I Believe She'll Come to Terms with It

Yuki Family and the Yukinoshita Family were both prestigious, powerful families.

The difference was that the Yukinoshita Family was a prominent family in Chiba Prefecture, while the Yuki Family was a prominent family in Tokyo. The former was mainly active in politics, while the latter was a major player in business—a prestigious family well known in the world of finance.

Yukino Yuuki was the Yuki Family's daughter. Her father was the CEO of a major electronics manufacturer renowned throughout the country and even abroad, while her mother was a university professor. As a result, she had received an elite upbringing from a young age and had always attended private schools for the nobility. Like Yukino Yukinoshita, she was a young lady whose excellent grades had made her the focus of attention.

The reason she had come to Chiba Prefecture this time was that her older brother had to attend a banquet there. Driven by curiosity, she had come along with him. She had planned to explore the area while her brother attended the banquet, but instead, she had met with misfortune.

Yukino Yukinoshita had assumed she was attacked on her way home from school. In fact, Asuna Yuuki had been attacked after accidentally getting lost.

As for the uniform and schoolbag she had with her, she had indeed brought them along. She hadn't planned on attending the banquet or staying long, so she hadn't prepared a formal dress or casual clothes. She had simply come in her school uniform, with her schoolbag.

Tokyo wasn't all that far from Chiba, and Asuna Yuuki had come in the family car, so she hadn't needed to be particularly prepared.

Unfortunately, she could never have dreamed that one spur-of-the-moment decision, driven by curiosity, would lead her to encounter something that shattered the worldview she had built over seventeen years.

As she recalled what had happened the day before, a hint of fear appeared on Asuna Yuuki's delicate face.

Leo noticed it and exchanged a glance with Yukino Yukinoshita before speaking.

"Do you remember what happened yesterday?"

Leo started by asking her that.

"Yesterday..." Asuna Yuuki lowered her head and clutched the blanket tightly in both hands. Her inner turmoil was plain on her face as she hesitantly said, "Yesterday, I got lost outside. I was about to call my family and ask them to come pick me up, but then I ran into a monster."

Asuna Yuuki would probably never forget how she had felt at the time.

Her worldview had shattered, her breathing had stopped, and the shock had been so intense that her mind had gone completely blank. Even now, the memory was still vivid.

It hadn't gotten dark yet. It was only just dusk, but the road Asuna Yuuki had taken was already empty of pedestrians.

The terrifying creature, something that was and wasn't a shark, something that was and wasn't a monster, had appeared from the shadows by the roadside, laughing wildly. Her eyes had gone wide and her whole body had trembled. She had even forgotten to run, simply freezing in place.

Then the monster had lunged at her.

After that, Asuna Yuuki remembered nothing.

Just as that Stray Devil had said, she had fainted on the spot and lost consciousness.

In a way, she had been lucky. Otherwise, she would have had to watch as the monster's bite tore her abdomen to pieces, then face death in fear and despair.

"So you don't remember anything that happened after you lost consciousness?"

After confirming her condition, Leo nodded thoughtfully.

Yukino Yukinoshita couldn't help feeling a little envious.

They had both faced death, but Yukino hadn't been so lucky. She had watched as her body was pierced and she fell into a pool of blood, before dying with regrets.

"What happened after that? Did you save me?" Seeing that neither person in front of her looked surprised by her story, Asuna Yuuki realized something. She leaned forward, her voice urgent. "What was that monster? Why does something like that exist?"

Asuna Yuuki had been worried that no one would believe her outlandish story, but a part of her had also hoped that it had all been a nightmare and hadn't really happened.

But from the way Leo and Yukino Yukinoshita were acting, she sensed that it had all been real—and that the two of them most likely knew about creatures like that.

Now, Asuna Yuuki just wanted to understand what had happened to her and what it all meant.

Leo understood, and nodded to Yukino Yukinoshita beside him.

"Actually..."

Yukino Yukinoshita understood. After choosing her words carefully, she began explaining things to Asuna Yuuki.

She told Asuna Yuuki that the world wasn't as simple as it seemed. In places hidden from ordinary human society, supernatural races had existed and reproduced since ancient times.

Devils, Angels, Fallen Angels... Yukino Yukinoshita explained the things she knew about the Underworld Society, including the concept of Stray Devils, so Asuna Yuuki could understand what kind of creature had attacked her.

Asuna Yuuki didn't want to believe any of it. She kept biting her lip, and her pupils trembled slightly, but she couldn't think of anything to refute it with.

After all, what had happened the night before had already shown her that the world she lived in really wasn't as simple as it seemed.

"So I was attacked by a Devil from the legends, and I actually died? You defeated that Devil and brought me back to life?"

It had taken Asuna Yuuki a great deal of effort to accept all of this, but she no longer looked at Leo and Yukino Yukinoshita with suspicion.

"Are you Devil Hunters?"

At those words, even Yukino Yukinoshita's expression turned strange, let alone Leo's.

Then Asuna Yuuki heard Leo laugh.

"First of all, you were attacked by a Stray Devil, a dangerous individual who had left its group. It can no longer be considered a member of the Devils." Leo looked directly at Asuna Yuuki's pretty face, his tone almost teasing. "Second, we're not Devil Hunters. We're actual Devils, the ones from the legends."

Asuna Yuuki's expression stiffened.

"You're... Devils?"

She didn't seem willing to believe it.

Seeing this, Leo stood up and showed her proof that he was a Devil without hesitation.

"Whoosh!"

The wind roared as six Devil Wings suddenly unfurled behind Leo, making Asuna Yuuki's eyes widen.

Looking at Asuna Yuuki's expression, Yukino Yukinoshita saw her own past self in her. Almost as if playing a prank, she spread her wings too, revealing a pair of them.

"You—you two...?!"

Fear appeared on Asuna Yuuki's face, but then her back suddenly began to itch.

The next moment, a pair of Devil Wings abruptly appeared behind her, black and profound. Her mind went "boom," and, just like when she had encountered the Stray Devil the night before, it went completely blank.

What was going on?

What on earth was happening?

Why... did I have wings like these, too?

While Asuna Yuuki's mind was blank and she sat there frozen, Leo's voice slowly rang out.

"Not only are we Devils, but you've become one too."

"I know this is sudden for you, but there was no other choice. Your heart and breathing had completely stopped. Medically speaking, you were undoubtedly dead, and your body had already lost its warmth."

"The good news is that you had the aptitude, so I chose to bring you back to life, turning you into my servant and reincarnating you as a Devil."

After that, came another round of explanations. He told her about his identity, and about the existence and function of Evil Pieces.

"I... I'm a Devil now?"

Asuna Yuuki felt completely overwhelmed, unable to sort out her thoughts.

Waking up to find she had been stripped of her humanity—Yukino Yukinoshita knew exactly how that felt. She looked at Asuna Yuuki with a little more warmth, and a touch of sympathy.

Becoming a Devil was one thing, but then she had also become someone else's servant. How could a pampered young lady accept that?

Even an ordinary person would struggle to accept becoming someone else's servant. This wasn't ancient times, after all. There was no such thing as slaves and servants anymore.

Honestly, even Yukino Yukinoshita didn't know how she had managed to convince herself to accept the news when she'd first learned about it. She wasn't exactly good-natured, and she had far more pride than most people. Her family background had also made her sensitive. The fact that she had accepted it without storming off was nothing short of a miracle.

Asuna Yuuki found it hard to accept too, but her personality wasn't as aloof and antisocial as Yukino Yukinoshita's. In the end, she took a deep breath and suppressed the jumble of feelings inside her.

"I'm sorry, but I can't accept this yet." Asuna Yuuki's face was pale as she spoke in a low voice. "Could you give me some time to be alone?"

At that, Leo smiled and folded away his wings, as did Yukino Yukinoshita.

"Sure. Get some rest, and come find us when you feel ready." Leo spoke calmly. "I'll leave a familiar outside the door. She's a maid, so just call for her if you need anything."

With that, Leo left the room with Yukino Yukinoshita.

Asuna Yuuki stayed in the now-quiet room. After a long while, she finally looked at the wings behind her and frowned.

"How... do I put these away?"

Meanwhile, Leo and Yukino Yukinoshita were talking as they left the room.

"Do you think she'll be able to accept it?" Yukino Yukinoshita asked for no particular reason. "Could she leave because she can't accept it and become a Stray?"

"Who knows?" Leo walked ahead, looking forward with a smile. "But I believe she'll come to terms with it."

After all, she was someone who could be called a heroine...