60 Chapter 60

Yuuto Kiba was the bearer of King Arthur's soul that had been badly damaged at some point in time to the point of near disrepair. This fact was only found out because Enma, the Shinto god of death, souls, and judgment personally assessed the situation.

For the last half a decade or so Kiba had been attempting to repair his soul by drinking various medicines prescribed to him by the Shinto god. His soul was still damaged but apparently, it was on the mend. 

If his soul was previously a plate shattered into thousands of pieces it was now only hundreds. It was still far from finished but progress remained progress even if it was unseen. Actually, the effects have already been seen albeit barely.

The soul of King Arthur was one touched by the holiest blade in history, Excalibur, and the Holy Sword King. It was this holiness that held his soul's pieces together and allowed him to be reborn even if only in the most technical sense.

In the past, Kiba had thought it would end there and for years it seemed he was right. But apparently, he was wrong. He found that in a recent fight with Fallen Angels that had entered the city without permission light didn't hurt as much.

Of course, it was still painful, he was a Devil after all, but the pain was lessened. It was difficult to put into words but it was similar to the difference between touching something hot and having a sunburn. They both hurt but one is much, much worse.

Naturally, Kiba reported this to Rias. He didn't expect her to find an answer, it was far outside her specialty, but her connections would be helpful. Besides, what kind of Knight would he be if he left his King in the dark?

Regardless, it took very little time for Rias to gather people to examine him. Enma visited to see his soul's condition but quickly left after finding nothing helpful and soon after Ajuka Beelzebub came to examine him. 

Truth be told, Kiba was rather excited to see what the famous Beelzebub would find. While he liked to believe himself mature even he was excited at the prospects of devils no longer having to fear the power of light. A healthy dose of worry was born from that same thought but it was alright since Beelzebub was smart enough to make the correct choice while he couldn't.

In the end, however, those thoughts remained just that, thoughts. After Ajuka sadly relayed that he was outside his depth Kiba naturally discarded those thoughts. His visit wasn't without benefits, however.

Ajuka recommended that Rias ask for help from either Azazel, the Governor-General of the Grigori, or Damian Thaumiel. As Damian had assisted him in escaping from his prison years ago albeit indirectly, it was actually the Spear Saint who did it, Kiba wanted his help.

The fact that Azazel was not only widely considered an impossible to understand pervert helped as well considering his king's beauty. In the end, however, both had to be put on hold as Azazel was part of an officially rival faction while Damian had a strained relationship with Rias.

Hence, Kiba discarded the thought. Until recently that is. For reasons she did not explain even to her peerage, Rias suddenly went on the offensive where she once remained passive. She used their contract to draw Damian Thaumiel into their school.

It took a few weeks but Kiba managed to make the most of this opportunity. Now, in a well decorated and luxurious albeit competitively small office room Kiba sat across from the one and only Mad Dog of the devils. 

If Kiba hadn't seen the recording himself he wouldn't understand that title, Damian was vastly different than when he first gained that title after all. But now that he was alone in his presence Kiba suddenly felt the title was insufficient.

Quickly and methodically moving through the magically increasing pile of papers at his desk, an unbearably familiar yet unrecognizable creed within the circle from where they appeared, Damian hardly paid him any mind.

And yet the subtle glances, the thick tension, and the quick and soft sound of pen on paper all forced Kiba onto the edge of his seat. It was not because he was afraid of Damian's power whether it be political or personal as he trusted the man but rather something more intuitive.

Damian was strong, so strong in fact that nobody knew how strong he was. Sitting in front of him Kiba, a strong talent in his own right, instinctively felt weak. His instincts were practically screaming for him to escape, to run with his tail between his legs like a coward.

"Why are you here?" Damian asked bluntly yet Kiba could find no room to argue. Damian was clearly busy and he was the one who arrived without an appointment. However, what truly caught his eye was how empty the young head's voice was.

He had heard from Akeno and Shirone, two of the lucky few to receive the honor of training under him personally, that his voice was like this but it was a surprise nonetheless. But at the same time, it is relieving. His voice was warm when in the company of Rias even if only slightly.

"Lord Thaumiel, I've heard from Lord Beelzebub that you're well informed in souls. Please look at mine even if only for a moment." Kiba requested with his head bowed low. Yet even with his eyes on the ground he could feel them, those empty golden eyes looking at him blankly.

Ajuka told them about Damian for two reasons that neither he nor Rias could argue with. It was well known that for a decade, Damian prayed with as much devotion as an Angel. Hence, he would be well informed about the sensation of being judged by holy power.

As for his understanding of the soul… well, Kiba wasn't so sure. Ajuka had confidently said that if Damian didn't know nobody would, which was high enough praise for Kiba but the Satan didn't go as far as to actually explain anything about the subject.

"Your soul is in pieces though you're already aware of that." Damian proclaimed simply, shock washing over Kiba. Enma had gone to great lengths to 'seal' his soul to restrict any leakage of the energy holding him together and even he had trouble sensing it originally but Damian did it with ease?

"Is there a way to fix it?" Kiba asked expectantly, optimism once more consuming his mind. If he could grow stronger he could protect Rias better, protect his friends better, and… he could maybe build up the courage to confess to 𝘩𝘦𝘳.

"There are two. You can take your time and do it carefully over centuries or I could do it for you now." Damian explained briefly, gently placing down his expensive fountain pen as he rose to his feet. While Kiba was going to accept anyway it seemed like he didn't have a choice.

"I'll take it now please." Kiba requested with a wry grin as Damian stood before him. He couldn't tell if his cold sweat was because of Damian standing so close or whatever came after this. A cold palm pressing against his forehead broke him out of his thoughts as something even colder flowed within him before pain pulsated through him.

"Protect Rias with this strength." Damian commanded to the writhing and thrashing Kiba, his golden eyes gazing at the Knight of Rias Gremory emptily.

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