Finally got the next chapter done! I'm sorry this took longer than normal. I got my booster a week ago and it really kicked my ass for a couple of nights. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy!
It was late at night with Pyra just finishing her bath and getting ready for bed. As she was walking down the hallway, she saw a light coming from the kitchen. Upon entering the kitchen, she witnessed Seth drink an entire glass of water in a single breath.
"Hm? Oh, Pyra, going to bed soon?" Seth asked after noticing her.
"Yes." Pyra nodded.
"We didn't have many chances for just the two of us to talk, but once Luke woke you up, I knew that this conversation was inevitable." Seth spoke seriously before his entire arm took the form of his Sacred Gear World Ender.
Pyra's expression also became serious. "It's been a while… Apokálypsis."
How long has it been since you slain me, Aegis? The voice of Apokálypsis emanated from the pitch-black jewel in Seth's arm. To me, it felt like only yesterday.
"You weren't the only one sleeping for thousands of years."
My, it seems your slumber has softened you up. You don't look or act like the Aegis I knew.
Pyra simply leered at the jewel Apokálypsis was speaking from.
Tell me… Does this new you have to do with your champion?
All Pyra did was bite her lip and clench her fists at Apokálypsis's taunts.
… Can you hear me… Mythra?
"That's enough!" Pyra shouted while doing her best to hold herself back.
Seth reverted his arm back to normal. "Yeah, he'll do that. Get under your skin. He's been trying to do that to me for years."
Pyra took a deep breath to calm down before speaking. "You must have incredible willpower to withstand his goading for so long."
"He wants me to be his "avatar of destruction", but I keep telling him and myself that this is my body and I call the shots. Also, defeating a powerful opponent or destroying some abandoned buildings usually quenches his thirst for a while. By the way… who is Mythra?"
"I-I…"
"… Say no more. You'll talk about it when you're ready. Good night."
Seth walked out of the kitchen, leaving Pyra by herself.
Meanwhile in the bathroom, Luke was soaking himself off in the tub while lost in his thoughts.
Who do you think could have inherited your brother's title? Luke mentally asked Opheria.
It could be anyone or anything. Most likely they have some sort of connection to dragons for them to be able to inherit the title.
Maybe it's someone with a connection to Eupherio…
That is a possibility. We won't know until we meet them.
That White Dragon guy… Vali, I think his name was… He definitely knows who the current Emerald Dragon Emperor is, but if Albion knows everything his host does, they probably didn't know until after Vali took Kokabiel.
Vali did mention he gathered information after our encounter.
I wonder how he got that information in the first place… Grigori is a research institute on Sacred Gears, so he probably figured if Eupherio became one, they would know for sure. But Eupherio never became a Sacred Gear, yet they know that another Emerald Dragon Emperor exists…
There is much we still do not know.
Their thoughts stopped as Luke heard the bathroom door open. When he turned his head to see who it was, he immediately turned away as his face turned scarlet upon realizing who it was.
"Aaaaah! Time for a nice, relaxing soak!" Emery let out a satisfied sigh after opening the door with closed eyes.
Emery wasn't even wearing a towel, so nothing was obscuring her private parts. Although Luke averted his eyes upon noticing it was Emery that entered, the image of her stellar body was burned into his brain.
I feel Emery's breasts against my back every day when she uses her Senjutsu on me, but I never saw them until just now. They're just as big as I imagined! And her muscles are quite toned, too!
As Emery took a step forward, she opened her eyes and saw the back of Luke's head in the tub, prompting her cheeks to turn red and cover her privates with her arms.
"Luke? What are doing in here?" Emery questioned.
"I'm bathing." Luke answered without turning around. "What else would I be doing in here?"
Emery side-eyed Luke. "You're a teenage boy, so probably masturbating."
"I wouldn't do that in the tub we all use!"
"You do realize you just admitted that you masturbate, right?"
Luke's face remained red, but something came up in his mind. "Oh! Emery, I just remembered something I wanted to ask you."
"You can ask me during our next healing session." Emery turned around. "If you're going to be done soon, I'll just wait until you're done to come in."
Once Luke heard the door close, he got out of the bath, dried himself off, wrapped the towel around his waist, and stepped out of the bathroom to see Emery with a towel wrapped around her. Even though she was covered, the towel did very little to hide her curvaceous figure.
"I'm done. Sorry to keep you waiting." Luke said.
"No, I should apologize for not seeing your clothes set aside." Emery was about to open the door to the bathroom.
"Emery, what happened at Seihai Station the other day?"
Luke's question caused Emery to stop dead in her tracks.
"You nearly attacked me, but you didn't seem like your usual self." Luke continued. "I'm sure you don't want to talk about it, but… I can't help but be concerned about you. At the very least, I wanted you to know that."
"… Thank you." Emery softly said before closing the bathroom door behind her.
Emery, are you okay?
It was the morning of Kuoh Academy's family visits, and Issei, Misaki and Asia were on their way to school when they heard someone call out to them.
"Hey, Issei-kun! Misaki-senpai! Asia-chan!"
They stopped walking and looked behind them to see Spiral and Azusa catching up to them.
"Oh, Spiral-kun, Azusa-chan, I didn't know you came this way to school." Issei said.
"We usually leave a little earlier, so you probably don't see us." Spiral stated.
"Mm-hm." Azusa simply nodded in response.
"Are your parents coming to Open House?" Spiral asked.
"My Mom and Dad are coming for both Asia and me, but I feel they'll be there more for Asia." Issei sighed.
"My parents will be coming, too." Misaki added. "Are Azusa-chan's parents coming for you two?"
"Yeah." Azusa replied.
"Huh? 'Azusa-chan's parents'?" Asia tilted her head.
"Spiral-kun and Azusa-chan treat each other like siblings, but they're actually not related by blood." Misaki explained.
"I've been raised by Azusa-chan's parents since my father died." Spiral told them. "And my mother is usually away at work, but she does call me once a week to see how things are going. Although, I feel really uncomfortable speaking to her now."
"Why's that?" Issei asked.
"Uh… well…" Spiral was deciding on whether to explain it or not.
"THERE YOU ARE!" A loud, female voice yelled at the top of her lungs.
Spiral and Azusa froze in place upon hearing that voice and when Issei, Misaki, and Asia looked behind the two siblings, they saw a dust cloud and, in an instant, someone had clutched Spiral's head and lifted him off of the ground. The figure doing so was a tall, middle-aged woman with fierce eyes and long, spiky white hair wearing a black shirt and pants, and a pure-white coat with a large and long sword sheathed on her back. Issei looked on in shock with his jaw dropping as he saw this woman pick up his friend using only a single hand with little effort.
"Rasen, can you tell me why I am here?" The fierce woman asked.
"Oh dear…" Misaki held a hand over her mouth.
Issei then noticed that the usually calm and composed Azusa was bug-eyed and sweating profusely.
"What is it? Who is this woman? Why does she know Spiral's real name? And why is Azusa so scared of her?" Issei asked a few questions in quick succession.
"And you changed your name, too?" The woman's eyes became even more intense. "Is that how you treat the name I gave you?"
"I-I just wanted a fresh start-Ah!" Spiral could feel the woman's grip on his head become even tighter. "You're crushing my skull!"
"That's nothing compared to the pain you inflicted on your mother's heart!"
"M-m-m-motheeeeeeer?!" Issei screamed in shock.
"Yes, Issei-kun." Misaki confirmed. "This is Spiral-kun's mother, the strongest woman in the Protestant Church who has earned the title 'Holy Dragon'. Seiryuu Hirano (Age 38)."
If she's from the Church, does that mean she's here to exterminate us?! Issei thought.
"I was asked by Michael-sama to be his escort while visiting this town for the upcoming summit." Seiryuu said. "Since I was in the area, I thought I would surprise my son and niece. You two already left before I arrived, and I sensed that Devils had been frequenting your home, so I asked Azumi and Sanji about it. They confessed that after leaving the Church, you had willingly reincarnated as Devils."
"Don't blame Onii-sama!" Azusa stood in front of Seiryuu, although her body was visibly trembling. "I was the one who summoned a Devil! Onii-sama wasn't eating or sleeping after he left the Church and he couldn't go back after what he saw! Please! If you're going to punish someone, punish me!"
Seiryuu dropped Spiral, walked up to Azusa, lightly raised her left fist into the air, and tapped her on the head with it. Suddenly, Azusa was knocked to the ground, leaving a crater in the pavement.
That only looked like a tap! Issei screamed in his head. Yet she managed to knock Azusa-chan down with all that force?! How strong is this woman?!
"That wasn't for becoming Devils." Seiryuu turned to Spiral. "That was for not telling me."
"How could we tell you we left the Church and became Devils?" Spiral rubbed his head with one hand.
Seiryuu walked up to Spiral and lightly punched him in the stomach, causing him to drop to his knees and clutch his abdomen while groaning in pain.
"I'm your mother. Exorcist or Devil, you're my son, and I have to respect that you make your own choices, even if I might not agree with them."
Spiral tried to speak to his mother, but he was still trying to get the wind back in his breath and just let out a raspy sound from his mouth.
"Anyway, you kids don't have to worry about me." Seiryuu assured Issei and the others. "Michael-sama ordered me not to harm any Devils I might come across, and I don't raise my sword against kids." She then knelt down to the still keeling Spiral and Azusa, who was still trying to get up. "Your parents and I will be coming to see your classes later. For your sakes, you better not have been lying about your grades either."
"… Honest…" Azusa responded, seemingly in a daze.
This woman is insane…
Lessons had begun for the day and to Luke's surprise, Annabelle was sent to act as Luke's guardian during classes. She was wearing a white dress shirt under a dark silver jacket and matching long, dark silver pencil skirt with black stockings and high heels. At first, Luke was relieved since she already heard about his embarrassing nickname from Seth. However, that all changed after the class had finished.
"Surprised to see me, Master Luke?" Annabelle asked after she walked up to him.
"Yeah, I wasn't sure if anyone was going to come for me today." Luke replied.
"But you're his maid, aren't you?" Pyra, who sat in the desk in front of Luke's, turned around to them. "And you're only a year older than him."
"I'm just as responsible for Luke's well-being as Lady Allegra." Annabelle answered. "Speaking of which, she is attending Lady Melody's classes today. And a word of warning, expect Master Seth to be in a pretty foul mood."
Why would Seth be in a foul mood? Luke wondered.
Luke then overheard some of the other students in his class start gossiping.
"I didn't know Bokkiko had a maid!"
"Bokkiko gets to be around that beauty all the time?!"
"He probably uses her to satiate his lust."
"Doesn't he already do that with Fumiko-chan and Kiba-senpai?"
"She probably already has four of his kids with a fifth on the way."
Stop making things up and what was that about Kiba?!
Annabelle also overheard the conversations and stood in front of the gossiping students.
"I will not tolerate false rumors regarding Master Luke." Annabelle spoke up in front of the entire class. "Yes, Master Luke might be easily drawn in by feminine charms, but I assure you that he has not once taken anyone's innocence. Even he himself has yet to be deflowered."
ANNA, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! Luke had his hands over his burning red face, trying to avoid seeing the embarrassing display occurring right in front of him. Now everyone knows I'm a virgin and they'll never let it go!
Sometime later, Issei and Asia were now on their lunch break together on the school's rooftop. Their teacher, for whatever reason, decided to have the students work with paper clay in front of their parents, guardians, and middle school juniors. Asia decided to make a model of Issei and Issei made a well-crafted model of Asia praying in her nun robes.
"This is well put together, Issei." Asia spoke to him as she touched the model that he made. I'm actually amazed that you managed to get everything about my nun outfit minus the veil right with the clay that you had on hand."
"Thanks, Asia. That model you made of my own body is also well put together." Issei replied as he touched a model of his own nude form that she made.
Like the model he made, she did not sell it to any of her classmates, but nobody in their class wanted it anyway.
Asia's cheeks turned a light pink. "Th- thank you, Issei. I'm glad that you like it."
The door to the roof opened and then Issei saw an unfamiliar busty young woman with long, brown hair arranged in multiple drill-like curls and wearing the school's female uniform arrive.
"I'm sorry, but do I know you?" Issei asked.
"My name is Kiyome Abe. Feel free to call me Kiyome-senpai, Hyoudou-san. The same goes for you, Asia-chan." The young woman, Kiyome, answered.
"Um... Kiyome-senpai, why are you up here?" Asia asked.
"The two of you caused a bit of an uproar and I wanted to check on if you two were doing alright."
"I am honestly surprised that one of our senpai other than Melody-san or Rias-senpai were worried about me and Asia, but I am well." Issei spoke.
"Yeah, I am also doing well." Asia stated. "Thank you very much."
"Dammit!"
Outside of the school, Seth kicked the vending machine so hard that he completely smashed it with the glass broken, some of the drinks leaking out, and the entire machine being bent over.
"Seth-san, please calm down!" Hana tried to ease his anger.
Rias and Akeno were standing nearby, the former sighing with her hand against her forehead.
"At least you're not getting humiliated…"
"You still don't want to open up to me, huh…" An older man spoke.
Standing with the four third year students was a handsome and tall middle aged man with medium length blonde hair wearing a red dress shirt and black pants and shoes.
"Seth, is something wrong?"
Luke, Annabelle, Pyra, and Fumiko came up to them. Luke paused when he saw the mysterious man in front of him.
"You must be this Luke I've heard so much about from Allegra and Melody." The man approached him with a welcoming aura. "Just like your brother, you remind me of Sophia."
"You know my mother?" Luke asked.
"I see Seth never told you about me… not that I blame him." The man muttered under his breath before speaking normally to Luke and greeted him with a light bow. "I am Seth and Melody's father, Sterling Morag (Age 45). It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Luke Sigmund."
This is Seth's father?! Luke thought in disbelief. Seth doesn't like talking about him, so I expected him to be on the arrogant side, but he doesn't come off like that at all. Maybe this is just a mask to get me on his good side?
Luke then noticed that Sterling seemed to be staring at him in contemplation.
Why is he looking at me like that?
"… Yes." Sterling closed his eyes and nodded with an approving expression. "You seem like a great young man. I have no worries about Melody's future."
"Huh?" Luke was confused at Sterling's comment.
"Never you mind, for now. I am deeply sorry for what my eldest sons put you through. If there is anything I can do to apologize, please do not hesitate to ask."
Wow! This guy really is nothing like I imagined! "Y-you don't need to go that far." Luke nervously giggled. "Your apology is enough. Anyway, why are you here?"
"I've come to see Seth's classes. Been doing so ever since he enrolled here."
So, that's what Anna meant that Seth would be in a bad mood.
Sterling then turned to Annabelle. "Annabelle, I trust that you are fulfilling your duties as Seth and Luke's maid, as well as Seth's Queen?"
"Of course, Master Sterling." Annabelle bowed lightly.
"Excellent. And Alastair?"
"He's doing a good job."
That's really all you have to say about your brother?! Then again, that's all you can say without bullshitting.
Sterling turned around to see Hana doing her best to calm Seth down. "I've already met Seth's Bishop, Hana. It seems those two are especially close. I hope she makes my son very happy."
He genuinely cares about Seth. So, why does he hate him so much?
"And Seth is taking good care of Ms. Kazama?"
"Yes, Setsuna is very happy to be in Master Seth's peerage."
"I'm glad Seth is taking good care of his servants. I think I'll give you all some space to help him simmer down. I look forward to seeing you again, Luke. And Rias, don't let your father and brother's behavior get you down. That's just their way of showing their affection."
"Easier said than done… but thank you, Sterling." Rias sighed at first, but then lightly smiled.
Just as Sterling walked away, Luke looked at Akeno, who still seemed to be melancholy.
I wonder if Akeno's parents came today. Maybe I should ask-Oh, right. President said that Akeno's father is the high-ranking Fallen Angel Baraqiel and she spat on Kokabiel for comparing her to him. I guess Seth isn't the only one with father issues… Oh… Is that why…
Before Luke could finish his train of thought, he saw Yuuto walking toward them.
"If you came for a drink, the vending machine is out of order." Luke pointed at the smashed vending machine.
"Oh, no." Yuuto pointed down a corrdior. "I heard that a magical girl was holding a photo shoot, so I thought I would take a look."
Curious about this 'magical girl', Luke, Rias, Akeno, Yuuto, Seth, Annabelle, and Hana made their way toward a corridor crowded with young men flashing their cameras at one of the corners. Unable to see past so many people, Luke slipped his way through the crowd until he could catch a good glimpse at the 'magical girl'. He recognized the outfit as the same worn by the titular character of the popular anime Magical Girl Milky Spiral 7 Alternative, complete with a wand she was spinning around. The cosplayer was a cute and beautiful young woman with black hair tied into long twin tails and vibrant blue eyes, and her skirt was so short that her panties could occasionally be seen, which caused Luke to blush and look at the floor. After Rias worked her way through the crowd, she saw the cosplayer and was shocked.
"Wha-?!"
President, do you know what's going on?!
"Hey, hey, hey! Who's doing a photo op in a public hallway?!"
Luke turned his head to the voice and saw Saji wrestling his way out of the crowd, followed by several girls who looked they were in the student council with him.
"Hey, come on! Please leave!" Saji continued trying to disperse the crowd. "Today is Open House! It's not the time or place for this noise!"
The crowd was finally dispersing, even the camera happy young men, leaving only the student council, the cosplayer, and the seven people in Luke's group.
"And you, please don't dress like that on school premises." Saji turned to the cosplayer. "Hold on, are you here with your parents? Even so, you should be wearing your school uniform. You'll get in trouble, otherwise."
"Eeeeeh, but this is my uniform!" The cosplayer cutely tilted her head while making a pose.
Saji ground his teeth but bowed as soon as he realized that Rias was there. "Oh, Rias-senpai. I was just showing the Great Satan and your father around school."
Saji glanced down the hallway and Luke looked in the same direction to see two men with crimson hair following Sona.
"What is this? Saji, how many times have I told you to handle things quickly and quietly-?" Sona became silent when her eyes saw the cosplayer.
"Sona! I found you!" The cosplayer leaped for joy and grabbed Sona in a bear hug.
Does she know Council President Sitri?! Luke thought as he took notice of something about Sona and the cosplayer. Those two… look a lot alike…
"Ah, Serafall. So, you came here, too." Sirzechs approached the cosplayer without looking the least bit bothered by her attire and behavior.
'Serafall'? I know I've heard that name before…
"That's Lady Leviathan." Rias whispered to Luke as if she knew what he was thinking.
As in… the strongest female Devil?!
"She's one of the Four Great Satans, Serafall Leviathan." Rias continued. "And Sona's older sister."
When I first heard of the Great Satan Leviathan, I certainly didn't imagine her as a magical girl cosplayer! Although, President wasn't lying when she said that Lady Leviathan was beautiful.
"It's good to see you again, Lady Serafall." Rias went up to greet Serafall.
"Oh, Little Rias! It's been so long! How have you been?" Serafall asked in a cute tone of voice.
Rias was a little dismayed at Serafall. "I-I'm well, thank you for asking. Are you here to visit Sona's classes?"
"Yep!" Sona cutely winked. "You're so mean, Sona! As your big sister, I was so shocked that you didn't tell me about today that I nearly attacked Heaven!"
Uuum… That would have started a war…
"Luke, greet her." Rias told him.
Luke bowed his head. "It's a-a pleasure to meet you, Lady Serafall. I'm Luke Sigmund, Pawn of Rias Gremory."
"Nice to meet you. I'm the Great Satan Serafall Leviathan. You can call me Levia for short." Serafall winked while holding out her hand with a peace sign.
She seems really childish for a Great Satan, but I have to admit that she's really cute.
"Hey, Little Sirzechs, is this the dragon everyone's been talking about?" Serafall inquired her fellow Great Satan.
Do you call everyone 'Little'?
"Yes, he is the first and current host of the Paradise Dragon." Sirzechs answered.
Since Lord Sirzechs didn't seem to mind, this must be a regular thing.
"Oh, Uncle Gremory!"
"Lady Serafall, that's an unusual costume you're wearing." The other crimson haired man said. "Perhaps a little much for a Great Satan…"
That must be President's father.
The Great Satans and Rias's father started to talk with each other.
"President? Lady Leviathan is a lot more… lively than I expected." Luke said to Rias.
"I'm sorry." Rias sighed in exasperation. "I forgot to tell you-No, more like I didn't want to tell you that the Four Great Satans are all pretty eccentric individuals. In private, they're particularly lighthearted and free spirited to such a degree that they're embarrassing to be around."
On one hand, I'm relieved that the Great Satans aren't all boring sticks in the mud, but on the other, I question if they should be in such a high position of authority.
When Luke looked at Sona, her face was as red as a tomato from seeing her elder sister's conduct, and Serafall noticed her expression and looked at her in worry.
"What's wrong, Little Sona? Your face is completely red. Shouldn't you be happy to see me after so long? You should be all happy and shout 'Bis Sis' and I would shout 'Sona'! And then we'd embrace in a yuri way."
Does she know what 'yuri' means?! Luke started blushing at the thought of Sona and Serafall hugging each other in the nude.
Sona narrowed her eyes in shame. "… Sister, I was appointed the student council president of this school… Even if you are family… your behavior and attire are inappropriate."
"Don't say that! You'll make me cry, Little Sona! You know your big sister loves magical girls! Waving around a magic wand and wiping out all those Angels and Fallen Angels in one blow!" Wink!
"Sister, please don't do that." Sona insisted. "If you do, there will be nothing left of Japan."
Lady Serafall is more of a Great Satan girl than a magical girl! Despite her demeanor, it would be a disaster to get on her bad side.
"Saji?" Luke whispered to the Sitri peerage Pawn. "When Kokabiel attacked, Miss Sitri didn't ask her sister for help. Are they on bad terms?"
"No, the opposite, actually." Saji whispered back. "Rumor has it that Serafall-sama loves her sister so much that if she found out that Kaichou was hurt by a Fallen Angel, things could have escalated to another war. Just calling Sizechs-sama was the right call. This is also my first time seeing her for myself."
"Ugh! I can't take anymore of this!" Sona ran away with teary eyes.
"Wait, Little Sona! Don't leave your big sister behind!" Serafall followed after Sona.
"Stop following me!"
"Noooooo! Don't leave me, So-taaaaaaaaan!"
"Stop calling me that!"
Luke just watched the sisters run down the corridor in complete bewilderment.
I know how you're feeling Miss Sitri… I, too, have an overly doting older sibling that embarrasses me…
"Hmm, the Sitri family is so peaceful, don't you agree, Ria?" Sirzechs asked his younger sister.
"Brother, please don't call me that…" Rias sighed.
"Don't say that, Ria. Remember how you used to follow me around everywhere when you were young? Perhaps you're just in your rebellious phase?"
"That does it!" Rias became infuriated. "Brother! Why must you bring up my childhood in front of-!"
Rias's father took a photograph of her expressive outburst.
"That's a nice face, Rias." Her father smiled. "I'm so happy to have raised you. Your mother couldn't make it, so I'll make the most of this for her sake, too."
"Father!" Rias became even more flustered.
While that was happening, Luke just watched the sight and took note of how adorable Rias looked, even though he did also feel bad for her.
"The families of the Great Satans share quite a few things in common." Akeno told Luke with an amused smile.
"Like what?" Luke asked back.
"The Great Satans all have interesting personalities. And their sisters, without exception, are overly serious. Heehee, they probably feel they have to be serious to make up for their older siblings' free spiritedness."
"Hmm…" Luke thought about Akeno's words before remembering something. "Oh, Akeno, there's something I wanted to-"
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Luke Sigmund."
Rias's father had come to Luke and greeted him.
"I'm Zeoticus Gremory, current head of the House of Gremory. My daughter is especially affectionate toward you." Zeoticus held out his hand.
Luke was hesitant for a millisecond, but then he shook Zeoticus's hand. "It's an honor to finally meet President's father."
"You're quite the polite young man. Your parents raised you very well. Would they happen to be here today?"
The women all had one or both hands over their mouth, and Seth and Yuuto looked at Luke and Zeoticus anxiously.
"Actually… my parents died before I could even start kindergarten. You can thank my brother, maid, butler, and Allegra for raising me."
"I'm sorry if I brought up painful memories. If you'd like, you can call me 'Father'."
"F-Father!" Rias shouted with red cheeks.
"If it is not too much trouble, may I speak with your brother?" Zeoticus requested.
"It would be my pleasure, Mr. Gremory." Seth enthusiastically approached him.
"Let's speak somewhere more secluded as to not embarrass the young ones." Zeoticus then extended his hand toward Yuuto. "Kiba."
"Yes?" Yuuto stood at attention.
"My apologies, but would you mind taking us somewhere where we can converse in private?" Zeoticus asked.
"Of course. Please follow me." Yuuto bowed.
"Rias, Luke Sigmund, I will return. Sirzechs, can I leave the rest to you?"
"Yes, Father." Sirzechs replied.
Yuuto guided Zeoticus, Seth, and Hana down the corridor.
"Rias?" Sirzechs turned to his sister.
"Yes, Brother?"
"May I borrow you for a moment? Sorry, Luke, I'll be borrowing my sister for a bit. Akeno, would you mind coming along as well?"
"Yes." Akeno nodded.
Sirzechs then led Rias and Akeno away, leaving only Luke, Pyra, Fumiko, and Annabelle.
"Everyone sure has colorful families." Pyra laughed.
"Did you ever have a family, Pyra?" Luke asked. "I know you were forged by Hephaestus, but did you ever think of him as a father?"
"Of course, I do." Pyra nodded. "While we might not share blood, Hephaestus is the one who gave me life and cared for me. It's only natural I'd think of him as a father."
"I wonder if he knows you woke up."
"Well, he'll hear about it sooner or later."
"Speaking of 'waking up', do you know why Hephaestus brought you to Japan and sealed you away in the first place?" Fumiko inquired.
"U-Ummm…" Pyra hesitated to answer.
"Pyra was probably sealed because of her power." Luke guessed before looking right at Pyra. "But if you don't feel like talking about it, you don't have to."
"Thank you, Luke." Pyra softly smiled at him.
"You're so considerate, Master Luke." Annabelle smiled.
The four of them were heading back to their classroom when they saw something odd appear in their sights. Further down one of the hallways, they saw someone wearing a winter coat and gloves with thick glasses and several scarves wrapped around their face.
What the hell… It might only be the beginning of summer, but it's far from being so cold that you need to wear such a heavy coat and a bunch of scarves…
There were also two women that seemed to be talking to the man. One of them was a middle aged foreign woman with long dark hair formally dressed, so Luke guessed she must be one of the parents visiting today. However, the second woman they all immediately recognized as their Dhampir comrade, Katherine.
"Oh… Katherine!" Luke called out to her as they approached her.
"Ah, Luke!" Katherine exclaimed as she was suddenly beaming.
"You must be the Luke that our daughter's been talking about so much." The foreign woman spoke up.
"So, you are Katherine's mother." Luke said.
"Yep, this is my Mommy!" Katherine confirmed before motioning to the person buried in their coat. "And this is my Daddy!"
"Sorry I can't show you my face right now, otherwise I would burst into flames." A man's lighthearted voice could be audibly heard through the scarves. "You Devils really have it easy compared to us vampires when it comes to sunlight."
"Well, that explains why you're so bundled up on a summer's day." Pyra giggled.
"You seem like a good, upstanding young man. Tell me, Luke, what do you think of Katherine?" Her father asked.
"I… I think she's cute." Luke nervously blushed.
"You think I'm cute?" Katherine murmured while shyly covering her mouth.
He's probably going to say how he will be keeping his eyes on me, so I won't do anything 'scandalous' to his daughter.
"And do you want her to be happy?"
"O-of course. My dream is to make girls happy. Generally speaking, nothing adult!"
"Well, how would you like to marry her?"
… What?
"W-w-w-what?!" Fumiko exclaimed.
"Daddy! Don't embarrass me in front of Luke!" Katherine shouted with a beet red face.
"I'm sorry for my husband's behavior." Katherine's mother apologized. "He really spoils Katherine, although I admit I'm not much better."
"You're the first boy our little girl's taken an interest in, so I couldn't help but jump the gun." Katherine's father rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "But seriously, please consider becoming our daughter's husband. No rush. Just as long as my wife lives long enough to see her grandchildren-Oof!"
Katherine's mother elbowed her husband in the rib hard enough that it could still be felt through the thick coat.
"Lunchtime is almost over, so you should all be heading back to class. Let's go, Dear. Katherine, please take us to your next class."
She grabbed Katherine's father by the hand and pulled him away with Katherine showing them to her next class.
"Hmm, Katherine's father is pretty jubilant for a pureblood vampire." Annabelle said.
"Are purebloods normally not that expressive?" Luke asked.
"Not really." Annabelle answered. "And there wasn't a chill in the air, either."
"W-we should probably think about this later." Fumiko interjected. "Otherwise, we'll be late for class."
After school ended for the day, Zeoticus, Sirzechs, Sterling and Allegra were all in the living room of the Sigmund residence, watching the footage of Rias during classes that were taken by her father and brother earlier. The adults seemed to be enjoying themselves while having drinks. Rias was embarrassed by her father and brother while Seth was feeling miserable that his father was inside the place he called home.
"This is a hell the likes of which I've never seen…" Rias muttered with a red face.
"You and me both, Rias…" Seth agreed.
"That's our Ria answering the teacher's question!" Sirzechs was especially boisterous.
"I can't take this anymore! Brother, stop calling me that!"
"President!"
With her face in her hands, Rias ran off and Luke followed after her.
"She has the right idea." Seth started walking in the same direction.
"Seth-san, wait for me!" Hana tried to catch up to Seth.
Alastair watched his masters leave the room before his attention was grabbed by Sirzechs getting knocked to the floor by a paper fan wielded by Grayfia.
"You know, Emery might be a heavy drinker, but I must admit she's easier to deal with…" Alastair quietly sighed to himself.
Rias ran into Luke's room, leaped into his bed, and buried her face in one of the pillows. Luke sat down on the floor and leaned his back against the bed, thinking about what he should say to cheer her up.
"… You know, I could tell just how much your father and brother love you just being near them. Though, they might've taken it a bit too far…"
Rias didn't answer to Luke.
"At the very least, your family seems to like me."
"… Luke?" Rias finally spoke up.
"Yes, President?"
"Do you regret meeting me?"
Luke turned around and got on his knees so he was looking right at Rias. "What kind of question is that? I don't regret meeting you at all. I'm only where I am now because we met. If anything, I'm glad we did meet."
"I'm happy we met, too. I can't imagine my life without you. You're always on my mind, you know?"
President… can't imagine life without me? Am I really that important to her?
The door opened up and Fumiko walked in.
"Luke, how is Rias-buchou doing?" Fumiko asked.
"I'm feeling better now." Rias sat up. "Thank you, Fumiko."
"Hey, President? Do you know why Seth dislikes his father so much? When I met Sterling earlier, he didn't seem like the kind of person Seth wouldn't want to talk about."
"The only thing Seth said to me was that 'he's a better uncle than a father' when I told him how close I am to Sterling." Rias stated. "And from what I heard from Melody, she loves her father very much and he treats her very well. He even gets along with her servants."
"He doesn't sound like a bad person." Fumiko said. "But we can't pass judgment until we understand the whole picture."
"If you're going to ask your brother, do it when the two of you are alone." Rias suggested. "His guard will be lowered and he won't feel the need to hide details."
There's definitely something between Seth and his father. Maybe he treats Seth differently from everyone else in private?
Knock, knock.
"Lady Rias, may we enter?"
The door opened and Grayfia walked in alongside Sirzechs.
"We need to finish our talk from earlier, Rias." Sirzechs said. "About your other Bishop."
Luke's eyes widened a little. Does this mean I might finally meet them?
After school the next day, the entire Occult Research Club gathered in the old school building and were standing in front of a classroom with a large 'Keep Out' sign taped over the door and several layers of magic circles blocking entry. Of Rias's peerage, the only ones who didn't know the identity of the Bishop were Luke, Fumiko, and Xenovia. Pyra and the members of Melody's peerage in the club were also not aware of this person's identity.
Sirzechs said that this Bishop's abilities are so dangerous that even President wasn't considered strong or experienced enough to handle it. Luke thought. But thanks to the recent battles, she received praise from the Four Great Satans, the House of the Great King Bael, and the House of Agares, among many others. And thus, it was decided to lift the restrictions on this Bishop. Whoever it is, they must be pretty terrifying…
"They're inside this classroom." Rias told everyone. "They stay in there all day. While they are allowed to leave the classroom at night as long as they stay inside the building, they refuse to even do that much."
Is this Bishop so powerful that they seclude themselves as to not harm anyone?
Rias held out her hand and a magic circle appeared in her palm to undo the seal.
"Are they a shut-in?" Issei inquired.
Rias sighed and nodded in response before Yuuto started removing the tape by hand.
"This servant is the biggest earner among everyone in Buchou's peerage." Akeno stated as she assisted Rias in removing the magic seals. "We have customers who don't like to meet in person, so this servant meets with them online. That's why he earns as much as the highest ranking members of any peerage."
"Now, let's open it."
Upon Rias's word, the magic circles blocking the classroom door disappeared, and she grabbed the handle and started turning it.
"EYAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
A panicked scream echoed from inside the formerly sealed classroom and throughout the entire old school building. Rias didn't seem surprised by the shriek, simply letting out another exasperated sigh before stepping inside the room with Akeno.
"It's nice to see you, too. You seem lively today." Rias spoke to the person inside.
"W-w-whyyyyyyyy?!" The other voice in the room sounded like it was either from a girl or a young boy.
"My, my, the seal's been undone, you know?" Akeno asked with a gentle voice. "You can come out now. Let's go outside together, shall we?"
"Nooooooo!" The other voice whined. "This room is saaaaaaafe! I don't want to go outside! I don't want to meet people!"
Everyone outside of the room were confused, except for Yuuto, who lightly chuckled, and Koneko, who deeply sighed. Issei then stepped inside of the room.
"Come on, Hyoudou." Luke tried to stop Issei. "You're only going to scare them."
"I wanna see! I wanna see!" Katherine jumped into the classroom excitedly.
Luke sighed and followed them into the classroom. The inside of the room was dimly lit due to the curtains blocking any sunlight from coming in, but they could see that it didn't look that different from a young girl's bedroom. The most unusual sight in the room was a coffin in the corner. Luke, Issei, and Katherine saw Rias and Akeno deeper in the room, as well as what appeared to be a doll-like young girl with blonde hair and hypnotic red eyes wearing the Kuoh Academy girl's uniform, who was trembling on the floor in fear.
"Whoa! A girl! And a foreigner at that!" Issei got excited.
Rias shook her head. "He may look and dress like a girl, but he's unquestionably a boy."
Issei froze up and remained silent for a few seconds. "… No, no, no. No matter how you look at it, this kid is definitely a girl, Buchou! … You're serious, aren't you?"
"He likes to cross-dress." Akeno plainly said.
Luke was struggling to find something to say, but every time he opened his mouth, the words stopped and he had to think it over again. … I literally have nothing to say about this…
"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-?!" Issei's jaw dropped in shock.
"Eeeeeeeek! I'm sorry, I'm sorryyyyyyy!" The boy cried.
Issei held his head in his hands. "What a cruel twist of fate… He looks like beautiful lady… but he's a guy… Dick and everything…"
While Issei was complaining, Luke noticed Katherine looking at the boy with her head tilted.
"I don't know why… but there's something familiar about that boy…" Katherine mumbled to herself.
When Luke looked back at the boy, he noticed that both he and Katherine shared a doll-like appearance and red eyes.
Could he be a…
"B-b-b-b-b-by the way, who are these people?" The cross-dressing boy asked.
Rias pointed towards Luke, Xenovia, and Fumiko. "These are the newest members of my peerage. The Pawn, Luke. The Knight, Xenovia. And the other Bishop, Fumiko. The others are members of another Devil's peerage who are here as club members."
"Gyah! So many new members?!" The boy shrank in terror.
"Please, won't you just come outside?" Rias softly spoke to the boy. "You don't need to stay in this room anymore, okay?"
"Nooooo! I don't like it out there! It's scary! I'll just be a nuisance to you if I go outside!"
Issei walked up to the boy and grabbed him by the arm. "Hey, Buchou told you to go outside."
As the boy screamed again while being dragged out of the room by Issei, everyone's vision became white for a moment and the next thing they knew, the boy was out of Issei's grip and cowering in the corner.
"What just happened?" Luke wondered aloud.
The veteran members of Rias's peerage seemed to be the only ones who understood what had just happened.
"Don't get mad at me! Don't hit me!" The boy continued whining.
"This boy has a special Sacred Gear that allows him to stop time for all objects in his sight when he gets excited." Akeno explained for those who weren't aware. "Since he can't control his power, the Archduke and Sirzechs-sama ordered that he be sealed here."
Rias hugged the boy from behind and introduced him. "This is Gasper Vladi. He's my Bishop and a first year student at the academy. Before I reincarnated him into a Devil, he was a Dhampir."
A/N: That's the end of the chapter. I was just about finished writing the chapter when I decided to write those two scenes at the beginning. A conversation between Pyra and Apokálypsis was absolutely necessary and I forgot about it until earlier today, so I took this chance to include it.
I also wanted to take that chance to have a moment between Luke and Emery in preparation for something that will happen a few chapters later.
Seth and Melody's father, Sterling, has finally showed himself. You can probably guess what Seth's problem with him is, but I'll keep it quiet in case you haven't.
I would like to thank Tyrant Overlord Killidia for the scene with Kiyome Abe.
And Gasper appears at long last! No doubt Katherine is positively giddy about meeting a fellow Dhampir, but that will have to wait until the next chapter.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!
Luke Harem: Rias Gremory, Annabelle Wright, Fumiko Kazuya, Melody Morag, Setsuna Kazama
Issei Harem: Misaki Shirayuki, Asia Argento, Hikaru Ueda, Akira Kazuya, Kiyome Abe
Rias Gremory Peerage: Rias Gremory (King), Akeno Himejima (Queen), Yuuto Kiba (Knight), Xenovia Quarta (Knight), Koneko Toujo (Rook), Fumiko Kazuya (Bishop), Gasper Vladi (Bishop), Luke Sigmund (8 Pawns)
Seth Sigmund Peerage: Seth Sigmund (King), Annabelle Wright (Queen), Alastair Wright (Rook), Emery Belmont (Rook), Hana Sakuya (2 Bishops), Setsuna Kazama (Knight)
Melody Morag Peerage: Melody Morag (King), Misaki Shirayuki (Queen), Katherine Petrova (Knight), Spiral Hirano (Knight), Azusa Hirano (Rook), Akira Kazuya (Rook), Hikaru Ueda (Bishop), Asia Argento (Bishop), Issei Hyoudou (8 Pawns)