Chapter 103 - Upgrades and family

The following night, Nico heaved a heavy sigh as he took one long overdue rest, looking up at the moonlight sky above. He was lying on his back within the cockpit of his Skimmer, hands behind his head while he gazed upwards at the night sky. It was the clearest he had ever seen it, stars practically filling it to the brim to make it look like he was looking at a whole new universe. The biggest of them all: The Moon, shone the brightest out of all of them.

It was a sight that Nico had come to appreciate during his missions.

Another tired sigh escaped his lips as he contemplated what had happened up till this point. 'Man, talk about heavy duty labour. If this is what the Engineers or Construction workers do for a living, I have a whole load more respect for them.' he couldn't help but think to himself. This was probably one of his more exhausting days ever, and he had intended to go ask MAGES. if she was free to have some lunch at a café or something to pay her back for helping him with IF. Maybe Tekken too, if she had been helped by the Planeptune WDD already, though with the injuries she had sustained Nico wouldn't be counting on it. Just went to show that nothing went according to plan…

Nico hoped he could repay this debt soon, he HATED having to owe people like this.

As for why he was so exhausted, he had spent the rest of the day helping Rinjiin repair the dragon vessel while being eyed by that Teo Abnormal. It held no care for him, and vice versa, however the way it looked made him wonder if it would try to strike him down if it got the chance, which filled him with caution and made him divert more energy to his perception. Though Rinjiin had assured him Teo wouldn't do anything untoward, Nico still held his doubts about the Abnormal. Not only did he consider it's reputation, but it had a different feeling than the Hatchlings who were like young kids. The Teostra looked like something that would rip him in half if it got the chance. Odds were, that damaging the Vessel didn't exactly do him any favours either.

With the fact that Leanbox's air technology was… more than needing of improvement, it would take some time for them to come here en masse, that was what both he and Rinjiin knew for sure. Leanbox Aircraft took a while to prepare and it was a boon that Rinjiin knew what model those planes were. Hus the man knew that they were best prepared from a docking bay of a Zeppelin, if there weren't any around here then that would mean they had a Zeppelin docked at their camp wherever this camp was. The docking bays weren't that hard to prepare, but the problem with Zeppelins was that they needed LOTS of Helium gas to float, and even then it took time to inflate them. In addition, with the required amount it would take a while to gather, so there was time there.

They would be able to get the dragon ship back in full condition by them, they figured.

As for the girls, Nico ad the foresight of messaging them all and letting them know that he would probably not be back for a while. He had given them an explanation that would satisfy their concerns, as well as kept what he was doing here a secret. He'd told them that he had run into some trouble that he would be able to handle, but it may take a day or two. When they had asked what kind of trouble, Nico had smoothly replied 'something of titanic proportions that I have to do alone.' Even if he wasn't calling them through a video feed, just messaging, Nico could tell that they wanted to know more but apparently IF had stopped them. The girl must have recognised that he was trying to keep something a secret and figured that it was Spec Ops related. The girl had a good head on her shoulders, something he really liked about her.

She'd make a spectacular Spec Ops Agent.

Speaking of which, Nico had checked the dates for the Spec Ops Exam before coming here, and according to what he found out the Exams would be taking place not long after the Gala. Not only that, but they would be held in Leanbox, too. It was a rather surprising revelation, but not something that was wholly unexpected. He figured that there were political reasons for that, so he mentally resolved to look into it when he next had free time.

'Wonder what they have planned this time…'

There have been few times when Nico was called into look over the exams of the future Spec Ops Agents, though e had little roles to play in them beyond that. As such, he had seen what kind of tests would be on the Exams, and he had to say that the Guild took Spec Ops Training INTENSELY seriously. There was a whole load more complications than just joining the Guild as an Adventurer or even as a Guild Agent.

In order, the procedures for those qualifications were as follows:

Adventurers have to sign a simple form to get theirs.

Guild Agents have to sign a form then partake in a week-long course to get them qualified for Guild Work.

Honestly, kinda shitty if one asked him, hell anyone could join the Guild these days just look at Neptune and Compa. They were just freaking kids compared to the other Agents, ad they were simply welcomed with open arms. IF was more understandable given her mercenary nomadic background, but even then, she was still one of the younger Agents. Kinda spoke volumes why older Agents liked to pick on her like when he first met her, huh? He didn't doubt that they would let in children at this rate, the Guild probably started recruiting right out of high schools these days.

Now the SPEC OPS Exam, however… whew, the difficulty spike was like playing a game on normal mode, then jumping straight into merciless mode then getting the stuffing beaten out of you after about 4 seconds of gameplay.

That was all he was going to say cause, SPOILERS!

Now, back to the other stuff, according to Rinjiin, the model plane that those people were riding belonged to a LZ-127 Graf Zeppelin. The size and shape of LZ-127 was not ideal aerodynamically, structurally, or economically, but it was the best that could be achieved within the limitations of Leanbox technology, but then again considering who ran it (not the CPU the Nobles) that shouldn't be surprising. But more importantly, this meant that they would have at least until lunchtime tomorrow to get the ship u[ to speed, and it was a good thing that Nico could drain the Bioelectricity of the attack he had used to end it in the first place, otherwise Rinjiin would have been electrocuted to death. It also sped up their work rate, as they now didn't have to worry about residue static. Still, there was a LOT that needed to be either replaced or repaired outright, and according to the male's estimations they were only about 40% done by the time night rolled in to say hello.

After the day he had, Nico almost wanted to take to the skies and kiss it for giving him a respite from the labour.

Rinjiin had offered to give him a place in the Caves, as apparently, they were one big network that lead throughout the mountain peak, but Nico refused. He wanted to stay by his Skimmer, [plus he could use his Hellfire to keep himself warm (not that he told Rinjiin that though) which made him relent.

All of this lead to this peaceful moment.

'Nico…'

A peaceful moment that Biko just ruined.

A sigh escaped Nico's lips again, but didn't let it annoy him. Now that he was calm again, he figured that Biko would try to contact him sooner or later. He had a feeling that he knew what he was going to talk about after all. 'Lemme guess, this is about those abilities you wanted to show me?' he asked his Demon Persona

'Indeed. It has been a distracting day for you, however I feel as though you need to know these abilities for the future… and that they have already given some effects to you. For example, deploy your armour.'

Huh? Deploy his Armour? What? Instead of asking those questions, Nico decided to just do it and see what the fuss was about. The male stood from his Skimmer and stepped away a few times, before he pressed his hand on his chest where his Armour Module lay. Why hadn't he deployed this when he was fighting earlier? Nico soon figured that he just forgot about it, which filled him with the feeling of being an idiot which he soon suppressed.

There was no time for that right now, not with the tones Biko had used.

Once he pressed it, the Module activated, and he was surrounded by black Datastreams. 'Wait, black?' Nico wondered in surprise, before his form got cocooned by them. The Datastreams soon vanished once more, revealing Nico in his DEATHSTROKE Armour… or rather, what was ONCE his DEATHSTROKE Armour.

When he looked down at himself at his form, Nico couldn't help but blanch in shock.

'Wh-WHAT THE HELL?!'

Nico's Armour looked NOTHING like what he remembered it being as he looked down at his hands, twisting and turning them over multiple times. Instead of it being black and orange, it had a black under suit that went from his hands and feet to his neck while the rest had crimson red armour. The helmet completely covered his head to expose none of his human skull (not even his left eye), being made from demonic-looking, wicked crimson armour. It had two red eye lenses from which Nico's eyes were located, while the face looked slanted forwards like a demonic snout. There were multiple ridges down the forehead that ended at the nose, which looked more like a short, stubby horn than anything. Out the top of the helmet were 4 long, curved spikes with 2 on each side, and a single ridge in the middle. Across the face's lower section was a lipless maw of crimson fangs designed into the helmet, not an actual maw. From the helmet's sides, two long horns pointed forwards, made from the same material as the helmet. Along the lower jaw and chin were short, stubby spikes like a makeshift beard.

For the upper body the sides, the torso and along the stomach were covered in demonic crimson armour plates. There were two shoulder pads, 1 for each shoulder, that were much like those of his DPU form in that they were much larger than his actual shoulders and went outwards. They each had a single Spike-like structure similar to the horns from the Helmet protruding upwards, with stubby spikes protruding away from the armour's wearer. The forearms were covered in crimson armour that started with thick-looking spiked bands at the elbows and ended with another set at the wrists. Interestingly enough there were black grey chains connected between these bands, adding to the demonic appearance the Armour had, while the armour itself formed 4 short claws over the knuckles. The hands themselves were covered by the under suit. More chains wrapped around his waist, which were connected to these two skirt-like crimson pieces that fell in-between behind him and beside his legs.

Speaking of the lower body, the legs had demonic crimson armour up to the knees, sporting stubby spikes in various places and ended in single talon toed boots that had an extra talon for heels.

All in all, Nico looked WAY more intimidating in this armour than he did his old one. His old one gave him more of a soldier/warrior vibe, someone who knew what to do and would get shit done. THIS Armour however, gave Nico the look of a knight from the deepest pits of the underworld, here to claim souls that have been outrunning their fate for far too long and drag them kicking and screaming into a life of eternal torment.

But for him, that wasn't the main issue.

What Nico wanted to know was what the hell had happened to make his armour this way. In addition, Nico could sense great power swelling within this armour, power that originated from the Plasma Cells or where the Plasma Cells should have been. Demonic Power coursed through this Armour almost like veins filled with blood within the body of a living being, something that sort of gave him the shivers. His Armour, well, it felt much more ALIVE, like it's own being, than it did before. Nico knew this wasn't actually the case, but it sure as hell felt like it.

'This is one of those new abilities, Nico. This is the ability to Desecrate your equipment with your demonic power. This happened during your fight with the dragon ship today, you unleashed so much demonic power that this ability sub consciously activated, and your mind directed the energy into your Armour Module. This is the result.'

This… Nico didn't know how to feel about this. On one hand it was good cause it meant that his Armour now had significant upgrades, allowing it to be able to go up against high-level demons like those Demon Princes without fear of it being destroyed. He could sense that the Armour's defensive and Offensive abilities had been enhanced further than it's counterpart, while the self-restoration aspect also felt like it had been affected. The demonic power he could feel also seemed to be helping him with his other side, as he could feel it trying to keep the beast within restrained.

Wait, why did he get those feelings?

But on the other hand, this Armour was practically a part of him, it was part of what made him DEATHSTROKE in the first place. If it changed so drastically, then could he still call himself that? Could he still call himself DEATHSTROKE with how much his armour had changed? With how Biko said it, it seemed like the change was irreversible, something that made him question this all the more.

'Do not worry about your identity, for the name DEATHSTROKE has become synonymous with your appearance, Nico. Even if your gear goes through some demonic changes, at the core it is still your gear, gear that you have been with for a long time. DEATHSTROKE has just simply gained a demonic overdrive, of sorts.'

'I see… Will my weapons be affected, too?' He wondered, though he soon felt pretty stupid for asking that question, if his armour had changed like this then of course the weapons would be different. The teen quickly deployed his Plasma Claws to see if there were any changes, and soon enough he got what he wanted. The 5 Scythe blades soon formed, this time through those red claws above his knuckles, and were about 10 inches now, instead of the 5 inches they were before. Interestingly enough though, they weren't made of Plasma anymore, but rather a crimson red metallic substance bathed in orangish red Hellfire. Wait, Nico narrowed his eyes at his right Plasma Claw as he brought it closer to his helmet and saw there to be faint crackles of energy along the metal.

Plasma.

A mix of Hellfire and Plasma.

'It appears that the Plasma Technology has combined with the Hellfire power of the DPUs, creating a hybrid of both powers with twice the damage capacity. Its similar to hybrid vigour in a way, something I am sure you are familiar with considering the other side you have. It has the offensive abilities of both Hellfire and Plasma, making it ten times more powerful than either of them. Their combined heat should be able to damage CPU weapons, which according to what I've seen are nigh indestructible. They'll make perfect claws for a beast like us. How about we call this new hybrid of Plasma and Hellfire: Obliteron

'Obliteron…' Nico mused, pondering on the name. In actuality, it sort of made sense. This material seemed to be a mix of two highly offensive energies, and the objective of the weapon is to obliterate the enemy and it will use all in its power to do so, making Obliteron the perfect name for it. With the combined offensive power of both Hellfire and Plasma, these babies would be nightmares for armoured opponents, and don't get him started on purely organic opponents.

Checking through the rest of his in-built weapons, Nico renamed them with the additions Obliteron made:


Obliteron Claws – 5 Scythe-like Claws up to 10 inches long that emerge from the crimson Armour claws over the back of the hands, positioned like flexed claws. They have the power to cut through practically anything similar to HF Technology (Nico checked when he sliced a set of gashed through the mountain, leaving a set of superheated gashes in his wake.)

Obliteron Blades – The Hidden blades now had 15 inches in length, nearly rivalling swords while emerging from beneath the Wrist bands while being made from Obliteron.

Obliteron Cannons – The canons appeared through a compartment beneath the shoulder spikes which fell backwards when deployed, revealing crimson skulls with flaming sockets and permanently open mouths which had a fiery hellfire interior. Fired Hellfire blasts the size of fists either in rapid fire or concentrated.

HUD (Heads Up Display)/Bracers – Now the information is sent directly to his brain, no need for screens. Biko theorized that the Armour was now like the Devil Arms in that it had some level of sentience, thus it would inform him of things the HUD would usually do. The same for the Bracers, for example if he wanted a Holomap then a projection would appear in his mind with perfect clarity. The Motion Tracker would be used as like an ever-active radar sense (Nico knew this cause it picked up a falling piece of rubble from 40 meters away). The Void Storage is now like an Inventory as it is now part of his mind where just a thought can summon whatever it is that he wants. Scanning was also now a simple task thanks to this sentience within the Armour. Thanks to all these abilities, Nico no longer has any Bracers on his arms when his Armour is deployed. (Though when the Armour isn't they appear on his Arms anyways.)

Obliteron Chains – Chains that emerged from the crimson forearm Armour, made from Obliteron. (Reminded him of that fiery chain that one biker guy with a flaming skull head used to fight enemies)

Obliteron Launcher – A Grenade launcher altered into a black and red colour scheme and fired Obliteron-based Grenades that exploded upon contact with anything save for the air. It no longer needed cables since Nico could charge it with his powers instead, giving it nearly endless ammunition.

Obliteron Knucklebusters – The Force Busters form over his hand as Obliteron-based Knucklebusters. Increased damage for close combat.

Shields – The Armour's Shields now extended to a cocoon-like shape from Obliteron, capable of taking a medium sized boulder tossed from high altitudes (don't ask how he did that, even he didn't know) with little to no decrease in power.


There was one problem Nico saw with this armour though. While it did have that intimidating knight of hell vibe going for it, the Armour seemed a bit too… flashy for someone like him when he needed to go on infiltration missions. An Armour like this would stick out like a sore thumb what with it's unique colour schemes and design. He could imagine it now, how people would easily spot him wearing something that makes him look even more inhuman than he already was. True this armour literally made no sound when he moved about in it save for the slight clinking of the waist chains, but those with good senses would not be so foolish as to think it would be nothing and would investigate. This would lead to countless annoyances that Nico would rather not have to deal with.

Though, the moment he thought that…

[REAPER MODE – ENGAGE]

Those words, boldened and sporting black trails reminiscent of tears of blood appeared within his mind. Not only that, but they had been accompanied by this low, growling, dark borderline insidious voice that would match a creature overwhelmed with a bloodlust-fuelled psychotic breakdown. Nico had nearly jumped at the voice having been used to a robotic AI voice when donning his armour. The next thing he knew, the entire armour turned into this shroud of darkness that compressed around his form, shadowing it by blocking out any and all light. This resulted in Nico having the shape of a humanoid shadow version of himself.

He had expected to have some form of explanation from Biko, but to his surprise the Armour itself beat him to it by sending Nico information via this Devil Arm-like link he had with it. Apparently, this shroud was formed by taking Nico's own bloodlust and covering him wit it, forming a "shroud of darkness" which would only confuse those that he approached. Additionally, the voice was only heard by him and his aspects, so nobody else would get tipped off during a stealth mission. Since it was a mode, Nico could toggle this ability on and off, like equipping a Mask.

Whelp, stealth issue resolved.

Honestly, he shouldn't have been as surprised as he was, while he assumed himself a monstrous abomination considering his powers, he also associated himself with the nickname 'the reaper'. Heck, he was like that in his StarCraft game (he should probably start playing again soon, relieve all this built-up stress). Monsters and Reapers, those words and various variants could be used to describe him well.

With all these changes, Nico felt like this 'Desecration' power might be pretty useful. Not to mix it with the DC Corruption Absolution used though, this power seemed to be useful mostly for changing things into demon-based items which are better than their counterparts. Improved upon in various ways to make them as deadly as possible… while sporting new looks befitting of their new status.

Dismissing the Armour, Nico found himself back to normal after a quick cocoon of black Datastreams. The cold night-time air hit his flesh all at once, and it nearly made him just done it back on again. Almost as soon as he thought that the Armour re-deployed, making him realise that it could do that on thought command now. Made sense, considering that it was partially sentient now. It also allowed him to notice that the demonic power the Armour had flowing through it gave some form of internal heating, yet it felt like this could be manipulated depending on the situation.

Nico dismissed it again, this time being prepared for the cool air that met his skin as he heaved a heavy sigh. He honestly felt a little tired from all this, but right now he still had some things to do. Things like testing the rest of those items he got from the WDD, for one. Some of those guys were impatient little fuckers who wanted their data enough to nag at him while he slept through transmissions. Looking down at his Bracer, Nico opened the Void Storage and pulled out the next item: what looked like a Motherboard like those one would see in a digital device.

Looking up it's specs, Nico saw that it was called a 'Void Module' that was meant to replace the one inside his Bracers already. Not only did it have the stuff on the Bracers' original Motherboards copied over, but this one could be used for both even when installed in one of them. Not only that, but it had the upgrade of letting him summon items or access functions with just thought commands, similar to what his Armour did. Looks like those rumours he heard about those upgrades were true, then. It honestly made him chuckle, just when he got those upgrades his demon powers solved everything for him. Whelp, best to check and see if it worked…


Turns out it did.

After testing the Void Module, Nico confirmed that it worked like it should before placing the old Motherboard back into his Void Storage using the new thought command system. Boy did he like this, it would save so much time for someone like him who didn't have access to an Inventory. In addition, it worked practically instantly, so Nico didn't have to worry about timings between weapon switch-outs. It was practically like instantly doing a baton pass in a relay race, something that would DEFINITELY help those who didn't have inventories for whatever reason have the same benefits. Now that he had this, he had access to thought commands in and out of his Armour, a MASSIVE boon for someone like him who had such a large weapon arsenal.

There were various other weapons he needed to test out, and he did them all without a fuss. Once he did, he sent the data back to the WDD in the form of a report.

When he was finished with them, Nico looked over to his Skimmer, which lazily stood leaning on it's stand waiting to be refuelled and driven once again. The more he looked at it, the more of a bond he felt towards this Skimmer. It had been something that aided him in battle, no matter how few those were, so it felt natural to have some form of camaraderie with it. But, the male wasn't so sure if the higher ups at the Spec Ops Branch in Planeptune would let him have this one, or some of the equipment that he wanted to keep like those two guns, this void module and this Skimmer. After all, these were merely prototypes that would be re-outfitted for mass production in the future, and he was pretty sure they would want them back afterwards…

'Why not call your mother and ask her? You have been meaning to talk to her, haven't you? This could be like killing two birds with one stone, as these humans put it.'

'PFT, PUSSY MAMMA'S BOY…'

'Do not think I do not notice too, since you are part of him longer than I have, you have the same familial ties to her as Nico.'

His white Copy growled inside his head towards Biko, before their presences faded from his conscience. Though, Nico couldn't help the surprise that took their place though. He didn't realise that his other side had any familial feelings towards anything, let alone someone who wasn't the 'king'. This… would eb worth pondering at a later date. Perhaps his other side wasn't completely beastly after all? However, that would be for another time, cause right now Nico wanted to talk to his mother.

One of the features that his Bracer possessed was it's own private phone line used for emergency communications. Public Phone lines have the nasty habit of being hacked into by interested parties wanting to know classified information, steal income or make threats to both the callers and the receivers, so Spec Ops Agents had their own private phone lines with select few contacts. None of these lines had reports of being hacked into as they have over dozens of firewalls, anti-virus software etc to stop that from happening.

That Phone Line would be what he would use now since there was no internet connection around here.

Raising his Bracer after agreeing mentally with Biko's suggestion (though he probably wouldn't hear if his white-self growling at him before was any indication), Nico manipulated it so that the Bracer showed a Holographic Phone symbol. Once he had everything set, the caller's ID, the call function, and the holographic headphone set that appeared when he called Neptune like this in Lastation, Nico began calling the head of the WDD. It didn't take long for the call to break through, either.

"Oh, hello! This is a surprise, Nicky-Nick. I haven't had a call from you for a while.

"Hello, mom…" Nico greeted, a soft smile escaping his lips despite the nervousness assaulting his instincts right now. Happiness and joy swelled within as well, making it a rather complicated feeling he was getting right now. It was rare for him to call his mom like this, like she said… he wasn't sure whether to feel annoyed or frustrated at this revelation. Maybe both. Yeah, that felt right, but right now he had to focus on something other than himself for a freaking change. "Good to hear your voice again."

"Yep, same here my little baby boy. So, is this a social call or do you need something?"

Mentally, Nico grimaced, though he reasoned with himself that he would ell her a few important things for the future. "A bit of both, first thing is I was just wanting to just hear your voice again, and to let you know I'm ding alright. I mean, thinking back on it I probably wasn't a very good son. Good soldier, yeah. But not so good a son."

Perhaps his senses were playing tricks on him, but Nico swore that for a moment he heard sniffles coming from his mother there. If he was in the same room maybe he could rely on them more, but right now the phone call made it harder to detect. "Awww, that's sweet, Nicky-Nick, and your timing couldn't have come better. Just had to deal with a few annoying bugs who've been trying to get more budget from the military for their own benefits. They think that I have gone soft since my retirement, but I sure showed them how wrong they really were."

Okay, those assholes would have gotten owned so hard if that was the case. Nico winced, remembering that time when he brought th girls to meet his mother… that sounded weird in his head, so let's move on from that. "You sure that was a good idea? I mean, they can make your life even more hellish than it probably already is. You didn't retire cause you wanted to after all…"

"Oh hush, you." Helen responded with a scoff on her end. "You should know by now that those fuckers don't have the guts. They know that if anything happens to me then they will lose control over one of their most important 'assets', their 'hound' which isn't something they're willing to chance." Both of them scoffed at the mention of the higher ranked officials in the Planeptune Basilicom. While Leanbox had the most discrimination for the Spec Ops Program, it didn't mean that such discrimination didn't extend to the other nations either. Though by comparison Planeptune had the least bias towards it due to them seeing that the Abnormals were great enough of a threat to warrant the ignoring of such bias.

Such discrimination appeared in Lastation too when the military budget got taken from them and transferred to Avenir, a lot of Spec Ops Agents would have suffered greatly for that, and Lastation arguably had the most Agents out of the four Nations. That, and Avenir in general are just full of dickheads anyways, the few dickheads that wore flesh and not metal anyways.

While he listened to her, Nico heard the sounds of chatter in the background, so being th curious son he was, Nico decided to open his mouth to ask the question. "Say, where are you right now? Seems quite loud and busy, so a Mall?" He did once hear that she wanted to go on a shopping spree one time but her duties prevented her.

"Nope, I'm at a pub with some friends I met again. Yes, I drink and get plastered, it's a common adult thing." She replied, already imagining the frown of disapproval Nico would have on his face. A true fact, as a worried frown WAS on his lips. "Right now, these said friends are cooing at the fact my adorable little boy is calling his momma after a hard day's work."

Okay, THAT image got a bit of a blush out of him, though he would deny it till the end of time itself. Nico never really showed it much, but he did have a slight case of momma's boy ness. She helped raise him after all, visiting him often when he was living with Compa and her grandfather since, for classified reasons to do with his other side, she wasn't allowed to have him at her house. If she had, she would have brought him there herself in a heartbeat. He remembered how most of the times when she'd visit he'd greet her with a big old hug, a hug conveying all the innocence and happiness that a child his age would have possessed. Though, at those times Compa wouldn't have met her as she would either be in bed or her grandfather would have had her out on an errand. The reason for this was because whenever she did visit, it would usually be for check-ups on him to see how his other side was working.

After all, back then Compa couldn't really keep a secret to save her life. She was that innocent back then.

"Is uncle not with you?" he asked her, remembering that for all intents and purposes, Helen was a married woman. Nico remembered her husband, his name was Koro. Her husband may have been a simple Tavern owner, but he was also the one who taught him what he knew about assassinations. But the most important thing about him was that he was a family man above anything else, loving his wife more than anything else even his job. That, and he's a rather dorky romantic as described by his mother (though that didn't stop her from screwing him every night #shudder#). "I would have thought he would pick you up bridal style and bring you across by jumping over rooftops."

A giggle escaped the other end of the Phone. "Oh, he did that, actually. Dropped me off and left after kissing my cheek and giving me a rose." She replied, getting a slight snicker from the male. Out of the entire male population, his uncle figure was one of the few exceptions to his distaste for his gender. "He's going to be picking me up in half an hour or so, though I'm not looking forward to any hussies who try to steal him from me…" Nico now KNEW his instincts weren't playing with him when he heard some serpentine hisses escaping his mom and several whimpers. Even though his uncle figure was married, various women from all sorts of backgrounds seemed to try anything to get with him, and his wife would have to 'stake her claim' by whacking them with folding fans or worse scorching them with flamethrowers…

She had a wild possessive side over her husband after all. There was once a poll a while back where Helen was voted for top 10 possessive yandere wives, reaching 3rd place. Yeah, she lost to two other wives, one called Akane and another called Asuna. Even once stuck a pin and paper on his back saying, 'Property of Helen, STAY AWAY BITCHES!' with a chibi Hellen holding a knife while grinning and sporting devil ears and tail being drawn on the corner. Poor guy wasn't allowed to take it off for the entire day, either. Sometimes, he felt for the guy, having a wife like Helen must not be easy.

"Ah, I get it. Best of luck that he doesn't get too swarmed by those fangirls. Wait, that's wrong, best of luck that those fangirls don't get too owned when you bring out the whip and go all dominatrix on their asses." He remarked to himself, which got a chuckle from his mother at how much luck he would be needing. Nico honestly got scared from that chuckle, he really did. There was just something about women that could be goddamn scary, he even got it from Compa even. A thought came into his mind about BOTH of them giving him that look in which he knew he'd fucked up, and the shivers of dread would not stop. If that was what it was like for a married man, then he fear getting married in the future… if he even entertained the thought at that age. He'd probably just spend his life fighting on the battlefield or something.

"So dear, while I have you here, may I ask how the girls are doing? They gotten you to break those pesky barriers you have for them yet?" Helen questioned, and judging by the sounds he heard he figured she had just taking a sip of some beverage, probably an alcoholic one.

Nevertheless, Nico quickly composed himself when he felt a blush forming at memories of IF and Neptune. Not to mention Lucy herself when they were in his tent (Even that felt wrong to him). "They're fine, mom. The girls are focusing on some training right now, let's just say that things are getting seriously bad over here with the monsters and stuff. Think that incident with the Amatsu but on steroids and you're close to how bad it's getting here."

THAT got a wince out of the woman. The Amatsu, or Amatsumagatsuchi as its full name was, was a powerful Abnormal that had massive control over the weather. It was a year ago when it appeared, and it caused storms to appear all over Planeptune, forcing the Guild to send it's best agents that it had available at the time (himself being one of them) to take the beast out. The fighting had lasted a whole weak, and Nico himself had been forced to draw his Devil Arms out to keep up with the beast.

"That's bad then but be sure to spend time OUTSIDE of combat with them, Nicky-Nick. Those girls are special, I can feel it, and I know you care for them too. How about you take that IF girl out for a ride on that Skimmer of yours when you get the chance?" Helen questioned, surprising him. "Hey, I was an Agent too once, so I figured that would be the second thing you called about. Don't worry, it's one of the things you're allowed to keep, I'll send you the list of equipment that is yours now. Also, about your situation…"

Nico narrowed his eyes at the mention, or vague reference, to his situation with Rinjiin. Her words from there henceforth became laced with seriousness as she spoke sternly. "Handle it with the utmost care. That guy's an old friend of mine, and I helped him out of a bind a while back when his unit was destroyed by Abnormals. He asked me for help recently, as there was an increasing number of Mercenary groups scouting Skies End. I don't need to tell you what would happen if they found his home as well as the Abnormals he cares for, do I?" Nope, nope she didn't. "I'd say more, but the best person to ask would be Rinjiin himself. Now then, go do me proud, dear. Just like you always do."

Nodding at that, Nico thanked luck that Helen wasn't here to see what effect the fact that she was proud of him, always had been, had on him. He didn't get a chance to tell her everything he wanted, like his DPU powers or his revelation about his other side, but those could wait. For as he closed the call and the headphones vanished while his Bracer switched to it's default screen, Nico checked the list he got from her seconds later. He saw that the Void Module, Liberator and Oppressor were his to keep along with his new Skimmer. Speaking of which, he looked his new Skimmer and a thought crossed his mind. 'Say, Biko, how does this 'desecration' ability work again…?'


Deep within his being...

A pair of eyes opened within an empty void, blazing like the flames of hell.

Now.. now was the time for it to awaken.

It's master would be pleased.


Back out in the night, Biko made to answer the main aspect's question, when suddenly he froze. Biko's brow began to sweat, an uncomfortable churning swirling within his gut like a whirlpool. The most important thing though, was that he felt something akin to strings being thrummed within the Inner World. His eyes widened as he realized what that meant. Something he had neglected to mention in favor of other matters. 'D-Damnit... looks like I got careless

'Nico, quick, brace yourself!'

His startled response raced through their link, carrying along more panic than he would have liked through the link, succeeding in it's task of surprising the male. It was so good at its work that it threw the teen for a complete loop, not just from the volume but the sheer timing of it. Biko rarely lost his composure, so something must be wrong, Nico figured. 'Huh? What do you-'

THUMP!

'Ugh-!'

Before Nico could finish his question, he gasped, eyes shooting wide open as he clutched his head with both hands while looking down with his eyes tightly shutting, kneeling on one leg like a knight. His heart thumped rapidly within the confines of his rib-cage, going erratic in it's heartbeat that each one felt like a megaton earthquake. He groaned and grunted, pain assaulting his senses like nobody's business. His head burned like acid, while also threatening to split in two and shower everything around him in it's contents. He could hardly think straight, as pain assaulted every cell in his body, which felt like it was being boiled within a bowl of fiery hot magma. Pretty soon, practically everything screamed in pure pain, way worse than when he was being burned alive by that Demon Prince.

The teen fell onto his side seconds later, the pain being too much for his body to handle with the little support it had. The teen groaned and growled in agony, yet his screams remained contained by sheer willpower alone, yet it felt so close to shattering under the terrible onslaught while he rolled about on the ground. If anyone were to come across him while on a merry stroll right now, they would see someone looking like they were being tortured by a thousand tormentors.

'Wh-What's... going on... Biko...?!'

'Just keep calm and whatever you do, do NOT fall unconscious! Your mind is already 80% there, but you need to stop it from reaching 100%!'

If it were possible, the pain got even greater in intensity after Biko said that. He struggled even harder to not scream while his body felt like it was being set alight by a full powered Hellfire blast. he forcefully vomited blood onto the ground, coughing, gasping and panting heavily with each motion sending painful throbbing throughout his entire body. In addition, things got worse for him as Nico could see the black darkness creeping onto the edges of his vision. He could feel his body try to shut down to block out the intense pain, to relieve itself of this nightmare and slip into the sweetness of oblivion. Yet, despite the powerful urges to just give in and accept his fate, Nico refused this, he refused to let this pain overtake him. The male's own nature refused to allow him to give in, and thus he fought back with everything he had.

Gritting his teeth, the male began to fight back against this pain. Gradually, Nico pushed the pain backwards like he was an army fighting an uphill battle, forcing the haziness assaulting his vision when he opened his eyes to recede as well as the black dots. He could feel the cold hands of blissful sleep lose their grip on him as he used his willpower to forcefully pry them from his being. This had the side effect of making him feel the pain infinitely worse since his senses, which had been dulled during that moment of weakness thanks, sharpen back to the levels they usually were at, but Nico didn't care. He refused to let this pain take him, he fucking goddess damned refused!

Whilst in this mental and physical war with his own body, the teen thought back to his conversation with his mother, the first time that he had felt like a decent son in a long ass time. She had sounded so happy, happier than he had heard her sound in such a long time. It made him realize just how bad a son he had been, making her worry like that. It made him feel so disgusted with himself. She may be his mentor, his superior in the Spec Ops community, but he had forgotten one important detail about her: out of everything she was to him, a mother was what she considered most important. How would she feel if she found out that he had bent over to a little ass pain?

Nope, not fucking happening.

Time passed, but Nico had no concept of time or perception at this point, despite battling against the urge to lose consciousness. So, he remained unaware of how he was now kneeling on both legs like the Japanese sitting position bending his upper body down towards the ground like he was bowing before someone. He held himself by wrapping his arms around his stomach like it was about to burst, drool sliding down his open mouth and chin before dripping onto the ground below. Around him, his demonic power flared as its usual living flame-like demeanor, burning the very oxygen itself with its infernal blaze. Yet, this time, the flaming energy seemed much more volatile than usual... also, the top part of the aura seemed to oddly resemble a snout... a draconian snout before it vanished into a fiery aura once more.

Then, the pain began to move, like it was a living organism, gathering into the center of Nico's body while also increasing its potency. So, instead of it being all over him, it now had gathered it's influence directly where it would do the most damage as his body howled in pure agony. Yet, the male refused to scream, he refused to let this pain win as he remained in the position described before. It drew itself inwards, becoming more and more like a heavy painful weight, like that torture device where someone places concrete slabs on the victim while they are forced to sit Japanese style on a spiky surface. The energy around him also acted the same way, receding inward till it was merely covering him just above his skin and shaped like his form. The energy then gathered to the center of his back, right where the pain was originating from.

In that moment, Nico gasped as he felt something 'split' inside him, and he fell to the ground, something having risen upwards and split from his being. He couldn't see what it was due to planting his face into the dirt, but when it split from him it took all the pain with it. That brought a huge wave of relief to the male, as evident by the heavy breathing which felt increasingly controlled by the minute. His lungs desperately drunk in as much oxygen as their capacity could take, rushing like frantic doctors in a hospital trying to save a patient going into critical condition, before pushing it into his body once more. Whelp, this little experience had stopped him from sleeping anytime soon, Nico knew this for a FACT. He doubted he would ever sleep again with that kind of pain reminding him, as well as the fighting he had to do to keep himself conscious as Biko said.

'Wh...Whew... looks like... I did it... whatever I did.' the male thought to himself, content to just lay there and rest his body from that experience. A good chunk of his reserves had been taken from him, by what he didn't know. But once he got some time to regain his bearings, Nico would make sure whatever it was didn't threaten him or any of the surroundings.

When he finally felt strength return to his limbs, the male decided to pry some information out of his Demon Persona. Before he went through all that bullshit, Biko seemed like he knew something was about to happen, and if that was the case he wanted to know what the fuck just happened. 'Okay, Biko, WHAT was that just now? One moment i'm all fine and dandy, the next i'm literally throwing up blood worse than Jeff Golblum... IN THE FREAKING FLY' he thought sarcastically. Hey, he just gone through a whole load of shit, so give him some slack.

'Apologies, I hadn't the chance to tell you. I would have normally, but to explain what happened, remember the egg I showed you?'

Taking a few more deep breaths, more for emotional support if anything, Nico made to shout again when he remembered that Egg. Well, at first he had no clue what the demonic aspect was talking about, but then he had flashbacks to his guy time with Aiden and Ivan after the Mojang Village incident. THAT must have been the Egg that Biko was referring to, then. It was the only other Egg he could think of that Biko would attribute to this. His eyes widened, then narrowed into slits as an idea popped into his head. 'Yeah, I remember... what, was that thing responsible?'

'All I will say is look behind you.'

Nico arched a brow at this, but decided to do so anyways. Slowly, he attempted to get onto is feet, however the male soon began to stumble, his legs too weak to support him right now. The male cursed himself under his breath, something he did quite a lot given his mindset, as he prepared to meet the ground once more.

However...

SWOOSH!

Just before he could, something slid beneath the male and wrapped around his gut, preventing him from meeting the ground a second time for tea and cookies. Nico lightly gasped in surprise at this, noting the fleshy feeling around his gut that seemed to be the source of this. Slowly, he looked down to see what it was that was holding him, only to see what looked like some sort of appendage holding him. It then lifted him back onto his feet, using itself as a means of stabilizing him till he could walk on his own. Once that was made known, the appendage retracted behind him to the one wielding it, allowing Nico to turn around ad look upon...

A Dragon.

A mother fucking, freaking DRAGON.

'Holy...' Nico thought, shock not even beginning to describe the emotions running rampant in him right now. There, standing before him was a Dragon-class Abnormal that he had NEVER seen before in his freaking life. He doubted anyone had, even, given this thing's appearance. The Abnormal had the appearance of a typical dragon, he noted, basically consisting of a snout, a long neck, a main body sporting 2 arms, 2 reverse-jointed hind legs, 2 large wings and a long ass Tail. However, that was where the rather... wicked, grotesque features the Abnormal had took over.

The Snout looked to have been made from this dark blackish hardened sinew shaped like a snout, reshaping into a series of spikes protruding upwards out the back like some form of crest. There were more claw-like spikes protruding from the middle of its snout while the snout's tip had multiple fang-shapes spikes protruding downwards. The snout contained a lipless maw of razor sharp, blade-like teeth, while the snout sported a pair of hollow, crimson eyes. Eyes that blazed like the Hellfire Nico commanded. It even had more spikes coming down from the back of the head to the start of it's long neck.

Speaking of said body-part, the long neck it was attached to consisted of a mix, a mix of sinister, twisted crimson flesh and a black organic material shaped like Armour. The length of the neck seemed to be that of 2 greatswords stacked on top of each other. The neck's flesh almost looked like it had once been something else, but then something foreign and evil corrupted and twisted it into its current form.

Moving along, the body seemed to match the design of the neck, a mix of corrupted flesh and dark black chitinous Armour, covering most of the body for protection, though Nico wasn't too sure how it would work in defending it from attacks. Hell, he could clearly see that it had no 'skin' at all, just this demonic red muscle layer and the Armour itself. The body had 6 limbs, the forearms which looked to be covered by the Armour more, and ended in several long, equally wicked looking talons that looked like they could rip through concrete. Both forearms were quite long, and their talons rivaled the lengths of shortswords. Next, were the legs, which also had a heavier focus on the twisted-looking Armour, being reverse jointed so it could jump higher. They each ended in similar talons too, so they could serve as secondary weapons. From it's upper back, protruded it's wings, and holy shit they were HUGE! They had a large enough size to make flight possible, consisting of blackened bone and demonic, twisted crimson webbing that was tattered near the bottom.

Lastly, was the Tail, an appendage that easily looked about 14 feet long with sharp, jagged spikes at both the base pointing downwards, and around the Tail's tip for stabbing. That Tail he realized was what had been holding him beforehand, and he had to do something he rarely did these days: thank his other side for giving him stronger skin, cause that thing looked like it hurt.

'HAH, YOU'RE WELCOME, KING!'

Ignoring the crazy voice in his head, Nico looked up into the Dragon's eyes. It almost felt like he could let himself get lost in it's soul-piercing gaze as it stared down at him, silent yet deadly. Nico didn't however, simply due to the fact that he could sense that this creature held TREMENDOUS power. Demonic power coursed through its body in large quantities, and its reserves didn't seem to be too small either. In fact, it almost had enough energy to match his own reserves. Yet, he could feel a lot more power hidden within this being...

Almost immediately, Nico felt like he was staring at a lion, just like with the Teostra. The reason? He could sense strong pride and self-confidence in this creature. It stood tall and proud, like a knight or someone who knew how to win any battle it came across. It felt like a challenge for him as the apex predator, the top of the food chain. Nico wanted to beat it, to dominate it and show it that he was the top predator in this jungle. Part of Nico, the part that enjoyed the thrill of a life or death fight, even wanted to unleash his power on it just to see what the outcome would be.

'If you did that, then you will destroy this entire area, Nico.'

The words of Biko cut into his thoughts, breaking him from those urges and settling them down for the time being. Surprise briefly formed on his face before he calmed down, taking a deep breath to further settle his predatory instincts. He could even hear his inner beast whining about not getting a chance to shine, but he ignored it. '... you have a point, Biko. Predatory instincts aside, what the heck is this thing, and where did it come from?'

'You may call this an 'Archdemon', Nico, for that was the species name this being chose upon birth. If you want to compare, think of it like the Chaos Gods and their Demon Hierarchy, they have demon princes, then greater demons, lesser demons then finally human followers. This Archdemon is like the Demon Prince the 'Nico' religion.'

When he heard that, Nico arched a brow. He may have only made a comparison, but the displeasure in his gut for being compared to the Chaos Gods, beings whom have done some pretty fucked up shit to humanity, was a little over the 'large' category. Biko sensed this through their link, so he quickly made to explain before Nico could bust a vein. He did have the tendency to not take it lightly when people weren't giving answers quickly. He too shared that affinity.

'The Archdemon here will be one of your Demon Princes, a deity whom will serve you for eternity. Since there is a lot of information, I will send it to you like I did with Soul Edge. Be ready.'

Nico quickly nodded, closing his eyes. He had found that whenever Biko did a transfer of information like the one he intended right now, the best way for it to have caused the least amount of headaches afterwards was to cover one or more of his senses. Once his eyes were closed, the stream of info soon came pouring in He could tell because the male got the feeling of rushing water going through his brain.


Archdemons

The Archdemons are powerful beings, beings which are able to go toe to toe with other DPUs and Demon Princes. Their large size allows them to perform significant feats of strength, their speed is capable of reaching half Mach 1 on the ground but goes up to Mach 2 in the air, and they use a mix of their claws, fangs, demonic powers and Tails to attack their enemies. Archdemons are also capable of speech, or rather, speech through the mind when they mature, which is unseen outwardly as it is an internal process. This speech is significant to their abilities, as it allows them to function as the leading Demon Princes of Nico's armies. In addition, they are exceptionally intelligent, and are capable of forming intricate battle plans. They serve as a mix of Generals and Warriors in Nico's Armies.

Wings – Their wings are large and strong enough that, despite the holes in them, can generate large gusts of wind that stun opponents for a short time, or knock aerial enemies flying out of the skies. A demonic energy empowered wind gust can even shatter large buildings.

Tails – The Tails of Archdemons have the capacity to strike down large structures with their strength, and have special paralyzing venom imbued into their spikes, allowing these Tails to render opponents useless and to give the Archdemons a chance to finish them off. Depending on the target, this agent takes effect in different timeframes.

Demonic Power reserves - They have large reserves of demonic power, which helps them boost their innate regeneration from wounds. These reserves are large enough that they rival Nico's during the middle of the Leanbox Arc, but as he devours more and more souls his reserves become significantly greater than theirs. Not only do these reserves help them recover from wounds, but they enhance their attacks, defences, and can act as a fuel source for their larger attacks. These reserves are also capable of spawning Demons that serve it, and by extension Nico himself.

Soul eaters – Like any Demon in existence, Archdemons have the ability to devour the souls of their victims, storing them inside their bodies in a prison of eternal torment. These souls fuel their evolution, boosting their powers and making them gods in their own right.

Immortality – Archdemons are immortal, and cannot truly be killed. If they were to die, then they would release their energies as a violent explosion that takes their killer along with them, before these energies vanish to reform the Archdemon later.

Primordial flames – What makes the Archdemons so threatening on the battlefield is that they have the ability to manipulate the Primordial flames, the very first flames that emerged from the dawn of creation. These flames form as pure dark blue flames that they breathe through their mouths, though in actuality it is generated from their reserves of Demonic power. These flames have many applications, which are the following:

· Firestorms – Archdemons can create dark blue firestorms, conflagrations of intense temperature, capable to incinerating any and everything in the path. The flames can come from any source of fire or heat, such as simple or magic flames or lava.

· Fiery Rain – Using their flames, the Archdemons can generate a fiery-type rain from the skies above them.

· Droughts - Primordial flames have the power to cause draughts, periods of below-average precipitation in a given region, resulting in prolonged shortages in the water supply, whether atmospheric, surface water or ground water.

· Volcanic eruptions – By sending primordial flames into the ground below them, Archdemons can create artificial volcanic eruptions that, depending on the power output, can rise up to the skies themselves, scarring the very atmosphere.

· Shape manipulation – Like Nico/Crimson Soul, Archdemons can create various shapes from their Flames, depending on the situation. They can use this ability offensively or defensively. For example they could combust and cover themselves in their flames to form a protective barrier that repels attackers.

· Heat Manipulation – Using their Primordial flames as a vacuum, Archdemons absorb heat from their surroundings, making other flame-based attacks useless on them. They can put out any fire due to the flames their bodies generate being the strongest flames. These flames can make certain areas hotter and cause beings to self-immolate, burning them to nothingness.

· Existence destruction – Thanks to their flames being the original, hottest flames in existence, any enemy killed by these flames loses not only their lives but their souls as well. Everything about them is erased, never to return. Demons and other beings that are immortal fear Archdemons for this ability, as their immortality is rendered useless against it.

· Meteor generation – Sending their flames into the air, similar to fiery rain, Archdemons can call down dark blue burning meteors to decimate their enemies. They can call for a small shower or a large storm of them, their size depending on their energy also.

Demon Creation – Through ejecting 'pods' made from Demonic Power out of its body, the Archdemon can spawn Greater and Lesser Demons. These Demons are commanded by the Archdemons, who 'talk' to them via a Hivemind-like link. This link works in a similar manner to the ones Devil Arms have with their Hosts. With this link, the Archdemon commands entire hordes of Demons for the purposes of its master.

Astral Projection – When an Archdemon has significant control over their powers, they will be able to invade the minds of other beings as long as they were of a weaker level than the Archdemon. When they invade a person's mind, they can use their powers to cause various mental conditions, up to turning people downright psychotic and deranged. Depending on what the demon does in their mindscapes, their inner worlds, the victims personality can completely change.


Soon enough, the information stream ended, allowing Nico to return to reality as he looked up to the Archdemon in front of him. A new light shone in his eyes as he stared at the, in his head, now magnificent creature. Sure it's appearance was on the rather... demonic side, but that didn't mean this creature wouldn't be a badass. Hell, if this information was true, then it would probably be even better than most on the battlefield.

The Archdemon looked down at him, their gazes locking together into an intense stare-down. The two lost themselves in their gazes, searching through them to find... whatever they wanted to find. A few moments passed, before they seemingly found what it was they were looking for, as the two of them snorted in unison, Nico having a slight smirk on his lips while the Archdemon released a wisp of dark blue primordial fire from it's snout, a sense of pride and respect radiating from it's being.

He''d call it primal fire for short

"Since you're going to be one of my forces, it would be appropriate to give you a proper name, right?" Nico questioned the Archdemon after a moment of silence, the creature's eyes shining with curiosity. It wondered what he would name it as, and didn't have to wait long to find out. "I got one. From now on, you will be known as... Urthemiel, the Archdemon of Leanbox." Nico proclaimed, holding his hand out and a ball of Hellfire roared into existence, it's orangish red flames rising high into the air as if proudly declaring this proclamation to be law. The Archdemon, now named Urthemiel, breathed a dark blue Primal Firestream into the air, too, gleeful acceptance travelling through their link to the male who gave a dark grin. His eyes shone with malice and sinister intent... intent for his enemies that is.

Those fools wouldn't know what hit them.