Chapter 161: Explanations

a/n: bear with me, guys, this is a chapter filled with explanations. You can say it has some character development or it is an info dump.

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"Before you ask your questions, let me ask you something, Issei Hyoudou. Do you believe in the supernatural?"

Rias Gremory asked Issei Hyoudou, who looked at the redhead girl as if she was some kind of idiot.

"I suppose that I have to, right? First, there is this Yuma Aman girl, or Raynare, whatever was her real name, who has black-feathers wings and can create some kind of spear made of light. Second, there are those light circles things that can transport people instantly. It looked very much like magic to me. Third, there is this mind-reading girl here. And fourth, there is the thing that nobody seems to remember a student named Yuma Amano today, even if on the previous day of class they did know of her existence."

Issei replied while enumerating three times in the last two days that things supernatural-like happened to him. With each number said, he showed a number with his fingers. At the third mention, Rias Gremory gave a brief look at Valerie Tepes, who was pointed by Issei but said nothing about.

"If I say to you that I don't believe in the supernatural at this point, then I would be crazy and admit that I was imagining things."

Issei said again, finishing his reply to Rias Gremory. The redhead girl gave him a small smile at that.

"Good logic, Issei Hyoudou. Your acceptance that the Supernatural exists will make things much easier from now on. So, go ahead, ask your questions."

Rias Gremory said to Issei, who nodded his head in agreement.

"Let me start from the beginning then. Who, or what, is Yuma Amano?"

Issei asked the redhead girl, who was expecting that question at the start.

"Yuma Amano, whose real name is Raynare, is a Fallen Angel. A Supernatural race composed of Angels that had fallen from the grace of their God, ugh, due to some sin, or born from the union of two other Fallen Angels. Their main characteristics are, as you have already seen, the black-feathers wings and the control over light magic. The last one will always appear not as pure light due to their status as a Fallen Angel."

Rias Gremory replied to Issei, finishing a very complete and short answer in her opinion, even saying God's 'name' and taking some rebound for it.

"You say Fallen Angel, Angels and God-"

Issei started saying and saw the other people in the room flinched at him saying the word 'God'.

"- like the ones from the Bible?"

Issei asked Rias Gremory, who nodded her head.

"Exactly. The Biblic Pantheon is just one of the various pantheons that form the supernatural world. And please, don't say his name in our presence unless it is really necessary. It gives us some pain. If you had to say it for the sake of the explanations, refer to him as G-man or big-G. I said it before just to explain things better to you."

Rias Gremory replied to Issei, who nodded his head in agreement with her request. He had noticed the flinches coming from them when he said God's 'name'.

"That raises my next question then. Who, or what are you, people?"

Issei asked again, making Rias smile, as she was expecting that question too. The redhead girl stood up from her seat and while looking at Issei, unruffled her black-leathery wings, together with the other people in the room that were standing. Issei watched with wide eyes at the presentation while thoughts quickly flowed through his head, reaching some conclusions of his own about what were they. But his conclusions were not necessary, as Rias Gremory started to explain things to him.

"We are Devils, Issei. Beings created from sin that lives in the underworld. We are Heaven's enemies. Or at least it was like that in the past. Nowadays we tend to avoid confrontations to the best of our capabilities. Due to past wars between our three factions, the numbers of Devils, Fallen Angels and Angels are very low."

Rias Gremory replied to Issei, throwing the boy into a thoughtful mood.

"So everything in the Bible is real? I have to apologize to Shidou if I ever see him again…"

Issei said again as if it was not really a question, with the second part being in a very low voice. But not low enough that the Devils in the room could not hear. And they did hear.

"Shidou?"

Rias asked Issei with some curiosity in her voice. The 'Shidou' name was not strange to her. The boy looked at her and nodded his head in confirmation.

"Yes. Shidou was a childhood friend of mine that used to live here in Kuoh. He moved away to someplace in Europe about six or seven years ago. His father used to work for the local church and they were very religious people."

Issei replied without taking much of it to mind. It was only after he finished that he noticed the ugly face that Rias Gremory and Akeno Himejima were making.

"What?"

Issei asked them, making Rias let out a sigh.

*sigh*

"The church, be it Catholic, Christian, or Protestant, are all branches of Heaven in the Human World. Behind their normal facade, there are groups of exorcists whose main job is hunting everything supernatural, with Devils being their main target, followed closely by Fallen Angels. It is very well possible that the father of your childhood friend worked as an exorcist for the church. The 'Shidou' name is not strange to me. And no. Most things written in the Bibble are propaganda. For example, there are four different Satans, not one. And we don't live in Hell, since it does not exist exactly like described there."

Rias Gremory said while taking her seat again after having taken her wings in, this time with a serious face while looking at him. Issei, not being too much stupid, understood why Rias Gremory's mood took such a sharp turn, and he decided to change the subject by continuing with his questions.

"You said that Devils live in the Underworld normally, so why are you all here? At the school at that."

Issei asked Rias Gremory.

"The city of Kuoh has been under Devils' control for a long time Issei, with the governors of the territory changing every few years or so. In Devil society, there are what you could call the Noble clans. Seventy-two clans of pureblood Devils whose origins can be traced to the beginnings of our race. There is some literature available in the human world about us, even if the original seventy-two families are now reduced to less than half of that number due to the various wars. When the heir of some of these families reaches a certain age, tradition dictates that they must obtain on-hand experience to become better rulers of the family when their time comes. To obtain this experience in the ruling, they are dispatched to a territory in the Human World to rule over the supernatural side of it. In Japan, Kuoh is such a place. It originally belongs to the Shinto Pantheon, but due to an alliance made a long time ago, this city had its governance transferred to us, Devils, and it has since been used as grounds for experience gathering."

Rias Gremory replied to Issei, finishing her long-winded explanation. Issei nodded his head again in understanding.

"So you all are heirs to big families?"

Issei asked them. Rias Gremory shook her head at that.

"No. Only I am an heir to a noble Devil's family. The Gremorys, more specifically. Akeno, Yuuto, Valerie, and Gasper are part of my peerage."

Rias Gremory replied to Issei, already expecting what would be his next question. And she was not disappointed with it, because it was exactly Issei's next question.

"Peerage you say, as in servants?"

Issei asked Rias Gremory.

"Yes, and no. You could say that a peerage member is a servant to their 'Kings', but I prefer to treat mine as an extension of my own family. And in a form they are since everything that they do would reflect on me, and in consequence on my family."

Rias Gremory replied to Issei, and seeing the changes in his face, already anticipated his next question.

"A King is what you would call the leader of a peerage and the origin of the name came from the game of chess. To explain that part better, I will have to tell you a little about Devils' history, so bear with me. It will be quick, I promise. Many centuries ago, there was a big Civil war between the Devils in the Underworld. Our race was divided into two factions. On one side were the Old Satans and their supporters, who wanted to reignite the old war between Devils, Angels, and Fallen. On the other side were the New Satans and their supporters, who wanted to live in peace and recover their losses from the last wars. After a lot of bloody battles between the two sides, the New Satans won and took as the new rulers of our race, receiving their new names as titles. Keep in mind that the name New Satans was given to them after the end of the war because the Devils were traditionally ruled by the four original Satans, and after that, their families. So with a new Lucifer, Leviathan, Beelzebub, and Asmodeus, the Devil race entered a period of peace and recovery. But there was a problem there. Because of the past wars and the recent one, our population was very reduced and because of our low reproduction rate due to being a very long-lived race, the population recovery would take a very long time. It was then that Satan Beelzebub developed something new. He developed the Evil Pieces. They were enchanted pieces based on the game of chess that could reincarnate a being from another race into a new Devil. The new Devil would gain all the advantages and disadvantages of being a Devil while keeping the characteristics of their previous race. But for the Evil Pieces to work, they needed to be linked to another Devil. There enters the King. But since the material that made the Evil Pieces was rare and thus limited, It was decided that to become a King, a Devil should have a certain threshold of power. And I, being the heir of the Gremory clan and having that minimum power, have gained the right to become a King to a peerage."

Rias Gremory said. She then indicated Akeno Himejima, who was still by her side, with her hand.

"Akeno, here, is my Queen. She was reincarnated with the use of the Queen piece from my set of Evil Pieces. Yuuto, there, is my Knight, he was reincarnated with the use of the Knight piece, while Valerie and Gasper, are my Bishops."

Rias Gremory said to Issei, explaining the workings of a Peerage and gesturing to each person during the explanation.

"Ah, now I understand. That's why he has a sword with him. He is a knight!"

Issei said out loud like he had reached some form of enlightenment, making some of the other Devils have a small smile at that.

"That would be true. Each Evil Piece has some… You may say a set of rules to their use. The Knight piece would enhance the speed and reflex of the reincarnated being, making it perfect for weapon users in general. The Bishop piece enhances the magical power of the reincarnated being. The Rook piece enhances the durability and defenses of the reincarnated being, while the Queen piece enhances all three of said aspects."

Rias Gremory explained again, making Issei nod his head. The boy then cocked his head to the side while showing a confused face.

"I am not an expert or anything like that, but are you not missing pieces there?"

Issei asked Rias, who gave him a big smile.

"Yes, there are two more chess pieces. The King piece does not exist in the Evil Pieces' set, being only a title to the peerage 'commander'. The last piece would be the Pawn. The pawn enhances very little of the natural abilities of the reincarnated being, but it is one of the most important pieces. When permitted by its King, the Pawn can use a special ability exclusive to them called Promotion. With it, they can choose any of the other four pieces to gain their enhancements as a temporary effect. Virtually, a Pawn could be as durable as a Rook, as quick as a Knight, as magically powerful as a Bishop, or as all rounded as a Queen, and all that at his will and dependent on the situation."

Rias Gremory said again, explaining to Issei a more intricated part of the Peerage system. The boy nodded his head in understanding.

"That is all nice and all that. Supernatural is real, and basically all the other stuff too. But there is one thing that is still bothering me. Why me? Why did Yuma, or Raynare, whatever name she prefers, choose to attack me?"

Issei asked while looking straight into Rias Gremory's eyes.

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