" Unfortunately, Rias-senpai. I'm not at the legal marriage age yet."
She giggled, and suddenly, an intricate symbol appeared from thin air, and dropped a runed box to her hand. Right now, Faust was freaking out. What she did defied laws of physics and human capabilities, and he was unable to create anything that made sense of it. However, the woman was putting the wooden box on the table, and opened it.
Giving up on making immediate reason to such phenomenon, Faust instead focused himself on the matters on hand. They just played chess, and inside the box were glowing red chess-pieces, as if they were filled with phosphor. Moreover, the light was actually... beating. Each one of those pieces was like living beings.
" What I mean, Faust-kun..."
Rias' smile got wider, as she showed the glowing pieces to him.
" Become part of my, devil Rias Gremory's, peerage."
The last piece of the puzzle clicked together. Immediately, a rush of possibilities swarmed his brain. He pieced them together like putting correct number on a sudoku puzzle, and arrived to a complete explanation of the anomalies that had been happening.
" Before that... enlighten me, Rias-senpai."
" Yes?"
" All traces of Issei's supposed girlfriend, Amano Yuuma disappeared, and him getting recruited to this club... And then rumors about him tainting the Two Great Onee-samas... and Sona-kaichou's sudden fake assignment... This guy—"
He pointed at Issei.
" Got turned to a devil?"
His eyes changed from shock, then pity, then cold wrath. But then, those mellowed down a little. He relaxed on the sofa, slurped his cup dry, and then put it down, his eyes never leaving Rias Gremory.
" Yes. He's now one of my family members."
She glanced at Issei, who was also chuckling shyly. In normal situations, this could be said as a wholesome senpai-kouhai relation, but to Faust, this devil had ensnared its prey. And he was their next target.
Thus, he took the most logical step to keep himself alive.
" Haha, Rias-senpai. Nice joke. Playing along was really worth it."
" What?"
She was flabbergasted, and that was her only response. Faust had dealt with the devils with the way he thought most effective. He must make sure that the first hurdle, that was, making him believe them was never fulfilled.
Or at least, they didn't know it was fulfilled.
" I mean, devils? This is the 21st century, you know?"
Rias sighed, and stood up.
" This is a little different than I'd expected, but..."
A loud flap was heard, and he saw lean, leather bat wings sprouting out from her back, and the rest of the club members' backs. His face inevitably paled, and that was enough reaction to have her convinced that he already knew.
Finally, he exhaled, regained his calm, and made himself comfortable.
" No reaction? I was prepared of you fainting, though."
No matter what he said, it was already too late. Weren't devils supposed to not give out their identities to humans? At least follow the classic scripts a little! Faust was half-screaming in his mind.
" Whatever. This boorish play has gone too far. Akeno-senpai, thank you for the tea, but I'll be heading home."
How in the world was he supposed to protect himself from devils? They didn't exactly follow the laws, or at least, this world's laws, did they? Just what basis were they operating on? What rules bound them?
" Still, that makes sense of pretty much everything."
He walked home, letting the night air soothe him. His phone was ringing a lot, but he was in no mood for a scolding. Faust decided to leave that for later.
Even when he reached home, his mother's harsh and unreasonable words, for once, didn't even enter his mind. He was so preoccupied with the matters in hand that he was going autopilot the whole time.
Thus, uneventfully, he fell to the bed and slept, trying to make the problems fade away and hopefully, disappear the next day. Unfortunately, life wasn't that kind.
" Hm? It's dark..."
He woke up, and fell asleep again for whole 15 minutes. The Japanese punctuality couldn't allow more than than that, thus he woke up again.
" Hm, this is weird. I'm bound by something."
He wriggled free from the iron grip that was soft but tough to break from. The thing that kept him in place, or rather, things, were white, slender, and lithe arms. Rias Gremory, in her natural glory, was sprawled on his bed.
Due to the absurditiy of the situation, he instead felt clear and light. This was the first time his brain had malfunctioned this bad. He stretched his limbs, and shook the woman a little.
" Rias-senpai. Wake up. We need to prepare for school."
She moaned, and moved around. It seemed since devils were nocturnal, they were really bad at mornings. In that regard, he could definitely get along with them. He got out of bed, and cracked a few disobedient joints. After a few pops. He yawned and put a blanket over her fully naked body. A brief glance had already threatened his sanity and self-control. He literally almost assaulted her then and there.
" Wait, Faust-kun. *yawn* I'll come with you."
The blanket slid off, revealing all her body. She raised both hands, and bent her back.
" Put on some clothes."
" Ara, you can look if you want, you know."
She went ahead and posed on the bed. Even a clumsy modelling pose with her kind of body would be lethal, and she'd pulled off a pose only gravure idols could. She giggled at his poker face, with extra red hue. Even if he could control his mind, his body revolted.
" Rias-senpai, I'm not complaining, but are you okay with being naked around someone you just met?
Faust was still in his home wear, sitting on his bed facing the wall.
" Well, not everyone. I'm clothed already, Faust-kun."
He turned around, as she fluttered her silky red hair. Then, she sat on his chair, spinning it to face him.
" I actually wanted to discuss about yesterday's matter."
" Well, alright. But, really, it's just about you guys going too far..."
Her eyes turned sharp. It seemed she wanted to say something, and kept it inside.
" Faust-kun. You know that I know that you noticed. I was wrong, doing that to a human with no knowledge of the supernatural world. For that, I apologize. But—"
He raised his hand and stopped her from going further.
" Rias-senpai, even if you were a devil, what good would come from telling me?"
After that, she finally got what he was implying. He already understood that she, and the rest of the club were devils. However, he couldn't trust her not having any underlying motives. As she'd already seen that he would not budge unless he trusted her more, she stopped pressing him.
" Geez, Faust-kun. You really have no trust for other people, huh?"
" I look both sides before crossing one-way road."
" That much... Well, alright. Let's prepare for school, shall we? We don't want to risk having Sona scold us."
She winked at him and started fully cloth herself. When she said she was clothed, he'd expected her being fully dressed, but in truth, she was just wearing the shirt part of her school uniform.
Even now, Faust could not comprehend this so-called devil. Her actions indicated favorable impression, but he never felt like he did something worth noting. That was one of the reasons he had such a hard time believing.
" Only if you erase everyone's memories of this morning afterwards."
" That's doable, are you sure, though?"
His smile was cold and uncaring.
" Why not?"
" Alright then. Your family won't have any idea."
There would be no end to the comments, blackmailing, and the likes if his family had any memories of this. He could already imagine the comment of, 'you're embarassing your woman', or other stupid advices they failed to do themselves. Had they been abiding, he thought, this family would've been more harmonious.
Rias' presence and mind-control magic gave him a rare peaceful morning. Suddenly, they became yes-men, and amiable. They were teasing him, but the usual spicy comments were not there. If he hadn't known better, he would've thought they were a normal family.
They went to school, mostly with her talking. He wasn't the most sociable person, but he gave the effort to respect her.
" Still, about you beating Sona in chess. How did you get that good? I mean, she can be said a really good player, pretty much unbeatable even."
" She's exaggerating. She wiped me out several times."
" And after a few games, you started winning."
" Well, do you believe that everything has this pattern? I just see the underlying pattern and base my strategy on that."
" That's an interesting outlook. But I don't think it's that easy."
" Someone as smart as you, Rias-senpai, will master it in no time once you get the hang of it."
She giggled and pinched his cheek.
" Look at you. Even though you say you don't trust people?"
" No trust doesn't mean I can't be amiable to people, Rias-senpai. Besides, you've been treating me quite well, it makes sense to reciprocate."
He shook his head to stop her pinch.
" It seems you and Sona-kaichou have good relationship? You sound to know a lot from her."
" Our families know each other so I've been with her since childhood."
" I see. It must be very nice."
The distance to school from his home wasn't that far. Thus, just with a short walk, they reached the school.
" Faust-kun, why are you that far?"
" Oh yeah. Sorry, force of habit."
He coughed and returned. This didn't escape her eyes, though, as this behavior was a little odd. But Faust Kuroki had always been a little unique, so she accepted it and didn't confront him about it.
As soon as Rias Gremory entered other students' vision, they began chanting praises. Well of course, he thought. She was a foreign girl with beauty enough to turn heads wherever she was, and amazing proportions to boot. Moreover, her personality and intelligence had crowned her the title of Two Great Ladies together with Akeno Himejima. This was referenced to almost all of Kuoh Academy population's opinion, including teacher and staff.
" What's that android doing with Rias-sama?!"
" Is her preference smart guys? Damn, I thought it's the age of bad boys!"
" As expected of the android... But, I thought he and Sona-kaicou were an item?"
Rias Gremory giggled at the last comment.
" Fufu. It seems you're quite popular, Faust-kun. It certainly makes sense for me to be interested in you, correct? You even snared the ice-cold Sona Sitri, after all."
" Senpai, you and I know that's not true. Ah, I'm going this way."
" Yes. Do come to Occult Research Club after school, I'll be waiting."
He honestly didn't want to come. That was basically the den of devils, after all. If Rias Gremory hadn't forced her way in, he would've never tried to get involved with her anymore. But, out of both fear and curiosity, he played along. Risking the wrath of an unknown was too reckless, and he didn't want to bear that.
She went up the stairs of the new school building, and Faust went the other way.
" I see you move fast. How's him, Rias?"
A petite-figured girl leaned to a pillar, arms crossed. Her glasses framing the ruby eyes gave her the vibe of an intelligent beauty. Rias shrugged at her friend.
" He's just as you described. I can really understand why you're so interested in him, Sona. He's such a fresh character."
" Knowing you, you probably went ahead and told him."
She smiled at her best friend.
" You know me best."
" Listen Rias. Don't force him to join your peerage, or anything against his will. Promise me you won't."
She faced her best friend's serious expression without any tension.
" Who do you think I am? Besides, I just got a new member. I'm not that greedy."
She looked downwards, where Faust had apparently ignored the screaming of Issei's usual companions. They looked annoyed, but decided against disturbing him further.
For the first time in a while, both male and female swarmed him.
" Hey, Kuroki-kun. How did you get to walk with Rias-senpai?"
" Ne, Kuroki-kun. Is it true that Rias-sama is good at piano?"
But, the swarm was immediately dispersed by very distinctive people. A tall person with monk-like head, and a glasses boy pushed through the crown, fully intent on interrogating him. The self-proclaimed haters of popular people smacked his table hard.
" DAMN YOU! *sob*"
" HOW CAN YOU *sniff* monopolize RI-AS-SAMA like THAT?!"
In normal situation, their actions would be quite intimidating. However, their snot-covered face and sobbing actually proved to be beneficial for him.
" They look so gross that the others actually back off..."
He was very impressed at the sheer expression their faces were making. They were at the level of comical already, with river of tears and teeth gritting only possible in manga or anime. Luckily, the bell rang, and the students raced back to their seats.
Faust was a little worn down after several barrages of questions from his classmates, and at times, even people from other classes. Rias Gremory's name had spread far and wide, to the point her position as the unreachable flower was laid firm in everyone's hearts.
" If only they knew she's a devil..."
He sighed, and looked at his fist. He wondered, if he ever had to oppose the supernatural, what card did he have?
" What? Issei got attacked?"
Faust looked at his goofy friend in shock. The guy was rubbing the back of his head shyly, then thrust his fist out.
" Look here. Sacred Gear!"
A shockwave occured, and after it subsided, a red fingerless gauntlet appeared on his arm. It had golden protrusions that suspiciously looked like horns, and a big emerald pearl on the back of his hand. Faust curiously examined the thing, and even poked it. Just how did this metal armament appear from his arm? How was that even possible?
Mankind's science was out of question, thus he resorted to basic observations again, and speculations.
" Ara, you're all here already?"
Rias had entered the clubroom a little later than usual. She sighed at tiredness, and saw Faust poking away at Issei's newfound gear. She smiled and coughed to gain some attention.
" Well, I suppose I'll be explaining now."
Finally sitting on her usual chair, she felt the fatigue dissipating a little.
" Sacred gear is a tool from God for humans. They give them special powers, some stronger than others. For example, look at Issei's gear."
She pointed at the red armlet.
" It's called Twice Critical. Its power is simple, doubling the user's power. He awakened it when he got attacked by a fallen angel."
Faust's head was already thinking of whatever they were speaking about, and adding new information to his memory. Then, Rias started a history lesson on the Three Factions, and their relationship with each others.
As her story ended, he was left with a lot of questions. However, as he was now, he couldn't completely trust them yet. Right now, his position was a human mistakenly wandering to a den of devils, and had no idea still.
While he was still mulling over the story, the white-haired mascot of Kuoh stole several glances at him.
" Toujou-san, right? Do you need my help with something?"
She showed her notes to him.
" Kuroki-senpai, I don't know about this part."
" Aahh... Literature, huh? That's quite tricky. Look, if it's hard to find the main idea of the whole thing, you can split them to paragraphs, and find their main first. Then, combine them to make a short story, then you can find out the main idea of this whole text."
She nodded, and continued to work.
" How about this?"
" You need to find the function first. Use this formula."
" Thank you, Kuroki-senpai."
" Mm-hmm."
" By the way, what were you doing tailing pervert-senpai on their date?"
Faust immediately choked on his tea. He'd finally known what, or rather, who was the shadow tailing Issei during their date. He smiled back and chuckled.
" And what were you doing there, Toujou-san?"
She put down her pen and munched on some sweet biscuits.
" Following someone who is a priority target for fallen angels?"
He was stunned for a second at that highly logical explanation, but he soon remembered what his position.
" Haha, Toujou-san, you're really funny."
" No, really."
" WAIT A MINUTE!"
Issei suddenly screamed at me and got a little too close for comfort.
" Dude, mind the space."
" Never mind that! Dude, you sent me a whole damn hundred pages of guide!"
" I tend to go beyond standard."
" You know I'm an idiot, did you know I spent the whole night trying to understand what you wrote there? And how the hell did you write a hundred pages in just 5 hours?!"
" Persistence. And that's why I tailed you. Such an amus—Ehem, auspicious event should be perfect, so I was thinking of giving you back-up."
He grabbed his shoulders and started shaking.
" You wanted to say amusing, didn't you? HUH? DIDN'T YOU?"
" Must be your imagination."
" Ufufu~ Faust-kun, a hundred pages of dating guide?"
The long black-haired woman who was playing shogi with Rias also joined in. Faust shivered, and instantly looked at her.
" Well, I included routes, alternative routes, and the likes in case something happened. I mean, unexpected things can really make a date sour, right? And the guy would need to always have something to talk about, that had the highest possibility of taking the woman's interest. Thus, it ended up very long."
Issei scratched his head awkwardly after hearing that.
" Uhh, dude. Thanks, I guess. I didn't know you were so serious about that guide."
Faust tilted his head a little.
" Isn't that normal?"
The whole room was silent at his inquiry. Faust was puzzled, not understanding what was so strange about what he just said. Akeno was the first one to break the silence.
" Hmm~ I think having such a date would be a fresh experience. Say, Faust-kun. Wouldn't you take me on a date sometimes?"
The hair on the back of his neck stood up at the seductive voice of the Yamato Nadeshiko. He thought, doing good things wouldn't invite good things for sure.
" Damn, who was it that invented karma? Come, big brother promises not to kill you too brutally!"
Since Faust was originally a man who had very little trust on good will and humanity, Akeno's voice sounded like she had some ideas with him. Him being human in a den of devils didn't help him calm down at all. Koneko somewhat made him a little reassured, but this put him back in square one.
" I definitely need to find something to play against them... Just in case."
He'd recently dabbled on literatures about supernatural. Although he knew that regular human views might not help much, at least it was a start. However, since Rias' recent visit to his house, he decided against using his computer to do searching.
" Ahaha~ Himejima-senpai, I'm sure you can get anyone you set your eyes into."
This was the truth. Despite his fear to her, he genuinely agreed to her 'Yamato Nadeshiko' title. In fact, this title suited her so much it was baffling. She giggled and stood up. Then, she touched his cheek and watched him slightly redden with a completely poker face. After seeing him stiffen out of fear, she returned to her seat.
" I can kind of understand how you see him cute now. He's just adorable."
" Right? And if you see really closely, he's got lots of whute hair strands, although it's a little hard since his hair's gray."
Instead of continuing the game, they immediately gossiped about the only human in the club. He was currently fending off Issei's attempt of murder.
" Damn it... To think you'd end up.. Hhh, and here I thought I could get to show off to you."
Issei was half-depressed.
" Hey, hey. Don't be lke that. Rather than that, isn't there something cool you can show off?"
" What?"
He slouched and sat on the sofa after Kiba offered him his place. Apparently, he got some sort of contract. Faust was hoping it would be a normal part-time job with money payment, not soul or eternal slavery.
Still, he could get to that later.
" I mean, you drove off the supposedly archnemesis of devils, fallen angels right? C'mon, tell me. Did you break his bones or something?"
" Hook."
" Well, that wasn't actually so impressive you know~"
Issei grinned and lifted his chin with a satisfied expression. Also, somehow, he had a degenerate face.
" Line."
" If you want to know, then I have no choice, huh? Mm-hmm."
" Sinker. Easy."
He started story-telling about how he got ambushed by a fallen angel female when he suddenly summoned his latent power and drove her off, in ways he couldn't even begin to fathom.
" You... stripped her?"
" Hey! Don't make it sound like I'm some sort of rapist! I just blew her away along with her clothes!"
Issei angrily corrected him.
" Well, so let me clarify. When your so-called sacred gear activate, there was this shockwave of power?"
" Yeah."
" And that shockwave destroyed her clothes?"
Faust inwardly sighed. He chastised himself for hoping for any relevant information from this boob maniac. Such example was too weird to even be considered, but it opened up an interesting aspect he'd never expected.
Laughing a little, he labeled this memory as Issei's delusion. Just a little precaution, but he knew that mind magic somehow didn't work on him. But, he had to leave a way to escape for himself, by playing like he was a human not knowing anything. Even though they knew, he still had to. It was all he could come up with for now.
" He can actually control what happens with the power it stores... How interesting. And the energy abided to his wish, which is only one, really."
Given him, Faust dared to bet that Issei left the woman unblemished, as bruises would only mar the beauty of a fallen angel. Still, it must've been powerful enough for someone with comparable power to a devil to flee.
" Hm? Come to think of it, I have no idea how strong devils are."
Koneko looked at the clock, and then stood up. She put down her book and went to a corner of the room with some sort of incriptions laid on the floor.
" Buchou, I'll be going."
Rias nodded, and she disappeared to red light. He couldn't help but inwardly gasp at such unreal event. This was a world he knew nothing about, and like the original Faust, he wanted wisdom and knowledge they had. But unlike the original one, he had some idea to what would happen to people who made contracts with devils. At least, from literatures, and he planned to believe that until proven otherwise.
" Well I think it's time for me too..."
" Faust-kun, wait a minute."
Rias stopped him from leaving. She took his hand and put her palm on his. After an initial hot feeling, he saw his hand had a glowing red circle.
" Issei got attacked. As much as you claim to not know, most fallen angels don't ask questions, and will straight up kill you. This sticker will prevent that."
" I see. So this thing will allow me to contact her when needed."
There was no way a crest from an enemy would make someone not kill him. In fact, they might actually ambush him and send him to afterlife. However, the fact remained that fallen angels might know, and this crest would allow him some degree of safety by having the threat of Rias watching him.
Faust nodded in gratitude, and left.
" Really, what a smart but cute child. He's serious about the weirdest things, looking cold but actually somewhat soft."
Akeno commented, her eyes following Faust's leaving figure. Rias giggled at her comment.
" Despite that, he actually managed to put Sona in a Zugswang, you know?"
Faust was walking down home when he felt something weird. The sky surrounding the area was dark blue, with some sort of green haze. Immediately, he knew that RNG God was playing divine tricks on him. He just got a crest that would allow him to call Rias when needed, and this thing happened.
" C'mon, what are the chances? Gimme a break."
He was looking at someone who just happened to be behind him, one hand on his hat while leaning on the electric pole. The guy wore a grey trench coat, and a round hat, almost like a guy from different period of time.
Noticing Faust's attention, he moved towards him, until the distance was only about two meters or so.
" Hmm... I see. You're the human that's been hanging around with the Gremory Family."
" Oh, Rias-senpai? Excuse me, but are you related to her?"
In his mind, he was already contacting her through the crest. Apparently, devil magic was activated through desires, at least that's what she told him. Still, he knew he must hold on at least for a while for help to come. If they actually came, he thought.
Stalling for help might be nice, but the end goal was to leave this place alive. He would really appreciate if he could have all limbs intact and no permanent damage too.
" Hmm... You could say I'm her acquaintace, yes."
Faust knew the moment he turned back, the fallen angel would instantly assault and very possibly, kill him. He could feel his murderous intent, choking him.
" My name is Dohnaseek, a fallen angel liutenant. Pleasure to meet you..."
In his hand, a blue light materialized, and slowly shaped itself to a jagged spear. His smirk grew wider, almost from ear to ear. From there, huge canines appeared, completely shattering any remnants of humanoid impression he had.
" ...and die."
" Shit."
With quick moves unbecoming of a big guy like him, Dohnaseek lunged and stabbed. Faust side-stepped and smashed his elbow to the back of his neck. He made sure to use his whole weight to strike too. A human adult would find their bones snapping after a blow like that. However, he simply cracked his neck, still with the vile smirk.
" Ha, it seems you have some sort of skills, boy. To be honest, I would've liked to get you on our side, but..."
Slice, and Faust ducked.
" Our bastard leader..."
Faust rolled over from a deadly stab.
" Doesn't want any weird add-ons, see."
" That would've blown my heart off!"
The light spear was stabbed deep, and it seemed that light spears released some sort of mini explosion that gouged out some of the asphalt. Faust was back on his feet, his stance very low from the roll before.
He looked at his bag lying on the streets. There was no way he could get a pen or a pancil without getting sliced to ribbons. He wondered, this street should've been quite crowded, but now, not even one soul was in sight.
Dohnaseek attacked again, this time aiming to decapitate him. Faust ducked and struck his jaw with his palm. He slashed again, only to be side-stepped struck in the neck by knuckles. His opponent didn't waste any moment and struck the soft tissue at the base of the neck with his knuckle.
" It seems in terms of vital areas, they're about the same as humans."
Dohnaseek reeled back, choking from the strike just now. Faust somehow was able to keep up with this fallen angel despite his inferior physique. For the first time, he thanked his parents' lack of acknowledgement. Because of that, he reached the level where he could go toe-to-toe even against a supernatural being.
The fallen's eyes turned bloodshot, and he threw the light spea at him. Faust expected a throw, but he didn't imagine it would be that fast. He clumsily side-stepped, almost losing his balance. During that moment, the fallen angel had spread his wings and accelerated to him with yet another spear in hand.
His reflex took over, and he firmly planted his feet, and struck him with a fist to the solar plexus.
The fallen's acceleration further increased the damage he received. He staggered backwards, and Faust didn't hesitate to deepen the damage with his elbow to the same spot.
" This kid..."
But, Faust now had a shallow cut on his stomach. Almost all his momentum worked against him during the punch, but his spear grazed the boy's body a little. No blood spilled, since the wound immediately cauterized with the sheer heat of the spear. Dohnaseek was wheezing, as the two strikes had further robbed him of his ability to breathe. And his neck's pain suddenly felt more pronounced. The back of his neck felt like it had a heart that drummed there.
This time, Faust had been very tempted to run, but he was afraid the damage was not enough to prevent him from chasing him. This time, he had the surprise factor, but next time, he wouldn't be so lucky.
Dohnaseek found himself stunned.
" Did this kid just react before I even moved?!"
He was faster, yet this kid was dodging everything, and attacking right at the moment he was most vulnerable at his fatal points. They really hurt, too. Such feats created the conclusion in his mind. But, as a proud fallen angel, he couldn't allow himself to fall short to a human.
" Faust, we're coming! Hold on for 5, no 3 minutes. I'm constructing the transporter!"
He felt a little reassured. It was true that there were some chances they were not coming, but at least those chances were lowered somewhat. The fallen angel stopped lunging to him blindly, and opted to circle around and observe him. Faust did the same and repositioned himself.
But, Faust eventually found his back hitting the wall. At that exact moment, Dohnaseek dashed, thinking that his movements were tied and he couldn't avoid anymore. He even struck low to ensure even if he couldn't kill the boy, at least he would cripple his mobility. His attack struck the electric pole and cleaved it.
Contrary to his expectations, Faust had instead moved forward. He heard cracking sounds, as the electric pole fell like a huge pillar while snapping its cables. Dohnaseek tried to escape the pole, but Faust grabbed his feet and pulled them, effectively making him kiss the ground.
The pole crashed on top of his back. Faust wasted no time in breaking his arms and legs with a series of quick and effective holds and blows. As the adrenaline effects slowly disappeared, the pain on his seared cut stomach started to become more noticeable.
" Well, it's time to talk, lunatic-san."