Chapter 6: Birthday Party (1)
It was Sunday morning, the birds were chirping energetically outside as the sun bathed everything under its light...
The day had finally come
Grayfia was in the Great Hall preparing for it, while waiting for the other temporary servants that were hired. Emphasis on 'temporary'.
The Lord of the mansion, on the other hand, was busy strolling around the far left of the mansion. He wasn't particularly excited for the party
Now don't get him wrong!
He was indeed excited to meet the other characters, and to celebrate another birthday in this world with Grayfia.
The day and the occasion itself meant nothing special to him....at least before coming here
Back in his previous life, this day was as ordinary as any other day.....
Speaking of his previous life, what would he have been likely doing this day back there, if he had never gotten hit by that truck?
At home lazing around maybe?
Perhaps playing some video games?
Doing some other work?
Loitering around in the streets or some park?
Or just doing something else entirely?
.....Whatever it was that he would have been doing...there would have been one thing that would be common in all of those scenarios.....
....He would have been all alone...
This day meant nothing to him, he had no one to celebrate it with..
...He didn't let anyone celebrate it....
It was his fault to be honest, he wasn't willing to get close to anyone, those who were willing he pushed away....He was afraid of attachment....afraid of loosing someone else again...
...but no more
He had someone now....someone precious to him, and there may be more in the future.... He wasn't going to be alone any more
Flashes of his parents crossed his mind making him clench his fists, "Never again.....I will never let anyone get stolen from me again.."
That was the last....
....and final time
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An adorable young boy with beautiful silky black hair, was leaning against a wall in a huge empty room. In the centre was a beautiful silver-haired maid that was busy drawing some complicated runes on the floor in a circular pattern.
Finished inscribing the last rune, she stood up and stepped back to look at her work.
She glanced at the sheet in her hands, and once again looked at the runes before nodding to herself in satisfaction.
"Young master everything is ready," The maid said calmly as she turned to face him, before hesitating and saying in a tone full of worry and uneasiness, "....Young master, are you sure about this? It is absolutely fine if you do not want to do this. Even though I say I want you to be strong and honour the Barbatos clan, your well-being and safety is, and always will be my top priority."
Rituals were always dangerous and most of them had many nasty side effects. An old ritual like this, that was never heard off and apparently had 'no side effects' seemed very suspicious. They couldn't even test it on anyone, as in theory, it only worked on the direct descendants of the Barbatos clan.
Even though the ritual was approved by Yamamoto, the founder and creator, they couldn't help but be cautious. Even minor rituals that were easy to prepare could easily go wrong.
The ingredients used in ritual were a bit pricy but nothing infront of the total wealth of the clan, the main ingredient was the divine blood remaining in the user's body anyway.
Theoretically this could be used on a Lucifer but Diablo wasn't sure if it could work for the Lucifuge clan.....More research was needed to be sure
"Remember this Young master, even though I hold great respect towards the Barbatos clan and have immense gratitude towards them, and that I will always be there to aid them in any of their circumstances... but... my loyalty towards them only comes second to my loyalty towards you....If I ever had to choose between the two, I would choose you without any hesitation," Said the maid firmly with absolute seriousness.
Diablo eyes raised his brows in surprise at what he heard, before a fond smile took a place on his face, "Don't worry Fia, nothing will happen....I want to gain strength not just for my clan but to protect my loved ones as well...and t-that includes you.." Reassured Diablo but got slightly flustered at his wordings at the end.
He shook his head before continuing, "....Even if I'm currently weaker than you, I'll grow stronger.....much stronger.....stronger than you.....stronger that the current Satans.....stronger than Grandpa Yamamoto.....stronger than the Biblical God, than Ophis.... and even the Great Red....I WILL be the strongest," He said passionately and determinedly as he clenched his fist.
He didn't know what laid infront them. The only guarantee of safety for him and the ones around him....was to gain strength.....
The strength to crush them all
Grayfia's eyes misted a bit hearing him, but she quickly collected herself and softly smiled, "I believe you Young master.....If there's anyone who deserves to be at the top and has the ability to do so....It would be you."
'And I will eradicate all those who stand in your way,' She thought at the end as her eyes glinted with a cold light.
Eventually Diablo headed towards the middle of the ritual circle before nodding towards her. She hesitated again for a bit before finally sighing to herself as she started pouring her mana into the runes
The runes started glowing brightly one by one as mana flowed through them. Diablo visibly flinched as the last rune lit up, before his vision turned dark as he fainted under the frightened and panicked gaze of his maid.
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Diablo POV:
As I regained consciousness, my numb senses began picking up a muffled voice. I gradually began to hear the voice more clearly as my senses turned to normal
"Y..... ....s...! Yo... m..s...! Youn.. mast..r! Young master!!" Grayfia's worried voice echoed through the empty room
When my eyes finally flickered open, I was met by Grayfia's worried face and tear-filled eyes. She evidently calmed down after seeing me awake, but gently pushed me back down when I tried to get up.
"No, your body is exhausted and your mana is sucked dry. You've consumed too much energy Young master...rest for now." She sternly demanded
I wanted to argue back but didn't recounting her tear-filled eyes earlier.
"Fia It's alright, I'm fine," I said as I relaxed back down, she just gently nodded back in response making me sigh.
As I laid my head back I realised that my head was laying on something soft and cushy. It was better than any pillow I had ever used, it was incredibly comfortable.
Tilting my head slightly to the right, I soon realised that my head was resting on top of Grayfia's thighs.
A jolt of shock and embarrassment but as well as slight excitement passed through me. I was sure my cheeks reddened a bit, but I made sure to hide them from her.
I was not overreacting!
In the first place, as a firm believer of Thigh Supremacy, this already gave me more damage than it originally intended to.
And besides...
HAVE YOU FUCKING SEEN GRAYFIA!?
She was absolutely breathtaking, much more gorgeous than any super-model back in my previous life. By a HUGE amount.
And taking the other physical reasons away, it affected me emotionally as well... I liked her...I really did...though I didn't know how to follow through my feelings, though in the future I'm sure I'll do something stupid to make it work out.... I was not letting her go
Besides, it was also the first time she ever gave me a lap pillow. Hell! It was the first time anyone gave me a lap pillow, in both my previous life and this one. Sure, when I was a little younger she made me sit on her lap but this and that are different.
Very different
So you can only imagine why I was reacting like this
Ahhh....This is paradise....
I yawned out-loud as I pretended to be tired and shut my eyes as I dug deeper into her thighs.
What I didn't know was that she noticed it and just smiled at my antics, but if you looked closely you could see a faint red on her face because of slight embarrassment.
She was not used to this...
She just shook her head and started brushing my fine black hair with her fingers.
For a while, we just just stayed there...in peace....It was calm and pleasant.....
Though eventually all good things had to come to an end. After a few minutes, we both finally got up.
Grayfia went to do her maid duties throughout the mansion and to prepare for my birthday party that was today at night.
She, of course, hired some servants for it, because it didn't matter how strong or good of a maid she was...She was still 1 person after all. So we hired some servants for the party ONLY, Grayfia made that quite clear.
While she went, I head towards my room and looked infront of the body-sized mirror there and observed myself. I got quite tall for 3 year old kid, people might think I'm 4 or 5 looking at me. I got even taller because of the ritual
I, of course, didn't get any muscles. I'm 3.....what the hell do you expect? Though my body did get a little toned
.....but I'm sure I will have them in the future naturally even if I didn't train at all, I also got more...cuter?
Wait did the ritual increase my charm value as well.....Yes it did, I'm much more cuter now.....Wow that was unexpected bonus, not that I'm complaining though.
I was sure that I was going to be handsome, I made sure of that back with ROB
....but now I think I am going to another level.
Well then, we'll see how I'll look in the future....because after all who doesn't love a good mystery?
Anyway appearances aside I feel stronger and my body seems much more lighter, my senses have also improved. I don't know the full limits of my current condition but it doesn't matter because tomorrow I'll officially start my training
After all, today I will finally get my Zanpakutō.
I think my mana also increased.....I don't need to worry about it that much because the effects will slowly come during the first week of the ritual so I should be able to observe the effects during my training.
Well regardless I should start preparing for today's party as well, during these 2 months Grayfia basically crammed every possible thing of noble etiquette she could in both my mind and body...so it should be fine...I guess?
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3rd POV:
A lot of luxurious carriages were seen getting into the gates of the Barbatos mansion, there were lots of magical circles near the front doors as some of the devils teleported in.
The nobles from the carriages and those that teleported were elegantly greeted by the servants as they led them into the banquet hall.
Apparel of evident luxury was apparent in all of them, it screamed sophistication and grace
It wasn't strange for so many noble devils coming in as it was the birthday of the heir of one of the pillars and it wasn't just any pillar either, it was the Barbatos clan; but the most important reason of the all was that it was the grandson of the Great Yamamoto Barbatos, the devil who cut the hand of God and one of the progenitors of the devils, even if the devils created by him were limited to his clan. He was one of the first devils.
That's why the Barbatos clan's status rivalled the Lucifers and reputation even surpassed it.
And also it was the first time in a century since the Barbatos clan had opened its gates for anyone, some important devils and officials sometimes did come in but it had been a long time since they had hosted a social event or have been in contact with the other clans in such a way.
That's also why their political power had plummeted greatly, but by no means were they poor. They were rich, incredibly rich....the money that they earned after the Great War and the reward given in the Devil Civil War for their participation (though unintentional) was a huge amount.
The fact that they were getting extinct and had no major projects during the years also did nothing to decrease the accumulated wealth.
The remnants of the Old-Satan faction also came, with no grudges as well.
These were mostly the members who didn't join the legendary battle against the Barbatos clan as most of them believed that they were an authentic clan and were not like the other 'cannon fodder' clans, some of them had good views of them, some of them were fearful of them and didn't want to act against them....these were the ones who had first hand seen their power or were survivors of the Great War and knew the prowess of Yamamoto
During the Devil Civil, they of course tried to convince their leaders otherwise but alas they were too arrogant.
.....So they made a gamble and didn't act at all....and they won
And boy! were they relieved and joyful that they didn't join the miserable fate of their 'comrades'.
They of course sent gifts to the Barbatos clan after that, even if they didn't fight against them they still were part of the same faction. So fearful that they might see them in a bad light, they sent their good will.....which was accepted.
The Old-Satan faction were still arrogant though and their beliefs didn't change, that's why they constantly tried to convince and bootlick the Barbatos clan for their support, which was also one of the reasons for their current visit.
They still believed that Devils were above all, and wanted to wage war against the Angels and the Fallen Angels. They believed that the only possible leaders could be the Original Satan clans and the Barbatos clan....because after all they were 'True Devils'.
The New-Satan faction also came, with their gratitude towards the help in the war.
Both the factions also came with their heirs, both male and female. One of the reasons for this, was for them to build connections and the other was for a chance for a political marriage.....of which the latter annoyed a certain silver-haired maid greatly.
...but the one reason that they came here which was common in all of them... was respect
Whether they were the New or the Old-Satan faction, they both respected the Barbatos clan, even if it was dying out and even if some of them were scheming behind it to get rid of it, they all held great respect and fear towards the clan.
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As the guests headed in the banquet hall, a silver-headed maid greeted all of them, they also politely and respectfully greeted her back. If it was any other maid or servant they wouldn't have even bothered to look at them and would have probably sneered at them but it was Grayfia Lucifuge that greeted them.
She had many accomplishments during the Devil Civil War and was a feared existence in the battlefield. She had great status and influence.
She was called the Silver Demoness of Ice because of her brutality and her skilful use of ice magic during the war.
Her strength was on par with the Satans and she was even considered one of the strongest female Devils along with Serafall, but if they were to fight....Grayfia would definitely win, though no one knew that except herself.
They were not surprised seeing her here as they had already been informed that Grayfia Lucifuge had started serving the heir of the Barbatos clan.
As the guests greeted her and head into the banquet hall, they started conversing with each other as they drank wine served by the servants, they slowly formed groups as the different factions separated themselves from each other.
The Barbatos Clan, even though having destroyed majority of the Old-Satan faction, was still considered neutral.... much to the irritation of the New-Satan faction.
It was quite amusing for Grayfia, politics was always quite humorous for her; but she showed no change in her expression and maintained her cold look.....which, she recently discovered, could only be broken by her Young lord.
Suddenly a new group of people entered the banquet hall to which the guests showed respectful faces.....well only from the New-Satan faction that is.
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{{NOTES from Author-san:
-Sorry for the delay, was working on this other fic. I'm gonna release it soon, so be on the lookout for that.
-Listen MC is not a good person but not a evil person as well, well he might do actions that might arguably evil, but for his loved one *cough* harem *cough* he's willing to do anything and by anything I mean...anything.....well anyway some of you might think him saving that kid on the first chapter makes him a good guy....no he did it subconsciously....why?...well that's for me to know and you guys to find out. I guess I will point out the correct speculation if it comes up
-(FOR GRAYFIA): I'm not sure of her strength in canon but here she is only weaker than a Super-Devil, for now. Though if they were to fight, that Super-Devil would definitely get a fatal injury. Her nickname is also made up, so I apologize if it's a little cringy}}