Settling Raynare's Grievances

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Takauji had just left the main hall, having concluded his meeting with Yasaka and assuming his role as an instructor for the time-being. 

I probably won't be able to hold myself back, sorry Yasaka, but you're going to have to find a way to stop my advances during our training sessions together. Or ideally, not stop them. 

Dragons were biologically the worst at containing their emotions, it defined their very beings, it was not something they could repress without harming themselves. Not that Takauji had any intention of pushing his feelings down in the first place. He adored emotion itself, that was true when he was a human, and it was still true even as a Dragon. 

"Oh, there you are." 

A voice called out to him as he walked through the hallway towards him and Raynare's lodgings, meeting the Governor-General who seemed to have something to say. 

"What is it?" He asked curtly. 

"I've been called in to use my knowledge on Sacred Gears to help out the Gremory bunch back at Kuoh, so I'll have to take my leave for the time-being." 

Takauji raised a brow. 

"The man supporting Rias Gremory's traitor is going to tutor her? I wonder how that'll go." He grinned, already able to imagine the looks on their faces when Azazel appeared in front of them. 

"I'm not exactly expecting warm reception, but I did agree to share my research on Sacred Gears as one of the terms of the alliance, so I don't really have a choice in the matter. You'll be fine on your own right?" 

"Mhm. Yasaka wants me to help her daughter and subordinates with their training, so I'll be keeping myself busy." 

"You made some kind of deal with her while you were alone didn't you?" Azazel narrowed his eyes, not sure how to feel about his Contracted Magician collaborating in an official capacity with another. 

"Jealous are we?" He smirked. 

"As if, just make sure you don't kill anyone during your stay. I'm still intent on bringing the West Youkai Faction into the fold." 

She's more prideful than you think, and as the one representing Vainglory it is my duty to not only endorse, but protect that. Isn't that right? Red. 

"Good luck with that," he said with a dry chuckle. Walking past him as he continued on his way to the room Yasaka had prepared for himself and his servant. 

Suspicious as Azazel was, there weren't any grounds for questioning so he simply swallowed his concerns and left to assume his new position. 

Oh boy, someone doesn't seem very pleased. 

Takauji opened the sliding door to his lodging, seeing the figure of Raynare with her arms folded under her chest, eyes narrowed, and her foot tapping against the floor irritably. His ability to sense emotions as Pandora telling him that there wasn't anything positive going through that head of hers. 

"Do you like her?" She asked directly, her expression telling him that she wouldn't budge even slightly if he didn't give her a straightforward answer. 

"Of course, you know my tastes very well, Raynare. How could I not fall for her?" She was only aware of Takauji's like for what was on the outside of Yasaka, unaware of his furthered desire for what laid within. 

She pursed her lips, happy that he had given her a direct answer but also not sure what to make of the answer itself. 

"Do you plan on making her a servant?" 

Takauji raised a brow. 

"Goodness no, she has a duty to fulfill as a leader. Turning her into a servant would ruin everything." The West Youkai Faction would be in uproar if they found out their leader had been binded by a Master-Servant pact. 

The Dragon hummed, seeing something more than just plain jealousy in Raynare's face. 

"Ah, this isn't just about me being with other women is it?" She turned her head, having been caught red-handed. "The pact, you think yourself inferior because I'm willing to be with another woman without placing it on them. Isn't that right?" 

She didn't say anything, but her silence spoke volumes. 

"Very well, then allow me to do something I should've done some time ago." Takauji snapped his fingers, Raynare filled with immense consternation as she felt the seal on the back of her right hand start to disappear. "Before you say anything, shall I tell you why I put that pact on you to begin with?" 

She nodded, the aftershock of having her pact removed so nonchalantly still there, but her thirst for answers trumping her surprise. 

"I didn't trust you, obviously." She didn't find that much of a revelation. "I couldn't risk any slip ups, especially with my contract with Rias Gremory still active so I needed you firmly under lock and key. I saw faint glimmers of potential in you, but had no clue what to make of it. I haven't told you this, but back then it had hardly been a week since I went from an ordinary human to a Magician." 

"That can't be true!" She couldn't believe what she had just heard, Raynare remembered how overwhelming his strength had been back then. To obtain all that in under a week was inconceivable. 

"It's true." He reaffirmed, making her realize that all of Takauji's strength up till now had been amassed in the span of a single month. "Honestly speaking, I didn't have the faintest clue what I was doing. I basically made everything up on the fly." 

Ranyare was left agape, learning the ridiculous truth about her master, or former master now. 

"As for why I removed your seal, I think it's about time for you to be able to truly do as you please. Our relationship has come a long way since that day in the church hasn't it?" 

"Yes, it has." She smiled, remembering the memories they had made. "Just so you know, I plan on continuing to follow you regardless of whether I'm under a pact or not." 

"That is indeed your choice to make." 

"And you aren't worried about me betraying you?" 

He chuckled. 

"I've done my fair share of betrayal, it would be idiotic to assume that I couldn't be on the receiving end one day. I'd be impressed if anything should you manage to successfully betray me." 

"For some reason hearing that out of your mouth doesn't surprise me in the slightest." Takauji was strange beyond measure, she had more than learned that lesson. Raynare could only ever guess as to what went on in that incomprehensible head of his. 

And if I really do end up retiring to the Dimensional Gap, it'd be best that you are no longer reliant on me. Despair is supposed to stay with me every step of the way, I have no wish to leave it behind to freely rot those whom it touches. That is also my duty as Pandora. 

"Just to be extra sure, you really are serious about her right?" Raynare questioned, with a much lighter tone of voice than before. 

"Yeah." 

She sighed with a smile on her face. 

"Alright then, but just because you start seeing other women doesn't mean you get to ignore me, understood?" She was not his servant, he made that abundantly clear. She followed him out of her own free will, and Takauji kept her around solely out of his own volition. Not some misguided sense of pity. 

"Yes, Ma'am." He saluted, earning a giggle from her. 

"Then what are you still doing here? Go get em' tiger." She slapped him on the back, to which he beamed and took off to begin the process of seducing Yasaka. "Honestly, working for you really is a handful." 

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"Repulsive." A young girl muttered, she had long raven hair that reached her hips and pitch-black eyes with a void-like presence. Her ears seemed to be pointed, reminiscent of Elves in fantasy shows. And for some reason she wore black Gothic Lolita attire, making her look like a cosplayer of sorts. 

"Truly repulsive." She repeated, her expression filled with disdain as the corners of her lips curled downwards. Clearly not pleased about something. "You steal my silence, and the world rewards you with a second half? I want to hurl just thinking about it." 

She was normally a listless, rarely audible person. However, whatever was on her mind at the moment seemed to have changed that. 

"But fine, if you want to play a game of chess then I'll destroy your piece with an even better one. A thief like you could never compare to a creation of mine." 

Footsteps started to approach her from behind, the girl not bothering to turn her head, having been made aware of the figure's presence long before they had arrived. 

"You called for me? Ophis." A young man with light-silvery hair called out to her, apprehension evident on his face in the wake of the girl's out of character attitude. 

"Vali. Come here." She ordered, motioning for Vali to stand next to her. The latter is not daring to refute the orders of a Dragon God. "You want to beat Pandora, correct?" 

Vali raised a brow. 

"Pandora? Who's that?" The name didn't ring any bells. 

"You know it as Ashikaga Takauji." 

Her words only confused the young man even further, causing him to scratch his temple. 

"Him? What does he have to do with anything?" 

Ophis rolled her reptilian eyes, not the biggest fan of prolonged conversation. People should be able to understand what she wanted just by looking at her alone, explaining things was a chore.

"He turned himself into a Dragon, he is now Pandora." 

Vali was shocked, stammering a little as wondered whether she was being serious or not. 

"A Dragon? But he doesn't possess a–" Before he finished his sentence, he remembered how Takauji used Fafnir against Kokabiel. "Oh, what part did he give up?" 

"Don't be ridiculous, an abomination like Pandora couldn't have been born with just one part. He gave up everything." 

The Vanishing Dragon paused momentarily, letting what Ophis had just told him sink in. 

"Seriously?" 

"Are you doubting me?" The more she spoke, the more annoyed she seemed to become. 

"No, of course not." A bead of sweat rolled down her forehead, this was the first time he had seen any actual anger from Ophis, or emotion at all for that matter. And it was the most terrifying thing he had ever come face to face with. "I was just a little surprised that's all." 

She paid his words no heed. 

"Do you still want to beat Pandora?" 

"Yes, I do." He lived for battle, when he met someone stronger than him all his brain would focus on was finding a way to defeat them. Giving up was not in his nature. It never had been. 

"You can't." She stated plainly, earning a frown from Vali. "As you are now, even if you were to train for a decade you wouldn't be able to close the gap between the two of you. Pandora is the other half of Red, it is inevitable for him to reach that level. The same does not go for you." 

His mood continued to sour, not only from the Ophis's words themselves, but the fact that his heart told him that every last one spoken held truth. Undeniable truth. 

"However, with my help it is a different story." 

"What do you mean?" 

"Show me your Sacred Gear."

He did as she asked, a pair of blue luminescent wings sprouting from his back. Shining with brilliant radiance. 

Ophis put her hand on [Divine Dividing], Vali's eyelids lifting as he sensed a foreign power start to invade his body, causing him to flinch a little. 

"What did you do?" Had it been anyone other than Ophis, he wouldn't have bothered to keep his voice down. 

"I have given you my blessing, make that power your own, and with it you will be able to defeat Pandora." 

With only one side aware of it, a new rivalry had begun. One between Ophis's chosen, and the other half of Great Red. A fight between God Candidates. 

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Looks like there might be an early Diabolos Dragon Lucifer 👀.

10+ Advance Chapters: patreon.com/Accel14

Discord Link: KQAtTw9u7x

Word Count: 2064