Spear Devil - 011

Chapter 011 – Determination

[April – 2008]

Having almost finished my shopping trip, I was just on my way out of the mall when my draconic instincts told me that I was being watched.

Turning back with several large shopping bags in hand, I spotted a short white-haired girl staring at me from roughly two dozen meters away.

I didn't need to be a genius to recognize Koneko, as my own nose told me of her somewhat feline origin. I knew that she would be able to smell my non-human side, but as dragons were rather rare, I knew that she wouldn't be able to realize what exactly I was, doubly so considering I was a hybrid.

Sharing a rather intense look with the small Nekoshou-Hybrid, I saw Rias approach the girl with two ice cream cones and after leaving behind a small smile I left the place.

…

"Who were you looking at so intently, Koneko?", Rias asked her servant, curious about the white-haired girl's behavior.

Shaking her head, the small Devil girl replied, while pointing at her nose: “Strong.”

Frowning in deep thought, Rias questioned: “What was he? Another Devil, or Fallen?”

"No.", Koneko replied while grabbing the ice cream cone her King had bought for her, "Human-Hybrid."

Her answer caused a glint to appear in Rias' eyes, as the young Devil Heiress was already looking for new peerage members that may be able to get her out of her current predicament.

A Human-Hybrid, no matter his other race could potentially be a very powerful peerage member, especially if her Rook's instincts about his strength were correct.

As he also wasn't part of the Three Factions, not being a Devil nor a Fallen, she could also rest assured that her recruitment wouldn't stir up any problems. Naturally, she didn't need to consider the Heaven Faction, as the church didn't look too kindly on human hybrids of all kinds.

A short mental command had her familiar summoned outside of the mall in a shadowy corner and follow the admittedly good-looking guy.

Meanwhile, Rias couldn't help but be curious about what a Human-Hybrid was doing in her and Sona's territory. She knew that the territory rules only applied to the Biblical Factions, meaning that all other Supernatural beings could move unhindered through their town, though this only happened very rarely.

Every faction and pantheon had their preferred territory where they usually operated and trespassing wasn't really looked at kindly by the Supernatural world, though only a few people would react with violence, depending on who it was that had walked into their territory.

…

[A task has been generated.]

[You are being followed by a familiar, get rid of your tail without revealing 'more than necessary' about yourself. Reward: 0.5 Free Attribute Points.]

I had already noticed Rias' bat-type familiar following me after I had left the mall, as my draconic senses were exceptionally sharp, surpassing nearly every other supernatural race.

I hadn't bothered to do something about it though, as I knew that it was inevitable that they would find out where I lived and such, in the next few days. Now that I had received my first-ever task with a decent reward, things were different though.

Turning my gaze back, I stared at the small bat hiding behind a telephone pole without any real skill in concealment. The small familiar was perfectly visible to all those that were able to see through the small-scale illusionary enchantment around it, which I naturally was as illusion magic was nothing but a branch of mind magic to which I was wholly immune.

Calling upon the inherent fear-inducing aura all members of my race possessed, I didn't hesitate to send a wave of Dragon Fear into the weak familiar's direction, causing it to freeze in horror and faint only a moment later, before crash landing in a nearby alley.

[Congratulations you have finished a task. You are rewarded with 0.5 Free Attribute Points.]

It was sometime later that I finally arrived back home and placed down my shopping bags, before leaving the house once again a few minutes later, finally wearing some fitting clothes.

…

“Back again?”, Liam asked as he saw me entering the otherwise empty shop.

"Hmm. You've got some time?", I inquired.

"You see any other customers here?", he remarked with an eye-roll, "So what's it you want this time?"

"Well, it's actually something I wanted to be done the last time, but I wasn't sure how I liked tattoos in general, but you did a pretty good job, so I decided to go for it now."

“The motif?”

"A dragon coiling around my left arm, though with elements still on the back of my hand. Make it a Western Dragon with a realistic look. I want it all black, though I guess you will have to use a few other dark colours for contrast.", I replied after sorting out my thoughts for a moment.

“Hmm, depending on the size this will take a few hours.”, Liam thought out loud, before he gestured for me to extend my hand, “Let me take some basic measurements first so I can draw up a sketch.”

Using only his pencil, the Supernatural tattoo artist took some rough measurements and drew up a frame that the motif had to fit in, before shooing me away to sit down and wait for him to finish his sketch.

…

"Zu, zu, zu, zuu, zzu.", a traumatized little bat cried out, still trembling in fear while her red-haired master tried her best to comfort the small creature somewhat absentmindedly.

'Causing Komori to faint with nothing but a gaze and have her still trembling and fearful hours later, what kind of hybrid is that? Or is he simply that strong? Even just seeing through her disguise is no easy feat.', Rias pondered silently.

She knew that her familiar may have only limited combat power, as Komuri specialized in illusion magic and concealment techniques. She still was the familiar of a High-Class Devil though, so she wouldn't faint without encountering someone vastly more powerful than her Master.

The only conclusion Rias could come to was that the teen she had met had a special ability that allowed him to exert mental pressure on others, disproportionate to his own strength, which was a very unique and potentially fatal ability when used right.

She did know of a handful of Supernatural races that had such abilities, though nothing as exaggerated. Rias also wasn't clear if that was the full extent of his abilities, though she tended to believe that it wasn't.

The Gremory Heiress became more and more sure that this may be her chance to gain a peerage member that would allow her to free herself from her engagement via a Rating Game because as it stood now, her peerage did not have any chance to win against the devils under her fiance, Raiser Phenex.

Rias may hate the blonde devil's guts, but even she had to admit that he had a very powerful peerage for those his age, which only increased her despair when thinking about her current dilemma.

Shaking off these depressing thoughts, Rias rearranged her thoughts, while a determined glint appeared in her eyes. She was going to grasp any chance to escape from her current predicament and to that end, she was going to make that mysterious teen with the wild black hair and the crystal gaze a member of her peerage.

Now, she only had to figure out how to find him.