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50% Devil Overlord - Overlord x DxD / Chapter 69: Chapter 69: Run from your responsibilities

Chapter 69: Chapter 69: Run from your responsibilities

"So… I thought this would be a good way of working on our teamwork, friendship and so forth." Momonga tried to open up a conversation after finishing his more-than-little awkward breakfast, followed by a swift dodge of responsibilities, and finally procrastination in the form of an inter-Peerage conference roughly an hour after realizing Momonga (might) become a father.

Since Rossweisse was blackout drunk, or seemed to be blackout drunk after drinking one glass of red wine, Momonga could tell Lady Phenix that Rossweisse needed to clear her head, and the blonde woman had merely nodded her head while giving Momonga a flat, inquisitive glare.

He had then told the blonde woman that he'd have Rossweisse as a ward of Phenix house, if Lord Phenix agreed, so that she'd have a home in Phenix family, which would ensure that she wouldn't be thrown out into the streets and her presumed pregnancy would take its course without problems. Lady Phenix had then merely nodded, seemingly uncaring for Rossweisse's fate, and Momonga had sweatdropped as he had gotten a feeling that he was missing something crucial.

Afterwards Momonga had noted that Ravel wished to transfer herself to Momonga's Peerage, so he had taken her as a Pawn, and Lady Phenix had recovered her Bishop Piece. That little exchange had prompted bigger reaction from the woman, as she had gone to whisper something to Ravel's ear, who had responded by hugging her mother and then, to both Lady Phenix's and Momonga's shock, had leaned in to kiss the blonde woman on the lips and then muttering something to Lady Phenix's ear that caused the woman's shock to turn to a slight blush and shell-shocked stare aimed at her daughter.

The rest of the breakfast had become incredibly awkward after that.

'I hope I did the right thing… Lady Phenix didn't seem all too concerned with Rossweisse's fate, but still it'd give her a bad impression of my capabilities as a father if I appeared too cold or distant. Ravel's transfer seemed to worry her a bit, but between her losing her status as the lady of the house, her on-paper status as my mistress, and Ravel's agreement to the transfer, I don't think she had other options than to accept the transfer…' Momonga shook the thoughts off his head and focused on the conference and on his Peerage. 'Good thing I used those scrolls to obscure my [Message] to the Elder Lich… that situation could have gone much, much worse if Lady Phenix learned of my little chat with it. I think I should be able to trust her word that she didn't hear anything, since I doubt she could keep a straight face if she did learn what I said, and even then the scrolls should have prevented her spying… Not to mention that my new-found bond with Ravel would, well, unravel if I went after her mother too harshly…'

The blonde-haired girl in question was humming happily while sitting flank-to-flank beside Momonga… and the questionable words she included in her humming caused some of Momonga's Peerage members to sneak glances at the girl, some with blush and some with blank stares.

Sona had requested the chance to talk to her Peerage and Momonga had agreed, and added a note that she didn't need to request his permission for every single thing- after all, it'd be good if his fiancees were subservient, but on the other hand excessive subservience would just get in the way. On one end of the spectrum was his Summons who could take far, far too many creative freedoms with his orders, and on the other was Sona who in turn asked for his permission before eating a slice of bread… which did make Momonga a bit unhappy. Or at least the part of him that was Suzuki Satoru.

Sona seemed to be quite troubled by the freedom Momonga had 'given' her, but after paling, shaking, and a bit of dreading she had departed to join her Peerage, who in turn had received temporary lodgings in the Phenix castle-mansion as it had quite few quarters specifically built to accommodate full Peerages.

"Ahem… I believe that we should work on our team tactics and so forth. We haven't had the chance to fight together, after all. And with the possibility of a war on the horizon, we should probably consider training as we might get dragged into it." Momonga coughed to his fist as he addressed his entire Peerage that had gathered around a table in one of the many mingling rooms of the Phenix castle-estate, with this particular one having a spectacular view of the lake nearby- and the [Dominion Authority] that floated above the lake like some sort of biblical object of questionable verifiability. "Any objections?"

"Whee…." Gasper wobbled on the spot as the [Weaken] Momonga had re-applied on the petite 'girl' caused him to act in a drunken manner. "Can I…. kish Momon-shaan insteahd?"

"Ahem, umu…" Momonga coughed again, this time with his cheeks bright red. Yubelluna and Xuelan seemed quite amused by the reaction. "I, ahem, think that training should take precedence over that…"

"Awh, here I was looking forward to Momon's BL yaoi action…" Xuelan made an indecent gesture, or rather a gesture that was quite indecent considering the circumstances as she was pushing her forefingers together and then waggling them around a bit.

Rias blushed and gave Momonga a sneaky glance.

"K-khah, ahem." Momonga moved his eyes to his other Peerage members. "Yuuto?"

The blonde boy seemed to snap out of his stupor. "Y-yes, Momon-san?"

"You seem to be in a daze. Is everything alright?"

"I was just- contemplating our respective differences in power, Momon-san." Yuuto bowed his head a bit. "I thank you for going easy on me during our duel. When did you get so strong?"

"Don't worry about it." Momonga handwaved. "I'm just starting to remember a lot of… weird things. The amount of things that are coming to me is escalating constantly, and recently I… hm, acquired [Boosted Gear]. In fact, I had it in me all along but… just forgot I had it."

He brought up the gauntlet which had a sickly yellowish colouration as it materialized into being. "Ahem, please ignore the colour. I had to make some adjustments to camouflage its use during the Rating Game. Moreover I'd prefer if the knowledge that I had [Boosted Gear] didn't spread."

"Ah!" Rias seemed to make the connection. "Was that related to that crazy armor you had at the end of your duel against Serafall?"

"Yes. It is the [Scale Mail] form of the [Boosted Gear]." Momonga nodded. "You know about it?"

"It's been documented that [Boosted Gear] had such an ability, yes… albeit, it was described as a red-and-green thick plate-armor that had semblance to a dragon." Rias noted. "Not… um, whatever that was…"

"Yes, I created a set of yellow armor and matching 'suit' with [Power of Imagination] and then had Ddraig eat it." Momonga lied fluently. '[Power of Imagination] is such a convenient crutch… A generic do-all ability that is tied to a Devil's ability to influence reality through their power and shaped with their imagination can be leveraged to explain so many things. I should probably look into replicating that, even if it's a racial ability tied to being a [Devil]. But since the Elder Lich managed to extract abilities from a Phenix Devil… I should be able to do so as well. Or have it make another Scroll for me. I'll just have to pick a young, inexperienced Devil for it, so I won't accidentally brain-wipe myself like I almost did with Lord Phenix…'

"Momon?" Rias snapped her fingers. "Is everything alright? You're dozing off a lot recently… Are you having issues with the Destroyer-mode?"

"Ahem… no, I'm just… umu. Kind of." Momonga made a hasty comment using the offered excuse. "The memories that are coming back to me are quite… distracting."

Yubelluna and Xuelan glanced at each other, and Momonga fidgeted on the spot a bit from the look the two women sent at him. 'It's like they're looking at a slice of lean meat…'

"Ahem, ahem… A-anyway, about training…" Momonga moved on before either of the women could start getting ideas. He waved his hand towards the window which showed Dominion Authority in the distance. "I was thinking of asking that one to act as a training dummy, and we could see how our team synergies work. That thing's fairly sturdy, I think…"

"If the Lord says so." Xenovia noted from the side, causing Momonga to blush a bit as the blue-haired girl was staring at him unflinchingly, and the look was a combination of a soldier looking at a commander and a worshipper looking at one's god, and both made him intensely uncomfortable. Irina wasn't much better, albeit she looked a bit confused and a bit resigned in addition to mimicking Xenovia's look.

"I-I think violence isn't good… b-but if war is coming, then w-we should be ready…" Asia looked ill from the mere thought of it, but she soldiered on. "Awuh… I don't want to think about it… Why can't we all get along..."

Koneko pat Asia's head, albeit the petite white-haired girl was looking extremely troubled herself. She then sent an inquisitive glance at Momonga. "...Not-Hentai hentai. Are you going to force me to… use that?"

"I think it'd be best if we tried to get our hidden potentials to light, and get them sorted out so they won't cause surprises nor hold us back in actual battle." Momonga answered as diplomatically as Koneko had asked. 'Hm… Senjutsu sounded quite impressive from the brief description Koneko gave me, back in the Human World… It'll be interesting to see her-'

"Practise what you preach…" Rias grumbled under her breath.

"No. Refused. No way." Koneko didn't agree with Momonga's words. "I w-wont…"

Ravel was chuckling in response to the white-haired girl's words and Koneko's resolve seemed to flicker from the dark tone of the girl's voice. Which wasn't helped by Ravel's choice to dress in black-and-yellow gothic lolita-style dress and thigh-high stockings that, in combination, proudly displayed the girl's chuuni side. Not to mention her dramatic gestures and dark chuckling. "Ahehe… Koneko-chan~ are you sure you want to do that~? Perhaps Momon-kun has a plan for you too? Hehe… or perhaps..."

Rias whacked Ravel over the back of her head. "Behave."

"Hehe… Of course..." Ravel's continued chuckling caused beads of sweat to fall down Rias's neck.

"Ahem, anyway." Momonga was starting to feel his fleshy body's throat go dry from the excessive coughing. "Gasper-kun? How do you feel about using your powers?"

"Iiiiiii'm goooood… moshi- moshi- tentacle-kuuuuun…" Gasper's words didn't inspire confidence. "Heyyy… that's not proper… Uwaah, Momon-samaaa likes big booooobs… I wanna have big boooooooobs..."

"Ara?" Akeno blinked as Gasper started petting the busty girl's breasts. "Ufufu… Bold, Gasper-kun."

"Dis… is a good boob. Want the same…" Gasper then patted 'her' own flat chest in a depressed way- and then 'her' expression brightened. "And then… he'll... ehehe…"

"Ahem, ahem…" Momonga reached for a glass of water, poured the liquid down his throat, and attempted to desperately re-rail the severely derailed training-and-strategy conference. "A-anyway, I figured that we could erm… talk about battlefield roles… So, I'd prefer to perform the role of a close-range caster, but can fight in melee if chips are down and we're out of options. Objections?"

'Since I can't really use necromancy and etcetera without blowing my cover I wouldn't be very effective as a hybrid support-type, like I was back in YGGDRASIL, but with [Boosted Gear] I should be able to push my generic skills to the point that they can be used as substitute for an actual build…' Momonga thought about the situation. 'Ideally I'd stay as a support, but that probably wouldn't help me garner trust and respect, since leading from the front gives a vastly different impact than leading from the back… specifically if I don't have a good excuse to stay back.'

"Kings usually don't fight, and only come to the field when all other options are exhausted and their Peerages are defeated." Rias noted from the side. "Since King being defeated usually ends the Rating Game with the defeated King as loser."

"There are no such rules on the battlefield." Momonga handwaved. "Holding one's strongest fighter in reserve while my beloved Peerage goes and dies in droves is not something I'm willing to do. Not to mention it's inefficient use of our combat potential." 'It's not, since the weaklings won't be able to fight the final battle, and by sending them first they'll help exhaust the strong enemy fighter's cooldowns and mana, but saying so won't help me garner trust and respect…' "Instead, we should move as one, and strike as one. A single fighter is easily defeated, but a group of tightly-knit fighters who can move in unison and cover each other's weaknesses is a far more effective combat unit." '...Which also makes it very vulnerable to area-of-effect abilities, but we can address that once I have secured their loyalty.'

"However, if the King dies then the Peerage are effectively Strays from that point onwards… That's the second way of becoming a Stray, with the other being 'getting kicked off a Peerage for one reason or another'." Rias noted. "It's unfair for the Peerage if the King goes in first. After all, the Kings are high-class devils or nobles so if the Peerage lives but the King dies then it's translated as the Peerage being unable to save their King and keep them from harm, and therefore they are no longer worthy of being Devils…"

"A societal constraint." Momonga nodded. "True, that would be quite the problem, considering that even if the Peerage were to survive the battle they'd be cut down by their allies after the dust settled. Doesn't make it right, though." 'Hm, very good rule. I approve. These Devils aren't fools. That little rule means my Peerage is tied to me by both loyalty, which can potentially be subverted, and also by societal and criminal penalties. So they fight for me not only because they want to, but also because the alternative is to be cast out and executed if I were to die. They've thought this through... '

"So, that being said, I think it would be acceptable if I took a middle-range caster role? That way I'd be out of the immediate harm's way, and able to affect the battlefield from there. Most of my abilities affect targets at range anyhow." Momonga offered. "I hope that this wouldn't be too unfair towards all of you as far as my safety is concerned, but I refuse to sit on my hands while you bleed and die for my sake."

It seemed that the present people took his words positively, at least if Rias's beaming and the general acceptance went.

"Anyway… Yubelluna? You should serve as our long-range support. Your skills revolve around bombs, yes?" Momonga then moved to the next item on the list.

"Quite true." Yubelluna seemed to be wary for some reason. "...Don't call me 'Bomb Queen' though. I gained that nickname earlier, and… ugh. It's so cliche…"

"Would that be 'Bomb Pawn' now?" Xuelan piped up and then let out an 'ow' sound as Yubelluna whacked the girl with the side of her hand on top of the cheeky Rook's head.

"I see… In that case, would 'Winged Pawn of Ranged Strikes' fit you better?" Momonga offered, feeling the nostalgia of the slightly twisted title that had belonged to Peroroncino. 'It's not the same title, so it should be alright… The title of 'Winged King of Ranged Strikes' will always belong to you, my friend…'

"A bit show-off and long… but should be alright." Yubelluna noted.

"Anyway, Yubelluna's role would be to take to the air and bombard the enemy at extreme ranges, splitting their formations and making it easier for the main force to engage the enemy by scattering them beforehand. You're capable of this, yes?" Momonga moved on. "Do you need any equipment that would help you in that task?"

"...I don't think I need anything. But I'm going to run out of energy quickly if I'm doing that." Yubelluna thought for a while. And then smirked at him. "I'm guessing you don't happen to have an energy booster that works to restore devil energy? I'm not powered by lewd-energy so I can't just drink a can of Succubi-juice and be ready to go..."

"I don't think I have any of those. But I'll keep an eye out." Momonga agreed. "Anyway, regarding the rest of you…"

He began detailing the roles he had come up with for the Peerage, based off the abilities they had shown Momonga or told him about, and gave them roles in similar way he had done for Yubelluna, while going through the abilities they had as well as the [Sacred Gears] they possessed:

Yubelluna would scatter the enemies with strong area-of-effect ranged attacks

Xuelan and Koneko would serve as mobile interceptors and tanks who'd seek strong enemies and keep them from interfering with the fight while others moved in and destroyed the scattered enemies in small, fast groups.

Xenovia, Irina and Yuuto would work as the main attacking force that would take out the scattered enemies in rapid three-on-one fights.

Asia's job would be to heal the wounded Peerage members from the back-line, while Rias would heal from the front-like while taking the battlefield-place of any of the heavily wounded Peerage members so they could be retreated to Asia.

Ravel would use her hybrid fire-based ranged and melee abilities to support Rias and guard Asia, while she'd work as a secondary replacement for wounded Peerage members, with Ravel preferably replacing the tanks as her [Regeneration] would make her hard to shift or peel off- and if Asia or Rias were attacked, then Ravel could tie down the attacker for a long time before they'd be able to get through to the healers.

And finally, Akeno and Momonga would serve as mid-range ranged support-and-attack, who would help any of the groups who'd face troubles dispatching or holding their foes.

Gasper would serve as a wildcard who could, assuming what Momonga heard from the fight in the swamp was correct, transform himself into a raid boss and serve as a heavy vanguard or a crowd-control tank, thanks to his time-stopping ability. Assuming he'd become stable enough to control both roles. And, if things got hairy, Gasper could also direct [Negative Energy] at Momonga to heal his true self, albeit he didn't mention the last part to the Peerage.

"...And that's about it. Questions?" Momonga finalized his theory for the 'roles' of the Peerage. 'It should make a fairly capable raiding party… I'd prefer to have at least one shield-tank that can be relied on to not bend or break, but this'll do… Our ranged presence is likewise fairly meager, since Yubelluna isn't going to deal much damage and is more focused on disorienting the enemy. I can summon Angels or other not-undead allies to fill out other roles if needed, so that should help on that front too… I'll just have to be a bit careful who and when I do that since summons seem to become sentient here… It'd be bad if the summon got into contact with my Peerage before I establish some ground rules on what they can and can't say...'

"Um, no, I guess…" Rias glanced around the table and none of the Peerage members seemed to have objections. "Still, that kind of formation only works if we know where the enemies are…"

Momonga put his hand to the side and the Crow created by [Lead of Yatagarasu] flew in through the slightly opened window and landed on his forearm. "This one can find them. And even if it can't, I can open sightlines through bombardment, as can Yubelluna."

"Um… what if we have to fight in a populated place? Like a city center?" Yuuto asked. "Momon-san, surely you're not planning on doing, ahem, what you did in the Rating Game-Kuoh to the real Kuoh if we were to fight there? Indiscriminate bombing of an inhabited place seems… quite harsh and frankly, insane."

"There is always collateral damage in a war." Momonga handwaved, remembering the wars he had read about back in Neo-Japan, which in turn had inspired his creation of his… unique NPC, back in YGGDRASIL.

"That was quite a total war… huh…" Ddraig peered into the thought.

'I should probably look for a bit more humane option for now, though.' Momonga realized his mistake. 'While I don't quite agree with Yuuto, I don't think my point of view is going to get much resonance with him, or Asia, or Xenovia, or… well, most of my Peerage except perhaps Ravel.'

"Well, I suppose we should come up with a new formation or tactics if we fight in a place where we can't cause too much collateral damage. Perhaps see if we can find some additional roles for Yubelluna-san?" Momonga glanced at the violet-haired woman who nodded.

"I should be able to use sealing magic and impair the enemy's movements." The woman nodded. "But, I don't really have a way of dealing damage that wouldn't also cause collateral damage…"

"Aww… cheer up!" Xuelan reached to fondle Yubelluna's boobs, causing the violet-haired woman to perk up. "Hehe, that's better. So, are we going to be just sitting on our butts or are we going to do something? I'm down for whatever~"

"Training it is… I suppose we should try our tactics out in practise. Since Rating Games are suspended for now my idea of having Sona's Peerage clash with mine doesn't exactly work, but I think the Dominion Authority should work as a target." Momonga sighed. "The auto-retirement feature of the Rating Games would make it easy to train without accidentally causing fatalities…"

"Ahahaa, but what's the matter with that?" Ravel asked happily while reaching to stroke Momonga's cheek while leaning harder against him. "You can just resurrect us, like you did with Sona and dad, right? So, what's the problem of having us fight to the death for your amusement, hearing our cries of fear and pain, and then bringing us back once the dust settles… hehehe…"

"Hm, that is an idea, I suppose." Momonga had thought about the possibility but had been quite apprehensive towards suggesting it himself- It wasn't hard to guess how it'd end, considering how negatively Yubelluna and Akeno's death and subsequent resurrection-by-Piece had impacted his Peerage's opinion of him. "I… guess that could work? After all, even if I were to die, then the Dominion Authority could resurrect all of us." 'I imagine that my summons probably won't disintegrate if I die, since it looks like they become entirely self-sufficient sentient creatures once summoned, but I'm not keen on testing that theory… But I think it's a good idea to mention the possibility of resurrection even if I'm not around, so they can train with their minds at ease.'

He thought about the possibility of having the two Peerages train versus one another in a not-Rating Game environment. 'I don't think Sona's Peerage has anyone capable of fighting me on even grounds and since I've recovered my Mana and Health from the fight against Serafall, I should be able to at least flee if Sona's Peerage has someone capable of hard-countering me… But confidence is a poor substitute for solid information, so I should be a bit careful anyway. Not to mention… honestly, I'm just procrastinating over what I should do with Rossweisse… '

Momonga sighed as the thought came to mind. 'Since she was just tossed on me, should I ask her to become one of my Peerage members? As a Devil she'd be forced to stick with me due to the Stray rule… Dying and getting resurrected as a Devil should clear her of any tags Odin might have bugged her with, but… that might also kill the child. Damn. He's thought a lot about this… I'll need to think about this while the Peerages train with each other.'

"Would you all be alright undertaking a training of that sort? I'll be able to have all of you resurrected, if you perish. But of course we'd train with the idea that once we are too badly hurt we'd withdraw voluntarily, but if a fatality occurs then we can resurrect the dead." Momonga told the more-or-less shocked Devils that were present.

"T-that… sounds uh…" Xuelan's earlier cheerfulness seemed to wane a bit. Possibly because of the words Ravel had used when she forwarded the idea. "Well, I guess it's nice to have a safety backup like that. Uh… y-you won't use that like Ravel said, right, Momon-kun?"

"Not to worry. It's just for safety in case something unfortunate happens. After all, Rating Games are much the same- it's just that they teleport wounded away." Momonga handwaved. "It's more or less the same, but instead of teleporting away I'll just have you resurrected. Pieces should return to me, so that shouldn't pose a problem."

"What about [Sacred Gears]?" Rias asked. "They go to a new owner upon death… None of the people you've resurrected so far with Pieces had [Sacred Gear]... They're very rare, and only manifest to humans…"

'Hm, good point… Although, I wonder if I could loot them? Do they just drop off?'Momonga considered the possibilities. 'My Peerage all have quite useful Sacred Gears, so it's not like I should try that theory with them… however… Did that boy, Saji, mention that he had a [Sacred Gear]? I should ask him what happened… I had him resurrected after all.'

"Technically [Sacred Gears] are tied to one's soul, and when the soul is removed from a body for extended period of time the [Sacred Gear] starts to become loose and eventually splits off to find a new soul." Ddraig told him. "Being deprived of body shouldn't immediately detach one's [Sacred Gear] from their soul. And that's also why removing a [Sacred Gear] kills the wielder- It's lodged so deeply with one's soul that removing it breaks the bond between one's soul and body as well as the bond between one's soul and the Gear."

'Ah, good… Can you tell the rest of my Peerage that?' He nodded and lifted the Gear so Ddraig's voice echoed from it and explained the mechanic to the slightly shocked Devils. "Alright. I'll go see Saji, that guy who interrupted my engagement ceremony yesterday, since I had him resurrected after he died and he had a [Sacred Gear], so if he has his gear still then Ddraig's theory is confirmed. So, are you in for some Peerage-on-Peerage training?"

A round of nods, some more half-hearted than others came in response to his words. 'Good… Now, I should probably talk to Sona and her Peerage… and find Saji.'

.

.

Sona wobbled over to Tsubaki, her Queen, and hugged her with a death-grip that caused the tall and long black-haired girl's breath to leave her lungs.

Sona's Peerage was safe, for the most part, and had been waiting for her in a living room-like space in the Peerage's quarters that had individual rooms for a total of fifteen people and shared communal quarters, all decorated with and to Phenix's theme and colours which made them a bit gaudy. However, that was of little import to Sona right now.

"Sona-chan… shh… It's all going to be alright… don't worry…" Tsubaki whispered to Sona's ear while hugging back. Sona's distress that was clear for anyone with eyes to see as the normally prim-and-proper girl was acting overly emotionally, and Tsubaki adjusted her own behaviour accordingly- after all, the girl had always sent sideways glances to Rias and Akeno's tight relationship and tried to model her own behaviour after that. It had a rough start as Sona hadn't appreciated Tsubaki's attempts, but in the end she became more or less inseparable shadow to her.

Sona could only tighten her hug and try her best to resist bursting into tears as the rest of her Peerage gathered around her in a group hug, completely breaking the distant and perhaps even coldly professional air they had strived to keep before. "Ah… Y-you guys… thank you…"

"Mhm. Now… talk to me. What happened? What do you need us to do?" Tsubaki asked as the Peerage withdrew a bit. "Hehe… and afterwards, we have a surprise for you."

"Please… don't do anything. Just… be here. For me." Sona hiccupped to Tsubaki's shoulder, no longer capable of holding her tears back. "Please don't try to do anything else… H-he, he'll do something to me, no, to us if he finds out that you're… that you're… planning something… Just… stay here. So I can come back to something..."

She paused to sneeze as Tsubaki offered her a napkin.

"Uwah… that bad?" Tomoe, her Knight, seemed distraught over Sona's state as she backed up to sit in front of the living room's table, giving Sona some breathing space. "Issei-san was a huge pervert… And there's a group of people who seem to consider Momon-sama to be their saviour… W-was that a lie?"

Sona's breath caught as she spotted a white plushie with wings on the table of the communal living room. 'T-that… that's the plushie that was sold as merchandise in the Rating Game… 'Dominion Authority'- a name of His coming oppression… D-don't tell me, The Supreme Being, masquerading as Momon, masquerading as Issei, is trying to seduce my Peerage to his power, to his point of view?'

She considered the plushie's presence to be just coincidence, or perhaps some of the sycophants of Phenix had forgotten their toy, but dismissed both. 'He… he has a plan. Must be. This is no mere coincidence.'

"Sona-chaaan…" Tsubaki was patting Sona's cheek to shake her out of her stupor. "You're frozen stiff… what happened?"

"Th-tha… ahem… nothing." Sona reigned herself in with visible effort. "I'm just… in a bad place right now."

"We're here for you." Tsubaki hugged her once more. "Aaaand… someone else is here for you too!"

Sona's breath halted in her throat. "N-no… you didn't…"

Tsubaki moved out of the way to show Saji, who had walked out of a room with a cane under his remaining arm.

The boy had bandages all over his face and was limping to one side. "Sona-buchou!"

"S-Saji…" Sona got out of her throat, feeling her hands going cold as ice from the dread settling in her stomach. 'Is… is this… is this what He meant when he told me that I should act more independently? That I shouldn't ask His permission for every little thing? I-is… is this my 'reward' for being a 'good girl' last night?!'

She hiccupped, feeling a cold dread of indecision tearing her apart as she wobbled on the spot while the four Pawns she still held in her pocket felt like they'd burn a hole in the fabric.

Sona knew it was a gamble. A huge gamble. Saji was kind of an idiot, but he was a heroic idiot. Perhaps not someone Sona would find herself falling love with, but… the least she could do for him, after what he had done for her, was to return him to where he belonged.

To her Peerage.

'...I'm going to pay for this. He… He must have intended this to be a test. To see if I would betray him, or… something.' Sona's heart hardened and she gained a glint of defiance in her glare. "Saji… would you like to re-join my Peerage?"

"I'd love that, Sona-buchou." Saji had a goofy smile as he glanced at his missing arm. "If you would have me. I'm a cripple, after all… but if you still want me, then I'm yours as long as you want me. Besides, I don't think I'd last for another day as a Stray… Lord Phenix's hounds chased me for the entirety of last night, and I only managed to get away because Momo over there tossed a latrine over my head and Tomoe tossed a big deer carcass in the dog's path… It was a close call. Just got out of the shower, actually."

Sona let out a sound that was between a groan, a chuckle, and a hiccup as she moved closer to the boy and put the four Pawns against his chest, and they were absorbed into his body. "Ahh… that feels good. It's good to be back, Sona-buchou… and listen. I'm sorry about this."

"It's alright, I forgi- mhg?" Sona's eyes widened as her words, which she had intended to address Saji's reckless interruption of the engagement ceremony, turned into muffle as Saji leaned down and kissed her on the lips.

"Sorry… I kind of wanted to give you a happy kiss, because I can guess what Momon did- ow!" Saji was rubbing the back of his head in a guilty manner but a lightning-fast slap from Sona brough the motion to an end.

'No- No! No, no, nonononono….' Sona felt her stomach drop from its normal place to her ankles as the cold dread flooded in her body and she took a few steps back from the boy. "Saji! Y-you- what have you done?! You know what evil you invoke by doing that, why- you fool! Did you think that'd make me happy?!"

It seemed that the rest of Sona's Peerage were as shocked over hasty Saji's action as she was. 'Wait, no, did He plant that idea in his head?'

"S-Saji-san? What- why?" Tsubaki asked while placing herself between Sona and Saji.

"I… I won't apologize for what I did. I love you, Sona-buchou." Saji seemed to find his resolution. "What Momon did to you, what he did to all of us… It was monstrous. And I wish to offer you my love- if you wish to take it. He does not need to know, if you want to have a side-lover… Someone familiar, someone who'd love you as who you are and not as a tool between families, or as a slave for Momon's depraved perversion."

"No- no, nono, this can't be happening, I just… I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I just… Y-you gave me permission! I didn't need to ask you, right?! P-please! PLEASE!" Sona ignored Saji's resolute words utterly as she was busy screamed at the ceiling, feeling her mind unravel from the revelations as she realized the Supreme Being's casual half-note had led her to a trap that she saw coming but entered willingly. 'He knew! He knows! Ravel- Ravel was right, he can see into my mind, read my thoughts... Please! Stop!'

Her body became numb as she heard a mild knock on the door behind her, and the creak of the door opening.

Sona didn't need to turn to see who had entered the room. However, her neck disobeyed her, and turned her head and shoulders so she could glance at the form entering the room like the shadow of death and despair.

Her face was pale and eyes blank, lifeless and dull as she stared at Momon who had entered the room.

"Ah, good. You're still here, Sona-san." Momon mocked her with his mild, official and calm tone that seemed just slightly happy, like a businessman seeing a prospective client. "And that would be… Saji-san, correct? I'm glad to see that you survived and seem to be recovering after last night's… incident. Hm, if you don't mind, Sona-san, I'd like to ask something from Saji, and after that I have a proposition for you… and for your Peerage."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Sona snapped instantly out of her stupor and tossed herself at Momon as the words left his throat, his devilish plan revealing itself to her like a thrown fishnet capturing a prey. "Please! No! Anything but that! I- I'll do what you need, just… I made a mistake! I'm sorry! Please, take it out on me, take me, rape me on the table over there if you want to, in plain view of my Peerage if you want, just- don't touch them! Don't torture them, don't kill them! I beg of you! I consent to everything, just… please…"

Saji charged instantly after hearing Sona's desperate cry, whipping out [Absorbtion Line] and latching onto Momon's arm that had seemingly instinctively risen to pat Sona's head.

The line hit, but unlike last time the power didn't 'draw' from Momon… but rather, was pushed into him.

Sona's eyes widened as she realized Saji had come up with a way of combating Momon's unholy power- Instead of drawing it into himself and destroying himself in the process, Saji tried to push his life into Momon, inverting the previous case and hoping Momon's arm would disintegrate like Saji's had...

"Hm, interesting." Momon noted calmly as he twisted his arm so he grabbed the line and pulled Saji closer, like a fisherman and fish exchanging places… all the while his other hand was patting Sona's head in a reassuring way that sent waves of disgust down Sona's spine. "You're pushing your life, no, your soul to me? Fascinating. But are you sure you want me to consume it? It won't end well for you, Saji."

"D-dammit… S-stop!" Saji groaned as he fell to his knees, his apparent trump card turning on its head the second time. "I won't… let you hurt Sona… She… deserves better…"

"Oh? Don't worry. I won't hurt my dear fiancee." Momon's words were possessive, causing Sona to shiver in fear… After all, there was a clear threat in the words: He wouldn't hurt Sona, but would instead hurt her loved ones. Like he was doing currently. "Hm, indeed, this would be your [Sacred Gear]? Good, in that case [Resurrection] should preserve your [Sacred Gear]s through death…"

Sona paled at the words while Saji fell over, unconscious. Or worse, the boy might have had part of his very soul consumed, if Momon's words were to be believed.

"In that case, I'd like to ask if you were willing to undergo a small training session." Momon directed his words to Sona, who could only shiver like a small trapped animal under the look- And under the threat he leveled against Sona through Saji with his other arm at the same time, which still held to the [Absorption Line]. "You see, I realized that my Peerage and I haven't actually trained together. And since Rating Game dimension seems to be currently out of commission, I was wondering if we, that is my Peerage and myself, could train with you and your Peerage in a mock-Rating Game? We'd of course avoid lethal blows, but if a fatality occurred then I could have the dead resurrected, like you saw me do with Saji and yourself."

"But…" Sona tried to latch onto the issue of safety, but then fell silent as the last part of Momon's speech hit her. 'H-he's… He's planned this from the start… He allowed me a slight freedom to do as I wanted, knowing I'd rebel at first opportunity… and… he planned to punish me all along… I danced to his tune, even while realizing that I was being played…'

Sona felt her head cracking under the stress, drew in a deep, shaky breath, and nodded to Momon. 'I have no other options… what horrors would he unleash upon us if I refused? If I defied him again?'

"It's alright if you don't want to…" Momon apparently saw the despair in Sona's eyes, even if she knew that he had known it all along and was merely pretending he cared, and then he reached to hug Sona reassuringly, but the [Absorption Line] stuck to his arm made it clear that the words were but a cruel display of fake concern. "I meant it when I said that you can make your own decisions… you don't have to adhere to whatever your mother might have told you. I'll protect you and your Peerage if she goes after you because you're not obeying my every command, don't worry. You're safe here, with me. You, and your Peerage both."

Sona wanted to throw up. 'Ha… How cruel jest is that…'

She glanced to the side and her eyes widened in terror as she saw the look on Momo's face- The white-haired girl was looking at Momon like she believed Momon's seemingly reassuring and caring words. And since Sona knew Momo's personality, that of a caring and kind girl, she realized that someone like her would be utterly defenseless to Momon's apparent kindness… which would be the rot that would eventually spread to corrupt Sona's last remaining sanctuary, her Peerage.

Sona cried desperately to Momon's shoulder. 'Please…. Please let it end… End my torment…'

But she knew better than to believe that such cries of despair would be anything other than amusement for the Supreme Being.

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