Spear Devil - 020

Chapter 020 – Student Council Office

[April – 2008]

Setting aside my two newly generated tasks for the moment as I arrived before the office door, I knocked and directly entered, which I probably should not have done.

"I came as prom-", I greeted, my words cut off by the smartphone that whistled by my head and buried itself halfway into the wall next to me while a frustrated shout echoed in my ears.

Seeing the cracked screen of the super-durable phone flicker with the words 'You Lost!' with a chess piece to both sides of the message, I understood what happened as I turned towards a frozen and wide-eyed Sona.

“Well, it seems you tried out online chess. How is going so far?”, I asked with a light smile.

A deep red blush traveled up Sona's cheeks at my words, making the normally stern and collected Devil heiress look incredibly adorable as she stammered to find an answer.

A black-haired girl with glasses that could only be Tsubaki Shinra, Sona's Queen, raised her hand to hide her smile, while another reddish brown-haired girl, whom I couldn't identify for the moment, wasn't quite as successful as a giggle slipped past her lips before she managed to cover her mouth with both her hands.

Closing the door behind me and pulling the phone from the wall, I approached the desk as I addressed Sona again, placing the phone on her desk

“I came as promised to get a fitting uniform, I hope you didn't forget?”, I said in an attempt to help the embarrassed girl get past the awkwardness.

“O-Of course not.”, Sona replied, finally snapping herself out of it.

“And who are these two ladies?”, I asked while giving them both a smile.

"Sasaki-san, meet Tsubaki Shinra and Tomoe Megury, Vice President and Secretary of the Student Council.", Sona answered while gesturing to them.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Akira Sasaki, a new transfer student at Kuoh Academy.", I introduced myself.

“Nice to meet you, Sasaki-san.”, Tsubaki replied with a barely visible smile, as she bowed politely.

Tomoe's greeting was far more energetic, as she called out cheerfully: “Nice to meet you, Akira-kun.”

Seating herself in her armchair again before grabbing a clipboard from her desk, Sona held it out in my direction as she said: "Please take a seat Sasaki-san and fill in your sizes so that Tomoe can go and grab two sets of the school uniform in your size."

"Thank you.", I responded politely as I sat down and took the clipboard before filling in my sizes quickly.

Afterward, Tomoe took the clipboard and the bag with my old/new uniforms before leaving the office to fetch uniforms my size.

"How has your first day been at the school, Sasaki-san?", Sona asked politely, obviously trying to pass the time until Tomoe's return with small talk.

"More fun than I expected.", I replied with a smile, "I had lunch with a cute Nekoshou while besting Rias' Knight in a spar just a few minutes ago."

As soon as my words hit the room, both Sona and Tsubaki froze in their movement as a tense atmosphere spread across the room.

"Who are you?", Sona questioned forcefully after a few moments of silence, her gaze hard and unforgiving. I could see that she hated being 'tricked' even though I didn't really trick her, Sona was simply unable to sense my true nature due to Aura Concealment.

Still, the fact that she couldn't see through me certainly stung her pride, which was rather problematic as Sona was most definitely a Devil of Pride, it being the sin that influenced her the most.

"I am Akira Sasaki, and I am indeed part human on my mother's side.", I said calmly, loosening the shackles of my draconic side for just a moment as my eyes became slitted, their colour changing to a fiery orange that made them look like flaming orbs, "My father though is no human, but a dragon. I am the heir of the Heavenly Dragon, son of the Red Dragon Emperor Ddraig."

Eyes widening in incredulous shock for a few moments, Sona and her Queen managed to regain their composure relatively quickly before she addressed me, which was admirable.

“I-If that is true, then what would someone like you want in Devil territory? In my territory?”, Sona asked icily, none of her earlier inexperienced charm visible on her impassive face.

I almost regretted revealing myself when I saw her like this, so distant and emotionless. The fact that she hid behind this mask of professionalism telling of the immense pressure she was under as a Devil heiress of one of the most powerful of the 72 Pillars Clans.

"I only awakened my supernatural heritage a few weeks ago, along with some memories and basic knowledge of the Supernatural World.", I replied with a wry smile, as I told her a half-truth.

"I lived in this town my whole life, and I do not plan to move anytime soon. And while I am aware that this is Devil territory, as a half-dragon half-human I do not belong to any of the Three Biblical Factions, so for me, this is just neutral ground."

"I don't plan on causing any problems in your territory, Lady Sitri. In fact, I could have lived here unnoticed by you and Lady Gremory, and only revealed myself to tell you this. I do not want there to be any misunderstandings between us.", I added sincerely.

And I didn't even lie as I told her this, as I would gladly live in this territory as a normal peaceful inhabitant, but I knew that such a thing was basically impossible considering the approaching chaos.

Still, I saw Sona's shoulder lose a bit of tension as she listened to my words before she answered.

“Do you have any proof of your identity then? The Red Dragon Emperor has been sealed in the Boosted Gear for centuries, and I fail to understand how he could father a child while being just a sealed soul.”, Sona questioned directly.

Shrugging somewhat helplessly, I replied calmly: “I have only my memories, though I did inherit all of my father's abilities, even though I lack his strength. For the time being.”

I could see the concealed shock in Sona's eyes, as she realized that if I indeed told her the truth, this could be a huge opportunity for her. At least in this aspect, Sona was like any other Devil, as she was no doubt already thinking of ways to confirm my words and pull me into her Peerage.

"Would you be willing to showcase some of your abilities, so that we can be sure of your heritage?", she asked while struggling to keep her impassive expression.

“Well, there is an easy way to prove my heritage, though you will probably not enjoy that, Lady Sitri.”, I answered calmly.

“What way?”, Sona questioned with a raised brow.

“Dragon Fear.”, I simply said, knowing that this was a kind of intimidation skill that was unique amongst the supernatural races.

There of course existed some other mental intimidation skills, but Dragon Fear had a special 'flavor' to it that was entirely unique. It was a distinctive characteristic of my race, and quite simply impossible to imitate.

Seemingly thinking about it, Sona answered with a stubborn look: “You may use it on me. I have experienced it before while watching a Rating Game live with one of the Dragon Kings participating.”

Nodding slightly, I called upon the innate draconic aura that sought to pressure every living being it could reach into submission, inducing primal fear in all those it was aimed at.

My eyes took on a draconic shape while glowing with a blackish-red and I could see Sona shudder and tense up as I stared at her, my Dragon Fear being focused on her alone, though I lowered its intensity considerably.

Still, when I saw Sona's hands starting to tremble slightly while her breathing become ragged, her eyes widen fearfully, I retracted my Dragon Fear immediately, causing the Devil heiress to let out a sigh of relief, sinking back into her chair exhaustedly.

“Y-you really are a dragon.”, Sona voiced out quietly, stammering a bit at the beginning while Tsubaki looked at her King in worry.

“I am.”, I answered calmly, “I have already introduced myself to Koneko Toujo, and received an invitation from Rias through her Knight, which I intend to answer after this meeting has found its conclusion.”

I deliberately mentioned Rias, knowing it would undoubtedly spark a hint of urgency in Sona's heart after she had just felt proof of my heritage.

I honestly did not enjoy manipulating Sona into thinking that I might be a potential member of her peerage, but if I wanted to get the most out of the deal I planned to make with Rias, this was simply necessary.

And while I did not enjoy this, I also felt no guilt. I was aware that I was dealing with Devils and that given the chance, neither Sona nor Rias would hesitate to enslave me by making me a member of their peerage and their servant.

At this point though, I had all the leverage and I did not plan to let either of them just scam me into servitude so easily.

Sona was also the perfect target to set against Rias as both of them were heiresses to two of the most influential Clans in the Underworld while also being the little sisters of Satans.

Neither of them could intimidate the other into just giving up on recruiting me, and given that I was clearly much more valuable than just some random human with a Sacred Gear, it was highly unlikely that Sona would just relent and agree to let Rias 'have me' due to the latter's rather desperate situation.

As one might guess, my opinion on either of them wasn't very high, but that wasn't entirely correct, as I just saw them with clear eyes, instead of being like Issei, who had just accepted his enslavement when Rias told him that she had done it to save him, which had obviously been a lie.

She had obviously known that he had been in danger, but had decided just to sit back and watch him get killed so that she could reincarnate him and make him part of her peerage without having to ask for his permission.

I didn't think that this meant that Rias was a bad person, as she had not been obligated to save Issei, but she had clearly acted out of selfishness and not out of kindness. Still, she was Devil, so something like that was to be expected.

I had no delusions about Rias and her motives, and I certainly did not plan to join her out of pity or to 'save' her. She was born with the Power of Destruction to one of the most powerful Clans in the Underworld, with her elder brother being the most powerful Satan in existence.

She was simply born with a platinum spoon and the only reason she need to be saved was that she had been too lazy to properly train herself and her peerage.

If she had put in the time and effort, I had no doubt that she could crush Riser with one hand bound behind her back while blindfolded.

Riser's peerage practically consisted of nothing more than glorified sex toys, while every member of Rias' peerage had the potential to step into the Ultimate-Class. So if she needed help then only because she had wasted her and her servant's gifts by playing around in the human world.

Looking at it from this point, I respected Sona much more, as she had come to the human world with a purpose and not just to laze around and escape her predicament. She had also resolved her own forced engagement by beating the spouses her parents had chosen for her in a chess match.

And while this seemed like a rather silly and risky way to get out of an engagement, Sona was hard-working and determined. And she didn't waste her time with self-pity while waiting for someone to save her.

Frowning only slightly, Sona replied: “I see. She is the second Ruler of Kuoh, so it is naturally a good idea that you plan to introduce yourself to her too to avoid any misunderstandings in the future.”

“Mhm. Though there is something else you should know.”, I hummed in agreement while deciding to take a chance spontaneously, “There are Fallen Angels and a group of exorcists hiding in the abandoned church in town.”