School is finally over, to be honest, I couldn't really focus on class because of what happened yesterday
But today, Azazel-sensei said he and a friend would clear all our doubts about that
I'm really looking forward to it, everyone seems gloomy after that crushing defeat
Xenovia, Buchou, Akeno, Koneko, everyone is acting eerie. Only Asia is behaving normally, I guess she is just too cheerful to be affected by the danger we were exposed to
After Kiba and Rossweisse woke up, Buchou explained to the ones who were knocked out why the situation we had been exposed was so dangerous
'Unknown'
Those were the words she used to describe it, the force we faced was not only overwhelmingly powerful, but also unknown, and that's what made her so afraid
She was afraid for us, her servants, afraid she was going to lose us. Buchou really is a kind woman.
Gods, Angels, Fallen Angels, Devils, legendary creatures, Sacred Gear users, in every battle we had untill now, no matter how powerful the enemy was, we at least had an idea of what he was and what we could do about it.
But against that thing, that human, we had no idea. His energy and combat style were completely different from anything we had faced, it was like being crushed and pushed around by an invincible force.
I guess even devils tremble at fear of the unknown...
We pack our material and hurriedly make our way towards the occult club, Irina is coming with us
"Rias told me what happened yesterday, I am so sorry I wasn't there to help"
Irina didn't went with us because it was a mission for the Gremory peerage against stray demons, the aliance's permission only extends to her when we have to fight directly against the Khaos Brigade
"Don't worry Irina, honestly, I don't know if you would have made much of a difference in the fight, we don't even know what kind of power we are dealing with..."
I say trying to comfort Irina
"I know, but if I could just have helped Xenovia and Asia I would be happy"
"Don't worry, Ise-san and Xenovia protected me, it's thanks to them that I'm fine!"
Asia says it with a smile, Irina smiles back and then looks at Xenovia
"What about you Xenovia? Are your wounds completely healed?"
"Yes, I'm fine, Asia's sacred gear helped me make a full recover"
Xenovia says it trying to smile back at her friends, but she doesn't seem happy at all
Even Durandal's full power wasn't enough to bring him down, for what she told us that thing played around with a legendary sword as if it was a toy. For Xenovia who puts a lot of trust in her power-type combat, this must have been a huge shock
We get inside the club room, everyone seems to be here already, the Sitri peerage and the rest of the ORC are gathered across the room, Azazel sensei is on his desk
"Hey Azazel, how long is that friend of yours gonna take?"
Buchou angrily asks Azazel, she is probably the one who wants answers the most
"Don't worry, she'll be here soon, she wants to clarify this situation as much as you want, so trust me, she will come"
We get in and sit down
I look at Kiba and Rossweisse, they seem fine now but they were the ones who took the most damage in the fight.
"Kiba, Rossweisse, I was so worried! How are you feeling?"
Irina asks as she leans forward to hug them
Kiba gives a refreshing smile and Rossweisse laughs
"We are fine now Irina-chan, thanks for your concern"
"Thank God, when Rias told me what happened I got so worried that I prayed to lord Michael watch over you"
She makes a pose as if she is praying, this girl can be so energetic, even in a situation like this
"I'm also glad to see you two are back to health"
As soon as Kiba sees me he makes a serious face and looks down
"Ise, Buchou told me that you got injuries even though you were with your armor"
"Yeah, that guy's power was no joke, I got some damage but in the end I was alright"
"And Koneko said that he was a human with no sacred gear at all, sincerely, just what the hell was him?"
"That's what we are all here to find out..." - Azazel interrupts
"Who is that friend of yours anyway? A fellow fallen angel?"
Saji asks sensei, but he shakes his head
"No, she's a devil, I'm pretty sure Rias and Sona might have already heard about her"
"So it's a woman huh?"
Buchou asks throwing a glance at sensei, he then shrugs
"Yeah, I might have spoiled the surprise a little..."
Oh, so it's gonna be a girl? Is she a pure-devil like Buchou and Kaichou?
"But even if you say it... there's no way we can guess with just that..."
I stop to think for a while, but I can't think of anyone we know that could be related to what happened to us
Rossweisse turns to Buchou
"So you told Irina about what happened?"
"Yes, Irina is not only our friend, but in the face of an unknown threat we must spread information about it to as many reliable people as we can."
I see, if the power of that thing was able to take us down, then it could represent a threat to the angels and fallen angels as well
[Ah frankly, the Gremory clan worries too much, is it because you are the sister of the Maou?]
!
This voice, I look at the door and aroud the room
But no one else is here!
Everyone starts searching and looking around but there is no one else besides us
Rossweisse even opens the windows to see if there's anyone outside
[Fufufu, confused? It's to be expected]
The voice is coming from inside our heads!
"Where are you? Reveal yourself!"
Buchou shouts
[Ara ara, quite daring of you seeing how you just got defeated and already want to fight again]
"Reveal yourself immediately!"
A red aura envelops Buchou's body, woah scary!
"Wait, Rias, this voice, I recognize it from somewhere..."
Sona says it with an analytical gaze, but Azazel-sensei speaks before she can finish
"Stop with that Liliana, you shouldn't be using Mayumi to mess with people's minds like that"
[Buuuuh, you really are no fun Azazel]
What? The voice knows sensei?
""Li-Liliana?!""
Both Buchou and Kaichou say with a surprised expression on their faces
*OPEN*
The door opens and four beautiful women and an old man make their way inside
The geezer and two of the girls are laughing loudly while another one has a hand in front of her mouth covering her giggles, only the glasses girl of the bunch has a neutral expression
Who are they?
Azazel sensei puts his hand on his forehead, he seems troubled
"Frankly, to think that you would already start things like this, you sure know how to make an entrance..."
The girl who Azazel just addressed has long silver hair and golden eyes, she's almost the same height as Buchou and seems to be slightly older than her and Akeno-san, maybe around the age of Rossweisse.
But what called my attention the most is her dark skin, a brown tone that reminds me of Katerea Leviathan from the Old Maou faction, are they related somehow?
She just keeps laughing while answering Azazel, she has quite a flashy appearance, with ornaments and jewelry on her arms, neck and ankles. She has the looks of a foreigner.
"Hahaha, sorry Azazel, you know we had to do it, the look on their faces was priceless, ahahahaha!"
A tall woman with red eyes who looks like an amazon laughs too
"Hahahahaha, to think that they tried to stand against a member of the Kageyama family, that's just precious! Hahahahaha!"
Tsk, what are they talking about? Their laughing is starting to piss me off
A girl with purple hair and delicate features, who was holding back her laugh when she came in, speaks to her friends while looking at me
"Ara ara Liliana-sama, I think that the Sekiryuutei is starting to get mad at us"
What? Did I said it out loud?
"No, you didn't, I just happen to have a very good hearing, fufufu."
Again! How is she doing it?
"You still haven't realized yet? You sure are slow aren't you?"
She says this without taking her smile out her face
"She's reading our minds Ise"
Buchou explains it
"Ara ara, as expected of the Crimson-haired ruin princess, you saw right through my trick, ufufufu"
What! Reading our minds? That's her power?
"Very well, I guess it's time for introductions"
Azazel sensei stands up and walks between our groups, he stands next to the dark skinned girl
"Rias Gremory, this is Liliana Caim, heiress of the house of Caim."
The girl proudly points at herself. I've never heard anything about the house of Caim before, but I can see that they all seem rather strong
"That would be me! And this is my peerage!"
She then prepares to introduce us to the other three girls and to the old man who are all standing by her side
Their appearances are very distinct but they have one thing in common, a mysterious air that surrounds them, even though I feel no malice from them
But most importantly...
All the girls are very beautiful! They have really nice breasts too!
I can't help shift my gaze down so I can steal a glance at their oppai, but just as I'm doing it
"Ara ara, so this is the legendary oppai dragon? I'm gonna get mad if you keep having dirty thoughts about us..."
Crap! I forgot that the she can read minds!
"Disgusting..."
The glasses girl who untill now had not said a word says this, I'm sorry for being lecherous!
Liliana stands between us and her peerage and gestures towards the purple haired girl with matching eyes
"Ok, so this girl who can read minds is my [Queen]: Mayumi Kanagawa!"
"Pleased to make your acquantaince"
She gracefully bow towards us, shit, I can't help but notice how pretty and delicate she looks!
"Fufufu, thank you!"
She says it while looking at me
I can feel Buchou glaring daggers at me, then I feel a pinch on my ear
"What exactly were you thinking Issei?"
A woman who can read minds is a huge problem for a pervert like me!
"Ah Buchou, it's not what you were thinking!"
"Calm down princess, he was just thinking that I'm pretty, you shouldn't be jealous of a middle-class devil like me, fufufu"
The girl answers it with a smile, she's clearly enjoying this! And did she just said middle-class devil? So she's a rank higher than me?
"Ahahahaha, it sure is good to be young! Hahahaha!"
The old man with a white beard suddenly starts laughing, that's not funny!
"This reliable geezer here is my [Bishop]: Henry Galard!"
"Nice to meet you, young ones"
He says it while stroking his beard and giving a laugh, this old man is short, has black eyes and wears an attire that seems to be a classical noble's clothing. His carefree attitude reminds me of the norse chief god, Odin
"Be careful geezer or you might end up having a stroke"
The tall woman with long white hair who looks like an amazon says it to the old man
"This strong woman is my [Rook]: Diz "
" Yo "
The girl simply says it while making a V sign with her hand, of all the members of the bunch, this woman is the one who gives me the strongest impression, even though she's a woman, she's way taller than me and I can clearly see her toned muscles, she definitely gives off the air of a [Rook]. She's even wearing pants and a leather jacket that make her seem even more like a deliquent
"And last, but not least, my [Knight]: Manaki Ishida"
"Can we just end this and go home?"
The girl with long blue hair and glasses seems annoyed. She has red eyes just like their [Rook], which contrast even more with her blue hair. She has a poker face and a cold attitude, if it wasn't for her words it would be pretty hard to read her
Buchou then stands up and greets our new guests
"It's a pleasure to meet you, we have heard a lot about you"
Liliana makes a surprised expression
"Oh, have I become so famous that even the sister of the Maou knows who I am?"
"I have the dream of reaching the top of the rating games, so obviously I would know who you are, you too, right Sona?"
She turns to Kaichou, who nods
"You are a rising star ever since you debuted in the youth games of your generation, of course we would go through you during our research about the rating games"
Liliana makes a pouty expression
"Mou, hearing 'games of your generation' from a highschool student makes me feel like an old lady, but I'm also happy to be so famous that both Maou's sisters know about me"
Sona's peerage and the older members of Buchou's peerage seem to be on the same page as her, but me, Xenovia, Asia, Irina and Rossweisse don't understand what they are talking about. I never heard about Liliana Caim or her peerage, are they really that famous?
I get close to Kiba and whisper
(Sorry, but who is she?)
He turns to me with a nervous expression
(We can explain it later, but summing it up, she is quite a celebrity in the underworld and has won all the rating games she has been in)
(I-I see)
All the games? Damn, so if we are aiming for the top of the rating games then she'll obviously be an obstacle in our way
"You are famous in the underworld after all, and by what your [Queen] said, I take it you already know who we are right?"
"Of course, the whole underworld knows the famous peerages of Sona Sitri and Rias Gremory..."
The girl then takes a pause and smiles before continuing
"...And I think everyone would be really disapointed if they discovered how the crimson princess and her warriors were all humiliated by a human just yesterday fufufufu!"
Buchou makes a click with her tongue, everyone has the same angry look on their faces, she is taunting us for our defeat! She's got some nerve this Liliana!
"Hahaha, c'mon don't get so angry at me! It was just a joke, it's not like the human you faced was normal in like... anyway"
What is she saying? We know that he wasn't normal, but what does she mean by 'anyway'?
"Azazel told us you would be able to explain what happened and who that person was"
Buchou says it in a still angered tone
"Yes, yes I can. Well then, let us begin by the most basic"
Liliana then summons a notebook on the table
"First of all, do any of you know what the word 'Esper' means?"
"E-esper?"
Saji questionates
Kiba is the one who answers her
"People who are able to use psychic abilities such as moving objects with the power of their minds"
She gives a smile
"Ding ding ding! A simplistic and incomplete explanation, but correct either way"
"Are you saying that what we faced was an esper? That's ridiculous, they are urban legends"
Buchou interrupts Liliana's explanation. I've already read and watched movies about espers and I always thought that they were urban legends too, but to be honest, I also thought devils and dragons didn't exist just a few months ago. So I don't see any reason to not believe that espers might also exist.
"It is true that are legends regarding them, but they are just legends, right?"
Liliana reveals a mischievous smile and asks
"Are you sure of it? What do you think about this, Mayumi?"
We shift our gaze to look at her [Queen], but she is not here anymore! When did she left?
"I never left, I'm right here"
"W-what? How?"
Behind us!
We turn our back and we see Kanagawa-san with a smile on her face
"Well Rias, as a devil you should be more open minded, actually the thing is... Mayumi, do it"
Liliana orders and the elegant girl lifts a hand in the air and everything in the room starts floating! Including us!
"Woah, put me down!"
I scream! It's like the gravity has been removed from the room, everyone is floating!
"Yay! Higher, higher!"
Irina-chan! Stop acting like a child in a situation like this!
"I-I'm getting dizzy!"
I hear Gasper's voice from inside one of the floating boxes, hey, when did you got inside that?
"I think that's enough"
"Yes, Ojou"
After Liliana said this, the girl claps her hands and everything is put back on it's place, even the objects who were flying around are put back at their rightful places
Liliana then stretches her arm pointing at her servants and declares
"The thing is: My whole peerage is composed of highly skilled espers!"
W-what? This is absurd! All of them?!
Azazel sensei speaks up
"That's why I brought her here, she's probably the one who knows most about espers in the whole underworld."
Buchou seems very shaken, the levitation just now caught everyone off guard
"S-so, espers are real, I've already heard about how dangerous some of them are, but to think that not only they did exist but that one of them would appear in my territory."
Sona is no better
"So they were not just legends... what a frightful existence..."
Liliana, on the other hand, seems truly excited
"YES! But that's not all there is to it, the one you all happened to meet yesterday was no less than one of the strongest espers in history!"
What? From all the espers we could meet, our first encounter was with someone who is labeled 'One of the strongest in history?'
"And who was he? Stop playing around and tell us!"
Xenovia asks, she probably wants revenge for what happened, no, all of us want to do something about it
Liliana looks at Azazel with a confused expression
"So, they really have no idea, huh?"
Azazel shrugs
"I would have told them, but I think it's better if you explain it"
She then puts her hand on her chin as if she's thinking about something
Then she snaps her fingers and smiles
"Very well then!"
She opens the notebook and turns it to an empty wall
"Ok, now pay attention"
From the notebook a large hologram is projected on the wall opposite to it and a video starts playing
*SCREAMS*
Woah, right in the start of the video there are buildings being destroyed, cops, soldiers and even military tanks, the people seem to be looking and pointing somewhere
The video seems to have been filmed by a professional camera, the logo of a broadcasting channel can be seen on the bottom left and there's a text that occupies the bottom of the screen that reads
'S rank hero Tatsumaki saves the day!'
Tatsumaki? Who is that?
*CRASH*
Suddenly the sound of something collapsing can be heard and the camera switches focus
!
A huge serpent like creature is destroying buildings as it passes! It's enormous, larger than a skyscraper! And flies and jumps crashing everything on it's path
Worse! It can fly as well!
BOOOM!
The tanks and military open fire at the creature, but it doesn't seem to be taking any damage
An attack helicopter approches it from the air and starts shooting at it
The snake attacks and bites the helicopter!
It's crushing it on it's jaws!
But suddenly...
The snake opens it's mouth wide, like it was opened by force!
The helicopter, that in it's current state should be incapable of flying, starts floating in the air and gently lays on the ground!
Soldiers come out of the helicopter, they seem unharmed
The camera zooms in a small figure flying close to the snake
A small girl with green hair is floating on the air with what seems to be a green aura around her
What is she?
The snake coils around a building and charges at the little girl!
*BLAM*
!
The girl lifts one hand and a huge truck comes flying at the creature's head!
The serpent drops to the floor, but it doesn't seem to stop
It pierces the street and goes underground
The girl lifts her hand in the air and the ground breaks as the serpent is pulled out of it, then it floats high in the air
After that she closes her hand
WOW!
The creature is compressed like it was nothing! All 100 or 200 meters of it are reduced to a ball of scales and blood!
The girl then floats along with the ball, places on top of the military truck which was really close to the cameraman filming the situation
I can see her much more clearly now, she's a small girl, with green hair and a black dress, but what attracts me the most about her is the eyes, aside from being of a beautiful green color, those cold eyes have an analytical and stern gaze that seem to be staring down at you, I swear I saw it somewhere before...
She talks to what it seems to be the leader of the military forces, he makes a salute to her, she seems to be rolling her eyes and really mad at him, she then flies away while people are heard shouting words of love and praise to her
The video is cut off and then appears a man and a woman who seem to be anchors of the broadcasting channel whose logo was on the video. The man says:
"Our cameramen were fortunate enough to get this footage of an attack that happened this afternoon in K city. The S rank hero, Tatsumaki, also know as "Tornado of terror", saved the town in seconds from a Dragon level threat monster"
Wait, Dragon level? I really don't like the sound of this...
The woman then says
"It is good to know that heroes such as her are watching over the constant threat of monsters attacking our cities"
The video then ends on a black screen
We look at each other, none of us understood what happened
Buchou is the first to speak
"What was that? Who was this girl?"
"That was Tatsumaki "Tornado of Terror", she is one of the strongest espers alive, her telekinetic abilities are something that are yet to be measured"
Kiba asks
"How can such a child be so powerful?"
"Well, that's the funny thing, she was 28 when this video was shot"
WHAT, 28? She looks 14 at the most!
"You know, a long time ago, before you and I were even born, when the three great powers were too busy killing each other to even give a damn about the human world, people like her were responsible for protecting mankind, there was a group named 'The Hero Association' who gathered talented people from all over the world to protect the human society against monsters and demons, this girl was one of those heroes"
I gulp down before asking
"Heroes like the hero faction?"
I can't help but associate the two names, but Liliana gives me an angered stare
"Don't even compare the two things! Tatsumaki-sama is a real hero! She was considered one of the strongest creatures in the world before her retirement!"
Creature?! Was this girl so strong that they put her on the level of a creature?
"And why did they just went out of the map? Why there is no longer any register about them?"
Sona asks and Liliana sighs with a sad expression
"After most of the monsters had been killed or driven away and after the three factions started making systems to hunt stray demons, evil spirits and monsters themselves, the Hero Association started to decay and wasn't anymore all that necessary. Obviously heroes like her had a lot of enemies, so they used all of their resources and influence to make sure all the records and memories of people like her were turned into urban legends, there are many espers around the world, but they are all hiding and working under the radar"
"So there were people like that..."
Sona says it and Buchou looks at sensei
"You were hiding this from us, weren't you Azazel?"
Sensei shakes his head
"No, I obviously knew about this "Hero Association", but I only knew about these espers because of Liliana, there are many humans around the world that hunt supernatural beings and I was always focused on sacred gears, so I didn't exactly payed attention to how exactly the non-sacred gear users were doing it"
Buchou doesn't seem to be exactly believing sensei's explanation but Liliana intervenes
"Don't blame Azazel princess, most existences in the underworld don't know anything about espers, it's not exactly all the espers that fight against the supernatural and those who fight don't exactly leave evidence behind"
"What do you mean by it?"
I ask, she just said a rather scary thing
Liliana gives an impish smile
"Exactly what you are thinking, there are weak espers in this world just like there are weak devils in the underworld, but those who don't want to fight can just live a normal life. However, if an esper is strong, or if he become strong, and decides to fight against the likes of us, there are only two ways it ends: You either die or you'll somehow escape but have no clue of what happened, just like you guys"
Everyone has a terrified expression listening to what Lilianna just said
"W-wait, so even now they are still hunting us? Thought you said they had retired!"
Liliana nods her head
"And they did, but as I said, there are still many young espers around the world, their powers allow them to sense the supernatural and battle them, a lot of espers work for money or just for fun, hunting and exorcising, devils, monsters, youkais and the like. Frankly, there are even some youths who came up with a motto: 'Strike First, Strike Fast, Strike Fiercely', they call it 3SF"
After saying this Liliana starts laughing by herself
"Sorry, sorry, I just find it kinda cringy, so I can't help but laugh when I say it out loud"
Buchou ignores Liliana's remark about the scary motto we just heard and asks
"The one who was hunting us was paid for that?"
Buchou asks, but Liliana shakes her head
"I don't think so, but I also don't believe he was doing just for the heck of it. I think there was something else behind his motivation"
"And what was it?"
She shrugs
"Guess I'll have to figure it out"
So she doesn't know...
"The point is, Tatsumaki was actually a rather big exception of an esper who received the spotlight, most espers who actually get famous disguise themselves as mere exorcists or psychics who just read the future and see spirits, so most people don't know about them"
Buchou sighs
"Alright, I understand, but is this girl connected to what happened?"
Liliana smiles
"Actually she is, for you guys to have a better idea, check this other one"
"Another video? Can't you just tell us who are dealing with? You know who he is, right?"
Xenovia says it
Liliana sighs and puts her hand against her forehead
"Yes, I do know who he is, but you lot didn't know about the existence of espers untill yesterday, if I simply tell you about it the chances of you believing in me are low, but if I show, you might get the message better"
The video starts playing, again a lot of military personel are around the camera, but this time there are also people on white clothes that appear to be scientists or doctors.
They seem to be surrounding a mountain area. This time there is no broadcasting logo or anything of the kind, just a timer on the corner of the video
*TREMBLE*
The ground visually shakes and smoke starts comming from one of the mountains
One of the men dressed in white comes in front of the camera and looks at a watch on his wrist
He then looks at the sky and speaks at what seems to be a transmiter
"It should be soon, is lady Tatsumaki ready?"
Another voice coming from the radio speaks
"Yes I am! Could you idiots hurry this up already? I wanna go home!"
This is the first time I hear her voice, it really sounds like that of a child, and a bratty one to that
CRECK CRECK
"It's now, record it! Record it!"
The scientist points at one of the mountains, the camera zooms in there and we can see that the mountain is starting to crack
Then suddenly
*BOOOOOM*
The mountain and a large part of the floor explodes and a smoke covers the area
From the smoke a large shadow starts to emerge
HUUUUUGE! It's bigger than the mountains surrounding it!
When the enormous silhouette leaves the smoke we can finnaly see what it is
An enormous reptile-like creature, it looks like a dinossaur, but it's too huge!
I've never heard of a dinossaur like this one!
"I am the Ancient King! I've been awakened of my slumber and now that the other kings have been defeated it's the Terror Lizard Clan's turn to rule over this world!"
The monster can talk?! What the hell is up with it?
[I see, so it's that guy...]
Ddraig speaks so everyone can hear
[Yes, it's him indeed! How interesting!]
Saji's Vritra also spoke! What's going on?
"Ddraig? Do you know that thing?"
"Yeah Vritra, you said something too, right?"
[Partner, that creature is the Ancient King, one of lizard kind's last survivour, his power was probably on the level of a Dragon King when he ruled over the land. Apparently, after the dinossaurs went extinct he went into sleeping for millions of years, I didn't knew he had already woke up]
"So you knew him Ddraig?"
Azazel sensei asks
[Yes, though we never got close to fighting, this creature ruled over the dinossaurs for millions of years and was a strong competitor even to the dragon race, it is not an opponent to be taken lightly.]
[The red one is right, this guy was a mounstrous existence, there were even Dragon Kings who wanted nothing to do with him]
"S-so he was that kind of existence?"
Saji asks with scared eyes
"Hahahaha"
Liliana laughs at the dragon's words
"What is it?"
I ask her, Saji also looks at her with curious eyes
She points at the screen and says
"Just keep watching"
Several machines shoot missiles on the creature, to no avail
The scientist speaks
"We are now leading the target towards point Bravo"
Then another voice answers him, it seems to be coming from some sort of communication equipment
"Understood, we are in bound and on schedule. We'll shortly be on top of Bravo"
A plane flies over the area and from it a small figure comes out, it's the same girl as before, Tatsumaki!
She flies out of the plane and lands on the ground right in front of the creature
"What is she doing? This is suicide!"
I hear Buchou saying, I understand, even from a screen I can feel the huge pressure that the monster gives, it's much stronger than the monster on the other video
"Shhhh, this is one of my favourites!"
Liliana speaks like she's watching a movie, is she even taking this seriously?
The girl looks like a tiny dot close to the monster
"And who are you?"
The monster asks the girl
"Why is she not doing anything?"
The camera zooms at the little girl on the ground, she is...
Talking on the phone?!
She's talking on the phone with her back turned to the monster! Does she want to get killed?
[So that's how much confidence she has on her power]
[Truly a frightening existence]
"Ddraig? Vritra?"
" " " " " "Fufufufufu" " " " " " "
All the members of Liliana's peerage are laughing at the remark of the two dragons, I look at Buchou and the others, they not only seem surprised, but nervous as well, we don't know what to expect from this.
"Huh, who are you?"
The monster speaks after noticing the girl
We can't hear what she is saying, but it seems like she's still talking on her cellphone while ignoring the monster
"Weirdo?"
The monster asks. Huh? Did she called him weirdo?
"Listen well! I am the Ancient King. As ruler of the dinossaurs who once ruled this planet, I stand above all the other lifeforms..."
Tatsumaki turns to the monster and it seems like she's yelling at him, she just interupted that thing's monologue! What's with that bravery? She doesn't seem scared at all of that huge monster in front her!
The monster lowers it's head to look at her.
"Are you done now?"
The monster seems to have lowered it's tone!
Are they... talking to each other? They actually seem to be exchanging words! Event though we can't hear what the girl is saying
Suddenly the monster lifts it's head again
"Act brave while you can little runt!"
It's tone rises again, now it seems really mad!
*STOMP*
He stomped on the girl! There's no way she...
Wait, the huge monster then looks to his left, the girl is floating right next to him!
"Amazing! I didn't even see her moving"
Kiba says that, so not even our fastest member could see her movements? Damn, espers sure are scary beings
"So you aren't totally helpless"
The monster says looking at girl
"But if you intended to do something against me, you're gonna need something at the level of a huge meteor to do it, kid"
Meteor?
[He's probably talking about the thing that made him go into hiding millions of years ago]
Ah, I see, dinossaurs were killed by a meteor after all...
Woah, the monster opens it's mouth and a huge energy starts forming on it, like Tannin ossan's fireball!
There's no way a human can survive that!
But before the creature can unleash the blast...
DOOOOOOOOOOOM!
A huge meteor falls on top of it! An enormous crater is formed on the ground!
And the monster is dead! The next closeup shows its enormous skeleton completely roasted on a crater on the ground!
The video ends with Tatsumaki flying out of the scene, with the scientists and soldiers cheering at her
[So that's why I didn't heard about his awakening...]
[Frankly, to think that one of my rivals would be slain like that... what a shame]
Reaaaally? That's all you gonna say about it?
"What? What was that? Where did that meteor came from? She destroyed that huge creature just like that?"
I can't keep quiet anymore, does this mean that the man we fought could have done this to us if he wanted? Espers are monsters!
"H-how she did that? No magic in the world can do what she..."
Buchou seems confused and scared
"That's the beauty of it Rias, that wasn't magic, it was psychic! I want to show you these videos so you can understand better what you are up against. The man you faced yesterday had a power comparable to hers, in fact, there's one last video you guys need to see"
"What? Another one?"
"Yeah, we're getting fed up with this! If you know the name of the guy who attacked Hyoudou and his friends then tell us already!"
Xenovia and Saji say angrily
"Xenovia, Saji, please understand, I think I see the importance of this now"
This time it was Buchou who answered Xenovia
"...Buchou?"
"Do you remember when we watched the videos of the other devils' rating games so we could better understand them? This is no different, I want an explanation as much as you want, but I believe these videos can give us something that mere words cannot"
Yes, Buchou is right, I wouldn't believe that a human could have this level of power if someone were to simply tell me that, if Liliana believes that there is more for us to see before she can explain things, then I'll believe her.
Sona nods her head and speaks to Saji
"It's true, this videos allow us to analyze the enemy, weren't you worried that we could get into a fight with him without knowing anything, Saji?"
He then scratches the back of his head
"Eh... well it's true, but..."
Liliana smiles
"Finally you understand! Don't worry, this will be the last one, after that, I'll answer any questions you may have"
She presses a key and another video starts playing
This one is much different from the others, the camera is definitely an amateur, probably from a cellphone
The scenario is some sort of town, but the place is completely trashed, there's wreckage everywhere, cars upside down and a strong wind seems to be blowing, looks like a hurricane just passed
Then the camera starts moving and zooms on what actually seems like a hurricane, a strong gust of wind and energy that's flowing in the center of the street
!
It's moving! And there seems to be someone inside of it!
The camera zooms in and we can see a figure covered by a dark-colored overwhelming aura with it's hair floating upwards inside of the hurricane
The creature turns it's head and stares at the camera!
[What the hell is this thing? Are you feeling this as well, Vritra?]
[Yes, what a fierceful power! I can hardly think of a word to describe it]
I hear them saying
But I can understand it , when I look at my hands I find out that I'm shaking!
This is amazing, even if it's just a recorded video, I can still feel the enormous pressure that the thing gives!
"...Monstrous"
Koneko-chan says that, since she's the most sensible about energies she must be feeling much worse than me
The man holding the camera screams in panic, turns it's back and starts running
It's the end of the video.
"W-what was that?"
I am the first to questionate what I saw
"That was the other strongest esper alive. One day, an accident happened and made him completely lose control of his powers for a moment, not even the japanese security forces were able to stop him, he destroyed an entire section of the town just by walking through it and he was only fourteen when this accident happened, today he is much stronger"
WHAAAT? Fourteen? Scary! That was really scary! Espers are definitely monsters!
"The accident ended just as misteriously as it began, no one knows exactly what caused it"
This time was Kanagawa-san who said it
"And what his name is?"
Buchou asks
Liliana-san smirks
"That's the great surprise of the day"
Surprise?
"You know, Tatsumaki is a woman and the boy in that video is now a grow up too, and by some fate they actually met and became a couple, do you know what is their family name now?"
She says it with an impish smile
"The boy's name is Kageyama Shigeo, from Seasoning City and now Tatsumaki is Kageyama Tatsumaki as well"
!
Everyone in the room gasps
What?
"Ka-Kageyama Shigeo?"
Buchou speaks as to confirm what she heard
"You mean the same Kageyama as in Kageyama Tatseyo?"
Xenovia asks
Liliana smiles, is she finding this situation funny?
"Ding ding ding! You are right! He's now much older and powerful than when this video was shot, but he's still the same Shigeo Kageyama"
"So are you saying that the woman and this man..."
Akeno-san seems nervous and Liliana answers right away
"They are Tatseyo's parents!"
What? No way! There's no way Tatseyo is a monster like them! He sure looks scary, b-but...
"This is impossible! Kageyama-kun is in the same class as me, Xenovia, Asia and Irina, we would have felt something if he was this powerful!"
I can't believe what she said, someone as powerful as him was that close to me this whole time? He could have killed me like that monster if he wanted to?
Liliana looks at me with an annoyed expression
"Idiot! Do you think someone as powerful as him wouldn't be able to hide his presence if he wanted to?"
"B-but not even Koneko-chan..."
I look at Koneko-chan, she's looking down with a sad face
"I'm sorry Buchou, sorry Ise-san, even if I am nekomata, I couldn't..."
Liliana lifts herself from the chair and looks seriously at Koneko-chan
"Don't blame yourself, you were not only dealing with a power unknown to most devils but also with something that could rival even the strongest among us"
That doesn't seem to have worked much, but Koneko does look a little less sad
"O-okay"
"You say they are his parents, but in Tatseyo's register there was nothing about Tatsumaki, in fact, his mother had a complete different name in there, but I take that it was a fake name was it not?"
Buchou asks with a hand under her chin
"Yes, Tatsumaki-sama had many enemies during her career, so everytime she registers for something, she uses one of her many fake ids"
"To think it would even bypass us..."
Sona speaks with a sorrowful expression
"Hey, you guys aren't thinking of expeling him are you? That would be very suspicious, he would know that you figured out his identity"
Buchou shakes her head
"Of course not, not only he would be suspicious, but the other students would too. We wouldn't do something so reckless"
Liliana nods saying 'good, very good'
"Now tell me one thing, did any of you saw Tatseyo's aura?"
Me and all the other members of the Gremory peerage nod
"What color was it?"
I tilt my head in confusion
"Well, how do I explain... it had many colors"
Akeno-san agrees with me
"Blue, orange, green, red, purple, yellow, it seemed like something out of this world"
It's true, his aura didn't had a definitive colour and instead was like a multicolored show moving around him, that was a first time of seeing something like that, which only made him an even scarier existence
"I see... so he got it from his dad, huh?"
She says something with a smile on her face, but she almost whispers it so I can't listen
"What did you say?"
"No, nothing, it's only useful to me, don't worry about it"
Only useful to her? What is she talking about? But before I can start to elaborate on that, Buchou calls to her
"Liliana-san, do you have any videos of Kageyama-kun?"
"No, unfortunately he's the kind that avoids the spotlight, BUT!"
A magic seal appears on her hand a magazine materializes on it
"Now, just let me see"
She starts going through the pages of the magazine
"HERE! Found it!"
She then opens it to us
The headline says "Child of Tatsumaki and her husband, Shigeo Kageyama, is finally born! People wanna know what the future reserves for the newborn celebrity"
"But there's not even a photo on this headline"
I ask her, it's really weird, the only picture is one of Tatsumaki's face, but there is none of Shigeo or Tatseyo
"Well, no one in the family is actually interested in media, so there are no photos of him. Just a rumour about the suit he uses when on duty..."
"A crow suit..."
Buchou says, Tatseyo was using a black robe with a crow's mask when he attacked us last night
"Yes, to be more precise it's a plague doctor's suit"
"So, that was the work of an esper? To think that we would be targeted by those people now of all times..."
Everyone in the room looks at Xenovia, what? She knows about espers?
"Xenovia-san, do you know something about them?"
She sighs before answering, after what Liliana said she seemed to be much calmer
"When I still worked with the church there were rare occasions were the church's power wasn't enough, in those times a special group was called, people refered to them as "Espers", they were a really closed community and even the church was afraid of their powers so they were only called when the situation was totally out of hand."
Irina them joins Xenovia's explanation
"Yes, even though we never got to work with them, people talked about them like they were urban legends, we thoguht 'Espers' was just a nickname to them, no one knew exactly who they were but all we knew was that they were really strong"
"W-Wait! So why you two didn't said anything?"
Xenovia puts a troubled expression and Irina puts her tongue out and scratches the back of head
"Simple, we didn't believe on them, sorry ~ ~"
What?!
"Like Irina said, Espers are something of a urban legend, all we know about them is their legendary power of exorcism"
Exorcism? Are you talking about the power that can completely erase a demon?
"E-Exorcism? What do you mean?"
Xenovia shakes her head
"I don't know the details, all I know is that they could kill creatures in a way we never could"
Liliana-san, who untill now was looking with interest at Xenovia, says
"I know what you are talking about"
"Eh? You do?"
Everyone turns to look at Liliana-san
"Then please, explain to us!"
She looks at us and says
"Well, a thing that most espers have in common is their power to contact the spiritual world and most of them can use their powers to exorcise evil beings such as ghosts, youkais and us, demons and fallen angels through their powers, that's why I said that espers don't leave evidences behind"
That's it? So they are not much different than the priests then...
"Well, priests also have that power, it surely is dangerous but..."
Liliana then lifts a finger
"BUT! Unlike priests and holy swords, all an esper has to use to cause spiritual damage to us is the power of their mind, which means we could be killed by a simple wave of hand or slap from one of them"
WHAT!? Is that true?
"I-Impossible..."
Buchou says it with a worried expression
"What a monster..."
Sona speaks
"WAIT! Then why do you have your whole peerage composed of espers? Aren't they a threat to you as well?"
After all she's a devil too! Exorcism powers are definitely trouble for a devil!
The amazon girl clutches her fist at me with a furious expression
"Oi, you better watch your words brat!"
Uahh! Even thought she's pretty she has a really scary expression! And her big body is really intimidating!
Liliana lifts her hand in a sign to stop
"Don't sweat it Diz-chan, they are beginners after all. For your information, Sekiryuutei-chan, I trust my servants with my life. What's more, I also have something quite fantastic..."
Fantastic? Now she got me curious...
"What is it?"
"Not telling!"
Ugh! She's really getting on my nerves
"What are we supposed to do then?"
Sona asks and Liliana gives us a thumbs up
"Don't worry, from now on you can leave this to us! For starters, could you tell me where Kageyama-kun is right now?"
I shake my head
"Sorry, but he didn't came to class today"
Liliana's expression suddenly drops at my answer and it looks like she's really mad! Was it something I said?!
"Eeeeeeh? What is up with it? Even though I came all the way here! Azazel, you told me he would be here!"
Sensei shrugs
"I told you he was studying here, it's not my fault if he decided to slack off today"
"Whaaaaat?! How dare you! Rias Gremory, if I find out Kageyama-kun didn't make to school because of your peerage I won't forgive you!"
Wahhh? What is she saying? It was we who nearly got killed yesterday!
But Buchou pays no heed to her complaints and simply answers
"If you want to see him that badly I can give you his phone number, he registered it in the school form"
"Kyaaaah! Are you crazy? There's no way I can call Kageyama-kun so out of the blue when he doesn't even know me!"
Yeah, she's right, specially on a situation like this, though I still can't think about how she plans to explain things to him.
"I understand, sorry"
Buchou says
Liliana-san then pulls out her cellphone
"Okay, tell me"
"Huh, tell you what?"
"His phone number!"
"But didn't you said..."
"Just because I can't call him now doesn't mean I can't have his number! Please just tell me!"
Eeehhh? Why is she acting like a fan-girl? Shit, having a beauty like her interested in you when you don't even know her! Damn you Tatseyo! Go to hell!
Buchou gives Liliana the phone number, she seems much happier now
"Fufufu, well, now that this is solved, it's still a problem having an esper as strong as him in this town, specially if he thinks you are his enemies, Azazel, could you come with us for a while?"
"Wait, Liliana-san, I have a question for you as well"
Sona-kaichou asks
"Oh, and what is it?"
Liliana says tilting her head
"You said that all the registers about the existences of these heroes and espers were erased, destroyed or descredited, so how do you own all these esper related things? And why are you so interested in them?"
At Sona's question, Liliana reveals a fox smile
"Fufu, smart, you noticed it huh? Well, I have contacts in the esper community, that's all I can say for now, as to why the espers, let's say that I have a special bond with them, guess it's just who I am"
She then turns her back
"If you don't have any more questions, we'll be leaving now, please refrain from having contact with Tatseyo-kun untill I manage to talk to him, alright?"
"How are we gonna do that if we are on the same class as him?"
She waves her hand
"I'm sure you'll figure out a way, also, I don't think he's going to attack you while in school, secret identity and all. And I'll try to my best to contact him as soon as possible, so it won't be long. See ya"
Liliana walks out of the door and Azazel sensei follow after her and her peerage.
"Frankly, what a weird girl..."
Buchou sighs
I turn to her
"Buchou, Sona-kaichou, when you were talking you said that you knew this Liliana, but I never heard about her"
Buchou puts her hand against her forehead and answers
"I'm sorry about it Ise, but while doing research for the rating games even before you and Asia joined us we had already come across Liliana, after all, she participated of the youth rating games of the generation before us. Me, Sona and our peerages at the time watched her play against the other youths, so of course you and the others didn't knew about it"
"I see, so she participated in the games of the youths who came before us right?"
This time it was Sona who answered
"Yes, and she's even participating in the professional games now"
I then remember Kiba's words to me
"H-hey, Kiba, didn't you said that she never lost a game?"
He nods his head
"It's true, right Buchou?"
"Right, so far she has only taken part in 5 games, three in the youth league and two in the pro league, but she had a landslide victory in all of them and was rated quite high, which is also a surprise considering how incomplete her peerage still is"
Five victories? W-well, it's not a very large number, but I don't thing we can say anything about it, so far we only fought in two rating games and we lost our first one.
"Attaining victory with only 4 pieces, and it's said that she only used one evil piece for each servant..."
What?! So her peerage is still that incomplete? It's not even halfway done and she already attained so much?
Sona-kaichou sighs
"One of the reasons she was rated so high was because of the unusual powers and tatics of her peerage, now I know why."
"What? So the reason she was rated so high was because of the abilities of the espers?"
Sona adjusts her glasses and answers
"It would be foolish to say it was only because of that, even if it's a power that a devil has never seem, you are still going to lose or receive bad ratings if your team is not powerful and your tatics lack, their mysterious power might have aided her, but it's wrong to attribute her victories only to that. It is said that she makes her servants work really hard and actually trains them, that must be why they are so strong even if they only required a single piece... well, maybe the fact that they are espers helped on it too."
Buchou agrees
"Liliana is considered a genius even among high-class devils, unlike me and Sona, she had an devil's education, even so she was able to graduate from college at 16, by that time she had already members on her peerage"
She graduated college at 16?! Isn't she like a prodigy or a super-genius?
"Wow, she really seems a hard working girl..."
Rossweisse sounds impressed, oh right, she was also a real hard student among the Valkyries wasn't she? Guess that makes them alike
"After that, she started participating in the rating games. Many devils looked down on her because her team was composed of 'nobodies', but as you know now, she proved them wrong"
I see, well, espers aren't know in the underworld after all, so of course her team would be looked down
"When she received permission to have her own territory in the human world, she did something really drastic and choose an area far away from the territory of her parents, some say it was because she wanted to prove that she can fend for herself, some say it was because of family issues, but no one knows the exact reason. But she managed to stablish herself and now she even has thriving businesess on her own territory. Her peerage is also taking part in the fight against the Khaos Brigade"
I see, well, if they are strong then of course the Underworld will ask them to join the fight
Buchou then lifts a finger as if reminded of something
"Oh yeah, I've heard that she even used her own nickname in her main stablishment"
I tilt my head
"Nickname?"
Rias nods
"Yes, Liliana's nature has also rendered her a nickname like mine"
"Dark Devil..."
I hear Sona saying it in a serious voice
"D-Dark Devil?"
That's one scary nickname!
"Yes, her fame of being a ruthless prodigy rendered her that nickname, though I think the color of her skin played a part on it too..."
I see, one of the first things that called my attention on her was her color too
"H-hey Buchou, is she related to Cattleya Leviathan somehow?"
Since kaichou mentioned her skin, I think it was a good opportunity to clear one of my doubts
But Buchou shakes her head
"No, many people also used to think about it when she wasn't well know, but one of the Caim familiy's attributes is their darkened skin"
I see, just like the Gremory's Crimson hair...
"So they are part of the 72 pillars?"
I hear Xenovia asking
"Yes, there is a rank called "Great President", it is the only house who doesn't hold a title that refers to classic nobility. They hold great influence in the underworld's matters, even if it's just acting on the backstage. Actually, they hold a great influence in this world as well, I'm surprised you never heard about her"
"Uhm? She's famous in the human world as well?"
"Yes, just like the Gremory has business in the human world, Caim also has many investments in the human world, because of that she has gained some fame in the human world as well"
So there is something like that, they seem to be important people
"Uhm... I see, yet I still can't remember to have heard about her before"
Buchou continues
"Well, it's not a suprise, their businesses are aimed at a more... grown up audience"
"G-grow up audience?"
Ideas start to swirl up in my mind, so that's the kind of business that the Caim family commands? Ahhh, I really wanna know it!
"Ise-senpai is making a pervert face..."
Gasper points it out, was it that obvious?
"Haha, sorry Issei, but it's not what you are thinking about, they are mostly involved with things like the gamble, smoking and drinks industry"
Oh, I-I see, so it's that type of grow up entertainment. I have no interest in that!
"Ouch!"
I feel an elbow in my ribs, Koneko-chan!
"...Pervert"
"S-sorry, Koneko-sama"
Though I'm disapointed, I can understand it now. If she was involved with ecchi things in the human world I would have know her know for sure, or at least Matsuda or Motohama would! We are the pervert trio after all! But if she's involved with things like that there's no way we would know about her.
The door opens and Azazel comes back alone
He doesn't say anything and sits on a chair, Buchou crosses her arms on her chest and asks him
"So they left?"
"Yes"
"And what was decided?"
"You don't have to worry about the Kageyama kid anymore, that girl might like to provoke, but she knows her stuff"
Xenovia hits her fist against a desk and stands up
"So we are going to just leave it to her? There's no way I can be satisfied with just that! Buchou, you understand me right? What he did to us..."
"What he did to us was terrible Xenovia, I know, but what do you think I should do?"
Buchou answers firmly, but there is no anger in her tone, in fact, she seems really sad
"I more than anyone want to take these deal in my hands, but I have to understand my limits, not only for myself but also for you"
I nod my head
"I understand Buchou"
As much as it pains me, I know that as we are now, we have no chance against Tatseyo. A bad feeling, the same feeling of weakness that I had many times in the past shows up again, shit! I had with this! I hate this feeling!
Little by little everyone in the room nods their hands and agrees with Buchou's decision
"Let's leave it to Liliana, alright Xenovia?"
Irina grabs Xenovia's hand
"Alright, I understand"
Xenovia breathes out and seems to have calmed down
"We'll become stronger so we won't lose to the likes of him again, alright?"
I ask her and she gives a smile
"Okay..."
Buchou then gives Azazel a mean stare, I can see that she didn't like the reunion so much, in fact I think none of us was satisfied with the result, after all,
"So... how did you two met?"
Azazel sensei leans on his chair
"It's funny actually, one day my investigation about sacred gears and her research about espers ended up leading us to the same place. During our conversations we discovered that I feel about Sacred Gears the same way she feels about Espers, heh, guess people with weird obsessions tend to attract each other"
Please don't say such a creepy thing so casually!
I sigh and we all look at each other
"So, what we gonna do next?"
Just as Buchou is about to answer me, all of our cellphones ring together
"Uhm? What's this?"
Everyone picks up their phones
"An allert?"
"What's the meaning of this?"
"Hey Buchou do you..."
I look at Buchou, but her face has gone pale
"S-seriously?"
Sona-kaichou has also an expression of disbelieve
"Honestly, at a time like this..."
"What happened Buchou?"
She puts her hand against her forehead
"The Hero Faction has arrived here"
"W-what?!"
I exclamate with my eyes gone wide
The Hero Faction, a group of the Khaos Brigade consisting of Sacred Gear users and descendants of the brave heroes, it has been said that they attacked other devil territories but they arrived here already? And in this situation?
Sona sighs
"They want to meet with us, they said they will be waiting for us in this address"
Sona shows us Kuoh town's map on her phone, there's an area marked in red
"W-wait, why are they giving us their location?"
Saji asks her
"Most members of the Hero Faction are sacred gear users, their leaders are sending their soldiers to territories belonging to devils and fallen angels in order to awake their balance breakers. Rias and I knew we would be targeted soon since we have the Sekiryuutei and Vritra with us, but to think they would arrive in this kind of situation..."
"So that's their objective..."
They wanna use me and Saji to unleash the full potential of their members
"But should we really head there? Couldn't it be a trap?"
I ask Buchou
"But what other choice do we have Ise? We can't leave them in our town"
Yes... Buchou is right, even if it's a trap we have no other choice but to check it for ourselves.
"Looks like we ain't gonna get a break anytime soon..."
I sigh
"Rias, do you have a problem with my peerage tagging along?"
Buchou nods her head
"No problem at all, in fact it's better if we all fight together to get information about these new enemies"
"So what are we waiting for? I'm aching for a fight already!"
Buchou smiles at Xenovia's words
"Alright, ORC and the Student Council, let's show to these heroes what the devils or Kuoh town are made off!"
"""""ALRIGHT!"""""
Everyone declares loudly
I've decided, I'll take this feelings of frustration and use them to rise even higher!
We might have lost to you Tatseyo, but we are still strong and we're going to become even stronger!
Afterword: So she's here! The dark devil, Liliana Caim! Sorry about taking so long to post this one, but this was the longest chapter I've written and creating her character was a real piece of work, I wanted to make her different from the other female canon characters from DxD, which is hard since there are so many, so I decided to make her into a teasing and flashy, but responsible and almost gangster-like character, to contrast with Rias' kind type of leadership and Sona's strategistic style.
Also, I wanted to give her some hereditary physical trait, the Gremorys have crimson hair, Bael has purple eyes, so what should I give her as a trait of her family? Well, at first I thought about giving her horns, but Roygun blew that idea up. And one day, as I was browsing some arts, a glimpse came to me and I saw what should have been obvious: Dark skin! Really, I think Ishibumi doesn't likes brownies very much, that Leviathan from the Old Maou Faction was the only dark skinned female character in the series and she only appeared for like one episode/chapter, so I went for that.