Water Trial Interlude
'Okay... that was seriously some of the more awe-inspiring and nerve-wracking things I've seen so far...'
The moment that the two males returned to the training area they occupied for their stay here (Zelretch already having spoken to them about this being a longer interlude since he wants to 'create an epic finale' his words), Nico had quickly retreated to an isolated section of the area, sitting down with Urthemiel curling around him protectively. Even though his Archdemon hadn't been around during the Water Trial, it didn't mean it couldn't feel some of the dread which coursed through its master like blood right now. The moment that Nico thought those thoughts pretty much summarized all his complex feelings on the matter, that moment that Castiel went into that mode... it reminded him starkly of that feeling of ultimate darkness Erebus gave off. The primordial darkness of which she had been spawned from, and likely would be a match for when she finally regained the full extent of her powers.
'Indeed... That power definitely felt more concentrated, more evil, than what we have seen from Emiya so far. It felt like all the evil in the universe just gathered together, used him as a host, and exacted their dissatisfaction with that Fishman's efforts. Although it pained me to do so, I did also examine how the process worked.'
'Huh? What do you mean?'
'Erebus helped me, but that's not the point. What Emiya did was empty out his holy energy, retracting it inside his angelic core which allowed his Evil Energy to fully take over. As a result, his wings turned completely black unlike their normal mismatched selves. My theory is that he cannot use both powers at the same time, they are like oil and water within his body. As a result, should he use one side, the other is weakened to the point of being nearly useless in a fight between strong enemies. But, to compensate for this weakness, Emiya decided to let one of his halves 'become whole' as it were... though I doubt he will be able to use it for very long. That energy, I could sense it trying to corrupt Emiya's mind, just like how your Kakuja does the same with yours Nico. He must have strong mental fortitude to resist this however, which makes me wonder just what kind of beast has been brought into existence.'
Hearing that explanation sent shudders down the male's spine as he leaned back against the warm side of his Archdemon, Urthemiel's calm, steady breaths working wonders in calming him down from that recent experience. And he had thought being possessed by Okada was bad, though that in itself felt like a whole new can of worms. Still, what Biko said nagged at him, it made sense that Castiel couldn't use both powers at once, they felt very extreme. Way more than what Nico had experienced before. To let one take over completely though, it felt... way too similar to his situation with his Ghoul side, especially when he went Kakuja and allowed the madness inside it to take hold of his sanity before tossing it aside. Perhaps Castiel's would be much more extreme than that, but he could still understand the sheer risk of using such a power.
Not only that, but if he could do it with his evil side, then what about the holy side? Would something similar happen if he were to let it take over? If he could do one, it would stand to reason that he could do the same with the other energy too, although considering that Castiel didn't do it until now likely meant that he couldn't or at least hadn't thought about it until now. Remembering what Castiel had told him about his backstory, Nico assumed that it was a bit of both somewhat the seal he had been forced to carry by his mother (Nico still shuddered at that) limited his potential and his ability to grow. Only with it gone now thankfully, could Castiel explore what he could do in its entirety. Its like he now could finally reach the levels that he should have had should he not have gotten stunted at birth. His potential...
It felt way more vast and optional than what he could do at the moment...
('Oh, don't you start any of that bullshit!')
A sharp, annoyed yet steely voice cut through Nico's thoughts, making him sit upwards sharply while lightly gasping, even though it took seconds for him to realize the owner of it. 'Okada?! Oh wait, that's right, since the process was complete, you and I can think to each other like I do with my other Personas...' the male thought, suddenly feeling sheepish as he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.
('Yeah, your future instructor is here, so listen up! So what if that kid has some fancy ass powers, all you will need is a sword to deal with him and that will be it! Who cares about what he has, as long as you have a sword in hand, when I'm one with you you'll be able to defeat all opponents with just that! You won't even need all these other powers you possess! One sword will be fucking enough!')
Nico himself, found his jaw dropping when he heard Okada's declaration like that. If it were any other person, then he likely wouldn't have believed them very much, hell if Biko or his Ghoul Persona would have said all that stuff then he maybe would have believed them a whole lot more. But Okada Izou? Someone whom he KNEW would be able to fight on par with the top dogs of his Dimension with just his swordplay alone? Those words spoken from his mouth held a whole lot more meaning. If he said them, how could he not believe him? He definitely had the credentials...
('Oh yeah, before I forget, try choosing a reward already. That trial thing's stopping me from pulling your ass down here for some long overdue revamping! Pick what you want already so we can get started!')
Just as Okada said that, Nico noticed that there was a screen before him, one which he recognized from the previous trials as the reward screen. It displayed numerous items for him to choose from, and as he looked at it, he could only think of the Golden Crow's bloodline that he wasted, causing him to frown to himself. He still wanted to know if he could salvage that situation, it was what had been on his mind the most during this whole trial...
"oh, heeellllooooooo, little emo booooooyyyyyyy!"
"Wha?!" Nico gasped, his eyes widening as he practically jumped, his skin nearly leaving his body. Right in front of him, Zelretch appeared before him with... some bikini-clad women in police uniforms pole dancing all around him. All of them had huge boobs and curvy figures too, and were making these erotic moaning sounds towards the redhead... who could only twitch his brow in annoyance. "Hey there, Zelretch…" he stated through gritted teeth, annoyance shining behind his light blue orbs.
In response, Zelretch waved a hand like a cheeky monkey, not something unsurprising considering what he had experienced with him so far. "A little birdy told me that you've been thinking about that bloodline and book you bought in the last trial, am I wrong little chick?" he questioned, getting Nico's attention as he became serious. "Oh, don't sweat your pants off, actually seriously don't do that, I'd rather see a sexy woman do that instead of an angsty teenager. Anyways, your situation with the flames..." At this, the older man's tone dropped a few levels as his eyes turned serious. "I'll be blunt, its not good. If you had just asked for help you could have made the perfect fusion with those flames, but you relied on yourself like you normally do." he stated, each of his words like knives plunging into Nico's being.
"Yeah... I'll admit you are right, alright?" Nico responded, sighing instead of being angry at the guy. He wasn't a fool, he knew when to admit that he had his flaws. Zelretch wasn't wrong either, he had thought about it many times during these trials, not only did he have serious flaws as a swordsman but a lot in other areas as well. He had much to learn, and a long ass road ahead of him, a road likely filled with perils. Still, he'll not let this get him down. It would betray everything he had done so far if he forgot his resolve at this point. 'Move forwards, never stop... if you retreat you age... be afraid and you die... move forward and never stop trying. The resolve to move forwards... I'll NEVER forget it!' the male thought to himself.
Something must have been leaked however, since Zelretch noticed his train of thought. "Seeing that you have your flaws and are still willing to work towards correcting them is a step in the right direction. Even if you have been focusing more on your body and less on your mind." The man commented, grabbing Nico's attention. What did the guy mean by that? Nico wondered about it, and gears began to turn as he reflected on what he said. Something about those words bugged him, and he could feel like there was an answer on the tip of his tongue. "But anyways, not all on your end is lost. The amount of blood you got with that dusty old book was actually the purest sample of the Golden Crow's blood, one of the rarest samples I've found yet. Because of this, when you ingested it the blood didn't properly fuse, at best you have a 30-35% absorption so far. However, the rest of it remains dormant within your bloodstream instead of dissipating like it should have. Probably because despite your methods, you actually have a strong affinity for this flame. Thus, all you need to do is work hard with those flames, train them, strain yourself in using them like for example use them inside super hot areas, and the fusion percentage will rise. You'll need to get up to 110%, but it won't be easy. That shouldn't be a problem for you though, mister copy of the orange haired death god."
When he heard that explanation, Nico heaved a heavy sigh of relief, glancing behind him at Urthemiel who was quietly sleeping despite Zelretch being within his defences. Nico figured that he was doing something, but that didn't matter to him right now. The knowledge that not all was lost to him immensely satisfied the male, not to mention that Zelretch was right. This would NOT get him down, and in fact this would be preferable for him. "You... are right about that." Nico began. "I'd honestly rather earn the right to wield this bloodline instead of just gaining it, makes it much more satisfying when I can actually use it." he replied, sighing. Now that he knew that, Nico decided to focus on something ese, something eh had been thinking about for a long while. "Say, can I ask you something else quickly?"
"Sure, hit me with it."
"Um, its about your Godson. He told me his story, about how he felt like he had failed as a leader and wanted to prove to himself that he wasn't incompetent. He told me that he felt like his comrades got hurt and it was all his fault, and thanks to what I've been learning recently I can' say he's completely wrong, but... doesn't it seem like he's making a huge deal out of something very little?" Nico questioned, causing Zelretch to frown. Just before he could say anything, Nico continued. "I mean, I'm not insulting the guy, that's not what I'm saying, but a leader can't possibly know everything that was about to happen, that's just not how it works. They can TRY, but ultimately they'll eventually fail. A leader from what I can tell is someone who shoulders many people's lives on their shoulders, not something I can do. But, nobody's perfect, and even leaders are bound to make errors at some point. The best way to deal with these times, to me at least, is to learn from these mistakes and make sure that you don't repeat them. Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it, at least that's what I think."
At this, Zelretch gave a sigh, shaking his head. "Ordinarily, you wouldn't be wrong, but the fact of the matter is that mot of the comrades Castiel has were those that he's in love with, his fiancés and girlfriends. He took it worse since they all suffered grievous injuries and he couldn't help them. The enemy he fought back then would be comparable to some of the more powerful Demons in your Dimension, one which if he wasn't stopped, could level the entire city and start a great war. Not good for the planets complexion, if you ask me. Then there's the fact of his little mother situation which only made things worse for him."
Nico nodded, understanding where Zelretch was coming from. "If that's the case, then it makes my point even more valid." he replied. "The mom thing I'd rather tell him face to face, since that's a whole new can of worms. But my point is that since Castiel has such a bond with them, he should know that he will eventually make mistakes and his comrades will get harmed. That's pretty much war in a nutshell. However, since they chose to follow him, they had to be confident in their abilities beforehand, and they trust him as their leader. I can sorta see it myself, since I have comrades I consider precious myself." Memories of that time before he reached the Hellverse Dungeon to regroup with IF came to mind. How he eased his conscience by providing Neptune and Compa with means to protect themselves better against the Demons, then how he vowed to make sure Tekken and MAGES. would survive that experience, pretty much temporarily becoming the leader in that situation. "There will be times when this will happen, I learned this myself and I'm far from leadership material we both know that. But Emiya? He can do it, my mother once told me that nothing will hit you as hard as life will. The important thing is bouncing back and hitting hard afterwards like its no big deal. I think this situation is one of those times, though its not my business so if I've overstepped my boundaries, I'll apologize. I say these things cause I respect him, and hey, maybe an outside opinion could help him in ways he didn't foresee."
There, he had said his piece. Nico doubted Castiel would be pleased if he heard him say all this, and he had a whole lot MORE to say about the mother situation but he'd rather tell that to him face-to-face. If he wanted him to say what he said just now, then he would. Nico would not cower from that, but he had been thinking about this on the side for a long while, ever since Castiel had told him about his story, about his recent failure. Nico may not understand the whole depths of the situation he faced, but that didn't mean he couldn't necessarily offer his own opinion on the matter. It'd be up to him whether to listen or not. Like Castiel though, Nico too could understand his frustration. The worry for his comrades surviving a great battle, he knew that feeling. He felt it a lot during the Hellverse incident, hell in the later stages of that time he spent with the CMA fighting the Coalition showed him a few things too. He could also understand some other things about Castiel's story, but he would save them for if the guy would ask him. Whilst it wasn't his business, like he had said, but Nico respected the guy from the short time that they knew each other. He respected him as a leader and as a rival, so offering his own opinion felt like lending a helping hand. Its not a bad thing, not only that but Nico would do the same for any other whom he respected, since there were so few in the world that fit the bill. Even with his current problems, these facts remained ingrained into his brain.
"Hmmm, interesting..." Zelretch commented to himself. He wouldn't show it right now, but he honestly felt surprised. For a beast like him, Nico showed some maturity there. No doubt, it took a LOT out of his pride to say these things, but Zelretch could see the effect his godson had on this emo kid (who right now was looking anywhere but Zelretch's direction, amusingly enough). He himself had seen how his godson had been getting better since opening up to the kid about his sob story, but he had been focusing a lot on these trials. Not actually sitting down and thinking these things over. Hell, the two had been getting closer unknowingly through their series of conversations, one of them losing some of his edgy persona in a bid to pursue more knowledge, and the other regaining some confidence in himself as a leader. "Looks like you were slightly more mature than I thought, kid. Though your right in the not understanding part. The scales between you two aren't that similar, but neither are they that different. Looks like my godson's had an effect on you, albeit unintentionally. The fact that you're connected to a heroic Spirit due to my Godson's presence not withstanding."
At the last part, a look of realization crossed onto Nico's face, before a smirk slowly reached his lips. "Heh, I figured he had something to do with it. Looks like I owe him again... Well then, I know what I'm going to do with my points then. Thank you for listening to me rambling anyways, I could tell you were about to fall asleep for a bit there." Nico remarked, slightly chuckling.
This earned a snort from the man, but not an ill-mannered one. "Heh, at least it served the purpose of getting you off that edgy shit for once, kid. Anyways, I'll be going now, was curious about what you were doing, but this is much different from what I expected." he said, before vanishing again. Urthemiel remained asleep during the whole experience, to which Nico mentally sighed at.
'Whelp, time to choose my reward then head off to my Inner World to meet with Okada... This will likely be a long session... but it'll be worth it.'
Castiel POV
'Wow, that is a lot of points'.
That was my first thought as I saw how many points I had obtained. It was an absurdly high number, but oe thing I found interesting was the semi-rewards put there too. It was likely that it was something like a system to give extra rewards for the demi-bosses I faced as I did face more of them then Nico anyway, and killed more of the Fishmen.
Seeing all the options there was one thing that attracted my attention in the semi-reward list, katana that carried the soul of a black dragon. The name of the katana is what called my attention the most, Flayed.
It is funny to think there would be a weapon actually named this way, but I can see why this weapon would be interesting for me. Due to how I practiced and learned under Assassin-sensei I know all there is to know about katanas, according to him I am probably amongst the very best of the best katana users in my world, but I never found one that actually matched me. It was sad really, but I only ever trained with a general purpose one, and while it was enough for me to practice it was not good enough for me to use in battle. I am not on the same level of Assassin-sensei and in the end my world was too filled with strong people and a simple katana would not cut it.
Besides, I was already trying to master so many things that I had no time for one more type of sword, but now that a good katana is in front of me that would likely compliment my powers as well as the fact that I have time due to my Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal so I have the time to learn it properly.
"My first option is the sword Flayed." I said, spending three of the semi-rewards with this. The other semi-rewards went straight into buying starlight stones, much like most of my points as that is something that I need for Jirachi. I can feel it is one tiny step away from evolving and I feel we might need its help to whatever it is that will be the final challenge, especially since uncle Zelretch sent me a message informing that the form I used before is forbidden in the last trial.
Shame, it would be much easier to win with it. Oh well, at least I have it now. I guess I will call it Evil Spirit form, as I really become the spirit of evil in that form.
Anyway, after that I bought hundreds of gems of high quality and many magic reagents and rare metals to take to the Tower. I analyzed the guns used by Hammond and knew at least the general metals used so it was not all that hard to buy the right metals.
Thankfully the number of points I had was simply absurd, more than enough for me to buy tons of rare metals, all will find good use back in the Tower. Zelretch even threw a freebie in a special cubes that could contain all that metal instead of taking it in ingots as it would be too troublesome to carry them like that.
After that I moved to the main thing, but as I looked at the Reward list for mission accomplished I saw two items shining brightly, like literally shining.
One is a Demon King seed(?) and the other a Hero egg(?), which I honestly have no idea what means.
"Hohoho, to think this would happen. This is truly interesting." A voice came from my back, and without even needing to turn I know exactly who it belongs to.
"Why do you say this, uncle Zelretch?"
"These two items are special, unique really. They are items from an unique dimension with very strong beings and these two items are the key for the strength of most of the strongest ones there. The Demon King seed is an item that is closer to a special ability, when a demonic being or monster absorbs 10.000 souls that he himself killed he will be able to evolve into a demon king, an entity that is many times stronger than what you can possibly imagine right now. The stronger ones are able to control the flow of time, causality, all energy, space, and many other things with their skills, truly a strong type of being.
"Their reserves of energy are also amplified and their abilities rise exponentially no matter how strong they were before. They may also lose some of their original skills and abilities but it happens to form an ultimate skill that combines them into a stronger form.
"A True Hero is much the same, they grow strong and they stop being human to become semi-spiritual instead, it is sort of becoming a Demi-Servant but of yourself. And the difference in power between before and after becoming a True Hero is much like the difference between a human and a Demi-Servant. The True Hero also has an Ultimate Skill and is normally a bit stronger than a Demon Lord, but nothing that is truly definitive." Zelretch explained, and I must say that this is interesting.
If this truly is how he said then it might be interesting to have this thing.
"Of course, there is also a risk. If someone don't fulfil the requirements after obtaining these then they are useless, only if the requirements are fulfilled can they be of any use. The requirement to become a Demon Lord is 100.000 souls creatures that must be killed by the user himself and the requirements for True Hero is to have a strong willpower and be admired by many while you must also do something that is truly good and heroic."
Oh well, it is risky so I m not 100% sure I should take this offer.
It is tempting, but I still want to obtain spirit bones to my torso, right arm, and right leg and try to see if I can form a full spirit armor, if I could manage that my power would raise exponentially.
"Maybe I could be of assistance..."
"Maybe I could be of assistance..."
Approaching Castiel from behind (after overhearing his words just as he had been able to choose his own reward), Nico interjected whilst putting his hands in his pockets, carrying an aloof demeanor whilst Zelretch gave him a knowing look. Figures that he had insight into what he was doing right now, that guy DID have some unnaturally high IQ. His godson, at the moment of hearing him, turned to face the redhead with an arching of an eyebrow in confusion when he responded to his words with a question of his own. "Be of assistance how, Nico?"
"What I mean by that, is that I can cash in a couple of my rewards for defeating a few of the sub bosses in that trial, in order for you to buy some of those Spirit Bones you seem to wish for so badly, considering you got annoyed when I returned from my bonus match." Nico explained,eyeing Castiel knowingly. He had been able to sense the guy's agitation whilst he performed the tests on his Evil Orca King Spirit Bone. Though, he had quickly put it to the back of his mind in favor of learning exactly what his new addition to his arsenal could be capable of... something which resulted in him liking his new Spirit Bone QUITE a bit. "That okay with you?"
"...And why would you do that? Sorry for being sceptical and all, but one thing I've learned long ago is that if there is some deal that seems too good to be true, then it probably is bull-crap that will screw me over later on for sure." Castiel said hesitantly, he realized how good the proposition was for him, but it was just too good and as such he could not simply accept it just like that.
In politics and when talking between two parties too much benefit to one party is not a positive thing, it is more suspecious instead.
At hearing the response of his companion, Nico shrugged his shoulders while taking out his hands from his Trench Coat pockets. The teen did a good job in hiding how... complicated, he felt inside from these two though. It didn't feel very easy to admit all this after all, especially to this guy. It would be FAR from Nico's own comfort zone, especially since he hadn't known the guy for very long. "Its simple really..." he began. "One thing I always do is pay back my debts, Emiya. In this case, you've given me lots of advice, you've born with some of the shit I've done in these last few trials, you've unintentionally set me up with a connection to Okada Izou, so yeah I have a few debts to pay. This is just my way of paying you back, otherwise, I'd feel like an absolute idiot."
At hearing that, Castiel's doubts got lifted as he nearly heaved a sigh of relief. For a moment, he forgot that Nico wasn't exactly a politician, so when he had offered that deal he had fallen back onto his leadership training. If he was honest, it felt kind of refreshing. "Well, if you are sure than it is fine. But first I have to ask something for you uncle Zelretch." Castiel said before turning to the Vampire who, for some reason, was sitting in a chair while playing Fortnite in 8k in a 100 inches TV, his character was dancing a little dance of victory due to him have shot someone named LittleTim63.
"Say it quick, I have more noobs to kill and you two are getting boring!" Zelretch said without turning to look at the two.
Without missing a beat Castiel asked.
"Uncle Zelretch, if I decide to buy both the Hero egg and Demon Lord seed can I do it with just one reward?"
"Sure, why not? I don't give much of a damn for those things anyway, they are just accumulating dust here anyway and even if I wanted to give them to others to get rid of them it is not like there are many these things would even accept anyway. If anything you getting the two is just fine by me. But if you intend to give the Demon Lord seed to Nico, he can take it but it may never hatch. A Demon Lord seed is an item that CHOOSES the user, you can forcefully implant it now, but the result might be that he loses it due to not fulfilling some of the requirements, such as being a leader amongst monsters or demons. YOU could work with it regardless since you are in the leadership of the Tower and they command an army of 20.000 homunculi but Nico doesn't. It will all depend on his future, how he will develop from here on out, but if you want to take the risk then go right ahead." Zelretch explained before yelling at the TV "FUCK! BigTim64 shot me in the head! And he is dancing above my corpse! I will freaking kill him for this!"
Ignoring that end, Castiel turned to Nico and said. "I will buy the two, you can decide if you want to risk with the Demon King's seed or not, if you want it is yours." Castiel said without hesitation.
Heh, Nico didn't even NEED to think about it, even with the risks involved. The teen shrugged once more, a light shining in his eyes which would only be reserved for those whom he would vow to kill with his own hands. "Sure, I'll take the risk. Not like I'll have much of a chance in the future and besides, this kind of thing sounds like its a perfect fit for someone like me." he replied, and he would not be wrong. A Demon King Seed definitely fit someone like him who practices demonic powers, and any chance to make them even more lethal than they already were, would be a welcome addition.
"Okay, so I buy the Demon King's seed and Hero egg, the Hero egg is mine and the Demon King's seed is for Nico!" Castiel proclaimed, and a flash of light happened. After the light settled down both did not feel any different, there was no difference in any part of their bodies whatsoever but one thing was felt by both.
There was something, it was hard to say what exactly even as they tried to investigate it, but there was something that was decidedly different.
Deciding to not think too deeply about this Nico proceeded to buy the Spirit bones to Castiel. With 4 semi-rewards he bought a 200.000 years old Right Leg spirit bone from a Holy Qilin, a divine-type scaled unicorn spirit beast that was known for being a spirit beast that only appeared when a noble leader appeared in the lands, it would work as a protector of the innocent while punishing the evil-doers and those who tried to harm those it cared about.
The second was a Right Arm spirit bone of a True Phoenix! That one costed the reward and a lot of points for both Castiel and Nico, but it was an 800.000 years Spirit Bone from a Divine Beast, it even had the characteristic of coming with some of its Divine Blood into it as an added extra! That was a surprise for both Nico and Castiel, but both just rolled with it and decided not to complain much about it, even as Nico thought it was pure preferential treatment.
Oh well, Nico was not going to complain much. His very presence here was just a whimsical decision made by Zelretch just to make sure Castiel had someone to talk to, Nico knew this whole thing had literally been one giant lucky chance for him, the fact that he had obtained it had simply been pure luck.
Castiel saw this though and decided to talk to Nico for a bit.
"You should buy these if you can." I tell him, gesturing to several items on the list of rewards. "These metals are the basis for the weapons used by a Fishmen's gun that could match my light attacks, if your side can produce enough of these babies it should be enough to give you all an edge during your battles. Also, if you want, I can try and write down a list of runes and their inner works to you. It may not be so useful to you, but with this I think you might be able to introduce it to your world and maybe help evolve it further for its defense." Castiel then scratched his head a bit and with a troubled face said. "Look, I know that I have not been exactly the best guy to be around these last few days, and I know you are trying on your side too, so let me give you some help in helping those from your word."
"Are you sure? I mean, this would be great, but shouldn't it be a secret of your side or something like that?" Nico asked, frowning. This sounded like a great favour to his mind, but he couldn't help but feel complicated about it. That type of firepower felt like it should remain with Castiel's side to him, and he had no right to access it for his world.
"Don't worry, we are from different words anyway and after this we will likely not meet again. My word is a great mess of politics but yours seems like a mess of war, from what I got you need more and your world needs more just as well, so let me give you a hand on this one. Okay?" Castiel said. "Besides, I always wondered how much the knowledge of the Tower could be of use in somewhere that would invest wholeheartedly into it and would use it to the fullest." Castiel said that one with an evil grin, and for some reason Nico again doubted if Castiel could EVER count as an angel.
But that smile also made him shiver while imagining the fate of the many Demons in the near future. He still did not know how it would turn out, but the sheer and absurd amount of information in Castiel's mind would help reshape the war in Gamindustri.
And Nico was going to like it VERY much.
In any case, Nico decided on accepting the offer, and with that the two got to work on doing their thing. Nico used his points to buy the specified materials to make those weapons, whilst Castiel wrote down the runes alongside their workings with the speed of a cheetah down in one hell of a large book he had pulled out of nowhere. Kind of like Nico's own Void Storage, the redhead mused to himself whilst Zelretch just did his own thing. You know, just being Zelretch. Though, the man DID once sneak a liiiiiittle tiny peak at them and noticed how the two seemed to be getting along gradually. The more Castiel talked Nico through the runes, during which the redhead slowly started to grasp the concepts of runes before questioning and getting answers (something which pleased the Heir), and the more that Nico lost his 'edgy' aura around him... it made the man smirk knowingly.
After a while, the manual and the materials were deposited inside Nico's Void Storage, and just as they were about to finish, Nico suddenly thought of something. The moment that he did, the impatient-feeling Okada soon arched a brow with mild intrigue, while Biko and his Ghoul Persona wondered where this idea would take them (the former more than the latter cause, you know, instinct personified and all). "Hey, Emiya."
"Yeah?"
"If I recall correctly, you had gotten a new sword, yeah? Why don't we have a Spar with only our sword play?" The redhead offered, summoning Rebellion and pointing to a large space near them. He then continued his explanation without breaking eye contact with his companion. "That way we both get something out of it. Okada wants me to remake my entire sword style into the Manslayer one, but to do that I have to relearn swordsmanship under him. As for you, you can get used to your new blade so it doesn't feel alien to use when in future battles." There was another reason why Nico had offered this, and that was due to him taking some of Castiel's earlier advice, advice given to him when he had told the guy about his Inner World. Sparring was something that he often did with people like Guts or his comrades, it was a nice way of growing closer to them since the only thing one needs to communicate with would be their blade.
Actions speak louder than words after all.
Castiel accepted it since there wasn't much of a reason not to, the two were already inside his Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal anyways, so it was practical enough to do it then and there.
"Sure, I don't mind but let's agree not to use anything except pure swordsmanship during this fight. I want to see how much I can use on this katana since I never found one that matched me well enough. Oh, but I got to ask you something first." Castiel said while taking out Flayed from space, pocket dimensions are so practical that it was almost cheating.
"Sure, tell me your question." Nico said while taking out his Rebellion. His sword was clearly much stronger than Flayed, but for some reason he felt like he was not going to like what is about to happen and started regretting it just a bit. It was somewhat similar to the feeling Nico feels when he asks Helen for a fight, it increased his battle spirit but he could not help but doubt his own sanity a little bit when he does that.
Oh well, he constantly talks with himself and for him this already is normal, so this whole thing isn't nothing new.
"Is your regenerative abilities strong? I ask because this might end up a bit bloody since with a katana I am not proficient enough NOT to aim for the kill." Castiel said before taking a stance equal to what Assassin uses.
Nico felt something wrong as soon as he looked at that stance, but it was Okada who said something first.
('Phew, this kid is good. That position works perfectly for defense and attacking, the size of the blade being so large ensures this while also raising the difficulty to use said katana, but he doesn't seem to have a problem controlling this sword at all. He might not be so much of a trash as I thought he was. Maybe he is a genius too? Well, let's wait and see, right trashy descendant of mine?')
And that last remark made Nico gain a tick mark in his forehead. He never enjoyed being considered badly and being called trashy is not exactly something he was enjoying.
"My healing property is okay, don't need to worry about tha-"
And that was as far as Nico managed to go before he saw a sword tip centimeters away from his eye.
Reacting quickly, he crouched to avoid the strike, and readied his own strike. But it was not a good idea since Castiel did not instantly withdrew his Katana and instead pushed it further ahead in empty air before swinging it down. Nico abandoned his strike to instead launch it upward to block the downward attack from Castiel, but instead of the pressure he expected there was no energy in the downward attack that clearly had power before.
But by then he noticed this way too late, his attack ended hitting Flayed and wasting his attack. No, not wasted since Castiel took advantage of the energy used to move his sword even faster and with more power, hitting the ground and launching dust and rocks at Nico's eyes.
Nico cursed as he jumped back while cleaning his eyes. Still in mid-air he managed to open his eyes again but failed to see Castiel.
THUD
The moment Nico landed, trouble waited for him. He felt something from his rear, and before he could turn to see Flayed was upon his neck, Castiel was standing behind him with a sword in the ready to strike. "Your sword, you depend too much on extra powers and unnecessary things. If you want to reach the top using the sword you still have a long way to go." Castiel explained before removing his blade from Nico's neck.
Nico turned to him and almost opened his mouth to complain about the dirt in his eyes, but in the end he closed his gob and decided against it. He was no fool, this was indeed a fight, only the winner had the right to say anything and the method used to win wasn't relevant. There was no such thing as a right method to win, there was only a winner and a loser. Right now, Castiel was the winner and Nico himself had been the loser.
What Nico failed to see was Castiel's approving glance he had for a moment there, Nico not complaining proved to him that he had not been an idiot at all. Seeing the seriousness in Nico's eyes Castiel nodded in approval before declaring they will only practice for one hour since he still had to absorb the Spirit Bones, give the items to Jirachi to evolve, and finish writing the essay about different stuff for Nico. Honestly, he had a lot on his plate and couldn't accompany Nico for that long a period of time.
Something the teen redhead teen nodded in understanding as he got himself ready.
Though, just as Castiel charged at him again with his Katana about to slice through his neck from the right side, Nico made to counter...
('On your left')
Okada's words made Nico snap his gaze to the left, making him see a previously unseen strike aimed for his abdomen. Nico sharply reacted thanks to this, and instead of attacking blindly like he had before, Nico focused on blocking both strikes... only for one of them to break through and he suffered a gash up his right arm's bicep. A Particularly large gash too. 'What the? Was that some sort of effect? For a moment, it felt like I was facing against two blades instead of one...' The teen thought in confusion.
That is until he pushed it aside to twist his body and clash with Castiel again since during his thinking, he had gotten into his right flanking area. Nico had blocked Flayed by angling Rebelllion's blade downwards, then when he recalled his fight with that Fishman leader he shifted the blade to allow Flayed to slide down it, sharply raising a leg to kick his opponent.
However, Castiel disappeared before he could and, instinctively, Nico retracted his leg just a millisecond before the Heir could slice it off with his Katana. Nico then stomped his foot onto the ground, propelling himself forth into Castiel's space of attack with the intent of cutting through his shoulderblade. He did so with an upward slash, for Castiel to pivot around him and swing towards his back... only that Nico back flipped over it to swing Rebellion at his head during the apex of his flip.
Castiel responded by headbutting him before the strike could land, sending him in a diagonal direction away from him.
Grunting as he had managed to use an arm to block it at the last second, Nico slid across the ground and made to stand up, before the tip of Flayed got pointed at his face between his eyes. 'Tch, lost again...' Nico thought to himself as his mind replayed everything, analyzing his movements and mistakes.
On the other end, Castiel saw this and mentally nodded in approval. "A bit longer than the last time, but you're getting better." He stated. "Keep an eye on the opponent's footwork, that can mean the greatest difference between life or death when in a sword fight. Footwork is practically the foundation for every master swordsman, before you've sorta been using this concept without realizing it, evidence of your self-taught fighting methods. After this hour is done though, I believe that your future instructor will be far worse in his teaching than I am."
"Yeah, I'll have to agree with you there..." Nico replied with a nod, getting up and, out of instinct, raising Rebellion to block the incoming strike to his mouth.
With this action, Castiel nodded, it seemed that what his uncle had told him wasn't for show after all. "Good, you've got the instincts down." he stated, before launching a complex series of slashes, feints and thrusts with faints of their own in under 5 seconds. Nico managed to barely hold out on them, any injuries he sustained regenerating way too rapidly to be seen with the naked eye.
As the hour passed on, Nico and Castiel continued to spar with the Her practically dominating it through half of the time. It took a while, but as they sparred, Nico's hidden potential with the sword started to shine through the more he exchanged pointers, not to mention the sneaky little titbits of advice that Okada provided him through their connection, forcing Nico to look at things from different angles to decipher them whilst blocking and repelling at the same time. It wasn't easy, but let it be known that when he focused on something, Nico didn't do a half-assed job at attempting.
After the halfway point though, THAT was when things turned to Nico's favour, his footwork got remodeled from his prior failures and he began to rely more on his senses and his sword skills than anything else, refining both at the same time. He would learn how to detect minute changes in the atmosphere to help him dodge attacks, he would learn how to time his attacks so that they came without warning and lessened their unpredictability, he'd learned how to parry and repel at just the right times with the right parts of his weapon, and not only that but Nico began to... see something. Something he wasn't sure of right now, and felt similar to the thing he felt before with the Demon King's seed, but he felt that if he practiced the art of the sword long enough he would be able to see it. As a result, the progress that Castiel had made training through Assassin, Nico managed to up his swordplay to match his own...
Though Okada would not have that, his descendant needed to be the BEST, to be a BEAST with the way of the sword.
After that they went to do their own thing.
Castiel started trying to use Emily's trick with strings made of light to move a total of eight pencils at the same time, it was harder than he expected, making him feel even more respect for the crazy control over light his best friend had. More like a sister to him really, even if he found it weird how sometimes he would wake up with her sleeping on top of him half naked while the two were living together alone, or how she sometimes left the door open when she was changing clothes, and how she liked skinship by sometimes hugging him way too long while not wearing a bra, and how she never dated anyone despite being so popular, but that was all a coincidence. If she was into him she would have said it, after all every girl he was with either said it directly or was in an arranged marriage with him (not that he minded that, he was close to them anyway and worked things out with them), Kuroko is special basically jumped on him naked at least twelve times while they lived in the Tower and he was taking a shower while yelling 'Onii-sama! I love you!', that is how he knows someone likes him.
Anyway, Castiel was writing down all sorts of knowledge to Nico take back to his world. Medicine, poison making, monster taming, beast raising, alchemy, runecraft, schools of magic, theory about war and combat in groups, training regimens to advance more in body cultivation, ways to protect mind and soul including several techniques to train those as well to become stronger, mystic codes creation, light based weapons and how to use and create them, strategies against different types of enemy, herbs and their uses, really a lot of different things. These books Castiel is writing are more like a resume for him but for those who hadn't seen them they were extremely complete and complex to an incredible point, but all of it could be of use to Nico's world. This was Castiel's way of paying back the favor since he didn't really considers what he did all that much.
Besides, the more he wrote down the more inspired he got as his own ideas and knowledge started reorganizing and becoming even clearer, not only in paper but in his mind too.
As for Nico, the teen stayed in his Inner World, pretty much getting grueled to death by Okada in the ways of swordsmanship. The man would waste no time, as the very SECOND that he had arrived in his Inner World, Nico found himself pulled into a large open area by the Heroic Spirit and being thrown headfirst into one HELL of a brutal training regimen. Remember what he had said about his instructor before? Whelp, he had been right... in more ways than one, not like he could be happy about it. In fact, Okada would have given his mother and Biko a run for their money in terms of being a sadistic asshole when it comes to combat. He had made absolutely sure to thoroughly drill into Nico's body the essence of swordsmanship in order for him to start learning how to use the Manslayer Style of combat. In the Heroic Spirits eyes, all other styles would prove inferior, the Manslayer style essentially could absorb the techniques and styles of other warriors and make them better, merging them with itself like a certain Slime protagonist whenever he used 'pred####'
The training itself would likely redefine the word 'brutal' in Nico's mind. The reason why, was cause it consisted of non-stop sparring with Okada who would literally BAT the SHIT out of Nico, stomping out his previous swordplay that remained after his spar with Castiel. He would then remake it into the Manslayer Style, pretty much turning Nico into a clone of himself in terms of swordplay. Thing was, Nico did NOT complain at least ONCE during this training, if anything Nico wished it could be even tougher so he could iron out all the mistakes in his sword style. He wanted to challenge Okada at full power, he wanted to surpass him in the art of the sword, this desire sprang forth in him thanks to Castiel's instructions, but grew even further with Okada's training... which sort of acted like a bomb which, when exploding, unleashed the hidden potential Nico held inside. As a result, he completely assimilated the Manslayer Style, reworking his swordsmanshp to a level where Okada could be satisfied... if only a little.
After all, even with Nico's absurd learning capabilities, along with the hours they spent in the Inner World and his unlocked talent for the sword, he would still be no match for Okada at full power. At least by the time his training ended the kid could make Okada take the battle at least moderately more seriously. But that alone had been WAY better than what he had started out with, and looking back on it, Nico shared his sword mentor's feelings wholeheartedly.
Aside from that, Nico focused on researching more on the Lexicanum's knowledge alongside the knowledge that he had gained so far rom his companion in these trials. Learning what he could from the floating Tome had provided Nico with a few more books worth of knowledge that were stored in the Library. He learned more about the DPU's culture, what Gamindustri had been like back when the DPUs had ruled over it. He learned what had transpired during the 'preparation period' of the war, those many decades of tense and uneasy peace between the Goddess Odyssey Heart and the other DPUs. Though, he had to admit, that the more he learned about them the more disgusted with his predecessors he became. Sure all of the DPUs were broken as hell in their own ways, what with their wold conquests and fighting prowess, but the way that they acted towards others, it truly sickened him. It made him wonder what he would do should he encounter other DPUs, as according to what he had learned from the Lexicanum, the DPUs as a species... were FAR from dead. If anything, they had never died to begin with, not even during that massive war which destroyed Gamindustri back then. He focused on learning more about the DPUs themselves, the more notable ones who cared fierce legends about their exploits and their abilities. More specifically the ones who were stronger than most but could not break into the third rank: the Chaos Class.
That class almost seemed like it had been reserved for the Chaos Gods alone, since no other DPU had gotten to that level. Which begged the question: Why?
After a total of 5 hours, Castiel finally stopped writing, as he believed he wrote down enough. His hand lightly ached from all the writing he had done, but he honestly found it rather refreshing, since it had been a while since he had done something like this. More than 9 thousand pages of content, all organized with more knowledge than most could ever understand in a life time.
Seeing this Castiel smiled for a second before taking the two spirit bones and putting them above his right arm and left leg and starting the process. The right leg bone fused with him almost instantly, the spirit was known to appear around rulers and he could be considered someone made to be king so it was relatively easy for him to fuse with that spirit bone. The abilities he gained are two, Cloud Walking in that Castiel can create small clouds underneath his feet to be able to walk in the air, and ability that may seem useless but was great for sword fights in mid-air since flying was not the same as walking and flying moved the body in completely different ways; the second ability was especially interesting for him, Weight of Sin allowed him to put a weight in someone equivalent to how many sins and evil actions the person has done during her life. That was useful for Castiel that could see exactly how many sins someone has and will know how great a pressure the person will be carrying.
The right arm spirit bone however, that one was harder to deal with. It and Argetlan were not too compatible and it took much longer for the two to unite as one, but the result was definitely worth it. Not only did Castiel gain more control over fire in his right arm he also could create Phoenix fire in it, star fire, and Vermilion Bird fire, it could be said that in the fire department there would be few beings with more powerful flames than his, except perhaps Illyaelia but her existence is cheating by itself. Castiel also got a second ability from this Spirit Bone, Rebirth Nirvana in that once every day he could recover all his wounds and energy as if he was reborn while also growing stronger physically and with an even greater potential, but this ability just works once every day and it will only be possible to activate it a total of nine times during his whole life. With each new Nirvana his potential and body will grow stronger but he will need an even greater base level before the next one, it was an ability that could be called a saving grace in case he ever was close to death, as if he had gained a total of nine lives.
Not only that but with these new bones Castiel could feel that the spirit bones were linking together, as if they were becoming a unity. They all carried different auras and powers but they all carried the same regal disposition and ruling power, as if each of these beasts was king amongst their race or something along those lines. But the link was not working so well due to the fact Castiel still lacked a Torso Spirit Bone and how, even if they linked, they wouldn't match perfectly due to how different their powers were by nature. But one thing was for sure, with these two new Spirit Bones Castiel's body and potential was stimulated further yet again, they now were even greater than before and Castiel had no doubt he would be able to beat up Kokabiel easily and with no injuries if he were to face him now.
Later on...
"Yo, the last trial's been prepped and ready to go, brats."
Zelretch's words quickly roused the two boys from their activities. Castiel looked up from his process of training his Spirit Bones, whilst Nico opened his eyes after returning from his Inner World, as well as one of the MANY torturous spars with Okada. The guy, whenever he wasn't pounding Nico into the ground, often spent his days fighting the monsters generated by Nico's mind, either that or drinking and flirting with Erebus' manifestation (or simply sparring with her, one or the other). He had once commented how she would have been a fine piece of ass to tap if she hadn't already 'gotten her eye on someone' as she had apparently stated, though wasn't unappreciative to some flirting every now and then. Whatever that meant, Nico didn't know, but he DID get the feeling that his Ghoul Persons would be keeping his distance from her.
Both boys looked over to the old Vampire, who stood beside a large, practically enormous green portal which looked to be about the height of a single story building. The Portal spiralled in on itself like a swirling vortex, and if the two boys focused they could sense HUGE torrents of energy gathering within its core. As they approached the portal, Castiel furrowed his brows as he eyed it warily. There were suspicions about this portal circulating through his mind, suspicions which wouldn't have been brought about if he hadn't already been giving his brain a bit of a 'light jog' when he wrote that tome. 'This portal...' he thought, before glancing at his Uncle. "Am I right to be assuming that this one will be leagues tougher than the last?" he questioned, also voicing Nico's own suspicions as he nodded alongside the male.
"Why of course, little guinea pigs, how could mwah EVER leave you guys with just an average trial?" the man replied, scoffing like he was offended. Although, both boys knew that this wasn't the case, should Zelretch be offended then they would DEFINITELY know it. "tut-tut-tut, dear godson, you should have some faith in this badass apostle. Anyways, just a quick reminder your Evil Spirit Form's been disabled for this Trial, can't you having something that breaks the game after all. Oh, and as for you emo oy... piece of advice, not something I give lightly: eat your greens."
Now THAT got Nico's attention, those three simple words merging into his brain as he recorded them with zero possibility of forgetting them. Before he could ask what they meant however, Zelretch vanished to signal them to get into the portal already and begin what would hopefully be the final trial of this place... damn, they missed their comrades back home. Thoughts of their comrades filled their minds, although it didn't blind them to the fact that this trial, would likely be one serious motherfucker to contend with.
With those thoughts in mind, the two boys glanced at each other, nodded, and entered the portal, finally facing their last trial.
Neither of them realizing what awaited them on the other side.
