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The silence in the Occult Research Club became so thick it could almost be cut with one of Kiba's swords. The Gremory and Sitri heiresses had exposed the foundations of their world, revealing the bloody wars, weaknesses, and complex political systems that ruled the immortals. They expected the "Ghost" of Kuoh to respond with an ultimatum, a declaration of sovereignty, or, in the worst case, a death sentence.
Kaiju remained silent for a long minute. He rested his elbow on the back of the titanium sofa and slightly turned his head.
Beside him, Sylvie looked at him with those enormous, devoted, shining eyes, detached from the devils' political terror, focused only on him. Kaiju glanced at her. With a slowness and tenderness that clashed completely with the colossal beasts snorting behind them, he raised one hand and gently caressed the girl's pale cheek. Sylvie closed her eyes and leaned into his touch, seeking his warmth like a sunflower seeking light.
"You know..." Kaiju began, his voice breaking the tension in the room, sounding unusually reflective and melancholic. "I have always loved my humanity."
Rias and Sona blinked, caught off guard by the turn in the conversation.
"In my eyes, we are the perfect creation of our Creator, the Biblical God," continued the scarred young man, removing his hand from Sylvie's face to look at the two devil nobles. "Think about it with combat logic. Humans are the most balanced race on the board. We are not weak to light, nor do we disintegrate when touching a silver cross or holy water, like you devils."
Kiba and Akeno exchanged glances, knowing the boy was right.
"Nor are we as fragile in spirit as angels, who are immune to 'falling' and losing their grace simply for yielding to an instinct, a sin, or an impure desire." Kaiju smiled cynically, remembering the strict celestial doctrines. "And we certainly are not condemned to an existential limbo of bitterness and stagnation like the Fallen Angels, who lack the ability to generate their own miracles and must dedicate themselves to stealing and extracting other people's Sacred Gears to compensate for their broken wings and lack of potential."
Kaiju shrugged, leaning comfortably back against the sofa.
"In terms of stats, humans don't have negative damage multipliers. We don't suffer critical 'x2 damage' against any sacred or profane element. Our soul is a blank canvas with infinite adaptability. We are biologically perfect."
From his corner, Issei puffed out his chest with a faint feeling of human pride, forgetting for a second that he no longer belonged to that club.
But Kaiju's small smile vanished, giving way to a pragmatic sigh, heavy with the weight of an unavoidable reality.
"But..." Kaiju let his arms fall over his knees, looking at his own hands hardened by training. "All that tactical perfection, elemental immunity, and free will are absolutely useless to me if, in the next hundred years, my body is going to become a wrinkled raisin and I'm going to die of old age."
The comment was so suddenly mundane that Koneko stopped chewing her sweet and Tsubaki almost dropped her notebook.
Kaiju turned his face to look at Sylvie, who opened her eyes, surprised by the boy's words. Then his gaze settled on Asia, and finally on Lala and the rest of the Alpha Team.
"I have fought in hell, manipulated space, and destroyed monsters. But my human biology has an expiration date," Kaiju confessed, his tone becoming firm and resolved. "And I refuse to disappear. I would rather live for thousands of years with the people I love. If I'm going to protect my family from this universe's stupidity, I cannot afford the luxury of aging while they still need me."
The teenager straightened, fixing his one healthy eye directly on Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri. The pressure in the room changed. The air became heavy, and the heiresses felt they were about to hear the most outrageous demand of their immortal lives.
"Therefore, I have made a decision based on the data you just provided me," Kaiju announced, with the same coldness with which he would order a sandwich in the cafeteria. "I want to become a devil. Along with Sylvie."
Time in the Occult Research Club seemed to freeze.
No one breathed. No one blinked.
Had the being capable of disintegrating deities with a single thought, the monster who surpassed the power of a Maou and made the entire city tremble, just asked to be reincarnated as a devil servant for the simple, plain benefit of immortality insurance?
"Huh?" was the only intelligent sound that managed to escape Rias Gremory's lips, her jaw elegantly dropping to the height of her cleavage.
Sona Sitri removed her glasses with hands trembling uncontrollably. Her tactical brain had just suffered a blue-screen error.
"Kaiju-san..." Sona stammered, losing every trace of her usual composure. "You... want us to reincarnate you? You? With an Evil Piece?"
"Yes, exactly. Those little chess pieces that grant immortality and a devil's vitality," Kaiju nodded impatiently. "Sylvie and I will join your system. It is the most efficient route to avoid cellular aging."
Issei grabbed his head, completely hysterical. "Are you kidding me, Kaiju?! The guy who scolded me for becoming a devil and offered to give me back my humanity now wants horns and bat wings so he won't wrinkle like a raisin?!"
"Immortality is a tactical requirement, Issei. You wouldn't understand," Kaiju replied with disdain.
Rias exchanged a look of pure terror and astonishment with Sona. Transforming an ordinary human already required a considerable expenditure of energy, and depending on their potential, sometimes demanded the use of multiple pieces, as with Issei's eight Pawns.
But attempting to insert a demonic piece into the spiritual core of a being who housed the power to create dimensions and erase reality... was an experiment that defied the laws of existence.
Rias swallowed, taking a hesitant step toward the titanium sofa.
"Transmuting the soul of a being with your... magnitude of power... I don't think a normal piece could withstand it. The pieces might mutate, or worse, my own peerage system could collapse if your energy rejects the process."
Kaiju raised one hand, stopping the red-haired heiress's technical panic with a bored gesture.
"That is a minor problem, President Gremory," Kaiju replied calmly, looking at his own fingers. "I can suppress my latent power at will. I will seal my divinity and my Ki until my energy signature is reduced to that of a completely ordinary human for the duration of the reincarnation ritual."
The scarred young man lowered his hand and connected his gaze with Rias and Sona.
"In fact, if your chess pieces are too fragile, I will use my own power to alter them at the molecular level before you implant them into us. I will make the Evil Pieces infinitely stronger and more stable than they already are, adapting them so they can withstand our energy without collapsing."
Sona, who was still processing the fact that a human was offering to "improve" ancient demonic artifacts created by Ajuka Beelzebub, adjusted her cracked glasses.
"Assuming that is possible, Kaiju-san... What piece would we have to grant you and Sylvie?"
"For Sylvie, whichever one requires the least effort and simply grants her immortality," Kaiju dictated, pulling the gray-haired girl a little closer to him. "As for me... I will only accept being a Pawn."
Kiba and Akeno blinked in surprise. From the back of the room, Issei released an indignant gasp. The being capable of splitting the sky wanted to be the lowest-ranking piece on the board!
"A Pawn?" Rias repeated, genuinely bewildered. "Kaiju, with your power, if we reincarnated you as a devil, your strategic value would be that of a Queen or even something above that. A Pawn is..."
"A Pawn is the most underestimated piece, but also the most versatile on the entire board," Kaiju interrupted, his voice dripping absolute confidence. "Through Promotion, a Pawn can become a Knight, a Rook, a Bishop, or a Queen depending on the need inside enemy territory. That versatility fits perfectly with the nature of my abilities. I adapt. I evolve. A Pawn is exactly what I want to be."
Kaiju leaned forward. The atmosphere in the Occult Research Club suddenly became dense. The beasts behind him, from Charizard to Tyranitar, released a low growl in sync with their master's seriousness.
"But before either of you celebrates, thinking you have just acquired the best piece in the Underworld, listen carefully to my conditions," Kaiju warned, his single brown eye shining with an icy warning. "First rule, unbreakable and absolute: regardless of the circumstances, the war, or the faction attacking us, Sylvie will never participate in combat. She is off-limits to any conflict. If anyone tries to force her to fight, I will disintegrate them."
Sylvie clung to Kaiju's arm, blushing but looking at him with total devotion, knowing he would always be her absolute shield.
"Second rule," Kaiju continued, directing his gaze straight toward the brown-haired boy. "I will not accept any mundane orders. I'm not going to ride bicycles to deliver magical flyers, nor am I going to make stupid little contracts to grant wishes for bored humans like the idiot in the corner does."
"Hey! It's a dignified and honest job!" Issei complained, feeling deeply attacked, though his voice was completely ignored by everyone in the room.
"I am free. My life is mine, and I manage my own time," Kaiju declared, looking at the two heiresses. "I will not be your personal servant, nor your on-call bodyguard."
Rias frowned, her aristocratic pride clashing with the boy's demands. "If you won't fulfill contracts or obey orders, Kaiju... then what use is it to have you in our peerage? A King needs pieces they can trust."
A dark, cynical, terrifyingly confident smile appeared on Kaiju's face.
"You will want me in your peerage because of the third rule, President," Kaiju whispered, and the sheer density of his killing intent made the room's windows tremble. "I am a free spirit... unless my 'King' is about to fall. If the day comes when you face an enemy that surpasses you; if you are ever cornered, with no way out, begging for a miracle... call me. If you truly need help, and only in that extreme case, I will intervene. And if the situation requires it, I will destroy an entire continent with my own hands to ensure your victory."
The silence that followed that declaration was sepulchral. Kiba tightened his grip on his sword. Sona swallowed, her analytical mind trying to measure the weight of those words.
Kaiju leaned back again on the titanium sofa, extending his arms with total relaxation.
"Basically, Rias, Sona... I am handing you a hydrogen bomb with infinite yield, along with the activation button to use it in case of emergency," concluded the reincarnated God, looking at them with an open, bright challenge in his scarred eye. "The question is... which of the two Kings has enough courage to put that bomb on her board?"
The weight of Kaiju's offer crushed every other consideration in the room. A hydrogen bomb with an unbreakable safety lock. A power capable of eradicating any threat to the Underworld, in exchange for a peaceful school life and the simple status of Pawn.
Rias Gremory was the first to step forward. Her pride as heiress of House Gremory and her tactical ambition screamed that she could not let such power escape. If she managed to integrate Kaiju Hano into her board, her peerage would become invincible.
Rias opened her mouth to accept the deal, but suddenly, her face paled. She stopped dead, biting her lower lip with such intense frustration that she almost made herself bleed.
"Buchou?" Issei asked, noticing the sudden change in his mistress.
Rias closed her eyes and released a sigh loaded with pure and bitter defeat.
"I can't..." murmured the redhead, clenching her fists at her sides until her knuckles cracked. "I cannot accept your deal, Kaiju. Because of one simple and absolute logistical miscalculation."
Kaiju raised an eyebrow without moving from the sofa. "Excuse me?"
"You asked to be a Pawn," Rias explained, looking at him with a mixture of helplessness and disappointment. "In the Evil Pieces system, a King possesses eight Pawns. But the value of a reincarnated soul determines how many pieces are consumed in the process. When I reincarnated Issei after Raynare's attack... his Sacred Gear demanded an extremely high cost to sustain his new life."
Rias pointed at the brown-haired boy, who blinked in confusion.
"Issei consumed all eight of my Pawn pieces in one blow. My reserve is empty. I have my Queen, my Knight, my Rook, and a Bishop... but I have no Pawns to offer you and Sylvie."
Issei pointed at himself, his jaw on the floor. "Huh?! I'm worth eight people?! I'm incredible!"
"You spent your entire infantry line on a pervert who cries if he can't see a bra. Terrible resource management, Gremory," Kaiju commented with such cold sarcasm that Issei shrank in place, while the Charizard behind him released a small smoky laugh that sounded like thunder.
The room's attention then turned to the other heiress.
Sona Sitri stepped forward. The full moonlight entering through the old building's windows reflected on the lenses of her glasses. Unlike Rias, Sona did not operate through instinct or passion; she operated through pure, glacial logic. She had analyzed the cost-benefit of housing a monster of that caliber in her territory.
"My Pawn, Genshirou Saji, consumed four of my pieces due to his own Sacred Gear," Sona reported, her voice ringing with flawless cerebral authority. "I have exactly four Pawn pieces available. Enough to reincarnate both of you."
Kaiju turned his face toward the heiress of Clan Sitri. "Then, do you have the courage to press the button, Sona? Do you accept my terms? No mundane jobs. No combat for Sylvie. I will only act if the water reaches your neck and your King is about to fall."
Sona held the scarred boy's gaze. She knew she was making a pact with an entity she could not control, a being who would not render her obedience. But she also knew the supernatural world was about to enter an era of chaos, and having absolute destruction on her side was an advantage no strategist would let pass.
"A good King must know when to shelter a monster to protect her kingdom," Sona declared, extending her right hand toward him. "I accept your conditions, Kaiju Hano. You will be my Pawn, but you will keep your total independence."
A sharp smile appeared on Kaiju's face. He rose from the titanium sofa, gently taking Sylvie's hand so she could stand beside him.
"We have a deal."
Sona nodded toward Tsubaki, who immediately materialized a small dark velvet case. When opened, two identical chess pieces, carved from a dark and glossy material that emanated deep demonic energy, rested inside. Two Pawns.
"The process can be painful, especially if the body resists demonic energy," Sona warned, taking one of the pieces. "Sylvie-san will go first. Kaiju, as promised, I need you to stabilize the piece so it doesn't shatter upon contact with you."
Kaiju nodded. He stood before Sylvie and gave her a reassuring look. The gray-haired girl nodded firmly, trusting him blindly.
The teenager moved his hand toward the piece Sona was holding. In that instant, the iris of his healthy eye mutated. First it shone with immaculate White, Absolute Transmutation, and a second later, it intertwined with a Pale Silver tone, Lunar Enchantment.
The Pawn piece in Sona's hand began to vibrate. The demonic energy inside it was not erased, but purified, condensed, and reinforced at a molecular level. The material of the piece became so hard and stable that it could have withstood a meteor impact without suffering a scratch. Kaiju had altered Ajuka Beelzebub's artifact, turning it into an unbreakable vessel.
Sona brought the improved piece to Sylvie's chest. With a soft demonic chant, the piece sank into the girl's body as if into water. A faint crimson glow enveloped her for a second before fading. Sylvie released a small sigh, blinking as she felt the new vitality and immortal energy stabilizing in her bloodstream. There was no pain.
"It was a success. Her assimilation was perfect," Sona reported, clearly relieved. She took the second piece, the last one she had, and looked at Kaiju. "Now it is your turn. You must suppress your power. If your divinity collides with my reincarnation magic, this will be a disaster."
Kaiju closed his eye. He breathed deeply, isolating his mind from the environment.
Before the astonished gaze of both peerages, the terrifying ocean of power dwelling inside the boy began to withdraw. His overwhelming physical Ki, the celestial energy of his eyes, and the spatial pressure that had kept the Alpha Team materialized sealed themselves behind an impenetrable mental vault.
In a matter of seconds, Kaiju's energy signature disappeared completely from the supernatural radar. He was no longer a God. In that precise instant, his body and soul emitted only the signature of an ordinary human, fragile and defenseless.
Sona did not waste time. She held the second piece, which Kaiju had already reinforced with his lunar magic, and pressed it against the teenager's chest.
"In the name of Sona Sitri, I command you... be reborn as my servant. Be my sword, be my shield, be my Pawn."
The dark piece sank into Kaiju's flesh. A violent gust of wind swept through the club room as the demonic artifact anchored itself to his human soul. The boy's body tensed, the veins in his neck stood out, and an intense crimson glow flashed in his single eye before quickly fading.
Kaiju exhaled a mouthful of hot air, opening his eyes. The process was over. Officially, his biology had stopped its clock. He had just acquired demonic immortality for himself and the girl he loved.
Sona Sitri took one step back, feeling an icy chill run down her spine. Through the master-servant bond she had just forged, she was able to peek for one thousandth of a second into the interior of her new Pawn's soul. What she saw was not a spark of power or hidden talent; it was a black, infinite abyss, infested with sleeping titans and cosmic energies that threatened to devour the universe if unleashed.
Sona knew, with absolute certainty, that the "hydrogen bomb" had now been installed on her board.
Kaiju rolled his shoulders, making his joints crack with a dry sound that echoed through the tense silence of the room.
The master-servant bond had been successfully established, but the sensation of demonic energy circulating through his veins felt strange, like wearing a suit in the wrong size. He let out a long, heavy sigh.
"Good. We have the life insurance policy now," Kaiju murmured to himself. "Now, let's adjust this."
Without warning, the mental vault that held his overwhelming power contained opened all at once.
Rias, Sona, and the rest of the devils felt gravity in the room multiply by ten. The immense and suffocating ocean of power Kaiju had hidden returned to flood the physical space. However, this time something was different. Upon releasing his Ki and latent divinity, the energy violently collided with the new demonic essence implanted in his soul.
The Pawn pieces, which Kaiju had previously reinforced with lunar magic, did not break under the absurd pressure. Instead, they were forced to mutate. Kaiju's aura flashed dark and silver simultaneously, altering the very structure of Ajuka Beelzebub's artifact so it could endure being the vessel of a God. Sona felt a sharp sting in her spiritual board; the link binding her to her new Pawn had become so massive that she, being the King, felt like a mere satellite orbiting a supermassive sun.
Kaiju raised one hand, observing how the faint crimson mist of his new demonic nature mixed with his own power. Then he lowered his hand and calmly walked toward Asia.
The little nun flinched, looking at him with her large green eyes.
"Asia, lend me your cross for a second," Kaiju asked in a casual tone, extending his palm.
Asia, obedient as always, removed the silver crucifix hanging from her neck and handed it to him.
Akeno, Kiba, and Tsubaki held their breath. Issei's eyes widened. Kaiju had just become a devil! Touching a sacred object forged from pure blessed silver, especially one belonging to a devoted member of the Church, should have caused his flesh to sizzle and melt down to the bone.
Kaiju closed his fist around the crucifix.
There was no smoke. No smell of burned flesh. Not a single trace of pain appeared on the teenager's lazy expression.
"H-How...?" Sona stammered, her analytical eyes unable to process the heresy she was witnessing. "You were just reborn as a devil. Light should incinerate you."
"You have the biological weakness of devils because that is your base nature," Kaiju explained, opening his hand to show the intact crucifix resting on his skin without a single burn. "My base nature remains intact. I retain the weaknesses of my original species: none. Light does not burn me, I do not fear holy water, and crosses are just metal ornaments to me. The rules of your chess apply to your world, Sona. Not mine."
Without giving them time to assimilate the fact that they had just integrated a devil completely immune to holy magic, Kaiju turned toward Sylvie.
The gray-haired girl looked at him with a soft smile, feeling the new vitality pulsing inside her. Kaiju approached her, raised his hand, and gently placed his index and middle fingers on the young woman's forehead.
"Lunar Mark."
A flash of Pale Silver light illuminated Sylvie's forehead for an instant, leaving the subtle silhouette of a waning moon engraved on her skin before becoming invisible.
What happened next made Rias Gremory take a step back out of pure survival instinct.
Sylvie's base demonic power, corresponding to that of a newly reincarnated Pawn with no combat experience, shot up exponentially. The energy around her swirled, dense, pure, and overwhelming. In a matter of three seconds, the magical presence of the fragile gray-haired girl had suddenly escalated until it matched the auras of Rias and Sona. She had just reached High-Class Devil level with a simple touch.
Kaiju lowered his hand, satisfied with the result of his enchantment. He handed the silver crucifix to Sylvie.
The girl took it in her hands. Like her beloved, her demonic skin did not suffer the slightest burn. The Lunar Mark had not only catapulted her energy reserves to the peak of nobility, but had also wrapped her in the same mantle of absolute immunity Kaiju possessed.
Sona Sitri and Rias Gremory watched the scene with fascinated terror. In less than five minutes, the "Ghost" of Kuoh had altered immortal artifacts, ignored the biological laws established by God and the Maous, and created a High-Class Devil immune to light operating under the disguise of a simple Pawn.
Kaiju Hano had not joined their system to play chess. He had entered the board only to kick it over and take ownership of the pieces.