Chapter 14. Filler.
First, I felt a chill go down my back. Don't know why don't know how it just happened to feel one within five feet of their clubhouse. Second, I can tell Irina is following, not the most stealthy of nuns warriors...still can't believe they wear latex why? Just why? The chill I normally would blame it on Ragnorak but currently, at the moment, I think it's just me holding onto two Excaliburs and the sheer wrongness of it all. At the moment I'm a creature of darkness so holding onto two extremely holy relics would mess with me. As for how I know Irina is trailing me, she stumbled on a bush and nearly fell over, didn't hurt I was staring right at her.
"I'm not giving this Excalibur back. I won it fair and square and it's mine now." I tell her straight off the bat, I lost nearly a quarter of my health and it burned worse than Phenix's fire, that and the quest I just got. So yeah, I'm not giving this up. Irina just shook her head.
"I wasn't gonna ask you to give it up, she lost it fair and square. She shouldn't have offered it up in the first place." She told me with an easy smile, though I could tell she was as pissed as Irina gets, which means twitchy smile and eyebrows. Ahh, childhood memories are useful when reading people.
"So, why are you following me?" I ask her. If she didn't want the sword what did she want?
"I just want to talk, I would've waited until everyone left but I saw you leaving so.." Irina trailed off, swinging her arms in front of her. I just shrug and sheath Nightmare and Destruction in my inventory, which I disguised as a magic circle.
"So what do you wanna talk about?" I asked her. Irina smiles, looking far less annoyed than before.
"Well...first I want to apologize for Xenovia's actions. She's a really, really good person. She's just hot-headed." Irina tells me, I already knew this but accepted the apology at face value.
"Second I heard you beat a high ranking devil a while ago at their own game. What was that like?" Irina asked me, she must mean Riser. I just scratch my head as I try to remember how I felt during that time.
"Not that much different than I normally feel, but it was a great chance to show off my high council, that and I have a permanent monthly supply of phoenix tears so it wasn't all bad," I tell her, leaving out how I won and my involvement with the Witch-king. She just stared slack-jawed at how casually I said that. Though it soon melts away to snickers and giggles.
"Of course, I shouldn't be surprised. If anyone were to out devil, devils it would be you." She says, still giggling a little. I just raise an eyebrow.
"I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or not," I say in a joking manner, though I was a bit serious about it. Irina smiles and lightly chops me on the head.
"Take it as a compliment you big jerk, speaking of. You're still taller than me." She said that last part with a fake pout as I actually took the moment to check. Huh, I actually am taller than her. Neat.
"Alright, I will." I chuckle. She continues her false pout until it turns back into a smile. Though it dims a little.
"Um, Mores? How did you get Excalibur nightmare? I know you weren't one of the thieves who stole it from heaven's vault. You're not exactly stealthy when you want something." She points out, I just raise an eyebrow behind the mask. I take a few moments to put together a lie, one that should hold together.
"A crazy stray priest attacked me with it. Said something about 'cleansing the dirty devils in the area with its holy blah, blah, blah.' He tried to attack me, I broke his nose with his own weapon and knocked him out. That's how I got it." I didn't specify a name, only that it was a crazy stray priest.
"Did he have red eyes and a penchant to stick his tongue out?" She asked me. I nodded unconsciously, not putting two and two together until it was too late.
"Then you must've been up against ex-father Freed." She told me, sighing in relief. I hid the fact my lie was now tied to that psychopath, but I'll either kill him or try and brand him with my seal before he can spill anything.
"How did he get the Excaliburs? He couldn't have by himself, could the fallen be helping him?" Irina murmured, she was giving Freed to much credit. He was helping them, not the other way around. Though that raises the question, why did Irina think that freed was the mastermind? How high in the church hierarchy was he that he could've learned the way to break in the vault of heaven? Well, I'll figure it out.
"Well, thank you for telling me the truth Mo-Mo, but, the church won't like that you have two Excaliburs." I just smile and shrug.
"Well...sucks to be them! I ain't giving these babies up, especially by all right they're mine now." I tell her and she just giggles at what I said.
"Did I say something funny?" I ask, she just shakes her head no.
"No, it's nothing like that. Just that even though you're a bit different, your still you. You were always so stubborn and refused to give anything you earned from bullies or other adults. Though, you never hesitated to share with us." Irina said, smiling at the fond memories. I find myself smiling, for some reason I felt happy she was happy. It didn't come from specifically, just a feeling from deep within that somehow escaped. Odd. This is not love, not my own at least
"Well, you're still the same, though I see you traded jeans and t-shirts for skin suits and robes," I say jokingly. I got a light smack from Irina as well as a chuckle from her. I hear a small ding and got a notification that her arcana leveled up and I finally got points that Crota couldn't take!
For reliving past experiences with one another. +5 wisdom and luck.
Oh that feels to good, so very good. I couldn't help but feel all forms of happy, even for that small bonus. I never realized how gratifying that could feel.
"Hey, how long are you staying here Irina? I forgot to ask at the airport." I asked her, wondering how much time I had to grow this arcana. Irina shrugged.
"The church only told us we'd be here until we get the Excaliburs back, so who knows," Irina told me, I sigh mentally but nod. That's maybe two or three days at most. When we went back I noticed Kiba left, guess he abandoned his peerage already to search for revenge. Fool. Speaking of them, I noticed Rias running up to me.
"Would you mind if I speak to you alone?" She asks me. I shrug and she pulls me away, Irina waves goodbye and drags Xenovia with her back to the hotel. I wave bye as well as I'm pulled into the occult research club shack-I mean building. The rest of her peerage wasn't here, which actually surprised me. She sat down while I stood up, this should be quick.
"So what did you want to talk about?" I asked her. She took out a piece of paper that looked to be a contract.
"Kiba has abandoned my peerage and because of that is a stray devil now. Though I have no interest in hurting him and I'll make sure Sona doesn't get involved. This is my peerage's problem and I'll handle it." She told me, grabbing a pen out of her drawer and putting it on the table, I look down at the contract briefly.
"So what's the piece of paper for? Is it to hire me to bring him back?" I asked. She gave me a so-so gesture.
"Traditionally when a devil deserts their peerage they're marked as strays and eliminated, either by their previous master or by a third party. Usually other devils. This is technically a contract to kill Kiba, it says I'm willing to reward you with his sacred gear and some reward of your choosing for his head." She spat out the last part, obviously disgusted about the contract she's forced to give me.
"Why are you giving this to me?" I ask her. She smiles and leans back in her chair.
"While this is a kill contract, what I want you to do is to bring him back unharmed. The only reason I want you to sign this so no other devil can try to kill him until either you 'succeed' or die. It's a front in other words." She tells me and I do have to admit it is clever.
"Well then, where do I sign?" I ask her, Rias smiles and pulls out a blank piece of paper and asked me to sign that rather than the contract. I do so and she uses magic to make a copy of signature onto the contract, which sealed itself with the piece of paper and Rias, rather than myself and her.
"Devil contracts are made to seal people in, some other devils found ways of tricking the spell imbued into the contract, which is exactly what I did. While it'll look like you signed it directly..-" I finish her sentence.
"I'm actually free to bring him back safe and sound without having to worry about the breach in contract. Clever girl." I say with a smirk, she pouted and huffed.
"I wanted to say that, but your right and when Kiba's back I can dissolve the contract with the paper." She said pouting, I took a mental picture of this since I doubt I would see it again for a while. She offered her hand out and I shook it.
"So it's a deal then."
"Yes, it is, only my peerage will know the truth behind this, though that may cause problems with some, I'll explain to her afterward." I nod at her warning, and honestly, I could smack them all upside the head into the nearest wall if they tried anything.
Main quest! Catching Kiba.
Deal with the blonde brat however you see fit, just make sure he's alive by the time you are done with him.
Side objectives: 1. Wait to catch him until the storyline progresses like in cannon.
2. Kill Kiba and gain the original reward promised in the contract.
3. Catch him early.
Rewards: Varies based on the side objectives completed.
Failure: Death.
Y/N?
I press yes with my mind and start to walk out but Rias stopped me.
"Thank you for helping me, again, as much as I want to find him myself I could end up destroying my brother's and families diplomatic ties with high ranking devils who take to these old rules as scripture. Kiba is family but so are they, which is why I reached out to you. Thank you Mores, if there's anything at all I can do to repay you, please don't hesitate to ask." She bows her head to me, me. I was extremely shocked at such a gesture, especially what it means for her as a devil to bow to me.
"How about I save that as yet another favor, that's two you owe me Rias. At this rate, you'll be in my debt for the next several years." I say in a joking manner, she stops bowing her head and throws it back, laughing at my joke.
"Your right Mores. You're absolutely right." She smiled at me and I gave her a thumbs up. Those two favors she owes me will become quite needed in due time, so I best accrue as many as I can. I hear chimes ringing as the fool's arcana leveled to three, but unlike the others, it began to split in two, nope scratch that, three! It exploded in a flash of light that burned my retinas. I try not to scream, as my eyes feel like they're melting from the bright light. Then the screens dimmed and I could actually read them, figuring out rather quickly that these other two were specific to Rias and Sona respectively, and can I say that Ragnorak, you are quite the cliche bastard sometimes. Though not as much as I would've thought the fool arcana was there and had finally become level three, it didn't earn any new effects thus I ignored it. The two by its sides were another story entirely.
Congratulations. You have obtained the Chariot Arcana
Chariot
Rank 3/10
Effect: Fellow weeb. Due to both of you loving all things anime, for the most part, +5 luck if you hang out with Rias at a manga/anime store.
Congratulations. You have obtained the Hierophant Arcana.
The Hierophant.
Rank 3/10
Effects: Intellectual discussions. Due to both of you being the smartest of the bunch, Sona will occasionally ask to have a debate with you. +5 wisdom for accepting and a bonus of +10 intelligence for winning the debate.
'Useful.' I whistle in my mind. I leave at that, deciding it would be best to let things play out as they did in the show. So, with nothing better to do, I went back to the now empty schoolyards and sat under the cherry blossom tree. I pulled out a skill book I've been meaning to use up for ages but never got the chance to do so, until now at least. I pull out the skill book 'Final' Summons. I eat the book and wait for something to happen, at first nothing does. The sky didn't suddenly darken, or a vortex to pull me in, not even a screen to tell me if I absorbed it right. I did, however, feel tired. Like really tired. So I yawned, stretched a bit before getting into a comfortable position under the tree, summoned Wraith to protect me while I napped and fell asleep. I found myself standing in front of Bahamut, except unlike when I normally see him, he's in his full-size final fantasy 15 form, aka, fucking huge.
"So, you have finally decided to use that spellbook to create contracts with my comrades. Took you damn long enough." He tells me, lifting me up so we may speak eye to eye. I nod.
"In my defense, I've been busy. In between grinding the arcana's up and plotting how to kill Crota the most painful way possible, I haven't had much time to pick up a book that's been in my inventory for a while." I told him, he sighs but nods in agreement.
"So how exactly do I form a contract with one of them?" I ask him. Bahamut chuckles
"Like this." He says and pokes me in the chest, a contract pops into existence in front me. Just a normal paper contract with a few lines. I read it aloud.
"'Due to your high affinity with the forces of dark and your kindness towards Dragon B of this contract, person A wishes to form a contract that will allow him to aid Summoner Mores in deadly combat situations. Please sign with your dominant hand down below and add a drop of your blood to ratify this contract." That...was remarkable well said for a contract. So I do what it asks, I pull out a pen and sign with my right hand and then chomp on my finger until I see blood. I drip it right next to my signature and the contract glows with purple energy and is devoured in the void we are in. Two screen pops into existence in front of me.
Bahamut has been added to the 'final' summons skill page.
'Final' summons. Active, Level: 1/?(0%) Mp cost: 15,000 per summon. These are your trump cards, the creatures used for the utmost dangerous of situations. They should only be called upon when your death would be assured otherwise, however, they are not a one-shot kill in all situations. Beware for misusing them can lead to your guaranteed defeat, and or summoner's paralysis if you use too much mana five minutes afterward.
Available summons: Bahamut in all forms.
Ok, now that is powerful. It's also, a huge gamble, especially if they somehow miss or more likely, don't even kill the thing I want dead! So as much as I want to abuse this skill to hell and back, I can't risk it. Especially if I get summoner's paralysis, meaning I can't move for a few moments, and in the battles to come a few moments may as well be minutes to a powerful foe.
"So who shall I go after next?" I question myself. Bahamut just pulled up a single portal. I went to it but bounced off.
"The fuck?! Bahamut, was that you?" I asked my partner, who shrugged.
"Wasn't me." He said I tried again only to meet the same result, and a third, and fourth...and fifth….and sixth.
"What the hell is going on?!" I ask, twitching in annoyance and a bit of anger. A screen popped up in front of me, and it made me. Pissed.
Due to being marked for death by Crota, you can't level this skill up. Which means you can't get anymore FF summons until you deal with the upstart demi-god...lesser god? Either way, until Crota is dead you won't be able to make contracts that you would normally be able to make. Bye bye~
….
….
…
…..
….!
"Bahamut, cover your ears," I warn my partner, seething with absolute hatred as waves of darkness came off my body. He does so, I then take a deep breath and say what's on my mind.
[Pov change. Rias third person.]
'Well, that went better than I thought.' Rias thought to herself. She smiled slightly at how well things went, she was sure he would refuse. Since Mores have shown he had no love for her runaway peerage member. She sat back in her chair and sighed, she may be able to relax after-
"Son of a fucking cunt! I'll mount your head upon my fucking mantle! I'll fucking rip you to fucking shreds. You hear me Crota?! I'm coming for you, and there's not a place in existence where you can hide from my fucking wrath and when I'm done butchering you and your fucking kin then I will piss on your corpses you fucking bastards!"
That absolute roar and the subsequent wave of pitch darkness shook the clubhouse like a maraca. Rias had to use magic to not fall back in her seat.
"...Who the hell is Crota, and what did he do to make Mores so pissed off?" Rias wondered aloud, but she knew one thing and that was never, ever, piss off Mores. She thought she learned this lesson a while ago, but nope. It was re-taught to her and she had the fear of God put into her.
"Note to self….never piss off Mores." She said shaking, very glad she wasn't the focal point of that Reaper's anger. A magic circle rang in her ear and Sona was asking her what happened.
"Someone, somewhere, pissed of Mores. I'm just glad that he's not angry at us."
[Pov restored!]
I grounded my teeth to dust, putting a leash on my anger. Reeling it back in, I took a deep breath and let it out. 'Relax, relax, relax, relax.' I chanted to myself, regaining control of my anger. {You have quite the temper partner.} Bahamut chuckled. I roll my eyes but don't deny it. Though it only seems to burn bright when there's an obstacle in my way that I simply can't remove instantly. I hate games that do this, put a leash on the power of the player by some hoity-toity godly figure.
"Well, at least it's not taking away my accomplishments and making me start from scratch, unlike some games that do that in the next installment." I murmur. Making my exit before I burn the academy down by accident. I keep my thoughts calm while I imagine several different ways I will kill him, though I can't exactly plan for it since I have no clue when, where, or even how I'll enter his throne world to kill the bastard for real. Ascendant hive are tricky like that, well, the ones with a throne world at least.
"So, you're the one Albion warned about. The dragon of death and destruction. Truth be told you are a bit skinnier than I expected."
"Look Vali I don't..have...the….patience..?" I turned around and there he was, the white dragon emperor. Right behind me, not fifty feet from the gates of Kuoh Academy. Observe! Observe!
Vali Lucifer.
Titles: White Dragon Emperor. Uncrowned Prince of hell. Battle maniac
Level: 450 currently without the use of sacred gear.
Bio: The grandson to Rizevim Livan Lucifer, aka, Great, great-grandson of the once king of Hell. As you know from the show, he has all but mastered his sacred gear and is working for Orphis in the hopes of slaying Great Red. So...it may not be a good idea to fight him now while you don't stand much a chance against him.
I close the screen with a twitch from my eye. I don't let myself freak out and look Vali in the eye.
"Oh, so your partner warned you about me? I have no idea why he would do that since I have no intention of fighting against you. Also, what do you mean I'm skinnier than you imagined?" I ask him easily. He just smirks and walks up to me, I refuse to gulp or show my nervousness at all. I just retain my lax posture, he can't tell if I'm a threat to him yet, and I know enough about his character he won't fight me unless I interest him more than Issie.
"Bold, I like that. You are interesting but there's a bit much going on right now. So sadly I can't test your skills out for myself but from the way my partner words it. You are quite the up incoming force in Japan." He's nearly in my face, not to close that it's creepy but well within my personal space. Light blue staring at blood red, he closes his eyes and walks past me.
"I can't wait until the opportunity arises that I may fight you. So, get stronger. I'd hate for our fight to be over too quickly now." He whispers into my ear, when I turn around he's already flying off in his balance breaker. Show off. Then a new screen popped in front of me, one I neither expected nor wanted.
You have obtained the Emperor Arcana.
Emperor
Rank: 1/10
Effects: Battle mania. Whenever you spar with the emperor, be that any time anywhere, you gain +5 vit. Bonus +5 strength if you win.
'Are you serious? He's the Emperor arcana? Damn, and if I want to complete that quest I have to hang out with him….I'm going to die aren't I?' I thought somberly. I am not prepared for that. Well...at the very least it's bound to synergize with one of Issie's perks at least. I think it will, hopefully.
"I'm just gonna go home now," I say to myself, walking back home. Trying not to think about it too much, and praying to whatever deity that was listening at the time for me to not meet Orphis yet. I can't deal with that at all.
{Okay, explanation. I had originally planned to do an Omake for this one since it was so hideously short but I couldn't think of anything! Not a thing! So to make up for taking so long for that short chapter, I will do my best to get the next chapter out before the end of the month. Maybe next week if things go well. Bye my crazy fans, and remember. Leave. Comments. Especially if you want to ask me something or wanna see a game series in here that's not very well known and I may have missed. Also if you just want to see an OC of yours make it in here, I can't promise they'll survive since more likely than not they'll get stabbed to death by Mores but hey, I can at least try. See you in a week, hopefully. Ragnorak, out.}