Chapter 13 - The New Life of Louise Darkness

- Sis, wake up, - I heard the voice of the man I thought was dead for almost half of my life.

- Good morning, little brother! - I said, reaching up and kissing Daniel on the cheek, though I wanted to go a little further.

- Breakfast will be in 20 minutes, hurry up and change, and let's go, - my brother told me in his usual kind voice, smiling warmly. I quickly began to change, not being embarrassed by anyone, since only my brother and Tosca were in the room.

- I'm ready, little brother, - I said as I changed. Tosca and Danielle's brother had already changed and were just waiting for me.

- Then let's go, - he said as he grabbed my hand and led me to the dining room. As we walked, I thought about the past.

My brother Daniel had always been my support for as long as I could remember. We had a father as a child, and although he took care of me, his temper was still extremely tyrannical. He taught me discipline from a very young age and made me read magical texts and memorize our family history. And my brother took care of me and made me laugh in my spare time. Except then my brother was under even more pressure from my father, so he had very little time to play with me.

After my father died, we ended up in a church orphanage, where things got a lot worse. We trained every day and did various magical studies. Many of our friends left and never came back. This made us desperate, because we were all afraid of being next. Only my brother was the bravest and always supported us. Even though he only communicated mostly with me, Tosca, and Yumi, the others felt his silent support, too. And I was even happy... until that unfortunate day.

Then I lost almost everything in my life. I thought my friends and my brother were dead, and only Yumi was still with me, which made me feel a little better. If it hadn't been for the thirst for revenge burning fiercely inside me, I would have killed myself to be reunited with my brother in the other world.

After that, as time went on, I withdrew a little, but the thirst for revenge inside me only grew stronger. Rias and Akeno became good friends, and Mathers McGregor became my teacher. I was glad to learn from the legendary witch doctor, for he could give me strength and the power to avenge. My teacher only encouraged my thirst for vengeance, telling me that it would be a great motivator for me. As a warning, he told me only to find many friends, so that I would not become a mere puppet in human guise and empty myself after my revenge.

In time I became the strongest in our family, Rias was too spoiled for too frequent and hard training, and Akeno was too mired in the past. Koneko was afraid of her strength, and Yumi just lacked the spark. Gasper, on the other hand, was too intimidated to even leave the room, let alone train. I didn't blame them for their weakness; they would grow up to be stronger as they got older, but I had to grow up faster than anyone else and literally tear up my life to achieve my strength. And it paid off, my teacher said that I was already stronger than him, before I became a demon. And that's far from weak, because then he was very strong and was able to attract Sasex Gremori himself, then only a very strong demon and the heir of his kind.

After that, my teacher suggested that I take the mid-rank demon test, to which I immediately agreed. Rias and her older brother also approved of my eagerness. My friend was also very happy for me, because I was the first mid-rank demon in her entourage.

I also had to go to high school, along with Rias, Yumi, and Akeno. Koneko and Gasper went to middle school, but a year later they transferred to high school, too.

That's how my life lasted. Endless training, memorizing spells, and sparring, interrupted only by occasional trips to school and socializing with friends. And so it was until that day.

That day started the same way as all the others, I woke up, went to my morning practice, and went to school. There I sat in class, reading grimoires as usual, this time on fairy magic. After that, I went to the occult club, still reading the grimoire. Rias and Akeno went off to the student council to meet with some demon, and I wasn't really interested. Except that when Rias came back, she gave me a piece of news. She said that the demon had introduced himself as my brother and wanted to meet me. I didn't believe it, but there was hope in the back of my mind that my brother was still alive and would meet me now.

I waited impatiently for this demon to come, putting all my business aside. A couple of hours later, the door to the club room opens, and Koneko enters, followed by two people. And I recognized those eyes immediately. Although they were a different color, the eyes themselves hadn't changed. A kindness to loved ones that hid an animal cruelty to enemies. They were my brother's eyes. The next hours passed for me instantly. I clung to my brother, afraid to let him go.

- It's beautiful, isn't it! - my brother said to me enthusiastically as we entered the huge hall. I didn't even notice it while I was thinking.

- Yes, very much, it's even better than Gremory Manor, - I said, not lying one bit. It was very cozy. And the room itself looked exquisite, without all the glitz and glamour.

- All right, Silver, serve breakfast now that we're all here, - my brother said to his butler. The food immediately teleported onto the table after that, which again made me marvel. I hadn't noticed, either, but everyone else was really already here. Rias, Akeno, Koneko, Yumi, and even Miss Seraphall, who was unexpectedly my brother's friend.

The breakfast itself passed in silence, and it was only when everyone had finished eating that I decided to ask Daniel a question.

- Brother, can I move in with you, - I said as I looked at him.

- Of course you can move in here. If any of you want to, there's a place for you here, too, - he said, looking first at me and then at the others.

- You don't mind if Louise and I move in with Daniel, do you, - Rias asked Yumi. I forgot to ask her that, because she's our landlady and she's entitled to forbid it.

- Of course I don't mind, after all, Daniel-kun means a lot to you, and you want to be close to him. And with his help, you can teleport into the human world anytime you want, - Rias said.

- Thank you, Rias, that really means a lot to me, - I said gratefully.

After breakfast, we all went to school. The day there went completely normal, and the only difference for me was that I was in a very good mood. But when school was over, my brother and I teleported home again.

- So, sis, do you want me to train you for a while? - he asked when we arrived.

- Of course, - I agreed enthusiastically.

- Then, let's go, - he said, grabbing my hand and beaming.

- This is my training ground. Remember, you can always practice here. So, what magic are you strongest at? - he asked.

- I know the magic of darkness best. I learned it with my sacred mechanism. Its previous owner was a dark mage, so there are many dark spells in the mechanism itself that I learned and was able to use. Then there's black and Scandinavian magic, and only recently I started studying fairy magic, so I know almost nothing about it. I'm a medium-ranked demon, but I think I can beat a weak, high-ranked one, too, - I said proudly.

- Well done! You're very strong for your age, but I already see one flaw in you, and that's defense. You either have to put up good shields or maneuver across the field, and that's the second one I can help you with, - he said, smiling.

- And how exactly, - I said perplexedly.

- It's simple, the magic of space, - he said. I frowned a little at that statement. This magic is one of the most difficult, and even the space magic grimoires are hard to find. Even in the library of the Gremory family, there are only grimoires for ordinary teleportation.

- Yes, space magic. Gaap bloodline is where all the space magic grimoires in the world are kept. Even though you don't have Gaap blood, you can still learn some teleportation spells. I'll show you one of them right now, - he said. But there was one thing that made me frown. How did he become Lord Gaap in the first place. And Rias called him a High Daemon, which made me wonder. Are we even brother and sister?

- Brother, how did you become a Gaap lord? You certainly used to be human, - I asked my brother, why torture myself with questions when I could just ask Daniel.

- I've often wondered about that, too, and realized that we probably had different mothers. After all, neither you nor I had ever seen our mother, so it's possible that my mother was a pure Gaap demon, because I awakened those abilities quite by accident. Just when the others and I were running away from the orphanage, I was able to teleport, - he said with a frown on his face, still not quite sure of his theory.

- Okay, - I said. After that, my brother taught me a spell, which he called a blink, a common teleportation to anywhere within sight. My brother said the most important thing was to learn how to activate it instantly. Then I would be almost elusive on the battlefield, and I could always get away.

After this workout, my little brother and I ate dinner and teleported to the occult club room because my brother wanted to talk to Rias about something.

- Danielle, Louise, did you want something? - Rias asked as soon as we teleported in.

- Can't we just come here as friends? - my brother asked, smirking slyly.

- Of course you can, - Rias began to justify herself.

- All right, this time I really came here on business. I heard that you're engaged to Razer Phoenix, but you don't want to be his wife. And I want to help you, - my brother said, bringing up a very important subject for Rias.

- Really? But how? - Rias asked excitedly.

- Well, there are two options here. The first is that I train your whole entourage, and you easily defeat Phoenix. But there is a chance to lose here, after all Phoenix himself is quite strong, besides he can hire someone to his entourage, after all Riser heard at least that Louise is quite a strong demon of medium rank. So if you lose to Riser in a ranked game, I'll just challenge him for your hand, - The brother said calmly, never stopping smiling. But he wants to challenge Raiser for Rias' hand. Does he like her? Well, I wouldn't mind a few more wives with my brother if he liked me. Stop! I'm thinking as if I'm already his bride. Although I'm sure Daniel loves me as much as I love him, so he'll definitely take me as his wife. Heeheehee...

- What? You mean you want to be my husband? - Rias said, blushing.

- I told you it was a backup. But if you ask me, I won't refuse. But the bride's own wishes are the most important thing to me, so I don't want to force anyone to marry me, - he said.

- All right, then, - Rias said in relief.

- If that's the case, we'll start training tomorrow, I'll teleport to you at seven in the morning, - said the brother, smiling again.

- What? - Said Rias perplexedly.

- Have you forgotten? I told you I would train you... All of you, including you, - he said, smiling slyly.

- Tomorrow already? Okay, I'll be ready for sure, - Rias started to say pitifully, but then she cheered up and said with confidence.

- Well, then, I'll step back for a while, and you can talk, - he said and teleported away, winking at me before he did so.

- Rias, I have so much to tell you. My brother is as kind as he ever was. He taught me one cool spell, and now I'm very hard to hurt in battle. Oh, how kind he is. Did you see how handsome he is? His aristocratic face? His sculpted body? Is he the ideal man? He's so... - I began to tell Rias about my day with my brother before I was interrupted.

- I know, I know, - Rias said, - but tell me something else. I've been thinking about it all day, and I just decided to ask you. Why is your brother the head of the Gaap clan, even though you were just a human mage before?

- I don't know, but my brother thinks we probably had different mothers. We've never seen our mother in our lives, so it's a real possibility, - I said to Rias.

- Hmm, that does explain it, - Rias muttered to herself.

- What explains that? - I asked.

- Huh? Yeah, I was thinking about why your brother is so strong. And now I think he probably has a sacred mechanism. If he's a half-breed, it's quite possible. The most important thing, though, is that I sense a strange aura from him, similar to the aura of sacred mechanism users, - she said.

- But he didn't have any sacred mechanism before, - I said with a frown.

- Maybe he just woke it up late, or maybe he even transplanted someone else's artifact. After all, the ritual of transplanting sacred artifacts is known to quite a few, - Rias said.

- Wait. Then why don't demons or fallen angels just take other people's artifacts and transplant them? - I asked.

- You see, there's a problem here. Usually, when a demon or a fallen angel transplants another person's sacred mechanism, he also transplants a piece of the soul of the person from whom he took the artifact. In about seventy percent of cases, the person who stole the artifact goes insane. Perhaps this can be prevented, but I think only someone like Azazel can do it, because he is well versed in sacred mechanisms. Maybe some god of death could do it, though, who would carefully separate the original soul from the artifact, - Rias told me, which made me frown.

- Then could my brother have become insane? - I asked.

- Oh, probably not. The thing is, reincarnated people have a thirty percent chance of insanity, and half-breeds have less than a five percent chance, so if your brother did transplant an artifact, he wasn't taking much risk. And anyway, he probably got his artifact from birth and just woke it late, - Rias said, trying to reassure me.

- Okay, that's okay, then, - I stopped fidgeting. After that, Rias and I talked for another couple of hours until my brother returned in a very happy mood.

- Okay, Louise, let's go home, - he said, giving me his hand.

- Bye, Rias, - I said goodbye.

- See you tomorrow, Rias, - the brother also said goodbye.

We immediately teleported to our room, where my brother quickly undressed and fell asleep in my arms. He seemed so tired that he didn't even wait for Tosca. But what on earth was he doing? It was with these thoughts that I also fell asleep.