Non Serviam Chapter 12

Chapter 12: In Which Taylor Kills More Children

The girls poked through the room, one in front of the other. I focused on the one with long white hair that the other was clearly trying to protect. They’d checked their corners before entering, but I was covered in a veil of darkness up in the rafters.

“Quick, Momo.” The leader said. “We have to link up with the others or—”

I tipped off the beam and fell, swordpoint first. The slim blade punched through Momo’s skull and into her spine. Dying limbs jerked once before I tore the blade free in an arc of blood.

“Momo!” The other girl screamed.

Then my target vanished in a flash of light, gore and all.

“Sitri Biship, Momo Hanakai, has been Retired,” announced the proctor.

Rias had said she was going to ‘pretend’ to get serious about rating games, and she was very dedicated to her make believe.

I’d been surprised when my king had roped me and the rest of the peerage into a rating game. But then, I was always a fan of turning pretense into intense training, so I’d readily agreed. This first match had been between us and Sona Sitra, Rias’s co-leader of Kuoh. Sona spent her days playing at student council president, and had recruited her peerage mostly from humans that caught her eye. They were likewise, rather green when it came to combat, even play combat like this.

But that didn’t mean Sona’s pieces were weak.

With a roar, Sona’s knight sprinted forward, and I used my own enhanced speed to dance out of the classroom and around the corner before she could cut me in half.

I darted out into the hall and back into the nearest classroom before hurling myself out the open window and onto the grass outside.

“Dammit,” I heard from inside. Then a crackle like a radio. “I lost sight of Gremory’s pawn. She took out Hanakai in a sneak attack.”

I shifted, pressing myself against the wall. Never pass up a chance to eavesdrop on the opposition, and if the knight followed, I might be able to take out a second piece and push us back even.

“No, she moved faster than a pawn, but I didn’t see a sacred gear. She’s probably circling the building outside. Should I pursue?” the girl said after a moment, then, “Understood, I’m on my way.”

I clicked my lips as the sound of footsteps quickly faded. Sona was playing this one much better than Rias.

We were fighting in a copy of Kuoh High School, which meant the kids all knew where to go, but that was about all the direction my side had been given. Rias had sent us out ‘scout’ and ‘take down the enemy’. Meanwhile, Sona had clearly taken a much more structured approach. This was the second time I’d run into a group with one frontliner and one support. It made attacking them awkward.

Already, Koneko and Mittelt had been knocked out of the game. I hadn’t seen that happen, but they’d probably run into a bad matchup and charged in anyway. They’d traded out for Sona’s two pawns; it was lucky I’d snagged a kill on Momo before Sona could reorganize. Even now, Sona still had four pieces up against Akeno, Kiba, and I.

Gaspar was still in his packaging. We’d work on it.

“Not my favorite situation to be in,” I murmured. For a second, I toyed with the idea of following Sona’s knight. It seemed like a surefire way to run into a trap though, especially if Sona was actively managing her pieces.

I sheathed the sword Kiba had given me and slipped back into the school through another window. These tight spaces were more advantageous to me.

Next, I had to figure out a plan of attack.

Kiba and Akeno were both fast enough that they couldn’t be pinned down, but neither of my teammates had shown themselves. Likely, Sona had shuffled her pieces to counter them; another knight or a rook guarding a support piece would be a difficult target for Kiba.

That didn’t explain why Akeno hadn’t done anything, but maybe Sona had a counter for her as well.

“Which leaves me. What else is new?” I peeked out into the hall, before gliding out into the main school building. I grumbled under my breath. A quick glance out the window showed an empty central courtyard. I could maybe cross there, but the windows meant ample angles for a sniper to lie in wait.

I sucked on my lower lip, before deciding that if I had to take the lead here, I might as well do my best. It would give the kids something to aim for. And if Rias and Sona ever decided to take the field, I’d get a chance to see how strong ‘high class’ devils were.

With a flick of my wrist, I twisted my demonic energy into a familiar circle. Most of my spells I’d built from memories of powers I’d once briefly touched, and so they were ugly, ad hoc things that just needed to do what I wanted. This first power of mine was a labor of love.

A monarch butterfly wove itself out of the air on the tip of my finger. I couldn’t hold back the smile. The feeling of my senses doubling. “Hello friend.” I whispered, as if something else could listen. “I need you to find some people for me.”

With a wobbling flutter, it took flight, weaving gently through the open window into the courtyard. From the muted crimson circle spinning around my finger, two more butterflies emerged and flew. Then they doubled, and doubled again, and again, and again.

The limit of this spell was my own reserves, but for the first time in ages, I was in control of a respectable swarm.

They flew down the halls and through empty classrooms. The feedback came quick and fast, searing pokers driven into my temple, without another brain to manage it. But, Rias had told me that Devil magic worked on self-image, and my self-image still wore a mask with one lens of gold and the other blue.

I’d just have to trust that Rias hadn’t lied to me, for real.

In less than a minute, I found the knight again. She pulled to a stop in a corridor a floor up from me when a pair of my monarchs fluttered across her sight.

“…Butterflies?”

My feet staggered at first, but then I found my step.

“President,” the girl said. “Do any of the Gremory have a butterfly familiar?”

Annoyingly insightful. I’d have to make my advantage count right now. The stairs were far away from both of us, but Kuoh High was laid out in a massive U shape, three floors all stacked on top of each other, like a cake.

“No.” The knight shifted her grip on her sword. “They’re not hostile, but they appear to be following me.”

A third monarch fluttered down from behind her, perching lightly on the hem of her vest, close enough that I could finally hear the other side of the conversation.

“Avoid them if you can, dispatch them otherwise. Tsubaki and the rest of group one are in position the moment you encounter resistance.”

“Understood.”

So, Sona had turned my ambush into a deeper trap of her own. Immediately, I shifted the rest of my swarm to cover the nearby area.

The two butterflies shadowing my target, I sent circling slowly. The girl saw the opening I’d provided and took it, dashing away from my bugs and easily outpacing them. She darted around the hallway as I started gathering my energy once again…

“They cannot pursue at spe—”

Until she passed right over my head.

I leapt with brute strength. Below me, tiles cratered.

Above, wood shattered as I erupted from the floor. The knight’s eyes widened, turning forward again. She was running fast. Fast enough to impale herself on my extended sword. I chose the abdomen.

“Grk—!”

She hit me hard enough to send us skidding back along the second floor. My other hand darted out, snagging her earpiece. Not immediately lethal, so she wouldn’t immediately be pulled out of the simulation.

“Pres—”

Loyal, this one. I slammed my foot against the floor and finished her with two quick strikes.

“Sitri Knight, Tomoe Meguri, has been Retired.”

I pressed the earpiece into my ear right as my swarm caught sight of a trio of figures racing across the roof.

“—Engage immediately.”

I cut through the floor, falling a level while Sona Sitri’s collected voice poured into my ear.

“The target is likely Kiba Yuuto with Hebert,” Sona said. “Rias’s queen is still waiting, Tsubaki.”

That would be Sona’s Queen, I thought. I heard a crackly yell over the radio, followed by the sound of the ceiling shattering. Sona’s rook literally punched her way down two floors as I ducked into the nearest closet. The three members of group A landed in the second floor hallway in a defensive formation.

“Two holes in the floor, like you suggested.” The leader, a girl with long black hair and dark, piercing eyes, took charge. “They’ve fled. More butterflies.”

So, they thought I was working with Kiba?”

“Tomoe informed me that the pawn had a speed type ability,” Sona replied. “Remove the butterflies, Tsubaki.”

I held back a hiss of annoyance as Tsubaki cut my swarm apart with a few well-placed strikes of her spear. I lost sight of them, but I could still hear the three of them dropping back down to the first floor a few steps away.

“Reya,” Tsubaki said.

“On it!” I felt a flicker in the air. “Ugh, I wish I was better at magic.”

“You’re doing well,” Tsubaki replied.

“Easy for you to say, Miss Sacred gear,” Reya said. “Hmm. I—whoever attacked Tomo-chan didn’t leave this way!”

“Then—”

I burst out of the closet, burning through my reserves in a lighting-quick lunge.

Tsubaki shouted, “Mirror Alice!”

An ornate looking glass flashed into existence right before the tip of my blade. Metal hit glass with a subdued tink.

And metal shattered to pieces.

A shockwave reflected off the mirror, through my blade and all the way to my shoulder. I gasped as the bones in my arm broke. I darted away, arm useless at my side, before the white haired girl shattered another wall with her fists.

I blew out a breath, fingers of my good hand ghosting broken bones. “Neat trick.” That had to be Tsubaki’s sacred gear. A few snippets of Sona’s conversation slotted into place.

The three members of the Sitri peerage turned to face me. “Pawn located.” Tsubaki tilted her head, hair falling like a curtain. “She has Tomoe’s headpiece.”

“Understood,” Sona said.

“So much for that advantage.” I made a show of pulling off the earbud and tossing it to the side. Internally, I began focusing my energy on another ability.

“With me.” Tsubaki raised her spear into a guard stance. “Don’t underestimate her. Reya, eyes out for Yuuto-san.”

I swayed back and forth, feet jittering against the tiles. I could feel the energy burning at the inside of my skin. “This was a fun little game,” I said.

Tsubaki and the white-haired girl closed. I pulled on my memory of Vista, twisting space slightly, just enough to step around the rook’s wild punch. Tsubaki covered instantly, spear parting the air between us.

She was as fast as me, more practiced too. Dodging would no doubt drive me right into a trap, and then my head would be pulped.

So, I didn’t dodge.

I grunted as the tip of the spear punched right through my stomach, crossbars hitting my hips. The same spot as I’d stabbed Tomoe.

I lifted my good arm.

“Mirror Alice!” Tsubaki barked. It would be nice to be underestimated at least once.

But then, I never could give people a reason to.

The looking glass appeared between us again, only this time, the air warped like a funhouse mirror. I could still see Tsubaki around her little mirror. Before she could step back, I rested my hand on her shoulder, next to her neck.

“Not bad.” I said.

Then I exploded.

“Gremory Pawn, Taylor Hebert, Retired.”

I blinked the white from my eyes, suddenly somewhere else.

“Sitri Queen, Tsubaki Shinra, Retired.”

With a flash of light like a teleporter pad, Tsubaki materialized from the air next to me. Both of us were entirely unwounded, standing in a floating viewer’s box over the school.

As I turned to say something to Tsubaki, Koneko jumped at me, and I turned to catch her from the air.

“Careful.” My voice came out fond. “You almost hurt me for real.”

“Good job.” Koneko burrowed her face into my collar, fingers digging clawlike into the back of my jacket. “Revenge.”

I laughed. “Bloodthirsty little thing.”

Still, I began petting her head.

“Almost as bloodthirsty as you,” Tsubaki said.

I turned to look at her, my arms still full of Koneko. “I knew I needed to take you out,” I told her, “I doubt I’ll be so lucky next time.”

“Indeed. Your abilities were unknown before.” She didn’t say anything else, but one elegant eyebrow arched so slightly, as asking a question with her mind.

“After I saw your…sacred gear, right?”

“Mirror Alice.” Tsubaki nodded.

“Right, after I saw your—your Mirror Alice, I knew you were probably Sona’s counter to Akeno,” I said.

A look of revelation ghosted across Tsubaki’s face. “And if you managed to remove me, Gremory-san’s remaining pieces would no doubt carry the day.”

“You said it better than I could.” The two of us walked over to the viewing couches. Mittelt offered me a polite nod over her martini, and Tsubaki’s peerage members consoled over the loss.

Below, Akeno was quite literally blowing Kuoh High to kingdom come with lightning.

“Thank you…for sharing that insight with me,” Tsubaki said. “It was kind.”

I shrugged. “What’s a little trust between allies?”

She chewed on that for a second, silent and impassive. “Does that qualify as trust?”

“It does for me.”

She didn’t have a reply for that, instead allowing herself to be drawn into post battle talks with the rest of her peerage. A few moments later, Sona’s white-haired Rook joined us in the viewing box. Her durability wasn’t a match for Akeno’s lightning.

Outmatched two to one, Sona Sitra was lost the moment she tried to fight Rias and Akeno. She used water and ice, primarily, forming barriers for Akeno to blast through. Rias, in a show of sportsmanship, let her friend and her queen go at it in the ruins of Kuoh High school.

I would have had something to say about that, but after Sona managed to defeat Akeno with a few well-placed water traps, the enemy king raised a hand over her head.

At the very front of the box, Grafiya Lucifuge, the strongest queen and today’s officiant, said, “Sitri King, Sona Sitri, resigns the match.”

After that, the remaining pieces all teleported to the box. Grafiya didn’t say anything else as the kids all started to chatter. For her part, she simply raised her arms, spinning a massive spell circle beneath her feet. Unlike mine, Grafiya’s spell circle shimmered a red so bright it almost hurt to look at, washing the light gray of her hair a bloody crimson.

Then, we were gone from the viewing box and returned to a comfortable sitting room with leather upholstered couches, a tray of sweets, and tea kettle sitting on the coffee table, ready to be poured.

“Your club house is too nice, Rias.” I nudged my king with a shoulder.

Instead of replying like a normal person, she glomped onto me. “You did so good, Taylor! I’m so proud!”

“Hey.” Koneko peeked up through her fringe. “Not squishy.”

Rias laughed, hugging Koneko as well before I set her down. Both peerages slotted comfortably onto the couches, with an easy familiarity. I heard Tomoe gently tease Kiba about not contributing to the match, while Sona and Tsubaki had already started discussing adaptations to their order of battle as Grafiya poured tea.

After everyone had been served, Grafiya moved naturally to stand behind Rias, hands folded demurely, as if she was truly part of the help and not the strongest devil in the room several times over.

Sona took a deep sip of her tea. “Your service is without flaw as always, Lady Lucifuge.”

Grafiya curtseyed with one hand. “Service is my pleasure.”

Sona sighed then, setting her cup back down. “Rias, where did you hide a second queen from me?”

“Hey now.” Rias folded her arms, chin in the air. “Taylor is just a very motivated pawn! I’m sure if I tried to reincarnate her now, it would take more of my pieces, but she truly is a pawn.”

“Do you hear that, Saji?” Sona looked at her own Pawn. “I’ll expect you to actually try in training now.”

The blond-haired boy put on a pained expression. “I am trying hard, Prez!”

“You think I haven’t noticed you slacking?” Sona raised an eyebrow.

Saji slumped.

“That aside, you performed excellently in the initial ambush.” She reached out, patting his shoulder. “You all did. It is said that ‘no plan survives contact with the enemy,’ and today it was our plans that were undone.”

“Fufufu.” Rias giggled dramatically. “That’s why I didn’t have a plan at all!”

I jabbed her in the side with my elbow. “And it almost cost you the match.”

“Ow!” She rubbed her side, as if I was strong enough to hurt her without using my magic. “And what do you mean, Taylor? Everything worked perfectly!”

“You mean I bailed you out.” I leaned back on the couch. “Next time, we’re going in with a plan.”

Rias blinked once, blue eyes flashing. “Oh, so there’s gonna be a next time?”

“There better be,” I replied. “There are angels and crazy priests running around. No way I’m letting you kids out of the house until you can win a match without a pawn bailing you out.”