-Adoption-
The first day I was in Sirzechs' care was an odd one... I'd expected immediate resentment and contempt from the devil but surprisingly, he was understanding and open of my difference in species
From then on my life took a step in an odd direction
"Little brother"
Those were the words spoken by Sirzechs Gremory, due to my similar red hair and blue eyes my appearance was very close to the devil
I don't really know why he thought of adopting me
Total strangers in a decrepit dungeon, filled with the dead bodies of his followers
But then again... who am I to read the mind of a devil?
Whatever his reason was, it sure as hell put me on the right path
Consequences' be damned
Ryden eyed the mug of 'hell water' that sat before him; Sirzechs had poured him a cup of it from one of his many provision caches and said for him to drink it. Sirzechs couldn't really understand his hesitance and he had fought the urge to explain why, from a human's perspective – anything that starts with 'hell' usually doesn't sound hygienic or healthy for a human and in the end, involves a lot of dry heaving with possible possession – he didn't know that but, nothing good could come from it
But in the end, he drank it anyway... six months of torture and isolation and he'd fold from a goblet of water? Ryden didn't like the sound of that, especially with what he'd overcome
The liquid was soothing and it cleared his hoarse throat almost immediately, something that Sirzechs was quick to explain... apparently, hell water was a form of medicine, not as strong as a Phenex tear – a liquid said to hold the properties of immortality – this liquid however, jumpstarted natural healing and numbs out internal pain
He didn't know how long it was since he'd drank something, his interrogators had taken that basic survival need around the first month of captivity and this was the first drop he'd gotten
It was an odd taste, it was as soothing as scotch and it tasted like cherry and it was as fizzy as pop
"Do you like it?" asked Sirzechs
Ryden glanced up towards him, he was situated in a large wooden chair, its appearance was extravagant and luxurious as was his desk which held multiple papers and maps of the surrounding geographic area and currently, Sirzechs was eyeing a paper in his hands
Something Ryden had not truly believed
"Yes... it's new to me but, it's rather good" replied Ryden; he placed the golden goblet onto the night stand beside him and gave the devil before him an even gaze, something that gained Sirzechs' attention
But the devil only trailed off onto another subject
A bottle – again, extravagant design – suddenly appeared in his hand in a red flash
"A high quality spirit, brewed in the capital of Lucifaad – a placed named Falls Peek if I remember" Sirzechs eyed the bottle quite fondly before placing it on his desk "the brewing business was uprooted a few months ago... damn shame if you ask me"
At the words of the devil Ryden only sat there stupefied, his mouth moved to say something but he stopped before he could, why was he being given a glass of the most popular drink in hell? And why did that effect him so much? He shook his head rapidly before getting back onto his earlier question
"Aside from that... what is it that you're doing?"
The devil gave a knowing smirk before the bottle of spirit vanished "are you aware that you have become the most valuable player in this war? Surly you have noticed" it seemed Sirzechs had caught on, his question was spoken casually but a hint of seriousness clued Ryden in as to what Sirzechs was getting at
He nodded simply "I am... they spoke of me as the "second coming" of their leader Lucifer, I was speculating at first that their torture was a means to break my human mind" Ryden rolled his eyes and his head "real persuasive those cultist pricks were – but yes, I'm aware, but that doesn't explain the adoption"
Sirzechs smirked at his words "Informed you are of our history to an extent, but you still lack understanding of our politics" Sirzechs stood from his desk and began to walk around it
"Our politics are strictly tied to our war efforts at the moment; priorities are acted on rather than considered...so, knowing that, do you know what our objective is?" Ryden simply shook his head, enticing Sirzechs to continue on "our first order of business is to determine whose fighting who, my species is facing its first and largest divide in history - who wants to run their heads into the wall of extinction or those who seek prosperity and peace"
Ryden nodded "And my roll of importance?"
Sirzechs gave him a small pensive expression "you fell from demonic skies and wield unknown powers that left a quarter of a territory in a crater, no other devil has done that without trying, so yes, you are much more important than you think" at this Ryden's eyes momentarily widened, he didn't know about leaving a creator
Grabbing a folder from his desk and what looked like the most edgy quill Ryden ever saw, Sirzechs held out the two for him to take
"Please sign the document – bottom left, initials will do just fine" he supplied
Taking the paper and the utensil Ryden eyed the paper before looking back up to Sirzechs "again... I'm not seeing what your selling, don't feel insulted but from where I'm from, we learn quick to never sign anything a devil gives us" if Sirzechs was insulted, then he'd only converted the anger into amusement as the small snicker from the man answered Ryden's words
"What's so funny?" asked the man
Calmly himself Sirzechs only smiled at him "It's an understandable rule to live by, but we devils apart of the New-Satan faction prohibit the coveting of human souls and freedoms, with how our species is, a cooperative relationship with your kind would be beneficial"
Ryden's eyes slightly widened "Not gonna lie, I never expected that kind of an answer" he said
Sirzechs only shrugged "If it makes you feel better, the adoption is a front, it's the quickest and easiest way to insure a level of protection for you, considering your importance and power, it's safe to assume the old-Satan faction have their eyes set on you – or they don't, I've overestimated their intelligence before – but, just for added security, you being related to me – one of the four commanding generals – will safely ensure political protection... should you be captured, then your status as my younger brother would guarantee a rescue effort rather than simply being left to your fate... does that settle any of your nervousness?"
Ryden nodded before he signed the paper "it seems like it has... though the 'vale' will remain" Sirzechs smirked before taking the paper and stamped it with a magic crest
"Congratulations, you are now a Gremory" he said with a small smirk "does 'Ryden vale Gremory' sound good?" asked Sirzechs
Ryden nodded "Yes, that's fine" he paused before he tapped his chin "say... is it really this easy to get adopted? It's a lot more complex from where I'm from" he asked
Sirzechs sat down in his office chair "no, you're rather lucky" he noticed Ryden's look so he elaborated
"I'm the heir and lord of the Gremory family and the commanding general of the red legion, during this point in time, martial law is in effect which makes me one of the four most powerful devils in hell at the moment... what I say literally means law, and if I want to adopted a random devil into the family then I can do so with the same levels of pride as the moment before"
Ryden nodded before his eyes lined in confusion "You are filing me up as a devil? Wouldn't that come back around and bite me in the ass?" he asked
Again Sirzechs shrugged "doesn't matter, your powers will be enough to keep the skeptics at bay and besides, I might be uncaring to your species but allot of the devils still consider them vermin, keep the front of the devil and you'll fit right in, who knows, maybe you might shed some good light onto the human race" the level of confidence Sirzechs emitted from his smile was nearly stifling for Ryden but he simply dismissed it
If a commanding general of the red legion – which frankly, slightly intimated Ryden – said and acted like there was no actual issue then whatever issue might surface would most likely be diffused immediately
He still had his doubts
After the papers were signed and officially dated, the file containing his adoption to a family he never knew suddenly vanished in a miniature magic circle
Ryden eyed the spot the paper was for a moment before glancing back up to Sirzechs who had returned to working at his desk, with how deep the devil delved into his task was nearly insane, Ryden had expected Sirzechs to be a sort of "flamboyant" character, rife with an easy going and lazy – but ultimately sharp – personality
Now he thought the man was bipolar, one minute he was smiling, then he was frowning and writing so furiously he'd thought the devil would have carpal tunnel the next minute
These creatures were allot more weird then what was written in the bible
"So..." Ryden started, trying to see if the man before him was listening "What do I do now?" he asked finally
Without looking up he replied "For now we are to return back to the front lines, this castles positioning on the board of action was way to far from any post for some sort of strategic front, perhaps a barracks – no that's not right, if attacked then reinforcements would take days to get here – maybe it could be used as – no, the trade routes don't come through here as often" the man was talking to him before but the more he did his tone drifted from addressing him then to addressing possible strategy, Ryden assumed the man's mind was rambling at this point
As Ryden was about to elaborate his confusion Sirzechs caught himself
"Oh... Ah? Right, do you have any formal military training before you were captured?" he asked
Ryden shook his head "No, but I've studied the Art of war... from what I've seen, you base your soldiers off of Roman rankings, am I correct?" for a moment Ryden swore he saw a hint of confusion pass over Sirzechs but he answered rather normally
"It's close... our highest ranking position is commanding general – my rank unfortunately, it's unobtainable for anyone else" Ryden slightly nodded but frowned, that sounded like a privilege ranking
Sirzechs continued from there "the other ranks are from second highest to lowest... you have: commander, who leads the largest armies given to him by his commanding general, commanding generals hold four separate divisions each"
Ryden's eyes raised slightly "how many men per division?"
For a moment Sirzechs hummed before he snapped his fingers "I'd say around 10,000 men each, the commanders take their orders directly from me or the other three commanding generals, but in order to keep organized we usually tend to remain on separate fronts, and only occasionally join forces, but those times are rare"
Ryden nodded
"The rank below that are the commanders second in command, the Praetorian guard"
Ryden's eyes then narrowed into confusion "There's more than one second in command?"
Sirzechs nodded "Yes, with how many jobs a commander has it's usually more efficient for multiple Praetorians to relay orders to the rank below that and then return to guard the commander whenever necessary, commanding generals have the authority to call for praetorian assistance during personal invasions" explained Sirzechs "the rank below is Elder which commands 1,000 men which is divided up among his knight sentinels into a varying number of squads – anyone one who isn't either of those ranks is given a rank on what type of combatant they choose to be"
The newly adopted "devil" pondered for a moment before returning "I'm guessing those who choose weapons over spells are given more CQC based rolls while the spell casters deal ranged bombardment, like artillery"
For a moment the confusion on Sirzechs showed but it faded away before Ryden could fully see it "Y-yes, it's like that... those who wield a sword are given the rank of knight, and those proficient with a spear, lancer and those who specialize in casting ranged attacks are called casters but most are usually called 'initiates'
Ryden nodded again at the information provide before his head leveled to Sirzechs, a determined glint in his eyes
"What would the requirements be to join the military effort?" asked Ryden causing the red haired devil to pause in his writing and look up in mild shock
"You just got out of 6 months of torture and the first thing you want is to jump right into a war?" the level of stupefied Sirzechs had reached was nearly comedic, here was a young human – who said to be nearing his 23rd birth cycle – seemingly more eager for battle then some of the low-class and high-class devils in his legion, at an age one would consider as an infant, it was so out of his understanding he had to comment on it "Are all you humans this crazy?" he asked
For the first time Sirzechs noticed a smirk play onto the man's lips
"Not all of them... only the royally pissed off ones" replied Ryden
Sirzechs' expression dropped into a strained smile "I understand your anger, I don't fully know what truly happened to you but to brazenly rush to a conflict is – I can't believe I'm saying this – reckless on multiple levels" he shifted in his chair and leaned back comfortably, giving Ryden his full attention "besides, have you truly grasped those powers of yours, I mean chewed – to the bone – what your full potential is?"
For a moment Ryden sat there, his eyes grew unfocused and distant to recall past events. He remembered the first day here, the sheer confusion and fear he felt... the weightlessness within himself and the massive pressure deep within, the feeling was similar to being extremely full, he had searched high and low for a possible way to release the pressure but ultimately failed
Until he was attacked
He didn't remember much, one moment he was on his ass and shielding himself from a spear tip then a white light or something filled the field he was in for near miles, the 12 men in armor that he now knew as the Old-Satan's inquisition was practically vaporized and like that the pressure was gone, but a warmness caked his body like a shield
The following torture – or attempts – of physical abuse after his subsequent capture a day later gave him the answers as to what the warmness was. It was a subconscious defense around his form, fueled by his desire to not be harmed, From then on the Interrogators had no choice but to relent from trying to hurt him physically and instead used other more unorthodox means
Ryden shook his head from the invading memories
The main thing was... he had a moderate control over whatever was happening to him but had little understanding of his full capabilities, just as Sirzechs had said, he did learn to pick things up and make barriers, it wasn't with his mind – or was it? – he didn't know, all he'd need to do was desire or want something to happen and it did, but so far he could only do so for one item at a time, anything more and it felt like he was multitasking mathematic equations, it just hurt to think at that point
And considering the conditions he was in made it nearly impossible to train
Ryden regained his gaze and locked it with a patient Sirzechs "I've gained a small grasp of its conception but ultimately I've gained zero footing" he replied and Sirzechs raised his hands in a "see?" gesture
"It's good you are aware of your limits Ryden, but even if you were a master of your abilities I'd still require you for a check up, which is what you'll be doing in a moment, I have friend there who will be thrilled to assist you in understanding you abilities"
Ryden's brow rose "you casually summon a bottle of liquor out of thin air, your very presents feels like an ocean floating over my head and telekinetic powers leaves you baffled... I find that hard to understand"
Sirzechs only smirked before he stood from his desk again "In all the times I've lived, no monster or angel has lived through devil torture and walked away from it as untouched as you" he turned his head and gazed off into thought "some were crippled, some others were so broken that ending their lives would be the best mercy" from the corner of his eye Sirzechs noticed Ryden flinch but made no move to inquire – he knew what it was "I'm afraid Ryden, what you hold isn't simple telekinesis but something much more... complicated"
For what Sirzechs stated – a veteran in supernatural abilities – Ryden had no choice but to accept his words, 6 months ago he was a simple man working a simple job, now he was a lynch pin in a civil war with powers that made a devil seem cautious
He'd like a talk with life sometime in the future but that'd have to wait
He cleared his head "When do we leave?"
"Right now" it was a simple phrase spoken moments before an honest to god portal opened up behind him, It was ovular in shape and gleamed with red and black energy, it looked ominous – black and red did go well together to make an appealing partnership but mostly said partnership revolved around edgy, dark and evil archetypes, not for messily transport
A hand landed on his shoulder which forced him to turn to see an amused Sirzechs hovering over him, Ryden was nearly 6 feet but the man behind him must be at least that and then some
"Nervous? I can assure you it only looks creepy, but it just feels like walking through a door" commented Sirzechs off handily
Ryden simply leveled a slight glare at him
"The last portal I traveled through was six months ago un-consented... and I was falling at terminal velocity... excuse me for being traumatized" he said, making Sirzechs chuckle
"Fair enough... follow me"
As Sirzechs made steps towards the portal Ryden turned around and glanced to the tents door before looking back at the devil in confusion, he was gonna ask why he was leaving his army behind but before he could even say anything the man vanished into the portal
Sighing at being left behind for the second time Ryden huffed lightly before he stepped into the portal with only moderate hesitance
He really was starting to feel like a younger brother
The first thing Ryden saw when he crossed the portal was a large amount of green, emerald and jade dominated the interior of the large tent with a few yellow accents throughout, multiple bookshelves dotted the outer section of the interior while a similarly large desk to Sirzechs' sat near the end of the tent, an array of libratory instruments were neatly organized throughout the room while varying spells operating them, some bubbled while other sparked orange flame it was a spectacle of lights and sounds that made the dimly light room seem alive
It didn't take long to notice a third man who Ryden believed to be Sirzechs' mentioned associate
The man was obviously a fan of the color green – Ryden summarized – the man's hair was slicked back into a flow and was a similar shade of green as the tents and the large done up trench coat that sat over a grey undershirt the man wore was also green, the only thing that wasn't green was the man's eyes, which were a greyish blue and to Ryden, they might as well be green as well
However his attention fell onto what he was doing, upon his desk floated a green three sided triangular object which Ryden quickly noted to be magic, the multiple sigils and words spoken in a language he had never seen before thrummed and pulsed gently, rhythmically cycling in-between gaps in the formula
Upon their entering the man glanced up from his desk, the triangular formula of devil magic floated gently over his desk before it lowered and dispelled to reveal a Chess piece that Ryden immediately identified as a king piece, said piece was ultimately dismissed by the man as he stood up and approached the two shortly after, now Ryden had two giants before him
"Greetings Sirzechs, I didn't expect to see you for a few more days... did your vacation bear fruit?" greeted the man, his tone seemed bland and bored but his words carried an underline of snark, had he not been so keen to keep the man as his primary attention holder due to the similar sensation he felt from the man he probably would have assumed the man to be dismissive
Sirzechs chuckled good naturedly "Indeed it has, the Halphes Clan castle was too far outta the way for them to commit any true defence when they have so many other castles and lands to defend so it was easy to capture"
The man frowned "then what was the reason for your divergence?"
At that question Sirzechs became giddy "Do you remember when I said I found a lead as to what caused the event a few months ago?" Ryden nearly coughed when Sirzechs referred to the six months as 'a few', it felt like a decade
The man nodded "yes" he said simply, eyes dismissive
Sirzechs smiled like a child who found out Christmas came early "Well I picked up the scent on a resource run which led me directly to the Halphes clan capital castle!"
While Sirzechs seemed overjoyed the other man Ryden dubbed 'Mr. Green' seemed exasperated, either by Sirzechs' childlike personality or by some other means but Ryden assumed the former, the man just had too much energy
A long sigh escaped Mr. Green "So that's why you just upped and vanished, Serafall was livid when you did... you know she's not gonna be happy, especially if you came back empty handed, regardless of a flawless victory"
For just a moment, Ryden heard a small whimper escape the man's throat while his overjoyed smile remained in place, he didn't know who this Serafall was but by the looks of it, she sounded like a hardass
"They did have someone that garnered my interest" a small gleam shown in Sirzechs' eyes when he spoke, which caused a similar glint to show in Mr. Greens eyes
"Someone you say?"
Sirzechs didn't answer at first and instead stepped to the side to allow his friend a better view, Ryden slightly stiffened when the man's grey-blue eyes fell on him, they had a light to them that made him feel like he was being scanned both from the outside and the inside, knowing these beings, he probably was
"Who is he?" the man asked after an awkward moment of staring, his eyes were on Sirzechs who seemed like he had no motive to speak, so Ryden mounted up the gumption and introduced himself
He bowed, similarly as how he did it to Sirzechs a few hours ago, it was spotty at best but he'd never really bowed before "My name is Ryden Vale Gremory, it's a pleasure to meet you"
When he raised his head he saw two things, the first was Sirzechs' swooning expression and massive smile that he'd expect would rip his face in haft if it went a few more inches and the second thing was the massive shift in expression on Mr. Green who held an extremely stupefied and dumbstruck look of shock
"G-Gremory? You're a Gremory?" he managed to get out
Ryden simply nodded, his expression remaining as neutral as ever
Why did he feel like a newly revealed toy? The look Sirzechs held mildly was that of a child who just managed to make his parents go into shock, it was pure triumph
The man stepped towards him, which made him tense at his approach, the man would have kept approaching had Sirzechs' hand not have impeded his movement, Mr. Greens eyes glanced up the Sirzechs' who only shook his head slowly
"I wouldn't Ajuka, he's been through hell and I'm not saying that literally... I found him in the clutches of the Old-maou faction within the Halphes castle" The now named Ajuka widened his eyes at what his friend had said before they fell back onto the second Gremory in the room
"You had a brother this whole time..." he breathed, the surprise was a little too much for Ajuka to truly grasp "And he's been in the Clutches of those monsters this whole time... how long?"
"Six months Ajuka... and no, before you ask, he's not related by blood"
At his friends words Ajuka's head snapped to Ryden "what do you mean not related, he looks like your twin for Satan's sake" Sirzechs remained silent while Ryden remained silent as well, watching the two closely
"Remember the event Ajuka" Sirzechs stated evenly "it happened six months ago... Ryden was tortured for the same amount of time, in the Halphes castle, which was only a few thousand miles from ground zero"
The reasoning in Sirzechs' words forced Ajuka to pause and rethink of what he had been hinting at, and then it hit him, like a bolt of lightning, Ajuka was a smart devil, hailed as one of the two super devils alongside his old friend Sirzechs, while the red head wielded power capable of destroy whole territories and sword skills exalted by those who bore witness to his dance of destruction, Ajuka however, held knowledge and magical prestige rather than martial skill with a weapon, his skill and knowledge in the demonic arcane was rumored unreachable, many sought to learn his Kankara formula but most if not all of them failed horribly
His mind was as sharp as was Sirzechs' sword and as precise as Falbium's tactics, it didn't take him very long to figure out what was going on before him
"What are you?" he asked simply, his eyes, which held curiosity and nervousness, were leveled on a neutrally expressed Ryden
The red headed anomaly held his gaze on Ajuka for a moment before his eyes glanced to Sirzechs who in turn nodded slowly at his un-worded message
"I'm human... and I'm the one who fell from the sky"
There were many things in Ajuka Astaroth's life that had him beyond confused, even some moments had left him so thoroughly lost that he had spent years figuring them out, one time he'd heard of the great dragon migration to the northern portion of the underworld, he had been confused as to their sudden shift in habitat and was only able to learn as to why they moved when Mephisto Pheles himself told him it was because the territories rare Dragon apples that grew there
Another was the mixture of both light and dark properties
He was the most informed on how light weapons worked, singular rays of divine energy which travel from one point to another, at the time he was stumped on why the weapons never seemed to bend, the rays always went straight and never bent, it took him some time before he came to the conclusion that light operated similarly how heavens principles worked, disciplined and unwavering, his theory was proven correct when he studied the tainted light from the fallen angels.
While still appearing straight and un-bending, some spears of tainted light can appear 'barbed' or 'thorny' which tells the story of the fallen pretty well in Ajuka's eyes, while still holding onto their faith – as flimsy as it was – they still diverted from their fathers teachings and practiced unorthodox methods or simply indulge in sin occasionally
The mixture of light however had left him stumped to an extent
It acted like water and oil before, they sat perfectly calm beside one another with neither side mixing in with the other nor was there any kind of violent reaction, but now, the two elements were mixing, and created a grey like substance, a gas or smoke
Had Ajuka been uninformed of certain passings he would have been stumped
But this moment he found himself in was beyond what he understood
Before him stood a near spitting image of his old friend Sirzechs, though his hair was much longer then the devil beside him – going past the neck and his facial hair was grown out rather than shaven, his height was slightly shorter and his attire didn't fit the standard battle clothing seen on knights of the new Satan faction, the only key differences he could truly detected physically was his signature that left him curious
It felt like a massive dam was open, leaking out its contents for all to feel
He could see uncontained power when he saw it, and this child before him – a human child – was holding a lot more then what a human could hold, it felt almost high-class worthy but then a moment later it felt low-class
The power was fluctuating, like a Dreg held upon a loose leash, all it would take was a small miss step or a sudden climb in emotional trauma and it would break loose, and if Sirzechs was to be believed then he'd rather not trigger an ultimate-class detonation within his prized tent... or better yet his home territory for that matter
It was safe to say Ajuka's shock of a human standing before him was forgotten with that last thought
"Please sit there" he gestured to a chair to his left, the boy named Ryden eyed him before he nodded
"Sirzechs said you would be helping me understand what these powers are" the man stated before he sat down in the chair, back straight and eyes sharp on him
Ajuka could see the lack of trust in his eyes, six months in the hands of the old-Satan faction wasn't known for hospitality and Ajuka made it his absolute best to appear as none threatening as possible
"What is the extent of your abilities?" asked Ajuka, he needed a foundation to start his observations
Ryden glanced from the man to the chess piece on the desk; his eyes squinted before the piece rose and floated towards Ajuka who took the piece when it was held aloft before him
Ajuka eyed the piece of metal and wood before he looked back to Ryden, eyes rife with wonder "Telekinesis... is that all?" though his words could be discerned as disappointment Ajuka was far from disappointed, with the power flowing from Ryden his abilities seemed locked and the strained expression on Ryden's face when he picked up his enchanted chess piece spoke of a sealing was involved
His reply was a meager shaking of his head
Placing the chess piece on the night stand beside him Ajuka pressed on "tell me what you feel, do you feel pressure in your chest? Or perhaps a weightlessness? Anything you feel will help me understand your abilities"
For a moment Ajuka watched as Ryden contemplated his words, his eyes closed and for a moment Ajuka's senses picked up an immense power reel into Ryden's form, the few magically enhanced lanterns and seals within the room fluctuated and then ultimately died out, the magical energy within them suddenly drained and focused upon Ryden's form
Ajuka turned quickly to Sirzechs, a questioning expression upon his face
Sirzechs in turn looked like you suddenly remembered something
The red headed devil tapped his chin lightly "Now that I think about it, the magic energy within the Halphes territory was incredibly dispersed, not enough to disturb transportation magic and independent spells but the air felt incredibly dense" Sirzechs turned to Ajuka "the traitor devils that joined the old-Satan faction even commented on disturbances with making a powerful transportation sigil"
Ajuka's eyes twitched slightly "And you didn't warn me because?"
Sirzechs simply shrugged "I forgot" Ajuka's second eye twitched before his eyes finally bore a glare and Sirzechs noticed immediately but he simply shrugged "hey don't blame me for having monstrous demonic energy, I barely felt the tug"
Ajuka huffed at the paper thin excuse but relented "this explains quite a bit actually"
"Oh? Care to share with the class"
"the power I felt from the boy was chaotic at first but then I started to piece together his circumstances, he's been kept in a dungeon for six months, if the devils holding him had haft a brain then they'd have cut off magical circulation within the allotted space to stifle the demonic energy from healing the wounds on the prisoners" explained Ajuka, his profession in full effect
Sirzechs hummed "So you think he's been starved of energy" he comment and Ajuka nodded his head
"Exactly, but it's not that his reserves are empty, their cramped... like a stiff muscle, hold a power for too long and suddenly trying to use them like normal would only cause immense pain"
Sirzechs eyes the calm child with small wonder "I've never heard of a case like that before" he said
Ajuka nodded "that's normal, I've rarely heard of them myself and none were this bad, some cases were milder – one had frozen his right arms magic circulation for too long and numbed his limb for a week"
Sirzechs' eyes narrowed "How did he fix it?"
Ajuka frowned "I'm not sure, I think he channeled small amounts of demonic energy throughout his limb for two maybe three days before he could move his arm again and another two before he could cast demonic spells, it does small damage to demonic circuits and it weakens ones abilities but I think one could re-achieve the prime they had before the incident with constant exercise"
"What do we do?" asked Sirzechs but Ajuka only shook his head
"Nothing, if we try to help open his tense and stiff reserves it will only disrupted his origin, which could cause irreversible damage"
Sirzechs was mildly frustrated, he had no real motivation on keeping Ryden from the war, quite frankly Sirzechs needed him, his thoughts on the matter grew more and more eager to see the human brought to his physical and mental peak as fast as possible the more Ajuka spoke of Ryden, Sirzechs had been around Ajuka since he and the green haired nerd were little imps and the tone his voice carried was wonder and curiosity
Ajuka was famous for two things, the first was his intellect, the second was his inventions and his keen sight for the gifted; the enchanted chess piece at the night stand confirmed the green devil was already in the process of yet another ground breaking invention, but every brilliant idea always came from Ajuka's wonder and curiosity
For the man to express those emotions towards Ryden spoke to him the sheer level of importance the human carried and the extreme levels of abnormality that he brought with him
No devil carried telekinetic powers as strong as Ryden
Not one
"How long will it take for him to be fully functional?" questioned Sirzechs as he eyed the meditating Ryden, Ajuka turned to the red head with an inquisitive look
"You plan on bringing him to the war effort? So soon after his release and adoption... I thought you always wanted a sibling" the dumbfounded expression on Ajuka was expected of him, Sirzechs wasn't shy to admit he was absolutely adamant on having a sister or a brother, so much so he always fantasized the idea or in his case, dream
And now he did, though not blood related he still got a brother, unfortunately the brother in question seemed a lot more mature then he'd liked, he spoke of military structure and small amount of tactics like he knew them from the back of his hand and his eyes held a level of maturity his own father severely lacked at times, something Venelana was quick to comment on – or laugh – whenever he commented on his father's childish quips
Ryden was not a mere boy, his age was infancy in the terms of devils but his mind was far more mature then any devil would admit to
And it was that mindset that asked him if he could fight in a battle not his own
Sirzechs sighed "he asked me if he could join" replied Sirzechs
Ajuka's brow furrowed slightly "He asked if he could – are all humans that crazy?"
A small chuckle escaped his lips
"I asked the same thing"
"And what was his answer?"
"Only the royally pissed off ones" quoted Sirzechs
Ajuka grew quite after that reply, he wasn't the one who ordered rescue operations as that responsibility fell onto Sirzechs and Serafall, while the former was a patriotic devil and the latter was a hardass workaholic they both held onto a firm ideal on saving as many devils as they could, it wasn't as if Ajuka or Falbium couldn't care less about the lives of the low class – far from it – they believed the same thing, but considering the quality of their forces strengths they all couldn't trip over one another to save an entire village and instead they delegated their skills
Sirzechs was a nightmare, a terror on the battlefield and Ajuka felt no shame in admitting his friend's monstrous rage and power. He was a wrecking ball of destruction and seemed almost to cunning for a meathead, as Serafall so elegantly phrased it, to be able to avoid obvious ambushes because even with that mind set and tactic, he was never caught flat footed
Serafall was more meticulous, while Sirzechs rushed enemy lines with a squad of elite Praetorian guards she however was more slow and methodical, her rescue operations usually ended with maximum effect and barely any casualties, for the Old-Satan faction however? She made sure that if any prisoner was found dead or worse, she was the main suspect on why the castle was suddenly frozen over... with all of her enemies locked within
For the most part of the civil war, it worked, while the methods were extreme on both sides on two different spectrums the effect was still the same. As the days turned to decades more and more devils grew faithful of the Anti-Satan faction. Word got around of Ruina Nex's noble deeds of heroism and Rosea Infernum's demonic Grace
But it wasn't the positives that kept Ajuka's mouth shut, but rather the reports both his friends and allies wrote
The treatment of the prisoners they saved were not pretty
Some of them were used for more 'personal' means, the females especially – Serafall gave those she caught of those sins extra treatment and Ajuka was mildly disturbed when the shorter devil went into excruciating detail on what happens when someone's internal organs suddenly freeze over... slowly
He mildly shuddered at that and it wasn't the cold that time
However, some of the more 'lucky ones' were seen so far below their captures that it was rare for any one of them to pick favorites and in the end, they were all used as slaves to do a number of things, worst case scenario they were sold off to neighboring generals and used as simple slaves, such as mining rare demonic ores and the like while some were used more as training dummies or simple 'meat targets'
Ajuka's mind grinded to a halt, his thoughts were delving into a darker aspect of himself and he'd rather not subject the poor man before him with his foul aura
"He hasn't spoken about what they did to him? His powers may be restrained by emotional turmoil" Ajuka felt like garbage asking this, not even an hour of knowing him and he was attempting to opening fresh wounds under the disguise of trying to help, he knew talking of the matter so soon was not healthy but he needed to cover his bases
Sirzechs shook his head "I didn't ask, when I found him he was controlling this barrier that cut one of my praetorians hands clean off when he tried to approach, I doubt trying to get him to open up out what they did would only be counterproductive"
Ajuka's eyes lit up when he heard Sirzechs' words "A barrier? What did it look like? Were there any summon seals within its radius?"
Again, Sirzechs shook his head "there was no magic sigil of any kind, and it was transparent – almost like it was space itself denying access to anyone" as he spook Ajuka's thoughts continued to unravel questions
"Then it must have been a spatial barrier, his powers are telekinetic in nature perhaps he just manipulated the space around him to form it" muttered Ajuka, Sirzechs nearly sweat dropped at his words
"You make it sound easy, distort the space on such a high level it can vaporize a limb? That seems way to advanced for a human to pull off"
Ajuka only nodded at Sirzechs, his mind in full agreement "That may be so Sirzechs, but it may have been an emotional trigger, his abilities may be easier controlled then we may think... I believe old man Shax proved his skills – while advanced - were in actuality, simple to perform"
Sirzechs hummed at that, an old mentor, a demon of the 72 pillars was – while deceiving – a good mentor to both him and Ajuka, his ability in distorting understanding and eye sight was the thing of legends and was recorded in the hall of Dantalion as a mischievous familiar contractor who had a thing for evil horses... the young devils didn't judge, only listened
"It could be like that, I mean... he fell from the sky! I know you're not one for omens but I can just feel it now, the total destruction he left from a fall that wasn't his own doing, his ability to survive six months in the hands of the old-Satan factions most notorious interrogators and then ask me to join the war effort" a deep sigh escaped Sirzechs and Ajuka was mildly taken aback by his friends exuberance "The man's got conviction, and seems like something or someone put him here"
Now Ajuka's eyes rolled at his words "Now you just sound weird" replied Ajuka and Sirzechs words caught in his throat
"Hey! I'm being serious!" pressed Sirzechs
Shaking his head Ajuka nodded in sarcasm "oh I'm sure you are, maybe Lucifer dropped him here to do his work, oh and maybe he's the child of the heavenly dragons as well?" I small laugh escaped his lips at that thought "Those two monsters never did leave the other alone, I wonder if they did have a thing?"
He shuddered rather violently at that thought
Sirzechs slightly pouted at his friends sarcastic teasing before he turned back to Ryden and froze
He had been watching the two silently
It took Ajuka a moment to join Sirzechs in sheepish exasperation but when he did Ryden leveled a calculative look onto the red and green devils before him, a moment later and a smirk played onto his lips
"How long have you been listening?" asked a nervous Sirzechs
Ryden shrugged, smirk still withstanding "about after you quoted me" he replied plainly before his gaze fell onto Ajuka, completely ignoring the look Sirzechs produced "In case you were interested, I just figured out why my abilities were limited"
Unlike his crimson friend Ajuka played off his previous expression professionally and in its place was intrigue "Oh? What did you learn?"
"Your theory on my energy being cramped was moderately correct but I wasn't sealed or cut off from the ambient flow of negative energy in the air, instead I sealed them away subconsciously to focus completely on physical defense, so I just opened them... Sirzechs didn't mention how I survived and that was why, no matter the power, I was never harmed physically"
At Ryden's words, Ajuka stored the information away before his eyes widened slightly "Never harmed? How?" his questions were building up but it seemed to him that Ryden had no real care about being prodded for information
At his words Ryden simply held up his arm and nodded to Sirzechs "with your sword, try and cut my arm off"
!
"What!" screamed Sirzechs, it was a controlled yell, barely enough to breach the noise restriction sigil woven into Ajuka's tent but it point was across none the less "are you crazy?"
Ryden nodded at his words calmly with a set of rolled eyes "We've been over this..."
Ryden noticed the crimson devils silence and sighed but made no attempt to retreat or reconsider his request, he only reasoned "The interrogators had attempted to remove more than just my arm with far more terrifying tools" he eyed the crimson blade at Sirzechs hip, he even unsheathed it for him with a simple command of his mind, something he'd noted to be much easier now than before "I've grown numb to caring about the loss of limbs as I cannot lose them, an ultimate-class devil or whatever she called herself tried and failed... and she tried everything" his eyes returned to Sirzechs, indifferent blue met shocked turquoise "Now try and succeed where she failed"
Taking the blade from the air Sirzechs quickly, without hesitation, dropped his blade into Ryden's wrist with barely an ounce of his strength
TING!
Like metal on an anvil the blade of the Gremory lord clashed onto a surface far to resilient to be considered normal, even unassisted the blade was said to be in a league of its own due to its material composition, halting the blade like it did before them was unheard of. Two sets of eyes – shocked to their core – locked onto the arm of one Ryden Vale Gremory who had a light blue transparent layer of energy coating his wrist, directly where Sirzechs' crimson edged blade rested, the surface of the energy rippled like water and upon any sudden movement in the blade was replied with even more ripples which was accompanied by the sound of metal grinding against metal
Ryden lightly lifted the blade casually with his other hand – his energy shield fading as he did so – and allowed the blade to drop to Sirzechs' side before sitting back calmly as if he didn't just put a limb on the line
Scratching his growing beard Ryden continued, uncaring to the degree of shock coursing through the two before him "I do not now the mechanism's on how my power works, it just does" his eyes landed on Ajuka who had recovered from the events prior "I think it, it does it – it's that simple"
Ajuka nodded rather dumbly at the man's tone which was a complete eye opener to the rather quite man from before, he had just taken a blade forge from dragonite, a metal ore mined from that of dragons residual energy seeped into bed rock – and it was a dragon of destruction no less – and it's said to have taken ages to forge into perfect shape like it was a messily dark iron
Ajuka might have a heart attack if the blade was even chipped
...Thankful for his health it wasn't
"So you managed to release the hold on your powers?" asked Ajuka trying but failing to move on from what had just happened, Sirzechs was still silent, eyes locked onto Ryden very closely
The aforementioned man nodded "Yes, it took me a minute – had to borrow some of the juice in the area to do that, but I got it done" the man rolled his shoulders, a few cracks echoed out "Now" he started, his eyes still on Ajuka "You gonna scan me for abnormalities or am I clear for deployment doc?"
While Ajuka was no fan of arrogant sarcasm it was clear to him the level of restlessness was fueling the human's emotions to a degree and he couldn't find himself caring at the moment.
"Please hold still and steady you're breathing patterns" Ajuka didn't move from his spot before he waved his hand
Ryden did as asked and calmed himself before he noticed the same green magic seals appear around him, they were, of course, green in color and took on a squared shape rather than the circular ones he'd seen used before, a few seconds of watching the odd symbols and sigils moving in tandem with one another and Ryden quickly felt slightly numb
It was there for a moment and then it was gone, his limbs responded to his commands just as before and his mind still felt like a vast ocean – that was an odd feeling to get used to but he'd come to accept the change in mental serenity.
Rolling his neck to rid him of the sudden influx of stiffness within himself Ryden stood up and stretched before regarding the green haired commander before him "that was odd" he muttered to the man
Ajuka noticed the question laced into the comment and nodded to the red head "I'm still working on a few kinks in the internal energy scanner formula, the only thing that seems to persist is the odd numbness one feels after the procedure, it fades after a few seconds so there's no need to worry" replied Ajuka causing Ryden to nod
It was at this time that Sirzechs returned to the conversation and regarded Ajuka questioningly "What did you learn?"
Ajuka simply dropped a his left hand while waving his right before him, a hexagonal sigil of green light sprang from the ground horizontally before a full life size version of Ryden was displayed to the three in full holographic detail
"It would be best to show you" started Ajuka, an odd pep in his voice, a pep Sirzechs recognized as intrigue, the green haired devil step toward the green outline of Ryden and gesture towards it in easily concealed fascination "from what I've gathered, Ryden's physical build is almost frozen in place; it's like a permanent stasis is in place on his internal organs, bone structure and nervous system that's halted almost everything, from ageing to metabolism and immunity" as the devil spoke blue streaks of calm flowing energy appeared over Ryden's holographic form, then the vision shifted to show his nervous system where the real light show was revealed
Along with the green color dominating the internal viewing, blue energy flowed through Ryden's systems like naturally existing body fluids
Ajuka gestured Ryden to look to his organs in the hologram, which showed the blue energy flowing like water within his many veins "Your metabolism is so powerful I'd speculate your need for food is abysmal at best, you might even substitute food with ambient energy in the area – like what you did a few minutes ago"
Ryden merely nodded in agreement, he hadn't eaten in months yet just from absorbing the energy within the air he felt like he just ate a full course meal with desert.
Pausing in his own thoughts, Ryden glanced down to his hand in wonder before clenching it, a new question sprouting in his mind
"What was that about my bone structure?" questioned Ryden
Ajuka lit up slightly at the question "It's quite odd to understand as I don't know the base line strength of human bones, all I can say is your bones are just as hard – if not harder – then devil bone, which is as strong as obsidian stone, I'm not sure what's causing the increase in bone strength but I'd speculate it's your natural affinity to your telekinetic abilities, so in the end you might just be subconsciously strengthening them" Ryden nodded again before looking at the blue energy flowing within his bone marrow
Then his eyes landed onto his nervous system, which had arcing blue energy cracking from one to another at almost lightning speeds "And my nervous system?"
Ajuka's replied in near seconds "from increased bone strength and metabolism, I'd say it's a basic requirement for what your nervous system has, considering it takes an immense amount of calories to function daily, along with any other minerals needed your lack of requiring food almost cancels out your 'fuel gauge' as I'd call it, your nerves have been jump started to levels above even devils, from reaction time to brain processing it's almost like you've been built to last... in dangerous situations"
Sirzechs piped up from that last part "What do you mean?"
At that question, Sirzechs realized too late he'd jumped started Ajuka's 'nerd mode' and nearly tuned out had it not been about Ryden's mysterious powers
Ajuka's eyes turned back to the hologram before he zoomed into Ryden's brain which had the similar lightning like effects as the nervous system but its sheer brightness helped express the difference and importance of the organ
"I've never actually managed to study humans before and thankfully Ryden, you are my first" started Ajuka which caused Ryden to cringe slightly at his wording all the while muttering 'no homo' under his breath
Ajuka didn't notice
"I've learned that humans and devils share a very close anatomy, with only minor differences in material composition and chemical output, but what I've learned so far is that will devils use a good 50% of their brain's potential while humans only use 10%" at that point Ryden cut in
"That's a myth" said Ryden
Ajuka's eyes narrowed slightly at his words "How so?"
Ryden sighed before starting back up "the 10% of the human brain is a myth, humans neuron-dense brains evolved to use the least amount of energy to store as much information as possible, that's a feat that requires 100% of the human brain to do... basically our brains are extremely efficient"
Ajuka stood stock still, his eyes staring into Ryden's with small levels of shock and understanding "That's it!" he finally said, eyes lighting up "Devils use more because we have access to more abilities, such as demonic cores and magical senses and language understanding, we use a larger percentage because we have a need for a larger storage then humans" Ajuka's eye's snapped onto Ryden "How did you learn this?"
"I learned it in school – university actually, biochemistry and biology, pretty good at it actually"
This time Ryden noticed the confusion and nearly cringed at his forthcoming nature
"I have never heard of humans delving into this 'biochemistry' before, is it a form of black magic? Or is it witchcraft?" replied Ajuka, calculative gaze increasing
Ryden's swallowed slowly before he replied, but with a question of his own one that he'd been dreading to ask
"What year in human time is it?" he asked
Ajuka glanced to a silent Sirzechs questioningly, all he did in return was lock a similar gaze onto him before returning to Ryden "It's been 430 years since the resurfacing of humanity and the death of Christ, 150 years since the end of the second major conflict between the angels, the fallen and us – the devils – so I'd say in human years... it's 432 A.D – give or take a year"
.
.
.
If Ryden had been standing, then he'd have fallen into the chair at that revelation
"Holy shit, so they were speaking the truth... oh. fuck" muttered Ryden, his hand gripping his face and for the two devils in the room, a small build up of pressure began to grow within the tent
"What truth Ryden? What did they say? Why does this bother you so much?" questioned a slightly nervous Sirzechs
Ryden glanced to the devil between his fingers "It bothers me Sirzechs; that I've been sent back in time 1,586 years into the past – and in hell no less!" Ryden jumped from his chair and sputtered off cuss words while Sirzechs and Ajuka shot shock looks
"You're from... the future?" the both asked in perfect union
"Yes" replied a troubled Ryden "The year 2018, September 18th... fucked if you know what that is" at that Ryden plopped back down into his chair "This is FUBAR"
Sirzechs gulped and Ajuka shook his head in shock but Suddenly Sirzechs' eyes brightened which caught the tired and sunken eyes of Ryden who regarded Sirzechs' sudden hopeful gaze with a grain of salt
"Do we win the civil war?" asked the hopeful devil who got elbowed in the ribs by Ajuka soon after
Ryden shook his head "I have no idea, 6 months ago I was a simple minimum wage associate working at a Wal-Mart, the only thing 'supernatural' in my life were the customers that came through the door in hordes" replied Ryden before he rubbed his temples "Just thinking about them gives me a head ache"
For a moment Ryden simply rubbed his temples while the two devils before him remained silent, obviously aware of the stress the human had just recently accumulated, Ajuka was in a near state of shock at finding out the phenomenon before him was not only highly intelligent for a human but he was also from the future which in his history of studying ancient magic's and demonology from his late predecessors he had never come across the concept of time travel
Sirzechs on the other hand was trying to piece together a reply to consol the unwilling time traveler before him but he came up with nothing, he wasn't one to think too deeply into matters far from not only his understanding but Ajuka's as well – considering the silence from the aforementioned devil beside him meant that his confusion was expected, if Ajuka was stumped then he would be too and then some
"I don't know what to say to you Ryden" started Ajuka, catching the man's attention "I've never heard of time travel being used before, whatever brought you here is obviously powerful" Ajuka's eyes landed onto Sirzechs "almost like whatever it was wanted you to be here" his hand shot up at the gleam in Sirzechs' eyes as if to smack the devil if he so much as spoke "it's to convenient to pass as a random event"
Ryden's eyes gained a small hint of interest in them which entailed Ajuka to continue "100 years ago the civil war was only a rumor among the devils; we were just healing our wounds and burying our dead after the second conflict with the other races, but as time pressed on the divide between continuing and not continuing the great war grew into civil unrest and sudden divide in territories and then only a few decades ago the first major conflicts began"
Sirzechs stepped in "thankfully we had a warning before that and managed to garner the following of 17 devil family houses of the Ars Geotia with a good number of lower class families as well and with them we have managed to create a resistance, but our forces lack quality, while the old-Satan's have less numbers they do however make up for in class so it's safe to say the odds are even but it wouldn't take them long to push us back, the descendants of the originals have proven that"
Ajuka sighed "what Sirzechs is saying is that we needed a game changer, and we needed it now... big surprise to us when we see a falling star in the sky 6 months ago and here you are, proving yourself far more reliable and dangerous the more I learn about you"
Ryden smiled slightly at the two "it's great you're all out trying to make me 'the chosen one' but I feel like it's misplaced" he said before standing up calmly and moving to stand before them "and I'll be the first one to say that the 'chosen one' shtick gets really old in 2018, it's to cheesy"
At Ryden's words Sirzechs whined "aw, those are always the most entertaining! What do they enjoy in your time?"
All Ryden did was muffle a cough "Meme's" was his reply
Both Sirzechs and Ajuka developed confused expressions
However Ryden returned to the previous conversation before they could sputter off track any further "Anyways, we humans have developed an understanding of the world around us, things you would consider black magic to humans is simple science, making fire is easy with the right chemical's and understanding anatomy is basic biology... I'm actually surprised you didn't notice my understanding until now, had I been one of the humans of this time, then I'd have been accusing you of sorcery"
Ajuka nodded at Ryden's words and nearly slapped himself for not noticing Ryden's intelligence on human anatomy, something no human knows or understands at this time and he also just realised how dismissive Ryden's gaze was when looking at the hologram
Then a thought dropped in his head
"Do humans use magic in your time?" he asked
Ryden shook his head "no, primitive magic like long distance communication is common among humans and is more technological then arcane, most of our inventions use already existing elements in our environment so, we are advanced but we are still growing... won't be long until we have fully functional prosthetic limbs and vertical reality, can't fucking wait but considering my situation... I'm gonna have to"
Ajuka only listened intently to Ryden as he spoke, he knew of prosthetic's before, some devils use natural elements like metal and rock to form limbs that were lost in battle to help replace the lost limb but Virtual reality was not something he'd heard before, but he chose not to press on, as much as he desired to know more of humanities future
Ajuka was heavily intrigued
Ryden quickly changed the subject, it wasn't if the devils could influence humanity as it was highly mentioned that humanities violent nature was the result of Satan's manipulation some millennia ago but the problem was 'how' they would do it, and if that required knowledge of the future then Ryden refused to grant to much info to a species that corrupted his own
"Anyways, aside from my knowledge, I wanted to know whether or not if I could survive until my time, you said my aging was halted before, can you elaborate?"
Dropping the subject from before, Ajuka easily replied "I've come to conclude that your aging process is about as strong as us devils" his eyes scanned the hologram for a moment longer "give or take a few millennia's stronger"
"And how long do devils usually live?"
Sirzechs piped in after picking up parts of brain from the floor, the conversation Ajuka had with Ryden had caused his head to spin slightly "I'm 1,000 years old if that helps, and that's considered young to older devils, my – our – parents are somewhere between 2,000 – 3,000, while the oldest devil right now is Zekram Bael whose 5,000-ish years old, our mother is a descendant of him"
Ryden nodded in affirmative "And if my process is stronger, than I have a good chance to live long enough to get back to 2018" a long sigh escaped his lips at his own words "oh boy, this is gonna be a long wait"
"And that's if the civil war doesn't kill you" commented Sirzechs and Ryden had to pass a mock glare at him
"6 months without being able to defend myself in the hands of a silver haired bitch... and I'm right here, breathing" a pensive expression etched itself on Ryden "Think about that for a second"
Sirzechs did just that before his gaze dropped "Oh right, you got a point there"
Ryden nodded at Sirzechs' observation before he regarded Ajuka with a questioning gaze "if that's all you need to know then is it alright for me to join the war effort?" asked Ryden
Ajuka's eyes locked onto Ryden's "Your physical and mental capabilities are at the highest peak anyone I've evaluated, in those words then I say yes, you are fit to carry out military action but I ask you this first" Ryden noticed the man's gaze sharpen almost into slits with how intense his gaze was but Ryden remained un fazed "What reason do you fight, is it glory? Or is it revenge?"
Ryden knew that question was going to be asked, no foreign military force would accept outside assistance without covering every base they had, they had to establish whether or not the recruit is mental fit to handle harsh combat without breaking, the second was fitness and its requirements were self explanatory but what's most important is drive...
What reason do you have to sacrifice your innocence for a species you do not know?
Why condemn yourself to battle not your own?
For whom do you do it for?
All those questions played out in his mind, the reasons. They were simple to Ryden, for 6 months he had delved into his drive, all the rage he'd picked up, the dismissal of despair and the acceptance of loss, he refused to sit back and allow what happened to him happen to the innocent civilians caught in between a foolish wish and a hopeful dream
"We humans have many reasons to fight, but what drives us humans is morality, what's good and what is evil... to sacrifice one's self for the preservation of another is what drives a soldier to kill and to cloak himself in the sin of violence" his eyes steeled over, his drive was already set in stone the second he was freed from his shackles in the Halphes territory
He noticed the slight widening of the eyes of the devils in the room but ignored it to get his point and ideal across "In the 6 months of me coming here, I've seen many evil things done onto innocence all because they wished to see a tomorrow, only for theirs to never come because of the blindness in their tortures, I've never been one to stick my neck out for total strangers but I can't stand by while things like that happen to children, to mothers and fathers" Ryden paused to shake his head, fresh wounds still stinging "Not again"
Both Ajuka and Sirzechs could see the concealed guilt in Ryden's eyes and tone but dared not to question him, they could see it in him already, the conviction they themselves had picked up from witnessing the evil deeds of the old-Satan faction, the torture being called 're-education through pain' by the old-Satan activists was common motivation for all of the new recruits that sought to strike back at the monsters who had harmed one of their own
It was clear Ryden was fully committed as well
"You ask me what my reason is. It's simple..." Ryden started up again, his eyes steeled once again
"... I'm gonna bury the old-Satan's, and its gonna be biblical"
Ajuka and Sirzechs liked the sound of that.
And that's a wrap!
A little bit longer then last chapter by about a thousand words but I needed to establish a few goals in this chapter
Not any action, I know, boring but believe me when I say the action is coming and it's gonna be belligerent and numerous, I've got an estimated 20 odd amount of chapters dedicated to the civil war – and an arc pertaining to a curtain legend and the build up arc towards the canon time-line and then said canon time line as well... I'd say it'd be chapter 30 by the time Rias and the ORC are kicking around so don't worry yeah DxD fans, the gang will be showing up
That's right, I didn't say it in my last notes but this story isn't all about the civil war, but rather the legend that's birthed in this conflict before its released into canon timeline *Laughs manically*
The villains in DxD are not gonna know what hit 'em, and I can't fucking wait for that
Anyways so this chapter brings up a few points needed to help staunch some of the confusion to Ryden and his abilities and brings in a small tidbit of information pertaining to them, but keep in mind his powers are subject for evolution so don't immediately assume this is the end all be all
This is also build up to Ryden's first confrontation in the civil war, along with the next chapter Ryden will be tested rather than just flung into the civil war all wily Nelly as that would seem stupid, Ryden had just recently been rescued after months of torture ( I will keep a majority of his torment a secret for your own imagination to chew on) so he can't be expected to hold his own in combat just yet, and he has no formal military training (more of this in the next chapter)
Next chapter will be more eventful then this one as I needed to cover some bases on devil military structure (more in next chapter) and what state the devils government is currently in, and just really establish the situation
Setting is key, and I plan to use it
Alrighty
And to respond to my boi Sirzuccs: I highly doubt I'll drop this story for a lack of reviews as this story has found its way into my mind more so then the others, I won't really expect a tone of reviews as this story is more serious then what most DxD readers want (more Rias, more canon, more harem etc.) but I have confidence in this story as it focuses on what happened during the civil war and the outcome of Ryden being a part of it... that and I also really enjoy a more experienced badass showing up and kicking royal ass in canon, instead in this story, rather than just learning about him as the story goes on we'll be along for the ride of Ryden's rise to legend before canon shows up, so we'll know everything about while everyone else doesn't
Thanks for the review, i appreciate it!
Now, if you enjoyed this chapter then leave a review (it's my written fuel) or don't if you didn't, drop a sentence or two on why you didn't
And in the meantime, I'll be writing my next chapter
peace
