Takeyo finally understood why he'd felt like he was hugging a body pillow last night. After a quick wash and a change of clothes, he prepared for school with his usual efficiency.
Self-disciplined and methodical, he was the legendary "other people's child," the model student who never slipped in his academic performance.
(TN: If you know, you know)
"Est, please transform into your sword form and hide within my body," Takeyo said to the petite sword spirit who possessed the power to slay demon kings.
"Understood, Master."
Est nodded, her expression remaining placid as always. She transformed into white light and rushed toward the contract emblem on the back of Takeyo's hand, disappearing into his body.
"My physical strength seems to have increased," Takeyo muttered, flexing his hand experimentally. "I'm nearly at Middle Class Devil level now."
He could feel abundant spiritual power circulating through his body, far more than he'd possessed yesterday. The sensation was invigorating, like every cell had been awakened and energized.
What Takeyo didn't yet understand was the sheer absurdity of his situation. He'd assumed a single Queen piece would elevate his strength to High-Class Devil level, but in reality, it would take an entire truckload of Evil Pieces to have any effect on him at all.
His body was like a bottomless pit, nearly impossible to enhance through conventional Devil reincarnation methods. The Ten Incarnations of Vishnu residing within him simply wouldn't allow something as mundane as chess pieces to alter his fundamental nature.
On the other hand, this meant he was utterly invincible within his current tier. Even with the physical capabilities of a low-tier Devil, he could comfortably fight High-Class Devils without breaking a sweat, as long as he utilized his incarnations strategically.
Feeling satisfied with his progress, Takeyo opened his bedroom door and stepped into the hallway.
Thud!
"Huh?"
Something heavy fell against his legs the moment he opened the door. Takeyo glanced down, genuinely surprised.
He hadn't been actively maintaining Krishna's near-omniscience ability, it drained too much mental energy to keep active constantly, so he genuinely hadn't noticed anyone stationed outside his room.
If I'd actually reached the level of Origin Vishnu, Krishna's power would grant me true omniscience and omnipotence, Takeyo thought wryly. But right now, it's more like getting a buff that expands my perception and occasionally provides useful knowledge.
"What on earth is she doing at my door?"
Takeyo finally identified the person collapsed against his doorframe.
Even if you're a Satan, that doesn't give you permission to camp outside someone's bedroom!
With that thought, he unceremoniously kicked the door fully open.
BANG!THUD!
Two distinct sounds echoed through the hallway, the first was the door slamming against the wall, the second was a heavy object hitting the floor.
"She didn't even try to dodge?" Takeyo muttered, genuinely perplexed.
He looked down to see Serafall lying on the floor in a completely undignified heap, still wearing her magical girl costume from the previous night.
"Hey... Serafall?"
Her eyes were open, but completely vacant, like a doll whose strings had been cut. She stared at nothing, her usual vibrant energy completely absent.
She looks... broken, Takeyo observed with mild concern. Though I don't remember doing anything that would break her.
"...Hmm."
When she didn't respond, Takeyo decided a more direct approach was necessary. He drew his foot back and delivered a solid kick to Serafall's exposed rear end.
WHAM!
The impact sent the Satan sailing across the hallway, where she crashed face-first into the opposite wall with a resounding thud.
The physical shock seemed to jolt her out of whatever fugue state she'd fallen into. She peeled herself off the wall, her pink eyes slowly regaining focus.
"Ruined... everything's ruined... completely ruined..." Serafall mumbled, her voice hollow and despairing.
"What's ruined? What did you mess up?" Takeyo asked, genuinely curious now.
Even for someone as eccentric as Serafall, this level of distress seemed excessive. She was a Satan, for crying out loud, one of the four rulers of the entire Underworld. What could possibly have happened to reduce her to this state?
"This time... this time So-tan will definitely disown me as her sister!" Serafall wailed, tears beginning to stream down her face. Her usual theatrical crying had been replaced by genuine anguish.
She turned to look at Takeyo, and the moment their eyes met, her composure shattered even further.
"Ahhh! So-tan! Please don't abandon your big sister! Your sister will do anything you ask!" she cried out dramatically.
Before Takeyo could react, Serafall bolted to her feet and fled from his villa at supernatural speed, leaving only a faint trail of magical residue in her wake.
"What... exactly... just happened?"
A bead of cold sweat rolled down Takeyo's temple as he processed the bizarre scene. Serafall, one of the most powerful beings in the entire world, had just experienced some kind of emotional breakdown right outside his bedroom.
And apparently it's something that would make Sona angry enough to disown her?
[Master, I believe it relates to what happened last night,] Est's voice echoed in his mind, her tone as emotionless as ever. [She has been in that distressed state since she came to your room yesterday evening.]
"She came to my room last night? What did she do?" Takeyo's eyes narrowed as an unpleasant suspicion began to form.
[Yesterday, that woman attempted to insert several red objects into your body. I originally intended to intervene, but your physical and spiritual power reserves were insufficient to provide me with enough strength to manifest and repel her.]
"Then why didn't you tell me when I woke up this morning?" Takeyo asked, a hint of exasperation creeping into his voice.
[Because... I forgot,] Est admitted, her mental voice carrying the barest hint of embarrassment.
"You... forgot."
Takeyo pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing deeply. Even legendary demon-slaying swords apparently had their lapses in judgment.
"Alright, show me what kind of thing she tried to put into me."
A phantom image materialized in his hand, translucent red chess pieces, flickering with faint demonic energy.
[There were six of these smaller ones, one of this medium-sized one, and one of that larger one,] Est explained, highlighting different pieces in the phantom array.
After receiving this information, Takeyo immediately turned his perception inward, examining his own body with meticulous care.
Although the demonic power from the Evil Pieces was incredibly faint, barely noticeable compared to his natural spiritual energy, he could indeed detect foreign chess pieces within his body: six Pawns, one Rook, and one Knight.
"She actually tried to secretly reincarnate me into a Devil?" Takeyo gritted his teeth, anger flashing in his dark eyes. "She really went and did that, huh?"
I should have kicked her harder. A single strike to the rear was far too lenient. I should have slapped some sense into her!
The Devil reincarnation process, conducted without consent while he was sleeping? That crossed every line imaginable.
"But... I don't actually feel like I've become a Devil," Takeyo murmured, examining himself more carefully. "The demonic power in my body is barely a fraction of my total spiritual energy. Combined with what she said earlier, that means... the reincarnation failed?"
A slight smile tugged at his lips.
"How ironic."
It made sense when he thought about it. The Ten Incarnations of Vishnu weren't something that could be overwritten by something as mundane as Evil Pieces. His divine nature simply rejected the transformation entirely.
Sona was probably going to pull Serafall's ears off when she found out about this unauthorized use of her Evil Pieces.
"Well, I should head to school. I don't know if Sona will already know about this when I meet with her today," Takeyo said, shaking his head.
He walked into his living room to gather his school bag, but paused when he noticed something unusual on the coffee table.
"Is this... a souvenir?"
Resting innocently on the polished wood surface was a pink magic wand, Serafall's signature magical girl accessory.
Unlike ordinary cosplay props, this wand actually functioned as a genuine magical tool. While it wasn't overwhelmingly powerful, it contained numerous useful spells and enchantments woven into its structure.
"I'll take this as compensation for now," Takeyo decided, picking up the wand and examining it with interest. "When I have sufficient strength, I'll definitely settle this score properly."
His eyes glinted with determination as he stored the wand in his bedroom for later study. Once his spiritual power reached Middle Class Devil level, he should be able to comprehend and analyze the Devil-class spells embedded within the magical implement.
"Time to go. I still have that sign-in to complete."
Takeyo's mood had improved considerably, probably because of all those wasted Evil Pieces Serafall had used on him. The mental image of her panicked face brought a slight smirk to his lips.
He stepped outside his villa and immediately spotted Issei waiting near the property gate, looking at him with an extremely peculiar expression.
"Hey, Takeyo! Was that your girlfriend who ran out of your house earlier?" Issei asked, his eyes sparkling with curiosity. "She was still wearing that magical girl outfit and everything! I didn't know you were into that kind of thing!"
His tone carried no judgment, just genuine fascination, as if he'd discovered a kindred spirit with unique interests.
"She's not my girlfriend," Takeyo said firmly, though a hint of exasperation colored his voice. "She's... complicated."
"Right, right, I understand completely," Issei said with an exaggerated wink. "By the way, Takeyo, you're good at dealing with girls, right? There was this girl who asked me out on a date yesterday! You know how I feel about that, I'm really not interested in women at all."
He suddenly adopted a pleading expression, clasping his hands together hopefully.
"Oh?" Takeyo raised his eyebrows thoughtfully.
So Amano Yuuma has already approached him, he thought. Just as in the original timeline.
"So I wanted to ask you for a favor!" Issei continued, his voice taking on a desperate edge.
"Alright, tell me what you need."
Takeyo's interest was genuinely piqued now. This could be an opportunity.
"She asked me to go shopping with her today, but I couldn't help agreeing to it when she caught me off guard. So I thought... maybe you could go in my place?" Issei asked sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.
"Takeyo's so handsome, surely Amano wouldn't be too upset about the substitution, right? And you're much better at talking to girls than I am!"
This was Issei's solution to his predicament. In his mind, girls were simply too troublesome to deal with. Boys were far cuter, easier to communicate with, and much more interesting overall.
"Sure, I can do that," Takeyo agreed with a slight nod. "Where were you supposed to meet her?"
His thoughts were already racing ahead.
This could be an excellent opportunity. I might be able to trigger a useful sign-in from Yuuma's location. Plus, understanding the Fallen Angels' plans firsthand would be valuable intelligence.
"Really? Thank you so much, Takeyo!" Issei's face lit up with genuine relief and gratitude. "You're seriously the best friend anyone could ask for!"
He quickly pulled out his phone and showed Takeyo the meeting location, a popular shopping district in central Kuoh.
"We're supposed to meet at the fountain in front of the department store at three o'clock this afternoon," Issei explained. "I'll text her that something came up and that I'm sending my friend instead. That should work, right?"
"That should be fine," Takeyo confirmed, memorizing the location.
Internally, he was already calculating the possibilities.
A Fallen Angel disguised as a high school student, specifically targeting someone she believes has a Sacred Gear. This could be the perfect opportunity to test my current abilities against supernatural opponents.
And who knows? Maybe I'll trigger another valuable sign-in reward.