed at the creature. Its bandage body was instantly burnt to ashes. But Katsu's didn't stop. He began screaming in pure, emotional, and uncontrolled rage. This creature would feel his wrath. He continued slashing the ground where the creature stood and began digging into it. His fingers began bleeding from how tight he gripped the scythe as he continued his attacks. With nothing but his anger at the wheel, Katsu began losing control of his own power.

His pale green flames began burning himself, the flames scorching and peeling away at his clothes and flesh. The combination of the rage and pain only made him more of a monster and he continued his attacks at the ground. Finally, he just stopped attack all of a sudden. Green smoke engulfed the large crater Katsu had created. It had become more than 10 feet deep and 20 feet wide. Katsu body was not visible from the smoke, but footsteps began echoing in the quiet. Out of the smoke emerge the shell of what used to be Katsu Ueda. The top of his uniform had destroyed, but that was the least of the damage. All of his flesh had been burnt away and was now a sickly and pasty grey; small strands of hair remain on the top of his hair. His left cheek was missing its flesh, revealing black teeth and a black charred tongue. He looked up into the sky, and roared out of anger. Then, everything around him was engulfed into a white light…


Katsu's POV

Everything returns to color, and I'm sleeping on my bed with all of my clothes on. The panic still rushing through my head, I breathe rapidly to recover the breath I thought I had lost. I felt around and saw that everything was till there; flesh, hair, body, was all in their proper place. I looked left and saw that Lucile was sitting in a wooden chair by my bedside and Jenova was leaning against the wall behind her. For some reason, there's a third, vertical, green eye on her forehead. The TV had been moved to a different place, but the bed remained where it sat. I felt my heartbeat settle, and I quickly figure everything out on the spot.

"It was…and illusion?" I ask in between breaths.

"I'm sorry Abbey, but it was the only way to get your emotions fired up."

"Ex…Excuse meh…me…?"

"Congratulations, you passed the Sin of Wrath."

"H-How?"

"You lost all reasoning and gave into your hatred and anger. That was all an illusion created by 'The Eye'."

Jenova points to her third eye. "What the…hell is that thing?" I ask.

"This 'Eye' is a special power that very few are even capable to learn. Even the Four Satans don't have the ability to learn this power. The Eye is a very powerful magic, able to conjure several forms of it. Its most practical usage is foresight into the future and past. But the power I cast on you was the 'Mind Illusion'."

"So, it was something you conjured up…?"

"No, you conjured it." Jenova points to me as The Eye closes.

"Me…?"

"Yes. The Eye creates an illusion on its targets based on the inner workings of their mind. It taps into the deeper parts of your subconscious and creates something based on it. From the looks of it, it based itself around your paranoia; the constant worry you have that we'll all leave you."

There's a silence between everyone in the room. I turn my head to look out the window and see that the sun is down and now into the night. Along the way I looked, I saw all of the new additions to the room. In front of the bed is a long futon, a foreign one I've read about. This one is a cross between a couch and a bed, able to fold from one into the other. In few feet in front of the futon is the TV sitting on the same stand as before, but now the stand is covered in DVDs, games, game systems, and a few game accessories. Above the TV is a poster from one of my favorite anime, Highschool of the Damned. To the right of the stand holding the TV is a large speaker, the same kind on the opposite side.

In the corner of the room is the dresser and next to it is a full body mirror. Out on the overhang patio that I mentioned the last time I was in here was a small table and four chairs around it with one long lay-back chair, possibly for tanning, was near the edge. To the right of my bedside was a small dresser with three drawers in it and a lamp on top of it. I turn to look back at Jenova and Lucile. I had finally calmed down and let out a sigh.

"…I understand why you did that. Let me guess: Yoshida had the idea."

I can tell because Lucile and Jenova haven't had contact since last night before bed. So Yoshida told Lucile, who in turn told Jenova. Clever plan, if I do say so myself. Though, I should've caught on when Lucile was holding back and willingly obeyed my order. It took how I perceived her powers and the damage it's only done to me, and used that as the level of her power. When I urged illusion Lucile to use max power, it did so but still retained the form of a simple bolt.

"Time to drop the seriousness." Jenova said allowed.

I turn to face Jenova again only to be squeezed into a tight hug and almost suffocated by her breasts again. She finally pulled back with a smile.

"And you also pass Gluttony! Your games are in your walk in closet!" she said happily.

Hang on… "Wait, only Gluttony? What about Lust? Did Yoshida not pick the right ones?" I ask.

"Actually, while the other Sins have different interpretations and meanings, Lust remains the same. You can't just fool Lust. Lust is the deepest impulse. It's about looking at the gate in front of the prize, and ripping it away and grabbing it for yourself! Sorry Abbey, but it looks like you still have one left to go."

Yeah, and it's one that I can't do without breaking my moral codes. Then again, I've already done the same for what else I've done: let Hyōdō die, waste all of my money on things I'll never use, and lose my anger on a scale that could very well have cost lives. Overall: I think I'm making out to be a good Devil.

"Well, I'm sure you need your rest. Sleep tight!" Jenova jumped off the bed and headed out the bedroom door.

I turn to face Lucile, who has a worried expression on her face.

"Abel…" she starts, but hesitates. "I'm really…sorry, that we deceived you like that. But when Jenova said that you wouldn't really be hurting anyone, I thought that it might work out for the best. But I underestimated what it would take to invoke your Wrath. For that I'm…"

She stands up, and bows her head lightly, something I never thought this girl of pride would ever do. "I'm really, really sorry!" she almost screams.

Lucile…she truly is something else. She must truly have let go of her chance of being Queen if she was willing to hurt me in order to help me have Peerage. She's…too kind to me. I couldn't help what I did next. I just moved in the bed and went in to hug her, the height of the bed placing my head on her shoulder and right next to the right side of her head. I get lost in a long field of blue and the smell of cinnamon fills my nostrils. Lucile immediately returns the hug, and we stay like that for several minutes. As much as I enjoyed my place here with her, I knew that we had to break apart at some point. Lucile and I let go, and I can guess that we both sensed each other's reluctance. We both smile at each other and she lets out a small giggle. Hey, I just remembered.

"Do you still wanna hang around?" I asked.

"Huh?" "Remember earlier? How you said that we should hang out tonight? Well, since we're both Devils and more inclined to night, how about we just do it right now? Not like anything's gonna stop us."

Lucile adopts a serious face, then smiles. "Okay, I'll go get out of my uniform."

She turns around and almost skips out the door, turning right. But she suddenly came back in and pointed to her left.

"My room is right next door, by the way." She then goes back to her skip.

I hear her door open and close and a few footsteps on the other side of the wall across from the front of my bed. Curiosity you clever shrew. I got out of bed, and saw that I was also still in uniform. I almost ran over t my dresser and opened it. I picked out some random clothes for the night: a long sleeve, thin, pale green shirt and black sweatpants. Before I start changing, I tried to lean my head against the wall and listened in. I can hear a voice on the other side.

"Let's see…what should I wear?"

It's Lucile! Perfect! I quickly withdraw and almost tore my uniform top off and put my shirt on. It's backwards, but screw it. I put my head gently on the wall again.

"Hmm…should I wear this, or that? Well, do I want to look 'attractive' or 'hey, let's be friends'?"

Is she debating between sexy and casual!? You see, this is one of the many advantages to being a pervert: a wild imagination.

"Well, this one's a little tight. Then again, maybe he'd like that?"

Right now all I can imagine is Lucile looking in her own walk-in closet and standing between two costumes individually. The "attractive" one is a pink colored bunny outfit with the ears hanging on to it and high heels. And the "hey, let's be friends" one being a much more casual form of a school girl uniform with a shorter skirt.

"The guy's such a pervert, he'd probably say something stupid like 'why don't you pick that maid uniform again with no underwear'."

Wait, I thought that was some kind of "magic transformation"! Does she actually OWN a maid outfit?

"Wait, isn't that a good thing? I mean, he is…" There's a silence, and then a thud. "Damn it, why didn't mom tell me about this in a better way!? I don't know what to do…!"

What is she complaining about? What did her mom not tell her? I hear some ruffling around.

"I'll just pick this then." Silence again. "Can I go without any underwear?"

Aaaaaaannnd my "kingdom" is now in attention, and there's a sliver of blood down my noooose.

"He's a pervert, so I can't let down my guard. Then again, he's not on the same level as Hyōdō, plus he did go berserk just to protect me…maybe I can trust him. Who knows, maybe even…I'll without em…(gulp)…just in case."

And I have now slowly fallen to the floor, my nose is a flooding with blood, and my kingdom has risen to the sun (metaphorically). Is this freaking happening!? Is she really going through this!? Holy shit I'm living large! Oh…wait. I can't cross that line. As much as I would love to, unfortunately, I still can't. One: she's not part of my Peerage. And two: my mind isn't in the best of states after that illusion. Hang on, this…could be an opportunity. No, no, no, I can't do that to her! I mean, I know I have ONE last Sin but this is…it looks like I have no choice in the matter. Oh I'm so going to regret this. I moved from where I stood and made my way to the futon in front of the bed. I sat down and used my eyes to sort through the various DVDs that Jenova had put in. Surprisingly, most of them are mine. I guess Jenova unpacked all of my stuff in a single day. The others range from Horror flicks, sci-fi, and strangely enough romantic comedies. They all seem to range from different countries. Well, she has been on this earth for several decades, it shouldn't surprise me that she would know a few foreign films. I hear two knocks at my door.

"Hey, you decent?"

I think of myself as an 8.5, but I suppose "decent" is all I'm going to get out of you. "Yeah, you're clear to enter."

I hear the door open and close, so I turn my head to see what Lucile is possibly wearing. To my surprise, she found a nice compromise. It wasn't anything like lingerie (DAMMIT), but it was actually rather normal looking. She was wearing a casual set of pajamas that anybody would normally wear, all purple though with black buttons. Though to compromise, she did leave several of the top buttons open, revealing the top part of her cleavage and the upper sides of her breasts. Hey, if that's not compromise I don't want to know what the hell is.

What followed was…something I've never done before: I had normal conversations. I'll be honest, I never really had friends due to…circumstances, so I never got to hang out with anyone. I mean, yeah, there's Yoshida and the two others I spoke about the day I met Lucile, but those two were just my equivalent to the Perverted Trio while Yoshida is still more of an apprentice. Either way, I'm a little inexperienced in this. I'm surprised how much you can learn about a person by simple conversation. Nothing really amounted to this in ero-games, because any talk with the other characters just leads to character development and progress on their route. It's really the smaller details that give a character her charm. I learned more about Lucile tonight than any other girl in those games.

Lucile's hobbies include reading, studying, and she's actually a bit of a computer nut. Her favorite and least favorite food are cinnamon flavored stuff and black berries respectively. The only family she has are her father, her mother, her cousins, and their respective Peerages. Her family owns a small plot of land, but it's enough to show their status. While she doesn't own any pets, she would like a Familiar someday coming soon. Her overall dream after school is to earn her fame in Rating Games, but of course shifted that dream to making ME famous at them. I, of course, gave my input on my personal facts.

My hobbies also include reading, but also ero and gambling (I host a little game every now and again). My favorite and least favorite food are spahgetti and sugar-free foods respectively. She already knows my family and friends, and the only other pet I've had was a goldfish named Ralph who died in a frying accident (not my fault). My dream after school, before this Devil business, was to work in something ero like possibly a dōjin like Jenova or more likely something in ero-games. I can draw rather decently, but I'm more of a writer. All we did other than talk was make cracks at each other or the random sci-fi movie that I popped in. Surprisingly, Jenova was nowhere to be seen thankfully.

Eventually though, I have no choice but to go through with my plan. My head's gonna be sore in the morning…


Third Person POV

While Katsu and Lucile enjoyed their time together, Jenova was in the living room on the first floor, discussing a business matter with her friend and editor, Tōji Ikari.

"A new series?" Tōji asks.

"Yup. I've gotten some real inspiration from my son recently, and I can't wait to put this into my work!"

"You're not gonna sketch his 'personal business' are you?" Tōji asks worriedly.

While these two have been in business and friends for years, Tōji can never always understand Jenova's mind.

"Don't worry, it's nothing like that. I'll just use random positions that will get readers in."

"Okay…Well, let's hear the story."

"Well, it's about an ordinary human boy who meets a Demon heiress and they fall in love. But the boy learns that polygamy is LEGAL in the Demon world, so he strives through obtaining many beautiful girls to join his harem all the while fighting his mortal enemy, a perverted red dragon!"

Tōji is silent on the other side of the line. "Listen, Jenny, I know you're a Devil and all, but are you sure that you should be writing about your kind in this way?"

"Eh, what the hell do I care? I've drawn scenarios of a young boy sticking molten lava beads up his mother's ass, so this shouldn't be anything new."

"I still don't know where you came up with that…"

"Katsu's father wanted a little boy." Jenova said happily.

There's the sound of someone stopping himself from puking on the other line, then a throat clearing.

"Well, how about the sex? Will there be any?"

"Of course! The young boy will be living with every girl in the same household that his Demon guardian is providing for him, and each night one of them get's the honor of 'training' him in the various ways of sex! Everything you can think of will come into play!"

"…This story is about your son, isn't it?"

"You're damn right!" Jenova started laughing to herself at her "genius".

"Alright, just to double check, how many girls? Five, right?"

"Nope, it's eight now."

"Eight? How?"

"The future in constantly changing. The Eye is only 75% accurate."

"Sheesh. Alright, so when does he have sex with the first girl; the heiress?"

"Right now! I mean, second night in."

At that, Jenova heard a loud scream, sounding very much like Lucile.

"What the hell was that!?" Toji asks on the other line.

"Maybe I underestimate Katsu's 'knowledge'. I'll call you right back."

Jenova hung up the phone and walked her way to Katsu's room. As she got closer, she could hear the sounds of several thumps and muffled yelling. Her nose dripped a small sliver of blood from her nose at the perverted idea of what's going on. Eventually, the thumping stopped. Jenova widened her eyes in surprise. She checked a nearby clock on the wall, and saw that only 3 minutes and 55 seconds have passed. "Man, even for a first timer that was too fast. Ohhh…my poor baby is probably ashamed of himself right now. At that, she arrived at Katsu's room just as the door opened.

"And let that be a lesson to you, ya perverted jackass!" she screams.

Lucile turned to face Jenova, and Jenova saw that Lucile's face was completely red and angry.

"Ummm…did something happen?" Jenova asks.

"Yer damn right something did! Katsu and I were just watching TV and next thing I know, the little bastard pinched my ass!" Lucile stormed out of the bedroom and went into hers, slamming the door shut and locking it.

Jenova was stunned at first, then turned to look in the rook. There were several dents in the walls and floors, implying that Katsu was being thrown around the room. Then the biggest piece of evidence was Katsu himself, who had been thrown at his dresser and several drawers have opened up, hitting him in the head as they came out. Jenova sighed, and took out a small notebook from the back pocket of her shorts. She opened it, and saw the list of the Seven Deadly Sins. Each was checked off, except for Lust. Then, she checked it off.

"While technically this isn't as severe as other cases, I'll count this considering it was such a big jump for you Abbey. To break your moral code for it..."

Katsu's only response was a moan in utter pain.

"I'll go make a few house calls, then I'll let you know the big news tomorrow morning!"

Katsu's response was once again, a moan in pain. Jenova closed the door to his room and almost began skipping her steps as she walked down the hall.

"Oh boy oh boy oh boy! Abbey is going in hot! Though, he seems to be a bit of a masochist. But I'm sure that'll help him in the long run!"

Jenova began laughing happily as the thought of her son's success went through her mind. It had finally happened. Several days of emotional trauma has finally led to this: Abel Berith is now a High-Class Devil.

Now, to learn the ways of the High-Class.

TO BE CONTINUED