chapter 7

Ace looked calm as he stared at Raynare in front of him. His voice was clear and smooth as he spoke up.

"So, you are the leader of the ones who decided it would be a good idea to kidnap my dear cousin?" Ace questioned as Raynare looks dubious at him.

"... What of it? You are all just some measly humans that happened to be lucky enough to be born with a power you do not deserve. Putting it in the hands of a superior species like the fallen angels should be an honor for you, worm." Raynare said her true emotions as she created two light spears in her hands and said. "And I will rip it out of your body if I have to."

Ace nodded his head once, twice, and then he spoke.

"I get your point, sacred gears are powerful objects that are easy to use and would certainly be able to make anyone with half a brain stronger. It would make you be more than the grunt whose highest place of power she ever had was on her knees between the legs of your betters. And worse comes to worst you could always sell it for a favor. An interesting and good idea, truly it is, but unfortunately, you chose the wrong target. Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way, which one do you prefer?" Ace said as he took out his sword and took a deep breath.

Raynare just stared at him as she waited for the machine to finish extracting Asia's gear. She wanted to fight, prove her power, but as Ace took his breath the aura around him started to change. The pressure he was released was that of a Hashira and that was way beyond Raynare's power level. As a usual coward, she quickly spoke up.

"Wait, we can negotiate."

Ace stopped as he heard this and chuckled.

"You see, I normally love to negotiate with others, gain useful things from them and both sides can be happy with what they obtain. Making a deal with a sexy individual like you that is clearly desperate for a chance of surviving could be interesting as I do love to make deals with others in a position of absolute power. However, you seem to misunderstand something." Ace said, making Raynare feel cold sweat on her back as he spoke further. "I make deals when they interest me and I can't get better results myself. Right now the best thing you have to sell is your own life and, in this distance-"

Ace moved and Raynare only had the time to move the two light spears in front of her body for protection as Ace's sword impacted them. Sparks flashed as the two objects hit each other and Raynare was pushed to the wall, imbedding her there as her light spears shattered and a deep slash mark appeared in her body.

With blood oozing out she felt undeniable and great pain, greater than she has ever felt, and as she wanted to escape a red magic circle appeared in front of her as Ace used Alchemy to release a hot jet of flames right at the open wound, cauterizing it at the same time as making sure she was no longer able to move due to pain of being burned alive.

With her eyes blurring as she was about to pass out she could hear Ace finish his sentence.

"Your life is mine to decide, bitch."

Having finished dealing with Raynare, Ace turned to Isane who was still shocked at what she saw. The young pervert could hardly believe that Ace was so strong and, as she saw him winning so easily against an enemy Isane had not a single chance to resist, she again felt a great desire for strength. The dragon inside her awakened more and more as time passed, a process started when she got close to Asia and by Isane's wish for strength.

But this time, that wish for power was not only to protect herself, but to be able to stand by her cousin's side. To no longer be just a liability for him, to be able to stand by his side instead.

Approaching Isane, Ace smiled down at her as he spoke.

"Sorry for being late."

Isane, hearing this and feeling Ace patting her head in the same way he would do whenever she was in distress, felt her emotions start to burst out and, like if she was a child all over again, started to cry out loud. She hasn't cried like that in so long, but this time it was all just too much for the girl.

Tonight was the first time she experienced danger to her life, saw the darkness of the human heart, felt fear so intense, and felt truly and utterly hopeless. It was all too much and too sudden, now that she finally felt safe her emotions burst out and she couldn't help but release them in large droplets rolling down her rosy cheeks.

Ace only helped comfort her, wanting to be sure she was well. He was quite clear that his two autoscorrers were fighting out there but, honestly, he was not worried whatsoever about them. To defeat those two, these fallen would need to be a whole lot stronger, after all.

After a bit, a green light flashed in the room and Ace, as if just remembering something, turned to its source to see that it was Asia who has had her Sacred Gear removed. Her situation of still being in that machine had completely slipped his mind, truth be told, but as he saw the gear leaving the girl Ace remembered what he could about her.

He didn't actually know her, true, but he knew what her CANON counterpart could do and her gear was the least relevant of her abilities. What truly impressed Ace was actually her natural dragon tamer skills, if he could have that on his side it would be a valuable asset for later. Who knows, if this was trained properly it could make a world of difference against the Evil Dragons later on.

With greed in his eyes, he moved to the dying girl, and with swift sword movements, he removed her from her bindings.

As she was cut free her body collapsed forward and she could feel her life force being dispersed quickly.

"Tell me, what is your deepest desire?" Ace questioned in fluent Italian, a simple perk he gained from all those miscellaneous jobs he did over the years.

Asia looked up at him, delirious from the pain and her life force fading as she asks.

"Angel?"

Ace chuckles at that, being painfully aware of how far from an angel he was in all aspects.

"Sorry, not quite. Now, tell me, what is your deepest desire?"

Not being able to think clearly Asia, who was being held tenderly, had her eyes water much like Isane as she spoke up.

"I want to belong somewhere, to live!" Asia said between sobs as the specter of death approached, cold spreading through her being.

Ace, hearing this confession and pure wish, felt an evil smile creeping on his face that he quickly stopped as he used his kindest and purest expression to talk.

"Then, how about this: I will give you ten years of my own life span and, for those ten years, you will belong with me."

"Y-You?" She questions, already febrile and close to death.

"Yes, I will help you make friends and will help keep you safe. What do you say?" Ace said and Asia weakly nodded her head, accepting the deal.

As she did so Ace's life span lowered by ten years. As Asia's health clearly started to return to her Ace knew this would be only a temporary measure at most if it was only like this, so he pushed the Twilight Healing Sacred Gear back into her body. In all fairness, Ace was not truly certain this would work, but he simply thought that giving her more years of life and returning her gear should be able to patch up whatever problem she might have. And if not, well, he would only have lost ten years of life span, and that was hardly any issue in Ace's eyes.

Isane, on the back, saw the whole interaction and could not understand a single word of what Ace has just said. From her perspective, Ace just spoke gibberish and the dying girl was now back to health. If she could understand though, it was likely that she would sweatdrop and think thus.

'Are you sure you aren't already a devil?'

Of course, this was all irrelevant as Asia now returned to health. Her eyes regained luster for a moment before she completely passed out in Ace's arms. The whole ordeal was far too much for her and, without any option, Ace simply carried her in his arms to up above with Isane following close behind.

As they walked the smell of blood kept getting stronger and stronger, but as they were close to where the bodies would appear Ace turned to Isane and spoke.

"If you want you can close your eyes and hop on my won't be pretty walking forward." Ace said and Isane almost agreed to it, she could already tell that things above would not be pretty and, as a civilian, she was completely inexperienced in dealing with this sort of situation.

However, something inside her made her stop. She wanted to be strong, strong enough to not need to be protected by Ace, so how could she just cower in the face of the first danger in front of her?

"I-it is fine, I will m-manage." Isane said with a shaky voice, wanting to be brave.

Deciding to let her do as she wishes, like usual, Ace kept moving forward.

If this night wasn't already traumatic for Isane, then the multiple bodies strung in pieces all over would make sure to make this a night to remember.

Needless to say, the autoscorers were completely merciless when executing a mission and wouldn't hesitate whatsoever when facing an enemy unless ordered to. As such, the whole underground of the church had so much death and destruction that one had to wonder if so much was even necessary.

Not long after Isane could no longer hold back, her lunch coming out from stress and the smells inside. As that was happening, Ace did his best to pat her in the back for support, but holding Asia that tentative was a bit difficult.

After full recovery, Isane managed to keep going and soon they emerged from the underground where a rather unique scene could be checked.

The two autoscorrers were both present with them showing some signs of injury but satisfied smiles on their faces as a few figures could be seen on the ground, beaten and frozen up.

There was Dohnaseek, Mittelt, Kalawarner, and also a moss-headed male that was trying his level best to glare at Ace, especially after seeing him holding Asia.

"HEY! TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF MY PROPRIETY, YOU DAMN INSECT!"

Ace didn't even need to react as the earth autoscorrer acted first, stomping his head in the ground hard enough to bleed as he was pushed down hard on the ground with one of his teeth breaking.

"Watch your tongue otherwise I might do something flashy with your face."

Still glaring at Ace, the green haired idiot wanted to say more, but the pressure of Leiur's boots on his head was such that he couldn't open his mouth without eating the dirt on the ground.

Ace just stared at the man for a moment before turning to the blue autoscorrer and speaking.

"I left one of the fallen downstairs, bring her over please since it wouldn't do for us to lose our merchandise for something as foolish as bleeding out."

"Of course, master." Garie said with a respectful bow before moving along, sliding through the ground as if skating in ice.

Isane shook her head and was about to say more when Ace just gave her a look and said.

"Cousin, what I will be doing next does not concern you. I already paid a relatively large amount to gain the power to make sure you are safe, and these fallen will be the ones to repay me for it. If you don't want to be involved in this then you can stand on the side as I finish my business here."

As Ace finished he no longer minded or cared about Isane, he would have to go stray hunting and work his ass off to find suitable targets to pay Carol, and not only that he used up his knowledge of the CANON of Demon Slayer and, while he gained huge benefits, it could have been better still. He was in no mood to be overly kind to those who forced his hand.

Turning back to the green-haired one that was currently kissing the ground of a church, Ace tried to remember who he was and, after a short while, he remembered who exactly the man is.

A malicious smirk blossomed in his heart as he turned his best smile and spoke.

"Hey, how about a deal?"

The green haired boy wanted to speak but he was still having his face making intimate contact with the mud, noticing this Ace motioned for Leur to stop her actions which she promptly did.

"Deal? Why should I even think about doing such a thing?"

"Because your life depends on my whims, of course." Ace said as he used his alchemy to create a stone chair for him to sit, cradling Asia on his lap as if she was a pet or a plushie. Seeing the heated glare the man was sending Ace shrugged his shoulders and continued. "You do realize you are alone in a place known for housing several fallen angels, if I killed you here I could easily enough put the blame in the fallen and no one would be the wiser. You were said to have been saved by my new toy here, after all, people would believe on you hearing of her situation and coming to her rescue but, oh no, you failed in the end and ended up in mutual suicide with the fallen. Tragic really, but a story people would believe easily as your live for holy maidens is well known."

Diodora, the green-haired devil, widened his eyes as he COULD see people reaching that conclusion or claiming it to be like that, if only to make the impression others have of the devil race be more positive. A devil heir sacrificing himself for the one who saved him, a story that would sell no doubt.

"Besides, it is painfully obvious I can kill you anytime I want right now so you can only accept making a deal with me or die here and now, simple terms really."

"... Fine, what do you want?" The devil said in anger, hating the fact he was powerless against this inferior life form.

"I want to make a deal, you answer me some questions honestly and I will let you return safe and mostly sound from the danger this time around." Ace said and the man nodded, figuring he could always lie if any trouble showed up. "Wonderful, now for the first question, what is your name?"

"Diodora Astaroph, heir to house Astaroph the fourth of my name, son of-"

"Okay, I got it, you are some devil nobility who has a hard-on for how 'important' you are because you came out of the right cunt." Ace cut him off, making Diodora glare at having his glorious introduction interrupted. "Next question, why are you here?"

"To kidnap the former saintess Asia and make her my sex slave and why am I saying this?" Diodora shouted at the end, horrified he actually spoke the truth when he fully intended to lie.

Ace almost snickered at him, his essence sometimes was far too much of a cheat. When someone makes a deal with Ace they must fulfill the contract or they pay an equivalent price, that is the norm, however, if you start to fulfill the deal you CANNOT stop it any further. So, after Diodora said the first truth to Ace, he bound himself to always answering Ace's questions, and always speaking the truth.

"Who else helped you in your little plan?" Ace questioned and soon he had obtained a lot, truly a lot, of blackmail material for members of all three factions of the Biblical Faction.

Church priests and a bishop selling information and helping a devil steal holy maidens. Members of Grigori who are willing to sell information to devils for cheap. And that was without saying the 'big fish' that Ace got.

The names, locations, contacts, and some of the plans of the Old Satan Faction and the Chaos Brigade. While not yet an official member Diodora was still close to them and knew a lot, that information was all extracted by Ace without leaving anything behind.

By the time Diodora had no more information to give he could only stare in shock and anger at Ace as he spoke.

"Anything more?" Diodora said and Ace shook his head.

"No, you are free to go." Ace said and Diodora got up, wanting to teleport away and start planning on how to get Asia in his arms as soon as possible. As he was walking away Ace spoke up. "Leur, did you film all of that?"

"Yes, master." Leur said and, as her words rang, Diodora's blood ran cold, especially when Leur's left eye shined and a projection of Diodora himself appeared, speaking all those secrets that should never be revealed. Cold sweat ran down the devil's back as reality began to settle in and he realized how bad his situation was.

He wanted to interject, say something, but as he was about to speak Ace spoke first.

"Fantastic, I am quite sure that Rias and Sona's siblings would appreciate all this information and pay me handsomely for it all." The prospect of how much he could get out of selling this information being enough to make Ace's tone very happy.

Diodora felt the world spinning as he realized the gravity of this situation. He was not strong enough to defeat these two and even if he tried to get his brother or his friends from the Old Satan faction involved they would more than likely turn on him the moment this information was released. Besides, even if he somehow managed to not be killed by the New Satan Faction, the Chaos Brigade and the Old Satan Faction would definitely come after him and kill him.

Ace, seeing the despair blossoming on Diodora's expression as he realized how fucked he was, moved to him and when he got close enough he said.

"You can go now, I did say you would be able to leave this place unharmed. Or, would you like to make another deal with me?"

"D-Deal! I want to make another deal with you!" Diodora said in fright, he had already understood that Ace could enforce his deals by some weird power, as long as he did not die Diodora could take any deal. His life was the most important, for it he'd gladly sacrifice everything.

"Wonderful, now for the deal, I promise not to reveal this information you so generously spoke up to me and, in exchange, you do whatever the fuck I tell you to do without any hesitation for the rest of mine or your life." Ace said, making Diodora freeze.

"Y-You want me to be your slave?" Diodora said, horrified with the mere idea.

"No, no, not slave. 'Slave' is such an ugly word, you are not a slave at all. After all, slaves have the potential for betrayal and revolt, something you will sorely lack. The better term would be a drone that can only obey orders no matter what they might be. But hey, you at least will still be alive so cheer up, maybe someday I won't have any further use from you or your house and just let you go." Ace said with a smile that made it seem like he was bosom friends with Diodora, not the person blackmailing the devil into being his bitch.

It was easily the most terrifying thing this devil has ever seen.

"D-Devil." Diodora said as he looked at Ace who chuckled.

"Not a devil, just a hell of a merchant. Now, what will it be, mister noble? Be my propriety, or die a traitor's death and leaving a legacy of failure and incompetence?"

Diodora's eyes turned vacant as, after a while, he nodded his head in affirmation.

"I will follow your commands, master."

Isane, on the side, shivered at this as she realized that her cousin might be a scary dude. It was scary as hell, but also very hot at the same time for her (dragons enjoyed domination, after all). It was quite confusing for her and, as everything got jammed together, she just decided not to care anymore. She just wanted to go home and sleep this whole ordeal off like a bad nightmare.

And a 'bad nightmare' was what Diodora was experiencing as he felt as if his life was as good as over. He only came to capture a former nun and turn her into his newest Bishop, no big deal, but he was now locked in service to a measly human.

A HUMAN!

It was humiliating to the extreme, and worse was that he could do nothing about it as the blackmail material was still in Ace's hands.

"Now, be a good dog and go back home, you smell like shit." After he heard this Diodora, without hesitation, teleported away from there and bolted home, thus sealing his fate.

From the moment he perfectly started to follow the deal he no longer had the right to stop midway, as such for the rest of his life Diodora would have to obey every command from Ace regardless of his willingness to do so.

'Obtaining an heir of one of the Pilar houses of the devil race, as well as a spy in the Old Satan, New Satan, AND the Chaos Brigade sounds like quite the deal. Not bad for a night's work, I suppose.' Ace thought with a light chuckle escaping his lips.

His eyes turned to the fallen as Garie returned with the barely conscious Raynare, Ace's eyes scanning each of them until he decided on what his next course of action should be.

"Now, who here would like to make a deal?"

///---///

AN

So, anyone still thinking Ace is a purely nice person?

Anyway, I don't know when I will manage to write more as I got Dengue fever and am having a fever of 39° Celsius (or 103° Fahrenheit). So, you know, not feeling that good and my concentration went entirely to shit.

I should recover in one or two weeks, but no promises.

Quick question, what do you guys think of Ace doing that to Diodora? I figure that he would be more useful this way.

Also, next chapter I will reveal which world has been selected to be the next trade partner. Hopefully, you guys will enjoy it.