"What's the meaning of this!?"
Rias hissed.
"Calm down." Tatsuya spoke softly, "She's a Fallen Angel."
"Fallen Angel?" Rias and Sona were surprised they looked at the head more carefully and realised there were traces of holy energy around the head.
"...You still haven't answered my question." Rias understanding the situation calmed down. The dangerous Demonic energy around her dissipated though Sona remained wary.
What Rias wanted to know was why Tatsuya had left the head on the table, waiting for them, and putting on a show.
"She tried to kill Ichika." Tatsuya's voice turned frosty and a murderous aura began seeping out from him. The group of Devils felt a chill go down their spine, "You said Kuho was your territory… What's your response?"
"I…" Rias was surprised, instead of answering Tatsuya she turned to Ichika and began to inquire about her safety.
"Could you please give some more details?"
It was Sona who showed more interest in the matter of the Fallen Angels.
"You are? I don't recall inviting you."
"My apologies for coming uninvited. I am Sona Sitri, a friend of Rias, and the one managing Kuoh with her." She gave a small, elegant bow, appearing much more manner-full than Rias, "I'm here to overlook your deal with Rias and act as a guarantor."
"I see." Tatsuya nodded, "There's really not much to say. Ichika was out grocery shopping and on her way back she was attacked. Luckily before anything could happen I intervened. I questioned the Fallen Angel and she told me she was here on the orders of someone called Azazel."
Hearing the name Azazel, Rias who was questioning Ichika turned around sharply.
"I'll make sure to ask about this manner. Thank you for taking care of her." In a tacit manner, neither Rias nor Sona asked about the fight between him and the Fallen Angel.
"I suppose so." Tatsuya shook his head and Sona nodded, "Azazel is the leader of the Fallen Angels and an organisation called Grigori."
"Oh?" Tatsuya smiled, "Who's stronger, her brother or this Azazel?" He pointed towards Rias.
Before Sona could answer Rias snorted, "Hmph! He comes nowhere close to my brother."
"I see." Tatsuya nodded, "Then let's proceed to the main discussion."
Tatsuya waved his hand gesturing for them to sit on the sofa opposite.
Koneko, Kiba and Akeno stood behind the Sofa, standing as guards while Sona and Rias sat down. Rias frowned as she waved her hand causing the head to flow away and settle at the entrance of the house.
"We'll be using this as evidence later, I'll clean up the bloodstains before we leave… Where's the rest of the body?" Rias asked but was met with a silent smile.
Instead, Tatsuya gestured towards Ichika, "Come, sit here."
Ichika nodded and sat down but to her surprise, she felt a force striking her neck. Her vision blurred as she realised she was knocked unconscious.
"Onii-chan…?" She barely whispered before her eyes closed.
Under the surprised gazes of the Devils Tatsuya gently laid her head on his lap. He stroked her hair lovingly, "We can now talk without holding back. Say your piece." Tatsuya spoke indifferently.
Rias forced the discomfort down before speaking.
"I agree to your terms. I'll let you join my peerage along with Ichika. I'll be giving you the Rook Piece which should enhance your physical attributes even more. Think of it as a multiplier ranging from anywhere to 2-8x your original strength. As for Ichika, I'll be giving her the Bishop piece, it'll support her talent in magic."
"I understand, what does being a slave entail?"
This time Rias was quick to answer, "You don't have to worry, I can't force you to do anything you don't want to do. As servants, you're expected to follow my commands but there's no forced enforcement. There are cases where Servants kill their Masters without backlash and escape, becoming Rogue Devils. Of course, 99% of them are hunted down successfully. But that won't happen to us because I, in particular, treat my peerage as my family. I know that we had a rough start but I wish to get along with you and Ichika."
"Really?" Tatsuya smiled mischievously.
There was a pause in Rias's words as she froze.
"... No." She frowned, "I hate you. Were it not for Ichika and circumstances I would've never talked to someone like you."
"Why is that?"
"Does it need to be said? You beat your own sister who loves you so much. How can you be so cruel?" Rias finally poured out her inner feelings, "You should be ashamed of yourself!"
Tatsuya's smile disappeared as he looked at her silently.
The air in the room tensed.
Sigh…
"I don't abuse her. I don't know where you've gotten this information." Tatsuya showed an exasperated look.
"...What?" Rias and her peerage were stunned.
Was their biggest reason for hating him just a misunderstanding!?
"You're lying!" Akeno hissed, "The girl is clearly traumatised! Just speaking your name makes her shudder in fear! She also said you're incredibly violent and would punish her for disobeying you!"
Akeno was the one who was the most disturbed earlier thus her emotional outburst.
Tatsuya looked at her with a frown.
"I have beaten her before but it was only once and I don't regret it."
"You!" Akeno gritted her teeth but Rias raised her hand gesturing for her to calm down.
"Please explain." Rias felt her heart lighten, for some reason, she felt by the end of this conversation Tatsuya and her peerage could actually be friends. Her guilt from forcefully accepting Tatsuya into the peerage would dissipate.
"You can sense that my strength is abnormal, right?"
Rias's face darkened in shame but she nodded, clearly curious.
"Don't be curious, I won't be telling you." Tatsuya chuckled, "From an early age I've been hunting Devils and Fallen Angels, mostly the malicious ones."
There was a shift in their expressions upon hearing this but they remained silent.
"You've heard how our parents died in a car crash a few years ago, right?" Tatsuya had a sorrowful smile on his face, "Actually they were attacked by a Stray Devil. That Stray Devil… was one I showed mercy years ago."
"... Oh my god…"
A story began to concote in the Devils' mind. A gifted kind human hunting Devils and Fallen Angels in the name of justice pitied one of his targets… only for that target to return later and murder his parents out of revenge.
His transformation from a kind individual to his current cold and ruthless self could be explained seamlessly.
"After that incident, I became extremely paranoid. That guy wasn't the only individual I spared. Worried that they'd target my sister I became extremely protective, borderline obsessive." Tatsuya sighed again, "Perhaps I couldn't see her living so constrainedly I gave her more freedom. I had stopped hunting and also hadn't been attacked for some time so I thought we were safe. One day she went to a birthday party. I told her to tell me when it ends so I'll pick her up. But because she had a friend that lived nearby they walked together home."
"In the end, she was kidnapped. I eventually saved her but seeing the dead body of her kidnapper must've given her trauma. I also couldn't help but lash out knowing she disregarded my words and slapped her a few times— the so-called punishment you guys are talking about. Of course, she'd be traumatised."
"..."
This…
The Devils were shocked by the sad backstory.
"You… you used Kiba as a shield!" Akeno, unwilling to come to terms with the fact she had judged someone unfairly, threw out her last retort.
Kiba himself was surprised by Akeno's burst of hostility. After all, he felt no grudge towards Tatsuya simply because Tatsuya's actions were reasonable and efficient. Using an enemy to shield himself from other enemies was a common tactic in fights.
"I'm sorry for that but I don't believe I did anything wrong. At that time we both considered each other as enemies, why would I not use him as a shield? If I wanted to, I could've dealt way more damage than I actually did."
Akeno was stunned and she clenched her fists and lowered her head.
A second later a small whisper escaped her lips.
"I'm sorry…"
Knowing that Tatsuya was not at fault she felt conflicted.
Rias also stood up and bowed in apology, "I'm sorry we came to such a conclusion without making things clear."
"It's alright, let's not linger on these matters." Tatsuya smiled kindly, "Before you turn us into servants I'd like to make a few things clear…" Tatsuya's amiable smile faded away as he looked at them coldly.
The atmosphere tensed once again.
"I will accept being your servant and so will my sister but… First— I won't accept any harmful requests or orders for us. We will fight by your side wholeheartedly but if there's a situation where death is certain I'll abandon you all and flee with my sister."
Tatsuya raised his second finger smoothly.
"Second— Should I come to know you've done something malicious to my sister I'll personally snap your head off and no one in this world will be able to stop me, whether it be your group or even your Maou Brother."
Then came the third finger.
Tatsuya narrowed his eyes as he looked at Rias.
"Third— Tell me the real reason you're desperate to accept us into your peerage. From start to finish you've been quite hasty with how things have proceeded."
Rias was incredibly displeased.
His arrogance is stifling.
She couldn't argue back because she knew that she along with her peerage were currently no match for him.
Soon I'll show him the power of Princess of Gremory and her peerage.
Rias knew that only Ichika would be a true addition to her peerage. Unless she could defeat him Tatsuya would not respect her as his Master.
Looking at the flickering emotions in the eyes of her dear friend Sona suppressed a smile. No matter how things had proceeded, Sona was grateful to Tatsuya.
Thanks to him, her lazy and spoiled friend would take her training seriously.
"I would never hurt my own Peerage members so don't dare say that again." Rias frowned, "Also, being frank we High-Class Devils have a thing called Rating Games in the underworld. Consider it as something like a Team Battle where we fight the peerages of others. Rating Games have a lot of benefits which I'll explain later but that's the main reason. I have an important Rating Game in around two years and my opponent is formidable… that's all."
Rias spoke everything truthfully only hiding the fact that this Rating Game she spoke of would decide her future. She didn't want to give Tatsuya the initiative and make him think he could use her desperation in any manner.
She was basically saying— Yes I need peerage members but only for Rating Games. That's all. There's nothing really of importance at stake.
Tatsuya didn't expose her and smiled.
"I'm glad you're honest."
Rias and Sona looked at each other before nodding.
Rias extended her fair palm forward and bits of red light flashed on top of it. A second later two blood-red chess pieces materialised, one being a Rook piece and the other being a Bishop piece.
"Will it cause her any kind of pain?" Tatsuya asked.
"No, generally it doesn't. It's really really rare for it to cause pain so don't worry." Rias smiled, "Anyhow let's begin!"
…
Ichika felt strange.
She opened her eyes as her memories surfaced. She was knocked out by Tatsuya for some reason.
Ichika didn't mind it.
The first thing she saw was Tatsuya's gentle smiling face.
"Onii-chan~?" She whispered softly as Tatsuya caressed her hair.
"Wake up." At his word, Ichika sat up and saw a smiling Rias along with her peerage.
"Ah! Rias-san? Wait the head—!"
"Don't worry," Rias waved her hand, "Sona took it and left. She'll inform her sister, who is also a Maou, about this incident."
"I see…" Ichika noticed something else.
Rias and her peerage weren't looking at Tatsuya with spite anymore. Even Akeno looked guilty instead.
As if sensing her doubt Rias smiled wryly, "Yamamoto-kun explained everything to us. We're sorry for jumping to conclusions."
Ichika felt her eyelid twitch.
What kind of story did he spin now?
"Really!?" Ichika let out a heartwarming smile, "I'm glad…"
Clap!
"That matter aside!" Rias clapped her hands, "Do you feel any different Ichika?"
"Different?" Ichika understood what had happened while she was unconscious.
"I feel lighter and… I can sense the mana in the air quite easily but there's something… weird about it."
Rias chuckled, "That's because you now have Demonic Energy as a Devil! It's fundamentally different from the pure mana of Humans!"
"Devil!? I've become a Devil?" Ichika was flustered, she looked at Tatsuya who simply nodded.
"But I don't feel that different."
"I'm not sure what you were expecting but being a Devil simply means having a different DNA or Bloodline. We're all a form of humans." Rias smiled mischievously, "Try thinking of something springing out from your back."
Tatsuya pushed Ichika behind the sofa so that her wings wouldn't crash into him.
Ichika was genuinely excited as she tried to feel something special about herself. After shifting her expression for a minute a pair of bat-like wings erupted from her back.
"Welcome to my peerage." Rias smiled, feeling excited about the future.
Ichika hurriedly nodded and retracted the wings.
She sat down beside Tatsuya as both siblings nodded their heads.
"We'll be in your care."
…
Rias and her peerage left after a brief exchange of words.
She said she'd inform them more about their role and duties tomorrow after school.
Tatsuya and Ichika sat silently on the sofa.
"How does it feel?" He turned his head towards her and asked.
"My base strength has been amplified by at least thrice. And…" Ichika grinned, extending both her hands out, shards of ice materialised and floated on top of her right hand while on the left there was a floating ball of fire, "Magic is effortless compared to before. These Devils have it really easy huh… I can also feel something is buffing my spells. Is it because of the Bishop piece?"
"I'd like to think it is." Tatsuya nodded, "Unfortunately my strength has barely increased. I suppose it's a miracle that I could even take the piece in."
"Oh… her brother sounds like a real hotshot." Ichika smiled playfully, "Do you know him?"
"To be honest her brother is the one I'm most wary of. Both siblings have this Soul Erasure ability that I have no counter to. Rias is weak and I can kill her instantly but a direct hit from her brother and I might die."
"That's dangerous…" Ichika was surprised, it didn't seem like he was joking this time—
"Though, her brother is also one of the most powerful beings in the world."
Ichika felt her lips twitch.
"Are you bragging?"
It'd take one of the strongest beings in this world to kill you…? Ichika slowly eradicated her plans to escape at a later date.
Looking at Tatsuya's bright smile Ichika felt her mood dampen.
"Onii-chan~" Ichika suddenly called out and Tatsuya raised an eyebrow, "Yeah?"
"Fuck you Onii-chan~!" A fireball came crashing towards his face and as the fireball faded he saw Ichika stick her tongue out towards him before running away.
Tatsuya's lips twitched.
"You're asking for a pounding." He flashed and chased after her.
Soon the house was full of crying moans of pleasure.
…
Tatsuya stared at the unconscious Ichika who was covered in his cum and smirked.
He cast [Clean] and dressed her up.
Having relieved himself of some pent-up lust his face turned indifferent as he left the house and stared at the empty sky.
"Kaguya." Tatsuya smiled, "Isn't the night beautiful?"
"My concept of beauty is unorthodox." Kaguya appeared and wrapped her hands around his neck as if her body was resting on his back.
"What about your concept of strength?"
"It's alright. Why ask?"
"You know why." Tatsuya shook his head as his clothes began to change. A wardrobe change required no World Essence.
He disappeared from the house after leaving a blood clone to substitute for him and travelled to a different city. It took some time but it was necessary for what he was about to do.
To make the disguise even more perfect he forced the length of his hair to increase using Devil Magic till it reached his lower back.
Truly handy.
He wore a long, black, tattered coat with a deep crimson lining. The coat was fitted at the torso with crisscrossing straps over the chest, leaving part of it exposed. Tight sleeves wrapped around his arms, with white bandages coiling around his forearms. A white sash secured the coat at the waist, while the lower half split at the sides for mobility.
His clothes now resembled that of a true Shinigami.
(Image)
Now comes the main part.
"I haven't truly tried using this ability ever since I got it." Tatsuya was curious.
He had used the Shinigami mask while slaughtering his way through the Whiteroom but he simply used it for decoration without summoning any of its powers.
But this time…
The mask materialised.
It was a bone-white mask with two jagged crimson stripes running vertically over the eye sockets. The mask's mouth was lined with sharp, interlocking teeth, giving it a skeletal, menacing appearance. Narrow slits for the eyes concealed his gaze.
It looked incredibly eerie.
(Image)
The Demonic Energy around him began raging with ferocity with him at the center.
"Incredible…" A low gruffy sound escaped his lips.
With the mask in place, the irises of his eyes became yellow with black sclera and pupils. His voice also had a slight Hollow echo to it.
Tatsuya didn't expect the amplification to be this great.
The strength he had could basically rival that of a Middle-tier Ultimate Devil and he had just reincarnated as a Devil a few hours ago!
It was a direct 4x multiplier.
Not only that with just his physical strength alone he could fight Low-Tier Ultimate Class Devils!
"What exactly are you hoping to accomplish?" Kaguya narrowed her pretty eyes.
Tatsuya smiled behind the mask, his expression gentle.
"For my own benefit, the world can only suffer."
He raised his hand as he travelled at high speeds. On the top of his palm, Spiritual Energy began to gather. It circled in his palm and formed a sphere.
But that wasn't all.
As Tatsuya continuously poured Spiritual Energy inside the sphere he began injecting his own blood into the sphere.
As the Sphere became larger he forcibly began to compress it. Not only was he infinitely compressing the Spiritual Energy but also his own blood.
The dual compression backed by Ban's infinite regeneration caused Kaguya to frown.
It was a Bloody Cero, a compressed beam of energy that could instantly destroy mountains.
"Don't…" Kaguya whispered.
The gentle look in Tatsuya's eyes grew softer as he continued to compress the Bloody Cero.
The air around him began to warp.
"After all, I'm not one to waste time… Am I?"
_______________
[A/N— And here comes the most craziest plot twist of all, you guys probably can't guess what he's going to do but trust me, it changes everything from here on out. You'll love tomorrow's chapter hahaha.]
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