19

Chapter 16: Bomb Shelter

I yawned, opening my eyes and sitting up.

Wait.

I glanced around, noticing a distinct lack of a certain white cat. I sighed, glancing down at the bed. Gil had her arms wrapped around Asia, and seemed to be slowly waking up. Ruby was hugging a pillow and sleeping like a rock.

I groaned, rubbing my eyes. 'Conclusion: Shirone is doing something to Sera.'

I opened the Link, trying to see what she was doing to the poor Satan. To my shock, I couldn't sense her mind. Her emotions, yes, but her thoughts dissolved before I could make sense of them. I narrowed my eyes, creating a Shadow Clone and swapping with it. A quick ))Requip(( later, and I was wearing my usual outfit. I quietly left the room, trying my hardest to suppress my Talent as I headed to the kitchen to make breakfast.

'So, for some reason Shirone seems to be blocking me. How? There shouldn't be any way for her to suppress the Bond other than severing it entirely, which Shirone would rather die than do. So how could she be selectively blocking off a part of her soul?' I blinked. 'Wait… a part of her soul. Her Marble? I know that I originally blocked part of the Claim by unknowingly using mine as a makeshift firewall, but could she do the same?'

I reached the kitchen, and stepped inside. It was, predictably, empty. I absently began grabbing the kitchen implements I needed to make breakfast as I pondered the problem. 'No, not her Marble. Reality Marbles are all or nothing, so she'd just end up severing the Bond entirely. But maybe… a part of her Marble. Her Talent. Maybe she Forgot the Bond?' I chuckled. 'Well, I suppose it's possible. Talents have a great deal of autonomy that Marbles lack. Maybe Shirone just decided she didn't want to be disturbed, and her Talent took it from there.'

I decided that it really wasn't worth pursuing. I trust Shirone, after all, and she would never do anything to Sera that she was asked not to.

I began to cook breakfast, electing to go for some simple eggs and bacon. 'There's already plenty of fruit to go along with it, and I suppose I could make some banana bread to go with it…' I mused, idly creating another clone to help me work.

I guess now would be a good time to explain the use of Shadow Clones.

The spell I used to mimic Naruto's bread and butter technique allows me to moderate how much of my power each clone has. The less power I give it, the less it costs me to make it. Of course, this also means that an extremely cheap clone has barely enough intelligence to complete the given task, but it also only has enough emotion to give me the basic memories of a situation. A more powerful or more intelligent clone, on the other hand, costs a lot more to make. But here's the rub—if a clone with as much intelligence as I have knows it's a clone, then it will live its' entire life with full knowledge that it's going to die.

The clone in question will complete the given task, but will spend the rest of its' existence doing suicidally stupid stunts for fun. And when it pops, I get the memories of the clone in stark detail, including every depressing moment before it dies. Hence why I do a quick memory blackout whenever I make a clone of that level. If neither of us know who the clone is, then we'll both act as if we're the real thing. Then, when the clone finally runs out of energy, it 'dies' peacefully.

That was what I did last night with the clone that watched the movie—we both thought we were the real thing, so we might as well have been. So while my clone was watching Princess Bride, I was doing all the homework I needed to. Of course, this does occasionally backfire, such as when my clone was the one to talk with Sera, but otherwise it all works out fine.

The clone I made for helping me with breakfast had barely enough of my power to form a fireball, but it wouldn't trouble me overly much if it died. And that's the balance of the Shadow Clone—calculating how much power a clone needed versus how much you thought it should have. Sera tended to always give hers' enough power to fire off a decent-sized ice spell, but I suppose her clones have a different mentality than mine, so she might not have the same problem as I do.

A half hour later, the first of the hungry teens stumbled into the room, namely Loup Garou. I blinked. "Hey, Loup, aren't you the one who asked for that outfit last night?"

He nodded, rubbing his eyes. "Your fiancé has some odd tastes."

I snorted, folding over the eggs in the pan with some cheese and setting it back on the heat. "Does your kind know of Soul-Bonds?"

He chuckled, picking up a stack of napkins. "Yes, but they work differently for our kind." He smirked, looking at me with amusement. "I would assume, by your scent, that you're a Dragon? That would make sense, given the context."

I shrugged. It's not like I was really trying to hide it from him, and no one that I was hiding it from had a heightened sense of smell. He nodded and continued, opening a drawer and pulling out a handful of utensils. "They form without our consent when we meet the one we're meant to be with. It's kind of a crapshoot, though. Souls don't exist on the same plane as time, so you might be waiting your whole life for your partner. Most Werewolves just end up falling in love naturally, and they never meet their Soulmate."

I nodded, sliding the completed omelette onto a plate of similar fluffy delights. "Well, Dragons are a little different. We use Soul-Bonds, or Claims to us, to mark a lasting commitment to a relationship. Asia is mine, so I Claimed her."

He glanced up, his eyes lit up in comprehension. "Ah, so that's what she meant by liking Hellsing because you do."

I smirked, pouring more egg mix into the pan from a nearby mixing bowl. "Oh, I don't know, I think she would've liked it regardless. She always has had odd tastes."

He snorted, opening another cupboard. "Really? I wouldn't have guessed. Every nun dreams of falling in love with a Dragon." He paused, seeming to find what he was searching for. He pulled out a stack of plates and glanced back at me. "I'm going to go set the table. Omelettes and fruit, right?"

I nodded, sliding the next one onto the stack. The Werewolf entered the dining hall with dishware in tow.

I continued my endless task as the sleepy teens slowly made their way into the dining room. Finally, as my clone pulled the banana bread out of the oven, Sera and Shirone entered the kitchen. I glanced up from washing the pan, smiling at them. "Morning, girls. Where were you?"

Sera returned my smile, but it seemed slightly… forced. Added to her pale skin and refusal to meet my eyes, I drew the conclusion that whatever Shirone had done was less than kind. "We were taking a bath together!" She told me with forced cheer.

I sighed, looking over to a decidedly smug Shirone. "I see. Go ahead and take a seat, I'll be bringing in the food shortly."

She nodded and quickly left the room. Shirone, apparently realizing I wasn't happy with her, slowly lost her smugness. I glanced over at my clone, deciding that he could finish preparations, and shut off the water. I dried my hands, taking my time and taking mild pleasure in watching Shirone squirm. Finally, I headed into the hall outside the kitchen. The guilty Nekoshou followed, her ears flat against her skull and her tail drooping. I waited a few more seconds, and then spoke. "What did you say to Sera?"

She looked up at me from beneath her bangs, twirling a strand of her long hair around a finger. "…Nothing?"

I just stared at her. She shifted uncomfortably for a few more seconds, and eventually looked back up at me. "Um… I talked with her. Like I did with Gil and Asia. I told her what it's like to live with us, so they aren't too surprised or horrified by what they find out. I don't like the thought of becoming attached to someone, only for them to leave once they find out how…" She glanced away. "How obsessed I am with you. Or the thought of them realizing that none of us are sane."

I nodded slowly, but refrained from comforting her. "Then why did she look so…" I trailed off, not able to think of a word. "Cautious? Worried? Scared?"

She giggled, stepping forward and throwing her arms around me. "You have no idea how much she values you, do you? Especially after what she told me of last night."

I blinked in confusion. "Wait, what? What about last night?" I paused, shaking my head. "Never mind, she'll tell me if I need to know. You dodged the question, love."

Shirone smiled up at me, her arms still wrapped around my midriff. "Don't worry, Master, I didn't do anything to her." Her grip tightened slightly, her eyes narrowing. "But I did warn her about what would happen if she c̶h͠ea̷t́éd͟ ͢o͘͟n̸͘ ́҉u͢s͜." She finished, her voice warping slightly.

I sighed, stroking her head. She happily buried her face in my chest, and began to purr softly. 'In hindsight, I really should've expected that. She never said anything to my other girls because they were already mine by the time she met them. But still…' "Shirone, you can't just go around threatening—"

"You can't." She corrected, catching my hand and twining her fingers with mine. He eyes flashed as she looked defiantly up at me. "You have a Distortion that allows you to value others' emotions." Her face hardened. "I can. These days, I barely care about anyone but our little family. Outsiders' deaths wouldn't even phase me. I will kill her if she hurts you, Master. You know I will."

I frowned at her. "And since when has killing those that hurt me actually made me happy with you?"

She sighed, closing her eyes and resting her forehead against my chest once more. "It hasn't." She murmured. "But I don't care. I love our family, and I'm not going to let anyone get away with hurting them."

I knew from experience that I wouldn't get her any further than this. I held her hand for a moment more, but I knew if I stalled any more, then the people in the dining room would start looking in the kitchen for food. I chuckled at the thought of Issei and Rider leading a squad of trainees to find 'treasure'. "Shirone, we're going to have to eat soon. Is there anything else you needed?"

She frowned, but shook her head. "As long as there's sweet milk, no."

I rolled my eyes good-naturedly. "Shirone, you have enough of the stuff hidden away in your pocket dimension to survive the apocalypse."

She shrugged. "Then we don't have a problem."

I smiled, ruffling her hair with my free hand. I gently removed my hand from hers, leaning down and kissing her on the forehead. "Good. Now, go apologize to Sera."

She pouted, but left in the direction of the dining hall. I turned and reentered the kitchen, chuckling to myself. I paused for a moment, then stepped back into the hall and called after her retreating form. "Bond, Shirone!"

She stiffened, and the Link abruptly snapped back into place. "Sorry, I Forgot."

I shook my head, but let it go. My clone and I finished loading the plates onto dining carts, and pushed them into the dining hall. It was a whirl of activity, and I noted with some amusement that Loup seemed to have donned the cassock and glasses reminiscent of Alexander Anderson. Sona was looking extremely confused at the odd outfit choice, and even more so by Rias's bursts of giggles at the sight. Less than a second later, I could hear voices from the closed door. The people at the table quieted as they heard an irritated shout.

"Wha-what do you mean, you forgot the song? Okay, screw it, never mind! Just take my phone and hit random. No, just hit random. Okay, three… two…"

The door abruptly burst open as lyrics began to play.

I'm a twenty something

Something's running through my veins

I'm feeling quite alone…

Used to say I gave a fuck about a shit

But now that shit that I dismiss gets in my bones…

Gaspar, having just strode dramatically into the room alongside Valerie, sighed. "Okay, turn it off, turn it off." The mournful music stopped. "It didn't work." He took off his orange aviators and closed his eyes. "It did not work."

"Following your example!" Rias called in amusement.

Gaspar raised an eyebrow. "Ooh, catty."

Valerie tossed Gaspar his phone and took a seat. Gaspar sighed, following her. I took this opportunity to make my presence known, pushing my cart over to the table and helping my clone place the stacks of food on its' surface. The flocks descended, and the stacks of food rapidly diminished. I waited for people to settle down, then cleared my throat. "I'm sure you're all wondering where Minato and Rider have been."

The entire room paused, and everyone glanced around in surprise. I took this as an invitation to continue. "Well, the answer to that is simple. They were preparing for today's training!" I smiled cheerfully, and there was a chorus of groans. "Oh, calm down, it's not that bad. Today is only the second day of your training. And today we'll be teaching you a vital life skill—avoiding traps!"

The doomed trainees froze in horror.

I grinned.

Ten days later, a thoroughly terrified and mentally scarred group of teens stumbled out of a teleportation circle and into the Occult Research clubroom. Sona, shakily adjusting her glasses, summoned a circle of her own and pulled herself and her Peerage through it. Loup, oddly unflapped by the week's 'training', waved at an equally unphazed Gaspar and Valerie. "Good luck!"

Issei, grimacing, tossed me a black book. "Here. I got what I needed, but it was a pain in the ass."

I smirked. "Oh? Did you figure it out, then?"

He sighed, running a hand through his wild hair. "Yes, but it was kind of a dick move to make the entire damn book—"

I held up a hand, shaking my head. "Spoilers."

I turned, summoning a Gate and stepping forward. Before I could leave, however, I heard a voice from behind me call "Wait!"

I paused and turned to look at Rias, who had apparently shaken off her daze. "Yes?"

She hesitated, but pulled out a pair of Evil Pieces from God knows where. A )Knight( and a )Bishop(. "I know you've trained us as best as you could, given the time constraints, but… I still don't think it's enough. Would you mind—?"

I snorted. "Nope. I'm not trading, not even if it's temporary. If one of my Pieces really wanted to I might, but otherwise no." I glanced over to Gil and Minato. "Well?"

Minato sighed, shaking his head. "I've trained Riser's Peerage myself, and I doubt you'll have too much trouble. There's no way you'll lose."

The unspoken because he'll throw the match was only heard by those who knew the Phenex.

Gil just shook her head, idly wrapping her arms around Asia. "I'll pass, thanks. I haven't had very much time with my family lately."

I nodded, turning back to Rias. "There you have it. No from both candidates. And even if I agreed, you wouldn't be able to use them to their fullest potential. Hell, you might not even be able to control them. You've never really had a decent conversation with either of them in your life, have you?"

She hesitated, but shook her head. I sighed. "See? And you just tried to conscript two complete strangers out of desperation. You didn't even ask them, you asked me. We're Gremory, Rias. We value our Peerage."

I glanced over at said Peerage members. "In truth, both Minato and Gil could easily lead their own Peerages if they wanted. They're both expert tacticians with enough power to be, at least, Ultimate-Class. Even trades between )Kings( require an exchange of power, and you wouldn't have enough power to control any one of my Pieces."

Rias blinked. "Wait, they could be )Kings(?"

Ruby snorted. {Heeey, Gil~}

{…Shut up.} Gil grumbled, crossing her arms.

I ignored them. "Any of my Peerage can easily match a High-Class Devil. One of you could probably land a hit on them—on a bad day, with them drugged and bound head to toe in ropes. But even then, it's iffy."

Rias winced at my honest assessment. Issei chuckled. "Oh? Then what am I?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Dude, you regularly spar with Riser and Sairaorg, who both started out High-Class and only got better from there. I don't know how strong you are, and I don't care to guess."

He grinned. "Oh, those pansies? If they're High-Class, then we've got no problem." He threw an arm around Rias's shoulders, giving her his trademark cocky smirk. "Like I told you last night, Rias. I've got this one. Just say the word."

Rias flushed slightly. "R-right."

Issei's smirk grew almost imperceptibly more smug.

Kiba looked confused. "Wait, if they could get a Peerage of their own, then why wouldn't they?"

I glanced over at where Gil was still cuddling Asia. Noticing my stare, she sighed and glanced up. "Too much trouble. Sirzechs even offered me a set himself, but I turned him down. There's no one worth adding to my Peerage, and anything I am King of must only contain the best the world has to offer. Perhaps in time I will find worthy additions, but I doubt it. The so-called 'strongest' this world has to offer are only fakes and imitations of the original."

Minato spoke up as well, putting a hand in his pocket. "I don't really have any use for one. I'm just trying to live a normal life."

Ruby nodded, her fingers twined with mine. "Pretty much, yeah."

I smiled, turning to Kiba. "There you have it. And since Rider is riding back here on his own," Valerie shuddered. "I think I'll answer for him. I actually did get him a set, and he happily accepted them. Heck, he's already used three )Pawns( on some guy in Brooklyn. I just forbade him from entering Rating Games until I could participate as well."

Issei blinked. "Wait, you're planning on—"

"Anyway!" I interrupted cheerfully, turning back to the Gate. "It's already late, and we really ought to be going. Good luck on your game, we'll be watching it on T.V.!"

Sera waved cheerfully, skipping through the Gate, and the rest of us followed. Minato was left behind, but he knew how to teleport, and he had a house of his own.

On the other side, Shirone and Ruby both burst into laughter. "D-did you see her face!" Ruby gasped, flopping onto the bed.

"Priceless!" Shirone agreed.

Gil sighed, sitting down on the bed and tossing her hair. "You really shouldn't be finding her expression so funny. She seemed genuinely frightened."

"As well she should, considering how easily we could destroy them in a Game." Ruby pointed out smugly.

Sera smirked. "Admit it, you thought it was hilarious watching her eyes bug out like that."

Gil rolled her eyes, a smile tugging on the edge of her lips. "Fine, it was a bit funny." She conceded, glancing at the closed door. "But I still don't think it's a good idea to make a point of terrifying future foes. Scared people do stupid things—and there's few things more unpredictable and dangerous than a person panicking and doing something stupid."

Asia sighed, sitting next to Gil. An adorable yawn left her, and she rubbed her eyes. "Instead of laughing at others' pain, we should be doing something useful." She scolded lightly, yawning once more. "Like homework."

Shirone wrinkled her nose, looking down at her disheveled clothes. "Or changing out of our sweaty clothes."

Gil winced. "I hadn't even noticed those until now. Ish, I feel disgusting." She eyed the sleeve of her black cassock with distaste.

I rolled my eyes. "You look fine, Gil. Calm down."

She stiffened. "I didn't say anything."

"But you thought it." I replied easily.

She huffed, crossing her arms. "That would be a lot more impressive if you didn't just read my mind."

"I didn't have to. I know you, Gil. And you look just as beautiful as you always do." In fact, with her hair slightly ruffled and her cassock askew, she looked even more beautiful than usual. It was nice to see her normally pristine face slightly smudged, it spoke of hard work and effort.

Gil flushed, and Asia giggled. "Cas, I think you just broke her."

Sera blinked, looking between us in confusion. "Am I missing something?"

"Soul-Bond." Shirone answered absently, walking over to the dresser and pulling out one of my shirts. "It's one thing to hear that you look beautiful, but it's an entirely different story when you can see exactly what he finds beautiful about you."

Sera tilted her head. "I see." She murmured wistfully. "Is it really that amazing?"

Shirone snorted, closing the drawer and standing. "It certainly makes picking outfits a lot easier."

She pulled off her shirt and shorts, briefly revealing her blue bra and panties. Sera blinked in surprise as the Nekoshou tugged on my black t-shirt, which was large enough to look like a nightgown on her. "Do you always…?"

Shirone rolled her eyes. "Sera, everyone here has seen me naked. I really don't care if you see my tits every now and then."

The childlike Maou blinked, but began to smirk. "I see. So, if I were to—"

"Nope." Gil interrupted, flushing. "I get enough sexual fantasies from her when it's just us, thank you very much."

"Are you suuure?" Sera asked teasingly.

Gil sighed. "Sera, no."

Ruby sat up, eyes wide. "Sera, yes!"

Sera giggled, striking a pose. "Sorry, Gil, but you've been outvoted!"

Gil blinked. "What? No! Asia, back me up on this!"

Asia flushed. "A-ah, no thanks."

I blinked, noticing the decidedly… R-rated content Asia's mind seemed to be generating. "Asia… we're waiting until Shirone's sixteen, remember? Plus, there's no way that Sera changing into her nightclothes could become that."

Asia pouted at me, crossing her arms in annoyance. "I know, but a girl can still dream, can't she?"

Nope. Just… nope. Her pout was adorable enough to be used as a weapon of mass destruction. The words coming from her lips, on the other hand, definitely did not belong to that pout.

Ahem.

Moving on.

Sera flushed, but kept her smirk. "All right, I'll do it, but then you have to answer a question of mine."

Asia nodded. "Okay."

Summoning a silken nightgown (I had vetoed the negligee after the first night), Sera set it on the ground and reached for her zipper. Slowly, tantalizingly, she pulled it down, allowing her breasts to pop out. The black bra was covered in lace, and showed her large breasts in all their glory. She continued unzipping it, still smirking. Finally, she tugged off the parka, leaving her sinful body visible to all. She allowed the jacket to drop to the floor, and sauntered over to me. She pressed herself against me, her black undergarments hiding none of her curves. "Would you mind kissing me, Millicas-sama?" She asked innocently, her smirk disappearing as she looked up at me with wide eyes.

I smiled down at my little Devil. "Absolutely."

I leaned down, pressing a kiss against her lips. I held it for a few seconds, wrapping my arms around her, before pulling away. Sera sighed, before pulling on a childish pout. "Mou~ You didn't even try to touch me! And that was barely a kiss!"

I snorted, loosening my hold. "Sera, if I did anything more, you would start getting aroused. And no, I didn't grope you. You're my Sera, not a piece of dough."

Her pout lessened in intensity. "Fine… but next time, you're going to use tongue."

She pulled away, walking back over and putting on her black nightgown. I glanced over to see all of my girls staring with rapt attention. Gil was hiding her face behind her hands, pretending not to be peeking through her fingers. "Are you happy now?"

Asia smiled serenely, wiping a trickle of blood away from her nose. "Oh, yes. That was very nice. Do you think you could kiss me too, Sera?"

Ruby smirked, glancing over at the innocent-looking girl. "Oh? How bold of you, Asia. A few years ago, you blushed and stammered every time I so much as brushed your hair behind your ear."

Shirone blinked. "Wait, if we're kissing Sera now, can I join?"

Sera giggled, walking over to the bed and sitting between Shirone and Asia. "Sure, I'd be happy to."

I was treated to the sight of my girls proceeding to have a long and involved kiss that most definitely involved tongues. Gil squeaked, her cheeks becoming even redder.

I turned, deciding to use this as an opportunity to get changed. Call me callous, but seeing Shirone kiss my other girls at nearly every opportunity since she awakened her Gluttony had more or less made me immune to the sight of two girls kissing. It's hot, yes, but nothing new. I decided to skip the striptease Ruby seemed to be hoping for, instead using a quick ))Requip(( to change. Ruby huffed, pulling out a gem of her own and changing in a quick flash. "Spoilsport." She grumbled.

Sera finally pulled away from Shirone, leaving all three girls red-faced and panting. I mentally took a picture of the sight, deciding that I could easily use the image to show off my girls if I ever needed to.

Catching her breath, Sera turned back to Asia. "All right, question time."

Asia nodded, crossing her legs and humming in contentment. "Go on."

Sera tugged on one of her twintails, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "What are you? You're not a Devil or a Fallen, you don't have the same corruption as they do. You're not a Youkai, you don't have the right connection to Nature. You're not a Dragon, simply because you just don't have the same aura of pure power that they do. So what are you?"

Asia giggled, allowing her soft wings to spread out behind her. "Oh, I'm an Angel. Did I not mention that?"

Sera blinked. Twice. "What?" She stared for a few seconds, unable to believe the sight of her twelve pristine wings. "How? Just-how?" She glanced back to Asia's face. "There's no way. I would've heard of a Seraph being born. Not to mention, you literally just gave me the hottest kiss of my entire life, and you don't have a single black feather. How?"

Asia giggled, dismissing all but a single pair and extending it before herself. She stroked it softly, pulling out a loose feather. "Oh, it's quite simple, really." She dismissed her last pair and turned to Sera, holding up the feather. "All Angels must serve Heaven." She smiled radiantly, tucking the feather behind the Satan's ear. "My Heaven just happens to be called Millicas."

Sera nodded seriously. "I see. Makes perfect sense."

I blinked. 'It does?'

Asia stood, brushing herself off, and took the shirt Shirone offered her. '...Why is it always my shirts?' I grumbled to myself. 'I've been shopping with them before, I know they have clothes of their own. And for that matter, why are they all changing one at a time? I know they all have Requip gems.'

Ruby's mind brushed against mine. {Because it's practically them wearing 'property of Millicas Gremory' across their chests. Same concept with your second question—they know they're beautiful, and want to show off in front of you. Basically, they're proud I've never really seen the appeal to either, but the others seem to love the idea.}

{...I know I'm a Greed, but isn't this a bit extreme? I've never asked them to strip for me before.}

{No.} She agreed. {You haven't. But they love the feeling of you appreciating their beauty, even when they're not all dolled up. God, Millicas, you have no idea what they'd try, just to get your attention.}

I didn't, but that's not the point. {You know I'd never ask them to do any of this, right? If they just asked, I'd happily tell them exactly how beautiful they are.}

{You would never ask, which is why they're doing it. Now shush, Asia is changing.}

Asia didn't bother trying to be sexy, simply pulling off her teal nun habit, briefly showing her white bra, and putting on my shirt. She took off her skirt a moment later, but since my shirt was large enough to hide her panties, nothing actually showed save her long legs. I could tell that while she wanted me to notice her, she was also a bit too shy to actually show off.

Gil finally managed to fight down her raging blush enough to summon the )Gate of Babylon( and grab a plain purple nightdress. "I-I'll be right back!" She squeaked, standing and heading for the door.

Shirone smirked, intercepting her and wrapping her arms around the poor Phenex. She whispered something that caused the girl to flush a brilliant red, and pulled away. The white Nekoshou returned to her spot on the bed, a smug smirk on her face. "Well?" She called.

Gil slowly turned, her cheeks bright red. She glanced furtively at me, and her cheeks reddened even more. "O-okay." She whispered, and shyly pulled off her cassock.

Her small body was perfectly formed, radiant in its' splendor. She wore a red lace bra, that matched her eyes (and face) perfectly. The fact that she didn't bother hiding her Divinity meant that her )Manifestation of Beauty( was on full display. And damn, the Skill wasn't exaggerating at all. While Sera had her own form of natural beauty, Gil's was visible from every part of her body. She exuded the concept of 'beauty' as easily as breathing, and her shy expression only made her that much more appealing.

She was a goddess of beauty with the body of a Devil. She's my goddess of beauty. And no one can ever take her from me.

Gil blinked, and began to smile radiantly as she slipped on the violet nightgown and skipped back over to the bed. Her cheeks were still flushed, but she seemed extremely pleased about my reaction. I chuckled, walking over and joining my girls on the bed.

The next morning, I woke to the sound of one pair of lips being pressed to another. I could hear a soft squeak from Sera, and a low growl from Ruby as both girls seemingly disappeared from my side. I blinked, glancing to my left. Sure enough, nether Dragon nor Devil was anywhere to be seen. I sighed, returning to my slumber. 'Poor Sera. This is the second time she's been kidnapped this month.'

A while later, I was woken by Ruby shaking me awake. I sat up, eyeing her in amusement. "This is an odd reversal of roles. Usually I'm the one who has to wake you up."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Ha. Ha. Ha. Now let's go, the Rating Game will be starting soon, and we still have to get ready."

I raised an eyebrow, stroking Shirone's ears as she sleepily woke, confused by her upright position. "What's to get ready? We're just going to the living room, so we don't even need clothes."

Ruby huffed, crossing her arms. "Well… we made snacks."

The other eyebrow joined the first. "We?"

She nodded. "Sera and me. I showed her how to find things in the kitchen, and she made these… pastry thingies. And cookies. That's why I woke up so early."

I snorted. "And here I was listening to the sound of you kissing her. Don't bullshit me, Ruby, we both know you just wanted to molest her."

She flushed, but didn't look the slightest bit repentant. "Well, yes, but we still made stuff."

I stayed silent, waiting for her to confess. Finally, she groaned and uncrossed her arms. "Fine. I gave her an apron to wear."

"…And nothing else." I deadpanned.

Shirone, still somewhat sleepy, snapped to attention. "Wait, what? Sera in naked apron? Where?"

I sensed the almost invisible flicker of the Link that signified the transfer of memories. Shirone blinked, and a smirk crept across her face. "Damn. She really is stacked."

I sighed, moving the pervy kitty off my lap. "At least tell me you gave her a choice in the matter."

Ruby nodded. "Oh, she had no qualms whatsoever doing it."

I stared at her for a few seconds. She sighed, glancing away. "…After I told her you would like it."

My gaze sharpened, and she flinched. "Ruby, what did I tell you about using me to make people do things for you?"

She huffed. "I didn't make her do it for long. I called it practice. She's in her nightgown now, and waiting in the living room for us."

I shook my head, rising to my feet. "Fine, whatever. We'll talk later."

Ruby winced. "A-ah, how harsh of a 'talk' are we having?"

I stared at her. "Harsh enough to make you stop molesting people."

She shrunk back slightly. "It's not entirely my fault." She pointed out meekly. "I am still in my Mating Season, you know."

I sighed, leaning over and shaking Asia awake. "Which is why we're not having this conversation now."

Asia woke, yawning adorably, and glanced down at Gil's sleeping face. She giggled. "Cas, I don't think she wants you to leave."

I raised an eyebrow. "What do you…" I abruptly noticed the death grip she had on my hand. "Ah. I see. Well, tsundere that she is, I'm sure she'll be more than happy to let go once she wakes up."

Asia's smile twitched slightly. "Cas, she's holding your hand between her breasts. Either she's going to start throwing weapons, or she's going to get so embarrassed you can see steam coming from her ears."

I blinked. 'Huh, so I'm not the only one who notices the steam thing. I thought it was all in my head.'

I leaned down and kissed the sleeping beauty full on the lips. She woke sleepily, pressing her forehead against mine. "Morning." She murmured against my mouth.

I sat up once more, gently tugging my hand out of her grip. She blinked, noticing exactly where said hand was. She squeaked, reddening, and let go. I raised an eyebrow. "I half expected you to skewer me. What's with the friendly response?"

She refused to meet my eyes, her blush brightening. She muttered something that I couldn't quite catch. Asia smirked. "She said 'Because I'm the one who put it there.'"

I chuckled, rising to my feet and helping Shirone to hers'. "Well, we're going to the living room to watch the Game. And I'm pretty sure it's Sera's turn on my lap."

Ruby stiffened. "Wait, wha—"

I gave her an even look. "Ruby kindly offered her spot to the newcomer. It was very nice of her."

She winced. "A-ah, yes. Well, um, trying to make her feel welcome and all that."

I nodded, weaving a quick ))Gate((. "I'll see you there."

One by one, we took our seats in the sitting room. Asia sat a blushing Gil on her lap, wrapping her in a feathery embrace. She wrapped a blanket around herself, hiding her wings from casual observers. Not that there would be any, considering that I had made sure we wouldn't be disturbed by any of the staff.

Ruby and Shirone shared my recliner, a single blanket wrapped around the both of them, hiding what I assumed to be a mutual snuggle session. I sat in my father's plush chair, Sera happily accepting her spot on my lap as she wrapped her blanket around us. My Sera. I reminded myself, watching as she leaned back into my chest with a content sigh.

I held out the remote, dimming the Alchemical fire and turning on the nearly wall-sized television. The screen flickered, then displayed a panning view of a gigantic forest. My mother's voice came through the speakers, and I used a quick spell to turn off all the lights in the room.

"…Will be beginning shortly. Both participants are heirs to their respective Houses, and the stakes of the Game are…"

I blinked, looking my )King( in the eye. I felt slightly short, noticing that she was actually a good two inches taller than me. 'Damn Japanese genes...' "I'm sorry, what?"

She flushed, glancing away. "I-I want you to kiss me." She replied, pushing her index fingers together in an adorably shy manner. "If we lose, then I at least want you to have my first kiss, if nothing else."

I smirked. 'Well, apparently love works differently here in the Underworld! Here I was thinking that I would have to go on a date with her, or, y'know, actually do something before she fell for me.' "Well, I'm not complaining, but why now? You could've asked me any time in the past week."

She sighed, shyly meeting my eyes for a brief instant. "W-well, do you remember what you said to me before we left?"

I blinked. "Wait, you mean when you were wearing that thin nightie and sitting in the gazebo?" 'Thin nightie, yellow panties, glasses, and high heels if memory serves. Backlit by moonlight. Sweet, sweet eye candy.'

"Yes." She murmured. "You told me that if it were you, you'd love me regardless of rank and name. That you'd ignore whoever tried to stop you, no matter what."

I smiled. 'Oh, yeah, I did say that.' "Well, yeah. Definitely. I am a Greed, after all, and I only want a harem so I can my girls mine. And I would be more than happy to add you to that list."

She smiled back at me. "Then, if we win this…"

My smile stretched into a wide grin. "Is this a proposal I hear? Hot damn, you really know how to get a guy motivated. All right, if we win this, I'll make you my Rias. How does that sound?"

She giggled. "That sounds lovely. Just don't leave me behind, okay?" She leaned forward, and I met her in the middle. We kissed for a moment or two, then she pulled away with a wide smile. "Thank you, Issei." She told me honestly. "It was everything I hoped for."

I smirked, leaning in and giving her another, wrapping my arms loosely around her waist. "Well, there's always more where that came from."

She giggled once more, giving me a quick peck on the lips. "I'll gladly accept, Lord Gremory." She purred, draping her arms around my shoulders.

There was a loud crunch from behind us. We both jumped, pulling away and whirling towards the sound. I relaxed slightly when I noticed who it was. "Gaspar. You scared us."

He smirked, lifting another handful of popcorn to his lips. "Oh, don't mind me. Carry on with the show." Another loud crunch. "It's not like we have a Rating Game to go to or anything."

Rias sighed, rubbing her temples. "Gaspar…"

"No no, it's Alucard right now." He gestured to his hat. "See? I've got the outfit and everything."

I snorted. "All hail the Silver Fucker."

He flashed me a sharp grin. "Why, thank you."

Rias shook her head. "Just… just go back to the base, Gaspa-Alucard. I'll be there in a minute."

He nodded. "All right."

He didn't move. Rias raised a delicate eyebrow. "Well?"

"Oh, you meant now. I'm sorry." He tipped his hat, and left.

I would bet my life savings that he didn't go more than ten feet away.

Rias sighed, walking back over to me and giving me one final kiss. "Be careful out there."

I snickered, my smirk firmly in place. "Against Fried Turkey? Please. I've been fighting the guy for years, we'll be fine. Just dodge the spontaneous explosions and you'll be completely safe."

She blinked. "Wait, spontaneous—"

I turned and left, still snickering. 'Ah, priceless. She lets me see her body whenever I want, she kisses me whenever she feels nervous, and she's already talking like we're married. Harem member, get!' I cracked my knuckles, my smirk turning dark. 'All I have to do is beat the shit out of Riser to get her. Thanks, bud, you're the best wingman a guy could ask for.'

I arrived in the clearing designated as our 'base', noting Kiba doing basic sword drills and Valerie holding a ball of golden light in her hands. I noted the glowing gems in her crown, grimacing slightly. 'Well, I guess the damn thing really does have its' uses. Whatever.'

I tugged the mental cord that led to Dreadnought, summoning the great Hydra into the small clearing. Valerie glanced up in surprise, Kiba pausing as well. I grinned. "Well, Princess Val-chan, your ride is here!"

She blinked, eyeing the golden Hydra with an odd expression on her face. "…I see. Thanks, pervert."

I nodded, accepting the compliment. "Sure, anytime."

Gaspar stalked into the clearing, grinning widely and holding a giggling Akeno in a bridal carry. "Hey, Valerie, I heard it's 'kiss your future wife' time. I've already got Akeno, you want to join in?"

Valerie sighed, rubbing her eyes. "Akeno, did you really just…"

Akeno smirked. "Oh, yes. Did you know that Vampire saliva is actually an aphrodisiac? It felt absolutely divine."

Valerie twitched, glaring at Gaspar. "…Fine."

I turned, ignoring the 'My, my, Val-chan! How shameless!' in the background in favor of making conversation with Kiba. "So… nice sword."

Kiba smiled thinly, accepting the feeble attempt at humor for what it was. "I'm sorry, Issei-kun, but I already have someone."

I pouted mockingly. "Not even married, and you're already cheating on me? Damn it, Kiba. I'm breaking up with you."

He chuckled. "Well, I'm sure Buchou will keep you company during the lonely nights."

I smirked, putting a hand in my pocket. "Ah, but Rias is but the first of many! I have the 'King' and 'Devil' candidates already. If Sensei's harem is anything to go by, I still need to get myself an Angel or former nun, an animal girl, and a Dragon to complete my collection!"

Kiba blinked. "Wait, Angel?"

I held a finger to my lips. "You heard nothing."

He nodded, looking confused. A moment later, Rias entered the clearing. She paused, looking confused at the odd sight of Akeno and Valerie each holding one of Gaspar's arms, but quickly shook it off. "The Game starts in two minutes. It's time to go over strategy."

I snorted, raising a hand. "I find Riser, I kick the shit out of Riser. End of story."

She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "That… won't really…"

I snickered. "Ah, calm down Rias. I do actually have a plan. Several hundred, actually. But it would take too long to explain them all, so I'll just call it 'kicking the shit out of Riser'."

Rias nodded, looking relieved. "Good. Well, everyone else focus on eliminating other members of his Peerage. Akeno, I'm putting you with Issei for now, so you can take on Riser's )Queen( when she shows up to protect her )King(. Kiba, Gaspar, and Valerie will be destroying everything else."

Gaspar raised a hand. "Just to be clear here, I can rek shit?"

"Yes, Gaspar." Rias replied, smirking. "You can wreck whatever you want."

Gaspar grinned. "Neat."

Akeno detached herself from Gaspar, walking over to me. "Well, Ise-kun, I suppose we're going to be working together today. Please take care of me!"

I nodded, spreading out a single pair of wings. "Will do. Now, let's get airborne before—"

A loud siren sounded, and Grayfia's voice sounded loud and clear. "The Rating Game between Riser Phenex-sama and Rias Gremory-sama will now begin!"

"…That." I finished, launching into the air. Akeno followed me, smiling serenely.

We got to about five hundred feet in the air, and began flying towards what I assumed to be Riser's base. "So, you and Gaspar, huh?" I called over to the raven-haired )Queen(.

She laughed. "No, he's like a little brother to me. I was just helping him make Valerie jealous." Her serene smile stayed firmly in place as she put a finger to her lips and continued. "Don't worry, Ise-kun, I'm still completely available to fulfil all your needs."

I snorted. "Well, you're going to have to talk to Rias about that. If there's anything that Sensei taught me about harems, it's that they only work when every girl is fine with sharing." 'Well, I suppose he also said that bit about yanderes, but I'm sure that won't happen to me.'

She giggled. "I see. Well, I'll be sure to do that, then."

We reached the clearing, and I immediately threw up Aurora Shield around us as an enormous explosion detonated directly on top of me. I dropped the spell, rising to meet my white-haired rival. "Thanks for the greeting!" I called up to him, smirking. "Led me right to you."

Riser was wearing a blue uniform, complete with polished black shoes and silk gloves. His illusion was nowhere to be seen, so I dropped mine as well. He chuckled, holding up his hand, middle finger and thumb pressed together in preparation. "Oh, don't worry about it. It's only polite."

My smirk widened, and I began charging up my energy. I wasn't going to use any visible Ki if I could help it, but I could use it in more subtle ways. "It was extremely polite of you to hold the fight in a forest, too. Makes it even easier for me to kick your feathery ass."

He looked mildly affronted. "Oi, my mother gave me this ass, and I'm quite proud of it."

I rolled my eyes, folding my wings and flying higher. Riser didn't seem to notice the swap, instead turning and flying away. I followed, not bothering to check on Akeno. Sensei had dedicated an entire day to 'dodge' training, and he knew some pretty big spells. I followed Riser for a time, knowing he was leading me away so he could use his explosions. Sure enough, once we got far enough, he snapped his fingers.

And the world exploded.

I uncloaked, glancing over at my white-haired rival in shock. "Holy shit, dude, what did my clone ever do to you?"

He blinked. "Clone? How-" He groaned. "Damn it, Sensei."

I nodded unrepentantly. "He gave me a book full of all sorts of fun spells." My face stretched into a grin. "And since my clone, who was gathering energy, just dispersed, guess who's all charged up now?"

He sighed, rubbing his eyes. "…You're going to spam clones on me, aren't you?"

I smirked. "Oh, Riser…" I summoned thirty clones. "You know me so well."

He raised an eyebrow, and flames began to flicker over his uniform. "Well, I suppose it's a good thing I planned for this, then."

I rocketed backwards, and the fight began. It was a silent agreement between us that neither of us would use our usual tactics—too much risk, not enough reward. Besides, we knew each other too well to be taken off guard by distraction tactics.

Of course, mass-spamming clones wasn't off the table.

Heh.

I stood at a safe distance, summoning my Sacred Gear and watching as Riser blew my clones to merry hell. To be fair, each clone had enough intelligence to keep him busy for about ten seconds each.

Thus was the core of my strategy. I knew I wouldn't win a long, drawn-out fight—I never have before, simply because Riser has more power than I do. So instead, I'm fighting with my mind, not wasting a single drop of my precious mana. I switched to flying with Ki as soon as I could, drawing power from my surroundings instead of wasting it using wings. I created precisely thirty clones, no more, no less. And finally, I moved to the exact center of the battlefield to summon my Gear, saving myself time, later.

Now, let's do a bit of math, here. If each of my thirty clones delays Riser an average of thirty seconds by using both Senjutsu and team tactics, that gives me five minutes to plan my next move.

Five minutes…

))Boost((

Or thirty Boosts.

Five minutes…

))Thought Acceleration(( ))Memory Partition((

With four trains of thought moving at seven hundred times normal rate. And since Sensei's not-Grimoire taught me the perfected spell, all four trains of thought, or 'rooms' inside my mind, were synergistic. This meant that, rather than having four independent thought processes, they built off each other exponentially. 4^4 is 256 individual trains of thought, all going at seven hundred times my normal speed.

'All right, so this entire battlefield is about… a mile in diameter? So, factoring in my current location, the height of the 'sphere', and how much mana I have… well, assuming that I start with 1000 mana, and I Boost thirty times… 2^30 is 1,073,741,824, times my base of 1000 is about 1e12 mana. The spell takes about 1 mp per square foot per minute, in a sphere with a radius of a half-mile, so about 7.7e10 mp. 1e12-7.7e10 is… 9.2e11 mp left. It should last me around thirteen minutes, if I do it right. More than enough to pull a World-Class out of my ass. Well, might as well get started.'

I sighed, and the last clone finally popped. "Dude, you literally just spent the past five minutes pwning my clones. My fucking clones. How do you think you're going to be able to fight me?"

He smirked, raising his hand, fingers pressed together. "Like this. Ever heard of Castle Bravo?"

I activated my spell, and an invisible shockwave travelled a mile in all directions. Riser snapped his fingers… and nothing happened. He blinked. "Wait, what?"

I laughed, putting a hand in my pocket. "Did you really think I just wasted all those clones just to piss you off? I've been calculating this entire time. I have everything I need to pull off my entire arsenal. And the best part is?" I grinned at him, my entire posture screaming smug satisfaction. "I just no-selled your biggest advantages."

In the background, I heard the crackle of lightning and a loud scream. Grayfia's voice echoed through the battlefield. "Riser-sama's )Queen( has retired."

Riser blinked. "Wait did you just inhibit ignition? How?"

I shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh, a nifty little spell I whipped up a while back called 'Bomb Shelter'. I originally trashed it because the mana cost and upkeep was too high to use large-scale, and it was a purely stationary spell, but…" I grinned. "I found a way around that little issue. Now, your flames won't work—not even your Flames of Rebirth. Suck on that, Fried Chicken."

Riser just stared at me. "All right, I'll bite. Where the fuck did you get the mana to even cast this thing? It's what, two miles in diameter?"

'A mile, but close enough.' I smirked, ruffling my hair. "Well, let's just say Rias didn't recruit me for my dashing good looks or excellent hair."

Riser snorted. "Really? I thought it was your humble personality."

I ignored the asshole. "See, I have this thing that does stuff. It's really handy."

"A thing…" Riser repeated. "…that does stuff. Thank you for that, it was so very helpful."

"Riser-sama's )Rook( and )Knight( have retired."

I smiled. "Well, time's a-ticking! You'd better start using something besides fire if you want to win."

He grinned, and the air chilled. "I thought you'd never ask."

I abruptly dodged as a spike of ice occupied the space I was in. Five more spikes followed me as I ducked and wove around them. Oddly enough, the ice was purple. I gritted my teeth as a spike caught my shoulder and carved a shallow wound. "What gives!" I shouted, leaping the next shot. "Since when do you use ice? And what even is this stuff!?"

He laughed, an array of sharp implements forming behind him. "What, you thought you were the only one to borrow Sensei's Book?" Another wave of spikes formed behind him as the current ones were slowly depleted. "And I'll bet you skipped right over the Lore section, didn't you? Went right for the Theory and Arcane sections."

I gritted my teeth, knowing he was right. 'It seemed like a good idea at the time…'

I idly used another ))Boost(( to increase my speed, waiting for him to finish his explanation.

"Well," He continued, hurling another volley, "if you had bothered to read the Lore, you would've learned of a fascinating theoretical magic called Devil Magic from the school of thought called 'Fiore'. This? This is Ice Devil Magic—called such because it was used by Devils on Devils. It has properties worse than Light when it comes to piercing defenses and leaving lasting wounds."

I blinked, noticing that the slight cut I had gotten on my shoulder wasn't getting better like it should. If anything, it was worsening. "Wait, so you learned an entirely theoretical branch of an entirely theoretical magic… from a Book that switches every third word with random food names."

He snorted. "Please. You should know by now that anything of Sensei's is going to be ridiculously overpowered and overcomplicated. If you read the Book upside-down, it actually activates a minor learning spell that imprints the knowledge itself onto one's mind. Instead of reading the words 'This Devil Slayer Magic allows the user to devour and produce the element of ice for various purposes', I saw a man in silver armor biting down on a white sheet of ice. The ice turned to pure energy and the man swallowed it all before releasing it all in a torrential attack."

Everyone in the room paused, turning to stare at me. I shifted slightly, trying to ignore their stares. "What?"

"…If you hold the book upside-down… it makes you learn faster." Shirone deadpanned.

"You created a branch of magic that allows Devils to eat raw elements and use them at will." Ruby continued.

Sera crossed her arms, puffing out her cheeks. "You taught a Phenex Ice magic before you taught it to me!"

I sighed, shaking my head. "Oh, calm down. I don't actually know every piece of magic I theorized about in the Book, that would be impossible for a multitude of reasons. Besides, Devil Slayer magic isn't typically as useful as Dragon Slayer magic."

Ruby twitched.