A New Motivation: Chapter 29

Rias pressed down on the stapler with a satisfying click, removing the report and stacking it neatly on top of the growing pile beside her. She allowed herself a small sigh of relief. Finally done.

The administrative work required to run the Occult Research Club was far more tedious than anyone realized. Between the reports, expense forms, on top of her actual schoolwork, it felt like the paperwork never stopped. She was grateful for Akeno’s help, of course, but she couldn't rely on it every time she got overwhelmed.

A laugh from across the room drew her attention away from the stack. Rias turned her head to find Nero and Issei crowded around the laptop, huddled together and snickering at something on the screen. She wasn’t sure exactly what they were doing — maybe playing a game or watching a movie — but the sound of Gasper’s laughter brought a smile to her face regardless.

On the screen, Gasper was gesturing animatedly, his previous timidity seemingly forgotten as he explained something with genuine enthusiasm. Issei was nodding along, occasionally throwing in a comment that made the young dhampir’s cheeks flush with either embarrassment or excitement.

Aika sat nearby in one of the armchairs, her legs crossed as she read through a thick book. Every so often, she would glance up from the pages to add her own thoughts to the conversation, her dry remarks earning laughs from both boys and a pout from Gasper that had Nero cooing at him through the screen.

Rias watched the scene unfold, a small but genuine smile stuck on her face. It had been a while since she’d seen Gasper this animated. Every time she visited him in his room, he would shrink away, barely able to hold a conversation without stammering through every other word. Yet here he was, laughing and joking like any other teenager.

Though I don’t think I’ve ever seen him quite like this, Rias thought, and once again, she found herself very thankful for Nero. Not just for knowledge of future threats, or even her growing power, but for actions with Akeno, and now with Gasper. Her genuine desire to help had noticeably changed her family for the better.

Rias watched the scene for a moment longer before she pushed herself up from her desk, the chair scraping softly against the floor. “Alright, I’m finished,” she announced, her voice cutting through the laughter. “We can begin.”

The sound drew the eyes of everyone in the room. Issei looked up from the laptop, his brow furrowing in curiosity. “Finally! You gonna tell us the reason we’re all here?” He jerked a thumb toward the screen. “Don’t get me wrong, I like hanging out with Gasper, but I thought something was going on.”

Aika closed her book, slipping a bookmark between the pages before setting it aside. Nero leaned back in her seat, the easy smile from moments ago replaced with a confused expression.

Rias rounded the desk to stand before the assembled group. “Something is going on,” she acknowledged. “It’s time to introduce you all to another important part of being a Devil. That being, protecting your territory and the people in it from those who would seek to do them harm.”

Issei and Aika looked confused, but Nero got her meaning immediately as her eyes hardened. “Strays.”

“Exactly.” Rias nodded, before turning to the other two. “These are Devils who have decided, for one reason or another, to abandon their King and peerage. Sometimes it's due to selfishness, other times it's done out of survival. Whatever the reason, when those Devils begin to cause problems, it's up to those of us with the ability to take care of them."

“They’re called Stray Devils,” Nero added. “And they’re dangerous.”

Rias inclined her head in acknowledgment. “They are. A Stray Devil has no master, no purpose, and often, no restraint. While that isn't to say all of them are monsters, that is unfortunately the case, more often than not. ”

Issei spoke up hesitantly, the playfulness from earlier draining from his expression. “So we’re going to hunt one?”

Rias nodded. Issei swallowed.

“One has been spotted on the edge of town,” Rias continued, her tone measured. “Everything we’ve noticed so far indicates that they haven’t been there long, but lingering traces of demonic energy indicate that they intend to stay. This can’t happen.”

“So what’s the plan?” Nero asked, leaning forward in her seat. “We go in and take it out?”

“Not quite,” Rias said, shaking her head. “This will be your fight, Nero.”

Nero blinked, her expression shifting. “Mine?”

“Yours,” Rias confirmed. “You’ve trained hard since joining my peerage, and you’ve more than proven yourself in our exercises. But there’s a difference between practice and the real thing.” She met Nero’s eyes, her gaze steady. “This will be your first real battle. Issei and Aika will accompany us as observers, but they won’t intervene. Neither will I, unless absolutely necessary.”

Issei’s mouth opened to protest, but a hand on his shoulder silenced him. He turned to find Akeno standing behind him, an uncharacteristically serious expression on her face. Rias hadn’t even noticed her Queen enter the room, but she was grateful for the timing.

“This is part of being a Devil,” Rias said, turning her attention back to Nero. “Taking a life is never easy, but Strays leave us no choice. They’ve already lost their humanity, and what remains is a threat to everything we protect.”

Nero held Rias’s gaze. Rias couldn’t read her thoughts on her face, but there was something in her eyes — a worry, likely at the thought of having to take a life.

After a moment however, it cleared, and resolve settled over the girl’s face.

“I understand,” Nero finally spoke. “When do we leave?”

“Tonight,” Rias replied. “The Stray luckily picked a spot where there aren’t many humans, so we’ll head there before sunset and set up a perimeter.”

Issei shifted in his seat. “And we’re just watching?”

“Watching, and learning,” Rias corrected gently. “The two of you are new to this life, and there will come a time when you’ll have to do this as well. Consider this a lesson in what awaits you.”

Aika hummed thoughtfully, her fingers drumming against the arm of her chair. “And if Nero can’t finish the job?”

Rias glanced at the girl. “Then I will step in. But I have faith in her abilities.”

A moment of quiet settled over the room before Issei raised his hand, looking almost sheepish.

“Do we have to leave right now?”

Rias blinked, clearly not expecting the question. “The Stray isn’t going anywhere, but why?”

“We were kind of in the middle of a game with Gasper,” Nero explained, turning the laptop around to display a paused game that Rias didn’t recognize. “We told him we’d finish this level with him.”

Rias stared at the screen for a moment, taking in the paused game and the expectant looks from the rest of her peerage. Then her demeanor softened, a small smile breaking through.

“Sure,” she said, settling back into her chair. “We can spare a little more time.”

~~~

Later that night, their task found them making their way through an abandoned warehouse in search of their quarry.

Issei kept close to Aika as they followed Rias through the deteriorating structure, his eyes darting nervously at every shadow. The walls were lined with rusted pipes and broken windows that let in slivers of moonlight. Graffiti covered most of the surfaces, and the faint smell of something rotting lingered in the air.

“This place is creepy,” Issei muttered, stepping over a collapsed beam. “Why couldn’t this guy have picked somewhere nicer to hang out?”

Rias glanced back at him, a reassuring smile on her face. “You’re worried. Relax, Issei. Nothing is going to happen to you.”

“Easy for you to say,” he muttered, earning a wry grin from his King.

She glanced forward to where their blonde friend was leading the group. “Nero’s quite strong, you know? She’s more than capable of handling this.”

Issei looked at Nero’s back as she walked ahead of them, one hand clutching the massive sword that rested against her shoulder. The thing was almost as big as she was and made of solid metal, yet she was carrying it with a single hand like it was nothing.

Issei’s shoulder twinged as he remembered the last time she used that strength against him. “Yeah. I know.”

Despite his worry, Issei was honestly a little excited to finally see some action. Being a Devil had been nothing but exercise and weirdos wanting him to do stuff for them so far. He wanted to see some butt kicking already!

Luckily, it didn’t take them long to find the Stray Devil.

They walked into a large open room, the ceiling stretching high above their heads, and almost immediately, something heavy shifted in the shadows. A wet, slithering sound echoed through the empty space, making Issei’s skin crawl.

Nero stepped forward, her grip tightening on the hilt of her sword. She revved it once, twice, the engine roaring to life as fuel sprayed over the blade and ignited. Flames scattered across the metal, casting flickering orange light through the room.

The first thing that came into view was a beautiful woman’s face, followed closely by a pair of bare tits that bounced as she moved forward.

Issei’s eyes went wide, a grin spreading across his face at the sight of such beautiful tatas. “Awesome! Smoke show alert!”

As soon as he said that, the woman’s face twisted into one of insane glee, her lips stretching too wide, her eyes bulging with manic energy.

She continued forward, and as the rest of her body came into the light, Issei’s impending erection immediately disappeared. He swallowed hard, his grin vanishing.

“Or not...”

Behind him, Aika made a disgusted sound. “Ew, what is that thing?”

“That,” Rias said, her voice grave, “is a being whose own power has corrupted them, exacerbating their worst qualities and leaving behind nothing but a monster.”

Monster is right, Issei thought as he stared at the Stray.

From the hips up, she was a beautiful woman with bouncing breasts and an hourglass figure that would have made any model jealous. But from the waist down, she was a grotesque mass of flesh – a twisted amalgamation of fur and flesh with thick arms for legs. Her skin was pallid and stretched in places it shouldn’t be, and some kind of messed up snake stretched from her rear like a tail.

The Stray regarded them with wide eyes and a wider grin, speaking in a high voice that was just shy of a moan.

“So many juicy morsels came to my lair.” She reached up to her breasts, fondling them with a wide grin. “Which one shall I feast upon first?”

There was a surge of magic, and Issei took a step back, eyes wide as her nipples started to glow like lightbulbs. “What the hell?”

Before he could react, beams of concentrated light shot out from her chest, screaming toward him and Aika. Issei threw his hands up, instinctively stepping back as they raced towards him, only for Nero to step in front of him.

Her sword came up, colliding with the beams and knocking them off course. They slammed into the wall behind them, leaving scorch marks where they hit. Nero planted herself firmly in front of Issei, her sword still blazing with fire, and glared at the Stray.

“You’re fighting me.”

The Stray looked surprised for a moment as she stared at Nero. Then, she laughed, the sound echoing through the empty warehouse. “You? Fight me? You’re just a little girl with a big sword!”

Her nipples began to glow again, the light building as she charged another attack. Issei tensed, ready to dive out of the way, but Nero darted forward the moment the glow appeared, her wings bursting from her back and flapping to give her even more speed.

The blonde exploded forward, Red Queen trailing flames behind her as she closed the distance between herself and the Stray in an instant, bringing the massive blade around to slice straight through the Stray’s neck.

The Stray’s eyes widened, her mania interrupted. She barely twisted out of the way, the flaming sword missing her throat by inches as she scrambled backward with her many legs. Her face twisted and she hissed, abandoning her charged attack as she put distance between herself and Nero.

Nero didn’t let her. Her wings flared outward and she shot towards the sky, looping high across the ceiling of the room before swooping down towards the Stray with her sword extended.

The Stray darted to the side but Nero’s sword still landed a clean blow on her side. Blood sprayed in every direction and the monster shouted in agony, stumbling back as her flesh sizzled from the flames on Red Queen’s blade.

“AARGH! You little bitch!” The Stray brought a massive hand up and slammed it down on Nero, but the girl was already moving. She darted backward, slipping underneath the massive limb as it came crashing down with enough force to shake the entire room.

Nero skidded to a stop a little ways away, her wings folding against her back as she turned to face the Stray. The monster was watching her with a wary expression, finally realizing the danger that she was in.

For a moment, neither of them moved. Then, to Issei’s surprise, Nero lowered her sword slightly.

“Hey,” she called out, her voice steady. “You don’t have to do this. I don’t know how long you’ve been like this, but we might be able to help you. You just need to–”

The Stray burst into laughter, cutting her off. “You think you can talk to me? Reason with me?” Her face twisted into something grotesque. “I am beyond your petty words, little girl!”

A beam of light shot from her chest without warning, and Nero’s eyes went wide. She twisted to the side, but not fast enough. The beam caught her shirt, tearing through the fabric and leaving a burning gash across her midsection.

Issei heard Aika gasp behind him, but Nero barely seemed to notice. She looked down at her exposed torso, her shirt in tatters and hanging off her shoulders, leaving only a baby blue bra to protect her modesty.

The burn on her midsection sizzled, already beginning to scab over as Nero slowly looked down at the wound. When she looked back up, her face was hard.

“Right,” she said. “I guess I should have expected that.”

She clenched her fist and Red Queen disappeared in a flash of blue light. The Stray cackled, her many legs shifting as she settled into a mocking stance.

“Giving up already? I expected more from–”

The Stray’s words were cut short as Nero held her hand up again, light coalescing in the shape of a long katana. The blade was elegant, almost impossibly so, with an ornate guard and a handle wrapped in white material. She held it loosely at her side, then shifted into a stance, the blade held above her head as if she was about to deliver a death blow.

Aika leaned forward, her brow furrowing. “What is she doing? She’s too far away to attack.”

In front of her, Issei simply stared at Nero’s sword, eyes wide. “No way...” he breathed.

The Stray laughed again, reaching toward her tits. “What is this? You expect me to simply walk forward into your guard?” She began gathering energy, light building in her chest once more. “I’m going to kill you, little girl, and then I’m going to devour your friends one by one!”

Nero’s eyes narrowed, and she tightened her grip on her weapon. The light on the Stray’s nipples began to grow even brighter, to the point of being almost blinding.

Nero swiped her sword.

The air distorted.

Issei’s jaw dropped as a massive arc of blue light screamed through the warehouse. It crossed the distance between Nero and the Stray in the blink of an eye, and the Stray’s laughter died in her throat.

Silence reigned throughout the warehouse for a long moment. Nero straightened, releasing a small breath as she held her sword loosely by her side.

Issei and Aika shared a look, confused, before they turned back to the fight as they heard a sound.

The Stray’s mouth opened and closed silently, as if she was trying to form words but couldn’t find any to say. Then, her body began to shudder, and then fall apart in two separate halves.

Blood pooled across the warehouse floor as the two halves of the Stray’s bisected corpse hit the ground with a wet thud. Her eyes, wide in shock and fear, continued to stare at Nero even as life left them.

“Holy shit,” Aika breathed from beside him, and Issei nodded, his mouth hanging open as he stared at the corpse.

Nero flicked the katana once, dispersing imaginary blood from the blade before sending it away in another flash of blue light. She turned to face them, and Issei was struck by how calm she looked.

But then he noticed the slight tremor in her hands.

“Rias,” Nero said, her voice tight. “It’s done.”

Rias stepped forward, her expression proud but tinged with concern. She placed a hand on Nero’s shoulder. “You did well.”

Nero nodded, but her eyes drifted back to the corpse.

“I thought I could reason with her,” she said quietly. “But I guess she wasn't interested, was she?”

Rias squeezed Nero’s shoulder gently. “Some beings can't be reasoned with. Perhaps if it were another Stray, you might have had a chance, but she clearly chose her path a long time ago. There was nothing else you could have done.”

Nero nodded, though she didn't seem any happier for it. Issei approached slowly, his eyes still fixed on the corpse. The blood pool was spreading across the ground, a thick lake of red that smelled like copper. He swallowed hard, tearing his gaze away to look at Nero.

“That was insane,” he said. “You just... one swing, and she was dead.”

Nero managed a weak smile. “Yamato is pretty powerful. I didn’t want to drag this on and risk anyone getting hurt.”

She glanced down at herself, rubbing the burnt ends of her ruined shirt between two fingers. “I was almost successful. I should have been more careful.”

Rias looked around at her peerage, taking in their expressions.

“This isn’t pretty,” she said softly. “But it is necessary.”

She walked to the center of the room, her shoes clicking against the concrete floor. “Strays like this are a danger to everyone around them – humans, devils, and everything in between.” She gestured to the spot where the Stray had fallen. “If left to her own devices, she would have no doubt gotten stronger and people would have gotten hurt.”

Rias turned to face them, her expression gentle but firm. “What we do here isn’t about violence for violence’s sake. It’s about protecting those who can’t protect themselves. That is the responsibility we bear as Devils.”

Issei nodded slowly, though his throat bobbed as he swallowed. Aika remained quiet, her eyes thoughtful.

Rias walked over to Nero, placing a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “You did well tonight. All of you.” She offered a small smile. “Let’s go home.”

Nero nodded, falling into step alongside Rias as they made their way toward the exit. Issei and Aika followed close behind, the former still shooting nervous glances over his shoulder at the empty space where the Stray had been.

I wanted action, he thought, swallowing lightly.

Maybe he'd be okay waiting a little while before he was actually in it.