Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
Serena pov.
I crossed the portal and appeared on the outskirts of Kuoh with Vali and Ravel behind me. My gaze immediately focused in the direction of Kuoh Academy, and I could feel the sounds of magic coming from there.
Besides Sona, Rias, and their respective Peerage, I could recognize Sirzechs and Serafall, along with Azazel. I had only met him once, but the noise made by the holy magic of a fallen angel like Azazel was truly distinctive.
I looked at Vali one last time as I considered him. I took out my phone for a second.
Extra Devilish - Objective 9 in High School DxD
Other [1 Added Potential of Lucifer Bloodline or Dragon Tamer for a member of your retinue.];
I'd forgotten about the reward I'd gotten for defeating Vali. It was something I was curious about. I might get a Lucifer bloodline, or a Dragon Tamer skill.
The first could give me a massive boost in demonic power. Vali, being a descendant of Lucifer, was extremely powerful, as was Rizevim, his son. The only downside was that neither of them had displayed any special abilities that could be traced back to some sort of Clan trait, so it would simply serve as a power boost, which I didn't need much of.
The amount of power I had was already enormous and would only continue to grow; it was only a matter of time before I reached the amount of demonic power sufficient to match the heavyweights of this universe. I wasn't entirely convinced about choosing that option.
The second one, Dragon-Tamer, was also pretty useless. The defenses and talents already made me exceptionally good with non-sentient dragons, and I also didn't want the ability to make pacts with them like Asia Argento could in canon. That was pretty useless, too.
Except for one situation. Yes, I could choose versions from another world. The reward didn't explicitly say they had to be from this world. Yes, I could select a bloodline version of some Lucifer from another world... so that option was a decent choice.
I can easily count at least 10 Lucifers off the top of my head, and there are probably more. The bloodline will start at Tier 0 since it was an Added Potential, and I'd have to farm everything from scratch, but it was still a good option.
Leaving all that aside, I had a decision to make. Whether to seal Vali or not. I didn't really dislike him and didn't want to sell him, but I also didn't want him as part of the family. However, Vali was listed as a T8 thanks to his future prowess, worth 200 credits. It would be really foolish not to take advantage of him right now.
I quickly fiddled with my phone, and my eyes widened slightly before I smiled. Ravel came over and looked at the phone from the side.
Apparently, I could simply seal him away with no effect, leaving him to do anything he wants. Apparently, The Company needed a constant supply of companion souls to create clones to sell.
From what I understood, they could clone people's souls, but there was a limit to everything: the stronger the person, the fewer clones they could make of that soul. Apparently, simply sealing people gave them access to a portion of that soul, which they used to clone without any lasting harm to the captured person.
I grimaced slightly at the thought. They'd used other people's souls to create clones, and I hadn't even noticed. I could see Ravel's grimace beside me, but I quickly brushed it aside. There was practically nothing I could do, and besides, they hadn't done any harm to them at all, so there wasn't much I could complain about.
I guess it was fair, even if I didn't like it, it would be too stupid to think that they would only give credit to people to make them stronger if they only dedicated themselves to capturing and not selling people.
Looking back at what I was reading, I realized I could seal someone away with no effect, giving The Company only access to that person's soul, which they could then use to create clones.
The seal would only give me 60% of the credits of its purchase value, which was the normal value of a catch; it was less than the 80% I got for selling them, but it was still a large sum of credits.
That kind of seal was different from the seal I used to add them to my retinue. The seal without effect had no benefits; the sealed person couldn't access any benefits I had implemented at the time.
It didn't add any compulsions or mental changes to the person; no talents were shared, no defenses were added, I couldn't stack skills or templates, absolutely nothing. It merely served as a locator for The Company in exchange for credits for me.
I shrugged and, without hesitation, I summoned the seal and placed it on Vali's skin. I stepped back slightly and threw a harmonium cube at him, creating a time bubble where three days passed in a split second.
Vali Lucifer(S8) from High School DxD [+120] [379]
I smiled slightly. Perfect. It was a shame I couldn't capture Albion. It would cost another 120 credits, but I couldn't capture him without using the Sacred Gear. I had to access his soul or give Albion a new body. It was too complicated. I put my phone away.
"Let's go." I told Ravel simply and began to create another portal to the Kuoh Academy meeting room, better known as Rias's club room in the old building.
"Wait!" Ravel interrupted me. I closed the portal halfway and looked at her. "Aren't you going to cure him?" Ravel asked, pointing at Vali. I blinked and looked at him closely.
Ah… there were still wounds all over her body, cuts everywhere, and burns that were half-healed. I smiled awkwardly before calling Enid and creating a portal to her location.
Luckily, Enid just laughed lightly at me before walking over and quickly healing Vali before heading back through the same portal. With a final breath, she finally created a portal to where the others were waiting.
"Ah, Serena! You're finally here!" Sirzechs said happily once I crossed the portal, though I could see a tight smile on his face.
"Sirzechs." I greeted him with a nod. I looked around. Besides the queens, the rest of the Peerage of the heiresses didn't seem to be in this room, but were in the building in a nearby classroom. "Lady Serafall, greetings." I said as I looked at the other Satan.
" Mou! Call me, Sera-chan!" Serafall said as she puffed out her cheeks. I smiled crookedly at her.
"Lady Prince." Azazel said, but his gaze shifted to Vali.
"Lord Azazel." I greeted him lightly with the same nod. "I suppose it's best if we get to the point. Here is the Vanishing Dragon." I said as Vali floated towards Azazel and hovered in front of him.
"I suppose your potion is keeping him asleep?" Azazel said, now sounding more curious than anything else. Apparently, seeing Vali completely healthy and unharmed, without any visible wounds, made the tension he had built up drop several degrees.
"Yes, here's the potion to wake him up." I said as I took out the Wigginweld potion. Azazel sighed in relief as he smiled slightly and reached out.
"Thanks for s-"
"Of course it comes at a cost." I interrupted Azazel, who stopped stiffly. The strained smile returned once more.
"…cost?" Azazel asked slowly.
"Of course, the White Dragon not only interrupted me in the middle of Kuoh, but also threatened me several times and attacked me; if I hadn't been strong enough, then this conversation would be different." I said sarcastically.
"Come on, come on, Lady Prince, Vali probably wasn't serious, he just likes a good fight, you know how young people are." Azazel tried to say frivolously, but I raised an eyebrow in his direction.
"Using Juggernaut Drive?" I asked dryly, Azazel's smile breaking as he trembled violently.
"Juggernaut Drive?" Sirzechs asked dangerously, his smile gone. In fact, Serafall was looking exactly as dangerous. "Rias?"
"I-what, when did that happen?" Rias squealed in confusion.
"The voices, when the White Dragon started using the chant." I said simply. I was shocked she didn't know that. I mean, she had the Booster Gear wielder as her pawn. Did she at least do some research on that?
"Oh... so that was the Juggernaut Drive?" Rias asked in surprise, but that question only made Rias and Sona's faces darken even more, while Azazel's face fell a little more.
" A-are you sure?" Azazel tried to say awkwardly, I shrugged.
"We can always call the Red Dragon; it's impossible for him to make a mistake," I said simply.
"No need." Sirzechs said as he looked at Azazel. Azazel just sighed tiredly as he rubbed his temple.
"Well, yes, Vali can use the Juggernaut Drive and control it to a certain extent, and it is very possible that he would use it if he thought he was about to lose, so there is no excuse… what do you want?" Azazel asked simply as he looked at me.
I hummed lightly. I could feel Sirzechs and Serafall's eyes on me, as if they were waiting for my verdict. Now that they knew their sisters' lives were in more danger than they thought, they were more than willing to let me get away with extorting Azazel.
But… there wasn't anything I wanted from them directly. Not really. I could use an excuse or a lie to inadvertently seal everyone in Grigori with the invalid seal and get more credits, but it's not worth it.
"The other day I gave you a Twice Critical. If you're still interested in Sacred Gears, I have some available or can share my research with you. Or I could even help you study some powerful weapons." Azazel tried to cajole me.
"No, actually, I've already thought about what I want. And it's not something from you, I want a favor from Vali." I said with a sly smile.
"A… favor?" Azazel asked slowly, and I nodded. I could feel Ravel's confusion through the bond, but I just laughed and hid my thoughts momentarily.
"A favor with a project of mine, and well, of one of my servants as well. I want you to convince Vali to do it." I said simply, Azazel smiled critically.
"Yeah, I don't think I can force Vali to do anything," Azazel said as he massaged his temple.
"Well, then I want Canis Lykaon," I said just as easily. Azazel stiffened.
"Excuse me, one more time?" he said awkwardly.
"Canis Lykaon, I understand, is in the hands of a certain Tobio Ikuse, members of Slash/Dog, agents of Grigori." I said with a smile.
"Do you want… a Longinus?" Azazel asked slowly.
"One by one, I think it's fair." I said with a sadistic smile. "I'm really interested in Ame-no- Ohabari, it's one of the really interesting swords, described as being able to 'cut through everything', including gods and Buddhas." I said plainly. Azazel looked at me for a few seconds before smiling fakely.
"What did you say was the favor Vali had to do?" Azazel said jovially. I shrugged.
"I want him to act in a television series that's in production," I said. Azazel blinked for several seconds in complete shock, as if he hadn't understood what I had said. In fact, everyone else in the room seemed just as surprised.
"At the risk of repeating myself, excuse me, once again?" Azazel said awkwardly.
"A TV series, my bishop, Enid, loves creating these things, and although we're having a good influx of talent, she really wants me to act in this series, but I need a few more people for the main cast. I want Vali to act in it." I said straightforward. Azazel continued to look at me awkwardly.
"So… your demands are… either for Vali to act in a series of… something, or a Longinus? Canis Lykaon no less?" Azazel asked slowly, and I smiled mockingly at him.
"Yeah, is there a problem with that?" I asked playfully, and Azazel massaged his temple.
"Yes, there are so many problems, I don't even know where to begin," Azazel complained. "I don't know what's going on, but I'll accept your terms before you change your mind." Azazel sighed tiredly.
"Wait, are you sure, Serena? Is that all you want?" Sirzechs interrupted, completely confused. I nodded.
"Of course, I take my fiancées' requests very seriously. Enid wants this to be a success, and I want to make that happen for her," I said easily.
"And that's equal to the level of a Longinus?" Rias asked incredulously from the side.
"Equal? Don't be ridiculous." I mocked Rias. "Enid and my fiancées' happiness is greater than any Longinus." I said easily. It was apparent, right? "My curiosity about Canis Lykaon is purely scientific. I want to study it and compare it to my weapons. It barely registers as a need." I said simply. Everyone looked at me strangely.
"Either that's a very admirable thought, or you're crazy. Just... wake Vali up, I'll see to it," Azazel sighed, beckoning to Vali. I smiled slightly, placed Vali on the ground, opened the potion, and made it float before injecting it into Vali's body through his mouth.
It took a few seconds to take effect, but Vali suddenly opened his eyes and took a deep breath as he sat up.
"Azazel?" Vali said awkwardly, slightly confused, before looking at the Satans and putting himself on guard. Then, his gaze fell on me, and he stood up, his Sacred Gear appearing on his back.
"Wow, wow, wow, calm down, Vali, everything's okay." said Azazel, approaching Vali.
"Partner, you're finally awake," Albion's voice said with a hint of relief. Vali frowned as he reviewed everything that had happened.
"I lost," Vali said finally. He didn't seem bothered in the least.
"You did, and now I have to clean up your mess," Azazel said, massaging his temple. Vali snorted and crossed his arms.
"It's not like you can't afford it," Vali said simply. Azazel sighed.
"That's not the point," Azazel said, his head aching. "Besides, she doesn't want anything from me; she wants something from you," Azazel said mockingly. Vali looked at me almost curiously. Honestly, he didn't seem to care that he'd lost; in fact, he seemed satisfied with the fight. I really didn't want to understand how his head worked.
"So what do you want? I won't join your Peerage," Vali said without hesitation. I snorted.
"And I don't want you in my Peerage," I mocked. Vali frowned slightly. "I want you to act in a series I'm creating," I said with a wide smile.
"A… series?" Vali asked, confused. I smiled widely before pulling out some drafts.
"I have some drafts of the scripts for one of the scenes? Do you want to read them ?" I said, my smile growing even wider. Vali looked terribly confused. I just threw it to him, and he grabbed it almost instinctively.
"Can I have one?" Azazel said, sounding curious. I pulled out another copy and threw it to him before taking more out of my inventory.
"I have several, in fact, here, Lady Leviathan. I believe you received our message about a new series I wanted to consult with you about. This is that series." I said, handing her one of the scripts. Serafall's eyes widened before she smiled brightly.
"Give me that!" Serafall said, completely excited.
"And Sirzechs…" I said, looking at the other Satan with a malicious smile. "I want to redeem my favor with the Gremorys, and I want you to act in this series as well." I said, handing him the script. Sirzechs seemed to struggle for a few seconds before giving up and sighing.
"Fine." Sirzechs grumbled before taking the script.
"Perfect! At the top of everything, you have the names of the characters I want you to play and a summary of the series, then followed by a more detailed scene. Please read it!" I said happily before looking at the rest. "You guys have them; there are copies for you too." I said, handing the rest to Grayfia, Rias, Sona, and their queens. My smile grew mischievously.
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"No," Vali said with finality, gritting his teeth. "Just no," he repeated. I laughed in amusement.
"What? You can't sing?" I asked innocently. Vali gritted his teeth.
"I'm not going to act like this... this Baby Saja!" Vali spat angrily as he threw the script to the floor. "He uses bottles, pacifiers, and half of his lines are babble! I refused it!" Vali growled.
"Now, now… that's not a bad plot." Azazel tried to say with a highly amused smile, Oh, now he was fully supporting this; I could see it.
"It's a fantastic story! Magical girls who sing to save the day! A band of devils as the main enemies?! I knew you were an ally of the magical girls! And you want me to be the protagonist! I accept! I accept a thousand times! I have to practice my singing!" Serafall squealed happily, "Plus I get to perform with Sirzechs finally!" she added happily.
"Why? Is this a punishment? It has to be a way to punish me," Sirzechs asked long-sufferingly as he looked at the script. "This Mystery Saja, all he does is bark!" Sirzechs complained as he violently waved the script.
I could hear Ravel laughing out loud inside my head as I imagined Sirzechs in the role of Sirzechs from Mystery Saja while barking at the fans.
"Of course not." I lied completely as I looked at Sirzechs with a mocking smile. "I would never stoop that low." I lied again. Sirzechs's expression changed several times before ending in resignation.
"Fine, but with this, the favor to the Gremory will be settled." Sirzechs said, surrenderedly. I nodded widely.
"Of course." I said simply. I mean, really! There isn't much I'll need from the Gremorys, so this was a good outcome. "And you." I said, looking at Vali, who was frowning. "It's not like you can refuse. Azazel already agreed for you; it was either that or he'd give me access to Canis Lykaon." I said confidently. Vali's eyes narrowed and glared at Azazel.
"Tobio?" Vali asked incredulously, and Azazel shrugged while smiling amusedly. Vali gritted his teeth. "Fine." Vali finally spat out, I smiled, perfect, I hit a raw nerve.
That was why I chose Tobio's Longinus as a second option, except for Lavinia's Absolute Demise. Both are people Vali cares about enough to consider them brothers; it was enough leverage for Vali to accept all of this. Even something as ridiculous as acting like Baby Saja. Besides, the credits he'd already earned from Vali were more than enough reward.
"Perfect, let's go over a couple of things!" I chirped. I could still hear Ravel laughing as her body was using her fan to cover the enormous smile on her face.
"By the way, Ravel," I said mentally. Ravel composed herself slightly within my mind. "Do you think Riser would mind being Abby Saja and seeing Sirzechs as Mystery to see him bark?" I asked, amusedly. Ravel paused for a few seconds before laughing once more.
"Satan! I love you! He'll be delighted!" Ravel said happily. I laughed lightly. Good, that was perfect.
The meeting ended easily after that. I even had Vali sign a cursed contract. I knew he'd join Khaos Brigade at some point, and I had no intention of stopping him from acting even then.