The halls of the Pheles manor of the magic association were quiet, with the exception of a single room.
Within that room, Romulus Titanius, the sole survivor of the annihilation of his clan, was laying heavily into a punching back augmented by magic. It was nowhere near as tough as a bull-oak tree but at that moment Romulus couldn't have cared less. The bag felt closer to how he imagined the Maous' faces would feel when he punched them, and Mephisto had not deemed the bull-oak woods as a safe place to talk.
"You talked to him like he was your friend!" He yelled at Mephisto without taking taking his eyes off of the bag as his fist punctured its material, forcing him to unhook the ruined piece of exercise equipment and get a fresh bad.
"He is my friend." Mephisto said calmly, going over the decree they had been given dictating Romulus' acceptance into the rating games ahead of schedule. Oddly enough considering it was Ajuka Beelzebub who had approved the request the actual decree was signed by the Maous Leviathan and Lucifer. Mephisto pondered on what his former student could be hoping to achieve with the move before shrugging. A genius Ajuka undoubtably was but sometimes prone to strange decisions.
"He had my family killed." Romulus grunted out through gritted teeth as he hooked up another bag. As he descended the ladder he had been using he took a moment to glare at Mephisto before getting in his stance and giving the bag a swift kick.
"Your family was planning a revolt against him Romulus."
"You sound like you're on his side."
"I am on no one's side Romulus."
"Then why are you helping me?"
It was the first time in all of his three years under Mephisto's guardianship that Romulus had asked him that. Mephisto was almost hurt by the boy's sudden anger but considering his age he wouldn't allow such childish outbursts to affect him so deeply.
"I helped you because I was a friend of your parents, and their parents and their parents before them, up until the original Titaniuses thousands of years ago." Mephisto walked forward and grabbed Romulus by his shoulders, stilling the seething boy.
"Romulus you must understand. I do not like what the Maous did to your family. It was duplicitous and cruel and an act of attacking without true provocation." Romulus wiped the angry tears from his cheeks as Mephisto held the boy by his shoulders.
"At the same time, I understand why they did such a cruel thing."
"They're the bad guys Mr Mephisto." Romulus said to him, his body shaking from his tears.
"There are no bad guys here, Romulus. Just two sides of the story, both of whom did things that were wrong to the other. You are just one side."
"Then why keep my secret?"
"I told you Romulus, Galahad and Helen where my friends. Your family has been a wondrous collection of friends and allies going back millenium. I also do not feel you should be held responsible for your families would-be crimes. That does not however mean I will abandon my precious disciple and student. I do not agree with this, but I understand it."
"So when you tell me not to focus of revenge, it's because you don't want your friend to die." Romulus glared at the man.
"In part, but by far the largest reason is that I do not want you to waste your life on revenge. It seems like a glorious prize now but in the end, when you stand over your enemies corpse you will see that you have not alleviated your own suffering, you have simply passed it on and become the villain that you sought to destroy. Perhaps this is all a bit too much for you to understand now Romulus, but I want you to realise that in this world those who believe themselves the heroes are only so because they are the ones telling their story, and they can just as easily become the villains they fight against."
Romulus sniffed and wiped his nose looking down.
"Are you going to stop me?"
"Only if you begin to do things I find wrong."
"What about Ajuka Beelzebub and the Maous?"
"I will help you get justice Romulus. Justice, not vengeance."
"...Okay."
"I know this is hard Romulus. But please trust me when I say you will understand when you are older."
"Okay Mr Mephisto. I don't think I understand... but I trust you."
"That's all I ask Romulus. Now, since the decree has been signed you will have one week before your piece drawing ceremony."
"My what?"
"You will have to undergo a ceremony where you will draw out your evil pieces from a piece of Agreas crystal. This will be our only opportunity to merge your parent's evil pieces with your own."
"Okay but why can't we do it here?"
"The fusions, once they are completed, will undoubtably change your evil pieces into something similar to mutations, as they will have the power of several standard pieces. It would be best if we could avoid the questions raised by such events."
"Okay... I guess."
"To that effect over the next week we will be training you on how to combine the pieces already at your disposal, unfortunately this will eat up the remainder of your free time Romulus, at least for the week."
"That's okay, I'll just tell Adrianna I won't have time for out studying." The boy looked down with a frown as he contemplated not being able to spend time with one of his only friends.
Mephisto noticed the boy's disheartened continence and taking some pity on the boy raised his hand.
"Hold on there Romulus, perhaps Ms Lorelei could be useful."
"What?" Romulus tilted his head to the side in confusion. "How, I thought we were working with my demonic power, she can't even use it."
"But she has a remarkable ability to understand magic beyond even what her gear should provide her."
Romulus' face brightened and he smiled slightly at Mephisto. "I guess it can't hurt, I'll go get her."
"Very good Romulus."
"So how does all this work?"
Romulus and Adrianna were walking down the halls of the Pheles manor. Romulus had just finished retrieving his long-time friend from her advanced magic class, which judging by her bored expression and glossed over gaze was not so advanced for her. The young Sacred Gear user had near jumped from her chair when he had informed the instructor that Mephisto had summoned her, and had promptly dragged her best friend behind her as she raced out of the room.
"I don't really know. I guess once someone agrees to join my peerage they just get one of my pieces and they turn into a devil."
"Just like that?"
"I said I don't know."
"You have some kind of battle in a month and if you lose you have to marry some little girl, but you don't know how to use the thing that might help you win?"
"I never even heard of a peerage until yesterday. I'm pretty sure Mr Mephisto'll explain."
"I guess."
"Wow, you guess? I didn't think there was anything you didn't know."
Adrianna punched his shoulder, fighting a small blush that appeared on her face as she glared at her friend.
"Idiot."
The two continued in silence, more than comfortable enough with each other to stand silence.
"Who're you gonna chose for you pieces?"
Romulus looked over at her. Adrianna had a small blush on her face and was looking anywhere but at him.
"I don't know. Mr Mephisto said I at least need a two pieces to make sure I win but I bet I could win by myself."
Adrianna rolled her eyes.
"You and Vali, always thinking with your muscles not your heads."
"Hey, I think with my head, that's why I won our last match."
"And now you're back to being tied."
"You don't have to be mean about it."
She sighed.
"I know, I just... if you lose you have to marry some girl, none of us have ever met."
"Why is it such a bit deal if you've never met her."
Adrianna glared at him.
"Because you're my friend you idiot, I don't want you to go away." She paused and brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Otherwise..."
"Otherwise what?"
"Forget it."
"Noooooo, Ari what were you gonna say."
"Otherwise I'd be lonely." She puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms, making a very visible show of her displeasure.
"Well I won't go with her. I'm gonna win. I promise." Romulus held out his hand and extended his pinky finger. "Pinky swear."
Adrianna looked at the offered digit for an instant before she wrapped her own pinky around it and the two shook.
The Island of Agreas
Romulus was nervous. He hadn't expected this to be how he got his evil pieces, or how he'd pull one over on the Maous. When Mephisto had told him that he'd combine his thirty existing pieces with his new fifteen from the Maous he'd thought that he'd just do it once they brought them back to their home.
Apparently that had been wishful thinking, because nothing was ever that easy. Instead he would have to hold the pieces inside of him and when he extracted his new pieces from the Agraeas territory pillars he'd have to manually combine them inside himself, all without anyone noticing him doing it.
The three of them had spent the last week practicing, combining his other thirty pieces inside of himself, luckily for them the pieces radiated his own demonic power and so as long as Romulus' power was greater than their combined power, which thankfully it was, they should have had no problem. They had fused and unfused the pieces in so many configurations Romulus couldn't remember them all.
Knight with queen, rook with bishop, bishop with queen with rook. At one point they had combined all of his pieces into a single, as Mephisto called it, Omni-piece. Mephisto had said that it was something similar to a queen piece but powered to the extreme, capable of reincarnating anything. The amount of strain that move had put on the young boy had nearly killed him, and after that he'd never been so happy to end his training.
The problem had persisted in his mind for the entire week however. Which of his pieces was he going to fuse? What combinations? He'd spent hours of his admittedly limited free time considering it until he had finally come to a decision.
With that decision, and after one whole week of training to suppress the powers of the evil pieces, he was here. Standing in front of a group of assembled devils and others who had come to see him inducted into the system of the rating games.
There was a distinct divide between the three camps that had come to view this event. On the one hand there were those of the New-Devil faction, consisting mostly of the remaining pillar heads and a few high ranking devils not belonging to the clans. On another side there were the extra-demons. They mostly consisted of a few clan heads Romulus had met when they had come to visit his parents and many who were completely unfamiliar to him. Some had even brought their heirs or other female children, no doubt in an attempt to entice him. There were even a few members of some of the other underworld factions like the Yokai and the Yomi factions. The final group was by far the most welcome sight and Romulus found himself paying the most attention to them. Mephisto, Tannin, Adrianna, Vali and Azazel were all sitting together in front of the stage he was on. They had been given front row seats as they were personal invites of Romulus, as opposed to the others who had either invited themselves or been invited by the Maous.
All four of the Maous were present as well, sitting off to the side but up on stage with him. Ajuka Beelzebub stood up, coming to stand next to Romulus, and addressed the crowd.
"We are here today to witness a grand event in any young devil's life. The formation of a peerage is a sacred trust between a devil and those who he chooses to bring into his service. It is a bond of companionship that can never be severed and should be held dear."
He gestured to a large pillar off to the side.
"It is from this that we draw our peerages, and through them, our strength. Now Romulus Titanius, you are about to take for yourself the power of a peerage. Are you prepared?"
"I am prepared." The words were rehearsed, along with the methods of merging his pieces Mephisto had also spent the week tutoring Romulus on the proper acceptance of his peerage set.
"No one is prepared. But should you have the arrogance then go and take what is yours, grab it and do not let it go, hoard it like a dragon hoards its gold."
There was a growl from the Tannin in the crowd, obviously he did not appreciate the slight against his kind, no matter how accurate it could be in some cases.
"For it is not in a devil's nature to surrender power."
Ajuka made another gesture and the giant obelisk of black stone levitated onto the stage. It hovered slightly over the ground before being gently set just to Romulus' left. A podium emerged from the floor at the same time, coming up to around the young boy's height with a chess board sitting atop it, though unlike a normal board this one only had fifteen spaces. It was also completely empty.
Romulus stepped away from the Maou and after taking three long strides he reached towering mass of glossy black stone.
He reached his hand out and felt the first of his pieces. It was a queen, already he felt his power flare as it was drained into the piece. Allowing his energy to flow he also forced his two other queen pieces to slip through with it. The three merged together, taking on a strange and shifting colour. The top of the queen piece also changed as it formed in his hand after he removed it from the obelisk, the top had taken on the likeness of a roaring lion's head instead of the traditional crown shape as he placed it on the board.
The crowd gasped, many of them muttering and conversing as they watched him put the queen down.
"A mutation?"
"A queen at that."
"Never seen one like that before."
Off to the side Tannin and Mephisto shared a look and a smirk, the gesture was lost on all as they watched the boy in awe.
At least it was missed by most. From their places Ajuka Beelzebub and Azazel watched the two quietly snicker.
"You don't seem surprised."
Mephisto turned to the fallen angel, his smile not leaving his face.
"Romulus is an extraordinary boy. I had no doubt that he'd gain at least one mutation piece."
"I suppose, but you have to admit that a mutated queen is quite special."
"Oh I know, but not unheard of."
"You know something 'phisto."
"Oh Azazel, must you always assume that I am keeping secrets?"
"It saves time."
"Well I assure you that I know nothing of how this will play out. It is all up to Romulus' strength."
"… Fine."
They were interrupted by another round of chattering, both men turned to look as Romulus pulled a bishop free of the stone. The bishop was also shifting in colour and intensity, and like the queen piece it's top had changed. The piece had gained the visage of a snake's head, which was reared back and baring its fangs. Another piece, looking exactly the same, soon joined its brother on the other side of the queen
"Another?"
"Three mutations?"
"Impossible."
"It this real?"
"How?"
The crowd gasped in shock as the smiles slipped from Mephisto and Tannin's faces. They too joined the crowd in stunned silence as Romulus pulled out his fourth and fifth mutation pieces.
These two piece, a pair of knights, were different from the others. Unlike the queen and bishop, who merely had their tops changed, The knight had changed much more noticeably. Instead of taking the form of a standard horse, they took the form of a pair of winged Pegasus. The beasts were rearing on their hind legs, wings extended above their heads, and a saddled figure in armour riding on their backs with spears in their hands. Romulus placed both pieces down on the board, a massive smile on his face as he seemed to openly relish the shock and awe of the entire crowd.
His final pair of speciality pieces; his rooks, came out with changes beyond even those of the knights. They took on the forms of mountains instead of towers, with a pair of mountain goats climbing on each side. Their back hooves connected to the ragged-looking bases while their front hooved met in the air, connecting them and forming an arch.
The crowd reached a cacophonous uproar as they witnesses the creation of seven mutation pieces in a single peerage.
"I need that boy!"
"I want your babies!"
"Marry me!"
"Damn that kid!"
"Is he even real?
All three camps were standing now, shouting and clamouring to gain even the slightest bit of attention from the Titanius heir. The cries demanding alliances with the heir were only drowned out by the pleas of some of the female devils to have children with them. Some of their forms shifted and changed in an attempt to entice the young boy but Romulus never took his eyes off of the large stone obelisk.
Sitting to the side on the stage and therefore free from the chaos of the crowd the Maous were perhaps the only ones still sitting. That did not make them immune to the commotion. Together they watched with fascination as Romulus pulled out mutation after mutation from the stone.
"He's powerful." Serafall observed, licking her lips slightly as a hungry look overtook her eyes. "Maybe I'll take him myself. I'm sure Sona won't mind sharing this particular toy with me."
"Serafall." Sirzechs snapped, tearing his eyes away from the incredible display long enough to glare at the Leviathan before they snapped over to Beelzebub.
"Hey." She said, shrugging. "At least we know that the Phenexs won't be getting him, he'll have thousands of powerful devils lining up to join his peerage with all those mutation pieces."
"Yes." Ajuka agreed. "But that could prove to be a problem."
"What do you mean? He's a part of our faction now that he has a peerage. He'll join one of our houses. Preferably mine and-"
"He'll be joining my house or House Ageras Serafall, we already agreed that would be your punishment."
"That and pinning his advancement on us. Now everyone thinks we're trying to get him in our camps with favouritism."
"That should be your lesson."
"Sometimes I hate you Aju-chan."
"And yet you still call me Aju-chan."
"… Shut up."
Back at centre-stage, Romulus was pulling out the first of his pawns. For him this had been the hardest to decide. He wanted to make sure he had choices with regards to how many of each piece he had. This had been his best solution and with a bit of experimentation not even Mephisto or Tannin had seen he'd be able to shock everyone. He pulled out his first pawn, but instead of simply pushing two of his other pawns into it he instead forced a different piece. He channelled a bishop piece to merge with it.
The pawn piece that emerged was taller than a normal pawn. It also had a snake curling around it with the pawn's spherical top clutched in its jaws and was radiated the power of a bishop.
"What the hell?"
"What is that thing?"
"How is he even doing that?"
"I want his babies soooo bad!"
"Fuck Me!"
"I'LL GIVE YOU MY BODY!"
If the previous reaction to his unique pieces were loud, this newest reveal of an entirely new kind of piece elicited a roar that could overwhelm a hurricane. The crowd practically trampled each other to get even the slightest bit closer to the stage. By that time the scene resembled more a group of rabid fans after their object of affection and a sophisticated gathering of some of the most powerful members of the various underworld factions.
Romulus pulled out his second pawn piece, this one fused with his last knight, which was a pawn with the Pegasus and knight resting at its top. His last fused pawn came with a rook attached, and featured a mountain goat curled up on the flattened summit of the piece.
His finale was far more tame than his previous pulls, five mutated pawn pieces, each featuring a chimera as a decoration were far less exciting that what had come before but most certainly would cause chatter once the assembled members had calmed.
By the end of the ceremony Romulus stood in front of an enraptured crowd and a full fifteen evil pieces, all of which were unique and different from the standardized sets most devils obtained. This uniqueness was not just in the design. From where they had all crowded at the base of the stage each and every spectator could sense that all fifteen of his evil pieces were mutations, made exponentially more powerful and capable of reincarnating beings with a single piece that would have used times more under any other circumstances.
Seeing that the young boy was through with his impressive display Ajuka stood up, wiping away his own curious and intrigued expression he approached to newest member of the rating game system.
"Romulus Titanius." He said, watching as Romulus turned to face him, his new pieces sitting just to his left. "You have gained your evil pieces, through which you will gain your power and move towards your dream and your destiny. Use them well and justly and you will rise to great heights, fail to act with honor and integrity and you shall be cast down by the very pieces you have misused."
The speech was by all means ceremonial, the evil pieces were not governed by rules beyond the limits of their functions and nowhere were they programmed to judge their wielders.
"I will." Said Romulus, reaching out his hand and making a face of deep concentration. Moments passed and nothing happened, the pieces stayed the same as a rumbling and chuckling was heard.
"A real Titanius."
"At least we know he won't be unstoppable, just teleport him somewhere."
"Can't even form a teleportation circle."
"I still want your babies."
Eventually the whispers and the threat of embarrassment was enough to push the boy over the edge. A glowing purple portal formed under the board, allowing the pieces to be swallowed up and disappear.
"May I present." Ajuka turned, placing his hand on Romulus' shoulder to move him as well. "The newest competitor in the rating games; Romulus Titanius."
The crowd erupted into rancorous applause, but none were so loud as Tannin, who's size made his claps sound like thunder, and Adrianna, who had a massive grin on her face and a suspicious twinkle in her eyes.
Romulus descended from the stage and was met with devils and various supernatural creatures almost fighting to shake his hand. At one point a female yokai took his offered hand and pressed it against her breast, moaning as she forced his fingers to squeeze. Romulus blushed bright red and stuttered a hasty apology and goodbye, much to the yokai's disappointment as she groaned as he drew his hand away. Romulus hurriedly walked through the now good-naturedly laughing crowd, receiving pats to his back and jokes alongside the standard handshakes until he reached his group of friends and mentors.
Vali was the first to greet him, punching him in the shoulder before embracing him in a one armed hug.
"You big show off, you cancel our fight for the week to drag us all out here and then you nearly cause a riot. Figures you'd do anything to avoid losing to me again."
"Ha, you wish Vali. You'll see, we can have our fight when we get back and you'll get to watch me carve another dash on my side of the board."
"Can you two stop talking about training for two seconds."
The two boys turned to find Adrianna, looking rather peeved and tapping her foot. Her cheeks were puffed out in annoyance and her arms were crossed over her chest before her eyes softened.
"Good job Romulus."
"Thanks Ari."
Adrianna's face broke into a smile before she rushed forward, enveloping the two boys in her arms and bringing the three old friends into a long hug.
"Well we know who his first piece is going to be." Mephisto smirked at Azazel as the three watched the children hug.
"I guess we do, I wonder how powerful she'll be with that queen in her and a Longinus gear."
"She's already strong enough to rival those two. I'm sure once she becomes a queen she'll have Romulus on a leash if not both of them."
"Are you kidding me? She's already got that boy wrapped around her finger, and I don't think she's interested in sharing."
Mephisto smiled. "Indeed, she's a truly unique girl."
Azazel shoot his head. "I'll never understand those who choose monogamy."
"Some enjoy the comfort and love of knowing they are the only one for the other, others enjoy sharing their love with those who are willing to build such connections. Adrianna is simply the first type of person, and I believe Romulus is as weill."
"Call me when the boy comes to his senses. I'll take him and Vali out on the town."
"I won't."
"Will we be introducing the other candidates?" Tannin interrupted the two.
"What 'other' candidates?" Azazel asked, glancing between the two of them.
"Nothing to concern yourself over Azazel. Just a few acquaintances of Tannin who would like to meet a devil who is forming a peerage."
"You've gotten him dragons haven't you?"
"Now, now Azazel, don't spoil the surprise."
"So now what?"
"Now we take the children home. I apologise Azazel but we will need to reschedule Vali and Romulus' weekly fight at least this time. I believe that we will be busy acquainting Ms. Lorelei with being a devil.
"A Titanius, and Innovate Clear user and however many dragons you've got in store for him, I almost feel sorry for the Phenex boy."
"Almost?"
"He'll be fighting a team he has no hope of beating, to defend his sister's honor, I actually do feel bad for him."
The three adults approached the chattering children.
"Romulus, Ms Lorelei, it is time for us to go home. Vali, Azazel will be taking you back as well."
Romulus and Vali exchanged glances.
"What? But Mr. Mephisto we still haven't had our fight for this week."
"I understand Romulus but we must prepare. Your fight with young lord Riser is in one month as we must prepare you. You will need to start your peerage and train to work in tandem with them."
"Ok, see you next time Vali."
"Yeah..."
The two boys looked down, disappointed. Tannin looked between the two and rolled his eyes.
"Hey, you little hatchlings, just think of this as a chance to do some long term training. You'll see each other again soon enough."
The two shared a look and smiled before bumping fists.
"See you in a month."
"I'll be so much stronger than you I'll take you down in ten seconds."
"Yeah? Well I'll get so strong I'll beat you in five seconds."
"I'll do it in one second."
"I'll do it in one punch."
"Would you two shut up?" Adrianna glared at them. "If you two say one more word I'll take you both on next week."
Both boys stiffened and shuddered, instantly shutting their mouths.
"Vali it's time to go."
"Got it old man."
The fallen angel and the Heavenly Dragon were enveloped in a blinding flash of light before they disappeared, leaving behind a light dusting of crow's feathers in their wake.
"Romulus, Ms Lorelei. I do believe it is time for us to return home."
"Ok Mr Mephisto."
The group gathered together, entering into a magic circle that glowed with black light.
As they were about to leave the crowds parted and through them walked the Four Maous. The teleportation circle fell apart as Mephisto cancelled their exit.
"Mephisto. You weren't planning on leaving without a goodbye were you?"
The old devil turned to meet his former student, his face morphing into a tired but sincere smile.
"I'm afraid we don't have the time to stay Ajuka. We need to begin training Romulus for his first rating game. We only have three weeks left before the game is to begin."
"Of course, of course. Still I hoped that I could congratulate the young man. It's not everyday that a devil has a peerage made entirely of Mutations, it almost beggars belief."
"True enough, I almost don't believe it myself."
The two older men looked down at Romulus, who was somewhat preoccupied showing off his new pieces to Adrianna.
"And this is his queen-to-be I presume."
"We'll find out soon. They have already discussed it and are only going to reveal their decision once we get back."
"Let me know if she agrees."
"I have a feeling she already has."
"Goodbye old friend."
"Of course, I'm sure we'll see each other in a month."
Mephisto stepped away from his former student. Walking smoothly over to his newest pupils and enveloping them and his queenly companion in a large teleportation circle that instantly moved them out of the underworld and up into the mortal realm.
As Ajuka watched the three leave the other Maous emerged, the crowd beginning to disperse at the subject of their uproar left.
"Anything?" Asked Sirzechs. The four spoke together without fear of being overheard, their magics prevented anyone from overhearing them.
"I still couldn't read his mind. It's the same as when I met him a week ago. He knows, I'm sure of it."
Serafall huffed.
"And you just gave him a peerage made entirely of mutations."
"That was all Romulus' doing. I don't know how but I'm sure we will find out, and I have my suspicions."
The other three devil lords glanced at the Maou who was head of the offices of Science and Technology within the underworld. The demon before them had created the Evil Pieces and countless other magics. For him not to know what was going on with his own invention, it was a truly impressive move on the Titanius heir's part.
"So what now?" Asked Falbium as he chewed a popcorn kernel. He hoped they wouldn't have to take any action against the boy until after his fight with Riser Phenex. After the scene he'd caused at mere minutes ago the Maou of military affairs was looking forward to seeing the boy fight.
"For now we can do nothing openly, not until he throws the first punch, but sooner or later he will slip up, and Mephisto will no longer be able to help him."
"Why is Mephisto helping him anyway?" Asked Sirzechs. "He's your old teacher and you two get along well. If you explained it to him I'm sure he'd hand Romulus over."
"He most likely already knows everything Sirzechs, and he has not handed over Romulus yet." Ajuka continued to stare at where his old master's teleportation circle had been.
"Why not?"
"Because he knows what we did and why we did it, but he does not approve."
"We did what was necessary."
"In our eyes we did, but Mephisto has been an ally of the Titanius' since their founding. I have no doubt that he'll aid Romulus, though hopefully not as actively as I fear others might."
"How so Aju-chan?"
"If Romulus shows himself to reflect his clan's views we may well have an uprising of extra-demons on our hands, and given Romulus' probable knowledge of our actions he'll likely be even more vocal than the rest of his clan. The actions we took to prevent such a civil war may well be the seeds that sow the conflict we sought to end."
"Then we get rid of him." The Maou Leviathan's voice was cold and calculating, a far cry from her normally playful candour. "We send rogue devils, hire mercenaries, call in favours with our allies. We do whatever it takes."
"We will, Serafall, I will make sure of that, but I want to try and avoid bloodshed if we can, we should not waste a powerful potential ally by turning him so quickly into an enemy, there are ways we can use this."
The teleportation circle expanded outwards at the entrance of the training room, from its glow four figures of varying shapes and sizes appeared.
Romulus and Adrianna seemed abuzz with excitement as they rushed from the circle to the centre of the room. Romulus faced his hands up and closed his eyes in concentration.
As it was in the underworld, and perhaps to an even greater extent without the ambient magic aiding in his efforts, Romulus' summoning of his peerage pieces was a slow process. It took nearly a full minute for the box to fall out of his magic circle and into his hands.
Once he hand the chess set safely in his hands he looked over at Adrianna. She was looking excitedly but nervously at him.
"So you agreed."
The two children where snapped out of their thoughts by Mephisto and Tannin, who were walking calmly towards them.
"Mr Mephisto." Romulus said to his mentor. "I want to make Adrianna my queen. Can you show me how?"
"Hold on a moment Romulus." Mephisto stopped his over-eager student. He turned to Adrianna, watching as she fidgeted nervously under his gaze.
"Ms Lorelei, did you agree to this?"
The girl in question nodded her head, looking up into her teacher's heterochromatic eyes.
"I did Lord Mephisto."
"Why?"
"I... I don't want to be lonely anymore."
Mephisto looked at the, raising his eyebrow to signal her to continue.
"Romulus." Adrianna gulped and looked at the young devil, who stood at her side and took her hand in his. "He was the first person who wasn't angry when I copied his spells, and everyone else here just thinks I'm like the Loreleis who cheated. Romulus was the first friend I ever made here and now he might have to leave if he can't get anyone to follow him. I don't want him to leave. Besides, how bad can being a devil be. Romulus's one and Vali's half one. It can't be that bad."
There was a long and drawn out silence as the old devil and the dragon king looked on at the two young children.
"That's a better reason than most give." Tannin finally broke the silence and looked at Mephisto. "Should we?"
"I suppose if it is Ms Lorelei's decision. I can support such a thing." Mepisto rubbed his chin. "I doubt her parents will approve."
"They already said yes." Romulus said and Adrianna nodded her head vigorously.
"Is that so." Tannin chuckled. "The kids are already going behind our backs 'Phisto. I tell ya, they'll be mating by thirteen at this rate. I've got to up my bet with Azazel."
"Now is not the time Tannin."
"Always the time Mephisto."
"What are you guys talking about?"
The two adults looked at Adrianna's confused face as Romulus looked away, blushing heavily.
"Nothing of importance Ms Lorelei, just a small wager. Now, since you have decided this I believe it is time to begin the ceremony."
The small group gathered as Romulus received his instructions on the resurrection ritual. Adrianna laid calmly on the floor, occasionally making a game out of blowing hair out of her face, while Tannin looked on amused as the girl went through the same process he had so long ago.
'Still have to introduce him to those two, wonder what they'll all say when they see him.'
Romulus Evil pieces:
1 x Mutation queen (x3) 3/3
2 x Mutation bishop (x2, x3) 5/6
2 x Mutation knight (x2, x3) 5/6
2 x Mutation rook (x2, x3) 5/6
1 x Bishop pawn (x1 bishop + x1 pawn) 1/6 bishop, 1/24 pawn
1 x Knight pawn (x1 knight + x1 pawn) 1/6 knight, 1/24 pawn
1 x Rook pawn (x1 rook + x1 pawn) 1/6 rook, 1/24 pawn
5 x Mutation pawn (x4, x 4, x 4, x4, x 5) 21/24
The theme of this story in my opinion is 'be prepared'. I've been playing Zelda Breath of the Wild for the past year and the idea of that game (Spoilers kind of but really who doesn't know this game?) is that you can either work your way up and prepare for your epic battle with Gannon or you can rush in and die. I feel most Shonen anime and anime in general just rushes in and relies on the Power of FRIENDSHIP to carry the day and I feel that is a big waste of story. In my opinion Highschool DxD, One Piece and Fairy Tail are some of the most guilty parties. (But don't get me started on Fairy Tail) I don't want to make that mistake which is why I like anime like Overlord so much. This will be similar but instead of starting off OP and trying to conquer the world all sneaky like Romulus will work his strength up to get his revenge. Also don't expect clear cut bad guys. I want this story to be somewhat like game of thrones which is why I've spent as much time as I have with the Maous. They are willing to do bad stuff but mostly for the greater good, and any selfish actions they take are not really threatening beyond temporarily hurting someone's pride. They are complex, which is what I wanted to get across with their meetings, personalities and dialogue.
Finally an update on how I will update. I will alternate between chapters of this and Brother of Amazons and each new chapter will only be posted when the next chapter of the other story is half done. For example this chapter is being released today because the next chapter of Brother of Amazons is either half or more than half done. The next chapter of BoA will be posted when the first half of chapter 7 of Titan of defense is finished, and so on and so forth. Any new fics will be worked on and then added into the queue.