Chapter 25: Pawn and Bishop.
(Disclaimer, Itsuki will not be a pervert. Instead, I will make her an outgoing fun person. Koneko will be his first Rook and either Kuroka or Lavinia for his second Bishop.)
Romonus did not have to wait long for Itsuki to come out of her room with a small suitcase. He did wonder why she was not afraid as he dangled her in the air. In her mind, now that she was on the ground it was more fun than scary. She even wondered if she too could get some wings like Romonus one day.
Flying after all was one of the dreams most children thought about. When she came out of her room she looked rather excited to travel. Plus, she would be getting out of School so that was a win in her opinion.
"I am ready."
Once she had ready, her parents who were still affected by just a slight amount of his spell focused on her. Gorou patted her head and wished her luck.
"Make sure to listen to Romonus ok?"
Itsuki nodded with a smile.
"Yes, Dad."
Miki hugged her tight and kissed her cheek.
"Even if it is only two weeks take care and make sure to behave."
Watching the sight made him smile. Magic could be used for good or evil and if he was honest, Rias in the anime had brainwashed them way worse than he did and Issei did not care. At least he only affected them a tiny bit to make them listen to him without freaking out.
'I am not a bad person. Keep telling myself that long enough and I will start believing it.'
Once they said their goodbyes, Romonus stood up and walked over to the girl. He placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Ready to go?"
She looked up at him and nodded.
"Yes, sir."
He opened a teleport circle under them and turned to Gorou and Miki.
"As I said, you will get daily reports on her progress, and in two weeks she will be returned to you. While she is training with me a servant of my Clan shall talk to you to rehome you or renovate your home."
Gorou nodded.
"I will trust you, take care of my daughter."
Miki hugged her husband's arm in sadness.
"Yes, stay strong Itsuki."
Itsuki waved them goodbye as Romonus teleported back to his room. When they arrived Itsuki instantly started to look in every direction.
"WOW! Your room is 10 times bigger than mine. It's almost as big as my house."
He smiled as he ruffled her hair a little.
"I am rich and an Aristocrat. If this surprises you, just wait until you see the bathroom. Give me a second."
He walked over to the bed where Akeno had landed perfectly on the pillow. She was exhausted from her year and a half on the run so even if he did put her to sleep she was recovering nicely. He placed a hand on her head and removed his spell allowing her to wake up.
Itsuki was curious about her and set down her suitcase to walk over.
"Your sister?"
He shook his head.
"No. She is someone like you. Except she is half Fallen Angel. I talked about them a little with your parents."
Itsuki started to think back to his lecture while Akeno opened her eyes. Still a little groggy she grabbed his arm.
"Father."
He smiled as he ran a hand down her silky black hair.
"No, it's me Romonus. You're safe now where no one will hunt you and no one will hurt you ever again."
Akeno sat up and rubbed her eyes.
"Really? I am safe?"
He sat down next to her and held her hand. He gave her hand a firm, but gentle hold.
"Yes, I know you may have been raised with fear for Devils, but I hold no hate for your people. Fallens, Devils, and Angels are all part of the same Pantheon. We all deserve to live happy lives regardless of who we are."
Akeno nodded as she finished waking up. She lowered her head a little to him in thanks.
"Thank you for saving me, I would be dead without you."
He stood up and started to talk to her about her situation.
"Of course. While I have you here, I need to tell you this. Azazel spoke to me when you passed out. He told me that your Father this whole time was protecting you from the shadows. He is the reason you survived this long on your own."
Akeno froze on the spot as she mumbled a few words.
"He did?"
Romonus wrapped her in a hug which made her think back to the time before her Mother's death. Her Father had strong and kind arms just like this.
"He loves you Akeno. I know you feel he is to blame for your Mother's passing, but there is so much more than you realize. You do not need to forgive him now or ever, but as long as you hold hatred for him you will never know peace."
Akeno barely knew him, but already she felt he truly cared. She hugged him back as this was the first kindness she had felt since her Mother died.
"Thank you Romonus. I am in your debt."
He held her a little longer before he let go of her. He smiled as he gave her a piece of advice.
"You have a long time to understand that. For now, I want to introduce you to someone. Itsuki."
The small brown-haired girl walked over to Akeno and leaned in to look at her face.
"Your hair is so pretty like a Japanese girl. Your eyes are like stars, different than the Demon Man."
He snorted as she kept calling him that.
"I already said my name is Romonus and I am not a man. I am 11."
Akeno looked up at him in shock.
"Really? You are the same age as me?"
Romonus sighed as his rapid growth came with downsides when it came to those his age.
"Yes, I am. All my training has caused my bloodline to grow and with it, I grew quicker. And we 'Demons' as you keep calling me can change our appearance slightly. See."
With a slight infusion of Demonic Energy, he made his mature face begin to take more kid-like features. It was not easy anymore as he had kept this look for a while. Still, both Itsuki and Akeno watched in surprise as his grown-up face began to look more kid-like.
Itsuki reached out and began to touch his face a little.
"Wow, it's real."
Akeno began to do the same and she even pulled on his cheeks a little.
"How does it work?"
'Kids.'
He gently removed their hands from his face and returned his face to his perfect mature features. This way people took him more seriously than if he kept his face at what it should look like.
Most Devils always choose to look younger as his Mother made herself look to be in her early 20s. Miria kept her look to be in her late 20s while Serafall kept herself looking like a teenage shortstack.
He loved all three as neither made a wrong choice in his opinion. Regardless, once they stopped pulling at his face tried to explain it a bit.
"It is a racial ability of Devils. We can alter our appearances somewhat. Anyway, while you two are focused time for a slight history lesson of House Gremory. It is one of the highest-standing Devil Clans of the remaining 32 Clans at the rank of Duke. I am the next heir and I am gathering a peerage of mighty individuals.
I want you two to join it which means the next Lord of House Gremory will be your backer. Ask any questions you have?"
Akeno asked something.
"My Father spoke of Peerages. He said that Devils can turn others into Devils, but I am part Fallen. How will that work?"
He began to explain the power of the Evil Piece System to them.
"Reincarnated Devils keep all their original races powers. This means you would gain Devil powers and keep your original Fallen Angel ones. I am sorry to say that even if you reincarnate into a Devil you will always be a Fallen Angel.
And suppressing that side of yourself will make your power stagnate and hurt you. As for you Itsuki, joining my Peerage will fix some of your weaknesses as a human. For one you will be stronger, faster, and more resilient and you will never die old.
It will also make you able to control the Boosted Gear better with more energy. You can decide now or in two weeks. Akeno, you have longer as you will be in my care. Yes?"
Akeno thought about it for a few moments before she asked the question.
"Will you turn me now?"
Romonus could see merit in turning her now or later. If he waited he could let her gain more purity in her Fallen Angel bloodline or turn her into Reicarnated Devil to train both sides of her.
"Depends on what you want. Also, you need a bath, food, and rest, Itsuki, you need better control over your Sacred Gear and we have two weeks for it. You can choose to not join, or join now. Whatever you decide."
Romonus knew asking Itsuki a 9-year-old was manipulation. Kids were easy to manipulate even if he had her best intentions at heart. They were simple like that as all he told her were good things.
The bad thing was the weakness of Holy Water, Light, and Crosses. But he had a training method to remove that weakness from them until he had Valerie at his side.
"I want to join now. I want to be stronger for my parents."
Romonus smiled as he stood up and brought out his 8 Pawn Pieces. Already thanks to his Cambion Soul they had a slight purple glow mixed in with the red. He wondered what unique effects they had now that they were warped by his soul.
He knew the moment she joined his peerage her Fate would be tied to him and so would her soul. He would always be her 'Master', but he was not going to treat his peerage as slaves.
He was still a Gremory even though he was a slight outsider then his family. He just had one worry.
'Please tell me it won't take that many.'
"OK then. Let's try with one."
He moved one toward her, but it failed. He watched as it spun around her making her follow it with her eyes.
"Did it work?"
"No, it needs more."
He added another which still did not work. He added 1 more, but he still felt resistance. It was only when he added the 4th one that all 4 Evil Pieces entered her chest and activated the transformation. Instantly her Mana began to be converted into Demonic Energy and from her back emerged two sets of Dragonified Demon Wings.
A little like his own. Seeing that made him extremely proud of himself as he reincarnated the Red Dragon Empress with just 4 Pieces, unlike Rias.
'YES! 4 is a perfect price for the Red Dragon Empress. Isn't that what Sona used for Saji? Shows just how powerful I am of course.'
When the transformation was over Itsuki turned around and looked at her wings.
"COOL! Can I fly now?"
He nodded as her wings were retracted into her back.
"You can, but not inside. We have two weeks to get you to have control over your powers. Including your wings."
Seeing how Itsuki was fine and did not change Akeno raised her hand.
"I will do it. I will join your Peerage. I want to be strong to never lose anyone like Mother again."
To give her more hope he gave her something extra like a motivator.
"Alright, just so you know while your Mother's body died, her soul is alive. She either went to Heaven or Yomi. With enough power, you can rescue her to bring her to life."
Instantly she became much more determined.
"I will join your peerage Mr Romonus, I want to save my mom."
He returned his three regular Pawns and Mutation Pawn to his soul where they were still being warped by his purple Cambion Soul. He pulled out his two Bishops which were also glowing a slight purple.
"Alright, Akeno here goes."
He sent one of them toward her and thankfully that was all it took. Instantly her transformation began. Just like Itsuki, her Mana was warped into Demonic Energy, but when her wings emerged she kept 1 Fallen Angel Wing and the other became Demonic just like him.
When her Soul and magic settled down and she looked at her wings she felt disgusted. Noticing her feelings, he extinguished them before they became a trauma. It would weaken her or form a Heart Devil as the Cultivators called it.
"Do not feel disgusted. This is a gift Akeno, you are a very rare Nephalem now. Gifted with the powers of a Fallen Angel and a Devil. As long as you use both you will be one with the Dark and Light. As long as you put your trust in me, you will be among the strongest.
Will you put your trust in me?"
She retracted her wings and nodded as she took his extended hand.
"I will."
"Good. I am already seeing great things in your future. As I said before we start anything Akeno, you should get some food and some rest. I will get the servants to prepare some rooms for you. This Mansion is massive and so many rooms are just sitting empty. The rooms next to mine or in front of mine will be yours.
First, you should meet my family since you are now in my peerage."
Romonus opened the door of his room and walked to where he knew his Mother was. These days she was either in her office or taking it easy. As for Rias, she continued her training and compared to when she started she was growing incredibly.
As they walked he began to give a slight explanation.
"This is the main Mansion of the Gremory Clan. Home to my Family and several hundreds of servants. Itsuki you can think of this as a second home away from home and Akeno this will be your new home."
Itsuki frowned at hearing that. A little disappointed.
"Oh, I thought I could stay?"
He chuckled as he patted her head.
"Your parents will worry about you, silly girl. Though you will be coming here very often for training. I will begin to teach you what we Devils do in the human world. Long ago we used to deal in human souls, but that rarely happens anymore."
Itsuki tilted her head.
"Why?"
"Simply put, Devils used to be more Evil before Lucifer died."
Akeno knew that as her Father told her, but Itsuki as a regular human before this did not.
"HE IS DEAD!"
He nodded.
"Yup, my brother Sirzechs took over after his death. You are going to hear a lot of truths by being around me this whole time. Any more things you want to know?"
Itsuki thought about it and asked something.
"You said the Boosted Gear is the 5th Longinous. What's the 6th?"
He grinned as he turned to face her.
"The Divine Dividing the Prison of the White Dragon Emperor Albion. Your fated rival."
Itsuki froze in her steps as she looked at her left hand.
"Huh? A rival?"
He nodded.
"Ddraig and Albion are rivals of legend. Every time their hosts like you appear they are compelled to fight for supremacy keeping the rivalry going. And Azazel told me that the girl is the descendent of the first Lucifer meaning if you do not train hard she will defeat and possibly kill you."
Itsuki now did not feel so excited.
"Oh."
Akeno patted her back with sympathy.
"What can we do Romonus?"
"Simply put, train. Who is to say they are evil, they might be a nice person. Ready to face your new lives?"
Both girls nodded firmly as he planned to turn these two into Legends. Of course, weaker than him so he would have to keep pushing himself to surpass even Ddraig and Albion.
As he walked he smiled.
'I will not allow myself to be weaker than my own Peerage, Sacred Gears or not. After all, I am going to surpass a Super Devil and become a Devil God. The Heavenly Demon.'