New creatures from the last chapter.
Shadow Knights
Tier-1
Aspect: Knight
Abilities: Superhuman strength, speed, reflexes, armor, weapon mastery, weapon conjuration (basic)
New Aspect
Knight: Creatures formed from this Aspect will tend to be humanoid, and are devoted to slaying the creator's enemies. The Aspect also gives them the ability to draw attacks away from their master, as well as ensure that none of their attacks may harm him.
"Speech"
Text/Command
Thought
Otherworldly Thoughts/Telepathic Communication
Beast/Dragon/Super Mode
Technique/Spell
Chapter 4: Peerage
Roy breathed deeply, feeling the balmy spring breeze whip past him, making his blood pump and energizing him as he jogged around the massive Kuoh college campus. Compared to the High School division, the college campus was practically a mini city that, combined with the other divisions, took up most of the eastern side of town.
Even after he'd established his Contract with Rias, Chiaki had taken a lot of convincing to let him return to school. She and his redheaded bestie had both agreed that if he was to go anywhere, then he must be with them, or a member of Rias's Peerage. Given that Chiaki usually walked with him on the way to school and Rias and Akeno both shared his classes, this wasn't too much of a problem.
It was when the other two members of the Peerage joined in that Roy began to feel a little stifled.
"Feeling alright, Senpai?" asked one of them, a blonde girl with her hair cut short and a beauty mark under one eye, jogging alongside him. Where he was definitely breathing hard and sweating quite heavily, she was as light on her feet and fresh as when they'd started, and it was clear that she was only keeping pace with him to stay close. He had barely ever interacted with Kiba Yumi before, but knew her by reputation. Her tendency to go for the male uniform, combined with her haircut, gave her a rather tomboyish air.
With her unfaltering, polite smile and considerate attitude, it was little wonder why a number of girls considered her to be a 'Prince' of Kuoh. Of course, there was very little hiding the fact that she was a girl, with a prominently pert bust, and the fact that her pants conformed to her wide hips. He didn't blame Issei at all when the boy had confided in him that Yumi (or rather, 'the Lady Prince') was personally responsible for him discovering a tomboy fetish. Roy wished he hadn't learned that to begin with, but it couldn't be helped.
I mean, to be fair, tomboys are pretty cute too.
That's not my point, damnit!
"Yeah, I'm fine," he grunted, side-eyeing the smiling blonde. She had introduced herself as Rias's Knight, and then showed that the redhead Devil's mention of enhanced Speed really should have been emphasized, running circles around Roy, "I can keep going no problem."
"That's good! Stamina is important for any fighting, even if your style ends up relying on your summons!" she chirped.
The hell do you mean relying on? It's my power to begin with! he thought to himself. "Sure. At the very least, all this running would let me pull off the Joestar Family Technique if the going gets tough. Though if they're as fast as you, I dunno how much like I'd have."
"Eh? S-sorry, I'm not familiar with that one…" She laughed awkwardly.
How the hell does a member of Rias's Peerage not know about Jojo's Bizarre Adventure?
Because it's not called that here. It's The Unlikely Tales of Jonathan. Dumbass.
...Oh yeah.
"Nevermind. So, are all Knights as fast as you?" he huffed, changing the subject.
Yumi furrowed her brow in thought. "Hm…I'm honestly not sure. I haven't really had the opportunity to test myself against reincarnated Devils like that. I suppose I could ask Meguri-san for a contest in the future, if you're that curious, Senpai."
Roy grimaced, suddenly feeling put on the spot. "No, no, you don't have to go outta your way just 'cause I asked…but who's Meguri-san?"
"Hm? Oh, Meguri Tomoe, from the Student Council."
He stumbled, arms flailing as he brought himself to a stop, nearly toppling over from shock. "What? A member of the Student Council?!"
"Oh yes. The entire Student Council is a Peerage," confirmed the blonde casually.
Roy thought this over, thinking about all the times that he'd seen or heard about the diligent Council. If they're all Devils, then… "…Is Shitori-san their King?" he asked.
Yumi nodded, smiling wryly. "That's right. Her real name is Sona Sitri, and she's a friend of Buchou's."
"…I'm not sure which I should be more surprised at!" he sighed, almost exasperated with himself, "The fact that my everyday school life was being overseen by a bunch of Devils, or the fact that Buchou is friends with a stick in the mud like Shitori- er, Sitri, rather."
She winced, glancing around surreptitiously, "Er, w-well, she's not such a bad person. A little cold or distant, perhaps, but not all that stiff."
Roy shook his head. "Nah, stiff doesn't describe her. She looks like she's never cracked a smile in her life. Like she was born with a face made of stone."
Yumi snorted despite herself. "I'd be careful about saying stuff like that, Yatogami-senpai…not that there isn't some truth in it."
"Why, is she the vindictive type?"
"Well…not that I know of," she admitted, putting a hand on her hip, "But she is beloved by her Peerage, almost as much as we love Buchou, to an extent."
Roy sighed and nodded. Well, I suppose that makes sense…
"But her older sister is much more…protective of her."
He blinked. Older sister? Shitori- no, Sitri. Ugh, that's gonna take getting used to. She has siblings? Well, I guess if Rias has a big brother, then that tracks… But then the blood drained from his face when he remembered what his friend had told him about her brother. Her brother, who had served in the Devil Civil War several centuries ago. "…Is this sister the same as Buchou's brother?" he asked slowly.
Nodding, Yumi confirmed, "They play very similar roles, yes. However, Serafall-sama is much more…I guess you could say she's very bombastic, especially when it comes to Sitri-san."
Roy frowned deeply, eyes flicking back and forth as he tried to mentally picture the word 'bombastic' applying to the infamously aloof Student Council President. "...Yeah, I ain't seeing it," he said finally, shrugging. It was like trying to imagine a shark doing a hula dance. Cold black eyes, flowery lei…nope.
Yumi let out a hastily stifled giggle. "Pfft! Buchou did say that you have a sharp tongue, Senpai!"
"Eh, I dunno. I think I've still got a way to go before I'm on Toujou's level."
"Heheh…well, she is pretty good at getting a lot out of as few words as possible," she agreed.
Smirking with amusement, Roy continued, "Well, I suppose attitude follows form; if she's short of stature, it only makes sense that she's short of words."
The girl blanched and cast a quick look around, as if afraid that Rias's Bishop would suddenly show up. "O-oi, careful where you say stuff like that!" she warned him.
"What, is she gonna beat me up even worse than usual?" he deadpanned. "It's not like she hasn't talked shit about me. Besides, I like short girls. They're cute."
Yumi snorted, though she kept an eye out around them. "So, you have any energy for a spar? I notice that we've stopped running."
"Well, normally it's Toujou I spar with. You'd probably punch my lights out before I could even twitch." He frowned, thinking. "Well, not like Toujou doesn't do that already."
"Oh, no, I was referring to those Knights of yours. I wonder if they can keep up with me. That, and I wonder how coordinated you are with them."
Roy put a hand to his chin. "Hm. I suppose I could pull out the new variants I made as well. Although we should probably rejoin the others."
"Ah, yes, of course. Can't be too careful, Senpai."
From there, it was a fairly simple route to jog over to the border of the university campus, back towards the old high school building. Behind that, out of view of the rest of the school, Rias, Akeno and Koneko all waited for him. The pint-sized white-haired girl was playing around with her phone, glancing up briefly at him before ignoring him, while his red-haired friend crossed her arms under her generous bust, trying very much not to look relieved. "A-ah, Roy-kun, there you are," she said in an attempt at a business-like tone, "How was your run?"
Heh. Lookit her, trying to act all cool in front of me. Adorable.
"Well, nothing to write home about," said Kiba, shrugging, to which Roy nodded in agreement, "But his stamina at least has improved from four days ago, just a little."
Koneko let out a grunt, stowing her phone. "...Let's see if he's learned to fight 'just a little,' she said, in her usual blunt, short way.
Roy winced. "Er, actually, I was thinking of practicing my Knights' coordination while fighting Kiba-san."
"You can do both," was her flat reply, practically stonewalling him. She pulled out a pair of gloves, slipping them on. "Square the fuck up, Senpai."
I dunno whether to laugh or cry at this shit…
ASM
Roy tried his best not to grumble frustratedly, instead weaving through his katas to strike at the diminutive, white-haired girl. If nothing else, he thought to himself, flowing from one punch to another, then into a snap-kick, all of which were firmly caught or brushed aside, This is helping knock the rust off my skills.
Not that these 'skills' are doing jack shit.
Tell me something I don't know! He thought back agitatedly, barely dodging a light, fast blow from Koneko. He had long since learned that despite how weak they looked, he did not want to take a hit from her, no matter what.
As he fought, he struggled to pay attention to his Knights who were clashing with Yumi. From his own point of view, he could barely even see their movements, each side streaking back and forth across the battleground in a blur of speed. From their perspective, however, they were tearing after the speedy Kiba, slicing, chopping and stabbing at her with various weaponry. Unlike his spar with Koneko, Yumi seemed to be more on the defensive, blocking, deflecting and dodging with a sword of her own. Where'd she get that, I wonder? he thought to himself, before letting out a yelp and jumping back as Koneko's fist came dangerously close to striking his stomach.
"...Scaredy cat," she said, her eternal deadpan making it impossible to tell whether or not she was mocking him.
…I mean, it's kinda obvious, isn't it?
I mean, can you blame me?! I'm so outclassed it's ridiculous!
But I won't give up.
Fuck no! Doesn't mean I'm gonna take it gracefully though!
He kicked out, belatedly realizing that he could very well punt the shortstack directly in the face if he wasn't careful. However, his foot instead caught her burgeoning breast, which yielded like a marshmallow beanbag, and she gave a startled yelp of pain. It was the loudest noise he'd ever heard from the girl, and it made him wince apologetically.
"...You kicked me in the boob."
"S-sorry," he apologized awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head, "But y'know, in an actual fight, that'd still be a good ideAAAAAH-!"
She suddenly darted forward and seized his wrist. He barely even had time to go pale as a wave of wrongness spread through his body, before she tucked herself inside his guard and an inexorable force dragged him off his feet. He slammed into the ground, forcing the air out of his lungs and seeing stars. However, even as he groaned with pain, he quickly had one Knight bring up its shield to deflect a sudden stab from Yumi, striking back with another Knight's spear.
"Impressive! Even when you yourself are incapacitated, you had the time to command your knight to block and attack me!" she noted cheerfully, even as she ducked and backstepped away from the swing of a hefty club.
He let out a wheeze of acknowledgement as Koneko sat on his stomach. At her touch, those same waves of energy rippled through his body, rendering him unable to move. "I said I was sorry!" he hissed.
She narrowed her golden eyes at him, absentmindedly rubbing at the breast that he'd struck. "...No. Pervert."
"What, we doing name-calling now?" he huffed, "Alright, Shortstack."
Her eye twitched. "...Die." She brought back her fist to jab at his chest…only for a thick, stump-like leg to suddenly kick her in the side, toppling her off him with a startled "Oof!" She rolled for a bit, then sat up, looking mostly unharmed, though grumpier than before. "Cheating. This is hand to hand practice."
Roy groaned as his new summon carefully lifted him to his feet, keeping him steady while he waited for the world to stop spinning. "Ugh…if you can use your weird nausea powers, then I can use the literal extensions of myself. Or are you afraid to fight Mr. Sandbag?"
'Mr. Sandbag' was the nickname he had affectionately given the Shadow he had summoned two days ago. Formed from the Aspect Resilience, it resembled a large, humanoid punching bag, its skin made seemingly entirely out of dark, thick leather. Its limbs were thick and stocky, with no discernable feet, sausage-like fingers, and beady little eyes on a marshmallow-shaped head. When Roy had created it, to serve as a target for the Devils to test their attacks on, Koneko had scoffed at how cartoonish it looked…right up until her weird energy-filled punches (called Senjutsu, apparently) failed to do more than make it stumble and fall, then get up unharmed.
"...Who's scared?" she asked aggressively, or at least as aggressively as she could in her usual monotone, stomping towards the human punching bag. However, as Roy stepped behind Mr. Sandbag, he mentally slipped himself into its body, and immediately launched back into his Bajiquan katas with a smoothness that belied its pudgy appearance.
Rias watched the two interact. "Roy-kun really knows how to push Koneko-chan's buttons." Before she could say more, she suddenly waved her hand, leaving behind a sheet of radiant red light that stretched out beside her like a wall. A series of black shuriken struck it, only to disintegrate into dust on impact. As part of the training, the redheaded Devil had asked Roy to provide some targets to help her with her family's ability, the Power of Destruction.
"So, you've got this energy that you can just generate on command that can destroy stuff."
"Yes?"
"How well can you actually control it? Like, manipulating the energy and stuff. And does it just destroy everything, or can you be selective with it?"
Rias had felt somewhat chagrined when she was unable to give him satisfactory answers, leading to her current practice. An endless supply of targets allowed her to fire off at, without worrying about hurting anyone. While considerably powerful on her own, she knew she would have to come up with different abilities to fight much like the shield she just used. For all that she and her brother shared the Power of Destruction, the amount of her Aura simply paled in comparison to him.
Truth be told, she realized that she didn't know that much about her brother's mastery over their power, aside from the fact that he was possibly one of the strongest users of it to ever exist. I don't know if I can ever really match up with that, even with practice, she thought to herself, even as she ducked under a swung tanto from a Shadowkhan and blasted it in the gut with a bolt, causing it to evaporate.
Another pair of ninjas, along with a Sumo, charged towards her, and she fired off her PoD thinking it would be just like the previous ones. However, right before impact, the Shadowkhan suddenly threw down a pair of smoke bombs, obscuring her line of sight with a blast of smoke. Blinking, she swung wide, flaring out an arc of red that cleared it away, only to yelp as two more figures came dashing through, their bodies clad in slightly looser clothes, gloves and dark capes that billowed around them, obscuring their faces save for glowing golden eyes.
She quickly thrust out both hands, launching a pair of red beams and grimacing at how sloppily they fired off. Rias had been pumping out her Destructive projectiles for the better part of an hour non-stop, and was starting to tire. However, when those blasts splashed harmlessly off a pair of blue barriers that had suddenly flared up in front of these new fighters, she realized that Roy was testing her ability to adapt as much as he could.
The sight of her signature ability so easily defended against shocked her. The momentary lapse of concentration allowed the two shadows to thrust their hands out, launching bolts of fire and shards of ice at her.
Am I that weak with my family's abilities that I can be countered like this? she wondered, hastily spreading out another flame-like barrier to block them, wincing when this time, a few blunted ice chunks and weak bursts of heat got through, pelting and singeing her clothes. She hissed, knowing that the former would probably bruise some. How do I get out of this? Wait, these are mages, so perhaps they're weak to more melee, like in video games…
Then she grimaced, because that was NOT her fighting style at all. She would have preferred to fight at a distance, like a normal Mage-type fighter…
But then, a rock-coated fist busted through her hastily erected, rapidly dissipating shield. Rias gave a yelp, snapping out her wings and taking to the sky. That's right! Devils have the air advantage, just like the Fallen! She juked to the right as another ball of fire was lobbed at her, and she pouted. But really, mages that have melee spells? Roy-kun really has a devious imagination!
Darting this way and that as the two mages blasted away at her, and twisting to avoid stray shuriken from newly-arrived Shadowkhan, she began gathering her power. If my normal attacks can be blocked by spells...then for now, I'll focus on powering them up! I can destroy matter, so I need to be able to destroy magic as well! Despite her exhaustion, Rias dug deep into her Aura reserves, drawing it out and running it through the instinctive mental filter that would transform it into the Power of Destruction. The usual red, flame-like energy coalesced in her hands, making a distant, echoing, ominous sound. More… the redhead thought to herself, the energy beginning to glow brighter, churn more violently, More. More…! Destroy everything that threatens me! That threatens my Peerage! That threatens him!
"I'LL BLOW IT ALL AWAY!" she yelled, throwing down her hands. A torrent of red light erupted from her, splitting off into wildly fluctuating beams of light that struck down on the crowd of enemies. The two mages quickly raised their respective barriers, the beams momentarily held back…but within seconds, their own magic was eaten away by the red power, and their heads and torsos were quickly annihilated. It went without saying that the Shadowkhan all evaporated as well in an instant.
"Ara~ That's quite the display, Buchou!" called out Akeno, who came flying up to meet her as she sagged, finally exhausted, "I don't think I've ever seen you use your power so passionately before~"
Rias groaned. "Flirt later…"
The black-haired girl giggled, squeezing her King tighter. Over where she'd been training, a series of rather scorched, rubbery creatures looked up at her expectantly, wondering when she'd start shooting lightning at them again.
Having felt the mass destruction of his own units, Roy turned to see Akeno looking extremely pleased with herself and Rias exhausted. "Well, glad to know that someone's making progress," he said, watching the back and forth between Koneko and Mr. Sandbag. The sandbag took each angry blow with gusto, trading some of its own back smoothly. The problem was, of course, that the whole point was for me to do some hand to hand combat training, not make my summons do it for me. Training myself feels kinda pointless when there are people who can literally put me on the ground with a touch or have superspeed.
Any tool I got, I use.
Yeah, that's true. If these summons are extensions of my power- extensions of me -then why can't I use them for this?
Turning his attention back to the Knights fighting Yumi, who were still keeping apace with her, Roy wondered whether he should reveal the new Variants he had come up with. On the one hand, I want to make sure that these regular ones can hold things down on their own. Looks like they can for now.
On the other hand, they're cool and I wanna show them off.
He snorted, before suddenly darting forward, just as Koneko blocked and stumbled back from blocked a blow from Mr. Sandbag. As she reeled, trying to stay on her feet, Roy suddenly slid around his monster to punch her, finally nailing her in the cheek. She gasped in shock more than pain, and struck at him nearly instantly, but his punching bag-like monster was already sidling back in between them.
Yeah…fighting on my own might not get me anywhere, but…
A kick from his monster was grabbed firmly in the white-haired haired girl's small hands. "Got you now…!" she grunted, flipping it over and sending it spinning, before charging towards Roy.
Several pairs of hands seized his shoulders and dragged him backwards, flinging him out of her reach, before the newly summoned gang of Shadowkhan swarmed her. "You were saying?" he called out to her, listening to her frustrated growling and smirking.
"Alright, bring it in," Rias called, "That's enough for today!"
Roy sighed with some relief as he finally relaxed, ignoring how Koneko's fists blasted through his Shadowkhan like they weren't even there. "Oh, thank god, I thought I was actually getting good for a second there."
"We can do more tomorrow. We don't want to come to school looking like we were caught in a fight."
"Ah, true. People are already coming up with rumors for why we're hanging out more anyway," he grunted, stretching out his back, "Lord knows what they think I'm doing with Toujou."
"Try one of 'em and I'll fold you in half," huffed the tiny white-haired girl, marching past him. She jabbed out with a fist, making him yelp and jump out of range. "Made you flinch."
He held up his hands in surrender, grimacing. "Look, I already said I was sorry."
"I'll accept it later."
"Truly, you are magnanimous in your mercy," huffed the boy, rolling his eyes.
Her eyes narrowed to slits, but she chose to let him have the last word, stalking off.
Shrugging, Roy made his way over to Rias. "So, how'd you like those Mages?"
"Honestly, you've got a strange imagination," she complained, putting her hands on her hips with a huff, "No mage I've ever seen could cast a spell that fast, let alone charge into melee range so recklessly!"
He snorted. "You should play more video games, then," he told her blandly.
The Devils only looked at each other and shook their heads in exasperation. "I don't know what games you've played, but a Mage fighting up close would be a recipe for disaster. But, since you can heal them, I suppose it's not that crazy," admitted the redhead, "Of course, they rely on you to heal them, so it's extremely important that you can defend yourself."
"He can," said Koneko, a little sourly, "Those ninjas are good at getting in the way. That sandbag is also annoying."
"Well, that's good, at least," Rias acknowledged, giving Roy a smile, "Now, is there anything that you want to try making today? The last few were quite well done, I thought."
He grunted softly, casually summoning another creature he'd made a few days ago: a large crow, which seemingly grew up out of his shoulder. Tossing it into the air, it flapped up towards the roof of the old school building, quickly followed by several more. Created with the Aspect of Sensory, these birds would be able to cast their gazes in all directions, their eyes empowered to see supernatural auras. It had been interesting to see each Peerage member's supernatural nature, along with how their powers would flow and fluctuate when used.
Moreover, since the creatures had been sculpted into a shape as common as a bird, they could easily let him spy on an area from above with nobody taking notice.
It's like having my very own set of security cameras!
With Mr. Sandbag's Resilience, he would have a durable guard, in case anything got past his knights. Sensory would make sure that nothing would sneak up on him. Magic could give him a variety of summons that could do just about anything esoteric that he needed.
"Well…" he began slowly, thinking, "I think I've got my basics covered pretty widely for now. I think today I wanna try making something more specific." He pulled out that day's Medal, turning it over in his fingers. "The Knights are pretty strong, after all, and that's a more focused Aspect."`
"How specific are you thinking?" Rias asked, "And why does it feel like you're gonna give me premature grey hair."
He frowned at her, cocking his head as he imagined her scarlet hair turning gray. "Doesn't suit you," he decided, making her sputter and blush, "And I want to see what the upper limit is on creating a 'powerful' creature with what I can do right now."
"And how would you go about testing that?" asked Akeno, "And should I perhaps set up a ward to keep anyone from noticing?"
Roy winced. "Er, yeah, might be a good idea. Didn't think of that…"
Yeah, definitely don't want people thinking that there's some sorta wild animal on the loose 'round here.
Hush, you.
"So, what sort of monster will you create?" asked Yumi, leaning against the wall.
Shrugging, Roy gave a grin. "Well, I dunno. What comes to your mind when you think of the strongest creature imaginable?" he asked pointedly.
Everyone present thought for a moment, but he could already see the image that came to each of them, followed by their face paling as the implications hit them. Chuckling, he flipped the coin into the air, whereupon it flashed and burst.
DRAGON.
Vaporous shadows billowed around Roy, swirling on a spot just in front of him as he held out a hand imperiously. "Come to me," he commanded simply, and the beast in his mind obeyed. A small amount of energy drained from his reserves, but the majority of this first creature was fueled by the formation of its Template.
Before their very eyes, the distinctive form of a dragon took shape. A long, sinewy neck. Four powerful, clawed limbs, a body covered in glossy scales. Spines ran down its back, all the way to its whip-like tail. It spread its wings, membrane stretching taut, and opened its mouth to roar.
What came out was more like a cat's yowling, mixed with a teakettle, along with a small ribbon of flame that danced through the air.
"It's…" Rias blinked, struggling to find the right words as she stared at the creature, "Well, it's certainly a dragon."
"Small," opined Koneko, though less roughly than usual, "Cute."
Indeed, while Roy had perfectly managed to replicate a western style dragon (and quite an impressive one if he thought so himself), it much more scaled down than he'd anticipated. He frowned, perplexed, having anticipated something at least six feet long. It's the size of a cat.
Probably still a total murder machine just like a cat too.
He scratched his head, watching as the dragon began running around, letting loose the occasional blast of fire. At a mental nudge, it leaped into the air, flapping its wings and easily staying aloft. Well, it can fly, and it can breathe fire. It might be fucking tiny, but it's still good as a flying flamethrower I guess. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as it suddenly swooped down to land nimbly on his shoulder, its tail coiling loosely around his neck. "Task failed successfully," he decided out loud, reaching up to scratch it under the chin.
"Yes," Koneko deadpanned.
"It's adorable!" Akeno cooed, striding forward to pet it herself, admiring its black scales and sharp talons that somehow hadn't punctured his shoulder. It craned its head around to regard her in a rather snake-like way, but didn't react except to blink its large, yellow eyes. "Oh my, aren't you just a charming little thing~"
Roy leaned his head away from her, giving Rias a 'help me!' look over Akeno's shoulder as she giggled. The redhead was stifling her own laughter, but came to his aid, saying, "Akeno, don't crowd him. I'd say that's great for summoning something like a dragon on his first real try."
"Y-yeah…just wondering why it came out so tiny," he muttered, eyeing the dragon. Examining the new Template, the information that greeted him told him that the creature he'd created had been perfectly formed to his specifications.
Could it be that each Template only has a limited amount of memory to work with when forming monsters and their abilities?
Maybe giving it the power to breathe fire cut into the 'memory' so much that it had to downscale the whole thing to compensate. I mean, we haven't had trouble making big things until now…
Annoying…
He sighed. "Well, I'll experiment some more later." Snapping his fingers, the dragon vanished into scraps of black mist, making Akeno pout. "Thanks again for this," he told Rias, "Even though it's probably distracting you guys from doing your usual stuff, or doing more serious training."
"It's fine!" protested the redhead, giving him a quick smile, "It's all for our contract, so it's no trouble at all."
"Besides that, your summons have actually been giving us quite the workout," added Yumi encouragingly, "Those Knights are pretty tricky!"
"W-well, if they're able to keep up with you, then that means they're doing their job," Roy replied, rubbing at his neck. Even if it was positive, having multiple people focus their attention on him made him feel particularly self-conscious.
It's always been like that…
ASM
After that, he opted to wait around for Chiaki to pick him up, so that they could walk home together. Wandering around alone was what had gotten him attacked to begin with.
"Roy!" He turned to see his sister running up to him, once more dressed in her usual casual, but modest outfit. "You actually waited for me…" she mumbled to herself, though he could still hear.
"It's been four days, nee-san, you don't have to be surprised every time," he told her dryly.
She blushed. "Right, yeah, I know, it's just…I thought you'd find it stifling by now…"
Roy gave her a sidelong look, raising an eyebrow. "What? It's not like I hate walking to school with you, so why would I dislike it now?"
Chiaki ran a hand through her hair, looking momentarily frazzled. "W-well, y'know, my classmates sometimes complain how their siblings hate hanging out with them…"
"C'mon, you know me better than that," he told her, nudging her shoulder.
"R-right, yeah. Of course. I dunno, I just figured, with how you know about what things are like, you'd want some space…"
He rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling a spike of irritation. "No, but I'm getting pretty annoyed that you still don't trust me when I say that I'm not mad at you."
"You're not?" asked Chiaki apprehensively.
At the exasperated look he gave her, she decided to change the subject. "So, um, what do you think of the Devils?"
"After training with 'em? They're pretty tough, and if Rias is just an inexperienced rookie, then all the other Devils would be a nightmare to deal with as a human."
She bit her lip. "...Yeah. Devils are strong. That's what the others told me."
He blinked. "Others?"
"The other maidens. I mean, it's not like I'm fighting by myself all the time."
That made sense, he figured. Even if his big sister was some sort of mystical warrior, she would probably be a total emotional wreck if she'd had to fight evil Youkai alone for four years. "I'm glad," he said simply, "Do you get along with them?"
"Nn. Chiyo-chan and Mei-chan are always good at helping out people who come to us for advice," she said, smiling slightly and lacing her fingers, "And Reiko-san taught me everything I know." Then she pouted. "But Hikari-san is always showing off how much better she is with her sword…"
He snorted. "Oh yeah? Sounds like you got yourself a rival."
She groaned. "Uuuuugh, I don't want a rival, though! I just wanna fight Youkai without any drama! I don't need that on top of homework and tests!"
"I hear that," agreed her brother. "Life is already complicated enough, let's throw in every pantheon in existence! Still, at least we know that we can learn magic now."
Chiaki giggled despite herself. "Well, magic is kinda tough to learn. You need to memorize all sorts of mathematical formulas and stuff. Though we kinda cheat and use our talismans."
Roy raised an eyebrow. "Well, math's never been a problem for me, but tell me more about these talismans!" He grinned meaningfully at his sister.
"E-eh? You want to- o-okay! When we get home!" she agreed eagerly, smiling, "I mean, it might not be all that interesting, but if my lil' bro wants to learn, then of course I'll teach you!"
He laughed quietly. Seeing his older, much taller sister practically vibrating with excitement where she stood made him feel all warm and fuzzy. Playfully, he nudged her arm with his shoulder. "Why the hell wouldn't I wanna learn from you? My big sis knows how to be a badass shrine warrior."
Her cheeks pinkened slightly and her eyes shone. "Awww~"
"Ugh, don't look at me like that," he muttered, turning away from her self-consciously. Don't want her to think I'm some kinda siscon or something.
Pipe down…
Even so, he didn't resist when she took his hand in hers for the rest of the walk home.
ASM
When they got home, making their usual excuses to their mom, they headed up to Chiaki's room.
We're gonna have to tell her and Dad about all this.
Yeah…that's not gonna be fun, but if it was dumb when she kept that secret from me, then I'd be a hypocrite to help hide it from them.
They might not believe us.
Then we MAKE them believe. She's got talismans and I've got motherfucking summons. We're probably gonna need some ice for mom though.
Maybe for dad. Mom already knows that the supernatural exists, right?
Right. Though we don't really know to what extent.
He sighed as he sat on his sister's bed, glancing idly around the room. It had been many years since he'd set foot in her room, having had little interest in her part of the house. "Think you got enough wall-scrolls?" he asked sarcastically, glancing at the many posters that she had lining her walls, all of them inscribed with various phrases. They were so stylized that he could barely read them.
She glanced up at them, before blushing as she set up a stack of papers and an inkstone and brush. "Sh-shut up, I made those!" she protested.
"Really? That's neat," Roy replied, giving them another glance. "You're pretty into this stuff even outside of magic, then?"
Chiaki shrugged, looking self-conscious. "W-well, I mean, I figure it's best to practice the normal part of this stuff, since it's so fundamental to using it…Anyway, your first lesson in learning these is that your handwriting is key!" She set down several blank paper tags, twenty by four centimeters. "Technically you can use any writing surface, but paper that's about this size is your best bet."
He nodded, sidling in next to her at the table. "Right…well, I like to think that my handwriting's pretty good for Japanese."
"Good. So, to start with, try writing something down," she instructed him, "Nothing too complicated, though, just stick with a single main Kanji."
"Alright," Roy nodded and picked up the brush. Thinking for a moment, he decided that while simple, creating a talisman with Fire while inside a house would be a really stupid idea. "Hm…" Frowning briefly, his expression then cleared up. "Ah. Got it."
Carefully, he started with a tiny diagonal dash, upper left to bottom right, underneath which he put a stroke that resembled a curved 7. Next to that, he placed a vertical line with a left-facing hook at the bottom, followed by two more diagonal slashes radiating from the middle.
氷
"Ice, huh?" said Chiaki, looking it over, "Yeah, that's pretty good. I would've thought you'd try for Fire first, like- erm, like most people."
Ice is cooler.
Roy opened his mouth to say the same thing, then realized that that would just be a shitty pun, cringed and instead said, "Ice would be…a lot less dangerous?"
She gave him a sly look. "...You were gonna say that ice is cooler, weren't you?"
"No!"
"Uh huh, sure." Chiaki gave him a smirk that let him know that she saw right through him. "Anyway, with the kanji written, we need to create a way to prime it, so that the mana in the air will flow into it and filter into the proper affinity. Just create a border around the edges in a way that makes you think of ice."
Nodding, Roy turned his attention back to the slip of paper, and quickly sketched a box around the edges, connecting the corners with a small circle, that he filled in with a tiny snowflake. "Hm…ah, and this'll help too." He began drawing tiny Xs along each line, making it look like the box was formed from chains of yet more snowflakes.
"Oh, that looks nice!"
"Always the tone of surprise," he retorted with a smirk, making her giggle, "Now, how do I trigger it?"
She pursed her lips, nodding seriously. "Well, you set it down on the table."
He did so.
"And you wait for it to fill up with mana for a few days."
Roy stared at it for a bit. "...What."
Chiaki snorted at his expression. "You thought it was an instant? No, you need to let it absorb mana for a while, a week for best results, but two or three days would be enough to give something this simple enough power. Stronger and more complex stuff needs even longer." She tapped her brother's head. "This isn't an anime where new power suddenly comes to the hero! For us humans, if we wanna do magic, we need to do all sorts of tricky math stuff. Circumventing that means different costs."
No, but it clearly is an anime where girls can dress like absolute sluts with a straight face.
He rolled his eyes, at both her words and his own thoughts. "Alright, now you do one," he said, jerking his head at her.
Chiaki blinked. "Eh? Oh, well…I guess I should. I used a pretty strong one the other night, so I should really replace it…budge up."
Shrugging, Roy shifted aside, letting her use the tabletop. Pulling out another slip of paper, she placed it down firmly, and as she picked up the brush, the atmosphere in the room suddenly shifted. He jolted at the change, glancing around, but then Chiaki began to move. Unlike his attempt, she sketched the border first, using tiny strokes to create an intricate, almost almost woven line. Inside of that, she began writing entire chains of vertically-aligned Kanji, so small he could barely make them out. All the while, she focused entirely on the work in front of her. Her eyes, exactly the same shade of blue as his, gazed so intensely at her own handwriting that Roy felt like if she were to turn that look upon him, he would be run through.
Were her eyes always that beautiful?
Was she always able to look that serious? Roy shook himself. Fucking hell, now I'm thinking that she's attractive.
Hyoudou must never know.
Getting a whole list of things he shouldn't know.
Even so, he couldn't look away, watching her sketch the talisman with more devoted attention than he'd ever seen from her. Whatever she'd learned, it must have been quite a lot to get her to be so passionate about it.. "So, what made you want to stick around with this job, if the supernatural stuff is so dangerous?"
Blinking, she looked up at him, as if she'd forgotten that he was even there. Then her expression softened. "You."
"Me?" Roy asked, shocked.
"You're my baby brother. When I found out about all the terrifying stuff that's out there, I wanted to do anything I could to protect you." Chiaki shrugged, her cheeks going pink. "I mean, just because you know about it and can kinda protect yourself doesn't mean I'm not gonna just quit!"
Roy bit his lip, watching her for a moment. I mean, what can you really say to that?
"...Thanks, Onee-chan." Awkwardly, he reached out to pat her shoulder.
She snorted, throwing an arm around him in return and yanking him into a hug that shoved his face into her large, soft bust. "What's with that, huh? Is saying thanks so embarrassing, you tsundere?!"
He yelped, blushing as his sister attempted to smother him with her pillowy breasts. "Agh, geddoff!"
I can die happy!
Shut up! I don't wanna die at all! I think.
ASM
The next day, Roy found himself in a secluded grove, eating lunch and thinking of all that had happened since Rias and his sister saved him.
So, giving my summons special abilities limits how much power I can put into their physical form, and vice versa.
"Oi, Senpai!" A familiar voice shouted.
Roy snapped out of his thoughts and saw Issei waving to him. "Yo, Hyoudou," he replied lazily.
"'Yo,' he says," sighed the second-year, "Guess I was all worried for nothing…"
"Worried?" asked Roy, sitting up a bit.
"Er, ah…" Issei began rubbing the back of his head, "You were out for a few days, y'know? And you've been making yourself scarce for a while. You're alright though, right?"
The older boy watched him for a moment, mulling over his words. Surely he hadn't been acting all that different, had he? It's not like I show what I'm thinking most of the time.
Well, I was just kidnapped, not that anyone besides the group knows it.
"...Yeah, I'm fine," he said at last, shrugging, "Just kinda tired from club activities."
"Oh, so it's just that, huh…eh? Wait, you joined a club? I thought Senpai was a proud member of the Go Home Club! Not quite as respectable as the Pervert Club, but still!"
"You fucking wish. I happened to have joined the Occult Research Club."
Issei blinked. "Eh? Didn't think you were into weird stuff like that."
Roy rolled his eyes. "As it is, Gremory-san invited me."
"WHAT?!" Issei fell to his knees in shock and dismay. "You son of a bitch, you get to be with the great onee-samas!"
Roy snorted. "Ah yes, there's the jealousy I was expecting." Here he patted his shoulder. "Maybe I can talk to them about extending an invite."
"You would do that for me?" gasped his Kouhai, immediately brightening up.
"If you could keep it in your pants, maybe," he deadpanned.
Issei hesitated, looking conflicted.
"...Boy, are you serious?"
"...Maybe?"
Roy groaned. "Issei, the world doesn't revolve around how big a girl's tits are."
"C'mon, can't you imagine us being in a club with those two?"
"I don't need to imagine it. Just 'cause I hang around with them doesn't mean I get into Ecchi situations with 'em." Except that one time where she apparently showered in the clubroom…
Shut it! "Didn't I tell you already? Ya gotta make a good first impression with a girl before you can do anything."
Issei rubbed the back of his neck. "I…yeah, I know. I remember. It's just…" He sat down by the tree next to Roy. "I mean…I feel like I've kinda blown my reputation already, y'know? And it's not like I'm not a pervert; I don't wanna be ashamed of myself and hide it." He glanced away. "I figured, if I was open about it, I might find a girl who was into it too."
Roy raised his eyebrows. "...Huh. So by making everyone know you're just a pervert, you're just telling everyone to lower their expectations."
The brown-haired boy winced. "Ouch, Senpai."
"I'm not saying that a girl as perverted as you doesn't exist. She almost certainly does. But you're not gonna find her just by…advertising yourself like that. Most girls, even if they are into that, would be too ashamed to admit it, which they more or less would be showing interest in you."
His eyes widened. "Ah…"
Roy nodded as comprehension finally dawned in his Kouhai's expression. "That's why I've been telling you to try and improve your reputation. Given how everyone treats sexuality, chances are that a girl who'd be into you would be too afraid of how society might treat them."
"...Yeah. I guess even if they know that I'm not afraid of that stuff, they wouldn't feel all that safe themselves," murmured Issei, partially to himself, "I mean…even if I had a harem of girls to fuck every day, I would want them to be happy doing it, y'know?"
Pursing his lips, Roy gave him a sidelong look. "...Yeah," he agreed finally, "Though even getting just one girlfriend who shares your passions is a good enough goal to start with."
"Mm…yeah, that would be nice…" Issei sighed. "Thanks man, I have some things to think about."
His friend nodded, watching as he stood up. You might be horny as hell, Issei, but you're not a bad person. You'll get lucky one day, as Issei departed, Roy frowned; looking through the eyes of the birds perched in the tree, he could see a faint, glowing red aura around the boy. Could it be that he's got a Sacred Gear too? If so, I need to make sure that you won't get into trouble. He raised his hand. Follow him closely.
His shadow split off several fragments of itself, which snaked through the grass to vanish into Issei's. At the same time, three birds took off from the tree, following him from the air.
ASM
Even if Issei wanted to change, there were just some things about himself that he couldn't change. Sure, in hindsight, he really should have felt more guilty about all the peeping Motohama and Matsuda had dragged him into, but reading some H-manga and watching hentai? That suited him just fine, no guilt needed!
Once school let out, he set off for town, hoping to get some new fap material before nightfall. As he approached the store, however he noticed a middle aged man waving him down. "Excuse me, young man?"
"Yeah? What's up, Oji-san?" Issei asked.
"Well...my car seems to have an oil leak and I need someone to help me lift the car so we can fix it."
He peered into the alleyway and grimaced, seeing a plume of smoke rising from the engine of the car parked in it. It would be a real pain to lift something like that, and he was pretty crappy at pretty much anything that wasn't fantasizing about girls…
But what the hell? Maybe he'd learn something, and it'd be a good deed for the day. Besides, a guy like this might even have some hidden porn to hand out as thanks!
"Sure thing!" Issei said as he ran around to the back. As he opened the trunk, he began to search for it. "Um...where is it?"
"Yeah, sorry, I have it...Right here!"
Suddenly, a tremendous, blunt pain crashed across Issei's back. "GAHH!" Issei screamed as he fell to his knees. As he rolled around, mind awhirl with shock and dismay, a pair of hands seized him and shoved him into the trunk of the car, which slammed shut.
His shadow churned, and atop the buildings surrounding the alleyway, a pair of crows glared down as a group of men dressed in priestly vestments quickly strode into the alleyway and deconstructed the scene, closing the steaming (not smoking) hood and driving off.
Issei yelled and thrashed about in the back of the car, trying to crawl away before a blade of light suddenly came to rest inches from his neck.
"Now now~" said a white-haired young man, smirking at him as he leaned over the back of the seat, "Don't you know you shouldn't open up the door while the car's moving?"
As the boy froze, his brown eyes widening with shock, astonishment and fear, his shadow churned, red eyes peering out at the other man.
ASM
Over in the Occult Research Clubroom, Roy suddenly sat bolt upright on the couch, having been poring over a book on Numismatomancy. "Son of a bitch!" he growled.
"What happened?" Rias asked worriedly.
His eyes narrowed as he began consciously focusing on the Shadowkhan that he'd attached to his friend. "Hyoudou Issei has been attacked and abducted, and one of the men is that guy from the church."
"Hyoudou-kun?" Akeno asked. "That funny boy who's always messing around? Why would the church attack him?"
"I don't know!" Roy snapped. "But we need to save him! He's my friend and even though he's a pervert he doesn't deserve this!"
"Where is he?" Rias asked seriously, holding out a hand. A large, glowing red magic circle appeared on the floor. "Another attack on my territory…I won't let this stand!"
"They're moving along the outskirts of the city. I got birds following them. They're towards the north, moving in a car."
The redhead blinked. "A car? Huh. I rather thought that Stray Exorcists wouldn't be able to afford one." However, she shook herself. "That doesn't matter. Akeno, Yumi-chan, Koneko-chan, let's go."
"Yeah, I'm coming too," added Roy, standing up.
Rias paused tensing up. "Roy, I-I don't know if you're ready to fight these guys yet."
"If you are, then I am," he replied resolutely, "I was able to fight them off when I caught them by surprise…" He clenched his jaw uncomfortably as he remembered his Samurai Khan slicing through their flesh. "...Last time." Then he shook himself. "We set up that contract so that I'd be ready for this, right? I can't summon anything too far away from me, so I wouldn't be able to back you up too quickly, in large numbers. If I'm gonna be fighting alongside you all, I need to be near you, or at least present on the battlefield, at least until I come up with a way to transport a whole bunch of troops quickly."
Rias pursed her lips, letting out a whine of indecision and struggling with herself for a moment. "Alright, fine! Just…just don't split off from the group!" she told him, worry wavering in her blue eyes, "If you got hurt again…"
"Yeah, Nee-san will probably kill you," he agreed, snickering as he stepped past her onto the teleportation circle. "Now let's go."
"Right."
The other girls gathered around, surrounding him. Yumi's usual easy-going cheer vanished, replaced by a serious, anticipatory glare, while Akeno's smile shrank slightly, gaining an edge of…something that Roy felt that he probably didn't want to be on the receiving end of. Koneko remained largely the same, only rolling her shoulders (which made her voluminous breasts bounce) and curling her fingers.
As the portal activated, a red light washed over the group, wiping away the surrounding club room…
When it cleared, they were standing by the side of the road, near the edge of town. "They're coming up on us," he commented, closing one eye to focus on one of his birds.
"That van?" asked Rias, looking down the road, "Ah, that explains how they were able to afford it."
"Want me to stop it?"
"By all means."
As the car came speeding along, approaching them, the marshmallow-like figure of Mr. Sandman suddenly rose up out of the ground, right in its path, planting its feet. The van quickly put on its breaks, tires screeching, but-
*CRASH!*
It ended up slamming into the monster, sending it skidding back a little, but it clung on, bringing the vehicle to a dead stop.
"OI!" The door flew open and a man in dark clothes came stumbling out. The other doors likewise opened up, more people moving about inside, "What's the big idea, blocking the…" He stopped, eyes widening as Mr. Sandbag turned its beady eyes on him, seemingly unharmed. It straightened up, leaving the large dent that its arms and torso had left in the vehicle.
"Did you think that we wouldn't notice another kidnapping in our territory?" Rias growled. "Return the boy you kidnapped."
Roy's hackles rose as a familiar white-haired man came strolling out of the car, dragging his brunette friend by the scruff of his neck. "Or else what, firecrotch?" he asked cheerfully, eyeing her up and down with undisguised lecherousness, "Also, yeah, we kinda did, since you didn't notice the first one~"
The redhead bristled angrily, and the Power of Destruction blazed up around her hand. "You-!"
"Ah ah!" The man smiled as he raised his sword of light, holding it to Issei's neck. "I'd hold off on any of that. Wouldn't wanna make you come interrupt our little trip for nothing. I mean, I don't mind slitting this fucker's throat right here and now, but I guess as long as he's alive, you Devil dipshits won't do a thing! Heh, you must want his Sacred Gear pretty bad; good thing we nabbed him now."
Roy glanced behind the man and about seven of his buddies stumbling out of the car, looking slightly disoriented but quickly getting over it. "So he really does have a Sacred Gear," he commented, stepping out of the group to reveal himself.
"Oh!" the man's eyes lit up, "You're that weaselly guy that ran away last time! How you doin'?"
"Stellar," he deadpanned, "Who the fuck are you, by the way?"
"Hmm? Ah, right, didn't introduce myself; the name's Freed Sellzen," said the white-haired man cheerfully, "Slayer of bitches, layer of witches! ...Wait, that might be wrong. Ah, who cares, it's all the same. My likes are-"
"Stuff it," grunted Roy, "Now, as the Devil lady was saying, you let the perv go and we don't turn your ragtag Blues Brothers into a smear on the road."
Freed laughed. "Oho! Wordplay, how fun! But that's gonna be a no from me, pal; I've been fixing to throw down with some Hellspawn for the past I-don't-even-know. Man, and four at once? And they're chicks? Mmm-mm, I'm at half-mast already."
Issei, who had been standing by the car, tried to call out to his friends. "Y-Yatogami-senpai! These guys are nuts! What the hell is a Sacred Gear? I only tried to-grk!"
Freed's casual smirk faded into an annoyed look, and he rolled his eyes. "Shaddup, would ya?" He spun his sword into a reverse grip and stabbed the boy straight through the chest and out his back, his legs buckling instantly. Issei's eyes bulged, as the pain of nerves severing reached his brain and he let out a pained scream.
"Issei!" Roy shouted out, for once foregoing using his family name as he started forward, only for Freed's goons to point their weapons at him.
"You wanna save this waste of space, you're gonna have to go through all of us, with just the five of you!"
He stared back at them, even as he turned his attention to Issei, who gasped and moaned and cried out as he lay on the ground, blood starting to pool around him. The words of the Stray Exorcists quickly fell away as his heart began to pound in his ears.
They're actually going to kill him. All because he has a Sacred Gear.
Just like they were gonna kill me.
Fuck that!
I won't allow it!
Roy fixed his gaze on Freed again, and raised his hand in almost a dragging motion…then spoke.
"Arise!"
The shadows around him rippled, shimmered, spread, creating a pool of blackness that made Rias and her peerage back away in shock as all of his Knights rose out of the ground to present themselves. Among them, however, were variations that they'd never seen before; Knights that Roy had created as a surprise for their sparring. Out of the dozen new knights, two stood out. One of the Knights was much skinnier with long, inhumanly lanky legs and gleaming silver. They stooped and stood on all fours, or rather all threes, as one of their hands held longswords. A vaporous, chilly mist wafted off them and those blades, and their heads were bizarrely almond-shaped.
The other knight's armor was rougher, darker, and it warped and glowed in a perfect circle around a black hole in their chests. The tattered cloth that hung from its waist and back glowed with shifting orange light, like embers in a fire, and they hefted various weaponry, the blades of which blazed with flames.
"Oh, wow…" said Yumi quietly, eyeing them up and down a little nervously, "I'm glad you didn't have me sparring with these. They look quite scary…"
The Exorcists clearly felt the same, some of them taking a few steps back. Freed grimaced. "Okay, so you stepped up your design game from last time. Fair enough. But if I recall correctly, those things were basically like tissue paper, so…"
Roy snapped his fingers, and all of his Knights snapped to attention. Then, wordlessly, he pointed at the Exorcists.
Kill.
"Ooh, scary-OH SHIT!" Freed screamed as the Knights charged forth. The Outriders leaped and lunged and swung at strange angles, their blades leaving frostbitten wounds where they landed. The Ringed Knights' flaming weapons smashed through the car, melting the metal instantly. The 'normal' Knights lunged out with spears, swords, axes and flails, only barely warded off by the priests' hastily drawn blades of light. This time, however, when counterattacks landed (which was much less frequently), the wounds would merely seal shut with a wisp of black fog.
"Did you really think I'd stick to the same thing twice?" he asked angrily.
While Roy was talking, one of Freeds allies recovered his courage and began to charge at him, slicing through the spears that were immediately thrust at him
Even as another Knight slid in, interposing its shield between him and the running man, Kiba leapt over the soldier, conjuring a large, rectangular, dull broadsword. Bringing it down with a slam, a wave of wind launched out, blasting the Exorcist directly into the path of a flaming spear.
Meanwhile, Akeno lifted off into the air. Her giggling made the exorcists look up nervously. "Hurting my Kohai? You naughty boys ought to be ashamed of yourselves." She raised her hand to form a ball of lightning. She threw it down with a giggle, the ball exploding several strips of electricity that travelled through the road and electrocuted two more of the men. Their screams echoed dimly through Roy's senses, through the ears of all of his Knights.
As the battle raged, Rias and Koneko found their way over to the bleeding boy. "Koneko, can you heal him?"
Koneko knelt by him, placing her hands on his body. Her expression hardened a little more. "Nn…his life force is tainted by Holy. It's resisting."
Issei coughed and looked up, his vision darkening. "G-Gre…mory...Senpai?"
"Hang on Issei! We're gonna save you!"
"That would be nice…but even if you did…I can't really feel my legs right now…"
The white-haired girl bunched up, her mouth twisting frustratedly. "Buchou…I can't. I'm not good at healing."
The brown-haired boy stared hazily up at her. "E-eh? Am I making you sad, Koneko-chan…?" Shakily, he reached up to pat her on the head. "S-sorry for being such a no-good…pervert."
Her jaw clenched, but she didn't do anything to stop him.
Rias bit her lip. While she could certainly use healing magic to save him, she was nowhere near proficient enough in its use to completely fix his body. There was one thing that could do, however.
Holding out her hand, she focused on her desire, and her Aura responded, shaping itself into a magic circle. A faint light shone over him, her magic probing into his being to tell her just how many Pawns he might be worth. After Roy rejecting her Rooks, it felt prudent to see whether she could do this at all. It doesn't matter. This boy was under my watch, and I let him get taken, just like Roy! It's my responsibility to help him!
Then the results came back: The number 8 lit up in the circle. At her current level of power, it would take all of her Pawns to reincarnate Hyoudou Issei and heal his injuries. She quickly summoned her box of Evil Pieces and opened it.
But then I'd be left with a Knight and my Rooks, she thought, feeling momentarily guilty at hesitating, I could use my Rooks, but then…I wouldn't be able to reincarnate Roy…
Eight pawns or two rooks…come on! Am I really so shallow that I can't decide something like this?!
"Whoops!" said Freed cheerfully, even as he backflipped over a swing from Kiba and one of the Outriders to land on the car, "Almost forgot about you guys!" Casually, he pulled out a pistol and took aim at Issei…
Only to leap away as Rias sent a bolt of crimson energy right back at him, making him cry out as it grazed his arm, taking off a large patch of skin. "Gah, bitch!" Then, as Roy's Knights stabbed at him again, forcing him to dodge some more, he finally yelled, "Y'know what, fuck this, I'm out!" Stowing his gun, he pulled out a small ball, which he immediately spiked onto the ground.
Instantly, a blinding flash of light filled the area, followed by an ear-splitting screech that made everyone (including the other exorcists) cry out in shock, annoyance and frustration. While Roy's summons weren't harmed by the flash bomb, the intense light still prevented them from seeing exactly where the man had run off too. He sent out his Sensor birds to watch him, but-
*BANG! BANG!*
A series of gunshots raced out, obliterating them. By the time he'd dipped into his reserves to reform them, and everyone had blinked the spots out of their vision, he was gone.
"Motherfucker!" he yelled in frustration, even as his summons capitalized on the momentary distraction to dispatch the remaining Exorcists. He suppressed a shudder, nausea churning in his gut as blades and spears pierced through flesh, some of them freezing or burning in the case of his Outriders and Ringed Knights. He turned away as their bodies fell, choosing instead to focus on Rias. "Issei!" he called out, running over and falling to his knees next to the boy, who was lying awfully still, "Oi, Issei!"
The redhead shook her head to clear it, and looked down at her Evil Pieces again. "He's…too far gone to heal normally."
Roy grimaced. Even if he were to summon one of his Mages, equipped with healing magic, it would only be on the level of healing something naturally. "Fuck…Fuck! What about your Evil Pieces?" he asked quickly, hope blooming in his chest as he eyed the box in her hands, "Would converting him heal him?"
She nodded. "It would, but…" She bit her lip. "He needs 8 pawns to be brought back."
His eyes widened. "Holy shit…so his Sacred Gear must be something serious! Well, why don't you use your Rooks to do it? It'd do the job easily!"
Rias flinched. "W-well, yes, but…"
He gave her a confused look. "But what? If you've got a way to save my friend, then you gotta do it!"
"But if I do, then you won't…!" She broke off, gritting her teeth.
Ah, he realized, It would become nearly impossible for her to convert me without growing stronger.
But I'm not the one who'll die if she doesn't!
He put a hand on her upper arm. "Please," he told her emphatically, "I can keep going as a human for a while longer. He can't. And I don't want you to just use up all your Pawns just because you're waiting on me."
Rias hung her head, avoiding his gaze. Then, slowly, she withdrew her two Rooks. "...I order, in my name: Rias Gremory…"
Roy sagged with relief. Thank god…
She could have used her Pawns instead.
It's not worth holding onto her Rooks if it winds up taking years to use them on me. I'll find another way.
But what?
I don't know. But it doesn't matter right now, he decided, watching as a red light washed over him, the two Rooks sinking into his friend's body. He watched as the gaping, bloody hole in his back sealed over, leaving unmarked flesh.
What matters is making those Fallen Angel bastards pay for this.
ASM
AN: Oof…this chapter fought me tooth and nail until I finally got it done, lemme tell you. I think this is a sign for me to take a break from it for a little while. For now, I will be working on my friends' other works, particularly UnitedOsprey1991's Journeys of the Dreamer series.
Notes time.
1: Yeah, I'm making Kiba a girl in this one. No reason. Well, some reason, but whatever.
2: I know a lot of you will be clamoring for Sona to be in the harem, but I'm on the fence about it, leaning towards 'no.' She's just not my type.
3: I do, however, enjoy giving Koneko a more prominent 'fuck around and find out' attitude. She has no reason to suppress her emotions here, so her constant deadpan and taciturn nature is pretty much all her.
4: Roy can control any and all of his summons as if they were parts of his own body, or let them fight on their own.
5: I have plans for Rias's usage of the Power of Destruction.
6: Koneko hates fighting Mr. Sandbag because of how stupidly resistant it is to her life force manipulation-based fighting style. Basically, imagine it as the sandbag from Smash Bros. mixed with the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.
7: Roy can now create magical henchmen. These are directly based on the main character from Wizard of Legend; they're fast and can cast their spells quickly, but said spells are on a cooldown and they can only have five spells at a time, which Roy can change before summoning them.
8: So, while Roy CAN create Dragons with his Medals, as long as he's limited to Tier 1 monsters, any Dragon he creates will be fairly small if he wants any amount of elemental potency. Larger dragons would have to be…simpler.
9: Chiaki bonding. Hope y'all like it. Also some explaining of how the mechanics of her various talismans are made. While they require a LOT less intensive studying than regular magic, they make up for it by taking stupid amounts of time to make.
10: Building a little more on Roy and Issei's relationship.
11: Just in time for Freed to jump his ass and take him away for some discreet shanking. Literally the only reason he didn't just kill Issei right there in the van is because cleaning the blood out of the upholstery is a bitch.
12: Numistmatomancy, the book that Roy was looking at, is the IRL art of using coins to predict the future. Rias mentioned it to him back in Chapter 1.
13: This fight scene, in particular, is what had me dragging my feet. I was just too stuck on what words to use to actually say anything, and this was the result.
14: Rias would have used both Rooks right away if she didn't also have the memory of trying to convert Roy weighing her down. As a high class Devil, she was most likely brought up to think as strategically about her Piece usage as possible. Unlike in canon, she knew (via Roy and Freed mentioning it) that he had a Sacred Gear, and thus took a moment to check his value.
And now, time for new Aspects and Creatures!
Aspects:
Resilience: Creatures formed with this Aspect at their core are able to keep functioning no matter how much damage they take, and take much less damage in general from attacks.
Sensory: It is easier to grant creatures with this Aspect abilities pertaining to sight, hearing, smell, or any other form of sensing.
Magic: Creatures with this Template are capable of wielding Magic. How that capability manifests is up to the creator.
Dragon: Draconic energy can be utilized by creatures of this Template. Any design choices that adhere to the concept of a Dragon are much cheaper to reproduce, within Tier limitations.
Creatures:
Mr. Sandbag
Tier-1
Aspect: Resilience
Abilities: Peak-human strength, Superhuman durability, redundant physiology, physical resistance, all element resistance, shock absorption
Sensor Birds
Tier-1
Aspect: Sensory
Abilities: flight, Supernatural aura detection, enhanced vision-sharing
Battle Mages
Tier-1
Aspect: Magic
Abilities: Peak Human speed, agility, reflexes, high-speed spellcasting (variable elements)
Candlelighter
Tier-1
Aspect: Dragon
Abilities: Flight, Dragon Scales, Dragon Claws, Fire Breathing
Outrider Knights
Tier-1
Aspect: Knight
Abilities: [See Shadow Knight], Frost weaponry, Ice Aura
Ringed Knights
Tier-1
Aspect: Knight
Abilities: [See Shadow Knight], Flame Weaponry, Fire Aura
That will be all for now. Until next time, if you have any questions or comments, send me a PM or leave a review. If you want to chat with me on a regular basis, I'm on Discord as NSG#1827.
North South Out.