Spear Devil - 029

[A/N: Somewhat lost myself in writing a very nice chapter for this story, so I haven't finished The Wanderer's chapter yet. Still, I am currently working on that and will upload it in a couple of hours. In the meanwhile, Enjoy!]

Chapter 029 – An Existence That Couldn't Be Reached

[April – 2008]

When finally the other groups had finished their cooking tasks, all of us sat together to enjoy the food that had been cooked, though funnily enough none of the girls touched the things Issei and his two idiot friends had made.

The muffins Kida and I had baked though were snatched up in instants, the girls being just short of openly fighting over them. Thankfully I had managed to stash away some of them beforehand which I had given to Kiba so that he could pass them on to Koneko.

I knew the small feline Devil would enjoy the muffins and I somehow wanted to try and make her smile. Koneko was undoubtedly the one person in the Occult Research club I liked the most.

Both of us were also offered to try some of the dishes by quite literally every group except Issei's. And even though I was supposed to meet Sona after class so that we could have lunch together, I didn't decline the food offers.

Being a half-dragon meant that I had inherited the gluttonous nature of the dragon race, so I could eat much greater quantities of food without feeling full, my gastric acid probably strong enough to melt normal steel. I normally didn't do so as my Dragon Aura was enough to sustain my physical body, but I could if I felt like gorging myself.

Finally, the bell rang and announced the end of the lesson which meant that my meeting with Sona was next. Taking my schoolbag and violin case, I made my way through the corridors, ignoring the whispers and looks of dozens of blushing school girls.

Arriving before the student council room, I knocked politely and entered after hearing Sona call me in. Even before entering though I had sensed only Sona's and Tsubaki's magical signatures in the room while my nose had also picked up their scent as the most prominent, so I wasn't surprised when I saw them after entering.

"Welcome Sasaki-san. Please have a seat while Tsubaki finishes setting the table.", Sona greeted from behind her desk, pointing at one of the empty chairs standing before the desk while Tsubaki was setting up a small two-person table at the side with a tablecloth, silverware, etc. from a small cart she had probably wheeled in from one of the side rooms.

“Thank you.”, I voiced out while accepting the offered chair and placing my bag and violing case in the other one next to me.

I noticed Sona's gaze flicker to the case, though she didn't comment on it as she addressed me again.

"You will be happy to know that we took care of the Fallen Angels and exorcists last night. We even found three spears amongst the weapons that had been used by them.", she informed me politely, "You can take them with you when you leave."

While saying so, Sona gestured to a large wooden box sitting on a small coffee table at the side.

"That's good to know. I hope they didn't cause you too much trouble.", I replied, a slightly concerned look on my face as I already knew that one of her peerage members had been badly injured.

It was highly likely that such an injury hadn't been that great of a problem to take care of as Sona was sure to have a vial of Phoenix Tears on her person for emergencies, with her being the heiress of an important Clan and all.

A small frown appeared on Sona's face in response, though it vanished almost immediately, as she replied neutrally: “Nothing we couldn't handle.”

"My King, the preparations are finished.", Tsubaki suddenly announced before turning towards me and greeting me with a light smile, "Hello Sasaki-san."

Nodding back in greeting, I followed Sona's example as she rose from her seat while saying, “Thank you, Tsubaki. That will be all for now.”

Sitting down at the small table where a small lunch was prepared, consisting of soup, some rice, fried vegetables with strips of some kind of meat, as well as some chopped cabbage that has been pickled in some brine. A pot of fruity-smelling tea was also ready for consumption.

All in all, it was a rather simple meal but upon tasting the dishes, I realized that they had been cooked to near perfection while they also complemented each other very well. The light soup was a good contrast to the rice and the fried meat and vegetables, while the fruity tea worked very well to neutralize the sour taste of the cabbage.

It was a meticulously cooked and well-thought-out meal that gave me a feeling of comfort like a home-cooked meal, and since I liked simplicity it met my taste perfectly.

“So, I heard that you rejected Rias' offer to join her peerage.”, Sona began after a short silence, her table manners impeccable, “She told me that it was because you valued your freedom too much.”

“And you don't believe her?”, I asked with a raised brow, after I finished swallowing my food and taking a sip of the tea.

Smiling lightly, Sona replied: “I believe that she simply didn't offer you what you wanted.”

“And you will?”, I continued with a slight smile of my own.

"Well, there is really not much that I cannot offer you.", Sona stated confidently, "I am the heiress of one of the most powerful Clans in the Underworld and the little sister of a Satan, and I have goals of my own, goals that would benefit greatly if you joined my peerage, Sasaki-san."

“And I am willing to pay a great price for the chance to have you by my side.”, she added, “Wealth, political influence, beautiful women, just say the word and I can arrange for it.”

Shaking my head lightly, I answered calmly: “I want none of that. Not in exchange for my freedom at least.”

“Then what do you want? What is it that you want to achieve? If you join me, I will do my best to help you in achieving your goals and dreams.”, she announced stubbornly, a minor frown on her delicate face.

…

Sona couldn't help but stare defiantly at the half-dragon before her, seeing as he didn't even flinch as she offered him riches and women, and even influence. Still, the fact that he could just refuse without hesitation what countless others would undoubtedly kill for to get their hands on was impressive.

Akira didn't seem to be forcing himself to remain calm either, acting as if he didn't care about satiating the innate greed and lust of his species.

Sona knew enough about dragons that she had at least expected a small twitch or a flicker in his gaze when she had mentioned wealth and women, but she had been left disappointed.

Which either meant that he wasn't interested or that his freedom was more important to him than she had thought. Or he was better at hiding his emotions than she was at spotting them.

“Then what do you want? What is it that you want to achieve? If you join me, I will do my best to help you in achieving your goals and dreams.”, she questioned seriously, wanting to know what it was that Akira strived for.

With a smile that seemed almost ethereal, his glowing crystal seemingly peering deep into her soul, he answered softly: “The True Dragon Great Red and the Dragon God Ophis, there are the strongest this world has ever seen. They stand above all rules and struggles, their power gifting them eternal freedom.”

"One day, I will reach a place beyond them. That, is my goal and only wish.", he ended, his eyes burning with a fierce determination while his whole presence exuded such a strong invisible pressure, entirely different than his Dragon Fear, that Sona found it hard to breathe for a moment.

Shaken to her core as Akira's declaration slowly settled in, Sona's eyes widened as she stared at the young half-dragon before her, his whole demeanor already back to his usual calm and unreadable image as he continued his meal.

She wanted to say something, reply with a promise of sorts but found herself unable to. Could she promise him power? She certainly could, but Great Red and Ophis weren't just 'powerful'.

They were myths and legends that even her sister, a Satan and one of the strongest beings amongst the whole Devil Race, would tremble before if she had to face them.

What Akira wanted to achieve was not something that could simply be done by wishing for it, or by working hard. He wanted to become an existence that couldn't be beaten, an existence that couldn't be reached.

How could she as merely a High-Class Devil promise that she could help him with that?

Sona realized that she would lie if she had to make a promise about that, Akira's desire being something that simply nobody could help him with.