Chapter 9 - King Takes Pawn Pt.2

WARNING - The Following Chapter will contain incredibly Dark content involving one or more main characters

Kuoh Academy- Highschool DxD World - Two days after the end of the previous chapter / 1 Month and Two days before the original start of canon

(Rias Gremory's P.O.V)

The last two days have been one that I've been rather anxious over lately, as I've been waiting in anticipation for today since I'll be finally heading over to Izayoi's house because I honestly can't wait to meet her parents for the first time in this timeline.

It's admittedly gotten to the point that it's drawing focus away from both my schoolwork and training in my pocket dimension Sweet Home, something that my beloved peerage has taken notice of quite quickly, with Akeno having been light-heartedly teasing me over the fact I'm so enamored with Izayoi Hyoudou.

Honestly, I love Akeno, I truly do as she is my adorable queen who is there to support me through the events to come, but it is times like this that I feel the urge to throw my pillow or schoolbook at her face at the constant teasing over Izayoi.

Still, the anxiousness wasn't enough to prevent me from getting at least something out of the training over the last two days, having started to attempt to create two Null Stars at once, one in each hand with at least some success although it fairly slower than doing so with one hand due to the split in focus.

It did result in having to use the outdoor bonfire Akeno lit in advance to restore my hands every time I wasn't able to mold the Null Stars on my hands correctly due to the split in focus, although I stopped messing up after the 3rd failure thanks to my Talent Perks allowing me to get the hang of this much quicker than I would normally.

But that wasn't the only thing I was able to train in the last two days, as I decided to join Akeno in increasing my reserves of magical energy because, while I can easily restore my reserves with any source of fire that I didn't directly create, I need to grow the power at my command while I lack the Inexhaustible Perk to make my reserves functionally infinite.

Something that I'm willing to wait until I have bound Izayoi and have her as my cute pawn piece before finally giving myself access to the sheer upgrade that is the Inexhaustible Perk, but all good things come to those who wait after all~!

However, if I'm being honest, that's not the only reason I've been anxious lately…

For the last two days, there has been a slew of random killings from what seems to be a serial killer who has come to Kuoh recently, The mundane authorities have been working tirelessly to find out who is responsible as Sona and I have concluded so far that this is the work of someone unaware of the Supernatural.

The Evidence compiled by the police seems to substantiate this theory, meaning that we shouldn't get involved lest we run the risk of potentially exposing the supernatural to the mundane authorities by accident.

There is a part of me who does want to hunt down the killer anyway, but if I did that I would run the risk of breaking at least one supernatural law if I am not careful about it, meaning that unless one of us or one of our peerage members is directly targeted or a contract is formed that requires us to deal with it, we are not to interfere…

Still from what I've learned over the last two days, the killer's Modus Operandi is killing their victim with a bladed weapon after a short period of torture, with the killer barely leaving a trace as they seem to be at least smart enough to cover their tracks.

No attempt to cover up the fact the killing was done by a third party either as if the person in charge is rather proud of the fact they're killing them, which is honestly sickening really. Either way, students have been told to go home in pairs if possible to prevent any potential ambushes, which I'm not entirely sure would help much against an armed killer though…

I'm broken out of my musings by none other than the school bell ringing, signaling that the day has finally come to an end and I can at long last start getting ready to head over to Izayoi's house, a smile blossoming on my face as I pack up my school supplies and place them in my school bag, heading towards the door of the classroom to leave.

However, just before I can make my way to the Occult Club Building to change into something more casual, I find Sona there waiting for me with what looks to be a fresh round of requests to join the Occult Club nestled in her grasp.

"I apologize for springing this on you so quickly Gremory-san, but these need to be attended to today as some of the earlier forms were erroneously thrown out by one of the staff members who were sorting through them last night…" Sona says with a genuine look of regret for having to have me go through the applications for the month all over again, something that I am extremely reluctant to do but know I don't have a choice if I want to keep the club from being at risk of shutting down.

I sigh and give a nod before holding out my hand to take the applications, knowing I'll have to find Izayoi and tell her I will need to do these forms first before I can make it to her house, something that I can only hope she will understand the situation, either way, I start walking toward's Izayoi's classroom.

Unsurprisingly, Izayoi was already making her way over with a smile clearly, likely eager to walk me to her place and have me meet her parents. It's then that Izayoi notices the papers in my grasp and looks at me with confusion written plainly on her face.

"Hey Izayoi-san, I don't think I'll be able to walk with you back to your place, but if you give me your address, I'll make my way there once I'm done if that's okay with you?" I ask with a sheepish look on my face, Izayoi briefly looks disappointed but soon has a look of understanding written on her face.

"I understand Rias-san, Katase, Muriyama and myself often trade places on who has to deal with the monthly paperwork for the Kendo Club so I know how frustrating it can be sometimes…" Izayoi says, her understanding of the situation acting as a soothing balm against my nerves as she takes out a small strip of paper and writes down her address on it before handing it over to me.

"Thanks, Izayoi-san, I'll be over as soon as I am done with the paperwork!" I say with a smile before the two of us wave goodbye for the moment as I begin to walk toward the Occult Club Building so that I can get started on the paperwork as soon as possible, I do not want to spend a minute more than I have to when I have been waiting two days for this meeting!

Close to the Hyoudou household - One hour later

(Rias Gremory's P.O.V)

An hour...

It took an hour to not only finish the paperwork and resubmit it but also to finally find the Hyoudou household's street with this world's equivalent of Google Maps, which is quite frankly insane but I suppose it can't be helped when I can't exactly use my wings openly with Kuoh Academy Students like myself still wandering around.

The annoyance of the time it took to get here aside, I can finally see the house tied to the address Izayoi gave me, meaning that it's her house that I've arrived at. With a smile on my face, I head past the open gate of the house and walk towards the door when there is a smell that hits my nose just as I am about to open the door.

I freeze on the spot as my eyes widen in horror at the smell I detect can only ever be one thing to a devil's senses, it is the smell of fresh blood that has been spilled and not a small amount of it either.

With immense worry for Izayoi and her family, I partially manifest my fire shroud to allow me to blast the door off its hinges, allowing me to enter the dark and unlit front room…

WARNING - Dark Content Ahead

I let out a gasp of pure horror as I stared at two bloody bodies on the floor of the living room, Their bodies were battered and bruised with multiple lacerations to their arms, and limbs and nailed to the wooden floor in a position that mimics the son of god against the cross, their final expressions are that of agony…

But what is even more sickening is that their very blood was used to write a message on the wall just below the family pictures, one that chills and confuses me as it's a sign that something is terribly wrong here…

Death to Traitors and those who live alongside them

I don't have much time to think about it when I hear a scream of pain come from the room above me, knowing the voice to be Izayoi, I quickly rush up the stairs with as much speed that I can muster as I frankly open rooms one at a time to try and find Izayoi.

When I finally find a locked door, I immediately blast it off its hinges like I did with the front door, which is when I am forced to witness Izayoi being run through with an exorcist's Light Sword, a terrifyingly familiar man behind her as he pulls out the blade with malicious glee on his face.

"IZAYOI!" I scream out, finally catching the attention of the man who killed her, one that I recognize as none other than Freed Salzan, who looks utterly delighted to see me as he begins to make his way toward me.

"Well now, I wasn't expecting one of the two owners of this town to show her pretty little face, don't worry I won't kill you like these fuckers, at least not yet….no, I think I'll make good use of those cow tits of yours first!" Freed says with a dark, sinister lust as he gets closer with a menacing aura around him.

It is then that I am forced to jump away from a strike that's intended to injure me, terror turning into anger, and that anger turning fiery rage, tendrils of flame burst out from my back with blinding speed and stabbing themselves into Freed's shoulders, making the white-haired rogue exorcist scream in pain, the flesh that the burning hot tendrils have been penetrated by being cauterized almost immediately after the injury.

"YOU BITCH, I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU MY BITCH, BEGGING FOR DEATH WHEN I AM DONE WITH YOU!" Freed screams out in venomous, seething rage as he cuts the tendrils off with his Light Sword, A wince of pain momentarily overcomes me but it's only due to my connection with the shroud tendrils.

Soon enough Freed begins to rush at me, but his swing is completely off due to the injury to both his shoulders, allowing me to duck under the swing and manifest another tendril that whips out from my left forearm and slices off Freed's sword hand with a sizzling hiss, another scream erupting from him.

However, I don't let him get off another vitriolic scream of utter hatred as I manifest the shroud of flames fully and surge forward with my right hand grasping hard on his forehead, blazing hot fires around my arm preventing him from being able to get my hand off of him.

My hair begins to flow in the air as the power of destruction begins to leak off my body and start mixing with the flames of my shroud, turning those very same flames from a bright orange to a dark, demonic shade of red.

"At first, I had contemplated just binding and selling you like the trash you are, but no...Now I have an entirely different fate in mind for you Freed Selzen..." I hissed out, my eyes emitting red flames from the normally aquamarine orbs, the power of destruction practically oozing out of my body along with the now dark red flames that slowly and sinuously made their way up my right arm, slowly coiling into tendrils of blood-red magma.

Memories of my past life flow into my mind as I recall how there was one man who became feared upon the seas of the Caribbean, whose name became known as death for those who died while at sea, that name was Davy Jones.

In particular, I recall a form of killing that Davy Jones did in the At World's End Movie that my enraged, wrath-fueled mind knows I can replicate off with the shroud's tendrils…

The blood-red magma tendrils begin to slowly snake their way past my wrist and begin to coil around the neck of Freed as he begins to scream in pain, trying desperately to get me to let go as the same tendrils begin to slither all the way to his ears.

The tips of the burning hot tendrils lean back momentarily before, in one swift motion, penetrating through his eardrums and stabbing into the brain of the Rogue Exorcist, the struggles immediately ceasing as the crucial organ required to control his body is destroyed by the two thin blood-red tendrils as they immediately pull out of his head.

The moment the deed is done, the wrath and anger subside alongside the Fire Shroud as I recoil at what I had done in my anger, soon feeling sick as I throw up in the small trashcan in the room. Even after I am done I still feel a bit queasy at how brutal I was to Freed, although I quickly remember what drove me to act like that in the first place and I quickly rush over and cradle Izayoi's dead body in my arms.

"I-Izayoi…" I say with a feeling of incredible grief washing over me, my hands gripping her unmoving form as tears begin to come from my eyes non-stop, a feeling of regret for not being here sooner filling my mind as I decide it would be best to attempt to revive her as my Pawn no matter how high the cost may be…

It is here that I'm treated to a surprising sight when I check her cost, discovering that Izayoi Hyoudou doesn't cost 8 pawns as I had feared, but now she costs no more than 5. This means that my training has almost certainly paid off, which is a relief but now I must focus on the most important thing…

As I retrieve five of my Pawn Evil Pieces, I begin to pool my power in a familiar manner, having done this several times before as I place the 5 pawn pieces against Izayoi's stomach and begin the process of reincarnating her as a devil…

"Izayoi Hyoudou, although I wish this were done under better circumstances, I shall now take you under my wing, granting you new life as a devil!" I declare as the sigil of the Gremory household forms around us, my power surging into Izayoi's body using the Evil Piece as a focus as it takes that same power to energize and finalize the reincarnation process.

Eventually, there is a red flash as the evil pieces fade, and I hear very faint breathing coming from Izayoi's body, signaling that the reincarnation was a success. Acting quickly I grab Izayoi's body and decide to teleport back to the Occult Club Building, knowing that I'll have to immediately start working on her injuries lest she dies a second time.

But just before I do teleport away, I catch sight of a very surprising picture on Izayoi's desk, where she is with her family smiling alongside another young woman with black hair, a form that I am quite familiar with.

If that weren't enough, I spot another photo with a small engraving that reads simply…

Me and Yuma

Almost immediately, it becomes clear who Freed was referring to with the bloody message downstairs, meaning that I might need to double-check some of my meta-knowledge now. However this also makes me stop, my gaze turning to the door where I know the bodies of Izayoi's parents are just downstairs, and if I got the evil pieces I could technically use them to revive them.

I know that not only would Izayoi be incredibly hurt if I didn't try to attempt to revive them, but now that I think about it myself, I would never forgive myself if I didn't try. However, the issue is that Izayoi is still badly wounded and could die a second death if I hesitate…

As I am deliberating on the issue at hand, my panicked musings are broken by the sound of my phone ringing, I grab it out, and am about to hit the end call button when I see the name on the Caller ID is Akeno Himejima

My eyes widened as realized that Akeno likely noticed that I must have taken out my Evil Pieces and called me up to congratulate me, meaning that I won't have to worry about the situation any longer, soon accepted the call and pulled the phone to my ear.

"Hey Rias, finally made the move at last–" Akeno says but I quickly cut her off, swiftly explaining the situation as I can tell that Akeno has gone from playful to rather serious in an instant, the call ending shortly after.

Moments later Akeno arrives through teleportation, using me as a beacon to get here immediately as she spots the dead body of freed, looking at it with wide eyes as she looks at the badly wounded Izayoi.

"I need you to take her to get her healed, please Akeno.." I ask my best friend and queen-piece servant, pleading for her aid in this regard. Thankfully Akeno is more than willing to help and quickly pulls out her phone to call up the rest of my peerage, with them showing up one by one, except for Gasper due to her current timidness, in a show of solidarity for not only for my sake but for the sake of a member of their new family.

Yumi and Koneko are quick to join me to go check on the state of the dead bodies of Izayoi's parents, checking to see if they're viable for reincarnation like their daughter. Thankfully they are but not for much longer, another hour, and their souls will pass on to the afterlife, meaning I have only one shot at this…

A truly cynical, cold part of me thinks that this is a waste of Evil Pieces that will not pay off in the slightest, but I don't want to be Rias Gremory like all those fanfictions of betrayal and all, I CARE for my peerage, they're my family and those I care for the most in this life of mine!

And I will not let my family suffer because of me…

Using a single pawn Evil Piece each, I immediately began to reincarnate both of Izayoi's parents as part of my peerage, resolution clear on my expression as I let my power flow outwards towards the two evil pieces, establishing the connection as I had done with Izayoi earlier.

Eventually, the reincarnation process succeeds and I can hear the two adults begin to let out labored breathing, as while they have been revived, they are not out of the woods yet. Immediately Yumi and Koneko are quick to grab both of them as we all are quick to leave the house as fast as possible in order to ensure we can save all three new peerage members.

Occult Club Building - Several Hours Later

(General P.O.V)

It is Izayoi who wakes up first, slowly but surely opening her eyes as she notices that she's not in her room anymore, making her shoot up in the bed she's in, her eyes darting around before she notices someone next to her.

As she turns around to see who it is she's in bed with, she is startled when she sees the familiar red locks of Rias Gremory, soon realizing that not only is Rias naked in the bed with her, but she's also just as naked as her.

Before she can worry about what happened, the events of what happened prior slam into her mind with the force of a tow truck going at top speed, her eyes watering as she begins to cry which finally has Rias waking up at last.

"Ah…you're awake Izayoi…" Rias says softly, prompting Izayoi to look over at the buxom redhead as she recalls seeing her somehow blast open her door right before that man stabbed her in the back with that lightsaber thing.

"M-my parents…a-are they…" Izayoi asks hesitantly, she knows what the man did to them but harbors a deep hope that they somehow lived. Before Rias can answer though, the door to the bedroom is thrown open by none other than Izayoi's Parents Gorou and Miki Hyoudou.

"Iza-chan…" Izayoi's mother, Miki Hyoudou says before Izayoi leaps out of the bed and throws herself at her mother and father, wrapping her arms around them as they begin to cry together as a family, alive but very much traumatized by the experience they just had.

Rias, deciding that it would be best to give the three some privacy, is quick to get dressed with the stealthy aid of her shroud and allow the Hyoudou Family some time alone after the experience they just had.

For tomorrow, they will have questions for the Buxom Redhead, questions that she will be all too willing to provide answers for…

Author's notes

And that was chapter 9 folks, a bit shorter than I would have liked but I didn't feel like I could stretch out the content without feeling shitty with myself afterwards due to the content involved.

Let's get down to the Plot point discussion, there will be only two here this time.

The Death of Hyoudou's Parents and Their Reincarnation

As many of you have probably guessed by now, this is a retaliation against Raynare for Betraying the other Fallen Angel, with Raynare having been incredibly close to the Hyoudou Family while maintaining her Yuma Amano facade.

However, their Killer was soon struck down in a very brutal fashion by Rias herself, so in a way, their deaths and the deaths of others killed by Freed be they recent or not, have been avenged as well.

Although how he was killed was a moment where Rias's emotions overcame her which, coupled with past life memories, led to her being very creative with the kill, something she immediately regretted having done afterward.

To be clear, she doesn't regret killing Freed as he was a mad dog that needed to be put down regardless, she regrets the way she had killed him in the first place…

As for why Rias had chosen to revive the parents of Izayoi Hyoudou, it's not only due to the fact that it would be able to allow Izayoi a way to still have her parents but also because in a way Rias does genuinely want to break the cycle of family-related Trauma here.

It may not be the Optimal choice in the long run, but's a choice that both canon Rias and DFP Rias would make 100% of the time if given the chance…

Izayoi's Pawn Cost

At first, I had considered only making it cost 4 pawns instead of 5, but that felt like it was too low for what is still essentially a reincarnation of a Longinus-Tier Sacred Gear user, but if I tried doing 6 or higher it felt like her training meant nothing.

So ultimately went with 5 as more of a happy medium, which leaves Rias 3 pawns left compared to what she would have spent in canon. However, due to the fact Rias had spent two of them reviving Izayoi's Parents, she now only has one Pawn remaining.

As for who will be the final Pawn, I won't say a thing yet.

So, next time on Devilflare Princess: Handling the Aftermath, Dealing with a Crows Nest and Two familiar figures arrive at Kuoh Town!

See you Next Month!