A Marvelous Devil.
Chapter 35: A Humble Beginning.
Sitri Territory.
Dante Andromalius.
"Hm," I hummed once the Dark Force retreated into my body and smelled something nice.
The three of us were now in my secret room, and for a moment I wondered if I was being an asshole for not letting Nyra rest for a couple of days for what she went through the last week.
Then I snorted quietly. She wanted this; it was her fault, and the more I did things like this, the faster she would get used to it. That was something of a requirement if she wanted to succeed with me.
"Mom must be making dinner," Tandy said, skipping to the wall and channeling her demonic power into the runestone.
The wall soon slid open, and the stairs began appearing.
"Come on, we can talk while eating." She laughed, ignoring how Nyra dropped to her ass in relief she was no longer in danger.
If only she knew.
"She's acting as if Celestine's food is better than mine," I shook my head and sighed amusedly, lifting Nyra's body with telekinesis for good measure.
The black-haired devil groaned in protest as I dropped her to her feet, but still followed me without saying anything.
Then she chuckled tiredly.
"She ate better in the wild than I did most of my life," Nyra shook her head, "I don't know if I should be offended or impressed. Nobles' lives are different, I suppose."
"You do know that my family was, and probably is still considered extinct, right?" I pointed out as I led her into my room. "I haven't heard anything from Serafall about that situation."
The sight in my room was… a particular kind of mess, but no, I wasn't complaining.
Tandy's clothes, if you could call what remained of them that, were thrown onto the floor without care, and the sound of running water soon started.
"I think she was missing that," I noted idly, sitting on my bed and motioning to Nyra that she could do the same. "I expect you to want a bath after all that, too."
Then I tilted my head when I didn't hear an answer, watching Nyra from the corner of my eye as she observed herself in silence.
"Something wrong?" I asked.
She had grown significantly quieter as the days passed, but it hadn't mattered much before.
She had proved herself. So, it was a bit different.
Nyra made a start in surprise. Damn, she was that far gone? Poor girl.
"I grew stronger," she said quietly, "Much more than the last four years put together. I had hit a plateau and was already resigned to staying there. You changed that in a single week."
"I didn't do much," I said.
I wasn't egotistical enough to claim it was because of me for something as pitiful as this. There was simply no need.
"Still, it was because of you," she murmured.
The silence stretched until Tandy came out covered in a fluffy towel.
She ignored us, muttering some mortal tune she liked from back home as she began checking my closet for something to wear.
"Go wash yourself. You need to be presentable for dinner," I said calmly, "There should be clothes ready for you after you're finished."
Nyra just nodded, remaining silent.
I spent a minute watching Tandy change, receiving heated glares and enjoying the way her eyes lit up mischievously as she looked for something in the drawers, then created some clothes for Nyra.
After a week of fighting in the wilderness, it wasn't like I didn't know her sizes.
I found myself wondering what dinner would be like.
Later.
Dinner went surprisingly without a hitch. In fact, as I watched Nyra interact with Celestine, I began to see her in a new light, surprised by how respectful and genuine she was.
I could see that she had some… personal feelings that affected her when she saw how my mother acted.
Celestine set cups for all of us as we took our places on the sofa, filling them with Tandy's tea and muttering something in my light's ear that left her giggling in return.
"Thanks, mom," Tandy smiled brightly at Celestine, to which my mother just replied with a thousand-watt smile.
"Of course, my dear. I had sorely missed you two. You were gone for longer than I expected." Celestine said sadly, "How did it go?"
Both Tandy and Nyra went stiff at that, but Tandy's body relaxed almost a second later and smiled calmly.
… I think I ruined her.
Coughing behind my hand, I explained without much detail. "The territory was a mess, but we managed to seal everything truly dangerous in the town surrounding the Gusion Castle. There should be no problem starting construction already, and I can make sure that it goes without trouble."
Tandy sipped on her cup before putting it back on the table, "That's something I wished to talk with you about, Dante."
"I believe it's best if I go," Nyra stopped her before she could continue, "Even if you accepted me, there's no trust between us, and I wouldn't like for there to be complications."
She stood from her seat, "I appreciate the dinner, Mrs. Andromalius. You also have a lovely home."
"Stay," I said simply, "If you truly wish to follow our success for whatever reason you have, we might as well finalize our deal."
"Would you prefer to have this talk alone, or are you fine doing it right now?" I asked once she sat down.
"Here's fine," she nodded nervously.
"What is it that you desire, Nyra?" I asked quietly.
She stopped for a moment before taking a deep breath.
"I want to be someone, Sir. I spent decades watching my grandfather give his all on every assignment and receive nothing in return. I saw him bleed, I saw my father follow his footsteps, just as my mother did, and I lost them both in a mission gone wrong. I still decided to follow them because it was all I knew."
Staying silent, everyone listened. Celestine and Tandy showed how mortal they were by getting closer to Nyra and placing their hands on her legs or shoulders to support her.
I didn't move from my place; my expression didn't change.
"I want to be someone. I don't want to give my life on the front lines for nothing. I want to be part of something greater, and I saw the opportunity for that after you healed me."
"Despite having a previous dislike of me," I pointed out calmly.
Nyra didn't hide it, nodding without shame.
"I believed you were the kind of devil that used everyone for their advantage. I believed that Tandy, the sweet girl she was, would be dead by the time I arrived. And…" she took a deep breath, biting her lip in anger, "And I couldn't have done anything to save her. Because I was weak."
"Grandfather saw the same I did, and despite being stronger than you, let you take her to her doom. All because of your rank," she said in disgust, the word dripping with derision. "I don't know if he knew how outclassed he was or simply didn't care to try, but that's what I believed back then."
"And now?" I asked neutrally, ignoring the way Celestine glared at me when she saw Tandy shiver in her seat before her sad smile returned.
I knew Celestine wouldn't understand. She was too good for her own good.
"After you healed me without reason, and after a week of watching you work... I realized I didn't know anything. Not about power, not about what a devil could be." She paused to take a shaky breath.
"If you can be considered a normal devil, that is." Nyra snorted.
"You cleared a territory in a month that we couldn't touch in forty years. You took a sweet girl from the human world and turned her into something I can't even classify. The fact that she isn't an angel is still something I still don't believe." She giggled when Tandy blushed. "I don't know what you truly are or what you're building. But I know I would regret it if I stepped back now. I am at your service, Sir. In any way you want, and I'll be sure to surpass your expectations."
It was like a weight was lifted from her shoulders, Nyra taking a panting breath as soon as she finished her part.
I wondered idly for a moment if Tandy realized she was cooing over a devil like five or more times her age. But that alone showed how different age was depending on your origin.
"Hm," I nodded, receiving pouts from the pair of blonds who cooed over her. "You do realize that working under me would not give you that, right? What you just said is good and all, but you don't exactly want the job."
"It would be a start, my way in," she shrugged unconcernedly, without a single ounce of shame.
Heh. That brought a laugh out of me.
I loved it when people were honest with me. Also, confidence was attractive.
"And what are you willing to part with for your dream, Nyra?" I tilted my head.
"Everything," she said simply, "Anything you ask of me."
"Anything?" Tandy giggled from her side.
And Nyra just nodded calmly as if she was talking about the weather. "If Lord Dante wants me to be on my knees or my back, he only needs to tell me. Don't expect me to be happy about it, but I would do it. I understand what I'm asking, I also understand what I can give you."
I lifted an eyebrow in amusement at Nyra's words.
Tandy reacted with a disbelieving laugh, but that didn't surprise me since I knew her background as a human. Celestine didn't react much, just nodding, showing that she was indeed a devil.
The silence continued under my amused stare. She could say that as many times as she wanted, she couldn't hide it from me that her panties were drenched right at this moment.
But I didn't mention it. She knew I knew, and that was enough.
Welp… might as well bring it out into the open with these three.
"I could give you everything you described. And even the things you haven't realized you want yet," I paused, letting her feel the weight of my cosmic power in full.
The walls in the house trembled as my domain dematerialized into nothingness. In place, a void, blackest of black, formed with a throne in the middle.
Their minds failed to form everything I could have shown, but it was enough.
I walked calmly as the three devils watched my back in shock, fear, and surprise.
I was doing this for multiple reasons, but it was time they saw part of what I truly was. Where I would return and even surpass in the future.
My steps echoed into the void. A place that should have no sound, trembling just from the presence of what I used to be, overlapping with what I currently was.
I was drawing on my memories of what the people of the Ashen Courts used to see when they observed me, and when I sat, the void grew silent once more.
"But I don't do temporary arrangements, Nyra. You could forget about this night and be a normal subordinate under me, loyal to a fault, but nothing more. But if you want to fulfill your dream, we'll make something more special."
I felt the crown I had won from Surtr from a drunken bet settle on top of my head as I grew my previous horns.
"What… are… you?" Nyra barely managed to stutter.
I felt a smile growing on my face, "I'm a devil unlike anything this world has ever seen. But that's something for later. What is it that you want?"
Celestine's eyes were complicated as she watched me. Tandy was just marveling at my horns with a small, perverse grin, and Nyra was frozen in the spot.
She swallowed, the sound traveling through the void as I put my complete attention on her.
Then she nodded.
"So be it, Nyra. Welcome to the team."
I couldn't wait until I turned myself into a demon once more. A shame I couldn't do it faster… and it wasn't something I could do alone.
Two days later.
The battalion's outer perimeter was visible from where we stood. Close enough that the soldier should be able to see us.
Not that it was that much of a problem since my clan trait was already hiding us from them.
Only Tandy, Celestine, and Nyra would be present for such a show. And I didn't care about the questions that would come from the soldiers once they saw what I had done.
It would be Nyra's problem, and after my last showing, she wasn't going to break my trust.
For two main reasons. It turned out she had met three of the Satans personally, and what I showed was more than even they could ever hope to be. She didn't understand what she had seen, and I obviously didn't explain, but she was scared of me to the point that going against me was almost impossible.
She was a bit traumatized.
Secondly, I didn't deal with fear that often. Yes, it was useful, but it was also a brittle foundation, so I made sure to show her the pros of being under me.
A perfect gift for her to break her shackles.
Enhancing her talent was costly, but with Tandy at my side, I wasn't feeling like a penny pincher like humans liked to say. Since she was going to be the head of the guards once the settlement was finished, her weakness was something unacceptable. At least, that was the current plan.
I just needed more time to observe her qualities and figure out how to specialize her.
Nyra herself had chosen the location, and I couldn't complain. She probably knew my territory better than her grandfather.
It was perfect for what we needed. Supply runs would be easy to set up since we were close to the battalion and far enough away to show this was its own thing, not an extension of the Asmodeus work.
I rolled my shoulders and closed my eyes.
"How big are you planning?" Tandy asked from my side, her hands hidden in her sweater as she watched the land with a surprising amount of distaste.
Ah… she died once to Gerald here… I think. She died a bunch of times.
"Just something functional," I shrugged, "we're not building a city, just something to facilitate the work and maybe gather some interest. Do you want to start?"
Tandy nodded excitedly.
She spread her arms wide under Celestine's gaze, who looked curious beyond belief, and began gathering her light. Slowly, her white wings spread behind her as she took the air into the center of the area.
Her light flowed from her body, Tandy glowing brighter and brighter as she bathed the whole place in her power and cleansed everything we didn't want here.
All the curses, all the illnesses, all the toxins, were gone after a moment. Then her light entered the soil, revitalizing it in a way that left Nyra and Celestine gaping.
Life began to bloom under her ministration, where it was once impossible to grow.
She then dropped to the ground, her wings flapping gently behind her as Celestine hugged the stuffing out of her with a squeal.
"That was so beautiful, Tandy," Celestine said excitedly, "And you looked so cute with all that light! You were like an angel!"
Tandy blushed, but hugged Celestine back with a wide smile. "Thanks, mom."
"I will never get used to that," Nyra's lips twitched, "Where in the world did you find her?"
"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you," I snorted, following Tandy's example and flying towards the center.
I started with the ground.
My tattoos lit up as the demonic power in our surroundings started reading the land beneath us. The composition, the demonic power veins, the lack of water…
This place was a mess.
But it didn't have to be.
After the analysis ended, the cosmic power appeared. And I could show off as good as Tandy.
Hoh? It seemed a Satan liked to be a voyeur.
Well, I hoped he enjoyed the show.
A small drop of condensed cosmic power dropped into the ground and burrowed deeply into the dirt. Then the soil began to disintegrate slowly. First, it was only a burrow, which grew and continued growing until a whole kilometer of land disappeared under our eyes.
That was more than enough for the settlement.
"Tandy?" I called out.
She appeared next to me with a small grin.
"You know what to do, dear." I nodded, grabbing her hand.
Next, it was the creation of an enchanted artifact. Focusing deep inside me, I molded the cosmic power into a single drop of water.
A never-ending source that would continuously create water, but that wasn't all.
Tandy's light flowed into it as I facilitated the creation, and soon, a blueish-white orb was in the palm of my hand.
What could be better than water with Tandy's light soaking through it.
"Mother, do you want to do it?" I asked Celestine, who watched curiously.
She nodded excitedly and grabbed the orb from my hand, pulling her arm back and throwing it towards the gulf.
The orb started levitating in the center of the base, just a meter or so above the ground, and soon water flowed.
"That's absurd," Nyra facepalmed before going tense.
"Dante, how big could you do this?" she asked excitedly, going as far as getting in front of me, her nose next to mine.
"As much as I need," I said after a moment.
"You could make oceans?!" She shouted in my face. "That would be something unique in the underworld! You could be even richer!"
I palmed her face and pushed her away, shaking my head.
"Focus on that after the territory is finished," I chuckled and continued working.
The stone under us broke apart until the terrain was even. Then the walls rose in clean lines, creating houses. Simple ones, just like the one we had in the Sitri territory.
It wasn't ornate, and it wouldn't impress any of the nobles. But it was permanent, and just enough to house the workers while they did their thing while we weren't here.
Fifty units, more than enough to house a couple of hundred devils while they worked. Nyra intended to offer free housing as long as they continued their work, which was fine by me.
I never thought about how hard life was for some devils. I had thought that we had it bad before, but even as 'extinct', we lived much better than normal, low-class devils.
Then, a bigger, more ornate house in the center, where Nyra would use as a base of operation. Mother could join her if she wanted to, but I wasn't sure what she wanted to do after I woke up Hadrian.
Which would happen after our return.
And I didn't forget a storage building on the north end, reinforced enough to house whatever they needed.
And finally, the stones that would ensure no devil would be attacked in here by any demonic beast that returned or migrated after our cleaning.
I placed them below us, and hellfire soon escaped my mouth like a flowing breath. The fire screamed in agony as they filled the stones until they lit up with a baleful hue.
Nyra and Celestine took a step back.
Heh.
"This should be more than enough, right?" I looked at Nyra, who had an excited expression, her eyes vacant.
She nodded firmly, "It's wonderful. Leave the rest to me, Dante."
I patted her shoulder, "Now go and let Mikael know you switched sides."
That erased the excited gleam in her eyes, but she took a deep breath and started flying in the battalion's direction.
"Want to explore, Mom?" Tandy grabbed Celestine's hand and started pulling her towards the houses.
I spent a minute observing the gulf filling with water before I sighed.
I'd better get with them before they cause a mess.
Later.
It took around five hours for Nyra to return, and while her mascara was running with some tear tracks, she looked particularly at peace.
"How did it go, Nyra?" Tandy grabbed her hand and sat her down on the couch.
"As good as I expected," Nyra sighed, "Grandpa didn't take it as well as I had hoped, but it is done."
"Oh, you poor girl," Celestine sighed, serving a glass of water to the devil. "Are you sure you want to continue right now?"
"Yeah," Nyra took a deep breath, "It wasn't as bad as I feared. But I also managed to complete my second objective."
"Really?!" Tandy asked excitedly, sending a glance that made me smile.
Nyra nodded proudly, "You now have a deal with the General for your products. The first batch was taken already, and I have the Liliums in my bag."
She took a breath, looking genuine as she continued, "Thank you for being truthful and giving it for cheap. They took everything, and I'm glad that deaths will lessen wherever they are relocated to."
"It wasn't much," I waved my hand, "So, will you need more funds for your plans?"
"No, I have more than enough money here to start everything. I contacted some friends too." Nyra smiled gratefully, "Some previous contracts for the builders as well as the soldiers who had to leave the battalion due to injuries. I can't thank you all enough."
"It's nothing," Tandy giggled, "You have done us a solid with your help. It's the least we could do. Also, without your contacts, we would be conflicted to trust whoever accepted our offers."
Nyra and Tandy shared a smile as Celestine giggled from her seat, her expression warm.
"I'll have the first group of workers here in a couple of days," she nodded.
"Good," I replied, "You have my number, and you will contact me if anything needs my attention. Understood?"
She nodded, then looked hesitant before she squared her shoulders, "What about the discharged soldiers, Dante? You mentioned…"
"That we'll heal the cursed ones and at one point the crippled ones?" I smirked amusedly.
Nyra nodded hesitantly.
"There would be no better way than that to get loyal subjects," I nodded sagely, "Tandy will see them when she's back. It will be good training for her. If there's anything she can't fix, I will step up as long as they are worth it. Sounds good?"
Nyra looked at Tandy, who was playing with one of the rocks filled with hellfire like a kid on Christmas, making sounds as she threw them into the air.
She had no preservation instinct… Did I fuck up by letting her die so much?
"Right…" Nyra's brow twitched. "And when will you be back?"
I shared a look with Tandy at that.
"Well, we have some business to finalize with Sona, so we're going to visit her in the human world," I said simply, "So, at most a week as we travel around, more if we find something interesting."
"And after that?" Celestine asked quietly.
I sent a small smile her way, "After that, I believe it's time I have a talk with Hadrian. If nothing else, I can put him inside the sealed zone after putting one of my evil pieces on him."
Celestine ignored the last part of my sentence, but Tandy did send a horrified glance my way.
Then my mother hugged me, crying happy tears now that I said it would happen soon.
It took minutes for her to let me go, but after a while, she kissed my cheek and sat back down.
Tandy's horrified expression at what I had said didn't change until after Celestine sat back down.
I was joking, obviously. It would be a waste to use one of my evil pieces on him.
Snorting, I shook my head at her.
"So, want to meet my paramour, love?" I gave my hand to Tandy, who nodded with an expression between excitement and nervousness.
I lifted her from her seat, shared another brief hug with Celestine, and nodded at Nyra.
She looked nervous too, but I knew she'd do a good job.
Either way, I wasn't letting an opportunity to tease her pass by.
"If you burn it down, I'll turn your ass bright red, Nyra," I said semi-seriously, "I didn't forget what you offered."
Nyra blushed for a moment before she hid her embarrassment with a cough, "I'll try, Sir. Thanks for trusting me."
The Dark Force closed over us.
And once it retreated into my body, we were in front of a gate.
A human place of learning and Sona's and Rias's base.
With a bell ringing and a bunch of humans scrambling through it like they would catch on fire if they entered a minute later.
I looked at it for a moment. Snorting when I saw Sona watching irritably from a window.
Then at Tandy, who was already looking around curiously.
Should I have told Sona about my visit? Nah, it was funnier this way.
"It feels no different than back home," she said quietly.
"Hm, apart from those devils at the gate," I snorted, seeing a pair of reincarnated devils hurrying the humans inside like they were cattle. I wondered for a moment if they were from Sona or from Rias before ignoring them.
Just as everyone ignored us.
"Try not to scare anyone, baby," Tandy giggled.
"Heh," a smile grew on my face, "I wonder if something will be unlucky enough to grab my attention."
Did I have to bring Tandy considering what Sona had offered? Of course, I needed to keep pushing her limits.
This would be fun, and a diminute Satan would get her fix before long.
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