Eating Your Weight: Delayed Preperations
Delayed Preparations
The next morning, I found myself standing in front of the door to the ORC, one hand shoved in my pocket and the other still raised from where I had just knocked.
There was no answer, not even a murmur of movement from inside which was strange considering that every time I'd come here before, someone always answered pretty quickly.
I knocked again, the sound echoing hollowly through the empty schoolhouse. I waited, shifting my weight from one foot to the other, but once again, no answer came.
“You’re wasting your time,” a voice called out from the hallway. I turned to see Sona Sitri making her way towards me, a folder tucked delicately under one arm.
“The club room is empty right now,” she informed me. “Rias and her entire peerage left late last night. They've gone to the underworld to train. I believe they’ll be gone for the better part of a week.”
I felt a small flash of guilt that was smothered by embarrassment. “Oh, well I wish I knew that before I walked all the way over here. I wanted to apologize for what happened last time. You know, the whole… ‘almost beating the shit out of Riser’ thing.
Sona tilted her head, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “While I'm happy to hear that you're actually capable of apologizing, you'll be happy to know that Rias isn't actually mad at you.”
I blinked. “Really?”
“Not in the slightest,” Sona confirmed, “We met later that day after everything was said and done and she admitted she wished Grayfia stayed back for just a little bit longer. She really wanted to see you let Riser have it.”
Wow, she must really hate this guy. And honestly… same.
“Glad I could provide some entertainment, I guess,” I chuckled, shaking my head.
Sona hummed, “Indeed. Though, since you're already here, perhaps you can help me with a problem of my own.
“We can talk in the council room,” Sona said, “I need to get these forms filled out before the end of the day. Rias was supposed to give them to me a week ago, but it seems I once again had to get them myself.”
“Does she do that a lot?” I asked as she led the way out of the Old Schoolhouse.
“Sometimes, but she has a lot on her mind right now so I'm not mad,” Sona said softly, before a small smirk split her face, “That being said I'll be certain to remind her to be more punctual when she gets back.”
How frightening. It seemed that even her fellow King was spared Sona's strict adherence to the rules of the mortal world.
A few minutes later, I was sitting in the familiar, high-backed chair across from Sona’s desk. The Student Council room felt clinical and smelled faintly of expensive parchment.
“Tea?” Sona offered, hovering a porcelain pot.
“I’m more of a coffee person,” I replied, leaning back. “So, what is this about?”
Sona sat down and brought her own cup close, “Well, as you’ve no doubt noticed, there has been a significant increase in supernatural activity around Kuoh as of recently. Specifically, I am referring to the amount of Stray Devils that have been popping up lately.”
I shrugged. “Yeah, it feels like I have to deal with one every week just to get home in peace. Is that not normal?”
“It most certainly is not,” Sona said, her voice serious. “Before, we would be concerned if we had to deal with even two Strays in several months. But ever since you returned, they’ve been popping up like a bad omen.”
I frowned. “So it’s my fault?”
“Quite frankly, yes,” Sona said bluntly, making me blink. She folded her hands, staring at me intently, “Put bluntly, you're too strong. And because you're unable to hide your presence, it's attracting unwanted attention.”
“Wouldn't a presence like mine keep them away though?” I asked, slightly confused. “If they knew there's something big over this way, they'd want to avoid it, right?”
“You forget that most Strays are clinically insane,” Sona pointed out, “They have little instinct except to consume and grow stronger, and they likely see you as a free meal ticket.”
Huh, well when she put it like that, it really was all my fault, wasn't it. I slumped slightly in my chair, feeling embarrassed. “So what can we do about it? I don't have a clue how to hide my power, if I even can.”
“There is nothing you can do about your nature,” Sona said, voice reassuring, “but perhaps you can help me do something about it instead.”
I leaned forward, interested. “What did you have in mind?”
“I need you to accompany in a small journey around Kuoh. I intend to set up a barrier that will contain at least some of the power you're constantly leaking,” she explained. “It's a stopgap at best, but it should work to keep more unmentionables from appearing while we work on a real solution.”
“Sounds good to me, but why do I have to go? I'm not really good at magic, if you didn't know.”
“I'm well aware,” she smiled knowingly, as if she was privy to some joke I didn't get. “I need you there because the barrier needs a direct link to your power to stop it in the first place. A… reference point, if that makes sense.”
Surprisingly, it did. I didn't really understand magic mumbo-jumbo, often tuning out on the rare occasion Miyo or Aika tried to actually explain it to me, but I somewhat followed what Sona was trying to explain.
“Alright, yeah, I'll come with you.” I said with a shrug.
After all, it wasn't like I had anything better to do.
~~~
Night had well and truly fallen as I joined Sona on the outskirts of town a couple of hours later. I watched as Sona worked, her hands splayed out before her. She wove lines of blue magic between her fingers before spreading them apart, a bright blue magical sigil appearing in the air.
“Alright, just like before,” she said, glancing at me. “Go ahead.”
I nodded and stepped forward. Taking a breath, I gathered magic in my chest and exhaled a thin, concentrated stream of purple fire into the spell. A ripple passed through the sigil, like a stone dropped into a still pond, and I felt a tiny bit sharp tug as a stream of magic was sucked out of me and into the array.
The blue deepened into a rich, royal purple tinged with orange. It wavered for a single moment but Sona raised her hands, layering another sigil on top of it before gesturing caught. The entire array surged brightly and flew off into the sky, disappearing into the night.
As it left, Sona let out a soft sigh, slumping slightly for a moment before straightening her back. She adjusted her glasses. “That was number thirteen. Around ten more and the barrier will be finished.”
I looked at her, noting the slight tremor in her hands. “Are you actually gonna be able to finish the job? You look kind of drained.”
“I’ll manage,” Sona replied, “though I’m certainly going to be sporting a headache tomorrow.”
She unfurled her wings and took to the sky. I followed after her, falling my own tattered pair as I fell into line right beside her.
“I could top you off if you want,” I gestured vaguely, “I can't speak about the side effects, but headaches definitely aren't one of them.”
Sona raised a delicate eyebrow, her lips flattening into a thin line, and I got the distinct feeling I had done something wrong, “I have been propositioned several times in the last few years, but nobody has been as brazen as to just ask. I don't know whether to commend you or ask that you stop attending my school.”
I blanched at her cold stare, rushing to clarify. “That wasn't what I meant! I can transfer magic through blood too; I was just thinking you'd take a sip sorta like a booster shot, you know?
Sona paused mid-flight, turning to give me a searching look. I did my best to look like I was telig the truth – which I was – and after a moment, she seemed to believe me as her cold stare gave way to her usual calm expression.
“I see. I'm sorry for assuming,” she bowed her head, “That being said, I still think I'll be declining your offer. in the future, you would do well not to offer your blood so freely. Dragon blood is incredibly valuable to the right buyer.”
I perked up, both happy that she wasn't mad anymore and interested in what she'd said. “Wait, seriously? Is there a big market for it? Should I start bottling it now or wait till later?”
Sona sighed. “If you start an underground blood market, please do so outside of Kuoh. I would rather not have to deal with the types that regularly dabble in that kind of stuff.”
“No promises,” I said, a mischievous grin forming. “Though I wonder if Mason jars would be too unprofessional for storage.”
Sona just shook her head, studying me for a long moment. “What?” I asked.
“You really aren't tired in the slightest right now, are you?”
“Not… really,” I said, genuinely confused.
“Fascinating,” Sona murmured. “When I first met you, I would have put you around my own strength. But you have well and truly surpassed us, hasn't you? Judging by what Rias said about how you handled Riser's peerage, you might be a match for us all.”
“Youe peerages, probably,” I admitted, trying not to sound too proud and failing completely “You and Rias... probably that too.”
Sona didn't argue, nodding easily. “Your growth is staggering. It makes me sorely wish I had found you before you awakened.”
She seemed genuinely frustrated at the missed opportunity.
“Don’t feel too bad,” I said, giving her a wink. “I don’t think I would have joined even if you did. I’d do a lot of things for a cute girl like you, Sona, but selling my soul is a little bit much.”
Sona gave me a perfectly blank stare and I hastily added, “J-just an observation!”
Sona hummed, turning her gaze back to the horizon, seemingly mollified. “You can keep those kinds of remarks to yourself. I am not so easily caught as the women you have laid with.”
Despite the words, I saw a small smirk playing on her lips, making me thinn that she wasn't quite as offended as she seemed.
We continued our work, strafing along the invisible perimeter of Kuoh. Sona eyes the landscape with practiced ease, eyes easily picking out spots that were ideal for building the barrier. I didn't know what she was looking for, but I always knew once she found it because she started diving towards the ground like a falcon that caught sight of its prey.
Her magic was an interesting display to watch, far more preparation intensive than anything Aika or even Miyo were capable of producing. Their magic was flashy and cool and all, but hers felt more… purposed, I guess? Every movement and pulse of magic had a purpose behind it, like a painter carefully applying layers to a canvas. Clearly, Sona took a lot of pride in her craft.
Finally, after what felt like hours but was probably less, Sona came to a halt above a densely forested hill. “This is a good spot,” she announced, wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead.
She pulled her hands apart, the final sigil flaring to life in the night air. I fed it the necessary stream of purple fire, watching as the complex geometry of the spell shifted and locked into place. With a final sweep of her arm, Sona sent it soaring upward to join its brethren.
Unlike the previous times, as the sigil faded out of sight, something strange happened. A strange sound echoed across the hillside, and for a split second, a massive crack spiderwebbed across the horizon. Lines of midnight blue magic blended against the midnight sky, linking all the points we had visited, before they too vanished into the dark.
Sona exhaled a long, shaky breath, her shoulders slumping as the tension left her body. “That’s the last one. The barrier is active. Hopefully, this will be enough to keep the Strays away.”
One night of hard work was a small price to pay to prevent weeks of fighting off Strays. I’d somewhat miss the easy snacks, but at this point, nothing apart from a King or Queen piece really did anything for me. The pieces I'd been absorbing were like crumbs instead of the filling, orgasmic pastries that they'd been at the start.
It actually got me thinking. What would happen if I ate an Evil Piece belonging to someone like Riser? He wasn’t quite my equal, but he was certainly higher up the food chain than the random trash I’d been absorbing lately.
The thought made my stomach growl. Or maybe it was the fact that I hadn't eaten in like twelve hours. Either od.
Sona’s voice broke my train of thought. “Thank you for lending me your assistance, Naomi.”
“Don't worry about it,” I shrugged, trying to play off the predatory thoughts running through my head. “It was really no trouble. I barely even did anything.”
Sona adjusted her glasses, giving me a look that suggested she saw right through my attempt at modesty. “You may think so, but each of those sigils took as much magic from you as an untrained magician has in their entire body. I expected this to take several days of siphoning, not a single night.”
“I guess I just have a lot of it,” I replied, a small smirk playing at my lips. “I'm pretty awesome like that.”
Before Sona could respond to my grand display of humility, the air suddenly shifted, wind rolling across the hill, heavy and oppressive. I froze, my muscles locking up as a malignant scent flooded my nostrils. It was a smell I recognized, cloying and almost rotting, yet full of a potent power that left me almost breathless.
A low growl rumbled deep in my chest, vibrating against my ribs. Sona looked at me, startled by the sudden shift in my demeanor.
"Naomi?" she asked, her voice tight. "What's wrong?"
I didn't answer immediately. I turned slowly, my eyes scanning the darkness until I found the source of the stench. Right next to us, hovering inches above the grass, a sickly green sigil sparked into existence. It pulsed once, then spewed thick green mist that rolled across the hillside.
Abyss Eater wrapped around my hands as I stepped in front of Sona. “Get back,” I ordered, my eyes narrowed as I watched the swirling green fog.
Sona didn't argue, though she moved closer to my back rather than away, stepping into my shadow as the mist churned violently.
A sound emerged from the depths, starting as a low rumble and growing steadily louder until it echoed all across the hills. Someone was laughing.
“You have hidden yourself well, worm,” the voice intoned, dripping with a smug malice, “Crawling into the cracks left by these foul Devils’ power to escape your fate. But I have found you, just as promised.”
The mist parted, and out stepped a figure that made my blood boil.
It was Agnir. His silhouette was as imposing as I remembered, a massive figure standing against the pale moonlight. Massive muscles bulged from his torso, straining against what looked like hides stitched together from some unfortunate beasts. His hair had grown since our last encounter, now a wild mane cascading down to his back, but his face was the exact same as the one I wished I caved in every day.
My gaze dropped, my eyes widened slightly as I saw he was gripping a new weapon – a spear with a flared head and a dark blue ribbon attached to the pole. It wasn't really the weapon itself that made me pause though, more the fact he was gripping it in his right hand. The same hand I had distinctly remembered leaving to rot in a forest miles away.
The air around us grew heavy as Agnir’s presence spread out like a shockwave, potent and angry. He raised that spear, the tip crackling with arcs of electricity that lit up the night, and leveled it directly at my chest.
“The last time, you got the better of me through dirty tricks,” Agnir sneered. “In return for the humiliation I suffered, I shall rip your head from your shoulders and present it to my master as a gift.”