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A stray devil…

That term was typically used to refer to a Devil who had betrayed or killed their master or mistress. Usually they were servants within a circle, and killed the one who bestowed a piece on them, thus ending their servitude. Cases like that were very rare.

Those Devils left their master’s or mistress’s place and caused destruction elsewhere. That’s what  a stray devil was. In other words, a stray dog.

Stray dogs that created trouble were put down. When found, the master of a stray devil—or any of Devils’ nobility—were ordered to eliminate them. That was a fixed law for the Devils.

Other beings such as Angels, Exorcists, and Fallen Angels also saw them as a threat, and would eliminate them whenever they spotted one. There was nothing scarier than a Devil who didn’t abide by any rules.

With these thoughts running through his mind, Leo walked with Rayne and her circle towards a dilapidated warehouse on the far edge of town. According to Rayne, a stray devil had been luring humans to this empty building to feed on them.

Word of the strays had gone out to all the High Class Devils in Spartanburg. And since it had escaped wherever it had been to the territory of Rayne Mephisto, she had been asked to eliminate it. Apparently, this was another form of noblesse oblige that Devils had.

Leo was surprised to learn that such things were expected of the Devils’ nobility. He could also understand why this was the case. With the current tension between Devils, Angels, and Dragons, the current leading faction—those Devils who wished for a long-lasting peace—would never let stray devils rampage amongst humans.

By the time they got to this section of town, it was almost midnight. A world of darkness had descended upon them with the barest sliver of a moon being the only source of faint illumination. Leo remembered that Lucy had made him promise not to stay outside for too long at night and hoped that she wouldn’t be too upset with him for breaking his promise.

Thankfully, while the area was quite dark, none of them had a problem navigating through the dark alleys. After all, night vision was a trait all Devils shared.

Shuri and the others who didn’t know about Leo’s prowess and abilities were surprised Leo had no problem keeping up with them. They had even brought a flash light for him. But seeing that he was completely comfortable in the dark, they hadn’t even brought it out. They simply chalked it up to him being used to fighting in the dark, and having adapted to being able to do so.

The closer they got to the building the stray devil was supposedly operating out of, the more Leo’s expression twisted into a frown. He was about to ask about preferred formations, signals, or tactics, when Kira stopped them. 

“I smell blood.”

Kira covered her nose with her sleeve of her blazer with a rather disgusted expression. 

‘She has quite a sharp nose,’ Leo thought.

Leo didn’t say anything, though he sensed the vast killing intent that was leaking all over the place. 

‘There’s only one enemy.’

Rayne and the other continued to advance after the warning Kira had issued.

“Today,” Shuri murmured from his side, “just observe how we fight. Please do not interfere. I know you are strong, but I can assure you that Rayne and her pieces have this situation under control.”

Leo arched an eyebrow at her. “Pieces have traits? I thought they were primarily servants… some kind of an extended family.”

Shuri nodded. “I’ll explain the traits servants in a circle typically have and what pieces those traits correspond to.”

Leo was curious about this subject. He’d never bothered to learn what different traits each piece supposedly gave. He knew about traits, of course, but the level of detail it seemed Shuri was willing to share with him had been covered in upper level exorcist courses—courses he’d been kicked out of the Vatican before he could attend.

Despite his lack of interest in creating a Circle, it wouldn’t hurt for him to understand its intricacies or how they were used.

‘Of course, if Shuri mentions anything that I want to learn more about, I can just ask Lucy about it… later.’

Not knowing Leo’s thoughts, Shuri took his repeating the term for an invitaiton, and launched into her explanation of pieces and their associated traits.

“I am sure you already knew this, but the Great War was brutal. Hordes of devils and leogions of angels died. To this day, the number of devils—both above and in the underworld itself—doesn’t add up to even a fifth of the population we had at our peak. 

“Amongst the nobility, entire families were exterminated. So not only did the overall total number of devils decrease markedly, they lost the most powerful devils in droves. Of course, the same thing happened to the angels.

“In order to replenish our population, Aiden Leviathan created what are now known as Devilish Pieces. These creations reincarnate mortals into devils, bestowing a trait or power on the mortal who becomes a Devil.

“There are varying degrees of Powers bestowed, and the new devils so created fit into several broad categories. The nobility gather loyal followings together in what is called a Circle—with particular customs and rules having been accepted over the past century for the operation of these Circles.”

Leo nodded to indicate he understood what Shuri was talking about.

Rayne stepped up beside him and took it from there, explaining the core intricacies of these customs and rules. 

“Devils with Circles decided to apply names and roles in the game humans call ‘Chess’ to the servants they bestow pieces upon.” The gorgeous redhead frowned, pursing her lips. “Chess became quite popular in the underworld, but we’ll leave that aside for now. It was also a snobbish form of condescension, since most servants are Devils who were reincarnated from humans.” 

“The Master or Mistress of a Circle of Devils are the King. In our case, that’s me.” Rayne proudly jabbed her thumb into her chest. “Beyond those of us who control the Circle, there are five special traits that correspond to the other chess pieces. They are Queen, Rook, Bishop, Knight, and Pawn.”

“Is each Circle limited to six?” Leo asked.

Rayne waggled her hand back and forth. “I suppose it is possible to bestow a full set of fifteen pieces beyond the King, with one Queen and two each of Rooks, Bishops, and Knights, along with eight Pawns… but I’ve never heard of it.”

“I wonder why not?” Leo mused.

Shuri laughed. “Current company excepted, Leo, most nobles are incredibly selfish. And when a King bestows any of their pieces to another, not only is that mortal reincarnated as a Devil, the power they receive is part of the King’s own power. No Devil would be willing to surrender any more power than they had to.”

Rayne nodded. “Since we can’t afford to make an army, it is better to select a small number of Devils and give them enormous powers. With the popularity of Chess among the nobility, conventional wisdom holds that a King and five pieces form a full Circle. This system was created a century ago, and came to resemble the competition that so many names and roles come from.”

“Rules and roles? You mean the roles of chess pieces?”

“Nobles with Circles started to compete against one another, comparing the strength of their pieces. For example, ‘My Bishop is stronger!’, or ‘No, my Rook is a better defender!’… As a result, High-class Devils started to play a game that imitated Chess, using the Servant Devils of their Circles. Originally, it was called the ‘Masque Game’… after the formal setting for Chess matches amongst aristocrats in London back in the late 19th Century.”

Leo could almost hear the capital letters in the way she said it.

“These days, commoners call what is played for entertainment what they really are—War Games. Such games are very popular, to the point that there are even tournaments for it. Masque Games, on the other hand, refer to the matches played amongst the nobility to settle disputes.”

It sounded like these Masque Games were the equivalent of a formal duel.

“The strength of their Pieces and how strong their Circles are at the game affect a Devils’ position in society,” Rayne continued. “There’s even a thing that resembles your professional sport drafts called Piece Collect, where humans with talents are collected and bid upon by those who will then bestow upon them one of their Pieces. It’s grown crazy over the past two decades, with talented servants gaining a certain status in the underworld—to the point that their contracts are bought, sold, and traded at ridiculous prices.”