Scarlet 53

Scarlet 53

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Commissioned by Sivantic

Wordcount: 2500

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How do I make friends?

In my past life, it sort of just happened while we all did our best to do what we needed in order to survive. In Emma’s case, which I didn’t really count in all honesty, we just knew each other as kids and got along well… until we didn’t. I knew more than I wanted to about how to maintain and how to break a friendship, too.

So, in truth, the right question was… how do I initiate the friendship process?

Probably by not thinking about it as a process. Just get out there and talk to people without ulterior motives.

I’m literally trying to make friends to get more power, Ddraig.

Think of it like befriending them and then asking for favors later, then. Friendship first. The power of friendship comes later.

How much of this, exactly, was from manga?

Most of it. Dragons don’t make friends. We have rivals, prey, servants, and peers.

And, the difference between a peer and a friend is…

Friends you help out when you can. Peers are people you’ll never help, but you’ll never put down.

I’m pretty sure that’s now how that word works, but I guess that just might be how it works for Dragons.

Probably.

I shook my head and refocused on heading towards Iras’s home in Kuoh.

Surprisingly, there was someone just past the front door of the mansion.

“Ah, Issei Hyoudou, nice to finally meet you.” A tall young man with a white-haired maid standing beside him greeted me. He wore a deep burgundy suit with a black coat hanging over his shoulders along with a scarf draped over the lapel of the coat. Besides the formal wear, the man radiated power even at a calm, and it felt like pinpricks all over my skin. I put the similarities between his features and his power together.

“Lord Lucifer, the honor is mine.” I extended a hand out for him to shake and he gladly returned the handshake. I received a piercing glare from the maid, until I gave a small bow of respect after we shook hands. I’m a national of the country of Japan, lady. Not one of his subjects. “Rias talks highly of you. Serafall, too, when she’s not beating me up.”

“It’s training!” Serafall made her presence known with a wide and semi-strained smile. I barely had a moment to notice that she was present before she was right in front of me with a glare. “And, why does Sirzechs-chan get ‘Lord Lucifer,’ huh!? Why can’t I be Miracle Levi-tan?”

“My pride’s already in shambles without calling you that, Serafall.”

Sirzechs cracked at smile, while Leviathan scowled at my statement and huffed while crossing her arms… over her chest.

She’s always got her guard up nowadays.

Just means she’s aware of you, Taylor.

Hope is a cruel poison, Ddraig.

You’re really not going to deny that you’re trying to get with both sisters!?

Got no chance, but I can dream.

“Anyway, Issei Hyoudou, I came here to thank you personally for all the aid you’ve given my little sister. Besides saving her from her unwanted fiancé, you have also assisted her against those who stole the Excalibers, and finally against the attempt on her life by Kokabiel.” Sirzechs didn’t bow. That would be too much. Instead, he held out his hand towards his maid and looked her way. “Grayfia, if you would.”

The silent maid nodded and from a subspace pocket she pulled out a long box and opened it.

Revealing shards and pieces of armor and weapons of immense power.

“I had several contacts research your Sacred Gear. I have no doubt that the Welsh Drake has told you much already, but we made a discovery. Or, rather, Beelzebub made a discovery when he studied the users of the Sacred Gear after they activated Juggernaut Drive.” That as the berserker state that would eat up my life in minutes, but would unleash enough power for me to beat just about anything. Not even healing would fix me up if I used it, since it ate away at lifespan. Only becoming a Devil or another long-lived creature, somehow, would let me extend my life further. “Records showed that in that state your Sacred Gear showcased rapid adaptation to multiple phenomena and creating new forms of attack, most notably after consuming foes.”

I raised an eyebrow at the various metals in the case that were filled with magic.

You don’t need to eat it. Just activate and put your gauntlet on it.

Ah, got it.

I did just that while cradling the large case in my spare arm.

In moments the box was emptied of the many shards of armor and weapons and equipment consumed, thanks to Ddraig absorbing them and incorporating them. The shards of metal seemed to melt into the gauntlet, becoming brief slivers of silver or polished steel amidst a sea of red, before being subsumed completely. By the time it was over, there seemed to be a greater luster to the whole of Sacred Gear. I didn’t feel stronger through it, but… the pressure from Sirzechs abated by just a little. The needles from his presence didn’t feel like they were reaching the very core of my being.

“I’ll take that as payment for my work any day.” If I could get a few tons of the stuff, I was sure that I could see a serious improvement in my ability to resist magic. Ddraig said that it was going to come with time, but it was always better to have more. What’s cooler than a Dragon besides a Dragon covered in custom-fitted armor? Nothing. I rest my case. “I’ll do my best to earn more, Lord Sirzechs.”

“We’ll find what we can. There are quite a few battlefields out there where shards can be found… and we shall be doing our best to stay in your favor, Hyoudou-kun. Many seek it now, since you were quite the topic in the conference.”

“It is?”

“The Church and Hell have worked together before. Primarily in the dispatching of Stray Devils. It is a necessary action to prevent harm from befalling others.” Sirzechs gestured for me to follow him and we took a seat around a coffee table. Serafall took the sofa that faced it, while Lucifer and I faced one another across the table from its farther ends. Thankfully, Serafall was sitting and not lounging. Otherwise, I’d get distracted. “Sometimes, we have even worked with the Grigori. However, never have we worked with one another to prevent the assassinations of two Heirs to Pillar houses. The perceived reason for that success… is you.”

“Why?”

“You wield a Longinus, a weapon of immense power and strength, and you do so of your own volition as a mercenary seeking to keep his home safe. By doing this, you became a bridge between Devils and the upcoming generation of Holy Sword users of the Church.” Sirzechs explained and his maid pulled a platter of hot tea and cookies from out of a subspace magical pocket. Wait. No. That was a spatial gate into the kitchen. She’s tunneling through our dimension just to fetch tea and cookies!? I… I guess the strongest Devil also has the strongest maid, huh. “Heaven, Hell, and the Grigori all seek your favor… especially since Azazel expressed his interest in taking you in.”

Nice, Azazel pulled through for me.

“We spoke to one another. I didn’t think he thought of me that highly, but I’ll do my best.” Reputation is important. Being spoken for and sought after by the likes of Azazel was a massive leap in terms of my worth in the eyes of everyone around me. The fact that I wasn’t a Devil helped massively, too. People were willing to be diplomatic and skirt around each other when it came to currying favor with neutral parties. “For now, though, I plan on staying in Kuoh and working with Rias and Sona, since they’re helping me gain power quickly.”

“And, I hope that you’ll take that into account into the future when ask for your aid… but not against the others of the Three Factions. The conference ended amicably with sharing of information and new pacts to prevent the outbreak of a new conflict.” Right. That was even better news. Being a sought-after asset wasn’t good if picking a job locked you out of everyone else. With everyone interested in peace, everyone was looking outward for other threats to their current holdings, which gave me the chance to get more from everyone involved rather than needing to pick a side. “Kuoh’s church will soon be renovated and Exorcists will be stationed here. Azazel has taken responsibility for Kokabiel’s actions and agreed to stay here as a guardian under our watchful gaze to prevent any attacks of opportunity by his former general’s subordinates.”

Azazel being here for a few years came as a surprise, until I recalled something.

“Five years is a bit light for bodyguard work, considering what would’ve happened with Kokabiel.” Kokabiel is hundreds, if not thousands of years old, given his power and the fact that it was likely he was one of the original Fallen. I wasn’t sure about the timeline, but Azazel was well past five hundred at least. Five years for him was a single percent of his life. I was close to four decades in total now. A single percent of forty years was… around five months of my life. “In fact, even if I like him, that’s far too light considering the possible consequences.”

“Indeed, but relying on Azazel to protect the younger sisters of two Pillar Houses undermines both the Grigori and the Devils, Hyoudou-kun.” While I was offered cream and sugar cubes for my tea, both Leviathan and Lucifer were given pre-prepared blends. The maid kept an eye on how I prepared my own, though, and nodded when I drank it with a single cube. Most of the tea a drank in my previous life came in bags, but in my new life I learned a bit about loose leaf teas and their preparation… and their expense. I was sure that I was drinking something that was eye-wateringly expensive from scent alone, so even adding sugar felt wrong. You’re talking a lot about hot leaf juice. Yet, you complain when I drink bagged tea. Some hot leaf juice tastes better than others. Of course, I’d prefer the ones that taste better. “Five years, enough for the two of them to gain their own power as repayment, is acceptable in the eyes of our people and his as a compromise.”

I recovered from the overwhelming nature of the tea I was served once Sirzechs finished speaking.

“That makes sense. Still, though, do you think it’s enough to dissuade people from trying to do the same thing? Blood is already in the water. This’ll kick off a lot of things.” This was a close call and no one could deny what happened here without looking like an idiot. Exorcists saw what happened. The Devils were targeted. The Grigori were betrayed. All three were considered the top dogs of the supernatural world, but blood was in the water and there were plenty of people out there. Nurarihyon and Yasaka were both powerful figures over in Kyoto who had to be entreated and informed by the Devils ahead of the conference, so that they didn’t cause any trouble. Asia and I were sent as independent messengers, humans with Sacred Gears, but people of enough import that it wasn’t considered looking down on them. There were most likely other people like those two all over the world. “People will crawl out of the woodwork when they realize the same thing that Kokabiel did: if nothing is done, then the current peace will truly take root and nothing can be done about it in the future.”

Sirzechs blinked at my words, before a wide smile formed on his face.

“You’re much, much smarter than you let on… or perhaps you choose to hide the fact that you’re so well-learned, Hyoudou-kun.” Sirzechs leaned forward and clasped his hands together just below his chin. It was a pretty classic scheming pose, but with his power and might, Lucifer made goosebumps forms all over my skin. I did my best to be unshaken. Thankfully, I’d already put my tea cup down. “Did you know that all the previous wielders of your Sacred Gear died brutal and swift deaths? Mere months after they awaken it, they unleash its full potential, and ravage an area before perishing… unstoppable creatures of destruction wherever they go.”

Most people I link with face crazy conditions right away. Honestly, I just do my best to let them get something down before they wear themselves out to nothing.

“Ddraig says that it’s not his fault, but I’ll take additional information as necessary.”

Hey, I’d keep them around if could! It sucks to get transferred to another body and experience being a baby again!

Sirzechs chuckled again, but shook his head.

“I meant that I believed that you were a creature of destruction when we first met. One that calculates and discerns more than any prior wielder, but one nonetheless. An asset that my sister should put under her control, but you’re a ruler yourself, aren’t you?”

I didn’t hesitate.

“I am.” I wasn’t going to lie. I’m not good at following orders. I chafed working under other people. Maybe, it was because of my past life and experiences with authority. Perhaps, it was because I was a control-freak at heart. Or, maybe still, I couldn’t bring myself to trust anyone with my life or entrust other’s lives into anyone else’s but mine. Inherently, without a doubt, I’m an incredibly selfish person who can’t stand to be under anyone’s thumb. “And, I intend to be allies with Rias and Sona and everyone else who I can… and I’m guessing that you’re planning on making that a part of your idea to bring peace closer to reality.”

Sirzech sat up straight and his smile remained, but it seemed more genuine than the last one I saw.

“Indeed. I believe that the creator of the Angels intended this to be the case in the first place. His intentions were to give humans Sacred Gears, so that they would be the bridge between all peoples of the supernatural world.” Sirzechs paused for a moment, shaking his head, and I recalled that Devils had issues with prayer in their presence. However, Lucifer spoke of ‘God’ and barely paused. “I believe that you can be the start of this, Hyoudou-kun. Gather an organization around yourself, one that all three Factions believes is worth their time and attention and effort… until one day we can all agree that peace is the best option as none of us should harm our relations with your people by harming the other.”

I guess if you had as much power as Sirzechs Lucifer, you could afford to dream big… but I had to admit that the idea was tempting.

An organization of Sacred Gear users, all working together, unbeholden to any of the factions.

It sounded like a good step towards a more peaceful world.