5

Chapter 5: Endgame

For a long moment, neither of them spoke. Sona glared at Keijutsu with all the anger she could muster, while Keijutsu still wore that damnable smirk of his. It was obvious to her now that he was the one behind the incidents with the machines. All the strange events when she had tried to investigate him—and the fact that each attempt failed—made perfect sense when considering that he too could use magic.

But why? Humans using magic were uncommon, but not unheard of. But this kind of magic was something she had never encountered, even during all her studies. It only aggravated her more that she, of all people, had been stumped, and it was by the same person she was trying to intellectually beat.

Keijutsu leaned back in his seat, letting his mechanical wasp fly off to sit on the wall. "Like I said, you must have questions regarding me and what I've been doing. Go ahead. Ask away," he said.

Sona's eyes narrowed. All this time keeping himself hidden, and now he was willing to open up? Just like that? It was too good to be true. Still, she tried not to look a gift horse in the mouth, and asked the first thing that came to mind. "What kind of magic is it that you use? Are a magician, a warlock, or something else?" she asked.

Keijutsu chuckled. "Something else. While my practice involves blending several sources of magic, the closest singular phrase to what I do is 'Artifice'," he said.

She frowned. The name itself rung a bell, as if she actually had heard it once or twice during her first studies of magic. "Elaborate," she said.

"Gladly. Artifice is the use of magic as a supplement to, and even in some cases a substitute for, regular objects and technology. Rather than try to conjure up magic purely from within, Artificers find power in everything, from the simplest sword to the very elements and minerals beneath our feet. Everything in existence is capable of being used for magic, and thus Artifice centers around using objects to grant power."

"My own work, however, is slightly different. My version of Artifice involves taking the art's core principle—manipulation of magic through objects—and combing it with modern science and technology," Keijutsu explained.

That caused Sona to raise an eyebrow. "Combining magic and science? Isn't that the job of alchemists?" she asked.

Keijutsu grunted. "In some sense, yes. Alchemists focus specifically on finding a way to blend magic and chemistry to turn ordinary metals into precious ones or, more importantly, create an elixir of life. I extend my reach to all of science—chemistry, physics, engineering, all of it—and seek to build marvels created by bringing the two fields together. Where magic fails to provide structure in my work, science lays out the path. And where science's capabilities fall short, magic provides the missing link."

Sona thought back to the golden ring she had obtained. "And that includes using runic magic?"

"Correct," he said. "Runic magic enables me to take a spell and formulate it using precise laws and procedures, ones that have to be adhered to in order for success. As you've no doubt noticed, my golems were remarkable feats of engineering. Mechanical foot soldiers that I could, given the resources, produce on a mass scale. But creating automated machines with their level of sophistication would have been impossible with science as it is currently understood. And that's why my Artifice works to combine it magic."

Sona was silent as she considered what she had been told. Given all that, Artifice suddenly seemed like a much more formidable form of magic than she had previously suspected. Even without magic, human ingenuity enabled mankind to investigate objects at the atomic scale, build massive buildings and structures of marvelous complexity in just a few months, and send messages from one end of the planet to the other at the speed of light. In just the last several decades, they even achieved the capacity for self-annihilation. But add magic to all that, and not even the sky was the limit.

She could also see just why, despite its capabilities, it had remained in such obscurity. Artifice required extensive knowledge of both magic and science, and many magic-users disregarded the latter in the belief that their craft was superior, while many scientists didn't believe in magic at all. Plus, she could see that it took a mind capable of thinking in both the mystical and mundane to be truly skilled at the craft, something even more uncommon.

Which lead to the second of her questions. "How did you figure out that I was a Devil? Was it because of your skill at Artifice?" she asked.

"Ah, now that's a good one. To tell you the truth, it was your Vice-President, Tsubaki Shinra, who revealed that information to me," Keijutsu told her.

Sona blinked. "Tsubaki told you? When would she have…" she started, before trailing off as another one of the pieces fell into place. "When I sent her to search your apartment," she said, answering her own question.

"Correct again. Your servant was actually able to break into my home, but she hadn't considered that I might have additional security inside. I enjoy my privacy, and am very unhappy when it is violated," he said, looking pointedly at her.

Sona at least had the decency to look guilty, even if they both knew she didn't regret her choice. "How did you get her to release any information? Not by choice, I'm sure," she said.

Keijutsu grinned. "Three for three, Kaichou. You're on fire," he said, causing Sona to glare at him. But rather than be intimidated, he merely laughed. "Rest assured, I didn't use torture or something like that; I save that for only when I'm truly infuriated. But I did use one of my inventions to coax the information out of her, and I wiped her memory once I had everything I needed."

'And that explains why she returned from the trip unable to remember what happened,' Sona thought, nodding. Now she had just two more questions. "And what about the attacks from all the mechanical monsters? What was your reason behind those?"

"Well, the first attack was because I was simply curious about what it was that you Devils were capable of, and decided to put you and the Student Council to the test. But once I saw the myriad things you and the others can do, I was struck by an epiphany. Science itself is continually progressing, uncovering more and more of the inner workings of reality and how to apply its findings as time marches on."

"But ever since the time of the ancients, magic has seen little, if any, progress as an art. I found this to be odd, since there are so many different ways magic can be used, and almost no investigation into its limits. So now, I want to learn just what it is that magic is and isn't capable of doing. To that end, I started with something simple: copying a use of magic I had already witnessed," he explained.

Sona frowned. "You mean Saji's Absorption Line?" she asked.

He nodded, although he looked disappointed. "Indeed. Over the past four weeks, I've been assembling golem after golem that is capable of using a whip-like appendage to drain a target of its energy, just like Genshirou-san is able to. Every week I improved the design from what it was before, and every time I did I sent them after you and the Council in order to perform a field test. But even after almost a month of testing and innovating, I still can't replicate an Absorption Line that performs as effectively as the original. It's disheartening, really."

Sona smiled. "Well, I'm not surprised. It makes since that you wouldn't be able to use your Artifice to copy the Absorption Line when it isn't even magic in the first place. It's a Sacred Gear," she said.

Keijutsu raised an eyebrow. "Sacred Gear? Tsubaki didn't mention that term when I was questioning her."

"Probably because you didn't ask," Sona countered, making him bow his head as he conceded the point. "In any case, Sacred Gears are also called 'God's Artifacts'. As the name suggests, they are items created by the Biblical God to acts as part of his miracles on Earth. They can only be naturally obtained by humans, who are given the power at birth, and many who had them went on to be influential figures throughout human history," she told him.

"And since the Absorption Line is one of them, it draws its power not from magic, but from God himself. And that's why my attempts to replicate it have failed thus far," Keijutsu thought aloud. That was… interesting. It would seem that he had yet another subject for him to explore. Though, that would have to wait until later. "Do you have any other questions, Sona-kaichou?"

Sona nodded. "Just one more. Why are you being so charitable with this information? You've done well so far to keep me from learning anything. Why the change?" she asked.

Keijutsu sat up. "And there we arrive at the purpose of my visit. After learning from Tsubaki that everything you were doing—having me followed, spying on me, breaking into my home—was just so that you could get an edge and beat me in chess, I came to a decision. Just as you were trying to learn more about me, I would learn more about you.

"I extracted everything that Tsubaki knew about you from her. And since then I've been using the data from every conflict you've had with my inventions to learn more. Your likes, your dislikes, your hobbies, everything that makes you 'you'. And now, with everything I've gathered thus far, I believe I have everything I need to secure a win."

And with that, he reached into his bookbag and pulled out… a chessboard.

Sona's eyes widened, and she looked at him. He grinned. "We've both done everything we can to gain an edge on another, and have been playing cloak-and-dagger for weeks. Now, I believe the time has come for us to finish our game and decide a final winner. Don't you agree?"

She thought about it. Even with all the information she had just obtained and even with all the doors and windows locked to prevent him from escaping, there was no proof that she'd be able to uncover any more information about Keijutsu. If she wanted to win, she would need to do so with what she had. Still, Keijutsu was obviously holding more cards than her, and she hated the idea of fighting when she knew she was at a disadvantage.

Seeing her reluctance, Keijutsu said "And just to make sure that you agreed to this, I've decided to up the stakes and make a bet, if you're willing."

Sona raised an eyebrow. "And what exactly would we be betting?" she questioned.

"It's simple, really. Whoever wins this match with be able to make one request, one simple request, and the loser will be obligated to fulfill that request to the best of their abilities," he said.

She stared at him. "That's it? One request, whatever the winner wants, no strings attached?"

"Exactly. It doesn't matter what the request is; whoever loses this chess match will have to fulfill it. That's the offer I'm making if you'll agree to play, right here and now," he replied.

Silence enveloped them once more, and Keijutsu waited while Sona mulled it over. If she won—and she had every intention of winning—then she could literally ask Keijutsu for anything. All of his inventions up to that point, every bit of knowledge he had obtained about herself and the rest of Student Council. Heck, she could even ask him to become part of her peerage.

But if she agreed to it, and Keijutsu was the winner, then the same applied. He could ask anything of her, and she would be bound to obey. It was a blank check for either of them, which was why it would raise the stakes—the only limit to what they could win was their imagination. "And I'm guessing you've already decided what you're going to ask for?"

"And that's four in a row. I have decided, but I'm not telling you. Not until after we've played the game," he said.

Sona slowly nodded. "Very well, Kei-san. You have a deal," she declared.

"Splendid. Then let's get this underway," he said, and opened up the chess board to take out the pieces.

Once they were all in place, he gestured for her to make the first move, just like last time. She did by moving her leftmost Pawn two spaces forward, and act which Keijutsu copied with his own. Sona then moved her right Knight two spaces forward and one to the left.

Keijutsu moved the Pawn in front of his King one space forward, and asked "Would you like to hear one of the reasons I love chess, besides what I said before our first match?"

Sona shrugged, and moved the Pawn in front of her Queen one piece forward.

He responded by moving his king-side Bishop forward and to his right, placing her King in check. "I love it because it is virtually impossible to win by brute mental force. Claude Shannon, the father of information theory, once postulated that the number of possible 40-move games is equal to 10 to the power of 120, greater than the number of hydrogen atoms in the observable universe. Estimates of the number of 'sensible' games are much lower than that, but it highlights the fact that one has to be able to adapt in chess, because simulating every possible game is greater than any human mind can process." he explained.

"I see. Fascinating," Sona said, and moved a Pawn forward to block his Bishop. He moved it back in front of his Queen and its accompanying Pawn, letting her take the initiative. Sona smiled. Now, she could start her attack.

Forty-five minutes later…

Both Sona and Keijutsu could feel it. After playing for almost an hour, there were only a handful of moves that each of them could do. Sona possessed four Pawns remaining while Keijutsu had one Pawn and both Rooks. One of each of their Pawns was facing each other, resulting in a deadlock there, while Keijutsu's King was in one corner next to one of his Rooks. Sona's King was nearby, just out of range of either piece but ensuring he couldn't move neither.

There had been several occasions during the game in which they could have gone for a draw, but neither of them would accept that. Not this time. The match would end with one winner, and one loser. The stakes at hand, as well as their pride, would demand no less.

Keijutsu moved his Pawn forward and promoted it to a Queen, placing Sona in check. She pursed her lips and moved her King out of the way, though that let him capture one of her Pawns. In return, she captured the Queen with another of her Pawns, equalizing the exchange.

Sona looked at him with a smile. "Well, Kei-san, this has been, without doubt, the best game I've ever played. No matter the outcome, I have to congratulate you on that," she stated.

Keijustu moved one of his Rooks closer to her King. "I'm happy to hear that, Sona-kaichou, and I want you to know that I feel the same way."

Sona moved her King closer to said Rook, leaving them diagonal from each other. Keijutsu placed his other Rook directly in front of her King, though she couldn't capture it without putting herself in check. Instead, she moved her King to the side. But then Deiru moved his other Rook back to the same row as her King, trapping her. "And with that, I have checkmate."

Sona stared. He was right. She couldn't move to either side since she would still be in check, and if she moved forward or diagonally, the same would still happen due to his other Rook. She had lost.

Sona fell back in her chair. Over and over, her mind played that one phrase. 'I have lost. I have lost. I have lost.'

Behind them both, the seal over the door dissipated, and the Student Council wasted no time in bursting in. "Kaichou! We came here as soon as Tsubaki called and-" Saji began, but froze when he saw Sona's shell-shocked state. Noticing Keijutsu and putting two and two together, he quickly turned red with anger. "You bastard! What the hell did you do to her?!" he demanded.

Keijutsu didn't respond, which only further aggravated him. Before he could attack, Momo placed a hand on his shoulder. "Gen-kun, calm down. Look at the desk," she said solemnly.

Saji blinked in confusion but did as she advised. And when he did, he saw the checkmate. His eyes grew huge. "No way… That's not possible," he whispered.

Tsubaki nodded. "It is. Keijutsu-san beat our master at her own game," she said. The rest of the peerage were also flabbergasted, completely unable to process the idea that their King had lost.

Keijutsu was silent as he picked up the pieces of the game and put them away, before leaning forward and placing his arms on the desk. "Well, Sona-kaichou, that's that. As per our agreement, now that I have won, I get to make one request of you," he said.

Sona slowly nodded, hanging her head in shame. "Yes, I suppose so. What is it that you want?"

"Well, the ironic thing is that my one request… has three parts to it," he said.

Sona shot her head up. "You never said we could-"

"I never said we couldn't do that, either. Now, are you still going to hear my request, or are you going to break your own word?" he countered, smirking.

That crushed whatever argument she had been about to form, and only added to her sense of defeat. "Fine. Name all three parts," she said.

"Gladly. The first part of my request is that, in the future, neither you, your peerage, or any other member of Devil society will interfere will any experiments I conduct, so long as they don't endanger the civilian populace."

Sona mulled that over. It could have been worse. She nodded.

"Secondly, I want access to all the knowledge and natural resources held by the Sitri family to use at my leisure so long as I do not bankrupt your House."

Sona paled at that. Even if he added that contingency, there was still no telling how much of her family's wealth he could burn through. Even now, she could already imagine the shame she'd feel when her family's resources took a nosedive, and she'd have to explain to her parents as to why. But the die was already cast, and she had no choice to agree. "Very well."

"And the final part to my request…" Keijutsu deliberately paused, allowing the suspense to build. Slowly, he leaned forward and, once he was close enough, whispered his request.

"I want to join your peerage."

This time, Sona whipped her head upwards so quickly she almost got whiplash. "WHAT?!" she shouted, a shout echoed by her entire peerage.

Keijutsu laughed loudly. Okay, that was too good. He rarely tried to make himself laugh, but their shocked expressions were hilarious. He stood up. "Oh, come on, Kaichou. I may be ruthless, but I'm not heartless. I knew walking in that you might want me as part of your peerage, and to be honest, the idea of becoming a Devil intrigues me. There are so many experiments that I can perform during a normal human lifespan. And while being a Devil can have its disadvantages, an extended lifespan is definitely an attractive prospect."

He looked down at her. "Plus, I don't see why I can't let you have some sort of consolation victory, considering all the fun you made me have during this entire back-and-forth of ours. So, I'm giving you what you, at least partially, wanted."

Sona looked at him for a good, long moment, trying to see if he was playing any tricks. When she saw that he wasn't, she smiled. Not her usual small smiles or superior smirks, but a true smile, one that spoke to how happy she was. "That is something I can certainly do."

Keijutsu nodded. "Then let's get on with it," he said, and walked towards the center of the room. The rest of the Student Council cleared the way for him, even if Saji was still glaring at him for having beat Sona.

Once he was in place, Sona stood in front of him and spread her arms. "In the name of Lucifer, Leviathan, Beelzebub and Asmodeus, the Underworld, and the House of Sitri, I call upon you, Keijutsu Hatsume. Heed my words," she said.

A large magic circle, blue in color and bearing countless lines of arcane text, appeared around the young man.

"Offer up thy soul to my will and thy will to my command."

In the air between them, there was a flash of light, and a Bishop piece appeared, hovering in midair.

"Begin a new life as a Devil and my servant. Revel in this gift that I bestow upon you. Become my Bishop!" she declared.

The Evil Piece shot forward and hit Keijutsu in the chest, over his heart. But rather than cause any pain, the Piece sank through his skin as if it were not even there. The magic circle spun around him and glowed brightly, bright enough that Keijutsu closed his eyes.

As the Evil Piece did its work, he could feel power begin to rise from deep within, from the very center of his being. That power rose like a geyser, swift and powerful, setting his nerves alight with the sensation of pins and needles. Goosebumps rose on his skin, and he could even feel his hair stand on end.

Finally, just before the rush of energy became too much for him to handle, it vanished. The magical circle around him faded too, and he opened his eyes.

Sona was standing there with her arms lowered. "It's done. From this point on, you will live as my servant and my Bishop. Welcome to my peerage, Keijutsu Hatsume," she declared.

Keijutsu frowned. Except for that rush, he didn't initially feel any different. He didn't even sprout any wings like Tsubaki had shown-

As if on cue, or perhaps responding to his mental commands, a pair of black wings burst from his back, somehow not shredding his clothes in the process. Keijutsu looked at them in surprise. With just a thought, his wings flapped rapidly and nearly lifted him off the ground, before he grunted and willed them to stop. "Looks like I'll need some practice…" he muttered.

Sona chuckled at that. However, just then, the sound of moaning reached their ears. Keijutsu looked over towards the source and blinked. He had completely forgotten about Rias and the fact that she was still here, albeit unconscious. But it looked like she was now awakening.

Said redhead yawned and rubbed her eyes. "Sona, what's going on? The last thing I remember was talking to you about those metal creatures and the-" she started to say, before jerking and falling back down as she was stung by the metal wasp… again.

Keijutsu sighed. "That takes care of that problem. For now, at least," he said.

Sona couldn't help it. She laughed. While the other members of her peerage looked at her in surprise, having almost never seen her laugh, Keijutsu smiled. "Well, Sona-kaichou, it's getting rather late. I'll come back first thing in the morning, and you can properly instruct me on the duties regarding my role as your servant. Until then, I bid you farewell," he said.

With that, he retracted his wings and walked out of the Councilroom, leaving the rest of them standing there.

Tsubaki looked over at Sona. "That was a stroke of great fortune. I have a feeling Hatsume-san will do well as a member of our team."

Sona nodded, retaining a small smile. "Yes, I do believe he will."

As he walked back towards his apartment, Keijutsu reflected on the events of the day. They had turned out more prosperous than he had thought that they would.

In truth, when he had walked into Sona's office, he was somewhat expecting to lose their final match. He had only been able to end their first match in a draw, after all, and he knew that she'd be all the more determined to win this time. But against his own expectations, he pulled through.

Now he had the freedom to perform almost any experiment he wanted, with every one of them coming at no expense to himself. Plus, he had become a devil, so now he had thousands of years ahead of him to continually come up with new ideas and increase his knowledge. Things were looking up for him.

A buzzing caught his attention and he watched his wasp land on his shoulder, a strand of red hair held between its front legs. He smirked and pocketed the hair, while also petting the artificial creature with his finger. It leaned into the petting and gave its closest approximation to a purr, which really just sounded a metallic growl.

And he even got a DNA sample belonging to someone who had the power to literally vaporize anything they hit. Another feather in his cap.

"You're certainly looking lively."

Keijutsu stopped and looked around him. The voice that just spoke was no mystery to him, even if he couldn't see where it had come from.

"Up here, silly!"

He looked up and saw what appeared to be a little girl standing on one foot atop a telephone booth. She looked like no more than a child, one with short, dark green hair and one golden yellow eye. The other eye, her left one, was covered by a metal eyepatch with the design of a keyhole over it. She wore a red dress with a knee-length frilled skirt, light pinks sleeves, and a red collar. On her legs were black boots with purple striped leggings, and she had fingerless golden metal gloves on.

The wasp on his shoulder buzzed in fright and flew away, while Keijutsu sighed. "I thought it was you. What are you doing here, Rasiel?" he asked.

The girl, Rasiel, giggled and leaped from the phone booth, making a pirouette in mid-air and landing on top of a mail box. "Why, I came out here to enjoy the sights! After being cooped up in that apartment for so long, I wanted to explore this town and watch its humans," she told him.

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? And what did you see?"

Rasiel sighed. "Nothing I didn't expect. Give them over a hundred years since I last took an interest in them, and they can still act foolish. So foolish," she said.

"And you're surprised by that? You yourself told me that I was the only human you've become intrigued by since after World War I. That's a long time to be bored," he pointed out.

Rasiel began spinning in place. "Ja. I tell you, if the human race hadn't started a second World War all on their own, I'd have probably started it myself to avoid being bored. Foolish as they are, they would have fallen for it, too," she said.

Deciding not to focus on the girl's too-casual mentioning of potentially starting a war, Keijutsu said "Well, I'm heading back to the apartment to put this DNA sample in storage. Try not to cause any trouble until you get back."

As he began to walk away, Rasiel stopped and jumped once again, this front-flipping before she landed right in front of him. "Hold on a second! How did your match with that Devil girl go? Did you win?" she questioned.

He shrugged. "As a matter of fact, yes. Though I decided to become a Devil anyway, with the chance to live longer being my prime motivation for it," he answered.

Rasiel was silent for a moment, before he heard sniffling. Quickly, that sniffling turned to giggling, and then to full-out laughter as the little girl held her sides. Keijutsu frowned. "Exactly what about that is so funny?"

"It's… It's just… this!" she said between laughs, gesturing to him and herself. "I'm supposed to be the holder of all the secrets of Heaven and Earth, yet my Keykeeper has become a Devil! It's too funny!" she said, laughing even louder.

Keijutsu shook his head. It was ironic, yes, but he hardly found it as hilarious as she did. Though, she did remind him of something. "By the way, when you do come back, I'll need access to the Library. Apparently, Heaven has more secrets than I suspected, and I want to take a look at some of them. Particularly at the 'Sacred Gears'," he said.

Rasiel smiled. "Oh? It sounds like you have something fun planned," she commented.

He shrugged. "Perhaps. But I'll need time to make preparations if I'm going to do anything as dramatic as what you're likely envisioning." And with that, he moved around her and continued on his walk home.

She watched him go, and smiled. She knew she had been right when she had chosen Keijutsu as her Keykeeper. He just had a habit of making things more interesting.