The Book of Solomon - Chapter 4

“I'm sorry, could you repeat that?”

Shemhazai stared at Azazel, “I said that there's a call for you. A young man is claiming to have four of our brethren captured and wishes to make an exchange with you for their lives.”

Azazel slowly put down the tools he'd been using to make some minor modifications to Down Fall Dragon Spear to make it more comfortable for Fafnir to interface with. His full focus turns to Shemhazai, “What else did he say?”

Shemhazai sighs and looks at the piece of paper in his hands, “He said, and I quote, 'Tell that lazy fuck Azazel that the squad of incompetent assassins he sent after me have failed. They're now my prisoners. If he wants them back alive then he'll call me, personally, within the next twenty-four hours. If he doesn't, I'll assume these idiots are expendable and proceed with that in mind.' after which he provided us with his number. I've already traced it and it's a burner phone with no registered information. All I could find is that the call came from Kuoh, Japan.”

Azazel frowned, “Kuoh... Isn't that where those two kid sisters of Sirzechs and Serafall are playing human?”

Shemhazai nods his head, “Correct. You sent a group of four there to keep an eye on them and a few Sacred Gear holders that were detected in the area. I did some digging and since they arrived the murder rate within the city has seen a noticeable spike, especially cases involving mutilation. It might just be a coincidence, or it might not.”

Azazel sighs and holds his hand out, “Give me the number. Let's find out what is going on in that city.”

He dials the number but leaves the phone on speaker so that Shemhazai could participate as well. After just a few rings the phone is answered by a young sounding masculine voice, “You've got Payne.”

“This is Azazel.”

There's a pause then the voice comes back sounding surprised, “Really? Goddamn that was fast! I honestly expected that I would be executing these four idiots and all their strays.”

“Strays? What strays?”

“The ones you clearly ordered them to gather.” There's the sound of ruffling paper, “Ah, right here. Yeah, in black and white here is an order to recruit as many excommunicated exorcists as possible with specific orders to recruit that sick fuck Freed Sellzen.”

Azazel frowned deeply. He might be pretty hands off with the Grigori these days, but he always clearly remembered any orders he gave out. He had not given any such orders, “I never sent any orders like that.”

A snort was his answer, “Nice try, but I'm looking at them right now and have confirmed with one of your own that the orders are legitimate.” the sound of shuffling paper comes through again, “Including orders to eliminate multiple teenagers through any means necessary to prevent them, or specifically, their Sacred Gears from falling into the hands of the devils living here.” More shuffling, “Orders to eliminate my fine self for similar reasons. Finally, orders to spy on, and if possible, eliminate the peerage members of the two devil kings of Kuoh.”

The voice on the phone chuckles, “Using these idiots as a disposable cats paw are we? I wonder what the older siblings of those kings would give me for this information.”

“I did not send any such orders.”

There's a scoff, “You can say that all you want, doesn't mean anyone is going to believe you. I sure as hell don't. Given the looks the conscious ones here are giving my phone, they don't either. Though from how depressed they look, I expect this isn't the first time you've done something like this. For shame.”

Azazel grit his teeth. He did not like being talked down to like this and he especially didn't like how right the man on the phone was. In the past, before the ceasefire, he had used such tactics. It was war then though and everything he could do to help his people as a whole was a necessary action in his mind. He accepted the ceasefire, and now wanted peace more than anything, so that he would never have to send his brothers and sisters to their deaths again.

Finally he spit out, “What do you want?”

“You know what? I don't like your attitude.”

The line went dead. Both Azazel and Shemhazai looked at the phone in mild shock. Shemhazai tried to call the number again but all further attempts went directly to a voice mail that hadn't been set up. After trying for nearly twenty minutes he turned to Azazel, “Now what?”

-----Line Break-----

Solomon looked at the two stupefied fallen angels staring at him. The voluptuous one with long blue hair is the one to speak, “Did... did you just hang up on Azazel?!”

Solomon nodded while picking up his phone, “Sure did. His question made me realize that what I really want, he can't give me. But I know someone who can and she will know exactly what to do with you all.”

Solomon picks up the super cheap prepaid flip phone and removes the battery and sim card. He wasn't about to believe they didn't have a way to hack and or track the phone. He pockets it for later use, maybe, and pulls out the more impressive smartphone Serafall had given him. It had personally been designed by Ajuka after he'd seen the first generation iPhone. Of course, using magic, the one Ajuka made was way better and more akin to the ones he was used to that wouldn't be out for another twenty five or so years.

He scrolls through the contacts and selects the one labeled 'Handler' then hits call. After a few rings the other side picks up and a cheerful voice comes from it, “Solomon! I hope you have a good reason for calling me or I'll have to punish you.”

The words 'punish you' came out in a playful sing song voice, not to be taken too seriously. Solomon smiles, only slightly and only because she can't see him. Honestly? He liked Serafall. She was a blast to be around when he didn't want to be all alone to brood, as is proper for a teenager!

“Hey Serafall.”

The moment he says her name both Kalawarna and Mittelt turn extremely pale. He ignores them to continue, “I'm not calling just to bug you, though I'm not sure how happy what I have to say will make you.”

“Go on.” Her voice lost the higher pitched happiness in it and turned serious.

“I've got a bit of a situation here. I'll start from the beginning.”

So, Solomon explains everything to her starting from Dohnaseek's ambush to hunting down the others in the abandoned church. He even includes his call to Azazel. Thankfully she doesn't jump down his throat before he finishes with, “After he asked me what I wanted, I realized he couldn't give me what I wanted. My freedom.”

Serafall is silent for a few moments before she lets out a deep sigh, “Just to double check, all of the fallen angels and exorcists are still alive?”

“Most are a little broken, but yes they are alive and will remain so for at least a little while. I'm no doctor but I may have hit a few of the exorcists harder than I should have.”

Serafall huffs, “They don't matter, it's the fallen angels that hold value. Along with their orders, of course.” She hums a bit, “I can knock off some time from your sentence for turning them over, but not all of it.”

“I want at least a hundred hours knocked off.”

Serafall scoffed, “I was thinking more like fifty.”

“Split the difference then, seventy-five.”

“No, I think it'll be just fifty.”

Solomon sighs, “I see. In that case I should call Azazel back and make sure all this lovely evidence is destroyed before its existence becomes more than just my word.”

Serafall hisses, “You wouldn't dare!”

Solomon scoffs, “Why not? What are you going to do if I do? I'm not one of your subjects. We both know the only reason you were allowed to punish me in the first place is because I broke a law all supernatural factions follow.” His lips curl into a smirk, “I bet Azazel would be more than happy to give me protection if it means this evidence never sees the light of day.”

He knew he was playing with fire and possibly pissing off Serafall, but he didn't care. He wanted to get as much out of this as he could so that the string, as thin as it might be, that connected him to the devils would be severed.

When Serafall speaks her voice is cold enough that he'd surprised the phone doesn't frost over, “Fine. Seventy-five hours. But Solomon, if you try something like this again, I will end you.”

There's a moment of silence before she continues in a lighter tone of voice, “I'll be there in an hour to collect the prisoners and evidence.”

Solomon ended the call and glanced at the two conscious people in the room, both of whom were staring at him with gaping mouths prompting him to ask, “What?”

Kalawarna is the one to answer, “The balls on you talking to one of the Satans like that.”

Solomon shrugged. He wasn't that scared of Serafall anymore. He'd been lost, confused, and lashing out a bit when he'd first run into her. Now he'd had time to calm down, engage his brain, and think ahead a little bit. Even if he wasn't strong enough to fight her, and that was a big if, he definitely wasn't skilled enough. That lack of skill was the only thing keeping him from just leaving Kuoh and never looking back.

Fortunately, Kuoh was where he wanted to be if he wanted to gain the skill he needed to stand on his own, starting with Rias's peerage. Thanks to her he could spar with Kiba and Koneko, both of which would allow him to progress in his skills with swords and his fists. He planned to see if he could get Akeno and Rias to spar with him using magic so he could refine that further as well.

He especially wanted to spar Rias as much as possible. He might not be able to gain her bloodline, but he could mimic the Power of Destruction using his magic. As long as he got to study it enough, that is. That was one power that was worth copying as it was one of the strongest powers in the series. Even if he could never use it to the level of someone like Sirzechs, he could still use it to great effect.

There was also Akeno's Holy Lightning to consider... though he'd have to find a way to get her to use it first. It was something to think about while getting to know them better. He knew things, because of the anime, but he didn't know every last detail. Her story was something about some humans killing her mom and wanting to kill her because of her dad being a cadre of the fallen? Something like that. In short, she hated Daddy for not being there, which was stupid but kind of understandable, for a kid. She was no longer a child and her attitude needed to change.

Although he seriously wondered what the fuck Baraqiel was thinking by, essentially, abandoning his daughter. He fully supported her hatred of him in particular. He just didn't see how that applied to the rest of the race. Though he expected that was mostly due to self hate propagated by survivors guilt. He had no easy fix, but he'd think of something.

-----Line Break-----

Solomon lunged on his couch eating a microwave dinner. The trade with Serafall had gone off without a hitch and his sentence had been lowered the agreed upon amount. She'd barely spoken to him and her attitude had been ice cold, which he was fine with. He didn't need her to be his best friend or anything.

No, what he found himself pondering was how much magical power he'd been ale to sense coming from her. She was... weak. Or at least, weaker than himself as far as total magical power went. He found that a little surprising, even with the advantages his CYOA picks gave him. In the series Serafall was one of the top four most powerful devils, even stronger than Grayfia. Right?

She should have been especially strong since this world was meant to be fifty percent more powerful than canon. Yet... Aside from her much greater skill, she had less raw power than him. Ultimate Class, on the Devil Scale, was a very wide ranging designation. Basically anyone stronger than High Class was Ultimate Class. Only a couple of people went even further beyond that, specifically Sirzechs and Ajuka. He knew himself to be Ultimate Class on their scale for certain now. Though he didn't think it meant much against her.

Yes, he was stronger than her magically speaking, but possibly not physically. He hadn't taken much to boost his physical strength, mostly his magical strength. Though, he supposed, if he fought her beginning at noon or midnight he could crush her under the sheer power having unlimited mana would give his spells. He would have to beat her within the three hour time limit. Outside of that... he expected he would lose.

Fucking skill issue.

He could partially close that gap though. He set the now empty food container on the small wooden table and opened his pocket dimension closet to collect a few of his Rare Candies. So far he'd been going light on them. He still had sixteen of them, eight whole years worth. And now that he'd started sparring with Rias's peerage, he could gain even more from the candies. They worked by giving him experience he could theoretically gain within the next six months.

That meant that eating one would now include six months worth of sparring against Kiba and Koneko. More importantly, it would give him experience against Rias and Akeno because he was one hundred percent certain he would be able to convince them to give sparring a go against him. It was only logical, after all. Though he wasn't betting on getting Akeno to use Holy Lightning. He wasn't sure if this would let him learn about the Power of Destruction either. It depending on how the Rare Candy interacted with The Mage.

Either way, he carefully placed the candy within his mouth and gripped it with his teeth before letting it go. He was not about to risk choking on it, even when supposedly alone in his own apartment! It was a good thing he did too as the moment his teeth touched the candy there was a loud pounding on his door that made him jump.

Grumbling to himself, he pulls the candy back out of his mouth and wraps it back up. After hiding it in his pocket, along with the second he planned to take, he made his way to the door. Just as he reached it, whoever was on the other side hammered on it again, even harder than the first time. Growing annoyed, he grabs the handle and yanks the door open to yell, “The fuck do you want?!” right into Sona's face.

Sona had been only mildly annoyed but the moment he yelled she went from 'mildly' to 'highly' if her glare was anything to judge by. She narrowed her eyes at him while she pushed her way into his apartment. Yes, he could have stopped her, but he already mildly fucked up and didn't want to make the situation worse. Technically, Sona was in charge of him and a bad report from her could cause issues for him.

So, he grit his teeth and bared with it for now.

He closes the door and follows her into the living room where she's standing with her arms crossed. At least she was nice enough to take her shoes off. It was one of the things the Japanese did as a matter of course that he appreciated fully. He took a moment to look her over and though he would never admit it aloud, he did find her glare kind of sexy. Her personality might be shit, but she wasn't ugly to look at, at least.

Once he joined her in the living room she finally spoke, “I do not appreciate it when things involving the supernatural world go down in my territory without me being notified.”

Solomon hummed, “So, what, I should have asked the guy trying to kill me to come back later so I had time to inform you of my impending attack?”

Her glare intensified, “Don't twist the intent of my words. You know damn well that I meant your attack on the church. We've had our eyes on the fallen angels there and had it under control.”

He arched an eyebrow at that, “Oh? Really? So then you, at least, did deliberately allow that one guy to get murdered so Rias could resurrect him?”

Sona growled, “That's not what I said.”

“You said you had it under control. If that's true then you have been allowing them to freely murder people within your territory.” He crossed his arms and tilted his head, “From what I read in the few files they had, the only Stray Exorcist to not get captured is responsible for at least half a dozen murders. So, you LET those people be murdered, since 'everything was under your control'?” His voice dripped with pure sarcasm at the end.

Sona's hands curled into fists as her body tensed, “We couldn't just attack them, it would have caused too many issues and could lead to the current ceasefire coming to an end.”

Solomon snorted, “So now your excuse is cowardice? They were pathetic low ranked nobodies committing murder in known devil territory. Their orders were to specifically take out anyone with the potential to have a Sacred Gear specifically to keep those people out of your hands. And you LET them. You sat by and let them build up a small army within your territory and did NOTHING. You should have run them out of town within twenty-four hours of them arriving.”

He sneered at her, “You're pathetic and its clear to me that the only reason you're in charge of anything is sheer nepotism.”

Sona glared at him with clenched fists. Her face red and blotchy from her anger. If she had laser vision he would have been on fire a long time ago. It takes her a few moments to calm down enough to speak and even then she does so through gritted teeth, “You will consult with me before taking such actions in the future. Failure to do so will have consequences.”

Without another word she brushed past him and made her way to the door. He couldn't resist giving her one last parting shot after she put her shoes on and opened the door, “So that stray devil on the edge of town. Should I just ignore it while it continues to kill people until you get off your lazy ass and do something about it?”

Sona froze for a moment before shooting a glare over her shoulder, “You don't need to know what my plans are. You will do nothing and leave it to me.”

With that she left, slamming the door behind herself. Solomon scoffed, “Uptight spoiled bitch.”

He hadn't just been poking fun at her with his parting comment. Once he'd gained the ability to sense magical energies, he'd spread them out and found he could sense almost the entire city. It was weird and a bit confusing, but he had a good hold on it now and could easily sense the malevolent energy that the stray was giving off. He could also feel when people died in her vicinity.

Now, he didn't actually care about the strangers dying. He didn't like it, of course. But it was also none of his business and he had other things on his mind, like gaining his freedom. Now though, he'd give Sona until he felt another human approaching the stray. If she did nothing by then, he'd deal with the stray himself just to rub it in her face.

Also, he felt he could use the experience. What was the phrase so many cultures used? Ah, right. He needed to be 'blooded', to get his first kill. Because, like it or not, he was in a world where he would have to fight, and kill, to survive. If he couldn't blow through his service time quickly, he would be around for things like that one fallen angel asshole attacking. He had no wish to die and no doubt he would be targeted. Fighting was his only option.

Solomon sat on his small couch and considered his next move. After thinking for a bit, his decided not to partake of a Rare Candy just yet. He wanted to talk Rias and Akeno into sparring first. Once he had at least one spar with them he could be one hundred percent certain he'd gain more experience from the Rare Candies. Who else was worth sparring in Kuoh?

…

Fuck. There was no one. It would be at least weeks, if not months, before when Azazel would become the... what was it? The staff representative for the ORC? Something like that. It was just an excuse for him to hang out with them. Though... There was a possibility that would never happen due to the very dead Issei. Actually...

Shit.

Solomon clenched his hands into fists. He would have to do something about Riser. He didn't want that loser taking Rias and her peerage to the underworld. It would deprive him of his sparring buddies and experience farms! Plus, he kinda liked them. He doubted Riser was as bad as he was made out to be by people, but he could also be wrong about that. He just couldn't risk them being dragged back to the underworld never to return.

Right. First things first, training with Rias and Akeno. He'd see about that tomorrow at school. Until then, there wasn't much he could do. It was late enough to sleep and that seemed like a wonderful idea.

-----Line Break-----

“Rias!”

The whole courtyard, usually filled with the murmur of students chatting, instantly went silent when Solomon called out to Rias so 'boldly'. Rias turned to face Solomon, both ignoring the people watching them. He approached closer before he spoke, “I was hoping to talk to you about another meeting like yesterdays. I think I might be considering joining the ORC and want to talk about it.”

Rias immediately brightened up, “Really? That would be wonderful!”

Solomon decides not to get her hopes up too high in case she's misunderstanding, “I'm only considering it. We'll talk more after school, alright?”

Rias, not looking even remotely less excited, nods her head vigorously. Solomon is almost certain he saw the bit of hair sticking up from the rest of her hair, known as an ahoge, jerking back and forth in her excitement.

“We'll talk then!”

Solomon slowly backed away from what he was suddenly realizing was an adorable scene of an excited Rias. Once at a safe distance, he quickly made tracks to the classroom... which he shares with her. He groaned a bit to himself. Perhaps he should have waited until after classes had ended for the day?

-----Line Break-----

Solomon sighed as the final bell for the day rang. It was seriously annoying to be in school once more. The only bright side was lunch time since Kuoh served excellent food. Way better than anything he could remember from his previous life...

Except Pizza Friday. Those rectangles of pizza were mana from heaven and he'd fight anyone who argued otherwise!

As he walked through the halls and out of the main building to make his way to the old school building he noticed several girls giving him looks. Most of them looked angry with him. Though one, the pervert girl the year below him, had a nuclear blush while looking at him. For the angry girls, he assumed it was something to do with the stupid 'great beauties' or whatever it was they called Rias and Akeno. He was way too old... in mind, to deal with them hating him for getting close to the girls.

Thankfully, he arrived at his destination pretty quickly and made his way up to the main room. When he opened the door, he found himself alone in the room. Feeling like he might have a few minutes, he opened his closet dimension and stepped into it to change into something far more comfortable.

When he stepped out a few minutes later he was wearing a nice casual outfit of sneakers, jeans, an undershirt, and a comfortable zip up hoodie that was currently unzipped. It was just a few seconds after closing his closet that Rias and the others began filing into the club room. He took a seat and waited for everyone to get comfortable and for Rias to address him.

Once Akeno has served tea to everyone and Koneko has pulled a sweet snack from... somewhere, Rias finally speaks to Solomon, “So, you mentioned maybe joining the ORC?”

That gets the attention of the others who are now looking at Solomon in curiosity. Solomon, in an effort to tease Rias a bit and make her wait, takes a sip of his tea. It's... alright. Honestly he wasn't big on most hot drinks including both tea and coffee. A nice cup of hot cocoa though, yeah he could drink one of those even in the middle of summer in the south!

After setting his teacup down, he nods, “That's right. After the sparring yesterday I found myself wanting to do it some more.” That earns him looks of approval from Koneko and Kiba. “So I think I would like to join the club, but only the club. I'm not the least bit interested in joining anyone's peerage. Sorry. What I am interested in is spending some time with all of you and especially spending some time in the field sparring. I'm even willing to do it in exchange for performing favors for you, if necessary.”

Rias hums in thought, though she can see her two friends are interested in the sparring. As for herself and Akeno, well they weren't big on combat. Oh, Akeno never complained about it but she wasn't so much a battle junkie as a pain junkie. As in dishing it out, the sadist. Still, they could all use the practice, especially with her marriage to riser approaching in about a year. Fighting Solomon, a Dhampire in the Ultimate Class tier could provide them with a lot of experience fighting a stronger opponent.

“Would you be interested in running a few mock rating games against my whole peerage?”

Solomon grinned broadly, “I would love it. Whether you want to spar solo against me or in groups, or do group versus group, whatever the case is if it means learning and growing stronger, I'm in.”

Rias grins, “Then welcome to the ORC. Ah! We do also do club activities, just so you know. We're famous for our haunted house on Halloween, you know.”

Solomon grinned from ear to ear his elongated eye teeth gaining prominence, “Sounds fun. Would you and Akeno be interested in a spar today? I've yet to go up against people using magic.”

Rias smiles playfully, “Are you sure you can handle us? I know you know a little magic, but do you think it would be enough?”

Solomon laughs, “Only one way to find out!”

Soon enough they were all outside in the sparring area once again. Only this time he was facing off against both Rias and Akeno, simultaneously. Akeno raised her hand ot the sky causing a bolt of lightning to strike and wrap around her changing her clothing from her school uniform into a white and red Miko outfit.

Both women released their wings and took to the sky, looking to gain an advantage. Akeno took the lead on the offensive by pointing a finger in his direction and firing off a bolt of lightning. Solomon only had time to counter because magical lightning wasn't nearly as fast as the real deal. If it was then it would be moving at a third of the speed of light and be nigh impossible for anyone to dodge without moving even FASTER than that. Solomon countered by conjuring up a pillar of earth that shattered after taking the blow from the lightning.

The next attack came from Rias and he watched it like a hawk, choosing to dodge it instead of blocking so he could get a nice up close look at it. Just seeing her using the Power of Destruction was giving him a small hint of how it worked. It was hard to put into words just yet, but he could see the bare basics of the concepts the magic held.

After their attacks, it was his turn. He lifted up both hands and aimed them at the duo. He fired a spell from his left hand first while the right gathered a little more power. From his left hand he fired a small black ball that flew directly toward the girls, aiming for somewhere in the middle of them. Akeno went on the defensive and conjured up a magic circle that worked as a shield.

The spell never touched her shield.

With both of them paying attention to the unknown spell they thought they were protected and prepared to counter it. Instead their focus worked against them. The black ball exploded into blinding light and deafening sound without ever reaching the shield. Both girls screamed and held their ears while closing their eyes tightly. The magical flash bang having done its job perfectly.

While they're both disabled, Solomon releases the spell in his right hand sending a long thick rope flying out to wrap around the girls and tie them up tightly together. With their wings tied up the concept of flight they embodied failed, causing them to fall from the air. A quick spell on the ground where they would land turned it into a soft landing as the ground acted more like soft rubber than solid earth.

There was a moment of silence while Rias and Akeno flopped around like fish trying to escape, though they gave up quickly and slumped on the still soft ground. Solomon cleared his throat, “So... I guess that means I won?”

Rias turned to glare at him, her vision having recovered, while blushing heavily in embarrassment, “Shut up and let us out of this!”

Solomon waved his hand to dismiss the conjured rope letting both women go free, “Round two?”

-----Line Break-----

Solomon fell onto his couch with a deep sigh of relief. It had been a good day. After the embarrassment of the first round against Rias and Akeno, they'd gone for more. He'd gotten plenty of experience using magic in combat and then switched with Kiba and Koneko. His spar against Kiba had been one of elements. They'd both decided to practice producing and using elemental blades. One of them would make and elemental blade, such as fire, and the other would make a blade to either absorb or counter the element in response. Solomon was certain this had led to Kiba making new swords he'd never thought of.

The spar with Koneko had become a battle of attrition that he'd only won because he had far more stamina. Which seemed like it would always be how his spars with her went. Even so, he could see some minor improvement in her fighting while his own had grown in leaps and bounds. A few more spars and he'd be as good as, or better than, Koneko in a fist fight.

Well, that was actually wrong. It would be more like five minutes.

He pulled out four rare candies and selected the one he'd been prepared to eat the previous day first. It's carefully placed into his mouth until he can bite down on it and crush it. He instantly lives through six months of training. It's filled with spars against the ORC members vastly improving his skills. He gasps as it ends, his memory self having tried something he hadn't, yet, thought of.

He hops to his feet and holds his hand out instantly conjuring a sword. The blade is a pitch black katana with dark red highlights. He channels his magical power into the blade causing it to become wrapped in roiling pitch black darkness wrapped in red.

The Power of Destruction.

He lifts the katana up looking at the power rippling along the blade. Sword Birth could copy, or mimic, clan traits! Or perhaps it was just any sort of power he was able to witness? Or maybe understanding was required? He wasn't one hundred percent sure what was required, but it didn't matter! He couldn't cast the Power of Destruction with his magic directly, yet, so this was a valid middle step. But it opened up so many more possibilities, and not just for himself! If he could do it, then there was no reason Kiba couldn't do it as well!

If he could do that... He dismissed the PoD Katana and focused on summoning another sword. The weapon that appeared was a massive Greatsword with a bright red blade coming out of a crossguard that looked like a golden dragon's head breathing out the blade. He quickly channeled a small thread of magical power into the weapon and began laughing as it worked!

He looked at his hands, now transformed into red scaled claws. As he fed more power into the blade, the transformation worked its way down his arms covering them in metallic looking red scales. He could transform into a dragon! If he could do this with his swords...

He dismissed the dragon blade and watched as the transformation slowly reverted. That was good. If the sword broke he could conjure another and stop the reversion process. There was something more important though!

His shadow began to twitch the bulge as something grew out of it. His use of Annihilation Maker might not have been much in reality, but in his Rare Candy training he'd used it a ton. He planned to keep it as his trump card, for emergency use only. Once people knew he for sure had a Longinus, they would never leave him alone.

From his shadow a lithe figure grew. The figure was pitch black, as all creations of Annihilation Maker were. However, it's feminine form was highlighted with swirling red marks that highlighted the shape of her breasts, thighs, and ass. Why summon something blocky and male looking when he could summon something at least pleasant to look at?

Once he finished looking it over he spoke softly, “Show me.”

The creation lifted one of it hands up, palm facing the ceiling, and conjured forth a rippling ball composed of the Power of Destruction. Solomon threw his hands into the air and cheered! He could create monsters that could use Devil Clan traits!

The monster he summoned suddenly crumbled into nothing and faded from existence. Solomon hummed as he looked at where it had stood, “Not enough power, not unexpected. The Power of Destruction does take a fair bit of magic to use. I'll have to keep that in mind so I don't waste energy making summons that can barely do anything before fading away.”

None of that mattered though! He'd learned what he needed to learn and it thrilled him to the core! He jumped back onto the couch and picked up another rare candy. He planned to eat three more tonight, leaving him with just twelve of the wonderful treats.

Four of those treats he had earmarked for the ORC members. He was starting to feel a little bad about how things went down with Issei and accidentally screwing Rias over. So, he planned to gift her with the treats once the events involving Riser started. Rather than just ten days of training, he'd give her, Akeno, Kiba, and Koneko six months. More importantly, six months of training with himself helping them. That should give them a serious boost in strength. Possibly enough to beat Riser. His smile grew wicked, especially after he taught Kiba just how broken of a Sacred Gear Sword Birth was!

-----Line Break-----

Solomon stood within the usual sparring area, Kiba standing across from him. Before their spar could begin he spoke up, “Kiba, there's something I want to show you before we begin.”

That gets everyone's attention, but before he could show Kiba, he faced Rias and the others, “But before I do, this is something I think needs to be kept secret. If this gets out and you, Rias, are not strong enough to protect him, then Kiba's life will very likely be in danger.”

His words completely change the mood from fun to serious. Rias studies Solomon for a moment before asking, “Are you sure it's that dangerous?”

Solomon shrugged his shoulders, “I can't be certain, but given what I know about how shitty a lot of devil nobles are... I'd say odds are pretty high that they'd want to either kill Kiba, or keep him locked up. Along with every other Sword Birth user they can find, myself included. However, I think the risk is worth it as it could be the ultimate secret weapon.”

Rias bites her thumbnail for a bit as she thinks about his words. Finally, she looks to Kiba, “It's up to you.”

Kiba looks at Solomon with a bit of curiosity, “This thing you wish to show me. Are you certain it will be worth me knowing?”

Solomon nodded seriously, “Even if you can't openly use it all the time, it will make an extremely powerful trump card that could save your life, or even the lives of your friends.”

That instantly made up Kiba's mind. He gave a sharp nod, “Show me.”

Solomon nodded just as seriously. He held his hand out and, in a flash, conjured up the same sword he had the previous night. The black katana with red highlights looked nice, but didn't seem all that different to the people not in the know. With Kiba watching, he channels his magical power into the sword.

Gasps of shock came from everyone as they witnessed the sword emitting a power they all knew well from seeing Rias use it all the time. There was silence as they all stared at the rippling black and red energy rolling along the blade of the sword like flames in the wind. Solomon let the silence go for a few moments before he breaks it, “That's right. This is no trick, no illusion, no lie. Sword Birth can copy the Power of Destruction.”

His eyes find Rias's, “I think it can copy other clan traits too, but I've never seen any but yours in action.”

A flash of light comes from Kiba. When everyone looks they see him holding a sword with similar coloring to Solomon's, only his is shaped more like the western style of sword he prefers with a straight double edged blade, thick guard, and handle just long enough for up to two hands. A moment later it too is emitting the Power of Destruction in a similar manner to Solomon's blade.

Rias looks over the scene for a few moments then sighs, “Kiba, Solomon is right. That will need to be kept a deep secret and used only in the most dire circumstances. If word of you being able to use the Power of Destruction gets out... I'm not certain what will happen, but I do know the old man of the Bael's will do everything in his power to make sure that power stays only with the family.”

It took Solomon a moment to realise she meant Zekram Bael, the oldest Bael and... well he didn't know much else, but he seemed to remember him being something of an asshole and a powerful political leader. That could just be fanon or his own misunderstanding. But, given how serious Rias seemed, he was willing to bet he wasn't too far off the mark.

With that established, both of them dismissed their swords of destruction. Kiba summoned his standard longsword. But Solomon had another thought. Sword Birth could create ANY kind of sword, right? Size, shape, effect, none of that mattered as long as the weapon was a sword, right? So... Why couldn't he... just...

With a flash of light a round cylider of metal formed in Solomon's hand. With a giddy grin on his face, he lifted the cylinder up and held it firmly. He ignored the squeal of excitement from Rias, and pressed the igniter switch. With a thrum of power a blade of pure green plasma erupted from the emitter shroud of the lightsaber. He rotated his wrist, twirling the lightsaber and listening to the distinctive hum of the plasma blade moving through the air.

Kiba, not being a bit science fiction fan, or an otaku like his King, didn't recognize the iconic weapon on sight. He did, however, recognize the danger the weapon posed. Solomon brought the energy blade forth into a guard position, “This is the greatest moment of my life.”

“I WANT ONE!”

Solomon glanced over at Rias after her shout and smirked, “We'll make a deal, later.”

Kiba, unfamiliar with the properties of a lightsaber, charged forward closing the distance between them with ease. He slashes with his blade and, as he'd expected, Solomon interposes his own glowing blue blade to block the attack. Kiba planned to turn the block into a way to reposition himself for another attack, only... he couldn't. He watched, shocked, as the glowing green blade easily sliced through the blade of his sword as if it wasn't even there.

He quickly jumped back, putting distance between himself and Solomon. He looks at what's left of his sword before it shatters. He didn't see everything, but it was hard to miss how the sliced area was glowing orange and looked melted. Obviously the strange blade Solomon was using put out a massive amount of heat, though it obviously kept it well contained. He had something similar he could use.

Kiba summoned another sword with a long and thin black blade that was immediately surrounded by a cloak of flames. Solomon chuckles at the sight. He had no idea just how hot a lightsaber was, but he did know 'low' temperature plasma was still something like ten thousand degrees Celsius (18k F). The flames of Kiba's sword were nothing in comparison to that!

Solomon's thoughts proved true as his lightsaber sliced through the flaming sword with ease. Although, it did take slightly more effort to cut through that the first sword. Solomon had a hunch that the magic of the flames caused the discrepancy. He decided to throw Kiba a bone while testing his theory, “Try making a sword that uses compressed flames as the blade rather than giving it a physical blade.”

Kiba considers the advice for a moment before he nods. A few moments later he summons a new sword, this time it's only the handle of his flame sword. From the hilt flames roar to life but stop at an acceptable blade range and seem to fill an invisible chamber until the flames compress into the shape of a blade similar to a cutlass. Kiba holds up the new sword with its red-orange blade and grins, “It's a little more demanding to use, but I can see the utility of it.”

That was all he said before their blades clashed together. Unlike what one might expect, Solomon's blade did not easily pass through Kiba's. Rather, the magical shell that held the flames together acted like the magnetic field keeping the plasma emitted by the lightsaber in control. The two fields clashed together as if they were solid surfaces, sparks flinging off where they rubbed together.

The two became a blur of motion as they attacked and defended. Every clash sent a small burst of sparks out turning the spar into a vivid display that kept the interest of those watching. The two skilled swordsman almost appeared to be dancing as their blades and bodies moved in tandem.

The dance lasted for less than fifteen minutes before Kiba had to tap out from magical exhaustion. Kiba had never used so much magic with just a single summoned sword. He was used to spending his magical power in large chunks when he did things like summoning a field of blades to skewer his foes, but not a constant stream.

Solomon gave Kiba a smile, “Maybe now you'll work on your magical stamina along with your physical stamina. Both are equally important, ya know.”

Kiba gave Solomon a bland smile, though Solomon could see some humor in Kiba's eyes, along with excitement. After all, Solomon had just taught him how to make a sword that could cut through almost anything, possibly including the hated Excalibur.

After that, the spars continued with Solomon fighting Koneko followed by Rias with Akeno coming last. They planned for a team match the following day before Solomon left for his home.

-----Line Break-----

Solomon hummed happily as he walked down the street. Today was Sunday, the only day he didn't have to go to school. Who the hell thought six days of school was a good idea? Whoever it was was even more evil than the original Lucifer!

Anyway. He planned to do a lot of shopping today to upgrade his living conditions a little bit. Naturally, his stipend from Serafall was nowhere near enough for such a thing. That's where the lovely lady Rias came into it. He'd done as promised and made a deal with Rias to give her her own Lightsaber. He'd even made one to her specifics just to squeeze more yen out of her. In the end he'd exchanged a modified version of Vader's saber sporting a magenta colored blade, for twenty million yen, roughly two hundred thousand USD at the current exchange rate.

If Serafall hadn't made him legally seventeen, he'd be using the money to purchase a new home for himself. Property was rarely a bad investment. Sadly, he was certain that he had to be eighteen for that. Oh well. He could at least purchase some nice new furniture to deck out his apartment and make it far more comfortable.

First things first, a much more comfortable mattress. He was one hundred percent certain Serafall had picked out the single hardest mattress she could find! It was like sleeping on a slightly softer rock. It had to go. After that, a better couch and living room setup. The CRT TV needed to go as well. It was nostalgic at first, but then it got annoying as hell. He also planned to get more modern appliances and things to make cooking in the small kitchen easier and more efficient.

He paused in his walk as he caught something out of the corner of his eye. Turning to get a better look, he freezes for a moment then lets out a deep sigh.

“Of course. I had to forget that didn't I?”

Obviously the question he asked himself was rhetorical. But he felt it needed to be said as he gazed at the short petite blond in a nuns habit standing on the other side of the street. She was dragging a small suitcase on wheels while trying to ask locals for help. In typical 'mind our own business' Japanese fashion, they ignored the foreigner in their midst.

Solomon let out a deep sigh when he saw the hint of tears in the corner of her bright green eyes. She looked so small and defeated trying to ask strangers for directions in a language they didn't understand. Naturally, she only spoke Italian, meaning all the local Japanese folk couldn't understand her any more than she could understand them.

Solomon quickly crosses the street and calmly addresses the clearly stressed young woman, “They won't be able to help you. No one around here speaks Italian.”

The young nun, Asia Argento, slowly turned to look at Solomon with large vulnerable eyes. Solomon felt his heart twitch as he was subjected to the universes most devastating usable of the dreaded 'puppy dog eyes' by an ultimate user. It got even worse when she spoke in a low, fragile sounding voice, “Y-you can understand me?”

Solomon collapsed to his knees and clutched at his chest dramatically, “Oh god! It's too much!” To emphasize his point his free hand moves up like he's trying to block radiant light from hitting his eyes, “You're too adorable! I can't stand it!” He inhaled deeply, dramatically gasping for breath, before he pauses in his dramatics, “Also, yes, I can understand you.”

Asia looks lost for a few moments at his weird behavior, then begins giggling until he calls her adorable making her blush. It takes her a moment to recover before she asks, “Can you help me? I'm looking for the local church.”

Solomon picks himself up and dusts his knees off, “There's only one church in this town and I don't think it's a place anyone should go to. It's been abandoned for something like a decade and was just recently occupied by some very evil people.”

Asia looks confused and concerned, “Evil people?”

He nodded, “Some fallen angels and excommunicated exorcists were staying there and using it as a base so they could o out and murder innocent people. I personally witnessed one named Raynare murder and innocent school boy. Then another one of them, Don-something or other tried to murder me.”

Seeing the look of shock and horror on Asia's face, he continues, “And somehow, you don't strike me as the murderous type. Besides, they're gone now. After the Don guy tried to murder me I captured all of them and turned them over to the devils in charge of this territory.”

Asia suddenly looks a little green and is clearly lost due to all the information he's just unloading on her, “This is devil territory?”

Solomon nods, “Yup.” He looks her over a moment and sighs. He collects her suitcase, “C'mon. Let's go somewhere you can sit down and get something to eat. Something tells me you've got a story of your own to tell.”

Asia follows him like a zombie as her mind works over everything he'd said. It also presented her with a terrible problem. After being excommunicated herself, she had nothing, no money, minimal possessions, no family, no friends, and no one that could help her. The fallen were the ones to find her and offer her a place to stay. Without them... she had no idea what she was going to do.

Solomon leads her to a small family restaurant and gets them a table. After ordering drinks for both of them, Asia still too out of it to order for herself. He studies her for a moment before calmly saying, “Tell me your story.”

Asia looks at him, her eyes once again wet with unshed tears. Soon, her story comes tumbling out of her. She tells him about growing up in the church as a holy maiden. Then how everything went away when she healed a devil. Being excommunicated and labeled a witch. The fallen finding her and offering her a place among them. All up until she'd met him.

Solomon remains silent after she finishes speaking. After a few moments he finally says, “Well, the church is clearly full of absolute morons.” When she gives him a surprised and indignant look, he explains, “You were set up.”

“W-what?”

Solomon nodded, “Yeah. It's totally a setup. You were tricked and betrayed. Sorry. But honestly take a moment to think about it. You were a holy maiden, an important member of the church with an important ability. Everyone in the supernatural world wants healers. The only mystical healing worth a damn is the Phenex tears and those are extremely expensive. Your ability to heal is a massive win for the Church.”

Seeing that she's following along, a look of concentration on her face, he continues, “So, how did a devil, an injured devil at that, get anywhere close to you? You should have been well protected, guarded over like the precious treasure you are. Yet some random devil got close enough to you for you to heal him? That makes no sense! Especially in Italy! Everyone know's that whole country is Church territory and it's suicidal for any non-humans to go there. What was that devil doing there?”

Now, he didn't know for sure if going to all of Italy was suicidal or just Rome, but it made sense that the whole country would be a no-go zone for anyone the Church would have issues with. It was the heart of their whole religion!

“T-then how did the devil get there?”

Solomon sighs, “Obviously, he had inside help. Someone in the Church wanted to get rid of you. I don't know why, jealousy maybe? Maybe they were just bribed and it was good old fashioned greed. I can't say for certain. What is certain is someone in the Church betrayed you and allowed the devil to get close so you could be labeled a witch and kicked out.”

He felt terrible as he watched tears drip down her cheeks and off of her chin. He wasn't the best with people, but he felt she deserved to know the truth. As he was trying to think of some good news he could offer her, a voice came from beside him, “Um... sir, is everything alright?”

He looked up at the concerned looking waitress who was looking between him and the crying Asia. He let out a sigh, “I just had to give her some bad news about family.”

The waitress still looked concerned and like she wanted to say more, but she kept silent and moved away once more. Solomon carefully slid the steaming cup of hot chocolate he'd ordered for Asia toward the stricken girl, “Take a sip of that. It'll help.”

Still quietly crying, Asia follows his suggestion and picks up the cup to take a sip of the chocolaty goodness. It did seem to help, at least a little. It takes her a little longer, and a few more sips, to calm down enough to speak, “What do I do now? I have nothing and no one.”

Solomon leaned back and sighed, “Well. I can see a few options. None of them are great though. First, I've got a number I can call to get a hold of the Grigori leadership. Azazel is supposed to treat Sacred Gear holders really well. So, that's an option. Option two is joining the devils running this place. I can introduce you since I have some dealings with them. Rias is fairly nice, though Sona is a bitch so I'd only recommend Rias.”

Neither of those seem to appeal to her, though the look of disgust she sports at the option of becoming a devil is a bit surprising. Then again, canon Asia was killed then turned. Only her friendship with Issei seemed to be what made her accepting of it. Also, her behavior was a perfect example of how the Evil Pieces messed with peoples heads. She went from a pure nun to trying to jump Issei's bone in no time flat.

“Third, you can come live with me, but you should know that I'm not entirely human myself.”

She looks at him with some surprise and curiosity. He opens his mouth a little wider and lets her see his slightly elongated incisors. Her eyes widen as she asks in a whisper shout, “You're a vampire?!”

Solomon shakes his head, “Only half. I'm a Dhampire. One parent was a vamp, the other human. I get all the bonuses of being a vamp with none of the drawbacks.” He chuckles, “I can even convert people into Dhapire's if I bite them under a full moon. Though I've never done that and have no plans to do so.”

He didn't mention how converting someone in such a manner made them his... servants? Was that the right word? Maybe thralls? Well whatever the terminology, he basically became their boss. It was why he wasn't sweating the harem mission he had. A hundred years to get a hundred harem members? He'd just need to bite a hundred chicks and boom! Mission accomplished. The mission didn't say jack shit about love!

His plan was to bite a hundred women after about fifty years around here over the course of a couple years. Provided he needed that many. After biting them he'd declare them a part of his harem and let them go about their lives like normal. It was a perfect plan!

“D-do you have to... drink blood?”

Asia's question pulls him out of his thoughts, “Have to? No. I can, if I want to, but I never have. From what I know, if I drink blood from people I can become stronger. Though that only works if it's people with power themselves.” He taps his chin in though, “I have to admit. I have been curious about what drinking blood is like. It's just too much effort to find out though so I've never done it.” he shrugs, “You don't have to worry about me being after your blood.”

Asia looks a little uncomfortable, but musters up enough courage to say, “Then... I think I'd like to stay with you. Just until I can figure out what to do next.”

Solomon nods while giving her an encouraging smile, “Sure. You picked a good time to move in, I was just off to find myself some new furniture anyway. Before we get to that though, lunch!”

He flagged down the waitress and placed his order and helped Asia place her own. As they ate, he studied her for a bit. He felt bad for her, she was a good kid and she got dealt a shitty hand in life. He had the means to help her out, so that was exactly what he was going to do.

Oh, and he was going to murder the fuck out of that slime Diodora the moment the sick bastard showed his face. He smiled a little, he was also willing to bet he could get Serafall to take more time off his sentence once she realized the shit that little puke was up to. Kidnapping and torturing holy maidens could easily lead to the war reigniting, after all.

Yeah, that sounded like a wonderful plan to him!

-----Line Break-----

Only 9.9k words, but this was a perfect place to stop.

Anyway! Some stuff happened, some ideas got thrown around. I plan to go a different route with Solomon's use of Sword Birth versus my other rendition of it. There's also story progress! And things will be slightly different than canon come next chapter.

Finally, big thanks to Eshandist for the suggested story title. As soon as I saw it, I thought it was perfect. To everyone else, I loved your suggestions as well! I seriously considered them all.

Anyways, prepare for a surprise in the next chapter!