Chapter 13

Ryuu was left disappointed. His opponent was powerful no doubt, but lacked any semblance of skill. If all of Lucifers' creations and pillars were like that it's no wonder he kicked the bucket.

What he didn't know is that the meathead from before was the current head of the mid-rank brackett. With his bear-like appearance and strength he dominated his fights for decades which also lead to him never needing to polish his actual combat skills.

Power without control is mere violence: that's the philosphy Ryuu has been living by since he can remember. Finishing one meal and fully digesting it before moving onto the next one, that's how he always handled things.

It is also the reason why he didn't go out of his way to study just any topic or delve into all sorts of magics. He simply had to place priorities on himself because of the lack of time.

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With a clomp a "bullet" hit him in the stomach, "Ryuu-tan! How are you doing today," she asked with her signature cheerful smile. If someone looked closely at her expression they'd notice that there seems to be something more hidden within it.

Ryuu, of course knew what that was but decided to keep playing ignorant until Serafall herself came to him. In his mind, if Sera (A/N: Nickname) really desired a relationship with him, she'd take the initative.

Just like with his training and studies Ryuu also set himself priorities when it came to relations with people. He'd not seek them out, but wouldn't push anyone coming away. He didn't want to waste valuable time but as a former human he too craves social interactions at times.

For now he mainly interacts with his mother and Serafall. On the topic of his mother, Ryuu noticed that her aura has changed. Her petite and cute appearance would usually lead to people associating her with meekness.

But Ryuu knew it was far from the truth. He had a feeling his mother started training seeing as though her vitality started going up, but what kind of training was beyond him.

Since she had this mysterious and "silent" aura around her, he guessed she was going the assassin's route which made him smile wryly. But he knew she had yet to actually kill someone due to the lack of bloody scent on her.

Somehow the prospect of his mother getting stronger excited him. It was probably due to the nature of the supernatural world. Strength equals safety.

Ryuu knew he'd never be able to be everywhere at once. There might come a time when his enemies make use of his inability to appear and harm those he truly cared about.

Coming to this conclusion and seeing Serafall rubbing all over him like a cat marking her territory, he made a decision. He gave a mental signal to his clone to prepare something.

"How about some tea Sera," he asked with a gently smile on his face. This earned him an excited grin and nod from her.

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While they were both enjoying a rare moment of tranquility, Ryuu's clone finally came in with a bunch of small books in his arms. While Serafall was confused he just stood up and took the books. The clone then gave him a nod and returned to the library.

Serafall looked at their interaction with fascination. "What was that about, Ryuu-tan," she asked with a curious gleam in her eyes. Ryuu just smiled mysteriously and told her to scoot over.

Sitting right next to her he couldn't help but appreciate the lovely scent and warmth she emnating. Something about her presence just made him relax and allow his guard to come down.

Serafall felt something similar. To her Ryuu had a very "manly" scent that seemed to tickle her reason time and time again. Everytime she embraced him she felt his strong muscles making her stomach flutter.

Shaking his head a little he began explaining, "Remember when I told you the reason behind your failure to accomplish a [Shadow Clone]."

Confused as to why Ryuu was bringing this up she nodded nontheless. "Yes, something about me not being able to properly visualise just what I'm trying to accomplish. Even after you told me this story about the boy named 'Naruto' I still couldn't do it," saying that made her a bit depressed.

After all the clone was not only a truly useful combat skill, but would also help with administrative work. All the time she could've saved if she just managed to properly use it.

While Serafall was spiraling downwards into depression due to her inability, Ryuu just patted her head with a gentle smile on his face, which made her come out of her depressive state and blush a bit.

Doing his best to ignore her adorable behavior he started explaining the purpose behind the "books". They were infact manga of 'Naruto' made by his clone. His goal was to give her a picture of what she was trying to achieve and tickle her enthusiasm.

After all as a future Magical Girl obsessed sis-con, how could she possibly resist their allure. He could already see the sparkle in her eyes as she was holding the first volume.

Once she heard his full explanation she gave an excited squeal, followed by a kiss on his cheeks. Not bothering with anything else she threw herself right into reading. It was a good thing that he'd already explained her, how she should read it since her current state wouldn't really allow her to memorise it.

While Serafall was having the time of her life reading, Ryuu once again cursed her, 'vixen' as he rubbed his cheek with a goofy smile on his face. He really enjoyed these small act of intimacy because they felt infinitely more genuine than elaborate outings and the likes.

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Serafall was impressed.

When Ryuu first told her about 'Naruto' she just found it cute and impressive how he could come up with such an elaborate story, but that was all.

She didn't take it to heart all that much not out of malice but a lack of imagination. It is always difficult to put a proper picture onto a word of mouth which also lead to her current situation.

Devil magic, unlike most other magic out there, relies only on three things: fuel, intent and visualisation. Things like affinity are only matters of convenience.

Being born a Sitri, Serafall should have the innate ability to freely manipulate water, given some training of course. This bloodline ability was independent from magic but could affect it.

After all she could've used devil magic to simply create water and leave controlling it to her bloodline allowing her to conserve her demonic energy and in a battle between equally skilled and strong people, the one who manages their reservers better will always win.

It's what made devils so deadly in the first place. Not to mention the fact that their magic requires no studying, in conjunction with their innate abilities the costs for AOE (A/N: area of effect; big attacks like the waterfall jutsu) attacks are little to nothing.

Serafall's ability mutated. Instead of water manipulation she had the innate ability to freely manipulate ice. A rather beautiful alternative if you asked her.

Given that her strenghts lay elsewhere she, just like Ryuu, placed proper priorities to get the most out of her abilities in a short amount of time which lead to her inability to picture Ryuus' instructions. Her mind was already set onto ice abilities only.

Now, things were a little different. She had sufficient fuel with her enormous energy reserves, she had the intent on using a different ability with a passion, given it's usefulness and she now held the key to visualise the outcome.

After practically devouring the first volume and crying a little for poor Naruto she jumped up. Serafall saw the encouragement and anticipation in Ryuus' eyes and firmly put her hand into the clone seal.

"[Shadow Clone]," she said with extreme determination. This time she would be successful!