10 The Occult Research Club

'What do you imagine when one says the word, devil.'

The answer was not easy, but not very complex either.

'Horns, red skin, pointy teeth, wings, tail and possibly a disgusting looking mouth that spat fire.'

That was the most accepted version of the devil that people thought of.

'But it was the farthest from the truth.' 

Nothing correlated to the devil in front of him.

'Maybe except for the wings.'

"Quite confusing, isn't it." Akeno smiled as she sat on the sofa next to him with her legs crossed –barely covering her nether regions.

'Not like the skirt helps in any way.'

The skirt was too small, making him wonder who allowed such tiny skirts in schools.

Akeno smirked, noticing this. "It's quite hot today."

Kento nodded. "It is."

But he took his mind off of her legs and focused on what was important.

"So…" He took a deep breath. "What are you?"

"We should be asking that, Kento Yamazaki."

This was a voice he did not recognize, and turning around he saw a breathtaking beauty walking through the door.

Her beauty was totally different from Akeno. While Akeno had a eastern maiden type beauty, the girl that walked in had a more western and flamboyant appeal to her.

Her red hair was sharper than any ginger he had previously seen, making him wonder if her hair was dyed. 

Her breasts were also on another level. While not as big as Akeno's, they were still far bigger than the girls that he had previously interacted with.

"Transferring to Kuoh Academy, an academy under the administration of two devil heiresses. Making contact with a fallen angel and apparently possessing power far different from a magician or a Supernatural." She frowned. "Tell me, Yamazaki. What are you?"

She loaded a lot of stuff in that single paragraph, but he got the gist of it.

Kuoh Academy was being run by two devil heiresses, which he assumed were Akeno and the redhead. As for them, they were not in good terms with fallen angels which were pretty apparent from the whole Akeno and Kalawarner interaction.

And mostly, they wanted to know what he was.

Which he would have loved to answer, if he had the answer.

'But I don't.' He sighed. "I don't know. You tell me. What are so many supernatural beings doing in a human town?"

Rias frowned at the answer, but as she was about to retort, she heard a voice.

"Oh man! So this is the Occult Research Club!"

Kento frowned upon hearing the voice. He knew exactly whom the voice belonged to.

"Issei!"

"Issei…"

The redhead and he muttered simultaneously, one in surprise and the other in shock.

Kento didn't even know that this was the Occult Research Club, but considering the devils in the room –it made sense to him. 

But above all, he wondered what one of the perverted trio had to do with devils.

"I bought him at your request."

Besides Issei, Kento noticed that there were two more additions to the room.

'Damn he is handsome.' 

A blond boy with a face that he could see the girls fainting over. And if he guessed correctly, he knew exactly who he was.

"Thank you, Yuuto." Rias smiled, making Kento certain about the boy's identity.

'Yuuto Kiba.' 

Aika told Kento about a blond boy that was named the Prince of Kuoh because of his beauty and demeanor. 

The topic rose when Aika talked about the famous people of Kuoh, and his name was recently added to it as well.

He dreaded remembering the name which was 'Knight of Kuoh.'

'Something about my black hair resembling night and it rhyming with knight…'

His nickname was a wordplay that he did not like and was ready to beat up the person that came up with it.

However, that was not the issue at hand. He had bigger troubles.

Getting rid of the unnecessary thoughts, he looked at the girl next to Kiba. 

'Aww…'

His expression softened as he saw the cute petite girl next to him. She had unusual white hair which he was certain to be dyed. But her height, looks and hairstyle all made Kento smile.

She was the cutest girl he had seen so far, totally different from the seductive beauty of the two other girls in the room.

"O-Oh my God!" As Issei said that, he was seemingly struck by pain as he grabbed his head. "I-It's Rias and Akeno!"

"Careful Issei, taking that name is not something you want to do." Rias said with a kind face, contrary to the one she showed Kento.

"What name?" Issei asked. "God?"

And once again, he was immediately struck by the pain. "Ugh!" 

"Since you are now a reincarnated devil, you cannot take that name. Or you will be in pain." Rias sighed.

But this made Kento confused. "Reincarnated devil?"

"Ugh man! You are here as well!" Issei didn't like the presence of Kento.

However, Kento did not care.

He did not know what the term `reincarnated devil` meant but he could break down the meaning.

"She means this pervert here." Koneko said as she pointed at Issei, making Akeno laugh and Kento smile.

"Technically we are all reincarnated devils, Koneko. Besides Kento." Akeno said, controlling her laughter.

"Which brings me back to the question." Rias frowned. "What are you?"

"Water based abilities and a flight skill but no traces of magic." Kiba spoke out. "Not a magician, neither a devil, fallen or angel."

"Not a Yokai either." Koneko said. "Definitely human."

"But that makes no sense." Rias said. "A human do not possess such abilities without the use of magic or contracts."

Most of the things went above Kento's head but he knew staying silent would do him no good.

"That is what I want to know." He frowned. "I woke up one day and found out that I had such powers then I was approached by this fallen or whatever you called her and now you guys." He didn't like the way he was being interrogated. "What is the deal with you guys? What are you and why is Issei here?"

"Y-Yeah, I would like to know that as well." Issei voiced making Rias sigh.

"You mean that you recently awakened your powers?" Akeno asked. "That's difficult to believe."

"As difficult as coming to terms that I live around devils and fallen angels?" Kento countered. "And why are you all called devils? I thought the devil was a singular entity."

Rias took a deep breath, figuring that it would not help in any way argue.

"It's best if I explain the situation first." 

"Took you long enough, boss." Koneko snickered, making Akeno giggle.

"Why don't you all take a seat?" Rias asked. 

…

…

"A very long time ago, the father of mankind created Lucifer who later went against him and was banished to the underworld. There, Lucifer married Lilith and gave birth to seventy two high class devils called the devil pillars." Rias explained. "But he knew that he needed to form a proper ruling system for the new devils as there were not just the seventy two but countless other devils who ranged from low to high class."

"Are these classes like hierarchy?" Kento asked, making Kiba nod.

"They are." Kiba said. "Generally there are High-Class, Middle-Class and Low-Class by birth and power. But above that there are Ultimate and the Satan classes which are purely based on power."

"Satan is not Lucifer?" Issei asked, confused by the whole thing.

"He was. But it is more of a position than a name." Akeno explained. "As Rias said that Lucifer needed to set a system to rule the devils, he alongside three other extremely powerful devils created what is currently called the four satans. It is a position of power much like presidents."

"A democracy?" Kento asked, amused at the concept of a democracy.

"Not exactly." Rias said. "Satans are positions based on power and status. You cannot become a Satan just because you are publically loved. You need both the status and power to take that seat as they are the last line of defense in case of a war."

It made sense to Kento given how cunning and bloodthirsty demons and devils were depicted.

"But after the passing of the original Lucifer–"

"Pause." Kento said as his eyes went wide. "Lucifer died?"

The devils in the room nodded. "Sadly. In the Great War against all the races, the four original Satans –Lucifer, Beelzebub, Leviathan and Asmodeous passed away."

"That… is insane." It was difficult for Kento to believe that the Devil died but nothing around him made sense. So, he was forced to believe what she said.

"But we needed new rulers or the devil race would have collapsed." Koneko said.

"So, four great warriors that proved their worth stood up to protect the devils and were crowned the four new Satans."

"So, the next generation of Rulers."

Rias nodded at Kento's statement. "Indeed. The names Lucifer, Leviathan, Asmodeus and Beelzebub were turned into titles. Ones that held the utmost respect and power and the new Satans that took the crowns were given those titles."

"As a nickname or surnames?" Kento asked.

"Surnames is a concept that we don't use. We use the name of our first founder as the family name. And to answer your question, the new satans had to take those names as their new last name." Rias explained.

"I see..." Kento sighed. "So the current rulers are not the original Satans but ones that achieved great feats in the war and were crowned as the new Satans alongside being given the names of the original four satans?"

"Yes." Rias said.

"Ugh…" Issei groaned. "This is difficult."

"It is not, you are just an idiot." Koneko said, which made Issei sad.

Kento shook his head but did not say anything about it. "So where do you lie in that hierarchy?"

"I am a high class devil." Rias answered, a little bit of pride in her voice. "From the noble house of Gremory, one of the seventy two pillars."

Kento nodded, already guessing that she was a part of the seventy two pillars.

"As for us." Akeno said. "We are what you call reincarnated devils."

"I am also one, right?" Issei asked, making Rias nod.

"Yes, Issei." She said. "After the war, the current Beelzebub who is a great researcher found a way to allow high class devils to take in other beings or even devils as their family members by allowing them to transform into reincarnated devils. Reincarnated devils serve the one who transform them into new devils."

"Slaves." Kento frowned but Rias immediately retorted.

"Family members. That serving part is mostly a formality that is used in the devil community." She said. "But it is often to help those new devils."

"Yeah, Knight-guy." Issei said which made Kento shudder, hearing his new name. "Rias saved me from that fallen girl."

"Never call me that." Kento did not like being called by that name.

"That's a cute name." Akeno teased, making Kento frown.

"Issei is right." Rias said. "He was shot by Raynare with her light magic. But by turning him into a new devil, I was able to save his life."

Issei blushed as a memory flashed by his eyes.

"Thank you, president."

Kento however did not believe that it was her only motive. 'If they have such a thing then there is no way they cannot save someone without turning them into devils.'

"As for us." Rias said. "Me and another devil heiress –who will be here soon– from the seventy two pillars were sent to Kuoh to look after this place. But recently Fallen Angels have been trying to infiltrate and harm people in this place."

Kento already figured that Akeno was not the second heiress as she called herself a reincarnated devil 

"Where do I fall in all this?" Kento asked.

"They sensed a power that cannot be explained in you." Akeno said. "Just like we did. So, they wanted to eliminate you to not pose a threat for them."

"Why go to such length of playing such a skit?" He frowned. 

"Their fetish." Akeno shrugged. "And maybe they wanted to get some information out of you, which they seemed to have failed at."

"And this brings us back to our question." Rias frowned. "What is your motive?"

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[[A/N: Read ahead on Pat reon: Pat reon.com/Greedyfrog

Guess who got his account back? (thanks to a certain reader (Kiyan_Tribe) who asked me about my account... I had to boot up my old laptop to see if I had that account in there. And Voila! It was there.

That laptop is almost dead so, I just recovered my account from there. Does not work without being plugged to the adapter 24/7 lmao.

But I still got it.

And thus– Marvel: Starting from the Bottom will be back from 23rd March.

ToothlessS/Greedyfrog out~]]