[Akuma]

I've come to another startling conclusion. Something that people have been saying for years, but I never truly thought about until now. An epiphany that could rocket mankind centuries in the future just by the sheer amount of profound wisdom in it.

School fucking blows.

The classes are boring and the teachers just give me extra work if I happen to complete it early so I've just been staring at my work and zoning out. I can't even spend the time playing with the two new spells I made last night.

After trying out my Download spell, I realized a critical flaw. I don't actually know much chemistry, to begin with. Even if my spell could tell me what elements something broke down into, I don't even know what they do or how they react.

So I spent hours memorizing the most common of elements known to man. Oxygen, Hydrogen, Helium, etc. I can't memorize the whole periodic table in a single night, after all. But while doing that, I managed to turn my wooden table into a chair with this.

[Transmutation: Reconstruction]

<Using magic as a catalyst, you reform a previously broken down material into a new or previous structure. Requires the material to be damaged/broken down and knowledge of how to reform it.>

[Transmutation: Deconstruction]

<Using magic as a catalyst, you break down any material you know of into a more malleable state. Requires knowledge of the material and its components.>

It was a frustrating night, but I think those two spells make up for it. They're the absolute basics of transmutation but they're powerful in their own right.

Although I probably shouldn't do that so often. Even if I don't necessarily need sleep, it's there for a reason. Even if I ignored the negative health implications that came with lack of sleep, I'm pretty sure constantly working impairs logical and creative thinking. I read somewhere that's the reason shower thoughts are so profound.

Because it's a form of rest time for your mind. Without sleep, I'd just be working 24/7.

Meh. I'll sleep more when magic becomes less fascinating. Like eating the same food every day for every meal. It's gotta get stale at some point.

But for now...

I wonder if I could do something to make the giant magic circles my spells create more subtle. The knowledge I got from my Unique Formula lightly hinted at the fact that some species could use magic without magic circles, after all. It'd be sick to convince people I could just touch things and make them disintegrate.

Maybe I could achieve something like that with another custom spel- Wait! I totally forgot, my main quest probably updated after last night!

[Main Quest 2: Prove your Superiority]

Objective: Kill someone with a Battle Power of 0.

Reward: +1 Skill Upgrade: Novice to Apprentice

Damn. I was really hoping for another custom spell opportunity. I could probably create my own spells but that'd be harder than just inputting an idea and getting the spell instantly.

But prove my superiority? Is my Pride ability trying to make me more prideful than I already am? That honestly sounds sad, why would I need to flex on people to know I'm better than them? If I really was better than everyone, I wouldn't need to prove it.

It would simply be a fact of life.

But I like rewards so I'll do it. The only issue is who do I kill?

I notice a commotion at the door as someone walks in, but I disregard whatever the students are fussing about and instead focus on scoping out all the background characters. Maybe I'll go for one of those two perverted idiots. I think one of the devils put a spell on the people here because they don't seem too hung up about their other perverted friend being dead.

If a zero BP person's death could be swept under the rug that easily, why shouldn't I kill someone for my own benefit? I can just get the devils to cover it up later, just like this time.

Yeah... they won't be missed.

A hand clasps my shoulder, interrupting my planning on how to subtly kill one of them without alerting anyone. I damn near activated Touki because I wasn't expecting anyone to grab my shoulder while I'm in the back of the classroom.

Now, who's the jackass that decided to sneak up on me?

<Isaiah "Yuuto" Kiba – Battle Power: 145>

<Unique Ability: [Sacred Gear: Sword Birth]>

An absurdly handsome boy with blonde hair and blue eyes. I don't really like men in that way but anyone who said he isn't a typical pretty boy is just lying to themselves. I wonder if all devils have some sort of ability that makes them look better. It'd fit the whole demon stereotype of being charming and convincing but deadly in the long run.

It's ridiculous that she called this guy an errand boy, but I guess when you're that strong this guy is just a pushover at best. But if he's a pushover, what does that make me?

"You should reconsider whatever you were thinking about. If you try anything, I'll send you straight to hell." is the first thing he says to me, looking me straight into my eyes.

His smile is a bit strained, and I can feel him squeezing my shoulder a bit tighter. I can't tell if this is a power move or if he's just that protective over the students but I don't care either way. I don't like being threatened. Unflinching, I glare at him and pry his hand off my shoulder

"Touch me again and I'll disassemble you for parts," I promise. Now that I know a bit of magic can hide things away, I really won't hesitate to turn him into dust. Or at least fuck up his organs, I don't have enough knowledge to truly disintegrate someone.

Kiba chooses not to say anything for a moment, just raising an eyebrow at me. He probably caught on to my choice of words. No one says they're gonna disassemble someone as a threat unless they really can do so.

I can't use Download without alerting the people around me. But if he touches me again I'll just do it despite them and then follow up with Deconstruction. It's how Scar from Fullmetal Alchemist's right arm work. He just used the first two steps of transmutation, Comprehension, and Deconstruction. After that, he just ignored the third part and his enemy was destroyed. Easy.

Actually, could I do the same? It's not like magic circles and transmutation circles are any different in this world. I could get a few tattoos on my body so I won't have to summon an obnoxious glowing magic circle every time I want to use magic.

Kiba's smile changes into a more pleasant one, but it still looks forced. "I'm here on the behalf of Rias Gremory, would you follow me?"

Ah. That's why I immediately didn't like this guy. He's one of those people who act one way but think another. Ugh, just like receptionists. Those fake smiles and chipper tones always creep me out when I notice how dead inside they really are.

Standing up without a word, I follow him out of the school and towards a certain club building. The Occult Research Club, eh? That's rich.

We didn't say a word to each other on the way there. I had nothing to say to him and I think he doesn't like me for planning to hurt people. There's probably some blood lust thing in this world, but I don't know why a devil would care about what human I want to kill. They didn't give a shit about Issei when they erased him from memory.

Heading inside, the atmosphere is completely different. It's a relatively dark room with a Victorian-style design and an abundance of candles spread about.

I can hear water running in the back. There's a bathroom area behind a curtain where someone is taking a shower. Personally, I would've just made a door for the bathroom but maybe I'm the weird one.

The moment I walk in, Kiba walks straight back out and closes the door behind him. I guess that's 2 out of the 5 strong people who dislike me along with that loli.

Since there's no one else I just take a seat on one of the couches and wait for whoever is in the shower to come out. It takes a good thirty seconds of me just staring at the ceiling before I hear voices and the shower cutting off.

"Here, President, Take this,"

"Thanks, Akeno"

A few more seconds pass of this, and it makes me wonder if not being able to see through walls is a weakness of my Appraise skill. Just a simple curtain and I don't know who's in there.

Finally, the curtain opens and Rias steps out in the school uniform, followed by Akeno. I'm not supposed to know their names, but it's not as if people don't talk about them. I've heard people whisper their names over and over.

I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing such bizarre hair colors on people. I even saw someone with pink and brown hair casually walking down the street. I thought it was Neopolitan from RWBY for a second but it was just some nobody.

"Sorry about that, I didn't think Kiba would be bringing you so soon," She says. I can't tell if it's a lie, but it feels like one.

I simply raise an eyebrow in response and look at Akeno instead who has a smile on her face that doesn't quite reach her eyes. Odd.

Noticing me looking at her, she introduces herself.

"Ara ara. My name is Himejima Akeno. Pleased to meet you," she says, a light giggle following her statement.

Am I the weird one here? I can already tell she's putting on a mask to appease me, just like that Kiba guy. And now that I think about it, Toujou had a mask of indifference too. She still acted on her anger, but it never really showed up on her face unlike these two.

Out of the weaker ones, I think I like Toujou the most so far.

"Katsuo. Katsuo Naoki," I keep it short. It's weird having to introduce myself with my first and last name. Plus I don't really know what these guys want from me.

Rias dries herself before making her way to the couch opposite of me. Taking a seat, she crosses her leg and puts and interlocks her fingers before deciding to just break all pretenses.

"I'll be frank. We are devils."