"Join us? Why? Who's us?" Naki asked, playing the fool.
"Our party, that of the hero Emile"
Bisky said with a smile and pulled away, noticing the shock on Naki's face.
"You seem surprised, which is to be expected of course," she said and started walking in circles around Naki, tantalizingly as she explained.
"(She's not using her weird way of speaking, which means she's serious).
"(I have to play this wisely, if I intend to steer this discussion towards the right conclusion)"
"An enticing offer, but why should I care?" Naki asked.
"Have you ever wondered, just how much you could accomplish in this world if you were given the power of divinity?"
"I already have power if that's what you're asking," Naki proudly countered
"Hahaha, that's right, you have a...special kind of power I'd admit. But trust me, it's nothing compared to the divine."
"That may be, but what if I'm satisfied with what I have?"
"Are you teach? Are you satisfied with what you have?" she countered.
Naki stayed silent,
"(A trick question. Yes would mean I'm not ambitious)"
"(No would mean admitting I'm weak and give her control. Silence is the best option here, let her make the decision)"
"(Besides, I have a devil's favor at my back, power is the wrong card to play against me)"
Naki remained resolute with his decision.
Bisky picked it up quickly and changed her approach.
"I see you are not interested in divinity. What about fame? Having the world worship your deeds, praise you, plead for your mercy like there's no tomorrow?"
Naki sighed and moved away from her, pretending to leave.
"Call me when you have something better to discuss next time," he said, leaving Bisky utterly shocked.
Her expression was priceless; she couldn't believe Naki was neither swayed by the promise of power nor fame.
"Wha-wha! Wait!! Teach! You-you, are you seriously not even the least bit interested!!!?" she asked, for the first time her voice wavered.
Naki paused and turned to her.
"Power, fame, none of that matters to me. I've seen and lived through all that," he said, recalling flashes of his villainous life as Nopheal.
"Until you give me another good reason to join your team, I'm afraid we're done here," he concluded.
Bisky bit her lips in frustration.
"(Darn it...Sis bought me today to recover the relic. If I don't succeed, I could lose my chance of getting a divine power from Emile, m y only chance to be on equal footing with Habi!)"
"(I have to do everything it takes to recruit Naruki. Even if we don't recover the relic, his recruitment should cover for it...)" she thought, calculating her next move.
Naki watched her mashing her brains in silence and then closed his eyes. "It seems you need more time, I'll excuse myself then." he said.
"Wait!" Bisky called out forcefully and ran up to him, grabbing his hand.
"Please, I-I really need your help, teach!" she pleaded, putting on her best sad eyes impression.
But Naki wasn't buying that, "So do 4 other students downstairs," he replied.
"I don't mean as our instructor!! I mean as-umm..." she trailed off, eyes wandering left and right.
"You have 10 seconds to come up with a reason why I should pick you over the others at this moment in time," Naki added more pressure on her decision.
He had her right where he wanted.
Bisky gritted her teeth some more and then suddenly, it hit her.
"He...hehe"
She smiled and pulled herself closer to Naki, pressing her chest softly against his.
The violet glint returned to her eyes as she turned up her charm levels to 11.
Then her lips moved gently, as she whispered in a soft, alluring tone.
"Why leave, when you could have this delicate, adorable, submissive doll all to yourself, my teacher?"
Naki was beyond embarrassed and shocked at the same time.
Her alluring body odour clouded his mind, he was being blinded by her beauty, bullied into submission by seduction.
It's not the first time he's been close to a girl, but Bisky was not just a girl.
She was a vixen born from a succubus and a human. He was finding it difficult to resist her approach.
Bisky smiled; her charm was working, and she wanted to seal it with a touch on his cheeks.
But the devil sigil on Naki's right hand glowed, and automatically, 2 shadow arms rose from Naki's shadow and grabbed Bisky's hands by the wrist tightly.
"huh!?". She was surprised and tried to pull away, but couldn't. "Wha-what the hell?"
Her focus was shaken, given Naki room to break away from her charms
"Back off!" He pushed her away.
"Argh!" She fell as Naki retracted the shadows. Her makeup kit broke upon hitting the floor, with its contents scattered about.
Meanwhile, Naki was breathing heavily while holding his right hand, throbbing in pain.
"Huh huh, what...what were you doing to me?" he asked, bewildered.
"I-I...I failed...how?" Bisky muttered, stunned, as she lay down on the floor.
"Tsk. Was that...black magic? A sacred magic wielded only by..."
Naki stared at Bisky in shock as she avoided his eyes, looking miserable to the ground.
"Bisky!? Are...are you a demon?"
She looked away in shame and bit her lip again in frustration. "So...so what if I am?"
"..." Naki stood silent and steadied himself, then started walking up to her.
Her mood dropped. She didn't know he approached because she wasn't looking and thought he was moving away.
Then, she saw Naki's hand in front of her. It was an offer to help her up.
"!?" Surprised, she turned around and saw Naki's subtle smile at her.
"Come on up, I'll listen to this favor of yours," he said.
"Wh-why?" Bisky asked, tears building in her eyes.
Naki recalled his childhood and the years he was forced to spend in isolation because of his 'cursed child' moniker back in Ampha.
"Let's just say...I am an understanding person," he said, with a confident grin.
Bisky wiped her eyes and chuckled, "Are you now?"
She grabbed his hand and was helped up.
"Huh, just occurred to me. Habiki offered you her hand before, much like now. I'm curious, why did you reject it?" Naki asked.
"..."
"Is it also related to the reason why you hesitated back then? A fight you might've won had you not?" he added.
"...Huhh, I did promise you an answer."
Bisky turned around and walked to the roof fence.
"You are a kind person, teach. Makes me guilty for trying to charm you."
"Contrary to what you might think, I don't find you weird or bad, Bisky."
Naki approached her. "A bad person wouldn't have stopped Jhun when he was going out of control."
"Huh...then you're different from 99% of the people here," she said with a soft smile.
"I am. Which is why I understand why you chose this spot, free of prying eyes. A spot suitable to expose your secret and use your demonic powers if you had to, without running the risk of being discovered or judged."
Bisky's eyes widened in shock.
"Those are the moves of a desperate person. The question then is, why?"
Naki asked, turning to her.
"..., Huhhh." She sighed and faced Naki. "Teach, what I'm about to say should remain between us, alright?"
"(Here it comes, finally, her real reason for doing all this.)" Naki nodded and remained vigilant.
"(Will be a good time to put this on too)"
>-- Devil Trait Active - Crow's Visage-- <
"In this world, there exists a power that is beyond that of the divine, and can only be harnessed by these...stones called will stones."
"To claim this power for his own, that is Emile's mission."
Naki started thinking. "(So the hero wants the stones, huh. Figured the divine council will use him as a pawn to that effect...but-)"
"What? I don't understand, why would the hero need more power when he has been blessed with divinity already?" Naki asked.
"Truth is, I don't know. But Sis does, and for some reason, she's wholly bought the idea and will do whatever it takes to remain by Emile's side."
"Even go as far as to abandon me if it comes to it," she whispered the last part.
"...I see...and how do you play in all this?" Naki asked.
"A relic. I need a relic, teach, much like the bell earring Habi wears."
"Hm? I don't follow..."
"The only way for Emile to grow is by sharing his power with his closest confidants. But for that, he needs a container for it."
Bisky pointed to her left ear, where supposedly Habiki's gold earring should be.
"You've seen an earring Habiki wears, yes? It's not an ordinary earring. It's where that...that witch rests," she said with a frown.
Naki remained confused and then put his hand to his chin, thinking. "(A relic and a divine presence...are they connected?)"
"Emile has promised to share his divinity with me, if and only if I can get a relic," she continued
"I see. So that is the divinity you tried promising me from the start."
"Yeah, hahaha...more or less," she chuckled.
"And you need this power because?"
"...Habi, I want to free her from the clutches of that wicked woman!"
"(She must mean Keifa. There's still much I don't get between the two, but I think this is the perfect opportunity to play my hand)"
"The problem is said relic is closely guarded in headmaster Frowart's office, which makes this super challenging for me," Bisky admitted.
"(Ah, that explains things. Given I am to visit the headmaster's office later for the meeting with the rest of the instructors I could figure something out...Yes. That should work)"
Naki cleared his throat and then proposed.
"I will help you recover this relic."
"Yay! You're like the best teach!" Bisky jubilates with a wide grin.
"Hold yer horses, Bisky, you haven't heard my condition yet."
"Hehe, spill it. I just know whatever you ask for, I can give.""
She said, then leaned forward once again, hands behind her back.
"You don't have to hold back either teach, I am willing to offer up anything, including myself, if you want," she said that last part, licking her lips seductively.
"Huh...Your attitude is starting to make a whole lot of sense now that I know you're a demon."
"(A demi to be precise, but I'll let him keep thinking that for now)" Bisky smiled.
"In any case, my condition is this - I shall bring you this relic if you take me to the hero afterwards," Naki said.
"You want to meet Emile? Why?" she asked, perplexed.
"Let's just say, it's about time I started meeting my end of a bargain."
Naki said with a grin. He was eager to learn about this hero who demanded more power for personal gain or if he is merely a pawn to the endgame of the divine council.
It is not usually how heroic stories go, allying with demon siblings and seeking fame.
Perhaps Lucille was right after all, the world is not as holy as he might've thought.