Chapter 32
Rias was very annoyed with Akeno. They'd talked and while she had previously had some concern over Junichiro having some connections to the Grigori, especially dating a fallen angel, she'd since changed her mind. Knowing he was The Artificer made his connection to Grigori easily acceptable. Though her greedy side wanted to claim him and his creations all for herself, she was capable of suppressing it.
Even when he joined her peerage, she understood he would still have connections to the Grigori to do his work. She had some connections to the younger devils of her generation and she knew she could drum up some business for him there. It just wouldn't be anywhere near the kind of business he was already doing. None of her friends had the kind of connections or wealth of materials needed to get a really good creation made by Junichiro. She was very unwilling to even consider what older generations of devils would try to do to steal Junichiro from her if she tried to broker deals with them. With her friends she could at least expect they wouldn't try to completely screw her over, just a little to their advantage. they were devils, after all. The older ones though? Every contract would be filled with all kinds of attempts to steal as much from her as possible. Probably even attempts to force her to trade Junichiro to them. If she made the mistake of signing a contract like that, there would be nothing anyone, even her brother, would be able to do to change it.
So, she was very willing to leave things as they were for his business connections and preferred work. Akeno running her mouth and insulting the entire Fallen Angel race in front of him wasn't something she appreciated.
Was this because she couldn't, not wouldn't, tell Akeno what she'd learned about Junichiro? It had been obvious, to everyone, how excited Rias had been just after she'd found out about who he really was. It was also weird for her not to talk about it, mentioning she was under a secrecy contract was an explanation, but didn't lower Akeno's concern.
Now it seemed Akeno was going to push Junichiro's buttons to get a response.
It was not the response that Rias had expected. She felt that she was the only one in the peerage that had a chance to actually beat Junichiro in a fight and that was only because of her unique heritage. As far as she could figure, there wasn't any chance he had something that could completely counter her Power of Destruction. Add in that she was more magically powerful, and she figured she could beat him.
…
Unless he used that crazy balance breaker of his.
At least, she felt that way until now.
"A stray devil cut off my arm and ate it right in front of my eyes. Clearly I have a reason to hate that devil. Should I apply that hatred to you as well? Because, if so..."
As he trailed off, she witnessed something she had only seen a couple of times from much stronger beings. A visible aura of magical energy shrouded Junichiro in it's dark flame-like embrace as he exuded his power. It wasn't just his raw power though, it was the emotions behind it that gave it its strength.
Everyone's eyes widened as they felt the hatred and malice leaking from the aura around him. They could feel his overwhelming hatred as he poured it out. The concentrated feeling of hatred made the aura he was releasing more powerful than it otherwise would be. Everyone watching from a distance could feel the weight of the emotions, even from how far away they were. Rias could just imagine how much stronger it was for Akeno.
It took everything Akeno had not to visibly tremble. Junichiro wasn't the strongest, or even scariest, being she'd met in her life. Yet, something about the aura he was emitting scared her deeply. She thought she knew hatred, given her feelings for Fallen Angels, but compared to Junichiro? She had the distinct impression that she was just a child throwing a temper tantrum.
She thought she knew darkness. She'd seen the Power of Destruction and the darkness it contained. Yet, looking at the vile black aura of hatred wafting off of Junichiro made her question if she even knew what darkness had been before now. He might have been weaker than her in every manner that she could classify, but it didn't stop her from having to fight to keep her fear of him hidden.
His question echoed in her mind and she finally realized... he expected an answer.
"A stray devil cut off my arm and ate it right in front of my eyes. Clearly I have a reason to hate that devil. Should I apply that hatred to you as well? Because, if so..."
Should he hate all Devils? She hated all Fallen Angels because her father abandoned her and let her mother die... She wanted to point out that he'd been attacked by a stray, that it was different... Was it though? Or was that just a weak excuse?
Of course it was a weak excuse. She didn't even have to contemplate that for more than a moment to understand the hypocrisy she would have to admit to if she wished to maintain her current feelings. If she said yes, that Junichiro should hate all Devils as she hated all Fallen Angels, he would become their enemy.
With a single word, she could turn a potential ally into an enemy that she wasn't sure they could defeat.
Yes, he was weaker than her a Rias physically and magically. It didn't matter. He'd shown that he could easily counter them and control the situation using his Sacred Gear. Given how he'd previously helped Kiba, she knew that he had a far deeper understanding of Sword Birth than her fellow peerage member did. Then there was what Rias had said after she'd returned from visiting him...
Rias walked into her base of operations, the old school building on the Kuoh Academy Campus. She had a bright smile on her face and a spring in her step. She'd just come from visiting Junichiro and she couldn't have been more excited over what she'd been told.
As she sat behind her desk, humming happily to herself, Akeno walked into the room pushing a small trolley laden with freshly brewed tea. Rias had sent her familiar earlier with a message that she'd be late due to an impromptu meeting with Junichrio. Seeing her good mood Akeno couldn't help saying, "Someone's in a good mood. I take it your meeting with Arai-san went well? Will we be welcoming a new member today?"
Even realizing that Junichiro wasn't joining immediately didn't put a damper on her mood, "He's not joining just yet, but I'm certain he will. Just as long as nothing happens to change his mind. I can't wait until he joins! He's exactly what I was hoping to find by coming here!"
Akeno prepped the tea just as she knew Rias liked it, "Oh? You believe he's what you need to defeat Riser Phenex?"
Rias nodded happily, "He's exactly what I needed to gain my freedom!" She tapped her chin with one perfectly manicured finger, "I'm certain he could even make it possible for me to defeat that man on my own."
Neither of them liked to talk about it out loud, but the pair of them knew it was impossible for Rias, as she currently was, to defeat Riser Phenex in any meaningful way. He was older, more experienced, and was essentially immune to anything they could do to him.
Well, almost anything. Technically, Akeno's ability to use the Holy Lightning of her father was a possible way to defeat Riser. Except, Rias would never ask her best friend to use that lightning. She respected and loved Akeno too much to ask her to use something she loathed so much. It just meant that Rias needed to find another method, and she had!
Akeno smiled at her best friend's upbeat attitude, "It seems you have utmost confidence in him."
Though it was a statement, Rias could hear the question it contained. She looked at Akeno, he smile only fading a little, "I can't explain why due to a contract. What I can say is this, Junichiro is far more than he seems. Even more than what we've witnessed so far. We must do everything in our power to get him to join the peerage. But, not matter what, we cannot afford to make him into an enemy at any cost."
Akeno internally winced as she recognized the depth of her folly. She'd allowed her personal opinion and feelings to cloud her judgment and run her mouth. Now, Junichiro was standing across from her, clearly enraged, and she was unsure how to proceed.
Her time to respond was up.
"Your silence is telling little girl."
Yes, Junichiro was ignoring the fact that they were of similar ages, "I can see how you'd need to remain silent to keep from being a complete hypocrite."
Seeing Akeno's, not to mention everyone else's, eyes widen in shock, Junichiro smirked darkly, "That's right, I know exactly who you are, daughter of Barakiel."
Akeno's face instantly shifted into a visage of pure rage and hatred, her own demonic power billowing out of control around her, "Don't mention that bastard's name!"
Junichiro snorted, "You know, when my Grigori contacts came through and gave me information on you, I thought they were over-exaggerating. Clearly, they weren't."
He shook his head in disappointment then focused intensely on Akeno, "Poor me, Daddy had to do his job and some shitty cowards attacked me and Mommy while he was away." He scoffed and ignored the look of sheer rage Akeno was aiming at him, "Grow up! Of course they attacked you while he was away! They were weak pathetic cowards!"
He ignored Akeno's glare and the glare coming at him from Rias. He was honestly shocked that Rias hadn't started shouting at him. Maybe she actually felt it wasn't her place and was up to Akeno to defend herself? Whatever the reason, he was glad for it as he continued, "Honestly, when I found out about you Himejima-san, I was disgusted by you. I can understand loss and hatred..." To prove his point he lifted his still detached arm in the air wiggling it so it gave her a little wave, "I don't understand pointing that hatred at the wrong target."
Akeno growled dangerously, "I'm pointing it where it belongs! Right at all those fallen bastards! If it wasn't for them..."
She trailed off and he could see her eyes glistening with unshed tears even as she continued to glare hatefully. He nodded a bit, "Sure, blame the fallen and not the people who actually murdered your mother. That makes perfect sense." He gave her a look of absolute disgust, like he was looking at the most vile thing he'd ever seen, "You even go so far as to proudly walk around bearing the name of your mother's murderers, Himejima-san."
Akeno glared at him, "They came because she loved him because she had me the abomination. If it wasn't for him, my mother would still be alive!"
Junichiro just snorted, loudly, "Is that what they said? Is that the pitiful excuse they used? Maybe her loving a fallen angel and having you contributed to it, but your mother would have been killed regardless."
Akeno looked shocked, "What?!"
"You heard me. Killing her wasn't about getting rid of an abomination or whatever other lame excuses they used. It was all about the Vermilion Bird. Your mother was the most likely one to be the next person chosen by the Vermilion Bird. They couldn't have someone who'd left the clan gain it's primary source of power. So, they killed her. As human supremacists, they would want to kill you just for not being human, but they didn't go out of their way to hunt down and murder your mother just for that. Not when it would make enemies of the Grigori."
Akeno looked stunned, and a little green. She quickly rallied though and managed to get out, "That doesn't explain why he never came for me."
Junichiro nodded, "Oh, I totally agree. Hate that bag of dicks as much as you want! He's a piece of shit that abandoned his daughter for no good reason. Fuck him with a dildo wrapped in sandpaper and no lube as far as I'm concerned. You have legitimate reason to hate him, so hate him."
He stared at Akeno and she could feel he meant every word when speaking of that man and hating him. Junichiro smirked, "Hell, I'd even gladly help you get stronger so you could personally kick his shit in the next time you meet in person. I don't give a fuck about him."
Akeno looked confused, "But earlier... you were so angry..."
Junichiro snorted, "I hate blanket racism. Hating the entire race of Fallen Angels because you dad is a dick is unfair to that race. Hate him until the day he dies, he deserves it for what he did to you. The rest of the fallen though? Did ALL of them, every last single one of them, conspire against you to kill your mother? Did they all do something to you personally? If not, then there is no reason for you to hate all of them."
He stared deep into her eyes as he lifted his still detached arm into the air, "Or are you going to argue otherwise and explain to me why I should hate the entire devil race?"
Akeno's mouth remained firmly shut. She wanted, so badly, to have some reason to give him so she could continue her hatred of the entire fallen race. It was just easier for her to hate them all than it was to have legitimate reasons to hate individuals. Any reason she thought of, she knew could be applied to Junichiro hating Devils. It was very apparent that she could think of nothing logical to explain hating all of the fallen.
After a minute or so of silence from Akeno, Junichiro nodded his head, "That's what I thought."
He turned away from her and gave Rias a rather strained smile, "Sorry about all of this."
While talking he reattached his arm and began flexing it to make sure everything was working properly, "Come by my place in a couple of days."
Rias, afraid to trust her voice, simply nodded in acceptance and watched as Junichiro left. Once it was just her and her peerage, she turned to Akeno and glared at her, "What the hell were you thinking?! I'm trying to get him to join us! I need him to join!"
Akeno grimaced and looked slightly ashamed. She knew she'd fucked up. She'd let her anger get the better of her. She just hated them so much... Just knowing Junichiro was dating one had infuriated her. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. She really hated to admit it, but Junichiro was right. She thought her hatred was just... but, it wasn't.
There was also the difference in their hatred. She'd felt the level of hatred he had for the stray that had taken his arm from him. The power of his aura... Just remembering it sent a shiver down her spine. She was certain, completely certain, that if he let his hatred for that one stray be applied to the entire devil race, it would be a disaster.
Rias studied her Queen, seeing the thoughts flickering behind her eyes as she ruminated over what Junichiro had said. Akeno wasn't the only one who had listened to him. Kiba, still sitting in the stands with his eyes narrowed and his mind running full speed, was pondering his own hatred.
His life goal was to destroy Excalibur, the sword that cost his first family their lives. It had even, technically, led to his death before Rias had revived him. He hated that sword with every fiber of his being. Or at least... he had. Now, he wasn't so sure.
Everyone knew hate wasn't entirely logical. Yet, after hearing Junichiro ream Akeno for her pointless and misdirected hatred, he couldn't help thinking of his own. Frustratingly, the more he thought about it, the more he realized it didn't make any sense, at all. Excalibur was a piece of metal. Hell, he hadn't ever actually seen a fragment of the sword in person! He just hated the sword because of the man who ran the Holy Sword Project and his obsession with the blade.
That man... That man was the one that Kiba knew he should hate. If it wasn't for that mans obsession, he and his family never would have had to suffer. They never would have had to die. Yet, the more he thought of it, the more he realized that Excalibur could have been replaced with any other powerful Holy Sword and would have just as likely led that bastard priest to do what he did.
No, it wasn't the sword he should hate. It was the man. He would hunt that man down. Find him. Then end him forever.
Rias, still reaming out Akeno, was completely unaware of the changes going on with Kiba. If she'd been looking she might have spotted the shift in his eyes as his life goal changed to something different.
Junichiro sighed as he entered his workshop. He'd not really wanted to go off on Akeno as he had. While his relationship with Mittelt was only waiting for an official end, he still felt something for her and had to defend his choices. He didn't think anyone on any side of the Abrahamic conflict was innocent, not even the Angels, but Mittelt had always been nice to him and that was the only thing he could judge her on. Hell, he couldn't even judge her on her future actions either. In the anime all she did was insult Rias and Akeno, maybe taunt them a bit, and then died. It's not like he'd ever seen her do anything evil by her own hand.
As far as the other fallen angels went, aside from Azazel, he didn't know them. Though, he definitely felt that Barakiel was a dickbag. There was no excuse for him just abandoning Akeno like he had. Even after she became a Devil he should have done everything in his power to have a relationship with her as her father. As far as Junichiro was concerned, Barakiel was just a coward.
He wasn't in his workshop to think about his personal opinions though. He had work to do. He was going to join Rias's peerage soon and he wanted to make sure he had everything ready. To that end, he walked over to his scroll workstation and started to dig through the variety of spell scrolls. He finally found the two he'd previously prepared for now.
He'd long expected that Azazel or Mittelt might make forays into his workshop when he wasn't around. He had security, but assumed that Azazel could circumvent it without his knowledge. It was better to assume the governor general was smarter than himself and prepare accordingly. With that being the case, he hadn't bothered trying to hide these two particular scrolls in some secret compartment. He assumed that would be the first thing that would be searched for.
It's what he personally would search for.
Instead, he just put the special scrolls inside of a pile of other scrolls and left them all in the same spot. He doubted Azazel would dig through the hundred or so scrolls left out in the open and try to decipher what each individual one could do. Then the odds of him selecting the exact one Junichiro didn't want him to know about? Pretty low, one percent or less. He'd never actually counted exactly how many scrolls he'd made. Several were just test runs of different materials and how they stored magical energy.
The two he'd selected were teleportation scrolls with specific destinations already registered on them. Also something Azazel wouldn't find very interesting since the fallen could use magic to teleport already. Something Junichiro still wasn't capable of with his own magic. He just hadn't wanted to take the time to sit down and design the appropriate magic circle or do the ton of math required. Not to mention the memorization of it all.
Fuck that.
Scrolls were nice shortcuts to that crap. Wands too, though not in this particular application. The first scroll had its destination set to his old home in the junkyard while the other would bring him back home. He stored the one that designated his current home and held the one targeting the junkyard out. With a flicker of mana, the scroll activated and he vanished in a bright flash of light.
When the light faded, Junichiro found himself in his old haunt standing in front of what remained of his first workshop. The sheds were still standing but had begun to rust and the items he'd left inside were nothing but trash now. Not that he'd left much behind.
He stepped into the shed that had acted as his bedroom where he began pulling up the plastic flooring. It was little more than plastic tiles that interlocked together, so fairly easy to take apart. Beneath the flooring was a small metal box with a simple latch that had a tiny lock through it. Something a child might place their precious items inside of to 'protect' them from a sibling or parents. Not exactly the most secure thing on the planet.
Except it was covered in deep scratches that marked out an array of runes. The runes had two purposes. The first, destroy whatever was inside of the box, and the box itself, if it was opened improperly. Second, to send a signal that would let Junichiro know if someone had messed with it. Neither rune array could be disabled without setting them off.
With the box collected, he pulled out his second spell scroll and activated it. After another flash of light, he arrived back at his home inside of his workshop. After his arrival, he walked toward one of his work tables, collecting a small hammer along the way. He set both the box on the table and sat down. A swift strike of the hammer broke the simple little lock and disabled the fail safes.
That's right. The only way to safely open the box was to break the lock. He knew anyone who could recognize his runes for what they were would expect some sort of complex thing that required significant work or something special to open the box. Anyone encountering a magical box would expected it to be trapped somehow and that the most obvious way into it would be the most heavily protected.
He set aside the hammer and the broken lock to flip the box open. He unfolded a bunch of soft towels and revealed the item cradled safely within, "Hello again."
He reached into the box and plucked out the vial containing the Essence of the Blank, one of the two items he'd awoken in this world with. He'd been saving it for so long, knowing he couldn't take it if he was going to become a devil. But the moment he became one...
He admired the small glass vial filled with clear liquid, "Soon."
He set the vial down and went to collect another box. He flipped it open to reveal several metal spheres covered in runes that had been painstakingly engraved with his laser. It wasn't the first set he'd made, in fact he'd been working on previous versions for a long time now. This was the final version he planned to use after the several previous versions. It took him some time to get what he wanted to work right but... Once he installed it, he felt like it would officially raise him to the level of a Master Artificer.
He only considered himself a Journeyman at this point. He was his own hardest critic.
The next thing he grabbed was the Boosted Gear gauntlet, which he set on the table as well. He had made a lot of plans and shortly after he became a devil, his personal power would sky rocket appropriately.
The last thing he would do, before letting Rias turn him, would be to remove Avalon from inside of himself. He'd replace it right after, but he was pretty certain that Avalon would not let the Evil Pieces do their work. It wasn't something he was looking forward to as he'd become accustomed to Excalibur's Sheath protecting him from all harm.
He couldn't help smiling as he thought of the things that Avalon let him do ever since he'd claimed it. Things like grabbing hot metal in his bare hands instead of using tongs. Being immune to the heat, even magically enhanced heat, was a wonder to him and make his work with the forge so much easier. He didn't want to give it up for that reason alone!
With the major items set out for him to look over, he continued to plan his coming change.
Rias sighed as she approached the front door to Junichiro's home. He'd given her permission to teleport in using the circle inside, but she felt she needed to do this properly. Teleporting into someone's home was too informal for what she planned to do.
As she got to the door, she double checked her clothing and made sure everything was still in perfect order. She was wearing an outfit that was best described as business casual. She had on a tight black skirt over pantyhose with short black heels, a white button up shirt, and a black blazer.
She chose her clothing to help set the tone of the conversation she wanted to have with Junichiro. She felt the need to apologize for what Akeno had said and the conversation she'd sparked. She also wanted to see if there was anything she could do to help him with his anger. Thinking back on it scared her. No one should have that much hatred within them. She thought she knew hatred thanks to Akeno and Kiba, she'd been wrong.
The choice of clothing was also because she was hoping to seem more mature and reliable. She still very much wanted Junichiro to join her peerage. There were very few things that could get her to change her mind on that. She'd even written up and improved contract for him, one that guaranteed him all the freedom he wanted.
Only after taking a deep breath to calm her nerves did she ring the doorbell.
Junichiro walked toward his door with a small smile. He'd felt when Rias had walked across his wards and was slightly surprised she'd chosen to come in such a way. When he opened the door and saw what she was wearing, his smile grew. Rias might have been going for a professional look but given her body type and the size of certain, still growing, assets, she looked far more like a sexy secretary. He wondered if she realized that wearing a shirt that was straining to hold her breasts in place wasn't quite as professional looking as she thought.
After taking in the entire package that was 'sexy secretary Rias,' he stood to the side and gestured to the interior of his home, "Come on in Rias-san."
He felt being a little more formal for her slightly more formal attire was appropriate.
She gave him a bright smile and walked into the house. Together they moved to their usual meeting area in his living room and sat across from each other. Rias held her hands in her lap as she straightened her back and looked Junichiro in the eyes, "First, I'd like to apologize for Akeno's attitude the other day."
Junichiro smiled at that while waving his hand in a dismissive manner, "There's no need. Individuals are just that, individual. I don't hold entire groups responsible for the acts of a single person."
Sure, it was a bit of a dig at Akeno, but it was also completely true. Rias noticed that but said nothing. Instead, she lifted the small briefcase she'd been carrying and opened it to pull out the newest draft of the contract she'd written up for him. She set the small stack of papers on the coffee table and slid them toward him, "I rewrote the contract for you to join my peerage after you left the other day. Please take a look at it and let me know what you think."
A little surprised, he picked up the couple of sheets of paper and started reading. It didn't take more than a few moments for him to go through the whole thing. In essence, if he joined Rias, he would only be expected to perform the activities that required the entire peerage to be present. For instance, he would be required to attend Rating Games, certain social events, and other things of a similar public nature. He was, basically, only required to attend to events where his absence would be a slight against Rias and show disrespect toward her and her position as the King of the peerage.
Other than that, he had complete freedom. He could do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, and whoever he wanted. He wasn't required to do any of the annoying newbie shit like passing out fliers. He didn't even have to do any client work, if he didn't want to. Every other aspect of being a member of a peerage was being waved as optional. If he wanted to, he could, and he would get the normal rewards for it. If he didn't want to, no worries, there was nothing listed as a negative if he chose not to.
Lastly, she'd added a portion to protect his identity. She would guarantee that no member of her peerage would leak Junichiro's true identity without permission. It was honestly something he'd failed to consider. He'd wanted Rias to keep the secret, but hadn't considered the others being the ones to spill the secret for her. That was a blatant failure on his part and he felt rather happy that she'd considered it and included a clause to protect him.
He read the contract several times, just to make sure he didn't miss anything. It seemed that Rias had written it in plain language to make it crystal clear that there was no alternative agenda or hidden tricks buried in lawyer speak. When he finished reading it, he set the contract down and smiled at Rias, "I appreciate this."
Rias broke out into a beaming smile, "I really want you to join."
Junichiro climbed to his feet and made his way toward the kitchen while saying, "I'll get us something to drink."
He returned quickly with two bottles of water, a quill, and an ink pot. Something like signing a contract with a devil felt like it required more than a simple mass produced pen. It needed something a little more grand!
Rias's eyes widened in surprise when she saw the old fashioned writing implement. She watched him like a hawk as he set everything down. She gratefully accepted the water bottle and quickly opened it to take a drink and wet her suddenly very dry throat.
Junichiro sipped his own water while looking over the contract one last time. He felt that one could never be too careful before signing a life altering contract. Still, there was nothing hidden, nothing that would bite him in the ass later. It was even better than he'd hoped to get from her. Now he was a little glad that Akeno had opened her mouth and annoyed him.
Rias watched, barely daring to breathe, as Junichiro set the contract down, dipped the quill into the ink pot, and carefully signed his name on the contract. When he slid it across the table to her and held out the quill, she didn't hesitate to take it and sign her own name on the contract. It took every ounce of her self control for her to not start squealing in excitement and pouncing on Junichiro to hug him to death.
This one contract represented her freedom. Something she would give almost anything she had to attain.
With the contract signed, she wasted no time in using her magic to summon forth the intricate box that contained the remaining pieces for her peerage. She set it on the table and opened it to reveal an almost complete set of pieces. The only ones missing were the Queen, a Knight, a Bishop, and a Rook. All eight pawns were untouched. There was a single pawn that was different from the others. Each of the other pawns were white with decorative black lines on them. The final pawn was white as well, but the decorative lines were a vivid green that seemed to glow lightly.
Junichiro was certain the last Pawn was a mutation piece. He was certain, completely certain, that Rias hadn't had any mutation pieces when she reincarnated Issei. If she had, it wouldn't have taken all of her pawns to turn him. As he looked at the pieces, Rias reached in and plucked out a Knight piece, "Originally, when I thought you were just a human who had Sword Birth, I planned to make you into a Knight."
She set the piece back in its place, "I'm now certain that it would be impossible to do so. You're too strong for that, which also means you're too strong to be a Bishop. Not that you seem like the magical spell casting type so that was out regardless. Lastly, I considered making you a rook. The added strength and defense added to your already impressive defenses would have made you impressively durable. A literal walking tank. Yet, I know I can't. Your potential means its impossible. That leaves just my pawns."
She gently lifted the mutated Pawn, "I was willing to go so far as to use all eight of my Pawn pieces on you to have you join us. Some might say that would be a waste, a single individual where I could have, potentially, gotten eight. Yet, your strength and potential makes it worthwhile."
She looked up from the piece she was toying with and into his eyes, "But I was worried. Once I knew who you truly were, I was afraid I wouldn't be strong enough to turn you. Your potential as 'The Artificer' easily puts you on the level of something with a Longinus-Class Sacred Gear, by itself. Add in your Sword Birth and its Balance Breaker..."
She trailed off and shook her head, "I'm proud of my strength. I'm strong, for my age. Yet, I knew I wasn't strong enough to turn you even with all eight of my Pawn pieces." She gently stroked the mutated Pawn, "So I did something I'd sworn I would never do." She smiled softly, "I asked my brother for help in this matter. I abused my connection with him to get my hands on this single piece. I don't know what it cost him, but I know it wouldn't have been a small price. He wouldn't ever complain about it and would do almost anything he could for me. I took advantage of that just so I could have you join my Peerage."
She set the piece in between them and moved the box containing the remaining ones aside. He'd remained silent as it was clear she wanted to get all of this off of her chest. She gently tapped the top of the piece with her finger, "I did all of this because you are my one hope for a bright future."
Her eyes bored into his and he could see how serious she was being, "I am engaged. His name is Riser Phenex, third son of the Phenex clan. And I HATE him. But even more than that, I can't stand being in a position that means being forced to marry someone like him. I want my freedom. I want to choose who to love, who I marry, and every other aspect of my life. You are the key to that."
She picked the piece up and held it tightly in her fist, "If its alright with you, I would very much like to do this right now."
Junichiro nodded in understanding. Despite the contract being signed, it wouldn't be 'real' until he'd become a devil. He climbed to his feet and moved to sit next to Rias on the love-seat, "It's fine. Let's do this."
Rias smile gratefully and placed the chess piece against his chest. Her demonic power flared causing the piece to glow and a large red magic circle to appear behind him, "Thank you for joining me, Junichiro"
The chess piece glowed brightly and slowly sank into his chest. In just a few moments, it was all over. Junichiro looked at his chest, not feeling anything different, and even flexed his one good arm with a small frown, "I don't feel any different."
Rias giggled lightly, "It's not an instant process. If you were dead it would instantly revive you, but the full transformation into a devil takes between twelve and twenty-four hours."
Junichiro pouted at that a bit, but quickly changed his mind. He hopped to his feet and smiled brightly, "I wonder..."
Without another word, he left the room and made his way to his workshop. He immediately headed to his wand display and began using them to scan his body and catalog the changes happening. He ignored Rias following him, too engaged in tracking the changes happening to his body.
It was easy enough for him to find the Pawn piece, it was attached to his soul in a similar manner to how his Sacred Gear was. There was a difference though. Unlike Sword Birth, the Pawn piece was making small changes to his soul. Nothing drastic, but he could see the minor tweaks it was making that would turn his soul from human to devil.
As he continued to scan, he was shocked to see what the changes to his soul were causing. The soul was the central most part of a being. From within his soul, the changes radiated out and slowly began changing his flesh to match his soul. As he watched the process through the information being transmitted to him, he wasn't sure if it was something he could emulate, just yet.
It was a very complex and delicate process and his scans told him that the special material the Pawn piece was made of played a huge role in not causing damage due to the changes. It also seemed to help drastically with the piece fusing to the soul without causing damage from the process. It was remarkably similar to watching the Sacred Gear fuse to his soul, but also rather different. He wondered if the Sacred Gears used the same, or a similar, material in their construction.
Rias silently observed Junichiro for some time before her curiosity got the better of her and she asked, "What are you doing?"
Junichiro jumped slightly before turning to face Rias, "Sorry, I didn't even realize you were still here." He cleared his throat to get over his embarrassment of getting so deep into his curiosity that he'd forgotten all about his new boss, "Well, I wanted to know what was happening to me to actually make me into a devil. To understand that I am using various diagnostic spells through these wands to get readings and try to comprehend it. I may not be anywhere near as smart as Ajuka Beezlebub, but I am pretty intelligent. With the help of my tools I can have some understanding of the process."
He set the wand he was currently using down and picked up one meant specifically for detailed scans of the soul, "For example, did you know the process of turning me into a devil is similar to the process of binding a Sacred Gear to a human who didn't have one previously?"
Rias blinked at that, "Truly?"
Junichiro nodded, "Yup. I'm getting similar readings to when I bound Sword Birth to myself."
"Wait you weren't born with Sword Birth?"
Junichiro shook his head, "Nope. I got it in a trade. Some soul eating Yokai ended up with one after eating some serial killer. She had no use for it so I made her a little something to help her hunger and she gave me the Sacred Gear. I'd actually been on the lookout for a Sword Birth or Blade Blacksmith for years by that time."
Rias looked confused, "Why would you want a common Sacred Gear like Sword Birth? That'd be similar to wanting a Twice Critical. Sure, it's something, but it's really not all that much."
Junichiro stopped what he was doing and looked at Rias. She blinked when she registered the look of sheer disappointment on his face, "Rias, darling, dear, little Rias, I am very disappointed in you for saying that."
He was a little excited over some of the readings he'd been getting so was slightly more excited and a little condescending at the same time, "While I admit Sword Birth doesn't have the sheer raw power of a Longinus such as Boosted Gear..." He gestured to said Sacred Gear where it was sitting on his bench, "It has something most Longinus lack, versatility and utility. With that common Sacred Gear I was able to match your entire peerage. Not to mention you've seen some of what I can do with the balance breaker."
He shook his head and went back to scanning himself, "If you maintain an attitude like that then don't be too shocked when someone with a 'lowly' Twice Critical kicks the crap out of you or when a Blade Blacksmith slices you to ribbons."
Rias actually took the time to process that and think on what Junichiro had said. She hated admitting it, but she knew he was right when he said he could take out her entire peerage by himself. He was officially the strongest member of her peerage, even stronger than herself. Not in raw power, but in what he was capable of doing. His... flexibility and the ability to counter them with his various creations.
"Right. I'll try and keep my bias down to a minimal amount."
She really didn't want to hear an 'I told you so' from Junichiro if she ever came across a lower tier Sacred Gear and lost because of underestimating her opponent. That would just be plain embarrassing. She didn't want to think about that anymore so she moved onto a different topic, "It will need to wait until next weekend, but we should celebrate you joining my peerage. The whole peerage, together."
Junichiro continued to scan himself with different wands and humming over the information he was being fed, "That sounds nice. Speaking of your peerage. Who do you want me to train next? Akeno, Koneko, yourself, or the Bishop I haven't met yet?"
Rias winced a little at the mention of Gasper. It wasn't that she was embarrassed by him, far from it, but Gasper was... difficult. She sighed and shook her head, "It'd probably be best if you waited for a while before I introduced you to Gasper-kun. He's skittish and afraid of the world." She looked down with flushed cheeks as she admitted her shame, "I'm not strong enough to help him control his power. Anytime he gets surprised, upset, scared, or anything else, his Sacred Gear Forbidden Balor View will activate and freeze time."
She let out a soft sigh, "It terrifies him every time it happens which just makes things worse. He's become a complete shut in and won't leave his room, not that he's allowed to because I was forced to seal the room."
Junichiro stopped scanning himself and studied Rias for a bit, "That really bothers you, doesn't it?"
Rias nodded, "Gasper-kun was dying so I used my Bishop piece to save his life. He's grateful, but he's also really scared of the outside world due to his circumstances. Because of my own weakness I can't help him so the only thing we could do was seal him away until I am strong enough to help him control his powers."
Junichiro wasn't sure how that actually worked so there was nothing he could do to argue against the actions Rias had taken. Instead he accepted it and offered, "Well then, I guess I'll train you next. I've heard a lot about the special power of the Bael clan and how it was passed down into the Gremory line. I'm very curious about the Power of Destruction. I can't wait to see it in action and think of ways to help you develop it."
That was partially a lie. He already had some plans to help her develop it. As far as he could remember, all she ever did with it was summon up huge amounts and fire them off in the hopes that the big attack would quickly end the fight in her favor. The problem was, the attacks were large and slow, easy to dodge and a complete waste of power. Power she didn't really have to spare.
His thought process was to go in the opposite direction. Instead of big balls of death, she should be firing Freeza-style Death Beams that moved at extreme speeds. If she could tag her target and slow them down, then she could easily land a bigger blow. Or, if she got really good at the small precision shots, she could take out her enemies with a single well placed shot using a minimal amount of power. Efficiency at its finest!
Of course, he also wanted to train her after he'd used his Essence of the Blank. If he understood it correctly, then it was possible for him to learn the Power of Destruction for himself. If he could do that, then he could learn any of the clan powers that the devils coveted so much. There were some really excellent ones as well. Things like time control, canceling others abilities by understanding them, even turning into freaking dragons!
He really wanted that last one. Though, maybe Ddraig could teach him how to do that. He did have plans to turn a majority of his insides into dragon parts, after all. So being able to make his outsides match shouldn't be too hard, right?
He quickly ran out of things to scan with and for. It had only been a short time since the change began, after all. He'd do some more scans after it had progressed further so he could have more data to extrapolate answers from. So far the physical changes had been minimal, just a few individual cells here and there. He'd wait until more were changed and check again.
With the wands put away, he moved over to his workbench and examined the items he planned to infuse into his being once the change completed. Rias, curious, followed him and examined the items on the table. She only recognized the gauntlet that was Boosted Gear, so she asked the obvious, "What's all this?"
Junichiro smiled and lifted the box containing seven small spheres covered in runes, "Well, these are the Seven Stars of Magic. When properly inserted into my body they will work in concert with my magical core to grant me even more powerful magical abilities. They will increase my magical recovery rate by seven times. Then while my magical power is full, they will continue to trickle feed power into my body to reinforce it and help it grow stronger. Any power that's left over goes into carefully stretching my magical core to increase the amount of power I have."
Rias looked at the small metal objects in shock, "Seriously? They'll do all that?"
Junichiro smirked and nodded. Each of the spheres had been remade not just because of the laser he'd purchased, but because he'd come across a superior material to make them out of. Each one of the spheres was made from Albion's scales. Some of the smaller, younger ones. A dragons natural power and ability was infused into them and made them so much more efficient that his first creations had been. Only a fool wouldn't take the upgraded version.
Rias looked at him dead in the eyes, "What would it take for you to make something like this for the rest of the peerage?"
Junichiro calmly shrugged his shoulders, "Scales from a dragon, at least at the level of a dragon king, but the higher the power of the dragon the better. Then about twenty hours of work per sphere."
Rias's eyes widened as she looked at the white sphere's once more, "Uhm... what are those made of?"
Junichiro's smirk had her feeling suspicious, then his answer had her feeling faint, "Scales from the Heavenly Dragon Albion."
"Where the hell did you get scales from Albion?!"
"Oh, I found one of his hoards in England a while back."
"You... you just happened to find a dragon hoard that belonged to one of the top four most powerful dragons?!"
He scoffed, "Of course not."
As Rias let out a breath of relief, he continued, "I went looking for it deliberately."
Rias gawked at him in shock as she tried to process that, "Wha... how... why..." She took a deep breath and slowly let it out before stating, "Impossible. No one has been able to search for and successfully find a dragon hoard like that in millennia!"
Junichiro just shrugged his shoulders, "It was just one of the things I found while I was out exploring and looking for lost treasures."
Rias, looking slightly worried, asked, "Is there anything else I should know about?"
Junichiro turned to Rias with a smirk, "Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies."
Rias blanched at that answer and quickly changed the subject, "So what's that for?"
As she asked her question, she gestured to the glass vial containing the Essence of the Blank. Junichiro glanced at it and shrugged nonchalantly, "It's just a potion I plan to take to help me get the most out of the Seven Stars. It's not all that much on its own and requires other things to make it really work."
Which was actually true. On it's own, the Essence of the Blank did nothing. Just drinking it and sitting on his ass would mean zero gain from using it. But taking it with the Seven Stars were at work inside of him? That would be amazing! The Stars would be perfectly efficient and the Essence would ensure that his body could grow in power without limit or restraint. The more power the Stars fed him, the more powerful he would become.
Rias nodded and looked around, "Anything else interesting in here?"
Junichiro shrugged, "Just stuff. You expecting to find something like Excalibur Ruler in here or something?"
Rias chuckled, "No, nothing like that. I'm mostly just curious about the stuff you do. While your name is pretty well known, actually getting something commissioned is a rarity. I've never seen anything but one of your healing potions in person."
Junichiro thought about that and shrugged, "Well, if you'd like, you can stay and watch me work for a bit. I was working on something special for Ddraig."
"Ddraig? The Heavenly Dragon within the Boosted Gear? How can you make something for him? Isn't he just a spirit locked into the Sacred Gear?"
Junichiro nodded and led Rias to the enchanting section of his workshop, "That's true. But it's because he's a spirit that I can do something nice for him."
He gestured to the table where there were a myriad of parts and pieces that looked like the dissected body of a small dragon the size of a large dog. The big difference being, there was nothing really organic about it. It rather looked more like a metallic model kit of anything. Rias examined the parts curiously, "So what are you making?"
Junichiro picked up a piece and began running his fingers over it while weaving his magical power into a specific pattern, "I'm making a body that Ddraig will be able to possess. Sadly, it won't do more than give him the ability to move around. It wont be like he is reborn or anything like that. Just a little freedom to walk and fly around outside of his personal prison."
He'd explained more since Rias had looked a little pale when he mentioned Ddraig having a body once more. He didn't want her to think he was trying to restore the Red Dragon Emperor to life. He was also glad for the distraction. While he didn't mind telling her a bit about the things he'd made, he didn't want her asking about the small charm bracelet that had been sitting on the table with the other items he planned to give himself once he was fully transformed.
Explaining that he had Avalon would probably cause the poor girl to faint.
So instead, he continued to infuse magic into the piece of the automaton that would become Ddraig's new body while he explained, "I stole Ddraig from his original wielder. Naturally, the prideful dragon wouldn't like something like that. Despite being locked inside of a Sacred Gear, he's still an independent being. If I want him to truly help me out and work with me as a partner, I need to make sure he's as happy with the arrangement as I am."
"Ohhhhh, I get it now. You're bribing him!"
Junichiro nodded emphatically, "Damn right I am! The difference in power between Ddraig helping and hindering is too much for me to ignore. It's entirely possible that I would never be able to use the Scale Mail balance breaker without Ddraig's acceptance. I, obviously, don't know that for certain, but it's not worth risking. So, an excellent bribe to smooth things over and make sure he likes me."
Rias smiled brightly, "Sounds like you might have a natural aptitude for politics."
Gagging was the first reply Rias got from Junichiro. He shook his head violently, "Hell no. I'd just murder people that disagreed with me until all that was left was people that agreed. Politicians are the vilest most evil beings in existence!"
Rias giggled at his statement and slapped his shoulder playfully, "Fine, I guess I wont be asking you to deal with the politics for me when I take over the Gremory house."
"Damn right!"
The pair laughed lightly. Once their laughter died down, silence took its place. It was a comfortable silence while Rias watched Junichiro work on his creation. She was surprised at how much she enjoyed watching him. She couldn't tell exactly what he was doing, but she could feel his magical power overlaying and sinking into the items he picked up and enchanted. Occasionally she would see near microscopic arrays of runes lighting up in glowing lines. She didn't know exactly what the glowing lines were, seeing them got her curious so she asked, "Can you tell me about the glowing lines I see sometimes?"
Junichiro nodded and happily explained how he used a modern day CO2 Laser as a tool to carve rune arrays into things. How it let him carve an obscene amount of runes into items that he would never be capable of doing by hand. He even explained how lasers similar to the one he had were capable of etching microscopic serial numbers on the smallest facet of a diamond. Needless to say, she was impressed. He even went so far as to explain what kinds of enchantments he was placing on the pieces of the body for Ddraig.
The pair of them enjoyed the back and forth conversation as Junichiro worked. It was something he would happily repeat in the future, provided he wasn't working on something private.
Rias had a distinct bounce to her step as she teleported into the Occult Research Club's main room and made her way to her large desk. Seeing her happiness caused Akeno to smile as she stated, "I take it everything went well."
Rias looked at Akeno and nodded, "We'll be having a small party this weekend to welcome Junichiro as my newest Pawn." She sighed and shook her head, "I'm glad I asked nii-san for that Mutation piece. I'm not certain I could have turned him without it. He's so strong Akeno."
Akeno frowned a little, "I can admit he's clever and uses his strengths to the best advantage, but he's not as strong as you or myself. Why do you think he is so strong? I just can't see it."
Rias sighed and leaned back in her chair, her arms crossing under her bust as she looked at her Queen, "I can't tell you, I've signed a contract with Junichiro that promises I will not reveal any information about him without his permission. You, and everyone else, will have to sign similar contracts before any information can be given out to you. I'm sorry, but it has to be this way to protect Junichiro."
Akeno frowned at that, but nodded in understanding. It was very rare for Rias to issue such orders, "I understand."
It didn't take long to have Akeno sign one of the contracts that Junichiro had prepared for the rest of the peerage. The contracts would expire when the information they were meant to protect became public knowledge. With it signed, Rias smirked and looked straight at Akeno, she didn't want to miss a moment of her reaction. Once she was completely certain she had all of Akeno's attention, she spoke, "Arai Junichiro, my first Pawn, is not only a wielder of Sword Birth but is the next Red Dragon Emperor..."
Akeno's eyes widened in shock, and not a little bit of fear as she remembered trying to taunt Junichiro in their lesson together. Rias's knowing smirk became almost malicious as she finished, "He is also the one and only Artificer."
Rias was not disappointed by the look of absolutely horrified shock on Akeno's face.
AN
Just a bit over 10k words, nice!
If you'd like to read further ahead on this, Game Master, or The Phenex Rises, check out my pat-reon slash thomasdarkrose. the next chapter of The Phenex Rises will be out in another day or two. Until then, enjoy!