Disclaimer - I don't own any of the characters appearing in High School DXD or the Anime or the manga whatsoever.
House Gremory
–Magdaran Bael–
“Yes, I have the Power of Destruction within me. I wouldn’t have become the heir without it.”
“Yes, I do train. All the time? No, but regularly enough.”
“No, I am not looking for any bride right now. I am too young for that, and no, I do not have any special interests. ”
“Yes, I have been to the Pits. In fact, last month, I was the third highest grossing hunter in the Pits.”
“No, I do not think the work is beneath me. In fact, it is good combat practice. You should try it.” His statement, along with a pointed glance at the rather bulky body of the devil, had him stuttering and taking the cue, many of them scattered away, giving him smiles as if he didn't know what their original intent was.
As he embarrassed them with pointed replies, knowing that they could not reply in mind, he realised that this was fun. Unfortunately, before he could have some more fun, there was a sound of silverware hitting glass, echoing all around the ballroom, which was impossible unless you took into account that this was the Underworld, populated by Devils, running on Demonic Energy, a brand of magic that only required two things to make most things possible.
Demonic Energy and imagination.
He looked ahead to see Sirzechs and Serafall both take the stage, both dressed in less regal and yet still formal clothing. Serafall had foregone her usual Magical Girl persona, likely because this was a Sitri family event and they were not supposed to be here as Satans. Well, they were not supposed to be here at all, since they, you know, renounced their family names and were supposed to be completely impartial to every single Pillar House, but that was just something that delusional people would believe.
The truth was that while Sirzechs and Serafall were not really egregiously favouring their own houses, there was atleast some partiality there and even if both of them did not go out of their own way to benefit their houses, the implicit understanding that attacking their houses and families will result in two irate Satans hunting you down gave the two houses a hell of a lot more leeway than they would have normally had.
Which is why it was not really surprising that these two were not just present for the ceremony but also actively flaunting their participation in it.
“My fellow Devils,” Serafall began, her bubbly personality felt slightly less cheerful and slightly more genuine today, “we are gathered for the coming of age ceremony of my cute little Sona-tan–”
“And Rias-tan.” Sirzechs interrupted in between, not one to back down from a challenge, as the two Satans exchanged eye glares on the stage.
Was it strange that he was only half convinced that it was all an act? Or was it concerning that he couldn’t discern whether the two leaders of their race were very much sis-cons who were not afraid to flaunt it in the slightest?
Eh, they were Devils. This was basically vanilla by comparison.
Serafall was the first to look away and address the crowd once more, “As I was saying, let’s applaud for the two Devils of honor!” Serafall practically shouted towards the end, and with a flash of purple light, the curtains behind the two Satans disintegrated with the signature glow of the Power of Destruction.
He squinted as he saw the younger redhead’s hand lowering as she and a little Brunette with a scowl on her face walked forward.
Assuming that the Redhead with the Power of Destruction was Rias, she was holding onto Sona’s hand and was practically skipping forward, all but dragging the Sitri heir with her, all the while the Satans erupted into coos of adoration, their eyes practically stars as they gazed at their younger siblings.
There were explosions all around the stage as Rias and Sona reached the center of it, flowers and more just erupting all around them, as they were introduced to the Devil nobility in all their glory.
Neither of their parents was on the stage, which was suspicious, but he supposed that having two Satans was enough of an attention grabber. Maybe they were mingling with the rest of the crowds, as was pragmatic behavior for Businessmen and women Devils who had a House to run and had probably thrown this entire event partially for the ceremony itself and partially to meet their business partners and reaffirm their partnerships and whatnot.
Or maybe he was wrong since he had basically zero idea of how these Devils ran their businesses. He finished his second drink and was on the third when he felt her heading straight towards him. Now, he had nestled himself quietly in a corner, but the ballroom’s shape was such that he was still in the middle of the entire place. There was space even behind the entrance, on both sides, where the catering was.
He felt her approach from behind, but she was most definitely approaching him. He turned around just as she turned around the corner, and they came face to face. Even without his decent sensory technique, he could have identified her from a mile away. After all, there was a resonance between fellow users of the Power of Destruction that was easy to spot, especially after one reached a certain level of power.
He knew that aside from his sperm donor, and the walking ball of Destruction that was Sirzechs, there was only one other user of the PoD who was that strong.
Venelana Gremory.
Mother of Sirzechs and Rias Gremory, and judging by her power, a very strong Ultimate Class Devil. Thankfully, while she had given birth to two devils with monstrous potential, she herself was not that ridiculous. Ofcourse, even as these thoughts passed through his mind, he knew that this was not about a fight.
Just then, she reached him and handed him a drink, “Greetings, Heir Bael.”
Her face was neutral, and she was perfectly serene as she handed him the drink and turned around to watch her kid on the stage, laughing out loud in joy as both the Satans of their races turned into entertainment for their siblings. It was, quite frankly, one of the more heartening things he had ever seen the Devils do.
“Madam Gremory.”
“I heard about Misla and Sai.” She said, and he closed his eyes briefly, realising that he was going to have to fend off rumours about that whole incident for quite some time now. All he could do was express his condolences and deny any involvement, which is exactly what he did. He received only silence in exchange, which was odd.
Then, suddenly, as if she had remembered something, she said, “Well, then. Nice meeting you, Heir Bael. I am sure we will meet again sometime, when I am not swamped with an event.”
She shook his hand. He smiled. She smiled, and she left.
The smile left his face as soon as she disappeared from his view. Why did she do that?
Nothing happened after that, which just further increased the suspicion in his mind. He had expected someone to approach him and ask some pointed questions, but all he had experienced were vultures with the predictable questions and none of the probing ones he had expected from people likely backed by the Satans.
After all, they were Satans. They could do both things, be entertainment for their sisters' major milestone event and use the venue to do some covert information gathering on an up and coming Devil heir.
So, why hadn't anything happened?
The question remained in his mind to the end, even when he went back home, only to realise that he had no home. He then went to the Garden instinctively, to go to the one safe haven he had carved out for himself, which was probably known to Zekram, the cave underneath his garden, only to find himself facing a huge hole in the ground.
Sighing, he flew towards the now replanted Garden and realised that the cave’s integrity was likely compromised. Even if it was not, he had to check.
So, with no place to sleep, nobody to talk to, and no place to call home, he got to work.
After all, it was up to him to build his place in this world. And as he worked in the mud, a shaky smile formed on his face at the simple act of using his hands to move mud around.
Yeah, it’s going to be alright.
A/N - Expect some real moves from the next chapter. EARTH TRIP INCOMING!