Chapter 108 - Leaving Skies End

The interrogation went smoothly… though it left an aftertaste in his mouth that Nico didn't necessarily like.

Nico had done some interrogations before, back when he hadn't visited Compa and started this adventure he was on. Those Interrogations however, never got any easier for him, not even after all the bullshit he had seen. In fact, they were more like a set of points to indicate just how much of a monster he had become up until those times. The reason why he thought this, was that each time he had interrogated someone on orders from the Spec Ops Community (though in reality they were only relaying orders from the Basilicom) they ended with ever increasing counts of violence. He would end up showing those prisoners just how terrifying the 'reaper' could be, and why exactly the male had been called by a lot of people in the world a very specific title: The Basilicom's 'Spec Ops Watchdog'.

Yep, he just referenced the show about that young silver haired boy with a demonic butler, congratulations.

Morbid meta jokes aside, it came from his behaviour, how it had degenerated with every passing month during those many human cases he had done over the years, into the demeanour of a wild animal just waiting to sink his claws into some fresh meat. How every time he tore apart a criminal for what they had done, and believe him these criminals DESERVED every bit of it with the crimes they committed REPEATEDLY without any sign of repenting, he'd lose what little humanity he had to let the monster in him take over. He remembered those dark days, it was always a constant struggle to remain sane and not become a criminal himself. Though, he guessed that wouldn't happen since that would mean the Basilicoms would lose their special operative for those kinds of situations.

Still, those days seemed to never leave him, always hanging over him and mocking him with their presence. Informing him that even if he didn't do any more interrogations, even though he hadn't been that way in a long time, those days would NEVER leave him. Not that he wanted them to either, for they reminded him of just how much of a beast he needed to be. The monster that he kept trapped inside save for the scum of the world such as Ganache and Avenir. The monster that he was, that fought and ate other monsters for sustenance.

Like a lot of things about him, what truly went on in those interrogation chambers hadn't been disclosed to the public, but the way that the workers were after cleaning up the 'messes' that he left behind spoke for themselves. They were TERRIFIED of him, of wat would happen if they somehow pissed him off enough to warrant the Basilicom to send him after them. Part of the male wondered if those sadistic assholes intentionally did this, so that their own staff wouldn't betray them. It felt like they were almost sending a message, one that basically said 'betray us and we'll sick our hound on your asses'.

In the end, no matter how much he tried to deny it or what kind of Demonic God he would become, the bottom line was that he was a hound of the Basilicom, a Watchdog that was meant to howl at every call they made. That was his lot in life, that was his place in this world. Not to be surrounded by so many freaking GORGEOUS girls with wonderful personalities like he was now. Honestly, Nico had no clue why the Basilicoms hadn't even tried to get him away from them yet, and what's even MORE hilarious was the way they acted around him. Like they cared about him and what he had to do. Even though he had been told several times to let the girls in, some part of him just refused to do that. He knew this part of him existed deep within his psyche, born from everything shitty that he'd seen in the world of Gamindustri.

Maybe things have gotten so bad that those fools have forgotten about the 'leash' they put on him so long ago…

In any case, the interrogation went smoothly, like he mentioned earlier. It looked like Logan had been telling him the truth about that Symbol not letting him do anything other than what Nico wanted him to, because he co-operated with everything that was told of him. Though, he didn't look too happy about it, but Nico and Rinjiin honestly couldn't care less about him. He was someone who tried to do something horrible to Rinjiin and him, having done so before to the former if what Nico guessed was accurate. Plus, his whole personality wasn't something they liked to begin with.

During the interrogation, Logan had spilled the beans on a BUNCH of useful information, information Nico had made sure to make recordings of so he could write it up as evidence for the future. The first thing Nico had asked him about was the Symbol itself, or rather the 'Death Parade Seal' as Logan had referred to it as. According to him, the Death Parade was an ancient custom that Demons employed, a custom that dated back to the DPU Era which was, according to him, 30 Trillion years ago.

Sheesh, talk about a long ass time since a DPU was seen. Histoire hadn't been kidding when she told him he was the first DPU in a long time.

The Death Parade worked like some form of business agreement, but it was between warriors who wished to engage in a fair duel with one another. It was something only demonic beings could use, as the Death Parade needed Demonic Power to work. However, humans in that era found a way to artificially harness enough Demonic Power from Devil Arm Wielders to set the requirements for a Death Parade. Depending on how much power was used, the Death Parade's size varies. The minimum size one can get would be at lest the length of an average single-story house, while the biggest would be an entire coliseum. It was said that only DPUs could have enough power to make one that big, though.

When a Death Parade is activated though, while it drains the challenger's Demonic Power upon activation, it also sets up an invisible barrier, one that prevents any outside interference and blocking anything from reaching the competitors from the outside. Nothing, not even sound or time reaches them in that Barrier, making it so no distractions would impede the duel. When activated, it takes the form of a ring of Hellfire, mixed in with some demonic Wards, or rather 'Runecraft' as Logan vehemently referred to it as when Nico himself made that comparison. It was also very dangerous to touch, so much so that if one foolishly tried to get out of the duel they would be incinerated down to their very soul and burned out of existence. Not something Nico found too pleasant, neither did Rinjiin, but hey that was what the times were like back then according to Logan.

He didn't know anything specific, he had never looked into demon culture beyond how to become one via the ascension ceremony as well as their powers and abilities. Apparently, to become a Demon a subject must have slain over 100 other beings in their lifetime. This shows that their souls have been blackened enough to withstand the process enough for it to really kick in. The more dangerous conditions for the ceremony were that one needed to drink a goblet's portion of demonic blood, said goblet being apparently the size of a basketball.

The Blood would purge the suspect of all their previous blood to replace it with itself, then it would begin mutating the rest of the body. All the while, they would have to contend with the demon's soul, which has to be infused with the demon blood beforehand, trying to take them over during the whole process. According to Logan, 'Blood is the currency of the Soul and the very essence of a creature. To drain someone of their blood is to bleed their soul out of them.' He had told them that this message meant that a Demon's Soul could be bled out of hem through their blood, though a DPU would be immune to this. It is why there're aren't any ways to artificially make DPUs other than a DPU Core. If they succeed in defending themselves till the mutation is complete, and the subject will know since they will have fully transformed into a Demon while retaining their mind, then the demon soul will merge with their own while keeping them the dominant ones.

Demons respect strength, that was a fact that Logan constantly went on about, and it correlated with Nico' Devil Arms now that he thought about it. Devil Arms respect the power their wielders have; thus, they swear their service only to those who are worthy of their power. Any weak-willed fools who dared try to get one would have their souls instantly devoured by the Devil Arms, their bodies nothing but puppets for them. Apparently, Maghda had insufficient information about the Ascension Ceremony which was why she had the Northmen: people who underwent an incomplete Ceremony which granted them only the buffs of Demonic Power, but no soul or blood to completely control it. Thus, they were left as barely intelligent slobs who were only loyal to the god they worshipped before the Ceremony. She had been looking for the information to complete it ever since her first 'death' centuries ago but couldn't find it. She had soon found him though, with te information but he wouldn't part with it without a hefty price, a price she was unable to pay due to her funds being destroyed in a 'sea of flame' as she called it.

Nico had to grin to himself at that, knowing he'd set her plans back considerably.

There were a rare few however, whom had souls dark enough to handle multiple Demons at once, which was what Logan had done. He had ingested the blood of two different demons, successfully draining their power and assimilating it into his own body. Thus, that was why he had two Demon Forms. The smaller one was stronger, ironically, than the bigger one, but both had power in their own right. Rinjiin had to snort in disgusted agreement with him there, the man indeed had an abyssal black soul in his eyes for what he had done to him, and the more he heard about it the more Nico wanted to know what he had done in the past. Just so that he could punish him appropriately. There was no way that Logan would be alive by the end of this, all of them knew this. The only reason he was talking was thanks to the Death Parade Seal.

Afterwards, Nico had demanded to know what kind of tricks did he use to infuse those Zeppelins with Demonic Power (it was self-explanatory how his men had become demons with the whole Ascension Ceremony explained in proper), and the answer had been much simpler than the Death Parade. He had simply done something similar to Maghda when she mad demonic weapons, having infused Demon Souls into the Zeppelins, making sure they were weaker than him, so they didn't rebel, and controlled them using his own powers. It was a simple case of might makes right with those things and as long as he had the reins, they would have no choice but to obey him while being stuck inside those Zeppelins. The two men had almost been impressed by this, this guy seemed to have no qualms with trampling over others, even Demons, to get what he wanted.

Next, was when Logan had become a Demon in the first place, though he only said that was before the end of the Dragonators, which lead to him revealing the most startling thing out of that interrogation:

That the Demons had been coming back ever since Abnormals were brought into being: 500 years ago.

Seriously, everything seemed to hit the shit fan at that date, the Abnormals, the Spec Ops Program, finding the Silver Steel, that 500-year gap in time seemed to be quite relevant. The fact that these Demonic entities had begin trying to et back into Gamindustri since the founding of the Spec Ops Program blew their minds out of their skulls. How the hell had nobody noticed this sooner? Why were demonic signs being noticed now? If the Demons have bee trying to get into Gamindustri for centuries, why was it now that they were having any success?

Nico theorized that it was because of how the Shares back then may have still been enough to keep the seal protecting Gamindustri stable, even if the people had started to lose it. Throughout those 500 years, faith began to dwindle till it reached a level where people could safely say that was like a husk compared to its glory days. That level must have destabilized the seal enough for Demons to start breaking through. Though, the way Logan compared the Abnormals to Demons felt pretty damn suspicious, ad when he had asked him to explain on this point he had simply stated that he wasn't sure himself but he KNEW there was a connection to the DPUs and the Abnormals. He knew because he had felt it as a Demon himself, something that made Nico ponder at the time.

Thinking back, Nico didn't notice back then but he too had felt something… off with the Abnormals. Everything about them was FAR from the norm in Gamindustri, at least the Gamindustri before 500 years ago. They behaved unlike other monsters, they had their own powers unlike other monsters, and they DEFNITELY surpassed other monsters by leaps and bounds. With some being able to control elements or make people fucking explode, it definitely raised some questions that only those touched by demonic energy (and retained their minds afterwards) would have asked. Even Biko had agreed, as well as his WHITE SELF, that's when you KNOW things are getting weird.

Now that he thought about it that might have been the first thing all of them agreed on…

Huh.

Well, that was a thing.

Still, all this information would need to be processed and documented. Nico could possibly use this information at the Gala to get people like the Nobility off his back, or he could use this as a means to persuade the Guild to give the Spec Ops Community to investigate these Demons further. It had reached to a point where he considered these creatures to be a major threat, way up there with the Abnormals. At this point, something needed to be done about them, and FAST.

Otherwise, they were all FUCKED.

Since he had recorded their entire conversation, it wasn't necessary by law to keep the prisoner alive. If the crimes this person committed (something that he had Logan confess to a number of which due to the Death Parade Seal) then he would have been executed according to Leanbox Law anyways. He'd be saving the Courts a lot of time by offing him right now, and that was EXACTLY what he did… by incinerating the guy's penis with a slow burning Hellfire flame, cauterized the wound and then proceeded to rip away at Logan in the slowest manner possible.

… you do NOT want to know what he did to that guy once he got all the information he could out of him but suffice to say that he felt goddamn on HIGH when he was done.

Rinjiin did too… once he and Teo barfed all their lunch out but hey.


"You going back, kid?"

"Yeah, I need to return to Leanbox." the human Nico responded, standing at the edge of the Island base platform with his Ember beside him, its engine thrumming constantly like a purring cat. The Demonic Skimmer looked like it was one second away from bursting into flames with how eager it was to be driven like this. Must have been a little jealous about all the fun it had missed out on with that battle the teen assumed. "Since we know that Logan didn't tell anyone about this place, you can still live here in your little corner away from the troubles on the mainland…"

He had transformed back when the interrogation had begun, since he wanted to save power. Plus, Rinjiin looked like he would have fainted if he kept it up any longer, the guy not being used to the demonic shit that was plaguing Gamindustri right now thanks to remaining on this Island. Keeping to his word, Rinjiin hadn't asked him to explain what that form was, something Nico appreciated and caused him to gain a bit more respect for the retired Spec Ops Agent. Though, he used the word 'retired' loosely since he didn't truly believe a Spec Ops Agent like him or Rinjiin could ever retire. Not when they have so many enemies. Hell, his mom may be 'retired' but she still worked with the community and even kept up her training.

Though, in her case she didn't retire cause she wanted to…

Up in the skies, Nico could see Teo flying about with the Hatchlings, playing with them to sooth their worries about what had recently happened. Now that he had seen this for a prolonged length of time, Nico found himself getting… used to an idea of these guys living peacefully, but that was a whole new can of worms he'd rather not get into right now.

"Yes, and I am thankful about that…" Rinjiin remarked with a slight smirk on his lips, though it soon turned into a worried frown when he pulled his had over his eyes. "Though with how you killed Logan afterwards leaves your humanity to be questionable, I cannot say that I wouldn't have gone to those same lengths myself." He admitted, though there was a strange mix of anger and reluctancy in his tone.

At this, Nico chose this time to finally inquire as to what the heck the story was with Loga and this man. He wanted to get some answers before he left, cause once he did he doubted he would be returning here any time soon with the shit that would be coming his way. "Say, if you would allow me this, could you explain what the history between you two was? Your hatred for Logan, while shared with myself, seemed more than just a simple grudge. It had a personal feel to it, like he had personally wronged you in the past." Nico finally questioned. His senses picked up various negative emotions spiking inside the man when he asked that question, but he remained calm. With how he had seen what Nico could do, the teen doubted he'd try to attack him. Even though he had some trust for him, the teen would listen to his instincts above most things.

Eventually, the tension passed as Rinjiin let out a resigned sigh, his eyes gaining a weariness only an adult his age could understand. The lines on his face that betrayed his true age seemed to become ever the more pronounced, too. Looked like this had been weighing him down for some time now, Nico noticed. "Yes, you do have a right to know, considering what's happened. You see… He and I were once raised in the same family, we practically grew up together as orphans who had lost their parents in varying circumstances. You could say that we were as close as brothers. We did everything together, dreaming that one day we could become excellent Spec Ops Agents. Our parents were against this, due to being devotees to the CPUs, but we didn't care. All we wanted was the freedom of choice that being a Spec Ops granted. The choice to fight for either the CPUs, though frowned upon by their ranks, or our own ideals."

Now THIS caught Nico's attention, as well as threw him for a loop. He didn't expect something like this, well, he had a hunch that the two had a long history given their interactions, but the way he made it sound seemed so different to their current relationship, at least before Logan met his end.

"By the time we hit our late teens, we had finally achieved our goal, passing the Spec Ops Exams with flying colours and being appointed members of the Dragonators. There was a gran total of 30 to 40 in our unit at the time, and we were the new blood. We were not that well received at first, due to many Agents coming from Noble families and being complete suckers at their work. You can imagine that since you would likely see it every day." Nico nodded at this, before Rinjiin continued with a sombre air about him. "As time passed, they grew to accept us. I even fell in love with one of them, a woman I would have loved to marry and settle down with. Things looked great for me, but I guess that my happiness blinded me…"

"Your brother changed, didn't he…?"

The man nodded sadly, his eyes a mix of sadness and anger. "Yes, you're right. I don't know how or when, but he began acting strangely, he began getting into fights with other agents more, people kept dying under mysterious circumstances and sometimes I caught him near the scenes of those crimes. Looking nonchalant as if it didn't bother him. There were other… insidious rumours about him that I didn't want to think were true at the time, but as I watched him grow more and more violent, even trying to get it on with my girlfriend like that was her only purpose in life, that was when our bond as brothers was severed."

Taking a moment to calm himself, Rinjiin released a shaking breath, and Nico could see a slight build-up of liquid behind his eyeballs. The man looked shaken, as if the memories were still fresh as the day they were made and not memories of decades long gone. "Then, that one fateful mission showed me just how deranged my brother had become. We were all told that we were requested to go on an Urgent Quest, apparently there were these strange Abnormals that were previously undocumented roaming near one of Leanbox's Mining Villages. So of course we go on over, and what do we find? An ambush. It was all quiet at first, but then they all came out of the woodworks, Abnormals that we had never seen before. Each of them radiated a similar energy to… well, what you radiate int hat form, kid. Though at least yours was manageable, theirs… oh, it was utterly disgusting. I just wanted to throw up from being in their presence."

At this point, Rinjiin looked like he was about to break down into a snivelling mess. "We were surrounded and with no way out. Then Logan came into the picture, grinning like a psychopath. We expected him to come help us, since we were still on the same team even with our differences, but instead Logan just sick's the Abnormals onto us. They were relentless, and the Dragonators got overrun, k-k-k-killed in horrific fashions that give me n-n-n-n-nightmares even to this day. But the worse thing was? He had two Abnormals restrained the woman I loved, me as well, forcing me to watch as he… had his way with her, raping her right in front of me."

'He… He did WHAT?!' Nico screamed in his mind, shock and fury welling up inside his chest. Nico could take a lot of things in life, he accepted them. He knew there were horrible people in the world, hell he took that belief to the fanatical extreme with how he acted. But, there were many things out there that just drove him over the deep end, and THAT was one of them. Hell, people like that… they were some of his favourite prey in this world. It felt the best when he got them reduced to broken masses of flesh, then torturing them some more before finally ending them in the worst kinds of manners possible. If anyone, ANYONE were to try that with the girls he called comrades… oh, the kid gloves would come off.

"He… he told me that he had grown sick of the Spec Ops Program, that it wasn't what it was supposed to be. He didn't 'find it as interesting' as he had in the past, he said. Thus, he had contacted some Nobles that wanted us gone and made them an offer, allow him to have a life of luxury, and he'd 'deal' with them for these Nobles. Once we were gone, he would say that he was the only survivor and that the others died so that he'd live. He'd retire as an Agent then live life in a mansion with maids, luxurious foods and more women than he could imagine. You… You could imagine how much I lost it."

Oh yeah, he definitely COULD imagine that, but Nico remained silent as Rinjiin told him this tale. Though, he wished he could have tortured the guy a LOT more for what he did to the man. "I don't remember much after that, its mostly a foggy blur. However, I do remember Teo up there flying down and burning the Abnormals under explosions and death. I remember using a Fire Skill to scorch Logan in revenge for my beloved. Aside from that, next thing I remember, I'm brought to this Island by Teo, and dropped there. You can imagine how I reacted, I almost went on a suicidal run against him. But, I just didn't have the energy to do so anymore. I had lost everything, my beloved, my friends, all because of one man whom I had once called brother. It wasn't long after that Helen found me, and since we were friends during my time with the Dragonators, she helped me keep my location a secret, faking my death so to dissuade any Agents from coming after me."

Finally, Rinjiin once more tried to control his breathing, and while he did so Nico digested what he had been told. He could feel his inner rage burning brightly like an unstable, volatile Hellfire flame. His inner beast screamed and roared for retribution, the sole solace being that the perpetrator had been killed horribly for his crimes. Theft, manipulation of evidence, obstructing justice, manslaughter, rape, paedophilia, the works. Those crimes made him suffer a fate that not even a dog deserved…

Though, Soul Edge enjoyed taking his soul for eternal torment that would fuel its powers.

If it had any improvements from devouring Logan's soul, Nico had no clue, he would just have to wait till he could summon it again. But back to the man before him, Nico's eyes flashed with understanding as he glanced upwards to the skies above. "That's why you said what you did when we met…"

"What I said?"

"About the Abnormals and how humans can be the worst monsters."

"Ah." Rinjiin blinked, wiping his eyes. He had almost forgotten how he had said something similar to that. "Close enough, I guess…" the man mused, a slight smirk on his lips as mirth slowly made its way into his eyes. "Anyways, though this wasn't official we can both say that this has been essentially a request made from a Client. It may be unofficial, but allow me to give you your payment…"

"Uh, I uh…"

Nico made to refuse that but held his tongue seconds before the words could leave his mouth. If this guy knew about his mom, then he likely had some stubbornness qualities. A lot of Agents had this trait, especially with their Ideals. Though, can one blame them? Following one's own ideals in a religious world like Gamindustri is just asking to be targeted. Plus, if the guy said he wanted to give him a reward, who was he to complain?

"Don't worry about it, trust me. I'd rather reward someone who's done right by me." The last of the Dragonators stated, smiling as he saw through what Nico had almost done. The man then reached forward and opened his Inventory, searching through his list of items for the ones he desired. "I may not be able to give you any credits, its been too long since I was at the Mainland so I don't have any. But, if my hunches are correct, I think these will be useful to you."

After he said that, Rinjiin sent something over to his Void Storage, Nico knew this because he received a Notification along with a BEEP from his Bracers. Raising his right Bracer, the male opened his Void Storage but with mental commands. The teen surprisingly found this to be much more preferable than operating the interface, though it did feel… weird, not to have to do that for its functions.

That will take some getting used to.

"I found some of these while exploring these uncharted lands within Skies End with Teo, though I scavenged more from Logan's wrecked Zeppelins. I believe these may prove useful to you." Rinjiin explained to him, and instead of checking them out now Nico decided to wait till he got back home. He wanted to return to the girls as soon as possible, hopefully they wouldn't punish him too bad for being away from them for this long.

With that, the younger male nodded as he proceeded to lower his head slightly, the best thing the man was going to get to a bow from him. "Very well, I shall accept the reward and take my leave. Good day to you, Rinjiin…" Nico began, turning on his heel and walking towards his purring Skimmer. He rested one gloved hand on the left handle, feeling the rough texture of it before he whispered lowly so the man wouldn't hear it. "You take care of yourself in retirement, old man. Mom would be devastated if you kicked the bucket."

And with that, Nico hopped onto his Skimmer's cockpit, revved the Engine then drove off the Island, Ember shifting into Flight Mode right after so that they could fly into the clouds. Rinjiin watched him leave, a faint upturning on his lips as he did so with crossed arms under his chest. He hadn't spoken face to face to another person in so long now, that he kind of missed the kid already. "Heh, you take care kid. Life's too short to be brooding over stuff…"


Feeling the air rush through his bands as he rose through the air had never felt so good to the male. The air was clear, the scenery looked equally clear since he flew above clouds, and he could finally take a moment to relax from so much combat. At least, until he returned to the Mainland. Ember, thanks to being sentient, could do the driving for him while Nico himself could just relax, hence why he was currently leaning back on his ride with his hands on the back of his head. His legs were crossed over the hood while he used Demonic Energy top keep himself balanced on the cockpit.

Now that he wasn't distracted by anything, Nico couldn't help but notice how much his body wanted to rest. There was this strong tight sensation within his skull, threatening to crush his brain to mush while his body just refused to listen to any commands sent its way. It was almost seductive how his body wanted to have him close his eyes and rest. Like a succubus whispering into her prey's deepest consciousness or being bathed in super soft comfort. While he had the threat of falling off his Skimmer if he lost control of his energy, Nico did still decide to take a little power nap. It was about mid to late afternoon right now, most of the day being spent repelling that invasion.

Thinking back on it, Nico remembered watching a movie a while back, one where there was a cowboy-esque man in a movie about a bunch of Zombie outbreaks with a park who always said to 'enjoy the little things' and that was something Nico couldn't help but agree with. The clouds below him looked like they were trekking on past him, though in reality that was not the case at all, while a huge sense of freedom coursed through his being, soothing his body from its recent battles.

It was moments like these that Nico appreciated, more so since he had begun this crazy adventure with Neptune and her gang. The moments where one could rest and recuperate from the stress and intensity these adventures were known for. Not only were they rare, but there was always a possibility that they could end when one least expects it. Like the morning after the whole Hellverse incident, he had intended to spend it with the girls, but things happened and he had gotten dragged into another conflict. The humming of his Skimmer soothed his mind, making him forget about his troubles if only for a moment, before Nico sighed in bliss. True happiness was when one was content and no longer yearning for anything. In his case, this peaceful tranquillity was something he had long since yearned for.

'You know, the only thing better would have been bringing a portable Console with me to play some games on during the journey…' that stray thought circled through his mind for about 2 or 3 seconds or so, before Nico banished it from his head. He liked his Laptop, he liked his StarCraft and the games on there, they were good enough for him. Plus, if he bought one of those handheld consoles from a games store, then people might think he was supporting the Goddesses that they were built to inspire faith in. For example, that Lastation Portable (LSP) or the Lowee DS. Nico refused to allow that to happen, as he had no faith in any Goddess. No matter if he got to know the Goddesses on a personal level, there was no way he would put faith in anything other than his own strength. Once one pout their faith in another like that, they've lost the game of life. That's what he believed.

Though, he did admit to seeing some interesting games on those consoles that weren't available for his Laptop. One of them had been a Lastation exclusive about a white-haired demon slayer using a sword suspiciously like one of his own a hack'n'slash franchise that looked quite good to get into. He recalled there being a special event in Lastation where there was a recent fifth release into the franchise after over 10 years of being silent. another had been a Lowee exclusive, called Lowee Sports Resort. It was apparently a sequel to the Lowee Sports game that came with the release of the Lowee console. It had come with a packaged Lowee Motion-Plus accessory which allowed the Lowee Remote to capture more complex motions than before.

With the account balance Nico had from his jobs, he had been sitting on a rather hefty sum of Credits, Credits he usually only spent when necessary. Whenever he did use them, he usually spent them on equipment he would store inside his Void Storage, or on repairing the junk he'd find on missions, like that one time he had found an older model of a Light Sabre that, with a quick visit to the repair shop, functioned quite well. If only it had a weaker drainage on its energy crystals, then it would have been an interesting weapon to use sometime, but now it just stayed within his Void Storage. Nico didn't like parting with stuff that he found either, it just felt like a waste, honestly.

Speaking of Void Storage Items, he should probably see what it was that Rinjiin gave him. Seemed like something interesting, ad he had some time before Ember returned to the mainland, so why not?

With that in mind, Nico pulled open his Void Storage, and began rummaging through is contents for a few seconds, soon finding the question mark that indicated the new items. Or rather, he found many question marks. His mind almost lost its urge to sleep entirely when he saw how many there were in there, Nico quickly shooting straight up while his wide eyes took in what his Void Storage was showing them. 'Holy…'

'Hmm… this is indeed something of interest. Why not summon one into your hand?'

'Yeah, way ahead of you there, Biko…' Nico thought while doing exactly that. He did it through the Voice Commands that his Void Storage had been outfitted with thanks to the Void Module, and soon enough the black Datastreams from his Armour appearing appeared around his hand. When they vanished, he found himself… staring at something that made him arch a brow in confusion. 'A… book…?'

Indeed, in his hand, there lay a tome, consisting of a black cover with a set of crimson outlines. He had to admit, Nico had noticed how the colours black and red seemed to be used a lot in this story, was that some kind of trivia to be added to its wiki? 'Wait, what the heck did I just monologue about…?' Nico wondered, soon shaking his head as he focused on the Tome itself. He then used his other hand to peel open the Tome onto the main page… and saw there was nothing in it.

'Hold on, Nico. I sense Demonic Wards in place here. This is an… interesting Ward array, and it seems to be placed within the fabric of each page. Here, try sending some Demonic Power into the tome's first page, perhaps that might help.'

Nico nodded to his Demon Persona's words, there was little else that he could have done with this Tome if Biko had remained silent, and thus the male closed his eyes and focused. He called upon his reserves of Demonic Power, which felt much smaller than what he was used to thanks to being recently used for that battle, into the Tome. Almost instantly afterwards, the male felt something happen, judging by the strange sensation that filled him seconds later.

Opening his eyes, the teen saw that, to his shock, letters were beginning to form on the page, letters that looked to have been made from pure crimson Neon and were the size of a book's average Title and contents page. Apparently, this Tome seemed to be titled 'Ophelia – the Serpent Sword' with a contents page that listed various chapters and what pages they started at. On the front cover, there seemed to be an illustration of a woman with long hair styled into a ponytail, stabbing some sort of claymore into the ground in front of her with a very… unsettling look in her eyes and smirk on her lips. 'Huh? Is this just a storybook? Why would…?' Nico began to think, before he saw the date appear right beside the Title…

The Date…. Being 30 trillion years in the past: practically in the DPU Era according to that interrogation of Logan.

'Wha… what the hell?'

'How interesting… it appears to be a Book about someone who lived in the DPU Era, and from the looks of the illustrations it seems to have been someone who was skilled in combat, too. Perhaps we should read it, maybe we could get some insight as to what the hell this Era had been like.'

'Lemme guess, the Fragmented Memories don't have much info on this? On anything Logan told us?'

'Unfortunately, that is indeed the case. It seems that only training can help the Fragmented Memories recover themselves, anything we learn from others does little to affect it.'

'Alright then…'


Reading the book took a fair while, but Nico finished it. He had read it from start to finish, and boy was it a fascinating read. It had been about this woman Warrior named Ophelia, a half-demon woman who had been renowned as a fierce warrior who fought against Demons without the use of a Devil Arm. Instead, she had capitalized on the Demons one other weakness, a weakness that surprisingly few people would expect to work on these creature: Cold, hard steel.

This Tome, as he read it, not only showed him the Story of this half-demon Warrior had highlighted just how her sword technique, something she had called the 'Rippling Sword' worked. According to the Tome, it worked by using the flexible quality of the body to vibrate and undulate the user's sword, making it resemble a rippling snake. This illusion makes her blows almost impossible to anticipate or block. Judging from the few illustrations that showed how the technique looked, Nico almost salivated at how it was applied in battle, he REALLY liked how deadly and efficient it looked.

Perhaps he could learn how to perform it…

'If you come into the Inner World, perhaps we can do something about that while our body rests during the journey to the Mainland…'

…That… That could very well work, Nico felt down for learning some new techniques from an older Era. It honestly felt quite excitement coursing through him from learning the Skills of other Warriors from an era long past. It felt almost like he was inheriting their strengths, their legacies. Not only that, but these techniques didn't seem to rely on any energy reserves either, so if he felt like it he could teach them to others, though that would be a bit far off.

Nevertheless, he could start learning those Techniques now, and so, Nico gave a huff as he closed his eyes and dove into his Inner World.