Extravaganza Interlude #2 (9.5)

Talya was panicking, her charge was abducted by Devils! She should have gone with Iori to run with her, but she had prioritized putting on defenses on the house and now this happened? Lady Yasaka was going to kill her!

Iori was strong, more than Talya anticipated and from seeing the videos of her in action, but the girl was completely defenseless against esoteric magic such as curse and hexes. Talya whispered an analysis spell and the result came in immediately, it was really Devil magic.

The tanuki girl captured the mana signature for identification purposes and imprinted it on a quartz crystal. Next Talya took her smartphone and contacted her employer. She heard the tonality three times before the recipient of her call accepted the call. 

“Hello. My Lady?”

The rich and mellifluous voice of the leader of Kyoto replied, “Ah, Talya. I’m surprised to hear about you so soon. Your report was scheduled for this weekend isn’t it?”

Talya hesitated for an instant, gulped loudly and said, “Ma’am, Iori was… taken.”

There was silence on the line for a moment before Talya heard the nine-tails’ voice explode, “I beg your pardon?!”

Talya cringed as she put the smartphone away from her ear. She began to narrate what happened. “Four devils attacked her on her way home while I was crafting the defenses around her home. Iori was actually winning, but they started using some curse magic on her which restrained and weakened her and they knocked her out.”

Lady Yasaka’s voice was cold as she demanded to know, “Why didn’t you intervene or help her?”

Talya immediately justified herself, she might be brave, but she wasn’t suicidal. “I arrived at the tail end of the fight, just as she got captured and… the guy who looked in charge was at least an ultimate class, my Lady. If I had joined the fray, you wouldn’t even know that she’s been taken…”

Crack.

Talya could only hear the disconnect tone at her left ear. With a frown on her face, she asked herself, “What just happened?”  

The office looked like the study of a King, the pillars supporting the room and the tiles were black marble veined with silver. The lighting consisted of a combination of fire magic crystal and mundane LED lights. However the austere and luxurious ambience was spoiled by all the posters and shelves filled with magic magical girl figurines.

The attractive and sensual figure of a twin tailed and blue Eyed young woman physically in her late teen sat behind a desk where she was working on her computer. She was Serafall Leviathan, the Satan who was in charge of Foreign Affairs.

Serafall checked her schedule for the second time. Two hours left till she can go back to her lair and watch the first episode of that new upcoming anime, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, coming straight from Usagi-studio. The door of her office opened and one of her maids entered, pushing a cart full of her favorite food.

The Satan stood up and danced toward the cart, the maid finally handing her a platter full of vanilla cookies. “Thank you Irene! You're the best!”

The wannabe magical girl started to scarf down the food as if someone was about to steal it from her. The stylish and purple haired maid slightly bowed her head to Serafall as she said, “I live to serve. Please call me if you want anything more consistent, you know how you should eat more balanced.”

“Cough. Cough.” Serafall choked on a cookie and beat on her chest with a hand.

Irene, her maid, handed her a milk filled glass that the Satan gulped down with relish. Not choking on the vanilla cookie she had been eating. She glared at the maid and said, “Not you too, Irene! Sona and Mom keep saying that too…” 

Serafall was happy to have brought Irene under her; she was originally her nursing maid and completely loyal to her. Irene was also motherly and took care of her for the last five hundred years. With a sigh, the maid said in a worried tone, “You know that we're worried about you… if it wasn't for me, you'd starve and crumble under the weight of your work.”

Serafall handed the glass to the maid who gracefully placed it back on the cart. The Satan smiled warmly at Irene. “And I am grateful that you're here with me! I swear, I should have lost that duel against Grayfia for this position! Why did I ever want to be a Satan anyway?”

The maid straightened her glasses with a hand, momentarily making them shine in an eerie pale light. “Don't you remember, Lady Leviathan? You wanted to crush those idiots in the Great King faction under your heel.”

Serafall clicked her tongue as she remembered how petty and vindictive she'd been when the Devil Civil War had happened; many of her good friends have been killed or disappeared. There was also the fact that she had her suspicion about the Sleeping Disease being Devil-made and Zekram and his cronies were responsible for it. It all added up when they came and divided the assets of the people sleeping and wasting away between the members of the Great King faction.

The Satan never lost an opportunity to humble that particular faction, too bad Sirzechs was a softie… “Ah! Yeah! I remember now. It was so good to be able to tell Zekram to fuck off the first ten years.”

“I am with you there, they need to be broken up for the Underworld to truly change.” Irene said confidently.

The office was warded, that is why the maid could say such things without repercussions. The opening of the Sailor Moon anime rang into the air; Serafall's head veered on the vibrating pink smartphone with blue and yellow stars on its back.

Serafall walked up to her desk, took her phone and checked the ID caller. It was Yasaka, one of her friends; she smiled and said with her usual enthusiasm, “Hello, hello! This is the great and beautiful magical Levi-Tan~”

Yasaka's voice was cold, devoid of the nine-tails playful tone as she said matter of factly, “Serafall, if you want to avoid a state of war between the Devils, West Yokai faction and the Shinto Pantheon you'll listen carefully.”

Serafall felt a hole open up in her stomach while also feeling the Reaper's scythe resting on her neck. “Yasaka-chan, what's wrong?”

Yasaka began her tale by speaking about how a sacred gear user named Usagiyama Iori had saved her daughter, Kunou from the cult of Hagoromo Gitsune. This Iori girl then proceeded to help Yasaka when it was time to cull the cult and make them pay. Serafall could empathize with the nine-tails, if someone tried that with her Sona, she'd go on a murder spree.

It seemed that this Usagiyama was a powerful sacred gear user who killed a great number of enemy cultists and their allies. The cultists had the True Longinus, Dimension Lost and another nondescript sacred gear bearer amongst them. 

Their presence learned the table on Yasaka's strike force, even succeeding in imprisoning the nine-tails in a pocket dimension and continuing to slaughter her force until they were all taken out by this Iori girl who used her Balance Breaker and killed them, idiots, one by one.

Serafall was surprised that there was even a video of the altercation. 

*Chainmail Bikini is so… 80s era.* Serafall thought in her heart; at the same time, she forwarded the video to Ajuka, her fellow Satan. 

Something told Serafall that this Iori girl was trouble. The girl was fast, powerful and had good technique; the Satan judged her to be in the upper tier of a high class in power. Still… her balance breaker was quite indecent. But to any other male Devil she would a great catch- *Oh no! No, no, no, no, no! Please, I hope they didn’t get her!*

Yasaka finished narrating her adventure of why that Iori girl was under her protection by saying, “Usagiyama-san is a Beloved Ally of the Western Yokai faction after she has saved and rendered service to us.”

Serafall gulped, this wasn't one of those normal calls she usually received because some devil didn't pay a bill or started killing people randomly. This was a diplomatic incident that could start a war and terminate all commercial accords between Japan and the Devils faction. No more anime, no more manga, the buying of certain ingredients for medicines coming from Japan and its satellite islands would become unavailable, the hotels or other business that devils possess on Japanese soil would be confiscated and given to Yokai and Magicians affiliated with the Western Yokai. 

It was with trepidation that Serafall asked, “W-what happened to that girl? Why are you threatening war over her?”

Yasaka finally went to the point. “One of yours assaulted and kidnapped her in her hometown. The bodyguard that I've hired for Usagiyama-san has recorded the altercation and secured a sample of the magical signature of the one who absconded with her.”

Serafall closed her eyes; her fears now realized; she suspected that it was what had happened. Yasaka even had recorded proof.  “He or she must have seen the recording of her battling those other sacred gear users and decided that he wanted the girl in his peerage…”

Ding! Serafall saw that she received an email with attachments on her computer. Moving around the desk, Serafall, clicked on it and saw that the mana wavelength and video of the perpetrator had been forwarded to her. 

Yasaka continued to speak on the phone and gave Serafall an ultimatum. “That better not happen, Serafall. Two days, you have two days to get her back home and safe, if not… all agreement and partnership between our people are void.”

Click. The nine-tails disconnected the call unceremoniously. Serafall looked at the video Yasaka had sent to her on the computer and once again, the Satan bore witness to Usagiyama Iori wrecking who ambushed her. She then proceeded to leave those two devil women half dead before… a third devil woman appeared and decided to cheat and won thanks to some kind of nasty curse magic and knocked the girl out with a touki reinforced hit of her sword’s guard. Next a man teleported two minutes later and proceeded to creepily look at and touch Usagiyama, then went to heal the other two devil women after the third one attracted his attention.

Serafall zoomed in on the male devil’s face and after some time… she recognized him. This man was the heir to the Devil House of Andrealphus which has the marquis rank; a devil affiliated with the Great King faction. Once again, Serafall regretted that Sirzechss had stayed her hand in eliminating them completely.

The Satan Leviathan stood up, grabbed her hat and threw it on the ground in anger; she began stomping on it as she yelled, “Fuck! Fuck! All those Bastards Kings and everyone of their group keep making my job difficult! I will fucking kill that asshole!”

Irene stared at her placidly while her mistress was getting her bearing and let out her frustration. When Serafall was done panicking, she glared at her maid and ordered, “Call Sirzechss, Irene. We have a situation!”

Serafall was going to fix this! She must!

# # #

A suave, manly and enchanting voice rose in the air, accompanied by an engaging, yet romantic music. The one playing it was Sirzechs Lucifer, the Satan who was in charge of Domestic Affairs. Once upon a time, Sirzechs had wanted to become a musician; but fate conspired against him, relegating his talent with the piano to a mere hobby he used to relax and destress to shed away from the pressuring life of a Satan.

There were moments when he regretted having taken on that role, but everyone, like Zekram Bael, who wanted it would have brought them right back to the time before the Civil War and there were too many sacrifices made and dear friends lost for that to happen.

Sirzechs has been struggling to balance strength and benevolence ever since he ascended as a Satan. His enemies were taking advantage of his perceived kindness to work around him and make things more complicated for the Devil citizenry. One day, Sirzechs would usher in the fall of everyone who had put roadblocks on the destiny of their entire race, they would plead and beg for forgiveness, and he will be there manning the guillotine and watch their heads roll with a firm nod and a smile.

But for now, Sirzechs will endure until he finds a good replacement and goes to retirement with his wife, daughter and son. His eyes fell on the framed photograph on top of his piano. There was him and Grayfia standing up and his teenage daughter, Mio, and his little boy, Milicas. A proud smile sprouted on his lips, he was the happiest devil in the Underworld. 

Knock. Knock. However, someone decided to interrupt his little ‘me’ time.

Sirzechs’ hands stopped moving on the piano's keyboard and he intoned, “Enter.”

The Satan delicately closed the piano and turned toward the entrance of his office.

A well groomed and dressed skinny man in his late twenties with sharp eyes and long and slightly wavy hair which is a mixture of black and blond appeared at the solid mahogany doors. His name is MacGregor Mathers, Sirzechs’ Bishop and  one of the founders of the Magicians association: the Golden Dawn who has chosen to join his peerage some hundred years ago.

“My lord, Lady Leviathan is asking for you.” Samuel bowed slightly, as he posed like a butler addressing his master.

Sirzechs rolled his eyes, his wife was a bad influence on his peerage, forcing them to often dress like maids or butlers. “Samuel, you know that I don't like being interrupted when I play…?”

Samuel bowed lower. “My excuses, Lord Lucifer, but Lady Serafall said that it was important.”

“Very well, I will go meet her right now.” Sirzechs hoped that the important business wasn't one of her new movies that he would have to beta-watch for her. Serafall's priorities were skewed…

Sirzechs stood up from the small bench connected to his piano, his cape whipped behind him and bellowed to an unseen breeze as he walked up to his office's entrance. Once he reached Samuel, Sirzechs was quickly teleported before Serafall's office doors.

Waiting for them was Irene, Serafall's personal maid. She bowed to Sirzechs and opened the door to her mistress’ office. When he entered, Sirzechs was shocked by what he was seeing; waiting on the small sofa was an armored and ready to kill Serafall. It was like being back 500 years in the past in the Civil War; Sirzechs’ friend stared grimly at him.

Sirzechs blinked and in an instant he saw Serafall amidst annihilated frozen cities - covered in the burning blood from her ceaseless slaughter of hundred of thousand Devils, as she turns to lock eyes with him, piercing his gaze with all the boundless wrath and malice and frustration unleashed upon their foes. This battle hardened Sera superimposed with glimmers of that same look in Serafall's serious mien in the present. 

Gone was the compromising the happy-go-lucky play-pretend magical girl, here was the unyielding force of utter devastation Sirzechs had shed ocean of blood with. “Sera?”

*But for her to wear that armor... this is something so 'important' that The Leviathan brought it to my attention rather than just Sera.* Sirzerchs found himself with a gaping pit of dread forming in his gut as he thought this.

“Zechs, you're here. Read this!” His friend slid a touchscreen tablet on the low table before her for Sirzechs. 

Walking up to the small lounging area where Serafall sat, the red headed Satan took the device and read the content already highlighted by his friend. As he started scrolling up and read about the situation, an annoyed expression slowly appeared on Sirzechs’ face.

When he was done reading, he asked Serafall, “Please Sera, tell me that this is one of your pranks.” Because the loss of a friendly faction and its benefits would be bad. There was also the loss of reputation that abducting an ally of someone devils have a friendly relationship with would do; all their current contracts and agreements with other factions and partners could be put in doubt.

With a fake smile, Serafall said, “Nope, Zechs.” She emphasized the ‘P’ of the nope and she continued saying, “That bastard Rufus really fucked us hard and without lube.”

The Satan Leviathan stood up, her armor clanking a bit as she moved. “Come with me to the Andrealphus territory, put on your white knight armor, we need to go get the princess and slay the Dragon keeping her prisoner.”

Sirzechs hated the analogy, but it was apt; he put the tablet on the low table, and turned to his Bishop. “Samuel, call Souji and you'll come with us as well.”

“At your command, my Lord.” A small blue magic circle manifested next to Samuel’s left ear as he used communication magic.

There was a knock at the door, the maid opened it and here was Okita Souji, Sirzechs' Knight and former 1st squad captain of the Shinsengumi. He wears the traditional Shinsengumi uniform, which consists of a haori and hakama over a kimono, with a white cord called a tasuki crossed over the chest and tied in the back.

“Greetings.” The black haired man made a formal bow.

Serafall waved at him cheerfully. “Welcome, Souji-kun! Okay, now everyone is here? Yes, I will teleport us all to the Andrealphus territory.”

 With a wave of her hand, a light blue magic circle with the Sitri emblem materialized under everyone's feet. Sirzechs saw how hurried the actions of his friend were as she said, “I hope she hasn't been reincarnated yet.”

They all reappeared in the Underworld’s night sky, deploying their wings to fly. When they looked down at what was happening under them, they weren't ready for what they were witnessing. Devils fleeing the castle and its surrounding as a tide of dark creatures of all sizes were attacking them. The cries for help and anguish pierced Sirzechs heart as many perished as those monsters teared into the people of the Andrealphus’ territory.

The red headed Satan was about to go help them when a wave of divinity exploded from the Andrealphus palace, destroying it as orange light speared from it, reaching the Underworld’s ceiling and illuminating the entire region, turning night into the sunset. Lethal heat spread over the mountain the palace was built on, the rocks flash-melting and turning into lava. In the light flying was a winged and multi-armed girl in… audacious silver armor leaving nothing to imagination.

In her hand she was grabbing someone by the neck, it was a half naked man who was struggling. Sirzechs heard Serafall comment, “Huh, the Princess didn’t need saving… but, the people in this territory might need it against her.”

Sirzechs doubted that girl was human at all, there was no way that she was using a sacred gear; from the divine aura exuding from her, it looked like the girl was more of a deity and it wasn’t good. 

“You’re right… Sera.”

# # #
This is the ringtone music xD

Extravaganza 9

# # #

Issei heard a scuffle happening behind the toilet's building, then he moved to go see what the fuss was about only to see Iori-san keeping Nanami in a hold.

Gasp. “Iori-san, Nanami… what are you doing?”

The two girls froze as they saw him look at them with a shocked expression on his face, a cool breeze blowing on them. Iori-san let go of Nanami and stood up, the black haired girl slowly stepping back from the brunette and said, “I had to subdue her, she attacked me.”

“You won't get my brother, you hussy!” Nanami stood up from the grassy ground and pointed her finger at Iori.

Iori didn't get angry, she just smiled and looked into Issei’s eyes as she said, “Your sister is rather protective of you, Hyoudou-kun.”

The contrast between the two was like night and day, Iori being the more mature between them. It was easy for Issei to make a decision. “Nanami, I think you should go back home.”

Nanami's eyes widened as she insisted, “What?! No, Issei, she’s not what she seems… she-”

Before she could continue, Issei said with all the pain she had given him for the last fifteen years, “Between my sister who constantly scorns me and the girl who listens to me and builds me up, who do you think I’m going to take the side of?”

Nanami stumbled back, shock on her face, then tears appeared in her eyes as she was confronted with the consequences of her actions over the years. She turned heel and ran away. Issei noticed how Iori looked worriedly at him and with pity at Nanami. However, the black haired girl came to him as he was crying himself; and Issei didn't know why.

Iori hugged him and patted his back, “It's okay, everything will be alright.”

Issei held onto her for dear life; he loves that girl and he will never let go.

{That human is bold, holding onto you like that.}

I laughed internally while hugging onto Issei. *Don't be jealous, Witchblade. He is just a bit clingy.*

{Are you blind? He is infatuated with you.}

I froze for one second, this news wasn't exactly unwelcome; no wonder Nanami thought that I wanted his Longinus. She thinks that I am like canon Raynare, about to traumatize her twin brother after honey-trapping him. I let go of the boy, I needed time to think; issei did the same, blushed and stepped away from me.

“Are you okay now?” I asked with a small smile.

The brown haired boy avoided looking at me in the eyes while he scratched his right arm in embarrassment. “Y-yeah, thank you for the hug, Iori-san.” 

I nodded. “You're welcome, Issei-kun.” Then I asked him hesitantly, “Say… You'll make up with your sister, right? I don't want to become a point of contention between you two.”

Issei’s face became more neutral as he said, “I'm not in the mood for it.”

Ah, it wasn't going to happen right away. Still I added my opinion about the situation. “She wanted to protect you from the big bad Iori. She must not be that bad of a person. Do you want me to help?”

Issei smiled back at me, and yeah… damn he was really handsome with his boyish looks. “Thank you for the offer, but I will let her cool off for a week and maybe if she apologizes, I will forgive her.”

It sounded reasonable to me. “Alright…” I turned toward the nearest track in the park. “So, wanna go for a run?”

The boy literally teleported to my side. “I almost thought you wouldn't ask! Let's go!”

As we were supposed to, we went to do our usual routine in the park; Issei was still a bit more subdued than usual though.

# # #

(Hyoudou Miki)

Miki wasn't used to seeing Nanami cry. But she did see her eldest return home crying and sequestered herself in her room. Didn't she go to meet that Iori girl with Issei? Something must have happened.

It was while she was busy cooking dinner in the kitchen that Miki learned what was going on; when Issei came back he told her what happened. Nanami attacked Issei’s girlfriend because she wanted to prove that she was deceiving him.

Miki sighed in exasperation. Once again, Nanami took unilateral action and got burned for her trouble. Issei’s girlfriend defeated her handily, without causing Miki's daughter damage.

“Iori-san was more worried about Nanami than I was.” said issei who was sitting at the dining table. 

Miki had evaluated that girl well. “Ara, despite herself being assaulted by her? What a great girl.”

Issei gave Miki a huge smirk. “I know right? She's the best, and so kind!”

The Hyoudou matriarch thought that her son had fallen in love hard. Miki was still proud of the fact that her son was controlling himself and was being productive thanks to that girl. “When are you inviting her over? I want to meet her!”

Issei sighed, because Miki had been hounding him about meeting Iori. It wasn't the first time for her to allude to meeting the girl. “Mom… if I bring her here, you'll scare her off. I need to also ask her out for real, okay?”

Miki almost let the plate she was wiping fall, she put it back in the dishwasher and turned, she looked at her son with a shocked expression.  “Issei!? You didn't lock her down yet? Are you waiting for another boy to steal her from you?”

Issei bristled at that question. “Mom! That's…”

Miki walked up to the table and slapped her hand atop it. “Stop sleeping on your current laurels and ask her out.”

Issei's cheeks reddened as his mother was actually urging him to do what he wanted to. “Fine, fine! I will when the time is good.”

Miki sighed. “Foolish boy! What did I expect, your father took 2 years to ask me out… did you know that I had to Invade his own apartment to-”

Issei stood up, stopping Miki from continuing to speak. “MOM! I don't want to hear how you and dad started going out! Ugh, he already told me… and I can't believe you were this daring when you were younger…”

Miki smiled. “Ah, Gorou told you! It was such a good time… did I tell you before how our first date went? It happened like this…”

Issei sat back and started hitting the table with his head. “Please kill me…”

Miki laughed, she loved embarrassing her kids.

(Selene)

As she followed her target through the use of her familiar, Selene had been surprised to see that Usagiyama already has a paramour. A normal human of similar age; he wasn't as handsome as Selene's King of course. The blonde reincarnated devil couldn't fathom what the powerful girl saw in that brown haired boy. Foolish girl, she should only get a partner of equal or superior ability than her.

It is a matter of safety after all. Selene watched as the girl power walked through town to reach her house. The blonde reincarnated devil was impressed by the discipline of the girl; all the time she saw her, Usagiyama was training. *No wonder she is so strong… for a human.*

It was almost time, the ambush would happen midway to Usagiyama's walk home. There was a disused lot between her home and market that was often deserted. Miriam and Sophia, her King's knights, will be waiting there for Usagiyama.

The girl stopped midway to do several things, such as tie up her shoelaces, buy a bottle of water from a vending machine or help an old grandma pass on the road. It was maddening, the girl kept making detours, until finally she stopped just short of the area where the two knights were waiting.

The shift in the girl's stance was abrupt, she went from happy go lucky to killer in a blink. Her sacred gear in the form of a silver gauntlet immediately  covered her entire arm while shredding the entire right sleeve of her hoodie.

“Why don't you come out and attack me already?” Usagiyama said loud and clear for all to hear.

*She knew!? How?*

“Miriam. Sophia. Attack!” Selene found herself saying urgently.

(Usagiyama Iori) 

I've been feeling eyes on me for a while, in fact, it was since I came back from Kyoto. The presence that I felt had been grating on my nerves and I have had enough of them! I arrived at that empty lot, there was nothing there; but my instincts told me that something bad was going to happen. 

“Why don't you come out and attack me already?” I said out loud as twin stiletto daggers appeared in my hands, they were summoned by the Witchblade. 

I wasn't surprised when two women appeared out of glowing magical circles. One was a brunette, another was a redhead; they were both attractive and sporting a set of four wings each. The redhead had a giant sword in hand and looked like an Erza Scarlet expy with a bitchy face. As for the brunette? She sported a spear with a red blade, and the expression on her face looked like she was a psycho.

For fuck sake’s, are the crazies after me now? They answered my internal question by lunging at me. Strangely, the one with the cumbersome giant sword was the fastest; I dodged the overhead swing she tried to hit me with by stepping back one meter.

I climbed on her sword, ran along the back of the blade and kneed the Erza expy in the face. The satisfying crunch of her nose was music to my ears. 

“Shit! By nose!” The redhead held onto her broken nose, blood flowing down her face.

Feeling someone coming behind me, I used the Erza rip off as a shield by placing her between me and the brunette spearwoman targeting my legs. Erza avoided being stabbed in the thigh by deflecting the spear’s head with her sword.

“Be careful, Sophia!” The Erza expy shouted.

The brunette named Sophia simply glared at the other woman. “You're in the way, Mimi!”

*Ah they're more experienced than I thought. Monks would have killed each other already.* I thought with disappointment. 

They turned toward me and attacked together; time slowed down for me and I ran toward the spear user, Sophia. She smirked savagely at me and tried to stab me with her spear, only for me to catch it and crush the binding between the spearhead and the shaft with my gauntlet.

The spearman looked in shock as the blue spear was rendered useless. She looked at me in hatred as she shouted, “You bitch! That's my fav’ spear!”

Switching into a conventional guard with the rear hand near my rear cheek; I placed my lead hand about 10 from my lead cheek and then chambered a punch to hit the one called Sophia right in the face. Pow! Crack!

The brunette held onto her nose that bled profusely. “Bah noshe!”

The redhead on my other side screamed, “What's with you and breaking our noses?!”

I tilted my head and smiled chastely. “Interesting, I think I enhance your looks.”

The brunette haired female devil stared at me in silent shock, her face then suddenly becoming distorted with wrath. “That's it, I'm killing her!”

“No! Sophia!” The redhead, Miriam yelled as the brunette went super saiyan with her hair becoming spiky and white. There was a white halo surrounding her which caused the Witchblade to swell my own power and don me with the basic bikini armor under my clothes as it recognized her threat.

*Oh, that girl has been holding back.* I found myself thinking. 

Still, she was weaker than even Cao Cao… I took a deep breath, expanding my lungs to intake as much air as possible and started the process of enhancing my physical traits and capabilities. *Total concentration breathing.*

The brunette ran toward me, moving slowly, her footsteps creating craters on the concrete surface of the empty lot. To anyone weaker than her, this Sophia girl must be blindingly fast in this battle form… but not to me. That's how enhanced my senses were, even more so when I used touki, my life force energy.

Sophia was upon me while performing a roundhouse kick supposed to hit me in the left flank. When the heel of her foot was supposed to collide with my ribs, I went slack, relaxing my body and absorbing the kick with my hand.

Be like water, be formless and redirect the energy of the enemy to themselves. I used the kinetic energy and the touki Sofia clearly used against me against her by hitting her solar plexus with my own technique.

Circle Palm Wave, it sends a spiral energy wave through the target's body, bypassing their armor and damaging their innards. 

“Aaaggh!” The devil called Sofia flew ten meters backward and landed on the ground, cracking it. Just as I sent the brunette away, I felt the air behind me moving.

I subconsciously threw an instant, powerful reverse back kick behind me. The Erza wannabe got her sternum cracked as I sent her flying as well. Her giant sword fell into my hand, handle first. I used Soru to move instantaneously next to the redhead and swung the sword downwards to finish the job and kill her. 

Kiiin! But before the blade could meet the redhead forehead, a silver blade stopped my swing. The blade was attached to a rapier and the weapon was held by a beautiful and tall blonde woman.

“Could you not?” She asked with an annoyed tone.

I frowned. “Who-” Before I could finish my sentence the ground under me glowed with blue light and a magic circle appeared.

On my wrist glowing blue manacles appeared and chains linked to the magic circle manifested. I tried to break them, but they changed audibly and resisted my full power. I felt as if something was sucked out of me! “Argh! What the-?”

The woman stared at me with disdain. “Don't make it more difficult than it has to be, Usagiyama-san.”

With a raise of my hand, I was about to shoot her with a pyroblast, and skewer her with a metal snake whip construct when the woman must have sensed my intention and hit me with another magic by holding her glory hand toward me. “Sleep.”

She dodged the pyroblast and the snake whip easily before I felt the effect of the spell she hit me with. My vision blurred and I fell on my knees as I felt a wave of exhaustion. I tried to shake it off and I almost succeeded when the woman used the guard of her rapier to punch me and all I saw after that was black.

Andrealphus the 54th noble devil house, with a rank of Marquis in the Underworld. Its members have the ability to turn men into birds and the ability to make men subtle in all things pertaining to mensuration. Rufus was by crook and by hook the last heir of this house, not counting his half sister Corianna which has been taken in as the concubine of that failure of the Bael house.

Then his father and mother contracted the sleeping sickness simultaneously; leaving Rufus angry at the world for this injustice.

Rufus has always been careful and a schemer; he does whatever he likes as long as it pleases him in some way. Rufus preferred to use manipulation  and assassination, black mail and a fair usage of the true tried method of the carrot and the stick.

That is how he has started to build his harem with the intention of going far in the Rating Game and obtaining a sponsorship into the Great King's faction. He had started with his Selene, she was a Magic-Warrior specializing in cursed and supportive magic to buff herself and her allies and weaken her enemies. Selene is an intelligent and resourceful woman that he won over by working on seducing her for years and she became Rufus’ lover and partner in crime after having made a deal to destroy her enemies. 

The second one to enter his peerage was his Sofia. She is Rufus’ first knight; she is a warrior from a renowned Norse magical bloodline descended from Tyr, a war god. Converting her into a devil had cost him his precious knight mutation piece. Sophia was well worth this cost as she was Rufus’ main fighter. She trained constantly to be able to master her enhanced form and was able to punch beyond her weight class.

Then there was Rufus’ Miriam, she herself was a descendant of the Dagda; an important god in the Irish pantheon associated with fertility, agriculture, manliness and strength, as well as magic, druidry and wisdom. Miriam was a rather free, passionate and sexual person; originally she was from a family steeped in mystery and the supernatural in a rural portion of northern-ireland until she left for life in the big city to be… an athlete.

She succeeded in her dream and was about to join the olympics until a tragic accident happened to her and robbed her of her dream as she became paraplegic. An accident that he staged, of course; he sweeped in after that and offered her a place in his peerage and like he thought after showing her some feat of magic she took on his offer.

Of course… Miriam didn’t need to know that. Rufus was ecstatic, he caressed the cheek of his new acquisition. Usagiyama Iori was an especially beautiful young woman. Her sleeping face was even more kissable; he couldn’t wait to shape her into his creature like he did with the others in his peerage.

Rufus stood up and threw his head back. “Hahahahha! Just as planned!” 

Selene chose this moment to come near him as she finished taking care of her sister-wives. Rufus stepped forward and kissed her cheek. “You did good, Selene.”

The blonde rolled her eyes. “At great cost. Usagiyama is stronger than us combined.”

Wasn’t that a surprise? His new asset was powerful; Rufus needed to put a leash on her right away. But before that, Selene put a hand on his shoulder and said with reprimand in her tone, “My King, please heal Sophia and Miriam, I've already stabilized as much as I could.”

“Yes we don't want to lose them, it would be rather sad, a life without them, I cannot fathom it.” Rufus walked briskly toward each of his women and fished a box with two Phials of Phenex tear in it from the hidden pocket of his jacket.

Rufus used mouth to mouth to feed the tears to each of his peerage members; he had started with Miriam, she was the calmest and would help him contain Sophia who might try to kill his new Queen. Sophia was saved in the brink of time, but fortunately stayed unconscious. Miriam loaded her sister-wife on her shoulder and Selene did the same with Usagiyama Iori.

Then they left, teleporting back to the underworld with their prize; however they should have been more mindful of their surroundings as a certain Tanuki girl had seen the tail end of all that had happened. She wasn’t strong enough to fight against the devils, but she used her phone to take pictures of them and would call on her employer…