Stray Devils.

  There are beings that are called as such. These are devils who were turned into servant devils of a master but who ter betrayed or killed their masters. Such cases are rare, but when they occur, they present a serious threat.

  The power of devils is enormous, far surpassing that of humans. Some devils choose to use that power for their own self-interests, leaving their masters and causing destruction wherever they go. These rogue entities are known as Stray Devils.

  Stray Devils create significant problems. When found, they are hunted and eliminated by their former masters or other devils. This is a strict w among devils. Other beings, such as angels and fallen angels, also see Stray Devils as threats and will eliminate them on sight.

  "We are here," Rias announced as we approached our destination.

  We had come to an unused building located on the outskirts of town, a pce where a Stray Devil was reportedly luring humans to feed on them each night.

  Rias, Akeno, Kiba, Koneko-chan and Issey moved cautiously, there senses heightened by the knowledge of the danger that y ahead.

  On the other hand I was walking like I own the pce.

  According to Rias, an Archduke-css devil had specifically requested the elimination of this Stray Devil.

  "Since it has escaped to the territory of Rias Gremory, I would like to ask you to eliminate it," the Archduke had said.

  Apparently, this was one of the duties of a Devil.

  The thought of a devil eating a human would normally have repulsed me, but strangely enough, it didn't bother me as much now. Perhaps it was a vampire thing.

  As we made our way through the dark, abandoned building, I couldn't help but think of the potential this Stray Devil held for Demiurge's experiments.

  If I pyed my cards right, I could capture it alive and provide Demiurge with another valuable guinea pig.

  The air inside was thick with the scent of decay, and the oppressive silence was broken only by the faint sounds of our footsteps.

  We moved in unison, each of us ready to spring into action at a moment's notice.

  "...Smell of blood," I said, my senses keenly attuned to the surroundings.

  Koneko-chan covered her nose with her uniform after she nodded at me.

  "Issey, it's a good opportunity to experience what it's like to fight between devils." Rais said to Issey

  "As you already have fight with fallen angel, this wouldn't be much of a challenge but it still necessary. And because of a certain someone taking you to hunt fallen angels, I still don't know your fighting power," she added, gncing at me with a hint of reproach.

  I kind of feel sad.

  "Oh, yes. I will also expin the traits the servants have." Rias said to Issey.

  "Expin? The traits servants have?"

  Issey put on a confused look.

  Rias nodded and began her expnation. "Devils, who are the masters, give traits to those who become their servants. It's probably about time I expin this and also the history of Devils."

  She began recounting the current situation of the Devils. "A long time ago, there was a three-sided war between the Devils, the Fallen Angels, and God with his Angel followers. All three sides had rge armies and fought for what seemed like an eternity. As a result, all three sides lost most of their troops, and the war ended several hundred years ago with no clear victor."

  Kiba took over the expnation. "The Devils were no exception. High-ranking Devils with peerage, who commanded about 20 or 30 troops, lost most of their underlings because of the war. They lost so many that they couldn't even form new armies."

  Akeno-san continued from there. "I heard that most of the pure Devils perished in that war. Even after the war, there are still problems between the Devils, the Fallen Angels, and God. Despite the significant losses on all sides, we still can't afford to let our guard down, or else we will be in trouble."

  Then, Rias spoke again.

  "To address the problem of lost troops, the Devils devised a system to form small groups of soldiers. This system is known as the [Evil Piece]."

  "I have a pawn piece in me, right?" Issey asked, recalling what Rias had previously mentioned.

  "Yes," Rias confirmed. "Devils with Peerage decided to use the traits of the human game 'Chess' for their Servant Devils. It was also a bit of sarcasm since most of the servants are Devils who were reincarnated from humans. Since then, Chess has become a popur game in the world of Devils. But let's focus on the basics. Devils who are masters are a [King]. In our case, that is me. From there, they created five special traits that consist of [Queen], [Knight], [Rook], [Bishop], and [Pawn]. Unable to form rge armies, they decided to empower a small number of Devils immensely. This system was developed a few hundred years ago and unexpectedly became popur among Devils with peerage."

  "Popur? You mean the Chess rules?" Issey asked.

  "They started to compete against each other," Rias expined. "For example, 'My Knight is stronger!' or 'No, my Rook is stronger!' As a result, High-css Devils began to py a game simir to Chess against each other using their Servant Devils. We call it the 'Rating Game.' This game has become very popur among the Devils. Now, there are even tournaments for it. The strength of their [Pieces] and how strong they are at the game affects the Devils' social positions and their peerage. There's also a practice called [Piece Collect] where they gather humans with talents and make them into their [Pieces]. It's very popur recently. Talented servants become a status symbol."

  "So, it's not just about the pieces themselves, but also how well you can use them in these games?" Issey asked.

  "Exactly," Rias said.

  ~~~

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