A mild grunt of pain was the first that told the demons around him that something was off, and likewise, the more… subdued expression on Mikazuki's face backed it up as well.
By all means, Augus was never one to show emotion. But even so, now, when they've known him for, say… two months at this point, Alastor, Niffty and Husk have come to figure out how the former pilot would act when in certain states of distress. His lips would twitch upwards a bit whenever he was amused, his brows would furrow a bit more than usual whenever he was annoyed (Alastor was the first to notice this, surprising no one), and when pained, he would usually grunt to show it.
The last one was the most intriguing thing at the moment, however, as Mikazuki rarely ever grunted in pain when he was off the field. At worst, he would only do so whenever he was removing bullets from his limbs, and even then, he rarely ever made a sound as he'd always have himself gagged. Now, however, he wasn't really that injured, but he still appeared and sounded… unwell, so to speak, with him holding onto his still flesh-and-blood right arm all the while.
"Are you alright, Mikazuki?" asked Niffty as she jogged up to him from where she was once sitting, with her jumping up to the spot beside Augus on the couch all the while. Off to the side, Husk, who was still at it with his drinking problem, raised his head up to stare at the two in confusion before taking another sip of his cheap booze while Alastor simply raised his eyes up from one 'Jeffery's Cookbook' to watch what was going on in amusement.
Overall, neither Al' nor Husk seemed to really care about Mikazuki's dilemma, which was to be expected at this point.
"I'm fine, I think," assured Mikazuki half-heartedly as he flexed the fingers on his right hand, to which he winced a little. Niffty took note of this as she reached forwards to place her hand atop Augus' own, and though it was subtle, the mild twitch of the pilot's fingers, coupled with how his lips pursed themselves together a little more than usual, told her that something was off.
"Your arm feels cold…" commented Niffty, more or less breaking Augus' facade of calm with those words of hers as she stared up at him worriedly with her single cycloptic eye. At that, Mikazuki glanced away briefly as he nodded.
"It hurts a little too," admitted Mikazuki briefly as he slouched his shoulders a little, to which Alastor rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he snapped his book shut, seeming more interested in this whole ordeal all the while. Husk didn't seem all that intrigued, though he was willing to watch this go down regardless.
What the cat demon was unaware of, however, was the fact that there was a substantial buildup of demonic energy focused around Mikazuki. The guy was just a little too drunk to really notice at the moment, even if it was incredibly concentrated around the pilot, and likewise, Niffty was unable to notice it either, more so because she was more worried for Augus' current state than she was of noticing something like that.
As for Alastor, however…
"Hm, Niffty, perhaps we should give our intrepid little escort some time alone, hm?" suggested Alastor sharply as he ran a hand along his sharp chin with a grin, eliciting a confused look from the aforementioned cyclops all the while. "Though it may seem bad, I assure you that the pain is nothing more than a minor growth spurt for you, Mikazuki Augus!"
Growth spurt… that thought didn't really mean anything to Mika, who saw it as him potentially gaining an extra metre of height or something of the sort… but vice versa, both Niffty and Husk seemed to be alarmed by this, more so the former than the latter, as they stared at Augus with pity, confusing Mikazuki quite a bit as he stared over at Alastor with a sharper gaze.
And to that, the Radio Demon simply chuckled to himself, with his laughter being backed by some static that Mikazuki has, unfortunately, grown used to at this point. Nothing more was said by him at that point as he shook his head and reopened his book, with him reading through it once more all the while, almost as though nothing had happened, though the same couldn't be said for either Husk or Niffty, who kept their pitiful gazes on the pilot for a brief few moments.
"What…?" asked Mikazuki quietly as he glanced between the two, and though Niffty said nothing in response to his query, Husk simply groaned a little and gave him a warning.
"Nothing, kid. Just… prepare yourself for quite a bit of pain, you got that…?"
To that, Mikazuki simply nodded, with him not exactly sure what the cat demon was getting at all the while. Sure, this pain was annoying, but it wasn't nothing he couldn't handle. Whatever this growth spurt was, Augus reckoned that he's handled worse, and he could probably handle this with just as much ease…
… right?
Pain… so much pain…
His right arm, from his shoulder down to the tips of his fingers, felt as though it had been dipped in molten magma, and that in itself was more than enough to make the pilot grit his teeth in anguish as he laid on the couch with a pained look on his face.
At first Augus had assumed that he could weather the pain… though by now, it had gotten so bad that he found himself unable to move his limb, with every twitch of his arm causing him immense pain to the point where he contemplated amputating the limb. Alastor found that prospect to be incredibly enticing, as he commented on it being a good source of potential nutrition, though thankfully enough, Husk was able to talk Mika out of slicing his limb off when the Radio Demon suggested it.
Regardless, Mikazuki's new injury had essentially crippled him to the point of being unable to act as Barbatos or Alastor's personal assistant, and when he reported this to the former, he was surprised to hear that the Duke didn't seem to mind. If anything, he was rather nonchalant about it, though he attributed it more towards Barbatos not really caring about him as much as he used to than anything.
Surprisingly enough, however, aside from him considering eating his arm, Alastor didn't seem too indifferent to Mikazuki's plight. If anything, him still allowing him to stay at his Radio Station was a kindness that Mika didn't even expect to receive from the guy, and though he would never admit to it, he still felt some form of gratitude towards the Radio Demon for that unexpected act of hospitality.
The Radio Demon's response to his words was a simple smile, one that seemed softer than the smiles he tended to give, before he pinched the former pilot's cheek in a somewhat playful manner, something that annoyed him a little, though the pain from his arm trumped his annoyance at that point.
Niffty was, somewhat unsurprisingly, worried for the pilot's wellbeing. The little cyclops stayed by his side at all times, typically offering her help whenever possible, something that did warm the pilot's cold, dead heart quite a bit as he typically thanked her by patting her head, though aside from that, he wasn't able to show his gratitude properly due to the pain in his arm. Granted, the guy probably wouldn't be able to show it properly even without the pain anyways.
Husk, on the other hand… was still Husk. Drunk, rather uninterested in the pilot's whole ordeal and usually passed out, as per usual, though according to Niffty, the cat demon did (somewhat begrudgingly) provide Mika some help with the few jobs he had been issued by Barbatos whilst he was out of commission, at one point returning half drunk and somewhat injured. Niffty had mentioned that it would be fine as long as he got his share of his payment after Augus' arm was better, and Mikazuki would make sure that the cat demon got some cheap booze as extra compensation for his help.
The pain had lasted for… more or less for three days, with the pain intensifying tenfold with each passing day, though throughout most of that ordeal, the pilot had refused to show any actual pain outside of the occasional grimace.
And yet… at the end of the third day, when the skin on his arm began splitting apart to make way for the flesh and blood that laid beneath it, he couldn't keep it in.
The pilot vaguely remembered how it happened like it was yesterday, with him just sitting on the couch on the Alastor's radio station, with the aforementioned Radio Demon by the side, reading some book involving some sort of human sacrifice or something while Niffty offered him a cup of what was hopefully water. He was still unused to being coddled in such a way, though he still accepted the cup from the diminutive demoness, who smiled as he took it with his Lupus Rex arm.
And yet, the moment she had released the cup, Mika widened his eyes as a massive amount of pain began surging through his regular flesh and blood arm, so much so that the former pilot widened his eyes in shock and crushed the cup in his Lupus Rex hand. Before the shards could hit the ground, however, enough pain surged through his arm to make the pilot lose his usually calm demeanor.
Slowly but surely, the former pilot's mild groans of pain made way for a loud chorus of anguished wailing, and as this happened, Niffty couldn't help but gasp as she leaned forward to check on her colleague. Before she could do so, however, Alastor brought his microphone cane up to block the diminutive demoness from getting any closer to Augus as he dropped off the side of the couch and clutched onto his flesh arm.
"Now now, Niffty. You and I both know that this is standard for whenever this happens. Just leave little Augus be for now. After all, you could be unintentionally hurt by him if you get too close," suggested Alastor, with him smiling a little as he patted Niffty over the head. And while she did obey the command of her boss, the little demon couldn't help but feel just a little guilty as she watched Mika grab his regular arm with his Lupus Rex limb, crying out in pain as the sound of skin tearing and flesh ripping apart could be heard.
Through it all, Niffty couldn't help but feel her heart clench a little as she averted her gaze from the pilot's bleeding form, though all the while, Alastor found himself grinning just a bit more than he usually did as he listened to Augus' anguished screams.
Such an uncommon sound from the former pilot was meant to be savoured, after all…
Several long, agonizing minutes passed before the sound of skin and flesh tearing apart subsided, and by then, Husk had returned from god knows where, with him stepping into Alastor's radio station and slamming the door behind him all the while.
Once he was in, however, the cat demon wasn't exactly prepared to see Mikazuki lying unconscious in a pool of his own blood in the middle of the living room, much less how Niffty was actually ignoring the blood that pooled itself onto the ground, with her attention being solely diverted onto Mika as he laid there on his side.
"What the fuck happened here?" grumbled Husk, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he dropped the bottle of cheap booze he had on him, with him burying his face in his now free hand all the while, with his fingers spread apart just enough for him to glare at Alastor through them. "Oi, Radio cunt. Mind spilling the beans? Didja get hungry and decide to eat the fucker?"
"I could explain, or you could see for yourself," suggested Alastor, not looking away from his book as he spoke. The sarcasm in his voice was rather obvious, though Husk didn't comment on it as he watched the Radio Demon conjure up a portal, allowing a tentacle to emerge from it and point down at a particular spot on Mikazuki that was shielded from view. Husk didn't like the sound of that, though he nodded as he approached Mika, with Niffty glancing up at him as he did.
"So, uh, mind tellin' me…" muttered Husk, only to trail off when he noticed that something about Mika was off.
Specifically… it was how the pilot's left arm looked…
"... what the fuck is this?" muttered Husk, frowning as he crouched down to look at Mika's new left arm in shock. His response was nothing more than silence from Niffty and a mild chuckle from Alastor, something that didn't bode well with him as he turned to glare at the guy. "Hey, I asked a fuckin' question! Mind giving me an answer?!"
"Ah, well you see, Husker ol' pal," began Alastor, smiling as per usual while Husk glared at the Radio Demon, an unsavoury frown on his lips as he listened. If he were any more focused, the guy would've noticed the slight hints of concern building up in the Radio Demon's voice as he spoke.
Not for Mikazuki, of course… but more so for himself, as he took note of the massive spike of demonic energy that had rippled through Pentagram City as Augus' arm had undergone its transformation. There was no doubt in his mind that others would take note of it as well, and the other Overlords would more than likely be interested in investigating him further in the future.
And likewise, if this kept up, well… it was very likely that they may come to blows soon, a prospect that Alastor was really not looking forward to as, despite his experience and prowess, the demonic energy buildup present in the former pilot was… worrying, so much so that the Radio Demon's smile twitched a little as he acknowledged just how close his strength was to his at the moment…
… though as per usual, he hid his thoughts with a smile as he spoke.
"Mikazuki is simply growing up!"
Mikazuki had woken up roughly a day after his arm had undergone its… transformation, so to speak, with him groaning a little as he sat up on his bed in one of Alastor's guest rooms.
Augus' room in particular was mostly blank, with its red walls left blank and with the bare essentials decorating the place. A single cabinet held all his Tekkadan jackets, pants and blue inner shirt, and another held several (hundred) pistol clips in reserve. Aside from that, there was the aforementioned bed… and that was it.
Mika did enjoy living simple, after all.
Regardless, the moment his eyes cracked open, the pilot immediately realized that something was wrong, though that in itself wasn't hard to notice when he saw that Husk, of all demons, appeared worried about him as he sat by the edge of his bed. Likewise, Niffty too appeared rather relieved that he had woken up as well, with her having been sitting atop his chest prior to his waking. Alastor didn't seem to care, really, as he stood by the door with his cane held in his hands. Figures, Mika reckoned, considering how he was nothing more than entertainment to the Radio Demon.
"Ah, you're awake, Mikazuki," greeted Alastor as Augus sat himself upright, frowning as he shook his head. As he did so, Niffty blinked her eye and slid off the former pilot's chest, with her landing on his lap before she jumped up to her feet, with her standing directly on his lap, and squeezed Mikazuki's cheeks between her palms.
"Mikazuki, are you feeling alright?! When your arm exploded I thought you were done for, but it was just natural growth and all that! But even so, you lost a shitton of blood! And your new arm looks cool! What is it based on? Could you-" rambled Niffty, confusing Mika to no end as he simply glanced at the little cyclops. His head ached something fierce as he listened to the girl speak, though after some time, Husk apparently took pity on him as he grabbed Niffty by the collar of her shirt and lifted her off Mikazuki's lap.
"Hey now, Niffty. The kid just woke up. Leave em the fuck alone," grumbled Husk, not sounding drunk for once as he glared at the aforementioned girl in his hand. The cyclops seemed to understand as she nodded a little apologetically, and at that, Husk sighed. "But regardless, you feelin' peachy, kid? Your new arm feeling alright?"
And at that, Mika simply raised his regular hand up to his head and rubbed it in confusion, with him not knowing what Husk was getting at all the while…
… only to pause briefly when he realized how… cold the side of his palm felt when it made contact with the side of his head.
"...what…?" muttered the pilot as he glanced at his left arm, only to widen his eyes when he saw what it looked like.
Instead of the usual rough, sunbaked skin that he was used to, Mikazuki's arm was now, for the lack of a better term, the arm Barbatos, or more specifically the arm of its first form. His actual arm was now the inner frame of Barbatos, pre-Lupus upgrade, and the outer armor was that of its first form, with the pure white upper and lower arm armour. Unlike his Lupus Rex arm, his new left arm had no shoulderpad, with just the inner frame skeleton hanging off it, and the most noteworthy thing was the light blue gauntlet that rested on the outer side of the forearm armour, and as of now, it was so shiny that Mika could see his own reflection on it.
For a moment, Mikazuki simply eyed his new left arm, his expression unreadable as he did so, with Husk and Niffty both looking somewhat curious as to how he'd react to it after the initial shock had worn off. Hell, even Alastor was glancing in his general direction with an expecting smirk.
That smirk did admittedly falter a little when Mika simply snorted, however.
"Hm," muttered Augus, clenching and unclenching his new left hand, with the sound of metal gently shifting against metal somewhat audible as he did so. Rather gently, the former pilot tapped his Lupus Rex claws against the gauntlet of his new arm, with him grunting a little when he noted how durable it sounded as he did so. If anything, it was probably able to tank a minor magical attack if needed. "Neat."
And to that, the Radio Demon couldn't help but let out a slightly disappointed chuckle.
"Well, that was rather anticlimactic," quipt Alastor as he reached his hand up to adjust his monocle, though Mikazuki pointedly ignored his comment as he kept his gaze on his new arm.
"How did this happen?" asked Mika, with him still ignoring Alastor as he clenched his new left hand into a fist, feeling rather surprised at how natural it felt to move his new mechanical limb, though then again, his Lupus Rex arm moved just as well as his old one, so he supposed that this was to be expected…
"Well, you see, you lil fuck. When, uh… when you first come down to Hell and all that…'' muttered Husk after a few moments of contemplation, with him rubbing his chin all the while as he spoke. He didn't seem to know how to put what he wished to say into words, and Niffty herself also seemed somewhat unsure of what to say, though thankfully enough, Mika was patient, and as such, he silently waited for an answer.
… one that came from a rather unlikely source.
"If I may?" came the vaguely familiar voice of Alastor's sentient microphone cane, catching everyone's attention as they turned towards the aforementioned cane. Even Alastor himself appeared somewhat surprised that his cane had spoken up so abruptly, though he didn't see any reason to stop it as he held it up, allowing Augus to hear it better. "Ah, thank you my good chap!"
Alastor chuckled in response, with the microphone speaking up as soon as his chuckle ended.
"Now, Mr Mikazuki, do you remember when I told you about demon biology way back when?" inquired the cane, to which the former pilot nodded, prompting it to continue. "Good, that makes things easier for me. Now, do you recall what happens whenever you kill a demon?"
"... I absorb some of their essence," muttered Mika, with him already knowing where this was getting at as he spoke, to which the cane chuckled.
"Indeed! Simply put, you've absorbed so much excess demonic energy that… well, to put it simply, you were ready to burst! Your new limb was simply your body developing further in response to your new limbs, and all things considered, you came out relatively unscathed! I've seen demons have their entire bodies ripped in half to make way for eldritch abominations when they've reached their limits!" confirmed the microphone cane with a jovial chuckle as it spoke, and at that, Mikazuki nodded in acknowledgement… though before long, he got a thought and glanced over towards Husk and Niffty with raised brows.
The two were quick to notice his gaze, as the cat demon rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, already understanding the unspoken question all the while.
"I had a bitchin 'beard before all this, just so you know," quipt Husk rather sarcastically, with him grinning sharply whilst puffing his chest out in a rather prideful manner whilst Niffty chuckled softly.
"I think I was a little taller," added Niffty, holding both hands behind her back as she nodded. "I… don't exactly remember, though. It's been… how long has it been…? I forgot."
"Well being' down here in Hell does make your memory fuzzy, that much I can confirm!" proclaimed the microphone, with Alastor rolled his eyes as he chuckled, half agreeing with that statement as the sentient cane continued speaking. "But besides the point! Thanks to the excess demonic energy surging through you, you've grown much stronger than you once were, and outside of your new limb, you should see at least a 10% increase in strength, among other things, by the time you fully recover from this."
"Ah," was all Mika could really say at this point, glancing at his Barbatos arm as he nodded. The microphone seemed to be surprised at how well Mika was taking all this new info, though he didn't comment on it as he continued.
"They say that a majority of the demonic enhancements that Sinners go through in their afterlife are typically tied to their misdeeds whilst they were still living," pointed out the microphone, prompting Augus to raise a brow. "If I may, what exactly did you do to get an arm like that?"
And to that, Mika couldn't help but offer a mild frown as he clenched his new left fist up tightly. Via his peripheral vision, the pilot noticed that Niffty was jogging up to his side, and before long, she was examining his new arm with great interest.
"For once, I'm with the Radio fucker, or at least I'm with his microphone, anyways. I know you piloted a robot and all that, but for you to use it so much that it's come to define who you are in Hell? What the Hell did you do to form such a deep connection to it?" inquired Husk as eyed the former pilot critically.
Off to the side, Alastor himself also appeared curious, as evident by how he was glancing in their general direction, his grin slightly sharper and with an eyebrow quirked up. Hell, his microphone also seemed curious as to why Mika's arm had become like this…
And to that, Mika couldn't help but shrug a little, with him glancing at his new left hand as Niffty stared at her reflection on his new gauntlet.
"Sins… save…? That… is not for you to decide."
For something to define him so intensely that it literally became a part of him in Hell…
"Barbatos… hold nothing back… give me all that you have…"
Perhaps…
"Not enough… more… more… more. Give me more…. Barbatos!"
The pilot offered a small smile as he found his answer, and as small as it was, his smile was noticeable enough to make Husk, Alastor and the sentient microphone perk up in surprise.
"Hey, robo limbs, what's so funny?" inquired Husk with a raised brow, prompting Mika to shake his head as he rubbed his Lupus Rex hand against the metal plating of his legs, scratching them up a little all the while.
"Come on, Barbatos. I'll remove these bothersome chains for you. That's our prey, our enemy, and we can't hold back against it. So show me…
"Show me your true power…"
"It's nothing, Husk," assured Mika, closing his eyes as he shook his head, wiping the smile off his face as he reopened them and glanced over at Husk.
"We… can't stop yet… right, Barbatos? You… don't wish for that, don't you?"
The cat demon seemed a little unsure at that response, though he ended up begrudgingly nodding a little as Mikazuki raised his new arm up to eye level, glancing at the white armour rather nostalgically whilst pointedly ignoring how Niffty was clinging onto it all the while.
"Let's do it then… let's howl together… one last time…"
"This arm, I like it! It's shiny and clean! Keep it that way!" proclaimed Niffty with a smile, and at that, Mika nodded.
"I like it too Niffty, and I'll try to keep it clean…" replied the pilot as Alastor chuckled, his smirk growing in size as Augus sighed.
'I guess even before now, Barbatos is still with me.'
Oh damn he has a new arm!
What more will he get?! Find out more in eventual chapters!
Mikazuki's Demonic changes: entire right arm and both his legs (until his knees) are that of Barbatos Lupus Rex, and his entire left arm is Barbatos' (Season 1) arm, specifically Form 1 with the gauntlet.
