"Argh..."
My head hurts like a bitch
What happened?
My blurred vision starts coming back to normal and I start to make sense of my surroundings
I'm in some kind of large room, which is decored as a standard living area, there are sofas, chairs, a table, a large mat and I'm laying at some sort of bed
What am I doing here?
I try to get up, but it seems like I'm stuck in place
What? I can't move?
...
!
That's right!
I was poisoned! Shit, shit shit shit!
Did it had to be poison?! From all the days to forget my mask!
I remember I was fighting against Rias and her group and then...
The dark skinned girl with silver hair! She was a demon!
The dark devil! She was the one who poisoned me!
"Ughh"
I try to move, but I can't, it seems like there's something holding me down
"Fufufu, seems like he woke up"
"Amazing, that amount of poison just to put him down for a few minutes."
"He's really something..."
I start to recognize the shapes of the ones in the other side of the room, a tall girl with disheveled white hair, a delicate looking girl with vivid purple hair and a flower on it, an old man with a beard, a blue haired girl with glasses and a hairband... and the dark devil!
"Who are you?! Why are you keeping me here?"
The dark devil comes to me and rests her hand in my cheek
"Don't worry, we are not your enemies"
I move my face to get away from her touch
"Like hell you aren't! You poisoned me! And you all reek of demonic energy!"
She makes a pouting face and puts one finger up as if lecturing me
"That's rude Kageyama-kun! But it's okay, I know you are nervous, but we'll help you understand what happened"
What is that? Why is she trying to strike a conversation now?
"LET. ME. GO!"
I'm not going to negotiate with demons that are trying to kill heroes!
BLAM
I use my telekinesis to lift in the air the bed which I'm binded to and all the objects of the room
"Woah, calm down!"
She says stepping back
"Why can't I move?"
"This is a magic binding, you gonna need a lot of power to break it, but I wouldn't explode here if I were you"
"Why not?"
"This is a hotel that belongs to my family, which means there are a lot of humans here, you wouldn't want to start a fight here, right?"
"W-what?"
I ask confused, what does she mean? We are in a hotel?
"Look"
She puts a hand on the ground and I see a vision of a family living on the floor below us, they are talking and eating like they don't know they are being watched
"So you are using hostages?"
She shakes her head
"Not at all, we have no intention of causing harm to you, this is just to make sure you will act the same towards us"
"Uhm..."
I carefully analyze the situation I am in, it's true that none of them are giving even a hint of killing intent or malice towards me
So they really don't wanna fight?
"Okay, I'll trust your for now. But don't think I'm your letting my guard down just because of it"
I put the things back down and look at them
"So, you brought me all the way here, what do you want?"
The dark devil walks towards me and gets closer to the bed
"Well, it happens that I am huge fan of your mom and dad, so I really wanted to meet you! But you had that unfortunate encounter with Rias, Sona and their peerages, then you probably got the wrong idea about us. So I brought my lovely esper servants in the hope you would understand us!"
What? Esper? It can't be...
"There's no way, no way they are espers, they all reek of demonic energy!"
The truth is I can sense that they have the energy of espers, but I can't believe it
"Ah, guess it can't be helped then, Mayumi"
"Yes, Ojou"
The girl with purple hair stands up
[You are not in danger, we are espers just like you]
What? Her mouth is not moving but I can hear her voice in my head?
Telepathy? No way...
"Impossible, this is some kind of trickery..."
[It is no trickery, my name is Mayumi and I am a telepath]
I stare at them unable to believe at what I'm hearing, the dark devil continues to speak
"You really don't wanna believe us, right? Then how about-"
I interrupt her
"If you really are espers, then show me your auras"
Her followers look at each other and then at her, as if asking for permission
She waves her hand
"Go ahead"
Without further ado, they release their auras
"No... no way..."
These are definitely the auras of espers, but yet they are mixed with demonic energy, how can this be possible?
"It's true, as impossible as it may seem. So, are you willing to listen to us now?"
"A-alright, but could you please untie me then?"
I ask her, still in disbelieve
"Alrighty~~"
She says as she puts her hand in my chest and I feel my body getting lighter
I lift myself but she keeps staring at me with a smile on her face
"Hm, are you okay?"
"Sorry, it's just that I never imagined I would have a Kageyama esper with me, fufufu"
What a weird girl, is she a crazy fan of my mom or something?
I move and sit on the edge of the bed
"So... you said you are a fan of my parents work? Like, you know my father too?"
She sits beside me
"Yes! You could say that I'm a real fan of espers, the mysteries behind the human mind and it's power just fascinate me since I was little."
Woah, I never even thought about things like that, she looks like an airhead gal at first sight, but she can say really deep things...
"So that's why you kidnapped me in the middle of the fight?"
"I didn't kidnap you! I was trying to protect a comrade!"
Comrade? So she's friends with Rias and her hero killer friends?
"Do you know that Rias and her friends go around attacking heroes? If you admire my mom then you should know she's a hero as well"
She then makes a face as if she just had a realization
"Ah right, that's why you were so pissed back there"
"What? Of course I was pissed! They were trying to kill heroes!"
She sighs
"Kageyama dear, I think we got a lot to explain to you."
She then lifts herself from the bed and takes my hand
Oi, oi, oi, calm down!
"W-w-what are you doing?"
"Just come over here"
Holding my hand like this, even if she's a devil, she's still a girl!
She leads me to a table where there are several chess pieces, but I can see that there are some pieces lacking, namely one knight, a bishop, a rook, the queen and the king.
"What is this?"
She takes one of the pawns in her hand and shows me
"This is an evil piece, do you know what it is?"
Evil piece? By the name it's definitely nothing good.
"No, never heard of it"
"Well, to sum it up: It can turn any living creature willing to become my servant into a devil"
WHAT? So this is a like a monster cell? What she's planing to do with it? Maybe she will...
"Are you planning to use it on me?!"
I say as I step back
She waves her hand in front of her face
"No, nothing like that. We also can't force you to accept it. I'm only showing this to you so you'll understand something, you notice that there are some pieces that are not here, right?"
I nod
"Yes, five of them"
"That's because they've already been used, the king piece doesn't exist, but that would be me and these espers are the ones who became my servants"
So it's true, they are humans who joined the devil's side...
That's so messed up!
I turn around to look at them, seems like they are expecting something
"Why have you done this? Why give up on your humanity? Why turn against mankind?"
The tall girl with white hair is the first to answer
"Listen here! We are protecting mankind! The guys you were trying to save were the real villains, 'hero' is just a title they made for themselves!"
What is she talking about?
"Now, now Diz-chan, let's not exceed ourselves"
The old man interrupts the amazon's scolding
"Yes, if I remeber correctly, you were also like that when we first met you, was it not?"
The purple haired girl also talks to her companion
"You... you guys..."
The amazon seems to be cornered by their words
"What Diz-chan is trying to say is that those men are actually part of a very dangerous organization called 'Khaos Brigade', the details are not important to you right now, but those men are really dangerous and evil."
Again with this 'Khaos Brigade', who are those people?
"So why they told me that they were heroes? They couldn't possibly know that I would help them because of that"
She sighs and explains
"You probably ain't gonna believe it, but they really are descendants of legendary heroes like Heracles, Jeanne D'arc and others, so they actually believe to be doing the right thing"
What...
"You seriously expect me to believe that?"
"Well, not actually, but for now..."
She grabs a notebook and a magazine and puts them in front of me
"Here, check out the hero association site or the old hero catalogue, try to look for any of the guys you saw, I guarantee you won't find them"
I access the hero association page and start checking the list of members, truth be told, there are no registered heroes who even look like the ones I helped to escape.
"Wait, hold up, how do you have access to this?"
In the old times, the site of the hero association was public, but now it's a private site that can only be accessed under strict circunstances, also, this magazine she gave me was one of the hero catalogues from decades ago, most of them were all burned, how does she have that?
She gives a mischievous smile
"I have my sources, but that doesn't matter now, have you been convinced that they weren't the heroes you were thinking?"
"Y-you are right, but then what was their objective attacking devils all of a sudden?"
"Well, the Khaos Brigade has an objective that will literally mess with the whole balance of our world. The Hero Faction is a branch of them who messes with it by attacking devils, dragons and youkai."
"How can killing evil creatures negatively affect the balance of the world?"
She makes an expression as if she's been hurt
"Ouch, Kageyama-kun! I'm a devil too you know?"
Yes, she's right, she is a devil, even though she looks like a very pretty girl
"I-I didn't mean to offend, I'm sorry, but until now all devils I've met where creatures who wanted nothing but cause harm to people"
She makes a troubled expression and sighs
"You are right, there are devils, fallen angels and youkais who act no different from evil spirits and you probably have been dealing with them your whole life. But we are different, I swear! The balance between the powers is necessary for this world!"
She is saying what I had thought yesterday, so there are good devils as well...
"What do you mean by balance of the powers?"
She makes a serious expression
"You see Kageyama-kun, the world has some powers acting as moderators for the balance of this world: Angels, Fallen Angels, Devils, Youkais and other factions, if this balance were to be affected, it would spell huge trouble for the world and for the human race."
"You mean Youkais are on this as well?"
I exorcised a lot of youkais during my life, I doubt I would be able to have a good relationship with them.
"Yes, in a different role, but they do"
I sigh and look down
"That's a lot of information to absorb..."
She smiles towards me again, this girl sure has a high spirit
"Don't worry, we can help you! Also, if you want, you can ask for that angel girl's help as well, if you have problems with trusting a devil, you should feel better if it's an angel right?"
Ugh, for a reason I don't think that she'll be very willing to help me after what I did.
"Ye-yeah, but I don't think she'll want to talk to me, of ever see me again for that matter..."
Shit, now that I think about it, I don't know if I'll be able to show my face at school again, now that I was told that they may be necessary to keep the balance of the world, I don't think I can look at them in the eye, even though my intentions were good.
She makes a troubled expression
"Well, you did make short work of them... two times to be exact."
"So you know about it?"
"Yes, yes, they didn't knew a thing about espers and psychic powers, so they came to me for help, I told them I would take care of you, guess they'll be pissed at me too..."
Wait, what does she mean by "taking care"? Didn't she said she didn't want to fight?
"Take... care?"
Her eyes widen and she crosses her arms in front of her body
"Sorry, sorry! That came out wrong! I meant explaining to you and making you understand the situation and even help us if we needed! That's all!"
I breath out in relieve, I really don't want to fight them right now
"So you wanted me to help fight these guys who are doing bad things behind the name of heroes... and instead I assumed things and ended up hurting the innocent ones"
"You couldn't have know, to you, you were doing the right thing."
I put my hand against my forehead
"Yeah, but still..."
She gives me a reassuring smile
"Don't worry, I think they'll be fine since they have a [Twillight Healing] with them"
I gulp down my saliva when I hear the word 'healing'
"Y-you mean a cute blonde girl in a nun outfit?"
She looks at me
"Yes, that's her, why?"
Shit, as I feared
"I hurted her pretty bad, I don't think she'll be healing them anytime soon..."
She now has a worried expression on her face
"...Kageyama-kun, how bad did you hurted them?"
"..."
"Kageyama-kun? Please be honest with me"
She's looking at me with her big golden eyes, crap, I feel like a monster...
"I ripped the angel girl's wings, nearly exorcised Hyoudou, pierced Yuuto with his swords, among other things on the same level, all of that in my 100% state."
"Oh fuck..."
She puts her hand over her mouth with a worried expression
"I'm sorry, I didn't know and I was so angry at them for attacking heroes that-"
"No, I'm glad you were honest with me, but now..."
Then she lifts her head and looks right into my eyes
"Kageyama-kun, do you wanna repay them for what you did?"
She looks at me with her eyes filled with confidence, she's seriously beautiful. The other girls don't get very far behind either
"Y-yes"
"You can reassemble matter and manipulate energy like your father right?"
She knows that much about me?
"Yes, but how do you-"
"It doesn't matter now! Now wait a minute"
"Okay..."
She then makes a seal appear in front of her ear
"Azazel! How is the Gremory and Sitri peerage?"
I can't hear what he's answering, but she listens to the reply with a worried expression
"No! Don't take them there, I know someone who can do a better work and faster, take them to the old building, we'll be waiting"
The old building?
She turns off the seal and looks at me
"Okay, they'll be there in a minute, are you ready?"
"Yes, I'll do what I can"
"Good, everyone let's go"
They gather around a large seal that was formed on the floor
"C'mon, hop on it"
She invites me and I get ready to step inside of it
Wait... I just remembered something!
"Hey..."
"What?"
She turns to me and I scratch my head
"I know this is not the best time for this, but what is your name?"
It would be weird to address her as 'dark devil'
She proudly points at herself with her thumb
"I am Liliana Caim! Heiress of the House of Caim!"
I see, Liliana-san then...
As soon as she finishes saying this, a light surrounds us and when I notice, we are inside the old building where the Occult Club gathers
The man with a goatee walks towards us, he's the fallen angel teacher, Azazel
"Liliana... what the fuck? What is he doing here?"
He says looking at me
"Kageyama-kun is going to heal them"
So that was her idea?
"R-right, yes, I'm here for it"
Azazel makes a confused expression
"Huh? But what about-"
"There is no time for that! Just take us to where they are!"
She then turns to me
"Just consider this as a demonstration of regret, right, Kageyama-kun?"
She looks at me as if expecting me to say something, I nod my head
"Y-yeah, she's right, I'll do what I can"
Azazel still has a doubtful look, but gestures for us to follow him
"Alright, come with me then"
We follow Azazel to a spacious room with several sleeping mats on the floor
Issei and his friends are unconscious on top of them, they seem to have received first aid, but are definitely in a bad shape
"Liliana, are you sure this is gonna work?"
"Trust me, Azazel, I believe in him"
She believes in me? Without even knowing me?
"C'mon, let's fix the healer girl so it will be easier to heal the others"
She takes me to Asia who has a bandage around her head and in other parts of her body
This is gonna be harder than I thought
"Liliana-san, if you know my powers, then you know that I'm not a healer, right?"
My power to manipulate energy can accelerate the regeneration factor, while my matter assembling can heal more serious damage that wouldn't regenerate normally, it's easy when I use it on my own body, but if it's someone else, then I'll have to know what I want to fix, otherwise, depending on the wound, I might end up damaging even more the person's body, push too much their regenerative skills or not heal it correctly
"Yes, I know the limitations, Azazel, what exactly is the problem with her?"
"A concussion on the back of the head and cracked bones on the parts where she has bandages due to being beaten around like a ragdoll"
He delivers the last part in an angry voice and I can feel his gaze at me
"So she had no serious or fatal injuries?"
I ask
"No, compared to the others, she's mostly fine"
Yeah, I do remember that I was rather nice to her
Well, as nice as someone in a maniac killing frenzy can be
But okay, I can work with that
"I think that's enough information"
I grab Asia with my hands and start fixing the girl
I can usually do that in an instant, but that's when it's with me, on others I have to be much more careful, so it takes about one minute to finish healing her
"Okay she's fine now, she'll probably wake up in a..."
"Ughh..."
Oh shit, she's already waking up?
Asia slowly opens her eyes and speaks with a groggy voice
"Ise-san? Where am I... GUAAAAAAAAH!"
As soon as she sees me, the little girl screams and crawls backwards to a corner of the room.
"Calm down Asia, he's not going to hurt you now"
Azazel walks towards the little girl
"Azazel sensei? Liliana-san? W-w-what is he doing in here?"
She talks as if I was some sort of monster, well, I can't blame her
"He was the one that healed you Asia, I explained things to him and now he's on our side, so rest easy, no one here will hurt you"
Asia then looks at me
"Re-really?"
Ah, guess I have say something friendly?
"Yes, I'm not your foe anymore, I'm here to help"
Azazel lets off the girl and stands up again
"I don't think that'll be necessary Kageyama, Asia, you can use your sacred gear now, right?"
She still seems scared, but answers him promptly
"Yes! I have to heal the others!"
She picks herself up and goes into the middle of her injured companions
GLOW
The same green light from before emmanates from her body towards her friends and the injuries on them start to diminish and are eventually gone
Amazing, even for a healer her skills are amazing!
(What is she?)
I whisper to Liliana-san, who was standing by my side watching the display of the little girl's power
(Remember when I told you about [Twillight healing]? That's her sacred gear, it grants it's user superb healing skills)
(Oh, okay)
Then I realize something...
(Liliana-san...)
(What is it?)
(What's a Sacred Gear?)
I really have no idea what these words mean
She has a surprised expression on her face
(Oh yeah, we forgot to explain it to you didn't we? Hold on...)
"Azazel!"
She calls the fallen angel's attention
Both him and Asia look at us
"What?"
"I'm going to take Kageyama-kun to another room, so please explain to Rias and the others the situation when they wake up okay?"
Azazel lifts an eyebrow and chuckles
"Well, you sure waste no time... have fun then!"
Liliana-san blushes at Azazel's words, what did he meant by 'have fun'?!
"That's not it, you damn idiot! Kageyama-kun wants to know what a sacred gear is, also he must have a lot of questions on his head right now!"
Azazel gives us another weird look
"I'm sure he has..."
Liliana-san blushes even more, what is this old pervert insinuating?
"Shut up! Also, it's no good to let him close to Rias and her peerage before we explain things to them, Asia's reaction was harmless but the others might not be so subtle"
The fallen angel strokes his goatee
"You are right, but if you want to explain him about Sacred Gears, then am I not the best one to do it? You might be an expert about espers, but Sacred Gears are my thing"
His 'thing'? Also, she's an esper expert? I thought she was just a fan girl or something
"W-well, if you want to, then it might be better if it's you."
"Okay then, Asia, can you take it from here?"
"Y-yes, leave it to me!"
"Alright, all of you come with me"
"Wait, all of us? What if Asia needs help?"
I say it to him
"It's better to leave Asia to do the work by herself, she's used to treat their wounds, you would all just get in the way"
With that we make our way to another room of the old building
"Sit down Kageyama-kun, this is gonna take some time."
I sit at a couch, Liliana-san and the pruple haired girl sit next to me, the others sit at chairs and at another couch
"Well, first things first, you saw Issei's armor, right?"
The flashy gundam-like one?
"Yeah, that red suit that looks like a dragon, right? That's a sacred gear?"
Azazel nods his head
"That was his [Balance Breaker], this is his Sacred Gear's battle form, but not all Sacred Gears work like that, for example, Asia's healing power is a sacred gear named [Twillight Healing]"
"I see, then what is the difference between Sacred Gears and psychic powers?"
"I was just getting into that, sacred gears are special artifacts bestowed only upon humans or half-humans by the God of the bible as part of a system of miracles, they have different powers and usages, many people who had their names engraved on history were sacred gear users. Different from psychic powers, these artifacts can be passed to another person entirely and some, such as Issei's [Boosted Gear], have legendary beasts residing inside of them"
Legendary beast...
"The beast that lives inside Hyoudou is a dragon right? It was that the power I felt the first time I saw him"
Liliana-san has a puzzled look
"So you were able to feel the Sekiryuutei's power right when you met him? Amazing..."
"He's quite something, you really caught a good one, Liliana"
"Duh, did you expect any less from a Kageyama?"
Wait a second, did she said Sekiryuutei (Red Dragon Emperor)?
"Woah, woah, cut the praise for a sec! Are you telling me that Issei has the real legendary Y Ddraig Goch inside of him?"
I've already read the legends about the Red and White Dragons, but it's been said that they were slayed ages ago! So you're basically saying that he now lives inside Hyoudou, just like Vritra was living within that blondie?
Liliana-san looks at me
"Yes, it's true, you more than anyone knows that even if a beast or monster is killed, it's soul can still bring trouble to this realm, right? So when they were slayed, the God of the bible decided to seal their souls inside these sacred gears so that they would aid humanity instead of bringing harm to them. Sacred Gears can only be possessed by humans or by those who are at least part human"
It's really to digest this, but it makes some sense
"It's kinda scary, but so this sacred gears must be pretty rare then?"
Azazel shakes his head
"These Sacred Gears that have Legendary beasts inside them are part of a group of Sacred Gears know as [Longinus], they are extremely powerful and unique sacred gears, but not all have beats on them and there are only thirteen of them, however, the other Sacred Gears like Asia's [Twillight Healing] and Yuuto's [Sword Birth] are also sacred gears, but they are not unique, there are others with the same ability around the world"
I stop to think for a while
"So Yuuto's ability of creating swords is not a demonic power, but a Sacred Gear that any human could have?"
Azazel answers
"Yes, as long as they are even part human, there's still a chance to be born with a Sacred Gear"
I put my hand under my chin
"Hmm, Kageyama-kun? Is something wrong?"
Liliana-san asks me
"No... hey, Liliana-san, you know about heroes, right? Could it be that..."
The smile on her face tells me everything
"So you noticed, yes, there were heroes on the past that were sacred gears hosts"
"I see... that actually explains a lot"
There were many heroes back in the time, some of them had powers similar to the ones I saw with these devils
"Oh, so you already had contact with sacred gear users before?"
Azazel asks me with curiosity, and I nod
"Directly I only met a few, but we didn't called what they had Sacred Gears..."
"How did you called it then?"
""Superpowers, obviously""
Me and Liliana-san say it at the same time and we look at each other as Azazel laughs
"Hahahaha! I see then, so you just called it superpowers, well, it was a hero society after all"
"We just assumed they were talents just like my esper abilities, but they were actually something different all along, huh?"
"Well, Sacred Gears are a mysterious power that the God of the bible decided to bless upon humans, people who don't have inner knowledge about it wouldn't be able to tell them apart from innate supernatural abilities"
Liliana-san nods at Azazel's words
"Many users themselves don't know the power they have, it's natural that it would lead to this confusion"
"I see..."
I say this while I look at the ceiling thinking, it sure is a lot to take in, but then I'm reminded of something
"But why am I so much stronger than him then? Are you telling me that I am stronger than a Heavenly Dragon? Weren't they supposed to be stronger than Gods or was that just part of the legend?"
It is said that the fights between Albion and Ddraig shook the very foundations of earth and sky and made even Gods afraid of them, is that a lie? Or am I stronger than a God? If that's the case, then Kuriko and my parents would be on what level?
"The Sacred Gear system sealed the original powers of those beasts, as he is now, Issei can only manifest a fraction of Ddraig's power, maybe more if he uses his [Boost] skill, but it's still nothing compared to Ddraig's original power. He's steadily becoming stronger and awakening more and more of his power..."
I understand, man, this sacred gear thing is complicated
"By [Boost], you mean that voice that kept shouting as he raised his aura? That was Ddraig's ability?"
Azazel nods and then gives a laugh
"Correct, boy, you were lucky to be facing him now, if Issei had already mastered Ddraig's original power you would being rescued"
I think that was a provocation and make a bitter expression, but I don't know how to answer him back, as strong as I am, I can't see myself defeating a Heavenly Dragon with it's original power
But Liliana-san speaks before I can formulate an answer
"You really think so, Azazel? Kageyama-kun defeated Vritra you know? That means he is atleast stronger than a Dragon King, don't you think he can grow even more?"
Eh? What is she saying?
"Oh, so you are telling me you think that he could defeat the Sekiryuutei?"
"He-hey, Liliana-san, don't say that kind of thing so carefreely, it's a Heavenly Dragon we are talking about and I was already going all out when I fought Vritra, you know?"
It's true that I managed to defeated that evil dragon, but it wasn't so easy and a Heavenly Dragon is a much stronger existence
They both give me a confused look
"Are you sure Kageyama-kun?"
Liliana-san says it looking at me, I answer in confusion
"S-Sure of what?"
She tilts her head
"Are you sure that you were using your full power?"
My full power?
"Yes, I was going at 100% and-"
"I don't think so"
She says with a serious face
"Eh?"
That's the only thing that manages to come out
"Y-you don't think so what?"
"I don't think you were using your full potential"
"What do you mean?"
Azazel steps in
"Liliana is an esper expert, she is know to bring out the talent of her servants..."
"We can testify to that, fufufu"
Mayumi says it at my side while raising her hand
Azazel makes a pause and turns to Liliana
"So you think you can make him stronger than the Sekiryuutei?"
Liliana-san shrugs
"I don't 'make' them Azazel, I just bring out what they can already do..."
She then gives a sharp look at him
"Unlike you, who gives kids artificial Sacred Gears like they were toys and allowed that blondie to awake Vritra without almost any control over it"
There sparks flying at their exchange of stares, but I interrupt it because of what Liliana-san said
"Woah, woah, woah, hold on a second! Artificial Sacred gears? And what about this thing that you were the one who gave that boy Vritra?"
Azazel scratches the back of his head
"Well... it's a complicated thing"
Is he trying to dismiss the subject? But depiste his dodginess, Liliana-san explains to me
"Artificial Sacred Gears are skills just like Sacred Gears that can be built and given to someone with enough power to hold it and skill to use it, most members of the Student Council of this school have it."
"Was that mirror like skill one of them?"
I ask, that girl was able to reflect one of my attacks with even more strength than I had put into it, I was really curious about it
But Azazel shakes his head
"No, Shinra and Saji have natural sacred gears, but all the others were given to them by me and the Grigori"
"Grigori?"
Liliana-san answers me
"It's an institute of the Fallen Angels that researches and develops Sacred Gears, they were the ones who created the artificial sacred gears that the Student Council uses"
I see, so both of them are naturals while the rest of the Student Council uses these "Artificial" ones
"This institute sounds kinda dangerous..."
Liliana-san nods
"And it is, specially in the hands of this guy"
She says pointing at Azazel
"He-hey, that's not fair! I only did that because it was an emergency!"
Azazel defends himself and I once again have to ask
"Emergency?"
Liliana-san nods and speaks
"Yes, that boy, Saji Genshirou, was born only with one Sacred Gear, [Line], which contained one of the five fragments of Vritra's soul, but we had an emergency battle with the terrorists not too long ago and Azazel decided that it would be a good idea to give Saji the other four sacred gears, fusing Vritra's soul into one sacred gear and giving the legendary evil dragon a new life inside a 17 year old boy"
W-WHAT?!
"What the fuck did you had in your head?! Did you know that when I was battling him he literally lost all reason and Vritra took over? What would you do if he did that in an area full of civilians?"
"You tell him! I warned him at the time that it was dangerous!"
I was born with my own powers, and as Liliana-san said, I can even defeat a Dragon King with them, but I've been watched and educated since kid on how to use my powers, it's not like someone simply gave them to me to solve an emergency and left a legendary evil creature living within my soul.
Azazel puts his hands up as if trying to defend himself
"B-but what's the problem? It worked didn't it? And Saji is a good kid, he wouldn't hurt anyone"
Is that his defence?
"The age is the least of the problems, you crazy fallen! Why did you think that bringing that Evil Dragon back would be a good idea?! Even if he's inside Genshirou, if that thing's curse touches a normal person or even a lesser demon, it would kill them for sure!"
"E-eh..."
Azazel seems to be cornered by our words, this guy is seriously irresponsible!
But if he is, then...
"H-hey, Liliana-san"
""Huh?""
Both turn to me at my sudden change of mood
"If Azazel is irresponsible... then so is this God, right? Because, why in the world would God bestow such a phenomenal power to a kid without any training or even giving them early awareness of what they have? Why would anyone on it's right mind do that?"
I can hear Azazel sighing
"Honestly... we don't know, the will of the God of the bible is a mistery even to the angel faction"
"And no one can ask him why in the world he would do that?"
At my question, Liliana-san and Azazel look at each other, their eyes seem filled with sadness
"Azazel, can I?"
He nods
"Go on..."
Liliana-san turns to me
"Kageyama-kun, I know you probably won't believe us but..."
Liliana-san gives another sigh and looks at the floor before looking at me again
"The God of the bible is dead, he was killed during the great war among Angels, Devils and Fallen Angels."
What...
No, what? You can't kill God, that's impossible! That's ridiculous!
"What the hell are you saying? You can't kill God! How the fuck do you kill God?!"
I'm starting to get angry, are they really telling me truth? This sounds like a lot of bullshit to me.
"Calm down boy, why would we lie to you about it?"
"I don't know! Then tell me: How did God died?"
Azazel sighs
"We... we don't know"
"How the fuck you don't know? You are telling me God was killed and the murder hid the body? Is that what you are asking me to believe?"
Liliana-san then puts her hand on my shoulder
"Kageyama-kun calm down, we are telling you the truth, please believe us, if you want to talk to Hyoudou and the others you can do that, they know about it too"
I breath in and breath out, as much as I think that all of this is bullshit, I simply can't think of a reason for them to lie to me about it, I also can't sense any malice from either of them.
"Okay... so keep going. After God died, what happened? Why did the world didn't ended or some sort of apocalypse occured?"
Azazel smirks
"Heh, typical of humans, you believe that a world without God would be impossible right? You think a world without God would decay isn't it? I am sorry to say but that isn't the case. Me and you as well are both healthily living like this. The world moves on even without a God."
The world moves on without God...
Neither me or my family are particularly religious, but the thought of God being killed still bothers me a lot.
Also there's the thing Azazel said about me acting as a 'typical human', this is the first time I feel like that. As an esper, I always had more knowledge about the other world than the others around me, having everything I believed suddenly destroyed and seeing that I was ignorant all along is a harsh reality to face.
Liliana-san speaks up
"The God of the bible may have died, but the system he created is still working, that's why the sacred gears still exist, among other things"
I guess I can live with that, however, there's still another thing bothering me
"You are refering to Him as 'The god of the bible', are you gonna tell me that there other Gods as well?"
Azazel laughs
"Ahahaha! That's right! You know the Greek mythology? Asgard? Shinto religions? The Indian gods? All of them exist, not only that, but they coexist as well..."
He then scratches his cheek as if reminded of something
"Well, to an extent at least..."
I sigh, that's to be expected, of course there are other Gods, why wouldn't?
I put my face between my hands and I'm looking at the floor trying to process everything that was just told to me.
"Hey, boy"
The tall girl with white hair, calls my attention. Her name is Diz right?
"W-what?"
She speaks in a much more relaxed tone than when she first spoke to me
"Don't worry, we also got confused when we found out, there's a lot more to this world than you believe, but whether it's a good thing or bad depends on how you'll react"
Woah, that's impressive, I never thought this amazon would be able to give an advice like that, guess I'm really quick to judge people...
"T-t-thanks... I think I'll need time..."
The old man with a beard then speaks up
"Diz-chan is right, before we became devils we were all espers and we believed to know more about the spiritual world than anyone. After meeting Liliana-sama, our view of the world changed completely and we realized we didn't knew everything. Take your time and you'll see that it doesn't have to be a bad thing, as Azazel-dono said, a world without God still keeps going."
They saw right through me...
"And you can count with us anytime, right Ojou?"
Mayumi says it to Liliana
"Of course! Kageyama-kun, if you need any answers come to us!"
Such kindness...
"Are you doing this because you want to recruit me? Make me one of your pawns or something?"
Obviously I'll get suspiciousof it, but Liliana smile drops and she looks down with a sad expression at my answer
"R-right, there's no way you would be able to trust a devil so easily isn't it?"
She looks like she's about to cry! I really can't stand to see a woman cry, especially when she has been so kind to me all this time!
"No, I'm sorry! It's just that you are being so helpful even though I attacked and almost killed your friends..."
"Well, since you mentioned it... why did you run away the first time?"
Azazel speaks
Oh, that
He means the first encounter between me and the Gremory peerage, that time I was wearing my robe, so they didn't recognized me and I went away because I was truly impressed by their actions
"Their courage and their love for each other I guess? They didn't acted as devils, they put themselves in harm's way just to save their friends, that left me so confused I didn't know what to do."
Azazel then nods with a pleased expression
"Heh, to be expected, they really are a bunch of soft hearted idiots, for you who always thought of devils as evil monsters, that must have messed with your head."
"That's true, the way they acted... it reminded me of the heroes I've met in my life."
"Like your mom right?"
Liliana-san asks
"Yes, like her, but like father too, that will to protect everyone, it really reminded me of them"
She smiles and looks at Azazel
"See, I told you he was a good guy."
Azazel waves his hand
"Yeah, yeah, so why did you attacked them again? You went from sympathy to killing intent pretty fast, Issei would probably be dead if we didn't arrived in time"
He's right, I was about to exorcise Issei when Liliana-san took me to that apartment
"The guys they were figthing against told him that they were heroes, he misunderstood it and thought they were trying to kill real heroes instead of the freaks of the Hero Faction."
Liliana-san answers Azazel's question instead of me
"I was so angered that I ended up going all out, I'm sorry... really sorry."
Azazel makes a troubled expression
"Heh, so you mean they almost got killed over a misunderstanding? Boy, you don't know the chaos you could have caused if we didn't stopped you, the consequences of what you were about to do could have affected the whole balance of the underworld and heaven as well."
Shit, just what have I got myself into?
"W-why? Are they so important to keep the balance of the underworld?"
I look at Liliana-san searching for an answer
"Well, Issei and the others are like celebrities in the underworld, but it's mostly about Rias and Sona..."
"What about them?"
Azazel then says
"They are the sister of the Maous"
...
WHAT?
"H-ho-hold up, are you telling me Rias and Sona are the satan's sisters? They are related to the ruler of hell himself? Is that what you're telling me?"
"Basicaly yes, the original Lucifer also died like the God of the Bible, now there are four Lord Rulers of hell, Sona and Rias are the little sisters of two of them"
"S-satan died too?"
Oh fuck, on how much shit did I steped into?
"...Are the devils going to declare war on me?"
I say with my hand against my forehead, I already have enough trouble as it is, if these devils started chasing me around as well, I probably could kiss goodbye to any chances of a peaceful life anywhere.
"Don't worry, you didn't caused any permanent damage, if I explain things to them I'm sure they won't come after you."
"Yes, I believe they also have reasons to drop this matter as well..."
Liliana-san ads
"What do you mean?"
I'm relieved, but I still want to know for sure if I'm safe
"Remember that Liliana said that they are kind of celebritites in the underworld?"
"Yes"
"Their strength played a big role on that, if it came to the ears of the underworld that a single human overwhelmed the entire Gremory and Sitri team, it would bring great shame to Rias, Sona and their followers"
I see, they weren't weak, but are they considered that strong in the underworld? I can think of at least 8 people including me who can easily beat all of them
"...Without mentioning that the underworld would probably become VERY interested in you"
What? Please no
"No, no, I already met enough devils for the day"
"Hahahaha, you were right Liliana, he sure is not the type that likes attention"
I turn to Liliana-san at Azazel's remark
"You... sure know a lot about me"
I had to say it, there's no way it's normal to know so much about someone who avoids the spotlight like me.
"Well, it's not hard to find info about you, Kageyama-kun, your mother was a super famous heroine after all and your father, even if he's not as famous, is still a legend among the esper society you know?"
So my anonymity is easy to break like that?
"Also..."
She says as she slides on the couch closer to me with an impish smile on her face
"It's not the hardest thing in the world to recognize the differences between your work and the other espers work, am I right..."
She whispers the next words right into my ear
"...Plague doctor-kun?"
So she knows about it this nickname too?
"I see, so you know about that as well"
"Fufufu, not only that but the other reason why you wear that too..."
!
"Don't say it!"
I cover her mouth with my hand, I don't wanna hear it.
Many espers use some sort of disguise when battling or working, because some of us don't want to have our identities know, but I have another reason to wear my mask and robe...
It is because of poison, obviously!
Yes, that's right, poison is a huge trouble for me! Laugh if you want, fast acting poisons are one of the few things I can't regenerate even with my powers, if it hits my nervous system then I'm done for! Even father was poisoned once by Claw! Some people say I am a iophobic, but it's not a phobia if it has a reason!
"Keep quiet about it!"
I pull my hand back and watch as Liliana-san laughs her ass off at my weakness.
"Fufufu, okay"
"Fufufufu"
The purple haired girl who is at my other side is laughing too, shit, she's a telepath right? So she must know it too, fuck...
"What were you two talking about?"
Azazel has an eyebrow lifted at our conversation, she was whispering in my ear so he didn't heard it
"No-nothing important!"
He doesn't seem conviced, but drops the matter.
"Anyway, what's important now is what you are going to do with that info, are you going to help us to maintain the safety of this world?"
What? Am I being recruited?
"We could really use your help Kageyama-kun, but I know you must have a lot in your head right now..."
A lot doesn't even begin to describe how much I have in my head right now, but I do want to help them
"It trully is a lot to process, but we really need all the manpower we can get right now, also, you must know that this information could break the balance of human society if it came to public, it wouldn't be a problem if you were a simple human, but you have some credit as an esper, so if you decided to go around spreading the word of what we told you, it would become a serious trouble for all of us."
Liliana-san stops and then looks at me
"H-he's right Kageyama-kun, I hope you can understand"
You don't have to tell me that
"Don't worry, I don't plan on telling no one what we discussed today, but it's true that I won't be able to forget either..."
"I know, that's why I asked: What do you plan on doing from now on?"
Even if you ask me..
"I have no idea, to be honest I want to help you all, but how can I do that? Just fighting doesn't seem to be enough to take down all the operations of this 'Khaos Brigade' of they are so terrifying as you keep saying"
Azazel makes a confused expression before bursting in laughter
"Hahahahaha, you sure are one confused kid, so let me put it in this way:"
His expression then changes to a serious one
"The balance of the world is on a very complicated situation, the factions are doing the best that we can to keep it, but the truth is that threats to our current peace are almost everywhere, suspicions and tension are on the rise as no one knows who to exactly trust and manpower is needed to keep that balance. That's where you can come in handy"
Liliana-san then turns to me
"My team specializes in esper abilities and we are figthing against the terrorists from the Khaos Brigade as well, if you want, you can join us, we'll show you how to make use of your skills against them"
"You are very powerful and I'm sure you can become even more with her help, if you would come to our side, I think it would be a great addition to finally end this war with the terrorists."
Liliana-san looks puzzled for a second before closing her eyes and noding
"Kageyama-kun, your power is something that would be of great help in keeping the balance of this world together, the truth, as Azazel said, is that there are many factions, including the fake heroes you met today, who are trying to disrupt the balance of the world and the current peace among the factions, you could be of great help to all of us."
"You could also think of it as a way to repay us for all the shit you've caused"
Azazel says this
I gulp down before answering, it's not like I don't want to help but...
"As a... devil?"
To my surprise Liliana-san shook her head
"It's not necessary, your powers allow you to interact with the other world even though you are completely human, so there might not be any need for you to become a devil"
I breath out in relieve, I want to help them after hearing their story, but I don't think I'm ready to throw my humanity away and become one of the things I've fought against my entire life.
"I see, I'll help you as I can then"
Hearing my answer Liliana-san gives me a bright smile
"Yes! Thank you!"
Mayumi, who is by my side slightly bows her head
"It'll be a pleasure working with you"
Azazel then says
"So it's settled! I hope we can count on you Kageyama-kun"
KNOCK KNOCK
There's a knock in the door of our room, when we turn around to see who it is, Asia is standing there timidly with half of her body hidden behind the door.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but Ise-san is..."
Azazel makes a worried expression
"What about Issei?"
"H-he's in a really bad state! I healed his wounds but he doesn't seem to wake up, his heart rhythm is irregular, he lost a lot of blood and there's something else I don't understand, Koneko-chan said that he lost too much spiritual strength!"
Ah, right, before Liliana-san arrived I was in the middle of exorcising Hyoudou, healing his pshysical wounds will not be enough
Azazel stands up after hearing Asia
"Shit, I knew we should have sent him to a hospital in the underworld!"
"Don't worry, hey Kageyama-kun, come with me"
Liliana-san walks towards the corridor and I follow after her, Asia and Azazel are with us as well
We arrive in the room from before and there seems to be members from the Gremory and from the Student council who are already awake
"What is he doing here?"
Rossweisse says this while everyone who has already awaken makes a fighting stance when they are all obviously in no condition to fight
"Don't worry, he's on our side, come here"
Liliana-san moves her hand and sits by the side of the mat where Issei is laying
Then she begins to explain
"You can manipulate energy as well right?"
So she knows that too? Well, I'm not surprised
"Y-yes, but I don't think I can give my energy to him, since he's a devil, it might be dangerous"
If I give my energy to another esper, I can replenish their stamina and increase their power by several times as long as I'm around, but I never tried lending my energy to an evil being
"It's true, lending your own energy to him is risky, not only because he's a devil, but because he has a dragon inside him as well, but!"
She takes my hand and puts it on her arm
"If you use the energy of another devil it will be alright"
I wide my eyes in surprise
"Are you serious? I never tried such a thing, also my manipulation of energy is not that great in my normal state, only in 100% I can make the most out of it"
This never crossed my mind, can I really manipulate the energy of an evil being and send it to another?
"Don't worry, I will release my energy by myself, so all you have to worry about is manipulating it"
I see, this girl is really smart, will this actually work?
"O-okay, let's do it then"
"Wait, Azazel, we'll also have to replenish his dragon side as well, could you lends us that for a moment?"
Azazel says 'I understand' and summons some sort of jewel, I can feel a great energy flowing from inside of it
"What is that?"
Liliana-san grabs the jewel and places it in my hand
"In this jewel resides Fafnir, one of the dragon kings"
"The Gigantic Dragon Fafnir from the Norse mythology?"
First Vritra, now Fafnir too? Why does it seem to be dragons everywhere now?
"Exactly, if you use my demonic energy and his draconic energy, we'll be able to at least reduce the effects from the exorcism"
"Is it alright?"
I look at Azazel and he nods his head
"There's no problem, if it's just a little, then Fafnir won't mind lending it"
"Alright then..."
I grab Liliana-san's arm and hold the jewel with my other hand
"Hold on!"
I hear a voice from behind us, it's Rias Gremory
"Are you really going to heal him?"
She asks with a doubtful expression
I nod my head
"I have no intention of harming anyone here anymore"
Liliana-san also answers
"We are just going to give him demonic and draconic energy so he can recover the spiritual strength he lost in the fight"
"..."
Rias hesitates for a moment before steping forward
"Use my demonic power then"
"E-eh?"
I'm surprised by what she just said and then look at Liliana-san
"Is it alright?"
Liliana-san puts a hand under her chin and answers
"Good, it might be even better, you are his master after all, aren't you?"
Rias nods
"Then allow me"
She kneels close to where Issei is
"I'll begin it then..."
Rias let's her crimson aura come out and I combine it with the golden aura from the jewel
I try to ignore the stares I'm getting from the members that already waken up and focus on channeling both energies through my body and then release it towards Issei, it leaves me and enters his body with no problem
"A-amazing, I didn't know I could do this"
The colours of the aura seem to mix as they make their way to Hyoudou
After a few seconds of transference, Liliana-san speaks to me
"Fufufu, that should be enough for now"
I stand up and return the jewel to Azazel
Asia makes her way to Issei, she and Rias inspect him closely
"Incredible! He's much better! Even his breathing is stable now! Thank you Liliana-san, Kageyama-kun!"
She enthusiastically thanks us while bowing her head, Liliana-san laughs at the cute girl's reaction
"Fufufufu, there's no need to thank us, I also think Kageyama-kun learned something from it, right?"
"Y-yes..."
I didn't know I could do this and yet she thought of doing it the instant she heard about Issei's situation. So that's what she meant with being an esper expert?
"Well, if everyone is alright, then I guess it's time for you to go home, right?"
So suddenly? Well, I guess it can't be helped
"Yeah, I think you're right"
"Alright, then come with me!"
She stands up and motions for me to come
I start to follow her but...
"You destroyed us and now you come to our aid, what do you plan to do with it?"
Rias asks us
But Liliana-san merely sighs at her question
"Azazel..."
The fallen angel nods
"Don't worry, I'll talk to them"
"Thank you"
She then walks out of the room with me following right behind her
"Azazel will explain things to them for now, but I think they'll want to hear your side of the story too, so you should think about what you're gonna say to them tomorrow"
"Don't tell me, ah, I wonder if I'll ever be able to look at their faces again..."
...
"So... I'm going to have to get along with them now?"
I ask Liliana-san
"Yes, if you are going to stay on this school that is, I also recommend you to talk with the student council, the president and the members are from the house of Sitri, a separate group from the Gremory. Getting along with them will be important too."
"Alright..."
Actually, there's something I really wanna ask her...
"Liliana-san"
She turns to me
"Liliana"
"Huh?"
"Just Liliana is fine, no need to add '-san' in the end"
Eh, really?
"I don't want to disrespect, so I thought..."
"It's okay, you can call me Liliana... do you mind if I call by your first name?"
Well, we'll be working together after all, so I guess it's not a problem
"Of course, no problem"
"You can also call me Lilian if you want"
She already wants me to call her by the nickname?!
"Liliana is fine!"
She laughs at my rushed response
"Fufufufu, okay then Tatseyo, what is it that you wanted to ask?"
Oh yeah, I had a question
"Well, how did you know I could do that? I mean, I never even tried it, yet you quickly thought of it"
She smiles at my question
"Remember that Azazel said that you could become even stronger with my help? That was what he was talking about, I may not seem like it, but I have a lot of experience and research about espers and psychic powers. If you stay with me Tatseyo..."
She says as she walks closer
"...I can make you become stronger than you can imagine and use your powers in ways you never thought you could"
"Can you really?"
She gets even closer and runs her finger through my shirt up untill the collar, where she pokes it
"Of course "
Liliana-san says giving me a bright smile
I freeze for a while
She is beautiful, her face, hair, eyes and even... her body
I wasn't paying attention before, but she has a great figure
"Are you alright Tatseyo? Your face is kinda red..."
She says lifting her hand to touch my face
I lift my hand and grab hers to stop it
"I-I'm a-alright, I j-just-"
"Oh my, are we interrupting something?"
I take my eyes off Liliana-san and look behind her
Mayumi and the old man are standing at the corridor with a happy expression on their faces!
"My my, Liliana-sama sure moves fast, fufufu"
"Ah, it sure is good to be young, hahaha"
Shut up! We weren't doing nothing wrong!
"-! How long were you two watching?"
Liliana-san says it while blushing at her friends words, hey why are you blushing? You were the one who started it!
"Oi, if the two would stop flirting I would like to go home today if possible"
The white haired girl says while popping her head out of the door, even she was watching?
"Mou, let's go then, Tatseyo"
"R-right"
I follow after her into the room
"Alright, you probably have to go home right now, sorry if we staled you for too long"
"No problem, I live alone right now so there's no one actually concerned about my delay"
"Really? Tatsumaki-san and Kageyama-san must trust a lot on you! Where do you live anyway?"
"10th district"
She makes a pause as if trying to remember something
"Oh right! There's a discount store over there, right? Is it close to your house?"
I nod
"Yes, it is, but I can go home walking, you don't need to teleport me with you"
She waves her hand
"It's not a problem, we can't teleport you alone there now because you are not a devil, but Mayumi can take you there in no time, you know where this hardware store is, right, Mayumi?"
The delicate girl answers with a smile
"Yes, Ojou"
"So please take Kageyama-kun there, I'm sure he'll have a full day tomorrow, so he needs to rest"
"Alright, are you ready Tatseyo?"
Ready for what?
"I guess I am..."
Mayumi then puts her hand on my shoulder
"Goodbye Tatseyo" - Is the last thing I hear before everything around us changes
VOOM
Hum...
We're no longer at the room, this is a sidewalk
We are in front of the hardware store!
"So... you can teleport?"
[Ding ding ding! You are a smart one]
She's not opening her mouth, I can hear her voice in my head
Teleport and telepathy, this girl sure is a box full of surprises
"Thanks for the 'ride', I'll go home then"
As I prepare to leave her voice calls me
[Wait, can I make you company until we get to your house?]
Huh? That's weird, I don't have any reason to reject though
"Yes, no problem, but why?"
[Liliana-sama seems to have quite an interest on you, so there are things I wish to discuss, you can ask me too if there's anything you wanna know]
Actually there are a bunch of things I want to know from a person like her too
"Okay, but could you do me a favour?"
[Yes, what is it?]
"Can you please speak to me like you were doing back with Liliana-san and the others?"
She opens her mouth and speaks normally
"Oh... why? Does it scares you? Fufufufu"
"No, it's just, isn't it tiresome to use your power all the time like this?"
I can use my powers for a long time with no problem, as long as I don't go 100 for a very long time, but I know some espers that get tired if they push too much.
She has a surprised expression
"Not actually... but thanks for worrying"
"Also, it's got nothing to do with you, but telepathy conversation reminds of someone I don't like very much"
The image of the pink short haired girl shows up in my mind
She smiles
"Okay, let's talk normally then, you sure are an interesting person, fufufufu"
She walks by my side as we make our way towards my house, as I already mentioned, all devils I've met in this town are beauties and she is no exception, the long purple hair, her matching eyes, the fair skin and delicate features, evertyhing makes her a real traditional beauty. Which I think it's a contrast to Liliana's more exotic appearance
I almost forget that there was something I needed to ask
"Right... so I wanted to know, why did you became a devil? Were all of you unsatisfied with the human world or do you have some sort of life debt with Liliana-san?"
"Fufufu, I guess we could say we own our lifes to her in one way or another, she showed us a new way of living, a way where we could control our powers and use it not only to fulfil our desires and hers, but also in benefit of others to keep the balance of this world, that is something that interests you too, is it not?"
She is right, I do want to use my power to help others somehow and if it can help to discover and achieve my personal goals, then it's all the better
"Yes, and about what Liliana-san said to me earlier, do you think she can help me to use my power to it's fullest?"
She gives a confident smile
"If it's Liliana-sama, I am sure she'll find a way, if she doesn't know it already"
Really? Can that girl be already so many steps ahead of us?
"You talk about her as if she was some sort of mastermind..."
"Fufufu, I wouldn't say a mastermind, but... oh well, you'll find out soon enough, won't you?"
"Well, I'll be joining your team, right?"
She nods her head
"Right, just not as a devil?"
"No, not as a devil"
"Uhm..."
Mayumi stops as if she's thinking for a while
"Tatseyo, are you still suspicious of us?"
I shake my head
"I believe you are telling me the truth and I do believe that you are holding the best interest of this world at heart, but to me... giving up on my humanity is not simply a matter of right of wrong, it's something unfathomable, I've never even considered doing"
To most normal people, being human is something, how should I put? Natural? They probably take it for granted, but to me, and probably to other espers as well, who lived lifes surrounded by supernatural creatures, being human is more than just our species, it's something that defines us as who we are.
"Huhuhuhu"
I hear Mayumi laughing
"Uh? Did I said something funny?"
She waves her hand
"You are very interesting indeed, to some, being human in a world where there are supernatural creatures could be seen as a disadvantage or even a hassle, but to you, being human is like a privilege, am I right?"
I tilt my head
"Privilege? I wonder, to me it might be even more, it's who I am. During my whole life I fought as an Esper, but also as a human who defends humankind from evil beings, even if I'm working with devils now, my mission hasn't changed and I'm still me"
"Oh my... mission? Sounds arduous, fufufufu"
I then realize the weight of my words
'Mission'... have I ever considered exorcism or battling as a mission?
No, to me, it was more of an obligation, if you have power to fight evil and help people, you have to do it, this was my philosophy, not a mission, but an obligation. Did the things I just learned changed my views that much already?
"Sorry, I didn't wanted it to sound like that, it's just that after what Liliana-san and Azazel told me, I can't help but feel like this is the right decision to take, it is the fate of the world after all, right?"
Mayumi has an approving smile on her face
"I'm glad you are willing to trust us and join forces, but I have a question for you Tatseyo"
"Huh? To me?"
She nods
"To you, what does being human means now?"
"Uhm?"
I make a confused face
She lifts a finger in the air
"Up untill now, you thought that humans were right and those who sided with humans were good and that we devils were evil, and those who disturbed humans were wrong. But now you know that there are humans trying to disturb the balance of this world and devils like us who are trying to stop them. So what does being human, being 'you', means now, for you to be willing to reject the chance of becoming something else?"
I stop for a moment, her words have reached a spot that I currently don't know how to answer
"Fufufu, you don't have to make such a complicated face, it's something you should think and answer to yourself before saying it to anyone else. I hope it didn't bothered you"
I shake my head
"Not at all, I think you just said something important... even if I can't answer it now"
As I dwell in what she just told me, the images of mom and dad come to mind
"Actually there's another thing..."
"It's about your mom and dad, am I right?"
"Bullseye, I don't think they would like if I became one of the beings they have been battling for decades. Actually, father is an easygoing guy, he probably wouldn't mind as long as I'm not hurting innocents, so the greatest problem would be mom, I wouldn't discard the possibility of she crushing me the moment she heard I became a devil, maybe she wouldn't like the fact of me even aiding you all"
I imagine mom with her scary green aura and cold eyes looking at me while saying 'I don't have a child'.
I shiver at the thought, I really don't want to get on my parents bad side.
"But it would be okay if we explain it to them wouldn't it? I mean, you were trying to kill us devils not long ago and now you are even considering the possibility of becoming one."
"It's different, I believe in what you told me because I don't see why any of you would lie to me, but mom, even though she's a tsundere, loves us very much, if she finds out that you managed to take me to the devil's side, I don't know if she would trust us that easily."
"I see, a protective mother can be really scary sometimes"
She has no idea
"You have no idea..."
She then puts a serious expression
"But Tatseyo, you can act with us even if you are human, so this day might never come, but there might be a day when you'll be forced to make a choice"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Me and the others joined Liliana-sama because we saw on her an opportunity to be something more, but there are many reincarnated devils whose circunstances were not so kind."
"What circunstances?"
She has a rather sad expression when answering me
"Do you know the conditions that made Hyoudou, Asia and some of the other members of Rias' peerage reincarnate as devils?"
I shake my head
"No, I thought they had simply decided to join her because they didn't saw value in being human"
"Well, the evil pieces have properties that can even bring someone back to life, that way you don't need permission to make someone your servant"
"R-really? Don't tell me that Rias..."
Mayumi is quick to dismiss my line of thought
"No, no, she didn't killed them... but someone else did. Hyoudou and Asia were murdered by fallen angels due to their sacred gear powers, Rias Gremory was the one who brought them back as devils using her evil pieces."
"W-what? They were killed because of their sacred gears?"
I wide my eyes in shock and ask in disbelief
"A tragic fate, many sacred gear users are killed by evil devils and fallen angels because they fear theirs powers, some even before they can manifest it..."
I gulp down, so the reason why they are devils now is because there was no one around to protect them? No one like mother, father or me around...
Heroes are not omniscient... lots of things that could be stopped happen simply because we weren't there
"You are making a face as if you are uncomfortable"
"It's just... there was no one to help them, right? Do you think if there was someone to stop the fallen angels, they wouldn't have... died?"
Mayumi closes her eyes for a moment as if she's thinking
"Well, I could say something about fate, but could it be that you are blaming yourself for something you couldn't have know at the time?"
I look down when answering
"There's no way I could have know about, I know that, but I think how it would be if I could have done something..."
Mayumi smiles
"It's a beautiful thought to have but..."
She looks me in the eye
"If you had done that, then many people could have died"
"What?"
I'm taken back by her sudden answer
"If you had done that, then Hyoudou and Asia probably wouldn't have become devils, but even if fate wouldn't act in any other way, many other lifes would have been lost because of that. Hyoudou can only use the power of the Sekiryuutei because of his training and devil constitution, Rias' team also overcame many adversities because of Asia's incredible healing skills, like us, they fight against the terrorists from the Khaos Brigade and saved the lifes of not only devils and other supernatural beings, but many humans have been saved by their actions as well. Do you get where I'm getting at?"
I nod my head, I don't think she's trying to convince me to become a devil, it's like there's more to her words. Man, do all telepaths like mind games?
"Good things can come from bad things?"
Mayumi answers with a satisfied smile
"Exactly, sometimes sacrifices are necessary to achieve a greater good, sometimes not being able to save everyone isn't the end of the world"
I can understand what she's saying, but to me it's still hard to cope with it
"Also, neither of them are unhappy with their current life, right? Rias is a kind devil, she took them in and they live happily with her"
"I see, I'm glad they are happy as devils, but even so, these were life and death situations, do you think it would be the same to me?"
She waves her hand in front of her face
"No, not at all, I wasn't trying to convince you to become one of us, but you do have another weakness that has become fairly obvious now, isn't it?"
"Huh?"
I tilt my head in confussion, is she talking about the poison?
"Human life, that's why you jumped into that battle, right?"
Ah, so that's what she's talking about
"You might not have realized it, but jumping into a battle with demons that have already faced you and new demons whose power you didn't know, have the courage to take them all alone and even lock yourself inside a building with them shows that you care about other people's lifes a lot, enough for it to become a weakness"
"R-really?"
When I did that, I was just doing what I thought was right, I never stopped to actually think about that in this way
"Are you telling me this is a bad thing?"
She shakes her head
"Not at all, it is actually very good, I hope you can think about us like that as well, it would be reassuring if you could fight for us with the same fierceness as you fought for those heroes"
I nod
"Of course I will, there's no way I would turn my back to people who are trying to do the right thing, to me, you all now are as precious as any human"
I'm telling the truth, these devils who I misdjudged are actually trying to protect this world from threats, they are heroes, they feel and prize this world just as much as me.
She gives a pleasant smile
"I'm glad, but be careful, sometimes treasuring things too much can lead to bad consequences"
I know that
"But don't take it too seriously, I just wanted you to understand that sometimes, things will happen, death was an extreme example, but things can go other ways, or not. I'm just saying that if someday you have to choose between your humanity and... well, something else, you should be ready to make your decision, after all, your humanity means a lot to you, right?"
I nod, this is truly a weird conversation, but I can see her point
"I understand, but trust me, I'll protect, this world, humans, devils and my humanity, don't take me lightly, even if it means that I have to become stronger than I already am, I won't back down on it. I wasn't there to help Hyoudou or Asia, but now I am here, and no matter who I have to kill or what I have to destroy, for this world's sake, for the sake of those who live in peace on it and for my sake as well, I'll do it."
"Oh my..."
Her smile faded and a suprised expression appeared on her face, oh shit, did my face scared her?
"Uh, sorry, I said something weird, right? Did I scared you?"
She waves her hand and gives a cheerful, light hearted laugh
"Not at all, fufufu, to say all of this with such confidence... you really are an interesting person"
I don't really understand what she meant by that, but I take it as a compliment.
As we finish our conversation, I see my house in the distance and point towards it
"That's where I live"
"Ah, guess that's goodbye for today then, it was nice talking to you Tatseyo"
"The same goes for me, by the way, what is your full name?"
I've been calling her by the first name since we arrived, I thought it was fine since she was doing the same
"Mayumi Kanagawa, I am Liliana-sama's [Queen], pleased to meet you"
"Tatseyo Kageyama, it is my pleasure"
As I turn to get inside my house I hear her voice calling me
"Just one more thing Tatseyo"
I look behind me and she is holding a leaflet with a pentagram similar to the one Liliana-san used to me transport us to the old building.
"You don't know how to contact us right?"
Oh she's right, I have no idea how to talk to them
"Ah, yeah."
"Take this"
"Is this a transportation circle like before?"
She nods
"Yes, soon we'll be contacting you to come to our base, meanwhile, turn the paper"
I turn it and the back is blank, aside from two telephone numbers written on it
"Liliana-sama already has your number, so we also must give you a way to talk to us."
I decided that I'd rather not know how Liliana-san got my number
"I see, so this is Liliana's number?"
"Well, the first one is our base's phone number, tell them your name and that you are looking for Liliana Caim and she will pick it up, but the second one..."
She gives a playful smile before continuing
"Is my own cellphone number, fufufufu"
What? I wouldn't think much of it but her laugh just changed the whole context of the situation!
"Ah, t-thanks, I hope we can work well with each other"
"Me too, I'm looking forward to knowing you better, goodnight Tatseyo-kun"
She says before disappearing
I get inside my house and close the door behind me
"Ahhh..."
I give out a heavy breath
"What in the world was that!?"
The whole conversation was going on normally untill she gave me her number!
I know I shouldn't think much of it, but the way she delivered it was just...
Wait, the hell she meant with 'I'm looking forward to know you better'? I don't know if it's my over analyzing side seeing double meaning on things or if she really meant something with that!
First the thing with Liliana and now this...
Ah, I'm gonna take a cold shower! This is no time to be thinking about this!
After sinking into the bathtub, I remember the conversation me and Mayumi had
[What does being human means to you now?]
I also record the things Liliana said to me
[You can become more powerful than you ever thought possible]
And with that, Kuriko's words in that night
[You'll meet a dark devil who will change your whole view of the world]
It seems you were right Kuriko, Liliana Caim, the dark devil, who is nothing like I predicted, turned my world upside down right at the day we met. Frankly, what a mess.
Ah, I just rememberd now that never thanked Liliana for what she did! I gotta do that next time I see her
Wait, working with her means I'll have to be with her constantly right?
Then the scene on the corridor plays on my mind and I can feel my face getting red, this is going to be complicated...
This marks the beginning of my life after finding out the truth about this world and my work with Liliana Caim, the dark devil girl who changed my life.
Afterword: First of all, I'm pleasantly surprised that there were reviewers saying that I shouldn't make Tatseyo a devil, but a bit disappointed at my writing because I didn't want to give the impression that I would do this now. One of the themes that I found to be very underexplored in DxD is the value of humanity and what it means, Strada was the one who most dwelled about it and Cao Cao talked about it too, but it should be way more discussed in the series. After all, in a world where anyone can become a supernatural creature at almost anytime, what value does humanity have? These are themes that I'm looking to explore in this fic, so don't worry, IF I decide to turn Tatseyo into an non-human, you bet I'll do my best to give him a good reason to do so and it won't happen so soon. And sorry for taking so long explaining things that are already know to DxD readers, but I do enjoy reading and writing about the reactions of the OCs at their new discoveries, so I don't like when writers just skip it.
I also wanted to warn you all about something, most of my readers read my work at fanfiction .net, if you are reading at this site, I wanted to tell you that in the Wattpad version I am using pictures in the story and I'll use it in some future chapters too. It won't affect at all the flux of the story or have any impact other than to illustrate some characters or scenarios, but I thought I should say it. If anyone likes the art and wants to know where it came from, just ask me