DxD: The Tale of Blood, Chapter 12 (Patreon)

"Shirone!"

A beautiful voice suddenly called out, and a second later, the little white Nekoshou was tightly hugging her older sister.

Akeno smiled a little as she watched familiar faces appear one by one, and then there were two unfamiliar faces as well, whom she guessed were Raizel's new Peerage members.

"That's Raizel?" A certain raven-haired girl with red eyes asked, still holding onto her sword as she watched Rias tightly hugging a boy of thirteen.

"Yes." The Half-Fallen nodded to her before she looked at the rest of the Peerage and led them forward to greet Raizel.

"Missed me?" The Prince smiled at her, and she nodded her head with a smile.

She giggled as she found her best friend unwilling to let go of her fiancé whom she had not seen in a little over two years. But she needed to make her aware of others who were present.

"Rias." She gently called out to her, and her dear friend finally let Raizel go but did not forget to throw a glare at her for disturbing their moment.

"What are you doing here, Raizel?" Rias asked as she raised her head and looked at her Fiancé with a bright smile.

"I have the same question, but won't you introduce me to your peerage first?" He asked as he gently patted her head, making her lean into his hand.

"Yes!" She happily nodded after he took his hand away, and then pulled her Peerage members forward one by one.

"This is Akeno..."

"Right." He chuckled at her antics and she stuck her tongue at him.

"Just in case you forgot her." She accusingly said, before she swiftly grabbed the hand of a girl with blonde hair and pointed ears. "This is Shera L. Greenwood. She is an Elf and my Pawn."

"Hello, Shera." He smiled as he met the girl's turquoise eyes, and watched her curiously look at him before she bowed.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Prince Raizel. Rias talks a lot about you..."

"Shera!" The crimson-haired girl immediately pulled her Pawn back, stopping her from speaking anything embarrassing.

Raizel smiled as he watched the Elf giggling, and it seemed like they were good friends as well in addition to their Master and Servant relationship.

He also observed that Shera was the same age as Rias and Akeno, and they were the oldest in the peerage.

His eyes turned to look at the girl who was holding a Katana in her hand, her red eyes fixed on him. There was just something about her that attracted him to her.

"You attacked us?" She asked, and he amusedly raised his brow at her question.

"Yes." He admitted, and the girl simply nodded her head before recalling her sword, making it disappear.

Seeing his curiosity rising, Rias beamed a smile at him.

"She is my Knight, Akame, and she is the Wielder of the Sacred Gear, One-Cut Killer," She informed him.

"One-Cut Killer?" He curiously asked, and his little fiancée revealed its details to him.

"It's the sword you just saw. If it lands a cut on your body, you will suffer from a poisonous curse of her choosing. She can even inflict a poisonous curse that can kill you."

"Interesting." He smiled and then met the girl's eyes again. "You are quite dangerous, aren't you?" He playfully asked, and then amusedly chuckled when she nodded to his question.

Rias then pulled a boy forward, who had grey hair with bangs covering his eyes. He was a few months younger than Rias but was much taller, and quite well-built for his age.

"This is Loup Garou. He's a..."

"Half-Werewolf." Raizel nodded. "I can smell his blood." He smiled. "You were quite brave back there to shield an attack with your body for this little boy by your side." He spoke, and the boy nodded his head before bowing to him.

"Thank you." He lightly said, and both Akeno and Rias looked at him in surprise since Loup mostly stayed quiet and would usually only nod his head to thank someone.

Rias was happy that her Peerage members were on their best behaviour in front of the person she looked up to, and then she turned to look back at Raizel and smiled.

"He's quite strong, and I thought I had found my second Rook, but it was my Pawn Piece that chose him in the end."

"Pawns are quite flexible." He nodded and then smiled at the young dhampir, who was hiding behind Loup.

"He's Gasper Vladi." Rias gently grabbed Gasper's hand as she pulled him to step forward, and the boy, who was around 8 years old and quite short for his age, trembled in his presence.

"I feel strange..." He meekly said, making his King curious.

"Moka," Raizel called out to Pawn, who immediately controlled her Power, allowing the little boy to catch some breath.

Seeing what happened all of them were curious, and he informed them what was wrong with Gasper.

"Blood Demons can control Vampires, making them naturally submit to their Origin. Gasper's blood was growing very excited, and since he is a Dhampir and quite young, he did not understand what it was asking him to do."

"Oh." Rias nodded her head and curiously looked at Moka.

Gasper too was now looking at the girl who had silver hair and red eyes, but her intimidating look made him tremble again.

"He's my Bishop and is very special." She happily informed him.

"Is that so?"

"Yes." She nodded her head but waited for him to ask her what was special about little Gasper, and when he just smiled and did not raise the question, she pouted. "He has a Sacred Gear as well. It is called Forbidden Balor View, and it can be used to stop time momentarily."

Her words surprised him a little and then he curiously looked at Gasper.

Seeing the little boy tremble under his eyes once again, he guessed why he had not used it earlier when they were under attack.

"You can't control it yet."

It was not a question, and Gasper timidly nodded his head.

"Y-yes."

"It's okay, Gasper." Rias hugged the little boy and consoled him, which did ease his nerves a little.

"You are still young, so it's understandable," Raizel said and then turned to look at the last and newest member of Rias' Peerage, a boy of nine years, who was standing there with his head lowered.

"He's Kiba Yuuto." Seeing the state Kiba was in, Rias sighed and told Raizel his name.

"What was his old name?" He asked, making the boy go stiff, and Rias frowned a little at his question.

"Isaiah." She told him his name anyway, and the boy looked at her in shock.

He had not told her his name, and Rias sighed as she met his confused eyes.

"When a King reincarnates someone into a Devil, they learn their Servant's name," She informed him.

"So, what's your Scared Gear?" Raizel asked, looking at the stains on the boys' clothes. "You are the one who killed those who chased after you, right?" He knowingly asked, having already seen dead bodies when he was rushing over to see Rias. "They had cuts on their bodies and stabs..."

"Sword Birth," Kiba told him before he could continue making him remember what he did.

"So, Raizel, how are you here?" Rias changed the subject and asked.

"I will tell you later." He smiled. "You left Underworld two years ago, so, how have you been doing, dear Rias?"

"You know?" She looked at him in surprise and then felt a little guilty for some reason.

"I have been in contact with Albedo, and she informed me what happened." He nodded to her and then gently patted her head. "It's good to see that you are happy. Come, I will introduce you to my Knights."

"They are both Knights?" She asked in surprise and Akeno too looked at Guts and Erza curiously, wondering which one of them received the Mutated Knight Piece.

"Yes." Raizel smiled. "This is Guts, son of Lorel. He was the one I went to Olympus for." He informed them. "He does not have a Sacred Gear, but he is the Wielder of the Dragon Slayer, the giant sword you see on his back. It has earned him the nickname of the Black Dragon Slayer since he has slain a lot of dragons with it."

"Wow!" The blonde Elf was surprised the most and she had sparkles in her eyes as she looked at the hulking man. "You must be strong!"

Guts did not know how to respond to her words so he just nodded his head and then greeted Rias with a nod as well.

"So, you are a Demi-God." Rias nodded back to him, and then curiously looked at him when he frowned.

"He does not like to be called a Demi-God." He told her.

Rias understood that she would have to keep her question for later and then curiously looked at the girl with the Scarlet Hair.

"She's my second Knight, who received the Mutated Piece. Her name is Erza Scarlet, and she is the daughter of Bahamut. She also possesses the Sacred Gear: Ultimate Requip." He told them, and both Rias and Akeno were utterly shocked at his words.

Bahamut was a legend in the Underworld and was considered a Dragon who was possibly as strong as the Heavenly Dragons. So, it was only fair that they were shocked at Erza's heritage.

"Ultimate Requip?" Akame was seemingly interested in the Sacred Gear, and Raizel smiled at her.

"It lets her create Armours and Weapons of her choosing for herself and others."

"Thank you." Akame gratefully nodded to him for his answer.

"Master." Suddenly, a girl with Silver Hair appeared by Raizel's side. "The Researchers are vacating the hideout." She informed him. "Valper is among them."

As soon as she took the name Valper, Kiba's body started shaking uncontrollably.

"You said you are my King." He suddenly spoke, making Rias look at him and nod after she saw the seriousness in his eyes. "So, if I request you to do something for me, would do fulfil my request?"

She did not know what he wanted to ask but still nodded her head, making her Peerage members frown.

"As long as it is reasonable and within my power." She added.

"Can you help me kill Valper Galilei?" He straightforwardly asked, taking Rias by surprise.

And the rest were surprised too as they saw the flame of vengeance burning bright in the boy's eyes.

However, Rias soon narrowed her eyes and seriously stared him right into his soul.

"No."

It was a hard no.