Peerages, Evil Pieces, and Deciding to Join

Gremory-senpai held her chin in her hand for a few seconds before answering my question, "First off, let me explain what a Peerage is," she said, suddenly glasses appeared on her face and a standing white board appeared to her right. The white board already had stuff on it, "A Peerage is a lot like one side of a game of chess. There's the King, which would be me," she proudly said, her considerably big chest puffing out even further, "The King's goal is to organize their Peerage in such a way that it brings out the best of what they have but it is also the Peerage's goal to protect their King. Any questions?"

Drawn into her flow, I raised a hand before quickly dragging it down and hurriedly speaking before she could tease me about it or something, "But why have Peerages in the first place? Is it some form of Supernatural norm or...?" I questioned, unsure why they had Peerages. Was it some form of formation for battle? If so, is the supernatural world full of battles...?

"Peerages are a very vital part of Devil society, Leo-kun," Gremory-senpai pushed up her glasses, her eyes closed and her expression obviously trying to look sagely, "Peerages are what are used in Rating Games. The Rating Games are used to measure a Devil's strength which will reflect their social standing in the Underworld. Peerages are, in a broad manner, our armies that we use in these Rating Games which can be referred to as mini-wars. Do you understand?"

"...I think so," I nodded, getting the gist of what she was trying to say, "So, Peerage members are like Servants, your the master, and we fight to bring glory to you, I assume is what you mean?" I asked and got a slow, unsure nod in return.

"I don't think I would refer to it as coldly as that, Leo-kun," Gremory-senpai awkwardly smiled before motioning to Himejima-senpai who was still next to Issei, healing him, "Akeno is my best friend for all intents and purposes. So despite her being my 'servant', our relationship isn't nearly as formal. I like to think of it as my Peerage being my family!" she said with a beaming smile that screamed of sincerity.

Smiling, I was glad that the her at school wasn't just a facade.

Seeing me nod, Gremory-senpai just smiled before carrying on, "So, now that you know why we have Peerages, now I'll tell you about the different pieces of a Peerage! Evil Pieces are what are given to Devils or Humans to allow them to join a Peerage. They reincarnate non-devils into Devils, basically!" she said before pulling out what looked like a pure white chess piece.

"This is a Rook Piece. Rook pieces give the Reincarnated Devil superhuman strength and defense but their weakness is that they lack the same mobility of other pieces - they're the shields for their King," something about what she said resonated with me but oblivious to that, Gremory-senpai pulled out a different piece which looked like a Bishop piece.

"This, like it looks, is a Bishop piece. It's given to Wizards and Magicians who Kings want to reincarnated. The piece gives them enhanced magical abilities and an overall boost to their energy levels. This," she pulled out another piece, "is a Knight piece. It's the direct opposite of the Rook piece as it gives the Reincarnated Devil enhanced speed and mobility but it also does nothing for the Devil's defense so if they legs are injured their speed and mobility is reduced enough that it's basically not present anymore."

The flow of information just kept coming but I listened to it with rapt attention. Everything would be useful if I decided to accept her offer which was becoming more and more appealing for some reason. Something inside of me was calling for it, like my purpose was to protect something. It was the same instinct as what I felt when I jumped in to help Issei but...

It was different. Hearing the word 'King'...it seemed to be effecting me.

Oblivious to the effect this was all having on me, senpai continued, "There is one piece I can't show you as Akeno was the one who took that piece," she said, Himejima-senpai giving a quaint smile and wave to us with faux modesty, "It's called the Queen piece. The King's second-in-command. It gives the benefits of all the so-far mentioned pieces. The Rook's strength, the Knight's speed, and the Bishop's magical power. But there's one last piece."

She placed down both the Knight and Bishop pieces she was holding before pulling out one last one, "This is the Pawn piece. It holds no special boosts and merely grants the Reincarnated Devil just that - the body of a Devil. But it does have one ability; The ability to 'promote' into any of the previous mentioned pieces when in enemy territory or when given permission by their King. This is the type of Piece I want to revive the both of you as."

She said, to which I nodded while Issei spoke up, "This is all good and all...but it doesn't answer why I was attacked by Yuuma-chan! Why did that happen?!" he gave a shout, to which I glared at him. Anna was trying to get to sleep, after all.

Sighing, Gremory-senpai gave him an answer, "Yuuma Amano...was a Fallen Angel and it would seem she was sent here to kill you because you have a Sacred Gear. We also have reason to believe she was coming after you as well, Leo-kun," she said and I nodded.

"Yeah...I know. When I first arrived she called me the second target, so you're probably right," I said before focusing in on something she specifically said, "But what's a Sacred Gear? Is it that armor I summoned?"

Nodding, she quickly replied, "Yes. Sacred Gears are creations made by God and given to Humans. It's also why that Fallen Angel was going to attack you - because certain Sacred Gears can give humans the power to rise up and become equals to the Supernatural races. Unlike us Devils who look for humans with strong Sacred Gears for our Peerages, Fallen Angels don't wish to take any risks because they have no way of quickly gaining their numbers back. They think if they kill upcoming potentially strong humans they can limit their loses."

The room went quiet after that as said and I gave Issei a glance. His face look...hurt. I really felt for him at this point - I knew exactly how much that date had meant to him. Nothing like love or any kind of romance passed lust, sure...but at the same time it was probably a turning point in Issei's mind. That there was a girl out there who would accept him and his perversion.

But to learn it was all a trick to get close to him and then kill him? It must be hitting him pretty hard.

Placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, Issei seemed to be knocked out of his stupor as he looked over at me. Shrugging, I gave him a smile, "It's her loss, Issei," I joked and he actually cracked a smile.

Taking my hand back, I turned to Gremory-senpai, "And the actual benefits of becoming a Devil?"

"An extended life," seeing my lack of enticement, she smiled before looking between both me and Issei, "I can get protection for both of your families. Kuoh Town is full of supernatural dangers, the Devils being the least of your worries if you join my peerage, but protection never hurts, does it?" she said but I still wasn't sold on it.

An extended life? Unless I could get the same for Anna, what would be the point? And protection? It might sound arrogant but given enough time to train, I felt like I could protect Anna and myself just fine.

[You're not wrong. Given your heritage and my guidance, you could easily grow in power,] the rugged voice agreed, the calm yet bored tone present still. It seems only in a fight this guy perks up, [Hmph, and what of it? Fighting was my life before I was sealed in this thing by that bastard upstairs.]

I was going to ask how Anna sealed someone in a Sacred Gear when a growl stopped me, [Don't try and act the fool in front of me. That Devil woman said that Sacred Gears were given to Humans by God. You know that's who I was referring to.]

Mentally raising my hands in surrender, I perked up at the potential source of answers, '...Why were you sealed in a Sacred Gear?' I asked the voice.

[Because I kept getting involved in a fight between two idiots. That's it,] he said and before I could ask anything more, I felt the connection between us collapse. No, it would probably be better to say that it was blocked off. Like he put a mental wall up between us.

While I had been doing this and looking like I was 'thinking', Gremory-senpai had been talking to Issei. She said something about how High-Class Devils can earn their own Peerages...Wait, knowing Issei--!

"You're saying I could get my own Harem?!" he said with a perverted smile, his eyes full of excitement, "I'm in!"

...Why am I even surprised that this is what he focused in on?

He agreed a little too easily, in my opinion, but the man's got a dream, so who am I to stop him? We all have dreams, I guess.

"Great!" Gremory-senpai gave a wide smile before she picked up a Pawn piece and seemed to imbue some kind of energy in it as it slowly began to glow a crimson red. She stood up and pressed the piece into Issei's chest and--

Nothing happened.

Her face morphed into one of confusion before realization appeared on her face, "You need more than one piece...Good, shows you have potential!" she cheerfully said...and then the two pieces didn't work either. This continued until she got to seven and that still didn't work, and then looked awkwardly at me, "I'll figure something out for you if you want to join, Leo-kun," she said before picking up the eigth piece and inserting it into Issei's chest.

This time, a flash of crimson light blinded everyone in the room and when it finally cleared, Issei was sitting there. Looking as normal as ever.

Well, he would've been if it weren't for the two Devils wings popping out of his back.

Issei began to freak out a little over his wings but I was just looking at Gremory-senpai. She looked back and looked at me with a complicated gaze for a while before finally sighing and smiling, "I was saving this for someone of massive potential...but someone who has the blood of two heroes is definitely someone with that kind of potential!" she said with a smile and was about to put the piece toward me but I stopped her.

"I haven't agreed, yet, Gremory-senpai," I said with a stern voice, not wanting to get dragged into something I didn't know enough about, "This thing about hero blood, what the hell is that about?"

Hearing my question, Gremory-senpai sighed before placing the pure red Rook piece down on the table, "Leo-kun...you're the descendant of two separate heroes. One of them, we know, the other we don't quite know yet," she said, and I had to hold back the urge to ask her who they were as she carried on, "Sometimes, the descendants of heroes can be more like a reincarnation of the hero where they don't just inherit the blood but also the spirit. You're one of these cases, Leo-kun," she said, taking a few breaths before carrying on, "We've known about this for a year or two and that's why we've kept surveillance up on you to make sure you aren't a spy sent by another force. But upon discovering you weren't, I've been preparing to ask you to join my Peerage...and then you showed that you have a Sacred Gear of very high renown..."

"You know what my Sacred Gear is?" I asked, completely taken off-track from the earlier hero conversation and wanting to know who my ancestors were - I wanted to know this information as anytime I asked, the rugged voice would simply block me out.

I could ask Gremory-senpai about my ancestors anytime, after all.

Nodding, senpai replied, "It's something called a Longinus Sacred Gear. Longinus are unique top-tier Sacred Gears, each having multiple abilities compared to a normal Sacred Gear which only has one, and they have the power...to slay Gods. If used right, at least. Your Sacred Gear is called Evil Dragon Gear* and it's one of the three Longinus to have a Heavenly Dragon sealed within it. Though that Dragon was less of a Heavenly Dragon and more like an Evil Dragon if the stories are to be believed..." Gremory-senpai said and I found myself, well, in awe.

(*A/N - Don't like the name? Sue me. It fits because of who's sealed inside it.)

That I had such a thing, for one. But also that a literal Dragon was stored in some armor.

Everything went silent after this and senpai just looked at me with a face that told me she was fighting with herself about something. Or more specifically about saying something.

And when she said it, I wished she'd have said it earlier because it would've made this decision as easy as deciding to breath.

"If you join my Peerage, I can get the necessary doctors to help your sister get better," she said with a slightly guilty voice, obviously feeling like she was strong-arming me into joining. But...I didn't feel like that. In fact, if she hid that from me until I joined the Peerage, I would've probably been annoyed or even angry at her.

I instantly lowered my head and body into a bow which probably looked awkward as I was still sitting but I didn't care, "Please, I'll join your Peerage and be the best Rook there is...just...please heal my sister."