"" - Talking
'' - Thinking
[] - Dragon
Sona and Reina sat at the kitchen table with Merlin's mother each had a cup of tea as the redheaded woman spoke "Merlin-kun hasn't always been like he is now…"
"What happened?" Sona asked hoping to get some more information from her Rook's mother as the woman shook her head as she answered sadly
"That's for him to tell you if he feels the time is ever right…it is quite the shame he use to be such a friendly boy, even with all the attacks"
"What's he faced?" Reina asked curiously as the woman thought for a moment before answering
"Minotaurs, a Fairy, numerous Sorcerers, Geomancers and Golems…Of course they all attacked him first" Sona and Reina relaxed at that while realising he had a lot more experience with dangerous battles then a sixteen year old probably should have.
…
Merlin walked to school on his own, Sona and Reina having other things to do before classes start. A look of confusion rose on his face at seeing the two of the perverted trio beating up Issei over something but the mage soon disregarding it as he saw Katase and Murayama head over to him.
"Do you know why we're meeting today in the Occult Club room?" Murayama asked curiously as Merlin nodded, looking around to see who was close by before speaking
"It's to do with Gremory-sempai and Phens-sempai's older brother" He noticed the pair's eyes widen in surprise as he put a finger to his lips to shush them before Yukihana spoke up from behind him, startling the trio
"They are engaged to be wed…and are meeting after school" Merlin pressed his hand over his heart, feeling it beat wildly as he spoke
"Yukihana-san can you not try and scare the life out of me" The two pawns soon overcoming there own shock as they giggled at Merlin's reaction while Yukihana gave him a small smile before nodding
"I will try to…"
"Wait…If Gremory-sempai…you know…then that would make Hyodo" Katase asked, Merlin nodded to answer as they started to walk towards the main entrance both of the Kendo girls seemingly gaining a weird glint in there eyes over something.
…
Lunchtime found himself sitting with Saji, the scruffy blonde figuring it was better to avoid listening to all the girly talk his fellow servants spoke about around him.
"Kaichou and you all are going to the meeting later on as well?" Merlin asked surprised as Saji nodded as he spoke
"Didn't say why but I suspect it's to be there for Gremory-sempai…you know don't you?"
Merlin nodded as he spoke "I do…It's about Phens-sempai's older brother coming here"
…
Merlin yawned as he walked out of his classroom, having just finished the clean up duty as he started to head outside to go towards the old school building; all of the normal students were gone.
He left the main building to look around the grounds for a moment, his eyes widening at the familiar person that was starting to stomp towards him. The black haired young man looked older then himself about twenty with brown thick slacks and a black jacket which stopped at the front of his waist while the back seemed to reach his knees. A long brown twisted staff in his left hand, pointing it at Merlin before several spears of ice flew towards him.
Merlin quickly swept his hand upwards, the spears embedding themselves into the rock wall that shot up in front of him as he started to chant to don his tradition battle clothes. The green coat, wide brimmed yellow pointy hat, thick black jeans and boots appearing on his frame easily as he glared at the mage who shouted
"So you still train with there magic, traitor…"Merlin walking towards his opponent as he replied calmly
"Kaito… I expect you to come up with some sort of new argument rather then repeating yourself" Merlin cast a wary eye around the grounds to see if he could spot any others around as Kaito shouted angrily
"What else is there to say your mother went against the family…and all cause she fell for a Geomancer" Merlin rolled his eyes before retorting
"Well it was either that or get forced into that arranged one with Kaoru" Merlin jumped back as Kaito shot numerous flames at him, pointing his staff at him as they seemed to form into a larger version of themselves as Merlin used a shielding spell to block them before stamping his foot into the ground, a fissure travelling towards Kaito who jumped to avoid it, launching magical missiles towards Merlin from the air who managed to dodge as he found that they were moving towards the Old school building.
Merlin took a deep breath as he started to quietly chant, keeping his gaze on Kaito who seemed to be preparing his own spell, his eyes widening at seeing Kusaka, Saji, Yukihana and Asuna looking on, shaking his head to stop them from jumping in as he launched his spell, a large blizzard of large ice shards being launched from his hands. Kaito's own firestorm spell countering it as the ice and flames connected between them.
"Its such a shame that I never got to meet with that Fairy girl you was with before…I heard she was quite the looker" Kaito taunted, Merlin face turning darker as he blasted a bolt of lightning towards him which was easily blocked by the magical shield Kaito had put up.
"Don't you dare speak about that betrayer to me" Merlin roared back as he blasted lightning at Kaito again, who blocked with another shield before having to jump to avoid another fissure from Merlin, who had begun chanting again as he stared down his opponent.
"What was her name again…? Nemi…Navi…Nimueh that was it right?" Kaito asked moments before he was forced to put up another shield to block the giant dragon shaped flame which crashed towards him, forcing him to skid back from the force of the attack, cancelling his own shield only to find several scorch marks over his jacket and Merlin standing there with his Chaos Cannon in his hand.
"So you've forgone even the basics of Sorcerer battles…" Kaito spoke superiorly
"No…I'm just sick of your talking" Merlin sneered coldly as he started up the barrage of flame charge rounds at Kaito who quickly put his shield again block them only to find his shield starting to wane under the power from Merlin's weapon.
The devil mage took a moment to charge energy into his weapon, the chamber turning a jet black before he spoke "Dragon Bolt"
From the end of the large handgun, a black beam shot forward the front of it taking form of a dragon's head as it shot towards Kaito, the young man's eyes widening as he jumped out of the way, the wall behind him suffering a large hole from where his attack had struck before he found himself dodging again to avoid the second shot Merlin had fired, now panting from the amount of energy he'd used as he launched a fireball from his open palm.
Kaito didn't have time to shield himself as the flames hit his arm as he tried to dodge again, hissing in pain as he sighed in relief from his staff being in his other hand only to find a large shadow covering him. His eyes bugged out upon seeing Merlin with both hands held above him, a large boulder of rock floating about an inch above his hands.
"Goodbye Kaito" Merlin spoke coldly as he launched the boulder at him, Kaito barely able to save himself by using his emergency teleport spell to go back home as the rock smashed into where he'd been standing.
Merlin took a deep sigh as he relaxed; it'd been about six months since the last attack by any mage and the first time any of them who'd come after him had mentioned about Nimeuh, for a few moments there he'd almost wished he could see her again yet knew that wasn't possible considering he'd killed her during that cave in when she'd tried to kill him.
Turning back to where he'd seen the others he now noticed that Sona, Reina and there peerages were looking at him. Merlin sighed as the idea of explaining what they had been on about if they'd overheard wasn't a pleasing thought.
"What was that about?" Reina asked as she stopped in front of him, Merlin replying quickly
"Just someone after me…Don't worry about it" She sighed as they started to walk back to the others as she asked
"Who's Nimueh?" Merlin stiffened as hearing the name before replying coldly
"I don't want to talk about it…" Reina gave him an annoyed look as they stopped next to the peerages as Sona looked over the damage
"Good thing that it's a Friday" She spoke with a sigh before turning as she continued
"They've probably started the meeting without us…come on"
The two groups moved to enter the old school building, none of them noticing the pair of blood red eyes that were following Merlin's movements from above. The large group then entering the Occult clubroom as Reina spoke up
"Hey nii-san…" Raiser gave her a smile and nod as he seemed to look over her servants with lecherous eyes, till he noticed the glare from Merlin. Sona entering behind him with her peerage as she spoke to Rias
"Sorry we're late; we got caught up by some mage after Merlin" Rias looked over to Merlin seeing him changing back to his uniform.
"Why would a mage be after Tsunagi?" Issei asked, Kiba leaning over as he answered
"He's a mage himself"
"Wait you know about him already?" Issei spoke surprised as Koneko spoke
"Of course he is Kaichou's new Rook and Phenex's Bishop"
"Wait how can he be in two peerages?" Issei asked confused as those around him seemed to shrug before Merlin spoke as he moved over to stand next to Saji
"I've no clue myself…but I had Phenex-sama's Bishop in one of my pockets when Kaichou revived me"
They turned all to observe the meeting as the silver haired maid spoke up "It was expected that it would become like this, if it can't be settled with talks then we have to take the last resort measures."
"Ojou-sama, if you're insistent in your wish, then how about settling it with a rating game" She continued, Merlin looked confused at his fellow servants as Tsubaki quietly explained it to him
"A rating game is a fight with your servants in a special arena…its like chess as it involves strategy and is often used to solve family or house disputes" Merlin nodded in understanding as he turned back to the discussion
"As you know, Ojou-sama can't participate in official games, but if it's unofficial, then even non-adult devils can participate. For this event, it usually is…" The maid spoke as Rias added
"A meeting of relatives, or between households, to settle a quarrel. Meaning, father and the others have already considered the possibility of my refusal and made the preparations for the game…Just how much are they going to tamper with my life till they're satisfied….?"
"Then, Ojou-sama, do you refuse the game as well?" Grayfia asked as Rias turned to answer
"No way, this opportunity won't come again. All right, let's settle this with the game, Raiser"
"Heh, you're accepting it, huh? I don't mind it, but I have already had experience with the official games many times, and have won plenty of times. Even then will you fight, Rias?" Raiser asked not seeming too worried by the game.
"I'll do it! I'll make you disappear!"
"Fine with me. If you win, you can do as you like. If I win, you'll immediately marry me." Raiser countered as Grayfia spoke up
"I, Grayfia, confirm your intentions. As the representative of both your houses is it alright for me to manage the game's details?" Both Raiser and Rias nodded in agreement before the blonde devil asked
"Hey, Rias. It can't be that the ones gathered before Reina and Sona showed are all your servants?"
"If that's the case, what about it?" Rias asked as Raiser burst out laughing before speaking
"Wouldn't this game be a joke? Except for your Queen, the rest won't even be qualified opponents for my cute servants…" Clicking his fingers the flaming red circle of the Phenex clan appeared and fifteen shadows appeared from it before it became noticeable that they were girls. Merlin sighing annoyed, managing to conceal his own blush, upon noticing Issei's reaction, crying at the sight of Raiser's beautiful servants, before turning to see Saji's mouth open wide.
"He…hey Rias…That servant-kun over there is crying a lot while looking at me" Raiser spoke as Rias sighed while looking at Issei as she spoke
"This boy's dream is to have a harem. I think he was moved after looking at your servants." Merlin facepalmed upon hearing that, it sounded just like Issei to him, removing his hand his eyes widened at seeing Raiser kissing one of his servants.
'Wait a minute isn't Gremory-sempai supposes to be his wife to be' He thought confused.
[Humph… Devils really are perverted beings] Tiamat spoke calmly in his head as Merlin felt his hand twitch in annoyance and embarrassment, currently trying to resist covering them in water.
"Damn…" Saji whispered next to him surprised, his cheeks red along with most of the others as he finished turning to look at Issei with a sneer
"You will never be able to do this."
"Don't say what I think you were saying! Damn it! Boosted Gear!" Issei replied as he activated his Sacred Gear, the red gauntlet appearing as he pointed at Raiser and shouted
"A womanizer like you isn't good enough to be with Buchou!"
"Huh? Aren't you looking up to me, the so-called womanizer?" Raiser asked curiously, Issei clenching his fists as Merlin rolled his eyes feeling that one of the phrases his mother used, something about a pot and a kettle seemed to fit the situation as Issei shouted back
"Sh...shut up! That's different with the thing about Buchou! At this rate, you will continue to flirt with other girls even after you marry Buchou!"
"Heroes love women. That's a saying in the human world, right? A good phrase indeed, but this is just a close relationship with my servants. Even you get adored by Rias, don't you?" Raiser replied with a shrug as Issei shouted again
"Hero my ass! You are just a bird guy! Fire bird Pheonix? Hahaha! That's the same as Yakitori!" Reina seemed to clench her fists at hearing her brother being called a Yakitori while Raiser made an outrageous face at Issei's provocation.
"Yakitori!? You low-class devil! Don't get ahead of yourself! That's not the way you talk to a high-class devil! Rias! You have to educate your servants!"
Rias just ignored his claim and said "Like I care".
"Hey fried-chicken guy! I will just beat the crap out of you with my "Boosted Gear"!" Issei challenged the Phenex Devil without any worries as Sona seemed to sigh at his antics as Issei continued
"We don't need to have a match! I will just take you all down, right here, right now!" Issei spoke confidently, Merlin deciding to prepare to stop them fighting before it could get out of hand as the Boosted Gear called out
[BOOST!] Riser just made a sigh where he stood before turning back to his servants
"Mira, do it." Raiser ordered his servant the girl with the long pole stepping forward as she spoke
"Yes, Raiser-sama" Merlin reacting quickly as he chanted in a whisper, Koneko and Saji turning to look at him before they saw Mira's weapon slam into an white circular shield which appeared before Issei, the Pawn looking in surprise at the white shield before him which soon faded as Merlin stepped forwards as he spoke up calmly
"Please avoid fighting here…"
"Hey, Tsunagi, why'd you do that?" Issei asked annoyed as Merlin sighed before answering
"You would've had your ass kicked you idiot…if you saw how fast she moved I barely managed to finish the spell considering I used up a good chunk of mana earlier" Stuffing his hands into his pockets as he noticed Mira's surprised face at being stopped.
"Interesting" Raiser spoke, looking over Merlin for a moment, Reina waiting for the verdict from her older brother about Merlin
"Such confidence from someone so lowly…fitting for my sister's servant" Raiser spoke as Merlin shrugged
"I've got a lot a practice under my belt…this idiot wouldn't even give you a challenge unless you gave him…" Merlin spoke calmly, turning to look over Issei who was looking annoyed back at him before continued "two weeks…I'd guess"
Turning so he could catch the sight of both Rias and Sona he gave them a wink as he shook his head as he continued "Actually make that about a month…if you're willing to give them a fighting chance"
"Really…" Raiser spoke, taking a moment to look over Rias' servants as he decided on something himself before turning to Rias
"How about we have the match in two weeks, Rias?"
"Alright" Rias spoke feeling better for having the time to prepare as Raiser turned to Issei as he spoke
"Hey you, don't put Rias to shame, Rias' Pawn…A blow to you is a blow to Rias"
Raiser turned to his sister as he continued "Come on Reina…I want to see how strong your Bishop is"
Merlin turned to see Reina nod as she smirked as she replied "Alright…just don't feel bad when Merlin takes out your Bishop"
With that she and her peerage followed, Merlin turning to speak to Sona "I'll let you know how things go, Kaichou"
Before he followed the group onto the magic circle which flashed as it teleported them out of the room.
…
Merlin took a deep breath as he slipped into a ready stance, a few feet in front of him was Mihae, one of Raiser's Bishops, the black haired girl giving him a moment to prepare himself. He'd changed back into his battle clothes from before as pondered what his first attack should be, settling on his attack as he thrust the flat of his palm towards her, the wind behind it surprising her as she rose an arm to protect her eyes while using the other to fire flames at Merlin.
Merlin swept his hand up as he moved to the right, the rock wall that appeared taking the flames as he skidded to a halt as he chanted quietly before blasting a bolt of lightning towards her. Mihae easily blocked the attack with a magic circle before firing flames out of it towards him.
Merlin activated his Chaos Cannon, pointing it at the flames as he muttered "Water"
The chamber of the hand gun turning sea blue as he started to fire rounds to counter the flames, holding them back for a few moments before he was forced to pull another rock wall up to defend himself.
"Dragon Bolt" He muttered, the chamber turning black before diving out to the left, the wall of rock crumbling a few moments later as he levelled the gun towards Mihae before firing a black dragon shaped beam at her, Mihae's eyes widened as she made a magical circle shield which cracked under the force of the attack.
"Interesting…" Raiser spoke as Merlin tried to regain his breathe starting to feel the effects of using a lot of his mana as he put both hands out to his sides as he started to chant one of his stronger attacks before pointing both open palms towards her as arrows of ice and water shot out at her, Mihae's shield holding aside from the numerous other cracks that started to show up on it as Merlin started to prepare another spell.
"Stop…" Raiser spoke, Merlin and Mihae relaxing there stances as he asked Reina
"That Sacred Gear he's using what does it do?"
"The Chaos Cannon…? Well it can recreate any element or type of effect as long as Merlin understands how to pull it off or can think up of it" Reina replied, watching as Raiser nodded as he spoke
"Unique weapon…if he had the knowledge of holy power us devils would be in bigger trouble…good thing you got him even if you have to share with Sona"
Merlin rubbed one of his shoulders as he turned to see Isabela seemingly getting ready to fight as Raiser spoke up "Let's see how he does as a Rook, Isabela"
The Rook smiled to him as Merlin gulped, managing to stretch a little before she rushed at him.
…
Merlin collapsed through his own door onto his own bed, exhausted from his spars with Raiser's peerage which had worn him out. Sona sat on the bed, still in her school uniform as she put down the spell book next to her as she asked curiously "So how did it go…?"
"I'm drained Kaichou…I had to spar with his Bishop and both of his Rooks…I couldn't cast a spell even if I wanted to now" Merlin replied, barely lifting his head so his voice wouldn't be muffled as she spoke
"You better rest then…Oh and good job buying Rias some time to train with her servants"
"I figured they'd need it, especially with Hyodo on there side…I would offer my help to them but that would probably be seen as Reina going against Raiser as well" Merlin spoke, feeling confused as Sona rested her hand on his head, a small smile on her face as Merlin fell asleep where he lay as her thoughts turned to what she'd overheard in the sorcerer battle.
'Whoever this Nimueh is, they betrayed Merlin…but his reaction would point to that she did something really bad to him or something' She thought with a sigh, realising Merlin was keeping a lot inside, as she decided to spend the night there as she put the book back on his desk.
…
Author's Notes
Another chapter done and more of Merlin's past is coming out, which some is taken from the Arthurian legends around Merlin although I tweaked to make it work. Having a bit of trouble with deciding on his familiar as I want to include the Dodgeball game for after the Raiser vs Issei battle, currently between either a Cat or Kitsune unless I have a spark of inspiration in that area. Balance Breaker is now going to be something based off of Rock Cannon from Black Rock Shooter and have a few funky modes but that'll be for when I come up with the situation it'll activate in.
Anyway let me know what you think or any ideas considering I do try and work them into the chapters. Currently having trouble picking Pawns cause hell like I know what distinguishes one from a Rook, Knight or Bishop (I know they're suppose to be all rounders but most of the characters I know fall into those three rather then Pawn).