Chapter 5

Rias and Sona, and their entire Peerages were in the Occult Research club room after their "training" with EMIYA. The Parents of Rias' new peerage members had gone home after their children had all been tested by the white-haired man, that Saji was calling a sadistic psychopath in his mind. The kids were all sprawled out over everything, not wanting to perform their various duties tonight because of soreness. Sakura was also the only one with any energy left, because EMIYA wasn't going to do any training with a little girl. Kazuto also had some energy left, but he was a training nut, so Asuna said that he didn't count.

Something suddenly occurred to Rias and she looked at the couch where Issei was laying with his little sister sitting on top of him, she asked, "EMIYA, how do you know about Gasper?"

They heard a snort come from the claw-like gauntlet that Issei had been taught how to summon and still had out, "I have called home a dimension where you all already exist, and multiple alternate versions of me have become, at the very least, acquainted with you all in some way or other. Gasper's power is particularly interesting to me, because after becoming a Sacred Gear and gaining the knowledge and power of Primus, who you know, quite mistakenly, as God, I saw the true nature of all Sacred Gears and how they are supposed to be used."

Everyone rapidly sat up, forgetting their exhaustion, and Sona asked, "Do you mean that…?"

They could all hear the smirk in his voice, "Yes, Rias technically has the greatest enemy of your kind as her subordinate, but that is getting off topic."

Everyone's eyes were twitching as he casually dismissed something like that, and Rias asked, "Can Issei use his power?"

EMIYA was mentally shaking his head as he said, "Without killing himself and you all, and restarting the Great War, not his full power. That power is, at the moment, so far beyond the limits of what the boy can accomplish it isn't even funny; trying to handle that much power at once, even though his influence is a healing influence, is suicide; back to the topic of Gasper and his Sacred Gear, Forbidden Balor View. That was actually an experiment of Primus' where he used a sample of power he had gotten from a fight he had with Balor and successfully manipulated it using a rather well known sheath to give it the effects that the sheath had, in fact the most commonly known usage of that Sacred Gear in particular is so far from the way it was intended to be used. It is, quite frankly, ludicrous how far off base people are, they even have the thing misnamed. Tell me Rias, from your memory what is it classed as and what are its effects."

Rias only had to think for a second and said, "It is a Time-Space Sacred Gear that allows the wielder to stop the time of whatever they look at, but I get the feeling from what you said that isn't the way it is supposed to be used in the slightest."

"If it was actually based on Balor's power, why are its effects not related to wide scale fiery destruction?"

Sona and Kiba got it at the same time, but she was quicker to say it, "Because of the sheath you mentioned."

"How very astute of you. Now, can any of you guess the name of that sheath?"

Kiba was the first to guess, because of his history with the blades called Excalibur, and the description of Sheath of Excalibur's power, "Avalon."

The others eyes widened, because even in Japan the legends of King Arthur were well known, "Yes. The true name of the Sacred Gear is supposed to be Eyes of Avalon, and its effects are supposed to be applied to the wielder and his allies, not his enemies. It temporarily removes whatever is under its effects from both the normal time stream and local reality into a small but indestructible bounded field, which is a fully visible and mobile pocket dimension, that the wielder can use to speed up or slow down their own and their allies' personal time while being invulnerable to attacks from the outside. It also allows the wielder to revert their bodies to an uninjured state through time reversal. The use of it to bind ones enemies and completely stop time within its area of influence is extremely counter-productive, to the point of it being ridiculous that it is used that way. It takes at least thirty times more power to completely stop time and to apply that particular power at a distance to someone else than it does to use it on yourself and merely manipulate how your personal time flows. If it truly did just stop time within the wielders field of vision, as people assume it does, then anyone it is used on Earth should technically become what is colloquially known as street pizza from crashing into the nearest solid object at approximately one thousand mile per hour after its effects have vanished. The user would also incur the 'wrath' of the Universe in trying to break its laws and would instantly die. It is, in fact, probably the most powerful Sacred Gear in existence, aside from mine, but because of misuse it is not classified as such."

Everyone there was still trying to scrape their jaws off the floor a moment later when Rias made a statement that caused poor EMIYA to mentally face-palm, "I thought that it just had something to do with the magic of it."

They actually heard the answering smack to the Counter Guardian's face, "Magic is the manipulation of the Natural Laws of the Universe through the use of quantum energy fields. It is, in fact, one hundred percent scientific, and not mystical, in origin and use. As such, when the 'magical' phenomenon are occurring there are laws of the Universe that they have to either work with or work around to accomplish their goals. Laws of the Universe cannot be broken no matter how much power you possess. Your power in particular actually is just the ability to weaken and destroy the bonds that atoms and other particles have with each other at their most basic level. Magic resistance and magic slash life energy are just the combination and quantum fusion and replication of the electro-magnetic energy generated by your bodies, the radiation levels within your bodies caused by the different forms of radiation breakdown, and the strength of the strong and weak nuclear forces holding all the individual atoms of your bodies together. This and any outside energy that you take in is, generally, channeled through entry and exit points on your quantum 'soul' interconnected by pathways that can handle only certain amounts of the quantum energy, which are called Magic Circuits in my original universe. Name any magical or supernatural power that you can think of and there is a technological equivalent in any universe where humanity exists."

Sona, who had the best grasp on subjects like physics and chemistry, realized how that explanation made sense, except in one area, "But then why does our race need to be connected to a particular sin to exist?"

EMIYA mentally shook his head, "You don't. It is due to the belief that you are actually devils that this idiocy came about. Your kind are descended from humans, and whether they admit it or not, humans have a natural disposition towards doing evil. Using your race as a way to validate your wrongdoing, and then saying that you do wrong things because you are of a particular race, is completely ludicrous and the result of circular reasoning, but the second part of the statement is completely true. All things that are descended from man will always do evil things and seek a way to validate their wrongdoing. There is no validation for evil that comes from a source other than that evil itself, and I do believe that you know what self-validation is called and where it comes from."

Rias and everyone else winced as they all came to roughly the same conclusion, and she answered, "Empty pride that uses itself as its own basis, and it comes from circular reasoning, just like you said." She then asked the question that had been bugging her from the start of EMIYA telling them all these things, "Why are you telling us all of this?"

EMIYA sighed, "Since becoming a Sacred Gear there are many things that have been made clear to me, because I have collected the wisdom and knowledge of all my, and any of the souls trapped within me, sometimes millions of years old alternate selves across the multiverse. This universe in particular is so full of lies and misunderstanding that it is ridiculous how anyone continues to believe them, yet believe them they do. I am telling you these things so that you will no longer believe lies, but that you will believe the truth instead. I won't always tell you all everything, because there are some things that you are just not yet ready to handle, but what I think you can handle, I will tell you when I think it is time. Now, I do believe that you are about to get an opportunity of your own to teach your new friends some things."

When he went silent, Issei was about to ask what he meant, when Rias and Sona's phones dinged with a message that the Stray known as Viser was in the area, and they needed to eliminate her.

Rias looked tiredly at Sona, "Do you want to take her, or should I?"

Sona sighed and looked at their gathered peerages, "How about we work together on this one, considering how tired out everyone is?"

Rias nodded as she forced herself to stand up, "Alright everyone, let's go, we have a Stray Devil to kill."

Issei and Saji tilted their heads to the side, with the latter asking, "I thought that we aren't actually devils, after what that sadist was saying."

Sona winced as she answered her pawn, "Apparently we aren't, but if there are any of our race that actually earn the title of devil then it is usually them. Now, let's get going so that we can teach all you newbies about our powers."

There was a chorus of groans and moans that accompanied their rise from "death." It continued slightly all the way to the building where Viser had set up camp. When they were within a few hundred feet of the place, Issei smelt the overpowering stench of death, blood, and darkness. He stopped and wobbled on his feet for a few seconds with Sakura holding tightly onto his hand.

She looked at Issei, bringing everyone's attention to him, "Are you alright, Big Brother?"

Issei managed to smile kindly at her while shaking his head, "Yes Sakura, I am fine. Rias, can we leave someone here with Sakura?"

Everyone raised their eyebrow to ask why, and Rias asked, "Why would you want that, Issei?"

The boy winced, "Ever since I can remember, I have always been able to smell magic and other things better than anyone, and I just smelled blood and death. That isn't something I want my little sister seeing just yet."

Sakura yanked on his hand with a pout, "I am not that little."

Rias nodded with slightly widened eyes, "Of course, I didn't even think about that. Usually, our kind is introduced to this sort of thing at a very young age, but a very young and formerly human child wouldn't be ready for this. I may like to say that my Peerage is my family, but I forget that we weren't brought up the same way. Sona, would you be willing to…?"

Sona shook her head at her own friend's absentmindedness, "I may as well. Tsubaki, you have been with me long enough that I doubt you will be needed for the demonstration against Viser. Please watch over Issei's little sister."

Tsubaki nodded her head in a partial bow, "Of course President."

Sakura spoke up with a cute pout on her face, "I don't need to be watched over like some baby."

Issei gently turned her towards himself and knelt so he was looking her in the eye, "I know you aren't a baby, Sakura, but there are some things that I just don't think you need to see yet."

Sakura glared at her big brother, "But Mr. Ddraig showed me all his battles and stuff, and I doubt that this will be any worse than those."

All of them had been filled in on exactly who was inside the Boosted Gear, so all of them raised an eyebrow at that, and EMIYA was mentally face-palming from inside Issei, "He is awake, is he?"

A deep and gravelly voice answered from a glowing green spot on the back of Sakura's left hand, "Indeed, I told the girl not spill the secret that I was awake, but I guess you can't count on little children to keep secrets."

Sakura growled as she moved her hand to in front of her face, "I am not a little child, you big meanie."

Ddraig chuckled, "Sure you aren't… hatchling."

The girl growled at her hand, and Rias bizarrely wondered if she was going to try and bite it. Especially considering her eyes were glowing green and reptilian with her canines slightly pronounced. They all heard Ddraig continue chuckling at her.

EMIYA was about ready to tear his non-existent hair out, "You mean to tell me that you were awake this whole dang time, and you did NOTHING to keep your master from dying!?"

Ddraig was silent for a moment, "…sigh… It was your powerful presence and the resonance I felt with the me inside you that awoke me, but at the time I was kind of asleep and the girl hasn't actually called forth my physical form yet, or even learned how."

Rias and Sona were busy face-palming while everyone else stood there slack-jawed, some of them with their left eye twitching, and Issei said, with perfect calmness, "If you weren't technically a part of my sister I would be finding any dragon slaying sword I could and make your life as miserable as I could."

Ddraig snorted, "From what I have discussed with the other me, I could have done worse and ended up with you for a host. My life would have definitely been interesting, but I doubt that I would have wanted to go through with you what most other versions of me go through, namely you being a giant pervert."

Issei sputtered indignantly, "I am no pervert, you useless reptile."

Sakura quickly spoke up happily, "Does this mean I can watch you kill that weird lady that I smell?"

EMIYA mentally stumbled and then connected the dots in his brain, from the green eyes, keen sense of smell that rivals his own, and the long since awake Ddraig, "She is more adapted to that power then almost all the other alternate versions of Issei are after more years of living with it inside him then she has been alive. Her affinity to it must be astounding. If she doesn't achieve Balance Breaker and control of Juggernaut Drive by a month from now, I will eat Durandal."

He didn't realize that he was still communicating out loud for all to hear, and Rias quickly shook her head and, to get everyone to scrape their jaws off the ground, said, "Let's just get going to Viser so she doesn't try to escape on us."

They nodded and divided up into the two separate peerages, with the kings and newbies at the back, and the experienced members at the front. They walked basically in silence until they filed into the house, which was full of bones, rotting flesh, and strips of clothing stained brown by the dried blood. It was a decidedly ghastly scene, made especially more so when the naked torso of a long white haired woman appeared near the second story of the building, though the features seemed off for a reason that Issei just couldn't seem to place.

Issei held his nose as he said, "She smells disgusting."

Matsuda muttered beside him, "I can see the spiritual hole in her chest, right between her gigantic breasts."

Motohama winced as he pushed up his glasses, "And they are imbued with magic that makes them full of milk and then turns that to high speed acid upon firing."

The three friends all let a collective shiver go up their spines as they each saw and smelt their own disgusting aspect of the Stray Devil in front of them. Viser, who luckily didn't hear them, rasped out, ""I smell something bad, but I also smell something delicious. I wonder if it's sweet, or if it's bitter?"

Rias called out to her, "Stray Devil Viser, Murderous Psychopath, and killer of your master. You have broken the laws of the Underworld and your penalty is death. Do you have any last words before we take you down?"

The strangely beautiful creature fully revealed her lower body, causing all the newbies eyes to almost literally pop out of their skulls. It was a grotesque thing that wouldn't have looked out of place in a horror movie. The strangely humanoid front legs with giant pink claws coming out of an almost horse-like body that had a giant mouth situated in the chest and an almost normal looking rear, if you discount the snake tail, was almost causing four of the new boys, which didn't include Kirito for some reason, to puke. Her eyes turned completely black, and her teeth and ears elongated.

The creature's voice distorted the same as her visage as she started fondling her two rather large and dangerous canons, "You are such a 'little' girl, Gremory! I will rip your body and color it in red just like your hair!"

At this pronouncement Sona didn't even wait for the creature to activate the magic of her bosom, and called to her two bishops, "Momo, Reya!"

The two nodded and held out their hands, magic circles appearing in front of them, "Yes President."

A barrier appeared and blocked the white acid from hitting anyone, with Rias taking on a lecturing tone for the newbies, "Those two are bishops, meaning that their magic power is boosted instead of their physical attributes."

Kiba and Meguri disappeared and reappeared on either side of Viser, cutting off her arms with a couple of katana's, with Kiba's obviously being a product of his Sacred Gear. Rias continued her narrative tone for the dumbfounded newbies, "Those two are knights, meaning that their enhanced speed is their greatest attribute."

Koneko, with her tail and ears finally on full display, ran in with Tsubasa right on her heels. She let loose with a punch to the creature's body mouth that shattered all its teeth and lifted it off the ground, though she was still holding back on her power somewhat. Tsubasa jumped above her and got a spear, which the creature had been holding onto using its snake tail, jabbed towards her face. She didn't try to dodge and allowed the spear to break on her forehead, grabbing onto it and using it to pull herself at the creature with a good-ole-fashioned mule kick to the chest that slammed it back towards the earth.

Rias smiled at all their gob-smacked expressions, "They are Rooks, meaning that they have enhanced strength and durability."

Tsubaki appeared and with all her queen enhance strength lopped off the snake tail with her Naginata. Sona used her power of water to bind the four "legs" of the creature to the ground, and Akeno flew up with both her bat-like and bird-like wings on full display coming out of the back of her Miko outfit. "Holy" and "Demonic" lightning gathered in between her hands in an almost uncontrollable storm as she unleashed it on the creature with a slight smile. Rias mentally noted that it was significantly different from what she was used to seeing from her friend, though there were definitely still quite noticeable traces of dark pleasure in her friends dancing violet eyes.

Rias point at Tsubaki and Akeno, "Those two are queens, meaning that they have all the others' attributes at the same time, and it is quite obvious which ones they use most often." Rias turned and looked directly into the badly burnt and wounded monstrosity, and repeated her earlier words almost cheerfully, "Any last words, Stray Devil Viser."

The thing looked wearily and blurrily towards the source of the voice, "Kill me, Gremory."

Rias nodded as she said, "Checkmate."

Her power gathered in front of her forward-facing hands, but she forgot EMIYA's earlier advice and tried to use her Gremory Seal to channel her power of destruction. The power quickly swirled out of control, destroying the manifested seal and shooting forwards in an uncontrolled fashion. It annihilated everything in its path, destroying the back half of the house and about three hundred feet of forest and garden behind the small mansion. Those on the different Peerages were barely able to get out of the way, some suffering fringe damage to their clothing and Sona ending up with a slight "destruction burn" on the back of her left hand. The bespectacled girl glared at her best friend/rival with a look that could make steel melt.

Rias winced, "Sorry, Sona. I am still not used to this power."

Issei quickly spoke up for him and all the other newbies, "What are we?"

Rias somehow managed to look at them quite cheerfully, with Sona and Akeno shaking their heads in exasperation with her antics, "You are all pawns."

The three friends, despite not being perverts in this dimension, were still teenage boys, and they all had one thought go through their minds, "Chicks don't dig pawns."