Warning! This chapter contains EXCESSIVE amounts of insults, swearing, psychological and physical abuse. You have been warned and I hope you will enjoy this chapter.
USA. Massachusetts. Anderson Family Mansion. Day 1 of the training.
A transportation circle of Medea closed up behind the large group that had just teleported from Japan to the Eastern Coast of United States. The group consisted of Rias with her Peerage, Lucina, Vergil, Mina, Asia, Ishtar and Marina herself, who after closing up the portal, magically redressed into her casual clothing. Most of the group looked at the forests around and hills, with a large plane in the middle of it all, with a three stores mansion made in a Tudor fashion standing tall, surrounded by a small garden of flowers and with a carefully laid roads connecting the mansion to gardens. Lucina and Vergil had small smiles on their faces, as they haven`t been in here for a long time, as did Marina. Asia and Mina were also quite amazed by the place as evidenced by their faces, while Ishtar gave an approving smile, while also being dressed in civilian garments this time. Koneko and Kiba reacted simply in their own fashion, along with Rias and Akeno, while Issei had a shocked expression on his face, as he turned to Vergil and practically yelled at him.
"Hey, why didn`t you mention to us that grandparents are rich as hell?!" He demanded from Vergil, who turned to him with an annoyed expression. "Not only girls all flock to you like moths and you date one of the hottest chicks in school, but you are also rich as hell?! You should just go and die, pretty boy!"
"Do I need to tell you everything about my life, Pervy Pants?" Vergil asked of him, turning back to the mansion, and picking up his belongings. "They aren`t the richest in all of USA, but they certainly have enough for the living, considering my gramps is one of the top Senators and also mom`s riches from her time as Medea, which she given to her parents."
"Really? Why would you do that, Marina-sama?" Mina asked of her, with Medea turning to her with a small smile.
"Well, it`s not like I really had a need for all those riches anyway, as I am a pretty simple and down to the Earth kind of woman." Marina answered. "And besides, if I ever need money and riches, I`ve still got a few reserves here in there in the world, so no need to worry on my expense, dear. And also, just call me Marina, Medea or Mom, if you want, Mina. Same goes for you too, Asia." That last one gotten red cheeks from the pinkette and blond. "Now then, let`s get going. I am sure Mom and Dad are already waiting for us." Medea said to them, as she picked and the others moved towards the mansion, while Rias decided to speak up to Vergil.
"Vergil, are you certain that your grandfather will be able to help us defeat Riser? I mean, he is a human and while he may`ve served in US` military, but I doubt that he knows how High-Class Devils and their Peerages fight." Rias noted out to Vergil, with him simply sighing at this one.
"And this is one of your faults, Red. You assume way too much and let those assumptions cloud your judgment." Vergil pointed out to her, turning to face her. "Let`s think serious for a sec here: you and the rest of your Peerage don`t stand a chance against Riser in your current form; you and Akeno aren`t much in training department, plus you also need to train your powers too; I know how Riser and his Peerage operates, as does my grandfather, so we can prep up against them in tactical department. And as for my gramps being human, quite a lot of Supernatural Beings seriously underestimate humans, yet you rely on us like on air these days, at least you Devils do. Believe me, Red, if there`s anyone who can get us up to shape agaisnt Riser, it would be my grandfather, William Anderson." Vergil simply answered to her. "Trust me, it`s either him, or we are losing for good in here. And while I`m okay with you losing, to completely honest, I would rather not make myself look like a fool there, and I`ve got some… catching up to do there."
"So, you would much rather see us defeated? Some honorable friend you are…" Akeno commented with a bit of anger in her voice.
"Akeno, if you ask me, whom would I rather vote for: Rias or Riser, whom do you think I`ll pick?" Vergil asked of her, while Rias had something of a scowl on her face. "I`ve said it to you, that Lucina and I will help you out, because we still owe to Rias for our lives. There is a matter of honor here and paying your debts. But, if that factor wasn`t included, I would`ve most probably allowed Riser to have his way with you guys."
"That`s not very friendly, Vergil." Kiba scolded him, with Mina turning to glare at him. "I can understand that you and Riser may be friends too, but you were a member of President`s Peerage and you are also our friend, not to mention…"
"Not to mention that Vergil, along with me and Lucina here, have more than enough reasons to let that cool guy burn you to the crisp." Mina said sharply and with anger in her voice, getting glares from Issei and Koneko. "Don`t forget that it was your fault with what happened with Lucina, and I still haven`t forgotten what part you didn`t play in saving me from that psycho. And don`t forget, I still remember what happened to my parents..." She said with venom in her voice, taking up the pace and closing standing close to Vergil. "Vergil, no offence, but after all that they`ve done to you, don`t you think that you and Lucina should just let Riser incinerate them? Why go out of your way to help them now?"
"Because, Mina, as much as I may not like it, but… It`s not just because of me and Lucina being in Rias` debt, but there is also a promise that I`ve made to my bro, and intend to keep it and this Rating Game might just be the chance I need to fulfill it." Vergil said to her with full seriousness, one that Mina knew all too well. "You could say that this debt of mine is an excuse for me to do what I need to do, Mina. Stupid? Yeah, probably. Crazy? Most possible. Needed? Absolutely."
"Well, when you put it like that… What was that promise anyway?" Mina asked of Vergil, with him gripping his bag a bit stronger.
"To make Rayla feel alive again." Vergil stated to her, picking up the pace and coming close to the gardens and noticing someone working in there. "Well, looks like grandma is home too."
"Yes, she is." Medea smiled, as she called out to her. "Mom!"
The said woman was currently working with flowers, dressed in a hat that covered her short grey hair and blue eyes, with a white shirt and black pants. Once she heard a so familiar voice of her daughter, she rose up, revealing a face of a slightly aged, yet beautiful woman with a brimming smile on her face, once she laid her eyes on the members of her family. She took away the gardening tools and went to greet them, instantly pulling her daughter into a hug, giving her a motherly kiss on the cheek.
"Marina, my darling, it is so good to see." Elena Anderson she said to her daughter, with small tears coming out of her eyes. "Ah, I`ve missed you so much, my little girl."
"I`ve missed you too, Mom." Medea said to her with a warm smile, separating from her, with Elena already seeing both of her grandchildren with smiles on their faces. "And kids missed you too, I am sure of it."
"We sure did. Hi there, Grandma." Vergil said with a smile moving closer to Elena and hugging her, soon joined by Lucina.
"Grandma, it`s so great to see you." Lucina said to her, with Elena hugging both of her grandchildren with a smile on her lips.
"Oh, my little rascals, I`ve missed you both so much!" She said to them, as she gave both of them kisses on the cheeks, before stepping back and looking at them. "Let me see you, dears. My, Vergil, you`ve grown so much, and look at all this workout and muscles. No doubt the girls in your town practically line up before you." Vergil blushed a little bit at this one, while Elena and Marina chuckled at this one. "And you, Lucina. You look just like your mother, and in your age she was quite the heartbreaker herself." Lucina turned a little bit red, while Medea practically exploded with color.
"Mom!" Marina reddened at this one, with Elena chuckling more at this one.
"Well, actually, Grandma… I`m dating someone and I am pretty happy with her. You should remember her from the time you`ve visited me and Mom. Her name is Tsubaki Shinra, she is…" Vergil said to her, with Elena blinking a couple of times before pulling her grandson into another hug. "Hey, hey, grandma! Not in the public."
"My grandson is dating such a nice beautiful girl. I knew from the minute I saw her that she was just perfect for you, my grandson." Elena said in a happy voice. "So, when can expect the news~?" She asked him in teasing manner, with Vergil turning even redder.
"Grandma! We aren`t planning that far ahead and we are still pretty young and…" Vergil objected with Elena simply chuckling at this one as she separated from her grandson.
"Can`t a grandmother just tease her cute little grandson? And even so, I would love to baby sit one day your own children, Vergil, and I think your Mom here is also in agreement with me here." Marina didn`t say anything, while Elena turned her attention to the rest of the group, paying attention first to Mina, Asia and Ishtar. "Now, whom do we have here? You two must be the girls Marina said she took in. You, pinkie, aren`t you Mina Katase, from my grandson`s Club and team?"
"Y-yes, Mrs. Grayson, I am. I`m surprised that you`ve remembered me." Mina said with a little bit of blush, as she hadn`t expected this kind lady to remember her so well.
"How could I forget such a cute pretty girl like you, my dear? You were such a dear when you gave the tour around your Academy and campus, and not to mention I recall how you`ve talked about my grandson here. And please, call me Elena, dear." Elena said kindly to her, taking Mina`s hands into her own, surprising her. "And I am very sorry for what had happened to your parents, my dear. I can`t imagine how hard it must`ve been for you and is still. If you are in need of anything, don`t be shy and afraid and tell me, okay?"
"I-I will, and thank you, ma`am. I am okay, with Vergil here looking out for me and Asia, I`m alright, though I miss my parents…" Mina said to her, with Elena letting a small chuckle.
"My, Vergil has always been such a caring and protective person. It is no wonder that so many girls in the town had blushes every time they saw him." Elena recalled, as she turned her attention to Asia. "My, what an adorable little sunshine you are! You are Asia Argento, aren`t you? Tell me, how do you do, dear?"
"Y-Yes, I am, Mrs.… I mean, Elena. And I am doing well, thank you. Vergil is very nice and kind to me a-and he helps me adjust, as does Lucina here. A-and M-Medea has taken me as her a-apprentice, s-so…" Asia stammered, as she blushed.
"Now, now, no need to be shy here, dear. To me, both you and Mina here are like granddaughters. And I am glad that you are doing well. Also, I didn`t expect you to take on an apprentice, Marina. She must be quite a talented little bundle of joy." Elena commented, before turning back to Asia. "It is so nice to see a new addition in our little circle, dear. So, if you have any trouble with spells or incantations, feel free to ask me for help any time."
"Um, are you a sorceress too?" Asia asked of her, with Elena nodding to her, petting her head.
"Of course I am, my dear. Though my girl here is a true mistress of magical arts, I myself here is still a very much respected Sorceress too, known for my mastery of nature manipulation." Elena said to Asia catching a glimpse of confusion in her eyes. "Here, let me show you." Elena stood up and moved to one of the bushes, waving her hand over it and speaking in ancient Greek. "Bloom with favor of Demeter." And with this said, the simple bush suddenly sprouted out beautiful red roses, with Asia and Mina looking in awe at this. "If you would like, I could show you the basics, but I do stay true to Marina here. She is an excellent teacher and she`ll take the best care of you, dear." Asia nodded to her, with Elena turning to face the Goddess of Fertility herself. "Mistress Ishtar, it is quite the honor to meet you."
"Please, madam, no need for formalities. I am a guest in your house and hope not to be a nuisance." Ishtar said politely to her, looking around at the garden. "Such a wonderful garden, raised with love and care, and with so little magic. I have seen palaces of green, yet they were so fickle and empty of love, while yours feels so alive and beautiful. I would like to know just how you managed to grow it, if it is not too much to ask."
"Of course not, Ishtar. We can chat about it after the lunch, with a few cups of tea, if you like that." Elena offered, with Ishtar nodding to it, while Elena turned to face the Devils. "Now, I believe you are the once Riser had informed us about. Rias Gremory, I presume?" Elena`s voice became colder and harsher, as she looked at the Devils.
"I am, Elena, and I am grateful to you for allowing us to train here, in your residence. I hope you…" Rias was interrupted by Elena.
"I personally do not like your presence on my grounds all that much, and considering all that has happened with my grandchildren, especially with my little Lucina…" The vines and flowers in the garden seemed to have picked up on anger of Elena, as they`ve threateningly moved around. "Still, you have saved my grandchildren, so I thank for this, but do not expect much hospitality from me and my husband here. The single reason why I haven`t forced you away from my grounds is because of Vergil`s request, so you`ve been warned." Elena turned back to Ishtar, Asia and Mina. "And as for you three, you are welcomed here with opened arms. Now, I am sure you would love to see your rooms. Come, I will show you around and…"
"Mom, maybe a little bit later?" Medea offered to her, with Elena stopping her talking. "I hope you don`t mind me asking, but why are you here? Don`t you have work in Harvard?"
"Oh, dear, I must`ve forgotten to tell you." Elena said a bit absentmindedly. "Since the last week, dear, I`ve entered retirement, all the papers had gone through and now I am officially no longer the head of Historical Faculty in Harvard. Don`t fret about it, Mari. I`m not the same woman that had once saw you play in snow with Will, when you were but five. I`ve spent thirty years of my life there and now I think it`s time I`ve gotten some time for me and Will. And besides, now that I am free of job, I can accompany him in DC when he needs to be there and cook for him some nice homemade dishes and none of that restaurant half-frozen crap that they are serving there these days." Elena replied, with Marina nodding to her. "Now then, I believe you would want to say hi to your Grandfather too, my little rascals. Will! Guess who`s came home?!" Elena shouted towards the house, with Vergil, Lucina and Medea turning to the entrance in the house.
"Elena, if it`s Daltons again, tell them that we are not interested in any of their parties." That was a strong and masculine voice, with the sounds of moving in the house coming towards them.
"Oh, just get over here, would you. It`s important!" Elena shouted back to him.
"Fine, fine, I`m already here. So, who is it that…" From the entrance into the house stepped out a seemingly young, yet also mature, strongly built man, standing nearly 195 cm, sporting a most impressive physique, with strong muscles, torso and entire body seemed like made out of pure stone dressed in free black pants and grey t-shirt, with grey, close to white short cut hair and a clean face, additional to blue eyes, that widened at the sight before him. "Oh… Marina, Lucy, Vergil… Oh, come here you, my kids, let me hug you all!" William "Spartan" Anderson bellowed in happiness, moving towards his daughter and her kids with a happy smile.
Marina was the first one to get caught by her father, as he pulled her in a fatherly hug, with Marina hugging him back. William didn`t hide his happiness at the sight of his daughter, as he kissed her on the cheeks several times, making his daughter blush and chuckle, as he spoke up.
"My little baby girl is back. Oh, how I`ve missed you, my little baby." Anderson said caringly to his daughter.
"Dad, I am not a little girl anymore. Heck, I`ve got two kids of my own!" Marina and Will separated, with Medea arguing. "And even before you and mom I had three more…"
"Doesn`t change a damn thing to me, Mari. You are my daughter, I am your daddy, so I get to call you however I want." William argued, scooping out his next target. "Oh, would you look at that! Come here, Lucy, let me take a good look at you, my little Spitfire."
"Gramps, it`s so good to see you." Lucina smiled to her grandfather, as the two embraced, with William not missing a chance to kiss his granddaughter on the cheeks at least four times. "Gramps, cut it out!" Lucina demanded with a laughter, with William separating from her and faking a pout
"Aw, my little Spitfire doesn`t like grandpa~. She must`ve forgotten him while in that far away Japan~." Said in the most faked saddened voice he could make, making Lucina and Medea chuckle, while Vergil simply shook his head with a bit of laugh of his own, while the rest of the group seemed a bit stunned and shocked at this all, as he received a jab in the shoulder from his granddaughter.
"C`mon, how could I ever forget about you and Grandma, Gramps? After all, who taught me and Vergil here Kendo and Anderson`s family right hook when I had trouble at school." William laughed at this one.
"Yeah, and if I remember correctly, you`ve knocked a tooth out of that bully`s mouth the next day he tried to get to you. Oh, the noise that principal of yours caused, but it was damn worth it. Ain`t nobody messes with my family, that`s our credo." William smiled, looking at Vergil and stepping next to him. "Well, looks like the kid`s finally grown up and stands near my height." Vergil chuckled to him, as William offered his hand to Vergil, which he took, pulling his grandson into a hug. "Vergil, it`s so great to see you, my boy. I`ve getting worried about you, with all that was happening in that town of yours. You should`ve called me and I would`ve…"
"Hey, I know how busy you are in this time of the year, Gramps, but still it`s great to see you." Vergil pulled away from him, with a bit of saddened face. "Although… I guess you were right when you said that I was still too young to protect my family like a man should, and… Well, you should already know what had happened."
"Yeah, your mom had told us all about what happened. And from what I hear, you did the best you could under the circumstances, boy." William put his hand on Vergil`s shoulder, giving him a small reassuring smile. "Situation gotten out of your reach and control, nobody would`ve expected the Fallen Angels to get so balsy, and also those Devils…" Anderson casted a strong glare at Rias and her group, making them shiver. "I don`t have anything bad agaisnt you, boy, and I understand what you are doing. I`ve taught to always pay up your debts, even to those that we despise, and I`ll be a hypocrite to call you out on doing it. And I also remember that you still got that promise to keep to Riser, so don`t worry, I`ll do my best here."
"Yeah, thank you, Grandpa. I couldn`t ask for more." Vergil said to him with a smile, while William turned to Asia and Mina.
"Now then, you two must be Asia and Mina, the two girls my little baby girl had basically adopted. My, aren`t you two just pretty." William smiled to them both, with Asia and Mina chuckling to him. "You know, back in my day, whole streets would be in all out wars just for the chance to walk one of you home. So, if you are in Lexington, do mind those occasional clashes of youths, they`re just paying you their respect and admiration."
"Don`t listen to this big softy, my dears. He sometimes likes to joke around." Elena said to them, nudging her husband in his side.
"Now then, you must be Ishtar, the Goddess that Marina had told me and Elena about. My apologies, Middle Eastern Gods aren't my best subject, so I apologize in advance for any unintentional insults or…" William spoke respectfully to Ishtar, who chuckled a little to him.
"My, aren`t you a gentleman. Do not worry, I may`ve been a pretty naughty Goddess in my youth, but I`ve matured quite a bit over the ages. Please, do not worry, as I understand and I hope you too will understand if I suddenly make an unintentional mistake. This era is still new to me, but I am looking forward to exploring more of it." Ishtar said diplomatically, as William turned to the Devils and spoke to them far more harshly.
"Now then." He observed the Devils with a careful and trained eye, with Rias flinching a bit at this one. "Hm, just as my daughter had told me, if not even worse. Meet me on that field to your left in 30 minutes, your full training gear on. Until then, you guys are in the eastern wing of the mansion. As for you, kitties, you are welcome in the west wing with the rest of us." William said to Asia, Mina and Ishtar, as he nodded to Vergil and went back home.
"That was... rather cold." Rias noted out, with Marina giving her a look.
"Were you expecting a warm welcome after all that had happened to my children, Rias?" Medea asked of her. "Be thankful that my dad even agreed to help you out. Now then, Mom, me and the kids will take our previous rooms, if you don`t mind."
"Not at all, I`ve kept them clean and ready just for the moment you arrive. As for your guests, my dears, there are also nice guest rooms, just in front of Vergil`s room on the third floor. The view from there is simply gorgeous and there is pretty much anything you ever might need." Elena said to them, as she led them towards them, while Lucina decided to show the east wing, while Vergil went towards his old room, while he had to time to change into more suitable clothing.
30 minutes later.
Vergil, Lucina, Rias, Kiba, Akeno, Koneko, Issei and Marina all gathered on the field, upon which stood William, dressed as he was before, while Vergil and Lucina mirrored his style, while Rias was in a pink jumpsuit, with Kiba and Issei being in black ones, while Akeno and Koneko preferred to dress up in Academy`s training suits. Marina on the other hand was dressed in civil cloths, but already had her Twilight Healing out in the open. William surveyed them all with a careful eye, as he spoke up.
"Alright, I am not one to mince words in training someone. I want all of you to come at me with all you`ve got. No holding back, I need to know what you are capable of, so all is permitted." William stated them, as he cracked his knuckles.
"Excuse me, but will you be okay? I mean, we are Devils and…" Rias asked of William, who scoffed at her and interrupted her.
"Girl, if you think that you can even touch me, then you must be as dumb as your hair is red." William stated to her, with Rias` face turning to scowl. "Don`t worry, I`ll promise not to kill anyone of you. Now, stop squawking and come at me!" William demanded of them, with Rias and Akeno exchanging glances, before Rias gave a nod to Koneko, Issei and Kiba to go at him, while Vergil and Lucina decided to move on their own, carefully moving in a circular motion towards their grandfather, maintaining a fair amount of distance, not summoning up their Sacred Gears.
"Just so you know, we will not hold back, if that is what you are asking." Kiba summoned up his signature Holy Eraser, while Issei summoned up his Boosted Gear and began boosting, with William chuckling to this one.
"So, Sword Birth and Boosted Gear it is. Well, let`s see if you live up to those artifacts of yours." William commented, taking a notice of Vergil and Lucina still maintaining their distance away from him.
Kiba decided to move in the first, as he seemingly vanished from the spot he stood, while Issei and Koneko simply ran towards William Anderson, who stood perfectly still, seemingly without any worries whatsoever. While Rias` Peerage was lured into this trap, Lucina and Vergil knew better then to fall for this. They`ve warned that he was no simple human and that he was capable of training them to fight against Riser`s Peerage and him, but it seems they still do not believe them. Well, this little demonstration should prove to them how wrong they really are.
Kiba, who had believed himself to be untraced by anyone, was at William`s right, preparing to strike him with his Holy Eraser. He may`ve disliked Vergil for his disrespectful disposition towards Rias and them, as well as for the fact that he refused to acknowledge them as his family, but he wasn`t into hurting people just for fun of it, which is why he summoned a blunt sword this time. He did look like he could take a hit or two, but it would be near impossible for a human eye to catch up with Kiba and his Knight`s speed. But, unfortunately for Kiba, his self-belief in his own superior fighting skills and underestimation of this "human" was what had lured him into a deadly position, as William simply turned his eyes right towards Kiba, a small smirk appearing on his face. Yuuto was utterly shocked, as it seemed like William had traced and saw his movements.
A small moment of hesitation from shock was that William needed, as he swiftly stepped to Kiba`s right, showing the speed that easily surpassed Rias` Knight. After that, a simple, yet powerful kick in the leg was more than enough for Kiba to lose his footing, and then a powerful elbow drop on his back, which had slammed Kiba into the ground and knocked him out, finishing the job. Rias, Akeno, Issei and Koneko stood stunned and shocked at how effortlessly and easily William had knocked out Kiba, destroying him in a matter of a second. Vergil and Lucina weren`t all that shocked or surprised, already knowing that this was to be expected. Marina decided to simply teleport towards Kiba and heal him with her Twilight Healing.
Rias and Akeno were still in the state of shock, when Issei and Koneko had closed the distance between them and William, with Koneko leaping in to the air and preparing to drop kick the muscular man. Issei, on the other hand, opted for a frontal charge, bringing out his gauntlet that had boosted him up again, to strike at William. Anderson decided to give these kids a chance to make the first hit, but that didn`t mean he was going to take it simply. With a cry for Rias, Issei sent his fist towards William, but the seasoned veteran of Navy SEAL, Marine Corp and US` Senate easily caught Issei`s wrist before he it had connected with him. In a blink of an eye, William knocked seemingly the very life out of Issei with a single punch in his gut, forcing Issei to cough out blood and feel excruciating pain in his body. But that was only the beginning for Issei, as it was added up by additional one, when William had picked him up and used as a living shield against Koneko, shocking the tiny white haired girl and Rias, as Rias` Rook had landed her powered kick into Issei`s face.
Effortlessly tossing Issei out of his way and close to Kiba, who was already regaining his conscience, and Marina, who was already prepared to deal with whatever damage William had done to him, William had a clear view of a falling Koneko, whose eyes expressed shock, fear and some anger. Smirking a little bit, he quickly got a hold of Koneko`s right leg, before slamming her into the ground, creating a dust cloud and ripples through the grounds. He then slammed Koneko repeatedly into the ground, as if she was but a ragdoll, completely obliterating her uniform and body in the process. Once William was satisfied with the result, he slammed her for the last time, before stomping on to her with brutal force, creating a small crater in which completely knocked out and broken Koneko laid, awaiting for help.
With most of the frontline troops of Rias decimated in a matter of seconds, she was unintentionally shaking and taking steps back, but Akeno had simply put on her game face, taking up to the skies and charging up her lightning. William saw it quickly, and without wasting any time, grabbed a hold of Koneko`s right leg again, and threw the limped body of Rias` Rook across the field and right into Akeno`s face, sending the two plummeting for the ground. And just like that, Rias had lost Akeno as well, a loud crash and cloud of smock appeared behind her. Heiress was prepared to retreat as Anderson had turned his attention towards her, but then the forces that had been in reserve until now, decided to play their part in this one too.
Just as Anderson was preparing to move towards Rias, he was stopped by a hail of Light Arrows hitting the ground around him and him. He easily blocked and dodged them, but was still immobilized for a few seconds, more than enough time for Lucina to close up the distance between her and her Gramps, with her summoned up Lupus Primus. As she did that, she delivered a tough kick in his jaw, following with her second foot landing onto Anderson`s eye and serving for Lucina as a trampoline and get away from Anderson`s reach. William was impressed when Lucina had delivered him such a good double kick, a classical Pankration move that he had taught his grandkids. It would seem like Lucina has decided to pay more attention to it, as before it was Vergil who had preferred to come at him like that. However, there was also a slight decrease in Anderson`s endurance, as he felt a few drops of sweat form, and also… There was a very familiar and uneasy feeling that he felt closely. One that he was excessively familiar with yet had hopped not to sense it again.
'Fenrir.' Anderson thought to himself, as he looked at Lucina, standing in full combat readiness, with her gauntlets and armored boots in full show, and a feeling of primal rage and killing instinct coming from it. 'Of all the Sacred Gears… Must be my damned luck.' As Anderson had thought about it, Lucina decided to move in for the second attack, preparing to unleash upon him a series of strikes and punches.
Moving like a professional boxer and fighter, Anderson evaded and dodged Lucina`s attacks, not allowing her to lay even a finger on him. He already knew that it was Lupus Primus and what it`s primary functions were, so he just needed to avoid being touched by it and seek out an opening to take Lucy down. Fortunately for him, the more he evaded and dodged, the more furious and ferocious Lucina`s assaults were becoming, less controlled and precise her strikes were. William had guessed that his once focused little girl was now falling under the influence of Fenrir, who must`ve been fueling her anger and rage from his cage. He may`ve not had the Empathy of his daughter and wife, but the man knew how read a person, and right now, he wasn`t reading his little granddaughter, no. Right now, he was reading a raging caged beast that had been set loose, as Lucina`s eyes sparked and glittered with bloodlust. Gritting his teeth, William knew what Fenrir was doing to his little girl: he was already howling in her ears and whispering, driving her to be far more violent and stop seeing whom she was fighting against. He was driving her to kill him, and William was not going to allow the World Devouring Wolf to corrupt his little girl. Seeing an opening, William moved to Lucina`s left, grabbed a hold of her left arm and twisted, immobilizing her and not allowing her to move, yet not breaking it. As Lucina struggled with getting out and cried out in rage, William spoke directly to her.
"Lucy, stop listening to Fenrir and control your anger. This is not the girl I`ve carried in my arms." He sternly said to her, as he released her, with Lucina turning to him with a bit of a shocked expression, along with a far calmer eye, free of bloodlust.
It was true what her grandfather had told her. She was listening to the primal whispers and raging cries of something inside of herself. It was something that neither her mom or Vergil could sense, but she could clearly hear and listen to, even if she had tried to block it away from herself, they still found a way to her. And, after a couple of days, Lucina had gotten used to the whispers and howls, not noticing how she was starting to become more and more ferocious and furious in battle, especially when those Fallen Angels had attacked her. All she could hear back then were the cries for blood, death and hunger of a howling wolf demanding it all from her. Moreover, she accepted it, following her primordial instincts of a predator, decimating those two, satisfying Fenrir. After she was reunited with her Sacred Gear and returned from the dead, the howl became stronger, and her own more violent side had begun to take more and more of her. She wasn`t someone who would challenge Leone just for fun before, no she was not, but now… Now she had realized that she was just attacking her own Grandfather, as if he was her enemy. Now that the howls and whispers had suddenly subsided, she could hear herself much clearer now. She spoke up in a broken voice.
"I-I…" Lucina had stammered to speak up, but William simply closed the gap between them and hugged his granddaughter protectively and caringly.
"I know, my little Spitfire. I know." William simply said to her, separating from her and giving her a small smile. "Go to your mom and rest up a bit. We`ll decide how to deal with in a bit." Lucina nodded to him, as he summoned away her Primus Lupus and moved towards Marina, who was now finishing with teleported to her Akeno and Koneko.
As William had done so, he turned towards Vergil and saw him standing just a few meters away from him, with an all too familiar spear in his hand. William crossed his arms on his chest, speaking up.
"True Longinus, the weapon to end Gods, Buddhas and all manner of Supernatural Creatures." William said, as Vergil stood up in a battle stance. "I was against Alexander transferring this weapon to you, Vergil. I had believed that it would only cause more trouble for both you and Lucina in the long run, and I was right. Had it not been for this weapon, you two might`ve not even gotten yourselves into such a mess."
"Maybe, but it`s also thanks to this weapon that I`ve killed that Fallen Angel, as well as allowed Lucina to return not a Devil, but an Angel, free from Heaven System like me." Vergil countered, preparing to strike. "You`ve training me in both Kendo and Sojutsu, and I haven`t forgotten it and trained up in Mom`s training grounds. And you know when I`m not kidding." Vergil knew that his Grandfather knew it.
"Yeah, I can see that you`ve been training up your skills with the spear, alright." William stretched out his right arm, and in it materialized an enormous golden and black halberd with an axe part being made in a form of a dragon`s head with purple gems as its eyes and moving upwards, parallel to a straight blade on tip of bone, which William effortlessly swirled around him, creating powerful gusts of wind and then pointed it towards his grandson. "However, are you sure that you`ve mastered the True Longinus? I`ve sparred with you father, and his control of this weapon was impeccable, kid. He mastered the Longinus, Vergil. You, on the other hand, still need to fully grasp it." William moved his weapon into a position and prepared for a fight.
[Vergil, I know it`s not really my place to tell you, but your Gramps is right on this one.] Alexander of Macedonia clicked in Vergil`s head. [You only have the Purification and not much else, and you still haven`t come inside the Longinus to properly get to know your Sacred Gear. Besides that, there`s no way in hell right now that you can beat your Grandfather, not when he had summoned his Downfall Dragon Spear . Even if it`s not a God`s built Sacred Gear, it`s still a Divine Instrument of Norse Gods.]
'Divine Instrument of Norse Gods? What are you talking about here? I always believed that this is Gramps` Sacred Gear.' Vergil asked of Alexander, who decided to explain to him what was what.
[Divine Instrument is essentially a Sacred Gear created by one of the Pantheons as their own personal weapon for their champions and Vanguards. God of the Bible wasn`t first Deity to develop something like that, but he was the guy that fully perfected them and produced them en mass, along with establishing a Sacred Gear system, along with Longinus Class.] Alexander explained to him. [Before Sacred Gears were a popular thing, True Longinus was called a Divine Instrument of Yahweh, and it was off this Divine Instrument that he based off his entire Longinus Class and all of his Sacred Gears. Every Pantheon I know of has one or a few of those Divine Instruments, which are granted to their closest allies and friends among mortals. They are generally just as well developed as Sacred Gears with their, but with their own limitations in evolution, but they still extremely powerful tools with Balance Breakers installed in them too, and this Spear is an especially notable one. It houses the soul of Fafnir, one of the Dragon Kings, known as a Gigantis Dragon. Your father was capable of fighting William with this, but he still required an extreme amount of training and mastery of True Longinus. And even then William had your father on the ropes most of the times, trust me on this one. I suggest you stand down and come here, so we can talk. Besides that, I`ve managed to convince one of the previous hosts of True Longinus to meet up with you.]
'Sounds like you`ve been putting up a lot of work out there. Do you know, by the way, why are most of the souls simply refuse to talk to me, safe for you?' Vergil asked of Alexander.
[It`s not so easy to tell, but most of them are pretty hard to impress and show your own worth to them. They are a fussy bunch, believe me, and even Alex wasn`t able to get to know all of them. Along with that, there are some less than pleasant souls housed in Longinus, with many of them having committed such atrocities that they were completely blocked off from ever talking to any of the future hosts after their deaths.] Alexander told Vergil. [A defensive measure to prevent other hosts to succumbing to darkness, but there were still some that did horrible things despite that. Because of this, most of the souls here are careful to whom they put their trust and their knowledge of Longinus and it`s powers. There`s nothing that can be done about it, brother. Just go on being a good person and most of them will open up to you, but you are already lucky enough that one of them has decided to speak with you. She is one of the strongest possessors of True Longinus, having battled agaisnt her era`s Red Dragon Emperor and defeated him, but had met a terrible end when she was betrayed by her own country and proclaimed a heretic. In reality, she is nothing short of a saint. She is in top 10 strongest users of True Longinus and could help me teach you a few things about Longinus.]
'Okay, I think I`ll follow your advice, but I`ve got a question here: how come my Gramps has one of the most sacred relics of Norse Gods? I know that he is pretty tight with them all and is a notable collector of Scandinavian artifacts, relics and historical items, but to this point, to possess something like this?' Vergil`s gut was telling him something was up with his Gramps, if he possessed a Divine Instrument of Norse Pantheon, but he stood down, as he summoned away his spear, surprising William.
[Personally, I have no idea. But, I recall your dad also asking the same question and even doing some research. It didn`t turn up anything, at first, but after a while your dad had come up with a theory of sorts that could explain it. He didn`t share his thoughts with me or others on this matter, managing to keep it to himself, and I know when not to pry, as to others here.] King of Macedon explained to Vergil. [In any event, even with this mystery, your dad and William were closest friends and Alex trusted him with his life, so I don`t see any point in doubting him now. I guess everyone has their own kinds of secrets they don`t want to reveal, but I doubt William would keep a kind of secrets that would endanger his family. Anyway, finish up in here and get into here. We will be waiting for you, Vergil.]
'I`ll be there soon enough.' Vergil mentally noted out to Alexander, before speaking up out loud. "No, I haven`t even begun mastering True Longinus in its full capacity. If I go up against you now, Gramps, your Divine Instrument will simply overpower me." Vergil deliberately used the term of Instrument, with William smirking a little bit, before dispelling his weapon and walking to him and patting him on the shoulder.
"Knowing when you can`t win is an important skill to have, especially in for someone like you and me, kiddo." William reminded him. "And if you already know about Downfall Spear, it means that you`ve already established a contact with one of the souls in TL, as I call it. My guess is that it`s Alexander of Macedonia, the chattiest of them all there, from what your dad had told me. Look, I know you have questions, but there things that…"
"Hey, I get it, Gramps." Vergil simply stated to him with a chuckle. "Living with a former Captain of Navy SEALs teaches you a couple of things about secrets. Well, so what do you think? Not a single chance in hell against Riser and his Peerage?" Vergil asked of him directly, as he and William looked at Rias, who had come to her Peerage, with Marina finishing up her healing.
"No, not even close to a chance, not against Riser and his tough guys. You and Lucy could get a couple of good shots, possibly take out his Paws and Sora, if you are lucky, maybe even Leone, but that is only if you are damn lucky." William commented to Vergil, turning to him. "And Lucy needs to get a hold of her own power, or otherwise that power will control her. Both of you need to get in depth understanding of your respective Sacred Gears ASAP. That`s what you and Lucy need to focus on first, and you better do it in Mari`s Training ground, to shorten the process. In the meantime… Alright, the test is over, line up in order and stand still, you Devils! Lucy, Mari, step aside to Vergil for a bit." William said in a commanding manner, with members of his family doing so, while Devils groggily standing up, but not in a manner former military veteran wished.
"What the hell was that? Were you aiming to kill us here?" Issei asked William Anderson, who simply crossed his arms. "You`ve broken my ribs and shattered my lungs, not to mention a concussion from Koneko!"
"Pardon me, but how breaking a spine and my leg is a part of training?" Kiba asked irritated.
"Broke my everything and used me like a ragdoll…" Koneko grumbled, wiping away the dust.
"I`m usually on with the rough play, but this… This was an absolute massacre and simple brutality. How were you able to beat us so easily?!" Akeno demanded to know, as she was still reeling with a headache that Marina had left, after healing away her concussion and fracture of skull.
"Mr. Anderson, your brutality and violence just nearly cost me my Peerage! Do you have any idea with whom you are messing with and…" Rias was about to explode with anger and her Power of Destruction, while William simply wiped out his phone and made a call.
"Rossweisse, bring me my special box. Yes, I am on the field right outside of the cabinet. Yes, much appreciated." William put down the phone back in his pocket, with a white blue Norse circle opening up and from it stepped out a young, beautiful woman who appeared to be in her late teens with long white hair, aqua colored eyes and dressed in a simple yet elegant business suit, holding a wooden box, with a US Marine Corp seal on it.
"Here you go, Mr. Anderson." Rossweisse said to her boss, as she opened it up. "I`ve arranged for your meeting with the Defense Committee to be held tomorrow at 9 AM via web link. As for all your personal meetings, I`ve canceled all unessential, while all the necessary ones have been set on a different date. As for Daltons, I have informed then that you have most important guests, so you will not be disturbed. Anything else, Mr. Anderson?"
"No, that will be all for now, Rossweisse." William said with a smile to her, as he reached with his hand carefully inside the box, and took out a brown military campaign hat with a US Marine seal on it. "You are free for now. Also, fancy saying hello to Mari and kids?" William pointed out toward his family, with Rossweisse smiling to them with a brimming smile, with a no small tingle of blush appearing on her face when she looked at Vergil, as she moved to them to greet them with a smile.
"It is good to see you, Marina, Lucina, V-Vergil." Rossweisse stammered when she looked in Vergil`s eyes, with Marina chuckling to herself at this one. "I-I hope your trip wasn`t too tiresome and you`ll enjoy your stay here."
"Come now, Rose, we are practically family already, no need to be so formal and official with us. It`s not a Senate or White House." Marina smiled to her. "How have you been, girl? Does working as my dad`s assistant is tiresome and a bit boring?"
"No, not at all, Marina. All I do is just manage his schedule and documents, nothing too important. Plus, he doesn`t toss his own work on me or dumps me at every opportunity like my previous boss did, and the payment and benefits are simply fantastic. I`ve got plenty of free time on hands too, so it`s quite a good job." Rossweisse said to them with a grateful smile. "I am so glad that I now work for your father then on Odin. Compared to him, Mr. Anderson is the easiest person to get around with. And he also such a gentleman and kind person, always there to help me out if needed be."
"Oh, trust me, my Dad is a man of many angles and colors, like you`ll see right now." Marina said with a small smile. "By the way, how are things on your personal front? Any good young man catching your eye?"
"Wh-What? No, not with my job, Marina!" Rossweisse stammered, dropping the box, but catching it before it hit the ground. "I mean… I am a bit too busy with all my duties to think about my… personal life." Rossweisse got full red in face.
"Oh? And here I thought you said you weren`t all that busy. Or is it that simply aren`t anyone to match a certain specific someone we know~?" Marina had a small mischievous smile on her lips, as she whispered to Rossweisse, whose temperature had risen up quite a bit. "Like my son, Vergil, here? I mean, he was your first kiss, and you were his, and that does count for something…" Rossweisse was practically fuming with steam at this point. "If I recall Norse Valkyrie traditions correctly, the man that manages to steal the kiss from a young Valkyrie is destined to be her fate and husband till ends of times and beyond. Maybe this tradition holds true yet~…" Rossweisse nearly passed out from the heat coming to her cheeks, until Vergil hushed them both.
"Sorry, but would you two keep it quiet? It`s starting now." He said with a bit of a wicked smile, as Rossweisse, Marina and Lucina turned to look at William and the Devils.
Wiping off of him with one hand all the dirt and dust, he carefully, practically as if performing a ceremony, put on his campaign hat, adjusting the belt on the back of his head. Taking a deep breath and closing eyes for a second, he opened them up, turning them towards Devils and walking towards them in an orderly fashion, with Devils getting a very uneasy feeling right about now from William. One that told them that they should`ve followed Vergil`s advice and wore brown pants todays. Stopping just about half a foot away from them, William finally spoke up to them, finally letting loose his inner self.
"Alright, you maggots, listen up!" He shouted at them with pure strength and might, shocking the Devils and scaring them in the process, as William observed them carefully and with a hateful eye. "What the hell are you pieces of a garbage standing like crooked whores in back alleys?! Eyes left, you crooks, before I gouge your eyes out your empty heads and put them in your asses!" That immediately did the trick and Rias, Akeno, Kiba, Koneko and Issei stood just as they did as ordered. "Good, looks like there is some grey matter in those spaces between your ears! Attention!" William ordered them, as he began to walk in strict and orderly fashion before them.
"From now on a duration of this training course you`ll speak only when spoken to. And the first and last words out of your filthy severs will be "Sir!". Is that clear, you crooks?" William asked of them.
"Sir yes sir…" Devils said not so enthusiastically.
"Bullshit! I can`t hear a goddamn thing you pussies say! Speak like you have a pair before I make you each one from your eyeballs!" William demanded from them, with Devils immediately replying to him.
"SIR YES SIR!" Rias, Akeno, Koneko, Kiba and especially Issei shouted at the top of their lungs to him.
"Good grief, you maggots are even worse than regular greens I dealt with, especially with this shouting of yours! From now on, while wear this hat and we are out here on the training, I am your drill instructor, and my word to you means the word of the God, Satan, Buddha and every single deity you know of combined! Is that clear?!" William demanded an answer from them.
"SIR YES SIR!"
"If you plan to fight against Riser Phenex and his fully trained group of killers and monsters, you`ve got become living weapons yourself. But right now you worse than nothing, you little whoring crooks! You are nothing more than and unorganized worthless pieces of amphibian shit!" William informed them all, as he walked before then, noting a flicker of fear in their eyes. "I`ve went through several conflicts and served in Marines and Seals, so I am as hard as they come! And you will not like me, you`ll hate me with your guts and souls. You`ll hate me so much by the end of this course, that you`ll love me! And the more you hate me, the more you`ll learn and later respect and thank me for what I did to you whores here, `cause by the end of these two weeks, you will become living breathing killing machines, itching for blood and gore. Do you understand me, you maggots?!"
"Sir, Yes Sir!" Devils stated right into his face.
"Bullshit! I can`t hear you…" William replied to them.
"SIR YES SIR!" Devils repeated, as William stopped right in front of Kiba, who was wearing his usual smile on his face.
"You, what the hell is wrong with your goddamned face, maggot?!" William demanded from Kiba. "Did your mother drop you when you were a crying shitting your dippers baby, or are you just plain stupid and can`t think straight?!"
"Sir, no Sir! It`s just my usual face, Sir!" Kiba answered to him.
"Then it`s not a face, it`s a dumb piece of horse shit slapped on top of what resembles a human being! So from now on you are Private Dumbface, do you understand?! Now give me 70 fucking push-ups, Private Dumbface!" William demanded an answer from him.
"Sir YES SIR!" Kiba answered to him, losing his signature smile and getting to it, while everyone heard a snicker come from Issei, who stood just near him, drawing attention from William, who moved to him.
"What the hell are you laughing about? Did you see something you like, or did you just imagine my granddaughter here naked, huh?!" Anderson demanded to know from Issei, even though he already knew the answer.
"SIR NO SIR!" Issei replied in utter fear, but William wasn`t done with him.
"Bullshit, somehow I don`t believe you! I`ve heard about you, whore, and I`ve seen how you were looking at my granddaughter and daughter here! You think you can just stand here and jerk off of my pretty girls like you some hot shit from Senate, you scumbag?!" William demanded from Issei.
"SIR NO SIR!" Issei replied to him.
"So you don`t think they are pretty, is that what you are saying, huh?!" William now asked him this. "So you were laughing your ass here out `cause you think they are ugly, weren`t you?!" William gave Issei a punch in the gut, making him plummet to the ground face down in the dirt. "No asshole here disrespects my girls, you scumbag! You will not laugh, you will not cry and you will learn by the number! Now, from now on you are Private Blueballs, and you`ll give 50 fucking push-ups for disrespecting my girls, is that clear?!"
"SIR YES SIR!" Issei went onto doing the push-ups.
"Good, now get me those 80 push-ups, Private Blueballs!" William intentionally added more to Issei, having heard of him from his daughter and granddaughter, while he turned to a scowling Koneko. "Now, what`s your major malfunction, midget? Did your mommy give too little milk from her tits, or were she as flat as you are dumb-looking?" Koneko didn`t reply to this one, but her glare intensified tenfold, though her fear was still evident. "So, you seem to have some balls, aren`t you, Private Pussballs? Now, get me 25 laps around this plain right now!" Koneko didn`t reply and simply went on to run the laps, with Rias having had enough and spoke up.
"Mr. Anderson, what the hell are you doing?! This isn`t the army or whatever the hell it is! You can`t just insult us and abuse like you please!" Rias said to him sternly, with Anderson turning to her, and with a single glare shutting her up and reminding her of who she was here.
"You think your word means anything here to me, do you, crooked whore?!" William asked of her.
"Sir No Sir!" Rias replied, shaking with a bit of fear.
"That`s right, `cause right now, you and the rest of your worthless pieces of amphibian shit are nothing belong to me, your asses are mine and you`ll do everything I say. You will sleep when I say, you will eat when I say and you will not die until I say you can. And if say that your mom was a whore that spread her legs between every second guy that gave her a dollar, then she was really was a taker and a moaner, `cause I said so! Is that clear, Private Red Lights?!" William demanded from Rias.
"SIR YES SIR!" Rias answered to him, while he turned to look at Akeno, seeing her brightened cheeks and decided to deal with her.
"Now you, what is your goddamned major malfunction?! Do you like when people are bending you over the desks and slam their junk between your cheeks, while also chocking you out of your life?!" William demanded to know, as Akeno flushed up even more at this one. "Motherfucking hell, I`ve got myself a sadist here! Damn if do love your kind! Come closer girl!" William offered her, with Akeno stepping in closer and in a single simple kick, William had knocked her off her feet and onto the ground and then placed his knee over her throat, making it hard for her to breath, practically cutting off the air. "Now, is that how you like your fuckers to take you?! Are you the kind of a girl that would die to be broken into nothing, or are you just a pussy who gets a kick out of being spanked, huh?!" Akeno was starting to go pale, as she was no longer feeling any arousal and only fear for her life and lack of oxygen, with William clearly seeing it. "Just as I thought, you are just a pussy with kicks for spanks. So now on you are a Private Spankcrook! Understand?!" Akeno nodded to him repeatedly, with William feeling generous this time.
"Outstanding! Now Private Spankcrook and Red Lights here get your asses down and give me full 80 push-ups!" Rias and Akeno, who was a designated Paincrook, went to it, struggling to do the needed exercise. "Goddammit if you are not even worse than I thought! Today was your evaluation day, and tomorrow will get to real training, you maggots! I`ll turn each and every one of you worthless pieces of dirt into pieces of modern murderous art, do you hear me?!"
"SIR YES SIR!" Came a combined reply from the working out Devils.
"Good, now Privates Dumbface, Blueballs, Spankcrook and Red Lights get additional 100 push-ups, and Pussballs here 40 more laps for your enthusiasm! Now, get to work, your whores!" William shouted at them all, as he let out a satisfied sigh, moving back to his family, taking off his hat.
"Um, sir, was this all necessary?" Rossweisse asked of her employer, who simply chuckled at this one. "You`ve practically destroyed them as persons and…"
"Relax, Rose, no need to worry here. It`s just how Drill Instructors are, and that`s me only warming up." William chuckled to this one, as he whipped off a speck of dust of his hat. "You can ask Vergil and Lucy here. They would know that this is me being nice, actually."
"He is completely and utterly right, Rose." Vergil confirmed to the Valkyrie, who looked a bit shocked. "While Gramps was the nicest guy with us in our childhood, when we reached age of 12, he decided to put me and Lucy through his special "Hell`s Training Course", as he called it. Those three months still give me nightmares whenever I recall them. Mom here almost killed Gramps for putting us through that meat grinder."
"And for a very good reason to that!" Marina crossed her arms under her chest, giving her dad a glare. "The way you`ve shouted at them and those exercises had nearly killed my kids here. Be thankful that Lucy and Vergil here were too stubborn to admit any abuse, or I would`ve showed you a "Hell`s Week." Medea stated to her father.
"Mari, you know that I only did for their own good, and we made up afterwards. Now then, Mari, I want you to later on put on all of them suppression spells or whatever Elena calls them, so that they won`t be able to rely on any of their Devil powers or buffs from Evil Pieces. For the duration of that course, they`re gonna be training like us, good old Humans do. Same goes for you two as well." Vergil nodded to this one with Lucina, as Medea immediately went on and put on them suppression seals, completely depowering them from their powers as Angels. "I also want to put on each of them gravity seals that I use during trainings. Make it 5Gs for the start of them, with Pervert and Blondie full 8Gs, as they`re gonna need to build up more muscle and strength as quickly as possible. As for magic training, I`ll leave this part to you and Elena, Mari. Now, as for both of you," William turned to face his grandkids. "I want you to go to your Mom`s Training ground and meditate there, get in touch with your Sacred Gears and contact your tenant, Lucy, and previous hosts, Vergil. You need to strengthen your bond with your Sacred Gears, so do what you feel is right. Once you are back, we`ll discuss your further training. Should take you a minute or two in this world." Vergil and Lucina nodded, with Medea teleporting them away to her training grounds.
Within True Longinus.
Vergil materialized in what seemed to be a large auditorium, with over a hundred seats in there, all empty. The place was completely illuminated in white light and wood and all other materials were colored in white. Vergil didn`t know what to think of this place at first, but then recalled that this was his mind and soul, he could alter the appearances however he wanted, so in a matter of a second he was on a green plain hill, similar to one where he was just a few seconds ago in his world. As Vergil looked around, he heard a familiar voice speaking to him.
"It is about time that you have come here, Vergil." Said Grayson turned around, looking at the man dressed in royal Macedonian armor with a purple cloak over his shoulders, who possessed brown short hair reaching to his neck and light-brown eyes and an appealing face, as he walked to him and offered him his hand. "I am glad to meet you in proper order now, Vergil Grayson."
"Same goes for me, Alexander of Macedonia." Vergil grabbed his hand by the wrist, as did Alexander, in ancient form of greeting. "Hope you don`t mind that I`ve changed the scenery a bit. That auditorium was giving me creeps."
"It`s your mind, so feel free to change it up however you want, but you are right: that place was a bit creepy, with all the seats." Alexander agreed with him, looking around him. "Nice change from it, if you want my opinion. Now, time we`ve gotten down to business. The person I was talking about should be coming here any moment now. In fact, she is already here." Alexander nodded behind Vergil, making him turn and observe the new person arrive in this plain.
Before him and King of Conquerors appeared a young beautiful blond maid, with long hair freely falling on her back and reaching her knees, a headpiece over her forehead and amethyst eyes adorning her pretty face. The girl seemed around Vergil`s age, and was dressed in a white dress covering her developed body, designed for battles with armor pieces over the cloths, gauntlets and boots. She had a small smile on her lips and spoke in melodic and kind voice.
"I hope I am not too late. Hello, Vergil, it is a pleasure to meet you." The girl spoke with a slight French accent, from what Vergil could understand.
"Vergil, meet Jeanne D`Arc , Maid of Orleans and Savior of France from England and Red Dragon Emperor Belzard that had nearly wiped out Reims and Paris during his battle against Vanishing Dragon Emperor, the third one in a row." Alexander introduced the Saint of Orleans to Vergil, who looked at her with wide eyes, knowing well who it was. "Holders of True Longinus from all eras had faced off agaisnt most powerful opponents, ranging from monsters to Dragons and Gods. Jeanne here has faced off against arguably the strongest Welsh Dragon Emperor and defeated him."
"Please, Alexander, it`s not like I defeated him on my own, no." Jeanne seemed embarrassed at the praising she was receiving from King of Macedonia. "I`ve merely provided some meager help to Jean de Metz when he was injured, letting him recuperate with Albion and return to battle against Belzard, nothing more."
"She sells herself too short, trust me. She and Jean de Metz had put down one of the most dangerous creatures in the world since the stalemate of Great War. Belzard was a threat to all of France and Europe, and Jeanne had played the crucial role in taking him down." Alexander said about her.
"It is an honor to meet you, Maid of Orleans, and thanks for agreeing to meet with me. I understand that it must`ve took a lot of persuasion from Alexander." Vergil said to her with a kind smile.
"Not exactly, Vergil. I have been observing you quietly from the sidelines here and once Our Lord had decided to give you access to the previous hosts of Longinus, I decided to seek out an opportunity to meet you myself. Alexander here had provided said opportunity." Jeanne answered to Vergil. "Now that you are here, it is time that you`ve officially began your path of understanding what True Longinus really is and how to truly utilize it. Alexander, if you do not mind doing the honor…"
"Not at all, Jeanne." Alexander replied to her, turning to Vergil. "What you need to understand first of all, Vergil, is that True Longinus isn`t a simple Sacred Gear. True Longinus is a Divine Instrument from a time long past with its primary function being: "to embody the ambitions of its wielder and bring them to life."
"To embody the ambitions of a wielder and bring them to life…" Vergil repeated to himself, trying to understand it. "That sounds quite a bit stretched. Is this a riddle or something?"
"In a way, you could say that." Jeanne answered to him, continuing after Alexander. "Every Sacred Gear, Holy and Demonic Weapon and Divine Instrument has a certain function one embodies, it`s "Origin", the foundation of the object or human and "Nature", what it eventually becomes and functions in his life, as Mages like to call it. For an example, if we take this scheme and apply it to Durandal, then his origin will be Sever, for it severs all in existence. It`s nature will be then Unleashed, for its power is near impossible to contain."
"Then if we go by that scheme of things, TL`s Origin is Ambition, while its Nature is Embodiment." Vergil followed. "So, True Longinus` real purpose is to make what it`s host wishes come to life?"
"In a way, it acts just like you said, Vergil." Alexander told him, nodding to him. "This concept is the only one in its existence among Sacred Gears and Divine Instruments, and that is what makes True Longinus the Strongest Sacred Gear and Divine Instrument in the world: it is capable of evolving and changing constantly and without restrains, becoming more and more powerful with its wielder`s desires and ambitions. It`s enormous Holy Power is but the tip of the iceberg, a mere clay from which you can craft all that you wish."
"Now, because that every possessor of True Longinus was unique and different from the others, so was True Longinus different from the one that was in the past." Jeanne told to Vergil, who nodded to her, understanding it. "It isn`t just in powers that True Longinus gains, but also in appearance and physical qualities it possess. Each of the possessors had his own, unique True Longinus, and it often was not a spear. Here is how mine looked." In Jeanne`s arm materialized a long blue flagpole, with a white flag wrapped around it, with golden lilies illustrated on it. "My Longinus had taken the form of a banner for my people, a symbol behind which they could gather and strengthen their resolve. My abilities back then were also directed to helping them and protecting them, like with Blessings, Healings and my personal Balance Breaker, Luminosite Eternelle."
"Personal Balance Breaker? Are those even possible?" Vergil asked of her, with Alexander answering for her.
"Sacred Gears possess the ability to evolve and develop into differing forms, getting new powers and looks. Usually, there is one standard Balance Breaker that exists already, but after a sufficient amount of training, meditation and power, it can create a Sub-Species Balance Breaker, a more powerful and differing form of Balance Breaker. Such function, however, is not installed in Divine Instruments of other Pantheons." Alexander explained to Vergil. "With Longinus it is a bit different because of the fact that it`s primary function is to evolve into what it`s wielder desires, so it also creates its own Balance Breaker as it evolves and strengthens. So each of the wielders of True Longinus possessed his or her own personal Balance Breaker, and some of us even achieved the Ascendant Drive, a forbidden by law of reality move or state that is capable of bending the very fabric of reality to one`s will or destroy the world itself. I personally had achieved in activating my Ascendant Drive and before it, I possessed several Balance Breakers too. Also, besides that, True Longinus also possesses its own, installed Balance Breaker, named Gotterdammerung and an Ascendant Drive called Truth Idea. Both of those were installed by God of the Bible into Longinus from the start, and eventually, you might be able to access them both."
"So, in other words, True Longinus is an object that takes whatever form best suited it`s wielder, develops with time and training the abilities it`s user wishes for and even capable of achieving, what I can understand, an apocalyptic-level state or move that literally makes the impossible possible?" Vergil asked of them, with both Alexander and Jeanne nodding to Vergil in agreement. "Man… I`ve heard that True Longinus is OP, but this… No wonder it`s considered to be a guaranteed God-killing mechanism. It`s like a literate cheat code from a video game, or more like a console in game, with which you can spam everything you want. Shit…" Vergil said in a shocked state, reeling with the revelation that struck him, with Jeanne and Alexander giving him all the needed time. "Makes me wonder if my Dad has had his own moves and… Wait, Alexander, how come I`m not able to speak with him?! If he was a possessor of True Longinus, shouldn`t his soul had wounded up in here too?" Alexander and Jeanne exchanged glances, silently speaking to each other, before Jeanne spoke up.
"Vergil, I understand that you wish dearly to speak with your father, but… For unknown to us reason, your father`s soul is not in True Longinus, like all the rest of us." Jeanne said in saddened and sympathetic voice to Vergil, who let out a defeated sigh. "We do not know why, but there was no sign of him appearing here after his death, and even though Longinus was transferred to you, all of us here had sensed his death, but his spirit did not come here like it was supposed to."
"I personally suspect that it is because Alex had transferred True Longinus into you before his death, which allowed him to pass away into afterlife." Alexander theorized out loud. "Still, it is one of the two cases when a soul of a wielder of Longinus did not end up in here. The other one was the original wielder of Spear of Destiny, Lucifer, which possibly was because of the fact that God had stripped him of it before he had died. I and those that were here also sensed his death, but he didn`t wind up here, so that`s how I think it all went down. I`m sorry, kid, but your old man had passed away into better world. I know it`s a small consolation to you, but he was one of the best possessors Jeanne and I had worked with, really. Even Gods from other Pantheons had not wanted to mess with Alex Grayson, knowing full well that he had the means of beating them up real bad."
"Yeah, I get it. So, if I want to strengthen my bond with Longinus, what exactly should I do?" Vergil asked of them.
"Every one of us had started out from the same position as you are right now." Jeanne told him. "You already know how magical system of Angels and Devils works, right?"
"Yeah, I do. Use your imagination to gain a concept of a spell in your mind, focus up your will on materializing it and then devote your magical power into making it a reality." Vergil explained to them, with Alexander and Jeanne nodding to him.
"With True Longinus, the process is the same as with making up your own spells using Angel`s system of magic." Alexander told to Vergil. "You need to first acquire your own personal ability in True Longinus. That way, you will be able to create your own personal path in using the Longinus, along with strengthen your connection with it and increase your powers too. Your current physical state is quite good, with your magical reserves being some of the highest I`ve seen, all that is needed now is for you to concentrate and create from your mind an ability that you wish to have."
"To achieve this, I recommend that you stay in the dimension you are now, meditating over True Longinus." Jeanne said to him kindly. "Do not overthink it or contemplate too much, it is not good for the first time. Clear your mind of all things and reach out to the depths of your soul, to find what ambition you possess, what power must you have to achieve your goals. Once you know what is it that you desire the most, pour your will and thought into True Longinus and it shall respond by embodying your ambition in itself. Once you`ve achieved this, the process shall become easier for you and you may evolve your powers and abilities however you may wish."
"With this knowledge, we will leave you be for now, Vergil. It is now your turn to start your own path as possessor of True Longinus, as we all did once." Alexander said to him, as he and Jeanne began to dematerialize from the realm. "Remember: clear your mind of all thoughts and focus on what you really desire, and your ability will come to you. See you soon, friend." And with this being said, Vergil had been left alone in his own dream realm.
He sat down on the ground, taking in deep breaths, closing his eyes and clearing away his thoughts and focusing on his desires and ambitions. There were several of them, all strong and equally important to Vergil: protect his family, strive to become stronger, fulfill his promise to Riser. Those were the main drives that Vergil had and he could sense them all in him. They were his motivators, his fuel, and now he needed to use those motivators to find his first ability. To protect his family from all those that were to hurt it, he needed to defeat his enemies. To become stronger than he is now, he must possess more power than his opponents. To fulfill his promise to Riser, Vergil needed to do something believed impossible: overcome the very nature of House of Phenex, namely their fabled Immortality. House of Phenex had always been considered one of the most powerful in battle because of it, their seeming invulnerability to all kinds of damage and attacks, for with enough power and mastery, they could heal or burn through all there was. No, Vergil had to remind himself mentally, that there was no such thing as immortality or invulnerability. All had its beginning and its end, even World, Ophis, Great Red and Gods, the question laid in what could bring it about.
Vergil`s ambition, his purpose and desire was to make Rayla Phenex, The Inferno Knight of House of Phenex, once more feel alive, as she hasn`t known what life was through her emotions, feelings and senses, for they had been cut off her 5 years ago from now. She, along with Vergil, had been kidnapped by a Fallen Angel scientist, obsessed with the ways of finding out the way to immortality, so he had planned to use Rayla to get what he wanted from her, while Vergil was an involuntary witness. The horrors and atrocities he had saw back then, just what agony and dread had Rayla gone through with all the experiments, the emotions, pain and sufferings, agony and pleas to stop it. Vergil had felt and sensed it all, understanding better than anyone how did Rayla`s Immortality had suddenly cut off of her all senses of pain, feelings, and reactions to anything, essentially making her an emotionally dead person. And she had done so on her own volition, just to stop the pain and she succeeded in it, and when they were rescued, Rayla was no longer the cheerful and gleeful girl he liked to play with. No, she wasn`t. Now, she was shell that continued on functioning, tired of not feeling anything and desiring to feel something, but unable, for her Phenex`s blood immediately restarts regeneration and blocking the pain…
And then it hit Vergil right into his head, as he had recalled that in their world, all must be paid for, including regeneration of tissues and bones of Phenex`s family members, they needed to sacrifice a portion of their magical reserves. And if they were depleted or cut off… Then no regeneration, no pain killing effect, no cutting of senses and emotions. And if magic existed, it could also be destroyed or blocked away from a person. And considering that it was the main source of amplification for most of the opponents that Vergil were to face in future, cutting them out of their existing magical reserves of whatever nature would make them much weaker. Many of the special abilities and even Sacred Gears were working through a strongly built in system of magical response and activation too…
Now he had his answer.
Medea`s Training Dimension. 7 hours in Dimension`s time since Vergil and Lucina had arrived.
A small smile appeared on Vergil`s face, as in the dimension of his mother`s creation he sat, with True Longinus materializing in the world, being taken up by Vergil, as he opened his eyes and looked at his weapon, as he spoke up to himself.
"Well, now I see what this thing can really do." Vergil stated with a smile. "And I think I`ll call this ability... Samuel, God`s Poison to Cleanse thy Soul."
Phew, this is one long chapter, but damn… I did not plan it to be this long. But it was worth it. So anyway, now you`ve met Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, plus Rossweisse, who had ditched her job as a Valkyrie and is working as an assistant to William Anderson, plus also has something of a crush on Vergil~…
Now, as you may`ve noticed, I`ve put a warning to people about violence, insults and other things, as I felt it was needed, since I`ve decided to show you just why Vergil said that William is so hardcore. I drew the inspiration for his Drill Instructor attitude from Gunnery Sergeant Hartman from Full Metal Jacket, namely the opening scene, which is utterly brilliant. I do not know how the Drill Sergeants work in real life, so if I may have insulted anyone here with my portrait of one here in any way, I deeply apologize to you for this and I hope you can forgive me.
Now, as for Divine Instruments. I know that this a very long stretch, but I seriously do not believe that other Pantheons wouldn`t have some kind of personal Sacred Gears as to equalize the situation with Heavens and God of Bible. As I`ve already established that True Longinus existed long before Sacred Gears were a thing, I`ve decided to expand a bit on that and show, that other Pantheons also have their own special weapons and artifacts too, only they give those to their most trusted of friends. As for Downfall Dragon Spear, well I was a bit lazy and didn`t want to change the name, but I did change up its appearance, making it an Viking style Halberd Axe, fitting of the Norse Gods. Divine Instruments are more limited then Sacred Gears and predate most of them, but they do have Balance Breakers and their own Abilities. I seriously think that for other Gods and Pantheons it wouldn`t be much of problem to make their own versions of God`s trinkets, especially with Hephaestus, Dwarves and other creators having made some pretty intense and great things. So, why not make Divine Instruments? Hope you like it.
And I`ve also given you our second previous Possessor of TL in form of Joan D`Arc, Maid of Orleans and the killer of Belzard, with the help of Vanishing Dragon Jean de Metz (check him on Wikipedia if you are interested). I believe that I`ve correctly stated, in my humble opinion, just how TL really works and what makes it so damn dangerous and powerful. It is literally a friggin in-game console with unlimited codes and commands that a person can call upon. With the ability to embody any ambition and means to achieve it… It is really scary to think about it, right? A weapon that constantly capable of evolving, becoming stronger and stronger, with more powers and abilities… And there is only one limit: possessor`s imagination! Also, Samuel is one of God`s Angels, literally being a God`s Poison, and I know that it practically screams Samael, but it isn`t the Samael of DxD in play here. And the ability that Vergil had developed is something really akin to poison… So, what kind of abilities should Vergil also develop, what Balance Breaker he would need, and what possible Ascendant Drive (basically a Juggernaut Drive for Boosted Gear and Divine Dividing) would he acquire possibly.
Now, about the Harem… Okay, okay, you all Rias haters win; she is out of consideration, along with Akeno and Koneko. No changes for the roaster yet, so I still take suggestions. Also, to those wondering, Ravel Phenex is in story, but not in Riser`s Peerage.
Review, comment, suggest, question, follow, I`ll answer all your comments and messages.
Next time: Lucy meets The Wolf; Ishtar mentors Asia and Mina; Confessions and passion (High probability of a Lemon!)