Chapter 22: Fallout

I was seated in the lounge, Shiro on my lap, stroking her head like a cat to help calm me down. After my bout of maniacal laughter, I did feel a lot more in control of myself but the anger was still there, bubbling under the surface. Still, it was at level where I could control it.

"So." I started, "I guess we should talk about what just happened."

"Yeah." Naomi laughed uncomfortably, "You were kinda scary back there."

"I have a question." Kasane looked to her sister before fixing me with a serious look, "If Diodora was after us instead, would you have done the same?"

"Without hesitation." I instantly replied, hugging Shiro to me, causing the girl to snuggle back into my embrace, "This may sound possessive, but when you agreed to join me you all became mine. Anyone who wants to steal you away will have to do it over my dead body."

Kasane stared at me, a small blush on her face before nodding and looking away.

Naomi, looking unsure asked, "And if we wanted to leave ourselves?"

"I'm not your jailer. I'm not interested in you being slaves or toys. Though, if you decide to leave, I would hope you at least do me the courtesy of being allowed to try change your mind." Not that that would be hard, the Stamp making sure of that.

Naomi nodded, seeming to turn my words over in her head.

CC, seeing a gap in the conversation started her own line of questioning, "All of that is gratifying and all, but we have a problem. Your announcement put us completely outside of the protection of any of the Factions of the underworld. We need to decide on what to do."

I sighed, "This was inevitable. The Satans seem to be hell bent on trying to control me, the Great King is only focused on the benefit of Zekram Bael, despite what the other members believe. As for the Old Satan faction... I could think of less painful ways to die than letting the entire world know that Heaven would not lift a finger to defend us."

Indeed, if the war between Heaven and the Devils restarted, Heaven would win by doing nothing. The Devils had made more than enough enemies that we would be torn apart before the Angels even got involved. We had options, like Sirzechs and Ajuka, of course, but if the Old Satan faction were the ones in charge then that would not be true.

The external political situation was balanced very finely at the moment and seeing as I myself was a Devil, I stood to lose out if it became disturbed as well.

"Be that as it may, was it really wise to antagonise Sirzechs so publicly? The power imbalance is not to our advantage." CC spoke, staring at me intensely as she had done ever since my fight against Diodora.

"That's why it was the perfect time to do it, when Rias was in the same room to calm him down."

She seemed mollified with that, her shoulders relaxing, "So that whole diatribe was all an act."

"No." My answer seemed to surprise her, "That anger I felt in that moment was very, very real. The Satans have pissed me off, even before this, but trying to take you away was the last straw. Whoever saved Diodora, whether it was them or not, is academic. He will die anyway. But in the moment, I could use it as a plausible reason to break with them."

"Of course," I said, a wry smile on my face, "The only reason I am not dead at the moment is because Sirzechs doesn't want to kill me. That will probably remain true for as long as I can keep Rias happy with me, but relying on someone else's good graces to keep us safe is not ideal. We have some time to make some moves, we need to make the most of it."

"You just listed reasons for why none of the factions of the Underworld who could keep us safe are not good options, I am not aware of any one being that is capable and would be willing to keep us safe if Sirzechs did decide to kill us. So what are our options?"

"We could join one of the factions anyway, gain some time to build up our strength and then backstab them, but with this recent performance they would all know that the easiest way to get to me would be through you all. I do not wish to take that chance."

Kasane nodded, a considering look her face, Shiro was merely listening along without reacting and Naomi looked like her mind was still on something else, but she was paying attention.

Looking at my peerage, I started to explain, "We need to get protection. Some form of deterrence, it doesn't have to be someone who could beat Sirzechs, something like that will take me too long to rustle up. We just need someone who is strong and well known enough to make the effort of killing us not worth it."

CC raised an eyebrow, "I take it you have a plan?"

I nodded, "Indeed. Naomi?" The girl started, looking surprised, "I'll need your help with this. Can you get ready to head out with me in about half an hour?"

"Uh, sure." She said, taken aback.

"Kasane, I want you to protect the manor while I'm gone. Shiro, help her by setting up some teleportation circles. Should someone try their luck, I would prefer it if you escaped than her hurt."

Kasane nodded resolutely, while Shiro hopped off my lap and put her hands on my cheeks, staring into my face.

"Be careful, Nii."

"Always." I smiled at her, and she nodded.

I then turned to the last member of my Peerage, "Meanwhile, you and I obviously need to talk."

"We do." CC agreed.

"I told you so." Falbium was as lazy as ever, but the aura of smug flowing off him was unmistakable.

"You did." Sirzechs agreed, tension in his shoulders, "But that doesn't change the current situation. We need to come up with a response."

"We do not." Serafall's response caused the other Satan's to look at her in surprise, "What we need to do, is figure out what we are missing."

"What do you mean?" The Lucifer asked, intrigued.

"I've had some time to think. It's obvious that Zekram changed the wards to save Diodora, either by himself somehow or on his orders. Before that, he supported starting the initial Rating Game between Diodora and Damocles."

She steepled her hands, "That doesn't make sense. If we are going by the belief that Kasane and Naomi were given to Damocles by Zekram, why would he antagonize him by trying to get rid of CC? Unless CC is causing the old Bael the same problems she is causing us."

"What also doesn't make sense is Damocles beating Zekram in chess." Pointed out Ajuka, "The game was impressive, but no one who was interested in ingratiating themselves into the Great King faction would risk offending Zekram like that."

"Beating him in chess?" Asked Sirzechs, confused.

"Cheating at chess and beating him. I don't know how he did it, I received a transcript of the games played. There were some intentional blunders and sub-optimal plays, however, if you looked at the vast majority of moves they were perfect or near perfect. The accuracy rate means that either Damocles is a supreme prodigy or he was being fed moves somehow." The green-haired Satan explained.

"I see. Yes, that could be seen as disrespectful." Sirzechs nodded, "Speaking of recordings, did you look at the recording of the Rating Games? What did Shiro do?"

"Oh!" Ajukia perked up, "That was brilliant! She created a physically sealed area with shields, then used the spell circle to pressurize it with oxygen and hydrogen, summoned separately, which when mixed create a highly flammable and explosive compound. The shields reflected the force of the explosion, magnifying it beyond what it would be with just the summoning circle."

"So," Serafall counted on her fingers, "Shiro knew that summoning pure elements was more efficient then summoning the compound, knew that pressure in magnified in enclosed areas, can calculate the amount of gas needed to pressurize the specific area of the shields and can cast this spell on the fly, combining the shields and the summoning into one cast."

She finished, "At the age of 8."

The others contemplated that, as Sirzechs continued the thought, "On top of that, she has only been a Devil for less than half a year, with no magical training before that."

"So she is a magical prodigy. I doubt she's just some random orphan as Damocles claimed. He went after her because he knew she could do this. So either he had information we don't or he was informed about her by CC." Serafall tapped the table in front of her, in thought.

"Are we sure that Naomi and Kasane were given to him by Zekram?" Falbium spoke up, "From what I can bother to remember, he just had them with him when he showed up in Bael territory. Do we have confirmation that he and Zekram met before this reveal?"

"We don't." Sirzechs confirmed.

"That was still when we had him covered in monitoring wards and shadowed by Serafall's pet doppelganger. He would not have been able to speak with anyone, let alone an unknown witch from outside the underworld. So he found Kasane and Naomi on his own, without CC's help, if they were not given to him by Zekram. What does that tell us?" Falbium explained.

"Could that be true?" Serafall frowned, going back over her interactions with the young Sagan, "if we go by that theory... He was making plans and moves against us from the moment I revived him."

"If someone takes a hostile action against you, you should assume they are hostile. We antagonized him first." Falbium finished his thought, "If he pulled that move from before CC was in contact with him, then it's unlikely she's the mastermind behind him. All efforts to sideline her will likely just piss him off, without getting any tangible advantage."

"This is all academic." Sirzechs pointed out, "We can theorize till the end of time, but we don't have enough information. What do we do about the crisis we are in now?"

"The Sagan are an old house, with many still loyal to them, we can't remove him cleanly, even discounting the trade he somehow got with the Yokai. I still have no idea how he managed that, they are stonewalling every attempt I make to organize a meeting." Serafall pouted at that.

"For his ban on our families benefiting on this trade, can't we trust your mothers to deal with that?" Ajuka asked, confused.

"What?" Serafall was confused.

"He had accepted a meeting with Lady Sitri and Lady Gremory, I remember an announcement about that. He hasn't cancelled any of the meetings he accepted, just changed the locations. So your and Sirzechs' families should be able to negotiate with him if we don't get involved."

"That's right." Sirzechs reluctantly admitted, "If we take no action for now and act independently, the ban on our families at least could soon be lifted, with some concessions. But that doesn't change the fact that we have a hostile noble family, one that will likely vote against all our moves on principle."

"Do we know that?" Spoke Falbium, "Have any of you actually sat with the kid and got to know him? We've been treating him like an object, not his own person."

"Point." Sirzechs admitted, "Though at this point, I'm not sure I want to get to know the little shit. But it is true that getting more information from him would be easier if we could get it from the source."

Serafall spoke, considering, "Diodora is Ajuka's nephew, so I doubt he will chat with him. Sirzechs and I are right out obviously, so if we want to get information by talking to him the only one who could do so..."

All the Satan's turned to their laziest member, who realized what they were implying.

"Damnit." He sighed, "Fine. But I'll do this my way, no complaints from any of you, right?"

"Sure." Sirzechs smiled, "Seeing you work is always a treat."

"So, what was that really about?" CC crossed her arms, watching as I moved around my room, gathering what I needed and sending off messages.

"You know what that was about."

"I don't. You were thinking clearly, sending Shiro to you obviously worked. So why did you make such a drastic move? You've been careful up until now."

"Ha! I wouldn't call that thinking clearly. But yes, I thought now would be an opportune time to make a break. I couldn't stand letting the Satans have influence over us any more."

"But there were many advantages to playing it like we were still working with them, to throw it all away..."

I was getting a bit annoyed at her being this obtuse, so I couldn't resist, "You're the one saying that? What was it again? Oh yes, 'either you are malicious or you are incompetent.'"

She scowled, her own words thrown back at her, "I was playing my role, isn't that what we agreed on? Me being the conniving, masterminding witch and you being the conciliatory young boy? You could have acted, like you so often do, let the Satan's do their investigation but instead..."

"Because of you!" I whirled on her, catching the brief look of surprise on her face, "They weren't after me tonight, they were after you! I know you realize that! Sure, would it be easier to accept their words and play along? Of course! But they wouldn't stop! They would keep going until they got you away from me and I refuse to...!"

I was interrupted, not by her yelling back or storming out, no, instead it was by her grabbing my collar and dragging me into a searing kiss. It was fairly chaste, with no tongue, but the passion behind it was unmistakable.

"You're an idiot." She pulled away, her face flushed, "You made this all so much harder on yourself, just to keep me safe? I don't need your protection, fool."

"Too bad." I put my arm on the wall behind her, pinning her between the structure and my body, "You're getting it anyway. Try and stop me."

She looked down at the floor, an uncharacteristic shyness taking her over before she recovered, hiding it behind her usual haughtiness, "Shut up and kiss me."

So I did.

"Do you understand what I need you to do?" I asked the girl next to me, who nodded.

"I'll look into the future and warn you if there's an ambush." Naomi stated.

"Sorry to drag you out for this, but we needed to be fast." I moved forwards, about to enter the spot this transaction was going to play out, a face covering mask on and a hood hiding my hair.

Naomi, in a similar garb, grabbed my sleeve before I could, "Damocles, the thing we are here to buy..."

She seemed uncomfortable, so I stopped and turned to her, "Yes? Do you have questions about it?"

"Not the thing itself..." She screwed up her courage, "They kill the people they are used on."

"Yes. They do." I didn't deny it.

"I know you've killed before, but this... this will be used on someone who isn't your enemy. On an innocent."

"It will." I admitted.

"How... How can you be so calm about that?" She seemed distressed by my response.

"I am not a good person, Naomi. I'm sorry to disappoint you." I spread out my arms, "I care about all of you. More than anyone else in the world. If I needed to kill a dozen innocents, a hundred, to keep you all safe? That's a price I would gladly pay."

"You love us, don't you." Was the statement that followed mine, "I know Devils use their Peerages as a stand in for their harems. You want something like that with us."

"I do. I want you all." I took her hand into mine, holding it gently, "Does that make you uncomfortable?"

She looked away, but I could tell her face was covered in a blush, "I... I don't know how that makes me feel. Can I think about it?"

"Of course." I squeezed her hand, "I won't force you. If you don't feel that way about me, just say so. I don't want to make you feel like you're obligated..."

She squeezed my hand back, before slipping it out of my grasp, "Thank you."

She squared up her shoulders, despite her misgivings, "I'm ready."

Nodding, I opened the door and stepped through it, into the place that would soon be filled with my enemies. The place that stood to lose the most from my legitimate trade with the Yokai. The place to get all sorts of thing's you're not supposed to.

The Underworld Black Market.

Issei Hyoudou snapped awake, feeling something was wrong. Looking around frantically, he realized that he was being held down in his bed by an invisible force. On top of that, some alien contraption was fastened over his chest, causing him a lot of pain and discomfort. Oh god, was he about to probed by aliens?!

"Oh." He heard a disinterested voice say, followed by the rustling of a page, "You're up? It would have been easier if you slept through this."

He looked to the voice, being met with the sight of a long white haired boy, around his age, reading one of his porn mags. He opened his mouth, about to shout at him and ask what the hell was going on here, but no sound escaped him.

"Don't bother." The kid didn't even look at him, "I made sure you wouldn't be able to scream and shout. Not that anyone would hear you, but it's the principle of the thing."

The pain intensified, causing Issei to squeeze his eyes shut, as he felt something warm on his right arm.

"Ah, none of that. Lock."

The warmth disappeared, and the sound of another page turning filled the room as a hum started to come from the contraption.

"If it helps, this is 100% personal. I have plans, you see and having you gallivant around in a couple of years messing up things and causing chaos would be very inconvenient."

Issei could barely hear him, the pain making it difficult to focus.

"On top of that you would, for sure, perv on my girls. Then I would have to have removed your eyes and possibly your hands. So might as well get it over with early."

What was this madman saying? Was this really how he was going to die? Killed by some random delusional kid.

"At least this way." The kid dropped his magazine on the floor standing up and looking down on Issei with dispassionate, cold blue eyes, "Your death will serve some purpose."

A hole opened up in Issei's chest and he soundlessly screamed.

I threw the red gauntlet up and caught it, happy with my prize. This was going very smoothly, which was expected but appreciated nonetheless. Now it was time for the hardest part. I needed to get to the Manor and prepare my weapons for the upcoming meeting.

"So you're the murderer of my wielder? Aren't you a bit young to be killing so nonchalantly?"

A deep voice emanated from the piece of armour, to which I smiled.

"I'm an early bloomer. Besides, I've got plans for you, plans that having a fleshy cage would disrupt."

"Well you're not the first to steal me. What makes you think I will lend you my power?"

My smile widened, "Nothing. I don't want it anyway."

"What?!"

The surprise was expected, "I'm in a very precarious situation, if I showed up with the Boosted Gear or it's wielder, I doubt I'd live through the week. I'm going to be honest with you Ddraig, you're more trouble than you're worth."

"You're a Devil. And you are giving up the power to kill Gods?"

"I'm a Devil." I nodded in agreement, "If I want to kill Gods, I can get to that level on my own merits. Power given is not power earned."

"That Pride will get you killed, kid. So if you didn't steal me to wield me, or to give me to one of your subordinates, what is this about?"

"Well Ddraig, I don't know if you know this but someone very important has been looking for you. Someone who would greatly appreciate you being delivered straight to her."

The horror in his voice was highly amusing, "You don't mean..."

"I do." I smiled, "You should really be more careful about who you steal things from."