"That was quite an impression you left on the older Sitri, My Lord."
The first thing Raizel heard when they appeared out of the Magical Circle, inside their castle, was Albedo's teasing remark.
"What I said was the truth." The young boy smiled. "Her appearance is a deception. Underneath her childish persona, resides a Devil with power that can rival that of Ajuka. Yet she hides it and hides it well. She is a beautiful Devil."
Albedo looked at her Young Lord in surprise, but then smiled and leaned in to plant a kiss on his head.
"Congratulations on acquiring your Evil Pieces, My Lord."
"Thank you, Albedo." He smiled back at her and then eagerly turned to look at his mother, who was wearing a very light smile on her lips.
"Show me." She told him, and Raizel complied by opening the box that contained his Evil Pieces, allowing his mother to inspect them.
Pandora was seemingly only interested in the Mutated Pieces as she picked each one up and carefully assessed them with her magic.
"Your Mutated Knight holds the attributes of a Rook to an extent. It would equate to a value of 6." She said as she placed the pieces back inside her box. "Both your Rooks are Mutated, with one possessing Bishop's attributes and the other possessing Knight's attributes. They would both equate to a value of 7." She revealed and closed the box. "As for the two Mutated Pawns, they both possess the strength boost of Rooks and the Magical boost of Bishops. They are false queens with a Value of 8."
Hearing her words, Raizel was lost in his thoughts. The higher an Evil Piece's Value, the more precious it was as it could be used to reincarnate even some strong beings into your servants. Of course, no matter how powerful an Evil Piece was, it could still not reincarnate a God into part Devil, but taking them in as a servant was still possible. He knew it because his mother had two in her peerage.
And Raizel was confident that his Evil Pieces were strong enough to make some Gods his servants. After all, he was his mother's son.
"Use them wisely." Pandora gently patted his head, bringing him out of his thoughts.
"Yes, Mother." He obediently nodded his head and then smiled as he remembered the three people who were eagerly waiting for him to accept them in his peerage.
"Go." His mother seemed to have read his thoughts as she allowed him to leave, and Raizel bowed to her before walking out of the hall.
As excited as he was, his steps were calm and he seemed to be in no rush, not minding that the distance he had to cover was nearly a mile and that it would take him several minutes to cover it.
His mother was very strict with the rules inside the Castle, and no one was allowed to use Magic to teleport from one point to the other unless they were called or it was an emergency.
He once asked her why they had such a rule, and she had told him that it was there to teach them patience and to teach them the difference between something important that required their immediate attention, and something that could wait.
Years of following the rule had taught Raizel a lot, and now, he barely felt any need to use Magical Circles to travel inside the Castle. And if he was being honest, he liked taking a walk inside his silent Castle, which, according to Albedo, was the biggest one in the Underworld.
Several minutes later, he reached his section of the Castle and entered the private hall that was next to his bedchamber.
"Master Raizel," A silver-haired maid, who was only a couple of years older than him, rushed up to him, and then she courteously bowed. "Welcome home!"
She was his personal maid, a Pure-Blood Devil of the House of Lucifuge, daughter of his Mother's butler and maid, Neil Lucifuge and Hilda Crocell.
"Freya." He smiled at her and then looked at the other two youngsters who were rushing over.
"Raizel!" Another girl with silver hair arrived next to him, but unlike Freya, she was wearing a very serious expression, and her red eyes were as beautiful as ever.
She was Moka, a Blood Demon of the House of Akashiya, and like every other person of her race, she was someone who possessed terrifying power.
Blood Demons were created by the first Darcaedes under the instructions of Mother Lilith, and they were amongst the most powerful kinds of Demons. And these Blood Demons were the Ancestors of the Vampires, beings far stronger and superior to those creatures of the night.
Raizel nodded to her assuringly, telling her that he did remember his promise, and only then did Moka relax a little and lightly smiled at him.
The last person to approach him was Ban, a tall young boy with pale blue hair, thin black eyebrows, and scarlet eyes. He was two years older than him, and a friend that he had had ever since his birth, just like Moka and Freya.
And like Moka, Ban was a Demon too, but he was a Demon of Greed and possessed his clan's trait, Snatch.
"So, Master, which Evil Piece will you be giving me?" Ban straightforwardly asked with a smirk, and Raizel grinned at his question.
"We shall see what Piece chooses you." He said and then opened the box in his hands.
Raizel used his magic to call the Evil Pieces, which answered him by starting to fly out of the box one by one, assembling in the air before him.
He handed the box to his maid and then raised his hand.
His mother had taught him a spell last night, and he was going to use it as it was meant to find out which Evil Pieces suited the subject the most.
Both Ban and Moka eagerly looked at the Mutated Pieces, not too surprised that Raizel had managed to get five of them since they knew how outrageous he was. But their moods fell as soon as they saw the Evil Pieces that resonated with them.
"It is how it is." Raizel smiled as they all found the pieces that resonated with them, and then recalled the rest of the pieces back inside their box, which now had three empty slots for Pawns. "Do you want it or not?" He asked, and his maid happily nodded to him, and though displeased at the results, both Moka and Ban nodded as well.
Seeing them all agree, he chuckled, having already expected the results. And then he made the box containing the Evil Pieces disappear from Freya's hand, sending it to the bedside table in his room.
"Ready?"
"Yes." They all answered, and then Raizel called forth his Demonic Power.
"I, Raizel Darcaedes, hereby accept the three of you into my Peerage as my Servants, a decision you have reached out of your free will. You are now forever bound to me unless I set you aside, and your loyalty now solely lies to your Master and the House of Darcaedes."
His words ended and the three Evil Pieces disappeared inside the chests of their recipients, unleashing their Demonic Power.
Raizel chuckled when he saw the surprised look on Moka and Ban's faces. They were surprised at the boost in power they were experiencing.
"The strength of the Evil Piece is dependent on its Master and then on the Subject who receives it. The stronger the master and the subjects grow, the stronger the Evil Pieces grow." He smiled as he said those words. "Your Pieces will keep gaining power as you and I grow stronger. And they will help you reach the limits of your potential." He told them, and both Moka and Ban determinedly looked at him.
"Let's fight." Moka voiced her desire, but Raizel shook his head.
"I have something to do. You two can fight against each other." He said and then continued, "Mother has invited all the Devil Houses to my birthday party, the day after tomorrow. Be on your best behaviour."
"Okay." They both nodded, but Raizel kept looking Ban in the eyes.
"Dress formally. No skin-tight leather clothes. And you can't attend the party shirtless this time."
"Damm it." Ban clicked his tongue and turned his face away, now struggling to decide on his outfit since Raizel had forbidden him from wearing what he liked.
Moka enjoyed the struggle on her friend's face and then grabbed the boy by his collar as she dragged him away to fight with her.
"Come with me," Raizel said to the girl who was awaiting her orders, and she obediently followed him to his room.
Freya blushed a little when she saw him start taking off his clothes, but then she followed his lead and took off her own, knowing well what Raizel wanted to do.
The two of them climbed into the bed together, got under the sheets, and then they hugged each other as they drifted off to sleep, not to wake up for the next two days.
The Sin of Sloth was strong in the two of them.