DxD: Path of the Gremory Prince

While I was holding the golden ticket in my right hand, I lifted it up and brought it close to my head. Then I closed my eyes and thought.

'Makima, the Devil Control... Makima, the Devil Control...'

At that moment, the golden ticket glowed so brightly that it lit up the entire living room of my apartment for an instant. 

When I opened my eyes, I saw before me a woman floating a few centimeters off the ground. She had salmon-tinted red hair and yellow eyes with concentric circles. 

"Makima..." I muttered in disbelief.

Even knowing that I had summoned her, having Makima in the flesh in front of me was amazing. I could see that she was no longer a character from a manga. She was here. Real. Or at least she seemed real at first.

In fact, Makima, as well as floating, was a little translucent. Beside her, there were two other Makimas. Three different versions of the same character.

The first, the one I was looking at, was wearing her characteristic uniform: a white shirt, a black tie, and dress pants.

The second Makima was wearing a long black dress, and her hair was braided.

And the last of the three Makimas was dressed similarly to the first, differing only in a long black overcoat.)

In front of each of these versions of the same character, there was a panel with a description of each of them. Apparently, this was there to help me make the best possible choice.

+

[Name of Being: Makima (Version 172)

Title: The Devil Control

Race: Devil

Age: Unknown

_

Description: This Makima was altered by User 5655 through a Kotoamatsukami when she was about to kill him during a battle. The technique he put into her practically quenched her thirst for control.

_

Trauma Level: Medium.

Explanation: Contractor 5655 got bored because she wouldn't comply with his libidinous requests and sold her.

_

Power Level: Currently low.

Explanation: Devil Control's power is equivalent to the number of creatures under her control, and at the moment, there aren't any.]

+

I put a hand to my chin, looking at the screen with the information about the first Makima.

"Hmmm... I'd never thought about it, but the Kotoamatsukami is one of the most powerful abilities in the entire Naruto universe. If it could subvert even Makima, I don't know who would be immune to it."

After Makima Version 172, there was a Makima with great trauma and average powers. She was the closest to what I could call the original version.

And the last Makima, the one in the black dress, was the most powerful and dangerous of them all. According to her description, she possessed enough power to control all the world's human armies and legions of devils. 

'I chose Makima because she is powerful and a devil, which will make it easier to explain her origin to the people of this world. So, the first Makima is the closest to what I want. She's not powerful, but she's under control. Choosing the other versions would be a long shot.'

With that in mind, I made my decision easy.

The golden ticket understood my wish immediately and disappeared from my hand. Then Makima, in the white shirt and black tie, materialized.

The other versions disappeared quickly, as if they were temporary illusions.

When Makima finished materializing, her feet touched the ground lightly, and she seemed to wake up from a trance. She blinked a few times and glanced around her, moving only her eyes. Finally, she looked directly at me and, with a serious expression, asked: 

"You're the only one here... Am I right in assuming that you're my new owner?"

I raised my eyebrows slightly, surprised that she was so direct and assertive.

'I couldn't expect anything less from her,' I thought.

I held out my right hand to her, palm up. She looked at my hand for a moment before extending hers too. When our hands touched, in a spontaneous gesture, I kissed the back of her hand.

"My name is Milicas Gremory," I said with a quiet smile. "I don't see myself as your owner, but as your partner."

Her eyes, which seemed to look straight into my soul, relaxed a little.

"So... you're different from my previous owner," she murmured.

"What do you know about the situation you're in?"

"My previous owner explained everything about the Office and his contract, but this world we're in... it feels different from my own. It is new to me."

She finally allowed herself to move her body to analyze her surroundings and looked at the television, the fridge, the sofas, and so on.

"Despite that, not everything seems to be different," Makima said.

"In fact, this world isn't so different from yours," I said, and Makima looked at me with an expression that was almost innocent. "Here, there are devils like you and me. There's also an underworld where devils live. Humans, cars, planes, weapons — all of that exists here too. The major difference here is that the existence and power of the devils is not directly related to humans. Most of the humans don't even know about our existence. We're just a different race here."

"Excuse me, but did you say you're a devil?"

"Yes, I belong to a noble family of underworld devils. And if you're wondering, my Contract with the Company has the main objective of making me one of the leaders of this world. I intend to complete this objective in order to rise to the rank of entity. Of course, this must remain our little secret. No one else in this world can know about it, understand?" I leaned forward, put a finger in front of my mouth, and winked with one eye.

"Understood... If you are, in fact, able to become an entity, it will be interesting to work with you."

I was surprised at how easily she accepted the situation. Perhaps the fact that she knew about the Office gave her a practical view of things. And, for some reason, that made my respect for her grow.

"So... Do you already have a plan to reach that leadership position you talked about?"

I nodded. "For now, the only plan I have is to make you my Queen."

"Queen? I'm going to need you to explain further."

"In this world, devils rise in society through Rating Games. The devils' servants play a game alongside him against another family of devils. It's like a game of chess, where each King commands its pieces. I'm a King, and I want you to be my Queen."

I then tried to explain to her everything I could about the Evil Pieces and the functions of each piece.

Makima remained silent until I had finished speaking.

"In other words, you intend to give me the Queen's Piece and make me your main partner in winning these Rating Games."

"Exactly. It's one of the best ways to gain influence, but it's certainly not enough. Frankly, I'd like to give away another of my pieces and reserve my Queen. However, I feel you are powerful and I would lose my other pieces if I tried to use them on you and it went wrong."

"Thank you for that."

As a noble devil, I could easily sense magical power. And magical power like that which Makima exuded all the time was not normal. Even if she was a weakened version of Makima, she had an aura that rivaled that of Rias Gremory. Bishop or Rook pieces couldn't withstand that power.

"All right. I'll be your Queen."

"No demands?"

"There's no reason for that. You're my new master, and I'll be grateful if I can help you fulfill your goal. After all, helping someone become a leader of the underworld sounds like a lot of fun in any world." 

"I'm glad to hear that. Now, please lie down, and we'll make you my Queen." I pointed to the sofa on my left. "It'll be simpler than it sounds."

Makima looked at the sofa and walked toward it. She lay down, and I knelt beside the sofa.

"Now, open your shirt," I ordered her.

Makima looked at me from the corner of her eye. "You will not do something weird, are you?"

I raised an eyebrow. 'User 5655 must have asked her some pretty strange things, I imagine. That must be why her traumas were described as Medium.'

I smiled at her and said: "I won't do anything to you. But I need you to trust what we're doing, because I trust you.

[Makima liked what you said.]

[You received +5 Relationship Points with Makima.]

Makima hesitated for a moment before nodding. She opened her shirt, revealing a glimpse of her black bra.

I didn't look away. Carefully, I removed the Queen's piece from the wooden box. Then I placed it onto her chest. The moment the garment touched her skin, it sank in without resistance, as if absorbed into her body. There was no pain or discomfort, just a faint magical glow.

"How will we know if it's working?" Makima asked, looking at me.

Just as I was about to answer, I saw her blink slowly and then her eyes closed.

"When she wakes up, the process will be complete, and she'll be my first servant. I'd love to sit here and wait quietly, but those relationship points I received earlier surprised me. I know it's from the Stardew Valley System. It makes me wonder how many points I have with other people I know." 

For a noble devil like me, having good relationships and contacts was as important as having physical and magical power.

I stretched my right hand forward and uttered: "Open relationship system."