Chapter 13: Loose Lips...
"Hmm..." I hummed, my Geass shining in my eyes, watching Shiro and Naomi practising their spells, "Try raw iron now."
Shiro tilted her head before placing her hand on the ground, causing a red circle to flare up from the contact. When the light faded, she was grasping a small chunk of iron, just as I requested.
"Interesting, Naomi can you do the same with bronze?"
The same operation was done, this time with a taller girl and a blue circle.
Reading what I was seeing, I put my chin in my hand, "It seems that creating alloys, even simple ones, can cost more Demonic Power than just transmuting the raw element. Of course, it could just be the user's familiarity with the material, but I would expect that to generally hold true, except with water as we've already tested."
Indeed, this was just the latest series of tests I had been running with my two bishops since acquiring my Geass, determining ways to streamline spell casting and the different costs for different actions. Seeing as how all Devil magic was based on imagination, how much of what we discovered was actually set in stone and how much was us writing our own rules, I was still unsure of.
What I had just mentioned was one of my first experiments, attempting to transmute hydrogen and oxygen separately for some reason was still less efficient than an equal amount of water. Fire, as well as breathable air, also seemed to follow the same rules, separate from what they were supposed to cost. More testing would be required, I was sure.
Speaking of testing, just this much was because of the function of the newest tool in my arsenal, me Geass. The Seal of Mystic Perception, CC had named it. It's function was as simple as it was deceptively powerful, as it allowed me to see and comprehend Magic. I could use it to see each part of a spell and understand what it's function was in the circle, as easily as reading English.
I was still bound by my reading speed and understanding, of course, but immediately knowing the function of a spell as a glance was still a massive advantage in fights, as our recent practice duels have shown. The ability to see magic even while dormant was also useful, allowing me to gauge the strength of others with just a look.
Unfortunately, it wasn't an easy cheat to stealing the spells of others. I had watched some recordings of rating games hoping to obtain some free spells, but it seems that something about the artificial nature stopped my Geass from working. To be fair, most Geasses were the same, Lelouch's and the Emperor also couldn't use theirs through recordings.
Still, it was a powerful, useful tool in my pocket. Best of all, it was an out-of-context one for the people of DxD, making it a lot more effective then it otherwise would be. Unlike the idiots that I saw in those Rating games I would not be explaining my abilities to everyone I fought like some sort of babbling fool.
There was being confident in your power, then there was being legitimately stupid.
My attention was drawn to the scuffle on the other side of the field, just in time to see Kasane being flipped onto her back. She was sparring with CC, who had schooled all of my peerage along with myself in hand to hand combat, her long experience and studying of various Martial Arts allowing her to easily handle anything we threw at her, at least without any magical reinforcement.
I whistled, stopping the spar and causing everyone to look at me.
I spread my arms, "Good job everyone. I think it's time to switch things up a bit. Naomi, CC had an idea to allow you to use your power consciously, so you're going to be working with her for next while."
Naomi nodded at that, not looking enthusiastic. I knew CC's personality was grating, so I did expect some growing pains of adding her to the group. It was not a problem that required me to step in, however, Naomi and Kasane were big girls, they could be professional. If it crossed over to actual hostility, that's when I'll start having to micro-manage.
I pointed to the sky, "Kasane, practice flying a bit more. You're close to being able to use your gravity manipulation in combination with it, which will really up your mobility."
I met her crimson eyes, seeing resolve in them. She nodded, agreeing to the unspoken plan while saying a short, "Understood."
"Shiro, we'll work on that spell you were having trouble with." My littlest peerage member nodded her head, a serious look on her face. As everyone dispersed into their places, I sighed, knowing that what was to come would likely cause quite a bit of drama.
Oh well, nothing of value was ever gained without a price.
"Ow!" Came the cry from Naomi as a small, dense ball smacked into her back.
The bubbly blonde was currently blindfolded, attempting to ward off the balls that were being thrown at her with her ability to see the future. Unfortunately, she had yet to actually successfully shield against any of the throws and was getting rather frustrated.
As she felt another impact, further annoying her, she heard the new Queen call out, "Anything yet?"
"What does it look like?!" She shouted back, irate.
She didn't really like the green-haired woman, a sentiment that seemed to be shared by Kasane. She appeared to be very caustic and uncaring. She was used to withdrawn individuals, after all her beloved sister was a poster example, but with this 'CC' it seemed more callous, as if she acted the way she did to purposely annoy people.
Still, she was helping Naomi try to use her power more consciously, so maybe the blonde was mistaken?
Unseen by the other girl, CC tilted her head. It appeared that frustration was not an emotion that could be used to activate the seer's power. She raised her hand and signalled to Damocles, who caught her sign and nodded.
He turned and said something to Shiro, who he had been working with. The small girl nodded softly, looking a bit nervous. He put his hand on her shoulder, giving her a smile, seeming to bolster the girl's spirits as she turned and faced away from him, towards where Kasane was practising her flying.
Naomi, still blindfolded, saw none of this of course. Confused, she started to call out, "Are we don...?"
Suddenly, she was beset by a vision, the images rushing towards her. An arcing red flash of light coming from Shiro, heading towards her unaware sister. The impact, her sister caught completely off-guard, falling convulsing to the ground below. The landing, Kasane hitting the ground hard enough she bounced slightly, before coming to a rest, lying still.
"KASANE!" She shouted, whirling around on instinct, a brilliant light blue shield materializing to protect her sister from the attack before it even was fired, causing it to slam into the barrier and be dispersed harmlessly.
She ripped off the blindfold and burst into the air, rushing to meet her descending sibling, who had turned around at her shout. They contacted halfway, Naomi frantically searching for any wounds or damage to Kasane, fussing over her.
"I'm fine." Kasane said, not at all annoyed by her sister's fretting, "It was only a paralysis spell."
Naomi stopped at that, "You knew it would happen? Why didn't you dodge?!"
Her answer came from CC, not her sister, "The last time your power activated, it was during moment of high emotion in order to save Kasane. I thought that was what was required to activate it automatically, it seems I was right."
Naomi whirled on the verdette, "What!? You used my sister as a test subject?! You cra...!"
Kasane stopped her with a hand on her shoulder, "I told them to do it." As Naomi turned back to her with a conflicted look, she elaborated, "I want you to be safe."
Damocles stepped forward at that, having been observing the proceedings, "Now that it has activated, you have a baseline for how it feels when it uses your Demonic Power. Using that, you should be able to practice and use it at will." He smiled at her, understanding in his eyes, "That's for later though. For now, take a break. Spend time with Kasane, calm down. We'll resume after lunch."
Still upset, Naomi nodded at that, before hugging her sister and grabbing her hand to go back into the manor.
Behind them, as soon as they were out of hearing range, Damocles turned to his Queen and praised, "You were right. Well done."
She sniffed and flicked her green locks behind her shoulder, "Of course I was."
Unnoticed by them both, small red eyes narrowed at her flippant response.
The phone rang, causing everyone who was sitting at the table to look over at it's possessor, with varying levels of consternation.
Ajuka, totally oblivious to such frivolity, merely pulled it out of his pocket and brought to his ear, "Yes Serafall?"
He hummed, listening to the other Satan speak for a bit before commenting, "No, I'm not that busy. I'm in the middle of dinner with my family. I can talk."
Ignoring the reaction of his words, he brought the phone down to his shoulder and motioned with his head, "I'll be out in the hallway, apologies."
Standing, he walked out of the dining room, bringing the phone up to his ear as he did, "The Church has no records of her you s..."
His voice became muffled as he left, causing the Lady Astaroth to sigh in irritation. Her husband put a hand on her shoulder in commiseration, "He's always been like that. Don't take it personally."
"I know." She replied, smiling weakly at him, "Still, it does not make it any less rude."
Diodora gave a cheeky grin at that from further down the table, "I find it amusing, personally."
His father rolled his eyes at his son, "You would."
The door opened again, Ajuka finishing the call with, "I'll confirm as soon as I'm done here. Goodbye."
He slipped the phone into his pocket, sitting down at the table once more. He was brought short from continuing his meal by a fake cough from his Uncle, causing him to look up at the older Devil quizzically. Lord Astaroth tilted his head towards his Lady, raising a brow at the green haired Satan.
Ajuka creased his brow, confused, before realization lit up his face. He turned to the Lady of the house, a sheepish smile on his face, "I apologise for that, Aunt Veronica. Serafall had something she wanted me to look into, but it did interrupt dinner."
Veronica gave him a gentle smile, "Thank you, Ajuka. I understand your work is important."
The Satan nodded, glad that the issue seemed settled. His cousin spoke up at that point, inquiring, "What was the call about, if you can tell us? You mentioned the Church..."
Ajuka chewed his food, mulling over the question before swallowing, "Ah yes. It's actually linked to the Reveal I invited you all to. I can't talk about everything, of course, but the young Devil's new Queen has been causing us some trouble from a record keeping point of view."
He detailed a few of the points that they were confirming with the other Abrahamic faction, but eventually the conversation meandered onto other topics. When the dinner was finished and Lord Astaroth invited Ajuka into his study for business, Diodora slipped back into his room at the Manor.
Opening up his phone, he browsed to various gossip sites, looking up the Sagan Heir. Eventually, he managed to find a picture of the boy, along with his Queen at a governmental office, filling out some forms.
He smirked, looking at the picture, "A nun, he said?" Turning to the woman who was kneeling by his bed, he asked, "Isn't that interesting, Jean?"
Despite not knowing what her master was talking about, the soulless response was forthcoming all the same, "Yes, Master Diodora."
She watched the crimson liquid slowly drip down her hand into the bowl below, idly wondering if this is what they meant when they said 'be careful what you wish for.' After so long, begging, praying, desperately longing such a thing to occur, now that it finally had she felt unsure about how to feel about it.
Her eyes narrowed, glaring at the weeping wound on her wrist. No matter how hard she looked however, the gash remained, leaking blood as fiercely as it did when she made it. It did not stitch itself back together, as if reversing time. She could even feel herself becoming slightly light-headed from the blood loss, indicating that this test was at it's end.
She stopped consciously holding back her new-found Power from the wound, watching as it instantly closed, even faster than such an injury would have when she only possessed her Code. Indeed, death, the thing she had long sought, was now within her grasp. All it would take is a small slice and a decision from her, and at long last it would all be over.
However...
She turned her blood-stained hand over, palm facing up and conjured golden flames with an errant flick. She stared at the flickering magic at her fingertips, thinking back to when she was accused, and punished, for Witchcraft. She remembered how it felt to burn at the pyre, how it felt to drown, over and over again until she finally managed to free herself of the rock that tied to her. She even remembered that charming occasion she was caught by the Catholic Inquisition.
She had felt rage at the injustice of it all, she had even wished that she was a witch like they kept accusing her of being. A Devil-worshipping, magic-using heretic. It would have been so much easier than being what she actually was, a Code-Bearer.
And now she was a magic-user. She could command elements at will, preform wonders and miracles with little effort and had a whole new world to explore. She was more powerful than she had ever been in her whole life, freer than she had been in centuries, even while still being in the service of another.
She wondered whether this 'Catharsis' was laughing at her, granting her the means to satisfy her stated wish just as she was given reasons to reconsider it. Every day she spent in this world brought her new discoveries, things she had never seen before, allowed her to do things she could only imagine.
In short, it was rapidly re-awakening her sense of wonder.
That was her selfish reasons of course, but also preventing her was her contract with the man that brought her to this place.
Damocles Sagan.
He might have looked like a boy, but she was unique in knowing the truth of his real age. Her reading of him through the Code granted her insight into his true nature, allowing her to know more about him than even he himself likely suspected.
He was not deluded, thinking that she was exactly like the character of the entertainment he had consumed. That whole situation still made her slightly uncomfortable, but there was no use in fretting over things she could not change. Pondering infinity was something that could get people lost, thinking in circles.
Putting aside the issue of the show made from her life, she actually found it rather flattering. She had been approached before of course, many powerful men offered her their hands over the years. Regardless of their Mortality, the real reason why she knew such relationships were doomed was rather simple.
None of them wanted her.
They wanted her power, she herself was merely an afterthought. An enticing bonus, sure but not the main attraction. She was used to it, resigned to it really, her Code was the most defining thing about her life after all.
Then along came a man who crossed two dimensions to obtain her. She could see when they she dived into his mind, the Geass she gave him was an afterthought. He would have been just as content if she refused to contract him than if she did, so long as she agreed to go with him.
It made her feel wanted, desired, in a way she hadn't felt in an considerable amount of time. Is spoke to a part of her, one she had long buried, the hopeless romantic.
His promise, to grant her true wish, was not just boasting. He had a combination of traits that actually gave him a chance of doing so. She would let him attempt it, as she lost nothing from it. But she was not optimistic, after all, he was a man of ambition.
She knew the position he was in politically. There will come a time where he will have to choose between her and his goals.
She knew what men like him chose.
She would complete her contract, learn all she could about this new world, this new magic gift she was given and once that started to bore her...
She closed her hand into fist, dispelling the flames, staring at the knife she had used to make the cut.
She was broken from her reverie by a knock on the door, "CC, do you have a moment?" Damocles' voice floated through.
She sighed, "Yes, I was just getting ready for bed. What is it?"
"When we get up in the morning, can you help me get everything organised for a trip? I've received a summons to a meeting that We will have to all attend."
She raised an eyebrow, not that he could see it through her locked door, "Oh? Where is this mysterious meeting to be held?"
"Japan."
AN to follow