We decided it would be for the best if just Ayumu and I went to the Gremory's house, the way things are, involving Liliana and the others would make it even more of a troublesome situation.
And well... it's not like anything that happened was her fault anyway...
"Hey, Tachan, what kind of demon is this Rias Gremory? You told me she's the sister of the Maou, but how is she like?"
Ayumu asks, I look at her for a while thinking on how to answer
"Well if it's about personality, she's definitely what you'd expect from a demon princess, she acts dignified, classy and all that, but she's also a good person, her followers too"
After all they did forgave me pretty quickly for almost killing them...
Ayumu raises an eyebrow
"Followers? You mean, like Liliana's servants?"
I nod
"Yeah, you were told about the evil pieces, right? Apparently every high-class devil gets a set of them, they can use that to transform any creature into a devil, so they build peerages like that."
After I lay the information to Ayumu, her eyes grow huge and she nervously states
"Wait, are there more espers in here?!"
I shake my head, reassuring her
"No, no, apparently Liliana is the only devil who actually has information about espers. Even the other devils don't know her servants are espers."
Ayumu sighs in relieve, yet a troubled expression emerges on her face right after
"That's good, but... it's still weird, right? How she kept this a secret from everyone and how did she manage to find espers in the first place? Also, this evil piece thing is kinda dangerous, how the hell didn't we get a hold of this information untill now?"
I scratch my cheek
"No idea... hope we can find out what's going on. But I think we have to solve this first."
"Yeah, this is going to be a headache"
Ayumu nods and we keep looking at the GPS to see if we are heading for the right location
"Are we close?"
She asks and I nod
"Yeah, we should be, Rias said her house was around this street, said it would be unmistakable"
"Uh, what does she mean? She didn't gave any other description other than that?"
"Y-yeah, she didn't..."
I look around for a while and just as we turn around a corner, I answer her
"Hey... Ayumu, I think she meant... that"
Ayumu slowly looks up from the GPS to where I am pointing
"Uh, what did sh- WHAT THE HELL?"
She shouts, looking in shock at what stands in front of us
The street has a row filled with average sized buildings, well, except for one
"D-does no one else sees this?" - I ask bewildered
A huge european style house with more than five floors towers over the other buildings, occuppying a land that could easily fit the width of three houses. It contrasts way too much with everything else in the entire neighborhood, no, maybe in the entire town. Well, I guess it fits with what a devil princess house should be like, even if they could have chosen a better place to fit it.
"Are they hiding it with magic?"
Despite my response in amazement, Ayumu clicked her tongue
"Tsk, guess that's a devil for you, they want to show off no matter what, even right in the fucking street"
She angerly starts stepping forward. H-hey, you know my family lives in a mansion too, right?
"H-hold up, Ayumu!"
Not wanting Ayumu to cause a ruckus with Rias, I step ahead of her
"Okay, okay, let's see where the doorbell is... ah, here"
I press the button of the fancy doorbell and wait for several seconds as no answer comes
"Are they really there?"
Ayumu asks impatiently
"Well they were the ones who asked us to come, so I think-"
Just as I'm about to finish my sentence, someone opens the door, interrupting my train of thought
"Hi Rias s-"
I prepare to greet the redhead leader of the Occult Research Club, however, the person that greets me in the door is a completely different person.
"Oh my, who would you two happen to... b-be!?"
Her voice cracks down at the end of her sentence when the middle aged woman with long brown hair finally takes a close look at my face
Her expression turns to panic as she once again asks who we are
"W-who are you?"
I stare back at her for a while, unsure of how to proceed, who is this woman? Is she related to Rias? Another servant perhaps?
(Hey, Tachan, who is that?)
Ayumu asks me in a whisper
"No idea, I thought Rias lived here alone or something, maybe she's a maid or the like"
I say that mostly because the woman is dressed in an apron, but to honest, even that is highly unlikely since...
"But she's a regular human, I can't sense a thing from her"
Ayumu whispers. That's exactly it, this woman is a civilian, she doesn't seem to have magic or any supernatural background at all, then what is she doing here?
I then turn to the woman and try to ask as politely as I can amidst my confusion
"Sorry, we are looking for Rias Gremory, does she live here? I have something to deal with her"
When I mention Rias name, the woman's eyes grow wide
"R-Rias-chan? W-what kind business do you have with her?"
She says with a worried expression, something is telling me this woman has the wrong impression, why do I think this is not going to end well?
"Okaa-san, who is it at the door?"
I hear a male voice from behind her and a man that seems to be around the same age as the woman appears, he also has brown hair and wears glasses, but something about this man seems familiar somehow...
Also, 'Otou-san' and 'Okaa-san'? Does this mean they are parents? Of who? Definitely not Rias.
"O-otou-san, this gentleman and this lady are here to see Rias-chan, say they have something to deal with her"
Gentleman and lady? Why is she refering to us like this, we are just teenagers...
The man looks confused for a moment and answers his wife
"I heard they talking in the living room before everyone went to the basement with Ise, it seems they have visits again today"
Ise?
Wait, that's it!
"Are you Issei Hyoudou's parents?!"
Finally I understand why the man is so familiar, he is Issei's father!
Both seem surprised at my question and the man answers visually worried
"Y-yes, Ise is our son. Is there a problem, sir?"
'Sir'? What's up with this formal addressing?
"Yeah, I... we have something to talk with him and Rias"
I say, pointing to Ayumu, who waves at them
"H-hi, nice to meet you..."
The couple looks at me for a while and then at Ayumu
"Sorry, something wrong?" - I say, trying to get this over with as soon as possible
"Otou-san, do you think?"
The mother says worried, with a hand against her cheek
"Yes okaa-san, I think it has finally happened..."
The father says with sweat dripping from his forehead
""Issei has finally messed with the wrong girl!""
Both state outloud and bow down in front of us
"I knew the perverted nature of our son would one day lead him into trouble!"
"I thought it was okay since he had started bringing girls to the house, so I stopped reprimanding him about it! I should have kept trying to correct my son! I failled as a father!"
They started spouting some crazy things out of nowhere!
"What the hell are you talking about?!"
I shout as Ayumu looks at the couple speechless
"What the hell..."
She whispers quietly to me, I also have no idea!
"I've already seem it on TV, Otou-san, sometimes women affiliated with gangs are hit on by clueless perverts, this turns them and their partners into targets!"
What the fuck is this woman saying?!
"And our pervert Ise is the perfect clueless pervert! Oh, poor Rias-chan!"
The man says and starts sobbing to himself
"Tachan, are you sure we are in the right address? And not in the asylum?"
In a normal situation I would have taken Ayumu's question as a joke, but I'm seriously starting to question it too!
"Now she's also in trouble with the yakuza because of our son's perversion!"
Y-yakuza?!
"Who the hell is the yakuza?!"
I jump out, making them screech and apologize again
"We're sorry! But please forgive Rias-chan!"
"And our son too! He's a hopeless pervert, but he's just a kid!"
"What?"
I hear Ayumu ask and we turn to face each other
"What the hell are you two talking about?"
Both stand up tear eyed to look at me
"I mean... didn't our perverted son hit on your lovely girlfriend right there?"
"And you are not an yakuza that came to get revenge on him and Rias-chan?"
...
Whaaaaaaat?!
"G-g-girlfriend?!"
Ayumu says covering her face with her hands
"S-she's not my girlfriend! Wait, more importantly, I'm not an yakuza!"
I exclamate and both look confused
"Y-you're not?"
Why do you look so surprised?!
"Of course not! I'm from Kuoh Academy!"
"Eh? Y-you go to school?"
"Of course! I'm in Hyoudou's class!"
"W-what?!"
Again, why do you look so surprised?!
"O-oh, we are sorry then..."
"We thought our son had messed with the lovely girl by your side"
The woman says to Ayumu, who's still blushing and looking away from us
I sigh, pointing with my hand towards Ayumu and slightly bowing
"My name is Tatseyo Kageyama and she is Ayumu Yatsushiro, we came here to see Rias and Issei, Rias told us they had something important to talk about. Could you tell us where they are?
I leave the details out of the conversation for I am almost sure these two know nothing about their son's other life, honestly, Rias could have warned me about it, couldn't she? How the hell was I supposed to guess she lived in the same house as Issei?
They look at us confused for a moment before the expressions on their faces soothes and the mother answers
"Ah, we are sorry. I am Miki Hyoudou and this my husband, Gorou."
The man quickly waves at us
"H-hello, you said you wanted to meet Ise and Rias? I think everyone is in the basement now, right?"
He asks looking at his wife, who nods
"I heard them talking before they went down, Rossweisse-san told me they had some visits"
Wait, Rossweisse is here too?
"Sorry ma'am, but when you say 'everyone', who exactly do you mean?"
I ask caustiously, however, the answer still manages to throw me off balance
"Oh, everyone who lives here, Rias, Issei, Asia, Akeno, Xenovia, Irina, you know, Kiba and Gasper-kun are also here, so I think the whole club is here now"
!
"Wait, so everyone from the club lives in this house?"
They both nod
"Yes, besides Gasper and Kiba-kun, is there a problem?"
I choke in my own saliva, what the hell Issei!? He lives here alone with his parents and all the girls from the ORC? And not a soul finds this suspicious?
"Holy fuck, Rias..."
I say it under my breath, this house, this neighboorhood, the fact nobody is questioning this madness
It's more than obvious Rias is using her powers to keep anyone from noticing how wrong this is.
Goddamnit! People are not your fucking toys!
"...Awful, devils are awful"
I hear Ayumu saying under her breath as well. Of course she got to the same conclusion as I did. Goddmanit, Rias, you're not making it any easier to convince Ayumu you are the good guys doing shit like this just so you can live in a big house with your friends!
"Something wrong, dear?"
Issei's mother asks Ayumu
"No, nothing at all..."
She says shooting me a glance that could pierce my skin
I try to say 'sorry' with my eyes and she rolls hers, giving place to an awkward silence that is broken by Issei's father
"Err, would you like if we showed you towards it?"
Glad to change subjects, I nod
"Yes, please, we would like very much"
The couple guided us towards an elevator and said their goodbyes, apparently they don't go down there, which makes it even more obvious that it's there where they hide their supernatural stuff. But really? An elevator to move around a single house? Not even my house has that...
As we waited for the elevator to arrive, Ayumu took the opportunity to finally let it out
"You know they are manipulating people in this neighboorhood, right? Like, real brainwashing, don't you?"
All I can do is nod with a bitter expression
Fuck you Rias! Fuck, fuck, fuck! Right when I manage to convince Ayumu to work with us, you show us this?
"T-they must have a good reason for it..."
It's all I can say, seriously, you better have a damn good reason for this Rias!
We waited for the elevator, it only took a few seconds but Ayumu's silence made it seem like a eternity.
When the elevator finally arrived, what I thought would be the end of this silent hell turned out to bring another not so glad surprise
"Rias?!"
I exclamated in surprise
The redhead's blue eyes also wided in surprise seeing us
"Tatseyo? And..."
Her eyes drift towards Ayumu as she checks her
Rias expression is one of curiosity as she analyzes Ayumu head-to-toe in a matter of seconds, but Ayumu's reaction on the other hand is even more intense
"Woah..."
Ayumu's expression freezes for a moment and despite not a word leaving her lips, I know exactly what she's thinking, because that's likely the same face I did the first time I saw Rias with Issei and Kiba.
No matter if it's a guy or a girl, Rias's and Liliana's beauty will definitely take anyone by surprise
"Oh, hey Rias, this is Ayumu, the friend I told you about"
The surprise on their faces starts to fade and Rias extends a hand to greet Ayumu
"Ah, I see, nice to meet you, I'm Rias Gremory"
Despite Rias's greeting, Ayumu chooses not to shake her hand
Oh crap...
She simply waves at her
"Hi, I'm Ayumu Yatsushiro, Tachan told me the guys who attacked me came to see you?"
Rias is taken aback by Ayumu's dry response and retracts her hand
"Did Otou-san and Okaa-san lead you here?"
We both nod
"Yeah, why you didn't told me you lived with Issei's parents? No, why you didn't told me you all lived togetherin the first place? That got me really shocked for a moment in there"
Rias tilts her head
"Oh, that's right, we've been living together for a while. Is there a problem?"
She says as if it's the most natural thing in the world!
My open palm slaps against my forehead
"Good Lord..." - I hear Ayumu saying, yeah, I know...
I let out a big sigh before answering
"I would discuss it, but I think we have more important things to deal with right now, would you mind showing us where they are?"
She seems confused and asks for us to get inside the elevator with her
"They are on the basement, they just received treatment from Asia and we somehow managed to break the seal you casted on Kuroka"
Both of us wide our eyes at Rias's statement
"He what?"
I ask astonished
"M-my seal was broken? H-how? She was supposed to die if they tried anything!"
Ayumu is in shock at this, her sealing ability is simple, but very effective in keeping monsters binded, for someone to have broken it...
"Now it makes sense... that feeling I had a while ago, it was my seal coming undone."
She points to Rias
"Was it you who did it?"
The crimson haired girl shakes her head
"No, it was Ise"
Her statement takes me by surprise.
"Issei?!"
While he is the most powerful one in the group, he does not seem the type who has the ability or the knowledge to break seals, was he hiding this side of him all along?
"The son of that couple? H-how did he do it?"
My red haired friend asks, however, instead of an answer, Rias's face turns almost as red as her hair and she begins stuttering
"W-well, L-Le Fay suggested that he used a... unorthodox technique of his that worked in breaking a quite powerful seal before and it worked this time too. I think that's all I should say"
Me and Ayumu look at Rias quizzically, what kind of technique is she talking about?
*DING*
A high pitched sound announces our arrival at the basement and the doors open
"Come with me"
Rias motions for us to follow her and leads us through a wide hallway untill we arrive at a large room filled with mats and training equipment, inside we also find Issei, Akeno and the rest of the ORC members
"Buchou!"
Issei is quickly to greet Rias and soon enough everyone notices our presence too
"T-Tatseyo..."
He freezes for a moment when he notices me and his eyes dart to Ayumu, who stares back at him
"Hi, I'm Ayumu, you guys must be the Occult Research Club Tachan told me about, huh?"
Issei and the others barely have the time to acknowledge it before a voice shouts outloud
"Y-you two!"
Standing up from one of the mats is an extremely angry white haired boy walking towards us as his three friends try to stop him
"H-hold up, Vali-sama!"
"Don't do anything stupid now!"
"You just recovered, you can't fight as you are!"
Vali Lucifer! Those others seem to be his friends and are trying to stop him, to be honest he doesn't seem to be in good shape, even if his wounds are no longer there, the damage I did to him hasn't fully recovered yet.
"So you want more dumbbass?!"
"Ayumu?!"
Even so, Ayumu creates a fire spear in her hand and seems to be ready to strike him
"H-hey, calm yourself! We didn't came here to fight!"
"Say that to him!"
Now it has become a situation in which both sides are trying to hold our friends from fighting!
"You two, stop that right now!"
Rias exclamates, stepping between us with her peerage
"We've had enough fighting for today! Let's talk"
Vali backed off, seeing that Rias and the others would stand in his way, with that Ayumu calmed down as well
To be fair, it surprised me that Vali could even stand, yet he was still trying to pick a fight. I barely know this guy, but he's definitely the type to hold a grudge
I sigh in relieve that both have given up in starting another meaningless fight and explain to Rias
"Sorry, when I invited Ayumu I told her not to fight anyone, but she told me a witch and a nekomata followed her..."
When I say this it finally hits me.
The nekomata is not here.
Well, Koneko is, but her sister, the black nekoshou, was not among the team trying to hold Vali back
My eyes dart around the room for a while untill they suddenly find a black bump resting on top of a mattress lying on the ground
"Is that her?"
Before I can ask, however, Ayumu seemed to have already noticed it and points towards the direction of the matress covered by a blanket
Rias consents with her head
"Yes, Le Fay had to put her in a sleeping state because of the seal, now we are waiting for her to wake up"
I nod, I don't know this witch girl outside of what Ayumu told me, but she made a smart decision. Ayumu's seal is very strong and sensitive, if Kuroka had tried to use senjutsu or remove the seal in any sort of way because of the burden it creates, she would have burned immediately.
"Your seal really was something else ojou-chan, we actually thought Kuroka would die ya know?"
The boy wearing chinese clothes glares at Ayumu, he says in a carefree manner yet there's still a hint of a threat in it, he definitely holds feelings of anger against us too
"You look here-"
Ayumu steps up, ready to scold the boy, but I hold my hand forward and squeeze her shoulder
She turns around confused and I shake my head
They know and I know that Ayumu wasn't wrong, they attacked first and she was throw in a confusing situation.
"We all know what happened, no use arguing over it now."
Ayumu seems contradicted, but nods and crosses her arms
"Whatever, I was just going to state they started all of it"
She says and the boy makes a sour face, the witch girl looks down, possibly over guilt since she was the one that chased Ayumu first
"And I believe they are sorry about it, just as you are sorry about attacking them in your confusion, right?"
I look at Ayumu and she gives a half-hearted nod
"Yeah, sure, I'm sorry, okay?"
Not very convincing, but she at least said sorry
"Look, I'm Tatseyo Kageyama and she is Ayumu, Yatsushiro, you guys must be Arthur Pendragon, Le Fay Pendragon and The second Sun Wukong, am I correct?"
They look back at me wide eyed
"Heh, you really did your homework on us too"
Arthur answers
"Had to, couldn't investigate Vali without looking into his crewmates, the devils have a long record about you guys"
I say this and he gives a bitter smile
"Hey, by the way I don't like to be compared to that old geezer, call me Bikou, okay?"
The descendant of Sun Wukong calls me out
"Oh, alright then..."
So he doesn't like his ancestor? Is there a bad blood between then I wonder...
"So many legendary descendants in one place, it's kinda hard to think I've fought Morgana Le Fay's descendant and the ultra rare black nekoshou together"
Ayumu says this somehow weirded out, I honesty expected a harder reaction, Liliana and everyone back at the casino must have explained things really well for Ayumu's eyes not be popping out of her skull right now
"I-I'm still no match for my ancestor's magic, but I'm still working on it!"
Le Fay answers, of course we already expected that, no matter how you look they are very young, I didn't expected to see someone like the original Son Goku from people who are still in training
"I know how it, I'm an inheritor too. Life is tough when your parents are badass"
I say it with a small laugh wich brings out a smile from Le Fay and a chuckle from Bikou
The mood seems to be much lighter now, honestly, I was going to ask them to say they were sorry as well, but I think that would be pushing things too far. It's a miracle we got them to stop their quarrel
I decide to leave at that and turn to Rias to ask if they needed anything, but a call from the witch girl takes me surprise
"B-by the way..."
I turn to look at her, who is now bowing her head towards me and Ayumu
"I am sorry too!"
The sudden shout made all the eyes in the room turn to her
She bows even deeper towards me and Ayumu, tears starting to flow down her face
We don't know how to answer so everyone, including those on her own team, just stare at her
"This all started because of me, I'm very sorry!"
I look at Ayumu, considering this all started between the two of them it seemed to me she would have something to say
After taking a moment to collect her thoughts, Ayumu answered
"D-don't worry, like I said, I had some fault on it too so it's all right"
"Y-yeah, everything's fine now"
I take Ayumu's side, the girl raises her head and looks at us
"T-thank you"
The atmosphere in the room seems to have eased and the Vali team has lost some of it's pressure, they are looking at Le Fay unsure of how to answer.
Rias's peerage seems to be happy with how the mood improved
"Peace is the best after all"
I hear Issei saying and nodding towards the witch girl who smiles back at him.
Rias herself takes this opportunity to speak up.
"Good thing you are starting to get along. I know it's not the best of times, but I have to admit I didn't call you here just to settle things down"
I turn confused at Rias
"What? You wanted to discuss something else then?"
She looks troubled for a while and the members of her peerage also seem nervous for a moment
"To be honest, there was something Vali told us that made us curious... it's about how you defea- turned the fight around"
She says correcting herself to not say the word 'defeat'
"Tsk... no need to sugarcoat it"
I hear Vali clicking his tongue, yup, he's still spiteful.
Rias scratches her cheek and addresses me again
"Well, he told us you were able to... seal the Juggernaut Drive?"
She says with a nervous expressionI hear
Oh, I see, so that's what this is about
I notice that not only her, but her peerage and the Vali team seem to have become more anxious, speacially Vali and Issei for obvious reasons
"Juggernaut... Drive?"
Ayumu asks them with a confused expression
"It's the transformation Vali awakened when he started chanting, I can't go into details now, but it seems to shave off his demonic power or even lifespan in exchange for enormous power"
I answer her and she seems surprised
"Oh, so that's what that thing with the chant was?"
"Yes, it was"
Vali answers her question and looks at us with a bitter expression
"And your friend seems to have done his homework really well about me if he knows how it functions"
Ayumu just stands looking at him, unsure of how to answer
I sigh, deciding to ignore what Vali just said.
"Okay, I get it. It's fair that you would wanna know how I did that since it obviously concerns you two, but before I do that, there's something I want of you, Rias"
I turn to the expecting redhead and ask of her a request that I know it will piss the Vali team off more than anything
"I will gladly reveal how I did it, however, there is something I have to ask first..."
I point towards the Vali team
"They have to go, I'm not sharing a grain of information about myself or Ayumu to them."
As soon as I say this, Rias expression turns completely surprised and she almost by reflex turns to the Vali team, to see their reaction
I take a bit longer to turn my face towards Vali, because I knew exactly the answer I was going to get.
"You... motherfucker..."
And just as I expected, Vali's face is contortioned in anger while his teammates are looking at me confused
"What is the problem with telling us how you did it? Didn't you said you weren't our enemy?"
Arthur asks and Bikou agrees with him
"Yeah, don't you kinda own us that after almost killing us?"
Le Fay is silent through all this, she seems in shock to be told this right after we just had a forgiveness moment
I sigh and wave my hand
"We don't own you anything, you attacked Ayumu first and Ayumu almost killed you, that's in the past, but there are things that are very much in the present."
I look towards Rias and ask
"Rias, tell me, isn't the Vali team wanted?"
She thinks for a second before answering
"Y-yes, but-"
I interrupt before she can intervene for them
"Are they trustworthy people that I can trust with classified information? Or are they the reckless type that picks up fights with unknown enemies and isn't bound to anyone or anything?"
When I question this, Rias goes silent, that's it, there's my answer
"So I see, you can't vow for them..."
Having enough of me speaking, Vali angrily spouts at me
"Are you saying I have no honor?! I will not be-"
"I am not saying that, if this was merely about a technique then I would have no trouble telling you all about it, but this goes beyond that. It's something I haven't discussed even with Liliana yet and definitely not something I'm willing to share with people I don't trust"
Ayumu turns to me, not only nervousness but also confusion draw in her face, however she lets me continue without saying anything. I believe that she has already noticed what I'm doing.
The Vali team looks at me for a moment, not saying anything, Rias and her peerage are also uncomfortable with the situation, but Issei speaks up
"Tatseyo, I... really don't know what you are going to tell us. But they aren't this bad, Vali and everyone in the team had our back once, I don't think they would do anything bad with it"
I stop for a moment, not expecting him to say that. Vali also looks at Issei, confused and surprised, the Vali team also didn't saw that one coming
Raising a hand I look towards Issei
"It's not that I think they are bad, if they were I wouldn't have tried to mend things. But this is about trust"
I focus my gaze towards Vali
"And no matter how much I try, I do not trust these people, not even a little"
An angered expression emerges on their faces, the only who seems surprised is Le Fay, indeed she looks like the most innocent one in Vali Lucifer's team, but this is the type of information I'd rather not share with someone I just barely know.
"I created this technique specially with you in mind, Vali Lucifer. Liliana told me that Issei might die if he uses this cursed power again, but because you carry the blood of the Maou you can use it while only sacrificing your magical energy... which you do quite often."
He gives me a killer stare and replies with spite in his voice
"So what?"
I shake my head, so he doesn't think of it even a bit, huh? I expected as much
"A curse is a sword that brings pain not only to those the wielder chooses to hurt, but also to himself and those around him. Someone who is willing to rely on a curse goes against everything I believe and trust, that's why... I do not trust your character"
Vali's face twists in anger and he steps towards me
"You think I need the Juggernaut Drive to be strong, dumbbass?!"
I shake my head
"It was you who used when you were down on the ground and couldn't even stand"
His eyes grow furious as he closes the distance between us and grabs by the neck of my shirt
"Listen here you-"
I lift my hand and make him kneel on the floor
"Don't push yourself more than you can"
I let him go and he stands back up, looking at me with clear intent oozing from his entire body, but Arthur steps up and stands between us with his sword draw out
"Vali, please refrain doing unecessary things in your state."
He looks at Vali, who clicks his tongue in anger and steps back without saying another word
Arthur then looks at me and sheaths his sword
"We understand your point of view, it's not like we trust you either or expect you to trust us so suddenly, specially since you seem to know so much about us. Then let's leave at that."
I nod my head in agreement
"Yes, let's leave at that."
Now, I just have to say one more thing.
"Also, if you believe that this information is something that absolutely has to be shared, then obviously there's nothing stopping you from telling them after we finish it."
I turn from Vali to look at Rias, deep into her blue eyes
She, unlike Liliana, still seems scared of my look. Or maybe it's the lingering feelings from the time I almost killed her, maybe even a combination of both, nevertheless, I'm going to make use of it, not that I'm feeling proud of that.
"However, I don't believe you will."
After I say this, the tension in the room rises again. The members of Rias's peerage all seem confused.
Rias has a troubled expression and turns to Vali
"Vali, would you...?"
The silver haired boy clicks his tongue in anger, but makes an expression of contempt right after
"Alright, it's not gonna make a difference anyway, let's go everyone. But mark my words esper: I will become stronger, I will surpass the Juggernaut Drive and by the name Lucifer that was given to me, I shall surpass you!"
Vali gives me this kinda cheesy speech before calling his friends
Le Fay looks at me and Ayumu, she fidgets for a while, probably not knowing what to say.
"Sorry!"
She bows down one more time before going back and helping her friends to lift the black nekomata up
Looking at Ayumu I can tell that she feels something for this girl, it's not like she did on purpose, but I cannot let Vali and people I don't trust find out what actually happened.
But damn... watching this is really making me feel guilty
It's then that it dawns on me, something I could do right now to at least make this situation taste less bitter to everyone here.
"Hey... let me help"
I approach Le Fay and Arthur who are helping the passed out nekoshou up
I lift a finger to them and my eyes follow Vali's direction
"This is to show you I'm not some kind of monster"
Everyone in the group gives me strange looks as I turn back to Rias's peerage
"Koneko, could you please come over here?"
"...M-me?"
Koneko points at herself and I nod, motioning her to come over
"Yeah, there's something I can do to help her but I need you here first"
She looks nervous for a moment but soon agrees and walks towads me under the curious eyes of her friends and Vali's team
"What are you planning on doing to Kuroka?"
Vali asks me in a very suspicious tone
I place one of my hands just a little above Koneko's head and the other into Kuroka's forehead
"You said she had exhausted her energy because of Ayumu's seal, right? Well, there's a trick I learned not too long ago that I think can fix that"
I look at Koneko and ask
"Can I borrow some of your energy?"
Her eyes wide, it seems she understood what I'm about to do
"Y-yes"
Once she says this, I start siphoning her ki and sending it to Kuroka.
Yes, the little trick I learned from Liliana, I can transfer the energy from supernatural creatures between each other, replenishing their stamina just like I did to Asia when I first met Liliana.
"W-what is this?"
Ayumu asks, Le Fay and the glasses boy also look in amazement as I send Koneko's ki to her sister
"Energy transfer, just as I can manipulate and absorb energy, I can also send it to other people... or creatures in this case"
"T-that devil girl taught you this?"
She sounds impressed, to be honest I also was when Liliana showed me I could do that
"W-wow, that's cool! I've never met this Liliana, but I'm glad she taught this trick, that's awesome!"
Bikou exclamates
"Yeah, to be honest, if it wasn't for Liliana I would have taken a lot longer to even think about doing this, it's such a simple thing that I used to do with other espers all the time, but it wasn't untill her that I thought about using it to help other beings"
Ayumu sounds doubtful for a moment and simply answers
"I see... she taught you this..."
After a few seconds, I think enough energy has been given to her
"I think that'll be enough, she'll probably wake up anytime now"
Just as I finish saying this, the black nekomata's eyes start twitching and she gives a quiet yawn
"Kuroka!"
Le Fay exclamates in happiness at seeing her friend wake up
"W-wow, this is crazy!"
The chinese boy says in awe
"U-uh? Le Fay? Bikou?"
She asks confused, looking around the place
"Where am I?"
She sees Rias and her peerage
"S-Sekiryuutei? Rias? What happened?"
"We are in the Hyoudou residence, you're safe now"
Arthur says to her, but when her eyes lay on me and Ayumu, she immediately stands on her own and points at my friend
"Y-you!"
Her guard immediately rises, but Le Fay rushes to ease her friend
"No, Kuroka, they are fine with us now!"
Hearing this, the black nekoshou looks even more confused
"Fine? How?"
Bikou scratches the back of his head
"W-well..."
The other members are confused on how to explain, but Vali speaks up
"That means we are no longer enemies, but don't be too comfortable..."
He looks at me, his stare burning a hole in me
"Y-yeah, Sekiryuutei-san was the one who broke the seal and Kageyama-san recovered your energy!"
Le Fay states cheerfully, Kuroka furrows her eyebrows and looks at me
"That guy?"
She points at me and I approach her
"Yup, it's me"
Her guard instinctively goes up, and I raise my hands in my elbows height
"Easy there, like Le Fay said, I have no intention to harm you anymore"
She drops her guard for a moment, but still seem suspicious of me
"You fought with us too? Damn... what happened while I was down?"
Her eyes turn to Vali, as he was the one that saved the two from being pumeled by Ayumu
Their silver haired leader makes a bitter expression for a moment, probably remembering our combat and groams
"It's a long story, I'll explain when we are out, now let's go"
Kuroka's expression turns even more confused as she asks
"Wait, we are already leaving?"
Bikou hits his staff on his shoulder and mocks
"Yeah, apparently nii-san over there has a secret about how he defeated Vali that he wants to discuss with Switch hime, but doesn't trust us"
When Bikou says this, the expression on Vali's face turns even more bitter and Kuroka looks as if her eyes will pop out
"H-he what? V-Vali, is that true?"
Vali merely clicks his tongue in anger and answers
"He's a truly formidable opponent, but don't get cocky, I am the Hakuryuukou Lucifer. I will surpass you, esper, remember my promise! One day I'll pay you back for this!"
Kuroka turns to me once again, her eyes wide and sweat starting to gather on her face as terror takes over her entire expression
"E-esper, so you're also one..."
I nod
"Yeah, but are you really surprised though? I'm the one who should be susprised, after all, the two ultra rare nekoshou are right here in this room. Never I'd have expected to meet one of you in real life, much less both"
When I say this, Kuroka finally manages to take her off me and Ayumu and notices Koneko standing behind us
"Ara, Shirone?"
Shirone, huh? So she still calls her by the original name. The little white nekomata seems uncomfortable in the presence of her sister and just waves
"H-hi, nee-san..."
It's obvious just from this that the mood between these two isn't all that great
"You should be thankful that she's here, it was her ki that I transfered into you, if it wasn't for that you'd probably stay down and out for a lot longer"
I point over to Koneko and see that she's fidgeting, unsure of what to say
"Shirone... thank you, but... why?"
Koneko fidgets and answers
"I... I just wanted to, that's all"
Kuroka doesn't seem satisfied with her sister's answer, she makes a confused face and looks at me
"What about..."
"Me?"
She nods and I tilt my head
"Huh... well it was to atone perhaps"
"Atone?"
I consent
"Yes, I way to say sorry for attacking you and your friends. See, I'm in good terms with Rias and Liliana Caim's peerage, I'm trying to mend things between the Esper Community and the supernatural beings."
A doubtful expression appears on her face and on her teammates as well
"Heh, really? It didn't seem like that back then"
Bikou says and I sigh
"Alright, I get that we started with the left foot, but I think that makes us even then"
I say looking at Kuroka, her expression still seems confused, but she speaks up
"Thank you then... and thanks, Shirone"
She says looking at Koneko, who simply nods
"Let's get going Kuroka, there's nothing else to do here"
Vali's voice calls her, Bikou, the witch girl and Arthur had already joined him
Her expression lightens up and she answers
"Okay, I'm going"
She steps inside the magic circle together with her friends and suddenly, she looks as if she remembered something
"Oh, thank you too, Switch-hime and Sekiryuutei-kun! I'll reward you by letting you make babies with me next time!"
She says this as the light from the circle envelops her and the Vali team disappears from this place
Babies? Switch-hime?
Me and Aymu turn to eachother, she looks as if expecting an answer from me, but I only shrug and turn to Rias and her followers
"What the fuck was that?"
Rias's face turns redder than her own hair and Issei starts gesticulating
"T-t-that was nothing, Kuroka is such a prankster cat, she says things like that everytime, h-hahahahaha!"
He's clearly nervous and embarassed, there's definitely more to this, but I honestly don't care to pry any further. Whatever it is, I hardly think it could be more important than what we have to discuss.
"So... you are Shirone, huh?"
I hear Ayumu questioning as she approaches Koneko
"...Y-yes"
The white nekomata answers shyly
Ayumu seems to be thinking for a while before answering
"You are... cuter than I thought"
She says with a troubled smile, unsure of how to talk to the shy nekomata
"You are Yatsushiro-chan, right?"
Rias asks and Ayumu turns to her
"Huh, oh yeah, that's me"
She says pointing to herself, Rias extends a hand and introduces her peerage, by the end of, Ayumu seems like steam could come out of her ears
"S-so there's even an angel here? And a mixed fallen angel? That's so much information at once..."
Ayumu seems confused of how to respond to everyone she just met, so I speak up
"Ayumu is my best and longest friend, there is nothing you can talk to me that you can't talk to her. That's why I've called her to help"
I say this and everyone looks towards her
"Idiot..."
Ayumu answers looking away from me
"Eh? Why?!"
Am I being called an idiot for praising her?!
"So that's how it is..."
"To think even Tatseyo would be in a situation like this"
"It's tough to know exactly how it is..."
"Poor Ayumu-chan..."
The girls start talking things like that, what the hell are they talking about?
"U-uh? What is going on?"
Issei asks and all the girls turn to him
""""""You were the one who should know this the best!""""""
"W-Woah! Now me too!"
He's suddenly scolded by the girls who yell at him, even Koneko-chan seems to have lost her usual calm demeanor
Watching the scene, Ayumu makes a confused expression
"So devils feel things like this too..."
She says this with a trouble expression
Rias clears her throat and regains her composure
"W-well, Tatseyo, now that Vali and his team have gone away can you tell us what is it that you were being so confidential?"
I look at her and feel my body tensing up
Trying to shrug off my nervousness I answer
"You see, Rias, everyone... the thing is I can't tell the technique I used to seal the Juggernaut Drive because the technique didn't worked when I used it."
When I reveal this the faces of the everyone in the Gremory group contorts in confusion
"W-what do you mean?"
Issei asks and I sigh, looking at Ayumu
"It's hard to explain, Ayumu, you saw it better than anyone else. By the way, thanks for going along with my lie"
The confused stares from them turn to Ayumu
"I didn't actually get it at first, but it seems that your Liliana has taught you how to bluff too, huh?"
She replies with some spite in her voice
"M-My Liliana? What do you-"
"Nothing, anyway, are you sure you can tell these demons about it? It's a big deal after all"
I nod
"Yes, because I trust them and specially because it's a big deal, after you and Liliana's group, they are the ones I trust the most to stop me if this... thing gets out of control"
Listening to me, Ayumu closes her eyes and nods
"Ok, if you say so... but I still don't like this..."
I think she's still mad over the brainwashing thing, not that I can help with that, Rias kinda fucked up in that regard.
The Gremory group was looking at us with confused faces untill Rias asked
"What do you mean by 'thing gets out of control'?"
I look at her and give a long sigh before answering
"You see, I did developed a technique to stop the Juggernaut Drive"
Hearing this, everyone becomes aprehensive
"So it's true..."
Issei says
[To think you would have been able to create such technique... your power is truly frightening]
Ddraig's voice resounds around the room, so he has been listening to the conversation all this time
"U-uh? What was this voice? Is there someone else here?"
Ayumu asks looking around
"This is Ddraig, Ayumu, just like Vali is the host of the legendary dragon Hakuryuukou, Issei is the host of the Sekiryuutei"
Her eyes look in awe towards Issei
"Ddraig Y Goch? You are his host?"
Issei meekly nods
"Y-yeah, that's me, it was thanks to Ddraig that I managed to get this far so I'm really grateful to him"
He says scratching his head and Ayumu looks with a troubled expression
"Through the Sacred gear stuff, huh? Damn, it's Sun Wukong, King Arthur, Morgana Le Fay, Lucifer and now even both Tenryuu and nekoshou. I've met so many legendary figures in such a short notice, this is really getting beyond my imagination"
I laugh a little and answer
"That's how I felt at the start too, I think this shows how serious is the situation we are in"
After saying that, I scratch my cheek and continue
"Anyway... I did made a technique to seal the Juggernaut Drive, I won't get into the details now but it obviously it has a lot of restrictions, like I have to focus on the target in order to seal the curse and obviously I have to be in my 100% state to use it, because it would require a lot of strength"
Rias looks at me and nods
"I see, it makes sense that you would have to use a lot of power to contain it"
However, I lift a hand and stop her
"You are right, but the problem is... my strength was not enough at that time"
They become even more confused at my statement
"What do you mean? So you didn't sealed the Juggernaut Drive?"
Issei asks and I nod
"Sorta"
Rias frowns and asks
"Sorta? Who was it then?"
I close my eyes for a moment to think for a while before answering
"Something that lives within me woke up, something dangerous."
Tension fills the room as I say it
"What I'm about to tell you is confidential information that should never leave the Esper Community, I'm violating all sorts of rules just by telling you this, but what I'm trying to say is that even among other devils, I'd rather you not tell them anything"
Rias notices my seriousness and nods her head
"We won't, you have our word"
The other members, including Irina, nod silently and I take a deep breath and say
"In the community's scientific research there are projects that have been created to awake the full potential of an esper."
Rias raises an eyebrow
"Full potential? You mean different from your 100%?"
"Exactly, so far no esper has been able to fully control this level power and it's by far the most dangerous"
A silence hangs in the air and it is broken when Akeno questions
"What are they about?"
I look at them and say loud and clear
"The Awakening Protocol and the Ascension Project, both of them aim for different objectives, but they share one common goal."
I take a deep breath, thinking for one last moment about the bomb I'm about to drop before speaking
"To awake and control the power that can make a single esper capable of killing the Maous"
As soon as these words leave my mouth, a somber silence takes over the room
Rias's voice cracks when she asks me as if she couldn't believe her ears
"K-killing the Maous?"
Afterword: Thanks for your words GuestQuestioner, don't worry, I don't blame you since I never actually said what was going on. My relative was in an advanced state of Alzheimer and couldn't even walk, talk in a coherent way or eat on her own anymore, so I'm actually happy that she was released from this suffering and is hopefully in a better place. Also, I'm not bothered at all when you or any other reviewers come to ask me to hurry the f*ck up, it actually gives me motivation to post faster Hahahaha! Good luck with school btw, I'm sorry this chapter took so long to post, I thought I'd had more time to write now that I don't have to take care of anyone, but college had other plans and I had two exams schedueled the week after I posted the last chapter, so yeah, this chapter was supposed to have been released at least two weeks ago, but I was busy with online college activities. Sorry, next chapter will probably be released faster. But good news: We are only three or fours chapters away from getting into the Kyoto arc, thanks for everyone who has been reading so far, I really appreciate all of my followers support.
About the thing of living weapons, I actually thought about it, in Mob there's the concept of cursed weapons and spirits that inhabit objects. I'd like to work with this concept, but I think I'll only use it further down the line, once a character from Mob is reintroduced in the story.