Chapter 83 — The Start of a Promise

Rias

The first wrongness lasted less than a second.

The second lasted long enough for everyone to understand it.

One moment the room was still moving in the tense, deliberate rhythm of diplomacy.

Michael was speaking.

Azazel was leaning back with that infuriating ease of his.

Onii-sama was listening with his hands folded.

Serafall-sama still looked bright enough to make the conference seem less dangerous than it was.

Then the world lurched.

Ise’s hand jerked in mine.

The cup near Grayfia’s tray hung in the air for a fraction too long.

And half the room stopped.

Not everyone.

That was the first thing I saw clearly.

From my peerage, Xenovia and Yuuto were unaffected immediately.

I was too, obviously

Akeno, Koneko, Asia, Kusari—

Yuki.

We would need to discuss that later, but for now…

They weren’t moving

Ise wasn’t either.

Frozen in place by the same strange sensation Gasper’s power always carried, only larger and filthier here, spread across the entire room like a hand pressed over time itself.

They were each stuck in time staring forward blankly in space.

Sona was the same.

The room changed all at once.

Chairs scraped back.

Michael stood and moved to the window.

Grayfia’s wings appeared in a flash.

Vali finally looked like he wasn’t bored.

Onii-sama did not move quickly, which was reassuring to me.

Azazel stood next to the table.

Ise suddenly looked around.

“Uhhh…. What?”

“Ah, the Sekiryuuti is back.” Azazel said.

“But I… what happened?” Ise looked around confused.

He spotted the rest of my frozen servants before noticing me.

“Buchou!”

He sounded relieved.

I smiled at him.

“Currently only you, Yuuto, Xenovia, and I can move from my family.”

He glanced at Asia, Koneko, Kusari, and Koneko with worry before turning to Yuuto and Xenovia.

“You’re probably fine due to possessing the Boosted Gear. Yuuto’s balance breaker protected her, while Xenovia drew Durandal to protect herself from the effect.” I said.

Xenovia lifted her blade when I mentioned her.

“I recognized Gasper’s ability from our practicing, and at the last moment I was able to use Durandal to protect myself.”

“That’s great, but what’s going on? Why would this happen?”

“Terrorist attack,” Azazel answered before I could..

Azazel was already at a window, his robe shifting around him as he looked down at the school grounds.

“Take a look.”

He gestured out the window with his chin.

We moved together to the window.

The barrier outside the school flared with disturbed light.

Below, I could see movement now.

There were figures in black positioning themselves across the grounds and rooftops as though they had been waiting for exactly the kind of conversation that had just taken place. 

The very idea of peace between the Three Factions had made tonight a target.

“We are under attack. It’s always been this way. Whenever a power would attempt to form peace, there are those within those groups who want to ruin it.”

He spoke grimly as we watched the figures below prepare for a fight.

“Those guys are known as Magicians. Their power comes from a type of magic that is based on the Devils power system. It looks like each of them are roughly as powerful as a Mid-class Devil.”

There were hundreds of them outside of the building.

Issei paled slightly

Xenovia tightened her grip on Durandal.

Yuuto narrowed her eyes as she watched.

Azazel continued to explain the situation with the enemy Magicians outside. 

I should have been focused only on that.

I was not.

Because Kusari was still frozen at the wall.

Because I still remembered my promise to her.

Because a few days ago she had told me she should be ready for another release soon.

And because for the first time since that promise, I had a reason no one here could easily reject.

Not now.

Not in a crisis like this. 

Not while half of my peerage members were frozen and Gasper was in the hands of some terrorists being used like a weapon.

I could prove to her that I was different.

I could help her.

I could show that she could trust me again.

My eyes flicked from Kusari to Onii-sama.

He noticed.

Even now, with the room pivoting toward defense and retaliation, his attention sharpened just slightly on me.

I stood.

“Onii-sama.”

He looked at me.

I did not waste time.

“Kusari is ready for another seal release.”

Yuuto’s gaze snapped toward me.

Xenovia’s too.

Issei looked from me to Kusari and then back again, startled enough that I knew he had understood the meaning of the words even if not all of the weight behind them.

I went on before anyone could interrupt.

“Gasper’s Sacred Gear is still holding her,” I said. “If I remove another seal, the surge should break her free. And in the current situation, no one can object to my increasing the combat capacity of my peerage.”

Serafall-sama’s eyes widened first in bright interest.

Azazel-sama, still at the window, only smiled and gave a low whistle.

Michael looked between us in interest, but said nothing. 

Onii-sama looked amused.

That, more than anything else, put me on edge.

He didn’t disagree or look annoyed.

He seemed pleased.

“You really are taking advantage of the situation, Rias,” he said lightly.

I hated how much that sounded like approval.

I only wanted to do what was right for one of my family members and was seizing the opportunity to do so.

“I’m using the opening I have,” I replied.

“That too.”

His smile deepened by a degree.

That should have relieved me.

Instead it made me colder.

He had resisted before.

He had warned me against releasing any seals on my own.

He had pressed his authority over the matter. 

But now, with part of the room frozen and enemies swarming the grounds, he yielded too easily.

I didn’t understand why.

Did it benefit him too?

Was he trying to teach or show me something?

Had he already expected me to ask?

I did not have time to untangle that.

Serafall-sama leaned forward in her chair, eyes glittering. “Then do it already. If you’re going to unseal the pretty fox girl in the middle of an attack, I want to see what happens☆.”

I ignored her.

“Ooooh, maybe she’ll get a transformation scene! That would be amazing☆! Maybe I can learn something for my own.”

I tried to ignore her. 

Michael and the female Angel with him watched us quietly.

Onii-sama gave the smallest nod.

“Very well,” he said. “Do it.”

That was too easy.

I did not let the unease stop me.

I crossed the room and stopped in front K of Kusari.

She looked exactly the way she had all evening in Onii-sama’s presence, only stuck that way now.

She looked too composed, too careful, too much like the girl who had first joined my peerage and knew better than to let herself show anything at all.

The being frozen in time had trapped that version of her in place and made it into a cruel mockery.

Ise came closer.

He didn’t try to stop me or say anything.

He wanted to be there for it.

Yuuto and Xenovia both shifted nearer too, drawn in by the same gravity.

Not only curiosity, but with concern as well.

The awareness that this was not a private release in a training hall or a quiet room.

This was happening in front of the leaders of the factions.

In front of Onii-sama.

In the middle of a terrorist attack.

I reached to her, where it would be easiest to remove the seals.

When my hands landed on the sides of her neck I felt it.

It had become easier to sense after the last release.

It wasn’t simple or clean.

The chained knots of magic twisted across her whole body.

It was impossible to tell where most began or ended.

I could feel where the next locked point lay, pressed deep near the surface of her power and refusing to yield to anyone who approached it without intent.

It felt like a tangled knot that needed a harsh pull to come free.

I had my chance to keep the first step of my promise. 

And now, I wasn’t going to waste it.

“Kusari-chan… Yuki-chan” I said, though I knew she could not answer yet. “I’m doing it.”

Then I broke it.

This seal did not break cleanly.

It tore.

Light ran through her body in jagged lines, dark-violet energy arced across her skin like it was trying to break her out of her frozen state.

Deep-red lines of demonic energy became visible across her skin like chains for a moment before vanishing.

Her power surged so fast that even the leaders around the main table reacted with increased interest.

I could feel the increase in pressure from the room.

Grayfia’s eyes sharpened on us.

Vali looked interested despite himself.

Azazel watched, smiling from his spot at the window.

Even Michael’s companion braced for a moment in reaction to it.

A fourth tail unfurled behind her.

It split off from her center tail, leaving two even pairs on either side of her.

Its silvery-white fur shone in the darkly colored light of the power pouring off her.

Then the rest of her body changed slightly.

Her beauty sharpened in the same breath.

It was hard to look away from.

Not because it became vulgar or exaggerated.

It seemed that each release made her look less like a sickly creature stubbornly surviving.

She looked less fragile.

However, I still looked somewhat sickly.

But less hollow around the eyes..

The unhealthy thinness that had clung to her from the beginning of her time with us no longer defined her quite so strongly.

One more, I thought.

One more and the last of that might finally be gone.

She was already beautiful, even while looking ill.

Now that sickly parlor and fragile mess that haunted her was falling away and revealing more of what she could be.

The effect of Gasper’s Sacred gear holding her fractured under the surge.

I felt it break.

Kusari’s body jerked hard enough that Issei took an involuntary step toward her.

Yuuto’s hands went for her arm to support her before stopping.

Xenovia looked ready to intervene where she could..

The release finished.

And Kusari came back into motion.

Kusari

The world returned in pieces.

Sound first.

Too much of it.

A room on the edge of battle.

Magic crackling against the edges of the air.

Voices moving too quickly to follow all at once.

My own breathing sounds loud in my ears.

Then pain.

Not sharp enough to panic.

Something I recognized enough to be understood.

One of my seals had been released.

I had gotten more of myself back.

My knees almost gave.

Rias helped support me for a moment as Yuuto move to help me catch myself before I could show more weakness.

The room swam around me once before settling into place.

Sirzechs-sama watching quietly.

Serafall-sama staring at me with wide, excited eyes.

Michael-sama standing with the other Angel.

Azazel-sama at the window.

Vali-san

Grayfia-sama.

Yuuto holding my arm before letting go.

Xenovia-san watching both of us.

Issei, too close like he had been moments from trying to help Yuuto.

Rias had backed up from me first and stood directly in front of me.

And four tails.

I did not need to look to know it.

The weight of them was different.

The balance of my body had shifted, magic moving through me in a broader current than before.

Disorientation and anger hit at the same time.

I stared at Rias.

“Why?”

The word came out rougher than I wanted.

There were a dozen possible answers she could have given.

Because the summit was under attack.

She needed more force.

She wanted me to be more useful.

All of them would have been understandable.

That was what made the next answer hurt more.

Rias looked me in the eyes and said, quietly enough that only the people nearest us should have heard it. 

“Because I meant what I told you.”

I said nothing.

The room around us did not matter at that moment.

Rias went on.

“I’m going to keep my promise to you.”

Not because she needed my strength.

Not because it was convenient at the moment.

Not because she was cornered.

Instead it was for the promise she had made me.

I hated how much that shook me.

I searched her face for a moment for any sign that she was lying to me.

And I could tell that she meant it.

I realized at that moment that I had been wrong.

Not wrong to be upset with Gasper-kun’s situation, but wrong to place all of that blame on Rias.

I was still upset with her for what she allowed to happen, but I realized that I had let my fear of betrayal and my panic at learning of it so close to me starting to truly open up to her affect my judgement of the situation.

Rias wasn’t the one who had decided to lock Gasper-kun away in that room.

She wasn’t even the one to decide that he could be released.

That had all been done from above her and she would have had no real way to refuse.

If she had, Sirzechs-sama may have taken him away from her completely.

She wasn’t like that, or at least she hadn’t proven it yet. 

She had said she would keep her promise to do anything to keep it from happening to one of us again.

Until she proved otherwise I could try to trust her again. 

She wasn’t perfect, but so far she was different from my previous [Kings].

Maybe I wouldn’t regret trusting her, or maybe I would.

I wouldn’t know until she gave me a real reason not to.

“I…. Okay Rias.” I said to her at last.

Then more quietly.

“Thank you.”

She gave me a small nod.

The summit was under attack.

Sirzechs-sama and the other leaders were still here.

The peace agreement was still possible.

Now that I had more power I could be useful.

I looked at the others.

Yuuto gave me a small smile.

Xenovia-san nodded.

Issei looked concerned while trying and failing not to stare at me and my new tail.

I took stock of myself.

I felt more powerful and less strained.

I would be able to fight longer and cast more curses before the backlash became too much.

My tails felt comforting as I shifted all four around behind me.

I had another ability from my new tail.

It would be very useful in the upcoming fight.

I began to think of what I could do with it to fight alongside Issei, Rias, and Xenovia-san

But Azazel-sama spared us no more time.

“Well,” he said from the window, almost cheerfully, “that was interesting to watch.”

I turned instinctively.

Out the window the hooded figures had spread across the grounds.

The attack was real, coordinated, and quickly drawing closer to a fight..

Then Azazel-sama raised one hand.

Light gathered.

Not gentle, not radiant in the way humans liked to imagine.

These spears were clean and merciless, white-gold lances of force gathering around his arm in a pattern so fast and practiced that by the time I understood what I was looking at, he had already released them.

They rained down outside the windows.

Dozens.

Hundreds.

The night below the conference room flashed white as Azazel’s light spears descended on the magicians like storm and shredded their ranks.

Azazel-sama began commenting on the enemies plan to Issei.

Then Magic circles appeared across the school grounds.

More enemies flooded out of them.

This was far more than a simple attack.

Something much more was happening here.