Chapter 14: Magic.

"The principles of magic are really quite simple, you convert your Devil power into a spell to complete the task you desire." Akeno instructed them softly with a smile on her face like she was talking to some good students. Both Issei and Asia as they sat before her in one of the many rooms of the manor that seemed to be made for this sort of lecture or perhaps for small scale meetings. "The only real limitations are two fold; first it has to be within the realm of your imagination if you can't visualise what you want to happen then it will never happen. As for the second, the thing you desire has to be in line with our natures. We can't perform any holy or divine acts like the fallen or true Angels can with their own power and vice versa. Any questions?"

Issei and Asia shook their heads simultaneously and Akeno's soft smile grew more fond although she seemed to favour Asia more as her eyes lingered on the blond hair bishop, Akeno seemed to largely ignore Issei presence.. "Well then let's begin with the basics, unlocking your imagination. What I want you to do is imagine a small ball of light floating between your hands. Try and make it as big as you can, the larger the ball the more magic power you have readily available."

Akeno showed them what she meant by creating a large ball of light that seemed to absorb light more than project it as it rested atop her finger. The ball was the same size as Issei head but Issei guessed she had toned down the spell if his suppositions of her power levels were correct. Issei focus shifted from Akeno to Asia when she let out a small gasp as a smaller light to Akeno hovering between her hands, Akeno moved to her and congratulated her softly before coaching her further leaving Issei alone to focus on his own effort. Starting with looking down at his hand, Issei imagined a ball of light floating there before willing it to appear. At first he felt nothing, no pull, no tug at the spark of power he felt within him so he pushed slightly more. Struggling seemingly more than Asia had he gripped the power within and pushed it forward telling it what he wanted which caused a rush to flow through him like a raging river before a small speck of light floated above his palm. Disappointed he looked to Akeno and Asia, Asia gave him a small smile happy for his minor success. Akeno seemed to be silently asking him if that was it?

Having completed her assignment Akeno moved on, letting the pair dismiss the balls of light before starting to explain more on the fundamentals. "There are no magic words or chants with magic, this isn't one of those books or anime that people like to read and watch. No for us it is all about how creative you can be in the time you are given. There is also your natural affinity, everyone has something they are better at imagining, for example the Phenex's family is known for their specialty in fire well the Gremory family is known for their destructive abilities. For you Asia I believe will find spells to heal and defend come easier to you…"

Something seemed to niggle at the back of Issei's mind as a question rose to his lips. "You say magic is all about our imagination but you've also talked about spells, how does that work?"

Akeno regarded Issei with a raised eyebrow, her smile small as she looked at him. "A good question. In short spells are shortcuts, think of it like a guide to creating the thing you want. Imagining something is easy but as you likely just figured making it happen by force alone is hard. A spell provides visualisation you require to create the thing you want quickly and efficiently but much like with what you did it's possible to create a spell through sheer effort. If you succeed at producing something without assistance then you will create a personal spell that no one will be able to replicate unless you teach them often with tomes or personal lessons like this."

Nodding slightly his mind drifted to something Sona had said to him. "But spells aren't indefinite are they?"

Akeno's smile changed to a quizzical expression. "No, like I said, magic requires imagination and for you to focus on the thing you desire. Well it's possible to cast multiple spells at once to maintain any spell for a length of time requires concentration, if you wanted to cast something indefinitely you would have to give up at least give up on sleep which is no matter how powerful you are I doubt anything can go without some kind of rest at some point…unless they are some kind of god I guess."

Issei nodded ready to move on when Asia surprised both himself and Akeno with a question of her own. "If magic requires nothing more than imagination why did Raynare need to cast a ritual on me, couldn't she have just cast a spell to just take my sacred gear."

Giving Asia a sad smile she hugged the blond girl as the pain of the memory came apparent. "The removal of a sacred gear as I understand from what Rias told me on the topic after we saved you is something that not a single spell can achieve. Like you said she had to perform a ritual which in essence is casting multiple spells together to create a feat that twists the laws of magic in on itself and personally I don't want to think about that kind of magic, besides I think that enough for now. it is after all approaching the time Rias asked us to meet her in the field. Come along you two."

Following the girl the trio arrived in the field to greet Rias, Yuuto and Koneko all that seemed to be marked with signs of effort. Rias regarded the newcomers before she spoke firmly, showing no sign of fatigue. "Same as yesterday, Akeno takes care of Asia. Issei you're with us."

Nodding slightly, Issei moved towards them as he watched Akeno lead Asia away before he returned his attention to Rias to see what she had planned. He looked the three over before speaking to prompt Rias. "Same as yesterday?"

Rias looked at him before nodding. "Yes give us a moment to get ready then come at us."

"Understood." Issei then moved away before watching the trio, curious what they had learned.

Immediately Issei noticed a difference when the fight began. Even though they kept to the same tactics of Yuuto and Koneko being strikers well Rias took command of the field they had changed their dynamic by having one of the strikers defend Rias well the other kept Issei on the back foot. It was a decent strategy but the trio lacked the numbers to make it viable, if they had just one more combatant on their side then Issei would of been hard pressed to reach Rias but with just the two strikers there was a moment when Yuuto switched to defend with Koneko that allowed Issei to manoeuvre pass the duo and strike at Rias ending the match. Looking at him with frustration Rias asked how he had done it rather pointedly. He kept himself sincere as he replied. "Yuuto is slower than Koneko who is also a better defender. Yuuto can't beat me in a race and I made the distance too great for Koneko to make it from my position and then back to you when I made my move. If you had someone else like say Akeno defending well Koneko and Yuuto fought me it would have been a very different outcome."

"Would have still won if we had Akeno with us?" Rais asked, almost glaring at him.

Issei simply shrugged. "Don't know it's a different sort of fight, the outcome wouldn't be known till we were in it."

Nodding Rias turned toward the direction Akeno and Asia had gone in putting her hand to her ear and speaking softly she put her hand down and looked at her group. "That will do for today, let's get some food and rest up ready for tomorrow."

The group nodded and headed inside. It wasn't until they met up with Akeno and Asia that the idea of rest went out the door at least for Issei and Asia, as Akeno greeted Rias with a wicked smile. "I had an idea why don't Issei and Asia take care of dinner today. If we get them doing simple tasks like cooking with their magic it'll be a good way for them to get a feel for it. If they take too long I'll help them but I'm sure they will be fine."

Rias nodded once. "Very well. Issei, Asia the kitchen is yours good luck."

Despite Rais making it seem they were on their own, Akeno still led them into the Kitchen well the rest of the peerage went about there evening. Unfortunately when they arrived into the kitchen Akeno simply smiled at the pair before she clicked her fingers a sudden red glow covering most of the item within the area. "I have just stripped the kitchen of all cooking utensils and shut down all the stoves. You will need to use your imagination to create ways to not only prepare the food but cook it as well. I will give you an hour if you don't come up with anything. I will offer assistance but I will be very disappointed ."

With that Akeno left, leaving Issei and Asia alone. In the corner of his eye he could see Asia begin to panic, not sure what to do as she moved to the counter and picked up an onion, her mind everywhere unable to focus on anything. Choosing to find a path to lead them on, Issei

wordless stood beside Asia collecting his own onion. Looking at it he tried to follows Akeno advice and her past lesson trying to visualise what he wanted it to, that being to to at least peel the onion, but as he focused inwardly on pulling up his magic he became focused on the pressure he was putting on his magic with how little he had and making even the simplest tasks a effort of will. It brought him a feeling of being worthless and brought his mind to the pressure he put on himself to become stronger, to find his place. He began to fall into a sort of rabbit hole until there was a sudden popping sensation followed by a shocked gasp from Asia. Issei was confused for a moment before he looked down at his hand which was now wet and covered with what remained of the onion he had been holding.

Looking at him with awe, Asia spoke in a voice full of wonder. "How did you do that?"

Shaking his head, Issei shrugged in response before he picked up another onion, focusing on putting pressure on it assuming that what he had done to crush it.. Surprisingly the onion burst into mush with ease, collecting another. Issei did it again and again with several move onions laughing at himself at ease of which he was using magic for the first time revealing in the wonder of it before his pragmatic mind took hold and moved to do something useful with his new found skill. Taking another onion, Issei focused on it trying to see if he could invert the pressure from crushing the onion to pushing it out from it. It took much more strain and effort to achieve and Issei flinched in surprise when the onion burst in his hand layers of it covering the floor rather becoming simple mush. Placing the remains on the counter Issei took yet another onion and did the same again. The onion burst with slightly less effort and Issei took another then another and another until he felt no effort whatsoever with stripping the onions of their layers. Deciding to improve his technique further Issei tried to lessen the invert pressure he was putting on the onion, finding it taking more effort but also taking less layer off the onion, again Issei repeated the process again and again until he could complete the spell with ease then again moved to remove less layers. He continued to work on the spell again and again until he could do what he wanted when he had begun, finely removing the skin off the onion leaving the flesh alone and untouched. Unfortunately by the time he had gotten done the kitchen was left covered in bits of crushed or shredded onion and Asia was looking perplexed and panicky unsure what she was to do, her success boiling down to boiling the water that sat in a pot. Not only that but it appeared their hour was up as Akeno stood in the doorway with a single eyebrow raised yet looking mildly impressed. "I hadn't expected quite this much mess but I'm pleased you at least achieved something. Now let's clean up this mess and show you some good techniques."

Akeno then moved her hands and the kitchen was cleaned in a soft gust of wind, the onion waste being collected and divided the skin and root being separated from the flesh and burned to ash which was blown out an opened window as the flesh was blown into a bubble of boiling water from the pot. Once the floor was cleaned the onion was chopped, rice was boiled and several onion based dishes were created, albeit at rather large positions. The peerage ate the meal which was more of an endurance test as the group worked to finish meals that were far too big for them not wanting to waste anything before giving up and retiring to the baths. The whole time from Akeno arrival to the end of the meal Issei's mind rolled with ideas to use his new found magic. It wasn't until the moon was high in the sky and he was confident the others were asleep that he sunk out to the forest to train.

Finding a clearing that was far enough away that Issei doubted anyone would hear his activities, he began to collect several sticks of various sizes. Once he collected a large pile of them he picked one at random and summoned his magic finding a firm tug before the stick in his hand burst where he had been holding it, the parts not within his grasp falling to the ground. Frowning slightly Issei picked up the two parts, one in each hand and tried to apply his magic only to find it to fail him as he felt nothing at all. Placing one part down, Issei focused on the remaining piece in his right hand, a slight pinch at his magic and the stick burst into splinters in his hand. Wiping it off on his leg Issei used his left hand attempting the same and got a similar response if only with a slight firmer pinch which pleased Issei that his gear wasn't the source of his failure but it seemed to resist the use of magic. Again he collected a stick from his pile making sure it was of a similar size to the first and crushed it into two half like he had with the first before moving on to collect the pieces that remained and finding that once again he failed to crush them both well he held the pair. Frustration formed as he tried again and again to apply pressure to the stick but found no success, so focused on his failures that flinch when a soft voice spoke behind him. "The spell you're using for one hand will not work when you try to use it in two, you have to adjust it."

Turning sharply Issei found his gaze drawn to Akeno standing in the shadow of a tree, the moon light displaying her loose fitting nightgown of an alluring purple that seemed to show more than it covered. Atop it she wore a night robe of sorts with small slippers on her feet. His mind went blank for a moment as he took her in, internally comparing her to Rias before he forced himself to focus on other things. Starting with the issue of his failure to slip away unnoticed. "You followed me?"

Smiling at him like he was some sort of foolish child, Akeno spoke with kindness. "Of course I was simply wandering the halls having just finished talking to Rias when I saw you walking from the manor, I decided to follow you to make sure you were behaving yourself. I'm pleased to find you simply working on what I taught you but you could have waited till the morning where I could have offered guidance like Rias had asked me to."

Issei signed heavily before he turned to his piles of sticks to collect another. "I like to know what I'm doing and you need to make sure Asia can help you more than you need me. I got myself excluded from the fight after all."

Akeno laughed at that. "Yes it was rather foolish but I think Rias was glad for it, not you being excluded of course but you standing up for her. No one has jumped to her defence in that way before, not even me and by the looks of things you're not just sitting around waiting to see what happens. So since we're here, why don't you let me help before wasting your night making the same mistake over and over again."

Issei blushed in embarrassment before nodding and speaking a soft agreement. Akeno then stepped out from the shadow of the tree showing her hair was loose and trailing just below the level of her shin looking like a river reflecting the moon's light off the top of her head as it flowed around her. Issei forced himself to focus on the sticks in his hand as Akeno approached, placing her hands over his own which oddly made his palm get sweaty and brought images of Rias' nude figure when he blinked. "As I said you are trying to force one spell to do something it wasn't created to do. Well you could make it work it requires more magical power than you possess so instead you need to tweak it and make something new."

Issei listened and thought about it, he thought about what he had done with the onions and tried to walk a path to make what he wanted. He started by thinking of the sensation he felt when he crushed the stick, how it was like his grip felt like a vice crushing the stick before he looked down at both his hands envisioning them to be two steel vices crushing the bit of stick held within them. He focused on that image until he felt a strong pull at his core and the two bits burst in his hands, he smiled as he swiped his hands clear before looking at Akeno. "Thank you for the help."

Smiling back, Akeno stepped back and gestured to his stick pile. "Don't thank me yet we still have plenty of work to do and seeing as you dragged out to these dark woods I plan to work you to the bone."

Issei smirked. "I believe you followed me out here."

Akeno's smile turned wicked but she didn't say anything. Instead she just laughed softly in a way that promised pain if he didn't get moving. Gulping slightly, Issei collected another stick and got to work until he was able to cast his new spell with relative ease. Once they were done the pair walked together back to the manor. Issei took in Akeno as they walked, his curiosity peaking as a thought came to mind. "Why come out here to help me, I wasn't sure if you like me."

Akeno's head turned to him regreading him before speaking "I didn't at first. You seem like a brute pushing your way into our family but then you've shown me that you understood where you went wrong and Rias isn't the only one who was pleased by your intervention. That doesn't mean I like you, you might have won Yuuto and Koneko onto your side but I still feel like you want to use us as a stepping stone on your path to power."

Issei sighed looking up to the stars overhead, deciding to be honest. "You're not wrong, at least not entirely. I do want to use you guys as a stepping stone on my journey but not in the way you think. Not everyone is expendable. If I want power then I need allies and I need them to be as strong as I am, so well I might be using you to get stronger I want to bring you all up with me. To stand beside me as we walk this journey together."

Akeno slowed her step as Issei spoke and she looked at him, seeing him differently than she had before she quicked her step and left him behind leaving Issei to wonder if he had gone too far.