"Is everything ready?" I asked Medea. She'd been painstakingly inspecting the ritual circle for a good minute now.
She ran a finger over a runic script before nodding, satisfied. "Everything's ready, master." She'd been alternating between calling me master and honey since our post-date mana transfer session. "I improved everything I could, and I will be here to assist you should you need it."
"Thanks, Medea. You're the best."
I walked into the center of the circle and sat down, taking a deep breath to center myself. Holes opened in the air around me, connecting me to the pocket dimension where I stored my power and acting as guides for the ritual.
"Let's see if we can't find a lost knight."
X
A young woman sat on dark sand, legs hugged to her chest as she stared dispassionately out over an ocean of unmoving water. All around her was shadow. Sharp rocks jutting unnaturally out of the ground formed a rough perimeter around her beach, serving as a natural barrier to keep things away. The sky was one long shadow. No light could exist here. It would be eaten in but a moment.
Wanting to see something different from the sight she'd witnessed for eternity, she flicked the water's surface, watching the water gently ripple before settling once more.
How long had she been here now? It was so hard to keep track of time in this place. The perpetual darkness didn't help, but that was only part of the problem. The very foundations of this world were fundamentally wrong. Time seemed to flow impossibly slow and impossibly fast simultaneously. Time didn't work the way it was meant to. As far as the woman could tell, she'd spent three eternities in this place. At least, that was the only way she could measure the time.
The first eternity followed immediately after she'd found herself trapped here. She'd run from the threats she was incapable of fighting without her weapon. She'd plotted and planned, trying to find a way to escape. She'd had hope.
It felt like that time lasted forever. It felt like no time at all.
The second eternity started when she lost that hope. It became clear that no one was coming for her, that she'd been forgotten. She wandered, searching for a haven of relative safety in a world whose very existence was the antithesis of 'safe'.
She'd wandered forever. She'd wandered for but a moment.
The third eternity began when she found her haven, her sanctuary where she could hide from the things in this world that would destroy her, where she could continue persisting without complications. Her small beach, safe from monsters made of shadow and despair intent on devouring her.
She felt like she'd always been here. She felt as if she just arrived.
She was different now. She knew that. She knew why she changed. It was a byproduct of this place, it had left its mark on her. She knew how she changed, but she wasn't sure when that change had taken place. She didn't think it happened during the first eternity. She'd still had hope then.
It probably happened sometime during the second eternity, the wandering eternity. That was when she stopped feeling any trace of joy. That was when she lost hope, when she accepted this was her home now.
She had already been here forever. She would remain forevermore.
The woman flicked the water again, watching the ripples until the water settled once more.
The ripples lasted forever. They faded in but a moment.
She was so lonely. No one deserved to suffer in this prison, but she desperately wished someone was here to share it with her. Maybe the endless time would pass faster if she had someone to talk to?
She reached down to flick the water again but stopped. The water had disappeared. She looked around. She was still surrounded by darkness, but her haven was gone. The safety provided by the wall of jagged rock had abandoned her. The water, her sole means by which to break the monotony of what her life had become, was gone.
The young woman frowned, standing up to take a look around. The water and the rocks were gone, but there was something wholly new in their place.
Was that a person? How…? When did he get here?
"Hello," a man with blonde hair said. He wore red and black. He was sitting with his legs crossed.
She walked forward, sitting down in front of him. "Hello."
"My name is Balthazar Abaddon. Can I ask your name?"
"I'm Aqua." She frowned. "How did you get here? Are you trapped too?" She knew it was wrong, but Aqua was glad someone else was here. She could talk to someone. She'd been so lonely.
"I am not trapped. I came here looking for you."
She was surprised. "You… Did Mickey send you?"
"No. I came here of my own volition."
The hope that had just begun to bloom in her chest was squashed, mercilessly snuffed out. Of course Mickey hadn't sent him. He'd abandoned her, consigned her to eternal exile.
"Why were you looking for me?"
"Before I answer that, I would offer you a gift. You are no longer where you were, Aqua. This is a different world, one where I make the rules. As such, I can do this for you." He lifted a hand up. A small point of darkness appeared above it. That was strange. Aqua knew she'd been changed by this place. Was the darkness how he was changed?
"What is that?" Aqua asked.
"A path. A road to recover something you lost."
Aqua was confused. Something she'd lost? She hadn't lost anything since she became trapped. She didn't have anything to lose. What was he…
Aqua's eyes widened. She didn't know how she hadn't felt it before. There, at the edge of her awareness, a presence she hadn't felt in so long.
Aqua tried to crush down her hope, knowing it was pointless. There was no way. It couldn't be…
Hesitantly, almost fearfully, she raised her hand. Aqua gasped as her fingers closed around a familiar hilt, one she had not held for an eternity.
Her keyblade. She was holding her keyblade.
The man in front of her lowered his hand, the small point of darkness fading as he did. "Allow me to reintroduce myself. My name is Balthazar Abaddon. I am a devil. I possess the power to reach across worlds. I used this power to find you."
Aqua couldn't look away from the key in her hand. She was afraid. If she looked away from her most prized possession, would it still be there when she looked again?
"How is my keyblade here?"
"I opened a connection from this pocket dimension we are currently in to the world where you lost it, allowing you to call it to you once more. As I said, I have the power to reach across worlds."
"Why return my keyblade? You said you were looking for me. Why search for me?"
"I returned your keyblade as a gesture of goodwill. As for why I sought you out, I want you to return to my home with me."
Aqua was silent, staring down at the keyblade in her hands. Her grip on the hilt was tight. Afraid, she blinked. The keyblade was still in her hands when she opened her eyes. She closed her eyes for longer this time. The keyblade was still there when she opened them.
Aqua looked up at the man claiming to be a devil. "Why do you want me to go with you?" She looked back down when she was done speaking. Her keyblade was still in her hands.
"The devils of my world have created a method to reincarnate people of other races into devils. Those devils become part of the peerage of the devil that reincarnated them. I want to reincarnate you into a devil. I want you to join my peerage."
"Will you take my soul? I remember stories about devils stealing souls." She hadn't heard one of those stories in a long time, but she'd replayed them in her head over and over again just as she had every other story she could remember in an attempt to pass the time.
"No. I will not take your soul. If you do not agree to join me, I will send you back to the beach where I found you. With your keyblade, you will likely be able to find a way home."
"They didn't come for me." Aqua said, gently running her fingers down the length of her keyblade, still not quite sure it wouldn't disappear.
"I'm sorry." the devil said.
Aqua looked up at him. "Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why are you sorry? You came for me. My friends all left me to wander in that place. You didn't."
"I am still sorry you were left in that place for so long. If you would like, I can send you home. Not to the place I took you from, but to the place where you were before."
Aqua frowned. She should want to go. She should be happy to finally be offered a chance to return. That was what she wanted, right?
Aqua found she couldn't feel happy. She could once, but that place sucked the joy out of her. Maybe she'd be able to be happy again if she went home. Didn't she have unfinished business? Didn't she have things she still wanted to do in that place? She couldn't rightly remember. It was all so long ago. Her memories of that place were tainted by the misery of this one.
Aqua looked up at the devil. "You came here for me. Why would you just let me go if I decided not to come with you?"
"Because you were trapped in a place worse than Hell. You spent so long there that you lost part of who you are. I'm not a moral being. I'm manipulative and willing to use force to get what I want, but you didn't deserve what happened to you. I would only wish your experience on my worst enemies. As to why I would let you go after expending the effort to come here? I want willing servants. Recruiting someone into my peerage who is unhappy with their position will only cause me problems later."
"What is a peerage?" Aqua asked, finding herself curious. The devil had used the term, but it was unfamiliar to her. His earlier explanation was not very detailed.
"A peerage is a group of devils who all serve the same devil King. The group can have any number of members from two to sixteen. The positions in the peerage are modelled off of chess pieces due to the items we use to reincarnate others being magical chess pieces."
"Does your peerage already have other devils in it?"
"It does."
"How many?"
"There are three of us. Myself and two others that serve me."
"What chess piece do you want me to be?"
"I want you to become my Knight."
"What would it mean if I joined your peerage as your Knight?"
"What specifically do you want to know?"
"If I joined your peerage, what would I do?"
"I would give you freedom to do as you please, but when I needed you, you would have to carry out my orders, and it is inevitable you would need to fight on my behalf."
"I was a good fighter before, but that was a long time ago. I don't know if I'm that strong anymore. Would you still take me as I am?"
"I would."
"Why?"
"Many reasons. For one, your abilities are very powerful and mostly unheard of in the world I come from. For another, I have expended a large amount of energy to find you here and I do not want to leave empty-handed. Finally, I think you deserve a second chance. Maybe becoming a devil isn't your idea of a way to start over, but I extend the offer all the same."
"What happens if I don't like being in your peerage? Can I leave?"
"Once you become a devil, you will remain a devil. The only way you would be able to leave my service would be for me to trade you to another peerage where you would serve a different King. Some devils treat their peerages well. Others treat them as little better than slaves."
"How do you treat your peerage?"
"Like family."
Aqua looked down at her keyblade, laying her palm on the blade. How long had she spent on that beach, silently begging her friends to come for her? Had they come for her? No. A devil was her savior. Not her friends, but a creature from hell. If their positions were reversed, she would have done anything to save them. But she clearly didn't matter as much to them as they had to her. Once. No more.
"I don't want to go back. They didn't come for me. I…I have nothing left there. You came for me. It wasn't my friends that saved me, it was you. You gave me my keyblade back. I'll go with you."
"Are you sure? You can't undo this choice."
"I know. I…" Aqua frowned. "I want to start over. I want to figure out who I am again."
The devil remained silent, a complicated expression on his face.
"How do I become a devil?" Aqua asked him.
The devil was silent a moment longer before he lifted his hand. A glowing red chess piece appeared on his hand. "I push this into your chest. It will turn you into a devil."
"I'm ready." Aqua said, moving closer and leaning towards him.
The devil lifted the chess piece up, hesitating a moment before pressing the chess piece into her.
Aqua gasped as she felt.
X
I watched Aqua closely as we emerged from my Hole. She was looking down at herself in wonder. The darkness imbued into her arms was still present. Her once ocean-blue hair was bleached. She spun around, peering behind her to look at her new wings. She hadn't smiled once while I was talking to her. The first trace of anything akin to joy I witnessed was when I'd put my Knight in her and she'd been reincarnated. That place really messed her up. I think I underestimate just how much it would have affected her. I'd need to watch her and let Medea know to do the same.
Still, the ritual had been a success. A resounding success. With Medea's improvements to the ritual as well as her assistance performing it, it was much easier to pull off. I'd only spent half of the energy I was expecting. I had enough left over that I might be able to try for another peerage member right now, but it would be a close thing. Considering Aqua had yet to settle in, I would probably postpone any further searches for a while, giving me time to build up more power reserves. There were plenty of local prospects I could consider if I needed any peerage members in the near future, but for now, I felt we were strong enough.
Aqua stopped inspecting herself, as she noticed the third figure in the room with us. "Hello. Are you one of the people in Balthazar's peerage?"
Medea nodded. "I am Balthazar's Queen. My name is Medea, but please call me Caster."
"I'm Aqua. Please call me Aqua."
An amused smirk tugged at the corner of Medea's lip. "I think you and I will get along."
Aqua started looking all around us. "Where are we?"
"We are in the basement of my home." I said, stepping up next to Medea. "The house itself is set on my lands which are in the Underworld, the home of Devils. We are far removed from your world now."
Aqua frowned, a furious scowl taking over her face. "Not far enough." With a flash of light, her keyblade appeared in her hand. She closed her eyes, pointing her keyblade in front of her and slowly spinning around in a circle.
Medea shot me a questioning glance, but I just shrugged. I didn't know what Aqua was doing either. Seeing I held no answers, Medea's attention once more focused on Aqua, curiously studying the keyblade in her hand.
All of a sudden, Aqua's eyes snapped open. She stabbed her keyblade forward. A thin beam of golden light shot forth from the tip, stopping in the space where I'd opened the Hole I pulled Aqua through. Aqua turned the blade in her hands and I felt an explosion of power burst out from her.
"There, now I can leave the past behind." Aqua said, letting her keyblade hang at her side before scattering into motes of light. She turned to me. "I'm sorry, but could I get some food? I… I was stuck there for a long time and–"
"Say no more. Medea, could you take her upstairs? Let her raid the pantry. I'll cook something in a second." I wanted to check something first.
Medea walked up next to Aqua, placing a hand on her back and guiding her up the stairs. It didn't escape either mine or Medea's notice when Aqua flinched slightly at the contact, but she quickly relaxed, seemingly almost relieved. Medea and I had a silent conversation with our eyes over Aqua's shoulder. We were going to need to take things slow with her.
As the two of them disappeared down the hall, I walked over to the space where Aqua had used her keyblade. Curious, I tried to open the Hole I'd made connecting the two worlds.
My eyes shot wide. I… I couldn't open my Hole. Aqua had somehow locked me out.
I frowned, staring off after her. Maybe I'd underestimated what a keyblade could do. I'd originally set out to recruit Aqua specifically because I knew her keyblade could likely work in tandem with my powers, but this… I hadn't expected this.
That wasn't to say that I was angry about Aqua's actions. If anything, they were good. Her world had several nasty things I would rather not have coming to play here. Locking it away from our world was for the best. As a matter of fact, it was probably best that I ask her to lock the portal I pulled Medea from too to lock out that universe's nasty stuff. I'd been relying on the Dimensional Gap and Great Red to keep any unsavory consequences from catching up with me, but Aqua's power added another layer of security. I had actually written off a couple of potential peerage recruits because I didn't want to risk anything from their worlds following them through the portal I opened to retrieve them. If Aqua could lock the worlds behind me, I'd need to reconsider some of those potential recruits. One of the initial figures I wanted to be my knight stuck out most prominently in my mind. Without having to worry about that world's problems coming here…
I would also need to keep in mind that she could do more than I'd initially thought and not let myself be caught off guard when she pulled out a cool ability again.
Could she…
The largest limiting factor keeping me from easily using my ritual at present was the power cost. Scrying a location wasn't very intensive, especially after the improvements Medea had made and providing her assistance to the act itself, but opening a Hole through the nothingness between realities was a separate matter. Opening and sustaining that Hole was difficult. If Aqua could easily lock a Hole, she might be able to hold one open. Between my ability to use Hole, Medea's expertise and Aqua's keyblade…
It was something to discuss with my Queen. I saw potential here.
I turned to head up the stairs when a small Hole appeared next to me.
"Are you busy, Bal?" my sister's voice spoke from the other end.
"Hi, sis. Oh, I'm doing good. How are you?" I replied.
Kuisha sighed heavily. "If you want me to open with time with small talk every time I contact you, I will remember that for the future. Now, are you busy?"
"Depends? I just finished something, but now I need to spend some time with my Knight."
Kuisha was silent, but the Hole was still there.
"Ku?"
"Your Knight." Kuisha said, her voice sounded strained.
"Yes…?"
"Your Knight that I am only learning about right now?"
"Hey! I reincarnated her today. Like, less than fifteen minutes ago. I had no opportunity to tell you."
"Fine. If your new Knight and Queen are up for it, Sai wanted me to invite you all to a party tomorrow. He wants you to bring your peerage over so everyone can get to know each other better."
Oh… This wasn't going to make her happy.
"Can I bring my Pawn too?"
My sister was silent again.
"Ku?"
"Let me guess, you reincarnated your Pawn thirty minutes ago."
"No. He's actually been here for a little over a week now."
Silence.
"Ku?"
"It's like we lack a method to communicate with each other whenever we want. Why do you not tell me these things? Not one but two additions to your peerage is something you should share with me if not to let me know what my brother is up to, then for no other reason than to help me plan."
"Well you'll meet them tomorrow! Actually, you might not meet my Knight. I'll see how she's feeling. What time did Sai want us over there?"
"Noon. Try not to reincarnate anyone between now and then." The Hole closed before I could get another word in.
Okay, now she was just being dramatic. Maybe I had been reincarnating people faster than almost any other devil alive, but that was because all three of them were people any devil would kill to have in their peerage.
…At least, they would if they knew who any of them were and what they could do. Secrets I intended to keep hidden for as long as possible. I knew the truth would come out eventually, Coal especially would be hard to hide, but if I had a full peerage filled with strong individuals when the secret broke, I'd consider myself in a good position. There was safety in numbers after all.
I headed upstairs. I found all three members of my peerage in the kitchen. Medea was pulling out pots and pans to get ready to cook something. Aqua, meanwhile, sat in front of the kitchen table, every snack we had in the house arrayed in front of her. Coal stood next to her, waxing on about how the only real snack food we had was the venison jerky and how she should try that first.
Aqua seemed a little overwhelmed.
"Let her breathe, Coal." I said gently as I entered the room.
"I am merely trying to shield our newest member from your poor taste in sustenance, master. Meat is all one truly needs."
I sighed fondly, turning to Aqua. "Sorry about him. If any of us are bothering you just let us know and we'll give you some space."
Aqua shook her head, looking up at me with a soft smile. "It's okay. I… I like the noise. I like having people to talk to. Could you keep talking to me?"
Medea and I made eye contact, having a silent conversation.
"If that's what you want, then I have no reason to refuse. What would you like to talk about?" I asked.
"We shall discuss the many flavors and joys associated with the consumption of meat!" Coal grandly declared.
"No we shall not." Medea firmly denied without turning around, still gathering vessels to cook in.
Coal's shoulders slumped, a disappointed frown on his face.
"How about…" Aqua began slowly, eyes flicking between us to watch our reactions. "This… You brought me to a new world, right? I've been to other places before, but this feels new. Will you tell me about it?"
"Absolutely," I said easily, walking up next to Medea so I could help her prepare a meal. She had all kinds of ingredients out, leading me to believe she was going to make a bunch of different things and see what Aqua liked. "To begin, this world is made up of various…"
Medea and I took turns explaining the broader strokes of our world and our place in it to our newest peerage member with Coal enthusiastically inserting comments at certain points. Aqua spoke rarely, only to ask a short question before going back to munching on crackers and jerky.
She seemed…not happy, but content. Whenever there was a break in the conversation, she would frown minutely until someone started speaking again. It seemed she just enjoyed the sound of our voices. After spending so long trapped with no one around, I imagined it was nice to have people to talk to again.
Once the feast Medea and I made was done, we all sat around the table and conversation transitioned to ourselves. We more formally introduced ourselves, explaining who we were, where we came from and what brought us together. Aqua only made a single contribution to the discussion.
"My name is Aqua. I am… I was a Keyblade Master. I want to leave my past behind me. To forget it just as it forgot me. I look forward to a new future with all of you."
X
"Aqua, if you are not feeling up for this, then–"
"No, I want to come. You said your sister is there, right? I haven't been to a party in… I want to go." Aqua said, resolute in her decision.
Medea walked up beside me, squeezing my hand. She gave me a shallow nod, and I understood her meaning. She would keep an eye on Aqua while at the party.
I gave my Queen a grateful smile and turned back around to the assembled members of my peerage. "Well then, I guess it's time to go."
With a wave of my hand, a large Hole swept over us, transporting us to Sai's estate.
"Bal!" a boisterous voice greeted us. Sairaorg was walking towards us. Behind him, his entire peerage as well as a figure I didn't recognize worked to set up several tables laden with refreshments. "It's good to see you again."
"Good to see you too, Sai."
He turned to my peerage behind me. "It's good to meet all of you. I'm Sairaorg. Bal's older sister is my Queen."
Medea nodded politely. "It is good to meet you, Sairaorg. I am Caster. This is Aqua and Coal… Coal? Oh."
Sai and I turned to follow her gaze. Coal was striding away from us with a purpose, his eyes fixed on something. A figure walked away from where Sai's peerage was gathered, heading directly towards Coal.
"Regulus?" Sai said quietly, confused.
Regulus and Coal stopped just across from one-another and sized each-other up.
"I know you." Coal said.
Regulus nodded. "I know you, too."
They knew each other? I…admittedly was not aware of that fact. I guess the secret that I had reincarnated the Colchian Dragon was already no longer a secret.
They stared at each other for a long moment, breaking the silence together. Almost as if they'd rehearsed it, as one they said, "I want to fight you."
Regulus nodded contentedly. "Good. There is a training field behind the house. Come with me."
Sai and I stared dumbly at their backs as the duo completely disregarded everything and everyone but each other as they began walking away.
"Um…" Sairaorg began uncertainly. "I was going to offer some appetizers, but I guess we can go watch them spar? I know Regulus will be okay, but will Coal–"
"Coal will be fine." I assured him, inwardly chuckling. A dragon that can regenerate from almost anything and a lion that is almost impossible to hurt. What a pair. I'd have to be an idiot not to want to watch an unstoppable force meet an immovable object. "Let's go watch."
Sai gathered up his peerage, much to their confusion, and we all started following the two Pawns ahead of us.
"It might not be a formal introduction, but Bal, this is my new bishop Misteeta."
Misteeta was a small youn man who hid behind the cowl of his robe. I saw some green hair poking out, but he didn't say anything to us. He seemed shy.
Sairaorg continued on without missing ambeat. "Bal's peerage, this is the rest of my peerage. This is Coriana and Ladora, and that up there is Regulus. And this is my Queen Kuisha."
"Hey, sis." I greeted her with a wave.
"Little brother," she spared me a glance before turning to my Queen and Knight. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Aqua. Caster, it is good to see you again."
"Likewise."
We made small talk as we all headed up to the arena.
Regulus and Coal hadn't waited for us. The moment they entered the arena, they were on each other, throwing punches and kicks. Regulus was proving to have the advantage, but I attributed that to the fact that Coal's experience was not as vast as Regulus's was. Coal hadn't had as much time as Regulus had to learn to fight like a devil.
The rest of us rushed to find seats so we wouldn't miss anything. I kept an eye on Aqua, but Medea sat right next to her, keeping her company and sharing a quiet conversation with her. She was well looked after.
"So, brother," Kuisha said as she sat down next to me. "That is your new Pawn you elected not to tell me about."
I sighed. "I was busy, Ku. I was buying up land and getting some construction started. It slipped my mind to let you know I recruited someone else." I narrowed my eyes at her. "Not that I'm obligated to do so or anything."
She shook her head. "Is it really too much to ask for you to keep me up to date on how you're doing? I just want to know what's going on in my little brother's life. I worry."
"Which is fine, and if you want me to let you know when I get new peerage members I will, but cut me some slack if I get distracted focusing on something else and it slips my mind."
"I guess I can agree to that." She focused back on the fight. Regulus was pushing Coal back towards the edge of the arena. "He seems…enthusiastic."
I chuckled. "Don't sugarcoat it, sis. He's getting his ass handed to him right now. Give it a minute, he'll even the odds."
She looked intrigued. "How many Pawns did it take to reincarnate him?"
"Six."
Her eyes widened slightly, looking down at my Pawn with new respect in her eyes. "Regulus took seven."
"Enough!" Coal's roar of frustration drew all attention down to the field. Regulus backed away from him, hands still up in a fighting stance. "This is not how you nor I desired to test ourselves, Regulus. Let us dispense with the charade!" Golden energy surrounded him in an aura as his form elongated.
Regulus grinned, roaring in challenge. The sound continued, growling deeper and more powerful as Regulus's orange hair gave way to a golden mane.
Kuisha gasped in her seat next to me as a black dragon with seams of gold running through its scales faced off against a golden lion.
"A dragon." Kuisha breathed, unbelieving.
I smirked at her. "Yep."
Like a striking viper, Coal descended on Regulus. His teeth scraped against the lion's hide, leaving no visible damage. Regulus used the chance to swipe at Coal with his claws, leaving deep gashes in the dragon's throat. Golden light poured out of the wound, healing it almost as soon as it was made.
Yeah, these two were the perfect combatants for each other.
Kuisha looked at me with a suspicious expression. "This was why you asked me about Ladora's power to tame dragons, wasn't it?"
I opened my mouth, then closed it, deciding how I wanted to play this. In the end, I realized I didn't want to lie to my sister if I could avoid it. "No."
She raised an eyebrow at me. "No?"
I nodded. "No."
"You expect me to believe you are plotting to acquire another dragon?"
"Believe what you want, but understand that I want nothing to do with that dragon." The idea of Issei even being near Medea made me want to murder something.
But then, Issei wasn't the only one with a dragon-themed Sacred gear around was he? Saji should be in that same area, right? I'd need to check later if Sona had already reincarnated him. Saji I would feel comfortable letting around my sister. Maybe I'd even move to reincarnate him myself. I'd have to discuss it with Medea.
"You're plotting something." Kuisha said suspiciously.
"I've found myself doing that a lot these days."
"It's okay to take a break, you know? In fact, you should take breaks. Are you at least sleeping now? Or has the fact that I'm no longer there to force you emboldened you?"
I considered that for a moment. I had been getting more sleep recently. I was still storing power in my pocket dimension, but I was much stronger than when I was younger. I could siphon less power for more gain, allowing me to actually rest now. And I had Aqua now, I might be able to open a Hole to another place with very minimal power consumption. I would be getting much more opportunity to rest in the future. But…my nights were now occupied with other activities.
"Yes and no." I said non committedly, watching as Regulus pounced into the air, digging his claws into the dragon flying above him and holding on in an effort to tear Coal out of the sky. Coal whirled around, trying to dislodge the lion, but Ruguls held firm, digging his teeth into Coal's scales.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly what I said, sister."
"That is not helpful, little brother. Are you taking care of yourself or–"
"Hello, you two!" Medea said. She and Aqua had walked up behind Kuisha while she was focused on me.
Kuisha did not look pleased at the interruption. She turned to greet them, pausing as she looked at Medea. Medea winked at her and I had to suppress a sigh. Kuisha turned to me with wide eyes, rapidly looking between Medea and I. "You–"
"Aqua wanted to meet her King's sister, so I thought I'd bring her over." Medea said innocently, completely steam-rolling Kuisha. "I'll leave you two to get to know each other while I have a word with my King. Come on, honey."
Aqua stepped forward and held a hand out to Kuisha, a small smile on her face. "It's good to meet you, Kuisha. Caster has told me many good things."
"Has she?" Kuisha said through grit teeth, suppressing a growl as I took Medea's hand and let her guide me away. Aqua took my chair and started having a quiet conversation with my sister. Kuisha, being the polite individual that she was, engaged Aqua in conversation, but she shot Medea a scathing look over her shoulder as we departed.
"Please don't antagonize my sister so much. I'd like for you two to get along."
"But, master, it's so fun."
I sighed. "Just please keep it to where she won't hate your guts. Family dinners will be really awkward in the future if you two can't sit at the same table."
"Family dinners? My, how forward of you, master. You take a maiden's body and already seek to lay claim to her heart as well?"
I tugged on her hand, pulling her back into me so I could lean down next to her ear. "If I don't have your heart already, I will claim it. I won't stop until you gladly surrender it to me."
Medea chuckled. "You make such sweet promises, honey." She turned her head around and pulled me into a brief kiss.
Medea and I sat down just as Coal slammed Regulus into the dirt of the arena, dislodging the lion and allowing his wounds to heal. Coal zipped up into the sky, spinning around and rocketing back down. His great maw opened wide and superheated orange fire poured forth. Regulus regained his feet and glared up challengingly at Coal, allowing the fire to wash over him. When the flames faded, he stood undamaged. He leapt up once more, beating his paw against Coal's snout and driving him into the ground. He followed up his attack by slashing his claws into his downed foe. Coal gave as good as he got, winding his body around and striking his tail towards Regulus like a whip, sending the lion flying across the arena.
"I've got something to run by you." I said, to Medea as we watched the two supernatural monstrosities tear into each other.
"I'm listening."
"I know where some powerful Sacred Gear holders are. One of them has the potential to have infinite power, but I do not want to recruit him."
"Is he tied to a powerful organization or is it him personally you don't like?"
"The latter. The guy is an irredeemable pervert. Not the fun kind either. The, 'I'm going to peep on this person I've never met while they're changing and then giggle while taking pictures' kind."
"I was about to argue the many virtues of perversion, but I can see you really do not like this man. What do you intend to do?"
"I briefly considered telling Sai where he is, but then that would put him around my sister."
"I can see the problem."
"What do you think I should do?"
"There are a couple of things we could do. If he would be a good fit for Sairaorg's peerage, we could wrap him up in so many geas contracts that he cannot so much as think of your sister. Or, we could find another devil to give him to. What Sacred Gear does he have?"
"Boosted Gear."
Medea didn't let what she thought of that reveal show, simply watched Regulus's jaw latch onto Coal's tail as he thrashed about, trying to whip the dragon back and forth. Coal's flexible, serpentine body made it very difficult for Regulus to get any leverage.
"Sairaorg only has one Pawn left, leaving his strongest unused piece to be his Rook. The Boosted Gear might be too powerful for him to reincarnate."
"Well, the only other devil I know is Magdaran. I could reach out to others to see if they'd be interested in trading for information, but then they'd wonder where the information came from."
Medea turned away from the fight. Coal was trying to chew through Regulus's mane while the lion frantically tried to break free. "Where did the information come from, Balthazar? You know a lot. I have not pried, but I am curious."
I met her eyes, holding a hand up and opening a small Hole. "In an infinite multiverse, our lives will exist as someone else's stories. I was an avid reader once upon a time." It didn't go into deep details about where I got my knowledge, but it was the truth.
Medea smiled warmly as she leaned towards me. "I think I understand. Thank you for trusting me." She pressed a light kiss into my temple, weaving her fingers through mine as she took my hand. "What became of Boosted Gear in this story?"
"Rias Gremory reincarnated him to try to get out of her engagement to Riser Phenex."
Medea made a considering sound. "Lucifer's sister?"
"The same."
"There is potential there."
"I agree. There's also potential in giving him to the other Satan's sister, but I don't know if I want to attract the Satan's attention just yet."
"Do you know of other Sacred Gears you would be interested in?"
"A few. I know where Absorption Line is. That was one I was considering telling Sairaorg about. Its holder is a good guy. I also know where to find Sephiroth Graal, but it would attract the same attention giving Boosted Gear to the Satans would."
"Allied to a strong organization?"
"Unwilling, but yes. They aren't the largest players in the supernatural, but people would notice if they disappeared."
"We'll put plans for their complete and utter destruction to the side for a moment, at least until you can fully fill me in. I imagine you do not want to let this conversation drag on too long while we are here, even through the privacy wards I set up around us, but we will be returning to that subject at a later date."
"Understood. Thanks for setting up the wards by the way."
"Of course. Does this sudden fascination with Sacred Gear holders mean Aqua will be the last person you intend to recruit as you recruited me?"
I pursed my lips. "That's something else I wanted to talk about. I may have thought of a way to better do that which united us. If it works, there's at least one person I want to go for soon. We'll need to talk more about the details later."
"I look forward to it. It sounds like it will be an interesting conversation."
On the field below, Coal let out a cry of pain as Regulus pinned him down on his back, batting at him with his claws to open new wounds as fast as his healing mended them.
"Yield!" Regulus bellowed. "I have won this bout!"
"I yield!" Coal shouted. Regulus ceased his assault immediately, still standing on Coal's body. The two great monsters stared intently at each other.
A deep, rumbling chuckle shook Coal's body. Regulus's shoulders rose and fell as he began to chuckle.
Both monsters threw their heads back and laughed. Brilliant golden light shined so bright as to be blinding as their forms both shrunk down.
They had both returned to their humanoid devil forms. Their clothes were wrecked, shirts missing and pant legs torn, but neither one of them could control their laughter as they threw their arms around each other.
"Brother!" Coal shouted, pure joy in his voice. "The years have not dulled your edge, I see!"
"Nor have you weakened, brother!" Regulus replied, just as loud. "I am pleased to see you whole! It was a stroke of luck that my master found me when he did, allowing me to escape from my eternal prison. I feared you would dwell forever within that accursed helmet."
"I am free now, brother. That is all that matters, and my word binds me to speak no more on how I escaped."
Regulus pulled back, clapping Coal on the shoulder. "I don't care how you were freed, only that you were. Come! There is meat!" They threw their arms over one-another's shoulders, marching out of the arena and back towards the tables, already boasting about their exploits since their last meeting.
I felt really stupid as I watched them leave the arena. "Did you know they were brothers?"
Medea looked at me, confused. "Did you not?"
I shook my head numbly.
Medea giggled, patting me on the head. "There there, master. It seems glimpsing the infinite will leave you with the most peculiar blindspots. Don't you worry. I will be here to make up for your shortcomings."
"Well that was certainly something!" Sai said, walking over to us with Kuisha and Aqua at his side. "You continue to surprise me, Bal. I thought finding Caster as fast as you did was fluke, but then you found two more interesting peerage members in as much time? One of whom happens to be the Colchian Dragon? Well, now I think there's something going on. Hey, Bal," He had an eager grin on his face. "Watching that fight made me want to stretch my legs. You want to spar?"