Chapter 49

Sitting silently in a large room with a large desk with papers methodically sprawled on its surface Damian released a sigh of annoyance. He had never intended to actually be here after that cursed day eight years ago.

Back in the day, Rias had basically allowed him to ignore the portion of the contract that required him to attend her school. At the time he had been incredibly busy and she pitied him so she was in no rush but after their latest confrontation, she had doubled down on it.

'I suppose I'll have to make the best of it.' Damian thought to himself blandly, a boy with spiky brown hair entering his mind. He had never actually bothered to deal with the next Red Dragon Emperor but he was willing to change that.

There were quite a few things he wanted from Issei Hyoudou but the main thing was actually Ordes who sat beside him. Around three years ago at this point, Damian had been involved in a large scale battle, and that ultimately resulted in Ordes being crowned an Emperor.

The Blue Dragon was, like all dragons, a being of combat, and knowing that two beings rivaled his strength made him curious about them. Even if they were sealed away at the moment Ordes still wanted to meet them and if possible fight them.

"I'm sorry for the wait." Sona Sitri or as she went in the human world Souna Shitori apologized blandly as she entered the room, a small stack of papers in her hand. She moved past her childhood friend and took a seat at her desk.

"It's alright." Damian declared calmly as Sona scribbled on the papers. Compared to Rias it was slightly less apparent but the distance formed over eight years was undoubtedly present. It wasn't like they had returned to step one but they were nearly there. 

"I apologize for your loss." Sona abruptly spoke, her voice solemn even as she continued to write away on the papers. Eight years ago she hadn't been able to apologize with anything more than a letter as Damian had locked himself away and held a private funeral. 

"You don't have to apologize, I've already moved on." Damian replied calmly despite the clenching of his hand. That day had been hard on him but he had already moved on even if only because of his responsibilities.

"No you haven't." Sona retorted coldly with a deep frown. Opening his mouth to refute Sona spoke once again. "You may think you're hiding it well but you aren't. Every moment must be agonizing right?"

"Stop." Damian demanded between gritted teeth, Ordes preparing himself to defend his King at any cost as the atmosphere grew thick with tension. Despite no energy being utilized reality reacted to his anger, a phantasmal pressure warping space itself.

"That's why you pushed away Rias, right? Because you don't want to lose her too? Because you think it'd be easier to do whatever you're planning if she hates you right?" Sona pressed on even as space was tainted pink and began compressing and expanding.

"Don't say another word!" Damian abruptly shouted, his hand slamming down on the table in front of him causing it to shatter into fine dust. Breathing heavily Damian brought his hand to his head and covered his eyes. "I apologize. I went too far." He apologized after a moment of silence, the dust quickly returning to its previous form.

"Compared to the actions of a certain bird eight years ago this is nothing." Sona replied dismissively. Handing over the papers she had gone through Damian pressed a hand on them and returned them, his signature perfectly written on each page.

"Thank you for this meeting Miss Sitri. I have to be going now but it was nice to see you again after so long." Damian spoke calmly as if his outburst had never even happened. Rising to his feet he prepared a magic circle beneath his feet while Ordes glared at her.

"Sairaorg asked me to relay that he wanted to challenge you to a duel." Sona declared before Damian could disappear, a look of confusion appearing on his face. "Seekvaira also requested your help building her latest mecha. And if you wouldn't mind I would like a game of chess."

"... I see. I'll see if I can fit them into my schedule." Damian spoke vaguely, his figure finally vanishing as space returned to normal. Letting out a sigh of tension Sona's figure slumped slightly at her desk.

"He hasn't changed a bit." An amused and sly voice spoke out, its voice emerging from the space above Sona's right shoulder. Slowly a blue light appeared out of nowhere, the empty space suddenly being filled as an aqua blue cube materialized, or rather revealed itself.

"On the contrary, he's nothing like he used to be." Sona refuted with another sigh. Truly, that day had changed him. Practically nothing about him remained as it once was. He was almost an entirely new man.

But he wasn't. If he were a new person completely he wouldn't be so affected by the death of his parents. It was purely because he was himself that he was so devastated. It was because his bonds were so powerful that when they were broken his spirit was destroyed with them.

"So I've heard. In any case, be careful around him. He's a ticking time bomb." The cube continued with an amused voice. There was nothing stable about Damian Thaumiel. No matter how elegantly he acted outwardly he was always just a Mad Dog.

"Saying that about your savior? How cruel of you." Sona replied teasingly even if her callous tone didn't show such intentions. Despite her no nonsense attitude she did tend to loosen up around her closest comrades.

"He may have saved me from that hell but that doesn't matter. A threat is a threat and nothing is more of a threat than that monster." The cube declared seriously. Reality reacted to his anger. It was nonsensical at best but it had happened. 

The power of the Satans was immense but there were two clear tiers. At the bottom there was Serafall and Falbium and at the top stood the two tied for number seven of the strongest Sirzechs and Ajuka.

The power of those two was astounding and horrifying. Merely standing in front of them felt as though they would fade from existence. If they wished for it, reality would merely erase them without complaint lest it be destroyed by their power.

And Damian Thaumiel possessed the same power.

*****

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