I think that I now know how it was to feel like a proud obnoxious parent, as if your child's every action was equal, no, superior to the stars mingling in the sky. The annoyance I had felt when Gasper interrupted us vanished when Gasper showed me something.

 

Shadows moved in unnatural ways, in ways that almost seemed non-Euclidean. The shadows had covered the whole room. Only the fact I was a devil made me able to peer through the darkness my room had been plunged in.

 

The scriptures said that before light, there was darkness. I knew due to being reincarnated that in this world, those gospels were more than mere words. They were a reminder, a recall of the great monster just outside of reality waiting, yearning to consume it entirely.

 

The shadows of Gasper reminded me of that primordial Darkness I had encountered in the past. The shadows were blacker than black, clearly malevolent. What seemed to be an infinite amount of Red bleeding eyeballs turned, watched almost like the eyes of ironically a biblically-accurate angel. Those shadows, those abominations were totally under the control of Gasper.

 

The young Dhampir had closed his eyes, a look of focus imprinted on his face. He took a deep breath as if he just had finished lifting a huge weight before opening his eyes.

 

I watched his eyes widen before I tackled him in a literal bear-crushing hug "I'm so proud of you!" I told him honestly.

 

The shadows shifted rushing toward me as if trying to defend Gasper. I didn't back down looking at them, daring them to come closer. As if realizing that I wasn't a threat, they retreated. The shadows, this oppressive feeling they were releasing was one I was familiar with. It was a sensation I had inherited from the original Rias and that I had also personally experienced.

 

It was what she had felt each time after being exposed to Gasper's Balor view. It was the same thing I felt when I was in the presence of the soul of the God Balor before I destroyed his ego with my power of destruction.

 

I had given access to Gasper all the might of the once king of the Fomorians by crushing the lingering will of the Celtic god.

 

I had thought that it would have taken time for Gasper to even come close to trying to manipulate it due to the fact I knew Gasper hated violence, hated danger yet here he was. With this new control, he probably was the strongest member of my peerage after Akeno and me. I'm sure that with time and him learning to really use the powers of Balor, he would maybe be able to stand strong against a Satan one day.

 

Gasper had been in the show one of the devils who at their peak was deemed a super devil. I wasn't sure if it would be the case here with things before so different than what I remember.

 

"Rias, I think you should put Gasper down now," Akeno said to me.

 

"Why?" I asked her.

 

"Because you're stopping him from breathing due to how hard I see you hugging him and even though devils can live without air for a long time, I'm sure it's not something Gasper finds comfortable."

 

I turned my gaze toward Gasper and indeed, I didn't know it was possible for devils to take such a colour.

 

Reluctantly, I stopped the hug. It was a sin, it was a crime. Universe, You couldn't be giving me a cute brother/peerage member strong enough to help me reach my goals and don't expect me to not hug him.

 

Gasper left my embrace "It wasn't so bad right?" I asked him.

 

"No Preside-"

 

"Rias," I cut him.

 

"No, Rias, it wasn't uncomfortable." I watched his gaze drift over my shoulder "Just maybe a little too tight?" He sounded apologetic.

 

I heard snickers behind me. I turned to look at Akeno and Koneko and found their faces emotionless, neutral as if it had just been in my imagination.

 

I turned back just to hear muffled laughs behind me again. 'Be the adult Rias, be the adult, ignore it' I told myself.

 

I focused on Gasper "How does it feel? How does it feel when you use those shadows? Do you feel different, not in control?"

 

The last thing I wanted was for the powers of Balor to influence him and turn Gasper into a new Balor. Artefacts of power that had been used for evil for a long time corrupting innocent bright-eyed characters was a trope. It was one I didn't want to experience. I hated fighting against Issei. The feelings of love I had inherited as a Gremory from the original Rias were ones I knew would be my demise In the case something truly tragic happened to those I considered family.

 

I watched him bite his lips as if questioning himself if he should tell me something I may not want to hear "When I use those shadows, I feel different," the Dhampir admitted to me.

 

"Different in what sense Gasper?" I pressed softly. I needed to know. I wasn't going to lose him because I had involuntarily made him deal with an energy field bigger than his head.

 

"When I use those shadows, when I use his powers, I feel strong Rias. I feel as if I could do anything I wished to. Those shadows, they're just the top of the well, the tip of the iceberg."

 

"Gasper," I told him softly locking my gaze with his "You are strong. You always had been strong so stand proud. The shadows aren't what make you strong. You are the one in control. You are the one behind the wheel. This power is yours. Never forget that. Do you understand?" I asked him.

 

I could see hesitation, fear, worry in his gaze but even with those, I could see resolution as he proudly looked into my eyes, as he didn't break the eye contact.  Gasper had changed. I just wished it hadn't been because of war. I just wished it hadn't been because of violence.

 

"Gasper," I said his name. "I want you to know that no matter what may happen, I'll always be proud of you."

 

I turned my head toward Akeno and Koneko "It's the same for the two of you too."

 

A soft smile appeared on Akeno's face "I already knew this Rias. My only problem is your recklessness."

 

Koneko's answer was to hug me. Her head rested on my stomach. As if it was a competition, Gasper copied the Nekoshou.

 

Maybe I could die happy now. I turned toward Akeno. "What are you waiting for?" I asked her.

 

One of her eyebrows lifted in a silent question. "You're doing it on purpose," I told her. There was no chance she didn't understand what I meant.

 

Instants after, my three-person hug became a four-person hug. "I was doing it on purpose," she agreed.

 

It was a normal hug. You know, just two lesbian moms with their femboy son and tomboy daughter. We were truly devils. We were the future that godless liberals wanted!

 

"Akeno," I whispered knowing all of them could hear me. "You were right," I told her.

 

"I'm not sure I really heard you Rias. Maybe you could repeat for my poor ears," she playfully tried to tease me.

 

"I won't repeat it." I was a devil. Forgiveness, being a healthy person and recognizing your mistakes was something improper considering my race. Even though I didn't care about most devils, I kinda liked the Aesthetic. It was like a twelve-year-old fat boy, son of a millionaire screaming slurs on Roblox to others not because I was racist but just because I could.

 

"Well that's unfortunate," Akeno said.

 

"Fortune is an assho-". I stopped myself. Even though we were devils, swearing before Koneko and especially Gasper felt improper "Fortune is a bad person," I corrected myself.

 

With the ways things had changed for the worse, it was probably the case. I wish I had read more comics. Maybe I would be sure that there was a true personification of luck and how if not possible to manipulate it, avoid it.

 

"You were right when you said I should try to rely more on all of you even though I don't like it. Koneko, Gasper, what do you think about a possible vacation in Vanaheim?" I asked the two youngest members of my peerage.

 

 

I wasn't sure if I would be informing the other members of my peerage yet. I was still thinking about it. I did it with Gasper and Koneko because Gasper I knew would be strong enough to come with us and Koneko was mature, too mature for her age. She also in my opinion didn't deserve to be lied to anymore.

 

"Vanaheim?" I heard the Nekoshou say the name of the Vanir gods' home as if it was a new word she was encountering.

 

"For what Rias?" Gasper asked me.

 

"We need to be strong, all of us. Training, learning to manipulate our demonic energy in different ways would help us but I fear it wouldn't be enough by itself."

 

Kiba could cheat due to his sacred gear, me due to my essence and Akeno due to her fallen angel blood but even then, it left the other member of my peerage too weak, too vulnerable for my taste and more power never hurt.

 

"To steal the Golden apples of Idunn and if possible kidnap the goddess herself," I told them.

 

Trying to steal the golden apples of the Norse pantheon was a better idea than trying to steal the ones of the Greek Pantheon. There were fewer risks of things really turning bad in case we were spotted.

 

Koneko left the hug to look me in the eyes "Please, tell me you are joking," Koneko said, no begged me.

 

"I don't want to lie to you," I spoke softly.

 

Her gaze one full of despair turned, towards my queen "This is madness! This is worse than madness! Akeno-senpai, talk to her! You must talk her out of this!" Gasper and Akeno had also stopped hugging me and I could see worry etched on their faces as they looked at Koneko almost as if she was a wounded animal. The shadows had retreated from the walls into Gasper's shadow.

 

"Rias would do it no matter what I say to her Koneko. She's a Gremory. She's not doing it for her. She's doing it for the peerage, for our family. I also will be at her side so that nothing wrong will happen."

 

Koneko was taking deep breaths as if she wasn't able to breathe anymore "You could lose your life! We fought gods and almost all died in Kuoh. I almost died in Kuoh!"

 

She was hyperventilating I realized with horror. She was panicking and literally having a panic attack because of me. Koneko had almost died because of a god!

 

I moved to hug her, to try to comfort her but unlike the other times, she fought me "No don't touch me! Don't touch me!" she shouted.

 

I immediately removed my hands from her as I had been burnt. It wasn't helping. I wasn't helping. Trying to hug her was worthless when I was the cause of her freaking out.

 

"Ok, no touching, no touching," I said trying to sound more calming than possible. "Koneko, look at me, look at me. It'll be alright. Everything will be alright."

 

"You liar! You're just like her!" Koneko hissed at me. "You say we are a family yet you want to leave us, you want to leave me!"

 

Koneko saw me as Kuroka. For Koneko, I realized I would by my recklessness, by trying to steal from the Norse gods lose my life. I would be leaving my peerage. I would be leaving her exactly like in her mind Kuroka did.

 

"Koneko, I'm never going to leave you. I'm not her! I have to do this so that what happened in Kuoh, what happened to Sona's peerage could never happen to us," I told her trying to make her understand.

 

"We could stay in the Underworld. I'm sure we could win the stupid tournament and by winning, we would be safe."

 

"Koneko, we will win this tournament but those last days taught me something. We can never be sure of when things will stop making sense. Kuoh was also supposed to be safe Koneko. It wasn't. I'm taking a risk doing that in the possibility something wrong happens, we wouldn't be affected and this is only possible through strength."

 

The girl before me stayed silent. Her eyes looked empty as if she was a man who hid in a bunker for more than a decade only to come out of it for things to be worse.

 

"Promise me," I heard her whisper. "Promise me that you'll never leave me, that you'll always come back."

 

"I promise you Koneko, I promise. We are family and family sticks together," I told her.

 

Before my eyes, my rook changed. White Ears, white cat ears grew at the top of her head. A long feline tail of the same colour stood proudly unhidden.

 

"I'll come with you Rias. I won't let you break your promise. I don't care what happens to me as long as I can stay at your side."

 

"Koneko, I a-"

 

"Hush," she cut me before hugging me. "One last thing president. In the case I lose myself to bloodlust, I want you to make sure I won't be able to hurt any members of the peerage. Promise me that you would do what is necessary no matter what!"

 

I understood the meaning behind her words. She wanted me to put her down in case she lost herself to the madness it was possible for a senjutsu user to fall in.

 

"I promise," I lied to the girl before closing my arm over her form, deepening the hug. I said it to reassure her but even in canon, it didn't happen. In the improbable case it actually would, I am going to to bring her back no matter what I have to do.

 

It was at that moment one of the walls in my room was broken by a flying form that slid to a stop just before my bed.

 

I focused on what had broken into my room. It was a devil. With his missing limbs and the amount of blood he was leaking, I don't think he could still be considered alive. It's as if he had been a pig that had tried to escape the butcher at a slaughterhouse.

 

I recognized vaguely the deformed face on my carpet. I think that he was a lord that I had seen before. Was I taking it too calmly? Shouldn't I panic before the corpse of an aristocratic devil breaking through my wall?

 

 

"Sorry Rias," I heard the voice of my brother. "He was more cowardly than expected." My brother was plastered with blood from head to toes. The only reason why I didn't panic was because I knew it wasn't his. If it was, it didn't matter if Gabriel Hornblower was the one guilty, I would use their sinews as guitar strings while they were still alive.

 

"You owe me a new wall dear brother of mine," was the only thing I said. I don't know why but at my words, he exploded into laughter. Worse, the others, the members of my peerage joined him! This was a valid question! What were they all laughing?! I just wanted a new wall!