Chapter 25 - 24
Sona was having a complicated day.
Last night was an exhausting affair in its entirety, after the fighting was completed it was searching for Dimaria who she could not contact. It was only around three in the morning that her sister sent a message saying that Dimaria has had to return to the Underworld due to some reasons that Serafal refused to explain.
After that, Sona thought she could at least get a few hours of sleep before classes started, but it was not to be as Riser sent a message saying he made contact with the sniper who helped them. Sona was extremely curious and tried to get some details about this sniper, but Riser just called him 'bro' over and over again as if he didn't even know what the NAME of his bro was and just said that his bro was a chill guy and would definitely not be an enemy as long as they did not antagonize him.
Unfortunately, Riser had not realized at that point that Sona had already turned his bro's cousin into a devil and that Soma was extremely protective of family and had a really screwed up concept of what an 'appropriate measure' was.
The reason for Riser not realizing this connection being mostly because, in Riser's eyes, Momo was not 'Momo Hanakai' but 'white-haired big titted hottie I would like to bend over'. After all, he never had a reason to interact with Sona's peerage on a personal level after all and could not make the association between his bro and her. Ravel knew about the connection, but she was still a bit shaken from the events of the night and the fact she almost died (something she never thought possible) so she did not think about the fact that Soma's cousin was a devil and how this would affect him.
Thus Sona was not yet aware of the danger that was in the school as of this moment and how much her life was in peril at this moment. What made Sona worried was that Riser said that he would set up a meeting tonight to introduce 'bro' to Sona and Rias, he also said that Sona should put a strong enough 'lash' on Rias or there would be bloodshed and he would at most protect Rias' life, if that.
At least the school day was over now and the students were either leaving classes or going to their clubs so Sona was free to be in the Student Council Room where she felt the most comfortable. This was her own little kingdom where her word was the law, and she loved this sort of power and the responsibility that comes from her position.
"Here, Kaichou. You seem to be in need of some tea." Momo said while offering a cup of tea to Sona who gratefully took it.
"Thanks, I really needed that." Sona said, sipping from the cup and enjoying the taste. She was more a 'coffee' girl to be honest, but she was so tense about the meeting later that any opportunity to relax was welcome.
After a while, Sona decided to change gears so as to not overthink the meeting later.
"Momo, did you check if your cousin is safe? The attack from last night should not have affected him, but it was quite widespread so I have to wonder."
Momo was about to answer when Tsubasa spoke up from the back.
"Kaichou, if Soma-san was not well I don't think little Momo would be so composed. She is a bit of a brocon, after all."
"I, I am not!" Momo said defensively. "I will have you know that we have a completely normal relationship and it is not anything beyond that, besides, he is not my brother or anything anyway."
"Suuuuree~~" Tsubasa said, a grin on her face. "I totally believe you don't have a single inappropriate thought about your hot cousin that you are overprotective about, has a dangerous but carrying air around him and cares about you so much and that you spend so much time thinking about as well."
Momo was about to retort when an attack came from the side.
"And didn't Momo-chan say that her type was a more rebel and thuggish type but with a carrying side he shows just for a few people and that she doesn't really like stupid or naive types at all?" Tomoe, Sona's Knight, said while passing some papers to Reya, Sona's second Bishop, who nodded.
"Yes, I believe she said something like that on a girl's night out a while back."
"Oh, oh, and her favorite colors are blue and white!" Ruruko, one of Sona's two pawns, mentioned while wiggling her eyebrows suggestively as she remembers that Soma's eyes are a deep blue and his hair is white.
Momo turned from one side to the other while trying to deny these accusations. Sona deciding to join in on the fun and spoke up.
"Momo, don't worry. Incest amongst devils is quite normal and so are harems, if I do end up marrying him I would be willing to share." She said with a suggestive grin.
"Eh, but, what, ah, S-Stop that! We don't feel that way about one another! S-Shut up, I need some air." Momo said, her face beet red as she quickly moved to flee the room. Snickers and laughter all over (except Saji who was cursing Soma for his luck with girls) as Momo moved to leave the room.
Opening the door Momo was too distracted to see where she was going as some cat calls were being sent her way from her friends.
THUMP
Looking up Momo's blush grew even redder seeing as she just hit her cousin and this was honestly the first time she realized something.
'He is taller than I thought.'
"Soma-kun, why did you come here and-" That was as far as Momo went as she realized something out of place.
Soma only had one arm.
Momo screamed as she saw this and almost fainted when she realized the state Soma was in. Feeling faint she almost fell down but Soma held her up with as much care as he could
"Soma, w-w-what happened? What happened to your arm!?"
Soma just shook his head.
"Don't worry about it, just tell me one thing. Are you a devil?"
"Huh?"
Momo could not comprehend what Soma was talking about, her being a devil not being anywhere as relevant in her mind as the fact he had lost an arm.
Soma frowned slightly and used structural grasp, studying Momo's body and soul in just under five seconds and his eyes hardened to cold diamonds as he realized his worst fears.
His cousin was a devil slave. He knew that this interpretation wasn't exactly accurate, but at this moment he couldn't care less about the nuances of this situation, what he cared about was that Momo was a devil's servant.
Turning his eyes to the one who did that, Soma's control over his emotions broke free as his eyes lost all feeling as he released Momo's hand and looked at the one responsible for putting chains on his family, sealing the fate of an innocent and kind young girl.
With the last few traces of rationality left in his mind Soma managed to peak through the sea of rage as he gritted out.
"Did you force my Momo into being your slave, bitch?"
As his words rang out absolute silence fell over the whole room as no one even dared breath loudly.
The one most shocked by all this was undoubtedly Sona though. In her mind the accusation of her making anyone a slave was ridiculous, she has always been perfectly clear when recruiting someone and was always extremely honest about it. She would always come to know the person properly and only if a friendship could be formed, if both sides could clearly work well together would Sona make the offer to join her peerage.
Heck, she would even admit that she only wanted a Peerage due to social convention and after she manages to make her dream come true she would use all of her available time to make sure anyone that had helped her reach that point get their best life. Whatever dreams her Peerage members desired, she would do what she could to help fulfill them, be it obtaining a peerage of their own, living in luxury, or whatever else they might desire.
So, the accusation stung something fierce at Sona's pride. But what stung her pride, even more, was those cold eyes staring her down and the insult.
'Bitch'.
Sona was, for all intents and purposes, a spoiled princess. She was doted upon and allowed to do almost anything she could want, everyone was always going out of their way to serve or appease her while growing up and any problem she ever had was easily solvable by her elder sister. As such, being called a 'bitch' never happened before, she was never tarnished in such a way and by the one person who had defeated her in her most prized skill no less.
She was about to speak, to try and calm things down and put Soma in his place, when someone did it first.
"Don't you dare speak like that with Kaic-"
BANG
Saji had just gotten up and was advancing towards Soma, just to have a holy bullet make a hole in his leg that made him fall down on the floor.
"I was not talking to you or anyone else besides the whore who made my cousin a slave. The next person who tries to intervene will have their brains splattered all over the floor, now shut up." Soma said, killing intent washing over them. The killing intent was sensed by all the students in school as a wave of chilling cold.
Sona gulped as she felt that killing intent, it was even harsher and more malignant than the one her sister released that one time where Sona was almost kidnapped by the Old Satan Faction.
"To answer your question, Mr. Hanakai, I did not by any means force your cousin into joining my Peerage. I invited her to join after thoroughly explaining what it would entail and she accepted of her own volition."
While Sona tried to de-escalate, the killing intent in the room did not recede in the slightest, as Soma turned to Momo.
"Momo-chan, is what this bitch said true?"
Momo was still more focused on the fact that Soma had one arm less than he should, barely even paying attention to the questioning as she felt guilt over her not having protected him from whatever had harmed him. She could be excused to a degree, however, since Soma had directed his killing intent at everything around him EXCEPT Momo who did not feel a single thing.
It was not something Soma thought about but, even in pure instinct, he refused to let her feel anything bad. Just like Momo was overprotective about him, he too was like that about her.
Not hearing an answer, Soma furrowed his brows and glared at Soma. He was already seeing red at this point and Momo's silence might as well have been a silent agreement to Soma's worst thoughts.
Sona, seeing this, put her hand on her table and a bounded field came into effect. It was an emergency one that Serafal made sure was installed, being able to grant impressive defensive capabilities to anyone that has the Sitri magic circle as well as sending an emergency signal to all devils in town and her sister that an attack was happening.
Reacting to her movements and the activation of a bounded field Soma did not hesitate either. He 'threw' a cross on a specific part of the floor and his own bounded field was activated. Having been to this school before AND knowing perfectly well its layout it was child's play to prepare a Fengshui bounded field for any part of the school that would disrupt any accumulation of demonic energy in the area, effectively making demonic magic near useless.
This one Momo felt as she snapped out of her trance in time to see Soma dashing at the Sona, his hand on his sword as he did so.
Tsubaki moved just barely fast enough, a naginata gripped in her hand after she took it out of a spatial pocket.
CLANG
The two weapons hit each other and Tsubaki was shocked as she was thrown to the wall with a heavy thud. Her weapon that was made with the best materials the Sitri house could buy was bent and almost snapped in half, and seeing this, Tsubaki was sure that, if not for the bounded field increasing her defense her weapon, and herself, would likely have been bisected in this one encounter.
Her eyes widened as she saw the rest of the peerage trying to stop Soma and being less than successful.
Tomoe tried to cut him from behind - she got hit by a kick into the ceiling.
Tsubasa tried to punch him - he took the punch to the chest, took hold of her hair, and gave her a strong headbutt.
Reya tried to send a wave of fire at him - it was so weak, due to the Fengshui bounded field, that Soma just cut it in two with his sword before she was sent into the wall with hundreds of small cuts from Soma's hair.
Ruruko tried to charge him - Soma used the pommel of his sword on her torso to make her throw up and go down.
Saji, even on the floor, tried to use his gear to latch onto Soma to make him stop - the line was used by Soma to pull Saji to him and when he was forced towards him by the pull Soma sent out a strong punch straight at his face causing him to fall down.
This all happened in less than 5 seconds, some happening at the same time. This was easily the most terrifying thing Sona has ever seen, her whole peerage, her pride and joy, was squashed under a single person's boots as if they amounted to nothing.
With furry fueling her, Sona used all her strength to launch the strongest magic blast she could at Soma, sending him back to the door of the office. Thankfully this office was made to resist damage from the inside extremely well and to not let any potential confrontation (as the one happening right now) spill over and kill the regular students.
However, despite using so much strength it was ultimately for naught. Soma had come far too prepared, his clothes were exchanged before he came to this confrontation and they were his combat attire. That meant it was heavily reinforced and blessed, any demonic based attack would lose much of its power on contact, if you then add the weakening thanks to the bounded field and Soma's own physical prowess it was no surprise that he got back up as if nothing had happened in a matter of two seconds.
"Nice shot, bitch. But, I will cut you down now for daring to touch my precious family." Soma said as he put his hand on the ground and several runes were created by him, electricity springing from them and using the water on the ground they arced towards Sona who could not evade in time and was electrocuted.
A scream of pain was released by her as this was the first time she ever felt serious pain in her life... today she was experiencing many 'firsts' and she was not quite happy about that.
Taking advantage of the fact that his target was temporarily paralyzed Soma moved again, his fury fueling his movement as he slashed at Sona from top to bottom aiming to bisect her.
However, before that could be completed a mirror had appeared before him and took the hit. This was the sacred gear of Tsubaki Shinra, Mirror Alice, a defensive gear that could take any hit and turn it back with twice its power.
And the return of his strike was exactly what happened as the mirror shattered into pieces, its effect activating and Soma got hit with a strong slashing effect that sent him flying back.
A nasty injury could be seen across his chest as skin and muscle were split open, but it was not yet enough to cut through Soma's modified bones that only got slight markings on them.
"Mirror Alice, my gear is able to send back any strike that hits it with twice its power. At any moment now lady Leviathan will arrive so stop this now and let us talk properly." Tsubaki said, trying to project a strong front and trying to stall for time.
Soma just looked at her for a moment before chuckling.
"I was a bit surprised by the strength of that last hit, but I see. No wonder I actually felt pain just now with this attack, as expected of my own strikes."
"You are quite full of yourself, aren't you?" Tsubaki questioned as she positioned herself in front of her king.
"Not at all, I am fairly ordinary. It is just that-" Soma used Mana Burst to reach Tsubaki in an instant. "You all are weak."
Tsubaki tried to do anything but Soma would not let her, his movements not stopping as he used the momentum to launch a roundhouse kick at Tsubaki that sent her to the ground as a few bones cracked under this strength.
Sona had yet to fully recover from the shock when she was caught by the neck and pulled up on the air by Soma, she was entirely at his mercy as he looked at her with hatred and disgust.
"Go to hell." Soma said and was about to twist his arm and break her neck when he was hugged from behind.
"Soma-kun, please stop. They are my friends, please don't hurt them." Momo said as she held onto Soma to stop him. Even in this situation and even as she had a clean shot to his unprotected back, she didn't even think of attacking him and instead only thought of stopping this fight.
Soma looked at her intensely and was about to speak when he felt extremely cold. Before he could react he was covered in ice and most of his body was frozen over as someone entered the Student Council room.
Normally a girl in a pink magical girl outfit should not be threatening, but Serafal right now most certainly was. Her face was frozen in an expression of rage as she saw this and Sona, who saw this, recognized this expression.
'Oh, that face is the face of a sibling protecting their loved one.' As Sona realized this her rage from the attack of Soma melted away and she wanted to ask her sister to stop, but it was too late.
Serafal's anger overtook her when she noticed the bruises on Sona's neck from when she was being strangled, in a roar of rage Serafall activated a magic circle and sent out a torrent of ice at Soma to destroy the one who hurt her precious sister.
BOOM
The blast of ice was ferocious, risking devouring everything in its path if not for a magic circle that was made right in front of Soma.
The magic circle managed to stop the attack and Serafal's eyes turned in the direction of the one who blocked her attack.
"Why are you stopping me?" She questioned in anger.
"Calm your tits woman, nothing big happened yet anyway." The man said as he joined her in the room. His long white beard being the first thing one noticed about him as he entered the room, his eyes surveying the situation and lingering longer on the girls with their short skirts that fell in the right position to flash him. A lecherous smile on his face as he saw this and a note of approval at what he could see.
Turning his eyes back to Serafal he could see the Satan Leviathan had calmed down somewhat as she spoke.
"Do you want to protect this person, Odin-sama?"
"Yes, after all losing him would be a bit of a loss after all he is the first person that was able to brave the grounds where no man dared to try." Odin said with a smirk as he could see from the corner of his eyes Rossweiss running towards them.
He and Serafal were in the promised meeting together with the diplomats for the Fallen Angel and Heaven factions, Azazel and Gabriel, all discussing the potential Peace Treaty and what benefits and trade deals they were willing to make if they did follow through. In truth, the only reason why Serafal didn't go straight to Sona after what happened the previous night and the state in which Dimaria was found was due to this meeting that was far too important.
As soon as Serafal felt the S.O.S. signal from the bounded field in the Student Council Room she moved to leave, not even saying goodbyes or anything. As for Odin, he could see where Serafal was heading thanks to his eye being sharper than most, and he also saw that Kuoh Academy's uniform included very short skirts with the school full of hot, young, and impressionable girls.
A most splendid buffet of his favorite things, if he ever saw one.
Considering such Odin did not hesitate, teleporting to Kuoh Academy directly and following behind Serafal, curious about what was going on and taking advantage of the situation to see the Leviathan's sexy booty as she ran forward.
Yeah, he was an old pervert and proud of that.
Regardless, he was not about to let such an interesting person like Soma die just like that.
Serafal was not yet convinced and was about to try again when she felt it. A pure and holy energy having a striking resemblance to the one person she hates with all her being.
CRACK
CRACK
The ice covering Soma was finally broken as he used Jacob Limbs to break it, his body radiating the power of God as he did so and he shivered from the cold. His eyes turned to gaze at Serafall and he was about to grab Momo and run away from here, if not for him seeing the expression on Momo's face that was asking him to stop and listen.
Furrowing his brows he took a deep breath and spoke.
"It seems like I overreacted the slightest bit just now."
Momo looked around at all her friends who would be either dead or hospitalized right now if not for the bounded field that increased their physical defense and had to sigh, Soma's 'slight' reaction was really not 'slight' at all! But this was such a 'Soma' action that she could only sigh in exasperation at her cousin's actions.
Odin, seeing how everyone was tense and the state of this place made a decision.
"How about we go talk while eating something? That should be the best way I believe." He spoke while clapping his hands, to calm things down.
Odin was the chief God of a Pantheon that was an accumulation of boisterous idiots with large egos and with most being battle maniacs, as such he had long learned that the best way to solve a dispute was with either eating, drinking, or whoring, but considering most of the girls present were still virgins he rather doubted he could get lucky with them anyway so eating and drinking was the best way to do this.
Serafall was still glaring at Soma for injuring her precious sister, but acquiesced to the Norse God's request. Personally, Soma didn't like the thought of interacting with any God or higher being, but he was not yet strong enough to ignore them and, as such, he decided to listen for now.
Soma sighed, wondering if things could get any worse than having to deal with the chief God of a religion that was known for pillaging, raping, murder, battle, sacrifices, and blood.
Of course, such thoughts would not be allowed in the presence of the omnipresent Murphy, a fact proven by what happened moments later when Rossweisse finally arrived and happily held one of his arms.
"Hello, darling~~."
Soma gaped as he recognized that face and was about to answer when the window of the office broke as a blond cannonball broke right through it and tackled soma excitedly.
"FATHER! YOU ARE ALIVE!" Gabriel, the archangel and the second strongest in all of Heaven, shouted happily as she dived into Soma's back when he was distracted and sending him flying into a wall, her momentum carrying him there as she moved without a thought when she felt Soma's energy as he was still borrowing the power of God thanks to Jacob Limbs.
And so Soma stood there with his back hurting like hell, on his arm a valkyrie that apparently confused what their relationship was (they only slept together for a full day and he got her virginity while saying he will be her hero, why would she confuse it?), on his back an excited archangel that was having some dangerous misunderstanding while pressing huge tits on his back, blocking the door an angry older sister that wanted to rip his head off, and completing things was a God from a religion he wanted little to nothing to do with as of right now.
Truly, Murphy is a massive asshole.