The Third Trial PT2

Up in his private room, Zelretch grinned to himself, enjoying himself for once in his eternal life. The man sat on an expansive looking two-seat sofa, with a bucket of popcorn and a cup of cola, both collected from a world that food and gourmet ingredients mean everything, while watching his current favorite show on his 70 inch, plasma wide-screen TV (that also had Netflix).

His godson and the emo kid completing their trials.

It was just so fun, seeing them fight so much for things that were honestly trash in his eyes.

Now, don't get the wrong idea, here. It wasn't necessarily that the items in question were weak per say, instead it was that, in the end, he was simply powerful enough and virtually omnipotent. If he wanted something, then there would be very few that could TRULY stop him. Even those 'deities' from Nico's and Castiel's worlds would not be able to even faze him (Zelretch would know, he had checked), there truly was little for him to look forward to as he already reached the absolute peak. Hell, if he wanted Zelretch could crush all these problems the two kids faced himself, but A: He'd promised some friends not to interfere, and B: Where would the fun in that be? In any case, the mad man simply wanted to find entertainment, and so far, he had found some that intrigued him enough for him to pay attention.

As he mused this he saw Nico completing his first test.

However, the way he did so gave the man pause, stopping him from raising his cup to his lips so he could frown. For a moment, he became serious as he analysed what Nico had done. It wasn't a pretty sight, the boy simply showed unwavering confidence in his weapons to guide him. A novel idea no doubt, but unrecommended, to say the least. No matter how 'smart' a weapon was, it was still a weapon, letting it control you wasn't really something that should be so readily done. Yet, the kid did it with no hesitation, something that made him concerned.

If he were to give points it would be a 7 out of 10, good but simply not enough.

Now, for his godson... oh my.

"This is more interesting." Zelretch said as he looked at what Castiel was doing.

'No, it should flow more. Light should be more unrestrained, more flowing and faster. No, it still could be faster, faster, faster, craftier, more flexible, more mysterious and hard to predict, faster, Faster, Faster!' This is what Castiel continuously repeated in his head as he moved with increasingly more grace throughout the battlefield, the light sword in his hand getting harder and harder to follow. The light itself was getting more crafty, it was like he was copying Emily's style of using threads but with the sword, making it thinner and capable of changing angles a bit faster with every passing second.

"Huh, so he IS learning how to control light after all. I guess this could be a good thing, at least this may help him use Clarent better in the long run." Zelretch thought out loud. not worried about disturbing anyone, not that he would care anyway. He was the type of guy that would eat potato chips during a lord's conference on the magic organization just to see those stuck up magus squirm.

Now, it was only a matter of time for Castiel to clean this trial, a reward already prepared with him in mind was waiting for him. What? He is the closest thing Zelretch has to actual family, there is no way he wasn't going to give the boy a helping hand. But honestly, to think he would be getting the hang of using light energy this fast, it was either his heritage as someone who would inevitably become a Archangel even without training or it was just pure natural tallent, but if he was getting this good with light this fast, there was no way to tell exactly how strong he would become if he did use the gift Zelretch prepared for him.

After all, he did prepare an item to fix Castiel's current main physical problem.


Nico himself appeared in the same room with the tunnel entrances he had seen before,. He had seen it the moment he could see again, though there had been one distinct difference. That was that each entrance had been sealed off by a row of spikes, almost resembling the teeth of a worm or something along those lines. 'That must be what Amon meant by needing to prepare the second test...' the teen thought to himself, scowling whilst he cupped his chin.

'Nico, I sense that we may be able to use our Bracers again.'

Biko spoke from within his mind, and that allowed the redhead male to widen his eyes in surprise before they narrowed sharply. Almost rivalling the edge of a dagger while he looked down at his forearms where said devices were. Sure enough, when he tried to start them up they activated like normal, which made him feel a wave of puzzlement course through him. 'Huh? What the hell...?'

'I do not know the cause, but perhaps clearing the first trial allowed us the use of our Bracers. We did get a book that we could use whilst in our inner world, something normally we wouldn't have been able to do before.'

'Seems like you may have a point Biko...' Nico thought back to his Demon Persona, all the while opening his Void Storage and scrolling through the list of items he had in it. Soon enough, he had found the book that he had won in his Void Storage, titled 'Star God's Broken Shadow', looking like a plain brown book but with golden edges. Its seam was also gold, while the front and back of it had a golden fiery star symbol etched onto them. Well, he could read it right now in his Inner World while he waited for the next test to be prepared, or he could do something else and hold off on it till after this fire trial had been completed when he had more time. That did sound silly knowing about his Inner World and its time dilation, however Nico would rather have real world hours and minutes to do such extensive training, as he got the feeling it would require.

Therefore, he would go with an alternative: trying to figure out what this 'Gene Seed Implants' stuff was all about. If he had been able to before, then he would have had his Bracers scan each organ more thoroughly whilst in combat, as to get a better description of how they would improve his body. With the Implants, he had already noted that he had an increase in both speed and strength, as well as endurance and other physical abilities had been notably improved. That was something he had learned from Soul Edge, since his senses at the time were sealed by the first test.

With that in mind, Nico activated their scanners and had them perform a considerably greater scan on his body, more specifically the new implants that he had. Once they began, Nico took a moment to sit down and lean against a wall, placing the top of his head on the wall behind him before closing his eyes and exhaling in relief. For some reason (though he had a feeling the implants were part of it) he didn't feel so tired, in fact he felt like he could fight for weeks on end without stopping. His exhale felt more on the lines of emotional relief than anything, and even then his sword hadn't tested any of the abilities granted to him by those Implants. If he could, Nico would have seen to transforming so that he would be able to see how his DPU Form would have been impacted by the Implants.

Perhaps he should call them GSIs instead.

Then, the thoughts of his Armour came to mind, allowing Nico to open his eyes and narrow them at the ceiling. His Armour also had likely been affected, not by the GSIs but by the absorption of that Power Armour back in the second Trial. If one of the Implants, called the 'Black Carapace' improved not only his connection to the Armour but also its physical defences, then Nico's Armour would have much more a use than before. Perhaps it could go up against greater demons of the Chaos Gods or even Demon Princes without taking as much damage. Nico didn't know, and he would continue to be in the dark until he got a chance to deploy it and then scan the Armour himself.

After about 6 minutes, Nico heard the sounds of beeping from his right Bracer, letting him know that the scans were complete. 'Huh, took shorter than the last time, I see. Either its because they had already scanned the same object before, or they have also been improved in efficiency. If this place is any indication, then I'm willing to go on the latter...' the male thought, before pulling up the results on a holographic screen. His eyes cast their gaze on the lines of text showing the results, including holograms of the Organs themselves beside each paragraph that explained in great detail about how each organ worked.

Nico could not have been more stunned by what he read if he tried.

What was most interesting, was the fact that the 'Healer' Organ's Biosynthetic Cells had a rather strong connection with his Ghoul side. Not only did this connection increase their regenerative capabilities, it also boosted his own healing factor by leaps and bounds. As in, while before Nico could recover from having his heart blown to pieces or his head smashed in (which would take about 2 minutes to regenerate), now that regeneration would only take a couple seconds, and he could also restore himself even when his body could be reduced to a glop of flesh on the ground. Any lesser injuries would also be healed quickly, nigh instantaneously thanks to his Ghoul Side and these Biosynthetic Cells.

As for the Black Carapace, it did indeed create a better connection to his Armour, by linking his nerves to it as well as better connecting his thoughts, emotions etc to it. All the while enhancing his durability and capability with it. Enough so that he could probably withstand the powers of Khornate Greater Demons with greater ease than before. Perhaps he would be able to hold out better against Mundus, something that he would love to do if he were to face that DPU again. Further improvements would require his Armour to be deployed, but he'd rather not risk it at the moment since A: it was sealed away, and B: he'd rather not get punished for breaking the rules.

Aside from them. the rest of the Implants seemed to work like they said in the initial scans, enhancing his physical ability and giving him enough stamina to fight for days or weeks on end. The thought of not sleeping for multiple days on end made him wonder on the possibilities, especially for his training within his Inner World. If he could pull off over 48 hours worth of training in there, just how strong could he emerge at the end? Nico almost drooled at the thought had he not caught himself at the last moment, wiping bits of it from his mouth with his Trench Coat's right sleeve. Combined with that, there was perfect night vision, better digestive abilities, acidic powers, and overall resilience boosts thanks to these CSIs, something that absolutely amazed him. The thought of having last ditch resorts, like that suspended animation within a cocoon or that 'emergency healing' type of shit combined with his new eating abilities opened up quite the bit on the possibility spectrum. He may not be able to eat human foods like in the past, but this felt like a nice enough equivalent.

Part of him said that they didn't do much for his greatest weakness yet: the Soul stuff that Castiel had mentioned in the first trial, which Nico made note of.

'Nico, I have a suggestion for you.'

Blinking, Nico looked up before casting his gaze diagonally downwards. He didn't respond verbally this time, but barely bobbed his head up and down to let Biko know he had his attention.

'I do believe that we should look over what we have learned regarding those Hollow Techniques we inherited from the First Trial. I managed to skim through the data myself a while back, and let me tell you, I feel like these will be WELL worth our troubles...'

Well, with Biko's seal of approval, how could he not do what he said? If he were asked, then Nico would proclaim that he too got a little excited about those techniques especially when he recalled just how difficult a fucker that Mathyus had been back then. With that in mind, Nico closed his eyes and, under Biko's instructions, managed to locate, isolate then bring up the information stored within his brain to the surface for viewing purposes.

In the end, he found out the following information, and what he learned made a shark-like grin sweep onto his features. According to this data, Nico had gained a whole SET of Techniques to practice which came from that 'Hyogoku' thing Zelretch had talked about, techniques which, the more they got trained and refined the greater they would become in the future. Apparently, their past wielders only trained up till a certain point, as they would have reached the pinnacle of their potential growth as beings. However, Nico's potential had yet to be fully realized, thus who knew what kind of developments could happen if he trained with these abilities.

Plus, the more he learned, the more he began to notice how... excited, glad and eager his twin Devil Arms Ebony and Ivory would get. Perhaps they had a connection to these techniques somehow?

The techniques he had inherited were as follows:

Hierro - A defensive Technique, one Nico felt QUITE eager to develop since he had very few defensive options. Offense and evasion maybe, but little defence, mostly due to how his Healing Factor remained so potent. In any case, in order for the technique to be used, the user has to infuse every skin cell in their bodies, creating a skin-layer which would be harder than steel itself o hold off against attackers. The more energy put into the technique, the stringer the technique will be as a result, which makes it possible for a weaker user able to tank attacks from much stronger enemies. On the other hand, this technique requires one to split a portion of their energy from themselves into their skin, and once done they cannot gain it back. As such, the user must be wary about how much energy they infuse into their Skin. In addition, the strength of an individual's Hierro is entirely proportional to the potency of their own energy, which Nico realized confirmed his earlier analysis.

Sonido - A high-speed movement technique, one which has potential for great distance coverage such as crossing entire battlefields. Sonído appeared to be on the instinctual side, which makes it easier to perform. When utilized properly, produces a booming or static noise, though this technique is not as easy to predict as other Techniques such as teleporting, although it can sometimes reach that level of speed. The proficiency with which it can be performed is limited only by the individual themselves, hence the strong potential it had in his hands.

Pesquisa - An advanced perception technique. To use this technique, the practitioner sends out a radiating pulse which reacts to any sources of energy within a certain proximity, allowing the practitioner to determine the location of any sensed individuals and gauge how powerful they actually are. Upon using this technique, one must close their eyes and enter into a meditative state of mind in order to attain the necessary heightened sense of awareness, although with training this no longer becomes an issue. Whilst it seemed similar to simply sensing an enemy's presence, Nico realized soon how different this technique actually presented itself especially with the accuracy it could detect an enemy's strength. Plus, if he could develop this to a point where he could constantly keep track of high-speed moving targets...

Resurrección - The final, and most complicated technique of them all. This technique could only be utilized with the essence sealed within the Osiris Scythe, as upon using this technique which required a release phrase, the essence sealed within the weapon (which he realized came from Mathyus himself) would be sent directly through it and into his body, resulting in a transformation not unlike that of his Berserker Mode, Kakuja or DPU forms. This Transformation radically boosts his physical abilities as well as gives him traits similar to a Scorpion much like how his Kakuja made him resemble a bit more of a Centipede. Whilst Nico had PLENTY of forms to choose from even before attaining this technique, perhaps he could do something with this one similar to chaining together Skills like he and his comrades did in Lastation, or maybe even fuse these forms together to create something new. The possibilities would be endless...

So yeah, all in all Nico felt REAL glad he had what he did. Now, if anyone were to ask him why he would like to have so many abilities in his arsenal, or just complain that he has too many, they must remember how his life had been. He'd grown up in a world where there's simply WAY too many Abnormal Monsters walking around, each with their own unique abilities with more daily being reported about. Then take into account the returning Demons, the Chaos Gods, Arfoire, Mundus, Maghda and you'll get just how many enemies he would have to fight. Although he wouldn't be fighting alone, it still helped to have as much versatility as he could. Plus, these techniques would be unique to HIM, not his weapons which gave him unique powers of their own to use. These would be HIS, and if he were questioned then he'd say how he could use more of those he could call his own in his arsenal.

He REALLY wanted to just go to his inner world and get started practicing these techniques...

Soon enough however, Nico found that task to be for naught, when he noticed the spikes over the tunnels receding near instantly, telling him that the time of his break was at an end. 'Wow, has that much time passed already? Must have been thinking for a while, now...' the male thought, getting to his feet as he approached the second test entrance. His hands dug themselves into his coat pockets, all the while he wondered what the next test would be.

"(The Second Test has been prepared, DEATHSTROKE. You may enter at your leisure.)"

Nico mentally arched a brow at the lack of details, wondering what that was about. However, he decided to think on it later when he was about to attempt the trial. With that in mind, the teen walked into the tunnel and allowed it to close up behind him, signalling that the trial had begun.


When Nico arrived at the end of the tunnel, the male expected to find himself in some barren wasteland of something of unfamiliar territory. That was usually how these tests went, and he knew this by experience.

However, this time, that was not the case.

'What the...?'

Nico could only look on in extreme surprise, as he found himself at a house. It didn't look like anything special, it looked simply like a creamy colored house with a beautiful garden that showed the owner's care for nature. There was this air of serenity about it, a serenity that hit him with full force with its familiarity. There had only been one thing in the world that could make him feel this peaceful, and look like this.

Compa's home.

He was at Compa's home.

But why? Why was he here? What was this test going to be about? Nico frowned at this, mentally trying to contact Amon but to no avail. Apparently the test must have started already, cause he couldn't get in contact with him.

To his surprise, when he tried to call for Biko or his Ghoul Persona, he got no response. No, that wasn't quite right, it felt more like they were never there in the first place, like he had never had them before in his life.

What?

What the hell was going on here?

Nico didn't know, nor did he understand. However, the male soon found himself getting into a defensive stance when he saw the door to Compa's home opening. Normally he wouldn't do something like this regarding the home of someone he cherished, but everything about this test felt freaking suspicious as hell. He didn't think this was REALLY Compa's home, he refused to believe it. Her home existed back in his home dimension, not here!

Soon, the door opened, and when it did, Nico nearly dropped his jaw, his eyes bulging from what he saw next.

A child, no, Two children came out and began playing in the garden, laughing and giggling. If he were to guess, then their ages would be around 3 to 5 years old, with one being female and the other male. The male seemed to be the younger one, with hair that was a creamy color while his eyes strangely enough matched Nico's own. He wore simple clothes that one would expect a child to wear, and had a matching innocent smile on his face. As for the girl, she seemed to be the older of the two, also with creamy hair. However, her eyes remained a matching color while she sported a creamy colored dress.

The two of them rolled around together, playing and laughing within the garden. Hell, Nico swore that the garden almost glowed with positivity, as if the innocence of the children touched it on a personal level. Their laughter filled his ears, eyes and all his other senses, and strangely enough Nico found himself lowering his hands from their defensive posture. The more they laughed, the more aware he became that there wouldn't be a threat nearby that would warrant such caution.

'Still, this scenery... something like this feels very familiar to me... This house is most definitely Compa's back in Planeptune. I know it all too well, I used to live here after all. Before I became a Spec Ops Agent, I lived here with Compa and her grandfather, some of the best memories I've ever known, to be frank. Not to mention, those kids... could they be...?' Nico wondered, taking a few steps backwards till he was behind the house's wooden fence. He held his hand over one section of it, watching the children play together with a look of confusion and uncertainty.

That is, until the door opened again and another familiar voice yelled out.

"Kids, time to get dinner!"

... Wait a minute, Nico knew that voice!

Yes, yes he did, there was no mistaking it!

That voice... it was his own!

Nico's jaw fell downwards, his eyes boggled like before whilst the owner of the voice, an older version of Nico who looked to be in his late thirties, exited the house to tell the two kids that they were needed inside. The man wore simpler clothes, like a shirt, pants, and a dad cap over his head. Even so, there was no mistaking those eyes and what he could see of the man's hair, that this was Nico in an older form. The teenage version of himself barely recollected his thoughts, before the children each gasped at the sight of this older him and ran towards him.

"Daddy!"

The two jumped at him after breaking into a short sprint, laughing and giggling merrily. A matching laugh escaped the older Nico, sounding so foreign in his ears that it may as well have belonged to a different person entirely. The older Nico held them both by their waists in his arms whilst turning to walk inside. Only for someone else to walk out. When that person did, Nico almost fell backwards when he saw her.

It was Compa... an older version of Compa who looked like she had reached her late 20's. Holy hell, Nico could only think as he looked at her. Compa's older self didn't look that much different than her current self save for a growth spurt. She now had a similar height to Vert, with her hair flowing down behind her and not being restricted by any head-wear. Her eyes, instead of showing just innocence, now had a mix of innocence, wisdom and maturity that only came with age, while her features took on a more womanly, sharpened design. Not to mention that she now wore what looked like a Nurse's outfit without a cap. There were white stockings on her legs with matching heels, with a loose-looking dress covering her main body down to the thighs.

A giggle escaped the older Compa as she looked upon the three, a hand over her mouth just like how Vert would react. "You taking them in for their dinner?"

"Yeah, It should be ready when I do. It's their favorite chicken curry, then spag bol for tea."

"Ufufufu, I'm looking forward to it. But for now I have to go, the Hospital says they need me for an extra shift since a colleague called in sick."

"Alright, i'll hold the fort down for you. Say bye to your mother, kids."

"Bye mommy!"

Nico watched on as the older him and the older Compa conversed, the looks exchanged between them showing more than anything just how deep their bond had went. Nico also noticed the rings on their fingers, marriage rings, which baffled him all the more. His older self had married Compa?! And even helped give her children?! What the hell, what about his Ghoul Side?! Shouldn't he be more aware of how bad that food will taste?!

What the hell was going on here?!


Everything else that followed felt like a dream, that was all Nico could think at the moment as he watched things play out before his eyes. He watched how his older self played with the apparent kids he had with Compa, he watched how he showed no signs of being affected by his Ghoulish senses or anything. Instead, he looked completely content with his life, a life of a civilian and not a warrior.

Even so, the redhead managed to pick up enough snippets of dialogue between his older self and the older Compa (goddamn did she look freaking hot as hell) to form a conclusion in his mind as to what he had been seeing throughout these hours. Apparently, this had happened when instead of Nico choosing to become a Spec Ops Agent, he was allowed the chance to remain a normal citizen under the watchful eyes of Compa's grandfather. His adoptive mother would be allowed visits to him, and after what seemed like years of living together, him and Compa had gotten married, resulting in the family of four that he was seeing right now.

Something like this...

How could something like this have been a thing?

Nico didn't understand, he didn't understand at all! At this point in time, his eye should have been opened to the truth about his Ghoul side, that it would forever inhibit him from having a normal life! Why the hell hadn't that happened here?! What was different, and why did the Basilicom allow it? Nico didn't understand, he didn't understand one bit as he watched everything play out.

Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months, and soon enough Nico could no longer tell how long it had been since he had started this test. He could only watch as his older self, his self that gradually Nico wished he COULD have become, had the life of normalcy despite his Ghoul side appearing every now and then. Hell, it looked like Compa had ACCEPTED his Ghoul Side, not even being fazed when one of his Kagune types would come out of him. Neither did the kids, really, though for Compa he guessed he shouldn't have been so shocked. Especially when the first time she found out happened near the end of the Leanbox incidents. She always was a caring girl, able to see the good in even shitheads like him.

So it was fine, right? To enjoy this, to live this life, right?

For the first time ever, he felt so refreshed.

.

.

.

.

.

"No... No! This isn't true! This ISN'T true, no way, no how! This can't be MY WORLD!" Nico finally yelled at the top of his lungs, refusing to comprehend this being his world.

In that moment, everything broke down into pieces, like a mirror being destroyed by blunt force, leaving nothing but hazy, empty void.

He could not see or hear anything for a while, but then he could again.

This time he also saw himself, but a different version.


This one was a noble from Leanbox, and Nico was one such Noble. In this one, Nico's parents didn't migrate to Planeptune, they stayed and had him there. This version of him commanded armies expertly and was hailed as the perfect general. It was to such a point that he never lost a single battle, he conquered everything under the heaven and was crowned king of Gamindustri itself.

The goddesses descended, but they too were defeated under his sword and turned into his concubines. He enjoyed his life until old age as he saw his Empire crumbling in front of him, but he had lived life as he wanted and he got everything he ever desired.

One again, everything went black before a new one formed.


In the next one he was a mercenary (not so different from his current lifestyle), he fought from day to night enjoying drinks, food, and women until his death.

Again, more blackness till the next vision assaulted his senses.


The next one he saw, Nico found this alternate him being an assistant to Yvoire, his protege. They shared everything together and when Yvoire eventually died from old age, Nico was the one chosen to lead Leanbox to glory. However, he saw first hand the pressure and could not hold it right.

War exploded everywhere, but he did find a solution for it. A way to end these pointless war and bring peace.

However, tragedy struck when he was assassinated the same day by a guild agent working under another Noble.


Then the next life, he was a killer. He was raised as such, lost his emotions when he had to kill every single loved one he ever had. The eyes of Compa as she suffocated on his hands as he snuffed the life out of her, it didn't make this him feel a thing. He lost the capacity to feel even remorse as she barely released a 'Why?'.

He then continued killing, he was simply a killing machine for others to use.

He was a tool.


The following one was him living his life as a Ghoul, as in he decided to walk the path of the Ghoul at the moment he had his eyes 'opened' and he had none of the experiences that he had now.

As a result, this Nico drastically differed from himself. He drowned himself in enemy blood, taking pleasure in destroying entire villages with either his Kagune or his Kakuja form. Most of the time it was his Kakuja form, having grown disgusted with his human side and opting to remain a monster for all time by staying inside his Kakuja. Every battle yielded him more and more RC Cells, so it would very well be possible that he could do so. He ended up committing all types of atrocities and violence that no man should even see, enough to make even the most twisted psychopath embarrassed to watch...

And he took immense pleasure in every single second of it.


The next one was him living on the streets, this version of him not having his Ghoul side or anything supernatural-related. In fact, it seemed that this self had been abandoned at birth, growing up alone and then becoming a Guild Agent.

Things had been better for a while, until he had lost his arms during a mission, he could have obtained new ones but he didn't have the cash. Not to mention that no one would bother with a simple guild agent that had a sob story.

He had to enter the trash to look for food, savaging what he could and trying his best, but he got sick in the end and died slowly, and painfully, without anyone to care about it.


Following that one was a self who decided to end the world once and for all, taking apart each nation piece by piece. He first killed off Planeptune, killing everyone on it with his Ghoul side, quickly unlocking his full Kakuja thanks to devouring so many monsters of both the normal and the Abnormal variety.

After he killed off Lastation, he met up with Arfoire, and the two worked together to destroy Leanbox and Lowee, getting into a sexual relationship which would last for eternity (much to Nico's disgust).

He would be granted immortality by Arfoire and live forever as her mate.


The next one seemed much lighter compared to the others, it was of himself with Neptune and Compa, travelling the world together beating monsters and being heroes. Only thing was, Nico was simply a normal human, no Ghoul or DPU powers. Not to mention there were no Abnormals, and everything was all sweat not to mention girly.

It was an adventure he enjoyed, and by the end of it Nico had gotten married to the Goddesses and would live happily until his peaceful death.


At this point, when the blackness came, Nico didn't know anymore.

He lived for how long? Was it centuries, millennia, weeks, days, hours, was anything real?

When did the ilusion ended?

Was there ever a ilusion there?

What was happening to him, no, better yet.

Who IS Nico?

He didn't know, he couldn't tell anymore who he was and what was the truth.

Everything was all wrong.

All of it.

He was never a family man.

He was never a conqueror.

He was never a mercenary.

He was never a killer.

He was never a beggar.

He was never a destroyer of nations.

He was never a... what was the first one again, the very first illusion that was just trusted on his head?

Oh, right.

He was never a spec-ops agent.

He was just... who was he again?

Flames danced on his mind as 'Nico' ceased to exist here.

All that was left was a husk, something that was alive but didn't even know it anymore.

After all, for it there wouldn't be a difference.

It was just what it was, but even it didn't know anymore and wanted someone to tell it.

Who was it, and what was a 'Nico'?


"... No, it should move a bit faster. It isn't as unpredictable as it should either." Castiel continued his fighting, he didn't even see his own actual condition or all the enemies and their corpses anymore. All he comprehended and saw was light and how to use it, it was quite similar to a moment of epithany on those wuxia novels or 'the zone' from Kuroko no Basket, he simply moved with pure instinct while comprehending more and more about how to use light energy.

He was closing the gap between his current knowledge about light and what he should have reached if he was never sealed in the first place.

"Is it like this? Yes, that works but how to make it even better? Maybe like this, or this, or perhaps this. Yes, yes this works well but there still is room for improvement." Castiel said as he cut down the enemies faster and faster, his light sword changing forms, size, and intensity with every passing moment.

Castiel didn't even saw the burn marks and the wounds that were covering his body, about how his body was releasing conspicuous amounts of sweat and that he was dehydrating at a fast pace. For him all that mattered was enjoying the feeling of new discoveries that he was making as the knowledge about light that only the Seraphs (the Super-class angels) would normally have.

However, after over three hours of non-stop killing anything that moved the enemies finally stopped spamming. More than 10 thousand were already cut down and Castiel was standing on top of a large mountain made from the corpses of the bigger syzed monsters, not that Castiel even remember slaying these guys.

It was only then, when no more enemies remained and there wasn't any more beings to test his theories that the wondrous state he was on stopped.

"Well… that happened." Castiel mused as he saw how the trial seemingly ended without his knowledge.

He then started looking around, hoping for more enemies to be around as he wanted to try and understand more about light energy and the best way to learn this sort of thing ultimately is fighting followed by moments of training.

He did not find what he wanted, but he found something even better.

A flower, to be more specific it is a lotus with 81 petals. Each one gave off a feeling of power and a strong healing energy flowed through it.

"Amazing, isn't it?" A elderly, and very annoying, voice said right behind Castiel's ears. "This Buddha Heart Lotus of Nine Resurrections is one special little one, I chose to let you have this one to fix your little circuits problem."

"Thanks, uncle Zelretch." Castiel said, taking a more attentive look at the flower in front of him, wondering if it would release some sort of fart on his face or something like that.

Normally Castiel would jump in joy if he were to see this herb, but he was more frustrated than anything else since there was a limit to the time here and this herb took 81 days to be properly absorbed and until this time passes he to stay in place as his body will simply be unable to move.

"Hey, go on and take the flower. You should absorb it here, I will accelerate the time here so as to let you work things out faster." Zelretch said, making Castiel raise an eyebrow, even appearing here like this was not really like the old bat much less go out of his way to directly help. Seeing the dubious face Zelretch gave a nervous laugh and said "Okay, okay, sheesh I will tell you. I may potentially have gone a tidbit too far with Nico and he needs some help, I could do it but I don't want to as it is too much emo teenager funk for me, so I am making you do it."

"Sigh, I should have known better." Castiel said with a sigh. Ultimately Zelretch liked to look for things to entertain himself, Nico being dead or whatever is probably boring so he wanted to fix that and making him fix it would be more interesting anyway. "Well, fine let's get this started."

Zelretch nodded before pulling a single one of the petals from the lotus and feeding it to Castiel.

"Ghh, GGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Castiel screamed in uther and absolute pain. This was just as bad, no it was worse than the ritual he had went through on the hands of Kokabiel.

He felt every single one of his magic circuits, of the parts of his very soul, be destroyed bit by bit agonizingly slow before regenerating again even more slowly and painfully. It was worse than most could ever hope to understand, the pain being too much for anyone to support his mind as this happened.

And so, the first day of this suffering started. For each day he went through this process, again and again, feeling pain like none other that increased with each passing day.

The pain was enough to make most desire to die instead of pass through this, and amongst the others who wouldn't desire to die many would go crazy by the end of this.

Zelretch left Astaroth to take care of Castiel and to apply the herb to the boy. It would not be a pretty job and Zelretch didn't want to do this, nor did he have to consider that he has others to do it for him.

And so, 81 days passed with the only sounds in the battleground being from Castiel's grunts as his throat could not produce any sound anymore after spending so many hours screaming at the top of his lungs.


Castiel's P.O.V.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Huh?

Is it over?

Is the pain finally done?

Seriously?

YES!

Finally that hell ended! I can't even believe it finally ended.

Well, I will throw this one right at Gabriel's feet. If it wasn't for her I wouldn't have had to go through...that.

I can't understand how some herb can cause this much pain, I mean at one point I could swear I saw father telling me to not come there as he was surrounded by a bunch of strange people and darkness.

I must really have gone crazy there for a while.

"It seems like you finished it, impressive." A male voice said to the side. Turning around I saw that it was Astaroth, he was looking with eyes of respect to me almost as if he was impressed by what I just did.

"Well, thanks I guess." I said to him as answer. Honestly, the only impressive thing I did was not try to kill myself and recoveriing from the pain faster.

"Good, but was the effect as good as you imagined?" He asked, making me realize that I still haven't tested my circuits.

I started inspecting myself, looking for any problems and the state of my magic circuits.

Oh my, this, this is amazing.

All of the before were dried up and full of little wounds, now it was far from this.

Very, VERY far from it.

My circuits were of the highest quality possible, even comparable to Caster's circuits and she is a magic caster that reached mid Leader-class depending exclusively on magic for it.

And if you add the absurdly high number of circuits that I have, I may as well start going more towards the highly destructive side of things instead of controlling my power too much.

With my magic core and this circuits I just have this much power to spare.

If I was like this and with my current level when facing Kokabiel I would not fear even 5 of him.

Seeing my face Astaroth showed a slight smile and said.

"It seems everything went fine. Good. Now, shall we go?"

"Sure." I said before being dragged away.

Let's go and fix the mess that Nico was now.

Sigh, will he ever stop worrying me? He isn't my subordinate for God's sake, I shouldn't have to be helping him all the time.


Well, this is more than I expected.

I found myself standing in a room similar to the one I used to get through my tests, only he had about 7 tunnels unlike my own. Its like this guy had more tests to go through than me, wonder why that is. However, the sight at the base of the second test is the thing that I was drawn to the moment I saw him.

That thing being Nico... only, he is just standing there, motionless. His eyes looked blank, like there wasn't even a soul in them anymore while his mouth looked slightly open. His hands remained at his sides, not even doing minute twitching to indicate their having blood flowing through them. If I could not see his chest moving I'd say he was long dead by now, that was how unresponsive he is.

Walking up to him, I cautiously looked him over, furrowing my brows in thought while cupping my chin thoughtfully. I will admit, part of me is intrigued on what uncle Zelretch had done to get Nico like this, but right now those answers will have to wait. "Well, what do I have here?" I whispered, more to myself than anything else. You know, since me and him are pretty much the only ones in this place right now since Astaroth had vanished. No idea WHERE the other guide for Nico is, though.

An answer soon comes to me, after a moment's worth of looking him over and calculating in my head. I suppose I should start by giving him a blessing centered in clearing his mind, since from what I can tell this is a mental thing. I do recall that the guy said a while back, that he is weak to soul attacks, and THIS definitely has the makings of one.

Soon enough, I place my hand over his face and began to focus, and whilst I do that I couldn't help but bite my lip in preparation. I can only hope this works. My power soon forms as a white glow in my hand, before it leapt forth from it and latched on to Nico's being. A second later, I see that the energy is quickly enveloping his being, starting from his head down to the rest of his body. Briefly, I sensed a spike in demonic energy within him, a spike probably directed at the 'unknown' energy before it just as quickly calmed itself.

That made me arch a brow. What the heck was that about?

It didn't take even 10 seconds, before Nico's eyes suddenly blinked like an owl's their life returning to them in an instant while the teen soon started moving again. He shook his head a few times, confusion wrought over his facial features while a hand went to his forehead. "Ugh, what happened...?" he mumbled, shaking his head when a small migraine assaulted his mind. Fortunately, he felt his regeneration take care of that, before he looked up and spotted Castiel before him. No doubt that he became stunned at the sight, as well as confused as all hell. "Emiya?"

"Yo." The guy replied with a small wave, before he continued. "That's what I'd like to know, Nico." after his reply, the Heir went about crossing his arms under his chest and releasing a weary sigh. "You know I can't keep covering for you like this, you should REALLY look into strengthening your resistance to Soul Attacks. That's what apparently made you seem comatose just now, and thus I had to snap you out of it." he told him.

Hearing that made a pang of rage and anguish explode within Nico's gut, only shown on his features through the grimace he did. THAT didn't sound like something very fun, for either of them. Himself because of his strong sense of independence from others, and Castiel due to it interfering with his own tests. Nico wanted to prove that he wasn't just a mindless beast, and then the next thing he knew he was being attacked at the Soul much like what Mundus had done to him. It filled him with shame and guilt, which resulted in Nico clenching a fist in anger. 'Ugh, how humiliating! Emiya shouldn't have had to help me, what the heck happened just now?!' the male mentally raged.

"(Its called the Trials of Samsara, Nico, and unfortunately you were unable to complete the trial.)"

Amon's voice rang through Nico's mind, making his eyes widen in shock and horror. Also, there was a side of disbelief in his gut as the male looked down, his eyes smaller than a teacup plate. 'Wait, you're serious?!'

'Unfortunately so. I felt our link, myself and your Ghoul Persona get suppressed to the point where we were put in a dormant state. Meaning that we could not have been of any assistance to you, to keep you in the test as it were.'

After hearing Biko's voice, a mix of relief and grimness assaulted the redhead male. Relief in the knowledge that both Biko and his Ghoul Persona weren't gone, but also the fact that there was a logical reason why they weren't able to talk to him. Then, the grimness settled in as he realized that he would likely have to face some form of penalty for not passing the trial. 'Wait, not just me, but could Emiya also be punished since he used Magic to heal me...?' the male suddenly thought, eyes widening again as he looked upon Castiel with stunned realization.

"Yuppers, I don't like doing this but since he used something he wasn't supposed to in order to save your sorry behind, Castiel has to have an additional penalty imposed on him."

Zelretch's voice spoke through their minds this time, and in a second the golden haired Heir found himself suddenly feeling like a part of himself had been stripped from him. After a moment of scanning his body, Castiel found it, he found a 'weight' in the place of his Golden Foundation Armour, which likely meant he would have to fight on without it.

Well, it wasn't a total loss, but still it did have its own problems presented to him.

SIGH, the things he did for others...

Meanwhile, Nico gritted his teeth when he sensed the 'weight' taking hold of Castiel's Armour. He could senses it quite well, as well as the slight burst of annoyance from his companion when he realized it too. A strong sense of shame fell onto the male, draping over him like a bed sheet that constantly gave him itches no matter how much he tried to find a comfortable position. 'Shit... fucking shit! Goddamnit! This is EXACTLY what I had been hoping would NEVER happen!' the male cursed himself under his breath while thinking this, and an urge came over him. An urge he didn't resist as he breathed a shameful sigh out of his nostrils. "Apologies for having to tend to my weakness, Emiya." he said, lowering his head apologetically.

"Heh, stop saying this nonsense. We are in this together wanting to or not so helping each other was obvious. Besides, I would rather not have to deal with a vegetable as a partner, I don't think your body is tough enough to work as a weapon so I would rather a fighter than a soft cub. I just hope I don't have to come and babysit you anymore as the next thing they would probably take away is my fucking right arm!" Castiel said, not bothering to put nice words when talking to the agent.

He was, after all, understandably pissed considering how he had to stop his own trials to help someone who SHOULD HAVE THE SAME AMOUNT OF TALENT AND POTENTIAL AS HE! God dammit why did he have to go out of his way to save someone who should by all rights be more than a liability?

Sighing once more, Nico sat down in the cross legged position, crossing his arms under his chest as he placed one hand on his chin, his eyes narrowing. His demeanor suggested that he had gotten into deep thoughts, and that would be JUST what Nico had done. He began brainstorming with his various aspects on what to do to resolve this situation. They couldn't let this stand, not when Castiel had unwillingly given up something that could have helped him with these tests. It would be beneath them to do anything else otherwise.

'Hmmmm, we could ask if we can retake the trial, changing one of our rewards for something like restoring Emiya's ability to use his Armour. It would at least help him pass his tests faster, as well as repay him for having to save our sorry asses.' Nico thought to his other aspects, his breathing slowly coming back to a calm, composed rhythm.

'I am unsure if that is even possible at this time. Moreover, it may be that we might have to sacrifice something, like our points or a possible reward, if we want to retake the test. Though, I do admit, not passing that test for us is unacceptable, for we would be forsaking one of our Devil Arm weapons when we have vowed to ourselves NOT to do that.'

Biko however, didn't think that would even be allowed due to the nature of these tests. Not to mention, he had noticed Soul Edge had blocked the connection they had to Amon for this discussion, keeping it private between the. Biko wondered about that actually, could this be somewhat of an ability slowly coming into being? True it had happened before, but for some reason Soul Edge slowly felt like it was... changing. similar to how IF's BOW powers mutated and evolved constantly. Perhaps its prowess will gain a new power in the future, since Soul Edge WAS capable of evolution much like IF's powers, being a manifestation of Nico's soul after all.

'BAH, WHO CARES, GOOD RIDDANCE TO HIM... IS WHAT I'D LIKE TO SAY, BUT I'MM NOT DOWN FOR THIS SHIT! I'D RATHER NOT BE INDEBTED TO SOMEONE OTHER THAN MYSELF, THANK YOU VERY FUCKING MUCH! YOU TWO GOTTA THINK OF SOMETHING, STAT!'

'Us? Why not yourself, then if it vexes you so much?'

'CAUSE I'M NATURAL INSTINCT GIVEN FORM, YA DUMB SHIT! I'M NOT ONE FOR THINKING, I'M ONE FOR ACTION!'

Nico mentally sweat dropped at that, that explained quite a bit about how his Ghoul Persona acted, actually.

Still, they needed to get this problem sorted out, pronto. That was something all three of them could agree with each other on, no matter what anyone else says. Not just for themselves, but also because they don't like owing people anything. It would probably be why he would not b a very good businessman, he'd be too into fairness in his business dealings to actually get anywhere. Like Castiel would be regarding protecting those under him, Nico would not let a debt go on unpaid, it would be beneath him and would make him more like the deceitful scumbags he dealt with on a daily basis. That would be Nico's own principals, his own sense of honor and pride.

"OOOOOOOH, now THIS... is INTERESTING!"

BA-BUMP!

"Guh!"

Nico gasped, hands clutching the space where his heart would be as a hug pain shot through his being. A pain that he quickly recognized as it spread through his body with a swiftness that far surpassed the fast-moving viruses that destroyed Raccoon City. 'Oh shit, not now!' the teen thought to himself, falling onto his hands and knees. Well, one hand and his knees the other remained tightly gripping his chest as a black aura started forming around him, pouring from the depths of his very soul.

He knew what this was...

Biko knew what it was...

His Ghoul Persona knew what it was...

But Castiel didn't! That thought raced through his mind as he looked up, noticing Castiel having turned sharply towards him when he heard Nico's loud grunt. "Emiya! Whatever you do, don't get too close!" the male exclaimed as darkness began seeping from his being. Within his clothes, a stormy grey Scythe-blade symbol formed over his heart, the presence of a certain Devil Arm quickly spilling forth into the atmosphere.

While this energy clearly started running rampant inside Nico Castiel could only look curiously, the energy swelling inside the agent was enough to impress Castiel somewhat. Not that he was THAT worried about this level of energy, living with multiple individuals of Leader-class and having to deal with them when they are having a hangover and are cranky did prepare Castiel to deal with this level of energy like it was just curious anyway.

Besides, the energy of evil and the angelic energy inside him were of a higher purity and 'level' than this one so the suppressing effect that the energy Nico was releasing was outright negated by Castiel's own powers. Especially now that his energy was finally managing to circulate throughout his body without feeling like he was trying to push magma down his veins (a feeling he was getting eerily familiar with).

"Hey, are you having problems controlling yourself? If you want I could try and send some blessings to help alleviate the problem you are havi-"

Before Nico got a chance to respond or of Castiel to finish his words, a huge explosion of darkness erupted out of him like a gushing river, expanding across the entire room in a second and engulfing everything within its grasp. The energy tried to enter everything and corrupt it all, but even its instincts did not try to invade Castiel.

The power of Angra Mainyuu and the angelic powers from an Archangel were just too much, instincts took over the original desire of this energy and made it only circumnavigate Castiel, not touching him in the slightest.


Opening his eyes, Nico once again cursed his luck as he floated about. Not just seconds before he had found himself within a black void, but now he was in another. Only, this one felt way different compared to the other one. That other void felt empty, devoid of life, the literal definition of a 'void'. There had been practically NOTHING inside it, no space, no sense of time, nothing.

THIS darkness however... it felt MUCH unlike that.

No, this felt increasingly more Demonic, and he knew exactly why. This had happened once before with Alastor, a Devil Arm he once possessed. Where its power caused it to goo erratic like that whilst entering the final stages of its evolution. Biko had coined it 'Archdevilification' since it was a metamorphosis into its ultimate form: the Archdevil Arms. If one were to try and compare the two, it would be like comparing a normal meteor to an entire asteroid belt. Alastor back then, had undergone the transformation whilst his body was being poisoned by that elixir that Yvoire had kept in his room, mostly out of nervousness about using such a means as even he had been too unnerved by it to even attempt to use it. If he had that kind of reaction, Yvoire didn't want to think about what a normal person would do with regards to it. Now, it had become its ultimate form, with a new name and power unlike anything its previous form could ever hope to achieve.

Back in the first trial, Nico had sensed that the use of Harvester's creation-based abilities had allowed it to start its own metamorphosis into an Archdevil Arm

"Alright, let's get this over with." the male muttered under his breath as he stood on his own two feet again. The sensations he'd felt back there had more or less subsided at this point, allowing his body mobility. In these times, he knew that Biko and his Ghoul Persona wouldn't be of any help, but unlike the Trials of Samsara Nico had prior experience to help him cope with the loss. Back with Alastor, he had been severed from his two Aspects leaving his mind silent, and he had almost had a panic attack when that happened. Luckily for him, that Devil Arm had its... traits, and the final stages began before he could completely lose it to his panic. He did NOT want to think about what would have happened if it happened differently...

In any case, each Devil Arm's transformation differed. From his experience and Biko's investigation, each Archdevil Arm operated differently when in its final stages, and these stages usually only came if the user was powerful enough. So, if a Devil Arm reached this state and the wielder wasn't strong enough, then they would instantly be devoured by the weapon and reduced to husky remnants of their former selves. Should the person be strong enough however, and have a sufficient mastery of their Devil Arm's abilities, then they would be pulled INSIDE the Devil Arm itself while it approached its final transformation. It usually took the form of an entire world created by the Devil Arm itself, sort of like his Inner World, but rather the Inner World of the Devil Arm itself. There, the wielder would be tested by the Devil Arm, and if they pass... well, they'd become the proud owner of an Archdevil Arm with all its benefits.

Failure, well, failure lead to the same fate as one would get if they weren't strong enough.

"AHHHHHHH, it SSSSSSSSEEMSSSSSS that... you INDEED do not FEAR... That ISSSSSSSSSS good..."

Once again, that silky feminine voice spoke through the darkness, sending chills up his spine though Nico mentally suppressed them. It was important to not look weak in front of the transforming Archdevil Arms, and he DID note that the voice now had a serpentine element to it right now. This was not something that he had heard before, but this didn't surprise him. In this world, the Archdevil Arm took to its true form, a true manifestation of it's will, desire and power. Each manifestation, as one would suspect, would be different depending on the abilities and nature a Devil Arm possesses.

Turning around to face the source, Nico finally saw the owner of the voice emerging from the void. At first, all he could see were a pair of sinister, crimson glowing eyes like that of a devilish predator, before more features became visible. It almost looked like the darkness was peeling away from the source's being, like curtains being drawn to the sides as the source phased through it, emerging into view even though there was hardly any light at all in this dark world. Hey, nobody ever said Archdevil Arms were logical. If anything, they'd be ILLOGICAL, considering their unnatural nature.

When the source was fully presented before him, Nico furrowed his brows at what he saw. 'What the...?' the male thought. There, standing before him, was what looked like a human woman. Unlike Alastor's manifestation, this one didn't appear to have any demonic features, and if he didn't know any better then he would assume this woman to be normal and harmless. However, Nico's senses quickly took those thoughts away, as the moment he tried to sense this woman's energy, Nico quickly realized just how wrong it would be to consider her 'normal' and 'human'.

The woman herself looked to be in her 20's, with ashen-black hair and bright amber eyes, while her fingernails looked to be painted dark red. Nico noticed that she wore lipstick on her lips, and violet eye-shadow. She had this confident, borderline arrogant smirk on those lips, yet she carried a sense of strength about her that Nico felt gave her more bite than her bark. Thus, it quelled the small rising irritation in his chest. 'Not to mention she looks hot as hell...' a more perverted aspect of Nico's mind remarked, much to his internal annoyance. Seriously, without Biko interfering he seemed to have more difficulty with these goddamn hormones! The look on the woman's face showed him that she seemed to notice this as well, much to his humiliation.

She wore a very black outfit, which he figured went with her themes and abilities, and it actually reminded him of an infiltration outfit that some of his fellow Spec Ops Agents wore. It consisted of a sleeveless jacket, bicep-length gloves, stiletto heeled boots, a black glass mask, and several straps with containers lined across her pants. The gloves, boots and pants each had black mosaic designs that Nico found himself wary of. He didn't know why, but they seemed like things that he would want to keep a close eye on should he get into a fight with this woman.

Something that he found to be inevitable at this point.

"So, let me guess... could you perhaps be the manifestation of Harvester?" Nico questioned, caution laced within his words whilst he checked internally for his powers. The other Devil Arms Nico possessed were unable to be used within this world, this world created by something infinitely greater than them. Not to mention, he didn't feel Biko or his Ghoul Persona's presence, though he again wasn't surprised by that. Checking internally, Nico found himself fortunate, for he found his Ghoul side, his SP and Skill attacks, as well as his Demonic Powers including his DPU form and Soul Edge, to be available to him. The Devil Arms he had in his soul weren't however, though he COULD feel the presence of his sole other Archdevil Arm. 'Not surprising, an Archdevil Arm is greater than the lesser Devil Arm, so one could not suppress another of its own kind so easily...' the male thought with a calculating gleam in his eye.

The woman before him, tilted her head with her smirk ever present on her features. As she opened her mouth to reply, Nico found that her voice matched that of a human's not carrying the demonic multi toned stuff that previous Demons he'd encountered spoke in. "You would be correct, young child. I am indeed Harvester... It does seem that you are experienced with this. I half expected you to be wetting yourself or sporting a boner before me at this point. Though, I believe that your previous exposure to this process is the cause." she commented, stepping towards him.

Nico made no move of his own, not wanting to cause her to assume anything about him whilst he kept his eyes locked on hers. The male remembered what he felt from her energy, all the while keeping his form from tensing through sheer willpower. 'Her power... by the Goddess did it feel dark... way darker than the average demon. If I were to make a comparison, i'd say that her energy feels more like an abyss than even the Greater Demons that I've encountered through my journey across Leanbox. Suspiciously, it feels somewhat like Mundus's power, albeit he didn't show much of it whilst kicking my ass so I couldn't fully tell...' Nico thought to himself, mentally frowning. "In that case, before we begin, may I request a wager?"

"Oh?"

"Your power... it feels much unlike any Demon I've ever encountered before, it feels much darker than them, almost on a primal level like it was the first darkness in existence. If what my previous experience with this process tells me is true, then during the final stages your power will become its apex and ultimate form, becoming 'pure' darkness in its entirety, so I can't even IMAGINE how strong you'll become. Not to mention how once this is complete, you'll require Souls to return to your full strength then evolve further, meaning that like all Archdevil Arms, your powers could be very much limitless in the future. Therefore, my wager is this: if I successfully pass this, would you tell me about yourself?" Nico requested, making sure to keep his voice level and firm. Raw and primal power radiated from this woman in droves the more he had spoken, confirming his earlier impressions of her energy so he wanted to get to the point.

At least by that point, he had succeeded in piquing the woman's interest. He knew this not only from the innocently (hah, he almost scoffed at that) pondering look on what could be seen of her face, but also from the momentary relapse from the oppressive pressure tat had been building in his chest. A pressure born not just from her energy, but from the process itself, as if it had paused to hear what he had wanted to say. "Hmmm, you propose an interesting offer, child. What would you give me in return, then?" The woman finally answered, her lips forming a predator's grin as her eyes almost glowed with their crimson light. The sensation of looking upon a superior predator filled his being when he looked at her.

Nevertheless, Nico refused to back down, his eyes remaining focused as he responded immediately. "You'll have my body, my soul, my memories, everything without any fuss from me. I'll let you take everything and I will offer no resistance. And as proof of my word..." Nico began, raising his right hand... and stabbing it into his chest.

To her credit, the woman managed to keep most of her surprise hidden when she saw him do that. Even more so though, a flower of curiosity blossomed within her as she witnessed Nico... tear out his own heart from his chest in a spectacular show of gore. The organ still pumped and throbbed within his hand, since it was connected to his arteries, but the male quickly sliced through those arteries before offering his heart. "Your possession starts with the heart, I know this from prior experience with Demonic weapons. The heart is the greatest key to the soul aside from the eyes, due to them being so interconnected, so I place my heart on the line." he stated, never losing his resolute features.

For a moment, nothing happened, well, aside from Nico's arteries receding on their own into his chest and a new heart beginning to manifest from his own RC Cells. All the while the sounds of flesh being stretched could be heard as the hole where his previous heart would have been closed up in a mass of crimson fleshy Tendril strands. However, it soon changed when the woman let out an amused chuckle into a closed hand, waving her free arm to have the realm around them produce a Tendril.

A Tendril of darkness that latched onto the heart and pulled it into the abyss. "How interesting... yes, it is interesting indeed!" the woman stated, unable to pause her chuckles at the scene before her. "I did not expect you to offer your heart to me like that, one might wonder if you have a death wish for doing something so reckless. Why, I dare say that this has a somewhat romantic feel to it. Still, you have indeed impressed me so far, child, therefore I accept your wager. The last stage of the metamorphosis will begin now, so prepare yourself." Flinging her right arm to the side, Nico noticed those mosaic designs in the said arm's clothing begin emitting this black glow. From that glow, trails of darkness erupted forth, spiralling around her arm and gathering in her hand, soon elongating and forming a wicked-looking Scythe of darkness for her to grasp.

Once it fully formed, Nico quickly tensed up, feeling the pressure from before restart itself with vigor. It layered itself onto his being, quickly sending waves of pain through everything inside of his body, even twitching felt like agony for him. The male figured that would happen however, as the Devil Arm showed through that action its own glee at his wager. He had literally offered it the easiest way to his soul should Nico fuck up here, impressing it with the risk he was willing to take to prove to it that he would be a worthy wielder. Still, the male had felt this pain before, so he didn't tense as much as he had before and thus promptly raised a hand to point it at her. The next second, Nico formed a sword shaped like Rebellion in his right hand from Hellfire, gripping it as he and the woman charged at each other.


"Ooooooh, now THIS is interesting." Zelretch commented to himself, taking some popcorn from his bowl and downing it inside his mouth as he watched TV. The TV showed the moment that Nico's 'weapon' went wild and enveloped the area around them (not touching Castiel though, but that would be expected for his Godson's powers). Even so, the man saw Castiel remaining motionless, trying to figure out what was happening. Even if his powers gave him safety from this darkness, he didn't know all that much about it and thus didn't want to try anything. "Looks like it is finally happening."

Zelretch was no fool, he was someone who was all-knowing after all. He had noticed the changes happening to the emo kid's Scythe the moment they began during the first trial. He had looked into it himself on his own time during setting up the next couple trials, and whilst he found everything that could be perceived as powerful trash, there were few things that caught his attention.

More specifically, this weapon known as Harvester.

The man may call the kid whatever he wanted, but what the man also kept in mind was that the kid wasn't stupid. He already seemed to know that there was something about his Scythe that made it unique even amongst Devil Arms. For one, its energy did indeed feel potent (by their standards) but there was potential there, potential for it to be greater than it already was. To become 'pure' like his godson's evil powers. Zelretch knew this cause he had sensed the incoming transformation when he met the kid after the second trial. Instantly, he knew that it would become something great, something truly deserving of the adjective 'powerful'.

Even so, the man didn't feel worried in the slightest, in fact he found himself excited for the prospects of what may happen in the near future. Whilst that weapon would definitely be inferior to someone like Zelretch himself, once it completes itself its power will magnify beyond anything those two boys would consider possible. Not to mention, once that happens the instincts of that energy coating the area in shadow, devouring any and all light in the vicinity, will no longer be afraid of the dual nature that his godson possessed. Though, instead of worry for his godson who could take care of himself, Zelretch just wanted to see what would happen.


'Yep, fighting this woman feels like i'm fighting a dozen or so Demon Princes at the same time...' Nico thought to himself as he parried a series of swings from the woman's Scythe. She had swung at supersonic speeds, making it so that thousands of strikes were raining down on him, forcing Nico to unleash the Quicksword technique to block it. The speed of this woman couldn't be comprehended by mere mortal eyes, which was why he had to resort to using his Demonic Powers as well as his RC Cells to enhance his vision, his Kakugan clearly visible, to keep up with her movements. But even then, she still managed to surprise him and get in some good hits of her own.

Hits that he REFUSED to allow to touch his skin for more of than a few seconds. The reason? Simple, her energy seemed to be more than just useful for creation (and even then her ability of creation felt practically limitless), but it seemed to have other properties as well. One of those had been the ability to 'Devour' and by that he meant that this darkness of hers devoured anything on contact. Be it energy, matter or even certain bits and pieces, it seemed like this woman's darkness could devour anything in its path. This ability kept getting stronger and stronger by the second, too. He knew this by gauging the time it took for his Hellfire powers to burn out the darkness in his wounds from her hits. The more time passed, the longer it took, which meant he had to trust his instincts and his senses with his life if he didn't want to get hit.

Even then though, the raw power behind each blow was nothing to scoff at either. If he were to make a comparison, then he'd compare it to over 20 Demon Princes worth of strength, and even then he felt like she was holding back a lot of her power. No idea why though, but soon enough that changed about halfway into the fight when she saw that he was getting used to her movements and decided to up the ante. NOW, not only did she become fast enough that she literally broke the sound barrier, but her strength went through the roof. He wouldn't doubt that she would be able to crush entire stars with her physical power alone, a thought that sent chills down his spine.

He could SO imagine her breaking the penises of any man who tried courting her.

Not to mention the fact that aside from INSANE creation and devouring, it appeared that the woman's dark powers extended to many different areas, including barriers, projectiles, constructs, debuffing (by that he meant that sometimes she'd mutter under her breath and he'd be enveloped with this dark aura that lowered every physical ability he had, something he used DEMONIC OVERDRIVE to counter and even then his parameters returned to normal only), going intangible (by simply wrapping darkness around herself the woman managed to make his attacks go through her and leave no damage behind, like she was never even there), and the most broken power of all able to attack from literally anywhere,, though he suspected that was only due to her realm being one of darkness which allowed this feat to be possible.

All the while, he fought everything she had thrown at him as his heart and every cell in his body felt like it was being stabbed over and over. This pain however, was the proof that Nico needed to know that the Archdevilification process was under way. It represented the process's completion, the greater the pain (that he ignored with the adrenaline of battle) the closer the process was to completion. This was usually how the trials boiled down to according to Biko and his previous Archdevil Arm. They all respected power, so fights like this whilst under extreme pain and stress isn't really that surprising.

After he just killed a freaking dragon of darkness the size of a skyscraper (something that he swore he heard the woman mutter 'not as impressive as the ones before' which could only mean that she could make bigger ones, the fuck?), Nico created more blades from his Hellfire and threw them at the woman to stop her from creating any more monsters for him to kill. After all, before she had been making him fight hundred of Centipedes, spiders, scorpions, an entire army of Anubis which he assumed didn't bode well for Osiris, an entire Zerg Swarm, countless darkness-made Abnormals, some 8 headed dragon thing, and last but not least 10 Demon Prince-type demons at once. Yeah, he did NOT want her to continue spamming such creatures. Hence why he threw those Hellfire blades at her.

However, the woman just smirked, as if she had expected that to happen and simply swatted it aside with one simple backhand. This made Nico scowl in his mind, before he closed his mismatched eyes and unleashed his Ghoul side, letting his Bikaku and Rinkaku manifest. With a quick burst of speed that was empowered by his DEMONIC OVERDRIVE, Nico sped towards her till he was by her left side, swinging his Bikaku towards her from multiple different angles all the while weaving in his Rinkaku between the strikes. His Rinkaku's speed was slightly superior to his Bikaku right now, but that was merely due to its purpose, therefore he hoped that it would be enough to break through her defences.

Unfortunately, it was not to be as a wall of darkness appeared before him and blocked his Kagune successfully.

'Shit!' Nico cursed, withdrawing his Kagune into him before she would have a chance to try and devour it's RC Cells. That devouring ability reminded him heavily of those Axes Maghda wielded as well as Castiel's Hruting, that lesson being firmly engraved in his mind. Do NOT let that darkness try to devour his RC Cells otherwise he'd be in big trouble. It sorta helped that he remembered what his Ghoul Persona was like when he first encountered Castiel's Hruting.

Jumping backwards, the male quickly unleashed a large torrent of Hellfire towards the woman after pointing his right hand towards her. The torrent roared like the dragon she had manifested without much effort before, racing across the void towards her with the intent of burning her out of existence. Nonetheless, like with most of his other attacks, the woman raised a brow in curiosity as she saw it coming. "Hmmm, the potency of these flames isn't half bad, they show signs of intense training in cultivating their prowess..." she remarked, before snapping her fingers and wrapping herself in a cloak of darkness. Thus, she became intangible and allowed the torrent to pass through her harmlessly. Once it finished, the woman allowed the cloak to deform with a smirk forming on her lips. "But still, darkness is the supreme being, hun. Not something mere flames can erase."

'Tch, looks like I may have to use Soul Edge at full power to even the score...' Nico thought to himself, quickly activating DDD to become Crimson Soul. The flames that emerged from the transformation process temporarily stopped the woman from attacking him, but she made no motion to. Instead, she just stood there and waited for it to finish. Her eyes betrayed her curiosity at what she would find once the flames withered away.

Opening his crimson eyes with black slitted power button symbols, Crimson Soul brandished Soul Edge that appeared within a vortex of true Hellfire in his hand towards the woman. "If that is the case, then I shall stop holding back." he stated emotionlessly. In his mind, Crimson Soul felt grateful to his DPU form. Especially because in this form, he felt like it was harder to shock his emotions, to rattle them and send them into disarray. In this state, he shouldn't have as much trouble, but by no means would this be an easy fight. He couldn't afford to hold back Soul Edge's full power, either, not if he wanted to successfully withstand the final stages of Archdevilification. He could feel it being about 70% complete already. Not to mention the fact that by going DDD, Crimson Soul felt the bite that came with the final stages of this process in greater intensity. Fortunately, he didn't show how much pain he found himself in on his face.

'Now then, lets end this shall we Soul Edge...?'

The said Devil Arm cackled as it responded to Crimson Soul's desires, PREDATOR increasing its power. The amount of power it got from simply being NEAR this woman though, it felt freaking TITANIC. Even the normally-stoic DPU found himself caught by surprise, the amount of power this woman must have had in her body must have been more insane than he had thought in his human form. It likely helped that Soul Edge had his own nature of wanting to fight strong opponents, being a manifestation of his soul and whatnot.

With those thoughts in mind, Crimson Soul Warped behind his opponent with a reverse horizontal slash towards her neck, only to re-angle the blade's motion to block a strike from above. Apparently, the woman had swung her Scythe over her head to try and impale him through his helmet, so he quickly put a stop to that. He twirled around and brought his blade don on her, only for the woman to do the same but with a upward slash. The moment they collided, a shockwave with the same force that a meteor hitting the planet's surface would have rushed through the realm that blew away most of the darkness. Of course, nothing was revealed, this entire REALM was darkness, but then again illogical things happening her was part of the course.

CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!

Nonstop slashes were traded between these two fighters, Scythe vs sword with the powers of deities in a vicious duel of supremacy. Hell, if this were any ordinary landscape, it would likely have become a desolate wasteland during the onslaught and would remain that way for centuries to come. Each slash created large booming sounds between them, the addition of intense and bright sparks being enough to temporarily illuminate the darkness around them. It helped that every time she debuffed him, Crimson Soul could respond by debuffing her as well with Soul Edge's SCORCHING AURA and BLOOD RAGE. The clashes were too brief for him to try for a BLUTSUCKER however, an unfortunate happening but it mattered not.

After blocking a swing to his neck, Crimson Soul morphed Soul Edge into its Hammer form. In this form, it manifested as a long, crimson shaft made from demonic flesh,small slitted eyes scattered through the shaft save for the hardened chitin grips. Its end is reminiscent of a single-ended bushing hammer, with a rear end shaped like a twisted, wicked curved claw. Between the two ends was a large slitted eye, while demonic growth keeps the metallic ends attached to the shaft. The shapeshifting surprised the woman as she erected a darkness wall in front of her to stop the golf swing that Crimson Soul attempted with a multi-spin for increased striking power.

The result, was that the wall became unable to hold the mighty weapon at bay and crumbled into pieces, allowing the weapon to pass through... and hit air.

Instincts screamed at him, and Crimson Soul Warped away from his position, avoiding his opponent whom appeared from the shadows behind him to try and behead him. He quickly morphed his fiery wings into a series of Tendrils that he launched at her from multiple angles, only for the woman to skillfully deflect them with her Scythe.

She then burst forwards before he could retract them, smirking as she swung at his head. However, Crimson Soul bent back to avoid it, aimed his free hand at her stomach and shot a stream of his TRUE Hellfire at her, causing the woman to quickly phase into the darkness to avoid it in time. 'Hmmm, looks like the times for her darkness cloak and her shadow travelling are different. She could have cloaked herself and made my attack useless, but she didn't and instead faded into the darkness. I see...' The DPU thought as he observed what happened, his Tendrils reforming into wings.

They then enveloped themselves into a formless state and reformed into large blades, ones that cut through a blade of darkness that came towards him... only for more to come at him from every direction. Crimson Soul responded to this however, by once again morphing Soul Edge from its Hammer form into a pair of swords to slice through each blade with. Both swords had the same fleshy grips, with hand-guards that had human skulls built in, their heads sporting curved demonic horns that curved around the fleshy hilts. Above the skulls were wide open eyes, akin to Soul Edge's large sword-like form. The sides of the hand-guards were crimson chitinous fingers merged together to form a pair of demonic wings, with the main blades protruding from the base of the Skulls' chins. Each blade was an identical length of a sword, composed mostly of crimson metal but had fleshy interiors.

By the time they all vanished, the DPU crossed them in front of him to block the woman's blade from digging into his chest. The constant struggle that followed resulted in the streams of sparks that came from their deadlock. It highlighted the woman's pride-filled features, however. "Only 10% more to go, child. Hope you can last that long."

"The sexual nature of that quote aside, I will comply." Crimson Soul replied blankly, pushing the woman back before morphing Soul Edge into a two-handed Cleaver, rivaling its base form in length. Its main blade is organic and crimson, with its Eye located at the end of the weapon, while it sported a multi-curved metallic edge for slashing. In this form, Crimson Soul Warped forth, appearing before her with a swing to her neck. The woman blocked it though with her Scythe's shaft, twirling the weapon into a downward slash that he parried.

CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!

There were several more clangs as the two traded blows, the woman pumping her Scythe with darkness as she circled around him. Several surges of demonic energy above him, alerted Crimson Soul to the fact that many spheres of the said element had formed above them without him noticing. No, it was more like they were formed nigh-instantaneously, and when they were launched the moment the woman phased into darkness, Crimson Soul found their speed to be that of bullet trains. Quickly, he Warped out of the way, not wanting them to hit him.

Appearing, the DPU morphed Soul Edge again, making it turn into a purely metallic 8-bladed Beyblade, with the blunt sides being a demonic red with the edges being silver. They form in layers of 2, and rotate in different directions for better cutting power. Twirling a full 360 degrees, Crimson Soul launched Soul Edge towards where he sensed the woman's titanic energy. The Beyblade, spinning so fast that the space around it warped, flew true and the woman forced herself to cloak in darkness to avoid it... though she had to phase into her realm to completely avoid it since it used Telekinesis to chase her down.

With a snap of his fingers, Crimson Soul had Soul Edge return to him, the weapon rotating the space around it to avoid spikes and Tendrils that the woman summoned to try and stop it. Once it was back in his hand, it reverted to its true form, allowing the male to make a wide arc slash that he reinforced with Hellfire, causing a MASSIVE wave of the element, similar to the wave that destroyed all those Demons back at Skies End, to scorch the realm whilst charging at her.

However, where there is light, there was always shadow, a fact that Crimson Soul realized when he saw his opponent emerge from the shadows his own Hellfire generated without a spec of dirt on her, before she dashed forward with a burst of purple and black energy. She appeared right before him, her Scythe having grown large enough thanks to all the Darkness imbued in it, to have been able to cut the wave vertically in half.

Eyes slightly wider, Crimson Soul raised Soul Edge and enveloped it in Hellfire, the demonic weapon intensifying the flames with its own power to that it could block the incoming attack.

An explosion of darkness and flames followed.

Emerging from them seconds later, the DPU noticed his opponent appear above him, quickly swinging at him like that last attack was nothing at all. He responded in kind, swinging Soul Edge in a rapid series of slashes.

CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!

They went as they fell downwards, until the two used each other's feet like springboards to get away from each other. The first one to land on the 'ground' (since there wasn't any in the typical sense. Again illogical is logical here) was Crimson Soul. The moment he did so, the DPU burst forth with Hellfire burning from his Wings, increasing his speed as he added in the speed of his DEMON OVERDRIVE to result in speed that nearly broke the sound barrier. Then, the woman landed before him and dashed forth as well, matching his speed with her own as the two collided.

"Hmhmhmhmhm, this is the most fun I have had in a long time..."

"I see. Well then I will up the ante."

"?"

The brief exchange ending, Crimson Soul flicked his left hand downwards, releasing a spark of Hellfire... that erupted into a ring around them. It was just wide enough for them to do single combat in, but its flames rose to such a height then into a dome-like shape that everything looked like an inferno. "I've simply limited the places you can shadow travel. cloaking yourself will likely take longer with the lack of darkness around yourself." Crimson Soul observed.

At this, the woman hummed thoughtfully. She could still feel the connection to the realm she had created, but the connection wasn't as strong as it was before. The DPU would be right about those remarks, too. Whelp, she was having fun anyways, even if her power wasn't at its maximum. "I see. Looks like this will be it. You are at 99%... one last attack should finish up the process." The woman stated, twirling her Scythe above her head in one hand before resting it on her shoulder. Not to mention that she reinforced it with every bit of power she could. Her full strength wouldn't have been available to her until the metamorphosis was complete anyways, but nonetheless the boy had done well. As she had expected of him.

Crimson Soul narrowed his eyes, deciding to do the same with Soul Edge as he pumped loads of Demonic Power as well as his own Hellfire into the blade. The result was a larger-than-normal Soul Edge made entirely of black and red Hellfire, something that almost made the Devil Arm go catatonic with the level of pleasure coursing through it right now. This would be it, the pain that he had been ignoring through this entire fight had felt like it was at its apex right now. It wouldn't get any more intense than it was right now, so one last attack would definitely settle it, like this woman said.

And settle this, they would.

In an instant, the two charged at each other, and with inhuman war cries only they could have made... the two clashed.


Outside, Castiel found himself in an... interesting situation.

The moment that darkness came to this room, he had been surprised and a little impressed. The amount of power that it possessed felt a lot like the leader class people he had been surrounded by all his life, so he didn't worry about it too much. Living with such people gave him some knowledge of how there were intense energies out there. Heck, it didn't try to hurt him because of his dual nature, the light of an archangel and the evil of Angra Mainyuu would prove too much for its original desires to swallow everything in the room. That was what had been happening from the start...

But then, things began to change. Castiel began to notice something... off, about the darkness. The more time passed, the more... well, concentrated, pure and intense the darkness became. It was like it was refining itself over and over like a continuous cycle, and every time that this happened the Darkness grew more and more in power.

Whilst he didn't feel worried thanks to Angra Mainyuu, Castiel did have to thank his lucky stars that he had this protection in the first place. The more and more the Darkness refined itself, getting closer and closer to 'pure' darkness, the more his powers began to react to it. It felt like his all the world's evil was slowly but surely becoming more and more cautious of it. It didn't try to attack Castiel, since its instincts told it not to, but the way everything else became so drenched with dark power it may as well have been formed from all the world's evil anyways. The scenery became more and more like the remnants of what he did in the second trial.

Then, Nico's body (the origin of the Darkness which was so condensed around him that Castiel didn't want to get close), suddenly spasmed as he opened his eyes with a startled manner. Instantly, the Darkness receded into him, sliding into him faster than sonic the hedgehog. He would not be ashamed to admit that he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that, as Castiel walked over to Nico who fell onto all fours, breathing heavily as the Darkness receded into him.

Once it was almost gone however, it then converged onto his back, taking on a solid form which caused him to pause his movements. In the completed form, a Scythe rested on top of Nico's back. The Scythe itself had a slightly bent Shaft made from this dark organic chitin, two grips shaped like human spines indicating where it should be grabbed. Out the bottom of the Shaft, there was this long Tendril-like extension which ended in an eel-like head with dark purple slitted eyes. As for the top of the Scythe, the weapon now sported a curved blade which looked quite jagged at the base, with small curved spikes coming out the back edge that went backwards. The rest of the blade reached to about 2 forearms worth of length, looking like it could cut even if someone was looking at it. From the back of the Shaft's top end, 3 long extensions protruded, being the length of a butcher's knife. Beneath them, was a single, large purple eye that almost lit up in matching flames.

The entire weapon radiated an aura of malice that pushed caution onto the Heir's being.

Soon, Nico seemed to have recovered from... whatever that was, and now managed to pull the Scythe from his back when he noticed its weight, and rested it on its lap. He looked... quite peaceful, holding that thing in his lap like nothing before had ever happened, however if Castiel assumed he was just that then he wouldn't have noticed the slightly strained look the teen sported. "You ok?" he finally asked after a moment of pondering.

Looking towards him, Nico nodded. "Yeah... everything's good..." the male looked to have been thinking about continuing that sentence. Why that was,Castiel wouldn't know since he chose to remain silent. That is, until he changed the topic and asked him something else. "Would you like... to know what just... happened?" he asked, his voice hoarse and strained.

"That would be very much appreciated."

"Well, my weapons are called Devil Arms, and they have a process in which, if they have so much power pumped into them, they start undergoing a metamorphosis into a stronger form. The difference between them is so big that you can't even compare them, but so is the risk of getting one. I call these ultimate forms, Archdevil Arms, and believe me, they earn their name. This one..." he began, motioning down to the Scythe on his lap. "This one is even more unique... out of the ones I have. You remember... the stuff about light and dark fighting... I told you about?" Nico questioned, getting a nod from the heir as he sat down opposite the male.

'Geez, whatever this Archdevil Arm thingy is, it sounds like a fucking pain in the ass. Powerful, most likely comparable to an B+ or A class noble phantasm but still a pain, I would rather my own weapons than ones that ACTIVELY are trying to kill me.' the Heir couldn't help but think as Nico continued.

"This one... this one is called 'Erebus', and this one... was made from a Primordial Demon. Basically, the Darkness directly created it like it did the DPUs, making it far superior... to other Demons. Its why this thing... has a primordial feel... to it..." he explained while taking deep breaths and adjusting to the strain of another Archdevil Arm. Fortunately, this wasn't as bad as the first one. "When it was defeated long ago... Erebus's powers were stripped from it, and a fragment of its soul became the Devil Arm known as Harvester. It was then sealed away, for if that Demon regained its full powers whilst as a Devil Arm, then it would cause an untold amount of damage, the one who sealed it thought... and they'd be right. Thing is, regarding Archdevil Arms... is that they have a chance of regaining the rest of the powers they once wielded originally, due to using the wielder's soul as a means to restore their own. Its why this weapon now has 'pure' darkness under its command, in time even though it has fully turned into its Archdevil Arm form, it will continue to grow even AFTER it regains the power it once wielded..."

"Okay, I think I get it. In other words you strapped a ticking time bomb to your soul, called it a weapon, and don't care that if what you say is true it will inevitably kill you someday. Sorry, but please don't come to my dimension we already have more than enough craziness there without ticking time bombs." Castiel said, making Nico feel awkward inside.

To be honest Nico didn't know exactly what to feel hearing this as it sounded like Castiel was calling him a suicidal idiot, but it was necessary for his survival that he used such weapons so he would do his best anyway.

After hearing that, Nico mentally sighed before he leaned back against the wall. He wouldn't argue with the teen on this anymore, as he had other matters to ponder, one of them being the aftermath of this trial. His strength had begun returning faster than the last time he had done one of these Devil Arm's transformation trials, which likely had to do with the fact that, thanks to him completing it, everything about his Demonic Power had been refined, increasing not only its quantity,but also its quality and purity. He could feel it rumbling within him, ready to answer it's master's call even though it still felt like a raging firestorm within him. He got the feeling that his Demonic Powers would be oh so much more lethal thanks to this little occurrence.

Looking down towards the Archdevil Arm known as Erebus, he knew this because the woman had told him her name before pretty much shoving the information on her backstory, powers and abilities into his head. Though right now, he decided to review that knowledge later, as there were more immediate problems to solve. Namely the second test he had to take to retrieve his Devil Arm, whichever one that would be. Once he felt like his strength was back, Nico stood up and turned towards the second tunnel entrance, his resolve recovered. 'Amon, if it is possible, I would like to retake the trials of samsara.' he thought to the Djinn guiding him.

'(It is possible, however if you fail this time you will not get another chance. You will lose your Devil Arm forever, lose any points you have gained as well as previous rewards. Even so, will you do this?)'

A steep price to pay, but Nico would risk it. Not only so that he could rescue his Devil Arms, but also for himself. He could not stand any more of this, this being a liability and a coward. These last few trials and tests, combined with what he had learned from Castiel and even Zelretch have given him much to think about, much for him to question about his previous ideals. It... well, it gave him the opportunity to expend his horizons. Now that he thought about it, perhaps all this could be a learning experience for him. A means to learn more whilst growing as an individual. He could broaden his understanding of things, and then he could do more for his world than he had been capable of before. "I will."

"(Very well.)"

With that, the male went through the entrance with a plan in mind. He'd complete this trial, and then start his repayment to Castiel as well. He'd rather not leave a debt unpaid after all.