Eating Your Weight: Prepping a Flaming Turkey

The air in the basement was thick with the scent of damp earth and the copper tang of magic. The house above us was one bad sneeze away from crumbling into a pile of splinters, but down here, things were much more lively.

I leaned against the moldy stone wall, my arms crossed over my chest as I watched the show. “So yeah,” I said, my voice cutting through the sounds of combat, “Miyo’s been in a bad mood all week thanks to that and let me tell you, it's been the worst. I've never seen her like this before.”

In front of me, Aika was fighting for her proverbial life. She was surrounded by shadowy, ghoulish creatures that looked like they were made of ink and spite. They struck at her with jagged claws, their movements flickering and jagged.

“That sucks,” Aika grunted. She ducked under a pair of claws that would have taken her ear off and pointed a finger at the shadow. A lance of solid light shot from her hand, blasting the creature into nothingness.

Another ghoul lunged from her blind side, but Aika didn’t even look in its direction. She jumped away, her hand slicing through the air in a fluid motion that left a trail of glowing magical sigils hanging in the darkness. The shadows chasing her stopped dead, as if they’d hit an invisible wall, and Aika flicked her hand.

Glowing lines of energy erupted from the sigils, piercing through the shadows like needles through cloth. They let out meager, high-pitched cries before bursting into black vapor and fading away.

As more shadows began to pull themselves from the walls like tar, Aika glanced back at me. “Have you talked to Marcille about any of it?”

“I was gonna go over to his place later today,” I replied, checking my nails, “but I’m not really expecting anything. If Miyo won’t tell me, why would he?”

“That's fair.”

Aika was starting to fall behind as more shadows poured from the walls to surround her. They were practically flooding the room now, a ride of darkness that entirely ignored me in favor of the weaker prey. I watched carefully, my own magic stirring underneath my skin as I prepared to to step in and bail her out, but then Aika’s magic flared.

She clapped her hands together with a sound like thunder and a massive yellow sigil burned to life on the floor beneath her. It pulsed once, before exploding with a brilliant, blinding flash of light.

“Gah!” I shielded my eyes, but the flash still burned white spots into my vision. Several agonizing shrieks pierced my ears, followed by one that was much louder and more real than the others.

When the spots finally cleared, Aika was standing a small distance away, a sword made of shimmering light gripped in one hand. At her feet was the disintegrating corpse of the Stray we’d been hunting, a pathetic-looking creature that was almost as small as the shadows it had been summoning.

I pushed off the wall and made my way over. Aika bent down, rummaging through the fading ashes of the Stray before tossing something toward me. I snatched it out of the air as it approached. It was a Pawn piece.

I held it in front of my face for a second, watching the dark energy pulse within it, before I let it dissolve into my palm. I felt the familiar rush – much less powerful than normal – and felt a small drop of demonic energy drip into my ever-growing pool of magic.

Aika huffed as I walked up to her, wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead. “Well. That was a workout.”

“You did a good job,” I said, giving her a nod of genuine approval. “Especially figuring out these guys were weak to light. If it were up to me, I probably would have just burned the whole house down and called it a day. Summoners are the worst.”

“They’re good practice, though,” Aika replied, her light-sword vanishing.

We made our way back up to the surface, leaving the rotting house behind. “Miyo wasn't kidding when she said you were a prodigy with magic. You're probably better than me at this point.”

“You act like that would mean anything if we actually got into it.” Aika said dryly, “If you wanted to, you could rush me and pin me down before I could even raise a hand to cast a thing.”

“Hot.”

“Yeah, but also unfair,” she pointed out. “I’ve been working my ass off to get a hang of all this but you just suck on some magic artifacts and get a huge boost.”

“I could always top you off, if you want,” I suggested. “The last time worked out pretty well and you came out stronger for it.”

“And spent a week feeling like I chugged fifty energy drinks,” Aika gave me a pointed look, a smirk curling at the edge of her lip. “You just want to get your dick wet since Miyo isn't putting out.”

“The thought may have crossed my mind, yes.”

“Maybe later,” Aika said with a giggle. She leaned up and pecked me on the cheek, “For now, I'm going home to wash this crap out of my hair. I'll see you tomorrow?”

“You know where to find me.” I waved farewell as she disappeared down the street before turning in the opposite direction. I wanted to head home as well, but I figured I better let Rias or Sona know that this was dealt with so they didn't send someone else to take care of an empty hose.

The walk to Kuoh Academy was peaceful, right up until I crossed the gate. The moment I stepped onto the grounds, a flare of magic hit me like a physical wall alongside unfamiliar scent. It was heavy and cloying, carrying a distinct demonic tinge that was almost completely hidden under the smell of woodsmoke.

And of course, it was coming from the Occult Research Club.

“Wierd,” I muttered, picking up my pace. “Guess I better see what's going on. Hopefully nothing's on fire.”

Making my way to the ORC, I didn't even bother knocking, entering just as a loud bang rang in through the room and put into the hall. I stepped inside just in time for something to crash to the floor in front of me in a groaning heap of tangled limbs. I blinked, nonplussed as I stared at the familiar spikey crown of hair, before turning my gaze upward.

The eyes of nearly twenty people stared turned my way, some curious, some annoyed. I spied Rias and her group gathered near the windows, alternating between staring worriedly at Issei and me, while another, much larger group of unfamiliar Devils were grouped together nearby, with one of them standing only a few feet away, holding a large wooden staff.

Said group was comprised almost entirely of of attractive women of all types. Really it seemed like almost every soft fetish was on display – there was even a pair of cat girl twins. Talk about two for one.

Damn, look at that menagerie. I thought as I took them in. I don't think I've seen so many eights in one place.

Somewhat out of place in this picture was a white-haired woman standing off to the side who practically exuded an aura of ‘do not fuck with me’ and a much less impressive blonde man who seemed busy groping the admittedly gifted woman next to him before I walked in. He was looking at me like I was a stray dog tracking shit all over his living room carpet.

I didn't really care for it.

“Am I interrupting something?”

My words seemed to break whatever spell came over the room and Rias’s group broke out of their stupor to rush to their fallen friend’s side, doting over him as he recovered from whatever blow he had taken.

The blonde man scoffed, his eyes raking over me with pure disdain. “What is this? More rabble?”

“This is a private meeting,” the white-haired woman added on softly, though she didn't ask me to leave.

Rias gestured towards me, her expression tense. “Riser, this is Naomi. She is the dragon who shares our territory.”

Riser let out a sharp, mocking laugh. “A dragon? This girl? Rias, your standards for allies have fallen as low as your choice in servants. She looks like a common street urchin.”

“And you look like a pompous prick,” I shot back instantly, eye twitching at the insult. “Is the hair meant to compensate for the personality, or are you just naturally this punchable?”

Riser’s nostrils flared while the girls behind him seemed taken aback by my words, as if they couldn't believe I had responded to his word in kind.

Riser’s smug grin faltered for a fraction of a second, his eyes flashing with an orange heat. “You have a sharp tongue for a mongrel. Riser appreciates spirit in animals, but there is a limit. You are standing in the presence of a high-class noble of the House of Phoenix. You should be on your knees, begging for the honor of breathing the same air as Riser.”

“Narcissistic too? Damn, it's like your whole existence is working to be one giant punching bag,” I snorted, “You said your own name twice in that sentence. Are you so insecure that you have to remind yourself who you are every time you open your mouth?”

I probably shouldn't have been picking fights literally the second after walking in the door, but this guy's whole presence pissed me off badly. Plus, I had a feeling he was at least partially responsible for my friend hacking his guts up on the floor in front of me, and that wasn't cool.

Riser’s face twisted, and the air in the room began to dry out as his magic flared. Rias looked like she was about to have a heart attack, and the rest of her peerage glanced between the two of us with worry, “Naomi, please–”

”No, Rias,” Riser interrupted, his voice dropping to a low, vibrating growl. He finally pulled his hand away from his servant, his gaze fixing on me with pure malice. “This creature needs to learn its place. It seems you've done a poor job training it so Riser will have to do it in your stead. Mira! Teach this rabble the proper way to greet a King.”

The girl with the wooden staff didnt heasitate lunging at me with intent. She was pretty fast, but nothing special, and I reacted before she made it more than a foot.

My boots appeared on my feet in a flash of light, and the world slowed to a crawl around me as they went to work.

To anyone else, it probably seemed like I teleported. I stepped into Mira's guard, my leg already moving as I kicked her in the stomach with enough force to break several trees. There was a dull crack as my leg connected, before time resumed at normal speed as I put a pause on my Sacred Gear’s effect.

Mira went airborne, her momentum reversing in an unnatural fashion as she was propelled by my boot. She skipped across the floor like a stone over a pond before slamming into the far wall and collapsing into a heap, staff clattering out of her fingers and coming to a stop by the couch nearby.

The silence that followed was deafening. Riser’s eyes went wide, his mouth hanging open as he stared at his fallen servant. Then, the shock turned into a white-hot rage that seemed to set his very aura on fire.

"You... you dare!?" he roared. Behind buim, his peerage gave similar exclamations and prepared to avenge their fallen comrade.

“Wait! Stop!” Rias cried out, but nobody was listening.

As his peerage began to move, I waved my hand, summoning my magic which responded like an eager puppy. Thick iron chains burst from the floor, walls, and ceiling all around the group of girls, snaking through the air like pythons and wrapping around and available limb.

“Huh!?”

“What is this!?”

“Kyaaa! Get it off!”

Exclamations of surprise and pain filled the room as the chains tightened and began to drink their fill. I felt their energy drain through the iron links and into me instead, weakening their already pathetic struggles until even the strongest of them could barely push back against the chains.

To my surprise however, one of them managed to resist the pull. A girl with an expensive dress and hair styled like drills grunted with exertion. Magic surged through my chains as she pushed against the pull, before they suddenly began to glow and then melt, and she tore herself loose, chest heaving as she panted with exertion.

Riser broke out of his shock at the same time, throwing the woman beside him out of the way. The lapels of his jacket began to smoke as he directed his anger toward me, “You filthy mongrel! How dare you attack Riser’s peerage! Do you have any idea–?”

“Do you have any idea that talking in the third person makes you sound like a massive asshole?” I interrupted as I wrapped my fingers around the nail manifesting in my palm. “Because it does.”

Riser grit his teeth, his angry face twisting and reddening with rage. Clearly this guy had been pampered all his life if a little insult like that managed to get under his skin. He was literally fuming.

“Stop it, you two!” Rias cried again as Riser’s coat caught fire, his aura expanding until the air began to shimmer with heat. I let my own spread out to battle against it, and I tensed, ready to drive that nail through his throat the second he even inched in my direction.

Before either of us could make a move however, a wave of bone-chilling power surged through the room.

It was so intense it snuffed out Riser’s flames instantly. My entire body locked up, adrenaline and primal fear coursing through me in equal measure. Every instinct I had screamed at me to run, but I couldn't even move my pinky.

The white-haired woman who had been lingering on the edge of the room walked forward, heels clicking in the sudden silence.

“That is quite enough. Riser, please control your peerage,” she spoke softly, before turning to me, “And you... control your battle lust before it gets you into more trouble than you can handle.”

Her power remained for a long moment, magic icy against my skin, before the, the crushing pressure retracted, and we could all breathe again.

W-what the hell? I thought, my heart hammering against my ribs. I slowly turned to look at the woman, almost flinching at her icy stare. I couldn't even move. That was just her magic? That's… insane.

“Now then,” the woman said, her tone professional once more. “Please retract your chains.”

I didn't even think about arguing With a thought, my chains retracted, vanishing as quickly as they appeared. Several of Riser’s girls fell to their knees, gasping for air, while a few of them managed to remain standing after being drained. They stared at me with a mixture of hatred and fear, except for the one who had managed to resist my chains. She was just staring at the ground, breathing heavily.

I didn't care. I knew where the real threat was now, and I didn't take my eyes off it, even as the woman stepped back to the side of the room, taking her previous place again.

Riser straightened his coat, his face twisted in a mask of wounded pride. “You will regret this mongrel. Riser promises you that.”

Excersising my supreme will to get over my shell-shock, I flipped him off. He scoffed, turning to Rias.

“Prepare for our game, Rias. And when it is finished and our houses are joined, we will discuss what to do about that.”

“I'm not marrying you, Riser.” Rias said, her face tight.

“We shall see,” Riser snapped his fingers, and a magic sigil appeared underneath his peerage’s feet. “I look forward to our game.”

With the screech of some kind of bird, flames burst upwards from the sigil and consumed the entire group. When it disappeared they were gone. There wasn't even smoke left behind.

As the flames died out, I felt several pairs of eyes on me. I slowly turned finding Rias and her entire peerage staring at me with expressions varying from greatful in Issei's case, to borderline terrified in Asia’s.

Rias was the hardest to figure out. She seemed like she couldn't decide whether to laugh, thank me, or wring my neck. Eventually she just settled on staring at me blankly which was… arguably worse.

“Sooo…” I said, suddenly feeling incredibly awkward. “You don't have to worry about that Stray hanging out near the park anymore."

Somehow I had the feeling that didn't exactly mollify things.