The Mandate of Khaos: I can make him worse Vs. I can fix her (ch. 18)

"…How many liters did you say this thing could hold?"

I glanced up from my monitor to see Serafall, currently sprawled carelessly across my bed, staring quizzically at the Super Absorbent Sponge.

"One billion liters," I replied, my eyes immediately returning to the screen, trying to ignore the fact that her skirt had ridden up to an indecent height, offering a tantalizing glimpse of lace. "Though it doesn't change size or weight, no matter how much water you pump into it. If that matters."

Serafall… laughed. "If that matters?" she repeated, voice bubbling with amusement as she kicked her legs in the air like a teenager who'd just gotten the exact toy they'd been pining for.

My screen flashed white as a flashbang detonated in my face, and—even after all this time—I still took no small amount of pleasure in how that affected me absolutely nothing, even in this dark room.

"Do you know what the greatest limiter of the Sitri Clan's Water Magic is compared to the Leviathan Clan, Shinji-kun?"

"I assume you're about to tell me," I said, throwing my head back in frustration as the bomb was defused, robbing me of the game. Fucking useless noobs.

"The Leviathan Clan, as the name suggests, is intrinsically connected to the ocean, and as such it could easily summon and control its waters." Serafall sighed, a distinct note of annoyance creeping into her voice. "The Sitri Clan, on the other hand, is denigratingly said to be its 'autistic little brother'. While we can create water, the efficiency at which we do so is so vastly reduced compared to the Leviathan Clan that it might as well be considered an entirely different magic. We have allegedly better control, but that's not something that can be quantified or tested anymore, I suppose."

I scratched the back of my head awkwardly, swiveling idly in my new office chair. Fuck gaming chairs, office chairs were where it was at.

"You want it?"

I shouldn't have worded it that way.

Serafall went completely still. Then, she purred. Fucking purred. She levitated herself off my bed with a soft hum of her wings, gliding towards me until her mouth was almost touching my ear, her oversized shirt hanging low enough that I could easily check out her tits if I dared to look down.

"And what," she breathed against my ear, the warmth sending a shiver down my spine, "would it cost me, Shinji-kun?"

I shivered again. There was no shame in it. I was, comparatively, a babe in the woods in the hands of a master seductress, and that was not something I particularly enjoyed.

"It's free."

Her mouth snapped shut, and the intense, almost predatory aura of sexuality she'd been exuding evaporated. She floated back a step, displaying to me what was probably the second cutest pout in existence. "Shinji-kun~," she whined, drawing out the syllables. "You're going to drive a girl crazy like this, you know?"

Am I? I couldn’t help the disbelieving snort that escaped me.

"Let's be honest with each other, Serafall." I said, resisting the urge to reach out and smooth the frown from her brow. Getting her to stop insisting on having me call her Sera-tan had been the work of a lifetime. "You're here for two things." I raised one finger. "First, you want to have a kid, and I'm the easiest path to making that happen." I raised a second finger. "Second, you are aware of my power, and if you manage to tie me down to you, it would likely be pretty useful. Or so Ajuka must have told you."

I sighed, massaging my temples.

"You don't need to do that," I said, looking up at the ceiling. "Do you know how much you outweigh me and Sakura in terms of power? There's nothing stopping you from just doing whatever you want and screw the consequences. Yet you're here, paying lip service to someone probably more than half a millennium your junior, doing this the nice way. The least I can do in return is give you that sponge for free, lol. You—"

"Shut up."

And I did. Immediately. I looked at Serafall, at how she was massaging her temples as if trying to ward away a headache. Did I say something wrong?

"Do you know what the most important ability for a woman trying to seduce a man is?"

Uh… "Her beauty?"

"Try again."

"…her ability to lie?"

"Closer, but not quite."

"…"

"It's her ability to make the man she's seducing believe that he is loved. To make him desire her, and try everything to get her. Now," she said, smacking her lips thoughtfully as she settled into a comfortable cross legged position, floating as if on an imaginary hammock, "you certainly desire me, but you are utterly incapable of believing that you can actually get me. And so, you’re utterly inseducible. If you don't believe you're capable of getting any girl that's seducing you, that there's the chance you can make her truly fall in love with you, the whole fucking thing fails before it can even begin."

"No," I corrected her. There was a distinct flaw in her assumption. If it was Sona, Tsubaki, or even Rias, I would fall for it. Hook, line, and sinker. There was a part of me that desperately wanted to believe that I was worthy of being loved. That I was a man that another could genuinely fall in love with.

There would always be that nagging voice, whispering from the back of my head, that it made little sense for them to feel that way. But I would be able to suppress that voice, to shove those doubts into the corners of my mind often enough that time would, hopefully, eventually erode them away. Because I desperately wanted to believe that Sona wasn't the type of person that would do such a thing, that Rias was not someone that would enjoy playing with another's feelings. The same way I believed, with all my being, that the sun would sooner go out than Sakura would ever betray me.

It meant that if it ever came to pass, it would hurt all the more, but I didn't want to be the kind of man that let his best chance at happiness slip away out of fear and insecurity. Not anymore.

However. However, this was Serafall fucking Leviathan. The doubt wasn't some easily dismissed whisper. It was a titan with a thousand arms, a hundred legs, and ten gaping, loud mouths.

"Not anyone," I said, my voice firm. "You."

"Me?" She asked, pointing to herself, and I snorted.

"Yes, you, Serafall Leviathan. The strongest female Devil. The fuckmothering Idol of Gehenna." I was ready to say more, but she cut me off by clapping a hand over my mouth while massaging the bridge of her nose with the other. “What are you doing?” I asked into her hand.

"I'm thinking. Clearly, your head is too far up your own ass to smell the shit coming out. So, I'm thinking of a way to make your much-too-big-for-your-own-good brain believe I actually do desire you."

Ha! She'd be at it a good while th—

"Family."

…that was fast. "Run that one by me again?"

"Family. I care about family," Serafall repeated, her voice firm and steady. I believed her. I didn't know what the relationship between her and her parents was, but Serafall Leviathan loved Sona Sitri, there was no doubt about that. Perhaps a little too much, even.

"Where are you going with this?" I couldn't help it. I was genuinely curious now. How did her caring about family translate to—oh.

"Indeed," she said, smiling softly. "You, Shinji Asutaroto, are going to be the father of my children. Let's say I don't love you. Let's say I have absolutely zero personal interest in you. That is not true, but it's your truth, so let's run with it. I am Serafall Leviathan. I care about family, and I want my child to grow up in a loving and stable home."

…Damn. She got me. I was defenseless against arguments like that, based on logic rather than emotion.

Serafall Leviathan was more than half a millennia old. She was a Devil who had been a real fucking Devil. Devils didn't steal souls nowadays. But in the past? It was a standard business practice. It was hard for me to believe that a woman like her would ever just… fall in love with a boy like me.

It wasn't some crippling insecurity or the bullshit selective blindness that plagued harem protagonists everywhere. It was basic, irrefutable common sense.

At the same time… Serafall Leviathan wants a family. Somewhere along the way, she had become a woman who genuinely yearned for it.

I couldn’t believe that Serafall loved me for who I was, but I could believe she was willing to attempt to do so for the sake of her future children.

"Alright, congratulations," I said, giving a single, sardonic clap. "Consider me seduced. Still, what does this change at the end of the day?"

As if a switch had flipped, Serafall’s eyes sparkled with mischief, and for the second time this morning, I realized I'd worded something in a way that was going to get me in trouble.

"Shinji-kun~" she purred, as if the last conversation had never happened. However, this time she planted her shapely ass firmly on my lap, her face nuzzling into the crook of my neck. "You know, I could try to fix you," she whispered, as if telling me a very well kept secret. "But making you fall to my level with me should prove to be way more entertaining for both of us, don't you think so?"

Her tone was playful, but there was an undercurrent of genuine, wicked, tantalizing intent in her voice that sent a shiver down my spine.

"So," she continued, her tongue tracing a slow, deliberate line across my neck. "What do you want for that item? Shi-n-ji-kun~?"

I gulped, my throat suddenly dry. "Shouldn't the fact that I am now seduced make me want to give it to you for free, like before?"

Serafall tsked, playfully wagging her finger. "No, no, no, Shinji-kun. You're thinking about it all wrong. You have something I want. Something that, for reasons we've established, I cannot simply take by force."

Her canines lightly nipped at my earlobe. "Now is the time to use that leverage to your advantage. To give you an opportunity to get the upper hand."

Curiously, the conversation I'd had with Rias—contrarian as it may seem—was exactly what kept me from falling into that trap. Because… it wasn't what I truly wanted.

"Is that type of transactional relationship the one you want your kid's parents to have?"

Her entire body stiffened. She still breathed, but without the forced, predatory intensity from a moment before.

"I could make you worse," I said, a soft smirk playing on my lips. If she genuinely wanted a relationship with me, she'd have to get used to corny shit like this. "But I think making a good girl out of you would be way hotter."

"You—you—" A part of me couldn't believe that I might have actually gotten one over on Serafall Leviathan. Still, faked or not, her flustered expression was cute as hell.

"You can have the sponge for free," I repeated, more gently this time. My hand moved, caressing her warm thigh. Might as well enjoy what was being offered, I supposed. "I also have a request, though. It is, however, completely independent of my previous offer. Whether you accept it or not has no impact on that."

My other hand moved, gently tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Cliche? Maybe, but if she disliked it, I figured she'd let me know.

"I want your, p-panties."

"…"

AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH— WHY DID I STUTTER??! FUUUUUUUUUUUUCKK!!!

"Pff—hahahahahahahaha!" Serafall burst out laughing. She laughed until tears formed in the corners of her eyes. Laughed until she was bent over double, clutching her stomach while floating above me.

The fact that her amusement at my mortification felt more annoying and embarrassing than anything else, well, it had me definitely believe that it was genuine.

"Shinji-kun," she managed to choke out, wiping a tear from her eye. "You're a far more dangerous man than you give yourself credit for."

Turning upside down, she slowly floated down until we were eye-to-eye, like some bizarre, seductive spiderwoman looking at her chosen prey.

"Let's do our best to learn to love each other, yeah?"

And then, she kissed me.

And damn, it was great.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Serafall had not lied.

That was the entire fucking problem. Serafall Leviathan had, not once, told a single lie during that entire conversation.

Shit. Shit!

Had Shinji Asutaroto simply succumbed to her seduction, Serafall wouldn't have given that a second thought. She wouldn't have even considered it. Because she had practice, because she was used to compartmentalizing and dealing with thorny issues at the most opportune moment. Yet, a problem that should have surfaced much, much later had ended up rearing its ugly head now.

Before she could mold him into the perfect, compliant partner, Serafall would have to grapple with the inconvenient truth that she didn't actually want her child to be born of a loveless marriage. It was a childish dream, a silly little fantasy for naive girls, but Serafall had always said, only half-joking, that she would always remain a little girl at heart.

Is that type of transactional relationship the one you want your kid's parents to have?

Fuck. Fuck!

She got out of the apartment, pointedly ignoring the smug, knowing smirk the younger sister shot her as she left. Entering the apartment she had purchased directly across the hall from the siblings—convenience was key, after all—Serafall summoned a whiteboard. On it, she scrawled names. Names of women, girls, herself.

One name, in particular, annoyed her. It excited her. It made her feel things she had sworn to never act upon, and yet had just been handed the perfect opportunity to explore.

It was all Ajuka's fault, she decided.

Serafall would definitely find a way to screw with him the next time they met.

How had her life devolved into planning how to best organize and optimize the inevitable harem of a teenage boy? A harem that included her own little sister, no less!?

It was Ajuka.

She tightened the grip she had on the sponge.

It was all his fault.

I think making a good girl out of you would be way hotter.

Fucking... gah!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Feat: Acquire a pair of Serafall Leviathan's used panties

Rewards: One Gold Item Ticket

[XVII - The Star]

|Elite Item|

Tarot Card - Restores all energy and stamina upon use as well as resetting all Ability Cooldowns. 240 Hour Cooldown

Feat: Through (some) diplomacy and (significant) fortuity, you have managed to win an argument against a woman you find sexually attractive the Idol of Gehenna. Don't expect it to happen often.

Rewards: One Gold Familiar Ticket

[Virgo]

|Rare Familiar|

Fairy Tail - Virgo is a Celestial Spirit, representing the Virgo Constellation. She takes the form of a maid with considerable physical prowess and skill in Earth Magic. She is also a massive masochist which aids her endurance. As a Celestial Spirit, she is unable to be killed by normal means and her power scales with her owners.(Celestial spirits exist in Familiar Space instead of Celestial Realm by default unless Author decides otherwise)

Feat: You have entered an unofficial relationship with Serafall Leviathan, one of the four Maous, and the strongest female Devil, in which you have both decided to give a serious try at loving the other.

Rewards: One Gold Trait Ticket

[Sunshine Charm]

|Uncommon Trait|

You exude a vibe of goodness and purity, good-aligned beings like you more. It is easier to convince that you are doing good.

If Rias already, for some reason, complained about my 'gap moe', then with this… the hilarity of such thoughts only managed to momentarily overpower the pure wave of abashment that hit me. For the Gacha to award me such a Feat… it would be because not just me, but Serafall too considered us to be in a relationship.

I was always a suspicious man by nature, but when faced with the facts so directly, so irrefutably, well… even someone like me couldn't ignore them in that scenario.

…gah, whatever, whatever, whatever! I'll think about this later, for now—

The weekend had passed in a blur. Talks had ensued, explanations had been given (fucking Ajuka), some arguments had been had, but in the end, tomorrow was a new day. A new week would have started. And for the first time in a long time, I had a place to be. A school to attend, where friends were waiting for me, where I belonged to a club full of incredible people, and where I wasn’t merely looking forward to coming back home to kill time on the internet.

Outside my door, in the kitchen, Sakura Asutaroto—my cute (non-blood-related) sister—was cooking me dinner.

Life… was good.