The Third Trial

It wouldn't be long now, the trial would begin shortly.

Both Nico and Castiel stood side by side, each of them making their own preparations for the next trial. It was hard to describe the atmosphere between them, but the best way to describe it would be... lax, for lack of a better word. Both boys did their own thing, Castiel checking his reserves, equipment and making sure his Familiars were up to snuff. Nico himself checked his own equipment, made sure his Items were ready, all the while consulting with his Persona's as well as his sole Familiar Urthemiel. It looked like the two wouldn't be conversing for a while, but that felt satisfactory to them.

A short while ago, Nico had beaten the Heir to the punch figuratively, by buying some information about the next trial. Like the last one however, there wasn't much that they could have gone on, all that they knew was that it would be a fire trial... and that they would only be allowed to use two weapons, with few exceptions being Nico's Kagune and Castiel's left arm spirit bone, since they were part of their bodies and thus, weren't classified as ordinary weapons. It hadn't taken them long to decide which weapons to use though:

Castiel chose Gandiva and his right arm/Argetlan.

Nico chose Soul Edge and Rebellion.

"You ready for this, Nico?" Castiel questioned him abruptly, getting the male's attention. He'd checked himself out, finalizing his preparations and wanted to make sure his companion was up to snuff as well.

After giving the Heir a confirming nod, Nico made to respond. "Affirmative on my end, too. Judging by this Trial, I assume we will be needing access to the opposing elements to fire, including fire resistance. Do you have anything for that? Cause I got my Hellfire for mine."

"Well, I don't have much in the way of fire resistance, but I still can use some fire-based skills and using runes to create water or ice isn't particularly hard so it won't be a problem."

Once the two finished their checks, the portal finally appeared before them, and the two went inside.


When eyes could be opened, Nico did so, lowering his arm from his eyes to gauge his surroundings. It looked like the male was in the middle of what looked to be some kind of tunnel. A tunnel lit by these torches aligned over both sides of the tunnel's roof. The tunnel went diagonally downwards, ad looked to be just wide enough for two people to navigate through it.

'Nico, you MAY want to look around you once more. You have missed one detail.'

'Huh?' Blinking at that, Nico looked around himself, finding that indeed, there WAS one detail that he had been missing from the initial gauging. That Detail, was that eh was alone. He couldn't see Castiel anywhere,nor could he feel his emotions. 'What? What happened? Where's Emiya? I can't get a read on his location through his emotions!' the male thought in shock, eyes wide whilst he clenched his fists.

What the hell happened?! Did the portal malfunction? Granted that hadn't happened before, and that had made him assume that wouldn't have happened. The last few times they used portals to get in and out of trials had worked perfectly, bringing them in and out in prompt manners. However, in this case that wasn't happening for whatever reason.

Alright, Nico...

Calm down, calm down and think.

That couldn't be what happened, not considering who it was that built this place. Nico figured that Zelretch would have had contingency plans or something like this if it wasn't meant to happen, and so far each of the Trials had something about them. Well, at least the second one, which made his theory on that a bit moot. However, even if it was weak, he didn't dismiss that possibility since for all he knew, Zelretch could have done something else. Now that he thought about it, were;t these trials like teachers in a way?

Perhaps he could look for a way out with his Bracers, they never failed him before...

Looking down, Nico made to activate his Bracers, however all he got was static. His eyes narrowed at this as he gnashed his teeth. 'Tch, something must be jamming them somehow, looks like my Bracers are out, too... wait a minute, didn't that information say we could only bring two weapons in with us? Could that mean...?' Just then, a thought appeared in his mind, one that he did NOT like the feel of. Especially when he could barely feel the links he had to his other Devil Arms aside from his Rebellion and Soul Edge.

"(... oy...)"

'Huh?' Nico again blinked owlishly, lowering his arms as he frowned. Did he just hear something right now? He thought he did, an old man's voice that sounded NOTHING like Zelretch's. In fact, it sounded like a mix of old man and a fiery blaze, if that made any sense whatsoever. Though, considering what he had see thus far, Nico didn't feel like much could surprise him anymore at this point. 'Biko, did you hear that?'

"(...oy...)"

'Indeed, I do hear it. It seems like someone is trying to reach out to us telepathically. Unfortunately for it, Soul Edge seems to be hindering its attempts, leaving its words distorted, it seems. Hold on, i'll have a little 'cat' with the sword.'

Nico mentally furrowed his brows at that as he leaned sideways on a wall, crossing his arms under his chest while he waited for Biko to finish whatever it was he would be doing to get this connection properly established. Soul Edge would always feel unnerved whenever foreign beings tried to contact him mentally, and would shield his mind from it. It came from having some... unwanted guests invade his mind not long before he fought Mundus. On could say that it incorporated a 'Bio Boost' of its own. It probably assumed this foreign entity a threat and tried to block it out.

The feeling he got from the weapon after that thought pretty much confirmed it.

Soon though, he felt reluctant acceptance coming from the link between him and Soul Edge, meaning that the connection wasn't being tampered with anymore. 'Alright, whoever you are. Me and a close comrade of mine have secured the connection on our end. If you can hear me, can you tell me who you are?' Nico thought, trying to project his thoughts outward. Since his Items were unusable for now, same with his equipment, he couldn't use the Shingan to read the mind that tried to talk to him. Though considering Zelretch's words, perhaps that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

"(Ah, I see... So that is why my connection attempts seemed off, and I had trouble speaking with you. Very well, I must thank you boy, and thus I will repay you by introducing myself. I am Amon, a fire Djinn whom inhabits this land.)"

'A fire Djinn? You know what, i'm not going to question it and just think 'its Zelretch' for now. Anyways, call me DEATHSTROKE, its my codename.' the Redhead thought back to the being talking to him, a Djinn. Nico hadn't talked to one of these before, so he wasn't sure on what to say to it. Best be cautious till he had a better grip of its nature.

"(Someone who is from a Military, I see. Very well, I shall oblige. You see, young DEATHSTROKE, this land is under the control of a very specific deity, and that deity has decreed that you, and your partner, be separated and forced to undergo specific 'tests' to regain what you have lost, before it will face you itself. I am merely a guide for you and your companion, whom I will be speaking to after this discussion. I will tell you where you need to go soon enough, as my time is limited. For now, head down these stairs, at the bottom there is going to be a corridor with doors around it. These doors will lead you to your tests in numerical order. Follow the numbers, and you will regain your weapons and powers.)"

'Huh, I see... ok then.' Nico thought back, feeling the connection switch off. That conversation felt shorter than he would have liked, but it DID carry a whole load of useful information. For one, it seemed his arsenal being defective wasn't thew case here, instead something about this area had sealed them away. His Devil Arms seemed to be taken from him somewhat, since he could still sense their links, and he would have to complete some 'tests' to get them back before facing the final boss. Part of him wondered what it could be, but nonetheless Nico started to see this trial to be much more interesting than the last two. Perhaps he wouldn't suck as bad as he did on the last one.

With that note, Nico began his descent down the stairs towards his Tests, wondering what it could be.


"So you are the one that is to guide me?" Castiel asked as an illusory figure was in front of him.

'Yes, and I even had to go out of my way to make this clone just because I cannot communicate with you otherwise. Your mental defense is far too strong.' The illusory being said.

"Thanks for the compliment, I do try. After all, how else can I assure myself that no one will be able to control my mind or thoughts? A king and leader must be worried about these sort of things." Castiel commented to the being.

'Quite.' The illusory being said while nodding his head. 'At least I got a proper person to introduce to this place. Anyway, this is the fire-trial, you must search for the weapons that you are missing right now. After that, you will be free to go to the final hall.'

"Interesting." Castiel commented. He had three weapons that he still had to find so it was at least more direct than the last trial. And, with this, he would not need to worry about anyone else for a while. "I got to ask, but is there any sort of side missions here? I mean, if this is an RPG-dungeon crawler style 'game' there must be something."

'Yes, there is one. But there isn't any reward for it, your only objective there would be face one enemy and that is just about it.'

"Okay, and what is this enemy exactly?"

'A lesser Vermilion Bird.'

"Okay, when can I go and defeat this being? I need its corpse badly." Castiel instantly said.

'What, are you this bloodthirsty for a challenge?' the being said, a mix of curiosity and disgust in his voice as his opinion of this person dropped. He was talking about being a king and leader but now he was outright looking for an unnecessary fight just for satiate himself.

"What? No, no, no. It is nothing to do with WANTING to fight. I admit that I would like to see how I measure up to a divine beast, even if a lesser one, but this is not why I said that. What I want is to obtain its corpse so as to see if I can produce some items to repay some of those who fought for me. They risked their lives for mine so how could I not give them anything in return? I want to make sure they will see that I really care for them and their work." Castiel said, earning an approving nod from the being.

This being had seen plenty of those who said fallacies of carrying for their subordinates but forgetting them later on, so seeing this young man looking to fight BECAUSE he wanted to give something for his subordinates was a 'wave of fresh air' so to say.

'It is best this way. I have seen too many who forget their subordinates when they aren't around. For you to pay attention to them is admirable.'

Castiel shrugged his shoulders, for him this was far too natural to even deserve a complement. It was almost second nature really, to look for ways to protect those he cares about and making them stronger is as good way as any.

When they were about to start moving Castiel decided to ask something.

"Hey, I am sorry but I don't think you told me who you are exactly."

'Is that true? Oh well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt. My name is Astaroph, a Djin of the eternal fire!'

Castiel head that and grimaced a bit as he said.

"Oookaay, but I have to ask you one more thing. Are you a deep shit asshole?"

'How DARE you even ask that? Of course, I am not one!'

"Sorry, it is just a precaution. I know someone else who goes by that name and he is someone who can only be described like this." the figure relaxed a bit, even if it didn't like the comparison.

'Humph, if you are quite done you should go ahead, there are still many challenges for you to face.'


Approaching the end of the stairs, Nico found himself entering what looked to be a circular room. The floor, walls and ceiling seemed to be made of the earth itself, with torches lit throughout to give this place a rather sinister, heated appearance. It also felt like he was in the middle of a lair belonging to a bunch of Cultists. Tat comparison sent a wave of heat through his being, and not the heat from his Hellfire. 'Feels somewhat like the Hellverse was like before...' he thought to himself, a wave of irritation following suit. Good thing that he hadn't got his Kagune out (he could still feel it plus his Gene Seed Implants. Likely because they were more a part of himself than normal weapons) otherwise it would likely destroy everything around him.

'Hmmmm, interesting. Look at the walls, there are certain entrances to tunnels here.'

His Demon Persona's words allowed him to break free from his thoughts and focus more on his surroundings. Like Biko had said, it seemed that there WERE tunnels aligned around he room, each one having a torch above them that illuminated these numbers made from stones from 1 to 7. That meant that he had about 7 trials, Nico figured, to get back his Devil Arms. At the centre of the room's floor, there looked to be something like a door, but to what he didn't know. Still, Nico decided not to pursue tat mystery for the time being, as he had to focus on the more important matter of regaining his Devil Arms.

To be honest, he didn't show it, but Nico REALLY wanted to get his Devil Arms back as soon as possible. He LOVED his weapons, they were essentially his brothers-in-Arms, weapons he had worked to the bone to learn how to use them and master their abilities. Plus, they felt much easier to relate to than people. People were... complex, and a lot of his distrust for them had been from past experiences. Thus, it had given him the mentality that 'weapons were far easier to understand than people' Nico had fought long and hard with them, developing a strong attachment to those weapons. To the point where he couldn't see them as weapons anymore. It was like Guts' relationship with his Dragonslayer sword, he'd been with that sword for a long ass time, as in years as far as Nico had learned through their conversations. The guy had been socially awkward as all hell, though Nico didn't blame him, but the moment that they started sparring with their swords, it almost felt like a switch had been flipped in the man's head, allowing him to be much more open to the other male.

Thing was, the two of them had an... above-average attachment to their weapons, though compared to Guts, Nico's attachment to his Devil Arms out shined that due to circumstance. Still, that connection along with the combat-filled lifestyle had been the basis for their camaraderie. That, and they both had some badass titles like Guts's which was the 'Black Swordsman' and one of his being the 'Black Reaper'. They had quite a few things in common too, their cynical nature, their distrust for others... a whole lot of stuff.

Focusing back on the task at had, Nico cast his gaze towards the left, where there was a stone-made '1' above a tunnel-like entrance. There were several torches and candles lit, illuminating the area around it. Nico got the feeling that THIS was the first test he needed to undertake, since he remembered that Djinn Amon saying that these trials were in numerical order. 'Something tells me this might be the longest Trial to date...' Nico thought to himself, sweat dropping whilst rubbing the back of his head. Sometimes he wondered what drove him to do all this stuff, before Neptune came into his life he had been just another Spec Ops Agent. Someone who stayed in the shadows, but thanks to everything, he'd been dragged into the limelight...

Something he wouldn't have any other way.

With that in mind, Nico proceeded to enter the Tunnel...

And then found himself engulfed in a bright flash of light. When Castiel entered a great hall he saw three tunnels and a crevice on the side, it wasn't big at all but could probably fit one person if he squeezed enough.

"Well, I suppose this will be my trial grounds. Three tunnels for my three weapons. Could be worse, I can only imagine that for Nico this is WAY worse, he just seems like one of those types that carry way too many weapons than he could possibly use at once." Castiel mused earning an approving nod from Astaroth.

In the end, both Castiel and Ashtaroth were getting along quite well and they both believed in not needing that many weapons in the first place.

And, Astaroth knew that Nico's trial would be at the same time harder and easier than Castiel's. If for no other reason because the difficulty on the tunnels for Castiel was twice those from Nico while Nico had more than double the number of tunnels.

This would be interesting, especially since Castiel chose his first trial. The trial of unlimited fighting.

In one instance, Nico's pores almost went up when he got hit with a huge source of heat. A source that came from all around him, but thanks to his strong defense against fire he didn't feel it as much. Perhaps he could find something that could stop fire completely instead of a resistance to it. Poison resistance had been vastly improved thanks to his Gene Seed implants, so perhaps complete immunity could be possible.

Opening his eyes, Nico lowered his arm to find himself in... something quite unlike what he had expected. Indeed, he found himself on a circular platform at least 30 meters in diameter... surrounded by a pool of Lava. It seemed that this was within the centre of an underground chamber, with small pieces of earth scattered around the lava pool that looked significantly smaller than the main platform. The strong heat he could feel had apparently came from the Lava, and with the size of this place, it surprised him that he had even gotten here.

'Holy... if I didn't have my fire resistance, then I would definitely have been charred to a crisp...'

'BAH, THIS IS NOTHING, KING! HELLFIRE IS WAY HOTTER THAN THIS, AND YOU BATHE YOURSELF IN THAT SHIT EVERY SINGLE-FUCKING-DAY. DEFINITELY, NOT SOMETHING THAT CAN BE BEATEN.'

The scolding words of his Ghoul Persona filled his mind, making Nico roll his eyes. After that near-defeat by Mundus, combined with what he had been doing here, Nico doubted that he'd ever have too much confidence in his own power ever again. He didn't expect that white version of him to get it, since it was instinctual survival of the deadliest manifested into an actual form. Ghouls always DID follow their instincts, even those with high intelligence. No Ghoul was ever completely free from their instincts, as they were literally their greatest weapon, greater than even their Kagune.

In response to those thoughts, his inner Ghoul almost squealed to show its agreement.

"(Trial Number one will begin in five minutes, thus I shall tell you what it is..)"

Nico's eyes narrowed when he heard Amon's voice, Soul Edge and Rebellion manifesting over his back in a crossed shape, sensing the Djinn's voice and deciding to take physical form to get ready for what would be to come. Nico trusted his weapons and their judgement, as he too felt like there would be intense moments following this talk. 'Okay, so what is this test about, and what are the conditions for victory?'

"(It is simple, the first test is to survive 10 waves of fiery elementals, elementals that will take all sorts of shapes and sizes. Each wave will be bigger than the last. The first wave will have 50, the second will have 100, and by the time the last wave arrives, you will have to face over 500 Elementals... along with a stronger one called the Hellion Serpent Elemental. Should you win, you will receive several rewards: The tome of 'Extreme Mirage Lightning', in addition to the Tome of 'Great Way of the Buddha'. That is, if you clear the conditions for this Test)"

Hearing its response made Nico arch a brow, confusion filling his being. Extreme Magic Lightning? Great Way of the Buddha? Those sounded almost alien to him, but... if they were held as rewards, they had to be worth something. All for fighting a bunch of elementals? Something had to be up there, that sounded way to easy. When it mentioned conditions, Nico mentally heaved a sigh of relief. At least that made sense, there HAD to be a catch to this test, and odds were that this would be the same for the other tests. "And what are these conditions?"

"(For the duration of this trial, you must sacrifice one or more sense. Sight, hearing, taste, touch, that sort of thing. You will have to give them up once the trial has begun. Be wary, for if you choose to sacrifice one sense, you will only gain one reward. This test is meant to accelerate your own growth as a warrior, by robbing you of the senses you so greatly admire. Therefore, I must ask you which senses are you willing to identify for the sacrifice?")

Ah, so sacrificing his senses was the catch, huh? That was the thought that filled Nico's mind as he contemplated on what to do next. He didn't feel too nervous, though he would be lying if he said he didn't feel nervous at all. Wouldn't it be natural for that to be so, though? He hadn't had to fight without the five senses before, hell his senses had been enhanced by the Gene Seed implants as well as his Ghoul Side. Therefore, it would be... something, to not have one of them to fight with. If he were to rate his panic levels from 1 to 10, he'd be more or less on the number 6 right now. If he hadn't dealt with scarier things before, then his panic levels would have been MUCH higher.

'But still... if I have to sacrifice my senses... which one could I do without...?'

'I would suggest that you go for the sense of sight. If you do not ave your eyes, you will be able to hone your other senses to better heights. Remember how some of the warriors in those Tomes we got from Rinjiin back at Skies End had crippled senses in some cases? They didn't have the same pros we do, yet their legends were great enough to be recorded by the DPUs. Think of it like that, and then this should be manageable.'

'I'M TRUSTING YA A LOT HERE, KING! DON'T YOU DARE DIE ON US, CAUSE WE'LL BE FORCED TO JOIN YOUR SORRY ASS! I'M NOT DOWN FOR DYING TODAY, FUCKER! A GHOUL'S INSTINCT PERSONIFIED AND SENSES ARE PART OF OUR INSTINCTS! I'M PRACTICALLY GIVING UP PART OF MYSELF FOR YA, YA HEAR?! YOU BETTER NOT MESS THIS SHIT UP!'

Heh, well Nico didn't really expect anything less from his Ghoul Persona. Of course he would not be down with sacrificing any senses, they were literally wired to his instincts as he said. To be honest, it sounded like Biko didn't seem totally into it either, but was rational about it, and he did have a good point. Some of the warriors he read about knew other warriors whom had crippled senses, yet they proved to be just as dangerous as the rest of their brethren. Not to mention, this could hone his own skill as a warrior, like Biko had said, and judging from his Ghoul Persona being apart of him, he could sense that he didn't necessarily disagree with that part. He just didn't like the thought of him losing something that was so integral to his Ghoul side.

As his thoughts continued, Nico suddenly felt something, something calling him. It felt like this warm candle close to his being, coming from his right shoulder, and goddamn did it feel as soothing as hell. He knew instantly what was generating the feeling, and when he looked, true to his belief Soul Edge was there. Its eye looked up to him, its form having risen so its eye could be visible to his face. When Nico looked into said eye, he got a whole new meaning of the words 'eyes are a window to the soul' for Soul Edge practically oozed confidence. Confidence that this could work in their favor if they utilized their combined abilities right. But, where did it get this confidence from? Why...

Wait a minute... could it...

The moment THAT train of thought entered his mind, Soul Edge and even REBELLION exploded with eagerness, their emotions so great that their forms started radiating crimson auras of power. It was as if they so very much WANTED, no, they NEEDED this kind of thought process from him. Like, this would end up being something truly magnificent in the end. Seriously, it was things like this that made him think these weapons were more than just ordinary weapons. Soul Edge was a weapon that personified his soul, and Rebellion had been his first ever Devil Arm, so these two had a big connection to him. They both had a connection unique to them, and if he were honest, then every weapon in his arsenal had their own connection.

'Nico... you must think of the risks...'

'Yo, WHAT THE FUCK, KING?!'

'Guys, don't worry, I know the risks. Fighting in THAT manner is pretty much like a gamble, a massive one. If I lose this test, then I would have come all this way for nothing. Not only that, but it will prove once and for all that I'm unable to be better, that I won't be able to defeat those who want to harm my comrades. Think about it, if I can't do something like this, then not only will I fail as a warrior, but also our pride as a person will be impaired for the rest of our lives. Besides, remember what Emiya said in the first trial? Finding loopholes in words is pretty much business 101. May not be the exact words, but that was the point he was trying to get across. I didn't get it much back then, but with what he told us it makes much more sense. Its a risk, I know, but I'm willing to take it if I can get as much out of this as I possibly can. Not just for me either, but for those who fight by my side.'

Heh, Nico honestly found it funny, the more he went on about this comrades, the more humorous he found it when recalling the desire he had at the climax of the zombie invasion in Lastation.

He got no response from his Persona's which meant that they wouldn't try to stop him. Nico, in spite of this, felt a little bad about it. But still, this would be the start of his change. Things had been put into perspective for him a while ago, pretty much rattling his beliefs to the core foundations and making him question tings that otherwise he wouldn't have even entertained the NOTION of. Mundus, Yvoire, and now Castiel. Heck, even the villains and allies he had met across tis journey like Rinjiin and the Ghouls somewhat influenced him in their own ways. Even so, Nico knew one thing about himselff which hadn't changed, and that would be that he would be too far gone to change completely. He was a warrior, he was a lone wolf, and nothing would ever truly change that... BUT, even so, even a Lone Wolf would need a pack sometime. THAT was somewhat of a conclusion Nico had come to. It wasn't much, but it was a start.

Opening his eyes, Nico looked up, drawing Soul Edge and Rebellion whilst holding them at his sides. "I choose... all of them. All five senses. You didn't say I had to specify the number of senses I could sacrifice, so I go with all five."

"(Are you certain of this? That is a pretty big gamble you're risking boy. Your military training should tell you that is not a good gamble. Or is your lust for power that great?)"

Amon questioned, and if Nico could see him the male wouldn't doubt that he would be frowning in disapproval. No doubt he would also be a tad disappointed with him too, but Nico refused to let that assumption stay for long.

"I'll admit, I do have the desire to be as strong as possible. So much so that I have difficulty understanding and trusting others with my problems. I would rather help them with their problems than let them help me with my own. I'm not worth such good treatment, its been my thought process for a goddess damn long time. However, in recent times, something has changed... and right now, if this Gamble pays off, I'll be able to atone for that mistake. The mistake of not being able to see there were people who I find myself ABLE to trust, people who've shown themselves to be trustworthy. I got no right to do anything less for them, to repay them for actually giving a damn about some fuckhead like me."

"(I sense that there is more to it than that.)"

"Well, I guess that I trust my weapons to that kind of level, the kind where i'd take gambles like this just to improve myself in their eyes. They chose me as their master, and I can't betray them by looking weak."

"(I see... I do indeed sense a powerful bond between you and your weapons. What you say does not betray you. Very well, once the test begins, you will have all your senses removed from you. I hope you will be prepared for the consequences should you fail.)"

With that, Amon's presence vanished, and soon enough Nico felt like a test was about to begin. He could already feel his senses slipping from him, so he looked down at his swords. He could feel Soul Edge's power start seeping from the blade, entering his body as he soon got himself the feeling of being controlled like a puppet. To be more specific, a marionette, with Soul Edge pulling the strings. It also took hold of Rebellion, the demonic sword not resisting due to the power difference between them. He would not resist either, he would let the blade's power take hold of him, as like he said before, Nico trusted his weapons highly. He would let them have this, a warrior had to have a bond of trust between him and his weapon,otherwise he was no warrior at all. Just before his senses vanished completely for the sake of this test, Nico had one thing to think to them. 'Alright you two... Soul Edge, Rebellion. I entrust you with my body, my soul, my mind, my life. I entrust my entire being to you both. Now... go wild."


It had surprised him slightly when he had seen how the layout of these trials looked when he proceeded down the stairs that he had found himself on. A circular room with a couple doors with numbers above them. Numbers equal to the amount of weapons Castiel would have. The Heir of course figured out that would be the number of tests he had to face to get his weapons back, and had wasted zero time in getting into the first entrance. Once Castiel entered his first test,the Heir found himself inside what what looked like a small, ovular chamber. Like those that stored Lava in volcano, only there was mostly rock for him to stand on. Lava pooled itself to the left of him, and from it, Castiel narrowed his eyes at it whilst drawing Grandiva. His senses told him that life had some how 'birthed' itself within the Lava, and that definitely brought up his guard.

Well, life seemed like too much a strong word. More like the first signal of something, which didn't sit well with him. It was like the magma in the pool was granted life instantaneously, and the moment that Castiel thought that, something suddenly EXPLODED out of the pool. howling at him reminiscent of a panther. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Castiel looked up, seeing something large, fiery and furious, falling towards him with the intent to maim him. However, Castiel would not allow that, no sir, so he rolled forwards and ducked underneath the creature's paws, rolling back to his feet before twisting around to aim an already drawn Grandiva at the enemy.

Said enemy had used one of its paws to twist a full 180 degrees to face him, growling and scowling as it lost its residue motions. The moment that Castiel saw it, the Heir couldn't help but blink owlishly, surprise slightly forming on his features. This was... a new one, he didn't think he'd seen this one before. If he were to describe it, then he would say that it looked like a cross between a panther and a bird. The reason he thought this was because its main body had that large (probably the size of the average car) and yet still slim panther-like appearance. Its front arms however had these large wing-like structures attached to them whilst ending in clawed paws. The Tail looked to be as long as an average Car was, its end having flattened spike-like protrusions before the solid magma-like tip...

Oh yeah, aside from the hollow red eye sockets glaring murderously at him, the whole thing looked like it was made from Magma.

If he were to describe this thing, then he would say that it would be around mid ultimate-class. It jumped at me at fast speeds and I dodged by jumping sideways, having caused a missfire with Grandiva thanks to being caught by surprise by its speed. Despite its size, the creature didn't lack in the speed department, apparently. He could only barely avoid its claws, but the tail was another story altogether.

WHAM!

"Ugh!"

Boy did he feel the impact from that one, even with the herb he had ingested from the first trial combined with bathing in that pool didn't do much to stop this thing. Castiel found himself being pushed back as a burning feeling scorched his belly. The impact felt quite strong and it knocked the breath out of him, sending him flying across the room. Since he didn't have his Angel wings right now thanks to the Trial, Castiel forced himself to a stop by slamming his Argetlan into the floor, stopping his motions after a short slide.

Looking up after putting Grandiva onto his back, Castiel saw that the creature was already on him, swinging its right Wingblade to his face. Obviously, he didn't appreciate that. 'Shit!' the Heir cursed, bending backwards to avoid it. It missed, but only by a hair, barely grazing the tip of his nose. However, this time he managed to sausage flip over the Tail when it made for a follow-up attack, not wanting those flat spikes to pierce through his hide. With his lack of magic abilities thanks to this Trial, he couldn't afford to get injured too much.

But then, if things weren't already screwy enough...

Eyes widened as Castiel glanced over to the Pool of which the lava-like panther came from, in which case he noticed that there was more life being birthed by the Lava. From that Lava, over hundreds, no, up to a THOUSAND creatures all burst out like a constant stream coming out of a water fountain, all roaring in maniacal glee as they landed throughout the battlefield.

Fortunately, they didn't attack right away, but Castiel did NOT like the looks of them. They stood at over 8 feet tall (not as large as other things he'd fought, but still imposing) and had a roughly humanoid shape. Their bodies, like the winged panther, also seemed to be made from Magma, with certain parts solidified as if to resemble clothes and accessories... like a loin cloth and a series of skulls. Human or monster skulls. Sharpened fangs protruded from their jaws which salivated magma, with long serpentine tongues that constantly flickered in the air. Almost like they could taste the silver blood that flows through Castiel's veins. They had these large curved horns coming out their elongated heads, whilst their legs remained bipedal in structure, ending in three toed talons. In their right hands, were these large, black wicked looking two handed greatswords, weapons that almost simmered with repressed anger and malice.

And all of them glared with maniacal bloodlust towards him.

Castiel's response: "oh, fuck me."

Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Castiel refocused on the current enemy. This panther-like thing had already proven itself to be quite annoying, and the heat it constantly released was even more so. 'I need to move forward, I cannot prolong this for who knows how long' Castiel thought as he dashed to the panther-thingy. He decided to change tactics, considering how there were already hundreds of enemies on his back already just about ready to pounce on him. The Heir cursed under his breath while dodging those large blades that were aimed towards his vitals, he had to end this enemy as fast as possible while getting in the best form possible, so he took a gamble.

As the monster saw him it roared before changing its body to make one of its arm larger, this being done by draining the magma from the rest of the body and launched a devastating punch. The others all backed off though, not wanting to get involved or hit by that punch accidentally which would be exactly what Castiel wanted.

However, Castiel saw right through it. His new eye, the Emperor's Eye was something the Heir had been in the process of getting used to, but even then he had advanced with his training with it, the pressure he felt during these trials and the batch he had on the pool of Wordly Primal Liquid (even if it was far too little Wordly Primal Liquid there in the pool, it was far from enough honestly) was enough to more completely assimilate this new eye to his body. Now he had a much easier access to the eye's capacity. And boy, was this eye like the love child between the Sharingan and Byakugan. It gave him an absurdly high eye capacity, Castiel could probably count the number of dust spots on an old pot over thirty meters away instantly.

And, he could see clearly the path the attack from this enemy would go and what is the best way to avoid it.

Moving one step to the right and dropping his head 20 centimeters he passed right through the attack without suffering anything. When Castiel was close enough he put his left arm on the enemy and, while ignoring the burning, activated his left arm spirit bone to devour the energy that was keeping this thing moving. The monster tried to move, but it was simply too late as Castiel devoured the base energy that moved it. The 'soul' itself was devoured. As Castiel felt the energy run through him he smiled a bit, his energy was right back to the best possible as he turned to the enemies who were advancing towards him. Castiel then took out his bow, aimed it at the front of the enemy lines and said.

"Come and get me, if you can."

In that moment, Castiel unloaded a quick salvo of arrows, tearing through the enemy hordes as they advanced on him. The sheer power this bow possessed, shredded through the army in droves, taking out more than a dozen with a single arrow. They would shoot so fast that they would almost rival Sonic the Hedgehog, though that speedster would be way faster, and tore through their prey with relentless ease. Castiel refused to let up either, his eyes sharp and focused like a hunter of old whilst peppering his foes. Fighting multiple foes may not be his forte, but he slowly but surely began to feel like he was getting a grasp of how to do it the more this battle dragged on.

However, soon enough the magma beasts began changing tactics, encircling him and preventing Castiel from escaping, all the while limiting the space he had available. Now, Castiel noted that he had enemies on all sides, something that would prove to be quite problematic. The Heir cursed under his breath, realizing what they were planning instantly. It seemed that these things had intelligence, since thanks to them encircling him it would be harder to fend them off with Grandiva. He quickly twirled about and followed his senses like his life depended on it, shooting the closest magma creatures with as much speed and precision as he possibly could. If he had his magic, then he could have reinforced his body to be faster, then he could have REALLY gone to town on their asses, but since his Magic had been suppressed, that wasn't an option.

Eventually, one of them got too close for him to use Grandiva effectively, racing towards him from behind as well as his left flank, roaring bloody murder while raising its sword for a slash to his head. Thus, Castiel responded by dismissing the god class weapon, switching over to Argetlan by channeling the holy energy within it. If he were honest, Castiel would say that he had mixed feelings for this arm, as while its powers felt like it could be a valuable asset for his goals as Heir to the Tower, it also felt like his Angel powers thanks to being a holy-based Noble Phantasm. Powers that he had inherited from HER, which Castiel would rather not have at all so he could spite her as much as possible.

Nonetheless, Castiel would use it at this point, since right now it was his only means of close combat, his own feelings for it didn't matter in light of his own survival as it were. As the first magma beast closed in on him, swinging at his head, Castiel swiftly allowed the energy within the arm to elongate and stretch, shooting out the back of his wrist and over the back of his hand to form a double edged, elongated blade of pure light energy. Castiel used this to block the creatures blade, cutting through it before proceeding to grab it with his left arm and use the Spirit Bone there to devour the life inside. It then vanished soon after, the energy used to power it no longer being there.

With that out of the way, Castiel flipped over the second one, slicing off its head with his light blade before thrusting Argetlan forwards and allowing the energy within to erupt into flames, shooting a streak of white fire right out of the limb to burn the creature to cinders. Not even the life within would be left when he cut the power save for his Light Blade, which Castiel used when he charged at the third one and cut it in half at the waist. Its form fell downwards, allowing the male to stab into it and devour the life within.

He swiftly pulled the weapon back and twirled around while jumping, mimicking a human twister when several magma beasts tried to dog-pile on him, before he raised the arm and let it be engulfed in white flames. With that done, Castiel came back down to the ground, slamming the arm into it and releasing a large blast of white fire which spread in every direction. The flames pretty much consumed the beasts near him, while the ones further away only escaped with minor burns... if that even made sense, considering what they were.

Castiel's instincts screamed at him, and he rolled to the side, avoiding a blade that would have cut him in two whilst he slashed at the attacker's left thigh, causing it to grunt while falling onto one knee. Using his momentum to get onto his feet, Castiel quickly flipped over it, time seemingly slowing down as he reached forth with his left arm, placing his hand on its back and devouring the life within. As the creature dissolved away, Castiel landed in a crouch whilst jumping through the air, swinging Argentlan's Light Blade in wide arcs similar to what Saber Sensei had taught him, cutting through several Magma Beasts until he rolled to a stop, getting back to his feet afterwards.

'Huh, now that I've used this thing, I can't help but notice how it has some sweat moves...' the Heir couldn't help but think to himself, glancing down at the arm whilst his eyes ran along the blade of light emitted from its wrist. Slowly, a sly smile spread across his lips as a particularly amusing thought passed through his mind. 'Its like i'm doing a no-death run of dark souls, dark souls 2 and 3 at the same time...'

The roars of his remaining foes brought the Heir out of his musings and made him look up, allowing him to see that they were all practically rushing him now. No longer giving a damn about army tactics in favor of just rushing in for the kill. This made the Heir frown as he stood tall, throwing both limbs to the sides before he lifted Argetlan into a pose that mimicked his Excalibur-wielding instructor whenever she unleashed her special skills. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to calm his raging nerves. 'Alright, Saber Sensei... wish me luck.' he thought, mentally praying to his sword teacher before he opened his hardened eyes. With that done, the Heir rushed towards his opponents, prepared mentally for one hell of a long fight.


Panting and gasping, Nico fell to one knee, stabbing Soul Edge into the ground. Or rather, Nico's body did whilst his mind watched, the sword making his arm do that action for support's sake. Rebellion was clutched in his other hand, almost vibrating from the heavy exertion of his Quicksword technique, yet it still felt like it was ready for more. The only reason why Nico knew his swords were in his hands was thanks to Soul Edge, after all it was controlling his body right now.

'D-Damn... didn't think that this could be so exhausting... letting Soul Edge marionette my body seems to have drained me more than I thought it would.'

The male had done well, he felt at least though with his senses gone he couldn't tell. With the way Soul Edge aggressively controlled his body, the male assumed that it had been under constant stress from the heat of battle, swinging his limbs so fast that he sometimes wondered if his regeneration was all that stopped them from falling off. Without his senses, Nico couldn't even tell what was happening to his body, everything to do with the world had been closed off from his mind, which was why he had spent his time in his Inner World with Biko and his Ghoul Persona. Because of Soul Edge taking control however, Nico couldn't really use his powers, even the ones that weren't sealed, lest the control the sword had suffered and Nico's body paid the price. He wouldn't even know if he would get run through or not, which more than worried him.

However, the male refused to let that get to him. This had been his choice, he had decided to sacrifice all five of his initial senses to fight off whatever had attacked him before the test had began. He hadn't gotten a good look at what had attacked him, but suffice to say that they did look extremely grotesque and disgusting. Nothing he wasn't familiar with though, since he spent years fighting monsters of all shapes and sizes back in his home dimension. Stuff like this could be said to be just part of his daily life now. Nico had made the choice of sacrificing his senses, but more than that he had chosen to place everything he had in his weapons, his Devil Arms. He chose to trust them with everything he had, practically giving himself up to them.

It had been a risky gamble, and for so long now (his sense of time was practically non-existent, so he didn't know exactly how long had passed) he had no idea what was happening. Soul Edge couldn't respond to him or his questions since it had its full attention on controlling his body. Nico had never allowed Soul Edge to have this much control over his body though, never, so he didn't know if there would be any side effects or something else. It had never been tested before, but now had been as good a time as any to see how it would play out. This tactic should be best used as a last resort though, since Nico wouldn't be able to do anything while Soul Edge controlled him with telekinesis.

Still, something about this apparently had SOME merit, as both his Devil Arms felt like they had a HUGE increase in respect towards him. He could just feel it...

And that made him feel like everything was worth it in the end. Even if he failed the test.

"(Well, I AM impressed...)"

Suddenly, Nico heard Amon's voice in his mind, causing him to go wide eyed as all five of his senses returned to him. As if some switch had been flipped inside his head, like he was merely a machine. Not a comforting feeling, and Nico swore he nearly fell over from the backlash of his senses returning to him so sharply. However, Nico had managed to prevent himself from falling backwards, and for a moment he wondered why he was standing upright. However, Soul Edge told him everything through their link via emotions, showing him what it had seen with its eyeball. It showed him what had happened after he lost his senses and allowed its telekinesis powers to take hold over him.

Apparently, Soul Edge had to control Nico's body against what had been 10 waves of enemies, each one having 50 more than the last. In the beginning, there had been 50 enemies, and like Nico had thought each one looked horrifically malformed, grotesque, every disgust-related adjective one could think of. Hell, one of them looked like a ball made from humanoid yet deformed faces that spat out liquefied magma for crying out loud. Some would rush Soul Edge to try and since Nico's body apart, while others would launch attacks from a safe distance, creating quite the challenge for Soul Edge to take them out. However, it had found the life energy within them, almost like artificial 'Souls' so it had used its many abilities to even the playing field. Shutting down mental functions with BLOOD RAGE, debuffing their attack and mobility through SCORCHING AURA, dealing wounds to their internal structures with BLUTSUCKER, heavily taxed the blade's capacities. It couldn't use the AKUMA NO ME however, thanks to that ability needing to be activated by Nico himself first. PREDATOR however, helped the blade greatly since its powers were amplified from its own desire to kill, the more enemies there were, the greater the power boost.

Soul Edge was truly a wicked blade when used against multiple opponents... and it hadn't even been in its true form, either.

Rebellion had also been a huge help, the knowledge Nico had learned from his sword training allowing Soul Edge to replicate those techniques to cover its bases. Quicksword, Vipersword and the Windcutter had been the most help there, more than the others since they weren't as ideal for taking out groups of enemies. The moment the second wave had come, though, the numbers had gone up by 50, until the last wave where he had faced 5000 enemies in total. To boost his defense, Soul Edge had even used its powers to make a makeshift Armour from its flames, an Armour reminiscent of INFERNO that formed over him for extra protection. Soon after he noticed it, the flames and the armor itself evaporated out of existence, the Sword's telekinesis retreating into the blade. Though, this had left his arms aching like all hell, an ache that his own regeneration took a moment to take care of.

"Well... it was indeed a gamble..." Nico replied, breathlessly. He then strapped Soul Edge and Rebellion to his back, his Devil Arms deserved some sort of a break for whatever duration there would be between these tests. "Putting all my faith in my Swords isn't something I normally do... but, well... I don't know, it felt like trusting my weapons to that level felt like some form of a change. Or at least the start of one." he replied, bending his legs and placing his hands on his kneecaps for support. His head hung low as well, this position being the one he remained in for a moment or two before he finally stood tall, having regained both his breath and his composure.

"(indeed it was, a very risky Gamble in which you could have very well lost. The odds of you winning that battle had been stacked against you, however it seems Soul Edge pulled through for you. Let this be a lesson for you, trust can go a long way to motivate others. Be it weapon or human. It can work wonders, but enough of that, now it is time for rewards.)"

Just when Nico looked up to the skies, the male assuming that was where the voice was coming from, the male blinked when he saw a menu screen appear before him. It contained the 'MISSION COMPLETE' screen that usually came whenever a trial was completed, as well as a list of points and reward items. 'Well, lets see what I earned...' he thought to himself, looking up the rewards:

Points - 500,000

Weapon - Harvester - Osiris

Book - Great Way of the Buddha

'This... This is...!'

'HOLY FUCK, DUDE!'

'... Interesting, how truly interesting. Seems like that Gamble you made has paid off...'

Nico, Biko and his Ghoul Persona each had matching 'WTF' looks on their faces whilst they looked through the rewards screen. Neither of them could believe what they had just seen, these seemed like a generous amount of rewards, definitely surpassing the number that he had gotten from the previous trials thus far. And the fact that they could be used in his Inner World? Was that really possible?

"(Since you gambled with all five senses, your rewards must be equally as great. Believe me, DEATHSTROKE, this book will have powers that you will never have known otherwise. They will also be modified to your 'Inner World' as you call it, allowing you to use them in there as well as in the real world. Your next test will need time to be prepared, thus you will have a 15 minute break. I would suggest that you take that time to recover your stamina. Though, I will say this: should you take high risk gambles like this for the rest of the tests, not only will you receive high points, then you will also gain a bonus item at the end.)"

After Amon said this, Nico found himself engulfed in a bright light, disappearing from the lava-like area.