Disclaimer: All characters depicted in this story are eighteen years of age or older. Any sexual content involves only consenting adults. This is a work of fiction.
A Marvelous Devil.
Chapter 44: Chains.
Kuoh, Japan.
Dante Andromalius.
I ignored the big dragon chained inside the Sacred Gear, looking around at the 'cozy' interior.
It was a prison, all right. Not that I was surprised. I knew how much of a petty bastard Yahweh could be against his enemies.
These weapons were new to me. Something nudged my old memories, but I moved on before recalling it.
Ddraig had seen better days, of that, I was sure of. He died during one of the fights between the angels from heaven, the fallen, and the devils when they had to put their squabbles aside for a moment to defeat him and his rival.
Impressive, to say the least.
He wasn't that impressive under all those chains anymore. His body was held under hundreds, if not thousands, of chains that vibrated with Yahweh's power.
Small trickles of his own power were being funneled by those chains into the ground, where he powered up the sacred gear.
I shuddered with fear as recognition struck. The Sacred Gears reminded me of something.
One of the scariest motherfuckers I had ever met. Someone that I was grateful for once, he fell into a coma after Thor, of all beings fucked with his plans.
Knull. The God of the void that killed a fucking Celestial as soon as he woke up.
And then, he created a weapon that still scared the shit out of me when I was at my peak. I went to great lengths to avoid the rat that stole it.
A fucking Monster, through and through.
I shook off those thoughts. With Thor breaking his link to the symbionts and many cosmic beings ensuring he stayed asleep, he shouldn't be a problem now.
No one wanted him back. Even Mephisto and I agreed on that. I hoped Mephisto kept watch, not tried to control the uncontrollable.
The vast crimson expanse went a long way as I craned my neck and looked at the horizon. Wasted space, but it could be something to tempt Ddraig once our conversation started.
"What are you?" The rough voice that entered my mind took me by surprise.
"Dante Andromalius," I bowed with a flourish, "at your service, Welsh dragon."
"You are no mere devil," he snorted, "what are you?!"
My lips twitched with a hint of pride at being recognized as more than a mere devil, then I frowned.
Why would he notice a difference just by looking at me?
I looked down at my hands, pausing, and let out a light laugh as I realized the obvious.
Of course. This was a soul weapon. My consciousness was here, not my body.
My soul.
But instead of Seere's body, as I expected, almost everything remained the same.
Almost.
How curious. My skin was no longer crimson but pale, like Dante's. Though still taller than him, hints of my new life now painted my soul.
How surprising.
I snapped my fingers. A mirror materialized, and I looked at it, my eyes opening a bit wider.
The red eyes were gone, replaced by the current baby-blue Tandy, oh-so-loved.
My hair wasn't as black as night, either. Instead, it was blonde.
My reflection took the breath out of my body, the horns on top of my head like they were a crown, going surprisingly well with my blonde hair. Seere's face looked at me with an impassive expression.
It was almost funny how little mortality was needed for someone like me to change.
Eons as Seere, eighteen years as Dante, and my soul had blurred more than I expected.
A grin grew on my face as I passed my hand over my head.
"You have my apologies. I didn't expect to be present with my true form, Ddraig," I nodded again. "But I didn't lie. I am Dante Andromalius now. I also am Seere, the Fair One. A demon far away from home."
Ddraig scoffed in confusion. "A demon?"
"I believe we have to thank a mutual acquaintance," I grinned, "But before I start explaining, how… aware of the outside world are you inside this prison?"
"More than usual," a weird expression appeared on his face. "But until my host calls my power for the first time, I can't see through her eyes."
He was cringing about something, making me grin because I suspected it had to do with my friend.
Curiously, he was being truthful.
"Does it have anything to do with something that happened eighteen years ago?"
I barely bit down a cackle, seeing the way his eyes widened in alarm.
"What do you know, demon? Who are you? What are you doing here?"
"Red is an idiot," I nodded. "But do you know why he interfered?"
"You know a lot, demon. More than you should know, which gives it credence that you are not a run-of-the-mill devil. I am willing to hear what you have to say before I decide to kick you out of here."
My lips twitched in amusement at him believing he had a single chance in hell to kick me out if I didn't want to. The gear was weird, and I didn't particularly like being inside, but I was currently hiding from whatever connection it still had with heaven thanks to cosmic power and my own clan trait.
"Red, or Great Red, as you know him, made a deal with me thousands of years ago. I suspect you already have an idea where I came from, no?"
He didn't say anything, but his eyes showed his intellect. He wasn't as dumb as I expected and knew more things than the normal beings I met in this life.
"He had felt foreign signatures paying attention to this world. This reality, to be exact. I was known as a fair demon who, in my world, once, and we reached a… compromise. I knew my days were ending, thanks to some bastard who would toy with Red if they fought inside his domain. The deal was simple: I would help keep this place safe, and he would safeguard my soul until I could remake my body."
"And I suspect something went wrong, demon. Your eyebrow is twitching." Ddraig snorted, plumes of smoke leaving his nostrils.
He was right. It was twitching quite violently.
"Yes, as I said, the lizard is an idiot. But that doesn't matter. The point is that your wielder has the blessing of another entity that is not the one he asked me for help, and he used his flesh to seal it inside of her breast." I snorted at the expression he was making. "Just in case it was malicious."
"We are still in time to prepare against those foes who might attack this world in the future, and your help would be appreciated." I finished calmly.
"But not needed," Ddraig looked at me weirdly.
"As you are? No." I shook my head. "These beings are stronger than Red. That might excite you, but even at your prime, you'd be fodder."
It was plain to see how much it rankled him to hear such words coming out of my mouth.
"Are you calling me weak?!" His voice thundered as chains rattled.
"Yes, you are, Ddraig. These are beings that Red felt were strong enough to risk contacting a demon from another reality altogether to make a deal in hopes it would work. Now, thanks to him, I can't simply fix the issue as I currently am, but I am preparing to grow back to my previous peak and surpass it. I do not fail once I give my word."
Whatever expression I was making made Ddraig shut his mouth with a click.
I looked him up and down. He had potential…
"So, let's make a deal, Ddraig," I smiled. "You will help your host in everything you can. Do everything in your power to bring her talent into the open. She has the flesh of the Dragon of Dreams inside of her, which must have changed her in a significant way. I'm currently unsure how much it is."
"And what do you offer?" He asked softly, a hint of hope in his soul.
It was beautiful.
"What else? Your freedom, Ddraig. The opportunity to fight against beings that make the dragon that punted you into Jupiter look like nothing."
Ddraig winced, and I burst out laughing.
"That being said, there is one more thing I need from you. Keep the talk of the apocalypse away from Isane. We don't know how much her blessing connects her to that entity. It is something I will study as time goes on."
"Can you really do it, demon?" he asked quietly.
"Believing me already? Careful, you might regret it," I said, watching the chains rattle again.
"If the Dragon of Dreams trusts you, who am I to go against him? The fact that he's making moves for something is unprecedented already," Ddraig said seriously.
"I give you my word, Ddraig. That's the most valuable thing I have." I touched the chain with the tip of my finger. "Here, a taste of freedom for a new friend."
The chains began eroding under the cosmic power, the light of Yahweh dimming way too fast for what I was prepared.
I frowned in confusion before shrugging.
His loss, I suppose.
Slowly, one by one, the chains began disappearing into nothingness, and for the first time in who knows how long, the Red Dragon Emperor flapped his wings and roared to the heavens.
I noticed that he had some… weird seals around his soul, but I didn't touch them at the moment.
I didn't want to overwhelm him, nor did I know what hid behind them.
"Are you done already?" I stared blankly at him, my ears ringing from the sound of his roar.
Damn him and his pent-up anger issues.
Ddraig grinned toothily.
"You have an ally for that fight, Demon. I will take care of the welp for you and guide her the best I can," he laughed boisterously.
"Good thing I didn't have to make any threats," I sighed, a small, teasing grin growing on my face, "but just in case."
I flew up to Ddraig's snout, positioning myself in front of his massive eyes and meeting his gaze directly.
"Red says that he will have another 'spar' with you if Isane learns the truth too early," I patted his golden scales, "I suppose you wouldn't want that, eh?"
It was funny seeing a dragon shiver in his place, and I laughed softly once more, watching my changed reflection for the last time in Ddraig's eyes.
"It was fun," I nodded, "but I keep having a bad feeling on the back of my head. I should return to the real world soon. I'll be counting on you, Ddraig."
Before he could do anything more than nod, I disappeared from the sacred gear and looked at my surroundings with a frown.
Was it me, or was it getting unnaturally colder?
Looking at Tandy, Rias, and Sona's shivers, I realized that yes… There was something incoming.
My eyes widened as my enhanced ears heard a sound of air breaking, and the Dark Force exploded out of my body, covering the whole room.
My sight wasn't blocked, but the girls were. They screamed in confusion as their spells tried to materialize and failed as the Dark Force ate everything inside.
Twelve lances thicker than my own torso broke through the window exactly at my direction, and the fog ate them with a wet hiss.
I turned toward the hole in Rias's house in confusion.
It couldn't be… right?
Serafall Leviathan stood in the gap where the wall used to be, her magical girl outfit rumpled and her hair in disarray. She was absolutely furious, her twin tails bouncing as she breathed out heavily.
Her eyes were looking directly at me as she panted in anger. With an expression I hadn't even imagined it was possible in someone so tiny.
She looked like she was about to kill me… I wonder why.
"You," she said flatly.
Her voice was very quiet, almost trembling.
Hehehe.
"You," she panted, taking one step forward.
"Big sister?" Sona looked worriedly at the tiny Satan, focusing on the crazed, veiny eyes.
She probably hadn't slept at all.
Serafall, uncharacteristically, ignored Sona.
"You bastard."
Tandy burst out laughing, barely hiding it with a snort and a cough from her seat on the couch. I didn't have to look at her to know she was muffling her mouth as she looked in mirth, her shoulders shaking as she watched us both.
Rias, Sona, and Isane wisely retreated to the far corner of the room in a group.
At least they had a good survival instinct.
I grinned widely, my teasing eyes focused on the woman.
"Is there a problem, Lady Serafall?" I asked innocently.
She crossed the room in a single blink and grabbed my shirt with both fists before she flung me into another wall, breaking it in the process.
I nodded at Tandy and snapped my fingers to drop a small letter to the girls before the Dark Force consumed us both.
And we hit the walls of the Gusion castle at terminal velocity.
I grunted painfully as I was dragged across the moat like I was a rag, feeling a bit of excitement at the opportunity. The roars of the beasts accompanied the sound of the walls breaking like they were made of paper, despite the impressive wards.
As I was being dragged, I focused on the area with all my senses to make sure no one who shouldn't be here was present. Sensing that Sai, the only crazy bastard that came here regularly wasn't here, I clapped my hands as Serafall tried to cave my head in.
The dark force appeared in front of her fist, and her fist hit her on the back of the head.
She tumbled, and I pushed her with all my might, using wind magic to help me move the overpowered murder engine trying to kill me.
She went flying, a spear of ice materializing in her hand as she stuck it against the wall before she went back to glare at me.
"Did you enjoy the gift, Sera?" I cackled, mostly because Sona wouldn't be off my ass for sending Serafall the video Tandy filmed last night. "You look like you haven't slept much, my dear. Also… why do I feel like you are dehydrated?"
She huffed and puffed, her chest bouncing with her deep breaths as she glared murder at me, ignoring the curious beasts that were getting closer to our location.
"Oh my," I fanned my face with a growing smirk, "Mayhap both sisters are similar in that regard? As you probably know by now, Sona… leaks like a faucet."
My teeth showed as I locked eyes with the frozen Serafall.
"She truly makes her ancestors proud."
Serafall screamed like a beast without intelligence as her demonic power exploded out of her body.
My eyes widened in surprise, seeing the whole place being frozen in the spot in a flash, my own vitals dropping fast, before I spat a glob of hellfire into my body to defrost myself.
"Oy, careful there," I glared at Sera. "You almost harmed Sona's favorite pastime."
She vanished from her place. Not teleporting but pure speed as she crossed the path with her spear pointed directly at my heart.
Before she could close the distance, over five portals appeared between us and five different ultimate class beasts from the territory met their end.
Did I push her too hard? Nah.
"Sona is mine!" she shrieked, taking out the spear from the skull of a gorilla-type beast with a wet plop. "Mine. Mine. Mine!"
She screamed again, and this time the ice didn't just freeze the area. Instead, pillars of ice erupted from the ground to block my line of sight.
It was nice to see that she was still smart even as she fought incensed. She probably suspected that I could only teleport as fast as I was when I saw where I wanted to go.
Cute.
I went up instead, my wings carrying me fifty meters into the air above the sealed zone as her ice remade the landscape below. The beasts that had been circling retreated temporarily… at least the ones smart enough to read the temperature drop as a threat signal.
Most didn't make it. They weren't particularly smart.
From up here, I had a perfect view. Serafall below me, ice spear in hand and scanning for my position with an angry glare. Her eyes were almost shining with how much demonic power was coursing through her body.
I tilted my head. I had a great idea.
I reached out telepathically and sent her something.
A memory. Of last night. Only the sound at first, of Sona's little whines while she gifted me something so precious. Sona saying things that she absolutely would not want anyone but me and Tandy to hear.
Then the image itself, my memory playing in her mind with everything I felt at that moment.
The temperature in the sealed zone dropped even lower as Sera started trembling.
I didn't know if it was because of anger or sheer horniness.
I was already moving when the wave of ice erupted from where she had been standing. The Dark Force wrapped around me and deposited me to her left. My shirt felt wet, but intact, and I landed in a crouch on top of a frozen beast's skull.
"Sona," I called across the distance, "she was quite happy after we finished."
She appeared in front of me so fast that "appeared" was the only accurate word. The spear was already moving.
The Dark Force ate the tip of the spear, leaving it blunted. Even then, it impacted against my chest and sent me flying.
That was close. Closer than I wanted. I had been tracking her eyes all fight, and she had been looking at another place to trick me.
She was a genuinely good fighter.
I backpedaled fast, using telekinesis to grab three of the circling beasts and redirect them into her path. She dealt with them without breaking stride, her ice spear moving in arcs that were genuinely graceful.
At least that gave me a moment of respite.
"You're really trying, Sera," I chuckled in amusement. "Did I do something wrong?"
"I'm going to remove your tongue," she said seriously.
I laughed. "Taking away one of Sona's favorite things in the world?" I shook my head with disappointment. "For shame, Sera. For shame. What would our adorable Sona say?"
The ground between us shattered as serpents made of ice tried to skewer my body.
I was already gone, the Dark Force sliding me sideways and depositing me behind her. I tapped her on the shoulder.
She spun, and I was somewhere else.
"You're not fighting back," she said, turning in a slow circle as she tracked me, eyes sharp despite the fury.
"I don't feel the need to try," I said from her left. "I could harm you, but why would I?"
"Why? What do you want from me?!" she screamed again, her eyes tearing up.
… I went too far with my teasing. I was starting to feel bad.
"Because I to make Sona happy," I said simply. "And Sona loves you, despite how much she denies it. I'm helping us all, while getting everything for myself."
A barrage of ice daggers flew in every direction, trying to make sure I would get hit no matter where I teleported. One impaled my shoulder, and I groaned, pulling it with a wince before healing the cut. The other one hit my calf, and I repeated my movement while shaking my head.
The Dark force returned most of those daggers into Serafall herself, her spear moving faster than I could tell to block all but one that, unsurprisingly, tore her shirt off.
I was starting to love Red's reality, Serafall's impressive bosom hidden by a pink bra.
Damn.
She covered her chest with one hand while brandishing the spear with the other.
I sent her another memory. Sona, cumming her brains out, saying something that would haunt Serafall for weeks.
The ice spear hit the wall behind where I had been standing hard enough to crack the wall like seven monsters hidden behind.
"Stop doing that!"
"Stop being hilarious, my dear," I grinned, already in another place.
I pulled a fair bit of cosmic power into the world.
She adjusted her body when I appeared at her side, my body teleporting the other way as she blocked that one too. The spear froze my skin as it made contact, but I grabbed her ear and pulled.
Grinning, I licked the lob just to keep pushing her.
Then she headbutted me.
I stumbled back, blood coming out of my nose, but I was laughing. Because what the hell else was I supposed to do? The Dark Force swallowed me before I hit the ground, and I appeared on top of a broken wall.
"I deserved that one." I snorted.
I wiped the blood from my nose with the back of my hand; the metallic taste was nice. I had forgotten what my blood tasted like.
"Alright, Sera. I'll help you vent a bit," I murmured.
I didn't move my body, but the world around me started to change. I stopped using the Dark Force to hide, and I used the cosmic power I had been preparing to dictate what I wanted.
The water molecules began vibrating faster and faster, but they stayed solid.
Serafall lunged, her spear a mere blur as she aimed for my throat.
I didn't move this time. I simply reached out and caught the space in front of the spear. With a flick of my intent, I changed the probability of it hitting me. The spear tip didn't stop; it simply slid into a fold of reality, emerging at my side, passing harmlessly through the air where my neck had been a second before.
"What the fuck!" she gapped, spinning in mid-air to retreat.
"Let's see how much you enjoy this, my dear," I smiled.
I clapped my hands, and the sound that came out of it was a thunderclap of pure cosmic authority. This place belonged to me, and I was its God. The ice pillars she had created in the last ten minutes didn't break; they melted at once and without an alert.
I said they were no longer solid, and they obeyed. In a heartbeat, the frozen landscape turned into a fine, sparkling mist that hung in the air.
Serafall gasped, her footing suddenly gone as she plummeted toward the muddy ground of the moat. Before she could recover, I pointed a finger.
"Stay," I commanded.
The mist followed my direction. Like thousands of microscopic hands, the water vapor wrapped around her limbs, hardening back into ice in a fraction of a second. But this wasn't her ice; it was mine, reinforced with a thread of life. She was suspended five meters in the air, spread-eagled in a translucent cage of my design.
She truly had big breasts…
She struggled, her demonic power flaring as she tried to shatter the bonds, but the Cosmic Power just fed on her struggle, growing denser the more she fought.
I drifted toward her, my boots barely skimming the surface of the mist. I stopped just out of reach, watching the way her chest heaved against the tight fabric of her ruined outfit. The pink bra was a stark contrast to the moody grey of the Ashes falling into the castle.
"You're a mess, Sera," I said softly, my voice echoing in the sudden silence. Even the beasts had retreated.
"I'll kill you," she spat, though her eyes were shining with frustrated tears now. "I'll freeze your soul and shatter it into a million pieces."
"In your dreams, Sera." I snorted.
I reached out, my fingers tracing the line of her jaw tenderly.
"You're so focused on what I 'stole' from you that you already forgot the point of all of this," I said, "Did you not enjoy it? You know I can see what you did last night."
Serafall stopped struggling, her gaze locking onto mine.
"I'm helping you," I continued, "As pissed as she will be when she finds out my plan, she'll love it, because she is an adorably kinky devil. You just have to wait. We don't have to be enemies, Sera."
I sent her one last feeling. The feeling of Sona's skin against mine as she professed her love for me.
"You... you bastard," she whispered, but the venom was gone. It was replaced by a raw, naked hunger and pain.
I smiled, patting her hair as she began breathing erratically.
With a thought, the ice bonds vanished. I caught her before she could hit the ground, my arm wrapping around her waist as we descended slowly to the dirt.
"Sona must be worried, Sera. But I'll say something so that she doesn't blame you for the fight," I murmured into her ear, enjoying the way she flinched. "Am I not a good devil for that?"
"You are a bastard," she murmured. "But I'll trust you know what you're doing."
"Of course I know," I rolled my eyes, "if I didn't, I wouldn't have her head over heels for me, idiot. Who knows, if you're a good girl, I might even call you so that you can watch next time."
I was a gracious host and didn't mention how similar her excitement smelled.
"What were you doing with the newly turned devil?" she asked curiously after a minute of silence.
"I was having a talk with Ddraig," I explained calmly, looking at her surprised face and laughing. "Keep it a secret from Rias's parents. They might push the engagement if they learn about it."
Serafall nodded seriously before something passed through her expression.
"I won't ask how you learned that, but… can you interact with any sacred gear?"
I nodded, before making a wave, "I think I can, but there might be some that fight more than most. Shouldn't be a problem, though."
"Including Holy ones?" she asked excitedly, leaving my arms and grabbing my shoulders with an intense expression.
"Yeah? Do you need something? I had plans," I frowned.
She waved her hand, "It's semi urgent," she explained, "but if the person I'm thinking about sweats a bit more, I'll be able to get his undying loyalty."
"You truly are a devil, my dear," I grinned. "Call me when you're ready. I'll do you a freebie."
The Dark Force consumed Sera and dropped her inside my castle. She could grab something from Tandy to wear if she wanted.
As for me? I had a date to prepare for.
If you'd like to support me and read up to FIVE chapters ahead, you can find me on pat * e*n . com (slash) Infinityreads99 Heads up: I post chapters fully edited, but I sometimes make minor tweaks before they go live here. Thanks for reading!