It didn't take long for the old Satan faction to make their move.
"You people must really think I'm stupid." Diodora smiled pleasantly at the devil that laid on the dirt, paralyzed and drooling while only being able to look straight at Diodora's eyes "Why would anyone send someone like you to do spy work? Is your master stupid? No, don't answer that. It's a dumb question."
It made sense that the higher ups would send people to check on him. After all, he had gone through a life-changing experience and started behaving erratically. The first days were like that, trying to get used to his new body and making sense of the things the original left behind. Still, he hadn't expected to find himself facing almost literal devil ninjas. And so soon after coming back from the Brigade's headquarters to boot.
Still, he couldn't help feeling silly. He already knew cleverness ranked among the rarest of traits, yet he couldn't help feeling dread at whatever the devils were plotting.
"I suppose it's to be expected, walking around without any form of protection or companionship." Rias approached him, still in full school uniform, as she looked down at the devil her [Rook] had captured "Oh, that outfit looks like the ones in…"
Diodora looked around, trying to find any other invader with his eyes augmented by demonic power. He knew it wouldn't be enough if the other party used magic to disguise themselves, but he didn't know anything else to try and find people. He hadn't practiced enough, and so he had to rely on both Koneko and Sona's peerage for protection.
And speaking of which…
"I thought Sona was in charge of defense during the day?" Diodora didn't mind saying it in front of the devil, as he doubted Rias would let them escape.
"Yes, but…" Rias frowned.
"Go on, I don't mind." Diodora smiled, knowing well what Rias would say.
"Well, Sona doesn't really want to deal with you." To her credit, she managed to look apologetical. Even though Diodora doubted she felt sorry at all.
"It's quite alright." He didn't mind. Sona was a bore anyway, and the only time she played any role in his plans was in keeping her from obtaining Genshirou. Rias' group had things covered, and Diodora didn't need more things to occupy his time "She's free to see me in any light she wants. That's her right."
"You're taking this rather well." Rias sounded a bit surprised.
"I've made peace with the fact that I'll be despised." Diodora twisted his smile into looking bitter "It's the stigma I must carry for my weakness."
"I don't think it has to do with the loss of your peerage." Rias replied "I know Sona, she isn't like that."
Right.
"I meant that there'll always be people that hate me." Diodora corrected immediately "Making peace with the fact helps."
"I see." Rias didn't sound convinced, but she moved on to the spy that had caused the conversation "Well then. Should we hear why you invaded Gremory territory like this?"
Diodora frowned. Would it be better if it was revealed to be from the Brigade? A single spy, spouting a conspiracy on the level of most pantheons trying to destroy the world… Would it even sound sane while being spoken by someone obviously incompetent like this devil? Did Diodora want to find out? These were very important questions, but he neither had the answers nor the power to actually make a call on them.
In an ideal world, he'd have fed this spy to his [Pawn] and in return all the secrets contained in that brain would be Diodora's to use, but the nekomata was no slack. And it'd be incredibly suspicious if he tried to prevent Rias from asking questions.
"Nngggghhh!" The spy struggled.
Oh wait. Diodora did have some say in how this played out.
"Apologies. It seems like I went too hard on this one." Diodora chuckled, crouching in front of the devil and placing a hand on their head.
"'Apologies' he says…" Koneko muttered. Diodora pretended not to hear her.
"What did you do?" Rias had to ask, because that sort of behavior looked rather weird after a single spell landed on the devil.
"I… Don't think this is supposed to happen." Diodora frowned.
In reality this level of paralysis suited him just fine. Diodora had taken a crystal containing a mostly harmless plant found in the Underworld, but which could be deadly if taken in great dosages. He had simply used a spell to shatter the orb where the substance resided and pushed it toward the spy with demonic power.
Was it reckless? Maybe. Diodora had practiced the motion a few times, so the toxic material wouldn't spread. But things could always go wrong. Especially since Koneko had been the one to pin the spy to the ground.
But if he hadn't done it this way… Would it really count as a victory? Diodora could've tried to give pursuit and defeat the spy by teaming up with Koneko, but in the end that'd have taken more effort. And it wouldn't have looked as easy.
Diodora couldn't have that.
He imagined this was Shalba instead. He knew the bastard's high demonic power would most likely make it so he survived, but Diodora wanted to dream.
"I still don't know what you did." Rias added.
"Poison." Diodora admitted.
"Crude." The redhead made a face.
Diodora slowly turned his face to look at the redhead.
"What would you know?" He asked and got Rias to frown like he had said something strange.
"They're just doing their job." She pointed out.
"So what? I shouldn't defend myself?"
"I didn't say that. Just that there wasn't any need to use poison." Rias crossed her arms below her breasts. It didn't distract Diodora "No need to counter underhanded methods with more underhanded methods."
"I don't see how I used any underhanded methods, attacking upfront. And even if I did, I don't see the problem in defending myself in this fashion." Somehow, that statement had irked him more than if Rias had called him needlessly cruel. But he couldn't figure out why.
"But why would you?" Rias asked like he had gone through "Just crush them. People who would employ others to do their subterfuge and sabotage are already admitting their inferiority. No need to do anything but use your power to put them in their place."
Diodora was stunned into silence. He knew that the series insisted that devil society worked differently from humanity. But he had never, not even once, seen Rias behave weirdly compared to the secondary characters that had been born as devils. True, she spent a lot of time in the human world, so that worked as an excuse. But as part of the audience, Diodora had wondered if this simply happened due to lazy writing. Or perhaps waifu baiting. Probably the latter.
Yet here she was, speaking like an actual devil as if her common sense applied to this situation at all. Maybe she had dealt with spies before, being the little sister of Lucifer and all; and maybe she had been taught to deal with them in that way but…
Diodora struggled to keep his expression even, clenching the muscles of his stomach so hard he could feel his veins pop a bit from the effort.
Why were devils like this? And most importantly, did this mean his display wouldn't be appreciated by anyone here?
"Well, do forgive me for wanting to be cautious." He turned back to the spy, trying to avoid showing his distaste on his face.
"Aren't you basically saying you don't have enough strength to defend yourself?" Rias tilted her head.
The nerve of this—! Hmm, actually this could be good.
"Fine!" Diodora snapped, reaching out and placing his hand on the spy's face.
"Hmmm?!"
"Wait!" Rias managed to say before Diodora fueled his hand with demonic power.
The sound of the bang from his demonic power being fired made the birds take flight. The spy dropped their limp head a moment later, the neck barely holding together with skin and muscle as they were forced to 'swallow' the blast.
Diodora got to his feet and made a point of walking away in the most obviously pissed off way he could, making sure to mumble under his breath as he went.
Only then did it occur to him that the spy could've had a message, or some kind of warning from the Brigade. But it didn't matter. If the Satan heirs hired someone this useless to deliver a message, it sure sounded to him like he did them a favor in culling the weeds before they could screw up even worse. In the end, Diodora more or less did what he wanted: Keep his involvement with the terrorists a secret. Rias hadn't looked particularly puzzled by the appearance of a spy, nor did she question the need to attack first and ask questions later. So Diodora must be in the clear.
"Damnit." He supposed he should make a point of being moody for a bit. So he sat down on the edge of the roadwalk a few blocks away from where he had executed the spy. Crossing his arms over his knees and staring at the cars going by.
Rias could get rid of the body. She had to, to begin with. So he didn't worry about whether someone discovered it or not.
At this point he felt silly though. He doubted Rias would go after him, or even acknowledge that she could've hurt his feelings in any way. The official story was that Diodora had lost his peerage during a trip to the human world, by the hands of agents of the church.
When Diodora realized he had been transmigrated, the first thing he saw was a light blade almost cutting his chest as one of the original Diodora's [Bishop]s took the hit for him. He hadn't had time to prepare, to think, or even do anything about being thrusted into a different world. His only thought had been to survive, to get away and hide from his attackers.
It helped out in the end, losing some of his pieces would end up being beneficial in the long run. But Diodora would've rather had things go down on his own terms. Unfamiliar situations were awful, and he had never been in so much danger in his life. The only thing he regretted was exactly that: Appearing in the middle of things, without the ability to influence how everything unfolded before it did.
Diodora sighed. Thinking about it reminded him of something. He'd have to prepare, both to inform Genshirou and to actually go ahead and do it.
So he returned to the place he was staying at. A very comfortable place meant for visiting devils to stay. Serafall had stayed for a couple of days in the same building, and Diodora found everything more than comfortable to the point he almost didn't want to leave. But the space was a bit too big, and he couldn't just stay all day in his room. He needed to train and stay on guard, so he mostly returned only to rest.
Within his apartment, a familiar face awaited.
"Lord." Stain greeted him with a small bow.
The slime that he turned into his new [Pawn] had been tasked with guarding this place while Diodora moved around. If the girls that comprised Diodora's original peerage were a problem, then he couldn't have any of them be traced back to him. A few died at the hands of the church, but Diodora didn't feel comfortable with the level of adoration they showed him.
It felt forced, desperate. Diodora wasn't one to look at a gifted horse on the teeth, but something about them irked him to no end.
The solution? Sacrifice them. And what better than to a creature that could solve a lot of Diodora's problem like this oblex?
"Stain." Diodora sighed "Tell me there's good news."
"This one has assimilated another high-class devil." The slime replied in a monotone tone. She wore the face of one of the original Diodora's servants, but she looked distinctly dead in comparison.
"Good." It lifted his mood a bit, but until he knew everything about whoever Stain ate he could celebrate "I need you to do something."
The slime didn't move or react. It had become completely docile after assimilating the remaining peerage members, which made Diodora wonder just how those girls had been changed by the original. He could still see the glitter in their eyes, begging to be ordered or interacted with at all. Somehow, Stain made Diodora feel more comfortable than they did.
"I need you to call Olivia back." Diodora sighed.
"This one understands." The slime stated but didn't move.
It didn't need to. The oblex had the ability to split and act independently as long as its clones had a bit of its core. So the version of Stain that was still in the Underworld would make his order come true.
He pondered leaving, he really wanted to. But he suspected it wouldn't take long for Olivia to arrive. So instead he sat on the floor, all the lights in the room still off, and worked his demonic power.
Who knew? Maybe cultivation novels had a point. Maybe Diodora could grow stronger in this way.
But he didn't do it to train. No. He did it to keep his mind busy. He didn't want to think about the Khaos Brigade, or Rias, or anything else. He needed every piece of will for this. So he forced himself to wait and control his demonic power. The ticking noise of the clock driving his nerves to the edge more and more.
"Lord Diodora!" When the magical circle appeared, it took but a moment for the white haired girl to open her arms and try to throw herself at him. But she didn't immediately find him "...Lord?"
"Olivia." Diodora smiled, schooling his features to not show any disgust towards the girl.
Diodora's original [Queen], Olivia. The first holy maiden that had become one of Diodora's 'possessions'. If the others made him uncomfortable, then Diodora wanted nothing to do with this one. The fervor and glee in her face whenever he did anything scared him a lot. He thought this sort of behavior only appeared in anime and bad novels, never before having encountered anyone like this.
In his previous life, his little sister had had a stalker. But he remembered quite well their dad scaring him off with nothing but a threat of calling the police, never to be seen again.
This girl? She had been ready to kill the rest of the peerage for failing to protect Diodora properly.
"Lord Diodora! What are you doing on the floor?!" The girl quickly got to his side and tried to carry him to his feet.
Diodora used his demonic power to stay pinned on the ground.
"Discomfort training." He explained "Quite useful to become disciplined."
Olivia frowned. She didn't get it.
"I thought you had come back to your senses since you finally called for me." She spoke as if pleading, as if Diodora's personality had any faults "Please. Whatever is making you behave this way. Please tell me so I can fix it. Tell me so I can make things right."
Diodora stopped himself from sighing.
"The lady's making the lord uncomfortable." Stain helpfully spoke up, making the [Queen] snap her face at them with rage.
"You shut up, creature!"
"This one only answers to the Lord." Stain replied without missing a beat.
This time Diodora did sigh.
"Olivia, please calm down." He slowly got back to his feet, already regretting his decision.
"But…"
"We have a new member." He interrupted, making the silver haired girl stop in her tracks.
"A new peerage member…?"
"It's a guy." Stain added.
"A guy?!" Olivia exclaimed.
"Yes. His Sacred Gear will come in handy later on." Diodora ignored the strange face his [Queen] was making, half wondering if he should allow Stain to absorb her or not.
Maybe a dark thought, but one that sounded better the more he was around Olivia.
"His Sacred Gear? But lord, I thought you…"
"Do you not trust me?" What had the original done to this girl? What happened to make her so desperate to please?
"With my whole soul." She replied right away.
Gross.
"Then listen, and do it well. I kept you at the manor for a purpose," The keep her away, but he had to pretend that wasn't the case "I need you for something else now. Do you understand?"
The girl lifted her skirt while bowing.
"I heed and obey."
…
Diodora turned to look at Stain. The oblex opened its mouth, almost an unspoken question.
He considered it for a moment.
…No. Not yet.
"Olivia, we're training my new piece together. This is of crucial importance. Will you help me?"
"...? Yes?" She tilted her head "If that's what Lord Diodora wants…"
Yes. Something about her bothered Diodora, the way she was just more than the rest. Maybe if Genshirou and Olivia interacted he'd get some context clues. Diodora had already thrown enough pieces to get Stain, so he didn't want to throw away the most important one without a replacement. No matter how much she weirded him out, in the end he needed people he could trust.
But Olivia looked so loyal he couldn't help wondering. This series wasn't one for a lot of intrigue, but he couldn't figure this one out. And he wasn't in a position to let these things slide. Besides, who could he replace her with? A [Queen] boosted his fighting chances a lot, and he'd need to look for someone perfectly suited to be his right hand.
He didn't understand how some devils had their [Queen] be their first piece once they got their Evil Pieces. It sounded like one of the most important choices they'd ever make.
…Devils. In the end, Diodora still didn't get them.
He still had one year before the story started. But somehow Diodora already felt completely exhausted. And he still needed to find the other 3 Vritra Sacred Gears and a way to transfer them to Genshirou.
Well, one step at a time. Keep Stain assimilating the Khaos Brigade henchmen, train Genshirou. It wasn't as if the world ever let Diodora do more than a handful of things at once.