Steam curled through the private bath house, Rias Gremory stretched her arms along the edge, tilting her head back as heat seeped into tired muscles. Across from her, Sona Sitri sat with her elegant composure. Even while naked, glasses perched on her nose despite the steam challenging to fog them.
"You're not going to let me forget my loss anytime soon, are you, Rias?" Sona sighed, adjusting her glasses.
"Can you blame me?" Rias's smile carried the warmth of genuine satisfaction rather than cruelty "Mmm... It still counts as my victory. I'll thoroughly enjoy my visit to the Familiar Forest tonight"
The water rippled as Sona shifted to face Rias directly.
"Speaking of victories... your ally appears to have claimed quite a significant one himself"
Rias's brow raised, wondering why Sona would bring him up now, while she was savoring her moment of triumph.
"It's rather unfortunate that my familiar observed the church incident, not either of us. By the time we arrived, he'd already departed with the nun." Sona shook her head, frustration bleeding through her composed exterior "Whatever transpired within those walls..."
Rias remembered Kalawarner's trembling hands on that teapot, the way absolute fear had replaced the Fallen Angel's usual arrogance. To break someone like that into submission required either overwhelming power or something more disturbing, that she hoped wasn't true.
"Such a pity Asia refused to join my peerage. Twilight Healing would have been a valuable addition to my household, particularly alongside Twice Critical"
"He saved her life, Rias. It's only natural she would choose him" Sona paused, as if seeing a missing piece in a complex puzzle "However, I still cannot comprehend how he subjugated a fallen angel and eliminated the others within mere minutes"
Silence settled between them, heavy with implications neither wanted to voice directly. The agreement they'd made now felt like boundaries they'd drawn for answers they won't get anytime soon.
"His Sacred Gear.....Have you witnessed him activate it?"
"Now that you mention it... No, I haven't" Rias frowned, recalling only glimpses of him summoning rock pillars in the survivor's memories, but never deployed in actual combat. His sacred gear added more spirals to his growing mystery, like spirals of Uzumaki.
"Whatever it is, it rendered an arrogant fallen angel compliant enough to serve him willingly" Sona said in slight annoyance "We both understand how their race views humans as lowly beings, no better than devils. This level of control over a Fallen Angel, even a low-class one, suggests he either possesses compulsion abilities or..."
"Or she's genuinely terrified of the consequences should she disobey" Rias finished, crossing her arms beneath the water.
Sona leaned forward slightly, adjusting her glasses with deliberate precision.
"He's dangerous, Rias. And I don't mean in the typical manner the way most humans become when they acquire power, growing reckless and arrogant. He's strategic... and remarkably secretive about both his plans and his abilities so far"
Rias couldn't help but agree with her assessment. Ever since Motohama and she had agreed to become allies, he'd never once questioned her about his sacred gear, maintaining their relationship as strictly business. She'd believed he would eventually be like Issei, falling for her charms and beauty, and naturally join her peerage. But he hadn't. He was a walking contradiction, rejecting the power she offered while actively building his own.
"That reminds me, I've yet to inform him about tomorrow's meeting with her" Sona rose from the bath as water flowed down her smooth, beautiful form.
"You must be looking forward to it, Sona. I can see the anticipation of seeing her again" Rias said with genuine amusement, following her cue and reaching for a towel.
"The incident falls under her jurisdiction as foreign affairs concerning Fallen Angels within devil territory, Rias. It has nothing to do with my personal feelings" Sona shot her a sharp glare, knowing full well her rival was thoroughly enjoying this.
Rias chuckled, already able to see in Sona's expression that she was highly doubtful of things proceeding according to her carefully laid plans for the upcoming meeting.
---
[ Motohama's Pov ]
The disaster zone that used to be my bedroom looked like an alchemist's laboratory had violently mated with a garbage dump and produced this unholy offspring.
Shattered glass crunched under my feet whenever I took a step. The desk bore scorch marks from experiments that had gotten a bit too enthusiastic about their bonding sessions.
My notes covered the walls, taped up in a pattern that made sense only to me and possibly to someone sharing the same brain cells. Failed formulas crossed out in red while successful attempts circled frantically. Margin notes where I'd written things like "DO NOT ADD HELLFIRE ESSENCE TO GRAVEBLOOM" and "Note to self: Explosive ≠ Effective" and many more, which I learned through one hundred forty-three attempts.
I took a sigh of relief seeing the fruits of our labor.
Kalawarner slumped in the corner chair like a puppet with cut strings, dark circles under her eyes making her look vaguely undead. Her apron, once white, now resembling a Jackson Pollock painting, boring stains in colors I'm pretty sure didn't exist in any of the ingredients we had.
"You know..." she muttered without looking at me, voice heavy with exhaustion "when I imagined being enslaved by a human, this wasn't quite the scenario I had in mind"
I ignored her complaints, attention fixed on the three vials before me. They sat in a cleared space on my desk like prized trophies, each one glowing with an inner light that had nothing to do with chemical reactions and everything to do with extracting the essence of ingredients from Underworld.
The first vial held liquid with the color of dried blood mixed with shadow and I named it Gravebloom Restoration. Pretty lame, right? I will replace it with something cooler and fitting once I get some sanity recovering from a week of unpaid labor.
The extraction process of it had taken forty-seven attempts before I figured out the right temperature to preserve the regenerative properties without triggering the necrotic side effects.
Holding it up to the dim light, I watched darkness swirl within the crimson water.
Noice.
This could have saved my life when Freed had his light sword at my throat. One minute of accelerated healing, flesh knitting back together faster than it could be torn apart. But it wouldn't help if someone obliterated my head or ripped out my heart, but for everything short of instant death, this was a Get Out of Bleeding Out Free ticket.
The mental image of my own chest wound sealing itself made me grimace.
I set it down carefully and picked up the second vial, with a note reading on it.
[ Hell Claw Surge ]
Electric amber liquid that seemed to pulse with contained energy. The main ingredient had been essence extracted from a Hell Claw Bear's talons, something that apparently existed in the Underworld and was exactly as pleasant as the name suggested. Combined with other herbs growing near the opposite lands of the Underworld.
It promises me five minutes of enhanced speed, strength, and reflexes. Forty to sixty percent boost based on my calculations and the one time I'd tested I put my bare fist through the wall.
I turned it slowly, watching light refract through the amber. This would make human fighting a low-tier devil or Fallen Angel look like a joke. A human with Hell Claw Surge could potentially match them long enough to exploit weaknesses or create openings for landing a solid blow to knock them out cold.
Of course, there was the minor issue of what happened after five minutes when the boost wore off and every muscle in my body screamed in protest at being pushed beyond normal human limits. The aftermath involved cramping that made me want to curse it's limitations.
Worth it, probably. Better than being killed by a low rank devil or fallen angel.
The third vial, though. It was something I felt like was the best achievement of this tower of God trials of potions making.
[ Styx Touch ]
I picked it up with something approaching reverence, cradling the ghostly silver-blue liquid that swirled beautifully.
The extraction had nearly killed me. Turns out processing water allegedly from the River Styx required far more precision and care. One hundred forty-three attempts had really been ninety-six attempts at the first two potions and forty-seven attempts at this one, most of which ended with me evacuating the room before toxic fumes could dissolve my lungs.
But I'd done it. Hehe boy, it was worth all the pain of failures.
What does it do?
Well, It forces a sleeping devil to get the fuck out of their forced sleep for a week, with full consciousness, complete memories, all their power intact.
The Underworld was filled with sleeping devils.
And this was my key to gain significant benefits, not only financially but in power and security as well. I knew that It should be passed on to someone of higher position whom I could trust and expect no backstabbing.
Giving it to Rias won't do it well. Despite her kindness, she was still bound by her family's political interests. Not through Sona as well, who is sharing the same spot as her fellow rival friend.
I needed someone who could guarantee my safety when things inevitably went sideways. Someone who valued potions over the politics of the Underworld and sees the value in what I could offer, practical enough to overlook my humanity, and ruthless enough to ensure I survived long enough to be useful.
My phone buzzed against the desk, derailing my train of thoughts.
I set down the Styx Touch carefully before checking the message. Sona Sitri's name appeared on the screen with a text that somehow managed to convey formality even through digital communication.
[ Tomorrow, 4 PM. Student Council room. Debriefing regarding the Fallen Angel incident. Bring the fallen angel as well. Attendance mandatory ]
No mention of who else would be present. No explanation of what "debriefing" actually entailed. Just location, time, and an implicit command dressed up as a polite request. Does she not realize all that information was useful? Or either.
There must be higher-ups, then. Had to be. Sona wouldn't pull this kind of formal summons for a casual chat, involving Kalawarner as well. But could it be who I think it would be?
"Bad news?" Kalawarner's voice cut through my analysis, curiosity replacing her exhaustion.
I glanced at her. She'd pushed herself upright in the chair, still waiting for my response to her intuition.
"I've been summoned to a meeting with devils tomorrow regarding the Church incident" I said, watching her visibly flinch at the mention of church "You are also invited to join"
"It seems... I'll be facing punishment for my actions, then" I said nothing, and let her continue "You will protect me from the implications right?..." she said, lowering her arms and fixing me with a look somewhere between hopeful and scared "I can expect it? Now that I am a servant of yours"
"Haha, don't worry. I am more worried about losing you than you are of losing yourself" I replied nonchalantly, as her eyes widened "Having a cook and assistant like you is very hard to come by"
Despite everything, the exhaustion, the coming political shitstorm, the three bottles of concentrated supernatural fuckery sitting on my desk, I smiled in triumph. This was progress on 2x speed.
A week ago, Kalawarner had been arrogant, condescending, and perfectly happy to murder a teenage girl for her Sacred Gear. Now she was comfortable enough to banter and lean over my desk with casual familiarity as she examined the three vials, giving me a clear view down her loose shirt to the curve of cleavage that she absolutely knew I was seeing.
"These are what we've been slaving over?" She reached toward the Hell Claw Surge, then paused, glancing at me for permission before touching.
I nodded.
She picked up the amber vial carefully, holding it up to catch the light.
"What does it do?"
"This one enhances physical capabilities. Speed, strength and reflexes with approximately forty to sixty percent increase for five minutes"
Her expression shifted from casual curiosity to interest in an instant.
"That significant?"
"I've tested it myself while you were asleep last night"
"And would you?..." She set the vial down, meeting my eyes with an intensity that pushed through her exhaustion "Permit me to use something like this?"
"If you prove to be sufficiently useful and prove your loyalty to me" I watched her calculate whether to be offended or motivated by the condition "For a Fallen Angel physiology of yours, it would be a significant rise in your overall strength and it would definitely be higher than my human potential"
I watched the spark of genuine interest replacing fear-driven compliance on her face. She smirked, and for the first time since the church, I glimpsed the confident woman, who'd been arrogant enough to hunt Sacred Gear users previously.
"Then I suppose I'll continue being your lab assistant and maid and whatever else you might require. I would continue to prove my loyalty to you" She bowed to me while giving me a full view of her majestic breasts as she said "You can use me however you wish to~"
I reached out to her as I placed my arm on her shoulder, she looked up to see me, hoping for something like a touch to ease her stress accumulated for a week.
"Get some rest. Tomorrow's going to be complicated and I need you to be sane enough to answer questions without saying something that gets us both in trouble"
Kalawarner's smirk faded into a helpless sigh as if I missed her obvious tease to engage in something fun. She moved toward the door with her ever present grace to her steps, exhaustion buried beneath her supernatural resilience.
She paused at the door with her one hand on the doorframe.
"For what it's worth..." Her voice dropped lower as she faced me with a genuine smile, which I saw for the first time "Thanks. For not simply keeping me as a terrified puppet of yours"
The door closed before I could formulate a response. Probably for the best because I wasn't sure what I would've said anyway.
I turned back to the three vials, alone again with the possibilities of looming political complications.
---
[ Next Day - Student Council Room ]
The Student Council room was opposite to what my room looked like yesterday. Everything was perfectly arranged, from the aligned chairs to the desk where Sona Sitri sat. Behind her stood Tsubaki Shinra, her Queen, silent and watchful like a particularly elegant guard dog.
I settled into the couch across from Sona with Kalawarner taking position slightly behind and to my right. She maintained her human disguise, looking every bit like a secretary rather than the supernatural being who'd tried to murder a nun for her Sacred Gear a week ago.
"Motohama kun" Sona acknowledged with a slight nod, her violet eyes studying me through her glasses with the analytical gaze of someone they are about to rob any moment "Thank you for being punctual"
I nodded as I looked at her in the eyes "Always happy to attend mandatory summons disguised as polite invitations"
Her lips twitched as she gave me a non threatening glare which obviously didn't bother me.
We'd met once before through Rias, enough to establish the basics of acquaintanceship. She struck me as the type who calculated seventeen steps ahead while simultaneously judging whether you were worth the mental processing power. I respected that, even if it made casual conversation feel like a chess match where I was missing half my pieces.
"Shall we start this meeting?" I asked, leaning back into the couch with deliberate casualness "Or is there someone else who'll be present for it?"
Sona's composed expression shifted into something that might have been resignation mixed with anticipation. Behind her, Tsubaki's neutral mask cracked just enough to show what looked suspiciously like preemptive sympathy.
"Yes" Sona said, her tone suggesting the announcement of an incoming natural disaster "The meeting will be conducted in the presence of—"
Brrrr!
An icy blue magic circle erupted on the floor between our couches, intricate patterns swirling with enough magical pressure to make my teeth ache. The temperature dropped a few degrees in an instant, frost crystallizing on the nearest windowpane as power filled the room like someone had opened a portal to the world's fanciest freezer.
The light intensified, brilliant and cold, and then she was there.
Serafall Leviathan materialized in the center of her magic circle, one hand on her hip and the other raised in a peace sign, dressed in what could only be described as a magical girl outfit that had raided a costume shop and won. Frills, ribbons, a skirt that defied several laws of physics and probably a few laws of decency, all in shades of blue and white that matched her power's icy aesthetic. Her twin-tails bounced with enthusiasm that seemed fundamentally incompatible with her status as one of the Four Great Satans.
"Miracle☆Levia-tan has arrived to save the day!" She struck a pose that belonged on a Saturday morning anime, complete with a wink and sparkles that I was ninety percent sure were actual magical effects.
Her blue eyes locked onto me, and her expression shifted from theatrical to genuinely curious in an instant.
I sat frozen on the couch, brain struggling to process several contradictions simultaneously.
This was Serafall Leviathan. Satan. One of the Four Great Satans who ruled the Underworld. A being who could allegedly destroy Japan several times over if she "glittered" too hard.
And she was dressed like a magical girl, striking poses while her sister looked like she wanted to sink through the floor.
I glanced at Kalawarner, who'd gone absolutely rigid beside me, looking at Serafall with the kind of terror usually reserved for apex predators who'd just noticed you exist. At least she knew the gravity of the situation.
Sona's expression had progressed from resignation to what I could only describe as 'please kill me now' levels of embarrassment "Onee-sama, if you could please—"
"Oh, but So-tan, I haven't even introduced myself properly yet!" Serafall spun back toward me, twin-tails whipping through the air with enough force to generate a small breeze "I'm Serafall Leviathan, but you can call me Levia-tan! I handle foreign affairs, which means when someone causes trouble in So tan's territory, I come for rescue!"
'Well' I thought, maintaining my casual posture through sheer force of will and possibly stupidity 'This is either going to go really well or really badly, and I'm not sure why both outcomes seem terrifying'
Serafall's smile widened, and I had the distinct impression she knew exactly this was going to be an interesting evening for her.
The meeting hadn't even started, and I was already questioning every life choice that had led me to this moment.
. . .
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