A/N: Early upload because tomorrow's my grandma's birthday and I'll probably be too busy to upload it.
"Argh…anyone get the plate of the truck that hit me?" I groaned as I laid in a soft bed, the now-familiar smell of a hospital room hitting me before I heard a familiar voice speak to my right.
"Yeah, it's 012-Sairaorg-120-Alivian." I chuckled softly, as I looked to my right, seeing Sairaorg sitting upright with Alivian laying on the bed on the other side of him. All three of us were wrapped up tightly in bandages. I just grinned as I sat up on the bed, all three of us watching the DeviTube video of Diehauser vs Bedeze laying on the giant flat-screen TV before Alivian spoke.
"What was that last attack of yours, Isaiah?" I just shrugged before groaning as I felt the agonizing pain in my shoulders.
"It was just something I came up two days ago before the fight. Focusing Sandanzuki as well as my Touki throughout my body entire body while also enhancing my body with 'Quadruple Power Boost', 'Quadruple Physical Enhancer', 'Defensive Piercing' and 'Tremor + Vibration', I become a literal armour-piercing spear." Both turned to give me dull stares and I sighed.
"By pushing my body to perform beyond its limit with Touki, using enhancement runes that quadruples that effect along with runes that causes my body to vibrate at blistering speeds and using Sandanzuki throughout my entire body instead of just my legs, I created a move that allows me to become a literal lightning javelin that pierces through any defences my opponent has. The only drawback is that it's a last resort, one-time use since using it tears most of the muscles in my legs, breaks most of the bones throughout my body and damages my cardiovascular system. Thankfully, I have Phoenix Tears and Devil magic to not have to worry about dying.."
"…So you basically created the equivalent of an anti-tank bullet going at Mach 10?" Alivian said and I nodded, Sairaorg just staring at me before he grinned.
"Great! And with your Storm Wolf Aura and Sacred Gears, Regulus can now join in our bouts of chivalry!"
"Of course, you would think that." I muttered with a sigh as Alivian chuckled.
"And here I thought Sairaorg was similar to other Pure Blood Devils."
"Believe me, the idiot is far from it."
"What he said." Sairaorg agreed with a nod and I chuckled as Alivian laughed.
"I see you three are getting along well." I heard a familiar male voice and we all turned to see Lord Sitri walked in, dressed in his doctor's garb.
"Good morning/ afternoon/ evening, Lord Sitri, whichever one it is." I said with a grin and he chuckled.
"Good afternoon to you, Isaiah. And the same to you boys as well." Alivian just bowed his head as best as he can from his bed and Sairaorg smiled brightly as he nodded.
"So, what's the verdict, doc?" I joked and Lord Sitri just looked amused as he looked down at his clipboard.
"Other than the broken bones in your arms, the broken bones in your legs, the fractured and broken ribs, the fact that most of your muscles were torn, the fact that most of your cardiovascular system was damaged, the scrambled nervous system and heavy internal bleeding of both Sairaorg and Alivian and the concussions all three of you had, I'd say two weeks of rest and you're good to go." Sairaorg and I smiled and nodded as Alivian looked shocked, which I noticed.
"I've been in a coma for six months, fighting a poison powerful enough to kill Ultimate-Class devils with ease. Compared to that, broken bones and torn muscles aren't that bad." He just sighed as Sairaorg chuckled, with me smirking as Lord Sitri nodded as if to confirm my words.
"Oh, right. Isaiah, since you are awake, I'll let your 'friends' in." My eyes widened as I shook my head rapidly, Alivian and Sairaorg looking confused as Lord Sitri opened the door and two giant balls of waddling fur ran into the room before jumping on me. The air was knocked out of me, but that didn't hurt as much as them pressing on my broken body and licking my face.
"They kept growling at everyone that tried to remove them from the hospital, so I let them just stay outside your room until you woke up."
"Tfhank…you!" I grunted out from under the balls of fur before they climbed off, looking as happy as can be as they stared at me. Sairaorg and Alivian were too busy laughing at my agony and I glared at them before I glared at the two balls.
"…Who am I kidding? I can't stay mad at you two idiots." I muttered with a small smile, Joker barking as Bardou nodded. I wish I had kept the Canidae speech ability Lycaon gave me, but unfortunately, it looks like I need the Sacred Gear for that, so now it's back to interpreting and trying to figure out their words by analysing their body language.
"So, if you two are here…" I trailed off as Akeno walked in, stopping as soon as she saw I was awake. Without wasting time, she quickly rushed towards me, giving me a tight hug and I stifled my groan of pain as she looked up before giving a quick but deep kiss. Sairaorg just whistled as Alivian chuckled, Akeno just smiling at them before she stared at me.
"You really need to stop ending up in here." She muttered and I chuckled, Bardou and Joker giving a happy bark and I just knew they were laughing at my misery.
"Hey, this time it was a spar that made me end up here, not an assassination attempt or my own stupidity." She just gave me a dull stare and I gave a sheepish chuckle.
"I'll let the others in." Lord Sitri said with a smile and Sairaorg, Alivian and I nodded before we walked out, Rias, Seekvaira, Kuisha, Koneko and Zeoticus walked in. Seekvaira and Kuisha instantly rushed towards Alivian and Sairaorg respectively, asking them a bunch of questions. Koneko just climbed onto my bed and laid down next to me, Rias walking forward before giving me a soft whack on the head as Zeoticus chuckled in the background.
"Next time, no trying to kill each other, okay?"
"No promises." I shrugged, making her sigh as I patted Koneko on the head. She just looked up and gave me a pat on the head before lying back down, with Akeno and Rias giggling.
"Sona and Tsubaki apologise that they can't be here, but unfortunately, her family had some urgent matters to attend and they had to go with."
"That's okay. I know they would want to be here if they were able to." I said with a smile and she nodded before Seekvaira spoke.
"I knew that you were at Mid Ultimate-Class, but I didn't expect your skills to be that high."
"Peak Ultimate-Class." I corrected, surprising her and Kuisha as Alivian and Sairaorg just chuckled.
"Ah, my rival is growing is strength once again. You're nearing my ranking of Low Satan-Class." Sairaorg said with a grin and I sighed. The guy was a good friend, but sometimes, his battle-maniac tendencies tends to overrule any rational thought in his mind.
"You're banned from fighting until you're fully heal, mister." Kuisha said with a frown and he just grumbled as he crossed his arms childishly. Seekvaira just turned to Alivian and he shrugged.
"No need to be worried, Lady Seekvaira. I've had enough sparring to tide me over for the next month." She smiled and nodded, Rias and Akeno turning to me expectantly as I grinned.
"No way am I resting. I've already lost six months of training and I'm not missing any more." They just sighed before grinning at each other as they turned to Koneko, all kinds of warning bells going off in my head.
"Neko-chan, one year of free chocolates, cookies and chocolate cake if you don't listen to them."
"Koneko, five years if you get him to stop training for the next two weeks."
"Ten." I countered and Rias just grinned.
"A lifetime supply." …Fuck.
"Nyaii-chan, would you pwease stop training and spwent time with Neko-chan?" …I think I just died inside. Why am I weak to just her?
"N-…N-N-N…No." The word barely left my mouth before her lip quivered, her eyes wide as a few tears were barely being kept in and she sniffed.
"…F-Fine…I-I'll…I'll stop training for the next two weeks." I said with a grumble and the sad face disappeared as she nodded at Rias before laying back down next to me. Rias and Akeno just gave me triumphant smiles and I glared slightly at the three of them before a thought came to me and I grinned.
"Akeno, Rias and Koneko, you're banned from my room for the next two weeks. No hugs, no kisses, no cuddles, no sleepy-time with Isa, no picnics, no dress-up Isa time and no Isa love for anyone. I need to rest my body, right?" They looked mortified, which made sense considering they spent about 80% of their day with me.
"B-B-B-B-But-!" Rias tried to protest, but I shook my head.
"Nope! If I can't do any kind of training, you guys don't get any Isa time." I said with a smug grin before they all pouted, glaring at me as I just sighed with a triumphant smile, the others in the room giggling as Zeoticus was just laughing in the background.
"Well, he was already banned from doing any sort of training by Evelina, Grayfia and Venelana and I assume he already knew about it." The three girls looked shocked as I grinned and nodded. I knew Venelana and Evelina were obviously going to keep me from training after I just came out of the hospital, but Grayfia was a pleasant surprise.
I guess I grew more on her than I thought.
"Now, then. I need to rest, so…" I trailed off as I pulled Rias and Akeno closer and gave them both a quick kiss on the cheek. Koneko looked at me with a bit of hope and I just smiled as I gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before I laid back down, making myself comfortable.
"You can stay for today, but from tomorrow, no Isa time." She looked a bit sad at that, but she nodded as she laid back down. Both Akeno and Rias also had hopeful faces, but I just gave them a cheeky smirk, destroying their hope as I closed my eyes with a sigh.
"Time for my rest to begin." I muttered in a happy tone, Akeno and Rias grumbling as the others laughed before I fell asleep.
The Next Day:
"So one of them is already calling, huh? I expected them to throw it away or wait for a week at least." I muttered with a smirk. I was still in bandages, though a quick drop of Phenex Tears and most of the serious injuries were completely healed. Since Akeno and the others can't come into my room, I can just keep on training my runes peacefully and in secret. Right now, training was not as important as I stared at the glowing crest on the back of my hand, a blue rose with black thorns around it and surrounded by Lilithian runes.
This was the crest of House Azathoth, my house of which there was one member i.e. me. The day after I became a High-Class Devil, Ajuka came and helped me create a family crest to officially make me the Baron of House Azathoth. The crest also helps you focus your signature magic much better than using your peerage master's family crest since it's your own creation.
What mine does is help me focus Storm Knight Aura and Storm Wolf Aura better than it would if I used the Gremory crest, which is more oriented towards powering ranged attacks. I could still use the Gremory crest for the mundane stuff like teleportation and stuff like that, but I'm mostly sticking to my own crest for battle situations.
"I guess I better go then." I muttered as I quickly wrote a note for the girls before clenching my fist and focusing on the link between my crest and the pamphlet from which they were calling. There was a few seconds of silence before the Gremory crest appeared under me and I disappeared. When the light died down, I raised an eyebrow as I saw Saji looking wide-eyed at me as he sat on the ground, the pamphlet still in his grasp.
"D-D-D-De-!" Before he could shout, I instantly applied muting runes to him, soundproofing the room to make sure no sound escapes the room, reflection runes to make sure no one can look inside the room and locking runes to seal the door and windows. We could still hear sounds from outside, but to the outside world, nothing can escape this room.
"Please be calm, okay? I'm just here to talk." He just stared at me fearfully before he nodded hesitantly and I gave a smile as the runes on him disappeared.
"Meh…meh…hello?" He asked, trying to see if his voice was back.
"Yes?" I asked with an amused smirk and he flushed red before he pouted. Huh, now that I've scanned him, our body builds were completely different. I looked to be 16 as where he looked like he was 12, even though we're the same age. I guess Devil puberty, Lycaon unlocking my heritage and that ritual I did really accelerated my body growth, huh?
"So…you're…you're the…the Devil?" He asked hesitantly and I chuckled as I sat down in front of him, sighing softly as he scooted further away.
"A devil. There's a race of us just like humans, dogs and cats, though the average devil is much more powerful than the average human." I said with a smile and he nodded, crossing his legs.
"T-The pamphlet said you'll fulfill any wish I have. Is that true?" He asked, a bit of hope on his face.
"If it's within my power, yes." I said with a nod and he smiled brightly.
"Can you heal someone?!" He asked quickly and I nodded. I don't have any healing magic, but that doesn't mean my Phoenix Tears can't.
"C-Can you heal my grandpa? H-He hasn't been doing well and I-I don't think he's going to m-make it. I know I won't be able to look after my little brother and sister and I-I know we're going to be put in d-different orphanages. I…there all I have left to remember my parents by a-and I don't want to lose them too." As he spoke, a few tears slipped out and I sighed.
Damn, my stupid heart.
"I'll heal him…but the price for one life is another life. That's the rule all life has to abide to. Are you ready to give up yours for him?" He wiped his tears away, a serious expression on his face as he nodded.
"I'd give up all I have to make sure he survives." I smiled and nodded as I stood up.
"Where is he?"
"I-In Kuoh Central Hospital. The second floor, the west wing, room 12." I nodded before the Gremory crest appeared under me and I disappeared from his sight. It was a second later I was standing besides the bed of an elderly man, his former blonde hair long turned grey as he rested peacefully on the bed. The prominent black veins on his arms and neck and the pale face he had spoke otherwise.
It looked like he was poisoned by something and I knew the hospital were probably waiting for an anti-venom, but it doesn't look like the old man wouldn't make it for the next two days or so.
"And with this, my part of the deal is done." I muttered as I pulled out a Phoenix Tear and tipped his head up, slowly dribbling just a few drops into his mouth and helping him swallow. For the average humans, Phoenix Tears are much more powerful and I didn't want to harm him, so a few drops were enough. Those few drops were enough to heal him, though as the colour returned to his skin and his grey hair turned to a pale blonde.
Just those few drops were enough to heal him as well as extend his life expectancy by a decade or so, which meant that Saji didn't have to worry about anything.
"Now to collect payment." The Gremory crest appeared under me before I disappeared just as he woke up, reappearing a split second later in front of a surprised Saji. He was still in the same place I left him.
"He's fine now. By tomorrow, he'll be better than ever." I said with a smile and he smiled brightly before he cheered loudly, with me chuckling as he gave me a hug before quickly pulling back as he remembered the situation.
"So, now, for the payment." He looked a bit sad as he nodded and closed my eyes, making me raise an eyebrow.
"What are you doing?" He opened his eyes a bit to give me a confused stare.
"A-Are you not going to kill me?" He asked hesitantly and I chuckled.
"No, but I suppose that's my fault for not explaining it properly. What I meant by you giving up your life was that you give up your humanity and serve under me as a Devil." He looked surprised as I pulled out a Pawn.
"D-Devils can do that?" He asked and I nodded.
"Yes, but only if you're a High-Class Devil. So, what do you say?" He just stared at me for a few seconds before he spoke.
"Will…Will it change me and will it help me support my family better?" I smiled as I nodded.
"No and yes. You'll change physically, since a devil's body is more powerful than that of a human, but mentally, you'll still be the same boy. I'll also be paying you a salary of ¥500,000 a month if you join." He looked shocked at the salary and I chuckled. My salary from Rias is $10,000 a month and I have the second lowest between us all. Gasper makes $7,000, Koneko makes $13,000 and as expected, Akeno makes the most between us all at $22,000. Partially because she's been with Rias the longest and because she's the Queen.
That's not even including the tips we make from requests.
"R-Really?" He asked and I smiled and nodded before he grinned.
"Okay, make me a devil." He said with a nod and I chuckled, holding the pawn to his chest. According to what I remember, Sona used four pawns to make him a devil and since I believe I'm stronger than she was, I'd need less. My point was proven right as Saji began to glow a dim blue as soon as I placed the second pawn besides the first one. I grinned as the Azathoth crest appeared under both of us and I spoke.
"From the ashes of hell, I ask you to be reborn in my name. Genshirou Saji, take your place as my first pawn. Serve in my name and defend my honour throughout all the realms. I, Isaiah Azathoth, welcome you under the banner of House Azathoth." The glow grew brighter as Saji and I both closed our eyes before it died down, revealing the pawns gone and Saji just staring at me. I smiled as I felt the link between the pawns in him and my soul and I nodded.
"You are officially a devil. Congratulations." He grinned and nodded before his right hand glowed a dark purple.
'…I fucking hate this world.' I thought, grumbling mentally as I saw the deformed lizard head on the back of his hand, its body clinging around his hand and its tail wrapped around his wrist.
"W-What is this?!" He shouted as he waved his hand, trying to get it off and I just smiled.
"Calm down, Saji. That's Absorption Line, a Sacred Gear that houses a fragment of the soul of Vvitra, the Prison Dragon."
"…What?" I just sighed before gestured for him to sit down. As soon as he was seated, I explained everything From Devils, Angels and Fallen Angels to Sacred Gears, the supernatural world and the politics of Devil Society.
"Devils sound like the corrupt politicians Gramps always complains about." Saji said after I finished explaining and I chuckled at the comparison.
"They really are the same. Anyway, I'll give you a week to let you adjust to your new body and after that, I'll come and give you a training plan to follow for the next couple of years. The possibility exists that we might get a new peerage member that is also from Kuoh, so when I do make him a devil, I want you two to become friends and grow powerful together, okay?"
"Sure thing, boss!" He said with a salute and I chuckled as I shook my head, the Gremory crest appearing under me.
"See you in a week boss!" He greeted with a salute and I smiled as I nodded right before I disappeared.
First member: Acquired.
A/N: Saji is way too powerful of a character to pass up on, especially with how powerful he becomes in the later volumes.
Next chapter, we all know who's joining the gang? Also, I'm going to do a first date next chapter, so please! Don't hate me if it's a bit cliché/ overdone or something along those lines.
Other than that, leave your reviews as always and I'll see you all in the next chapter.
Until then…Ba-Bye~!