Chapter 95 - Epic Climax
FLASH!
A small flash erupted within a forest, one that vanished seconds later. Though, it did not leave without leaving nothing behind to indicate it had happened, as a certain group of three reappeared there, in the physical world, but outside Leoric's Manor about 20 miles away. Having of course, been teleported out of there by the actions of one. The Moment they did so, IF turned to MAGES. with a look of confusion and anger on her features, shining like the lights of a lighthouse. Fury coursed through her at both her actions, and what Crimson Soul just did. "Hey, what the hell? Why didn't you wait for him to finish?" she demanded to know from MAGES in a heated manner.
In contrast, the Mad Magician didn't look nearly as emotion, coolly answering IF's question as she controlled her breathing. This was accompanied by her leaning on her staff slightly, though not being too noticeable. Despite Stefan enhancing her Mana Reserves, that Spell took a lot of her power. Therefore, she'd likely not be able to cast much high tier magic like that again for a while. At least, if she didn't get some good rest soon enough. "He wanted us to leave the vicinity, so he could focus on the enemy. It wasn't directly said but was implied." MAGES. replied, frowning as she looked over to the Manor. Her eyes glanced over it's structure, her gaze a complex one that IF didn't really bother paying attention to. "I only confirmed this when he looked to my direction. He didn't want us nearby for some reason."
Stefan, was currently leaned his armour-clad body against a tree's trunk while Ashbringer leaned Against the same tree beside him, spoke up before IF could say any more, as she had been about to open her mouth anyways, probably to refute that claim or something. "Before you say anything, I too had my suspicions. Ever since we saw him swing that sword and carve that slash through the Chamber, I saw a light in his eyes. It was obvious to me that he wanted to see how far that sword's destructive powers could go, but he didn't want us to be nearby when he did. He didn't want any casualties on his side of the battle." Stefan explained.
Honestly, seeing this type of action made him slightly less afraid of the demonic form that Nico had taken. Demons weren't particularly caring for others, he'd seen that a few times whenever he saw a couple Demons try to eat each other and devour each other's souls. The fact that this one even bothered to care about their safety showed him that there was a difference between him and them. Not like he would completely trust it, oh no that would wait to be seen, however so far it was off to a decent start. Plus, there would be answers to give later.
Depending on those answers, he'd decide whether or not to report it to the public.
Meanwhile, IF tried to say something, anything, to counter what they said. Maybe it was irrational of her, but she just couldn't help but be furious with what just happened. No, that wasn't quite right, she supposed frustrated and annoyed fit her current state of mid better. IF wasn't some damsel in distress, she was a warrior, she was a mercenary! She wasn't someone who had to be coddled like a pretty wallflower. Therefore, being sent out of the battle like that really didn't help her wounded pride.
Then again, as much as she hated this course of action, IF grudgingly admitted to herself that those two made good points. She too had noticed the way Crimson Soul looked when he made that slash after transforming. To her, it looked like things had changed, at least in regards to his abilities, and he wanted to test just how much those things had changed. However, out of all of the Party, it would likely be Crimson Soul who knew the exact nature of his powers the best. Therefore, he must have seen that it would have been too risky to have them nearby when he unleashed his power, whatever that may be. Still though, that wouldn't save him from her ire when he got back…
WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!
In an instant, the Party became drawn to the Manor of King Leoric, or rather, what would be the remains of it when the entire thing got consumed when a massive, and by massive they meant COLLOSSAL pillar of pure black Hellfire with a red outline exploded all around it. it was like they were looking at the core of the sun itself, burning with righteous fury and wrath, no sense of mercy or gentleness to be seen. The Manor got trapped within it's infernal embrace, and from what they could see everything within it began melting faster than an ice scream in the middle of a hot desert. Heat roared like a lion as it swept across the surroundings, almost setting everything around the pillar of Hellfire alight with it's scorching touch, leaving nothing but ashes in it's wake. Instead, all the trio could do was cover their faces with their arms from the hot, dry winds that erupted from the pillar, nothing but sheer helplessness coursing through them at the spectacle before them.
"Holy…"
"By Lady Green Heart…"
IF and Stefan gaped at what they saw, their eyes wider than dinner plates while their individual powers receded inside of them. IF no longer wore her armour, her arms returned to a human's, and Stefan no longer radiated the holy power that came from Ashbringer. No, it would make more sense to say that the spectacle happening before their very eyes, brought those powers up and smacked down on them till they were forced to submit to it's might. Never before had the two felt so small, so helpless and insignificant before the presence of something like this, never in their lives.
The brunette had to wonder though, if she stayed with the Party then would more moments like these come up in the future?
…
…
…
Probably.
Meh, she could deal with that.
Part of her wondered where all that anger she felt before suddenly ran off too. That point soon became moot.
"I believe…" MAGES. began as she witnessed the flames. Her eyes wandered across the flames outer edges, where the crimson outlines lay as they flared about like a wild berserker. The amount of power she was sensing… it felt like an ever-expanding abyss, trying to swallow everything within it's vicinity into it's ever expanding maw. She could hardly feel anything within the mass of power as it coursed over her senses. In all her years as a Magician, MAGES. hadn't felt anything like this power before. It felt so large, so vast… yet also raw, primal, savage and bloodthirsty, only held back by one overriding will. A will that had to be considered particularly powerful in order to hold all this power like it was. Nevertheless, she indeed had an idea of who had been the one causing such a phenomenon. "That none of us would have been alive if we had stayed in that place…"
All of them could only nod in agreement with her…
Then, they noticed something coming out of the flames.
Eyes opened slowly, a pained groan escaping his lips. One Nico groaned as his form stirred, though he had no idea why. The teen shook his head to clear the cobwebs from his mind, and then looked about to find himself within the centre of the Coliseum, the one that was housed within his Inner World. Not something he honestly expected to happen, but then again, what else was new at this point? Still though, what the hell? Why the hell was he here?
"I see you have finally awakened, Nico. Good."
The familiar aged, wisdom-filled voice of his demon persona echoed within his ears and throughout the entirety of the coliseum, filling him with a sense of security and warmth that wasn't all that different from whenever he used his Hellfire. Only, it didn't burn away at him like it did on his enemies. Nico quickly stood to his feet and twirled around, noticing that the source was standing on top of one of the stands nearby, looking sown at him with his ever-emotionless stare. His wings tucked themselves in behind him, with one of Soul Edge's dual swords from it's said form strapped diagonally to his back by, from what Nico could sense, demonic power. Judging by his posture, though it was quite difficult to tell for those who didn't know Biko as well as Nico did, the teen found that something must have happened, something big.
With what he had on hand, Nico chose the right questions to ask first. "If I'm here, that must mean I fell unconscious, right?" he asked him. "The only thing I could think of that would make me fall unconscious like this would be something to do with my demonic powers." He theorized, before looking back up towards his demon persona. "So, did I get it right?"
Biko furrowed his brows, not offering any other type of sign for him. "Close, but not quite." He replied, hopping into the air before flaring his wings. This allowed him to glide down to the stadium floor, but he just remained floating above it while facing the main aspect. "It is a combination of subjects that lead to you coming here, in truth. The fact that you have been in constant combat for a prolonged time period, the fact that you spent the majority of the time using your Devil Arms, even multiple different ones. The fact that Soul Edge was used in both it's weaker and true form in such close intervals, as well as the quick usage of your DDD form, resulted in the strain on your body being too much. With how you have just regained your powers, and how long it's been since your body used it, the strain DDD put on you was considerable. Then, there was the prolonged use of multiple Devil Arms throughout this battle, and I say that taking into all the foes you have fought in this place. You are used to using them once or twice, and in this case, you were only using them when they weren't giving you their full power. Now though, your body bore the full brunt of the strain from them, your newly regained DPU Form, as well as from Soul Edge."
Nico had to wince at what he was told, just from his words alone Nico could imagine the type of strain his body had been put under. That, and what he didn't mention was the release of his hidden weapon. The fact that he had used it at all, meant that his body had been busy trying to adjust to what he would allow it to be like. That was even amongst the burden his body must have been under when he used his Devil Arms, and to top it all off, he'd used Soul Edge in it's weakened state, plus his Hellfire DPU powers, and lastly Soul Edge in it's true form. It just seemed like a bunch of building blocks that kept piling on over his shoulders, and his body must have finally been unable to support the combined weight. That was what he got from Biko's explanation, something that the teen winced on.
He figured the only reason he'd lasted so long was a mix of willpower and adrenaline. There had been a LOT of combat scenarios now that he thought about it, so he wouldn't have felt if his body was succumbing to the strain Devil Arms put on him.
That was the thing with Devil Arms, they usually put massive strains on the body of the host they wielded, that was something Nico had found out the hard way when he first found and equipped Rebellion. It had felt painful at first, so painful like being tossed inside a human shredder, then stitched back together. Ever since, he always felt the weight that the Devil Arm placed on him, even when he put it in his Void Storage, like it would always be there on his back, ready and waiting for the chance to be used once more.
Then, his mind wandered over to the rest of the group, most common among them being IF and Tekken. A bunch of questions ran through his mind all at once, but they most revolved around the following: What happened to them? Were they Alright? Did they survive? Panic filled his lungs at the thought of failing his comrades, if he were to have failed them when he'd vowed not to, then Nico surely would have died of madness. Oh yeah, he'd feel VERY Certain of that.
Biko however, seemed to know his thoughts however, as he raised a placating hand in the teen's direction. "Do not be alarmed, those whom you travelled with are alright, that young Magician, MAGES. I believe her name is, managed to get them out before things got out of hand. Aside from some wounded pride, your comrades are otherwise unharmed." He explained, getting a loud sigh of relief from the male.
"I see… Well, that's something, then. Glad they're aright… wait, what happened? Last thing I remember was a burst of flame and then…"
"When we fought that Butcher, you unleashed a large portion of Soul Edge's destructive power, and from that the entire underground dungeon, it's levels, and the Mar itself was destroyed, throwing you out of it unconscious and back in human form. Fortunately for us, our body will just need rest to regather its strength. Because you have already had prior experience with the strain Devil Arms place on you, and the usage of your Demonic powers helped lessen the burden somewhat, it isn't as serious as it could have been. By the time that you wake up, you should be at full power, 100% at last." Now THAT was something Nico had to look forward to, and it showed by the small smirk on his lips and the eager glint in his eye. For the first time since this journey of his began, Nico wasn't nerfed in any way. He didn't lose his Armour (he willingly gave it to Tekken to get medical treatment) and he'd regained his full powers though it deemed that he would need to readjust to them if he wanted to use them effectively. A small price to pay in his book. "Now that we have our Powers back in full, we can now commence with the training."
Now THAT got his attention. "Whoa, whoa, time out." Nico exclaimed, waving his arms in front of him in a placating manner. "I thought you said my body was in too much strain and needed to recover."
Biko indeed nodded at this statement. "I did say that. However, the physical and mental data sent to your body, for this once, will be gathered up first before being sent to it, so as to not break what has just been mended. This was changed by myself so we can get started with your training as soon as you arrived into your inner world." Biko explained, reaching behind him and drawing Soul Edge. "For now, I will send you data on your current Skillset, for your Soul Edge now has a series of new powers that need to be discussed."
A large stream of information got sent into Nico's head, and the teen had to grit his teeth while holding the side of his skull lest it shatter upon the transfer of what felt like a treasure trove of knowledge. Yet, despite the pain he felt like he was inn, the teenage Spec Ops Agent felt like he could understand it all as clear as crystal:
Soul Edge
Soul Edge – Crimson Soul's weapon, but most certainly not the weakest. It is a demonic sword much like the ones his human form wields, however it is significantly more powerful and has high variation in its abilities. It has the appearance of a giant sword with demonic crimson flesh filling the blunt side of the blade. At the base of the hilt, there was a yellow slitted eye with one side of the sword featured a fleshy blade with a metallic edge. It has a varied amount of abilities that stem from the eye at the hilt's base, such as forming and releasing Fireballs from the tip, beams that are released from the metallic edge once its coated in flames that home in on their target, as well as unleashed a fiery trail of flames along the ground that stretches to over 30 feet tall. Once Nico's Hellfire powers are fully unlocked, they can be applied to Soul Edge for increased attack power.
· Shapeshifting – Depending on the style of combat Crimson Soul wishes, Soul Edge can change its form to suit its master's needs. It can turn into a series of deadly weapons for various situations, these weapons being:
1. Hammer – In Hammer form, Soul Edge manifests a long, crimson shaft made from demonic flesh, small slitted eyes scattered through the shaft save for the hardened chitin grips. Its end is reminiscent of a single-ended bushing hammer, with a rear end shaped like a twisted, wicked curved claw. Between the two ends is a large slitted eye, while demonic growth keeps the metallic ends attached to the shaft.
2. Cleaver – Soul Edge takes the form of a two-handed Cleaver, rivalling its base form in length. Its main blade is organic and crimson, with its Eye located at the end of the weapon, while it sported a multi-curved metallic edge for slashing.
3. Dual Swords – Both swords had the same fleshy grips, with handguards that had human skulls built in, their heads sporting curved demonic horns that curved around the fleshy hilts. Above the skulls were wide open eyes, akin to Soul Edge's large sword-like form. The sides of the handguards were crimson chitinous fingers merged together to form a pair of demonic wings, with the main blades protruding from the base of the Skulls' chins. Each blade was an identical length of a sword, composed mostly of crimson metal but had fleshy interiors.
4. Sword/Shield – Soul Edge manifests as a demonic crimson Shield with a single slitted eye at the top, with two demonic wings protruding from the sides. Soul Edge also manifests a longsword-shaped sword with a single eye on the hilt's centre. Two large wings protruding from both sides while its blade had a wide base, but narrowed all the way to the tip.
5. Axe – In Axe form, Soul Edge becomes a two-handed Axe with two blades on its end, each blade sporting double ends. The blunt sides of the blades are fleshy, with metallic edges, with 1 eye each at the base of the blades. The shaft is crimson red and chitinous.
6. Bow – As a Bow, Soul Edge's power focuses more on ranged attacks, leaving the wielder open for close combat. However, that is only if the weapon lets them get close enough, for in this form Soul Edge forms crimson harpoon shaped arrows from it's flesh while the string is pulled back, arrows that can be empowered with Hellfire for added damage. The damage these arrows do normally, is rivalling to the shell of a Tankl's main gun. When they were released however, that's when their true power is shown. The longer the distance between the arrow and target, the stronger the Arrows become as the energies inside them accumulate, leading to them being potentially able to level entire buildings or armies from a safe distance. In this form, Soul Edge has the form of a traditional Longbow, but with demonic flesh for the base, an entrails-like string, and multiple eyes.
7. Beyblade – When in this form, Soul Edge becomes a purely metallic 8-bladed Beyblade, with the blunt sides being a demonic red with the edges being silver. They form in layers of 2, and rotate in different directions for better cutting power. Soul Edge in Beyblade form, rotates so fast when thrown that it can warp space around it, making it incredibly difficult for people to block it. Not only that, but this form can split into 4 smaller versions, at the cost of rotating power, to attack from multiple angles.
8. Gauntlets/Greeves – For CQC Purposes, Soul Edge can transform into a set of Gauntlets and Greeves. These cover his arms from the hands to the elbow and were shaped like a demonic Knight's, coloured orange. The hands have dark red chitinous curved talons, and the feet have 3 toed claws. They were purely metallic in design like the Beyblade, with the signature eyes on the back of the hands and on the sides of the calves. As an added bonus, the Greeves can deploy bone-like Chainsaws from the wrists, which constantly crackle with demonic energy, or any element Nico knows. As for the Greeves, they were built to kick pieces of mountain ranges away and not leave a mark, as well as sported crescent leg blades on the outside sides of the feet, which have the same abilities as the Chainsaws when deployed. When deployed, they flip from facing up to his waist to the direction the soles are facing.
9. Reaper Mode – Against Maghda, Crimson Soul unleashes Soul Edge's Reaper Mode, something that he uses exclusively when he is in human form. When this is activated, Soul Edge's for manifests as four large wings, both shaped like a demonic crow and made from its fleshy growth. From the base of the spine, more growth forms a Tail with a bladed spear-like edge which as trhe signature eye of Soul Edge at the base and his arms have demonic growth spread over them, his fingers elongated into metallic, longsword-length claws.
· Telekinetic control – Crimson Soul can manipulate Soul Edge with his mind, making it attack by itself while he focused on other abilities. After the retrieval of IF Arc, this ability develops into one where Soul Edge can use telekinesis on the surroundings, including other weapons. It could move itself and act like a companion and not just like a weapon, attacking the enemy by itself while Nico/Crimson Soul uses different tactics. Though, this runs the weakness of not having access to some abilities like Uranai since its not within its wielder's grasp.
· Soul Eater – When defeating enemies, Soul Edge can devour their essence or souls, placing them within itself and condemning them to eternal torment that serves to increase its power. The more Souls it feeds on, the stronger it becomes. It can even take in multiple souls at a time.
· Devil's Blessing – Soul Edge infuses a large portion of its collective rage within its wielder, refuelling their energy reserves at the cost of it losing its own. This however, has the drawback of draining the user's stamina, thus Crimson Soul has to be wary of using this ability.
· Astral Plane – Soul Edge exists on more than just the physical plane of existence, it also exists on the Astral plane as well. This means that ordinary weapons cannot harm it unless they exist on such a plane as well.
· Scorching Aura – A debuffing ability. Soul Edge can brandish a fierce crimson glow around itself as a show of intimidation where its power radiates from it like a thick miasma of disease. The sight of this ability makes people question going up against it by drawing their gaze to its form like a magnet and forcing the image of its eye on them in to their minds, slowing down their mobility and decreasing their attack power.
· Predator – When faced with a powerful opponent, Soul Edge hungers for action, the stronger the opponent, the more power that it exerts through its form and its wielder. Therefore, the stronger the opponent, the stronger its power is multiplied by its own bloodlust. This also makes controlling it for his human form Nico increasingly difficult, however his mental fortitude thanks to his other Devil Arms assists him in handling the blade when this ability automatically activates. Another ability it has allows it to devour any energy/magic/demonic power-based attacks, using them to refuel its power.
· Blood Rage – Soul Edge's eye locks it's gaze onto the opponent, influences the target, shutting down their higher brain functions to disable their magic abilities while making them fight more like a berserker.
· Blutsucker – This ability can only be activated if and when the opponents weapon is touching Soul Edge. When activated, it releases large waves of demonic energy into its opponent, ripping trough them and causing moderate internal injuries.
· Akuma no me (Eye of the Devil) – This ability is an active type, meaning Nico has to activate it himself. The Akuma No Me ability allows Soul Edge to 'look' into the enemy's soul and constantly feed the user information about the next move. This allows him time to come up with a means to counter, and as long as the ability remains active then Nico has knowledge of what the enemy plans to do before they've even decided on it. However, this ability is downgraded outside of its true form, only analysing one attack before the ability has to be activated again. When in Soul Edge's true form, this ability is permanently activated so Crimson Soul is constantly aware of the opponent's next move.
· True form – When going Berserker Mode for the first time, Soul Edge changes to its true form, still a massive Greatsword, but it lacks eyes, has 2 edges with the blade's middle being a row of long, pointed teeth. It has a semi-circular guard around the hilt that was shaped like a talon, with a shorter version opposite it. In this form, Soul Edge's full power is unleashed, and every DPU Ability is radically increased in strength. After exposure to Berserker Mode, Soul Edge retains this form when used by Crimson Soul, however it can appear to his human form in its base Greatsword form, with all its abilities. Nico notes that Soul Edge was ten times more difficult and resilient to control in this state than any of his Devil Arms, however he displays great willpower in keeping it in line while he uses it. In this form, it's destructive power is intensified tenfold, whereas in it's weaker form it's power would be enough to cause craters at minimum, at best being able to small buildings, Soul Edge's true form can destroy large buildings like skyscrapers at minimum, and at max it could potentially level an entire city.
By the time the information influx ended, Nico gasped with a huge intake of oxygen as he fell to one knee, planting a hand onto the ground while breathing heavily sweat rolling down his forehead while his eyes went wide as saucers. Nevertheless, this could hardly contain the amount of shock, disbelief and awe coursing through his system at the knowledge circulating through his brain. The things he just found out, the things he realised Soul Edge could do now… holy shit, holy fucking SHIT! "Is this… really…?"
For his part, Biko simply nodded, not at all fazed by the revelations that Soul Edge had just gotten a MAJOR overhaul in it's abilities. "Indeed, which links into something else I wish to inform you of: When you fought that Butcher, Soul Edge's powers resulted in a Pillar of energy that practically destroyed not only it, but the entire dungeon as well, including all it's levels. The sheer destructive powers this sword possesses means you will need to train extra hard to master it's true form. For that form is also it's most destructive, and we both know what your feelings are on overly destructive weapons."
On that, Nico could only nod. That was his sole reaction to that statement.
Biko then continued. "One such ability you will need to be aware of is SOUL EATER, in which like it says, Soul Edge eats the souls of it's victims, trapping them inside it for eternity. They are constantly harmed and healed through the use of it's energy, which in turn fuels it's destructive powers and other abilities. In the case of that butcher however, that Soul was much larger than what a normal soul would have been thanks to it being consisted of multiple beings merged together. Therefore, Sul Edge devoured more than one soul that day. Summon it, and see for yourself."
Nico raised a brow at Biko's words. He couldn't help but be a little cautious about those words, especially those last ones. Usually when one tells another to 'see for themselves' it usually didn't end well for the second party. Though like the saying goes 'Actions speak louder than words'. Still, Nico decide to trust his demon persona on this one, he hadn't lead him astray so far, and they were pretty much student/teacher at this point. Holding his hand out in front of him, Nico closed his eyes and looked deep within himself, expecting to have to search through an empty void until he found the right signature. That was how he remembered summoning the weakened form of Soul Edge before, so why should now be any different?
Well, apparently murphy's law decided to slap him in the face, since te moment he reached for the 'void' he instantly touched what felt like a swirling vortex of raging, volatile energy. His eyes shot open wide with a gasp escaping his lips, all the while a large build-up of Hellfire formed in his hand. It elongated and shaped itself into a solid form, and in a second he had the weakened form of Soul Edge in his hand. Though, the difference between now and then could be felt as clear as day, especially how this time Soul Edge constantly radiated a devilish crimson aura like it was one step away from going on a rampage, his will, being the final barrier against this. The sinister, twisted energy the sword contained swirled like a volatile vortex deep within the blade, it's eye wide with insanity and intense bloodlust. It felt like he was looking at a horde of serial killers, all radiating their sinister intent and twisted malice while holding their knives to their mouths, licking them with wicked gleams in their ryes at the promise of mass genocide.
"You see now?" Biko spoke, drawing Nico's attention away from how powerful his Soul Edge felt to him as he looked towards his demon persona. The said aspect also had his Soul Edge out, and much to Nico's surprise, he only noticed now that it radiated the same malice as his own sword when he held it out in front of him. "When Soul Edge devours a Soul, it's power increases, and it's evolution skyrockets. The more souls it devours, the stronger it becomes. This boost in power varies however, depending on the strength of the soul devoured. For example, a demon's soul is stronger than that of a human's, something I doubt will make a difference to you considering your thoughts are telling me you only want Soul Edge to eat monster Souls, and if there were human souls it would only be those who truly deserved a punishment worse than death."
Once again, Biko knew what Nico was thinking without him even saying it. This was one of the many reasons why Nico would trust this aspect of himself, there wasn't much need for words between the two of them, and already Nico found himself an ally that was more integral than most of the companionships he'd received so far. He didn't know where the hell he'd be at if he didn't have Biko at his side, but one thing was for certain and that he wouldn't be nearly as powerful as he was now. Nevertheless, Nico showed his appreciation through a confirming nod and his eyes alone.
Nodding in understanding, Biko strapped his Soul Edge onto his back, feeling it morph into the base form Nico used in human form. "As a Demon Sword, Soul Edge's hunger for souls will have few rivalries, it can devour the souls in other demonic weapons, it can devour a soul no matter where it is, or what state it's in. No soul is safe from this demonic blade, this being possible only through the consumption of that especially powerful Soul the Butcher possessed." Biko explained.
He then pointed towards Nico's version of the demonic blade, continuing to talk about the abilities that it had gained. "Second most important matter: Our Soul Edge exists on several planes of existence, the physical and Astral Plane. Therefore, it cannot be destroyed by any weapon unless it also exists on another plane aside from the physical one. Not even divine weapons can truly damage this sword unless they exist on multiple planes. This advantage it possesses is unique to it, none of your Devil Arms have this type of 'existence'."
More and more Nico began to realise just how OP, and by extension how dangerous, Soul Edge could be. Not only did it seem to have evolutionary capabilities, could devour the souls of it's enemies to empower itself, but it also was practically indestructible? Okay, he just HAD to get to grips with this thing, master it's powers as quickly as possible before it causes major damage to anything important. The more he heard about it's powers, the graver the issue of his lack of control over the blade seemed to become. This blade could cause untold damage to the surroundings if he wasn't careful, and that was just in it's weakened form, imagine how powerful it would be in it's true form.
"In it's true form," Biko began, reading his thoughts once again to get his attention. "Soul Edge's power is enough to destroy an entire continent."
… Wonderful.
That just seemed so wonderful. Now he knew just WHAT to prioritize for their training.
"Say, what about this Eye thing?" Nico questioned, frowning as he went over the influx of information in his mind. One of the abilities was related to his eyes, like that one guy with the duck-butt hair. Apparently, this eye was known as the 'Akuma no me' the Eye of the Devil, and from what he could tell it specialised in predicting the future. "What the hell's with this thing?"
Biko seemed to have an answer already though, something that Nico honestly wondered about. "The Akuma no me is an active type ability, meaning you have to activate it yourself. The ability allows Soul Edge to 'look' into the enemy's soul and constantly feed the user information about the next move. This allows the user time to come up with a means to counter, and as long as the ability remains active then then you will have knowledge of what the enemy plans to do before they've even decided on it. However, this ability is downgraded outside of its true form, only analysing one attack before the ability has to be activated again. When in Soul Edge's true form, this ability is permanently activated so Crimson Soul is constantly aware of the opponent's next move." Biko explained.
So, the Akuma no me was an active ability, so Nico would have to activate it manually for it to work huh? He could see that (and he did groan at the mental and completely unintentional pun he just did) and he could see the weakness behind it being an active ability. Especially in it's weaker form. The thought of having to constantly activate the ability in a combat situation would drain valuable time that he could be using for other abilities, so he should make sure to only use it when necessary… now that he thought about it, all of Soul Edges' powers had to be treated with extreme caution.
Then there are the various forms it could take, something Nico mentally noted to work on as well as the rest of the abilities. What intrigued him the most was how there was one for CQC, yet still had some weapons that he would be familiar with. He could see just how much his desire for versatility had influenced the sword in that design. Of course, Nico wouldn't forget to make sure to properly control Soul Edge from now on, especially with how close he had apparently come to destroying all of Leanbox by using that blade's power in it's true form. He could only imagine how IF, and by the Goddess Vert would feel if they found this out.
Hell, he could imagine what it would be like for the zealous fanatics in the Basilicom if they found out about Soul Edge's power.
#shudder#
After that moment of shuddering, Nico decided to strap Soul Edge onto his back, feeling the violent energy within the blade calming significantly when it realised it wasn't going to be used for a bit. He could almost feel the blade 'pout' like a whiny child for a moment, which Nico shook his head to clear the thought of out of his head immediately. Soul Edge wouldn't be like that, there was just no way.
"Not only that, but take a look at your right leg."
Huh? Why would he ask him that?
Nevertheless, Nico did so, glancing down to where his right leg was. He didn't know what to expect there, but what he DID see there definitely threw him off the rails. "What the heck, this thing?!" Nico exclaimed, stunned as his right leg possessed something... something that it should not have. Remember that Leg Bone on the Butcher's leg? Whelp, apparently now was attached to his leg now, radiating an orangish red hue. He could feel thrums of power coming from this thing, a slight hunger, a block-like sensation, and he could feel something from it that applied to his body in some way. "What the hell?!"
"It happened right after you defeated the Butcher. This bone, I do not know the exact nature of it, however it has acted similarly to a Devil Arm finding a suitable host, minus the possession aspect. It has bound itself to you, switching from the dying Butcher's leg to your own. From what I analyzed, it appears to be harmless, and you can dismiss it or summon it at any time. Also, it appears to have several abilities, one of which is the ability to Devour any form of offense, be it physical, mental, or any sort of energy. This can extend to entire beings like humans, monsters and the like, and can add their nutrients to the wielder. The others I am unsure of."
Nico frowned as he looked down at the Bone on his right leg. At least it wasn't trying to eat him like those Devil Arms try to before he subjugated them. It honestly felt... relieving to hear that, having something that won't try to ill him if he ever loses it. Still though, this information didn't detract from the main issue: What it was, where it came from, how Maghda acquired such an item and why was it allowing him to use it? Plus, there was IF to consider, she would likely have her own concerns when she found this Bone attached to him, considering how much grief it caused her and the others when fighting the Butcher. Not only that, but he could sense a vague form of sentience within the Bone, like a fraction of the entire skeleton this Bone once belonged to. If Biko didn't know what it was, then they had some SERIOUS investigation to do.
A weapon was only truly powerful, if one knew how to use it.
As someone who preferred versatility in combat over pure destructive power, this saying couldn't be any more fitting if it tried.
Now that he began to cam down, his mind began to analyze the facts that he knew about this Bone, more specifically what it can do and how it could benefit him. So far, he could tell that it devoured energy from it's opponents, and according to Biko it can devour any form of offense too adding it to his own power. This could be useful in a pinch, especially as a surprise attack on an unsuspecting enemy way stronger than him. He could use that burst of power to catch them off guard then finish the fight quickly, a major blessing in any stressful situation. One problem, he didn't know how that ability worked exactly, like how much energy could it handle at once, or if there were other factors that effected it. Lack of knowledge on how to use a weapon or item could lead to greater issues further down the line. It was also a principle that affected the WDD's handing out of Prototype weaponry to Spec Ops for experimentation purposes, now that he thought about it. These other abilities that Biko hinted at were also a problem.
Yet, these problems could easily be solved through one thing: testing.
He could definitely see himself testing this thing out when he got the chance.
"Now then, as for your DPU Powers…"
Biko's words once again drew Nico's attention, and this time he couldn't help the dismayed groan that escaped his lips. "Oh you've gotta be kidding me, there's MORE?!" he exclaimed while throwing his arms up in the air. "Just how many abilities do I have now?!"
"Unfortunately, when I said there were more abilities than expected, it seemed to have been a drastic understatement." Biko responded dryly…
Before vanishing in a crimson spark and reappearing from that same spark right in front of Nico… with his Soul Edge raised for an overhead strike.
"Oh fuck!" Nico swiftly reacted, drawing Soul Edge and blocking his swing. The energy released from that clash got so intense that it practically ripped the entire coliseum floor apart, chunks of it flying off into the stands around them. Yet, the two fighters only stared into the other's eyes, one full of shock and confusion, while the other remained blank.
Pushing his opponent back, Nico held Soul Edge in a defensive stance, gripping it's hilt firmly. In here he didn't have to worry about how destructive the sword was since his inner world repaired things quickly. "Okay, what was that?!" he yelled towards his demon Persona who just readied his own Soul Edge. "You just appeared before me like you were blipping out of existence or something!"
"It is not blipping, but 'Warping'. The ability to 'Warp' is to teleport from one space to another. Warping can be activated on a second's notice, and can be used to escape tough attacks without a scratch at the last second. When activated, it appears as a devilish red spark, and when the user reappears it happens again. This ability can be automated at will, allowing the user to not care about getting caught off guard. However, it sports a limited range of 50 Meters, making it non-suitable for long-distance travel. It also can be predictable, due to the limited range it has." Biko explained as he reared his Soul Edge back for a horizontal slash.
Once again, Biko 'Warped' towards his opponent, appearing behind him while swinging towards his head. Nico quickly ducked under it, noting how the swing caused a deep wide fissure in the destroyed ground. He then delivered a back kick to his foe's stomach, knocking Biko back before he spun around and swung at Biko. However, the older version of him simply Warped out the way, and Nico had to raise his Soul Edge to block a strike from above. He had no time to see what happened to the ground beneath them, either.
After a multitude of blows traded between them, both fighters jumped away from each other, landing on opposite sides of each other. Afterwards, the two stared each other own sizing each other up while waiting to see what their opponent's next move would be. Glaring towards his sadistic mentor (although his blank expressions wouldn't give that part of him away), Nico had one thought before he assumed his DPU Form, something he always did for their training as it would all be merged with his human body when they were finished.
'This is going to be a LONG session…'
