"You're sure this is going to work?" I said, more asking myself than the being I was speaking to as I sat cross-legged on the floor of my room. The magic circle I had carefully etched into the wooden boards sat ominously before me.

Messing with summoning circles had the potential to end badly. If you screw up the circle, the best case scenario is the summoning fails. In your worst case scenario, you summon something unintended that none of your protections will guard against. Considering the entity I was intending to summon would be able to bypass such protections on their own, I really didn't want to know what might come through if I screwed up the circle. Short answer: I'd very likely wind up dead.

I told you when we started that my experience with magic was limited. Few of my previous partners ever bothered with it, but I am as confident as I can be. Combined with the independent research you did as well as the power you were born with, I would say we are as prepared as we can be, partner. Besides, you would know better than I would whether the magic will work. Stop doubting yourself and be done with it.

The deep, rumbling voice spoke within my mind, transmitting his impatience with my stalling through our bond.

I took a deep breath then lifted my hands up. "Here goes nothing."

I pricked my thumb with a sewing needle and pressed my blood onto the edge of the circle. Immediately, the entire circle flared to life, glowing blood red as the summoning activated. I felt my strength rapidly drain as the powerful summoning devoured my reserves. If my partner were not connected to me and supplying me with his strength, there was a good chance merely casting the summoning would have been enough to kill me.

"It's not often anyone gathers the courage to try to summon me." an amused, feminine voice said. As the glow of the circle faded, the speaker was revealed. She stood at a modest height with a sculpted figure. Raven hair done up in pigtails fell down behind her head to past her waist. She wore a professional black suit and slacks. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she was smirking down at me, completely unconcerned that she had just been summoned away from her home.

"I had some time to kill before my meeting, so I figured I'd let this little ritual of yours pull me here, but please try to keep this quick. My curiosity will only buy you so much of my patience." She frowned as she finished speaking, her eyes narrowing as she finally got a good look at me. She quickly looked around my bedroom. When she realized I was alone, her attention fell back on me. "Alright, now I'm even more curious. How did a kid like you manage to call me here?"

I smiled in triumph as I breathed heavily. Even with my partner's assistance, this ritual had still exhausted me. "I'm older than I look." I said once I'd caught my breath.

She pursed her lips. "Curse?"

"Reincarnation actually."

Her eyebrow shot up; she seemed surprised. "Interesting. You officially have my attention. What do you want with a Satan?"

I took a deep breath as I summoned up my courage. I'd been planning and preparing for this moment for years. I'd just turned five years old, physically at least, last week, and felt I couldn't put this off any longer. After a long internal debate with my partner as we outlined our potential options, we both felt that this was the best route forward for us. If things didn't go the way I wanted them to, then not only would I fail to get anything out of all the time and resources I'd dedicated to this endeavor, but I would have revealed myself to the supernatural for no gain.

"I want you to reincarnate me. I want to join your peerage." I said.

The woman's eyes narrowed. "No offense, kid, but being a reincarnation isn't enough for me to take you. You aren't the first I've met, and I doubt you'll be the last. Unless I had some personal reason to reincarnate you, you'd need to be special in some way for me to be interested."

I grinned, refusing to back down. "Then I suppose we're both in luck. I'm not just anyone…"

I held my hands up and channeled what little mana I had left after powering a summoning circle capable of drawing a Satan to me, voluntarily or not. "From the inner sea of the planet, from the tower of insight, from the four corners of paradise, let them know; their story is filled with blessings. Only those free of sin may pass… Garden of Avalon!" I called. As I chanted, the room around us changed. The walls, bed and desk faded away until we were both in a field filled with rose petals. As I finished my chant, the rose petals swirled around me and exploded upwards in a triumphant display. I'd been sure to direct my power upwards so the Satan didn't perceive it as an attack.

Despite my efforts, the Satan still fell into a defensive stance and summoned defensive barriers around herself the moment our surroundings changed. When it became clear I wasn't attacking her, her stern, focused expression disappeared; wonder took its place.

"Merlin." she said, her voice a disbelieving whisper. Slowly, the field around us unraveled, leaving us in my room once more.

I smiled brightly at her as I stood up. Limited as I was by my physical age, I didn't cut a very imposing picture, but the woman regarded me with respect regardless. "Well met, Serafall Leviathan. As you have surmised, I am Merlin, the great Court Wizard of Camelot reborn. Although, that is not all I am…" I held up my right hand and clenched my fist. At my will, a sturdy red gauntlet with dark claws protruding from its fingers appeared around my arm. There was a large green gem affixed to the gauntlet where the back of my hand would be.

The Satan's mouth fell open, and I had to reign in my mirth at the sight. It likely wasn't easy to shake an ancient, powerful devil like herself.

She quickly collected herself, her eyes narrowing as her gaze turned calculating. "What do you seek to gain here, Merlin?"

I banished the gauntlet around my hand as I turned my hand to face her placatingly. "Please, call me Issei for now. I would rather remain as anonymous as possible for as long as I can. That is actually one of the reasons I sought out your patronage in particular. Though my motivation for seeking an Evil Piece in the first place stems from the loss of my incubus nature. I was a half-breed in my last life, but in this one I was born as a full human. The change is…unwelcome. I searched for a way to recover what I lost, and this was the most direct and least dangerous course."

"And you know what joining a peerage would entail?"

"You would become my king, and I would serve you. It wouldn't be the first time I followed a beautiful woman."

"Then we'll… Wait… King Arthur was a woman?" Serafall said in utter surprise.

I chuckled. "Yes. She would not have been crowned king if her womanhood was known, so we hid it. There were few of us that knew the truth, and we all took the secret to our graves."

"That's… You know what? We can talk more about that later. Business first. You would be amenable to following my orders, then? You understand this is not a decision you can unmake."

"I am well aware of that fact. I spent some time deliberating on who I should ask to reincarnate me. At first, I was actually considering petitioning your sister once she received her Evil Pieces, but I dismissed this idea for a number of reasons. While I would have been able to help her grow as I helped Arturia, I realized I would rather join an established King who already had their power base constructed, yet who had not used many of their pieces. You were the clear choice. As to your concerns about me following your orders, I will serve you so long as your commands do not require me to commit atrocities. I have studied your character and believe this will be unlikely, but heed my warning."

Serafall shook her head. "I won't order you to do anything like that. I lived through a supernatural war that ravaged the Underworld. I don't want anything like that to happen again."

I smiled. "I believe you. Then provided you allow me to pursue my own ends when you do not require my services, I would accept a place in your peerage."

Serafall nodded eagerly. "Easily done. I won't need you all that often. I try to handle whatever I can by myself. In fact, I'll probably keep the fact that I reincarnated you a secret for a while. Imagine the looks on everyone's faces when I suddenly pull the Red Dragon Emperor, who is also the reincarnation of Merlin, out of nowhere during some tense negotiations."

"That would be preferable. I am…very uncomfortable in this child's body and have been meaning to do something about it for a while, but I haven't had the resources. I know I have yet to do anything to serve you, but I would appreciate it if you could set up a small home in the Underworld for me where I can set up a lab."

"Don't even worry about that. I have like fifty vacation homes. I'll show you around and you can pick whichever one you want. Although…" She pursed her lips. "What were you planning to do about your parents?"

I sighed, hanging my head as guilt boiled up inside me. "I feel no love for them. I tried to accept them as parents, but I couldn't. I was planning to wipe any memories of me from their minds. They are still young, so hopefully they will be blessed with another child, one who loves them as much as they loved me. With luck, none of them will ever be involved in the supernatural world."

"Are you sure?" Serafall asked, though her tone was not judgemental.

I nodded. "I am. This is the best course for everyone involved."

"Alright then. Merlin, Red Dragon Emperor, will you accept a place in my peerage?"

"Provided you allow me my freedom while I am unneeded and lead me justly, I will accept you as my King, Serafall Leviathan."

Serafall flicked her hand and a glowing crimson chess piece appeared in it with a flash of blood-red fire.

I raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't aware that mutation queens existed. I suppose I should feel honored that you consider me worthy of such a piece."

"Mutation pieces can occur with any piece of the set. I've only ever used one of my pieces, so I've been trading other Kings for their mutation pieces whenever they make it known they want to trade by leveraging my wealth and power as a Satan. I've accumulated almost enough mutation pieces to cover my full peerage; I'm just missing pawns now. I traded for this queen a few years ago. Also…" Serafall gave me a flat stare. "The reincarnation of Merlin who also happens to be the Red Dragon Emperor? No, the honor is mine. I swear to you, Merlin, I will do everything in my power to be a worthy King."

I smiled. "It seems I have chosen well, my king."

"No, to you, I'm Serafall. I'm honored to have you." She stooped forward and pressed the piece into my chest. It easily phased through my skin to settle inside me.

I gasped as I felt the immediate change. Bat-like wings exploded out of my back as demonic power surged up within me. Even as the change assaulted my body, I couldn't help but smile. This was the feeling I'd missed. I'd carefully observed how the piece changed me with my mythical senses, so I was confident I could replicate the feat with time. I could also restore my full humanity if I so desired, but I wouldn't. At most, I would make myself a half-breed again, but time would tell what I felt like doing.

While the piece changed me, I felt my mana swell to heights I had never imagined it would reach. Simultaneously, my muscles tensed and grew stronger. Apparently, the physical and mystical boost received by a mutation queen were substantial. I was far stronger now than Merlin ever was in life even without the Boosted Gear.

"Welcome to the team, Merlin." Serafall said, holding her hand out to me.

I smiled as I shook her hand. "Glad to be here, Serafall."

Serafall looked towards the door of my room as she took a step back. "Do you…"

"The sooner it's done, the better it will be for them." I said sadly, realizing what she was getting at. "Would you be so kind as to clear this room of all my belongings? I will implant memories of them planning to use it as a nursery."

"I will. I'll be waiting for you here when you're done." she said, giving me privacy.

I nodded in thanks and left the room, walking down the stairs to where Issei Hyodou's parents were cooking dinner.

"Hi, Issei! Dinner's almost ready. Clean up and come sit." A woman with a bright smile on her face said.

Even now, knowing this would be the last time I saw them, I didn't feel anything for them. When I was reincarnated with memories of my past life and of Merlin's past life, I'd tried so hard to like them, but I couldn't accept people younger than me as my parents. It was better if they forgot about me.

"Goodbye. And thank you for trying." I said as I held my hands up. The man and woman seated in front of me stared at me in confusion before their faces glazed over. I'd already cleared the house of anything that might remind them of 'Issei', so I turned around and went back upstairs.

When I returned to my old room, Serafall was standing in the middle of an empty space. She'd cleared the entire room out and removed the summoning circle from the floor.

"Are you ready?" she said, holding out her hand.

I took her hand and settled in beside her. "I am. Let us be gone from here."

Serafall's teleportation circle pulled us away.