Akeno woke up with a start as she found her body being rocked gently this way and that. As she got her bearings straight, she looked down to see that she was resting comfortably atop Elros. Elros, however, didn"t seem to be resting quite as comfortably. To her immense worry, he was fidgeting this way and that, as though trying to shake off some invisible bugs crawling over him. Looking at him, she saw him build up a cold sweat, worrying her even further. Thinking of what she could do, she brought her hands to his face, cupping his cheeks and gently caressing them. To her surprise, it had the effect that she intended for - Elros slowly but surely calmed down, his body becoming still again. She kept her position for a long while, just simply caressing his cheeks with her slender fingers. Slowly, Elros"s breathing seemed to become a gentle, even rhythm again. Akeno laid her head back down on him but looked up at his face in worry. She wondered if he was having a nightmare? Or perhaps his memories were returning? Almost fifteen minutes later, after being satisfied that he was alright, Akeno closed her eyes again and dozed off into a gentle sleep.
-o-
When Elros woke up the next morning, he noted that he was alone in bed. Looking at the clock that was on the far side of the room, he saw that he had slept in a bit. He quickly got out of bed and hopped into the shower, hoping that he didn"t make Akeno late. As he got settled under the warm water, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath - two hot showers in a row was two more than he had had in a long time. As he rested his forehead against the gla.s.s door that led into the step in shower, he remembered that he had had another flash during the night; again, it was yellow which could only mean that he had contact with a Yellow Lantern. However, he couldn"t jump to full conclusions just yet - he would need to wait until more came back to him. The last thing he wanted was to be the crux of another war between the Green Lanterns and Yellow Lanterns. He wondered what he was doing that brought him in such close contact with one; all he knew was that after he left Odym, he was headed in the Earths direction.
For the moment, he pushed that thought out of his mind and settled on another: the offer that he had been made by Rias the day before. He had promised her that he would have an answer for her by noon today, and he thought he had come to the right conclusion. He weighed the pros against the cons - and there were definitely tally"s in either corner. He smiled as he thought about his answer - and about the path that it would lead him on. He had always been one to do as his instinct and his heart told him; after all, that was the promise that he had made.
-o-
"Good morning, sleepyhead. Nice of you to join me at last," Akeno said teasingly as she saw that Elros had stepped out, fully dressed.
"My apologies. It"s just that I haven"t had such a perfect day or night in such a long time. I have you and Rias to thank for that," Elros said as he went over and sat on the couch, sinking in a bit as he relaxed.
"Anytime," Akeno replied with a smile as she brought him his cup and set it in his hands. She took a seat next to him and they began to drink it in peace. Like the day before, Elros allowed the warmth of the tea to spread through his being; from his head to his heart to his hands to his feet, igniting them in warmth. He let out a deep exhale after taking a sip, signing that he enjoyed it.
"Hey, you were kind of tossing and turning last. Is everything alright?" Akeno asked, deciding that straight and direct was the best way to play it. If something was going on with him, she wanted to know how she could help make it better.
"Was I? I"m sorry, I didn"t mean to disturb your sleep," Elros said, a bit of color draining from his face. He hoped he hadn"t done or said anything uncouth in his troubled slumber.
"Don"t worry, it wasn"t much - just a little," Akeno said comfortingly as she looked at him with a gentle smile.
"My memories have been coming back; I keep seeing flashes of yellow before I wake up. Beyond that, nothing yet. I"m hoping this means more information will come to light soon," Elros said.
"Here"s hoping. What do you think you"ll do when you remember?" Akeno asked.
"I suppose that depends on what it is that I remember," Elros replied.
"Mmm… now, have you made a decision about whether you"re going to join the peerage?" Akeno asked, getting to what she really wanted to know. She was hoping against hope that he would; quite loved having him around.
"I have," Elros said with a smile that revealed nothing.
"Tell me?" Akeno asked as she leaned over and batted her eyelashes seductively at him. Elros couldn"t help but chuckle at that; she could be quite persuasive when she wanted to, it seemed.
"I will. At noon," he said with a grin.
"I"m impressed. I haven"t met a man that could resist that until now," Akeno sighed as she leaned back.
"Trust me when I say that it took quite a bit of willpower. My ring was most definitely well earned," Elros said with a laugh.
"Are you sure I can"t convince you?" Akeno teased, deciding to try her luck again as she leaned forward seductively. Elros smirked as she did so.
In one deft movement, Elros had Akeno on her back, a look of surprise washing over her face. She felt his hands on either side of her head, pinning her down gently. She felt him bring his forehead to her, touching gently. Akeno felt him shift his head gently forward, his lips inches from her own.
"You can, but are you sure you want to take it that far?" Elros whispered. Akeno felt her heart beating rapidly and madly as he spoke to her in this new tone; for a second, she thought it was about to leap out of her chest. She wasn"t new to seduction by any means; she could typically get Issei to do anything by just looking at him lasciviously, but she sometimes turned it up a bit by making him more uncomfortable by pressing her body against his. Now to have the tables turned on her, she felt a bit of what she put him through - it was a mixture of excitement and fear of what it might lead to. If Rias had walked in on them at this very moment, she would"ve gotten the wrong idea of what was going on.
"I…I… didn"t… I," she said, so fl.u.s.tered that she couldn"t get a straight sentence out. She didn"t know what to do with her hands for a long time before she finally put them on his back, wondering what she should do; pull him in? Push him off? For a while, Elros held his body there, waiting to see what Akeno would do. Finally, he picked himself up off her, guiding her up gently along with him. As she looked at him, she saw that he was grinning happily back at her, obviously getting the effect that he desired.
"Not so fun when it happens to you, huh? But maybe I"m wrong. Maybe you had a little bit of fun, hmm?" he whispered as he scooted next to her, slinging an arm around her waist.
"You"re so mean," Akeno said, punching him playfully on his shoulder although she soon smiled.
"I… enjoyed it actually. He was so close… I thought he was going to kiss me for a second. My goodness, what would I have done then? The way he spoke… "that far." Oh wow… I… hmmm…," Akeno thought, her brain a firework as she thought about all the twists and turns that could have taken. Certainly, no one had tried that with her before; either because they found her unapproachable or were afraid of her she didn"t know. Regardless, Elros felt comfortable enough in a short time to try it. She blushed as she saw him smiling at her even wider.
"Don"t think I don"t know what"s going through your head," he said with a laugh.
"Nothing is going through my head!" Akeno said.
"We both know that"s not true. I can think of at least one thing going through it. But, being the gentleman I am, I won"t press further. No, I"m just going to enjoy my tea," Elros said as he crossed his legs and took another sip.
"You"re really happy about this, aren"t you?" Akeno grumbled as she did the same.
"You have no idea," Elros replied cheerfully.
-o-
As they crossed the bridge that led into school, they noted that Rias was standing there. As she saw Elros, she blushed slightly - something that didn"t go unnoticed.
"You"re blushing. Naughty thoughts?" Elros asked with a grin.
"I am not!" Rias said hotly, crossing her arms over her chest.
"No, you definitely were," Akeno said with a giggle; she would have no mercy on her friend.
"Ugh, whatever. I wanted to ask if you had come to a decision," Rias said as she rolled her eyes. What she had done the night before was still hot and heavy on her mind, but it wasn"t exactly something she could tell Elros about.
"I have indeed," Elros said.
"What is it?" Rias asked excitedly.
"I"ll tell you at noon like we agreed," Elros replied. Rias deadpanned at that.
"Seriously?" she asked.
"He"s serious. I tried to get him to tell me. Even tried batting my eyelashes. Nothing," Akeno said with a sigh.
"Well, I wouldn"t say nothing," Elros said as he put his arm around her. Now it was Akeno"s turn to blush. She turned a slight red while Rias watched on in confusion.
"It"s nothing," Akeno a.s.sured Rias who simply shrugged. Elros put his other arm around her and brought her in and the trio began to walk to cla.s.s.
As they got situated in their seats, Rias and Akeno found themselves unable to focus on whatever their teacher was saying. Both of them only had one question on their mind: What was his answer?
-o-
"It"s almost noon," Rias said as she, Akeno, and Elros left the cla.s.s.
"That it is. Don"t worry, you"ll get your answer soon enough," Elros said with a sigh.
"I don"t know why you won"t just tell us if you"ve made a decision," Rias grumbled.
"Because we decided on on noon," Elros chuckled.
"You"re enjoying this, aren"t you?" Akeno asked.
"I am indeed," Elros admitted.
The three began to head over to the ORC; noon was about to strike any minute now. As they got situated in their seats, Rias heard the clock tower chime - it was now officially 12pm. The moment they had been waiting for had finally arrived: Elros was preparing to give his decision [
Ok! It"s 12pm now! I thought it best that we do it with just us three here. Well, except Gasper but he"s in the next room. Anyways, Elros… your decision?" Rias asked, her voice wracked with nervousness - it was the moment she"d been waiting exhaustively for the past 24 hours, thinking of little else. She couldn"t remember ever being this nervous when it came to picking out someone for her peerage. Perhaps it had something to do with the odds? She had presented her case to Elros on even terms; he wasn"t on the verge of death or already dead like Issei, Asia, Akeno, Gasper, or Kiba were; he wasn"t forced into a corner like Koneko was; and his faith wasn"t shaken as was the case with Xenovia. No, all he had was some slight memory loss, a major responsibility and now: a choice.
"I have. Put in at least some thought into it and made sure to check over the fact that I could do it in the first place. It doesn"t look like it"ll interfere with my duties as a Lantern - which, I"m sorry to say, come first in any case. That being said… so long as I can do my missions as they come up, I would be happy to become a Devil. Don"t get an opportunity like this every day, so I think I"ll go ahead with it," Elros said with a grin. As she heard his answer, Akeno broke into a ma.s.sive smile and threw her arms around his neck, squeezing hard as she hugged him tightly. Rias also shot out of her seat and threw her arms around him, ecstatic with the answer that he had given her. Elros simply smiled at their response as he put his arms around the two and pulled them in even closer.
"You mean it? You"ll become a Devil?" Rias asked excitedly as she rested her hands on his chest and leaned back a bit, just so she could confirm his answer.
"I will, yes," Elros replied with a smile. She drew him back into an ecstatic hug, resting her head happily on his chest. Suddenly, another voice joined the fray.
"Elros! Did I hear you right? Are you really going to be joining us?!" came Gasper"s excited voice as he peered out from the door into the main room.
"That"s right, buddy," Elros said with a grin as he looked at Gasper.
"YAY!" Gasper yelled happily as he ran back into his room, as ecstatic as Rias and Akeno.
"I think the others will be delighted as well. We"re all happy to have you," Akeno said as she rested her head comfortably on his shoulder, delighted that he was going to be staying with them.
"I know I am," Rias whispered, doing the same. Elros leaned back a bit, taking Rias and Akeno with him as they all sat there in peace. Finally, it was time to get to the deed - something that Elros was particularly looking forward to. What exactly was the process of becoming a Devil? Was it some really f.u.c.ked up s.h.i.t?
"Alright, so what do I do? Do we make a blood pact? Do I need to get something for a ritual sacrifice? Do we need a pentagram? Because I can construct one pretty easily with my ring. Or do I need the blood of a virgin? Come on Rias, lay it on me and don"t hold back. The weirder, the better I say," Elros said excitedly.
"Nope. Just sign here," Rias said as she got up and went over to her desk. She pulled out a stack of papers that she prepared for this very moment. As she dropped them in front of Elros, she and Akeno couldn"t help but giggle at how deeply let down and saddened Elros looked.
"Please, tell me you"re f.u.c.king with me. Is this really it? Please don"t tell me it"s as easy as signing a f.u.c.king contract. There just has to be something else. Come on!" Elros said, visibly distressed by the boring procedure.
"Well, we used to have blood pacts a long time ago, but they"ve fallen significantly out of favor. People just seem to prefer this method," Rias said as she calmed down.
"Some people are just so spineless… this is so anticlimactic. I was really looking forward to something more… I dunno, exciting," Elros mumbled as he quickly read through the doc.u.ments and signed where he needed to do so. Finally, he handed the papers to Rias who set them on her desk again. This was undoubtedly one of the most disappointing things he had ever been party to in his life.
"And… now you"re a Devil. Welcome to the House of Gremory. It"s a pleasure to have you," Rias said with a sweet smile as she held out her hand. Elros got on a knee and took it his own. Gently, he brushed his lips against her hand, giving her an intense stare as he did so.
"I a.s.sure you, Lady Gremory, that the pleasure is all mine," he said, using the same husky tone as he did with Akeno earlier. Rias blushed yet again but didn"t retract her hand. As his lips connected with it, she felt something like a jolt go through her body; it was a pleasurable sensation. Akeno simply watched with a sour smile, feeling a similar jolt go through her - but this one much less pleasurable. Finally, Elros let go and retook his seat.
"Alright, so what I do next? Contracts?" he asked. Rias was about to answer when a call suddenly came through on her cell. Answering it, she groaned in displeasure as she saw who it was.
"h.e.l.lo, Azazel. What can I do for you? Wait, what? How did you hear so soon?! He literally JUST signed! No, I… But what about… What? No, no. Ugh, fine!" Rias sighed in defeat. Akeno and Elros looked at each other before looking at Rias who was rubbing her temples in frustration.
"Azazel would like to form a contract with you, it seems. You"re to visit him at his apartment later tonight," Rias said.
"Alright. What should I expect?" Elros asked. As evidenced by her reaction to his call, Elros knew she wasn"t Azazel"s biggest fan.
"I"m honestly not sure. He"s… an odd one. Be careful of what you tell him, though. He has an interest in interesting things, especially weapons. He helped Issei learn more about his Boosted Gear; he helped some other Devils with their skills as well. I"m not sure about his end goal, but be wary," Rias warned.
"Don"t worry. It sounds like it"ll be fun," Elros said with a grin.
"So I"m curious… why did you accept?" Rias asked as she sat back down on the couch, taking one side while Akeno took the other.
"Let"s see… Well, I like to try new things. I thought that I knew everything that the Earth had to offer, but lo and behold, you guys smack me down with this. I would be remiss to not see what"s in store for me. Not to mention, surrounded by gorgeous women 24/7? f.u.c.k it, sign me up. The extended lifespans a nice cherry on top as well, I guess. Can"t say I was all that interested in living for thousands of years," Elros said.
"Really? That doesn"t do anything for you?" Akeno asked in surprise - she would"ve thought that that would"ve been one of the strongest pulling points. It was certainly an attractive prospect for her.
"Not really. Living today"s good enough for me," Elros replied with a sad smile.
"Valid reasons. But is that it?" Akeno asked.
"It"s mainly the former, I suppose. It"s a big and wide universe out there that I travel in. But, as it turns out, the Earth still has plenty of surprises to offer me. Honestly, I"m really lucky that I fell where I did. I guess we don"t all know each other extremely well, but you all seem like good people. What more can a stranger from a strange land ask for?" Elros asked rhetorically. Akeno and Rias smiled at that as they rested their heads on either shoulder, comfortable beyond their imagination as he wrapped them in either arm and held them close. He picked up his feet and put it on the table in front, getting as comfortable as he could as he gently caressed their arms with his fingers.
"Let"s not get too carried away here. Gaspers still in the other room, after all," Elros joked. Akeno and Rias giggled but didn"t say anything; at this point, they just wanted to sit like this for a long while, forgetting that cla.s.s was going to be in session soon. Finally, Rias spoke again.
"I suppose I should let you know that summer is going to be here in a month and a half. For the duration, we typically stay in at my family"s house in the underworld. You don"t have a problem coming with, do you?" Rias asked.
"Not at all. It sounds like fun, actually. Never considered I"d be spending a summer in h.e.l.l, though. Always thought that would come after I die. But, like I said, it"s no problem. So long as I can get leave on a mission if I"m needed, it"s all good," Elros said.
"How often are you needed?" Akeno asked.
"Usually, whenever a situation arises. There"s no pattern to it; I"ve had months off at a time; as well as months on missions. A few occasions, I"ve been called out just to hang out with a group of Lanterns. Others, I"ve been called out to serve as an escort," Elros said.
"I"ve been meaning to ask… our solar system. Are we the only ones or…?" Akeno trailed off. Rias listened intently to the answer. Both of them took the knowledge of knowing that there were other inhabited worlds out there very well; however, they"d be lying if they said that the thought of such a thing wasn"t at least a bit frightening. They wondered if, in regards to the solar system and the tiny bit of s.p.a.ce they inhabited, they were the only ones? Perhaps Mars once had life? Or Europa or t.i.tan, moons of Jupiter and Saturn respectively, had microbial life? And could that life one day make it to Earth? What would the effect be like on humanity - would it be an unearthly disease for which there was no cure? Or would it help give science and technology an extra oomph to create the next big thing? There were thousands of questions they could come up with, but only so many hours in a day.
"I don"t think that"s my place to say one way or the other. We all need a bit of mystery in our life, and I think I would rather this one be left up to society as a whole. Maybe you"ll find out one day. Suffice it to say that in this universe, however, we are not alone," Elros said.
"Oh come on," Akeno whined.
"Sorry, but nothing doing," Elros said with a smile.
"Fine, fine. Guess we"ll have to see for ourselves…," Akeno grumbled.
"You don"t want to go through life with everything spoiled, do you? Need to leave some opportunity open for surprises. Surprises like a guy falling out of the sky, into your lap," Elros said. Rias and Akeno both smiled at that.
"You mentioned something about the previous owner dying and that"s how the rings are pa.s.sed on. Do you know how it happened to the guy before you?" Rias asked, gulping as she did so. She had been curious about asking the question, but wasn"t entirely sure that she wanted an answer; after all, should she really have been thinking about something so morbid right now?
"I do. Probably one of my most vivid memories as a child. The place I grew up in was surrounded mainly by desert. I was… shall we say lost one day… and I saw his ship heading for Earth. It was barely bigger than a half dollar coin in the distance, but it was interesting enough that I thought to head towards it, thinking it might be a way out. I had been seeing mirages and was delirious for a while, so I was pretty much grasping at straws. I made my way over; I was lucky it was only a few miles away. I found him, trapped in his ship and unconscious. I managed to get him loose and dragged him out, which took a while considering how young I was. I was lucky he wasn"t heavier, otherwise, I wouldn"t have been able to get him out at all. He woke up a couple of hours later. He recalled that he was on a personal mission that had gone wrong a few light years out. He directed his ship to carry him to the nearest life-bearing planet, which ended up being Earth. Unfortunately, there was some malfunction and it ended up landing him near where I was as opposed to closer to civilization. As far as I know, no one in the government ever found out what happened that day. I offered him some food and drink, but it wasn"t enough. Was useless as well - he died soon after anyways. Before he did, he told his ring to find the most worthy person it could - and to our shared surprise, it shot at me. He took it in stride, though - said that the ring would explain everything. I stayed with him until he died, after which the ring whisked me and his body away to Oa - that"s the planet where the central power battery is located; it"s also our home planet," Elros explained, giving them the basic rundown of what had happened. He danced around some particular parts that he wasn"t keen to get into at this very moment. He then looked at his ring, touching it gently with his thumb. The man he was now could be traced directly to that singular moment. Rias and Akeno looked on as well, taking a moment to process internally what he had told them as well as to give him time to reflect on the memory. They saw his expression shift - to one that seemed sad, as though lamenting his past. Rias was about to ask a question, but Elros began talking again.
"Anyways, yeah. That"s the story of how I became one of the Green Lanterns of s.p.a.ce Sector 2814. The ring told me "Elros Eärendil, you have the ability to overcome great fear. Welcome to the Green Lantern Corps.," and the rest is history," Elros said.
"That"s insane," Akeno whispered.
"I know, right? Pretty exciting time for a kid like me," Elros said with a laugh.
"But how do you even process that as a seven-year-old?! An alien! An alien world! A power ring!" Akeno exclaimed, flabbergasted by how utterly relaxed he was about the whole thing. Rias was shocked as well; had something like this happened to her, she was sure she would"ve ended up in a sanitarium.
"Well, he seemed like an alright guy. He didn"t try to hit me or kill me or threaten me or anything. Besides, he was injured pretty severely; you could tell he wasn"t going to make it. What else was I supposed to do? Leave him there?" Elros asked rhetorically.
"I don"t know. I just figure that most people would"ve probably walked the other way or something," Akeno said.
"I don"t know about that. You guys took me in, didn"t you?" Elros asked with a smile.
"We did, but you don"t exactly look like an alien," Rias said.
"If you had never seen one before, how would you know what one looked like?" Elros asked.
"That"s… a good point," Rias said. She probably should"ve thought of that earlier; but oh well. Things worked out extremely well, all things considered.
"Besides, I"m happy I didn"t. I like to think that I made his pa.s.sing a bit easier; he had some company with him and he was able to see who was going to be replacing his position in the Corps," Elros said.
"What was a seven-year-old doing in a desert like that in the first place? Where were your parents in all this?" Rias asked, a hint of anger in her voice. As she asked, she immediately regretted it. The change in the temperate of the room was palpable as the very air tensed up and became thick and heavy, so much so that it felt as though you could cut it with a knife. Elros"s smile dropped off as his eyes seemingly hardened, as though remembering something painful.
"I"m sorry, Elros. I didn"t mean to…," Rias began but he cut her off, his voice icier than she had heard it.
"No, it"s fine, Rias. It was my father and I - he abandoned me earlier that year, so I was on my own for a long time, just wandering the desert. It had been a while since I had had any food or water, so I was pretty delirious and out of it. I saw a lot of mirages and tried to follow them; by the time I found something to eat and drink, I was already so far into the valley that I didn"t know how to navigate out. We had been getting a lot of dust storms as well, which didn"t help - that year was fairly famous for the almost constantly bad weather, which made people stop coming there at all, so there was no one to help me either. If the previous ring bearer didn"t land there exactly when he did, I probably would"ve died. When we took flight, I got a good look at the land. I saw that I had been going around in circles all that time. And Death Valley is pretty large, so it was a bad situation overall," Elros explained.
"Death Valley?" Rias asked in surprise; that place she had most definitely heard of.
"Yeah. Crater is an unincorporated city there, population four last I checked. And, as I said, I grew up a few miles southeast of it, so I was surrounded by rocks, sand, and sun," Elros said. He had already known h.e.l.l on Earth, the way he saw it.
"How did you survive?" Akeno asked, a look of surprise on her face. Rias shifted uncomfortably in her seat; plenty of her servants had met terrible ends before their reincarnation, but they still lived happily enough before then - at least until the end. None of them were raised in the environment that Elros was, however - an environment that bred despair, drained hope, and courted death. The fact that she knew how he was now - happy-go-lucky and cheerful and kind and sweet - was all the more surprising as she learned more about his past.
"It wasn"t a matter of choice; either I gave up and died painfully, or I kept on living, however miserably. I chose the latter. I"d rather die after I"ve lived a long and happy life, so I can go in peace without regret," Elros said with a forced smile.
"But still, to keep hope alive in a situation like that is… difficult at the very, very least. At least we know that your ring chose well, then. I don"t think many, if any, would have had the willpower to survive like that for much longer," Rias said.
"You"d be surprised at the amount of willpower some people can conjure during what they feel are their final moments. It takes some doing, but it"s not impossible. All you need… is… a reason…," Elros said, trailing off at the end as he looked lost in thought. Akeno and Rias tightened their hold on him, afraid that if they let go, something else like that would happen to him. As if sensing what they were thinking, Elros smiled and hugged them a bit tighter.
"I"m fine now," he said quietly. They both nodded, but still refused to let go. For a long while, the three simply sat there in peace, enjoying each other. After a while, Rias spoke again, hoping that she wasn"t being too rude with her questions.
"Didn"t you have any other family?" she asked. Elros was silent for a while before he answered.
"It was my father and I. I had someone I considered an older brother and mother figure, but they left earlier that year as well, before my father," Elros replied, his voice suddenly breaking as he ended his sentence. Rias felt a twinge in her heart as she proceeded with the question.
"Where are they now? With your father?" she asked.
"No. I don"t know where she is and he died," Elros replied.
"Oh… Elros, I"m so sorry. I shouldn"t have pried…," Rias began but Elros shook his head.
"It"s fine, Rias. I understand," he said, his voice still quiet. Rias exchanged a glance with Akeno. Both looked at each other helplessly, unable to think of what to say; after all, what was there to say? It was a bad deal. Rias opened her mouth to speak again, but at that Gasper entered, looking through the doorway.
"Hey, Elros…?" he asked shyly. This shook Elros out of his funk, his cheerful demeanor returning quickly.
"What"s up, Gasper?" Elros asked kindly as he looked back at him.
"I was wondering if you"d like to play with me again," Gasper asked.
"Sure. Now that I"m a Devil, I have all the time in the world to get better and finally beat you. You want to play in your room or here?" Elros asked.
"Come on in! I want to show you my room!" Gasper said excitedly. Elros excused himself from Rias and Akeno as he hopped the couch and followed Gasper into his room. As he went out of sight, Akeno and Rias watched him go with a look of sadness etched in their eyes.
"My goodness…," Akeno whispered, still looking at the door.
"I know… I… it…," Rias began but trailed off. She couldn"t think of the words. Akeno pulled out her phone and quickly Google"d Crater, CA.
"He wasn"t kidding… it"s smack dab in the middle of Death Valley. It looks like if he ended up traveling south he"d just be walking into more and more desert… for weeks, maybe even months on end. I wonder… how long do you think he…?" Akeno asked, looking at Rias.
"It seemed like it was for a while if he didn"t have any food or drink. I"m not sure how he survived all that time… and honestly, I don"t know if I really want to find out," Rias said, suddenly queasy as she thought about what Elros might have had to do to survive; the lack of food and drink in the desert likely limited his options to less than ideal sources.
"How is he so happy?" Akeno wondered.
"I don"t know… if that were me, I don"t think I could"ve stayed like that. I would"ve hated everything," Rias answered, looking at the ceiling, lost in thought. Akeno looked off into the distance, lost in her own.
-o-
Elros and Gasper were once again playing Monster Hunter 4. They had been on for about an hour before they finally heard a knock on the door.
"Come in!" Gasper yelled happily. Rias and Akeno entered, a smile on their face as they saw Gasper and Elros having fun and laughing raucously.
"Hey. Is this a bad time?" Rias asked.
"Not at all. What"s up?" Elros asked brightly. Rias smiled a bit wider as she saw that he had regained his composure and happy att.i.tude.
"Just thought we"d let you know that cla.s.s is about to begin. We should get going," she said.
"Aww! Do you have to?!" Gasper asked sadly, looking up at Elros.
"Afraid so, buddy. But don"t worry. I"m a Devil now, so we"ll have a lot more time to play around. Maybe we could get a TV set up in here as well and get a console or two?" Elros suggested.
"YEAH! RIAS, CAN WE DO THAT?!" Gasper asked, stars in his eyes. Rias looked at Akeno, who simply smiled in return.
"Sure Gasper. I"ll take care of it," she said kindly.
"YAY!" Gasper yelled excitedly. Ruffling his hair, Elros, Rias, and Akeno finally took their leave and began to head to cla.s.s.
"Are you feeling alright?" Akeno asked as they exited the ORC.
"I"m fine. Don"t worry about it," Elros said as he draped his arm over her, flashing her a smile. He did the same for Rias as well, trying his best to put them at ease. He knew that his past would eventually be a topic of interest, and he supposed it was better to get it out of the way sooner rather than later. Of course, there were still some things that he didn"t feel comfortable sharing at the present moment.
"I do kind of worry. It was rude of me to-," Rias began but was cut off by Elros.
"Like I said, don"t worry about it, alright? It"s natural to be curious," he said, brushing off her worries. Truth be told, he simply wanted to stop talking about the subject at this point.
"Alright…," Rias trailed off, still unsure.
The rest of their walk pa.s.sed in silence. Finally, they got settled in cla.s.s. Elros tried his best to concentrate, but his mind wandered off. Rias and Akeno spent the rest of the cla.s.s stealing glances at him, just as unable to pay attention.
-o-
"So you decided to join us?!" Issei asked excitedly as all the Devils were gathered in the ORC, a sort of impromptu celebration for Elros.
"I did indeed," Elros replied, grinning at him. Koneko was sitting next to him; Elros, true to his promise, began patting her on the head again, shifting between that and scratching her. Rias and Akeno giggled at how adorable the whole scene was; Koneko was finally acting her age. Gasper, meanwhile, was leaning against Elros"s shoulder playing his game, handing it off to Elros here and there so he could take a turn on it with his free hand.
"Well, we"re certainly happy that you did. I look forward to seeing you in combat," Xenovia said with a smile.
"The feeling is mutual, Xenovia," Elros said as he flashed her a charming smile. Akeno and Rias noticed Xenovia blush, something that they weren"t used to seeing at all. Elros saw them stealing a glance and grinned even wider.
"I"m sorry I don"t have an arm free for you two. You can sit on my lap if you"d like," Elros said as he uncrossed his legs. Now it was Akeno and Rias"s turn to blush, both of them doing so madly; none were as red as Asia, however, who turned a blood red whenever something lewd was mentioned. Elros quickly apologized to her, which she waved off as being fine. To his surprise, however, there was one taker - Xenovia quickly plopped herself on his lap, a stoic expression on her face.
"Xenovia! What"re you doing?" Rias demanded, startled by her behavior.
"Elros made an offer and I took him up on it," Xenovia said in an obvious manner.
"Man, this is so unfair," Issei whined off to the side. Asia patted him comfortingly on the back while Kiba and Elros just laughed. Suddenly, Rias"s phone began to ring.
"h.e.l.lo? Oh h.e.l.lo, Sona, how are you? What? Well yeah, he is here. What? Why? Seriously? No, it"s just… well, alright. Here, talk to him," Rias said, an odd expression on her face.
"It"s Sona. She wants to congratulate you," Rias said as she handed her phone to Elros who raised an eyebrow. Shrugging, he took it.
"h.e.l.lo?" he asked.
"h.e.l.lo, Elros," Sona said on the other line, her voice a bit faint as she spoke his name.
"h.e.l.lo, Sona. It"s good to hear your voice again. How are you?" Elros asked, his smile shining through the other end.
"Oh, I"m doing well! How are you?" she asked.
"Doing well myself. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Elros asked.
"Well, I had to speak to Rias about something but I remember her saying yesterday that you were going to tell her your decision at noon today. So… have you decided to join her peerage?" Sona asked.
"I did indeed. Signed the papers today, which was kind of disappointing. I thought the transition would be a bit more… you know, devilish," Elros said, emphasizing the word. Rias couldn"t help but smirk and roll her eyes at that.
"Well, that"s good to hear. I suppose we"ll be seeing more of each other from now on, then?" Sona asked.
"Well, I certainly hope so, Miss Sitri," Elros replied in a changed tone.
"Please, call me Sona! Miss Sitri is to… formal," Sona whined on the other end, eliciting a chuckle from Elros.
"Very well then. Sona it is. So, what else is up?" Elros asked.
"What?" Sona asked, a bit surprised that he wanted to continue the conversation.
"I asked what else is up? How are things on your end?" Elros asked.
"Hah, there"s no way that"s going to work. Sona is way to serious," Issei lamented.
"Oh, nothing really on this side. Just been busy with student council work, as well as my other responsibilities. Like Rias, I"m next in line to head my family which is… stressful to say the least," Sona said with a deep sigh.
"I"m sorry to hear that. Perhaps I could do something to help lighten the load?" Elros asked.
"What? No, please, t-there"s no need for that! Actually, I think… we"re… getting off topic. There"s something I had to speak to Rias about as well. Could you hand her the phone?" Sona asked. Elros could tell that she was getting fl.u.s.tered on her end.
"A shame that we have to end our conversation so soon, but very well. It was good to talk to you again," Elros said as he handed Rias the phone and winked at her. Rias rolled her eyes but smiled as she heard Sona"s fl.u.s.tered tone on the other end.
"Hey Sona, what"s up? Hmm? A Stray, you say? I see. In the warehouse near the forest line? Alright, no problem. We"ll take care of it. Yeah, alright; I"ll see you later," Rias said as she hung up. She looked to the rest of her peerage, all up whom had perked up except for Elros, who was totally unawares as to what was said.
"What"s up?" Elros asked as he detected the shift in the mood.
"Sona called to say that there"s been a report of a Stray Devil in the area - that"s a Devil that has diverted from their master. Without their masters to keep their powers in check, some end up becoming grave threats to everyone and everything. It"s a serious case… punishable by death," Rias said.
"I see. Alright, so where to?" Elros asked as he got up, a serious look on his face. If there was one thing that he didn"t joke about, it was a situation where lives were at stake.
"Are you all ready?" Rias asked as she opened up a magic circle, privy to the location of the Stray.
They all nodded in unison. One by one, they began to step through the magic circle - Akeno, followed by Asia, Issei, Gasper, Koneko, Kiba, Xenovia, Rias, and finally Elros. As he stepped through the circle, he suddenly found himself in the open air - the evening sun was setting, casting a golden and fiery glow over the landscape. As he looked around, he saw trees rustling gently in the distance only half a mile away. He noted a large barbed wire fence that ran around him, separating the warehouse that Rias was talking about from the rest of the world. It had two large hanger style doors as well as a smaller entry door on the right-hand side; it was constructed of sheet metal, it seemed, and was topped off with a triangular roof that rose about twenty feet high.
"So that"s what it feels like going through a magic circle," Elros said.
"Yup. Feeling alright?" Akeno asked as she approached him, taking his face in her hands. She knew that there was zero chance he was hurt; however, she enjoyed touching him so it was a good excuse. Elros smiled as he brought his hands up to his face and took hers in them.
"I"m fine," he said. Akeno returned his smile and nodded. At that, Rias cleared her throat, not happy about the intimacy they were showing - especially right now. Suddenly, a cry rang out from the warehouse - a blood-curdling cry that sent shivers up and down Gasper and Asia"s spines. The others quickly shifted into their battle forms; Elros donned is Green Lantern uniform. The others took a second to admire it before they were quickly snapped back to attention by another cry. Someone was on the verge of death, it seemed.
"Someones in trouble. We need to save them," Elros suddenly said, his face turning serious once more. He was about to fly inside when Rias put a hand on his chest and shook her head.
"We need a plan of attack first. Now, this might be your first Stray, but I have faith in your combat abilities. Plus, I want to see what you"re capable of. Akeno and I will do our best to protect you from any other threat, although I"m confident there"s none - Stray Devils almost always work alone. Gasper, Kiba, Xenovia, issei, and Koneko - provide support as Elros see"s fit. If I feel something is wrong, I"ll step in but until then, you"ll have free reign. Asia, make sure to heal whoever needs it. That"s how we"ll play it. If you think the situation warrants something else, let us know," Rias told Elros who nodded. She usually wouldn"t have given a Reincarnated Devil carte blanche to do as they saw fit, but she felt that in Elros"s case, it wouldn"t be a problem - sure that he would likely handle it well.
Elros opened the entry way door and walked into the dark, cold warehouse. He looked around and got his bearings - there was an upper scaffolding made up of what appeared to be sheet metal. Some windows were on the side to allow sunlight to penetrate through, but it came through in clearly defined shapes, not in a way to light up the inside. The floor was made of dirt, with bits and pieces of metal scattered about. There was no doubt that this place was abandoned, with no owner inhabiting it in recent memory. As Elros looked to the left, against the wall, he saw the source of the screams. Apart from Elros, everyone shuddered at the gruesome sight.
Laying on the ground, covered in dirt and blood was a man. He wore what must have been a black shirt tucked into blue jeans with a black belt, and black shoes; he had what would"ve been a handsome face, was it not contorted into a look of absolute horror. His shirt was completely torn open; had that been the only thing that was torn, it likely would"ve been fine. From his chest to a few inches above his pelvis, he was burst open. Elros saw the mangled ribs as they jutted out from the cavity that was his chest; some through the fabric and some through his skin. His intestines were lying on the floor, covered in dirt and debris as he tried to grab them and shove them back in his chest. His breathing was labored and tortured, as evidenced by the visible contractions of his lungs. Nestled between was his beating heart, which seemed to grow minimally fainter every moment that pa.s.sed. Elros identified his appendix laying right in front him; there was what appeared to be a chunk of it missing - this man was the Stray Devils meal.
Blood spilled from his mouth as he saw the newcomers and let out a gurgled roar.
"PLEASE HELP ME!" he screamed at them. Asia quickly buried her head in Issei"s chest as tears poured from her eyes. As Issei put his arms around her, he couldn"t help but look away as he saw the horrifying sight. That did nothing to pause the man"s screams for help, which came fluidly towards them. Xenovia, Kiba, Rias, and Akeno turned chalk white at the sight; none of them were strangers to blood, but none was prepared to see a man in the process of being eaten. Rias and Akeno each grabbed Koneko and Gasper and hugged them tightly, shielding them from the sight; Gasper was especially fragile around blood. Elros noted it and spoke in a calm and level voice.
"Koneko, Gasper - I want you two to wait outside," he said. Slowly, they lifted their heads and looked at him - Koneko tried to present a stoic exterior, but Elros could tell she didn"t want to see such a sight; Gasper, meanwhile, was as white as could be as he looked just about ready to puke. He got on a knee and ushered them close, putting a hand on their shoulders.
"It"s going to be alright, ok? Stand outside. Koneko, I"m trusting you to take care of Gasper. I know you"re both strong - that has nothing to do with this, though, alright?" Elros asked kindly. Koneko nodded and took Gasper"s hand, rushing outside.
Elros turned his attention back to the man, a look of sadness on his face.
"Asia, can you try to help him?" Rias asked, her voice breaking slightly. Blood wasn"t new to her, but a man in the process of being eaten? That was something she never thought to see; she had never interrupted a Stray in the middle of a feed before.
"I can try! Issei… could you…?" Asia asked, looking at Issei who was still bone white. However, he nodded accompanied her.
"Kiba, Xenovia - you two go with them. Keep them safe," Elros said. They nodded and followed. Suddenly, a new voice rang out.
"Well, well, well - Rias Gremory and her servants," came the dulcet tones of a seductress. She appeared from the shadows towards the back of the warehouse, completely naked as her eyes pa.s.sed over everyone l.u.s.tily. She was beautiful, as anyone would tell you; she had long, flowing blonde hair that fell to her waist in a straight fashion. The blonde hair was streaked with lines of blood along with small chunks of meat here and there from where she had been messy with her meal. She had dark red eyes that skewered through each of them, trying to deduce their particulars. Her milky white skin was shining slightly in the dark of the warehouse. From her full red lips to her mound, blood was dripping with no end in sight. She snapped a piece of bone that she carried in her hand and wrapped a long tongue around it, moving it up and down before she inserted it in and sucked the marrow clean out. She giggled as she saw Asia off to the side, helping the man who was crying blood.
"Mmm. So delicious," she whispered seductively as she threw the bone to the side, turning her attention to Rias.
"This must be your doing. You turned on your own master, and for what? To attack innocents; to use your powers in such an offensive way. For this, you must pay - and the penalty is death," Rias said in as calm a tone as she could conjure.
"Oh, will I? Are you sure you don"t want to join him and the others?" the woman asked with a smile.
"Others?" Akeno asked.
"There"s a few more in the warehouse - well, their bones at least. That"s the only thing I can"t stomach," she said as she continued licked her fingers. Finally, her sight turned to Elros.
"Oh wow. You"re quite attractive, sweetheart. Want to be the main course? Don"t worry, I"ll even let you get a ride in if you want," she said as her hand ran down her body. It continued down south before finally, a few fingers disappeared inside her. As she looked at Elros and heard the screams, she began to m.a.s.t.u.r.b.a.t.e gently.
Elros turned to look at Rias and Akeno, both of whom changed their demeanor in a very noticeable way. They both had intense looks of anger and hate on their face - emotions that Elros hadn"t seen yet. Rias turned to look at him and she met his gaze, she nodded fervently. Elros turned back to the Devil who pulled her fingers out and sucked on the wetness, wrapping her tongue around them. Less than a second later, it was as though someone had shot a green bullet at the Devil. With an astonishing speed and fury, Elros had closed the distance between him and the Stray Devil who was too slow to react. Using his ring, Elros created a construct. The others paused to look on in wonder as Elros worked his power.
A light began to emanate from the ring before suddenly, a stream of light shot out. However, instead of shining everywhere as a light from a flashlight or the sun would this light began to contort itself - how and why, they did not know the exact mechanics of - into a fist that was around triple the size of the fist of a human. The green construct connected with the Stray Devil, sending her plummeting to the air. Elros wasted no time in pressing his attack; he pointed his ring at the Devil and the hand suddenly flew open as it extended further and grew tenfold in size. The hand clasped itself around the Devil and squeezed. As it grabbed her and tightened they heard a shrill scream as well as some cracking - Elros was crushing her bones with the hand that had extended from the ring.
Elros brought his own hand down towards the ground with a crushing blow. The Devil smacked into the dirt with a punishing sound, her right side bearing the brunt of the attack. Elros saw the mangled limb cracked upon itself, a bit of bone protruding from the elbow. The Stray Devil roared in pain for a moment before she was silenced by the next attack. Elros held his ring out towards her and suddenly, ten fists erupted out. They hung and swung at the empty air threateningly before he instructed them towards her. He began to conduct a symphony as the fists rapidly began flurrying the downed devil, who writhed in pain as each blow fell upon her. No part of her body was spared; the sound turned sickening as eventually, every blow ended in a whip-like crack, breaking more and more of the 206 bones in her body. The others watched on in shock and surprise at how easily he had beaten the Devil - the course of the fight lasting no longer than twenty seconds. Finally, he retracted the fists and stopped, approaching her. The Devil looked on in sheer terror as she saw his figure looming over her. It was a disconcerting sight; his usually happy face was masked in fury as he looked at her. With the light at his back, his features were mostly dark - his face only illuminated by the soft green glow of his uniform. Her eyes trailed to the white streaks in his otherwise jet black hair, unconsciously traveling from her current predicament to what the cause could be; he seemed as though he had aged considerably in a short amount of time; or perhaps it was a case of poliosis, giving him a Mallen Streak; or perhaps it was a traumatic event or extreme fear that turned it? Regardless, she quickly remembered what her position was.
"Get away from me," she whispered to him, so low that only he could hear. Elros brought his ring level to her forehead to finish the job. As he was about to, he felt a small pressure on his shoulder. He turned to see Rias. As he observed her, he could see the emotions play across her face as he turned to face her - shock, which was replaced by terror, which was replaced by sympathy. She shook her head at him, letting him know that his job was finished.
"I have to take care of the rest. I know you can but… let me, alright?" Rias asked gently. Elros hesitated for a moment, but eventually he nodded.
"She"s all yours, Rias," Elros said as he took a step back behind Rias.
Rias turned towards the Stray Devil, who still had fear etched into her face as she looked at Elros.
"I c-c-can"t move. What have you done to me?!" the Devil screamed at Elros.
"You"re too afraid to move, or your body is so mangled you simply can"t. Take your pick," he replied, his voice calm and cold. The Devil hissed several obscenities at him before Rias stuck her hand out at her.
"Enough of you. Begone!" Rias yelled. The Devil let out one more loud scream as a crimson mist suddenly shot out from Rias"s hand. The mist ensnared the Devil completely. It happened in a moment; blink and you would"ve missed it - the body of the Devil burned away into the ether. Elros looked at Rias with a new look in his eye - obviously impressed with the show of power, which he felt was as much for him as well as to get the job done.
"Impressive," Elros commented. Rias turned and smiled at him. Elros returned the smile quickly before he headed towards where the rest of the group was. Asia was standing up near Issei, crying heavily while Xenovia, Issei, and Kiba simply looked on in pity.
"What"s wrong?" Rias asked as they approached, Akeno joining them.
"I… can"t heal him!" Asia cried as she held on to Issei.
"It"s not your fault, Asia," Issei said as he rubbed her back gently. The damage was simply too significant.
"It is! If I was stronger, I could… help him, but I can"t!" Asia screamed. Rias took her in her arms and hugged her tightly, comforting her. Asia was still too young to see scenes like this; h.e.l.l they all were - including Rias and Akeno. As they stood, Elros suddenly went forward. The man looked at him with a hope in his eyes, wondering if would be his savior. The others backed away slightly, giving the two some s.p.a.ce. Akeno and Rias looked at each other nervously, wondering what exactly Elros would do. When he spoke, his voice was calm and serene.
"What"s your name?" Elros asked gently.
"It"s Amerigo… please. Please help me, man. I… it just happened. M… my gir… girlfr... is gonna be worried… I need to get back to-," Amerigo suddenly stopped talking as he coughed up a copious amount of blood. The blood sprayed against Elros"s chest for the most part, but several drops reached his face. Issei felt as though he was going to vomit at that and turned away, unable to take any more. Elros gently wiped away the blood on his face but didn"t move otherwise.
"I"m… sorry," Amerigo whispered as a fresh blood trail went down his chin. As he looked down at his ravaged body, he began to sob again.
"It"s alright," Elros whispered gently.
"It… it ate me. That f.u.c.ki…f.u.c.king thing ate me! Broke my ribs… tore my guts out… Oh G.o.d. Anyone… help me please," he wailed loudly and excruciatingly.
"Amerigo…," Elros began but was cut off.
"The girl… that blonde. She sa…said something about healing me. She… can do it… right? She has powers? I… I"ve heard about p…eople like that. She… she"s going to save me?" he asked, his hope evident in his eyes. But as he looked at Elros he got his answer.
"I"m sorry," Elros responded.
More blood seeped out of his eyes as he took his shaking hands and put them on his chest - but they simply fell it, smacking gently on his lungs before they fell into the blood and gore that was his stomach. Chunks of muscle, tissue, and bone fragments curdled with the blood as it sifted through his fingers like a sticky decoction. As he pulled his hands out, blood trailed down as bits and pieces clung on.
"Why me?" Amerigo asked.
"I don"t know, Amerigo," Elros said softly. The man held out a b.l.o.o.d.y hand and looked at Elros expectantly. Without hesitation, Elros took it in his and clasped it tightly. The two shared an unsaid conversation as they looked at each other.
"I was a soldier, you know. I… saw this stuff every day. Every day. Maybe that"s why this happened to me? I… k-killed people. I"m… I"ve done terrible things. That"s why this is, isn"t it? This is my punishment?" Amerigo asked. Elros suspected he would"ve cried had he any more blood or tears to shed, but it was spent in the pool that lay about him.
"No. This has nothing to do with that. There"s no rhyme or reason to this. It just is," Elros said.
"You… you"re… a soldier as well?" Amerigo asked as he gasped for air.
"I am," Elros replied. Amerigo nodded.
"You know?" Amerigo asked.
"I do," Elros replied.
"What"s… your name?" Amerigo asked.
"It"s Elros," he replied.
"Elros… am I going to die here?" Amerigo asked.
"Yes, you are," Elros replied gently.
"I… no please, I don"t want to… I don"t… I…," Amerigo began before he suddenly began writhing around as much as he could. He screamed and roared into the air around him as more blood and pieces went flying, Elros taking the brunt of it. His organs began to shift in a sickening manner as a loud squelch was heard - more of his intestine pouring out.
The others looked on in further horror at the sight; Issei lost his lunch as he heard the gruesome noise while Kiba and Xenovia turned away. Rias and Akeno couldn"t bear to listen or watch anymore and they turned as well, with Rias keeping an even tighter hold on Asia. Through the writhing, they heard Elros speak again.
"Hey… Amerigo, shh… shh… wait! Wait… stop… shhh… look at me. Hey, hey. Look! Look at me, alright?" Elros said as he put a hand on the only solid part he could find, a shoulder. As his hand connected, Amerigo began to settle down, his breathing labored as a bit more blood seeped out of him.
"That"s it. Just keep looking at me, alright? There you go. Shh…," Elros said soothingly as he cupped Amerigo"s head in his hands, bringing it up gently.
"It hurts, man," Amerigo said, his voice shaking as the specter of death finally set over him. He saw it as it loomed larger than the life a lived, waiting for the final moment it could whisk him away. The blood seemed to turn black as it began pooling in a single spot on the ground. He gave a violent cough that sent, even more, blood flying out at Elros.
"Not for much longer, Amerigo. It"s going to be over soon. It"ll… be like you"re going to sleep. Like a warm blanket is being pulled over," Elros said gently. Amerigo couldn"t reply as his breath shuddered violently. Elros knew that it was almost over.
"But it hurts so bad, man. I… can"t wait… I don"t know… how l…long I"m gonna be," Amerigo said. Elros didn"t reply; Amerigo began again.
"Do it f…or me. Please. Kill me now," Amerigo whispered. Elros was silent for a moment before answering.
"Are you sure?" Elros asked
"Yeah. Please," Amerigo responded.
Elros turned his head to look at Rias who instinctively turned hers. She saw he was covered in Amerigo"s blood, dripping from him as though he was the one who was dying. In his eyes, she saw a flurry of emotions - sympathy, pity, sadness, coldness. After a moment she nodded.
"Alright," Elros said as he laid Amerigo"s head back down on the dirt floor.
"Thank you," Amerigo whispered as he closed his eyes. Elros noted that at last, a look of peace washed over his face - knowing that his pain was going to cease in a moment. Without another word, he pointed his ring square at Amerigo"s forehead. A second later, a strong burst of green light shot out and connected with Amerigo. The next moment, he was dead, the last of his spirit exiting. Asia shrieked in fright as she heard the impact, while Rias held on to her even tighter. Issei, Kiba, Xenovia, and Asia hurried out while Akeno, Rias, and Elros stayed behind. Elros looked on at the deceased body, noting the sense of peace that had finally washed over it. He looked down at his bloodied uniform and sighed. A second later, the body caught fire, courtesy of Akeno. She began to burn it away; Elros watched on as the job was completed, the fire flickering in his eyes as he gazed at its power. Finally, after naught but ash was left, he turned to Akeno and Rias, both of whom had expressions of sadness in their eyes.
"Are you two going to be alright?" Elros asked. Rias and Akeno paused for a moment before nodding. At this point, they were far more concerned about how Elros was dealing with it. As they took in his figure, it was a striking sight. He stood calmly as though this wasn"t something that was out of the ordinary for him; blood dripped down his green uniform, pooling at his feet and turning black as it mixed with the dirt. There were chunks clinging to his uniform, some of which he swatted off - but many remained. His eye were at last set in their usual warm tone - but it made for a disconcerting sight when taking in his appearance as a whole.
"I"m fine… but are you… ok?" Akeno asked fearfully.
"I am," Elros replied.
"This isn"t something we see often. I don"t even think that we interrupted a Stray during a feed. This might be one of the most… gruesome things we"ve seen," Rias gulped.
"We should head back to the ORC. I"m sure the others are already there. You can grab a shower once we"re there," Akeno said. Rias and Elros nodded. Akeno opened up a magic circle and they stepped through, finally back at the ORC. They saw that the rest of the peerage was a.s.sembled there.
"The shower is just through there," Rias said, pointing at a door adjacent to Gaspers. Elros thanked her before walking in. Although he didn"t make eye contact with anyone else, he could tell their eyes were focused on him.
"I don"t ever want to see anything like that again," Asia said fretfully as Issei held on to her.
"Same here," Issei said, closing his eyes and trying to forget the sight.
"How"s Elros hanging up? I dunno, he seems…," Kiba began but went silent, unable to think of the words - was it uncaring? Was it stoic? He didn"t know.
"I don"t know," Akeno answered honestly, echoing how Rias would"ve replied.
"You guys should get home. No contracts today - I just want you to rest. I know it"s hard to see things like that, but when you"re in this position, it"s unavoidable," Rias said gently to her peerage. They all nodded in turn and took their leave.
After the ORC was empty, Rias and Akeno fell onto the couch, worry still etched into their faces.
"What do you think?" Rias finally asked, breaking the tentative air.
"About what in particular?" Akeno asked, trying to get some clarification.
"… All of it, I guess," Rias said.
"I dunno, Rias. It… I didn"t expect it to be that bad. If you"re asking about Elros, he was… phenomenal. I don"t think I"ve seen anything like it before. He beat the Devil in no time at all - less than thirty seconds for sure. I barely had any time to measure his performance. It was… quick, clean, and efficient - if not a bit scary. Every fight we get in, it seems like everyone has a speech prepared. This was just him getting the job done," Akeno said.
"I agree. He did far better than I thought he would - I"m not sure that we could"ve done it any quicker if we tried out best. What about what happened with… the victim?" Rias asked nervously.
"I don"t know. Elros seemed… to calm. It was kind of frightening. How… I mean, he"s our age. How can he talk to someone who"s dying so… easily?" Akeno asked.
"I think we both know the answer to that," Rias said sadly. Akeno nodded.
"Why did you stop him from killing the Devil? We both know it wouldn"t have mattered," Akeno asked, rubbing her neck.
"I don"t know. I guess… I didn"t want him to do something like that on his first day. I suppose it didn"t matter, considering he… you know," Rias trailed off.
"That was a mercy, though. He was in a lot of pain," Akeno replied.
"Still… When it came to the Devil, it seemed almost second nature to him. I get the feeling he wanted to punish her for what she did. Otherwise, the whole fight probably could"ve lasted less than ten seconds," Rias said.
Akeno didn"t know how to reply to that. They both sat in silence, waiting for Elros to emerge.