Disclaimer: All characters depicted in this story are eighteen years of age or older. Any sexual content involves only consenting adults. This is a work of fiction.
Author's note: The rating game starts in chapter 76, as there is a small inter-arc to get a surprise peerage member in a hurry. Won't spoil it, but it's coming soon! Hope you all enjoy this chapter and let me know what you all think! Chapter 71 comes tomorrow night, just as I return from classes. It just needs some passes to make sure it's as perfect as it can be.
A Marvelous Devil.
Chapter 70: Cornering a Demon.
Dante Andromalius.
"Roygun Belphegor?! Dante, baby, what is the meaning of this?!" Celestine all but screeched as soon as I teleported our group back home.
Her face was as ashy as the territory's sky, and Hadrian wasn't much better.
The party had completely derailed after the news broke on the Devil Net, something that I didn't like. It truly hadn't been my intention to steal Latia's spotlight that way.
Not that she cared in the slightest, being worried about her friend's boyfriend and the mess he found himself in.
Ergo, me.
Which was nice. I liked knowing that Rias and Sona had people who worried that much about their feelings because they truly were rattled at the fact that I would be fighting the second-ranked devil of the Rating Games.
Honestly, I didn't expect someone that high up.
But that only spoke to how deep the pockets of the Great King Faction were, or how intertwined they were with one, if not the most important circle around devils in the Underworld.
I still wasn't sure, but it worked either way.
It was… stifling, having to act as a young devil.
The only reason I kept it up this long was that I found it hilarious, but every time I wanted to say something, I thought better of it and continued the charade.
During my very long life, I didn't have many opportunities to act this way. But I could see why that trope was as popular as it was in some of the books Tandy and Rias liked to read.
But at the same time, it wasn't what I was.
I wouldn't say it went against my nature, obviously. I was a demon. Manipulation and trickery were inside our veins as much as the desire to own it all.
But again, it was stifling.
I had expected someone high up ever since I saw inside their vile little greedy souls, sure, but no one as high as this devil they pulled up. She was, from what the murmurs around the ballroom mentioned, in the top five strongest female devils in the whole Underworld.
Probably top three, some claimed, which made a particularly vile brat, one I somewhat remembered paying attention to during Sona's birthday, scowl. Latia's cousin and the heir to his family didn't like hearing that for some reason.
But she was still below Grayfia and Serafall, and no one denied that.
Would it be a difficult fight? I didn't know, but I hoped she pushed me as much as I wanted.
I wanted to let go, to show a portion of what I was to the whole world. I wanted to be noticed, to be looked up to, to be worshiped. To extinguish the greed inside these idiots who thought they could go against me. And to fuel those that felt they could take me.
"Dante, your other side is coming out," Tandy giggled, putting her hand on my shoulder while Jean walked in front of me and forcefully pulled the grin growing on my face back down.
Whoops.
Heh. I was getting excited.
"Really, Dante?" Nyra deadpanned, sighing. She couldn't hide her relief as her lips twitched, seeing I wasn't particularly worried. "You do know who she is, right?"
"The barebones?" I tilted my head before shrugging. "Hadn't heard her name before, or if I did, I wasn't paying attention."
"Of course you weren't," Misla sighed, also looking somewhat less nervous before her eyes sharpened. She walked toward me and started pulling my cheek. "Now, explain, Dante, dear. What exactly is the bet the news mentioned? They didn't put any details, but as soon as I saw that word, I felt my stomach flip."
"Ah, that," my lips twitched as her eyes narrowed even further. "I swear it sounds worse than it is."
"And why exactly is that, son?" Hadrian asked seriously.
"Because I'll win?" I looked at him confusedly.
Sona and Rias, along with their Queens, took a seat on a sofa, looking thoroughly drained from everything.
They didn't like the fact that I didn't want to leave as soon as the party took a dive, but image was important, and as a cocky little shit, it would have looked strange if I ran away with my tail between my legs.
No, I kept dancing with my girls and having a good time. Or at least as good as it could be with just Tandy, Jean, and Rogue matching my rhythm while the devils were so worried.
I got to dance with Latia once more, taking the opportunity to ask what she liked and more about her to get a better idea for her gift. It would focus on her secondary bloodline, mostly to fuck with Lord Astaroth and his heir who wouldn't be able to use it, but I still wasn't sure what I could give her that would mesh well with her usual power and her ability to manipulate time.
Considering how… basic her bloodline was. She didn't have that much experience with it since she was born outside the Agares and her mother wasn't born with it.
"She's the second-ranked, Dante," Rias looked worried. "Do you want me to borrow Isane for that fight? And maybe Gasper? I know he doesn't like you, but he would surely help if it were needed."
"Cute," I smiled gratefully, "but that's not necessary, Rias. I appreciate it."
I grinned at the mention of the irritating little shit. He was unbelievably angry at me for knocking him out and always bolted far away from me whenever I approached his location.
It was a shame, really, because I was genuinely interested in his power, but it wasn't worth scaring him even more. I had to take it slow for his sake, which was… new to me.
Nice, though. The only reason why I allowed it. He was like a mortal pet... I had to earn his trust with treats and positive reinforcement until he forgot about his fear of me.
"The bet, Dante," Misla smiled frigidly, once more pulling my cheek.
"It's about our food products only," I pried her hand away with a roll of my eyes. "You know what they wanted, so does Nyra. Basically, if I were to lose, our products would go through them, while they would also enjoy the fruits of Tandy's hard work, so that their lower-quality products would start to compare to ours. Nothing important."
"Because you won't lose," Misla nodded, taking a deep breath.
"Exactly!" I grinned happily. "Glad that someone here understands me."
Celestine's hand worriedly played with my hair, looking directly into my eyes before she also took a deep breath.
"Fine. You're a grown adult, and you know what you're doing, baby."
"And if you win?" Hadrian asked curiously.
"Their contracts with the Dantalions are null and void," I cackled. "It will be a lot of work, but between Rogue, Tandy, Jean, and me, I believe we could at the very least quadruple our efficiency. Maybe even higher. The main problem would be territory, as I don't want the whole Ashen Court to be basically farmland. But the Vapulas and maybe even the Sitri would enjoy some extra income; I don't imagine them complaining about that."
Rias sighed. "I wish I had your confidence, Dante."
"You know," I frowned minutely while grinning inside, "technically, even if you win, you wouldn't escape your marriage."
Sona sighed knowingly at that, and Rias turned as white as a sheet and started sweating.
She closed her eyes, visibly replaying her words during the party before she banged her head against the wall. Hard enough to dent it.
"I fucked up," she whispered in disbelief.
"You didn't follow the plan," I shrugged.
Just to burst out laughing at the tears pooling in the corners of her eyes.
"You're lucky you're cute, Rias," I wiped her tears with the pad of my thumb. "While not on plan, my conversation with Rakul Phenex will ensure that you're left alone. Don't worry your pretty little head about it."
"What do you mean, son?" Hadrian asked seriously.
He always became like this when that family was mentioned.
I sent a small smile his way.
"Rakul Phenex is quite an intelligent devil, Father. It was obvious since the council meeting that I care for Rias, and he was quite accepting of my terms," I grinned. "He knows the danger I represent to his family, and he knows that he has wronged me thanks to his second son. I told him I expect reparations after my Rating Game, leaving it up to him to decide what he does."
I stopped at that, rubbing my chin.
"I wonder if he would give his son up when I defeat Roygun," I chuckled darkly. "Wouldn't that be fun?"
Everyone looked at me strangely, some even taking steps back as Tandy just sighed and pinched my cheek.
Ugh. They were just so damn boring. I wouldn't even kill the kid, really. He had touched what was mine, but I was also clear that I wasn't the offended party.
It was Hadrian, and whatever punishment or apology would be for him, not me. He could do whatever he wanted, but he wouldn't ask for the idiot's life. He wasn't like that.
"I already received calls from my parents, as well as many different news networks," Misla said after a moment. "What do you want me to say, dear?"
"Reassure your parents, Misla. Tell them that everything remains as before," I nodded, "and for the news…"
I scowled for a moment before a grin appeared on my face.
"Oh no, that can't be good," Sona deadpanned knowingly.
"The reporter Corvin and the one from DGN. Call either of them and see if they can convince my opponent to join; I find myself quite curious about meeting her before the game happens."
"Yeah, that won't be good," Jean sighed even as her lips twitched, putting a commiserating hand on Sona's shoulder. They had grown surprisingly close, but then again, they were somewhat similar.
If you squinted.
Misla, for her part, only giggled, nodded and left the room, followed by Sai and Kuisha.
"Sai," I called out before he could pass the door, and he looked around. "Start pushing Rias harder. I will take some time to prepare Tandy for the game."
I acted as if I didn't see the expressions appearing on Jean and Rogue at that, smiling inwardly as I hid those specific thoughts from the redhead.
Sai nodded, looking serious. "Your game is in three weeks; hers will happen at most a week after that, but I doubt it. When you win, the Phenex will want to have Rias's game as soon as possible, so everyone still has your game in mind. I'll have her ready for Riser by then."
It was funny, Sai wasn't dumb despite being a musclehead. He just didn't care about politics.
I loved feeling his trust, though. Not once had he doubted my capabilities.
Obviously, he knew better than the rest, as he was stronger than them and we sparred and let go every once in a while, but it still felt nice.
"We will join you every once in a while; I'll show Rias some tricks before her fight," I nodded. "Ah, and tell Misla to start having talks with Lord Dantalion. Wouldn't do to break the Underworld's idea of me, eh?"
Sairaorg snorted before nodding firmly, closing the door behind him.
Then I turned to look at Rogue.
I could feel Tandy's amusement as I stepped into the goth's personal space and grabbed her chin gently, raising her head just a bit as she froze in place.
"While it was fun messing with you, I know that I won't have much time for anything until the game is done," I said quietly, approaching slowly toward her parted lips as she gasped when my hand coiled around her back.
"Dante… I… I want..." she said slowly, looking almost hopeful and excited.
I didn't let her finish.
"I'll have to prepare to defeat Roygun with Tandy, but I'll make sure to take you on a date soon enough," I smiled, kissing her cheek.
She glared, gasped, and did everything in between before her hands clutched my shirt and pulled me into a proper kiss.
She tasted divine, her lips parting as her tongue started exploring my mouth. Her lack of experience showed, but she more than made up for it with her passion.
Adorable.
A minute later, I broke the kiss, mostly because I didn't want to be here when Celestine came out of her shock.
Giving her a small peck, I winked at Jean before waving my hand at the rest.
The Dark Force enveloped my Light and me as we appeared in the Gusion Castle, in the middle of thousands of warped demonic beasts, and I grinned.
Tandy burst out laughing next to me, her light coming out of her body in waves.
"You do know you could have just asked, right? Don't think I didn't pay attention when you were dancing with them; they're head over heels for you," she said after calming down, her light-made wings forming behind her as they each lengthened to cover almost a hundred meters.
"Oh, I know," I grinned, "but I promised myself something, my love. I wouldn't be the one to ask."
And with that said, we jumped into the incoming stampede, Tandy's laughter echoing behind me.
Reverse psychology fucking worked, damn it.
Two days later.
Ashen Court.
"God, I hate you so much," Tandy groaned, her light regenerating her bitten-off finger as we stepped into the hall of my castle.
"You know you don't, my love," I chuckled, also regenerating my lost limb.
There were some scary creatures the deeper we went into the castle, stronger than the one who managed to get Nyra's grandfather with that nasty rotting curse. Especially now that they had spent many months getting empowered by my own essence.
Was it a mistake? Not really. It made the Gusion Castle and the surrounding area truly a fearsome pit of demonic beasts I could use in a multitude of ways.
Like throwing inside those that irritated me. I couldn't wait for the first idiot to force my hand.
But I was right to block Sairaorg's entrance. He wouldn't last that long inside, even as strong as he was.
"You're right, I don't, you insane bastard," Tandy groaned, slumping into her seat.
There was a deathly silence in the room as everyone watched us with varying expressions of shock and disgust.
I didn't blame them. The past two days weren't particularly gentle with us.
I didn't even remember all the close calls we had. Tandy hadn't died this time because we were working as a real team, unlike her previous training. I lost count of all the times I had to create clothes for us, considering that this reality was particularly fond of destroying them. It reached the point where I didn't bother until the final hours.
I wasn't used to fight in the nude.
We were caked in blood, from ours to the monsters'.
"What in the world happened to you two?" Celestine snapped worriedly from her seat.
The only reason she didn't approach to fuss over us was the damn smell.
It was interesting that I finally found her limit to her love.
They looked green in the face. All of them. The worst were Rogue and Jean, but all the younger devils looked sick to the stomach.
"You don't wanna know, Mom," Tandy sighed tiredly.
"I can't even lift a finger to clean myself at this point." She pouted pitifully, sending Sona a begging look.
I started eating without a care, feeling a nice burning in my muscles. I knew focusing only on demonic power and copies of Kamar-Taj magic would be fun. I had ignored them a lot during the past few months, considering that Tandy filled my Cosmic Power well significantly faster than what I used, but I hadn't grown to what Seere was by ignoring all my advantages.
Cosmic Power was powerful but costly, and not something I wished to overuse most of the time, given how limited it was when I didn't have souls under my control.
Demonic power, on the other hand, was a lot more rigid, but it had its own interesting uses.
Sona threw orbs of water our way, and they started vibrating, washing the gory mess away from our skin.
I snapped my fingers once she was done, sending the water into the Dark Force.
"You done?" I looked at Tandy's hand, where all five fingers appeared intact.
Damn fucker disintegrated my arm with a bite. I had barely managed to push most of my Light away from its maw before it chomped like it was the best thing in the world.
They liked Cosmic Power for some reason... Hehe.
It hurt. It made my vision swim, and I loved every moment of it.
My arm had almost finished reforming, and I flexed the muscles to make sure I hadn't done anything wrong. It wasn't hard, obviously, but with how tired my mortal body felt, making mistakes was possible.
Sairaorg looked at my regrowing arm with interest, and I could feel the excitement rising inside his soul.
"Don't even think about it," I sighed, nodding in Misla's direction where she was glaring at the grinning idiot. "I think you should worry more about what is outside the castle walls."
"As he said, my son," she said acidly. "If I hear a single time that Dante or Tandy here had to patch you up because of your stupidity, I'm chaining you into the castle grounds."
Sairaorg pouted pathetically as I laughed.
"Don't give me ideas, Misla," Celestine huffed, glaring at me.
Sona ran out of the room then, not bothering to say anything as I looked at her back curiously.
"Did something happen?" I looked around in confusion.
Everyone shook their heads.
We continued eating the refilled plates Akeno set before us, Tandy moaning in delight with every bite.
We hadn't eaten anything since we left. The bastards were endless and relentless with their attacks.
Tandy was even crying happy tears as she ate. I rolled my eyes at the exaggeration.
The door opened with a bang as Sona led some of the guards inside the hall.
She had truly taken control of things while we were gone, considering I hadn't told anyone anything about listening to her, but they didn't look put off by following her orders with serious expressions.
A complete difference from when they interacted with Tandy.
Not that I minded. If things worked the way I wished, and I didn't see myself failing, she would be with me until death's slim fingers pried her from my cooling corpse. And that wouldn't be happening.
She was carrying a laptop in her hands, much more advanced than what I had seen on this Earth, but knowing Ajuka, I wasn't that surprised.
Technology was much, much more advanced in my home dimension, though, but we had many different planets filled with life unlike this place.
Which was as strange as fucking Yahweh dying. Fucking absurd reality.
The guards carried kilograms of paper. Notes, from a cursory glance. Filled with Sona's writing.
She was insane to think I would read all that.
She set the laptop down in the middle of the table with more force than was necessary, shoving my almost empty plate aside to make room for the rest.
The guards looked at me with fear in their eyes before glancing at Sona, whose lips thinned as she nodded once.
One poor devil gulped before setting the papers in front of me and scurried away. The rest followed suit as soon as they finished dumping everything on the table.
Before I could even ask what was going on, a magical circle formed on her hands and water rose out of my chair, coiling around my wrists and arms, tightening slightly.
I glanced to the side only to find Tandy similarly bound. A lot tighter than mine, which made my Light whistle appreciatively as she winked at Sona.
Who, surprisingly, didn't blush like usual.
"What is it, Sona?" I raised my eyebrow slightly.
"Sit and listen. For once in your life, please," she said softly, not looking up as she opened her laptop.
Her spell was strong, probably the strongest she could honestly manage without draining herself, but I didn't fail to see her worry, how her hands trembled slightly as she typed her password and opened some folders.
The rest in the room looked the same.
I sighed before a small smile grew on my face, slumping onto my seat like a scolded child.
That brought sighs of relief from everyone around the table.
Tandy snickered even as her eyes fought to stay open. My Light was tired, and even her regeneration had taken its toll on her psyche.
"This is everything I could get on Roygun Belphegor's peerage," she said, turning the screen so that we could see. "And before you ask, no, this isn't only public record. I called in a couple of favors some friends owed me and even approached my sister to get my hands on this."
She scowled prettily even as she looked away from my eyes in embarrassment.
That must have stung, but I smiled.
"Thank you, Sona. I appreciate your help," I nodded.
"My sister knew a lot, and it wasn't cheap but… I had something she wanted, so I managed to convince her to help. Roygun's peerage is known to my sister specifically because of how varied it is. And how many complications she has caused Serafall over the years." Sona blushed as I opened my mouth.
She shook her head.
"She doesn't discriminate, and Roygun is a complete nutjob about the Rating Games. She has done everything in her power to rise as much as she has, including accepting some interesting members to her peerage, no matter their origin," she explained as a photo of a robed woman appeared. I could only tell because of the bumps around her chest, considering she was clothed from head to toe, including a mask. "Like her Queen, Charon. A Grim Reaper."
"Isn't that the name of… someone important?" Tandy asked curiously, her eyes lighting up as she focused on the gigantic scythe on the woman's shoulders.
"The ferryman of the dead, yes," Sona nodded direly. "She descends from his line and served the death god Hades before defecting to join Roygun's peerage around a century ago. She is strong, and her weapon can cut the lifespan of anything it touches, including terrain. She has been noted as being capable of affecting even magic itself."
"Why does a skeleton have tits?" I tilted my head, unable to help it.
Tandy snorted.
"Why did I expect any better?" Sona sighed, dragging her hand down her face. "She is dangerous, Dante. Enough that she was able to hold the Emperor himself for over half an hour even if she was unable to defeat him. Do not underestimate her."
Sona kept going, clicking through faces and details to the point that I grew genuinely interested.
It looked like Roygun was like me, enjoying interesting, varied beings.
And what gems she had found.
A human man called Gideon, who made me straighten up in interest. A Sacred Gear wielder like Isane and Gasper, but his wasn't a Longinus.
Crooked Fortune, a gear capable of affecting the odds of things happening. It wasn't without a cost, draining vast amounts of demonic power for him to do some honestly absurd things in some videos Sona showed.
No. I narrowed my eyes; it wasn't what I thought at the start. It wasn't probability manipulation, which was a good thing. Being what I was, my soul had some defense against something like that, but my mortal body didn't.
Thankfully, it was something a little more basic, still absurd, sure, but not as bad. Luck manipulation, capable of stealing his opponents' luck to fuel his own as well as affecting his surroundings. He could even fuel it with his own life force, or the life force Roygun's Queen stole to make it even stronger. They meshed particularly well together, which made me smile brightly.
This world's Yahweh, or whatever he left behind, had a sense of humor, considering the mortal had a gambling addiction even before learning about his power according to the information Sona managed to gather.
Then another member, a kitsune named Suzune. With a very proficient use of illusions. Capable of playing with everyone's minds, known as a trickster to the devils, for once forcing Roygun's enemy peerage to take themselves out.
Curious. She had four tails, but rumors were saying that they, too, were illusions. They were the two Bishops.
Another interesting one that made me perk up was her single Knight. A feral vampire who only listened to Roygun's orders, to the point where there was an... incident once where she attacked a player outside of the Rating Game and almost killed the poor devil long after the game ended.
They gave her a loss for that, and Sona showed a photo of Roygun, an admittedly gorgeous devil pouting with tears in her eyes at the camera.
She had needed both Knight pieces to reincarnate, and was a master swordswoman, but curiously, mostly used blood magic in the Rating Games.
Only against the other top 5 players did she go all out.
Her name was Ilsabet, and no one knew how old she was, considering that no one had heard her speak even once.
Roygun's single Rook was just as interesting. A Jotunn.
He was quite different from the ones back home, but still a damn mountain of a man capable of returning to his giant size at will. Strong, being a complete physical fighter that wove his own nature into his blows, freezing people solid with just a graze.
He had also taken both Rooks and was the last member of Roygun's peerage, having caused a political shitstorm that made Serafall almost pull her own hair out. The only reason it didn't get worse was that the Frost Giant was kind of a runt from his tribe, only growing into his potential after joining Roygun.
Sona looked amused at that, almost vindictive. I wondered what her deal with Sera was.
But I got it, I couldn't imagine Odin being happy with that. The cunt.
It was always fun to mess with him, as dangerous as that was. I wondered for a moment if he was the same here. Maybe this time he wouldn't be a colossal racist. Just because I was a demon didn't mean I was like Mephisto. Fucking bastards.
The final three pieces, the pawns, were not as interesting as those two, but still curious.
A tengu, whatever that was. The incredibly fast monster of Asian origin and an expert in aerial battle. A young dragon who looked adorable in her human form, who never left Roygun's side and never actually fought seriously even when her team was losing.
The final piece made me frown, because I honestly had no idea what they were.
I couldn't even tell if it was a he or a she by just the photo, looking completely androgynous.
"And the one who makes Roygun's peerage the second rank," Sona scowled in jealousy as she glared at Rias who grinned victoriously. "A Peri, called Nasrin. A genius with wind and other elements, strong enough that she's capable of affecting the weather. Older than most devils, and more importantly, one of the best healers in the Underworld. She was capable of healing an injury caused by Roygun's own clan trait once when an enemy tricked her into attacking her own Bishop, managing to slow down the damage enough for them to pull a win."
It was marvelous. I couldn't help but grin in excitement at the fight to come. Roygun Belphegor's peerage was a masterpiece, with each piece meshing with the others, and, from what Sona had explained, the woman herself was a master tactician.
"Oh my," I chuckled. "Thank you, dear. Truly, I might have to even thank Paimon for bringing this to my attention."
"Still confident, baby?" Celestine asked quietly.
I looked at the papers, then at the picture of Roygun with her peerage smiling brightly at the camera.
"I am," I smiled confidently, feeling a thrill of excitement course through my body.
I broke through my bindings, lifted Sona into my arms, and kissed her until she was breathless. "You're the best."
She scrunched her nose.
"I know," she raised her chin, "but you do smell, Dante."
Tandy hugged Sona, having also broken free.
Then my Light also scrunched her nose. "Love you, girl. I'll make sure to pay you back later," she giggled and winked while licking her lips hungrily at a blushing Sona. "But she's right, Dante. We smell putrid."
"A real bath is long overdue," I admitted, sighing.
Waving at the rest, Tandy and I retreated into our room.
The sounds of two chairs scraping were the last thing I heard just before we rounded the corner, and I smiled victoriously.
Dante Andromalius.
One hour later.
"You're such an ass man, and an ass," Tandy giggled before moaning as I played with her behind, almost transfixed by the bubbly bubble butt in front of me. "Are they still outside?"
We were just playing around, both truly tired after the inhuman massacre of the previous days, but I was doing it for a good reason! Not because I was a mortal pervert.
"Yeah," I grinned, kissing and biting the inviting wet cheek in front of me before standing up. "They have been pacing around the bed for like fifty minutes. I think Jean is starting to suspect I'm just fucking around with them since I'm hiding our minds from her."
Tandy giggled tiredly, kissing my nose, then my jaw before tucking her head into the crook of my neck.
"Are you sure we'll be fine?" she asked quietly. "Her peerage has more experience than I do, and even if you add Jean and Rogue, we would be outnumbered."
"Numbers are a quality all their own, yes, but I know we will win, love." I nuzzled her hair. "I picked you all for a reason, because all of you are special in your own way. I won't say it won't be hard, or that we won't lose a single piece during the fight, but I know what you all can do. I trust in you as much as I ask you all to trust me."
Tandy sighed, pressing her nude body against my chest.
"You can be so sweet when you want," she muttered, looking up with a small smile. "I love you, Dante. Truly."
"I love you as well." I hugged her closer. "You're my Light. My other half."
"Wouldn't it be a third?" she cocked her eyebrow before chuckling. "Or sixth? I lost count already."
I spanked her left cheek, chuckling as we watched it bounce enticingly. "You like them as much as I do, you minx."
Tandy giggled, nodding in acceptance.
"Want to see if we can make them run away?" My lips twitched in amusement.
"What are you thinking?" she asked curiously as I leaned into her ear and whispered the plan.
She cackled, nodding and biting her lip with a growing blush as I deactivated the silencing wards inside the bathroom, grabbed my Light in a princess carry without drying ourselves, and kicked the door open.
Rogue and Jean were flashed an image they wouldn't forget anytime soon.
Not that they hadn't seen it many, many times before. Rogue through draining Tandy multiple times, and Jean by reading everybody's minds around the castle.
But much to our surprise, even as they looked our glistening bodies up and down with wide, hungry eyes, they didn't bolt or even cover their eyes as I expected.
If anything, they just spent a minute in silence carving the memory into their minds before their eyes met mine as I lowered the pouting Tandy onto our bed.
"Your tricks won't work today, Dante," Jean said through clenched teeth even as Rogue looked sad.
"Why haven't you asked us?" Rogue asked quietly before her eyes turned dark.
The goth poked Jean in the ribs, and the redhead nodded firmly.
Her telekinetic hold felt like a mountain pressing my body into the bed as the pair of angry mutants glared in my direction.
Oh my. Did I miscalculate?
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