Chapter 5: Evil Pieces
The morning was not different from the previous days. It was the same routine he had in his previous life, soar up from the bed, only to once again wheeze out under the pillow, get dressed, take a bath, eat, and grab only the useful things for school.
Unlike most children that'll attend the same academy as Danhauser, the latter had to wake up earlier to fetch the thing that'd allow him to become an official student of the Rating Game Academy, but also, play in the future the most famous game around the Underworld.
It was a long ride, even if they took the private train in which Diehauser stated it was the fastest train they had available. The Emperor joined Danhauser only to support him when he signs himself up as a new King, Calcabrina also joined her two children as well. Leaving the Belial Castle under the hands of Gilles de Rais.
The route hadn't changed at all; the monument's located behind the school, or more particular, the backyard of the school. During their time inside the train, they would talk about small topics such as the Mutation Pieces and the Unused Pieces. Danhauser knew a lot of it since he remembered seeing it in the Anime, where Gasper made his debut as Rias' Mutated Bishop.
The Champion himself advised him to think before reincarnating someone into a fake Devil, specifically if Danhauser was about to use the strongest piece of the board. The Queen.
Diehauser has had a great Queen, even if Gilles's a creepy bastard. If Danhauser remembers very well, the former Marshal of France had fought in the Hundred Years Wars. During his prime as a human, he'd been a leader in the French Army, he knew how to master the way of the sword, and when Joan of Arc had burned at stake, he'd started to practice the arts of alchemy and demon summoning.
Maybe that's how Gilles had met Diehauser? By accidentally summoning the Champion, similar how Sirzechs' Knight had unintentionally conjured the Crimson Satan?
Back on topic, Gilles filled all the holes correctly, he knows how to command when Diehauser isn't around, he knows how to handle a weapon, he knows magic, and Danhauser wouldn't be surprised if the bastard can withstand a lot of damage.
In other words, Gilles de Rais is a jack of all trades.
Once the train stopped at the station, the three of them had to make their way towards the still closed gates of the school. The streets were empty since it was still morning. In a few hours, the boulevards around going to fill up. Danhauser had night vision thanks to the benefits of being a Devil, but even then, he could feel the moon glaring down at them, hiding somewhere in the purple sky.
That's something that irked him. The night vision is so uncomfortable for Dannhauser. He wasn't used to it, yet. Even he takes a lot of time to fell asleep just because of that characteristic of his. While it's useful, he sometimes wished that there'd be a turn on or off button somewhere.
They finally reached the closed gates, standing there was the Maou Beelzebub staring at the watch around his wrist with a frown, under his arm there was a silver box, something that made Danhauser grin in anticipation. Hearing the sound of steps closing in, the Maou looked up, and nodding; he lowered his arm.
"Emperor Belial," Ajuka spoke once the three Belial's neared him.
"Maou Beelzebub," Diehauser bowed his head in respect, followed by the mother and his younger brother. "I hope we didn't waste your time waiting for us."
Ajuka made a quiet sound with his nose. "Not at all." He turned to Calcabrina and Danhauser, addressing the two. "Lady Belial, Prince Belial."
"Lord Beelzebub." Calcabrina greeted back with Danhauser nodding in his direction.
"Since the gates are not open, yet. We are going to use my teleportation circle to reach our destination." Ajuka explained, stopping to see if there was any objection, seeing none, he continued. "So please, I encourage keeping your limbs inside the teleportation spell while I am casting it."
Danhauser winced, not because of the dull words, but because of the warning, it seems that Ajuka passed through this either with himself—which he doubts—or with comrades during the Devil Civil War.
Witnessing how Diehauser was the first one to take the first step, quickly Calcabrina and Danhauser followed from behind, not wanting to waste time.
Once the three of them moved closer to the Super Devil, Ajuka nodded and chanted the spell, vanishing them from the school's entrance.
A green light surrounded the open field and shaped the magic circle of Beelzebub; three figures stepped away from the circle.
"We are here," Ajuka commented, walking forwards with Diehauser and Calcabrina following suit.
Danhauser stood still for a moment, feeling a chill run down his spine, hugging the backpack tightly around his arms.
"Holy shit!" Danhauser cursed mentally. He never expected to feel this way. He thought that teleporting to another location would feel just as the futuristic movies; it was a tugging sensation, a 'pop,' and a brief but intense period of disorientation. While it wasn't so fucked up, the effect was still unexpected, either he liked it or not, he'd need to get used to it.
"Is something wrong?" Danhauser heard a muffled voice inside his backpack. Glancing down, Belial saw how the school bag opened up, revealing a purple head, the creature's size similar to Asia's dragon, Rassei.
"It's nothing, Bova," Danhauser answered, resuming his small walk.
Since the moment Bova found out that his rival is going to attend school, the reptile was bitter and demanded Danhauser to take him with him. Prince Belial was reluctant at first, but after having a debate with his brain, Danhauser accepted, earning a happy roar from the dragon. He was honestly surprised when he knew that Bova could alter his size to that of a small dragon.
Danhauser hadn't heard any complaints coming from Tannin when he knew about his child invading the Emperor's lands, but knowing full well the former Dragon King, Tannin may have apologized with Diehauser because of his hatchling's intrusion. Diehauser, on the other hand, shrugged it off.
The worst part is that Diehauser and Calcabrina don't know about Bova residing within the backpack.
"Hey, rival I'm hungry." Danhauser heard Bova's stomach growl, proving that he wasn't lying. "Can I eat your food?"
"No." Danhauser hissed, wincing after hearing Diehauser called out for him. "Don't touch my food. The maids worked hard on cooking it."
"It's going to get cold." Bova pointed out. "That's wasteful. I hate when my food is cold."
"First of all, this is not your food!" Danhauser sharply whispered, hoping either the Maou or his family hadn't heard the discussion. "It's mine! You should've eaten something before paying me a visit!"
"Why are you greedy?"
"I'm not greedy. I'm just pointing something out." Danhauser countered, keeping the backpack closer to his chest. "Look, I'll share some of it with you, but you'll have to wait."
"Fine…" Bova reluctantly complied, snorting, apparently not satisfied with Danhauser's answer. Nothing else to add, the small dragon submerged once again and joined the piles of book and utensils, trying to find a comfortable spot.
"Here we are." Danhauser had to look up at the Maou's whisper. He was lucky enough to hear him talk.
Danhauser whistled at the sight.
While Danhauser expected to see a forest—since the Underworld is made of pure landmasses and lacks oceans—he never thought it'd be a beautiful sight to behold. Green, deep, dark, light filtering through the top branches, crackling branches every time he took a step forth. In the center of the paradise stands an ancient relic that honestly didn't fit in the forest. It's a square pillar made of stone with a tapered top forming something like a pyramidion, on the center it has weird symbols, that Danhauser deduced that they're emblems from different House Pillars.
"This is the monument." Ajuka broke the peaceful silence, turning around to face the three, especially to Danhauser. "By touching the pillar, you'll register yourself as another King."
"I see," Danhauser replied, eyes still fixed in the masterpiece. "I have a question, though."
Ajuka's brow arched. Nonetheless, he didn't say a word, letting the heir ask his question freely.
"What would happen if this gets destroyed by someone?"
"That 'someone' would get immediately executed." Ajuka bluntly responded, frowning. "Why? Do you have explosives in that bag of yours?"
"N-No!" Danhauser hugged his backpack tightly, earning a muffled squeal from the resident, thankfully no one heard it. "Just curious, that's all!"
"Hmm." Ajuka lifted a hand under his chin, suspiciousness framing his face. "You don't sound convincing. Should I worry that you may start terrorism in the future?"
"No, I'm not going to!"
"Then after class, you wouldn't mind speaking with the rest of the Maous and myself privately, right?"
"What the hell?!" Danhauser took a step back at Ajuka's words. "I just asked a simple question!"
"An unusual question from someone around your age." Ajuka corrected, his face not showing any sorts of emotion. "I expected something like the steps of signing yourself as a King, but lo and behold, the child asked me what happens when someone destroys Devils property."
"W-What would happen to me, then?"
"It depends on your choice of answers." Ajuka's face hardened slightly. "Hopefully, you choose the right words."
Danhauser's mouth was agape at the blunt explanation of Beelzebub. He faced his mother, waiting for her to do express her opinion.
Calcabrina offered a sad smile, making him wince. "Just be honest during the interrogation sweetie, and nothing will happen."
Seeing his mother lacking loving support, he turned to the Champion. "Brother lend me a hand over here!"
"Hmm?" Diehauser looked away from the clouds, staring at Danhauser's eyes. "I promise that if somehow I have children, I'll name him after you."
"What?!"
"Maybe a cute girl."
Danhauser opened his mouth to start an argument for the sole purpose of saving his skin but stopped. He faced the hushed Maou—whose lips are in a thin line—with a blank expression. "You three are just teasing me, isn't it?"
"Yes."
"Of course."
"It's tradition."
"Assholes…" Danhauser took a deep breath, holding back the curse that circled his head, he never expected a Satan to know the ingenuity of teasing. He'd been described as someone humorless around the Light Novel, rarely offering smiles to the world, but enjoying provoking brats in that way? That's new.
"Answering your question." Ajuka started, his small smile still adorning his face. "Nothing dangerous would happen at all; we used this monument to know the status of all the Kings around the Underworld, if destroyed, then we wouldn't know what's the condition of each King unless we repaired the pillar and once again let the Devil register himself or herself as a King."
"So they used it to know if they're alive or not?" Danhauser nodded at the explanation. He could see it since recently the Kings died because either an Angel or Fallen Angel ambushed them. However, this one is rarely used, because killing a Devil especially if said creature is a member of a famous house, it would be enough to sound the trumpets of war.
The most obvious reason is if the servants stabbed their master's back, easily embracing their new epithet as 'Stray Devils.'
Nothing else to add on the subject, Danhauser moved closer to the old pillar, warily moving his school bag on his back to not bother the dragon sleeping on it. He pressed his hand softly around the monument and gingerly poured the right amount of demonic power.
…
Danhauser hummed, curiously, pursing his lips, doing the same steps once again, seeing no change in the environment at all made him scowl slightly. "Am I doing it right?"
"You are doing it fine," Ajuka assured him, shrugging off his concern. "Take your hand off from the obelisk."
Danhauser obeyed, stopping sending pressures of demonic power around the colonnade and taking a few steps back to see if there's something different worth of his time. Where his hand once stayed, an emblem of the house Belial took its place.
"I was expecting flashy things," Danhauser muttered, slightly disappointed, not impressed by the alteration.
"Congratulations." Ajuka started, making Danhauser turn around just in time to see Beelzebub standing in front of him, his hands below a silver and metallic box. "You are now a King. Take it, your chess pieces."
Holding back the smile, Danhauser's heart starting to thrum wildly, excitement replacing the blood around his veins. He moved his hands where Ajuka's hands located, making the Maou carefully move his fingers away from the box, letting the gray-haired hold his priceless gift on his own.
"Your Evil Pieces are still deactivated yet." Ajuka watched how Danhauser ogled the box as a limited edition toy. "And the box won't open up until you send your demonic power on it, thus also activating your chess pieces."
"Alright," Danhauser murmured, taking a good grasp of his chess case. Before his hands could get coated with his aura, someone quickly took the case out from Danhauser's grasp making the latter yelp in surprise. Frowning, he faced the thief who's waving the container with a hand, the other resting above his waist.
"Sorry, but I can't let you do that yet, Dan." Diehauser apologized, seeing Danhauser's frown deepening and asking for an explanation, he answered. "It's… a tradition between us, your uncle is paying us a visit, and Cleria is coming, too."
"Tradition? About what?"
Diehauser offered a small smile. "You'll see."
Grunting, Danhauser folded his arms, sighing. "Can I at least take my Evil Pieces with me during school? I need them to prove the teacher I have them already."
"Sure." Shrugging, Diehauser gave back Danhauser's belonging, scoring a small 'thank you' from young Belial. Carefully storing it inside his backpack, Danhauser entrusted Bova on finding a good place for the Evil Pieces.
"This is the time where I take my leave then," Ajuka spoke aloud, catching everyone's attention. "Good luck in school, Prince Belial."
Nothing else to say, Ajuka summoned his teleportation spell beneath him, letting the green light consume him.
When Beelzebub's physical form left no trace was the moment when the jade light vanished, earning a sigh from Danhauser's mother. "It seems that I must return to the castle." Diehauser heard his mother once again sigh. "Who knows how Gilles is handling everything alone."
"Relax, I bet that Gilles is running everything smoothly," Diehauser assured her. "For good reason, he's the Head Butler of our fortress."
"I know, I know, but—" Calcabrina pursed her lips, quickly shaking her head. "Matters not, I should stop worrying too much, it's just going to make my hair turn gray."
"What's wrong with having gray hair?" Diehauser muttered, offended.
"Yeah what's wrong with that?" Danhauser added his two cents, frowning. "There's nothing on having gray hair, you know? I heard those with gray hair can connect to the heart of Zen easily."
"They're also irresistible to the opposite sex."
"Now, now calm down you two!" Calcabrina laughed behind her hand, clearing her throat. She faced her youngest son, smiling. "We should get going; school is about to start."
"It's still early, though." Danhauser glared at the purple atmosphere, proving his point.
"The sun is already coming." The Emperor nodded at the horizon, pocketing his hands. "Half an hour and the Institute's gates are going to open up. Hopefully, you and Bova are ready for your first day."
"Yeah, you can—wait, what?" Diehauser's words finally reached his mind. "How did you know?"
Diehauser shot him a deadpan stare. "Well, you'd been whispering to that bag of yours for quite a long time…"
"…Plus the way it had shuffled awkwardly during our moment inside the train." Calcabrina chimed in, also wearing a blank look. "You two were not exactly… discreet about this."
Danhauser bit his tongue. Meanwhile, Bova grunted and tried to find a better position for him inside the bag, since they'd find them out, there's no point in hiding it anymore.
"Can Bova come with me?" Danhauser beseeched, keeping the bag closer to him. "Please?"
"How troublesome." Diehauser started rubbing his face with a sigh. "I'm sorry, Dan, but Bova can't—!"
"Of course you can!" Calcabrina clasped her hands together, smiling fondly at Danhauser. "Just make sure they don't see you around with him, alright?"
Danhauser blinked, trying to spot any hint of bad vibes on her face. "My brother was going to object… are you sure I can?"
Lady Belial scoffed, waving off Danhauser's uneasiness. "He's just jesting around, sweetie. Your brother doesn't mind at all." She faced her oldest son, her smile stretching. "Isn't that right, Diehauser?"
"…" Emperor Belial didn't answer, merely returning the hard look.
.
.
.
"… I was just playing with you, Dan." Diehauser said through gritted teeth, not looking away from his mother. "Take Bova with you. I'm pretty sure nothing is going to happen at all."
Danhauser flinched, seeing how they extended the staring contest, the boy gulped. "You know… I don't—"
"It's getting late, Dan. I'll teleport you right away."
"Wait! Hold on a sec—!"
"Have a great day sweetie~! Mom loves you~!"
Before Danhauser could voice out his opinion, a gray portal similar to Ajuka's appeared beneath him, ready to take him to the entrance of the school.
When the grayish light disappeared along with Danhauser and Bova, a pregnant silence soon followed after that.
"…Why?" Diehauser asked the question spinning around his head. "Why did you let him take Tannin's child with him?" The Emperor doesn't have resentment towards the dragon, but he didn't know how the professors and students would react having something not close to a Devil wandering in their campus.
Calcabrina's fake smile dropped, cleaning down her nails. "Isn't it obvious? It's to keep my baby boy safe."
"Safe? Safe from what?"
Her red eyes sharpened. "From them!" Calcabrina pointed sharply at the school's direction. "I'm still not convinced on enrolling Danhauser to a school!"
"I thought we just talked about this…?" Diehauser trailed off, pinching the bridge of his nose to hold back the frustration. "And what's wrong with the school? He's going to be free from harm, and where he can make friends."
"There it is. The fucking problem." Calcabrina spat out, fists clenched at her sides. "Those are not going to be his 'friends' Diehauser! They're going to use him!"
"Mother, they're children. They'd never do that."
"Yesterday, I went to the small party thrown in the school with Danhauser, there I have seen everything." She paused, clicking her tongue at the hateful memory. "They were already planning the wedding for their sons when the children were supposed to socialize and befriends each other."
"This is not their fault." Diehauser countered. "This is their parent's fault."
"Like father like son," Calcabrina replied, folding her arms beneath her breasts. "They're just going to act like their parents, Diehauser, and that attitude is going to unleash during classes and the recess and…"
"You think they're going to taint Dan with that way of thinking?" Diehauser interrupted, eyeing his mother who in return nodded her head. "Mom… I'm sorry, but I will not change my mind. Dan's going to attend school either you like it or not."
"But—!"
"Let me explain myself, please." Seeing how she pursed her lips with a sigh, he nodded in appreciation. "Thank you. You're right. They may act as their parents since they need to follow someone as an example and they don't know what's right and what's wrong with that age…"
Calcabrina frowned. "I think thirteen or fourteen years old is enough to recognize their wrongdoings."
"Keep in mind, that that's how their parents acted since they were still crawling, perhaps they thought acting with arrogance is the key to being known in the Underworld, or they're afraid of disappointing their parents." Diehauser pointed out. "Anyways, back to the point. Danhauser is different, remember when you'd told me how he'd learned how to use Demonic Power?" He received a hesitant nod. "There you go. The same thing goes with Worthlessness. He'd deduced how to use them efficiently. My little brother is smart."
Lady Belial cocked her head, confusion blurring her eyes. "I think I'm not following..."
The Emperor rested his hands on his mother's shoulders, squeezing them softly. "What I'm saying is that Danhauser is smart enough to take care of himself. He doesn't need to be babysat by you all the time. He's growing up, but you're preventing that." His stare softened. "Dan changed, mother. He's different. He wouldn't join those with the same philosophy as an Old Devil. I believe in him, do you?"
"I do!"
"Then let's just leave him alone." Diehauser moved his hands away. "If it makes you feel better, I'll let Bova give Danhauser company when he goes to school. I just need to have a small talk with Tannin about this."
Calcabrina bit her lip in consideration, after a few minutes of silence. She sighed, followed by a jerky nod. "You have a weird way of explaining this and I…I still am unsure about this, but I'll lend you my trust."
Diehauser smiled, relieved. "That's what I wanted to hear. Thank you." Glancing up, he frowned. "It's getting late. We should go back to our castle."
"Indeed. Maybe Cleria is finally back?" Calcabrina said.
"There's only one way to find out, let's go."
Danhauser was kind of surprised to see how many students were here. It seems that Ajuka's words affected some of them mentally. He'd thought that the place would fill the entrance with children waiting to be called by their future teachers. He honestly was relieved that the place was like this, he hated to be surrounded by people, it made him feel nervous.
Danhauser was curious. What happened if they don't go to school, especially this one? Are they not allowed to participate in Rating Games? Or they're going to be shunned down by the Underworld because they lack knowledge? He knew that the Evil Pieces' sole purpose was to increase their ranks by reincarnating other beings into Devils, during that time, Rating Games didn't exist.
However, there are two characters that Danhauser assumed they hadn't attended this school. Rudiger Rosenkreutz and Tannin. Interestingly enough, attending to school or graduating doesn't seem essential to compete in the Rating Games, as long as you have your Peerage, then you're ready to go.
Something that he knew is that not all Devils could assist to the Institute, only those whose Housecarl rank is top-class. In other words, those who are Middle and Low-class devils, are not allowed to step on the gates of this Academy. They're allowed to attend the other school, the one where they only show the basic subjects.
"…Danhauser Belial…"
Nodding, Danhauser quietly stood up and slump over where the other students were waiting. Two teachers were calling out their future students. Danhauser wasn't the first one to be mentioned, there'd been a few now standing at Danhauser's sides, at first, he wasn't paying mind to listen who are going to be his futures colleagues, but now that the teacher mentioned him, he was curious.
In the line where he was standing with the rest of the children, he didn't saw a familiar face from canon.
"…Sairaorg Bael…" The teacher's voice had sharpened slightly. "Magdaran Bael… Seekvaira Agares…"
"Ohh…?" Danhauser looked at Bael with curiosity, seeing how Sairaorg doubtfully moved closer to the line, yet a little far away.
"Well, at least someone I know is in my class, cool." Danhauser cheered mentally, he didn't know why, but he was glad that someone from the Light Novels was in the same classroom as him, specially Sairaorg, since he knows that he'd become a damn tank during the canon timeline, and most importantly a great man.
What made Danhauser's interest peek even more was Magdaran, half brother of Strongest Youth. Shouldn't he be a year below them? Just like Rias and Sona? Or did he just jumped the semester with flying colors?
Seekvaira, well, he didn't know anything from her other than she's sharp-tongued and an otaku mecha.
Well, this already turned into an exciting semester." Danhauser smiled, there's nothing that could ruin this moment.
"Riser Phenex…"
"Welp." Danhauser smiled stretched at the sight of the blond walking forward. He was wearing a cocky smile, something that the gray-haired devil didn't care. He wasn't acting like a jerk, yet.
"And Zephyrdor Glasya-Labolas. Welcome, please follow—"
"Woohoo! You guys are so lucky to have me in your class!"
"Fantastic." This time Danhauser sighed, followed by an internal cringe when he spotted the teacher glaring at Zephyrdor. It seems that the delinquent is going to win the dunce cap on their first day.
Pushing aside Zephyrdor's first impression, the teacher led us to our classroom, looking around, Danhauser spotted some of them wearing frowns on their faces. He understood why.
The classroom was like Danhauser expected, something that is only worth only for high-rank class devils. Huge windows set on the walls, providing light to the room and just in case of emergency an escape route followed by high ceilings with a projector stuck on the roof. Seats aligned in rows, each slightly above than the previous, just like an auditorium. In front a large blackboard and the teacher's desk to the corner of the room.
Danhauser thought that the classroom would at least have a few posters on the walls, you know, to provide a bit of life and color to the room, but since we are talking about Devils, they tend to follow the same architectures similar to roman and greeks sticking with elegance rather than 'childishness.'
Before anyone could take a preferable seat, the teacher stopped them, knowing full well that they'd start an uproar just for a simple bench, in other words, the teacher decided where each student would sit, much to everyone's dismay. It seems everyone already has had an idea where and with who to sit.
Danhauser's seat was on the backbenches, to his right was Magdaran Bael and his left Riser Phenex, he liked it. While Magdaran is a bastard for treating his brother just like the rest of his clan does only to get the approval of his father, he doesn't yell every five seconds as Zephyrdor does. As for Riser, while in the anime he's drawn as an arrogant playboy character, Danhauser didn't mind, since most likely he's not going to say a lot of things other than praising himself, something that Belial could easily ignore.
Danhauser moved his backpack below the desk, hoping that the dragon wouldn't make any sorts of fuss during the teacher's explanation. The morning was as Danhauser knew it'd be, the teacher introducing himself and telling us some tales of his life and reasons of why he decided to educate children. After that, he'd passed to each student to see if they already have their Evil Pieces in hand. While detailing the rules and our expectations, it bored him rapidly to the point that he thought this was just the same school as the human world. Nonetheless, this was still a Rating Game school.
Danhauser didn't have anything against schools, but wavering the same tale tends to tilt him slightly. He expected something different. That's it.
Some of the students were paying attention to the class—Seekvaira and Sairaorg—while others just zoned out from the topic—Magdaran reading a book about plants and flowers while Danhauser is trying to hush Bova's mouth—and soon there was going to be a quarrel between Riser and Zephyrdor.
Thankfully, before the two could hold each other's throats, the bell of lunch rang.
"Alright, everyone!" The teacher half-yelled, his voice ignored by the sudden outburst. "I want each one of you here when the bell rings! You have half an hour!"
"Alright, time to eat, Bova." Danhauser slouched down on the grass, resting his back against the tree.
"Finally!" He heard a suppressed cheer coming from the bag, harshly, only his head left the school bag. The tiny dragon glared at Danhauser. "Thought I was going to die from starvation!"
Danhauser rolled his eyes. "I admit, it took longer than I expected," he rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Look at the bright side! We're going to eat finally, take the food out, please."
Grunting, Bova once again submerged inside Danhauser's backpack, trying to find the container that hides the food.
"Here." Danhauser couldn't help but smile at the sight, Bova finally left the secure place with the small box in his little jaw. He looked exactly like a baby crocodile, but with horns, wings and a loincloth.
He looks adorable.
"You know what's inside?" Danhauser asked, lazily watching how the other children found a perfect place to eat, some of them alone, others in groups, heck, even they were starting to introduce themselves, awkwardly, but at least they were trying to meet new people. Perhaps they don't want to eat alone.
It seems that first and second grades are not allowed to go outside, yet. They would have lunch at a different hour. Thankfully, the third years are allowed to leave the school grounds, Danhauser wanted to take this as a chance to explore deeper parts of the school.
Bova laid down the box at Danhauser's side. "No, I don't. I was waiting for you so we could eat together."
"Ah, thank you, Bova, that was kind of you."
The purple dragon looked away, growling. "J-Just open the box! I'm starving!"
Chuckling at the embarrassed dragon, Danhauser took out the food, which surprisingly was still warm. It was lasagna, one of Calcabrina's favorites dishes. She has had a fondness of Italian gastronomy.
And a banana. Something that made Bova's heart jump with joy.
He spotted a few familiar faces from his classroom, especially those who are essential for the Light Novel, such as Magdaran sitting in solitary by the trees, with the same book in his hands. There was Riser. And lastly… Sairaorg.
How they'd find out about Sairaorg's missing Power of Destruction? He can understand if the Bael Clan found it, but the other Pillars? Did Sairaorg's father send the news globally just to make his wife and son suffer even more? That was worrisome, for him at least, the way they act here in the Underworld made the young Belial uneasily gulp. It seems the only way to stay away from the Old Devil's blacklist is by sharing the same way of reasoning.
The two instinctively looked up at the explosion of uproar. Kids began their assembling in the middle of the field. They'd just finished eating their lunch and decided to play a game to burn some time. He spied a knowledgeable figure, fluttering gloomily at the sidelines. Sairaorg was watching the game with a longing look. To be expected, they hadn't let him play with them, or he was scared of being rejected once again.
Danhauser pursed his lips and slowly stood up, school bag over his shoulders, he felt how Bova easily made it inside.
"Where are we going?" Bova asked inside the bag, sitting atop of Danhauser's evil pieces.
"It's time to make some friends," Danhauser answered, rolling his aching neck.
"Are you sure it's a good idea?" Bova spoke once again, making the devil raise an eyebrow.
"Well, it's the first day." Danhauser pointed out, shrugging. "It'd be giving a wrong impression of me if I rest on a trunk."
"If you say so…"
With courage backing him up, Danhauser walked where the lonely Bael was sitting, looking down at his clasped hands, entertaining himself with his thumbs.
Standing in front of him, Belial awkwardly coughed into his fist, making Sairaorg stop in surprise. "Uh, hey." Danhauser greeted, shakily waving at the lonely child.
Sairaorg hesitantly looked up and locked gazes with the other boy, his tensed violet eyes locked with Danhauser's gray ones.
The gaze, however, doesn't last long as Sairaorg breaks eye contact, nervous at the treatment Danhauser was sending him. That made Belial flinch at his reaction, how Bael tried to say something, but his mouth would always stay open, stuck, with no words coming from his lips, which made Sairaorg tremble in frustration at his lack of braveness.
He was trying, Danhauser noted that but Sairaorg didn't know how to communicate with others, after being treated poorly by his surroundings, he didn't know how to initiate a conversation. Either that or Sairaorg was trying to say 'please leave me alone,' but he was frightened by the upcoming events.
"Can I… sit there?" Danhauser pointed at Sairaorg's side. "It's annoying to sit under a tree alone."
Belial swore he heard a scoff coming from Bova, but he chose to ignore it. Meanwhile, the young Bael was fighting with himself to the point he was fidgeting. Danhauser saw in Sairaorg's eyes a glint that screamed 'I understand.'
In the end, he warily mumbled. "I-I guess so…"
Danhauser offered a small smile, hoping that'd calm him down a little. "Thank you." He took a seat, but not so close that it might make Sairaorg anxious.
"…" Sairaorg didn't say a word.
And that's it, they just sit there, letting the silence overwhelm the two youngsters. Danhauser sensed how Sairaorg sent a little glare at him through the corner of his eye, perhaps still wary of his actions. When Danhauser spotted Sairaorg looking at him, he would send an awkward wave with a small smile, making the young Bael look away with a click of his tongue.
He didn't take Sairaorg's attitude to heart, Danhauser didn't experience what the future Strongest Youth went through, but at least he knew why he's acting like this. It'd be difficult to win his trust since maybe a few bastards had backstabbed him in the back, but just as they say, baby steps.
Danhauser only hoped that his inner asshole is not going to assault the already mentally abused Bael.
Suddenly they heard a sudden growl making the three freeze in the spots. No one heard it except from the two Devils and the dragon.
"W-What was that?!" Danhauser asked, startled, looking around frantically to find the source of the grumble. It was like a fucking bear growling! Belial moved his gaze at the silent Sairaorg. "Did you hear….?"
Danhauser stopped, spotting how Sairaorg wrapped his arms around his stomach, a small blush burning his cheeks. Cautiously, Sairaorg turned to face the devil next to him.
Danhauser grinned.
Sairaorg flinched.
"You're hungry, huh?" Danhauser smile didn't falter, making Sairaorg scowl and look away, growling. "I'll take that as a yes, wait a second."
Shifting the backpack over his knees, Danhauser opened it up, trying to find the lunch that the maids had cooked for him, he'd only ate half of it, he'd forgotten about it completely, he was kind of hungry, yet, but Sairaorg was empty. Maybe this could be a sign of friendship.
Patting Bova along the way, he grabbed his lunch and sealed the backpack. "Here." Danhauser moved the food closer to Sairaorg, shaking it. "It's still warm. You can have it."
"…" Sairaorg glared at the small box before sending his wary gaze at the gray-haired devil, he finished the staring contest, looking away.
"Oh please you're hungry, and you know it." Danhauser persuaded him quietly, opening the box to let the aroma reach Sairaorg's nostrils. "It's lasagna; there's nothing wrong in it, I promise."
Sairaorg mumbled something under his breath.
"Sorry but," Danhauser brought his pinky inside his ear, cleaning it. "I didn't catch that. Can you repeat it, please?"
"…I don't trust you…"
"…Oh." That was perhaps one of the mightiest slaps that he'd earned since he got revived in DxD. "I-I see." Danhauser shifted the food onto his thighs, lips pursed, things didn't turn out well for Belial it seems. "Umm," Danhauser said when the silence extended. "So why—"
"Can you drop the act?"
"Welp," Danhauser thought, "It seems my progress is going great so far."
"Just… just do what you have to do," Sairaorg said under his breath, looking down at his feet, readying himself for the mental abuse.
"I'm not here to insult you," Danhauser said.
Bael scoffed. "Everyone says that." He shot Danhauser a glare. "And then 'bam' stab in the back; I will not fall for that one again."
Danhauser blinked, glancing at another direction. "Believe it or not, I'd never do that to someone to you or someone else."
"Of course you wouldn't."
Belial rolled his eyes at the sarcasm. "While I love sarcasm, it wasn't necessary right now."
"I don't care if you'd found it necessary or not." Sairaorg huffed, looking away once again. "Just… just mock me, and be done with it."
Danhauser sighed, leaning back and placing a hand behind to act as support. "I told you. I just want to talk."
"Why don't you go 'talk' with someone else then?" Sairaorg raised his voice, irritated.
"Because you want to talk with someone."
"How'd you know If I wanted to socialize at all?"
"You sat here while looking at the other kids playing with a look of 'please, notice me.'"
"So out of nowhere, you can read people's faces?"
"Dear Maou, what is this? Twenty questions?" Danhauser was now upset. "I understand why you're acting like this. You're just scared that I'd do something that may hurt you."
"I am not afraid!" Sairaorg gritted his teeth, standing up from his seat, facing Danhauser. "I'm just getting pissed at how YOU are delaying the inevitable!" He clenched his fists at his sides. "Just keep it brief and get over it, you're just here to make fun of me, spit on me, laugh at my face, isn't it?! Go on then! Or you just want to act as someone 'friendly,' so when I open up you can hurt me more?! If each one of you is going to keep to treat me like trash during the rest of the semester can you bastards at least please be more original?!"
"I don't like him already," Bova grunted silently inside the backpack, munching half of his banana.
"…" Danhauser stood well-rested on his seat, watching how Sairaorg cleaned his tears away with his sleeve, holding back the sobs that tried to break from his mouth. While Sairaorg had shown signs of weeping since his first day in school, he'd make sure he was alone. He'd stood firm in front of those who pushed him around, the last thing he wanted is to show how vulnerable Bael was in front of those bastards, but here he was, crying in front of someone who just met.
He didn't know why nor he cares about it. He just wished school was already over.
Danhauser noted something, his stance which emitted hostility somewhat lowered. "It seems that Sairaorg here wanted to get that off his chest, that's good."
Sairaorg moved his hands away, taking deep breaths, he glared at Danhauser with swollen eyes. "I-I'll say it once last time." He paused, shakily exhaling. "D-do your thing or go away."
"…" Glancing around to see if there was already an audience, thankfully there was not, Danhauser faced Sairaorg. "Do my thing?" Belial parroted, shrugging. "Alright then, as you wish."
Danhauser slowly stood up, stretching his limbs with a refreshing sigh. Sairaorg took a step back when he spotted Belial stand up, his eyes not leaving his frame.
Cracking his neck, Danhauser faced Sairaorg. "Say, do you like this school?"
"No, I don't." Sairaorg quickly answered, scowling at the question. "Why'd you—?"
"Then leave school already."
Sairaorg staggered, not because of his interruption, because of his advice. "W-What?"
Ignoring Bael's shocked gaze, Danhauser continued. "Don't give me that look, you just said it yourself, you can't keep it anymore. The insults of other kids are tearing you apart."
"Never!" Sairaorg exclaimed, making Belial curve a brow. "My mother worked hard enrolling me in this school. I would just disappoint her if I ever follow your advice!"
"Then what're you going to do?" Danhauser asked, pocketing his hands. "Sit there and let the others make fun of you?"
"I don't know, damn it!" Sairaorg exploded. "What would you do in my place?!"
Danhauser grunted. "Easy, ignore them." Belial nonchalantly answered. "They're just forgettable faces that sooner will disappear from my memory, so why give them my attention?"
"…Easier said than done."
Danhauser shook his head, looking curiously at Sairaorg. "Hmm?"
"Your way of treating the other children, ignoring them." Sairaorg reminded him, biting the tip of his thumb. "In fact, I've been doing that for so long, but nothing, they just want to bring a reaction from me."
"Honestly, I'm surprised you hadn't punched anyone… or you had?"
It was Sairaorg's turn to grunt, folding his arms he let his words sink in, watching the grass. "…I'd never attacked someone," Sairaorg spoke after a brief silence. "And never will I."
"Why?"
"Two reasons." The raven-haired paused, inhaling. "One, I will not be like them." He raised another finger, making the piece sign. "I made my mother a vow, which I would not use force to attack other children, only use my strength if it's necessary."
Danhauser frowned at his answer. Maybe if Sairaorg attacked someone, he'd be in problems, after all, his father would merely bat an eye at Sairaorg's problems, even if he came from the Bael Clan, he was just the defected child that no one—Misla is an exception—cared about.
"So you're just going to sit here and let others punch you around?" Seeing Sairaorg didn't contribute with an answer. Danhauser whistled. "Well, you're kind of dumb."
Sairaorg looked up with a glare. "Why you—!"
"And a weakling, too."
Sairaorg closed his eyes, taking deep breaths before addressing Belial once again, he wanted to punch that bastard's face so badly. "…Why?"
"You're dumb because you're still here." Danhauser pointed out, ignoring Sairaorg's angry stare. "You could get house teaching because—"
"Are you deaf? I told you, my mother worked hard on signing me up for this school!"
"—it's going to affect you mentally if you stay here. You wouldn't concentrate in class, in other words, you'd get bad grades, and with bad grades, you'd be stuck in this school for a few years more, and the previous generation is going to resume with the bullying." Danhauser paused. "I think you're a weakling because you just sit here, letting each one of them attack you, you don't do anything."
"What am I suppose to do then?!" Sairaorg shouted, thankfully it didn't bring anyone's attention. "My mother spoke with the teachers, but nothing! Nothing has had change! I will not use brute force, turning like those bastards are the last thing I want—and I made a promise! If I told then to leave me alone, they'd just laugh it off and resume their attacks!" He got closer to Danhauser, forcing the latter to take an awkward step back. "I ask you, smart ass, what the hell should I freaking do?!"
"Prove them wrong."
Sairaorg paused, looking at Danhauser with a look of wariness. "…What?"
"Prove them wrong," Danhauser repeated. "Get stronger to prove everyone wrong."
"I can't." Sairaorg calmed down slightly, sighing. "I…I didn't earn Bael's ability."
"So?"
"So? I can't get stronger! I'm not sure how you want me to expand on that!"
"There are multiples ways to get stronger," Danhauser explained. "Become proficient with any other skill to overcome where you lack talent." His gaze softened, resting a hand over Sairaorg's shoulder. "Don't let their words discourage you. They're just jealous of you because you are a member of the most powerful house in the Underworld, no matter what they say, doesn't matter if you didn't inherit Power of Destruction, you're pure Bael, we should be in awe. It's up to you to take the first step."
.
.
.
"Y-You sounded just like her…" Sairaorg whispered, trembling, not pushing Danhauser's hand away. "M-my mother, she said the same thing, but… I-I just couldn't comprehend at all…"
Before anyone could add something, the bell rang, echoing around the school grounds. Seeing how the other students stopped doing their activities made Danhauser sighed. "Well, time's over." He suddenly grinned at the quiet Bael. "And look! We even had a good conversation, a little sad, but nonetheless a good one."
Sairaorg blinked, violet eyes shifting at his shoulder, Danhauser's hand still resting on it. "Ack!" Slapping Belial's hand away, Sairaorg shot him a hard look, cheeks slightly burning. "I just…! I just lowered my stance by accident!"
"Huh-huh," Danhauser rolled his eyes. "Of course you did."
"Don't act as if we were friends, Belial," Sairaorg spat, pointing his finger at the gray-haired devil. "I still see you just like any other devil around here."
"I see," Danhauser rolled his shoulder. "You see that tree over there?" Danhauser nodded behind Sairaorg, earning a mere scowl from him. "That's where I'm usually going to stay, there's a shadow protecting me from the sun, fresh air, and you can have a great view there too. You can stop by if you ever wish to socialize with someone."
Sairaorg's face didn't falter. "What if I don't?"
Danhauser shrugged. "Eh, don't talk to me then, that's fine. Just don't expect me to follow you around to beg for your friendship, I'll move on and talk with other Devils over here."
Bael clicked his tongue at the answer. "Whatever." He walked away, leaving Danhauser alone with Bova.
"You're welcome," Danhauser muttered, earning a grunt from the retreating child. Taking a good hold of his backpack, Danhauser followed Sairaorg's route.
…
"What a courteous being."
Bova scoffed.
"That was so boring!" Zephyrdor wheezed out, running down the hallway. "Freedom!"
"Idiot," Seekvaira rolled her eyes, pushing her glasses up. Paying no mind to the teacher who poked his head out of the classroom to scold at the troublesome child.
"Finally, it's over." Danhauser moaned, sharing the same sentiment as Zephyrdor.
"It wasn't that bad," Bova spoke, poking his head out of the backpack, thankfully no one noticed.
"Oh yeah, says the dragon that was snoring during the whole class." Danhauser shot a tired glare behind his shoulder. "You don't know how much I wished to be in your shoes."
"Hey, don't make me punch you."
Belial chuckled, ambling off with the rest of the students. "He's right, though." Danhauser thought. "We met Sairaorg."
Danhauser waited with a drained look. Watching how the crowd of parents blended outside the school's gate and waited to pick up the children from their first adventure outside their mansion. A few of them sending a hard stare at Sairaorg, before pushing their kids away from the 'defected.' He took notice of it and glared at the distance.
Suddenly, Danhauser felt a pair of hands covering his eyes, startling him.
"Guess who~!" The voice said playfully. It was feminine and familiar.
Danhauser took hold of her wrists, grinning. "I don't know, umm, Gilles?"
The hands moved away from his eyes, followed by a lighthearted slap. "Funny."
Danhauser smiled before turning around, facing his cousin. "You're back."
Cleria grinned, ruffling his gray hair. "Uh-huh, you thought that you'd be safe from your awesome cousin, isn't?"
Chuckling, they walked off, Cleria grabbing Danhauser's hand to make sure he didn't get lost during the journey. Since he has the mind of an adult, but the body of a child, it annoyed him how they treated him according to his appearance, but he just had to deal with it, plus he was tired, a hand taking hold of him would be somewhat helpful.
Instinctively, Danhauser peeked behind his shoulder, seeing how Sairaorg was staring back at him.
"Bye, Sairaorg!" Danhauser waved with a small smile.
Bael's reaction was scowl and fold his arms, looking away. Cleria apparently had seen the interchange, but she remained silent for a while.
"So, the school was fun or no?" Cleria drawled.
"It was good," Bova answered, not hiding from the female Belial.
"It was interesting," Danhauser added his two cents. "We met new faces."
"Yeah, I can see that," Cleria replied. "Like that kid with the violet eyes, right?"
Danhauser hummed, not looking away from the streets. "Yep, his name is Sairaorg, he's quiet, but I think he's okay… everyone treats him strangely, why?"
"…" Cleria didn't answer immediately, the only sound they could hear was their shoes clashing with the solid ground. She was good at hiding her secret, perhaps a good trait for those with the blood of Belial, but Danhauser defiantly saw a small glimpse of surprise on her face.
"Danny, he… passed through a lot." Cleria trailed off, trying to find the right words, but failed. "Why do you ask?"
"Because my cousin is older and knows things I don't," Danhauser answered, noticing that she had avoided the question.
Cleria pulled Danhauser's cheek playfully. "Now, now, you shouldn't call a beautiful woman old, you know?" She scolded him, stopping in her tracks. "You're right though; I know a lot then you do. What do you think of the kid?"
Danhauser massaged his cheek. "He's rude," he answered, "but the same goes for Zephyrdor, but everyone accepts him."
Cleria laughed, perhaps knowing full well about 'The Legend' Zephyrdor and his mischievous adventures.
Surprisingly, Cleria dropped the topic and continued on their way to the train station. Danhauser didn't mind because he knew that he wouldn't receive good responses from her, he just wanted to know her impressions about Sairaorg. Unfortunately, he didn't get his answer.
Danhauser took this chance to think about his Evil Pieces, especially his future peerage. It's going to be difficult to recruit members, especially in this small body, he just had to aim for people around his age or younger minimum to win their trust. I mean, he doubts that someone around his twenties would like to join a brat that is thirteen years old.
Bova was one of them that reached his brain, but he was honestly questioning if a dragon would wish to turn himself into a servant of someone.
That's it. Danhauser didn't know other people outside the Belial Castle. I mean, he knew the full cast of DxD, including the antagonists, perhaps a few slipped from his mind, but still, to know where they are? To earn the trust of—hopefully—his future servants? Danhauser tried to win Sairaorg's friendship, but it seems that the results were awful.
"Perhaps I'm no king material." Danhauser bit his lip.
But the question is still lingering there, when is he going to start?
The question went unanswered. The two devils and the sleepy dragon reached the train station. Without breaking the peaceful silence, the two walked inside, each one of them lost in their heads.
-Guest Reviews-
Guest- Ah! Good catch, good job on finding the reference, haha! Glad you liked my fanfic so far, cheers!
Lurker- Me alegro que te haya encantado como estoy escribiendo a la madre, antes pense en escribirla con el mismo pensamiento que los demonios, pero empuje esa idea lejos. Y la muerte del original Danhauser va a ser explicada, aun no, pero nos acercamos, gracias por tu comentario, saludos!
I'll start saying with I'm sorry for taking a lot of time updating; life kicked me in the face out of nowhere.
I felt this chapter was a little off. Hopefully, you guys enjoyed it.
I'll do my best to make the next chapter far more entertaining.
Also, about the peerage. I already know who's going to join Danhauser's peerage. When is going to appear the first one? I don't know, patience.
I have nothing else to say other than I apologize for grammar errors, and for being late.
Thank you for your reviews!
Cheers.
Next Chapter: Die Nibelungenlied
