Chapter 8

It seems like things worked out mostly fine. I mean, it could have been better, but I send out three of the four fallen to others as well as the corpses of all stray exorcists and their weapons as a little extra for the fragments of Gungnir from Symphogear world. As I look at the fragments in my hand I smirk, these things are simply way too good and I can't wait to see what I can get in exchange for these. Of course, I requested for some videos to show to those buying what exactly they would be getting as to raise the price, good advertising is the soul of business.

Chuckling to myself I look down to see the figure of the fallen who actually decided to take my deal. Sitting in seiza in front of me was the blue-haired bombshell that met him previously, whenever I sent a glance her way she would shiver a bit from it, not that I blame her.

I did not go light in my deal, she and the other fallen had conspired to kill me and Isane without any provocation and had kidnapped Isane and used her as leverage to try and capture me. Sure, I might have known it was a high possibility and also have planned on selling them, and that is the only reason why I bothered to give at least one of the fallen an 'out' from being a live experiment for crazy alchemists interested in studying them in more details than it would be healthy.

Regardless, the terms Kalawarner accepted were as such:

- You cannot lie or hide information from Ace;

- You belong to Ace for all senses and purposes and cannot disobey any order unless it is an order that means death to herself without fail;

- You cannot try and betray or do any actions that go against Ace's wellbeing directly or indirectly unless ordered by Ace himself to do such an action;

- You cannot try to enter in contact with your former friends, allies, or bosses directly or indirectly unless ordered by Ace, nor can you help direct their attention to Ace knowingly unless ordered by Ace to do so;

In other words, she became a slave 'willingly' in exchange for, well, not being brutally murdered in a dissection table with her spirit possibly being experimented upon afterward. It was just a possibility of it happening, of course, but being a slave beats going through that all things considered.

"... Go find some abandoned warehouse or something for you and the autoscorrers to hide for now. My house is too small to house you all anyway." I say to Mittelt who shakes a bit as she nods.

"Y-Yes, I understand."

As she keeps on looking at me I squint my eyes at her.

"Do you want me to 'invite' you to do as I say? Go." I said and she dashes away with the autoscorers soon following after giving a proper bow of deference.

Seeing that they were gone I moved along as well. The church was in ruins and it wouldn't take long before someone came to investigate, but that was none of my business since there are no corpses or blood to show for the result of the fight. Selling everything meant that there is no evidence of a single being having died here and that alone would stump whoever comes to investigate for long enough for me to join a peerage and, by then, the responsibility of what I did can be shouldered by whoever is my king.

I had sent Isane and Asia ahead via teleportation, alchemy is really useful and these teleportation crystals that can send others so easily to a set destination are just too practical. I had sent Isane and Asia home ahead using those, so they would be safe. I can let Isane find some explanation about Asia, I used a simple formula to make sure Asia would stay asleep until morning so I will be home when she woke up. With me home we can find some way to deal with her inability to understand Japanese, it wouldn't do for a servant of mine to be unable to do something as simple as having a talk with others beside me.

Regardless, that leaves me with the rest of the night to do as I please and I do so by taking out my phone and calling a potential client.

"Ace-kun, did something happen? It is weird to have you calling me at this sort of hour." Rias said on the other side of the phone. This is the first time I call her this late of the night, but with her tone, it should be safe to assume she didn't get any news about the fighting happening around here tonight.

I could probably thank the fallen for that, they likely put some barriers around the area to help make sure no disturbance was felt while they tried to attack me. Good to know their plan backfired so spectacularly.

"Sorry for calling you so late, it is just that I got my hands on something that might be able to give you an edge in your rating game moving forward and was wondering if you'd be interested."

"... Can you come to the club room tomorrow... no, tonight? I could really use the help." She says and I can almost taste her desperation for anything to help her, just as I can almost taste how much this will give me benefits moving forward.

Smirking to myself I answer.

"No problems, I will be there shortly. Oh, and make sure to have the rest of your peerage around if possible, especially Koneko as I believe she would be the most interested in what I have to offer." I say as I turn off the call.

It was abrupt, but it was to keep her unbalanced. Of course, completely ending the communication like that would leave a bad taste on the mouth, so I send her one of the videos that Carol captured of the Gungnir symphogear in use, both with Kanade using her spear and with Hibiki using only her fists.

With a video sample, I could walk slowly to kuoh academy and let Rias ruminate on the video as well as show it to the rest of her peerage. The more they come to desire it, the more likely they wouldn't be so against the trade I want to do next.

///---///

Rias's P.O.V.

... I want it.

If this thing is real, if what Ace is offering is this equipment, then I want it.

No, I don't want it. I NEED it.

Something like that, if given to Koneko, would be such a boost to her powers that it would be able to close the gap we currently face considerably.

As I wait for the others to watch over the video I think for a bit before speaking.

"What should we give for something like that?"

The others, having finished seeing it, look back at me before looking at one another and nodding as if in silent communication.

"Buchou, leave it to us. Whatever it is he might want, we will be the ones paying for it, not you." Akeno said and I frown at this.

Don't they understand that something this valuable would cost a lot more than they can pay?

As the one with the most to offer due to my position, as well as the one that should be responsible for them, it obviously is my responsibility to take care of this.

"Buchou, we can do it." Koneko said with a brave expression, and I almost teared up at seeing her determination to help me.

I can still remember how she was when I first met her. She was distrustful of all who approached her, hurt from abuse physical and mental all over she was afraid of anyone approaching her and was also suffering from malnourishment as some devils found it a funny idea to try and starve out the girl.

It took me weeks just to have her say her first few words to me, and even then it took me longer to gain her trust and make her open up. I lost count of the number of times I slept by her side when she was having nightmares, of how many tears she shed and I cleaned up. Seeing her being brave like that in front of me fills me with warmth as if a mother seeing her child growing up.

Not only her, seeing all their expressions filled with confidence and determination makes me so proud of how much they improved, of how far they've come. However, that was even more of a reason why I cannot let them suffer and pay the price for this power. If someone has to pay a price for this power, for a better chance of seeing me free from Riser's grasp, it should be me as their king, not them who already went through so much in their short lives.

"You guys, thank you but I should be the one to pay for it. I am the king and this power is needed because of my own problems." I said, explaining my point and trying to make them understand.

"No, Buchou, leave it to us." Akeno said again with a pat to her chest. My eyes inadvertently glanced at it and I almost scowled at that since it was a reminder that she sometimes called me 'small'. I-It is not my fault I am not as developed as Akeno.

My size is a perfectly reasonable I cup, not the absurd size of J cup that Akeno has. I am normal, she is just too big.

Shaking my head of useless thoughts I start to formulate my words to explain why I should be the one to pay the price when-

KNOCK KNOCK

Knocking on the door could be heard. Akeno, before I could say a word, moved first to the door and opened it revealing Ace there with a smile that eerily reminds me of some merchants and nobles that sometimes come to visit my family for deals.

"Good evening, miss Rias. I apologize for the late hour for this meeting, but I just got my hands on this new product and I had the time free to come over tonight. Time is money, after all, and I see no reason to delay this meeting." Ace says with a tone and expression that again reminds me of those merchants I've seen in the Underworld peddling more luxurious items for the noble houses.

"Good evening for you as well, mister Hyoudou. I am glad for you coming to us so quickly." I said with a light smile.

It was nice of him to have come to me directly as soon as he got his hand on such a weapon instead of trying to put it for auction or the like, he would have gotten more money like that so that he sacrificed such a chance to instead help me really makes me happy.

This must mean he wants to join my peerage!

"Please think nothing of it, I just got a chance of obtaining such an item through a stroke of luck and found that it would fit perfectly with your cute Rook there." Ace said before turning to Koneko and speaking with a smile. "I know you like to solve things with your fists, so wouldn't a weapon to empower what you are good at be best suited for you."

Koneko gave a shy smile and nodded her head, it is nice that she appears to have started to open up more to others.

"We are interested in this weapon, so how much do I have to pay for it?" I question, confident that I am rich enough to pay for such a weapon.

Ace, however, raises his finger to stop me and speaks.

"I don't want to trade this Symphogear for mere money, I want to trade it for something more... unique and special."

GULP

Does, does that mean he wants to trade that weapon for a more unique 'favor'?

I mean, I've heard that this happens where a merchant would trade his merchandise for sex and pleasure, but I am not sure I can do this.

... No, if anyone has to do it then it should be me. I will not sell Koneko or Akeno's bodies for power, I'd rather sell myself a thousand times over making them go through this even one time. It also helps that it means I won't be giving my virginity to Riser even if I lose the rating game. Letting that bastard only have sloppy seconds almost makes me selling myself a palatable idea.

"I, I understand. Can it at least wait until the others leave the building?"

"BUCHOU! Don't say such nonsense, if it comes down to this then let me be the one to-"

"No, it is for my benefit. I will do it."

"Stop saying nonsense, Akeno, Koneko. As a king, I should be the one to shoulder such burden and-"

"As you Queen I should do this for you instead Ria-"

"No, I will."

"OKAY, STOP ALREADY." Ace shouted over me, Akeno, and Koneko's discussion. "I am not sure I understand what you all are thinking, or lack of thinking considering what little I get from all these talk, but I am not trying to buy your bodies for sex."

Hearing this we all calmed down a bit.

"I have someone else for that anyway." Ace says nonchalantly as if it wasn't anything much.

"Huh?" The sound escapes my mouth without me thinking.

He just raises a brow as he continues.

"Don't mind the details, it is unrelated to you anyway. Just an enemy that I was about to kill and said she'd do anything to survive, so she sold herself away in exchange for me not ending her life." He shrugs at this. "I was feeling a bit pent up, so why not? It is just sex anyway and if she prefers to spend her life bent over instead of in pieces, who am I to deny her? I am quite a merciful guy, after all."

... Are we sure he isn't the devil in the room? Pretty sure I've heard old devils speaking exactly like that in the past, word for word, before saying how we of the new generation are not devilish enough.

"Anyway, it seems there is a slight misunderstanding, this deal is actually not between me and you exactly, Miss Rias." Ace says and I raise my brows at him. "I came over to make a deal with you instead, miss Tojou."

Koneko's eyes widened at that as she points a finger to her face.

"Me?"

"Yes, and the deal is rather simple. In exchange for having a symphogear fused into your body perfectly as well as my available potential for phonic gain, which is its energy source, I want your innate ability and talent for Senjutsu." Ace says and we all freeze.

Koneko, in special, looks terrified as she speaks.

"This, it is impossible. No one should be able to trade away something like racial traits and-"

"I can." Ace cuts her off. "It is something I was always able to do, no matter what it might be or how absurd it might sound, a trade would be possible as long as both sides agree to it." he says as if what he is saying isn't completely absurd.

Taking away the racial traits of others is something that is nearly impossible to be done, and even if succesful means the death of the one being taken most times. If he truly can do that, I can't even begin to imagine what it would or could mean.

"So, would you like to trade away this power you fears and doesn't want to use, for a weapon that will make your current self strong to a much, much higher degree? A weapon that, if in the apex, might even be comparable with a Longinus! A clean and clear cut away from your tough and hard past and a way to celebrate and fully embrace this new life of yours."

"I, I can, I can really do this? To no longer need to fear becoming a, a monster like my sister." Koneko spoke, her voice trembling and cutting at times as she looked up at Ace and me, as if she wanted confirmation.

"Koneko." I say, feeling my heart tremble from the clear pain she is feeling.

Ignoring me Ace approaches Koneko and crouches so as to be closer to her height as to keep better eye contact.

"I swear it, as long as you agree you will never again be able to use Senjutsu, nor have to fear using it." He speaks softly to Koneko before putting a hand on her head and patting it softly. "I studied a bit about the past of you all, as I was thinking of joining in, so I have some ideas about what this means for you. If you don't want to go through with this it is fine as well, just be sure of what you decide."

"I accept it."

This... was not Koneko.

Turning my gaze I see Akeno, her eyes firm but with slight signs of tears on her eyes as she gazes directly at Ace.

"I want to be the one to pay for this deal then. My fallen angel heritage and powers in exchange for this weapon." Akeno says without any hesitation.

"Akeno." I mutter and she just shakes her head.

"Rias, please don't stop me. If this is a chance of me to get rid of that tainted blood, then please do not stop me from obtaining it." Akeno says and I stop talking. I know better than anyone how much she wants to get rid of that side of hers, I have had to stop her from ripping away her own wings in anger and disgust at them and I know how much she hates herself for being a part fallen angel.

As a king, it pains me to see my Queen weakening from losing that which made her stand out the most, but, as a friend, I only want what is best for her.

Ace looks pensive before shrugging.

"Very well, however, I want to point out that in the future I am still likely to find other good things to sell and trade. What you don't want, just sell it for me and that works as well." Ace says with a smile.

I notice Koneko's lost gaze but leave her to her own thoughts as the deal is reached. The gem in Ace's hands disappeared and in its place was a strange red orb with black and white lights flashing around it.

Akeno's power decreases fast, she clearly gets dizzy and if not for me and Kiba holding her she would have gone to the floor. Soon she only had around seventy percent of her previous magic amount, but a smile appears on her face as she mutters.

"I am finally free from that man for good."

As she says this a beaming smile blossoms in her face, a smile that grows even brighter as a golden fire emerges from her hands, causing her to startle but exude great happiness over it. The golden fire is a trait present only on the hands of the Himejima family mainline and is one of the highest levels of fire out there, being equal to that of the Phenex house.

Even if Akeno weakened in magic amount, there is still a way for her to get strong and, seeing her smile blossoming at seeing that flame, I smile with her.

I don't know what this deal means, but at least my family is happy and that is all that matters now.

///---///

Ace's P.O.V.

Well, it was not quite as good as getting access to high talent and potential in Senjutsu, but Koneko felt like she was not quite as decisive about this matter. I can just leave that as an idea at the moment so that later she'd trade it with me without fear.

As for the bloodline and power from Akeno, it will be a nice little gift to Kallawarner. She is my new slave and, while I did not get her for fighting capabilities per se, that doesn't mean I can't make her at least strong enough to be of some use besides as a bed warmer and cock sucker. An employee should be good in more than one thing at a time, after all.

Besides, Akeno could go from a regular mid to high-class devil to borderline Satan Class in just a bit over a year with this power she gave away, and this while being partially devil to counter the light energy AND being part human that would also lower the basic potential of this racial potential.

If I give this bloodline to Kalarwaner, it shouldn't be an issue for her to grow to Ultimate Class or Satan Class in a short while. If I also arrange some other extras for her, she will become an actual potential force to be reckoned with, which is always a positive for me considering her entire being is under my absolute control.

Still, the potential for Senjutsu not being obtained is quite a bit of a loss. If I could obtain that and later get my hands on the Sage training from the Naruto world as well as a Bijuu, I could go all Megazord similarly to how Naruto would go by the end of the fourth war.

Being a giant beast at will and having who knows how much energy sounds like fun.

Regardless, I still got something quite nice for little effort, so I smile at Rias for a moment before nodding.

"Now, as an extra service, I should explain how to use the power I granted Koneko-chan."

Rias nodded her head and said.

"Yes, thank you."

I then turn to Koneko who put a hand on her chest, likely feeling the addition to her heart as it perfectly fused with it.

"Now, Koneko-chan, tell me what do you know about idols?"

///---///

AN:

So, sorry for the wait. I am back from the Dengue Fever and I am mostly all better, who had that fever can tell how much it sucks. Seriously, I couldn't walk more than 20 meters without almost dying from tiredness and had a fever of over 39 and a half degrees Celsius for two days in a roll. But I am better now, so there is that bit of good news.

Ace now is making some more deals and soon we will be having the plot of Shinmai Maou making its appearance, hope you all enjoy it.

Quick question, should Ace get Akeno in the harem or not? The harem will already be quite huge anyway and I rather doubt that him helping remove the part of her she hates won't make her feel good feelings about the MC. I mean, if she fell for Issei for accepting her fallen side, what would she feel for the one who manages to 'cleanse' her from it AND let her awaken back her mother's power? If he also helps Rias in regards to the engagement, yeah I think the former fallen girl will like it.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this, and please check out my other fics. Ideas are appreciated and if anyone is interested in working with me on this or another story please send me a PM on Fanfiction net about it, I am all ears.

Until next time, peace.