Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
I slowly approached Kuoh's courtyard. I easily ignored the barriers and finally saw where the signals I'd been sensing were coming from.
The duel between Issei and Kiba, against Irina and Xenovia, was underway. Although it seemed like it was about to end at almost any moment. Xenovia was easily dominating Kiba, and Irina was doing the same with Issei, although he was taking it easy.
I look around and indeed, I can see Asia and Koneko naked. Issei tried to attack Irina, but she counterattacked, leaving a thin cut of sacred energy on Issei's stomach, causing him to fall to the ground.
Xenovia quickly destroyed Kiba's created swords and punched him in the stomach, knocking him to the ground. My eyes darted around the entire fight.
UBW activated easily, targeting the demonic and magical swords Kiba had created before collapsing, as well as the fragments of Excalibur. To my surprise, this Excalibur had no divine origins. It was simply made of alchemy and a great deal of holy power, something I could easily replicate.
Still… the swords left a lot to be desired. Mimic was practically useless. While Destruction only had strong offensive power. But… nothing extraordinary. I sighed as my eyes continued to scan the fight.
The Boosted Gear was the last. Just as I expected, the copy failed miserably. Without Draig 's soul, it was impossible to replicate that Longinus. I suppose it's time to introduce myself. I dropped my invisibility and stood behind Rias.
"How... entertaining." I said with a smile. I could see everyone flinch and turn completely around, on guard and ready to attack. It was fun to surprise everyone.
"Lady Prince?!" Rias asked in surprise as she lowered her guard.
"Gremory." I said simply while nodding.
"What... what are you doing here?! How did you sneak up behind us without us noticing?!" Rias asked in surprise. I hummed as I shrugged.
"Easy enough, I'd say." I said simply. "But leaving that aside, shouldn't they be healing your servants?" I asked while merely pointing at the ground. Rias's eyes widened slightly.
"Asia!" Rias said quickly.
"R -right away, Buchou!" Asia said, embarrassed and still naked. I sighed and snapped my fingers as clothes appeared over Asia. Asia squealed slightly before blinking at her clothes.
"Thanks," Koneko said weakly as she nodded in my direction. I had also conjured some clothes for her.
"Now, Lady Prince, may I know the reason for your prece -"
"Oh my god! Is that Serena Prince?!" Irina squealed as she walked up to me with a huge smile. She grabbed my right hand with both of her hands and held it gently as she bounced with joy.
"I'm Serena Prince?" I asked, confused. An exorcist knew me? And she was cheerful and friendly to me? I mean, she's Irina, and she's practically the closest thing to an angel the show has ever had. Well, after Asia.
"It's an honor to meet you, Miss Prince." Xenovia said as she approached. She also looked anxious. I blinked, definitely confused. This was way weirder. Xenovia should hate all Devils.
"Do we know each other?" I asked confused.
"We are your fans!" Irina said with a huge smile.
"Fans? I have fans?" I mean, I'm sure I did, but most of them were residents of Pentagram City, so there were some people who thought highly of me. I think.
"Yes! Everyone at church is a fan of your songs! I'm not a fan of the genre itself, but Whispers in the Dark is my favorite! The way you say that God is always with us, even in the darkness, to give us his love and companionship, is inspiring!" Irina said dreamily.
Oohhh! I have fans of my songs.... I have fans of my songs?! In the human world?! I thought there was still time before Enid and Ravel released the songs, even though I had been recording songs for weeks! They wanted me to start gaining fame before I started recording everything related to K-pop Demon Hunters.
Something like having a fan base to rely on at the time of its release. I had to admit it was a good form of marketing, all things considered. Especially since it seems to be working.
It had been a couple of weeks since Ravel and Enid had started, and if someone as closed-minded as the exorcists were able to recognize me, then yes, they were doing a good job selling my image. I'll have to find out which of all my recordings they started uploading.
"Not Gonna Die and Comatose are my favorites." Xenovia added with a small smile.
Skillet? Yeah… Christian rock. All three have pretty obvious Christian undertones and meanings if you interpreted them correctly. I could really see Exorcists taking on those songs. Especially Xenovia.
I really wanted to know if the girls had released those songs to the public intentionally.
"It's… nice to know. I'm glad you liked it." I said with a crooked smile.
"You listen to songs from the underworld?" Rias asked in confusion.
"Underworld? Why would I be in the underworld?" Irina asked, even more confused.
"Because she is a devil?" Rias said simply as she tilted her head. Irina and Xenovia stood still momentarily before snorting amusedly.
"Very funny, Gremory. She's not a devil." Irina laughed amiably.
"Yes, she is… she's a succubus." Rias said slowly. I could have stopped her, but there was no need to; I wasn't going to hide what I was, at least not from the supernatural community. Xenovia frowned.
"That's not funny, Gremory. As expected of devils. Miss Prince doesn't feel like a devil, we can't sense that she has that disgusting power like you guys." Xenovia said with a disgusted sneer. Rias just blinked and pointed above my head. Specifically my horns.
"She has horns, a tail, and glowing eyes." Rias tried again. Irina gave her a long, disappointed look.
"It's not nice to call her a devil just because she's a little different," Irina said with disappointment in her voice. I could see Rias's eye twitching now. I snorted in amusement. I'd been hidden beneath my copper cloud that was practically glued to my skin. So even from this close range, it was impossible for them to notice me properly.
Or, well, not noticing me at all. They believed that my complete lack of demonic power, magic, or even presence was because I was a normal human, which I wasn't.
So I finally raised my copper cloud, and the two exorcists froze in place. They stared at me in horror. Irina let go of my hands as if I were burning her, and they both moved in unison, pointing their Excaliburs at me.
"Hey, wait a minute! Lady Prince is a special guest, you can't hurt her!" Rias tried to intervene quickly. I looked at the swords and raised an eyebrow in her direction.
"Y-you! How dare you deceive the entire world, you damn creature?!" Xenovia growled as she stuck Excalibur onto my neck. I simply hummed lightly.
"First, I didn't fool anyone. Second, you should put that down; you might hurt yourself." I said amusedly. Xenovia frowned.
"W-what's going on?" asked Issei, who had just regained consciousness. Kiba was also by his side as he tried to stand up, and he still had a frown on his face as he glared at the swords.
Both exorcists ignored them and continued to focus on me. I rolled my eyes. They weren't that hostile toward Rias and her Peerage. Maybe they felt like my songs were some kind of personal insult? I mean, a devil singing about faith and God? Yes, I suppose it would be a bit insulting.
I sighed as I raised both hands, my nails beginning to grow, and I used them to start pushing both swords along the edge. Both exorcists' eyes widened, and they tried to apply more force to their swords. The swords began to spark against my nails. Abnormally strong nails.
I slowly began to push them away from my body before forcefully throwing them back. Irina and Xenovia took a step back. I looked down at my nails and pouted.
"My nails chipped." I grimaced as I looked at the small crack in one of my nails.
"Y-you-" Xenovia tried to snarl. I raised an eyebrow at her.
"You better get this over with." I sighed as my nails retracted.
"Lady Prince!" Rias tried to say as she took a step forward. She had a conflicted look on her face. Finally, she sighed in surrender. "Please don't hurt them," she finally said.
"Hurt us? She's the one who'll have to be careful." Xenovia spat. I raised an eyebrow when Xenovia appeared in front of me. I waved my hand, and out of nowhere appeared Excalibur Destruction.
My fake collided with the real one. Xenovia's eyes widened, and while she was distracted, I easily pushed her back.
"Ugh, bigger than I'd like." I said distractedly as I looked at the sword in my hand, too big, too heavy, yet I manipulated it easily with one hand.
"How dare you!" Xenovia snarled, looking genuinely offended as she glared at the sword with hatred. Xenovia lunged at me and slashed furiously. The Excaliburs of Destruction collided several times until mine finally gave out and broke. Xenovia snarled and tried to attack me head-on. I just created another Excalibur of Destruction and stopped the attack.
While I was clashing swords against Xenovia, Irina finally charged at me with a determined expression. In my free hand, I projected Mimic, in my hand, before it copied Irina's form and collided with her.
"Mimic?!" Irina squealed in disbelief. Xenovia looked even more furious than before.
"Alright! Enough!" Rias exclaimed as her demonic-power spread. "I will let them operate in Kuoh peacefully, but I won't allow them to attack anyone under my territory without any excuse." Rias finally said. Xenovia clicked her tongue as she glared at me.
"Let's go." Xenovia growled at Irina as she turned around. I laughed lightly. That was funny. Irina looked unsure but eventually followed Xenovia.
"Koneko, Asia, please take Kiba and Issei home to rest." Rias ordered her servants. They both agreed immediately. Kiba seemed conflicted, though he was watching me closely for some reason. I looked at the Mimic in my hand and guessed it was an option. I shrugged and tossed it to Kiba.
"You can destroy it, if that makes you feel better," I said playfully. Kiba frowned, but grabbed Mimic without hesitation. Rias finally looked at me with a frown.
"You- follow me, we need to talk." Rias said, leaving no room for argument. I just shrugged and followed her.
Just as expected, we both teleported to the Kuoh Academy clubroom, their base of operations.
"So, Lady Prince, will you finally tell us why you're in Kuoh?" Rias asked as she looked at me from behind her desk as if she wanted to signal some kind of power. I just loudly sipped the tea that Akeno placed in front of me on purpose. I could see Rias's eye twitch slightly. In fact, Akeno visibly clenched her fists.
"I make better tea," I said simply after drinking half a cup.
"Okay, that's completely false! I'm sure Ravel told you to say that!" Rias said, thoroughly offended as she slammed the table and stood up. I smirked at her.
"If you want, I can demonstrate." I said playfully. Rias snorted and looked at Akeno. Akeno wrinkled her nose, but nodded. I laughed lightly as I stood up. I walked over to the table that held all of Akeno's tea-making implements at the side of the club room. I glanced over the different types she had.
"What kind of tea do you like?" I asked lightly as I began preparing the ingredients.
"Surprise me," Rias said dryly. I shrugged. Unfortunately, you don't have as many blends as I'd like. I guess we'd go with something classic. "Chamomile infusion is an herbal drink made by steeping dried chamomile flowers in water. The two common varieties of chamomile are German and Roman, and from what I can tell,"—I sniffed the jar lightly—"we'll have some of the German variety."
"Is there any point to this besides stating the obvious?" Rias asked, raising an eyebrow. I shrugged as I started making the tea.
"None really, just part of the show," I said simply as I poured just the right amount of chamomile. "As I said, this tea has been shown to have a wide variety of beneficial effects. It helps your health by controlling blood sugar levels and promoting digestive health, but the most well-known benefit is that it relaxes the body and helps you fall asleep."
I made two cups while the tea steeped for a few minutes.
"But I suppose that doesn't matter to you, I suppose you really want to know the reason for my arrival in Kuoh." I said simply.
"That's what I asked, yes." Rias said dryly.
"I was doing some work," I said simply.
"A… job? In Kuoh? Without my permission?" Rias asked slowly as she narrowed her eyes. I shrugged.
"I was picking something up for Ajuka. You can complain to him." I said without any shame as I sent Ajuka forward. If he wasn't going to warn me that he'd targeted me for Azazel, I'd blame him for this. Rias's eyes widened slightly.
"Something for Lord Beelzebub?" Rias asked in surprise. "And what was it?" she asked quickly, almost worried. Which actually made sense.
Any commission from the Satans was something to be reckoned with. Even more so considering we were in Kuoh and the rumors, now confirmed by the church, that fragments of the other Excaliburs were present in the city.
"Don't worry. It has nothing to do with the Excaliburs. It was just something Azazel had to deliver to Ajuka." I said honestly. I really didn't see any point in keeping that from him.
"Azazel, the leader of Gregori and the Fallen Angels, was in Kuoh?!" Rias exclaimed as she stood up. I nodded.
"He said he was passing by. Something about catching up on the actions of his subjects and a little nun." I said simply. Rias grimaced.
"...I see." Rias said slowly. When my internal clock finally ran out, my hands moved precisely over the teapot and poured two cups of tea with ease. With a flick of my hand, both freshly poured cups flew to Rias and her queen. They took the cups, Rias almost glaring at her before they both drank at the same time.
The moan they both let out made me smile mockingly. They both noticed and opened their eyes. Rias grimaced and pushed her teacup away.
"I-it's not that good," Rias said stubbornly, though her fingers seemed to be trembling. I chuckled. I had to admire her stubbornness.
"How?" Akeno asked. "I saw you prepare it. You didn't add anything special, there were no extra movements, or anything special." Akeno said, confused. I just smiled at her arrogantly.
"I'm just better." I said mockingly. She snarled.
"But anyway, with all that settled, it's time for me to go," I said simply.
"Wait!" Rias exclaimed. I looked at her curiously. I just hope this doesn't end up like the last time they tried to stop me. I really wanted to stay away from Rias and her group.