Rewards and New Mission
Now that they had gotten Nico's Osiris out of the way, it was time that they give Castiel his own rewards. Zelretch wouldn't be here to witness this however, having left them already to do his own thing. Fine by them, after all they had a lot of time on their hands if what their instincts told them was any accurate, so might as well make the most out of it.
And both boys had their own means of doing so.
On one side, the Spec Ops Agent showed little reaction to the lack of an elderly man in their area. He didn't really mind all that much since he had his new weapon, it was more than enough for a reward from this mission. It rivaled some of the rewards he would receive from his Quests back home aside from Credit sums. A weapon like this, feeling so similar to a Devil Arm yet not at the same time, it would be an ideal substitute for Harvester considering how it would be going through somewhat of a metamorphosis.
Turning to his companion, Nico hummed in thought. His eyes ran across the sight of Castiel's two new familiars, taking in their elegance and beauty. Even Nico had to admit that he was a little impressed with them, they seemed so much stronger than they were before. In fact, while he wasn't aware of their biology, the short time that he had seen them in their previous states made Nico aware that they were in an incomplete state. Not only that, but his senses told him that these two beings had ma much greater power boost compared to before, though he had little idea on what they were like.
Nevertheless, seeing them gave him a bit of an idea to do with his OWN companion, his own little creation from his Demonic Powers. Whether or not it would be related to him due to the nature of its origins would be debatable, though. Still, this did pose some ideas for Nico to increase its powers, which were already strong enough to begin with.
In the past, Nico would have focused on increasing his OWN powers so that he could fight the battles that nobody else could. It had worked for him so far, and he had been able to achieve much on his own, with little to no help from other people. it didn't help that there were few in his experience who were that competent enough to stand by him, those few slowly increasing though. However, if anything about recent events taught him a lesson, it would be that he wasn't the only one needing to get stronger, there was his companions as well. Not only his companions back in Gamindustri, but his sort of familiar as well. No longer could he afford to be the only one who needed to get stronger, he had to upgrade the rest of his companions as well.
'Hey, Biko, do you think it might be possible for us to find something that could help Urthemiel out in this place?'
'I do not see why that would not be the case. According to this man;s words, as vague as they were, this place is full of different treasures, treasures connected to his countless exploits in alternate dimensions. This would mean that there would likely be something of use to our Archdemon, Urthemiel.'
Wasn't that the truth, the male mused to himself. The fact that there were other worlds had already even made known to him by the time he first met with this guy, who MAGES. said was her master, hadn't prepared him for the possibility of alternate dimensions. It had only been through all this crazy demonic shit that he hadn't lost himself to his urge to squeal like a fangirl at the possibilities this could provide... as well as his discipline training from his mother.
Meanwhile, Castiel had been focusing on petting his new familiars, a broad smile on his lips. He couldn't say with words how happy he was that he had these guys now, how much he would LOVE to see them in action. Not only did they look cool as all hell, but they also felt immensely powerful, way more so than most familiars. They WERE meant to be legend-class familiars after all, and their powers could go up against the toughest opponents while holding their own.
He couldn't wait to see the looks on everyone's faces when they saw his new friends,especially a certain pervert. He may be changing his ways somewhat, but Castiel would regard him as a pervert till the end of time. As long as he kept that side of him reined in though, he would try not to be a dick about it. After all, he was only an asshole to those who either annoy him, were his enemies, or he held no respect for whatsoever.
Not to mention, all this felt like therapy for him considering how much stress he had been under since coming here. Much of it had already been worked out of his system, but the core problem still remained. Nevertheless, he had a couple weeks to ponder that, so he wouldn't be in a hurry to solve those problems. He could think about them some other time.
Even so though, his mind STILL worked a million miles a minute, thoughts and plans racing through it like racers on a course competing for a championship, on what this could mean for future missions. As well as how he could protect his comrades and those under him in the future once he returned home. He would have to look into how he could use their powers, see what they were first. Whether or not they had gained new ones or enhanced their old ones.
Also, there were their special traits, traits that unlocked themselves when certain conditions were met. That familiar catcher guy (he didn't remember his name) once called them special abilities, which Castiel disagreed with. A LOT of powers could be classed that way, so it would be redundant to call these specific traits such. Therefore, special traits would be what the Heir would go with.
Just then, he caught sight of Nico's pondering, but before he could speak, a notification appeared in front of him. 'Once a gamer, always a gamer, eh uncle?' he couldn't help but think while his lips twitched upward slightly. 'Hmmm... it says here I can choose a reward for completing the first trial. I can chose anything i'd like, huh? Well then, I think I have just the thing...' he thought to himself, before opening his mouth. "I'd like a Ying Yang Pendant."
As Castiel said that a pendant appeared in his hands, it was rather dull and old, there was not a single trace of anything special about it whatsoever to anyone looking at it without extreme focus. However, Castiel was not just anyone.
He was someone who had secretly studied thousands of books from all sources including some that were originally from Zelretch's personal collection, anything that could be used to obtain strength or that could work to help train was something he had learned. So, when he held the pendant the smile on his face was as hungry and extreme as a smile could be, something that shocked Nico who never expected the 'grumpy' Castiel to be able to show such a smile.
As Castiel held the pendant with one hand he cut the skin of his free hand before dropping some of his blood into the pendant. The instant the blood touched the stone, it was absorbed and a chain reaction started as blood and energy from Castiel started being drained at extreme speeds. A glow surged forth like a ship sailing through the ocean from within the pendant. A purple glow appeared on the pendant as Castiel's body was covered on an equal glow. The light covering him was intensifying quickly and before long he looked like a purple sun as he stood there before the glow vanished just as Castiel did.
'What the hell?!' Nico thought to himself from his position in the training ground. During that light show, he had to cover his eyes with a single leather glove-clad hand, so he didn't get blinded from that intense purple light. Whilst that happened, the redhead, who had experienced teleportation and other such things before, suddenly felt changes in the air that he had found familiar. When he lowered his arm to see what had happened, Nico saw that Castiel had vanished off the face of this entire dimension. Obviously, the redhead remained baffled for a short time before his mind regained its ability to think. 'Did he just Teleport or something? Cause i'm PRETTY sure that this guy couldn't do that before!'
'Hmmm, interesting... it appears that pendant is the cause of this.'
'The Pendant? Oh right, when Castiel dropped the blood in it, that's when the light show happened... you think that did something to him?'
'Most likely. If I were to guess, then I would say that the pendant acts like a key to an Inner-world of sorts. A key in which he has to put blood on it, like a blood sacrifice, to activate. Whatever place he has been taken to, I am unaware of the actual benefits he will gain from it, but I can imagine that they will be significant. Obviously, it won't be ANYTHING like an Inner World like the one we know of. If anything, it seems to me like a special place which the pendant brings him to that cant be accessed so easily. In the end, its similar to the Inner World, but not at the same time.'
Now that he heard Biko's words, a light of understanding flashed by his eyes as Nico calmed down. For a moment, he had feared the worse for the blonde Heir, but hearing that had doused those worries to nothingness. Instead though, he began to think about what he had learned from Biko. Part of him felt a little unsettled about Castiel having access to something similar to his Inner World, but he dismissed it since it wasn't like he didn't have ANYTHING to compare it to. He was fine with his Inner World being what it was, so that guy could enjoy whatever it was that he had gained. He'll just stay here and reap the benefits he'd gained for himself.
Castiel's P.O.v.
As I opened my eyes a grim appeared on my face. If my calculations are correct this is the Fourth Layer of this place. The realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, a special space connected to the pendant I obtained. What makes this space extra special is that is decently big (right now it has around 66.000 meters of diameter), the density of energy in the air is the most suitable for me and being about 20 times heavier in amount than in the external world, and that could be used for many things like raising herbs and other such matters.
However, the most interesting part is time. The flow of time here is 100 times faster than on the outside world, and considering that I can spend around 4 hours here by each day it means that while normally I would sleep I can spend around two weeks and then some in here on an ideal place to train. Also, even when I am not here the time still flows 100 times faster in this place so any herb put here gets older 100 times faster, no more than that as the ambient is just too suitable for them to grow.
Looking to the side I see some trees already here, getting closer I see that they are three trees that produce some interesting fruits, Fruit of Vitality that increase lifespan for 50 years, Energy Enhancing Fruit that can increase the physical strength by about 300 kilos, and the Agility Enhancing Fruit that by consuming it the person grows 50% faster. Truly wondrous things. I, obviously, took one of the Agility Enhancing Fruit and ate it, instantly I felt a energy enter my body and I could feel something within me change a little, I am not sure yet but it likely worked.
Now, looking around I saw a giant plaque in the middle of the place. In it there was some writing from the hand of someone I know all too well.
'This place is my extra dumpste... I mean another secret treasure of mine. Uhum, deffinetly not just somewhere that I threw things like roots and stuff like that because it was occupying too much space. Anyway, originally this place had some special trees and other things that I took away as their leaves and fruits were good to make food better, so as compensation for the 'flawed' product I left a gift on the pond.
Enjoy!'
As I finished reading the message I took a deep breath before looking over the pond. Inside there wa just water but in the middle, there was a separated island inside the pool, with a decisive heart I moved to the smaller pond and as I looked at it I could feel my eyes shining in pure excitement.
Inside there is a tree, it is a bodhi tree that is releasing a peaceful mood in this place, almost like if it is a sacred place. Just by being near this tree I can sense my mind relaxing and I feel like if I could sit under it to think I could grasp at all I have to learn much faster, I can also see some small fruits on the tree and I can already predict that this whole tree is special in ways I still don't understand.
With this my speed of learning will be even higher, I will be able to ponder and learn things even better.
Looking around I summoned my familiars who quickly moved to make this place their new homes, each went their ways as they relaxed on this great ambient. I also noticed that there are a few creatures around like a 1000 yers old Clam whose blood could be used on the creation of pills and there is also a 5,000 Year Old Golden Medicinal Turtle that has a similar effect. Finishing noticing all that I sat down beneath the tree and started thinking back to all the fighting I had before I met Nico, my fight against him, and also the trial. I tried to understand everything including the inner workings of the magic defenses protecting the trial grounds like the barriers that could stop us and other such matters.
As I sat there my mind cleared and calmed, it was the calmest I've been in probably weeks or perhaps a bit further. However, even this distraction left my mind as I immersed myself on my thoughts, I don't know how long I will stay here but I asked Eevee to come 'wake me up'in a day or so before going back to warn Nico that I will be staying here for longer. I would go there now but I just can't avoif the impulse of sitting down here now and learning more.
And with that I immersed myself in figuring out myself, the nature of my powers, runecraft, and even if I could take this star light I had from the 'partially stolen name of Kokabiel'. Power is power, this light could be used and I wanted to know how to use it better than a brutish method like the one I currently am using. There is a lot to learn and I want it all, I am a ganancious man after all even if I don't look much like it most of the time.
3° Person P.O.V.
About fifteen minutes later or 1 day on the realm
As Nico was ttalking with Biko, suddenly Castiel flashed into existence without a trace of sound or fluctuation of energy. It was like a moment there was nothing and the next there was Castiel.
"I guess you'll be training, then." the redhead stated, not really caring much about these events, since he'd seen way weirder stuff.
"Yup, since Uncle's leaving us to our own devices, I'll make the most out of it with this baby." The young Heir replied, before once again activating the Pendant and vanishing into space once more.
'Whelp, looks like he's gone.'
'We should focus on our training as well. We have things to refine after all.'
On that, Nico nodded as he sat down in a cross legged position, closed his eyes, and entered his Inner World. He and Castiel would be this way for the duration of this interlude between missions.
Before starting the training, however, Castiel suddenly reappeared, and after a quick statement of "just forgot to do something", he decided to take a better look at the things that could be bought with just the points. This caught Nico's attention, just stopping him from finally entering his Inner World.
Something definitely caught his attention, if the contemplative expression on Castiel's face was anything to go by.
"Wow, this might be a good call." he said. Seeing the questioning look on the Agent's face, he elaborated. "It says here that we can buy info about the ext mission, to be more specific what is the general objective and special traits of the place. I will buy this." he said, losing a total of 500 points and receiving Intel in the form of a holographic screen in front of him, showing him what to expect.
And it did NOT look good.
"This will be a metal-based mission, we will receive a total of 30 soldiers each to lead inside a city that will be getting attacked. If the city is destroyed or if over half of the soldiers dies we will lose. And to make things worst the soldiers can refuse our orders if we can't captivate them enough and neither of us can use anything of metal." Castiel explains it, furrowing his brows in thought.
'That... That doesn't sound good, Biko.' The Spec Ops Agent thought worriedly to his Demon Persona. 'My Devil Arms are mostly made of metal anyways, and if that last mission was any indication, then even the slightest traces of metal will render those weapons unusable.' he added, already feeling the dissatisfaction coming from said weapons.
'Indeed, this does pose a threat to us, as our powers are highly influenced by our Devil Arms. However, this does not make us helpless, especially with how our Hellfire powers are progressing. Not only that, but the Red Rage Ring does not have an ounce of metal in it, but rather crystal. Not to mention even if it did have some metal in it, since it is part of you like Emiya's arm, it should pass the criteria anyways. So for now, our restrictions would limit us to our Hellfire Powers, Demon Skills and their normal variants. Not to mention we have our hand to hand combat skills.'
'True... hey wait, how did you know that Emiya's arm has metal in it?'
'The life flow within it feels off compared to the rest of his arm. I tied not to look into it too much because with the level I went, I risk exposing myself to a lot of negative energy. You know the harmful effects that could cause, especially since this amount would have overwhelmed our mental resistance.'
Those words made the redhead shudder, clutching a gloved hand tightly. However, the more he thought about it, the more that Nico noticed details that were omitted. "You say that we can;t use things with Metal in them, yes? Is there anything else about that condition? Like why this is, if there are areas where this condition doesn't apply? Are traps an exception? What are the condition's limits, specifications etc? Just seems too vague and generalized for a condition like that."
"Nope, doesn't say anything like that. Uncle probably wants us to discover that for ourselves." Castiel replied, checking the info again. He hid the slight bristle he felt coming on when Nico asked that, instead of what a leader would ask such as what their men would be equipped with. The guy didn't seem like a leader type, more like a soldier being forced into different roles. He'd seen that as well during the last mission, too, hence why he wasn't so sure about Nico being a leader being a good idea. "Well, I at least know what I will have to buy now." Castiel remarked seconds later, shrugging his shoulders before turning to the system in place and requesting a large amount of precious stones.
Not mystical stones, but Rubies, Saphires, Esmeralds, Diamonds and other such things.
Castiel was super excited seeing all those gems of incredible purity, his eyes were sparkling immensely and while carefully taking them he seemed to be one step away from drooling. He then proceeded to go inside his Pendant, ignoring the disgusted looks that Nico was giving him.
'Seriously? Jewelry?' the redhead questioned in his mind, frustration building within him at the choice of item that Castiel had bought in bulk like that. He didn't see the point of making requests for what seemed to be ordinary gems. Why the hell would he waste valuable points on something that obviously wasn't a weapon or anything like Spirit Bones or Satanic Treasures. Heck, he could feel his inner Ghoul growling in frustrated anger as well.
'Calm yourself, Nico. Remember what we have observed from Emiya so far. He is someone whom is from a different world than us, therefore he may have ideas up his sleeves that are different from ours. Therefore, it is wise to assume that someone like him, who carries himself as a capable leader, would know what they are doing.'
Biko's words reverberated throughout his mind, and Nico calmed himself down. In the end, his Demon Persona was right, even if he could sense the hidden distaste with his negative emotion sensing. Castiel Emiya wasn't from Nico's world, therefore he would know things that he didn't. The proof came from that time in that desert in their previous mission. In that case, he had to do something he usually frowned upon, making business deals, to acquire important information on something that he had been doing for a long time, now.
'Goddamnit, I almost lost it there... I almost acted like those assholes I hate... thanks Biko, for steering me away from that.'
'It is of no problem, we are one in the same. We help each other, it is our way. On another unrelated note, Emiya's actions intrigue me. Perhaps we can use the system to gain something we could use to our advantage for our next mission.'
That... actually sounded very interesting, Nico would not lie. He would admit that sounded like an interesting proposal, he would like to know what kinds of items he could get from something like this system, they wold have to be lower grade items compared to the rewards that they would receive/gather during the missions, but they could still hold other interesting uses.
Therefore, Nico went and accessed the system like Castiel just did, and while searching for anything interesting he came across an... interesting tome. Quickly buying it for 200 points, Nico sat back down, placed the book in his lap, opened it and began reading.
Two warriors stood on opposite sides, staring each other down with utmost conviction.
Both carried large swords on their backs, but there wasn't anything special about them at first sight. They didn't have any charms, enchantments, nothing. They looked like any normal two-handed swords... but was exactly what made them feel like the scariest thing in existence. It was BECAUSE they looked normal that it would be wise to treat them as anything BUT normal.
Normally when someone carried a sword, it is seen as unnatural and it attracts attention. Not something unexpected, since swords were signs of conflict, and very few liked conflict these days, preferring peace over war. However with these two, there was no such thing, it was so natural to them that it was like this should be the norm from the very start, this is just a small show of how close to the way of the sword both of them were.
The two men, clad in wicked-looking armour that looked to show a long, utter ferocious history of conflict due to the tears and wear on them, started talking about something, but what that was would remain a mystery, a mystery that would soon be lost to time.
In the end the one on the left slowly, almost painfully slowly, pulled his sword out The moment that he started this action, its effects started as the world itself seemed to change around him.
Scenes of carnage and violence passed the minds of all of those who dared look at the deceptively ordinary blade, and while moving it there was this… illusion of the sword getting a red hue of blood, it was like the blade and the user were covered in the blood of thousands of enemies. A devil-like person, an entity of pure slaughter. But, unlike what one might assume, there was not an ounce of evil on it, like there was not one evil thought around him even as he drenched the world and reality with blood of dozens of thousand.
The other also took out his sword, and everything around him was cut in many pieces by the light alone of the blade. As in, the light that gleamed so menacingly from it that it actually acted like it was a blade itself, tearing through everything in sight. A feeling of desolation, like he was the topmost God of the world and everyone else was below him from the start. Even the air was being cut around him, and THAT was because he wasn't even trying to cut anything right now. It is just his presence that made this a reality, as if nothing shall be left whole when facing his sword.
After they started at each other for some time more, they finally moved. They closed in on each other instantly, their first strikes at the ready. Both struck out with enough strength to eliminate entire armies with one swing of their mighty blades, and with such amazing speed that following the movements was nigh impossible. However, no matter how much they attacked the two remained equally balanced. Like two titans that matched each other in every shape or form.
After more than 10000 attacks, it seemed that the two men wanted to 'stop playing games' and took each other seriously. For they started going faster and faster, throwing more and more deadly strikes with illusions of thousands upon thousands of attacks raining down upon each other without mercy. This constant onslaught utterly wrecked their surroundings, yet neither noticed or cared. Both evolved as time passed, the swords of the two leaving after images and the space itself started to crack on the point of impact.
It was a fully different level of swordplay that was rarely ever seen, the terrain itself changed until the woods and mountains turned into flat wastelands.
But the two just kept fighting.
The duel undecided...
'Holy...' Nico thought, eyes wide as he stared down, captivated by what he was reading. 'This... this could be uber useful in improving my sword skills.' He added on in awe. Even if he couldn't use his Devil Arms, Hellfire-based weaponry would be a suitable alternate, and if he learned some of the techniques shown here, then maybe he could boost the strength of his own techniques. Not only that, but skimming through the menu, he noticed some books on Sword training, as well as Halberd and Scythe manuals too, which meant that if he got them, he could increase his versatility with his Devil Arms even further.
With that course in mind, Nico spent up to 600 points in buying books with similar titles, storing them in his Void Storage for later reading. For a brief moment, Nico realized just how USEFUL this opportunity presented before him (albeit forcefully) became, before his mind got consumed by the desire to learn more about these warriors and their sword play. Swings which split oceans, cut through the skies and shattering mountains, the amount of skill he had seen in them defied the logic that Nico had been aware of until now, something which he DEFINITELY got blown away by.
Whilst he did his little shopping frenzy (wonder if this was how Compa and Neptune felt whenever they went out to get stuff and he'd have to manage their budgets so they didn't splurge), Nico soon came across something... particularly interesting.
"Huh?"
Blinking owlishly, the redhead's mind screeched to a halt when he saw the next book on the Menu screen, humming in thought as he stared at it. The item itself had the icon of a book, but when he looked at its title, it only had a '?' on it, with no description of its contents nor a preview of the object itself. Although, there WAS a note which said that this item would remain 'locked' if bought and would only be available after the second trial. 'Huh, I see... its similar to some weapons gained in videogames, predominantly RPGs where one needs to be a certain level to use it. I remember a Leanbox game about 4 characters surviving a Zombie Outbreak with similar mechanics, what was it called, dead something? Meh, whatever. Anyways, the price looks to be quite hefty for a single item, if i'm honest...' Nico thought, frowning when he noticed the price. 'What do you think, Biko?'
'I would say buy it. If its this guy, then although we haven't known him for long, I believe it is because of him that Emiya has the items that he does. This means that if he made this item act this way, then its likely it is very useful in some manner. If not for you, then perhaps we can use it in other means.'
Biko stated his piece, so Nico decided to heed his words. In the end, the male bought the item, and some notifications appeared on his right Bracer's main Screen, telling him pretty much the same thing as the description had. Nico could only hope that he had made the right choice with this, cause he SO wanted to make sure to get great benefits from whatever treasures Zelretch had in store for him and Castiel.
Pushing those thoughts aside for the time being, Nico decided that he'd spent enough points, took the first sword manual from his Void Storage and began reading, immersing himself within the contents.
3 hours passed for the two boys, and each of them performed their own forms of training.
For Castiel, he trained more in hand to hand combat alongside his Familiars, all the while learning more about their new powers and how they could be used on the battlefield. This was due to them having joined the Heir to the Tower within the realm of the Violet Jade Immortal in an attempt to be with their master, something that warmed Castiel's heart the more he thought about. He let such feelings fill his mind, pushing away any thoughts of his troubles that awaited him back home while he trained to his heart's content. He trained in CQC due to the fact that they were going to a place which wouldn't allow them to use metal, so any combat capabilities that didn't involve such things would be absurdly useful here.
Not only did he train his CQC skills, but he also trained his magic abilities as well. His Curses likely wouldn't be as useful to them as they were before, given how that they would likely be fighting against something robotic and robots don't usually have souls to attack. Like he explained to Nico, his Curses were both a mind and soul attack, but if a being lacked both of those like a robot or a formless entity, then those things wouldn't do jack shit. Therefore, he focused on his Blessing and other Spells, since his Blessings could work on himself and possibly those that were under him (plus seeing as Clarent was made from metal he couldn't rely on its charisma, nor could he rely on Hruting either).
Then there were those Gems, Gems that Castiel planned on forming into Mystic Codes at the end of his training. If his possible subordinates were to not have proper equipment, it would be his job to provide. He would not have anybody dying under him if he could help it. Plus, it would likely help him earn their trust since according to what was learned, these people can refuse their orders if they feel that they are not worthy enough to lead. Castiel would not let that happen, otherwise he would disgrace himself as the Heir to the Tower. Those three hundred hours or a bit over 8 days were quite useful for that as he had the time and the energy to do a lot of things during the time period.
Meanwhile, on Nico's end thanks to his Inner World slowing time down for longer than Castiel's Time Dilation Field, he had a lot more time to accomplish what he intended. First off, was training. This Training, instead of focusing on his Devil Arms, focused on everything else other than them. Hellfire, his Spirit Bone, his Ghoul Side, his Demon Skills, Normal Skills, pretty much everything non-metal based. He had to train his Hellfire so he could use it better in closed spaces, to make it so that he only destroyed what he wanted to and left little collateral damage. Normally he wouldn't do something like that, as in the past Nico had been well into the belief that collateral damage was unavoidable, but in this case he had no choice. The damage had consequences if what he interpreted from Castiel's summary was accurate.
In addition to his Hellfire, Nico had to train his Ghoul Side in its detaching ability. Thing was, his Kagune may have a metallic appearance like his Bikaku, but it was actually completely organic. Yet it can defend itself like it were metal, hence why Castiel's Hruting couldn't cut his Bikaku. This was the basis for his hypothesis that his Kagune would be usable in the next trial. Moreover, the Kagune had the power to detach itself from the main body, then form into anything the user wants. That meant he could use it to forge weapons that he could use in place of his Devil Arms at the expense of RC Cells, or objects like traps. If what he felt like about the mission was any accurate, then he would have to do what he did when he fought alongside Theta and his CMA (Cornucopia Military Academy) in fighting the Coalition a couple years back: lead a battalion of soldiers into battle. Not something he found himself growing particularly fond of, but it looked like he had no choice. At least now, unlike back then, he had the will to access his Ghoul Side to aid in the war effort.
As for those sword techniques, they were integrated into his Hellfire training in that him and Biko trained till he could use them with Hellfire made weaponry. If he could perform them even if barely with these weapons, then an actual metallic weapon would allow him to use those techniques easily. It was like if a baby ran before walking, and when it finally tried to walk it found that it was super this training with training in his Demon Skills, normal Skills, and one got the majority of Nico's training in a nutshell.
Near the end though, he had decided to take a break from training to think up plans and ideas that he could use for different scenarios based off his own hypothesis on what would likely happen in this next trial. He didn't have much to go on, but it would be enough for some of these ideas at least. Plus, he factored in what he knew about Castiel's abilities as well, making calculative predictions and ideas. Hopefully this guy had additional tricks up his sleeve, otherwise this would be a lot harder than the previous trial.
All this, lead to the current times...
It was about 10 minutes before the Trial would begin, and both boys had exited their own training routines, refreshed and ready to go. Castiel had used blessings to recharge his stamina, dismissed his Familiars till he would need them again, and refreshed his energy reserves. He would be in tip top shape to fight in the next battle, and he looked goddamn pumped for it.
On the other side, Nico had woken up from his trip to the Inner World, putting away the books he bought by putting them within his Void Storage, before standing up and walking towards Castiel with his gloved hands in his pockets. "You ready for this, Emiya?" He questioned the Heir.
Said Heir nodded in response. "Yup, as ready as I'll ever be. You?"
"Yeah, I'm good."
For a moment, there was silence, before Castiel finally decided to speak up. "Listen, I'll be blunt, I know you're the type of guy that is very secretive about things, but this next mission may have surprises that we will likely not be prepared for, this is Uncle Zelretch we're talking about after all so we should have an idea of what powers we can use when we start the trial. As you might have guessed, I'll use my magic mostly with my familiars helping. Its versatile, and will serve as an all-rounder when things go awry." He explained, refraining to mention about the Gems since it was clear to him that Nico looked down on him for using them. "What about you, what have you got thats non-metal?"
For a moment, Nico debated on whether or not to tell this guy about his skills. He was proud of what he got,m how he trained like hell to get to the level of where he was, but like Castiel said Nico would rather not reveal to much about his powers if he could help it. Nico thought that of the young Heir, since he too could sense that the guy wasn't being completely forthcoming. Not to mention that they were on unstable terms enough as it were, thanks tot hat little argument that they had in the Temple on that last trial.
However, memories came back to him, memories of the times he fought alongside his comrades back in Gamindustri, how he revealed secrets pertaining to his abilities though it was mostly out of necessity at those points. One case being his Ghoul side, the power he had hid for so long from them. Nico refused to allow what nearly befell those girls and any other of his remaining comrades to befall another. Not this time.
But still, best to get some advice...
'What do you think, Biko? Shall we say what we can do?'
'From what I can tell, you both have secrets, emotional baggage that has yet to be expressed. Ideally it would have been best if you two could resolve that baggage, but I know you and it seems that Emiya won't be so forthcoming for a while, anyways. Nevertheless, revealing that information is a step in the right direction. To make an analogy, its like slowly taking steps towards rehabilitation.'
Nico mentally hid his grimace at that word, and what it meant for him.
Remembering how he had been silent for a good few minutes, Nico finally let out a sigh as he dropped his tense guard. He hoped that he wouldn't come to regret this decision as every instinct in his body said he would. "You are correct, Emiya. It WOULD be helpful to know at least what each of us can use so we can plan around any surprises heading our way. Most of my powers and my weapons will not be usable, however I still retain my Skill attacks, normal and Demonic-based, I retain my Tentacles and Tails, Hellish elemental powers, Red Rage Ring, and other non-metal based powers."
"Right, got it." Castiel stated with a nod. It appeared that this guy had suffered similar blows to his powers as Castiel himself, since Hruting and Clarent were metal-based weapons, but at lease he himself had his arm. Most likely because it was well, his arm, and his Tyrant eye would be counted too. He would have to stick with ranged combat mostly, but if CQC was unavoidable he could always rely on the cobra style he was taught.
Soon after, the portal to the next trial appeared before the two boys, and with that, they walked in while wondering what would happen next.
When they opened their eyes, the two boys saw a perfectly normal city, much to their hidden surprise. Part of them expected it to be some form of ruined city landscape, for some reason. There were small buildings everywhere and there was a large dome covering it all.
"Well, this is interesting." Nico mused thoughtfully as he scanned the surroundings, his eyes as sharp as a hawk while taking in all the surroundings. It didn't look like they would be ambushed here, but looks can be deceiving.
Castiel did not answer as he opened his wings to fly high and watch the field. The fact that now this was possible was a relief since flying was quite convenient (and if it wasn't for THAT woman he would have been much better at it than he was right now).
Once he had reached a proper height, Castiel looked around and he saw that the city was covered in a dome-like structure and that there were towers in each cardinal direction, a river crossing from one side to the other and a great tower in the center that had soldiers sitting on top. The city was constructed close to a chain of mountains on the east that finished close to a sea that also connected to the south side that the river descended to.
"Good location, still need to worry about possible marine enemies and aerial attacks but the sea and mountains will greatly hinder invasions from two of the sides. I need to look out for attacks from the west and north, but this is not impossible with the given troops in case they are sufficiently equipped and prepared." Castiel thought out loud, just as Nico flew up to him through means that weren't all that visible. Although with the faint vibrations behind him, it seemed that his Ghoul side was at work somehow. Nico hadn't expected the Heir's actions, but it didn't take him long to reach the same height and see the same sights.
However said heir was uninterested in talking to Nico, for all either of them know they could potentially be attacked at any given moment and every single instant counts.
'In a war what decides the winner is preparations, not heroic acts' this is what Castiel's teachers taught him since he was young.
He decided to go straight to the main tower as it was likely the location of his troops.
It was a short flight, but an interesting one. Stepping on the floor he looked around as half the soldiers were wearing yellowish military clothes reminiscent of those used on the military on mission in the middle east, while the other half was wearing heavier and darker clothes that would be great for the night but perfectly useless on the day as they would be seen miles away.
"You must be our commanding officer, Castiel Emyia, correct?" One of them approached him first, he noticed that all of them had pale skin, white hair, and red eyes. 'Homunculus, huh?'. This is what Castiel thought.
"Correct, my name is Castiel. I have been declared as your commanding officer for the defense against this imminent invasion. I would like details about the security measures of the city, provisions, and any Intel you might have of our enemy. Also, what way of transportation do you have to deal with combat?" Castiel asked.
"As of right now we only have cars and a few motorcycles to move around, the Towers are mainly full of gattling-guns and a few missile launchers. We are good for a one or two day period of fighting when it comes down to ammunition, about the food I can say we have plenty enough and the soldiers are more than ready." the soldier said. "And about the enemy, we could not detect with precision what they will be sending but we know from experience that anything they send appear at a 500 meters distance from the city at maximum. It is just infuriating that they appear out of nowhere and we have no way to attack back as they move by portals that only they can use. Also, we have confirmed that we have about two and a half hours before they start to move."
"Do they have any way to pass through the mountain range or the sea?"
"While not impossible to appear from those places they generally send one or two monsters from the mountains and the sea is usually peaceful, but when they attack from there they send devastating strikes with multiple carriers filled with many enemies." The soldier explained.
"Okay, this is what we will do, I will go to the other towers and send you guys there. When you arrive I want you to prepare for battle, I will go set up traps around the area while also preparing via magic circle faster Communication and transportation system. Also, give three of each of these to the soldiers, explain to them that in case an enemy approaches too much he must throw this one at them as it will delay the enemy long enough for escaping." Castiel said while delivering a bag of sapphires for the soldier.
As soon as the soldier nodded his head Castiel took of. He still had to go to the four towers to set up basic teleportation circles, following that he had to set up more barriers around the city and also set up a magic scouting for the area on all sides.
But strangely enough he was enjoying this, he always wanted to fight this sort of battle as it was one that he knew a lot but had little contact with. At the same time he was worried since an unexperienced and bad leader of troops would cause more trouble than it was worth it.
How was Nico doing anyway? Nah~, he probably is doing fine. He seems experienced enough so he probably is doing what he believes is right.
Nervousness and anxiety filled him as Nico made his way to the central tower not long after Castiel flew off. He sported some invisible wings made by his Rinkaku Kagune to help him fly, in light of Soul Edge not being able to be used at this moment in time and his reluctance to damage the city with Hellfire. Though keeping it hidden behind a calm, composed facade, Nico couldn't help the turmoil boiling in his gut.
Nico never was a leader-type, nope he was more of a soldier who fought on the front lines. He wasn't someone who typically made the important decisions that could cost him the lives of his subordinates. He was the person who took his own initiative and did what needed to be done himself. That was the way he had gone about the majority of his battles, so the fact that he was now in a leadership position once again made him question his own abilities. It made him doubt himself, after all he wasn't someone who would be suited for such a role.
Few people truly are suited for it, they just... well, settle in.
'Things could have been worse, you know. You could have had your memories of back home temporarily wiped for this trial, leaving you much worse off than what you are now.'
'Ugh, you're telling me...' Nico thought back to his Demon Persona. Luckily for him, Nico had prior experience leading a small band of forces back in Gamindustri, when he fought against an organisation called the Coalition, who went about trying to promote more modern methods of Combat. Though they didn't do it through the right means. That experience was something that helped him keep a level head, as without it he would be a shivering wreck by now, composure be damned.
'I would suggest, when we meet with our forces, to request the following: Intel on the situation, the enemy, the weapons available, vehicles, supplies...'
'Do you think we should ask about prior attacks, if there have been any? Cause I've seen some areas that looked like they were once war zones throughout the city...'
'Possible, they could have some form of pattern to them that we can use to predict where they'l strike, so we can lay traps there...'
Biko and Nico thus continued their discussion on what to ask his future subordinates as they flew.
It didn't take them long to reach the central tower, and when he did Nico swiftly landed before a series of men in dark military gear, each of them sporting gas masks, helmets and full-bod suits. All of them were masculine, though, as he realized by examining their body structures.
Standing from his landing, Nico walked over to them with his composure calm and professional... while inside he struggled not to break out into a cold sweat. From his prior experience, the first impression was key to earning a good reputation with the men. One of the men, actually, noticed him and jogged over while carrying what looked like an assault rifle in hands. "You must be our Commanding Officer, DEATHSTROKE, correct?" he asked.
'So, they use my Codename here, huh? Well, that makes things a little more bearable.' Nico thought to himself, feeling a sense of calmness coming from the use of his Codename. Something familiar to latch onto to hide how nervous he felt deep inside. Even with that conversation with Biko, his nerves felt like they were on an all time high. "Correct, I am DEATHSTROKE. I'd like to receive any Intel you have on our enemy, troops, supplies, weapons and the general situation."
"Yes sir." The soldier responded. If he could sense the nervousness Nico felt inside or not, he couldn't tell thanks to the mask. His emotions didn't seem too bad either, from what his senses told him. "So far, we know very little about our enemy, save for the fact that they use portals only they can use to appear out of nowhere. They usually send few monsters down the mountains, but their primary forces come from either the west or the north. Not often, but they do send carriers filled with many forces down from the seas to the south." he explained. "For weapons, we have the towers that are filled with Gatling guns and a few missile launchers. We have our men here as a main force, but we have a small reserve force to the east. Vehicles include motorcycles, and a couple Humvees for mobility."
'Alright, this is what I have to work with. Now, what did Theta used to tell me...?' Nico thought, cupping his chin and taking on a thoughtful pose. The soldier remained silent, waiting for him to speak. 'The winner of a war isn't the one who fights, but the one who survives... in that case...' An idea came to mind, but for now he needed more information. He hoped this would work regardless though. "Are there any civilians in the city? Also, have there been any previous attacks so far? We could possibly work out a pattern to predict where they are targeting."
The soldier snapped to attention when he spoke, soon replying. "Sir, there aren't any civilians on the surface, they have been evacuated to the underground bunkers beneath the city. Furthermore, previous attacks have happened but they have been mostly random and uncoordinated." he replied.
Nico furrowed his brows at that, while that didn't help much in predicting where the fight will likely take place, it did give him some idea of how these enemies likely operated. If that was the case, then he had an idea of how to proceed from here. "Then that means we will likely be facing a stronger force then. Its an advanced tactic, to send out uncoordinated weaker attacks to weaken the enemy defensive lines. Odds are, we haven't seen their real destructive power yet." Nodding to himself with this assumption, though in his mind he also began thinking of contingency ideas as to how to make up for possible failures, Nico looked back to the Soldier with a gaze as hard as iron. Nervousness, anxiety, Nico felt these emotions roiling within his gut, and he probably would till the end of the trial. However, if his combat experience has taught him anything, it was to keep a level head no matter what. "Alright, send out your men to the east and south. As you must have seen, the other officer Emiya's covering the west and north, so in case of surprise attacks we will focus on the left over sides. Those with Missile Launchers stick to the rooftops, you'll provide air cover, those who find Gattling Guns use what you can to make makeshift barricades on the ground."
"Sir!"
Soon enough, the men began moving about, prepping to head down the tower to where they would find their transports. While he did this, Nico himself began thinking to himself, thinking of ideas, anything for distracting himself from his emotional turmoil. First things first, traps. He could set traps throughout the city using his CHAINS OF HEPHAESTUS. There were more than one ways to use a Skill, you can use one to trap opponents for other Skills to take down, you can use them in ways other than what they were intended. Nico, to be honest, hadn't considered this before, as he was used to fighting solo. Alone on an ever-changing battlefield, with only his weapons as company, the only thing he'd known being battle. That was how it had been for him, and odds are he would always be part of the battlefield. However, the intense pressure on his chest and the weight of the situation forced his mind to try to come up with ideas, ideas he had never thought possible. It was an... unexpected development.
But not unwelcome...
"Oooooh, this looks promising..."
Time seemed to slow to a crawl as everything turned grey. The soldiers became frozen in mid run, their expressions unable to be seen thanks to their masks. However, Nico didn't need to look into their emotions to see that they would have had frantic expressions controlled through years of discipline training. The voice's speaker appeared behind him, shimmering into existence like a mirage. The speaker stood back to back, almost touching Nico's back while the redhead male refused to look or even acknowledge the speaker... he didn't need to. After all...
Why would he need to acknowledge himself?
A small upturning came from the other Nico's lips, the lips of the childlike Nico wearing rags, as he stood there with his hands behind his back. Nico didn't respond though, his hair shadowing his eyes to hide them from view. However, the childish Nico remained unperturbed by these events, almost like he had been expecting this behavior.
"Now, looks like we;re taking a big step, huh? Turning into a leader for these men. We cleared the 'resolution' trial back with that meanie DPU, yet it wouldn't hurt to refine what we already have. Perhaps this can help in our rehabilitation in some manner, whose to say? After all, the future we have is no longer certain, of that we are certain."
Nico remained silent, as the child shrugged his shoulders as if he had found the answer to an unasked question. Things were going quite smoothly, definitely, the child thought, an odd sense of excitement filling his chest. The child then looked up at the skies above, his eyes becoming glazed as he raised a hand as if to grasp onto the skies itself.
"The skies look so vast, don't they? Maybe one day, we too can soar through them as free as the definition of the word... But, until that time, please continue your rehabilitation. Our true self will return one day, after all."
With that, the child vanished in the same manner as he appeared, Nico's surroundings returning to normal. The male remained as motionless as he had been though, standing there while keeping his head slightly downwards. If it would rain here, he wouldn't even notice it, that was just the nature of the state he was in right now, thanks to that visit.
'Nico... are you...?'
'I'm fine, Biko...' Nico replied to his Demon Persona, swiftly pulling off the thing on his eye and dismissing it to his void storage. This allowed him to unleash his Kakugan as he stared into the vastness of the city. His eyes remained vacant, like he was distracted by something, while he did so though. 'I'm good...'
"Um, Sir?"
Blinking, Nico looked to the one who spoke to him, well, an outside voice this time. It belonged to the same black wearing solder whom he had spoken too before, Nico could tell thanks to the way he spoke and the similarity of his emotions. "What is it?"
"You looked like you were lost, sir. Are you feeling alright?" the Soldier asked him.
This prompted a response from the male, and while outside he looked as composed as ever, his Kakugan having vanished the moment he registered a new voice, Nico felt like his heart had skipped a few beats inside. "I'm fine." He stated, before turning completely to face him. "I'll be alright, just lost in thought. Say, while you're here, I need to ask you something I almost forgot to, earlier: do we have any equipment for communication?" Nico questioned, frowning. He couldn't believe he had forgotten that important fact, communication would be key on the battlefield, especially in stressful scenarios. It would be best if they all had communicators or something of similar function.
The Soldier saluted the male as he responded evenly. "Most of our communications with the outside have been cut off by the invasion, however our former Officer possessed a device that aided greatly in our long-range communication. If you like, we can take you to it, the last Officer stored it within the eastern tower."
At this, Nico nodded his head in agreement. "Alright. I'll meet you at the Eastern tower in 30 minutes. Until that time, i'll be setting up traps throughout the eastern and southern city areas."
"Yes, sir!"
Time almost flew by, both for the Spec Ops Agent AND the Heir to the Tower. Each of them did their own thing in sections of the city, securing them for the future attack in a couple hours time.
On Castiel's end, the teen used an assertion of magics to create bounded fields throughout his sections, setting up traps that would either slow down the enemy or outright kill them. He didn't know much about how they would work, what their resistances were, so he prepared a bit of everything just to scope out the bases. He set up special Fields that would inform the rest of where the enemy would be, as well as Bounded Fields like the one that he had around his house to keep the girls he loved out of the Kitchen (since none of them can cook to save their lives, and the only one who could would just as son put poison or worse in the meals).
In addition, Castiel summoned his familiars to have them explore the City they would be defending, having them get to grips with the layout as well as the defensive lines. Some of his men would get a chance to be near them, and Castiel allowed it. Better relations between soldiers meant they would fight better without hindering each other, that was something he'd learned early on in his lessons under his many teachers.
At one point though, the Heir swore he saw a fiery silhouette over on Nico's area, but he soon dismissed it.
As for his familiars, it seemed that their powers would be more helpful than he thought, especially Solgaleo. Apparently, thanks to his evolution he had gained several abilities that would be greatly incorporated into the future battles ahead. One of them was Teleport, where it could teleport to a certain location, get something or someone there and then teleport back. Something like that could be invaluable for rescue operations or getting any wounded soldiers to their medical sites to receive treatment. No doubt they would be getting a fair amount of those, this was WAR after all. Casualties would be born on both sides.
Another was a Solar Beam, an ability that Castiel discovered used the power of the sun (which would be unclouded in this battle, much to his joy) to fire a concentrated beam. He could just imagine how useful that could be in sniper's role, or an anti-tank depending on the power. Not long after he discovered it, Castiel learned that the beam's power depended on the energy gathered from the sun, and if the sun was covered by clouds the beam would take longer to charge. Hopefully in the future this weakness wouldn't be exploited, but Castiel doubted that. There were a LOT of competent enemies out there, and if what he feared was true, then he would no doubt be involved with them at some point.
On the other side was Lunala, and that Familiar would have... well, a bit less of a role to play, but still a big one. Like Solgaleo, it could teleport about the battlefield, however most of its powers were based off the moon. The moon which would be overshadowed by the sun, so its powers will likely be less effective if that was the case. Castiel had discovered this during their training, as well as the fact that it had the ability to hypnotize any living object. If their enemies had humanoid or anything commanding them that had a brain, then Lunala would likely be able to hypnotize them if given the opportunity.
So yeah, Castiel found himself doing well.
Meanwhile, Nico took it upon himself to set up defensive outposts along strategic areas throughout the sections he would be fighting in. He had them arranged so that Gatling Guns had easy access across wide areas, and Missile Launchers would be able to easily shoot enemies out of the skies while simultaneously having secure defensive options. Options Nico had provided by making Kagune-based walls to protect his men with. A part of him laughed at the thought of using something meant to KILL as a means of protection, but he ignored it. He also made Kagune-based structures for his Gatling Gun wielding soldiers to give them better defense too.
Secondly, Nico summoned Urthemiel, his Archdemon. He would act as his second in command, covering the southern seas by flying overhead. This way, they had some access to air support in addition to transportation of wounded soldiers behind their defensive lines. Wounded soldiers were hindrances on the battlefield, Nico knew this thanks to prior experience with the CMA. Of course, he had expected the startled, fear-filled reactions of his men when they saw the Archdemon erupt from a pool of flames that appeared behind him, but he quickly assured them that it would be on their side.
Thirdly, was that equipment his men said was for communication, They had journeyed to the Tower it had been stored in, before the soldiers told Nico to wait outside while they retrieved it. He didn't have to wait long though, for one soldier soon came back out while holding it in one hand. When he saw what it was as soon as they placed it in his hand, Nico nearly flipped his lid if it weren't for him needing to remain composed.
That 'device' they had been talking about was the 'Shingan' the Minds Eye shaped ring. To give a refresher, the Shingan was a ring that allowed the user to have several abilities: One the ability to read the minds of anyone they chose though the thoughts they read weren't under their control. Two, they gained the ability to transmit their thoughts towards others, making communication quite easy for the wielder, and three: allow the user's hart to be read by anyone they chose worthy. Nico, at the moment of seeing it, couldn't think of a better means of communication for him, since he communicated better with his thoughts than words anyways. He had to practice using the Ring by putting it on his left hand's index finger (and if Castiel made any feminine comments he'd get some hellfire burning his dick off, see how he likes being 'feminine'), and he discovered things that made using it even BETTER.
Aside from that, things went smoothly for the two boys... but how long will that last?
