Chapter 6

Over the last few days we attempted to gather information on the Astaroth House, seeing as this was their first match, there were no highlights or online coverage showing us what we could expect from them. All Seir managed to find out, was that there main strike force were two brothers and that they had used questionable means to rise to power.

If we managed to defeat them and obtain their territory in hell, we would be ranked third in the summit thus far, this was notwithstanding the results of the other matchups though. However, it would put us in good stead for ending up as one of the top 4 households at the end of the main portion of the summit, so we needed to ensure that we won.

I reported what happened with the two ogre brothers and Sitri to the relevant authorities, along with my suspicions that they may have been working for someone who was targeting high profile young women. They said they’d look into it but I wasn’t convinced by how they were treating me, I suppose being a commoner didn’t help in trying to convince them that women that I could never even dream of meeting were at risk. I did all I could though, so I would just have to hope that someone at HPD had enough sense to look into it.

I had decided to get a familiar that could heal and provide other support like options for me. I never intended to allow something else to sap away at my demonic energy for no reason, however I didn’t want to be at the mercy of Seir and the geezer if I become in need of medical assistance that was beyond the ability of normal caladrius tears. The fight with Astaroth was just around the corner though so I had to look into the possibilities afterward.

Apparently there were places in Hell that you could go to find familiars, or you could draw up a contract with any magical creature that you came across. I had even read that you could win somebody else’s familiar, if you wagered yours in a one on one duel. I had no intention of using this method though.

Time passed and the day of the fight arrived. We all grabbed the necessary equipment and made our way to the Asmodeus Arena where it was going to be held. It seems everyone had already made there way out to the centre of the open air arena. Unfortunately I didn’t have the luxury of using the overcoat that the old dragon gave me because it was currently undergoing repairs and “upgrades”.

The fact that the Earl’s Qiang caused so much damage to it had really hurt the old man’s pride. I was thankful that the old man was improving the defensive capabilities of the coat but was a little annoyed that it wasn’t ready for this match. I reluctantly zipped up the leather jacket that my Mum embroidered for me and made my way out to the battlefield.

“Ladies and gentlemen, do we have a treat for you today…”

It seems Sitri was the MC for this fight as well, the second I walked out she made eye contact with me for a split second and gave me a terrifying look. She must have seen that magazine article...She immediately returned to her usual charismatic self soon after though, I guess she was a true professional.

I joined the others and awaited the Astaroth House to make an appearance. Shiro was wearing the same Kimono she was when we went up against the Earl, it must have some kind of effect on her fighting style. Soon after the entire arena went silent and the Astaroth House came out. A tall, slim and bald man was leading out a group of women in revealing outfits, following behind him was a shorter handsome youth with flaxen coloured hair, he came across as the kind of guy that Miyabi would swoon over, he kept staring at Shiro, the way he was looking at her was a little unnerving.

“Now that the two households have finally arrived, we will begin by allowing them to negotia…”

“That won’t be necessary.”

Sitri was interrupted mid sentence by the tall baldy, I don’t know why but his presence felt familiar to me. The women that were standing behind him all had the same vacant and empty expression, just who the hell was this guy and what did he do to those girls...

“We have no intention of negotiating with the Seir Household, after defeating them, we will take their accumulated territory and move onto the next match, that is all.”

“What was that baldy!?”

“Now now Kuro-kun, no need to get worked up so early on, no problem, however, if we manage to defeat you, we will take over your territory in hell and you and your brother over there will be stripped of your noble status and wealth.”

Seir was acting a little strangely, it wasn’t like him to make threats like that. He must have seen something that I hadn’t, so I decided to let him have his way without interrupting,

“Heh heh heh, remember brother, like you promised that yokai is mine, I don’t care what you do with the other one.”

“Patience Cassius, you will have what you desire soon enough.”

With that they returned to their side of the arena. I looked at Shiro, she was making the same solemn face that she always did when she’s transformed. Sitri signalled for the first round participants to make there way to the battlefield, it looked like the younger flaxen haired Cassius was going to start off for them, as he made his way to the battlefield he kept staring at Shiro with a perverted look on his face.

I was getting a little pissed so stepped forward. The second I did however, Shiro put her arm out to block me, she gave me a reassuring look and made her way to the battlefield, just when I was about to voice my disagreement, Seir grabbed my arm and shook his head, he followed this by giving me a confident grin. I still wasn’t happy about this but decided to put my faith in Shiro.