Thanks to GGPD, Raidentensho and you too random guest.
Sorry for the delay. I haven't been happy with my writing, especially my last few chapters. So, with that I took some time to check it over a couple of times more than normal and think them over a bit more.
Sadly, I can't seem to get them to be as good as I wanted. I hope the chapters are at least decent enough to read.
As for Romance… I don't actually know. I'll be honest, I am a socially awkward person, and I suck at writing dialogues in general. So, any type of romance I write is going to be shit. But I'll see what I come up with and if you insist.
If it does happen, then it will definitely have SethxSeek. Don't get me wrong, I like harems as much as the next guy, but I hate badly written harems. I don't know if I could do a decent harem fic.
If you would leave your thoughts on all this I would definitely appreciate it.
Bonus: If someone can guess what 'Project Free Wind' I will post another chapter tomorrow.
Disclaimer: I don't own Highschool DxD, neither do I own any of the multiple resources that I will use for the story in the form of (but not limited to) references.
Nilrem Arc – Walk On Water
I have to start with this. Project sculpture is possible.
I have been working like a mad man on those constructs. I can already say that if I have it battle ready for the Gathering then I will be surprised. The project needs much more work than we anticipated. And I was not being positive when I theorized how long it would take.
First step was to make the sculptures correctly according to the bodies the wolf souls are inherently connected to. And let me tell you, that in and on itself is going to be a pain. The most I could get so far was something to confirm the possibility of the project. And finally, after two months I got it to move, indicating that, indeed, it was possible.
But that takes us to the second step, energy. Because, like when I give them power over my chains, the wolves consume a lot of power when I try to get them to control the constructs. And when I say a lot, I mean eighty percent of my reserves just for a minute.
However, this didn't make me give up. The possibilities were too good for me to do that. I spent every minute that was not in physical training working on this project. This is simply amazing.
The great thing about this is that we could have more comrades in battle. I don't have to do anything besides creating the construct, connecting the soul and providing power to maintain the connection. Everything else is done by the soul itself. And I also get to have the pack be outside from time to time, they will love it.
I have also started a side project inside the sculpture project, Free Wind. And let me just say, that one only made me more eager to finish this.
Another thing that has been keeping my spirits up is that, as a result of project medium being a success, I am officially the strongest member of the peerage. And not only that, I can fight everyone teaming up against me. Well, everyone but Iorek, I can only beat him when on a one on one.
To say that they were shocked when I used it for the first time would be an understatement. It put the first time I used the wolves to control the chains to shame. And talking about that I think the female wolves were a bit jealous. However, this is not to say that everyone else has been doing nothing. Seekvaira's Wind magic has improved a lot. Dovray's aim with his knives is almost perfect, I think he is looking for something else to add to his arsenal.
Trina has improved the time she can speed her recovery with Senjutsu and has started trying to detect other life forces. Obviously, this is done while being alone and in the middle of the forest as to avoid as much as possible the exposition to malice and ill will.
Liam is progressing nicely; he has been putting a lot of effort in his training. However, as happy and proud as his improvement made me it still worried me that he would end up like me after my first encounter with death. It wasn't anything like that though.
When I told Lucie about my concerns, she told me that Liam wanted to be stronger. That he wanted to be able to deal with his battles without my help. And that he wanted to stand side by side with his brother. Needless to say, I was moved. I made time to spar with him more often, to teach him more about circle design, even for our free time.
Lucie for her part was doing really well. Her reserves were increasing steadily, now she could user her gear to patch someone up completely after a spar. Obviously, spar wounds weren't so taxing as real battle ones but it was amazing progress all the same. And I made sure to tell her exactly that, much to her delight.
Iorek had started training seriously after I started beating him. There we found out he was a sore loser; he wouldn't let me pet him after the spar. Nico for her part was starting to show a definite figure more often, soon it would be a permanent thing, and after that came the solid form.
So, like I said, two months passed.
[}-o-{]
"Well, at least we are not the only ones having shit to deal with." I told Seek, she seemed annoyed by my vocabulary but otherwise nodded.
"She also seems to have gained some new peerage members." She continued telling me the new information she got on the Gremory heiress. "One of them seems to have been an ex-holy maiden, she was known for her healing powers. If I had to guess then she either has a Healing affinity or a healer Sacred Gear." 'Or both.' I added in my mind, and I knew she thought it too.
"So, we know she has a Thunder magic user, a swordsman, a sealed bishop, a healer, a Nekoshou and an unknown one." I summarized. There was more than likely a lot more to those people than we knew. But what we did already didn't look good at all.
The Thunder magic user, the Priestess of Thunder as some called her, was Gremory's Queen. I was pretty confident against her, however we did have some thoughts that were more than a little unnerving, so I reserved my opinion.
Then the swordsman, we didn't know anything about him. Not even how many pieces he took, much less if he had a Sacred Gear or something like that. Then was the Nekoshou, we did know she only took one Rook, so there was that. But her sister's information didn't sound promising.
The sealed bishop we knew was a mutated one, don't ask me how Seekvaira knew that. He was apparently too powerful for the heiress to control, so it was decided he would be sealed. If we were lucky, he wouldn't me released for the Gathering.
Then came the new ones, the nun was probably a bishop, just like Lucie. And we hoped that her past as a nun and holy maiden would make her like Lucie in regard to battles too. If she knew light spells and could use them against us then that would be dangerous.
And then was the one that was giving us headaches. The unknown member. The pain was that we knew absolutely nothing. He could be a simple Pawn, or a Rook, or even an eight-pieces Pawn. That was bad, because we couldn't plan anything against someone like that.
That was the updated information we had on the Gremory Peerage. The Bael Peerage info hadn't changed much but we already had a pretty detailed file, not to say it was calming information. As for the Glasya-Labolas's one… everything confirmed that he was the last of our concerns.
"At least we have the comfort of Glasya-Labolas and Sitri to make up for Gremory and Bael." I said.
"I wouldn't underestimate Sona; she is a great strategist after all." Was Seek's answer.
"So are you, and she doesn't seem to have a lot of power in her peerage, but we do, so she has brains, but we have brains and brawn. I would say we have pretty good chances." I said. She seemed nervous to say something. I looked away from the board to lock eyes with her.
"You think so?"
"I do, if I had to make a bet I would say our only real problem is Bael. Gremory can be a problem but that is mostly because of unknown factors. The others however, they don't worry me at all. I trust our peerage, and I trust your plans. So, yes, I think we have really good chances to get you out of your situation. Even if we can't beat Bael we should be able to prove your power." I said confidently. That was a summary of my thoughts on the Gathering so far.
"Thank you." Her voice was really low, and she was looking down at the board with her hair hiding her face.
"No need to thank me. I'm just saying what I think." I reassured her with a smile on my face. "Moreover, I am your Queen after all, aren't I? I got your back. We have almost a year to prepare more information and train more. It's not as it was a year ago, it's not you, Dovray and Iorek alone. There's no need to be desperate. Just relax and watch us deal with them. I doubt you will even need to move." I told her as confidently as I could. It wasn't difficult, I trusted our peerage.
She just nodded and continued playing. She never looked up after that and when we finished, I left squeezing her shoulder on my way out.
Once outside my face turned serious.
"Dovray." I found him on the kitchen. He looked up from what he was preparing and straightened after seeing my face. "Do you have a moment?"
He nodded and cleaned his hands. "Of course, Seth. What do you need?"
"A promise." I paused and locked eyes with him. "I don't know what can happen on the future. So, I need you to be ready to take my place." He looked at me confused.
"What do you-"
"Walburga." He paused. Then I could see him think with a frown in his face. I just waited.
"I will, but it isn't as simple as you make it sound." He said finally.
"I know… I know." I sighed. "But the team can't go down with me. I would never forgive myself." I left, the weight in my shoulders didn't seem lighter than before.
Unknown to me, there were quite a few people that heard us.
[}-o-{]
It was a month after that. Another attack happened.
We went with the plan. Everyone would go, except from Leo, Iorek and me. If they encountered Walburga they would escape as soon as they saw her. They would keep their guards up for any other unexpected thing. We would keep contact just in case they couldn't get out and Iorek and I were needed.
As for us, the ones at the house. We just seated outside, I was petting Iorek and playing a chess game with Leo.
That didn't last.
I felt the bracelet of black leather and silver that Dovray had made for me warm up. It would tell me if someone or something broke into the forest.
"Go inside Leo." I told him simple. He hesitated a little before going. "Iorek, hide yourself. If I am in trouble or if I call you then come. But I want you to be my secret weapon." He was a lot more reluctant than Leo but ultimately did as told.
A minute later appeared the one that sometimes was on my nightmares. Gothic clothes, short platinum hair and lavender eyes, purple flames already over her hands.
"Why hello crazy bitch, long time no see." I told her.
"Chained bat? You are alive, color me surprised! But that's better, I will be able to burn you again!" She sounded positively delighted at the idea. When her laughter reached my ears, a shiver went down my spine. I clenched the chains in my hands.
'It's time.' I told the pack. I could feel their eagerness to destroy our enemy. I swung my chains.
"Ah ah ah little bat, you won't get away that easily!" I didn't stop, I kept swinging my chains without stopping. Soon the battle transformed into a dance of fire and chains. "Can you stay still for a moment? I'm trying to burn you!"
"Can you stay still for a moment? I'm trying to chain you!" I answered. The battle was going nowhere. I had to step up my game. 'Laura, drown her.' 'Roger that, boss.'
That's when I threw the lantern at Walburga. She dodged it by jumping, but stopped frozen in shock at what happened. The lantern stopped midair right next to her. And then a Blue circle appeared on the lantern.
"Your magic doesn't work, little bat!"
"Then it's good it isn't mine, isn't it?" I saw her eyes widen before a sphere of water engulfed and imprisoned her. She didn't seem to even think before a ball of fire surrounded her. Water battled with the holy fire. 'Well, it's definitely better than Ice.' I heard a huff inside my head. 'Amazing job, Laura.' I swung the scythe towards Walburga while silently ordering Laura to stop.
The cursed chain, as I started calling it wrapped around her left leg while I swung the flail to trap her completely. I had her; I had the crazy bitch. I started laughing, and if someone had seen my face at that moment, they would have seen a savage look with a crazed smile. But most importantly, my eyes glowing mint green.
"Iorek, take care of her!" A mix between a bark and a roar answered me. The baby behemoth charged at Walburga from where he was hidden in the forest. I saw her face pale for a moment at the sight of Iorek. I couldn't fault her for that. Gone was the cute puppy and to replace him was the feral beast that brought fear just by hearing its name. He could be weaker and smaller than normal. But he was a behemoth. And I could see it at that moment. The wrath of a behemoth.
Just a second was all it took for Iorek to run out of the forest and stab the holy fire user with his horn. I could see that he was going to destroy her.
"Iorek, stop!" He froze, and turned to me. I could practically feel his incredulity. "I have a better plan for her, don't worry buddy." I spun the scythe drawing circles in the air. Iorek took a step back. 'Arcturus.' I didn't need a wolf enhanced attack to hit her, she was already out, spitting blood and trying to produce fire. But this time it wasn't for aim, it was to share our retribution. I swung the scythe. And Walburga was no more.
I felt the wolves rejoice at finally being able to take their revenge. 'Everyone, you did an amazing job.' Several barks and a 'You're welcome, boss.'
I don't think I need to explain that Laura was a soul I got in our raid to the Nilrem hideout. As it seems, she had really bad luck. She was part of Hexennacht some time ago. The group is known for actively targeting people from all factions. Some time ago they were viewed as a sort of magical police. They attacked every person that they found enough evidence was bad.
That didn't last long though. Soon they started needing less proof until they developed into a full-on terrorist group. Sadly, their past reputation still helps them recruit some people naïve enough. That's were Laura enters the picture.
She was recruited under the belief that she was joining a group for justice. And by the time she noticed the true nature of the group she was so far in that she couldn't get out. In another strike of bad luck, she followed Walburga out of the group into Nirlem, just to notice that she was back onto the pan.
And so, she ended up dying by my hand. After hearing that, I did feel bad. But what could I do? At that point the only thing I could do was offer her a place in the mindscape or to just pass on. She decided to stay for a while and see how it was. She was actually good company to have while meditating and we got along really well while she helped add to the library books.
It was something strange to talk with the soul of someone I killed in such good terms. She was the only one though, some of the others helped and not many lasted long in denial, but none of them was even close to be as friendly as Laura. All of them chose to pass on too. That's why Laura was the only one to join the medium project. I had to banish the masochist by the way, he was too annoying even for the wolves.
Now, as for what the medium project is, it's a way I found to have magician souls cast spells using my magic. The point of this is that they still have their affinities, so now I can cast magic of two affinities. As to why just two and not more, that's one of the drawbacks of this.
The only way I had found to achieve this was to link a soul to the lantern. Also, now it does look like a lantern. After the linking a small green fire lit up inside it. But I digress, the point is that I can only link one soul to the lantern at a time. It also must be said that it takes a lot out of me to link them, so it must be done in advance.
It was a blessing of Maou himself that Laura was as friendly as she was, because she had a Water affinity. And that was exactly what I needed to deal with Walburga. Granted I could have made it work with some other affinities too, but water was definitely the best option that I knew of.
"Do you need help, Seek? I just dealt with Walburga." I asked through the wolf neckless while going inside to tell Leo that everything was safe.
"I think we can deal with this by ourselves, but I'll call you if something happens." Was her answer.
I guessed she wanted the others to fight without me there. It was a good idea I supposed. We couldn't always fight together, much less in Rating Games where we would have to deal with objectives and strategies. It was also good that I could go any second if something happened, so I could stay somewhat calm.
"Everything is ok, Leo. No threats anymore." I called outside of his door.
"How do I know it's you?" I smirked. We had talked about this.
"It's impolite to ignore someone when they are talking to you. Especially when they are giving you a place to stay and keeping you safe. Don't you think?" I said, and the door opened. I smiled at him and he returned it with a small one. "We'll have to start a new game."
[}-o-{]
A while later came Seeks group pretty roughed up but overall, they looked well. I sighed in relief.
"Good to see everything went well. Now, tell me everything, how did my little bro and little sis do?" I said putting a hand over Liam and Lucie's heads. Both blushed in embarrassment.
"Before that, Seth, I need you to do something." Said Seek. I turned to her with a raised eyebrow and then I noticed that there was a guy with green hair and black eyes standing there behind everyone. "This is Alan Hawkwood, the Sacred Gear user that was attacked. I told him about our group and he said he wanted to join."
"…" I stared at her, then at the guy.
"I said I would join if one of you could beat me." Clarified Alan. I bursted out laughing.
"Seek, I know I said that you were the brains but that doesn't mean new recruits don't need to have them too." I told her. The guy looked offended.
"You say that like you would be able to beat me, when you weren't even there during th-" I interrupted him by shooting an ice arrow that graced his cheek and then I just stared at him.
"Sorry for not being there to save your sorry ass but I was busy killing a Longinus user, if you even know what that is." His eyes opened up comically. 'I guess he knows.' Then his expression turned to rage. The others looked pleasantly surprised.
"What did you do to Leonardo you piece of-" He was interrupted again.
"Alan?" Leonardo's voice sounded behind me.
"Leonardo? But he said?"
"I dealt with Walburga, Incinerate Anthem." I explained to him. He turned to stare at me with eyes wider than before. Then I turned to Leo, "You know this guy?" He nodded slowly.
"He was in the church, didn't agree much with them either, so you left too?"
"Yes, I've been looking for you while wandering around. I didn't know you joined the Devils."
"I didn't." He said. "I'm just staying here; this place is safe and they offered." I nodded. And put a hand over Leo's head much to his chagrin.
"So, about that fight, you still want it? I'm sure Iorek didn't get enough fun before." I said with a savage grin. He shook his head hurriedly.
"No, it's ok. You are strong, you have Leonardo's trust and you saved me. I think that's enough." My grin lost its savage side and I extended a hand for him to shake.
"Welcome to the team." He shook it with a nod.
[}-o-{]
The next week was one full of surprises. First was Alan, he was worth three pieces. Now, that on itself isn't surprising. What was surprising was that he only had a low-tier Sacred Gear, Exalted Blade. A gear that let the user create a sword of, in his case as a reincarnated devil, demonic energy. It was a basic equipment gear, the only different thing the sword had with a normal one was that it increased its weight, sharpness and durability by the amount of energy put in it.
So, there he was a low-tier Sacred Gear user without much skill and low reserves of energy. We were puzzled as to why he would cost so much, for Seek at this point that was a sure one Pawn. That was before Seek thought of something and we tested it. Alan was a natural holy weapon user. So, we gave him Taming Sari and Seek reincarnated him as her very first Knight.
After that came the second surprise. I almost had a heart attack. When I entered my mindscape, I found something that shocked me. A giant purple flame in the sky of my mindscape, Incinerate Anthem. I practically stormed into Seek's study to tell her. But then came a disappointing surprise. I couldn't use it.
Seems like my case interested the scientific Maou, Ajuka Beelzebub. He came by the house himself to take a look and ask about details. To say we were shocked by having a Maou visit would be an understatement.
In the end he concluded that it was probably something related with the ability of Incinerate Anthem to transfer between users at will and my Sacred Gear's ability to store souls. He also concluded that I couldn't use the Longinus because I was not actually it's user, it was just 'tagging along' on its own free will. He said it was probably to look for another person to chose as its user.
Now, if that's not disappointing then nothing is.
However, the other abilities I had discovered also interested the scientist a lot. He seemed especially interested in my ability to connect souls to constructs. He even offered to help me develop my circles to speed up the process. Seekvaira and I were baffled. This guy was a relative of one of the heirs that was going to be at the Gathering, Diodora Astaroth. And he was going to help me be stronger. But he was a Maou so I would be stupid saying no to that offer.
So, now I could safely say that my pack would kick some ass during those Rating Games. I was now working in getting to have two simultaneous constructs by that time. That's not to say I already had it down to use. But Lord Beelzebub's help had speed up the process so much that it would only take a month or two to start using them in spars. His only condition was for me to show him that and project Free Wind in the Rating Games. I readily accepted.
So that was my plan, get the circle to work properly and my reserves to use the constructs to be useful in battle, finish Free Wind and from then on it was just improvements. To say I was happy didn't even begin to cover it. It also helped that I got some payback on Walburga. She would be hard to get cooperative but I didn't have any hurry. All the better. And the pack was definitely enjoying themselves.
All was good.