Trying to come up with a good joke for human experimentation was hard. It's such a taboo subject, that there was almost no chance that it would go over well in most places. The majority of people would decide to call it quits there. After all, what's the point in pissing everyone off for a joke?
Not me. Don't half ass things, double down and quadruple ass it.
"You know, biology is the only time where multiplication is the same thing as division. So don't think of this as torture and unethical experimentation, simply think of this as aggressive division."
Gilbert's angered screams were mugged by the gag I had placed on him. His eyes were blindfolded, a small mercy I afforded him. It was much better than letting him watch me experiment on him and his sister.
Removing a portion of his arm, I began to reflect on my actions. This was definitely something that fell into the evil category. A bit disappointing, but as long as Emery never finds out about this, I don't think I care. Plus, these two don't fall within my requirements for sympathy. They aren't a friend of mine, and they aren't innocent. I mean, they're in here and they tried to rob me.
Basically, this was free game. To be fair, most people would see this as inhumane and unnecessarily cruel. And they'd be right. But I mean, I doubt that I was made with morality in mind. I'm an Aspect of Destruction for fucks sake. Plus, this isn't even the first time I've done something like this. The Gentry were some of the first sapient creatures I've ever experimented on.
Hmm, if I never met Emery or grew as close to Mason and the others, would I even have any sense of morality? It was a decent question. I'm pretty sure the only reason I do now, is because of those connections. And even then, my list of taboos is pretty small. It's basically just rape and hurting those who don't deserve it. I'm pretty neutral against anything else. As you can plainly figure out.
Gently moving the emaciated flesh out of the way, I extracted a piece of the metal within the chunks of flesh. This stuff was what made these two so tough, or at least was a part of the reason. So, I may as well figure out how it works. Could be useful. "Structural Analysis."
Netherite
Rare
A bio-alloy made from smelting down netherrack into Nether Lava and mixing it with melted gold. Once processed, this alloy can mix with weapons and armor by simply melting the alloy and sticking the item you wish to reinforce into it, all the while pushing Nether Energy into it. The Damned use this method to reinforce their bodies.
Hm, I figured. I had used Structural Analysis on Gilbert's sword earlier, and it told me roughly the same thing. I had just wanted to make sure, since the sword had a different description. A lot vaguer too.
Right, now what? I was basically done with these two, having extracted all I wanted from them. I finally had a decent idea as to how this Nether Energy worked, and how it interacted with organic materials. For one, it was corruptive as all hell. Strong no doubt, but it would have quite the price to pay. It also probably infested their very souls, since it was highly concentrated around the soul rock.
So now I was just left with two prisoners to deal with. Leaving them alive was a horrible idea, since I had no doubt that these were the vengeful types. Same thing goes for "killing" them. They'd just reform elsewhere, and while they claimed that they would frenzy or whatever, I wasn't sure if I wanted to believe it at face value.
My eyes turned to look at the finished katana and scabbard on my table. The sword was made entirely of antithetical alloy, with a few gold highlights on the hilt. There were five diamond covered ender pearls in the hilt, and two in the blade's "collar". Diamond gemstone lined the dull edge of the blade, stopping an inch or so after the collar ended. It was decently heavy, the antithetical alloy making itself known. The blade had a slight unnatural glow to it, most likely the result of me infusing the damaged ender pearls into it. The sheath was also made of the alloy, with a wooden core in the center to keep the blade from scratching against it. Emeralds lined the side of it, allowing the scabbard to absorb energy and give it to the blade.
It was a strong sword, able to get the job done and even slightly mimic Yamato's abilities. However, it was limited. The ender pearls were never meant to be used this way, and my inexperience with them made it difficult to push forward their full potential. Sure, I could try and use the legendary essence to make it way stronger, but a different idea bit me. A far more… insidious one.
Legendary equipment was made form the soul. So, what if I infused the blade with souls? Of course, this would be a bit limited. It wouldn't have the focus of a typical legendary item, or soul artifact but they were that same thing. The question of how was easy to answer. My Artificer perk gave me a deep understanding of legendary equipment, as well as the soul. Manipulating a soul would be relatively easy to be honest. Especially with the soul rocks, which already had a few souls in them thanks to the several Reborn Ones I killed in the caverns.
And I also had the souls of two relatively strong individuals right in front of me.
It sounds like an awful thing to do, tearing the souls of these two out in order to make a stronger weapon. But at the same time, these two paint a very concerning picture of how strong the denizens of this place can get. To be on the safe side, let's say that these two are at about the absolute bottom of the power hierarchy. Considering the fact that both of them had the stats to take on a paragon, then the higher tiers must be fucking ridiculous.
And I needed to be prepared for that. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and I was very desperate.
The netherite is almost symbiotic in nature, able to attach itself to the Undead and boost their power. It also healed itself, using the host's Nether Energy in order to regenerate lost matter. Why did this matter? Well, the netherite I had managed to take from the sword was useless to me, since it required Nether Energy to properly use. The same could be said about any netherite. Without Nether Energy, I wouldn't be able to properly utilize it.
But I had an idea. If I could use my soul rocks from those Reborn Ones, I might be able to put them in a frenzy of sorts. The theory goes something like this. The Reborn Ones were a complete mess because of the number of souls they had in them. Their bodies looked as if their biomass had tried to form completely separate body parts. So, it's safe to assume that the conflict of souls would lead to the body mutating. This will be the activation I need, as then I could simply stab the sheathed katana into the mass of flesh and let the absorbing nature of the emeralds direct the power to the sword.
Step four, profit.
It was a bit crude and unspecific, but I was already stretching past the ten hour mark here. I had no doubt that some of the other denizens of this foul place would come here. Especially if it's possible to sense the spot where I came in from.
I moved the two siblings together, making sure to keep them bound. Ignoring their struggling and muffled pleas, I took out the ten soul rocks I had in my inventory. Right, I point in delaying this any further. I began to shove the soul rocks through their chests, giving each sibling five rocks in total before making myself scarce.
Their bodies began to writhe, shifting as they wailed bloody murder. They tried to cling to one another, comforting each other the best they could. Unfortunately for them, their close proximity led to their flesh beginning to melt into each other. Once their bodies became connected, the process began to speed up incredibly. Twelve soul rocks began to fight for dominance, none of them able to truly come out on top. Tendrils of netherite infused flesh whipped around violently, stabbing into the main body and being absorbed into it.
Taking a step forward, I was thankful that I had decided to wear my armor for this. My arms reared back, the sheathed katana in my hands. I took a deep breath, and stabbed it into the writhing flesh.
There was a moment of calmness, serenity even, where all movement stopped. The flailing tendrils of meat froze, relaxing in the air. The unending screams lowered to mere whispers.
And then the panic started.
It began to chaotically swing its tendrils around, successfully managing to push me to the side. I landed against the wall with a thud, groaning as I watched the transformation. Netherite climbed up the sheathed blade, melting into the alloy and warping it. The once vibrant blue of the alloy began to darken to a near black, the only hint of its former color being a slight blueish tint. The emeralds on the scabbard somehow reversed in color, becoming a deep crimson as the Nether Energy flowed into it. The bits of exposed diamond gemstones darkened considerably, becoming a royal blue color. The cloth wrappings of the hilt followed this color scheme, warping to a royal blue. Strangely enough, the bits of gold use for the ornamental details remained unchanged.
The mass of meat and flesh began to decay, shriveling up as more and more power was stolen from it. Bits of it began to fall off, turning to dust as it hit the ground. Finally, the sword finally clattered to the ground as the final bits of flesh shriveled up and blew away.
Getting to my feet, I cautiously made my way towards it. The power it emanated, I could feel it from here. It felt off, corrupted even. But it was powerful, oh so very powerful. I picked the blade up, marveling at how light it felt in my hands. Even with the increased strength from my suit, this thing felt like a feather. "Observe."
Finis Atrium
Mythic
A blade created by Darius Artifice that behaves like a pseudo legendary item, and is imbued with the power of space and the corruptive energy of the Nether. This sword can create hard light blades which can be fired at an enemy, marking them. The wielder can then teleport to these marked enemies. These blades only last a few seconds, so be wary.
The wielder can also attack from a distance, slashing at enemies up to fifty feet away. The blade can cut through any non magical material, but a sufficiently strong magical material can withstand it.
The wielder may teleport over a long distance, however this power can only be used once per day. Once used, the sword will lose all power and must recharge, a twenty four hour process.
WARNING: The corruptive nature of Nether Energy means that the wielder is at risk of transforming into a Nether creature. The user will gain increased strength and power, as well as heightened aggression. The user's body will burn with soul flames, causing extreme pain as the blade is used.
I see. So even just wielding this blade was enough to warrant extreme caution. Still, this was probably the strongest weapon in my arsenal right now. Meaning, I would have to become very familiar with this weapon. On the bright side, at least I wouldn't have to worry about coming up with a name. Finis Atrium. Fucking rad.
Vanishing the sword to my inventory, I gazed around my workshop. Thankfully, the process wasn't all that destructive to the environment. However, I still had a shitload of dust to clean up now. Or not, considering I should probably pick up all my equipment and leave.
How fun.
…
To think, how much could change in just a few hours. A little less than a day ago, everything had been normal. Nobody was dying, the greatest concern was Emery's allure making everyone horny, and just about any crisis they've been having was already becoming a nonissue.
And then the news broke out.
Evanora sighed, pushing that entire conundrum out of her head and instead watched as Lilith worked in the kitchens. Darius had kind of dropped the responsibility of keeping the girl in check on them. Though understandably so. Still, the warning he gave them was a bit worrying.
Whatever you do, do not let her believe that your romantically involved with me or let her be in a room with Emery.
Sure, she had a small chuckle when he said "do do", but it had quickly died out once he had explained further. Apparently, this girl was all kinds of nuts. Tried to stab Emery and drug Darius, but was stopped because of reasons. He was oddly vague about that.
When they had raised their concerns, he has simply said that she was mentally ill and that he was going to treat her. That struck her as strange. Darius was a nice enough guy, but he wasn't as nice to strangers. He was very neutral on them. So, to give someone who had just tried to murder his fiancé help? It was out of character for him.
However, she had caught something in his eyes. She was sure Rana did as well, seeing as she was better at reading people than her. But what she has saw was unmistakable. Guilt. Whatever the reason, Darius saw himself as part of the reason Lilith was so unstable. How, she couldn't say, but it was enough to keep her quiet. Evanora knew him well enough to know that he wouldn't do it on purpose, at least, not without a reason. If he was guilty, it was because it was an accident. And she wasn't going to get pissy with him over something like that.
Still, she had been cautious. Her and Rana had decided to split up in a sense. One of them will watch Emery, and the other will watch Lilith. Right now, it was her turn. Though that shift was ending soon enough. Thankfully, the girl seemed to be easily distracted when it came to cooking. So, it was easy to just take her into the kitchens and let her have some fun.
Honestly, the girl was way more passive than Evanora had expected. She expected ranting, raving, and more than a few attempted murders. And yet she simply skipped around, humming joyfully as she kneaded some dough. It was somehow more unnerving than if she was openly plotting murder. At least then there would be something to stop.
Whatever. At least this part of the job was easy. Despite how rude it might seem, she much preferred keeping an eye on Lilith than one on Emery. With Lilith, there wasn't any emotional attachment. It was just guarding the strange murder girl and pacifying her by giving her eggs.
Emery on the other hand… well that was a whole different battle. She was one of the most joyful people Evanora had ever known, even beating out Brynjar. Everyone else, especially here, had a sort of cynicism to them, an edge. Rana had her frankly enormous distrust of just about anyone. Evanora herself was naturally pessimistic, that much she could admit, and could be a bit uncaring about other people's feelings. Amethyst… she was actually pretty alright. But she was also born and raised in an incredibly safe environment, so she doesn't count. Darius was the hardest to pin down. On the surface, he was a generally happy individual. Sarcastic and a bit of an asshole, sure, but usually well meaning and friendly. But at the same time, she's been around him long enough to know that he could be absolutely cruel. Though he hid it well, since it took her going through one of his journals to figure that one out.
Sure, it was a breach of privacy. But in her defense, she thought it was just a normal research journal. And it technically was. However, she didn't expect to find notes on human experimentation and some form of Soul Artifact extraction. Granted, he did call them "Rapist Nobles" in his notes, which was more than enough for her to accept, but it was still shocking.
Evanora pinched the bridge of her nose. She had gotten of topic again.
Right. So, Emery was very different. She didn't have the same safety growing up as Amethyst did, in fact it was definitely rather shitty. And yet, she was still so cheerful most of the time. A very clear contrast to most of the individuals here, not including the staff.
So sitting down and watching such a cheerfully happy person slowly degrade before your eyes? No thank you. She would much rather handle the pacified psycho.
"Miss Evanora, a pleasure to see you."
An older voice spoke out behind her, and she calmly turned to face it. The head butler, Marcus, smiled gently towards her. He wasn't the most familiar face, since he often worked out of the staff house. But lately, he had been stopping by a lot more. Darius must've told him to keep an eye on things just in case. "Hey Marcus. Shouldn't you be at home with the missus and son by now? It's rather late."
He just smiled, holding his arms behind his back. "Perhaps, but with recent events as they are, I feel it would be improper of me to go home and rest in the comfort of my wife's arms. If my Sir Lord Artifice cannot do so, then as his Head Butler, I should do the same. Besides, I've taken a trip or two to see them during the day."
What was with these butlers and maids? Always so dedicated to the job. It was appreciated either way though. She went to thank him, before her eye landed on his chin and lips. There was facial hair on them. Going across his mouth almost like a circle. It fit him surprisingly well, the salt and pepper hair matching with his traditional butler uniform. "Have you been neglecting to shave Marcus? You're usually a bit more groomed."
He blinked, before realization hit him and he nodded. "Ah, this. Well, somehow Sir Lord Artifice's refusal to shave seems to have caught on within the city. The men have begun to grow facial hair, most of them attempting to copy Sir Lord Artifice. My wife believed that I would look good with some, and I had asked Sir Lord Artifice to help me with it. I believe he called it a goatee. Though I've no idea what goats have to do with it."
Evanora would never understand Darius' naming choices. Sometimes it's clear and obvious, like grappling hook. Other times, it's really obscure and vague, like toilet. Seriously, what even was a soda? Was it a type of fish or something?
She pushed those thoughts away, and instead chose to grin up at Marcus. "Well, it suits you nicely Marcus. Your wife is one lucky lady.
He nodded, a self satisfied smile on his face. The look vanished however, a grim frown taking its place instead. "As much as I loathe to discuss such things, what is the plan should Sir Lord Artifice not return?"
Ah… right. That was one of those questions that she wished she didn't have an answer to. The solution she and Rana had come up with was… horrifying at best. Darius had left them a few backup plans just in case he left, and one of those detailed a way to remove the child from Emery without killing her. However, the child would not survive.
It had been especially important to him that Emery got a say in what happened in that scenario. He wasn't sure if she would be able to really move on from it, and he was certain that she would shatter if it happened by force.
But…
It was selfish, Evanora knew this. It was selfish to want to keep Emery alive no matter the cost. She knew it intrinsically. However, that didn't mean that she wouldn't do it. Rana had said the same thing, even convincing her when she felt doubt.
It matters not if Emery hates us with every fiber of her being, for the rest of her life. Because at least then, she would be alive to do so.
Those had been Rana's words, and she'd be damned if they didn't make a bit of sense. Evanora loathed herself for agreeing with it, but that was to be expected. Should they go through with it, they'd not only be betraying Emery and Darius' trust, they'd also be taking the child they made together away. Something that Emery expressed an incredible amount of affection for. The woman was only just beginning to show, but she already spoke of it like it was due any day now. It was just a small bump on her stomach, almost nonexistent. And yet it may as well be everything to her.
Evanora bit her lip, looking off to the side and clenching a fist. "We have a plan. You don't need to worry about it Marcus. Rana and I have everything under control."
A single glance in his direction revealed that he didn't believe her in the slightest. Still, he didn't question her. Simply nodding and agreeing. "Of course, Miss Evanora. I will trust your judgement."
Well, at least someone was going to.
…
After walking/running for as long as I have, my mind began to wonder. A perfectly natural thing mind you. Something that happens when your mind just feels like thinking about literally anything other than what you're currently doing. Or the fact that you just used to souls of two relatively meh people in order to make your sword slightly cooler. A minor guilt at best to be honest.
The topic my mind came to was actually kind of nice. Emery's birthday was on the forty-fifth of Fuerza, about fifteen days, or three weeks, away from now. Honestly, it's kind of surprising that our birthdays are only less than twenty days away from one another. Mine was a few days ago back on the twenty-seventh, though I didn't really do much on account of the whole "finding out my fiancé is dying" thing. Not the best way to celebrate a birthday.
But when everything is over, and I'm back home with Em, we have to do something for her birthday. We didn't get to for mine, so I may as well make her birthday extra special. Besides, she was finally turning twenty. Huh. The realization that my pregnant fiancé is nineteen just hit me. Fucking hell, we'd be early as fuck if this was the twenty-first century.
Whatever. The main point was, that I needed to plan for her birthday. I already had one thing going. Before the whole sickness thing was going on, I had built a piano in The Crafting Table and hid it away from prying eyes. It took a few tries to get it right, but once it was done I had immediately begun trying to actually use the damned thing. And to be honest, I wasn't too bad with it. Already got hot cross buns down pact.
That aside, I still needed a few more things. A cake was definitely one of them. Preferably one of those chocolate cakes too. There was also the conundrum of getting her a gift or two. I already had one idea in mind, a nice little room for Em to work on her sewing and stuff. Get a loom or whatever in there, plus as many different types of fabrics and other materials as well.
Speaking of rooms, I needed to make a nursery at some point as well. Maybe. It depends on how things actually go to be honest. Might just have a crib in the bedroom for the baby, so that way it'll be easy to just go back and forth. Gotta out that on the to do list.
Getting back on topic, I also needed to arrange a small party or whatever. Evanora and Rana would love to spend the day having a good time, and I'm sure Amethyst would try and move past her shyness to have fun too. Though Lilith might be an issue. I'll have to sort that out before the party. But that's fine. So long as I get back, I'll be able to set everything up just in time.
So long as I get back.
My lips twitched downwards into a frown. That was a major concern as well to be honest. If I didn't make it back, what would happen in my absence? I trust Evanora and Rana will be alright, and I'm sure Emery could learn to move past it given time. But it's the child that worried me. If I don't make it back, it doesn't matter if Emery moves on or not. She'd be dead long before then.
Besides the abortion option, all of the backup plans I had given Evanora and Rana were simply stall tactics. Minor use of magic extractors to slow down the sickness, putting Emery to sleep for as long as possible, even just regular ass therapy in order to make sure she keeps her head together. They were all meant to buy time, either until I got back, it until Emery decided that she had to get rid of the child.
That had been the most important restriction on Evanora and Rana. Under no circumstances were they to use the abortion plan without Emery's explicit consent. Not only is it just the nice thing to do, but making sure that consent is given makes it way easier emotionally. At that point, Em has come to terms with the whole thing, and knows what she's asking for. That way, the psychological damage won't be as incredible. After all, the magic was already screwing with her head. There was no telling what would happen should she be forced to remove the baby.
Probably an exorbitant amount of mental scarring. Not the best outcome.
My eyes noticed a change in the netherrack floor, and I immediately slowed down to a walk. The floor was slightly frosted, almost as if water had frozen here. I knelt down and touched the floor, focusing on the soft rhythmic beating of the netherrack. Fascinating. It was far more sedate here than back deeper into the caverns. This ice must be incredibly cold, since there was defiantly nether lava under the floor.
I activated the spikes on the bottom of my boots and began to sprint forward. The grip afforded to me by the spikes allowed for me to properly run across the icy floor.
It took me a few minutes of constantly sprinting forward, but eventually I found the source of the cold. The tunnel had finally ended, leading towards an even larger cavern. The ceiling was so high, that I couldn't. Even see it from where I was, which was about a hundred above the ground. The tunnel cut led to a large blue forest, or more specifically, right above the tree line of a large blue forest.
I could see frost all over the top of the trees, the icy shine going well with the light cyan color. The beginnings of a snowstorm were falling to the ground, with what looked to be pale blue snowflakes landing on the ground almost elegantly. It was a large departure to what I expected from The Nether, and was especially hard to wrap my head around. It just didn't make any sense to me. How did such a cold place exist in a realm where hot liquid magma flowed just under the surface? The only answer I could come up with was "magical bullshit", and even then, I wasn't too sure.
Kneeling a few feet from the edge, I began to think over my plan of action. Considering what the siblings had said while I was eavesdropping on them, this must be that warped forest. Considering the fact that these biomes weren't actually cold in the base game, it'd be best to temper my expectations and meta knowledge. Which is a policy I've been keeping since I got here basically.
So, what do I know? Well, a surprising amount actually. Considering the fact that these trees still have leaves, and that there are a few other signs of varying vegetation, it's likely that most other forms of vegetation normally found in these biomes may still be here. How, I have no idea. Any knowledge I have on botany and meteorology is basically completely forfeit when it comes to this place. I mean, the nether lava here solidifies completely within mere minutes despite the atmosphere being hot enough for my scarf to ignite almost instantly.
Looks like I'm going to have to make up a whole branch of science just to figure this place out. Netherology maybe? Who knows.
Regardless, there are a few things I can prepare for. Such as the cold. Now, I'm fairly confident with my internal temperature system, but I'm not exactly sure how much it can reasonably take. It could damage the glass in my helmet, or possibly drain some, if not all, of my suit's power. There was also the possibility of melted ice and snow getting into the suit and frying some of the internal wiring. Unlikely, sure, but I can never be too careful.
The obvious solution would be to wait out the storm, but I couldn't. I've already wasted over ten hours here, and I wasn't keen on wasting several more doing nothing. The best I could do is try to mitigate the effects and push on. The storm also meant that using my jet pack would be a bad idea. The decreased visibility would screw with my navigation. I'd either get lost, or crash and then get lost.
Best strategy? Keep my boot spikes active and run until the storm gets worse. If the melted snow starts to fuck up my internal systems, I might have to keep the suit cold enough to stop said snow from melting. Maybe. The snow's pale blue color is a bit confusing. It can't possibly be water, since this place is way to hot to allow such a thing. And yet, snow and ice exist. So, maybe it's water?
No matter. I've wasted enough time theorizing about the weather.
Walking back several dozen feet, I ran forward as fast as I could. My spiked boots slammed into the netherrack floor, cracking it slightly. Despite the long distance I had moved back, I was still able to reach the edge in under a second. Just as I reached the edge, I leapt upwards and activated my jet pack for some extra air.
Time to go into the woods.
…
So uh, this one is a bit late. I do have a reason though. I had gotten my second COVID shot during the weekend, and it kind of fucked me up royally. My concentration was shot to hell, and I could barely write more than a hundred words per hour. I'm still a bit meh right now, but I'm well enough to finish this up and check it over. Also, if this chapter seems monologue heavy, it's because it is. Darius is all alone right now, meaning he has to handle all of the internal dialogue. Plus, just describing the Nether for 5k words would be super boring. The POV switches with the other characters serve many purposes, and one of them is allowing me to allow more character interaction rather than just monologues. Of course, I plan to change the whole "alone" thing next chapter.
And now it's time to our favorite endslate segment, Review of the chapter! This time, I'll be going over two different reviews this time! I swear it's not to artificially up the word count, but to actually answer the questions provided. Some people like to just type the persons name and answer the question without showing said question. Useful for the individual, not for anyone else. So, here it is:
"Why does everyone think you are going to kill Emery you have literally stated that she is going to be the main pairing multiple times."
Because I'm an asshole on Discord. Also because they've read my side stories and know that I'm not afraid to put characters through pain.
"On another note I can't say I am happy about the pregnancy too many fanfic's have the story turn from a action/adventure into a slice of life family fanfic with the occasional fight without even realizing it after they introduce a child I hope this does not happen to this story."
The kid is going to be more of a new character than a whole arc or focal point. Darius is still duty bound to run his territory and aid the king in battle should the need arise.
"What is the mortality status of Darius so far the two Aspects of Destruction you have introduced have been older then 100 years old so are Aspects immortal at least in a unaging sense or is it just does two and if so how is Darius going to deal with the fact that he is going to out live Emery."
That will probably be a major point later in the fic (a lot later). He's unageing (or at the very least ages very slowly)(and yes you spell it with the e), not quite immortal. But it will still cause a sort of emotional strain on him.
Time for the second review.
"Really enjoyed the chapter, only real thing I'd like to see from the story is more personal power development from the mc. I get that he keeps progressing his technology and his emotional development is pretty damn good, but it does feel a bit like we're at that point in a gamer story where every author realises their characters power growth was too powerful and quick and so either halt it or slow it down massively. I feel like it's been quite a few chapters since we've seen any real growth on his skills or any new skills"
From day one, Darius' strength was mostly derived from his gear. His skills were weak, and he relied heavily on stealth and better equipment. His base form (with no armor or reinforcement), is just above peak human. pushing his reinforcement to the max would allow him to possibly stand head to head with a Magic Knight Paragon, but he'd be at a disadvantage. Basically, Darius is usually on the back foot unless he whips out his gear and wrecks house. Remember, unlike the other Aspects, he still hasn't fully awakened his power. He has access to a portion of it, but it's not nearly as much as it could be.
"I'm guessing the rebirth of magic will inspire quite a bit of new skills."
That it will.
This has been A Decent Hoonter, and whoopsies I was a little late.