Vermilion Dragon of the Phenex

by Alek Sands

"Allow me to reintroduce myself, Gremory-san; my name is Hyoudou Issei, I am the Pawn of Eight to Lady Ravel of the House of Phenex, but today it is for Lord Riser, her elder brother whom I fight for. Upon my left arm, I wield the Longinus, {Boosted Gear}, and by this gauntlet, I proclaim myself as this generation's [Sekiryuutei] (Red Dragon Emperor)." AU. Rated M. etc. etc.

6. Natural Selection Part 2

The following is a non-profit, fan-based AU story. [High School DxD] is owned by Ishibumi Ichiei, Miyama-Zero, Fujimi Shobo, TNK and Funimation. Please support the official release . . . and if possible, could someone tell Rias to give me my whiskey back. Please? Anyone?

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"_" = Speaking.

( _ ) = Translation/Other Meaning

[ _ ] = Personal Title.

{ _ } = Item/Ability/Sacred Gear.

["_"] = Speaking via Alternate Means.

["_"] = Speaking through Sacred Gears.

[{"_"}] = Sacred Gear Command.

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Previously:

"Dear members of the current Phenex Clan, both family and devoted servants. We are gathered for this day in which we invite a new member into our home."

"Issei. You have lived with us since you were ten years old, but there comes a day when every child grows up and must choose what they want for the future."

"I accept what you have to offer. I await to serve."

"I, Ravel of the House of Phenex, accept thee, Hyoudou Issei, as my servant."

"And I, Hyoudou Issei, accept thee, Lady Ravel of the Phenex Clan, as my King."

"Ready, Issei."

"Let's do this, Ravel."

"In the Name of the Marquis of Phenex, I command you. . . You, my Pawn, arise, rejoice and be delighted, for now you have been given a new life!"

"On behalf of the Phenex Clan, we officially welcome you to our House and to our services, [Sekiryuutei] Hyoudou Issei."

"Yes. Lord Phenex, sir."

"Good. Well, now that is settled. Ruval, I believe you have a game coming up in a few weeks, am I wrong."

"That is correct father. Tannin wishes to challenge me for my 7th place spot again, and of course I was willing to take on the challenge."

---

"Presenting your host for tonight's banquet: Lord Rivalen Phenex, 6th [Marquis of Phenex]. Lady Rozalva Phenex, [Marquise of Phenex]. The Lady Ravel Phenex, and their respective entourages."

As Sebast, the head butler of the Phenex Household, called out towards the guests the arrival of the Lord of the manor, all went silent as the Lord and Lady of the clan descended from the top of the stairs that led into the Great Hall where all the guest were present. The party had not been one without good reason. It was in celebration of Ruval's recent victory against Tannin in their last duel, and may I comment that it is still one of their finest matches to date;

From the starting gun, both teams mobilised with great precision, and knowing that they knew each other's moves was like watching two master tacticians stand-off, with so many well played advances, retreats, traps, breaks in the line, outflanking, . . . I could talk on forever about how brilliant it was to watch two master kings play the game.

In the end, it came down to which King was more resilient to fire, and unfortunately for the [Blaze Meteor Dragon], it was the flames of the [True Phoenix of the Inferno] who continued to dominate the final bout when Tannin's flames did little than to only enhance Ruval's {Regeneration} abilities.

As Lord Rivalen and Lady Rozalva walked down arm in arm, with Ravel holding the hand of her father's Queen, Lupambulus, and then the remaining members of each noble's peerages walked behind them.

Lord Phenex was dressed in a full suit, black from shoulders to toes, with several grades of fiery reds, oranges and yellows adorned on his person. He wore quite the collection of gold on his fingers and around his neck as he simultaneously waved his hand in a formal manner to his guest with his left hand, while support his wife's hand with his right as they both walked down step by step.

Lady Phenex wore a dress of light colours in white, silvers, pale blues and pinkish hues that resembled pearls in the moon light, or so many of the guests commented, with a floral bonnet of night-blooming cereus and fixed with peacock feathers as was a part of her families style. It sort of reminded me of something worn by Queen Elizabeth I of England in one of the history books I found one day in the library. With her left hand being supported by her husband, she continued to gracefully walk downward with her own right hand holding both a fan and the hem of her dress to avoid her stepping on it by mistake.

Ravel was not wearing something quite a flashy, but it was definitely ornated with light coloured ribbons hanging in loops and tied with bows across her dress of complimenting light red. It wasn't quite a shade of pink, but it wasn't a solid red either as it would have drawn too much attention to the eyes. Though the height difference between the twelve year old Ravel and the aged Queen of her father, who was a tall man to begin with, wasn't too great that walking down next to each other was a challenge, it was clear to see some comfortability in the way they were walking.

Behind the Lord and Lady were their peerage members; for Lord Rivalen, his Queen Lupambulus the [Witcher King] who was escorting Ravel down the stairs, his Knight Eugene Collach, the [Western Samurai], his first Bishop Aleister Crowley, the [Aeon of Horus], his second Bishop Catherine Montvoisin, better known as [La Voison], and his Pawn of Six, Tash Imdugud, son of the infamous Anzu Imdugud, the [Demon of Flame and Torrent]. And for Lady Rozalva, there was only myself.

Unlike the uniqueness in our respective master's clothing, all of us were dressed in plain black suits with white ties (except La Voison, who wore a white ball gown that would have been fashionable in the 1950's Western world). However, what was most noticeable was the light yellow-orange tie worn beneath, and the handkerchiefs worn in the breast pocket were orange and red in colour, for all of Lord Rivalen's servants that was. For me, the only difference, apart from the very strict combing that had been applied to my hair earlier that day following the match was that my handkerchief was blue and green.

It was strange, but even Tash, who looked like a skeletal bird with a human-like body, looked very smart in a suit and trousers.

Though the guests were many, it was only made up of High-class devils ranked Marquis and below; The Kings were a separate matter, as I have mentioned previously, but the Princes and Dukes were still considered of higher standing, and such a party was considered a declinable event, so none of them showed up.

As our group reached the bottom of the stairs and we the servants took a bow before the guest, we stepped to the side as Sebast called for the next of the Phenex household to descend.

"The Lord Rayzem Phenex, the Lady Zemele Phenex, the Lord Ramarh Phenex, the Lady Riana Phenex, and his entourage."

Instead of waving to the guests, Lord Rayzem nodded his head in all directions as he looked between guests watching as he, his wife, his peerage and two children walked down in each of their arms. Despite their children being almost five during this party, they still being relatively spoiled by their parents for being a birth that happens once in a thousand lifetimes.

In the same fashion as his father, Rayzem wore a matching suit, but skipped out on the excessive jewellery, but I did notice the very expensive looking cufflinks with the single ruby affixed in the metal on each of his sleeves. He had taken the day off especially for the match so that he could take his children to watch their first ever game, but it still didn't excuse him from the bags beneath his eyes. Though I will say they were smaller than usual, so he must have at least gotten a decent hours night of sleep. His left hand carrying his daughter Riana, who was wearing a simple dark green dress and shoes to match her mothers, sitting upon his arm with both her hands locked around his neck. And as with his parents, he walked down holding hands with his wife in his right.

Unlike Lady Phenex's dress, Zemele's was shorter at the bottom so she did not need to use a hand to hold it up as she walked, and neither did she amplify her heritage as part of the extinct [Dukes of Murmur], either out of consideration to the lower ranks of devils present or because of her pride as Rayzem's Bishop and wife respectively. She did however wear a small brooch on the fabric that hooked over her right shoulder, gold in colour with a griffin rampant upon it. Ramarh was seated in her right arm, in a small tuxedo of black, while only hanging on with one arm on her shoulder so he could watch the room engulf them as they drew in closer.

Behind them were Rayzem's peerage; his Queen Shiera Alsiel, his Knights Franzo Calcabrina and Ismelda Scarmiglione, his Rook Citch Adramelech, Bishops Kanam Alastor and Asyue Shaher, and Pawn of Four Kuickrow, better known as the [Four Armed Destruction King] and the only one in his peerage to take part in Rating Games.

There was supposed to be another Rook in his peerage, but we will get to that eventually. While I noticed the absence of this single piece, it would seem that Lord Rayzem had chosen to either ignore it for the time being, or he knew but would refuse to give reason to suggest something was amiss.

As they reached the bottom of the stairs, the parents let their children down from their arms, albiet with some resistance from their son who was quite enjoying the higher view at his mother's eye level, but eventually consented when he found some other children of similar size among the crowd and decided he would go play with them, dragging his twin by the hand as he departed.

It was nice to see the twins proactive; high-class society isn't the most suitable place to be growing up as children. But, unlike Ravel at their age, they had each other, but they also had a few less liberties than you would have expected. Twin devils are like a prized pair of jewels that one keeps close to their hearts. I either heard someone say as such, or I may have read it, I don't recall exactly, but it was a clear summary of their situation.

As the two children vanished into the crowd, and their parents stepped aside with the rest of Rayzem's peerage, the next had already made its way to the top of the stairs.

"The Lord Riser Phenex, and his entourage."

Sporting his new look, replacing the large super seiyan hairstyle for one that I could only describe looked like a headless duck had seated itself upon his head, Riser stepped upon the stage to take in the opportunity. It wasn't that his new look was bad for his style, but the unpredictable nature of him exploring his look caught everyone by surprise.

I described the new hairstyle as nesting bird, which with the collection of hair that had two sweeping over the top of his ears on either side, with the third in the middle collecting into a small wolf's tail. If it hadn't been in his signature golden colour, I would have thought to be akin to a powdered wig worn in the 18th Century occident. Well, at least it matched his red and yellow outfit that looked like it came from the same era.

Following his descent was his [Bomb Queen] Yubelluna, Pawn of One Mira, Rook Xuelan, Pawns of One Ni and Li, First Knight Karlamine, Pawns of One Marion and Burent, Second Knight Sirus, and his Bishop Mihae.

And then, after having left the bottom of the stairs, the lights went dim for a moment as the final members of the house were about to make their triumphant introduction before the awaiting audience below.

"And lastly, the man of the hour to whom this feast we dedicate to; Current 7th Placeholder in the Underworld Rating Game Championships, the Lord Ruval Phenex, and his entourage."

At the roar of applause, the peerage of ten descended down the stairway, led by their King. Behind Lord Ruval was his Queen Junyspar who was a Dryad, his first Bishop Aikaterine, the daughter of the witch Circe, his Knight of Two Vissarion, his second Bishop Jean-Baptiste Alliette also called [Etteilla], his first Pawn of Two Hans Arampton, his first Rook Mythralr of Jotunheim, his Pawn of One Candice, his Pawn of Three Julio Rego, his second Rook Cacaxtla of the Tzitzimime, called the [Star Scorpion], and his second Pawn of Two Peter Rattenfanger von Hameln, descendant of the [Pied Piper of Hamelin].

Unlike all other servants and peerage members, who had been dressed in more modern suits and dresses, there was a great deal of variety and freedom in choice of clothing that they could adorn; Junsypar, next to her King, came in Roman styled white toga with a purple sash that complimented the slight greenish hue of her skin, and leaves of natural green and painted gold were sewn into her rich soil brown hair, though I suspected most were grown naturally.

In the second row, Aikaterine wore mostly dark shades of purples, blue and blacks with gold to compensate her milky albino skin, hair and ruby eyes, all in glorious medieval styled mage robes that hid her body figure. Next to her a step behind, Vissarion came in his former Imperial Russian military uniform, decorating himself with a few badges he earned in his life time on top of his dark green jacket, and two ceremonial Cossack sabres fixed to his sides.

Etteilla came dressed like The Fool as commonly depicted on his signature Tarot cards, but also wore a half mask to cover his right side behind a harlequin's smile. And next to him, Hans was dressed in the same long black jacket he wore to every occasion despite the tears that hung at his ankle line, and several belt-like straps that he wore across his body like he was trying to keep himself from breaking up.

Taking up the entire fourth row, Mythralr, having forcibly shrunk himself to an easier to enter height at 8'2'', wore black ice armour with a series of silver lacings that formed what looked like an attempt at formal chainmail to go beneath his usual clothes.

Only Candice and Julio seemed to wear something more familial to modern dress code, but their clothing was still quite outdated by two hundred and four hundred years respectively, but stood out more was that they continued to wear plate armour over their arms that clanked at they shifted down each step, and a more obvious eye catch was the pair of gold rings worn on Candice's left hand, and around Julio's neck by a chain that only recently appeared.

Behind the two, Cacaxtla wore a lot of bright coloured feathers and several draping ornaments of pure gold hung off him. Bare footed as he usually was, and showing off a lot of his bronzed skin, he constantly fidgeted with a lose piece of cloth that he couldn't do anything about as he would have cut it in half with the insectoid claws he had instead of hands. And lastly next to him was Peter, who appeared in a court musician's attire, but with the cape draped across his right shoulder and the flute wielded by his forbearer at his side in place of a weapon.

And Lord Ruval himself, who was leading his band of victors beside his Queen, was in full noble devil armour on top of velvet red fabics and the large cape with the Phenex symbol gleaming from it, that just as he had worn during the times of war and as he had always done in every rating game he participated in since his debut. The signature orange of the Phenex outlined the blacken metal, and the red beneath only highlighted the brilliance that was his warrior personage. The symbol of the clan upon his cape fluttered on its own like a victorious flag flying over the battlefield.

As the Band of Nine all lined up at the bottom of the stairs, the circle of people awaiting them became quite agitated. It was nearly the end of the ceremony, and soon the party and intermingling between devils with the Phenex Clan could begin.

With a glass of fire wine in his hand, Lord Rivalen raised it above his head before all the guest in his home. And then began the celebration toast directed to his eldest son and heir.

"To the victors, comes the feast!"

"Yiryhoy!"

With his response heard throughout the hall, all the guest present joined in unity.

"""Yiryhoy!"""

Having said cheers in harmonious choir, the official party could begin, which started with many guests swarming to crowd the new 7th place holder and the peerage who helped carry him there. It sounds cruel when I say it like this, but I was rather glad to see the attention being drawn away from me and unto Lord Ruval, which was to be expected none the less since it is his party after all.

I'll explain a little while later in better detail, but being the only peerage member in your party does make you feel a little exposed.

Though many people had been invited, I can only really remember the main nobility of the 72 Pillars who had all accepted the invitation to join in the gathering. Not because it wasn't allowed for other devils, but because each one of them were acting towards their own desires as you would expect;

Probably the best known was Lord Naud Gamigin, the 7th [Marquis of Gamigin]. He was well known as a commentator for the Rookie's Rating Game league, but was usually reserved for the finals due to his reputation of good judgement on the abilities, style and play-through of any devil participating just by watching them for a few minutes.

From what I heard from Rayzem, who worked closely with him at the same studio on a few projects here and then, even a few judging shows, which I was told to steer clear from for a few more years, that despite his flashy appearance, he was actually quite a reserved and quiet guy when his mouth wasn't next to the microphone. He was the last of the main family branch, and there were discussions he was thinking of adopting his great-nephew Bigear Gamigin as his heir, despite him being one of the most eligible bachelors in the Underworld.

Even coming to this party, he kept his silver eyes hidden behind sunglasses, and a set of headphones wrapped around his neck which slightly tugged into the length of his light red hair. Perhaps it was his 'confidence enhancer', but I guess that being a celebrity excused him for what would be considered poor dress manner, even if he was in a smart-. . . ish suit.

Lord Jarlus Amon, the 5th [Marquis of Amon], was present also, and had been a childhood companion to Lord Rivalen's father in their youths. His most notable feature was his slightly larger nose that he managed to cover up by growing a long moustache that hung like handlebars from his face. His hair was a mixture of white and blonde that complimented a youthful appearance with an aged mind-set that looked back at you through midnight blue eyes.

Yurolibar Amon, his daughter and heir was between Ruval and Rayzem's age, but looked younger than them both in appearance. Her hair was primarily blonde, but it was a golden blonde like the sun that slowly went to white at her roots, while the tips were more of an orange.

Iolava Amon, the younger child and son, looked to be at least nineteen when I first saw him, and I think he continued to age naturally when I next saw him during his participation at the Rookie's Rating game Tournament in 2008 CE. His betrothed Eneely Vassago was also one of the future contenders, but neither of the two seemed to be a match since Eneely was infatuated with the light blonde haired younger brother of Maou Beelzebub, Diodora Asteroth. Compared to the dark brown to dull yellow of Iolava's hair, that would have outed him as a delinquent in my home country, there was no competition between the two.

Though I must add this, the younger brother of Maou Ajuka's choice of . . . preference in females, was a bit of a controversy in later years when it became public.

Lord Tainton Naberios, the 4th [Marquis of Naberios] came dressed in traditional garbs worn during the times of the Old Maou, but after having lost his father, brother, sister, nephew, and own wife in the Wars against Heaven and the Old Maou faction, no one doubted where his allegiance lied. Despite the bright lime green of his hair and eyes, his had quite a dark visor about him, like hunter looking for small prey.

Ruzen-Riothama Naberios, better known as Ruri, was his daughter, and by law was still his heir until she wedded due to her younger brother Daikaizaren Naberios having already been shown capable of producing a child of his own, and had since been adamant to remain unmarried to prevent being pushed behind her brother in succession.

It's quite an old law, but it is still enforced by some devil families.

Her brother Daikaizaren, along with his wife Eksuv Naberios nee Berith, and Archen Naberios their child was still a babe of four years at the time, were here also. Unlike Ruri who shared all her features with her father, Daiken as his cousin would call him, took his mother's blue-green eyes rather, which his daughter had then inherited from him.

Serifo Naberios nee Balam, widow to Lord Taito's younger brother Kujou, came with their surviving child, Achanegh Naberios, who was around the same age as me. Unlike the main Naberios family, Achanegh inherited her mother's black hair and red eyes, as well as the Balam clan's inhuman strength alongside her father's clan ability to tame dogs. Just looking at her, you could tell she was a sad child, even without knowing that she had lost her father and brother before she could know them.

Lord Kharlyn Glasya-Labalos, the 1st [Earl of Glasya-Labolas], formerly 3rd [President of Glasya-Labolas] and his wife Lady Rosazu Glasya-Labolas nee Ipos were there, which was definitely noted by all those who were present. As the parents of the Maou Falbium Asmodeus, their being here had definitely caught a lot of attention, much like expected from the Gremorys, Sitris and Asteroths, expect their low nobility ranking made them an easier focal point, which many found desirable. Much like his son, Lord Kharlyn was bald, but had a balbo instead of a goatee.

With them was their son and heir, the younger brother of Maou Falbium, Uraxis Glasya-Labolas, who came dragging in his older cousin Zephyrdor Glasya-Labolas, son of Lord Kharlyn's late brother Boriator. Looking at the two of them, it was hard to tell they were related expect by their last names and similarity blue hairs (though Zephyrdor's was closer to being green), as his red skin tone and white streaks across his cheeks contrasted with the more natural looking deep tone the main Glasya-Labolas clan had. I presumed that Zephyrdor inherited it from his mother's family, but I am still unsure who that is, or was.

Lady Jotsarin Forneus, 6th [Marquis of Forneus], widow to Saidyno Cimaris, was the Head of her clan in her own right, having no elder brothers or uncles left in her family who were within wedlock, which left her unchallenged. She was what people would describe as a cool beauty, sweeping the attention of many elder and younger devils, combining her very thin body with large fabrics that look like they could fall from her, or something like that from what words I could mesh together from multiple sources that night. Despite having another century on her before even considering retiring, she remain faithful and didn't wish to remarry after losing her husband.

Her son however was different. Gragg Forneus was not a pretty sight to look at; taking the more hideous features from his father, his bulbing eyes, jagged predator teeth and protruding horn from his head made him look like an anglerfish in comparison. Though devils could change their appearances according to age at will, and it was in his father's blood to alter his bodily shape, neither of those options were available to the unlucky heir of Forneus.

Though in all honesty, his beastly attitude matches his features swimmingly, you could say.

Lady Dandilfa Furfur, 7th [Count of Furfur] was another female head, but had more trouble than it was worth from another contender for the title, Lord Onrayjoe Furfur, who was also her second cousin as well as husband. Though Lady Dandilfa was the daughter of the 6th Head, her relative Onrayjoe thought that it should be his for the taking, and thus a compromise of marriage between the two settled the matter. They still fight and argue, even doing so knowing in front of others and even their own children, but there is a dispute whether it's because they continue to hate or love each other that they are fighting.

Steypen Fufur, was their first child and in his seventies age wise, but twenty in appearance, holding on to Mathilgard Furfur his younger sister in his arms since she was still too young to begin walking. I do not know what the exact relationship between the two siblings are; whether they are like their parents (as humorous as one-sided it would sound), or if they were perhaps a substitute parent and child since he continued caring for her throughout the party. I only wish it doesn't evolve into another base form of sister complex. I feel that the Underworld has quite enough of them to cut cleanly through with a knife.

Stories about Lord Rotselrann Shax, 10th [Marquis of Shax], was a tragic figure after several horrible mishaps befell his family. His father was the 6th Marquis Styvannum, followed by his older brother Garaldha Shax the 7th, then his uncle Stanizba Shax as the 8th per his will, before his own nephew was the 9th Robarzeo Shax also kicked the bucket after a short time. A terrible series of events that no one is quite sure how to piece together, but many died in plots and in secret between the two major wars, with only the late Lord Styvannum's death being confirmed as being the result of the Old Satans. Nevertheless, the aged Marquis attended the party, but kept to his age, showing a much more elderly figure, but still had a lot of vigour in him.

His only family left with him was his heir Burla Shax, the daughter of his nephew, the 9th Marquis, who was nearly reaching adulthood, and as such was dressed in order to attract a suitable match since her father had died too young to organise one, and her mother had been resistant to lose her even to the current Marquis, and kept her sheltered until she was no longer able to keep her away from her duties.

Sir Raytorian Furcas, 1st [Earl of Furcas], Knight Chevalier and Grand Master of Malebranche was a splendid looking lord, even rivalling Ruval's attire in how well the metal armour suited him so. With a short cropped beard than never left his face, and light brown hair that shimmered like bronze in finest cobalt coloured dress, he looked like an ideal knight despite his age. Accompanied by his wife Lady Fatora Furcas nee Malacoda, who with her silver white hair and deep sapphire eyes, she looked young enough in appearance to be the silver princess next to her blue knight.

One of the many famous stories of the Underworld had been composed around their romance during the infamous coup d'etat in the Malebolge.

The elder daughter Klanvoyssa Furcas, and the younger son Beruka Furcas were with them, both also in armour, though did try to find the fine balance between formal wear and retaining their metal gear to satisfy both their parents. The heiress was golden white in hair that it almost platinum, with equalling strong gold eyes, while her brother who was fifteen had a natural orange-brown hair that didn't transition into ginger, while keeping the same blue in his eyes that he inherited from Lady Fatora.

Lord Ethad Oriax, 4th [Marquis of Oriax] and his wife Lady Lyaru Oriax nee Valefor attended as well, but I barely saw either of them unfortunately. My memory conflicts accounts as to whether I did meet them or not, but it had been quite late in the evening if it was so I refuse to make a definitive confirmation.

One devil that caught my eyes was Sarschi Oriax, their son and heir; he shared similar looking marks beneath his eyes that reminded me of Zephyrdor whom I had seen earlier, which made me propose that the two were closely related, perhaps even suggesting that Zephyrdor's mother was either of Oriax or Valefor descent at the very least. He was quite down during the party as Serenlif Oriax, his younger sister was absent from the party due to a high fever she had caught during her first trip into the Forest of Familiars, or so her parents had formally explained while he himself would not say a word.

Lord Paruton Valac, 1st [Earl of Valac], formerly 4th [President of Valac] was the only one who was absent and had declined the invitation due to prior engagements, and had also excused his wife Lady Penarya Valac nee Marchosias from it as well. What it was that kept them from the party if a mystery to me. Their two children however, Pouras and Storagay Valac, did arrive in their parent's stead from what I had heard from word of mouth, though they apparently didn't stay long which raised a lot of voices and conversations being made in their actions by some of the lesser devils who were attending.

The last of the guests to arrive was Lord Algernon Andrealphus, 2nd [Marquis of Andrealphus], and Lady Rozalva's father. He had inherited the title two millennia or so before when his father was killed before his grandfather chose to retire the title, and thus it lid itself on to him by chance as the 2nd Marquis. Unlike many other clans, Lord Algernon initially had trouble for many years with producing an heir and had been left worrying for more when the family of his younger sister, Rhoda Pruflas nee Andrealphus, had been wiped out one by one until the clan she married into were entirely exterminated all together. His first wife, Patrietta Andrealphus nee Andromalius died due to a weakened constitution when Thallo Andrealphus, their son was born, and his second wife Cassdraphine Andrealphus nee Berith, the mother of Lady Rozalva, had passed on after the Attack on Lilith in 1865 CE, along with quite a few many prominent devils.

To many's surprise was the appearance of Coriana Andrealphus, his granddaughter and Lady Rozalva's niece, the half-devil child of the former heir Thallo Andrealphus, and now the heir herself. She was tied into a difficult spot since her position would allow her to inherit as the last remaining heir of the Andrealphus clan after Lady Rozalva had been married off many cen-, . . . *ahem* years before, but since she was not a pure blood, her family would lose its standing in the 72 Pillars and go extinct as a result. Sad, but inevitable.

All this descriptive talk may seem like a useless endeavour for a mere servant, but knowing your potential allies and your potential enemies was essential for any noble family. But more importantly, as a servant, I was entitled to see more of a noble than another noble would since how you act to your superiors is different to how you act to your inferiors, and that is the key to learning the real people behind the ranks and titles they cling to.

If you summarized each clan by their family names, it becomes easier to deduce their objectives. Probably one of the lesser qualities I was taught about devil society, and something it would take many more years to learn from and understand how the mind of the high-class function beyond what they appear. Based on memory alone and later analysis through hindsight, all the devils present were working as followed;

Gamigin was the friend of Lord Rayzem and an avid fan of Rating Games as a commentator, so as far as it was concerned, he had no ulterior motives by attending this part except out of good will. Neither did Lord Andrealphus since he was a close relative and the champion was his grandson after all.

Valac who barely made an appearance were looking to side with the Old King's Faction over the Maou's, which was why they had excused themselves since the Phenex had begun making preparations to side with the Maou through marriage. Oriax was also making such a move, but had chosen to do it more discreetly by accepting regardless. It was also the reason for why they hardly caught the attention of the room.

Amon and Glasya-Labolas were already apart of the Maou faction, so accepting the invitation was the polite thing to do for their new potential ally as upsetting them now could be consequential in the future. Also, purposely bringing their children also offered upon more options for potential marriages, which was also shared by the Naberios, Furcas, Forneus, Shax and Furfur clans as well. Though out the six, only Glasya-Labolas, Naberios and Furcas would even be considered as a beneficial comrade for the future;

Amon, who was already in the Maou faction, was still quite loose in terms of support so they were potential hazards, especially when given their previous marriages into pro-Old King supporters. Foreneus was an insult to be perfectly honest since the son was very uncivil and brutish in everything he did. And Shax was a problem in of itself, so there is no more point to explain it.

Glasya-Labolas was directly to the Maou, so there was more potential for strong blood ties, and Naberios and Furcas were historically loyal to family and allies respectively, even if they were more inclined to side with the Old Kings as they had once before. Despite that, there was strong belief the Naberios would never bite a friendly hand, nor would Furcas break an oath of alliance if one was solidified.

Even in such events, there is always more going on then what you see. Even if not to the Phenex, then marriages and engagements were being made and offered without restraint to each other whenever it was possible.

I felt there should have been more people here in such a large venue, but I found myself with relief that it wasn't unbearably crowded, allowing me to manoeuvre around.

As I was Lady Rozalva's Pawn, I was naturally inclined to follow her around during the party once she had separated from her husband. Ravel came with me, which I was grateful for since

As I had walked around the room, I could feel several eyes follow. The feeling was a mixture between observation and possibly greed; for Lady Rozalva to suddenly take on a piece was quite unlike her in all her . . . years, it was probably something worth looking at and creating gossip around. All of these eyes belonged to the high-class devils, so it was no wonder they would be looking in my direction. They could all sense my Sacred Gears power naturally roll off me like a very strong scent.

If it hadn't been for Aleister, Aikaterine and Etteilla, I wouldn't have been able to attend this party.

Though my dragon aura that naturally accumulated from Ddraig's presence couldn't be removed, the three of them applied a combination of magics from different areas to combat the 'leaks' in my body where the [Red Dragon Emperor's] aura vented out from. As long as Ddraig stayed asleep and I didn't attempt to summon my Sacred Gear, the seal should stay. Though only a masked spell, it did well to feign ignorance from many of the high-class devils who attended.

According to what I learned of it; "as long as you don't know what you're looking for, how will you find it?" was the explanation to how it worked on these beings who had a great sensitivity to magic and power that naturally emitted from others in their vicinity in the same way a vampire could tell the quality of blood from a victim through an open wound without needing to taste beforehand.

Though nothing would be able to fan the smell of dragon away from me, it was enough to disguise Ddraig's presence from the room. Though I did continue to have my suspicions that many of the elder devils were more than perspective towards identifying more possibilities than the younger generations.

"Rosie, how are you my daughter?"

"I am well father, thank you for asking."

Of course, the first person Lady Rozalva would approach directly in the party would be her own father, who was reclining in one of the convenient chairs at the edge of the room which was prepared for the older or injured devils who were attending at any given time. Though magic and medicines were much more proficient in the Underworld than there were above ground, the wounds that were inflicting reflected in kind and some were not repairable. Likewise, the passage of time was quite cruel to devils who had not chosen to retire earlier than should have due to the stresses that come from the demands that accompany being the clan head for so long.

Though demonic power was always in abundance due to dark emotions always being present in sentient beings whether someone knows of it consciously or not, making sure many legions of devils and civilians in your territories gets their needs fulfilled would cost a lot of energy in itself and there was only so much one could bear the brunt of it.

Around three thousand years of heading the Marq of the Andrealphus clan had taken its toll on him, which was another reason for him bringing in Coriana to the party.

"I wish I could say the same. These may have been the same bones that struck down that blasted angel Damabiah from his high horse, but time doesn't favour the experienced."

"You've been complaining about your old bones for centuries. Surely a few more wouldn't hurt them any further."

The grandfather laughed at Ravel's retort to his response. Ravel had remained close to me and her mother since this party officially started. She had never had much of an opportunity to interact with other devils her age due to there being a lack of many born around the same age as her, or were of high-class or pureblood. It was also delayed further by my arrival as well unfortunately since there was no need to risk my discovery being made to the wrong ears after Maou Sirzechs had remain silent to the greatest of fortunes on the matter.

Since she knew no one except for me, she was quite clingier than usual when all these unknown people started to swarm into her home, which I found very acceptable. She had been insistent to at least have hold of me even if it was by the jacket I was wearing since letting go from Lupambulus, but I offered her a hand instead.

Albeit, I should mention there was some comfortability doing so, as Ravel seemed hesitant at first, showing a lot of embarrassment as she proceeded to conflict with herself whether to accept my hand or not, but once she had she was insistent never to let go. I also still felt a little uneasy having still been newly reincarnated and the evil pieces thumping in my chest was a sensation I couldn't quite get used to just yet.

I didn't know if it was just from seeing her confidence restored, or generally happy to be holding my hand, but I did feel a sudden stop in the heartbeats of all the pieces for a brief moment, like they had skipped a beat of their own free will.

"You still have that sharp tongue on you since the last we met. Hello, my little bird. It's has been a while."

"It has. Hello grandfather, it's a pleasure to see you again."

As Ravel politely lowered her head in respect to her grandfather, the moment was broken by a repetition of tutting by said person.

"That's not right. You know you're supposed to call me 'Bubby' like you always did."

" . . . I-I . . . I . . ."

Bubby was the nickname that Ravel used to call her maternal grandfather when she was very young in order to differentiate him from her paternal grandfather, the former Lord Azuclon Phenex who had been in retirement for nearly five centuries. Though Ravel had tried to act more mature by dropping the name when addressing Lord Algernon, he didn't seem to like this change, especially after he still called her by the pet name he had always called his daughter's children.

It was definitely not the strangest names given to an elder. I won't say who, but one of the old leaders bears the nickname of "Kadonk" for particular reasons.

". . . I-I . . . I . . . uhhh."

Having been forced into retreat in embarrassment, Ravel lowered her reddened face. In my own attempt to support her, I tightened my grip on her hand, even raised it a little to remind her that we were still connected. As a future member of her peerage, and was going to be her only one for a while, it was only right that it would be me who would support her in all her endeavours.

But, unfortunately, I only made it worse it would seem.

The moment that Lord Andrealphus saw what I was doing, his old mind easily pieced together thousands upon thousands of thought processes until his wisdom summarized a pretty accurate brief on the situation. Just goes to show the power that comes from an . . . experienced devil.

"Oh, I see how it is. Hehehe."

The moment he started laughing, I too shared in the embarrassment since it was now directed towards me as well. My mind fluttered through if there was a way to defuse the situation, but every route had a bad ending, that would constitute in only furthering the focal point.

So, I eneded up mimicking Ravel and struck my head downwards as she had done earlier. My only mistake in this was turning my head away slightly while still keeping my eyes on her. Rookie mistake, even if I was only thirteen at the time.

"I suppose it's reaching that time her life when she becomes more aware of herself, isn't it."

"That it is, father. Girls often do mature quicker than boys, as I'm sure you remember of Thallo's obliviousness to other girl's affections."

"Oh-ho, that boy really was a dense one. Had he only remembered that it was part of his charm, he wouldn't have needed that blunt confession to see just how strong his ability to wield our clan ability was without him realising."

As mentioned earlier, Thallo was the older brother of Lady Rozalva and the previous heir to the Andrealphus clan, until his untimely death before Coriana was even born. Though he wasn't spoken of much, he was best remembered as a [Bonnie Prince], quite handsome to say the least, and had attracted a lot of attention from many females that everyone knew about except for himself, some of which may have been influenced by his clan's ability. Probably one of the few devils to have a harem but never even realised it.

The hereditary ability of the Andrealphus clan was {Corona Amora}, which similar to the abilities of the Incubi and Succubae demons raised the opposing being's infatuation for the user of this ability which often leads to their thoughts being distracted and leaving them open to attacks. Lord Algernon himself was said to have sent many angels literally falling for him at the height of his power. Though the difference between his clan ability to the lust inducing magics was that it served more as a distraction and thus created a lack of awareness rather than desire for distraction which is why it was so effective.

It was also for having inherited it that Coriana, his only child, had been chosen to succeed rather than a pure-blooded devil of relation taking the mantle in her place. Though there had been rumours that Riser may have been a candidate to succeed their grandfather as Riser Andrealphus because Ruval was heir to Lord Phenex, Rayzem was the father of twins who may end up inheriting the lands of the Murmur clan, and Ravel was most likely to marry into another family. Coriana's official appointment, and Riser's engagement to Rias Gremory had quelled those rumours swiftly as they rose.

As my head found the confidence to return to the party and not to the floor or in other places, I looked up only to find that Lord Andrealphus was still staring at me. Only now he had chosen to stand rather than sit and came to approach me, while his granddaughter clutched his robes, and his other granddaughter held my hand firmly as well.

He attempted to bend down, but there was some serious uncomfortability in his action. I guess stories of him surviving the battle against his bane with only a broken back were not unfathomed.

"You must be the boy my daughter has taken into her household, I presume."

Suddenly on the spot when I was like this did not do well for my demeanour, which caused me to fumble over such a simple question.

". . . U-um, it's a pleasure to meet you, L-Lord Andrealphus. I am Hyoudou Issei, my Lady Phenex's Pawn."

"Hmm, there is still a bit of grammar problems, but I am impressed to hear you speak unaided by those Evil Pieces inside you. I suppose this was my granddaughter's choice to teach you, no?"

"U- . . . it was, my lord."

I was generally quite shocked that he managed to pick up on that; despite now having the Evil Pieces inside of me, speaking Deftodiz wasn't a problem as I had learnt to do it for over three years thanks to Ravel's help, as well as reading and listening. In fact, speaking was the one area in which I never needed to use it, with reading being used on unfamiliar words, and the listening was a great help during quick paced conversations between natural speakers.

For him to be able to pick up that I was not using the system like that and to recognise that I had been learning, much less from his granddaughter was quite amazing. Mayhaps he had received correspondence on what Ravel may have been up to in the last three years, whether by first person or second person accounts. But, something so tiny was probably nothing noteworthy for a long serving lord such as he.

"It won't be long now until you make your own debut in the rating games if I'm not mistaken."

"Not until she's at least in a high school level age, father."

"Why? Back in the day, many devils joined the games once they received their evil pieces. I remember the day that Rayzem first joined at thirteen even though he had no long term interests in it."

"I think that was him merely seeing if he was as talented as Ruu was. But, it wasn't for him at the end of the day. The Rookie's league was just too much for him at his age. I even made sure to withhold Rai from joining until he was an official adult for the sake of giving him the time he needed to decide if it was the path he wanted."

"Well, he did win with quite the advantage, so I see no fault in your logic, Rosie."

"It's a mother's logic, that's why."

There were four concurrent leagues of Rating Games that were played annually in the Underworld; Ethylesiz (Rookie, or closer in translation to Amateur), Hlahirfosal (Champion, but has a closer meaning to Defender), Hletoleiz (Prefect or Premier), and finally Idseta (Ultimate).

Originally the games started in the Champion's League, where according to history, the two parties would fight each other to settle a cause like at trials or duels, usually with their servants against servants. This was until the reformations under the New Satans, which established a chess-like system we see today where a team would fight to knock out the opponent's King to achieve victory. This new system worked out well and eventually new rules were put into place to make it the games we see to this day.

When new devils attempted to join, but found themselves too inexperienced, the Rookie's league was established to allow first time players to gain experience against one another before jumping into battles with more experienced teams, but only a set number of eight teams are allowed per year, which made quite the spectacle resulting in the Young Devil's gathering being formed as a national wide event.

And, much later on, when experienced players grew bored of fighting teams of weaker opponents, the Premier League was set up to keep the stronger teams together as not to make every game a clean sweep for the top players. If a team is defeated seven times in a row, they get demoted back to the Champions League, and vice versa occurs when a team wins seven time in a row in the Champions League.

And finally, there is the Top Ten players in the Ultimate League. The only way to enter is by beating the current 10th position holder, and you may only challenge the team one place above or below you in an official match. Other matches can be organised, but none of it will be officially considered a recognised professional victory.

To say that ravel was too young to start the games was a good call, since her only servant was me. I may be the [Sekiryuutei], but at my age and inexperience, there was no way I could be of much help in achieving victory against opposing teams who might have been withholding for a few more years until they had enough players.

And not that Lord Andrealphus knew, or might have known, I had to continue to hide my presence as a Longinus user for a while longer still.

"My lady. It dare hope I haven't interrupted your reunion with your lord father have I?"

At this point, a third noble joined the talks; the 1st [Earl of Furcas], Sir Raytorian Furcas KC. KM. and his young son Beruka was also with him. To say that I was a little stunned to see two real knights before my eyes was quite the shock. Unlike the other Knights I had seen in the household, they were dressed similar to the ones in Fairytales from Europe, and as many people would perceive a knight to be appear.

They were even carrying swords at their sides which made the whole experience that more exciting, even though Beruka's was deliberately blunted as I would later discover.

"Oh, not at all Sir Raytorian. And please, there is no longer a need to speak with such words, you have long since risen from the ranks to be needing to speak upwards to me."

"My apologies, Lady Phenex, I was merely-"

"Cut that sort of talk, Lord Furcas. I think it would be best if we let the children leave before they grow bored of us."

Lord Andrealphus sudden snap at him caught the knight off guard which was probably not the first for him. As his family had only once been Landed Knights rather than lords, they had been talk down on for quite a long while, but now being spoken as a Lord on top of that was probably quite something he had to get used to when talking to the previous generation.

Luckily, he managed to regain just as quickly as he seemingly lost it.

"Right you are. I do apologise for thinking without consideration. Beruka, would you mind escorting your juniors around the party?"

"As you command, father."

Giving his father salute seemed to give the father and daughter Andrealphus quite the amusement. If their appearances hadn't been a giveaway to their relation, then their laughs would have been a more evident sign as both followed the same sort of chuckling patterns between laughter and breathing pauses.

"Oh, Raytorian, you still cannot give up that habit. Ravel, Issei, would you be so kind as to keep Coriana company? Both I and Lord Andrealphus would appreciate it."

"Yes, mother."

"O-f course. My lady, I will."

"Good, now run along now. Oh, and please mind your manners as you go now."

Leaving the adults to their discussion was easier said than done than how Lady Rozalva had said it would be so; though Coriana had been a bit hesitant to leave her grandfather's side to walk around with complete strangers in a room dominated by even more strangers, she was easily swayed by her cousin's intentions of goodwill and eventually gave in to her insistent persuasions. But that was after a little tug-of-war for five minutes between refusal and acceptance which I shall spare you the details of.

As we departed from our respective families, or in my case my King, our company of four made our way into the bigger scene.

As we traversed through the crowds and across the hall, my Evil Pieces were sending various translations of voices that reached my ears even when I could barely hear them to begin with in their native tongue. The floods and floods of information in Japanese erupted in my mind as I tried to keep my attention on where our band of younglings moves in which ever gap we could find.

"Look at those children."

"Lady Ravel, I see."

"The youngest takes after her mother I see."

"So do all the children though, but the {Regeneration} ability is still stronger in the younger generation."

"Lord Ruval's match was truly awe inspiring."

"Do you see who is with her?"

"Yes, the son of the [Blue Knight] Raytorian Furcas."

"Beruka, I believe his name was."

"Oh, he really does have the same eyes like the [Silver Princess]."

"It's like a Fairtytale ending seeing a son with both parent's features looking so handsome."

"Who are those two with them?"

"I believe that's the halfling Lord Andrealphus brought with him."

"Don't talk like that! She is to be the next head of the Andrealphus clan."

"A half-blood? Can it true?"

"Yes, though they will no longer be a member of the 72 Pillars that's for certain."

"Can such an offspring bear the responsibilities and command thirty legions?"

"We shall have to wait and see."

"And, um . . . see that boy."

"That boy? Who is he?"

"Dare say I never saw him before."

"He's just a Pawn I hear."

"Oh, well I guess that does not matter."

"Yes, just a Pawn."

I didn't listen anymore after that. But I never forgot those words that I had heard. Even while Ravel started finding fun stuff to occupy her that evening, dragging Coriana around with her as she went looking for things that would make great entertainment, with Beruka following on to ensure their safety.

I was following too, but my thoughts were in another place.

I had only one thought carved on my mind as the party continued on through the night.

I'm just a Pawn.

Even when the four of us found times to play, even finding a few more faces to join in our recreation, it lingered in my mind.

I'm just a Pawn.

In the several exchanges that flew across and between us, though my own contributions were minimal at best, and in the smiles, the cheers, the laughter that was shared. I wore a mask for the rest of that evening with that single though in my head.

Because . . .

I'm just a Pawn.

---

"Lunge, Issei! I said Lunge, not parry!"

It had been three days after the party, but the words had never left my ears nor my thoughts. Sometimes they even invaded my dreams. Even during times like these when my focus needed to be open, I was closed.

"You're dead" Eugene declared as he struck my padded chest plate with his wooden katana. If it had been a real sword and I was wearing proper armour, that strike would have pierced my heart no doubt about it.

"Sacre bleu, I've put so many holes in you I might as well call you Emmental."

His cheese joke aside, he was right to have made the comparison; though I had asked specifically to receive sword training from the [Western Samurai], I had been doing very poorly. It wouldn't have looked so bad if I had actually been paying attention, but a swordsman like him notices more in combat then he does in conversation, so he wouldn't let this us.

As the blow was retreated and he retook his stance, I tried to shake the thought from my brain. Beginning again, he continued to lecture me while trying to convince me to fight with my head in the game.

"When striking your enemy, you have to hit through them. If you hold back and refuse to make that killing blow, your enemies will kill you before you can reconsider."

But I'm just a Pawn

Attacking two handedly in my direction, Eugene continued to make several easy to read strikes to keep me in the zone so to speak, and to not dishearten my efforts. When I started in the first day, it had only been a few practises swings without any real aggression behind it. The second day however had been an entirely different; with killing intent suddenly being thrusted into necessity, it was a much more hard working session than the last.

To me at the time, it felt like I was being made to sprint after barely learning to crawl.

With attacks being brought across and above from every angle possible, he lectured as he attacked.

"Sword fighting means showing your mettle. Show your opponent that you are not afraid to hit them. If they see you resist that mind set, they will knock your guard down and that will be the end."

But I'm just a Pawn

"Guns lack this subtle beauty in their execution, but they have the same demands. If you can't aim to kill, then you will be the one to die."

But I'm just a Pawn

"Mercy is an honourable trait only afforded by the strong, but even they know that even the weakest opponents will kill them if they cannot show their willingness to kill."

But I'm just a Pawn

As much as I was trying to listen to him, the voices and the mockery that plagues me would not rest in peace. It snickered and spat and all of that. It continued to whisper cold siren words into my ears while wrapping its dead, decrepit fingers around my heart and brushing my Evil Pieces. I lost my sense of what was incoming right in front of me.

"One last lesson for today:"

The battle of the mind was warring on my senses, and I failed to see the last attack coming as it did.

"Think too much, and you lose. If you can't settle your thoughts, then you'll never be able to read your opponents moves and you will . . ."

Just a Pawn

". . . DIE!"

*SMACK*

I fell backwards, rubbing my sore forehead as I recovered from the fatal blow.

A direct hit to the face. A blunt instrument it may have been, but the pain inflicted continued to sting prolonging even after applying ice to it.

"That's all for today, I must attend to Master Rivalen soon. You're next instructor is Aleister, you'll find him in his study on the second lower floor."

It wasn't just Eugene I was learning from, and this wasn't merely learning qualities of a Knight. I was also learning from all of Lord Rivalen's peerage; Lupambulus was teaching me the qualities of a Rook since the Lord had none of his own, but would often give over the lesson to Tash in order to teach me how to use {Promotion} on top of that. And then I had alternating teachers for Bishop qualities from Aleister and Catherine, depending on whichever one was free at the time.

After bowing before my sensei and taking my leave, I made my way down the stairs to the lower floors. I could tell you how many rooms and floors were in this mansion, but you would never believe me. The walls were older than most of the nations of the world and yet they always looked spotless. The lower floors were made of grey stones that looked like they were fresh from the quarry and newly placed, but that wasn't the case at all. Torches lit the underground and it had every impression of a Medieval castle below ground, but everything about it never gave off a scary miasma when walking across the red carpets draped in the centre of the corridors.

Just a Pawn

That was all I could think about while nursing my injured head as I walked to my next lesson.

Ravel was out for the last few days, but I was never told why except that I needed to start learning how to be a Pawn, and it was how Lord Ruval had said it would be; a lot of work. Since I had no specialist quality to work on, I had to work extra hard in all areas. But, I was lonely without Ravel, and this was the first time I started feeling this.

I knew that she had to leave on occasions; to visit relatives, for tutoring outside of the home, and other such tasks, but she never left for the entire day let alone days at a time. It weighed heavily but I was clueless to why this was. Having these Evil Pieces inside of me made my heart reactions appear stronger as if they resonated and copied its actions whilst living encased within my soul.

I think this was my lesson. To learn that I was now a low-class devil, and that things were now changing.

Just a Pawn

"Is it that time already?"

Subconsciously, I had already opened the door to Aleister's private study room and closed it behind me when he finally noticed my presence. I nodded to his question in response . . . however, I'm unsure if that is true as I had tuned out most of my actions that day for mental reasons.

"You'd think after a century of biological immortality, I would realise just how fleeting time can really be. Oh well; people come and people go, and others keep on going forever."

He often talked to himself, because he thought that "an intelligent man always needs a person of equal intelligence to speak to, and most of the time it ends up being themselves". Even when other people were around, he would often continue thinking aloud as he was used to doing.

He often liked to make up personal quotes to himself as the previous two that have come by. Whether it was a hobby of his he picked up after becoming a devil or something he may have always been doing but was now unknowingly doing it was not something I am able to openly discuss.

Just a Pawn

"Resuming from last week . . . oh yes; Teleportation."

As he scattered through his equipment and notes whilst simultaneously worked through other things all at once, he remembered what he had been teaching me last week.

I say teach, but he handed me a book the first lesson I had from him, which was two days ago not a week, and then yesterday I had a proper instruction from Catherine because he was working on new contracts or so I was told. I was used to his thinking being disorientated, but this was little much for me, especially in the state I was experiencing. I felt like I was aloof.

Just a Pawn

He pushed his desk aside and made room for there to be a magic circle to erect for the purpose of the lesson. Since devils are in need to be in places quickly and often have to avoid using doors to evade suspicions that may lead to being executed by the church, teleportation was the easy solution. Quick entry, and no one except the present know of its happening.

"Like with all devil magic, it is a requirement built upon thought and imagination. The simplest steps are to create the circle, step inside and then imagine your location."

Just a Pawn

Maps and circles flew on the floor after a desperate attempt to move them to a safer location, causing him to make rude remarks in some language that didn't register in the translation system implanted in my Evil Pieces. Perhaps, it was a secretive form of speech occultists or magicians used that not even devils had heard of.

"You won't always have Ddraig's {Boost} to amplify your magic, so it's best to learn your limits on how much you can use, and then work your way into using less each time."

Perhaps if he had paid better attention to my state of mind, he might have noticed that I was barely keeping focus on the lesson. But he didn't. Not that I can be judgemental when I was not quite paying the right amount of attention towards his lessons either.

Just a Pawn

"To start, try imagining your bedroom. Think not just about the location from where you are, imagine the details, where you should appear, and then start constructing a road connecting the two places. Think like an escalator, at that once your step on it you'll reach the other side."

My bedroom.

It was just something that simple was it.

But it wouldn't be.

I remember that I had made my way into the middle of the circle as the orange light filled the room and then I think I was remembering my room, describing over every detail I could, and then the magic circle took me.

But, my imagination was not as accurate as I thought it was when I opened up my eyes.

---

I found myself not in my room. It was far too small and too . . . modern to be my room. There was no double doors that opened both ways, but one that was alone and not even a wooden colour but painted in white.

It's handle was not gold, but a dull brass like something that would never be touched by the upper class hands.

As I trailed my eyes around the room, I felt tears well up in my eyes as I continued to observe and bring my mind back into reality from a false one that chained my senses away from the world.

This small space was tear-jerking. But I was so light now, and full of relief.

This view from the window. It was of a street and not of yards of open garden and rural landscape, but of small complied houses and streets with cars openly travelling to and from in every direction possible.

The sky, it was the real deal. Dark orange as the real sun was sinking below the horizon and the clouds were becoming near invisible as no light was touching them when the darkness began to sweep over them.

I was home. I was in my old home.

Yes. It was my room. My room in my house.

I was in Japan again.

At the corner furthest from the door, there was my bed with my alarm clock on the window sill behind. In the corner was my desk where I did my homework and built my Gundam models.

A laughed a little when I saw the half completed RX-78GP01 Gundam "Zephyranthes" that I had been working on during a couple of weekends before I left this place.

My bed still had the same Dragonball-Z covers that I was starting to grow out of. I chuckled at how stupid I had been to say that I was growing out of it and didn't need themed bed covers like these anymore, while my Mum just ignored me and changed them regardless of how mature I thought I had been.

The curtains were the same, but they were Kamen Rider themed instead, with the 10th anniversary re-release characters printed across it in all manners of fighting poses. I even pulled it across my window just to see them all again.

At my desk was my Gameboy, and under it was the '64 I could only plug in on weekends in the morning or in the holidays if mum and dad were too busy. I even still had the link cable and spare controllers that Irina couldn't take with him when his moved away.

All these memories, still here, after all this time.

That was when I realised; it was strange that all this was still here. I was sure it was all gone, and that the house was gone too. So why was it still here I wondered. I had no other relatives, so they wouldn't have left this house unoccupied for so long before selling it off. Could I legally still own this house I thought, until I realised how ridiculous it sounded that the government would let a child who went missing still be regarded as a responsible enough adult to own property. I don't even think I was even paying the tax for this place.

This thinking only led to more questions. I remember I still had the key to this place, and a key to a storage unit where our stuff was being stor-

The keys

I remembered the keys I had when I was left with little possessions. I had left them from my thoughts for years, but now that I remembered, I had forgotten where they went. Did I still have them, or did I leave them behind.

No. That was impossible. I had them with me all the time when I was still a human in Japan. Even the day I first met Ravel, I had them on me. I could never leave them behind, no matter what situation I was in.

Then, there was a sound.

*CRASH*

I ceased moving. A jar, or something glass smashed on the floor downstairs, I was sure it was. Every sound fell dead when it broke the air, and I stood still as a scared animal in the face of an oncoming vehicle on the road.

"H-hello! Anyone here?"

I panicked a little. I knew there was someone here. Maybe it had been an animal I had thought, but my house was locked up, so no animal surely could have entered and made that large a noise while remaining silent for much longer. If it had been a rodent, it would have made more sounds I thought to myself.

I felt scared now. Just scared though, but that was the extent at the moment as I would later find out that it could get much, much worse.

["{Boost!}"]

"Ddraig, I'm going to need you."

["I've got you back. Proceed with caution."]

I thought I was probably worried for nothing, but having Ddraig with me was reassurance. If it was something that I couldn't handle, then I needed him to be with me or I would crack under the pressure too easily. I couldn't afford to be

I just had to suck it up and apologise to the three Bishops who put the seal on Ddraig for having broken it less than a week after receiving it.

I started to leave my room, cautiously looking into every corner and shadow in the house, which being that the sun was close to gone was quite the feat. I still knew my way around the place, so navigation was not a problem. It was my house after all.

"P-P, I know you're here. P-please, tell me who you are?"

"REd drAGoN."

A voice finally spoke back. It was in the kitchen. It was all sorts of disorientation; the tone, the speech pattern, it was like its throat was melting as it was speaking. The gravelyness, the chokes and splutters in it were like the amalgamation of several different speaking at the same time.

I turned my head and proceeded to draw in closer to the location via the alternate door from the corridor. I dared risk being over exposed in the living room area.

"Y-you . . . know who I am."

I continued to talk to voice, hoping to calm my own fears, and also to allow Ddraig to build up my {Boosts} before I faced this potential threat who had invaded my childhood home. I was up to around five boosts already, but I hadn't grown enough to handle more than seven. I did partake in a few lessons with a few of Riser's pawns even before reincarnation in order to get a better grip on my Sacred Gear.

It wasn't just for my benefit, a lot of the family were curious to see just how strong a Longinus could be in its default state without external interferences.

["{Burst!}"]

That was the call that I had reached my limit of six. Though yes, I did manage to get five when I took down Chol, which was due to Ddraig's intervention and not my own power, but at this level I wouldn't faint the moment it resets. If worse comes for worse, I'll suffer a little physical depravity for a short time as a result of sudden loss of power, but I should still be able to run after an attack.

"yeS. I sERve mY MAsteR.

"Master?"

When the voice called back, it announced that it served someone, which suddenly caught my interest. I started thinking that it must be a stray most likely and started putting uop my guard.

That was until the voice replied who it was it served.

"yEs. RaYZEm pHenEx. hE iS The ONe I SErvE."

Imagine the shock on my face when I heard her speak the name of her King and master.

"You serve Lord Rayzem?"

"YeS. i HAvE seRVEd My MASter fOr mANY yeArS."

My brain started ticking back. Should I have know who this was, surely? I had been a guest for three years already and I had met everyone. I even knew the names of the servants or that least the most that I had seen and interacted with over the years. Which one was it, which I could think of, was this devil? And then I suddenly thought back to only three days ago to the party. We were all supposed to be present, but I had the gut feeling that someone was missing when we all descended down those stairs.

The missing Rook. I remembered looking at Lord Rayzem's peerage and thinking it was incomplete. It should have been an even number walking down the stairs, but it ended up being that three of his peerage were walking down by themselves which seemed very odd in terms of organising such a grand entrance. Riser got away with having his walk in a diagonal shape for more impact, Lord Ruval's was a row by row formation, and the Lord and Lady Phenex had their servant walk on the same sides behind their Kings to differentiate the two peerages.

Surely, I had thought, that Ruval was more responsible than that for allowing his entrance to appear so chaotic in comparison.

"Why don't you come out? I think it would be better if we stuck together until we got back."

It probably sounded ridiculous since this devil was obviously older than I was, but I was stupid to confuse the obvious signs of overindulgence for suffering. I was trying too hard to prove myself in this situation even while that one though still pulsed through my brain.

I should have clicked quicker, I should have reacted faster, but no matter how much I take action in reflecting with hindsight, there will always be many thing I should have done but never got round to doing.

My next clue came for her next words, and yes I was sure at the time it was a her.

"nO, NO, no. I cAN't dO tHaT. I cAn'T EvER gO back."

"Why? Why can't you come back. I'm sure everyone misses you."

I still didn't enter the kitchen at this point, but my hand was ready at the door just for the right opportunity I was wanting to reach. My legs were still shaking a little, but I couldn't process why at the time. I should have taken a better note of my new devil senses, and how much more sharper and perceptive they were to the dangers that exist in the world that humans have become numb and ignorant to.

"What's my name?"

"Beg pardon?"

"SaY iT. I wANt tO HeAR mY NAmE. SAy iT."

The odd request came out of nowhere and caught me off my guard. I nearly knock the door over with my enhanced power thanks to

Ddraig remained silent for a while that I nearly forgot he was still here.

'What do you think?'

['Partner, if knew what to do with women in this situation, do you really think I would still be so quiet at this point?']

'I suppose you're right. This is my call then, is it?'

['Better you than me; last time I misread a situation, I got a Dragon Queen hunting my hide for the rest of eternity. My advice, don't blow it.']

Taking Ddraig's word to heart, I tried to think for a while. Such a request needed a bit of thinking upon. I had seen her before, so I tried to remember her face or something. I knew she was a Rook, so I tried to zone in on her based on what I could remember, which was difficult since I rarely saw many of the peerage members due to many of them having achieved external duties behalf of their Kings respectively.

I could picture her after removing everyone else from the picture; pale pink and blue hair that unnaturally transitioned into various stripes like a mixture of candyfloss. I think she wore glasses despite devil's having excellent eye sight, but they stood out as large and round with hardly a visible frame supporting them. Her face was youthful but it had some obvious maturity to it, and she often wore outfits that were monochrome and tight against her figure, which I presumed was to avoid getting caught by her clothing in close combat.

It was then that her name rolled off my tongue.

"S-Sayanna?"

". . ."

"Sayanna's your name, am I right?

She didn't answer. I thought that I couldn't have been wrong. I was sure it was right. That was the name that she was addressed by if I had the person right. If I remembered, she was the only member of his peerage, except Kuickrow who was a descendant of the Vidyaraja and not a natural devil from birth, to have no last name, so it was quite easy to distinguish her name out of all of them

". . . um, are you ok? Sayanna?"

"no."

Her voice changed from its gravel into an echo. It almost seemed quite ghostlike in her she said it, so I barely caught what she said the first time.

"No?"

"nO!"

This time wasn't. It frightened me so much that all the colour washed from my body and I slipped backwards from the response. She sounded angry, but I couldn't think why at the time. I thought I was doing right by responding to what she wanted, but I only made her mad which was confusing me as much as it was scaring me also.

"Sayanna?"

"NO! THaT'S nOT My NAMe!"

*CRASH*

Something else was broken, but behind the door I was blind to such an action. Though, it wasn't like I was in a position to be worrying about what wooden furniture was being smashed when my focus was on the potential danger I was not subconsciously sensing from the devil behind a closed door.

"What? But everyone call's you that? That's your name."

"tHAT IS nOt mY NamE! ThaT iS'Nt iT! NOt MY name!"

I rolled over into the corridor in the nick of time.

I don't know if I was going to be naturally in tune with the situation, but that roll probably saved my life from ending to early this night, as the door was smashed in and the corridor was raided by a large figure that broke down the door and entered into the washing area where the remnants of the washing machine and dryer were stored for as long as I could remember.

I think she also destroyed the downstairs toilet in her attempt to lunge through the door.

And, my word, the sight of her was not what I had expected.

As she came into the light now as part of the wall caved in and allowed the high risen moon in, I could see everything; her candyfloss hair was torn and shredded and lost all its colour into a greyish bone mesh littering her head. Her legs and clothes were gone, left instead by a sluggish form that puked liquid all across the floor to allow her mobility across a flat surface. Her arms were now a pair of scythes with real metal in them, or at least silvery reflective claw-like appendages. The worst part was her face, with a mouth at snapped sideways and a thousand tiny eyes that looked beady and red as if they had been soaking in a cranberry bush with brambles of stitches half snapped across her cheeks and forehead.

And when she opened her mouth to speak, green smoke trailed out of it like a gaseous fumigation pipe that was broken and splintered.

"KiLl, I aM GOinG TO kill yOu!"

She struck her claws together and the blades vibrated within her reach while she adjusted her posture to charge at me again. It was so in tune it was like it was singing. And then it struck me;

Of the foulest of fogs, a singing sword, a hurtling of blood-curdling, the swimming stokes across red wood, and then the night coming to claim what was left.

Her breath was a fog that was most foulest.

Her swords were singing as they cleaved together like a chef preparing a prime cut of meat in a gourmet restraint.

Blood was hurled everywhere, in which the red slime was splattered as it rolled off her grotesque body, and now the floors were red as well.

But it was her shadow now, so large that it eclipsed the moon from view that now its darkness reached over me as her posture started extending upwards against the ceiling.

My mind stopped as I processed all this.

I was stone.

I was ice.

I was stuck and frozen in place.

["Run!"]

Though Ddraig tried to egg me on, it was by his, or should I say my hand, that I evaded the next attack. Overiding my control of my gear again, the dragon forced the gauntlet to grab my shirt and fling me across the corridor to avoid the attack. The beast now fell through the wall and eradicated my front door, but I was still alive. At the sound of smashing car alarms, my senses woke up again, and I realised I was still here.

["{Reset!}"]

"ARHHH!"

At the moment the power left me, thanks to Ddraig's intervention causing me to lose the {boosts} I had accumulated thus far, I left a very sudden sharp pain, until I realised that my left arm was broken. The sudden force that flung me to safety had cost me my arm as it collided with the wall, leaving a great impression upon it that nearly broke through to the outside.

Unfortunately for me, my shoulder was also busted thanks to it, and standing up was a pipe's dream thanks to a numbness that erupted in my left knee that suffered damage also in the collision.

I turned my head back to where I had once been standing, and then the panic attack kicked in. Hyperventilation and chest pains began to take their course at the sight of the reddened wood on my floors and the toxic smog that was infecting the air.

That night. I was remembering that night. And I was scared again. I felt helpless and I was crawling in my fears. Blood was touching my feet, and then I felt it on my face. It was on my hands and I was seeing it again. My vision was blurred with water and it was also stinging in poison and it was all too much.

My Evil Pieces started hurting and then I wanted to die. It hurt so much and I hated it so much that I was scared. I didn't want to die here. I wanted to die. No, I couldn't think what I wanted. All I knew was the fear and it was terrifying.

I never thought for one moment that she killed my parents, but I could only think of so much, and now the figure I blamed in the darkness of my mind was now starting to look like her beastial form. It was coming for me and I couldn't do anything.

I am just a Pawn

I stopped breathing altogether, the pain was too much. I choked on my throat but nothing came out. My mouth dried and my face washed everything from its surface. I couldn't cry out. I couldn't say a thing. I was shaking all over but couldn't move. I was in so much pain and I felt like my head was going to split open.

Not even the {boosts} were kicking in, as they kept on {resetting} as I wallowed in depravity.

Just a Pawn

["Partner! Calm yourself!"]

Ddraig's voice was aloud, but I could only speak through my mind. My voice was gone and my throat couldn't vibrate a sound from itself.

'I-I-I-I can't! I can't Ddraig, I Can't!'

Just a Pawn

Just a Pawn

["If you want to live, you must calm down! At this rate, your heart won't be able to handle the strain, nor will your conscience! If you pass out here, you will die, so calm yourself!"]

The pain was so intense. I felt a great thump like eight hammers in my chest, corresponding to the single jackhammer drilling away so harshly in my ribs. I coughed blood and everything. But still, I was acting so erratic and without reason as I stayed on the spot.

'B . . . B-But I can hear it again. I can feel it again. I smell it. Taste it. I can see everything again! Make it stop!'

Just a Pawn

Just a Pawn

Just a Pawn

["It's just your memories! Fight it!"]

"I can't. I can't do it, Ddraig!"

["Devil's gain power and survive from fear; fear from the unknown, fears from the future, fear for their friends and families, fears for their own lives. This is no different."]

Just a Pawn

Just a Pawn

Just a Pawn

Just a Pawn

Just a Pawn

["Everything you feared is a cesspool in this house. You survived and your fears clung to this place, that's why you are seeing it again. Strays indulge too much on a single fear that haunts a place. The sharp blades, the pools of blood, and this toxic gas is all you remember of this place, and everyone who knows and spins word of mouth between ears only added to what remained here. Her current form is the result of that fear."]

He was correct; stray devils who indulge on fear often morph into horrid creatures due to the impression of monsters and fears tied to places where they take refuge or residence in. Everything she had now become was based on my memories of fear that remained tied to this place, which was why she had become like this.

I spat more blood as it came coughing out. It's warmth had no effect on my cold fingers as I wiped it away. I clutched myself as I tried to curl up as much as possible without causing myself anymore pain. I felt like I needed to die here, or perhaps fall asleep so that I could pass on without knowing how or when I had died.

Just a Pawn

Just a Pawn

["Don't feed the fear, feed from it yourself. Take its power and make it yours. Fight!"]

Feed from the fear. Feed . . . from . . . the fear?

Swallowing down what would have been another volley of blood, I suddenly hit an epiphany. Dying here, was not what I wanted. Iddin't want to die afraid, nor did I want to do either individually. I wanted to live. To live, I realised, I needed to feed from the fear. Just as Ddraig said, I was a devil now. I needed to feed from the fear, and then I would live.

But I had to stop my heart before I killed myself the way it was exceeding its natural limits. I would die before I could fight for my life, so now was the only chance I had to show that I could be brave.

I took a deeper breath, but I was still shaking. I still had no strength to speak, so I made my request in my mind.

'I-I will-l n-need your h-h-help f-f-for thi-is o-one. Will you help me, Ddraig?'

["I will help even if you won't help yourself. We are the ultimate team, and never forget that. Your fight will always be my fight, and we shall emerge victorious, or we will at least die knowing we gave them the thrashing they deserved."]

With his reassurance guaranteed, I embarked on an absolutely reckless action I do not recommend anyone else try to replicate.

["{Boost!}"]

With that one {boost} preloaded into my gauntlet, I repeated an action I undertook to save my life three years ago. Placing my hand over my chest, with some assistance and biting down on the pain it caused, I forced the devise to work for me before.

["{Transfer!}"]

*THU-DUMP*

"GAAAAA-aaaah! Ah, ah, ahah."

Like a defibrillator, I sent a strong charge through to my heart, and counter shocked my heart, my cardiac muscles and even reached into my Evil Pieces in order to restore my body to capable functions. I had taken the idea from the first time I had survived and used it on my stomach to remove the poison that the medics failed to remove the first time. My logic was that I could do the same to fix the overexertion of my heartbeating.

It was a one in . . . an infinity's chance that it would have worked; such a process would have been more likely to rupture my blood vessels and kill me instantly. The possibilities that I would have died outnumbered my chances of living with that method. But I scored Lady Luck this time around.

The sudden pressure exerted upon my chest had countered its hyperactive state and forced it to shut down in that instant. I was even luckier that I didn't stop my heart when the process succeeded. If I hadn't been in a life threatening situation, I do share my doubts that it would have restarted as it did.

Perhaps, I should thank my new devil physiology for such a miraculous turnabout.

["{Boost!}"]

I no longer had time to take a breather. I needed to get ready for the inevitable, and that was for the inhuman thing that once was Sayanna to make her return and attempt to slash me in two again.

'I have to do this. I have to.'

["{Boost!}"]

Just a Pawn

['You're more than just a Pawn. Remember that, Partner. You are more than that and never forget it.']

'Yes. Yes, you are right there. I have been so stupid. So very, very stupid indeed.'

["{Boost!}"]

I crawled my way into the corridor. Having set myself up with my front facing the incoming storm.

Just a Pawn

'I am just a Pawn. But, that doesn't mean I have to live to regret what I chose that day.'

["{Boost!}"]

The car wreck parked out front was pushed aside and then a second came crashing through my living room window. I remained still, trying to hold my breath as several tiny rubies started flickering in the black. The moon had vanished in an instant when the clouds came over and I was left to fight the darkness.

'I am just a Pawn, but I am also not just a Pawn. I can be anything; I can be a Knight like I wanted to in the first place. I can also be a Bishop, a Rook, I could even be a Queen when I'm ready for that responsibility and power.'

A car alarm went off, but then it was silenced by another hammer throw that smashed up the first floor of my house until it was like a skeleton above my head.

["{Boost!}"]

One more, I just needed one more.

As the beast came into the doorway, I felt a shiver reacgh my spine at the sight of the ooze, the blades, and the gas again. I felt ten again. I felt true fear before my eyes again.

Just a P-

'But, I could also be a King one day. If I work my very hardest, and reach for the Sun- when I reach for the Sun, I will be a King in my own right. Then, I will be an equal.'

I kept on pushing myself. I would die if I hadn't of done so. Ddraig could only do so much in his state, so I needed to be the one to rescue myself.

Just as the full bodied monster re-entered and began to lather the floor to charge me again, all the necessary preparations were in place for my very own counter attack.

["{Boost!} . . . {Burst!}"]

'I will go home. To the real home that took me in. I was stupid for thinking of coming back here when there is nothing left for me.'

The monster finally made it's move.

'I will see everyone again. I will talk to Ravel again. Play with her. Laugh with her. Learn again, and I will put more effort into it, I swear to you Maous.'

It came above me, so I ducked, leaving it to fly over me and smash the back wall again, falling into my garden.

'When I become a King one day, I'll stand next to her not behind her.'

I rolled over, causing brief momentary pain on my arm as it was the left side, before I pulled my arm up again as the creature recovered quickly and turned again.

'I will be her equal, because she gave me this new life-'

When it came within sights again, I pulled my left arm up with my right and took aim.

"-and I will not squander it by dying here tonight. No! I won't let you!"

Even in the face of danger, that is the only time a man can truly be brave. I felt it. I embraced it.

A small ball of pure red light erupted in my palm. This was the focus of my power that I had been building up till now. As I was within the reach of the deformed praying mantis that was vying for my head, I had but this one chance to obliterate it from existence.

I had no chance of doing so, but I would at least show it my fury even if it was to be my last.

"I am the Pawn of Ravel Phenex! I shall not fall, so die you fucking monocerebrumic piece of shit!"

Grabbing hold of that power, I punched her, using my right arm as a mechanism to achieve it. The knuckles made contact, and then all that energy burst forth into a wave of pure energy into my opponent.

["Suffer the wrath of those who mess with the [Red Dragon Emperor], devil scum!"]

["{Explosion!}"]

I heard a very high shriek and then I was blinded by the light that came to life.

I closed my eyes in retreat from the awakened light, but my ears caught so many different sounds, but it was all a remix of screams and collapse. Stuff was being broken or was colliding with the ground, but I could not for the life of me see a thing in this illumination that had dominated my ability to perceive sight.

When my eyes opened again, it was blurred like I had damaged it by staring directly at the sun. There were a few colours inside the white, but I still saw nothing. My ears popped and where ringing aloud light alarm bells as well so I lost my entire world before me.

I must have wrestled in the unknown for a couple of minutes before I bumped into something unfamiliar to me. A hand reached unto my head, and like a miracle it was, my sight returned as I just narrowly caught the edge of a disintegrating golden magic circle at the bottom of my returned eyesight. Even the ringing had stopped to my relief.

I blinked twice to make sure it wasn't a dream, and I was glad to have been wrong for doubting myself.

"You've done well for a first timer. I'll give you a B+ for bravery, so just stay there for a while."

I looked up at the originator of that hand that touched my hair. I knew the voice immediately, but I needed to reaffirm that it wasn't a memory or an illusion. Thank the Maou that my senses had not forsaken me this time around.

"L-Lord Rayzem!"

At the sight of the second son of the [Marquis of Phenex], I felt like passing out in relief now that my body had reassurance to my own wellbeing. I was lucky to be caught by Kanam before I did my body anymore damage to itself by collapsing on the soaked and stinky floors.

"m-M-M-m-MY KiNG? iS tHAt yoU?"

Hearing the sound of her former master's voice and his name called out, the monster reacted in such a peculiar way; it was happy. She seemed generally pleased to him after unearthing herself from all the rubble she was buried under.

"My my, you have really made a mess of this place. After all the effort we went to keep it from ruin, and now this. Dear oh dear."

My eyes widened as my ears picked up his response. It was true then. I could hardly believe it.

They had kept this house the way it was. Everything was where it should have been, or at least the majority of it was. Such consideration brought a couple of tears to my eyes. Though, I think that having my left arm manhandled by the Bishop was also contributing to the relinquishing of fluids from my eyes, but it ruins the moment saying as such.

To think that they had purchased my home. I didn't even think I would see it again, let alone find out that they had been restoring it piece by piece to how I remembered it was after investigators and other officials had been picking it apart and trying to sell it off in whatever chunks they could once they were done.

"mAStER! I'M hErE! You cAMe tO FiND me?

As the stray started to move towards its former King, Kanam carefully placed me down against the wall, or what was left of the wall leading to the staircase, and rushed to cover the vanguard of her King.

"Kanam; the arms, then the waist. Please, make it quick."

"As you wish, my lord."

With several golden circles flying from her hands, but I didn't see them connect, what with my consciousness exhausted from two recurrent {resets} and the blood loss as well as the pain in my left side. One second, they appeared on her upper arms. The next, was a complete clean slash that cost the stray both her arms, and then a third cleft her in half which reduced her large form into a more human size.

Quite the irony for a monster, I would say.

"nO. NO. WhaT aRE yOU doInG? MASteR?"

He did not reply. He just watched her for a while, as she did all sorts of actions; she rolled around in pain. She tried to re-soak in the blood back into her decapitated arms. She tried to reattach her arms using her teeth. She then tried to what I presume was eat and drink what was lost in order to regain it until she choked on her own entrails and riled in even more pain.

As Kanam did her first aid on my arm and to my shoulder, involving a very horrible reattachment process to relocate it back unto my body, I had my first taste of the {Phoenix Tears}, as a small vial of the red liquid was poured into my throat.

My fatigue and blood loss wasn't restored, but I could feel my arm again as the internal injuries fixed themselves as quickly as the external ones did. To me, the taste was light that of a red orange; sweeter than most, but it also had the essences of spice to it that gave you a good kicking. Perhaps this is what people say is like when you drink something like whiskey where your throat gets a little burning tickle.

Though the taste was comforting, the process in which they were made had put me off forcibly wasting such a valuable and hard to make product again. Despite an easy abundance and supply due to who I was serving under, the thought of making any of the Phenex clan do such a ritual purely for my sake was too much for me to force on them.

It was then, after confirmed that I was able to move more comfortably now, that Lord Rayzem spoke again.

"In the name of the Four Great Devil Kings; Lucifer, Leviathan, Beelzebub and Asmodeus, and to the mother of all devils, Lilith. I, Rayzem, of the House of Phenex, sentence you to death. You have strayed from your master and indulged into your own desires, and thus I bring judgement upon you, on behalf of the [Marquis of Phenex]. Are there any last words you wish to speak before you die?"

"P-p-p-p-pleAse mAstEr. mY kiNg, doN't do thIs to Me! I'll stOp. I wOn'T do iT agaIn, I swEAr!"

Slobbering at the second son of the Phenex household, the injured and bloodied stray looked up at the master she had betrayed and abandoned hoping to see mercy from his eyes. Crawling to him across the scattered remains of woods and brick that ruined my living room floor carpet that was only made worse with the rotten brown colour of her tainted blood.

Through the mix of tears and blood, she looked at him, with me only standing a few feet behind him. As she tried to stand herself up but could only muster her strength to lift herself to waist height, she was met with a couple of taps on the head. The feel of the hand on her head lifted her spirits, but she had misinterpreted her situation entirely;

The touch of Lord Rayzem's hand was not her salvation as she thought. It was his farewell.

"May you find rest whether you go next. Farewell, my Rook. {Combustion: Complete Fallout!}"

At the sound of complete desperation, the flames instantly swallowed the injured stray devil until she was nothing kore than a shadow inside the fire. It was over in quite the short time, but I fixed that sight and that sound into my memory. The distorted look of terror that erupted on her deformed face and the sudden extinguishing of her shadow as it became nothing more than a pile of burnt remains that fell like a statue of ice quicker than a beam of light could hit it.

As the fire died, there was nothing that even resembled a person, except for the lingering echo that rung in my eardrums of her final screams. Sayanna was no more. There was but a pile of roasted flakes and remains of what had once been a devil, but it was no more than lumps of carbon now. No life. No shape. No form. Not even her bones survived the extreme heat, and thus this pile of blackened earth could not even be called a being or the remains of one.

It was just as it looked. It was hot dirt. Devoid of all life that it may have once held.

But I could still hear the scream. She may have nothing that remains of her, but there was definitely a ghost lingering in my memories.

But I could not weep. She had nearly killed me, and I was not saddened that she was gone. Maybe I pitied the devil she had once been. But the monster that wrecked my home, and tried to rip me in half with the fear that I left lingering here. I could not forget that. I could never forgive that.

Neither, will I say, that seeing nothing remained of her pleased me in the slightest however.

"Kanam, please prepare the teleportation circle home, if you would be so kind."

"Of course, my Lord."

As his bishop left to prepare the circle for departure, Lord Rayzem continued to stare down as the blackened soot that had once been a person. He pulled out a strip of something that I am sure wasn't tobacco based, and proceeded to smoke it after lighting it. The smoke was a silvery blue colour and unlike a cigarette, the smoke did more than just rise in the wind.

"Her real name was Harphyria" he said as he started puffing, and the smoke took form. The image that appeared in the smoke was a small child with no features as it was only made of flame based vapour. "I took her into my household when she was younger than yourself, many, many decades ago. She was just a low-ranking devil with no such name to fall upon nor a rank to cling to. But I thought what I was doing was pitying her. I renamed her Sayanna, so she could forget the past. I made her my Rook, so that she could have a better life. Maybe I was wrong. I believe that I was wrong for doing what I used believe was right. I don't think I ever truly understood her feelings."

As he finished his story, and the actors in the smoke stopped their actions, he flicked the end of his instrument nestled in his fingers and the smoke died along with whatever had been floating before my eyes.

He stepped on the remnants and scraped it in with two rotations of his right foot before he retreated his leg to a more comfortable stance. As I just watched him stand there staring at what he had created before him as was his duty, I saw that single tear roll off his stone like face. His expression never altered, nor did it look wounded to what he had done, but that single tear that slowly fell from his chin and moistened the smudge at his feet was the only indication I needed to know that this was hard on him as well.

Perhaps that was enough of a reason to smoke. I never asked him, nor anyone else, what the substance was because I assumed that it was not something meant to be spoken of. It sounds stupid saying it out loud now, but at the time I had presumed it was what many human societies called "illegal substances" having borne witness to such vivid images in the smoke.

I was glad to be wrong though, not that such things would have had any effect on devil bodies and minds.

He never turned his head, but I knew that he was now talking to me directly.

"I don't know" he began. "All that I know is that a stray devil needs to be put down before they can hurt others as much as they hurt themselves. That is among my duties as not just a member of the House of Phenex, but also as a High-class devil, and a son to my parents, a husband to my wife, a father to my children, a King to my peerage, and most importantly, as a judge, jury and executioner to the condemned."

He rubbed his eyes, and again he never turned to look me in the eyes. He just continued to look at Sayanna's ashes that he himself was responsible for. It wasn't until he delved more into his reasoning for not wanting to look at me that I realised just why he continued staring.

"If I could not bring myself to kill her after judging her, then I would have no right to claim her life be taken at all. It was my duty as her King to set things right."

There was a light tap of rain that started to fall outside, and in the holes that now scarred my old home, as they fell in the more precarious of fashions. None of them hit us, but the atmosphere suited his warning to me.

I would never forget what I heard him tell me, nor do I feel that I will ever remove the feelings he

"Issei. Please listen to what I have to say; whether you are a Pawn or my sister's friend, whichever does not matter. As a servant, I implore you to remember this; this is the fate of a devil who strays from their masters to indulge in their own desires. It is ok to want, but to want for yourself is always a second priority. Ravel is to be your King, so put her before your own desires. As her brother, and as another King in my own right, you will do this. Should you stray from this path, I will have to kill you."

The word kill struck me, but in this quiet place I was too aware of myself and tried my hardest not to show how it had shocked me. It failed as the catch that caught in my breathing was the only sign he needed to know that I needed to hear the word sink in for a while before he continued on.

"I will not allow my sister to stain her hands if it happens to be you. She shouldn't have to do something so at her age. Ruval would burn you as slowly as possible from your feet until at least it reaches your head, making sure you are still alive to feel the agony for days if he could. Riser would be just as slow, but he would take a limb at a time and let you watch. That's how much our sister means to us, Issei."

He started playing with the stubble that had begun to grow again days after the party had finished. Having spent so much time at work, his state had returned to being fairly unkempt as it usually did. If he had been wearing a tie, I was sure he would have loosened it to relive his neck the stress of having to withhold the right to relax even the slightest.

"As for me, . . . I will make sure it's quick. Not for you, but for my sister who clung to you when she was lonely, who went out her way to teach you herself on top of her own studies because she cared, who wanted to share her home with you so that she would still have you with her, and who decided to commit to the idea of being a King, and taking responsibility to be the head of her own peerage, to keep you by her side. I will make it quick so that she won't have to suffer as much burning away the last memories of you."

I may have still been young, but at thirteen years, I was mature enough to realise just what he was telling and why he was going through so much effort to personally educate me on the subject. As we both continued to look at what had once been a Rook turned stray devil that had most likely had many others who would miss her dearly, the thought of that pile of ashes being me gave me time to reflect.

A part of me wished for home; the home I had and lost three years ago. What was left here was just ruins and memories that kept me tied to this place. Having come face to face with the monster that had swallowed my fears and nightmares, I wanted to say that I finally had my needed closure to leave this place behind me. But I couldn't.

I live here. My parents had died here, just I nearly had myself. I never wanted to let go of my past. However, I had to. I swore my life over to Ravel. I promised to always be with her, forever, and that we would always get along, and to reach beyond the heavens in the future. This new life belonged to her. I was aware of that fact.

And deep in my chest, I swore that I could feel Sparky kicking around just as violently as before, though the pain itself was numbing like it had been the work of a spectre instead of my own hand.

Yes, these pieces that Ravel had entrusted to me, and also who Lady Phenex had gladly surrendered in order to allow this to be. Lord Phenex, Ruval, Riser, and Rayzem and Zemele and Vissarion, and Sebast, and all the peerage members, and all the servants. Yes. They were my home now. They were my family.

I shook my head a bit, as a small feeling of wetness touched my cheek, which I wiped away immeaditaly with a sniffle to follow. Whether it was just the cold caused by the rain, or if I too had shed a tear that day doesn't matter. I accepted everything again, and I accepted it with full knowledge now, and it remained my choice to make alone.

Finally turning towards me, as I responded in kind, with his frozen expression upheld he placed both his hands on my shoulders as he looked at me from his higher angle. Staring right into my eyes, he made only one last request of me that night.

"Promise me, Issei. Promise me, that you will not make Ravel cry like that. Promise me, that this discussion will never be a reality. Promise me, that you will not force any of us to kill the memory of that boy we brought home three years ago."

I looked straight at him. I made no attempts to look away, nor did I show signs of discomfort as I replied to him.

"I promise."

That was it.

Two words was all I needed to say.

I understood.

I tossed aside my childish ignorance as those words left my mouth.

I would always remember this day.

I will remember.

And with that, there were no more words between us, as the second son of the [Marquis of Phenex] walked on down the path into the front gates toward the gateway back to Hell. With his bishop having already made the necessary preparations, the only thing left before returning was I.

Stepping into the wet, and taking one last look in a long while at the home I once knew for ten years of my life, I turned my back on my human life for the last time and entered the orange circle before the light consumed the three of us and brought us home to the Phenex household.

---

I am only yours,

not as a Knight, but a Pawn

of eight pieces each.

So on my honour,

I swear I will stand with you

for eternity.

Never shall I stray,

To suffer such a demise.

I will remember.

---

Omake VII: Where Art Thou, Author-san?

Ravel:(walks into an open space) Hey, Ise-senpai. Have you seen . . . (notices Issei holding his legs in a fetal position) What happened?

Issei: (half sobbing) Don't . . . Look . . . At . . . USB Stick.

Ravel: (remembering the events from two weeks before) . . . Oh! What was-

Issei: (picking himself up) Don't Ask. Please.

Ravel: (concerned with him, sits next to him) Are you going to be ok?

Issei: In time. (wipes his face, then claps him cheeks) If I can't get over something like this, then I would be a disgrace to my manager and my peerage.

Ravel: (blushing) D-don't say it like that. I-I . . .

issei: (noticing something) Have we been acting weird lately?

Ravel: (curious) Not that I've noticed.

Issei: (ponders) Maybe it's just being in isolation so long, but I feel out of character sometimes.

Ravel: What does that mean?

Issei: (shrugs) Beats me. (looks around) Where is Alek? (annoyed) He was a day late with this chapter as it is, and he can't even be bothered to show up. What gives?

Ravel: That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. (pulls out an envelope) Did you read this?

Issei: No (grabs the envelope and opens it) It's a review, from . . . User:War_historian (reads over the letter) . . . Typical; he's gone and getting himself drunk again. What is his f***ing problem. (stops and sighs) And why the f*** is there still a censor beep in here when HE is not even here?

Ravel: So, I guess we should go to the reviews?

Issei: Won't that be hard since Alek isn't here to do the- (alarmed by a beeping sound on the computer) . . . is that an E-mail?

Ravel: (opens said E-mail) . . . Yes, it's from Alek. He says ["I'll answer the questions as long as he's being asked."]

Issei: (shocked) Wait, he can hear us? (looks around for a hidden camera or speaker)

Ravel: This is his world after all. (rolls her eyes as Issei continues to look for a while) So we have a review from User:AcclaimingTR, who has- (stops herself) Nothing.

issei: (stops in his tracks) Huh? Nothing? then why-

Ravel: (red in the face and slightly in a panic) I'm going to have to go for a while, I'll be right back. (leaves for a bit)

Issei: (reads the letter) But, Rias isn't here anymore. So, where could she- (suddenly realises the situation) Next review is Guest (3) (reads the letter) What OC? You're on chapter 1 when you reviewed, so I don't know who you're talking about.

Ravel: (panting and still red in the face, but is smiling) Aha. Let's move!

Issei: (becoming slowly aware) H-Hai! We have one from . . . (gulps as previous experiences with this reviewer flashback to him) U-User:Dragon Rider 66 says- (photos drop out of the review)

Ravel:. . . (inflames slightly, but grows stronger as time passes) Issei. I am going to check every one of these photos. If you even look at a single one of them before I have checked them thoroughly, I will have to burn everything to ash. Got it?

Issei: (scared) Gah! . . . Y-y-yes 'mam. (quickly skipping the review for a while) U-um, oh! User:DrunkenFistNinja says Alek's English is actually very good, and that- (Looks at the screen, then sweat drops at Alek's response) Did he seriously just send a smiley face? Maybe he's already hit a bottle too many with historian.

Ravel: (inspects EVERY detail of the photos from '66, gets flustered over a few, but folds them up and hands them to Issei) Here.

Issei: (confused) Really? It's ok?

Ravel: (slightly flustered) . . . J-just accept it. I-I mean, as your manager, I have deemed it acceptable, so just take it ok.

Issei: (slight nosebleed) O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ok. (wipes his face and puts the pictures in his school jacket pocket)

Ravel: (reads something else in the review from '66) Issei, which manga is he referring to?

Issei: (points to the one they used as a rest for the keyboard) That one.

Ravel: (spots it) Oh? Well thank you '66, we read that weeks ago. Sorry we didn't say a thing, but there is very little to do here. (reads a little more) Oh, yes. We will hit him if we can when he gets drunk. Well, I can; it's an anime logic universe.

Issei: (deadpanned) Sucks to be me.

Ravel: (ignores him and moves on) Ok, you're question was ". . . if issei's going to get a phenex version of his [CxC], does that mean that he'll have a phenex version of his trinana?" (looks at the screen for a reply)

Issei: (reads the reply) ["No, because."] Because why? (moves on) ["But, I will tell you the new name of the [CxC], which is [Vizir Vermillion Queen Promotion]."] Huh?

Ravel: (explaining) Well, the colour was obviously changed since it was in the title and as he explained in one of the previous omakes that it would be Vermillion. Changing the first part is obviously to keep it alliterative.

Issei: (confused) But how do you go from Cardinal to Vizir?

Ravel: (confused also) Why did you name it Cardinal Crimson to begin with?

Issei: (reminiscing) I didn't. It was Sairaorg who named it as such. I just presumed the Cardinal part was reference to a similar red colour.

Ravel: Well actually, the Cardinal, also called the Princess, Archbishop, or Bishop-Knight, is a fairy chess piece that moves like a Bishop and a Knight piece. I think that's what Sairaorg had in mind when he gave it a name.

Issei: (surprised) Really? Well, what about a Vizir?

Ravel: From what I know, Vizir or Wazir is like an Inverse Rook, in which it can only move one space at a time in all directions except diagonal.

Issei: (agitated) That feels like an insult.

Ravel: (ponders) Hmm. Going from Cardinal to Vizir does sound demeaning, but I'm sure he didn't mean it like that.

Issei: (looking awkwardly away) Do you really know Author-san? (curious) Does he say anything else?

Ravel: He says . . . ["If you want to know the [CxC] template I imagine for [VVP], look up Extreme Gundam Type Leos EXA Phase"] . . . ? Uh . . . What?

Issei: (imagining it) O~oh I know that one. It's quite the beauty. (eyes dazzle) And I get to wear Scale Mail like that.

Ravel: (panicking) Ise-senpai! You're drooling on the monitor. Alek-san isn't here to fix it if you break it.

Issei: (snaps from his imagination) S-Sorry. I'll try harder.

Ravel: (picks up the next one)Next up is from User:RedSS who sends Alek some drinks (kicks them under a blanket and sits on it like a stool) . . . which have mysteriously disappeared until such a time as he can learn to control himself.

Issei: (sweat dropping) Yikes. She can be scary even without flames. As expected from my manager.

Ravel: (coughs after going a bit red again) Next is from User:On Soaring Wings and . . . (reads over it) '. . . even the worst fanfics I have ever touched were more fun to read than this.' Oh my. Someone's not a fan.

Issei: (hears an unusual beep from the monitor, and thus starts watching the computer screen for Alek's reply) . . . Um, Ravel!

Ravel: (alarmed) Issei?

Issei: (points to the screen full of many swear words, curses and other such nasty uses of language) I think we better let Alek cool down for a while, it's not good to upset him while he's hitting the bottle. So, let's wrap this up shall we. (looks again, then makes a 'yeesh' expression)

Ravel: (turns the monitor off after inspecting the screen) G-Good idea. Well that's all the time we have, but don't worry we're not going anywhere. It's just that Alek has some work to do so there won't be anything for a while since it's the end of a semester.

Issei: But I will affirm that he will keep his promise and give you that second preview of the Rating Game ahead of time on the first day of the new year. And he better make sure it's on that very date too.

Issei and Ravel: 'Til next time. Bye-Bye!

Ravel: (noticed something on the ground) Huh? what's this. (opens the letter, then there is silence) . . . Issei.

Issei: (scared) W-w-what?

[To Be Continued]

Issei: (half terrified/half annoyed) Oh come on!

---

Thank you for reading, and review at your nearest convenience.

Special thanks to 'DrunkenFistNinja', 'FateBurn', 'On Soaring Wings', 'Valimesh', 'Warrof', 'RedSS', 'Dragon Rider 66', 'Guest' (1), 'War historian', 'AcclaimingTR', 'thus dud', 'The Rupture', 'Prodigal Knight', 'Guest' (2, but also a user), 'Guest' (3), and 'darth56' for their reviews, I really do appreciate it.

As I have said, I will be finishing my coursework for this term before this story as a priority, so I do apologise, but it is necessary as I am sure you are all aware. I will keep my promise and I assure you this will not be abandoned until there is a satisfying ending at the very least.

Well, until next time everyone. Bye!