[A little after the end of classes for the day.]
In his Classroom,
Nathan put his stuff away.
After a long day of boring classes, he's looking forward to heading to the club to deal with things of the supernatural.
Now in the almost empty classroom, he prepares to go to the club.
Out of the corner of his eye, he sees someone approaching.
He turns around and sees Sona Shitori, or president as he likes to call her.
Nathan waves to her and says,
"President. A great class we had today isn't it?" The smile on his face demonstrates the irony in his speech.
Sona just rolls her eyes,
"Most of the class you were spacing out. But I'll let that go." Sona then extends her hand, in a handshake.
Nathan raises his eyebrow but shakes her hand.
She then says,
"It is a pleasure to meet you properly Nathanael Narumi, my name is Sona Sitri. Heiress to House Sitri."
That makes the boy blink, Rias did that too after that day. Kind of a formal way for high devils to introduce themselves.
He then formally introduces himself as well.
"It's nice to meet you properly Sona, I think you already know but I'm Rias' new Rook."
After the formality part, Nathan sees Sona relax a little. Of course, the president still looks like Prim And Proper.
"Yes, I was notified. Rias and I keep in constant contact, after all, we can't share the same territory without communication." Sona says as she leans lightly against one of the tables in the room. At that point, everyone left the classroom, leaving us alone.
"So I assume you know about our Fallen Angel visitors, right? I'm curious, I thought something like that would be a reason for you and Rias to team up to send them away. Just like the idiot I slaughtered the other day."
More than that. If this whole situation can lead to a war. Why didn't they notify the Satans?
Sona sighs and starts to speak.
"Politics, we can't count on each other for everything. We've even been instructed by our parents to only ask for each other's help when strictly necessary. The entry of Amaph Oriax into our territory was one such case. A noble and stray Devil invades a territory and captures a possible peerage member. This could bring many social and political problems."
Hmm, that makes sense. Looks like Devil's Society is more boring than I thought. And from what little I've heard I'm sure it must get even more complicated.
"I understand. I'm going to be very honest with you President, my will is simply to go where the Fallen are and finish them off right away." Nathan says as he frowns deeply. Hopefully, this situation can be resolved without a conflict. If not, Rias will have to forgive me, because I'm going to end up testing my techniques on them.
The president just looks at Nathan and nods.
"I know you could, from the prior recognition that Rias and I made none of the Fallen don't appear to have more than a pair of wings. Any of them would be destroyed by you, however, they may not be alone in this. My guess is that this situation has Nothing to do with the Fallen Leader Azazel, from what I've been told about man, he doesn't usually do anything like this."
This is interesting to know. So they might be acting on their own? More than that, they might even have traitors involved in it.
"Well, thanks for the good talk, Sona. But I need to go, maybe I'll go to the student council later so we can talk more." Nathan nods, takes his things, and heads for the exit. Sona just nods too.
After Nathan leaves the room,
Tsubaki, Sona's queen, And Momo Hanakai, Sona's bishop
Both enter the room.
"President, I see that you've already spoken with Narumi-san." The ever-polite Tsubaki speaks while Sona gets her things out of her table.
"He has been reincarnated fairly strong, hasn't he? I feel like he's a High Devil like you President." Momo says curiously, she never spoke much to the boy.
Sona, straights her glasses on her face.
"Yes. It seems we have a lot to understand about Nathan's sacred gear, Rias told me some things, but still, I can't identify his Gear."
[A few minutes later]
"... I'm sorry, but I have to do What now?"
That brings a chuckle out of Issei who is sitting on my right side.
Rias looks at me with a confused look,
"Sorry Nathan, do you want me to explain again?"
Before I can smack Rias, Akeno saves her by explaining the reason for my outrage.
"I don't think he expected to have to do things like handing out flyers and doing mundane tasks Rias~"
Rias makes an understanding face, then explains herself.
"Ahh, the contract system is quite important for the Devils who have just started, It's like a little tradition, most Devils use these contracts to get stronger over time."
Nathan grimaces in scorn,
Huh~
What a bunch of lazy ass devils.
Akeno who is at my side, pinches me lightly,
"Stop thinking rude things and just say them" She giggles, picks up her cup from the table, and goes back to drinking her tea.
This makes Rias in front of me cross her arms and pout, already waiting for the smartass reply.
"From what you've told me, the Devils have enormous potential just because of their peculiar energy. More than that, we also live for millennia... but instead of training, they decide to just do silly things like these contracts."
This makes Rias sigh, and Issei beside me asks something as well.
"Wait, does that mean the Devils are just a bunch of lazy asses?" He places his hand on his chin as if he's had a revelation. That also brings chuckle out of me,
"That's what it looks like my brother. And if my line of reasoning is right, they also probably depend a lot on their bloodlines or things like that"
I conclude as I lay my head on Akeno's shoulder for maximum comfort.
A vein pops out on Rias' forehead, and I'm pretty sure I heard Kiba and Koneko chuckling in the corner.
But in the end, she sighs again and nods,
"Yes, unfortunately, you are right. Most Devils from noble families focus on learning their Bloodlines Magics and nothing else... most of our people are not very into heavy training."
I sigh and turn to Issei.
"My brother in heart, it's official, there won't be a day from now on where we won't train even a little." I say seriously, Making Issei smile and nod
"Heh, better than being like one of those lazy noble-"
Rias stands up and claps her hands,
"OKAY! Enough of offending my race, let's get to the flyers!"
Akeno and I laughed a little, and then Rias started to explain some things to us.
[An hour later]
Honestly, this entire process of handing out flyers was extremely easy... for me of course.
Poor Issei was brutally ignored several times. With me, the only thing that happened was that some people thought I was a delinquent and ran away from me.
And now we're walking through the forest behind the Academy, to a place Rias said would be a great place to train.
Which I do know,
After all, I came here just a while ago. We all walked through the woods, talking and using the time to get there to chat about the fallen angels.
"So technically if we get confirmation that Azazel hasn't let them in here, we'll be able to attack them in peace?" Issei asks Rias, who walks beside the boy, with a curious look.
Issei has made me proud. He's been taking this more seriously than I thought he would. I'm pretty sure it has to do with what he said to the people back at the club while I was sleeping.
"Technically, yes Issei. But talking to the leader of a supernatural faction is not easy" Rias replies while crossing her arms, such an action momentarily makes Issei lose focus.
*Sigh*
Damnit Issei!
Akeno laughs beside me, chuckles, and then crosses her arms as well, and sends me a sly look.
*Sigh*
Damnit Myself!
Issei then regains focus and asks something again. This time with a confused look,
"But Buchou, aren't you and the President of the council the sisters of two leaders? Can't you just text them?"
Kiba a little further back next to Koneko, also enters the subject.
"Buchou doesn't like to ask her brother Issei for help. Because her brother is Satan Lucifer, if he supports us too much it may appear to the underworld that he is being biased."
Both Issei and I frown at this, and I also make a point of looking at Akeno and Rias, both of them seem a bit tense about the subject.
I put my arm around Akeno's waist, pulling her closer.
She accepts the affection but says nothing.
I know something is up with Rias. But for now, I'll be quiet, I'll wait until she says something.
I then remember something or someone.
"And how about Sona? She can't get in touch with her brother... or is it a sister?"
Rias thinks for a second and then speaks
"To be quite honest, I highly doubt it. Sona is more afraid to ask her sister for help than I am. Oh and yes, it's a sister. Serafall Leviathan, the strongest Female Devil"
Both Issei and I whistled. That name sounds pretty cool,
"Hmm, Rias if I convince Sona to ask for help, will you get angry?"
Rias chuckles and turns to me.
"You barely started dating and you're already going to after another? You got used quickly to the world of Devils Nathan"
I roll my eyes,
Akeno chuckles lightly and then looks me in the eyes.
"I just want you to know that any future members of your Harem will have to be reported to me first."
The line almost makes me fall, and I swear I heard Issei say something like "I'm so proud!"
"Duly Noted my Lady"
After just a bit longer, we reached the clearing.
Little by little we all started to do our own training.
Kiba and Koneko are training the girl's reaction when facing attacks from a faster opponent.
Rias and Akeno are training their magic apparently? Both are shooting different elements at some small self-made targets.
By the way, what element is Rias using? That shit is strange to look at, it looks pretty dangerous.
And Issei and I,
BAAM
A high-impact sound resounds, and Issei lands a punch squarely in my stomach.
I lift my leg and deliver a kick to the side of his abdomen,
BAAM
Issei takes the blow and goes flying to the side,
"You're pretty strong even without any of those "boosts". What's the name of your gear again?" I ask casually,
Issei coughs a few times and forces himself to get up.
"*COUGH* Fuck, that hurt... It's Twice critical or something like that, Rias said it's a pretty common Sacred Gear." He says while looking at his red gauntlet with green and gold tones.
Hmm, I highly doubt it. The aura I feel from Issei and his Gear is quite peculiar, something I've never felt.
I just nod, and Issei again prepares to attack.
BOOST
He uses his gear, and immediately I feel him get twice as strong.
Once again I let him hit me.
BAAM
His punch hits my abdomen, but again I don't move a muscle.
This time I retaliate with a well-placed uppercut to his belly.
"OOF!"
He falls to the ground again.
"Hmm, your gear is certainly usable. But you have to train like hell bro. I think your boost works from your natural state of strength. Which means that later we're going to do some more basic training like pulling weights"
Issei merely raises a thumbs up while he's still face down on the floor.
I chuckle a little and help the boy to his feet.
We still have a long way to go.
[Some hours later]
With my guard still up, I dodge from one side to the other. A punch goes through my left, and soon after a sword also grazes my right.
My fist glows with energy, and I then land a left hook to the right side, Kiba uses his sword as a defense, but even so, my punch sends him back several meters.
Kiba hits a tree and ends up dropping his sword.
"Kiba is out!"
At the moment we are training team attack. Well, they are at least, we drew a big circle on the ground. Whoever gets pushed out loses.
Now it's just me and Issei in the circle,
I keep my guard up, and then my friend attacks as fast as possible!
"ORA!"
He comes at me with a straight punch,
and it lands squarely on my arms, but this time I feel something different.
It's stronger, slightly, but it's there.
I then continue defending in the same way. I want to see where this goes.
Issei punches again... and again and again
He throws several consecutive punches, I can feel him getting angry, frustrated with not doing anything.
"JUST FUCKING FALL DOWN!" And with one last punch, I hear something...
BOOST
Another punch and I'm sent backward, my feet dragging on the ground...out of the circle.
Silence permeates the Air, nobody says anything.
Issei finally notices what he's done.
"Wait a minute... Did I win? ...I WON!!" The boy then falls back due to fatigue.
But everyone is silent for something else, Issei's arm has changed, or rather his gauntlet
So me and everybody, who was watching the fight, Got closer to the boy
"Wait a minute... is that what I'm thinking it is ?" Rias looks at Issei's arm more closely.
I'm kind of confused, but at least I'm sure now that Issei's gear is impressive. What he just did was to give himself a Boost, on top of another Boost. A 4x increase in strength.
"Eeh guys? why are you looking at me like that."
Akeno then smiles and points to his arm,
The boy blinks and stands up making everyone move away, he then looks at his arm.
*GASP*
"COOL! Did I level up or something?" It makes people around smile or laugh like in my case.
"Looks like I was wrong about your Issei Gear. You don't have a Twice Critical... Your Gear is one of the Longinus Type Gears... Boosted Gear!" Rias is almost jumping with joy
Now that's interesting, so he really had high-caliber gear. I'm glad my partner in crime is getting stronger.
"Look, I don't quite understand what that means, but it sounds cool!" He says as he stands ready for another round.
I speak too.
"Okay Issei, we've done enough combat training for today. I need to try some things out with my Gear today."
Issei nods, and Rias, Koneko, and Kiba drag him over to tell him more about his Gear.
Akeno however, remains by my side.
I look at her and ask,
"Won't you go help them?" I ask curious,
I already sit on the floor, getting ready to clear my mind and talk to Sukuna and the mysterious voice.
Akeno just looks at me, and then sits next to me.
"They don't need help right now, I'll stay by your side for now." She smiles beautifully, making me smile too.
I come closer and give her a small kiss on the lips, making her giggle.
"Suit yourself Honey" She then raises her eyebrow and smiles slyly.
"Fufufu~ are we already in the cute nicknames phase then? I'll think of one for you"
And with that, I then assume a lotus position and go back to concentrating.
[THE MIND]
[Making updates to the Status]
[...Updates all Completed]
Alright, so we have two updates
Something called Cursed Body and something else called Ten Shadows Technique
That cursed body is what Sukuna told me before I ate the evil piece. He said that the body of one of his receptacles had a body that could withstand cursed objects. These "shadows" I don't know.
Sukuna's voice then echoes through my mind,
'The ten shadows is the technique my current vessel uses. One of the most prestigious cursed techniques in my world. And rightly so, it brings the user the possibility of using 10 shikigami, all very useful'
Hmm, that's interesting, even if I don't know what these Shikigami are.
But from the context are they curses or something?
'Yes, very close to that. But that's not all this technique can do, things like storing objects in shadows and hiding are also possible. Considering you've already learned and created techniques with just your imagination and my description I don't think this will be difficult for you.'
Right, Imagination at the end makes everything easier right?
'Heheh, Exactly!'
[After your return to the real world, a dossier with ways to invoke shadows and further rules will be downloaded to your brain]
Okay, thanks a lot Gear.
I look back at the Status Screen and I see that it has a second page
Looking at the second one I can see... a lot of stuff not unlocked.
This is new... Sukuna do you have something to say about it?
'No, those are things that shit Gear of yours won't let you use for now. One is closer to being used than the other.'
Huh,
Well, whatever
Well, it's time for me to go back.
...
[Back to the normal world.]
I come back to the real world, and I come out of my meditation position. Akeno next to me, then looks at me curiously.
"So my love, have you accomplished whatever you attempted to do?" she says, and I can tell she tries to not be invasive.
I promptly stand up and help her up as well.
"Yes, I had a good conversation with my Sacred Gear. And I learned some useful things."
She smiles and nods,
"So your Gear really is sentient, isn't it? Rias already told me that there are few in the world who are completely conscious"
I nod again, and then my head fills with information.
Oh... It looks like I won't be able to directly summon the shadows. I need to defeat them one-on-one first.
They are also able to adapt. Impressive,
'Heh, there is more to that kid, if my guess is correct, further down the line when you're as strong as your strongest Shikigami some pretty interesting things are going to happen.' After this cryptic speech, Sukuna once again returns to silence.
I then look at the rest of the peerage, they seem to be talking to Issei, probably clearing some doubts from him or something.
"Honey, I've discovered some important things about my Gear. Apparently one of the requirements for me to use this thing is that to me to be alone. Looks like I'm going to have to go far away from this place." I seriously tell Akeno, after all, it's better to let her know. Sneaking out would be rude.
She looks me in the eye, and she gets serious too.
"Understood, I'll communicate to our king... And good luck, and please be careful!" She starts the sentence formally, before finishing it smiling and giving me a quick hug.
I return it and promptly run into the forest.
I better go as deep as possible.
[Some minutes later, Not far from there and still in the forest.]
4 Fallen Angels and a Human discuss their plan of action.
"SHUT UP DOHNASEEK, You're only saying that because you lost to that damn Devil!" A tiny Blondie says, her voice expressing her irritation.
Dohnaseek, the now one-armed fallen, has fury in his eyes. He then retorts the little one also screaming.
"FUCK YOU MITTELT! That Devil is a danger to us! we have to kill him now! And the other boy too, he's already turned into a Devil too we have to throw him in a pit as soon as possible!"
The third Fallen, a tall woman with blue hair, looks apprehensive about something. And it remains silent. Her name is Kalawarner
The last one, a girl with black hair, stops the fight right away.
"SHUT UP YOU TWO! Mittelt, as much as I hate to say it, we'd better kill that kid soon. The Twice critical one won't be a problem, but the other one might. Even more so when the nun arrives here in a few days." The woman crosses her arms in irritation.
The two stop staring at each other in hate, and focus on the mission. Raynare turns to the mad priest in the area.
Freed Sellzen, who is currently smiling wildly.
"OI Freed! You said you already located the kid, where is he?" Raynare says to the ex-priest. He just looks at her, still with a maniacal smile.
"Yeah yeah bitch, I already found him. But remember, I wasn't paid to fight him. In this shit you guys are alone" He says and starts walking towards where Nathan is now.
The Fallen angels practically snarl. Already hating having to work with a human. Even more so with a Maniac one.
But they follow silently to where the priest takes them.
[Some minutes later.]
Cute dog sounds can be heard,
"Own, you're a lot less scary when you're not trying to kill me." Nathan says while petting two dogs that look more like wolves.
One dog is white and the other is black, the two wag their tails while being petted.
"Okay, guys. It's time for you to go, I'll try to call the next shadow."
BARK!
BARK!
The two dogs give their last bark and disappear into shadows.
'Tsk, don't treat them like stupid animals, they are curses- Oho~ Hey boy, I suggest you use your "supernatural radar" right now, hehe'
The King of Curses doesn't even need to tell me that. I can already feel them.
4 fallen angels.
Huh, they're more stupid than I thought. I thought I would need to find a loophole, to be able to attack them.
However, they came to me like moths following the Light.
I'm pretty far away from the Academy, and the rest of the peerage. It hasn't even been 40 minutes since I parted ways with them. I don't think anyone will interfere.
I feel a barrier being made around me in the area. Perhaps to stop civilians from entering? Nah, I doubt they care, it's probably to make it harder for help to get to me.
Suddenly, in front of me among the trees.
4 Blurs appear, one of them I already know.
"Heh, Looks like you've recovered. Are you sure you can fight without an arm old man?"
I say while smiling at the only male enemy there. The Fallen seems to be trying to come at me. But the black-haired Fallen puts one arm to the side stopping him
And then steps forward.
"Young Devil, know that this is not personal. We're just here to deal with a possible threat to the Fallen Angels."
She says with an air of superiority. As if what she was doing was the absolute truth.
And more than that, I know that doesn't feel like that...
"HAH! The best for the fallen? Don't make me laugh, I doubt your fool of a boss even knows about this little operation of yours." I say as I pull off my school jacket.
My speech seems to piss off the fallen a lot... well the guy in the hat was already pretty pissed before. so whatever
"Shut your mouth, Devil! Azazel-sama will thank me later! and will recognize me for my efforts!" She says already raging, and then all the Fallen start to increase their energy, the guy with the hat already brings his spear out. Same for blue hair. And the blonde looks like she's going to try something long-distance.
Looking at the black-haired one, I start to think a little.
During my lifetime, I have been blessed enough to understand that sometimes the best thing to do is Observe.
I consider the act of listening to be better than speaking. I learned a lot more that way.
Listen and Observe.
Listening to what this bitch has to say, one might deduce that she feels bad about doing all this.
But looking into her eyes, I can see her sadism, malice, and even fear.
"What a sad life you must lead. It's a shame your actions led you to me." And with that, they start to attack.
'MASSACRE THEM BRAT!'
Very Well.