Another chapter. Chutney
"What is going on, Atlas?" Tsubaki asked while watching the naked boy staring at his own reflection in the mirror. "Is it my performance? You didn't look like you enjoyed it."
"It wasn't you. Since the night with Irina yesterday I don't feel like it. My body is completely satisfied and my mind is the only thing that wants to keep you happy." He explained before washing his face. The cold water rolling down his throat, his chest and his arms, right onto the floor.
Tsubaki just stood up and walked over to her secret lover. Slowly scratching his chest with her nails and kissing his neck, licking of the water drops. "I am sure that she did this on purpose. You have no other choice but to give her what she wants if you want to stay alive."
"It's not that." He answered, turning around and taking her into his arms. "She is me. She knows what I want, how I want it and what she has to do to keep me at bay. She is basically a hell gate that separates me from all of you."
"She tries to control your emotions so thst if you really are about to die then she has a backup plan to kill who needs to die. All that for you to stay alive. And you won't feel anything because by then your empathy is gone completely." She explained to herself while Atlas nodded into her shoulder.
"You have no idea how much I actually like you. I swear, I would kill anyone who dares to touch you." Tsubaki felt his kisses going down her neck before slowly arching up and leaning over the sink of the bathroom.
"Irina might be your future wife, but I will always be there." She smiled into the mirror, seeing Atlas behind her grabbing her hand. "I think I love you." She exclaimed with a smile.
"I have never seen Irina like that before." Xenovia exclaimed while Lint nodded.
The self-proclaimed Paimon was reading two books at the same time while leaning toward the table next to the couch and writing with both hands in two different languages without even looking at her writing once.
"What is she doing?" Issei asked while Rias just looked with interest at Irina.
Sona just drank her tea and looked up. "Since yesterday she is trying to test Atlas' intelligence and wants to know where it comes from. For that she uses his archives of knowledge."
Everyone saw her putting away the pens and standing up while continuing to read a book. She walked over to Rias peerage and started to pull out a single strain of hair that she put into a small bag. "Issei, if you have the chance to kill Diodora Astaroth, please don't do it. And please don't harm his peerage members. They will find a better use in Latia Astaroth's peerage." Irina said while biting into an apple.
"What?" Issei asked again while the girl looked up. Everyone just looked at the girl who went through significant changes that considered her looks.
Instead of two, she now only tied her long hair into one ponytail at the back of her head. Her clothes were rather big for her, yet fitted her perfectly. Atlas' white hoodie, his black track pants and even his shoes. While not the same size it was the same model.
"Just follow a simple order, otherwise your future changes. Don't ask, just do, unless you don't want to poke Rias nipples in two weeks. According to the book that's exactly what will happen. Do I have your attention now?" Everyone looked shocked at Issei nodding with a slight nosebleed and turned to Irina again.
The door of the train wagon they were in opened and Atlas came in with Tsubaki. "Having fun with Atlas sister?" The queen asked while looking at everyone only to receive aggressive stares back.
"Gremory..." Atlas greeted with a nod.
"Paimon..." Rias greeted him back.
"You both are late. Atlas, fine, but you Tsubaki? Irina is basically a copy of him and managed to be on time, even tho I wished she wouldn't." Sona shook her head in dissapointment while Irina ignored her.
Tsubaki just sighted before sitting down. "We had to discuss a certain thing before we left."
"Don't let this certain thing get in your way again." Sona ordered while Rias nodded and gave the sign to start the train towards hell.
"It wasn't in my way, it was in me." Tsubaki felt the need to whisper that to herself before closing her mouth completely.
A silence broke into the wagon and everyone just kept on doing their own thing, everyone except Issei who kept looking at Irina and wondered what happened to her. "Would you please stop staring at my body. It's solely belongs to a certain someone. Also, stop wondering why I am different, because I am not. I simply speed up the process of me becoming who I was destined to be."
"I don't remember you being in any position to give my Pawn any orders." Rias exclaimed in jealousy.
"I don't remember house Gremory treating their family like slaves, but that is none of my concerns." She replied bluntly before looking at Atlas who sat next to her. She crossed her legs, laid everything aside and gave the black haired boy a kiss on his cheeks. "I love him, I desire him and I am obsessed with him. I could tell it to anyone, I would yell it and tattoo it onto my body if I felt the need to do so. I don't care about his or others opinions on that. Maybe if you were a bit more like me, then you wouldn't have issues with your Pawn." Irina took the book, stood up and left the wagon while Rias just stared at the place she sat on.
"I apologize for her behavior." Sona spoke up without a tone of regret in her voice for what Irina said. "But I agree with her." With that everyone stood up and followed Sona while Atlas stayed.
He went back and wrote directly on the table some weird symbols that only Rias could read from her view. 'He likes you as much as you like him. Thank me later.'
He laid down the pen and left without giving them a second glance. "What are these symbols?" Koneko asked while Yuuto and Akeno came closer to it.
"Seems like it's an ancient language or something. But not holy like his grimoire." Xenovia exclaimed as he stared at it. "Maybe he thought he wrote something but turned insane and has no idea."
"That's exactly what happened." Rias awoke from her frozen and emptied her glass of water on it.
The letters started to move and turn around to form words and and sentences. "Rias and Azazel planed on using a force teleportation spell to let you fight a dragon." Issei read out loud.
"No one calls me insane besides me." Atlas laughed as he walked through the hallway of the train with Penelope sitting on his shoulders.
"You ruined their test." The girl hit him on the head while he laughed.
"And? Rias left me to die." The boy just opened another door only to find himself at the end of the train and looking into the never ending color spectrum of the devil realm.
"I forgot Penelope!" Irina yelled as she looked directly at the girl sitting on Atlas' shoulders.
"You can see her?" Momo asked while holding up a barrier.
"And she can see us. That's why Atlas is such a dangerous opponent. Penelope would always help him. She is an extension of his brain. The moment she knows that they are surrounded by a barrier Atlas will know it to. They are connected like I was to him, but their connection is far deeper and in the subconsciousness." Irina explained while fixiating her gaze at the girl, trying to give her a sign.
"Irina can see me!" Penelope yelled while Atlas just shrugged his shoulders.
"Yeah, I kind of knew this would be a thing." He answered only to feel a tap on his shoulders.
Turning around he saw Rias and her peerage standing behind him. "Why did we pass the Sitri territory?" Rias asked angrily.
"How should I know that? As you can see, they are gone!" He replied loudly while pointing at the missing part of the train.
"But where are they?" Issei asked while Atlas just threw a card out of the train only for it to disappear midair.
"Behind a barrier that they tried to test out on me." He said as he walked right through the wall of illusions and to stare directly into Ajuka's serious face.
"What a wonderful barrier. I wonder what book you stole to get that?" The Satan smiled weakly before seeing the barrier drop and Rias and her peerage looking at him stunned. "A typical Paimon. Stealing himself up to power. Anyways, you probably are wondering why the train didn't stop at house Sitri."
"Lord Belzeebub, welcome." Rias greeted with a bow. "Yes, I would want to know why we didn't stop."
"Thats easy. I will need to borrow you Pawn and your Knights for a few experiments that Atlas will help me on. Atlas and Irina." The Satan explained while Rias had no other choice but to agree.
"Fine. Please take care of my three cute little servants." The King exclaimed while Atlas rolled his eyes.
"And by the way. The train didn't even leave yet. Your girlfriend is very talented in barrier magic, Atlas." The boy just had Momo's laugh in his mind while shaking his head.
"You will see them tomorrow. They will be back before the training even starts." The devil lord exclaimed before a green seal engulfed the selected members and teleported them away.
Only now did they all feel a slight preasure in their chest and noticed the train starting.
"Is it about my legs, or project afterlife?" Atlas asked while everyone looked at the Satan.
"You are here because Serafall told me that you are the most Intelligent," He looked at Atlas and Irina. "The most powerful," He looked at Issei and Xenovia. "The most liked," He eyed Yuuto. "And the the wielder of the most promising sacred gears." He looked at Genshirou and Lint.
"We three have no sacred gears." Xenovia said as she pointed at Atlas and Irina.
"The Durandal will be considered an artificial one by the time we are done. For Atlas and Irina, I know that you two have no sacred gears. But one of you holds the power to steal them and the other one would be capable of even creating ones." Ajuka explained while Irina nodded and Atlas narrowed his eyes.
"You used all these mages to collect their magical energy and based on Serafall's information you could create a prophecy for all of us." Irina and Atlas replied in union.
"You found that out quicker than I would have. I am impressed." He said before getting rid of his robe and sitting down on a chair. "Now. These meetings will be happening weekly once. It may happen that some leave or some join."
"Why are we really here?" Lint asked while Ajuka stood up and got out some files from a shelve.
"Death due to sacrifice, childbirth, burn injuries, energy overload, suicide, juggernaut drive and beheading." He read out while giving each person a folder. "The book of revelation isn't the only thing that can see the future. It is the most detailed and accurate thing but a free prophecy is basicaly the same. Last time we had a powerful peerage member stronger than the king, she killed him and left."
"Yeah, ok, but who said that we will do the same? Genshirou is litteraly dating his king and Issei is getting power ups from Rias breasts." Atlas explained while the Satan nodded.
"I don't fear the chance of you leaving. Every promising member will be registered into a special list for potential new peerages. That means that you, and a few others, are the closest when it comes to becoming high-class devils. We simply need records of your psychic and physical tests to keep you alive. Change of diet or more sports or whatever is needed to prevent you from your death causes." The Satan sat down again and looked at the others.
"Alright. If it's for a good cause then let's do it." Issei exclaimed determined while starting to unbutton his jacket.
"We will start with the questions before we do the physical evaluation." Irina rolled her eyes while Issei laughed awkwardly.
The Satan summoned multiple chairs and drinks. "Please sit down and make it your home." They all did as he told and drank a bit.
"Now, first question. I want you all to be completely honest and not to be ashamed of anything." He drank a bit of water before looking at them.
"What do you all think is the reason you will die in four months on the same day?"
End