A message from Jackie and NSG: "HOW THE FUCK IS IT ALREADY APRIL!?"
Chapter Two: The Underdog Ain't Quite Under
Yuuto blinked as he felt a hand on his shoulder before he could open the front door. He turned to meet eyes with his father.
He raised an eyebrow. "Dad?"
"Are you sure about this Yuuto?" his father asked worriedly. "You're… You're walking right back into a deathtrap."
Yuuto looked to the floor before answering. "I know, but I don't think we have a choice here. If what I've seen yesterday is anything to go by, they'll take me backing out as an offense to their pride and attack all of us." He took out his arcana card. "You might have seen me being a Devil King candidate as a blessing at first, but it's put targets on all of our backs."
"I just… your mother and I don't want you to get hurt."
Yuuto took a deep breath then exhaled. They both knew this was going to end with him going through several near-death experiences, especially after what he'd told him what happened on his first day.
He was stuck in the dreaded love child of Persona, Highschool DxD, and Fate/Stay Night for good measure.
He was fucked and he knew it. If Lovers was as OP was it was, god knows just how insane the other candidates powers were.
He sighed. "I know."
The young man felt the weight of the yen coins in his pocket. He had no real weapons aside from the pocket knife in his bag, so he had to improvise. His mana pool was tiny compared to even Geld's. Creativity and misdirection were his best friends right now.
Yuuto opened the door.
"Stay safe!" He heard his mother yell.
"I'll try!" He yelled back before walking out into the neighborhood.
He turned a corner… and was met with a fancy black car in front of him. A Rolls-Royce to be exact.
Who the hell has the money to afford something like that?
The window rolled down and he was greeted by the beautiful face of Lizel. "Good morning, Yuuto."
"Oh, Lizel-senpai?" Yuuto's eyebrows rose. That answers that question at least.
She gave him an austere smile. "Good morning, Yuuto-kun. I'm here to give you a ride. Can't be too careful on your own, you know?"
Translation: there was no telling who might try and attack him if he was on his own, what with him being a human.
He pasted a smile of his own across his face. "Awfully kind of you, Senpai," he replied casually. When the driver opened the door for him, he slid in next to the black-haired girl. "Sorry for the trouble."
She smiled softly. "It's no trouble at all, Yuuto-kun." she noticed his eyes shifting around anxiously. "Are you nervous?"
Yuuto nodded. "Yeah, I am. More nervous than I've ever been in my life honestly. Almost feel like a man on death row." He sighed. "It was easy to joke about with my parents yesterday, but now looking back on things… good Lord I'm in over my head here."
The reality of things finally hit him. Genre savvy he may be, delusional he was not.
Lizel took his hand in hers, getting his attention, her eyes softened. "Yuuto-kun, I promise you that I'll do everything I can to protect you and your family."
Yuuto felt his face heat up at the sincere declaration. "I… uh… T-Thank you, Lizel-senpai. That… that means a lot to me."
Lizel scooted closer to him, their shoulders and legs touching. "So, we'll get you started on learning magic, and you'll be far more powerful than me in no time."
He laughed, feeling a bit more relaxed now. "Now that I doubt."
She interlaced her fingers with his. "There is no doubt if you can hear the arcana's voice, Yuuto-kun."
Ah, yeah. I did tell her about that over our… pillow talk last night. Yuuto's heart began to race as he felt Lizel scoot even closer, hugging his arm into her generous chest. "H-Hmm, well… the arcana did wake me up again this morning so I am certainly hearing its voice."
Lizel's eyes snapped open wide in shock, allowing Yuuto to get a good look at those blue, almost jewel-like eyes.
I got lost in those eyes so many times yesterday. He thought fondly.
"Yuuto..." The tone of her voice reminded him of when his mother caught him red handed doing something he shouldn't. "Are you using your arcana as an alarm clock?"
"No, it's not like I asked it to. It does it on its own. I'm half sure it's sentient. Called me, and I quote, 'Meanie King' when my parents and I were discussing how its powers made no sense pertaining to the meaning of the Lovers Arcana."
"But you're using it as an alarm clock."
"Nah, it's acting as an alarm clock. On its own. Big difference."
She stared at him with a shock and amazed expression. "I'm astounded… the arcana must really love you."
He raised his eyebrows as he fished the card hanging from his neck from under his shirt. "Awww, I'm flattered." He kissed the card jokingly.
It started glowing red, a slight heat emanating from it.
"Hehehehehehehehe!" The voice of the arcana started giggling like a school girl in his head.
Yuuto smiled wryly. "I think it's blushing."
Lizel's incredulity only increased. "...To think that the Arcana could feel things to that extent," she murmured, "I have to wonder if it's the same for the other Candidates as well? But I've never heard of such a thing, so perhaps not…"
"Who knows if any of them even function like Lovers here."
"Now..." Lizel began muttering under her breath. "Should I come wake him up tomorrow instead?"
Yuuto blinked. "What was that?"
She smiled. "Oh, nothing."
The rest of the car ride was spent in a comfortable silence until they reached the school. The driver got out of the car and opened the doors for them. Yuuto watched as Lizel moved out of the car with near supernatural levels of elegance. He was momentarily stunned at the sight before getting out and walking with Lizel.
The student in their way parted the moment they noticed they were there, gazing fearfully at them. More specifically, at Lizel.
"Before long, Yuuto will be even more feared than I," she said suddenly.
He nodded. "If you say so."
She sent him a prideful look. "No, I know so."
He gave a short laugh, but said nothing, accepting her judgement.
Being powerful and feared… not really my thing. He smiled as he looked at Lizel's form, her hips swaying almost hypnotically with each step. Still though, this could be a lot worse. Playing video games, or just Netflix and Chill with a couple of super hot cuddle bugs is more my speed.
They changed shoes at the entrance and headed to the classroom through the corridor, and as expected the reaction of the students were still the same.
"This is where we part ways." Lizel said as they stopped in front of class 1-D.
"Thank you kindly, Lizel-senpai, I think I'll be able to somewhat handle things here."
She gave him a serious look. "No, you can't be alone, not even here. Someone will accompany you."
"Well, I did assume Miyabi would be in charge of keeping my dumbass alive, considering we're in the same class."
"Morniiiiing Yuuto!" Suddenly, the classroom door was nearly kicked off its hinges as Yuuto flet his arm being sandwiched between a large, doughy pair of breasts.
Speaking of the actual devil and she will appear. But I am 100 percent fine with this. Yuuto turned to meet Miyabi's heart-shaped pupils. "Morning, Miyabi."
Lizel nodded. "As you suspected, Miyabi will be your bodyguard from now on."
Miyabi gave Yuuto a saucy look pushing his arm further into her breasts. "Take care of this gal, m'kay!" she chirped, giggling.
Lizel looked at her with thinly veiled jealousy. "…Also, avoid from sticking close so meaninglessly like that."
"Aw, c'mon, Senpai~" whined the gyaru, "All the best things in life are meaningless! Or somethin' profound like that, zen-zen…"
"The hell kinda sound effect is that?" asked Yuuto dubiously. "But… she does have a point."
Lizel deadpanned. "Please don't encourage her."
Yuuto smiled mischievously. "Not going to lie, I'm probably going to be encouraging her at nearly every opportunity."
She gave an exasperated sigh at his response before walking away.
As for Miyabi, she didn't look like she had a care in the world as she dragged Yuuto into the classroom by his arm. The moment they walked in, all the chattering students became silent. The gazes that poured over him were filled with worry and anxiousness.
"Before long, Yuuto will be even more feared than I,"
He thought back on Lizel's words earlier this morning. She… might onto something here.
[-]
Yuuto blinked as he stared at the man before him. "Uh… hi, I was… uh… called to the principal's office."
It wasn't even ten minutes into class when the intercoms called for him to be brought to the headmaster's office. He was a bit worried that he might get jumped on the way there, but Miyabi's encouragement… and the pocket knife he had on hand gave him the reassurance he needed.
"Heyo, nice of you to come." The casual greeting he received threw him off quite a bit.
The man before him didn't give off the air of a headmaster of an esteemed academy for noble devils…
Honestly, he looked more like a One Piece Shanks cosplayer. He was a middle-aged man with messy red hair that reached his shoulders, a bit of stubble on his face. He wore what looked like a military uniform, but with the jacket hung across his shoulders like a cape.
"You're the headmaster?" Yuuto asked with a doubtful and incredulous tone.
His face dropped, Yuuto almost thought he could see a rain cloud above him. "O-Oi, why do you sound so disappointed?"
"Sorry…? I was expecting someone a bit more… regal." He shrugged. "Though this isn't too shabby."
He gave a laugh. "Well at least I didn't give a bad first impression!"
I like this guy, he's nice! Yuuto smiled.
"Let me introduce myself once more..." He put his hands on his hips and looked at Yuuto dramatically. "I am the principal of this Devil King Academy, also known as Ginsei Academy!"
Yuuto blinked and didn't say anything for a few seconds. "I… think you got the two names mixed up."
"Don't sweat the small stuff. More importantly, say my name!"
Once again, Yuuto didn't say anything, just staring at the man with an incredulous expression. "What?"
"Wahahahahahaha!" He burst out laughing suddenly. "My bad my bad. Sensei got a little too excited… I blew my load a little too early."
Yuuto deadpanned. "I'm sure this doesn't usually happen."
"Oi..."
"Quickshot."
"Oi!" He cleared his throat out loudly. "Anyway, my name is Gandou… Gandou Barbatos. This academy's headmaster and the current Devil King."
Yuuto gave the man a much more serious look this time. Giving the seemingly carefree man the once over again.
He… He's got a look in his eyes. Like someone who's regretted the things they've done in the past. Yuuto thought. His attitude may have thrown me off, but I got to admit, he does look pretty fuckin' cool.
"Welp, make yourself comfortable," He motioned towards the seat in front of his desk.
Yuuto sat down and his eyes widened. "Holy shit, this is comfy!"
"I know right! It cost me half the academy's budget, but it was so worth it!"
Yuuto nodded sagely. "Ah, a fellow impulse buyer."
"So, from what I've heard, Himekami-chan has told you quite a bit. But Yuuto-kun, how much of the situation do you really know?"
Yuuto shrugged. "From my understanding this shit is basically Highschool DxD, Persona, and Fate/Stay Night rolled into one big cluster fuck."
Gandou raised his finger, opening his mouth before stopping. His expression shifted multiple times before staring at his desk in what looked like a mild existential crisis.
"...Holy shit, you're right."
"Other than that, my arcana can only be accurately described as 'fucking busted beyond belief', and Lizel-senpai said she's going to be officially training me in magic today. "
His eyes brightened up and he clapped his hands. "Ah that's good to hear! Then we can skip all of the boring stuff and get to what's truly important here."
Yuuto raised an eyebrow. "Eh?"
Gandou suddenly took out a bunch of anime Blu-rays out of nowhere. Most of them being the ecchi kind. "Let's talk about anime!"
Yuuto nodded sagely once again. "Ah, I see you are a man of culture as well."
"Damn straight! I've gotten really into Masou Gakuen HxH recently!"
"Not bad, not bad. I've read the light novel for that, it gets pretty repetitive and the ending is pretty damn lackluster in my opinion."
He scoffed. "What are you into, Redo of Healer?"
"Nah, I did read the manga, wasn't really my thing. But if you're going for ecchi, I wouldn't really go for HxH. But it and Redo of Healer are basically softcore hentai, and if I wanted that I'd be watching Shinmai Maou no Keiyakusha. Especially since those character designs are just..." Yuuto formed an OK sign with his hand. "Perfection."
Gandou rubbed his chin. "Ah, I'll have to add that to my list!"
"The story isn't half bad either."
"Even better! Got any more?"
Yuuto crossed his arms and gained a thoughtful expression. "Well… Ikki Tousen, Maken-Ki, Highschool of The Dead, Sekirei."
"Alright, alright! Slow down a bit!" Gandou exclaimed, hastily scribbling down titles in a small booklet. "You know what, screw it. On the count of three, we'll both say the name of our favorite ecchi anime, okay?"
"Sure."
"Like don't even think it, just say it."
Yuuto nodded.
"One… Two… Three!"
"Queen's Blade!" They both shouted at the same time.
The two stared at each other for a bit.
"Did… Did we just become best friends?" Yuuto asked hesitantly.
"Yep!" Gandou enthusiastically confirmed.
[-]
Yuuto blinked as he stared at the petite young girl standing before him, with long ashen hair, which she wore in twin tails, and dark blue eyes. She had a slim body and developing curves, clad in a black sailor uniform usually used for middle schoolers.
Her face was red, refusing to meet his eyes. "Um…uh… R-Reina's name is Koiwai Reina. Reina is a second year student in middle school… e-err. Lizel-senpai sent me to pick you up!" She bowed deeply.
Holy shit, this is the most adorable thing I've seen in years. Yuuto was stunned momentarily. "O-Okay, lead the way. I guess."
The girl nodded excitedly as she led them down the hall. Only then did Yuuto notice the sheathed katana at her side.
I've never seen her before, this could be a trap. Yuuto surmised as they walked.
He used his arcana, settling on a few different formulas to use just in case he needed to fight or run. His eyes turned sharp as he remembered he mused about the situation he was in and Lizel's explanation yesterday.
[-]
Yuuto marveled at the feeling of mana being poured into his body. It felt like every cell in his body was being super charged, an incredible sensation that words couldn't do justice.
But even that paled in comparison to the sight before him…
Lizel lay naked on top of him, her breasts flattening against his bare chest, her jewel-like blue eyes gazing directly into his own. Her glossy black, silk-smooth hair shone in the dim lighting of the room, contrasting her pale, flawless skin.
"This is a special ritual, unique to the Lovers Arcana," she told him frankly, her toned, round buttocks flexing as she slithered up his body, arching her back, "By sharing in intimacy, I can recharge your mana with my own. Well, rather than recharging, I'm attempting to stimulate it into awakening to begin with. Since you're human, whatever mana you have is currently dormant."
"...You're stimulating something alright," groaned Yuuto, attempting to commit the sensation of Lizel's shapely body atop his own to memory, "And you're saying that Lovers is the only card that gets it?"
The girl nodded. "That's right. I'm afraid I know very little about the other Arcana's unique magics, but suffice it to say, they are all extremely powerful. For instance, the current Devil King was the previous candidate for the Strength Arcana." She wiggled about atop his chest, trying to get comfortable, idly wondering what was pressing insistently against her smooth belly.
"And where exactly do you fit into this, Lizel-senpai?" he asked. "You said your family supports the Lovers candidate and that only a human can bring out the arcana's true power, but that isn't the full story here, is it?"
She let out a sigh but smiled. "You never cease to surprise me with how perceptive you are." she cupped the side of his face with her soft hand, her thumb stroking his cheek in a loving fashion. "Tradition isn't the reason I want to help you. I want to serve you out of my own volition."
He gave her a smile in return, even as his face grew warm. "Y…yeah. Thank you."
"I saw your fight this morning, Yuuto," Lizel's smile grew wider. "I was going to step in, but you took Aspite's goon out before I could even make a move. Then when I read the notes you made, I finally understood, you are a clever man. Analytical, smart, you're able to see the path to victory even against someone vastly stronger than you-"
"A-Alright, I'ma cut you off there," Yuuto stopped her praise much to her surprise. "Any two-bit idiot with half a brain could've taken him. He showed off, giving me the advantage. The speed of his fireballs were well within human ability to avoid, I just had to figure the rate of fire. Five seconds between each shot. His aim? Predictable. Easy to dodge and riling him up was ridiculously simple, making him sloppy and… uh… I… um..."
His words died in his mouth as he saw the sly smile on her face.
"That. That right there is what I mean." Her voice was laced with pride. "Most people would freeze in fear, even most demons here would either stand there like idiots trying to fight with magic or beg for their lives," her blue eyes began to glow slightly. "But Yuuto, you think and analyze. Your first experience with magic as a human and you didn't even need your abilities to dominate." she began tracing circles on his chest. "You do yourself such a disservice by downplaying your achievements."
Yuuto turned away from her intense stare. "To me it was just common sense. I'm… not the kind of man to have much pride in myself."
Lizel gently grabbed his chin and made him face her; he didn't resist. She pulled herself up further, their noses nearly touching. Yuuto could feel her warm breath on his skin.
Her face grew red with thinly veiled lust. "I have no problem fixing that."
Yuuto was half sure he was about to get a nose bleed like in one of those old ecchi anime. "A-Alright, alright, slow down a bit," normally he'd be all for this and then some, but at the moment he knew he had a very valuable opportunity. "Can you explain this whole Demon King battle thing? I don't really know much about it."
She blinked, her eyes widening. "Oh, of course! It's simple, there are twenty-two main combatants. All have abilities based on the card they receive, as well as the power to make a contract with people they see fit to be their subordinates; we call these people Cards. These Cards are a mix of the minor arcana and traditional playing cards. Each candidate can have a total of fourteen cards."
"And to win, you have to be the last one standing, right? The last one alive…?"
Lizel paused before answering. "Not necessarily, a candidate can drop out… but you've seen first hand the kind of prideful attitude we demons have. Most candidates choose to die in battle."
She saw as his face went through a few complicated expressions before he sighed. "I'm fifteen and already fighting for my life." He gave her a smile before wrapping his arms around her. "At least the company is nice."
The beautiful demon giggled. "Should we move onto magic then?"
"Nah, that can wait later. Today has been exhausting. How about a nap?"
She smiled. "I wouldn't mind that."
[-]
In truth, Yuuto had actually practiced small scale magic over night. The small flame he'd willed into existence above his palm that night made him as giddy as a child on Christmas morning. He had to force himself to sleep, lest he spent all night studying magic using his arcana. But the moment he woke he went right to work coming up with ideas, even skipping breakfast in his excitement.
"Ah, thank you for bringing Yuuto to me, Reina." Lizel was waiting by the private room for him, giving him and the younger girl her usual smile. "Would you mind if I joined you for lunch, Yuuto?"
Oh, so they are friends, that's a relief...
"Hm? Yeah, that's alright, of course," he replied, "Though I dunno if I'd be all that welcome in a place as public as the cafeteria…"
She shrugged. "Not to worry, no one is stupid enough to try and start something disruptive while everyone else is eating."
He hummed. "If you say so." He pointed to Reina. "Is she joining us too?"
The girl in question gave a surprised squeak. "E-Eh!? I wouldn't want t-to intrude-"
"Of course!" Lizel said cheerfully. "It would be a perfect chance for you to get to know Yuuto."
Reina became even more flustered. "W-Well. I suppose..."
Yuuto smiled and rubbed the embarrassed girl's head. "Don't worry, I don't bite."
Her face turned completely red. "O-O-Okay…"
It didn't take long to reach the cafeteria. Though Yuuto knew he should've seen it coming, he marveled at how lavish the facility was, it looked more like a fancy restaurant than a high school cafeteria.
As they sat, Yuuto brought out the bento box his mother made for him while Lizel and Reina were served some of the most expensive steaks he'd ever seen. He noticed Lizel look at his lunch with an odd expression from time to time, he couldn't quite tell if it was pity or curiosity.
"So, uh, the principal is pretty chill, we get along fine enough." Yuuto remarked as he ate some rice.
Lizel let out a sigh of relief. "That's good. I know he can be a bit… whimsical-"
"A fucking loon?" Yuuto corrected without missing a beat.
Lizel hung her head. "Yes, that."
"But he is a loon with good tastes, I'll give him that."
Lizel looked at him strangely. "I… see."
"Anyway," he brought out his notebook from his bag. "I wrote down some more formulas when I got home yesterday. I was stress testing the arcana just to see how ludicrous things could get and… they got pretty damn ludicrous."
Yuuto handed her the notebook and she began flipping through the pages, Reina shyly looking over her shoulder.
Her jaw dropped as she saw complex formula after complex formula. She could hardly understand most of them. Lizel herself was an extremely powerful and accomplished demon, even without an arcana, but even she could barely make sense of some of these spells, much less figure out their intended purpose. She then flipped to another page and was completely stumped by the spell she saw, it looked nothing like all the others, a seemingly random mess of symbols and shapes in the vague form of a circle.
"Yuuto, what kind of spell is this?" She pointed at the nonsensical formula.
"Ah, my magnum opus," He gained a somewhat smug smile. "The culmination of pure and utter idiocy. I call it the Kaleidoscope, named after another power of the same name and function."
"And that function is?"
He shoved some more rice into his mouth. "The ability to move between parallel universes."
"Pffft!" Lizel and Riena did a spit take.
"Honestly the design itself was more for aesthetics than practicality, I could've simplified it greatly."
Lizel slumped in her seat. "Parallel universes..."
"Yeah, which implies the existence of this spell means multiverse theory isn't a theory anymore. That or the arcana created what it believes to be a parallel universe which could possibly range from just a mirror world to the creation of a completely different universe entirely."
"What the hell…?"
Riena looked at him as if he had grown two heads.
"I mean, I'm never going to use it. Not only is the mana requirement for this much bigger than World Fall, I'd rather not mess around with the laws of space and time on a whim like that." He flipped to the first few pages. "These were ones I made to help remedy my mana problem in case you weren't around to... recharge me."
Lizel paused for a second. Yuuto could practically hear the gears in her head turning. Her face fell for the barest of moments before putting on an obvious fake and strained smile.
"That's just…" she struggled to get out the words, "Wonderful, Yuuto."
For fuck's sake. Yuuto rolled his eyes. "Well, it's not really a fix to my issue per say. I can draw mana from the atmosphere through a few magic circles placed under my clothes, but it takes hours to get anything usable. So in practice, they store up miniscule amounts of mana that slowly build up over time so that I can… 'pop' whenever I'm low or need even more mana. Think of it like a secondary reserve."
Riena stared at him with stars in her eyes. "That's amazing!"
Lizel's smile turned a lot more genuine after his explanation. "Yes, highly impressive, Yuuto."
Yuuto snorted. "Yes, yes. Nothing will intrude on your cuddle time, don't worry."
"I-I… W-Well, umm, uh..." Lizel's face turned red as she stuttered uncontrollably until she noticed Yuuto's smug smirk. She pouted, turning her attention to her steak poking at it a few times with her fork.
From sexy seductress to innocent church girl when caught off guard. Yuuto's smirk widened as he brought one of the octopus sausage to his mouth. She is going to be a blast to tease, I just know it. But still… isn't she getting attached to me a bit too easily? I can't really tell if this is just a demon/devil thing or this is going to be a classic back stab, not too unlike a certain fallen angel with a thing for sunsets and park fountains.
Yuuto shifted in and out of his thoughts while lunch continued. He and Lizel shared an indirect kiss when they shared lunches with each other, something he didn't really think about, but Lizel herself got rather flustered with once she realized it. Riena mostly kept to herself, sending curious and shy glances Yuuto's way.
His doubts were still very much present. Three beautiful women here to help him through this ordeal damn near right off the bat? Lizel (and Miyabi for that matter) being very obviously and aggressively thirsty? The top dog being a total bro and fellow degenerate? His powers being this stupidly overpowered and nonsensical?
There had to be a catch. Some kind of fine print he missed. Everything here just reeked of a set-up; some stupid betryal plotline light novel authors kept chasing after the debut of a certain angry shield boy. Yuuto didn't have enough clues to get a decisive picture, and that worried him greatly. It wasn't just his life on the line, his parents could be dragged into that and that was unacceptable.
The only reason he was able to act the way he did yesterday was because he was irritated and angry. Now that he had time to think clearly about the situation he was getting more anxious and paranoid by the second.
God fucking dammit! Yuuto cursed in his head. I'm way in over my head here and now mom and dad are going to get caught in the crossfire all cause I decided to be a fucking show-off yesterday! I should've never come here-
"Huh?" Yuuto blinked as he felt a hand over his own, shaking him from his thoughts.
It was Reina. She gave him a concerned look. Actual genuine concern instead of the shyness he'd seen before.
"Are… Are you okay, Yuuto-san?" The girl asked. "Your hand is… shaking."
He looked at his free hand, the one holding his chopsticks. It was shaking like she said, a few grains of rice falling back into his bento.
Lizel sent him a rather worried look too.
He let out a long sigh, the tension and panic leaving his body, making him just feel tired now. "Sorry about that, my thoughts can get rather… negative whenever I'm thinking for too long."
"Perhaps we should cut lunch short and skip to training?" Lizel asked, looking at him.
Yuuto nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good to me."
The trip to the gymnasium was a mostly silent one. Though it once again left Yuuto with his thoughts about his situation once again.
Many of the students stopped and stared at them, especially Lizel.
"Look, it's Lizel-senpai. She is absolutely beautiful as always…" One praised.
"As expected from the young lady of a house of marquis… her elegance is at a different level." Praised another.
"What's more her magic grades are also top class… she is worthy to receive a Devil King's Arcana… and yet..."
The students' looks turned malicious as they turned to Yuuto.
His eye twitched. Fucking Christ! Are they reading off of a fucking TV Tropes page or something!? It's almost like they've never even seen her before- wait, I'm in a shitty light novel. That's their way of explaining shit to the ignorant readers.
Yuuto almost stepped dead in his tracks as he realised what he just said in his head. I really do hate how genre savvy I am. God I sound like such a douchebag.
Okay, okay, being a little bitch about the situation isn't going to help me in the slightest. I need to come up with an actual plan. Yuuto's face turned serious as he began plotting, the jeers and glares of the other students not bothering him.
"Why is that commoner walking with her?" The other students continued their unpleasant gossip.
"He isn't even a commoner, I heard he is just a human."
"No way-!? He shouldn't even be allowed to be near Lizel-senpai then!"
Another wave of irritation washed over him before a lightbulb went off in his head. The best way to win? Don't play. Lizel's explanation of devils/demons. They run the world basically like the magic illuminati, they get and strengthen their magic from moving the hearts of humans; any emotion works but the easiest to draw from are negative emotions so they cause humanity suffering and or corrupt them. As much as it pains me to agree with that punk from yesterday, he's right; humanity is nothing but livestock for demons.
Yuuto felt Lizel slip her hand into his own, her fingers interlocking with his own. She sent him a small smile, her eyes told him all he needed to know. She was worried about him again.
He smiled and winked at her. Christ, I can't go three seconds without giving these girls a cause for concern. Then again, her race is basically a bunch of magic empaths so she probably felt me getting a bit angry there.
They were nearing the gymnasium.
Plan: Don't play their game. Use their prejudice towards humans against them. I'm unworthy of their time and will just be a walking joke to them, no one's going to take a human as a Devil King candidate seriously as I'm just something they can seemingly squash at any time, so they'll ignore me. And while they're all beating the snot out of each other, I have all the time in the world to turn my home and our HQ into impenetrable fortresses while we all work on going through one really long Shonen training arc. His lips curved into a rather smug smirk. I don't have to fight a single one of them, just outlast them all!
Lizel opened the double doors.
All I have to do is keep my head down and lay low and-
His train of thought came crashing to a halt when he saw Geld's beaten and bloodied body before him. Standing over the boy, hefting a massive broadsword with nordic runes on the flat of the black blade. He was an older, much more muscular young man, his expression set in stony disdain.
"Hah?" he uttered, looking around at them, "You're, Morioka Yuuto aren't you? It seems that Geld needed to be babysat by you, isn't that right?"
Yuuto looked between Geld and this walking brick shithouse. The punk was still alive, at the very least. Sure, he didn't like Geld, but he called it even after the dick-kick and broken nose.
...This just makes me sick to my stomach. He kept a stony expression on his face as he locked eyes with the muscular man. "Yeah…and you are?"
"I am a Card of 'The World', the knight, Kilga." He answered.
"Did you do this? He's on your side, isn't he?"
"K-Kilga… you bastard…!" Geld groaned in pain on the floor as he struggled to push himself up.
In response, Kilga raised his foot, keeping eye contact with Yuuto the whole time and stomped on Geld's chest. There was a loud series of cracks that came from Geld's body as he screamed in agony, blood gushing from his mouth.
That broke Yuuto's poker face. His eyes widened in horror. He'd seen brutal fights in his middle school years; he wasn't really hanging out with a good crowd at the time, but this was just…
His horror turned to rage as he ran towards Kilga, fist raised. "The fuck is wrong with you!?"
"Yuuto!?" He heard Lizel shout in shock and confusion.
Faster than he could see, Kilga swung his sword down on Yuuto with superhuman levels of force. He didn't even have time to think of how stupid his own emotion fueled actions had been before sparks filled his vision.
Reina had gotten between them just in time, her katana (which was longer than her own body) not even shaking in her hands despite Kilga being much larger and having far more muscle mass than her.
"Yuuto-san! Yuuto-san are you injured!?" She cried out as she pushed Kilga away.
"Y-Yeah..." Yuuto breathed out, the reality of what just happened finally hitting him. "I'm fine."
Kilga looked somewhat impressed. "Koiwai Reina… I've heard about your considerable skill with swords even though you're still in middle school."
I… I nearly got myself killed right there…
Kilga turned to Yuuto. "This idiot was defeated by a mere human. He is a disgrace to 'The World.' He has thrown mud to the face of the glorious Aspite-sama. That is an unforgivable sin. Therefore I'm here to hand down his judgment. Do not cut in unnecessarily, human." He pointed his sword at Geld's neck.
Every devil in the room blinked as they felt Yuuto's emotions stop, almost as if he just died on the spot after hearing those words. He let out a long, frustrated sigh as he clenched his fists hard enough for the sound of his knuckles popping to echo throughout the gymnasium.
Piece of shit… Motherfucking piece of shit! Killing someone because they fucked up once!? Am I just going to keep meeting fucking psychopaths like this!? Is it because they're demons? Devils? Whatever! It doesn't matter what the hell you are, you can't just… kill people like that! Geld was a piece of shit but he doesn't deserve this.
Yuuto knew he was being naive. He didn't know their culture, but he didn't give a damn. He knew humanity was capable of the same atrocities and then some and hated it just the same, but still… the sight before him, the casual disregard of another person's life… it disgusted and enraged him on every level possible.
Fuck laying low!
"Lizel..."
The girl in question noticed he didn't call her 'senpai' this time. "Y-Yes?"
His voice almost sounded calm. "I'm taking this asshole down."
"Reina is with you, Yuuto-san!" Reina held her blade with confidence she hadn't shown until now.
"Alone." Yuuto.
"E-Eh!?" her mouth hung open in shock at his declaration.
Lizel gasped. "Y-Yuuto what are you saying!?"
"P-Please, please stop. Yuuto-san's safety is important! Someone like Reina... someone like Reina, doesn't matter at all!"
The moment the words left her mouth the same complete stop of emotions from Yuuto happened again. The holder of 'The Lovers' turned to face Reina and flicked her in the head.
"Ow!"
"Never… ever talk about yourself that way," Yuuto scolded, "You are an important person, you matter. If not to me, then to Lizel; but most importantly yourself. Am I understood?"
Reina stared at Yuuto owlishly for a few seconds before hanging her head. "Yes, desu desu."
He raised an eyebrow at her words. Desu desu? Who the hell says that nowadays?
"You are a fool." Kilga said with disdain.
Yuuto smirked condescendingly. "No, I'm 'The Lovers'. Though 'The Fool' would actually make sense for a human like me."
His eye twitched. "You would have been able to survive this day if only you keep hiding behind those girls."
"And you would've been able to avoid this oncoming humiliation today if you'd known how to respect other peoples' lives." He cracked his neck. "Besides, I haven't made anyone my Card yet. Like hell I'm going to make someone fight my battles for me when they have no stake in them."
"Yuuto..." Lizel was about to protest his statement. She did have importance on his livelihood and wellbeing, but he didn't know her circumstances or just how much she's betted on him.
But that wasn't what stopped the words coming from her mouth. It was his emotions, the way he held himself now. Throughout the day all she could feel from him was panic, distrust, fear, and anger; almost like a scared animal, but now? He held himself and confidence against Kilga. The same confidence he held himself with when he fought Gled yesterday. The same confidence Miyabi felt when he knocked out a student in his first class.
He scoffed. "You're fixated on the strangest thing… even so, I don't understand why you're so upset. Geld is your enemy. Even more I heard he had insulted you quite a lot. Why are you getting angry for someone like him?"
"Enemy?" This time Yuuto scoffed. "Don't give him that much credit. He's a jackass and I handed him his rightful whooping, but just cause he lost once doesn't mean you should kill him. Did you forget he's on your side you idiot?"
Kilga pointed his sword at Yuuto in rage. "How disgustingly naive! No this has gone beyond being disgusting!" The runes on his blade started glowing. "I've had enough of you, human! You don't even deserve to be a footnote in the book us demons. Trash like you shouldn't even be allowed to breathe the same air-!"
Suddenly, a multitude of small magical circles appeared around Yuuto's limbs and in a flash of movement, he was right in front of Kilga, fist raised.
"Huh!?" The swordsman expression turned to shock.
Yuuto's fist made contact with the side of his face, causing a loud 'boom' as it did. To everyone, the act of Yuuto following through the final moments of the full-force punch seemed to happen in slow motion. Kilga screamed as he was sent flying, bouncing on the polished hardwood floors of the gymnasium.
Yuuto turned back to look at the now baffled Lizel and Reina and raised his now smoking hand. "See, I got this."
Lizel stared for a few seconds before she began laughing uncontrollably, Reina sending her a worried look. She wiped the tears from her eyes. "So you do!"
She walked up to him, taking his hand and placing it directly on her breast. Yuuto was momentarily confused before he felt his mana reserves filling back from half to full. "Yuuto~" She even pushed her chest further forward so that his fingers sunk into her breast. The elasticity and softness were out of this world as always. "Kilga isn't the kind of opponent you can show kindness and mercy to, so go out there and win."
Yuuto grinned. "Of course I'll win. Who the hell do you think I am?"
Lizel let go of his hand and the young man walked towards Kilga. The large swordsman used his blade to push himself up after the devastating blow Yuuto dealt to him. Kilga's body exploded with a blue magical aura that raged like an inferno.
That cheapshot won't work twice.
Blood leaked from his now busted lip. "Bastard… I'll kill you!"
Kilga shot off like a blue comet, and brought his sword down on Yuuto, only to be stopped by a magical, multilayered, hexagonal energy-shield with… yen coins as the catalyst.
Yuuto pushed, sending Kigla back a few meters. He flicked his hand causing coins to surround them in a dome of energy.
"Idiot!" Kilga yelled as he rushed Yuuto again. "All you've done was trap yourself here with me!"
Yuuto took a few more coins from his pocket and flicked them towards the energy dome they were now inside. Halfway through Kilga's swing, a coin hit the dome and ricocheted into his sword at mach speeds. The force of impact along with his own superhuman momentum caused the swordsman to flip backwards out of control.
"What the-!"
At least until the other coins impacted the dome and ricocheted, suddenly accelerating violently into the swordsman's body like bullets.
"Arrrrg!" He yelled in pain.
The coins didn't pierce through his body like coins normally would at those speeds. The dome converted any 'piercing damage' and object that ricocheted off of it would do into 'blunt damage', meaning this beatdown wouldn't be swift for Kilga.
The swordsman picked himself up. "What… what the hell is this!?"
"Like it? I came up with it myself last night. Now be a good test dummy and grit your fucking teeth."
"Impossible, you're just a filthy human!"
Yuuto shook his head. "I can already tell that line is going to get old fast."
What Yuuto was doing was simple. Body enhancing magic was almost like building an engine, or a system. One to strengthen the body, one to make it durable enough to handle that strength, one to increase one's speed, and finally, one to comprehend that speed. The real trick about this was to use as little mana as possible, and with his arcana guiding him, that was an easy process to figure out. Yuuto wouldn't have been able to see, block, or flick his coins as fast and hard enough for them to ricochet like they did without reinforcing his own body like this. But these enhancements were only used the split second they were needed as to not take up more mana than the particular action he wanted required.
It was the same with the energy shield made of yen coins. Normally demons wouldn't use catalysts in their casting, as it was seen as the mark of a novice, but what they all neglected is that using a catalyst decreased the amount of mana needed for processes drastically.
To put it short, Yuuto was now doing incredibly advanced and high-level magic with barely any of the cost normal demons would've had to pay.
Kilga scowled. "Tch, it doesn't matter what tricks you pull, I am the knight of Aspite-sama, and I am-"
Yuuto cut him off. "Completely outclassed!"
Yuuto flicked two coins which bounced off the barrier and rocketed towards Kilga's side. The swordsman was just barely able to block the one heading to his right, but was hit directly with the one to his left.
He yelled in pain. "Damn you, human!"
Magic circles surrounded Yuuto's limbs once again as he rushed Kilga, still reeling from the previous blow. The Devil King Candidate jumped and drop-kicked him in the stomach with as much force as he could muster with his reinforced body. The knight of 'The World' screamed in agony as his eyes bulged and all of the saliva in his mouth was spat out as Yuuto bent his knees and jumped off of him; doing a backflip through the air. He was sent flying and just as he was about to hit the dome one of the shields deactivated, letting Kilga sail towards his course to the wall all the way on the other side of the gymnasium. In a split second, the dome deconstructed and reformed itself in the shape of a cylinder that surrounded Kilga and stretched all the way to the wall of the gymnasium.
Yuuto finally landed after his backflip, the momentum making him slide a few feet on the polished wood floor. The moment he touched the ground he reached into his pocket for more coins and shot a total of ten into the energy construct. The coins reached Kilga almost immediately and impacted against his body with great force, rebounded onto the hexagonal shield and impacted him again; the process continued until Kilga finally hit the wall… where another shield awaited him. Kilga was suspended in the air on the moment of impact.
His eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen. "Oh shiiiiiii-!"
Kilga was sent rocketing towards Yuuto, and the Devil King Candidate willed the magic circles around his limbs once again. He turned and leaned to his right, his torso parallel with the floor, and bent his left leg. Just before Kilga was about to crash into him Yuuto kicked upwards with his foot (leaving a trail of red -almost pink- energy behind it) landing a devastating blow on the swordsman chin. The knight was sent crashing into the ceiling, almost shattering the roof and sending down quite a bit of debris.
Yuuto took two steps back as Kilga fell back down onto the floor.
"Gaaah!" Kilga coughed up blood. He was covered in wounds and bruises now, not too unlike Geld; he stared at Yuuto in shock from his place on the ground. "T-This… is… impossible! To… To lose to a filthy… human."
"Get it through your thick head already," he glared at the defeated man. "It doesn't matter if I'm human or not. I'm still a Devil King Candidate. The moment forgot the respect and power that title brings with it was the moment you lost."
And with that Kilga lost consciousness, and his black sword fell from the ceiling, stabbing itself into the hard-wood floor a meter away.
Yuuto blinked as the events of everything he just did finally caught up with him. He jumped doing a fistpump. "Holy shit, that was awesome!"
Lizel would not have worded it quite like that, but she felt much the same way. She struggled not to let her jaw fall slack as she tried to find the words to exclaim at what had happened. "That was…you…coins…focus…WHAT?!" She finally articulated.
Yuuto gave her the biggest almost child-like grin she'd ever seen. "I didn't even expect for half of that to work! Figured most of it would be situational and super slow compared to the demons that would have had years to train up but no!. This arcana is so stupidly broken!"
Reina was also in a similar state of shock compared to Lizel. "E-Eeeeeeeehhhh!? Y-Yuuto-san, that wasn't your first time using magic, was it?"
He took a few breaths to calm himself down from all of the excitement. "This is my second day of using magic."
"What!?"
"All I've done beforehand was small sparks and flames about the size of a lighter's," he explained. "Most of what I did was through cross referencing my ideas with the arcana. Since my mana capacity is so small, I focused on formulas that would use the least amount for the biggest effect," he waved his hand over to the knocked out Kilga. "And that's what I came up with!" He crossed his arms and took on a more relaxed stance, a self-satisfied smile on his face. "Not too shabby, eh?"
Reina had stars in her eyes. "Amazing! Amazing, Yuuto-san!"
Lizel gave a helpless laugh, putting a hand to her face. "Not too shabby…you get a hundred, no, three hundred points for this! That was the most complex combination of spells I've ever seen, and you pulled it off so well! No, to even have the imagination to think of such a combination, you are a Devil King candidate for sure."
Yuuto started laughing. "Oh, this is only the beginning Lizel. I've got so many ideas for formulas. Oh! Oh! I can help teach you this too! It's actually pretty simple."
Lizel felt his emotions. His wonder and excitement… how he wholeheartedly loved this part of her world. She gave him a beautiful smile that left him speechless. "Of course-"
Suddenly, there came a shift in the atmosphere, noticeable enough that even Yuuto noticed it.
The wall on the other side of the gymnasium suddenly…warped, a perfect hole stretching open in it. And then he stepped through: Aspite. Looking impeccably aloof and detached as ever, he walked straight through the wall as if it was only natural that it would open for him, even as it closed up behind him.
"I thought you were being a little noisier than I asked…explain yourself, Kilga." His voice was cold as the arctic, and carried a tone that brooked absolute and immediate obedience.
Yuuto looked between the unconscious Kilga and Aspite. "Uhhhh, Kilga's currently out of commission right now. I'll be glad to… forward your complaints."
Lizel stared at Yuuto aghast. Sure, she very much didn't like Aspite, but if he angered him this early -even with the insane display from earlier- he would no doubt die. Aspite was a far, far stronger opponent than Kilga or Geld.
Aspites eyes, just as icy as his voice, turned to regard his downed subordinate, before slowly rising to lock onto Yuuto. "Are you the Lovers Candidate?" he asked, though his tone indicated that he cared little for whatever answer he might receive.
"Perhaps." Yuuto smiled coolly. "You wouldn't happen to be the idiot that can't keep his goons under control would you? This is the second time I've to babysit for you."
Aspite's eyes narrowed. "Insolence."
He pointed his hand right at Yuuto, disregarding how 'The Lovers' smile widened, and sent the largest blast of pure energy the human had ever seen so far. Almost the size of a car. Aspite's power eclipsed anything he'd seen; stronger than Reina, Lizel, and Miyabi combined. Such an attack would break down all of the defenses he used against Kilga. No attack he had was superior to this one single blast.
Lizel's eyes widened in horror as he was consumed by the blast. "Yuuto!"
It stopped. More accurately, it froze instead of detonating like expected.
Everyone blinked.
You could almost cut through the silence that now engulfed the gym with a knife.
"Eh?" Reina was the only one who spoke.
The energy turned reddish pink before releasing a pulse throughout the room. The energy died down revealing Yuuto completely unharmed, though he was now surrounded by an aura of the same color as the energy.
Yuuto looked down at Aspite, who was the shorter man between them, and gave him a mocking yet ferocious grin. "Ooooo scary~"
Aspite frowned. "Tch."
Lizel… slumped her shoulders, relief flooding through her. "Oh, thank goodness!" she stomped over to Yuuto. "Do you have any idea how reckless that was?"
"Very?"
"Oh, so much."
"Lizel." Somehow completely ignoring how Yuuto had totally no-sold his attack, 'The World' Candidate turned his attention to the black-haired girl. "What are you doing with this human trash? Didn't I tell you to join me as my Card?"
Lizel's expression hardened and she tossed her hair angrily. "Did you? I might recall such a thing. But I'm not interested. I will be a Card for Morioka Yuuto, here, not you."
"Are you foolish enough to defy 'The World?'"
"It seems I am. Or rather, is 'The World' foolish enough to try and dispute my decision?"
For the first time, Aspite's mask of icy indifference cracked, an angry sneer crawling across his face. Somehow it suited him. "Arrogant bitch."
Yuuto cracked his knuckles. "Not arrogance if we can back it up."
Aspite's sneer deepend and it seemed like he'd attack Yuuto again, but just then…
Kilga on the floor began coughing and groaning. "What… happened?"
The tension was broken, and all focus was on Aspite's knight.
Did I kick his ass so hard he has memory loss now? Yuuto sighed. "I think you should've stayed unconscious, sword boy."
His eyes widened, and he shakily got up to his feet. "Y-You."
Yuuto pointed at Aspite. "I think your boss came to pick you up," a spherical magic circle instantly appeared around Aspite. "And he might be a little pissed."
"If anything, your pet is perceptive, Lizel." Aspite mocked, an intense pressure spread throughout the gym. "Kilga, to my side, now!"
"Y-Yes!" The knight grabbed his sword and ran to his Candidate's side despite his injuries. Kilga paled as he saw 'The World's' enraged eyes.
"Is it true that you lost to this... human?"
Kilga couldn't meet his eyes. "Y-Yes..."
Aspite was silent for a few seconds. "Do you truly have what it takes to be a knight of 'The World'?"
"Y-Yes! Of course, I hold my place under you with great pride!"
Aspite looked at him coldly. "I am the man who is going to become the Devil King. Whether they are human or demon, all existences will obey my will. It is necessary to trample my enemies with absolute power in order to realize that."
Yuuto furrowed his brow, not quite knowing where Aspite was going with his little speech.
Kilga nodded. "...Yes."
Aspite's expression grew truly furious. "And yet my very own pathetic knight is in this sorry state. How dare you!?"
For a second, Kilga looked terrified. "Aaa… a… T-The fight isn't over yet, Aspite-sama! I will show you I can win. I swear on my sword!"
Aspite slowly raised his leg and casually kicked Kilga's sword, a sword that had withstood multiple hits from objects going at mach speeds without a scratch…
It shattered on contact.
Kilga stared at the broken blade in his hands with complete and utter horror. "W-What…?"
Aspite smiled as he saw the crushed expression of his knight. "Why are you swearing on a sword that falls before a human? I have no need for such a thing."
"That..." Kilga's voice shook, it almost seemed like he'd cry. "My… My family's h-heirloom."
Aspite turned around and began walking away. "Kilga, you are not qualified to by my knight. Go away."
"P-Please wait, Aspite-sama. Give me another chan-"
Aspite slowly lifted his hand, and pushed Kilga's chest.
Kilga's body vanished in the next moment. There was a loud sound roaring like an explosion. The wall of the gym broke and the schoolyard outside could be seen. There was Kilga... collapsed in the middle of the yard.
Yuuto stood there stunned. Holy shit. Is he alive!? Did this asshole really just...
He turned to face Yuuto. "Understand this, I am the man who shall sit atop this whole world. In other words, your ruler!" He turned to Lizel. "From this point and on, every being that isn't me is my servant. If you disobey me now, a future as my servant is still waiting for you. Do you not understand?"
"I understand that your opinion of yourself has grown even more overinflated," she replied breezily.
Yuuto grinned. He liked this sassy, 'no-time-for-your-bullshit' Lizel.
"You will regret this..." Aspite turned around and walked towards the wall warped open just like when he entered and closed once he reached the other side.
Yuuto looked at Kilga in the schoolyard and Geld a few meters away and sighed. "Lizel-senpai, Reina-san, you two can go ahead, I'll clean this up."
"Are you sure, Yuuto?" Lizel asked worriedly.
He nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine."
Lizel pulled him into a hug.
"Huh?"
"You did amazing today, you know that?"
He smiled smugly. "Of course I do, I'm just awesome like that. So, we meet up again in the… Palace after school?"
Palace was the term for a Candidate's HQ on school grounds.
She smiled suggestively. "Yes, and I eagerly await your arrival."
"Well, I rather not keep the good lady waiting. So if you'll excuse me, the faster I clean this up, the faster I can get classes over with."
She nodded, and both her and Reina left the gym.
The moment Yuuto saw the doors close his expression dropped. He walked over to Geld and held his hand over him. I green glow covered his body and his wound began disappearing, various popping sounds went off in the unconscious man's chest as his ribcage was put back together.
Once he was completely healed he let out a groan as he opened his eyes to be met with Yuuto's reddish-browns.
"Welcome back to the land of the living," Yuuto quipped. "Now, make yourself useful. Pick up the pieces of Kilga's sword and help me get the meathead to the nurse's office or whatever medical center this place has. After the blow your boss gave him he's still going to be unconscious after I heal him, and I don't feel like lugging his heavy ass by myself."
Geld stared at Yuuto from the ground for a few seconds. "What the fuck…?"
[-]
Miyabi struggled to hold her laughter as everyone in class cowered in fear, staring in muted horror at Yuuto. The Candidate looked slightly embarrassed at all of the unwanted attention. He did his best to ignore all of the eyes on him, but it was for naught. The reddish-pink aura of sheer power that he was still radiating put an immense pressure on everyone in the room.
"Man, Yuuto-kun, you really got that *gogogogo* thing down, haven't ya?" she asked cheerfully, "That's promisin'! But, uh, you should prolly turn that aura off, *Shuuun,* ya know?"
He gave her a sidelong look. "...How do I do that?"
Miyabi looked at him with an incredulous expression for a few seconds before falling into uncontrollable laughter.
Yuuto hung his head. "For fuck's sake."
Chapter End