Chapter 5: The Blindfold Devil

(First Person - Avalon) 

Right now I'm going about my daily routine which starts with me training with Souji, but it seems a rather interesting discovery about me has come to light. 

Me and Adaloth were taken to Lord Beelzebub's quarters to have our mutations examined in closer detail a short while ago, who for the record I still refuse to acknowledge I share any resemblance to. 

I will get rid of that obnoxious title one way or another. 

But I digress, the point is there's apparently some sort of problem going on with my brain. 

The control it gives me over my Demonic Power obviously can't get any stronger, however the other benefits it's given me such as my heightened senses, and the ability to read other peoples Demonic Power are still continuing to increase. 

The issue lies within my senses. 

Souji's the one who broke the news to me, my senses will continue to grow and grow, with no definite end according to Lord Beelzebub, to the point where I'll be forced to accumulate more information than the rest of my body can handle. 

In short, I'll be driven mad. 

I can't say that I'm really interested in smelling the droppings of someone's dog a thousand feet away. 

"You don't seem as disturbed as I expected you to be," Souji said while I was still deep in contemplation. 

"No, the news is certainly shocking. However, I imagine that whatever it is you're holding behind your back will be of help to me somehow?" I'm not sure what it is, but I can see Demonic Power running through something he's holding in his hands. 

Also, I doubt they'd tell a child information like that without having some sort of solution prepared in advance. 

"Sharp as always," Souji chuckled softly, proceeding to show me what looked to be a white blindfold. "According to Lord Beelzebub, the first sense that'll become a problem for you is your sight. This artifact is capable of dimming all five of your senses, but right now all we're going to focus on are your eyes." 

"So I'll basically have to go blind from here on out?" 

He shook his head. "No, you'll still be able to see. You just won't be using your eyes to do so anymore." 

"You've lost me," I confessed. 

"I'm going to teach you to use Demonic Power in order to substitute for your vision. Most Devils, myself included, aren't capable of taking that ability to the level where we can make out things in high-definition. But I have a hunch that you'll be an exception." 

"I see," no pun intended. "I'm confused though, right now my sight isn't really a problem. So why am I being taught this now?" 

"The earlier the better wouldn't you agree? Or you would rather have to learn everything on the go when it does become a problem for you?" He replied. 

"Fair enough, how do I begin?" 

"You can start by putting it on, experiencing the seal activate for the first time might be a little disorientating for you, but I'm sure you'll get the hang of it with time." 

I took the blindfold from his hands, noticing that it was made a little wider so it would cover my ears as well as I wrapped it around my face. 

And then I was hit with an abrupt wave of nausea. 

"Told you," Souji had to grab me by the shoulders so I wouldn't trip over. 

Like when I first started using Demonic Power to reinforce my feet and increase my movement speed, everything around me felt extremely wobbly. 

Disorientation was an understatement, it feels like someone took the terrain beneath me and tilted it 45 degrees to the left. 

It took a few minutes of trial and error for me to regain my balance, touchwood being that I got there in the end. 

"Now how do I regain my sight?" I asked Souji. 

"Do you know what echolocation is?" 

"Yeah, it's how bats locate objects through reflecting soundwaves off them. What about it?" 

"You're basically going to do the same, but with Demonic Power instead of sound." 

Will that actually work? Well, I guess there's only one way to find out. 

"You want to start by sending out a pulse of Demonic Power into your surrou-," Souji paused midway through his explanation. "You already figured it out didn't you?" He said in a defeated tone of voice. 

It looks like I've been caught red handed. 

"Maybe," I replied with a smug grin. 

I seem to have regained my vision, but not in the way I expected. 

It's more like my surroundings have become outlined as a grid. I can't see Souji's details like his face or clothes, but I can make out the shape of them. This'll definitely take some getting used to. 

No, that isn't all. 

I can even see through him, his heart, his lungs, all his organs. I can see everything. 

Even his- Uh, on second thought maybe I should tone this down a little. 

I'm still able to see the flow of Demonic Power, so that's good. The blindfold limits that ability a little, but if there's ever a situation where I need it to be stronger I'll just take the blindfold off temporarily.

This type of vision might complicate daily activities, but I think my combat ability might improve since my brain is able to put more of its processing power towards focusing on my opponent's movements. A lot of its energy has been freed up since it's no longer bothering with things like colors and details. 

"It's not a requirement for you to have the blindfold on at all times, but Lord Beelzebub suggested you do so in order to get yourself acclimated to it early on. It'll become necessary once you're a little older after all." 

"I'll trust his judgment then," I guess this is my new look from now on. "What about the rest of my senses?" 

"The blindfold is imbued with his calculative Demonic Power, it'll determine when your other senses need to be turned down." 

Lord Beelzebub's Demonic Power is supposedly different from the rest of us Devils, it uses magical equations and formulas instead of imagination. Allowing him to control and manipulate all sorts of phenomena with just the wave of his hand. 

"How much are you able to see?" He asked. 

"I can see the shape of your body and my surroundings," I could see a lot more than that if I wanted to, but then I'll also see some stuff I probably don't want to see. 

Note to self, definitely don't turn up my vision around Venelana. 

"That's already exceptional, normally one would only use that ability to see objects with a certain amount of Demonic Power within them. The fact that you can see your terrain as well is a good sign." He brought out a sword, which I'm hoping is a wooden one. "Now we'll work on helping you get used to fighting with your new sight."

"Sounds good." 

He's holding the sword in his left arm, but he's charged more Demonic Power into his right which means he'll probably try to fake me out. 

But he's used that trick on me plenty of times before, and I've reacted to it just as much. 

In that case he's either going to commit to attacking with his left hand, or he's going to assume my overconfidence and go for a kick instead. 

"Not bad," he commented idly as I caught his foot with both hands. 

My reflexes feel a little sharper than usual, it's as I thought, my brain is consuming a lot less energy since it no longer needs to process my eyesight, and that spare energy can be used to bolster my reaction time. 

There was a study about that I believe, when a person loses one sense, the brain remodels itself in order to give more real estate to others when one is missing. That's probably what's happened to me. 

I no longer need to expend any energy to have my eyes act as a medium for my sight, instead I'm using Demonic Power itself to transmit a visualization of my surroundings directly to my brain. 

He's going for a vertical swing next, if I use my palm to hit the side of his sword before it connects I should be able to create an opening. 

"But you're still not experienced enough to read my mind," right before his sword connected with my hand, he flipped the blade around so the blunt edge was facing me. 

He charged it with Demonic Power, smacking my arms downwards and then thrusting the sword into my abdomen, causing me to stagger backwards as I struggled to catch my breath. 

At least it was in fact wooden, if that had been a real sword I would've died. 

"You're still fighting too defensively. Let me guess, you were planning on going for a counterattack?" 

"That's possible," I said, mildly embarrassed. 

"Your insistence on taking the defensive approach is an issue, actually there's two issues with that. One, you're not the durable type so you won't last for very long playing on the backfoot. And two, it's a waste of your talent. With your ability to expertly read an opponent, you're much better off taking the aggressive approach." 

"Aren't you just telling me to be more reckless?" I retorted. 

"Oh? Is that doubt I'm hearing in your voice?" 

I went silent. 

"That's what I thought," I have a feeling he's smirking at me right now. "Now try again, but I want you to play to your strengths this time." 

I inhaled sharply upon regaining my footing. 

I rushed at his side, my feet already having been imbued with Demonic Power to increase my speed. Evading his sword with a swift duck as I spun around once I had his back in sight, preparing to use the momentum to strike. 

"Better," he said casually, reaching over his back and blocking my punch with his sword without even looking at me.

"Bold of you to assume I'm finished," a quickly rotating sphere of destructive energy built up with my hand still on his sword. 

The same move I used on Ruval. 

BOOM! 

The wooden sword was effortlessly blown to smithereens, Souji seemingly taking a bit of damage as he stumbled forwards a little before finding his balance. 

"Interesting," he put his hand on the spot of impact. "That's something you created yourself isn't it?" I haven't shown him this move before, but after using it on Ruval I think it's starting to grow on me. Maybe it'll even end up becoming a permanent part of my arsenal. 

"Mhm." 

"Well done, creativity is an important skill for a good fighter to have." He walked over to me and started to ruffle my hair as he was praising me. 

Which I didn't find enjoyable at all! Nope! Not one bit! 

--- 

(Third Person) 

After finishing the rest of his training for the day with Souji, Avalon had returned back to the house. Deciding to head straight to the fridge and start rummaging through it, his stomach once again demanding an offering that would satiate three fully grown adults. 

At least, that was the plan. 

On the other side of the fridge door, he sensed a presence that seemed to be carrying a certain mood with them. One that he wasn't sure he wanted to deal with at the moment, at least not before he had eaten. 

Unfortunately, they didn't seem to catch onto his reluctance to talk. 

He took a deep breath, closing the fridge door and facing a young girl with light-blue hair and eyes. Her arms folded as she glared at him. 

"I've been looking for you," she said with irritation in her voice for some reason. 

"Good morning to you too, Esdeath." She didn't seem to notice his sarcasm, or any of his reluctance to talk for that matter. 

Disturbing either Avalon or Adaloth when they were eating normally resulted in the loss of a few limbs here and there. 

"Where were you this morning? And why are you wearing a blindfold?" Esdeath interrogated. 

"Which one do you want me to answer first?" He sighed. 

"You choose." 

"I was training with-" 

"With who?" She asked before he could finish, causing him to contemplate summoning another sphere of destruction. 

"My teacher-" 

"Who's your teacher?" 

"Why don't you ask me for my social security number while you're at it?" He snapped, proceeding to take a deep breath with his hands clasped together shortly after. "Souji Okita, he's my brother's Knight." It took a monumental effort to calm himself down.

"I see, and what about the blindfold?" Esdeath continued. 

"Medical condition," he refused to elaborate. 

"Are you still able to see through it?" She questioned as he was taking out food from the fridge, causing him to blink under his blindfold out of sheer disbelief. 

"No, I memorized the layout of my entire house." 

"That sounds difficult." 

"Because it's a lie, I'm using Demonic Power to substitute for my vision." He gathered a weird combination of bread, jam, ice cream, and orange juice. 

"You're rude." 

Esdeath had no idea how fortunate she was his hands were occupied with preparing his food. 

"Is that all you wanted to ask me?" It was a rhetorical question, but he didn't expect her to pick up on it at this point. 

"No, I wanted to talk about your sister." 

He physically wasn't capable of breathing a deeper groan. "What about her?" Adaloth was probably the last thing he wanted to talk about at the moment. 

"How do I beat her?" Avalon closed the fridge, turning to her and propping his blindfold down like they were his glasses. 

"Is that a genuine question or did she pay you to mess with me all day?" He felt the need to ask. 

"Why would I joke about that?" She tilted her head. 

He could sense that she was being genuine, but that only served to confuse him even further. Why would she want to fight Adaloth again willingly after what happened yesterday? She had to be a masochist or something.

"Follow me," he sighed, walking towards the couch and grabbing the T.V remote. 

"What are you doing?" 

"If we're going to talk, we'll do it while I'm watching Levi-tan." He lifted up his blindfold so he could comfortably watch the show. "If you really want to beat her, you'll have to invent a new fighting style." 

"A new fighting style?" 

"You struck me as a power-type when I was watching you fight her, and beating her in a contest of power isn't doable. So you'll need to surpass her in some other type of speciality to win." His mood improved upon seeing Serafall on the television. 

"And how do I go about doing that?" 

"That's for you to figure out," he shrugged. "Identify your strengths and weaknesses, and go from there." He said while scooping the tub of ice cream on his lap. 

Esdeath grumbled, apparently not satisfied with his answer. "What about her weaknesses? Surely she has some?" 

"It's possible," he didn't avert his attention from the screen. 

"You know what they are don't you?" 

"That's also possible." 

"Tell me." 

She received a harsh glare from him in return, causing her to flinch inwardly. "As much as I dislike her, I'm not just going to give away that answer like it's nothing. If you can't figure it out on your own, then maybe you aren't worthy of winning in the first place." 

Despite his full time occupation as Adaloth's number one hater, he still had standards. 

With Esdeath unable to find it in her to press him any further, she smartly chose to relent. 

"Also, I think I've earned the right to ask a question of my own." He pointed to the marking on her chest. "What's that?" 

"This?" She looked down. "I'm not sure, I was just born with it." 

"I see, you might want to do some research on it. Maybe it'll be useful." 

"You know something about it?" 

"I know there's some sort of strength in it, but nothing more. Like with finding my sister's weakness, it'll all be up to you to handle." 

Esdeath pursed her lips, leaning back into the couch having been given a lot to think about. 

As he was watching Levi-tan, Avalon's mood eventually soured. Sensing the bane of his existence approaching the couch from behind. 

"What happened to the ice cream?" Adaloth asked, having finished her training session with Mathers. Esdeath feeling a nervous chill run down her spine upon noticing her presence. 

"No idea, I think Ruval took it." Avalon said while shamelessly taking another bite. 

"You're such a child," she rolled her eyes, leaping over the couch and sitting down next to him. "Give it here," she grabbed onto his wrist while his spoon still had a scoop of ice cream on it, effortlessly bringing it towards her mouth and eating it. 

"Nasty," he remarked as he observed his spoon now dripping with her saliva. 

"You didn't seem to think so when you took my drink yesterday," she smiled. 

"I don't recall such a thing." 

"Sure," she narrowed her eyes. "What's with the blindfold?" 

"It's to prevent me from having to see you, Lord Beelzebub said my vision has suffered damage from prolonged exposure to your face. Don't worry, as long as you're around it's only a matter of time before it becomes a universal fashion statement in the Underworld." 

"Hilarious," she said dryly while rolling her eyes, proceeding to take a scoop of ice cream and stuff it into his mouth. "What's the blindfold really for?" 

"Oh? Is that concern I hear in your voice?" He smiled for a bit, but Adaloth didn't seem to be in the joking mood. "I'm fine." His tone dropped into a more stern one. 

"That had better be true," she then leaned over Avalon's shoulder, locking eyes with Esdeath. "Is there something you want to say to me? You've been staring for a while now." 

Esdeath shuddered upon being caught red handed, struggling to find the words to respond with. 

"She's looking for a way to beat you," Avalon casually revealed, causing Esdeath's cheeks to turn bright red. "You should be happy, someone actually wants something to do with you of their own volition- AH!" He was met with a well-deserved smack on the arm. "That's not fair! You have gorilla strength!" She threatened another hit, causing him to immediately simmer down. 

"Do you want to beat me just because of yesterday? Or is there a reason beyond that?" From Avalon's perspective, she was speaking as if she already knew the answer. 

"I just want to be strong, do you have a problem with that?" 

"No, strength is one of, if not the most important tools someone can possess. The more of it you have, the more freedom to make decisions you'll attain." Much to Avalon's annoyance, Adaloth rested her head on his shoulder. "But you'll never be able to amass more of it than me." 

"What?" She replied in a hostile tone of voice. 

"You've made the assumption that the strength I wield at the moment is all you'll have to surpass," she said while side-eyeing Esdeath. "I'm training just as much as a certain someone who doesn't know how to hold their tongue," she pinched Avalon's waist. "You'll need a lot more than just the strength you hold now to surpass me." 

Unlike Avalon, she wasn't aware of the second power source laying dormant within Esdeath. 

But he didn't know what the strength actually was at the moment, nor was he sure whether it had the capacity to defeat Adaloth. 

"Hmph, we'll see about that." Esdeath stood up, starting to walk towards one of the doors. 

"Where are you going?" Avalon asked. 

"To train!" She said, followed by the sound of the door slamming shut. 

"Don't you think that was a little excessive?" He queried Adaloth. 

"It doesn't matter, she wouldn't have listened to what I said even if I did try to give her proper advice." 

"You had advice to give her?" There was understandable doubt in his voice. 

"I'm the one who fought her, of course I know what her weaknesses are." She paused. "Although, you seem convinced there's more to her than I'm aware of." 

"Surviving your attack was impressive enough, but she managed to regenerate from it. Our Power of Destruction is supposed to make that exceedingly difficult, requiring regenerative prowess on Ruval's level to deal with it. Granted, I don't think she can just regenerate lost limbs like he can." 

"That was my weakest attack." 

"Don't pretend like you don't know your own strength," he scoffed. "She's the same age as us, there's a level of potential in her that you're more than capable of noticing." 

"You're planning to make her a part of your peerage?" 

"Possibly, unlike Lars I don't have complete confidence in her." He still wanted to know what was going on with Esdeath's Demonic Power, namely her marking before making a final decision. "But we shall see, even if I do choose to go through with recruiting her there's still the problem of actually convincing her to join." 

Adaloth's signature smile returned to her upon hearing that. "You've already come up with a few plans to make that happen, you just don't want to admit it." 

--- 

(Third Person) 

Ruval and Avalon were stood on a balcony on the second floor, looking down at the courtyard as they listened to the sound of constant grunting and what sounded like ice being continuously created and destroyed. 

"Hey, Ruval." 

"Yes? Avalon." 

"It's almost night isn't it?" 

"That it is." 

"And she's still training isn't she?" 

"That she is." 

"Which she's been doing since morning?" 

"That she has." 

"I see." 

They both sighed in unison, tracking Esdeath's movements as she continued to persistently train on her lonesome. 

"It's a little pitiful don't you think?" Avalon asked. 

"It is, but before we talk about that, there's something else that needs to be addressed." Ruval pointed at his friend's face. "Why are you wearing a blindfold?" 

"Medical condition." 

"Thanks, that really puts it into perspective for me." He replied sarcastically. "Are you able to see through it?" 

"No, I'm just creating an image of her movements by listening to the sound of her feet touching the grass." 

"Hilarious," he groaned, looking back at Esdeath's figure. "Shouldn't we do something about it? At this rate she'll end up hurting herself." 

"She survived Adaloth's attack, I'm sure she'll be fine." 

"Still, she looks like she could use some help wouldn't you agree?" 

Avalon exhaled as he noticed Esdeath's frustration continuing to rise. "You have a point," Avalon's wings sprouted out from the back of his waist as he leaped over the railing, slowing his fall right before his feet hit the ground. 

Esdeath was left stunned for a while, having not detected either Avalon's or Ruval's presence beforehand. 

"You're resilient, I'll give you that." He looked at the constructs of ice that now littered his courtyard. "Resilience is an important quality if you want to beat Adaloth, but resilience alone won't be enough." He picked up one of the shards on the ground, finding himself unable to crush it with his physical strength. 

"What do you want?" She finally asked. 

"Nothing, just thought I'd check out your progress." He threw one of the shards about a hundred feet into the air, perfectly hitting it with a bullet of Demonic Power that was about as small as a needle. "Strengths and weaknesses, have you found yours yet?" 

Her silence sufficed as an answer. 

"The problem is you're slow, and because you're slow you'll keep trying to block Adaloth's attacks head on, and because you're going to keep trying to block her attacks, you'll end up finding yourself in an early grave." 

"You've never even sparred me, how can you know-" 

Before she could even get the words out of her mouth, Avalon had ducked low enough to disappear from her field of view, and had delivered a low sweep to her feet, causing her to fall onto her behind. 

"There's your proof," he said blankly. 

He walked over to her, crouching down so their faces were leveled. 

"The problem isn't just your power, it's your mindset. Tell me Esdeath, can you actually imagine a version of yourself with more brute strength than Adaloth? Even after what you experienced when fighting her?" 

Again, he was met with silence. 

"Deep down you already know you can't beat her in that field, but your stubbornness is making you attempt to do so regardless, and because of that," he pulled one side of his blindfold up. "You'll end up dead." 

All it would take is one poorly timed misfire from Adaloth, and that would be the end of it. The fact that Esdeath hadn't been hit with the first one could already be considered a miracle. 

"Of course, sparring her in the first place already means you are playing with your own life to begin with, so maybe it doesn't matter. However Esdeath, dying to win, and risking death to win, are completely different things." 

As someone who had gambled with death in an attempt to achieve what he thought would be relief, and lost. He knew that better than anyone. 

"Even though some of your actions can be considered idiotic, I know you're not an idiot. You wouldn't understand a thing I was saying if you were." 

"What should I do?" 

Avalon smiled, motioning for Ruval to approach. "I'm not a power-type, so I won't be of much help. But sparring with Ruval should help you come up with some ideas, his advice will also be of immense use." He looked at his friend. "You don't have a problem with that right?" 

Ruval shrugged. "I don't really have much to do at the moment, so I could use something to keep myself busy." 

"Then it's settled," he clapped his hands together. "You and Ruval together can start working together to beat up my sister, which I'll be eagerly looking forward to seeing." Avalon proceeded to flicker away at a speed neither Ruval nor Esdeath could follow. 

"He's strange," Esdeath said once he had left. 

"That he is," Ruval admitted. "But he's a good guy, and he's not nearly as terrifying to be around as his sister." 

--- 

(First Person - Zeoticus) 

Me and Klauth had just stepped off our carriage, finally having arrived at the border. 

Judging from what he's told me so far, to say things are looking grim would be an understatement. I need to handle this before it escalates, and fast. 

"Lord Gremory, Lord Auten," one of the soldiers stationed here approached us. 

"Save the formalities, show us what we need to see." I ordered, the soldier motioning for us to follow him as he led us to one of the tents that had a few guards stationed around it. 

They all wore ghastly expressions, and based on the odor I'm selling from inside the tent I think I can make an educated guess as to why. 

Once we were inside, we were met with a row of white sheets, each covered in dark red stains and the lingering smell of rot attached to them. 

"It all happened today, we're not sure why they're already like this." The soldier said, to which I nodded affirmatively and motioned for him to leave me and Klauth. 

"Light Magic does result in accelerated decomposition upon death," Klauth added. 

I pulled the white cloth covering the bodies of the now deceased soldiers, some belonging to Klauth, and others to me, withholding the urge to pinch my nose to block off the smell. 

"They were killed by Fallen Angels, there's no doubt about that. What we need to uncover is the motive, and whether there's going to be any further attacks, or if this was just a one-off provocation." I placed the sheet back over their corpses. "What were the carriages transporting?" 

"Nothing of note, it was a standard care package of food and medical supplies. The same as plenty of other carriages moving through the area." 

"And what of the deceased? Were any of them soldiers of reputation?" It's possible that this could've been an act of revenge or something. 

Klauth shook his head. "No, none of them had actually seen active combat." 

Well, there goes that hypothesis. "Where was the carriage headed?" Maybe it wasn't an attack on me or Klauth, but the territory where the carriage was delivering its supplies to. 

"It was going to the Bael." 

Of course it was, everytime something goes awry in the Underworld they just have to be involved somehow. 

"I'll contact Wilbert, he'll need to have a meeting with Lord Bael." The Bael have a particular disdain for me since they accredit all my children's accomplishments to my wife, which isn't technically wrong. 

But do they have to be so rude about it? At least I'm not a manchild who goes running to my ancestor everytime I encounter a mild inconvenience. 

"And what about the carriages that are still running through the area?" Good question Klauth, good question. 

"If we recall them, we might as well put up a huge sign in neon lights telling everyone we're about to go to war. So all we can do for now is increase the amount of security that each carriage has, but only by a little." 

The Governor-General was supposed to be in agreement with the ceasefire, but I guess that was all just a fat lie. 

Oh well, it's not like I ever trusted the fallen to begin with. As much as I'd like to get rid of them in one fell swoop, I've more than learned that there are no victors in war. 

Only the side with fewer losses. 

I should probably also get my wife here just in case, as much as I don't want to admit it, she's the real combat specialist between us. I don't know how deep this rabbit hole goes, but if there's a Cadre on the other side of it then I'd much rather have her here than back at home. 

Knowing her, she'll probably start feeling battle-hungry again once I give her the news. 

--- 

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