Black Pawn's Promotion.

Avarizia Avaritia

At this moment, a not so unfamiliar thought comes to the young devil's mind while he is staring at the direction the angel was knocked in. About how he's hitting a woman, which should be a big no-no for a man.

But Saji is not just a man. But one of equal rights, and the fist of retaliation is unisex, so those thoughts died down as soon as they came.

"And here I thought I had barely a fighter in here!"

"Yeah, keep talking feather douchebag, I can do this all day."

"Oh really? I thought you had never asked! Raynare always said I needed to keep my mouth closed and look pretty, but that's not really my style, you know? By the way, it's not a feather douchebag; it's Sciletium to you!"

Instead of where she was pointing, Saji already came at her with a high jump kick, which she dodged effortlessly.

"You're not going to get another lucky shot, little devil."

Still ignoring her, he rushed at her again, but even while she was descending, she effortlessly dodged.

"Like I said, lucky shot." As she said that, her grin grew more maddening while she clenched her fist.

–Instantly.

The woman launched herself at the poor hellspawn.

"... Gggah?!"

Saji's reflexes kicked in at the sudden charge.

Without any fanfare, he, while not completely, blocks the approaching fist with my sacred gear, then twists both his wrist and his body to mitigate and dodge the impact, but even with all that, this almost knocks him out.

"–That was close! Is all that speed coming from her wings?!"

It's a maneuver that wouldn't have been possible if not for his sacred gear. If he was struck head-on, he would've been blown apart, so he had no choice but to use his lizard gauntlet to redirect the force. The young man's body aches. This is the shock of just one hit. Even if he survives this, he doesn't know how much longer his body and his advantage will last.

"That's right, the exit...!"

Saji jumps when Sciletium throws a light spear the second he gets distracted. If one strike was able to almost knock him out, he wouldn't like to test what those spears could do. Saji, at the end of his vision, could see the exit that he was so close to at the start of this fight.

"Escape... would be difficult."

In terms of mobility, it is obvious that she is definitely superior. However, it's also difficult to say if we see any form of victory in what's practically a monster to Saji.

"Uuuugh, I am-"

"Yes, out of your league. Run away."

"Well, you're a lot more talkative."

Even with the snarky comment, he never lost sight of his foe, who just stopped to stare at him before giggling manically.

He didn't know whether it was the causal tone or the situation itself, but the voice's next words were surprisingly in a harsh tone he had never heard before. "I've always been talkative, you just-" Before it could finish, everything returned to the usual static.

"And there it goes. For the best, to be honest, I already have one big distraction in front of me."

In reality, the random conversion did wonders for his nerves. When it comes to non Sona threats to his life, Saji, rather than simply panic, instinctively attempts to make small talk instead to calm himself down, which is something that comes from experience.

Saji lets out a large exhale, steeling himself for the next encounter.

X-x-X

"Sona!"

Tsubasa yells, waving towards her king, with Ruruko falling soon after.

Sona nods in turn. "Are you two alright?"

"For better or worse."

At the blue head words, the first year turns green at the memories of what happened to the stray.

"Good," and with that, the peerage sets off to their final two pieces location, but after some distance, someone speaks.

"Why?"

"Hm?"

"Why don't you just let Tomoe go ahead?"

Reya reasonably causes Sona to pause, still walking, to stare at her bishop. This was not just a question that was on Reya's mind, because it seemed almost everyone was waiting for an answer.

It's no exaggeration to call Tomoe their ace or playmaker when it comes to peerage. While only second in power, it was expected for the queen to be head and shoulders above, but what was unusual was how the power difference was there; it was barely so, and with her senses when it comes to magic, her finding him would be a non issue.

"If I could call it anything, it would be faith."

It was Tusbkai's turn to speak up. "Faith, you say?"

"Umm," she says, gaining a somewhat whimsical look in her eyes. "I just know he has so much more in him than he believes."

"So you have that much faith in him, huh?"

"I have that much faith in all of you, don't ever forget that, Momo."

Sona's answer to Momo's question under her breath caused the somewhat dour girl to look up in surprise.

Tsubkai sighs, completely giving up conceiving her. "That's a dangerous game you're playing; are you trying to one up Rias?"

"Who knows?"

"But really?" Tusbasa asks, lacking any of her mocking tone. "I know he's the only one out of two of us who has a sacred gear but only awoke a few months ago."

"He didn't have his sacred gear awake just a few months ago." Sona corrects her.

"Oh, then you awaken when you two first-"

"I didn't awaken it at all."

Only Tusbasa looks at her with an eyebrow raised, because she's the only one with any knowledge of the tools made by God.

"He's like you, Tusbasa."

"...how long."

"From my estimates, I'm around the same age as you."

"Six years at least."

X-x-X

Straight rush.

The light sword in her hand goes in for the kill.

Fast and probably heavy.

If Saji just ducks, her other hand will be waiting to strike.

The attack is going outward.

So he uppercuts to counter.

However...

Her wings block once more, like a tough hide that refuses to yield and that practically cuts his fist on.

"Hahaha!"

"Shit, it's too tough after all...!" Saji grunt.

Saji proceeds to hit it with a left, but it doesn't seem to budge. No matter what he does, the wings always get in the way. The only way Saji was going to get through this defense was to get something with considerable power to break through or put his all into a blow to her vital point.
"For damn sake, why are you so tough!" Saji cried while jumping back as the angel cackled lounder.

"I think I didn't walk that far. It should take at least 1 minute for Tomoe to defeat the stray and find me with her senses. If you think about it in normal circumstances, it'll take 2 or 3 minutes."
But all this was just random numbers he pulled out of his ass to calm himself, ignoring that he was magically drawn here and that his knowledge on said topic was understandably sparse. In reality, this was him desperately trying to keep hope out, believing that the only need was to stall.

"Stall..."
"Stall."
"That's all I have to do!"
In the meantime, it seems that Saji's internal struggle was something the opponent caught on to.

"Come on, come on, come on...!"

Unfortunately, Saji's desperation excites Sciletium, like an animal unable to kill its weak prey in a single strike, so she chants and spreads her wings in a display of excitement and intimidation.

"I have no idea how many hits it will take to get her to give up."
"On the other hand, if I get hit even once, I'll be out immediately."
It's an insane tightrope walking act for the young devil.

"Hah!"

Sciletium pounces and tries to cross slash at both sides with spears of light, Saji dodge, and then goes for a right hook at her arms as she tries to jump back.However, it barely does anything at all. If anything, her limbs are even tougher than the torso.

"Magic?"

It was the only answer in his eyes. With this, the option of breaking her limbs and crippling her fighting ability is gone.
"Now then, that usually means the only option left is..."

Saji charges forward with reckless abandon. A brief glimpse of surprise paints over the fallen face before it transforms into something more sinister as she essentially body slams him with one of her wings. The high schooler's body crashes into a bunch of random crates and boxes, leaving dust in his wake.

The fallen watched the cloud of dust in anticipation, waiting for what her new friend would do. But what came out was a small old line that he first used and warped around her arm. She didn't bother to dodge out of disappointment due to a lack of reward for waiting for his next gimmick.

"So the same trick again- '' She didn't finish her sentence, because pulling on said rope caused an entire wall to break off, with debris falling everywhere.

"That clever-"

It seems that even her thoughts don't get a chance to breathe, because right above her was her opponent, devil wings in full flight.

"You can fly, I thought you were a barely born devil!""

"Of course I can fly, you dumb woman!"

"Calling that flying would be generous."

Not even taking a second to retort to the voice, he lands a devastating kick on the fallen woman's head, and she falls headfirst to the ground. Once he lands, without taking a chance, he rushes his first raise to at least make it impossible for her to fight on.

"And I'm done."

The bored tone of the angel was a shock to hear, even more so with the five small sized light spears logged in his arm before Saji even had to recognize the pain.

"AAAA-!!"

"Too noisy." With a swipe, she slit his throat. Only soft gurgles came afterwards as he fell on the floor bleeding out, but even surprising himself, he didn't blackout, only staring at the person who put him in this state with fury.

"Oh, stop that." She casually kicks him, but with barely any strength behind her, which causes him to flip over. Blood was coming out of his mouth and his neck. He could feel one arm, and the only thing it knew was pain due to the light piercing through it. If he were a normal human, he would've been dead in a few seconds. It was only because of devil vitality that he's still holding on, so now, after reviewing the state of his body, he stares at the giggling woman with not a glare but a gaze of confusion, all because of one question in his head.

"Why... why am I still alive?"

Whether it was due to the gaze or just because she enjoyed the sound of her voice, she came to answer.

"You're probably wondering why I kept you alive, right? For you see!" She raises her finger up in a dramatic manner, but only awkwardly deflates. "I'm kind of lonely, and I need something to do before the ritual can start."

"L-lonely?!" Saji's not a person who really has any ego. He left that behind him for a good few years, but he cannot deny that all the time he was fighting for his life, the fact that the angel was using him to kill time didn't sting a little.

"I bet you also wonder how the beautiful and smart Sciletium would not be wary of the fact that there's most likely a whole peerage attempt to find you? Want to guess why?"

Only a wet, bloody cough comes in response, and she comically crosses her arms.

"Bzzt, bzzt, wrong answer! The truth is, I'm going to kill you all once the ritual succeeds."

Saji's eyes were winding.

Her face then turned pensive. "Well, maybe not the full blooded devils; I don't need a maou on my tail at the moment." She then began mumbling to herself, assumingly, things about the risk of killing two young heads of household.

The word after her answer didn't respond to him. All that was on his mind were the previous ones. While there was no real hate before, the way she kept talking about causally killing his friends made his blood boil. But what can he do about it in this pathetic state?

"Alright, then enough of that." She picks him up by his uniform and holds him up in the air, readying the final blow. Whether she didn't feel like wasting her power or just wanted to make this kill personal was anyone's guess.

"Any last words?" She returns to her vacant tone.

With all his strength, he pushes out three words.

"Go... to... hell..."

Her looks change, and she, without warning, drops him to the ground.
"I changed my mind." She turns to look at Saji with an expression he couldn't fully describe, but it is one that fills him with dread.

"I want you to see this."

Little by little, the room began to rumble, and symbols that Saji hadn't noticed until now started to glow a pale green. Even if his understanding of the arcane is, quite frankly, dogshit, it didn't take genius to tell something was happening—something big.

The fallen woman walks towards the center of the room, where all the runes gather, and as if on cue, small lights begin to appear around her, warping and twisting as if they were very much alive themselves, and then she begins to speak, heat rising in her voice.

"Now witness," she said, her arms widening and her wings at full mast. "My ascension!"

The circle in the center of the room where the angel is standing started giving out incredible amounts of light.

It started giving out divine light that spread throughout the entire. Because of its brightness, Saji had to close his eyes. When he tries to get a better look at it once more, he sees that the fallen wings start to fold in and out of each other and split as black feathers spread throughout the room. When the bright lights were gone, all that was there was Sciletium at the center of the circle giving out a blue-white aura and that was the moment the unfortunate realization settled in.

"No... no no no no no no!"

Appearance wise the woman wasn't any different. Same hair, same clothes—even the slight bruises the devil gave her were all intact. But what made Saji quake in dread was the distinct new set of wings on her back. Angels' wings, whether normal or fallen, represent rank in the hierarchy of heaven, with the highest: the Seraph, adorning six sets.

But Saji was no fool; these wings are not just simple promotions in management; they also represent another thing. Something that people thirst for, yearn for, and struggle for. All for the sake of making it their own to help turn their wishes and ideals into reality and something that they will kill and die for, something that Saji Genshirou knows oh so well.

Power.

"...It worked!!!" The angel screams at the top of her lungs, being the most excited Saji has ever seen her.

"This power! The test has been a resounding success! With this, I will be free!"

She shouts with an expression that could barely be called human. Due to her overly excited nature at the moment, blue light envelops the ritual room.

"Ufufu. Ahahahahahaha! I finally have it! My long due birthright! No more politics, no more hiding, no more quaking in my feet, no more bargaining. Now I truly belong to myself, an eternal liberation! "

The fallen angel pauses and takes a giant sigh, giving her a chance to calm herself. She turns to face Saji with the biggest grin she ever had, and as she walks towards him, he can't hide the shivers his body is involuntarily making.

"Oh, so you can feel it."

"The difference"

He didn't even breathe; the young man just stared at her. The only other movement was his inability to stop trembling.

The woman's eyes turn predatory. "Now that's a better look"

"But since you tried so hard and I am in a really good mood today, I'll give you some advice." She bends down and gives the terrified boy a bright smile while gently holding his face to make him look directly at her.

"You've worked hard, haven't you?" Her tone was soft, even pleasant; it could honestly be called charming. "I can tell that the skills you have don't come out of talent, and I commend you for that effort. For someone born into the non-supernatural you must've found something that matters to help you truly work as hard as you did. Was it your master, your friends, or maybe your family?" She ponders.

"But- " The next words were devoid of any of that previous amiable feeling; it wasn't just cold; it wasn't just apathetic; it was one that spoke of it like a fact and somewhat from experience, like she was trying to give honest advice.

"-it is all worthless."

"True power is absolute, which no amount of hard work can reach, so the only thing people like us can do is take it and rip it from others. All hard work does is lead us into a desperate cycle of believing it will all be worth it."

"However, do you not sense it?" She chuckles patronizingly as she says it. "What separates you from me, this feeling will never go away this absolute feeling that your fight against the world itself"


With that, she gently places his head on the ground and walks away.

"So remember this; remember this feeling. Maybe that's something that will help you in your next life, but don't worry, I'm going to bring all your friends too."

He could only watch as she walked out, and before any form of plan could settle in, a creeping feeling came first, something that he was forced to acknowledge.

"I am dying."

At this point, his own stubbornness is his undoing, for instead of going off into a peaceful slumber, he was forced to stay awake until the last moments before his brain completely shuts down. When it comes to final moments, the first thing people think of differs from person to person. Whether it's the mistakes they made throughout their lives, the people who would be sad if they went, or all the things they didn't get to do.

But maybe it's due to the fact that this isn't Saji's first tango, or maybe even something deeper. But his thoughts didn't go to his family, friends, or even the master, whom he cares for to no end.

"Why... am I so weak?"

"..."

"...Why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why—"

This single question scratched at the young man's head like nails on a chalkboard, whether it's because of the blood loss or him at his closing hour, but for all sakes, at this moment he would be classified as clinically insane, constantly repeating the same question over and over again.

"That's because you're lying to yourself, brat."

"!?"

Erupting from his shadow, a figure of prue black leaned over his head, neither male nor female, old or young; no trait was defined outside of a sinister smile with razor white teeth. Unlike all the other teams, where there is some static on the best of days, the voice is clear and crisp.

"Wh-"

"You never cared."

"???"

The figure sighs.

"Fighting for the sake of Sona, wanting to do right by her for all the things she has done for you while holding up her name proudly? You never cared about all that crap, and you never will."

Every single word that it spit out was a cold wash with needles in it for good measure. Saji didn't know what this thing was, but it has officially pissed him off.

"What the hell do you know?! I–"

The thing cuts him off, utterly bemused by his reaction.

"A lot more than you, I want to."

"...I-I've been training day in and day out for Sona's sake, for Kaho's sake, and for Gengo's sake!"

"Wrong," the voice says flippantly, "you never trained for their sake; you only trained for one thing and one thing alone, yourself."

"But I-"

"Idiot, you are not some honor bound knight and a true paragon of good. You're just a kid, a child, who doesn't want to lose what you think is there."

Even in his mind, he has no words to refute. All he could do was give the most scornful glare he could at the figure, which made its grin widen.

"That's the reason why you lost, you didn't want to win; you just wanted to wait until your oh so great king saved you, but in truth, that disgusts you to your core."

Anger was replaced with shock.

"See, in your mind, you can't even deny that you're just a greedy little thing trying to uphold honor so you don't get shamed. The most pathetic devil I've seen, coming from your whole gang, and those other brats, that says a lot."

"...and so wrong with that?"

"Being pathetic is fine."

"???"

"You don't have to change, quite the contrary, I ask you to stop holding back ."

Whether it was on purpose or not, weight was added to its voice.

"Don't let such a beautiful thing be caged; let it out; let it consume everything, even the heavens and the earth! To the point that even the god of thunder cannot contain you!"

The entity then begins to close onto Saji, to the point where it whispers right in his ear.

"All you have to do... is say my name."

Saji didn't know many things, but at this moment, it felt like he was about to get into a contract with something worse than any devil could be.

"Say it, and everything you want will be yours, no more than that, you and I both know that this is what you– we live for!"

"..."

Saji was at a loss; maybe this is because he was at death's door and he's inclined to believe her. Oh, he is kidding, they are right. There's no need to debate this; this thing has basically spoken out his true feelings the moment it opened its mouth since day one, whether it's the inner part of his psyche or something far more malevolent. It doesn't change that every word was true, and what does it matter that this thing is clearly evil? The fallen is right it's better to take power and he has literally nothing to lose so–

"Why the hell don't I want to take this damn thing's hand?"

"Having some second thoughts? Some miniscule iota of pride that was just born?"

"Pride?"

"..."

She approached him and smiled the most sweetly he had seen in a while as she looked up at him with the violet eyes he adored so much.

"Because you're here, and that 's never going to change."


"...Yeah I have something to believe in, well I do now."

He felt his right hand heat up, and said heat started to fill his whole body.

"Hoh? Are you going to denounce me? Reject your true self?"

"You're probably, no, absolutely, right; every word that comes out of your mouth is an undeniable truth."

"But...?"

"But, even if it's all a sham, that doesn't mean the desire to keep these feelings is not."

He was burning and freezing at the same time, and he could feel his heart through his ears.

"Yeah you are right I am greedy—so greedy in fact that I don't want to discard this act; I don't want to lose anything, even these false feelings cause said feelinsg come from the faith she has in me to better than that! So you can take your deal–"

The fallen angel was almost out of the room until she paused to turn to see the dying devil's right wrist glowing.

"So an encore, isn't it?"

"-and shove it up your ass, Vritra!"

Despite the refusal, the voice couldn't be more ecstatic. Which left Saji a bit dumbfounded.

"That's what I like to hear!!!"

"Wait wh-"

The darkness begins peeling off of the figure, revealing sharp golden eyes.

"Pseudo dragon core online redistributing energy throughout the homosapien model! Scared systems are powering at 60%; limit break access granted! It's round two, you little shit!!"

"I still don't under-"

"I'm telling you, get your ass out of here and beat shit out of the four winged harlot!!"

Saji's half-dead pulse came back alive, his eyes turning into slits. The black lizard gauntlet spits its purple tongue out onto his throat, and then, with a guttural roar, the former human jumps on his feet.

"Let me say this one more time if I wasn't clear enough." Saji said while ripping off the purple line wounds healed.

The angel smiles as her blue aura grows as if promising pain, and the devil glares as the purple light contests, accepting the challenge.

"Like hell, I'm going to roll over and die for you; eat dirt, bitch!"