Chapter 3: Rebellious Child of the Dragon Saint.
"Rise and shine!" Someone chanted at some blasphemous hour of the morning. Danhauser reached for a pillow to cover his ears, unfortunately, it has been stolen, finding out he lacked the comfy cushion, he pulled his blankets up to his head, only to find out it had been taken, too.
Gingerly, he looked up with blurred eyes, spotting his cousin, Cleria, carrying the blanket and the pillow under her arms.
…
"How unlucky, good thing it's not freezing here." Danhauser curled up, ignoring the sharp look of Cleria.
He heard her steps fading away, ah, perhaps she—
"I said get up, you lazy bum!" Danhauser hissed at the sensation of the sun warming his skin. Since he's a Devil the sun is way more bothersome, not at the same level as a vampire, fortunately, the government of the Underworld designed their fake sun to not cause any lethal damage to a Devil's skin.
Still, the annoyance was lingering there.
"I yet need to wake up Diehauser, and trust me, he's way worse," Cleria sighed, standing behind the spread curtains, "I noticed that you hadn't changed your clothes. Grab something different and make your way towards the dining room, breakfast will be ready," with nothing else to say, she strolled outside of the room, ready to wake up the Champion from his hibernation.
Rubbing his eyes. Danhauser grunted, dissatisfied to be attacked during his sleep. Standing up, he stumbled towards his closet.
When he opened the clothes room, he felt his mouth hang open.
…
"… What the hell is this?" He randomly took a piece of clothing, inspecting the attire with a look of distaste. "I forgot how much the Underworld loves to dress… elegantly."
In all honesty, in his eyes this was horrible, not only does it looks made for a clown, but it looks so tight that Danhauser was questioning if he'd breathe inside of this.
He cannot grasp how Sirzechs forced his child to wear this; maybe it was the mother—Grayfia— who encouraged the idea.
He'd understand if Millicas turned into a Stray right off the bat.
Putting the costume back to its place, Danhauser dug deeper, trying to find something decent to wear in the house and to go outside, but unfortunately, he'd found either something worse or the same apparel, but different color.
Several moments later, Danhauser took the most appealing clothing in his eyes—still, he didn't feel convinced. It was difficult to get dressed with these; he was in fact, struggling, but he managed it.
Standing in front of the mirror, he started grading his attire.
He liked it. The dark gray unbuttoned trench coat with the Belial symbol over the coat's left shoulder was a nice touch. Underneath, a navy blue ascot wrapped around his neck, which hangs over a black, sleeveless vest, dark green pants, and tall, brown boots.
He heard knocking on his door, followed by a familiar voice. "Dan! Are you done?"
It was his brother. Taking one last look at his way of dressing, he nodded in affirmation. "On my way!"
Danhauser drifted out of his room, nearly slamming the door at Diehauser—thankfully, he moved backward.
Glancing up, he noticed that Diehauser also changed his vestment. Danhauser was honestly not surprised finding the Emperor wearing his dark red two-tailed coat with golden patterns followed by tan-colored jeans, a huge buckle around the waist, white gloves, and high military boots. Just like the illustration that Ishibumi had offered to his fans.
And of course, how could he forget? There's nothing underneath of his coat, going shirtless throughout his whole life, displaying his bare, well-toned chest and muscular physique to the world.
The bastard's ripped, and since Danhauser has the mind of an adult and the body of a teenager, he couldn't contain the hint of envy as a man.
Pushing aside his jealousy, the way he dressed was oddly familiar. He'd seen it before, from a game franchise, but he can't put a finger on it.
Oh well, sooner or later, he'll remember.
It seems Diehauser was also inspecting his attire, hence the silence.
Nodding, Diehauser walked away with his brother by his side.
"Sleep well last night?" Diehauser started the first part of the day with a question, not looking away from the corridor.
Stretching his arms, Danhauser nodded with a sigh of satisfaction. "It was great, and yours?"
"Troublesome," Danhauser chuckled at his answer, "Cleria had to ruin my sleeping beauty."
"Yeah, same here."
That earned Diehauser's attention, sending a sideway glance at Danhauser. "Really? Then how come you did not appear in the dining room before me?"
"I was struggling in choosing something decent," Danhauser answered, tugging his coat.
"You don't like them?" Danhauser shook his head, "Ah I see, ask Cleria or mother for some advice, they have had better tastes than me."
Danhauser had to hold back the flinch at the mention of his new mother. Since its breakfast, the most obvious thing is that she's going to be present.
But let's push the inevitable behind, for now, he has more questions, and Diehauser is sure as hell a perfect person to ask almost anything.
"Hey, brother," Danhauser called out, getting a hum from him. "Why Gilles said he was your Queen, am I missing something?"
He, of course, knew the answer, but he was just playing his role as "I lost my memories, please refresh them"
"…All High-Class Devils are given 15 chess pieces to increase their ranks by reincarnating other beings into Devils." The Emperor explained. "These pieces are called, 'Evil Pieces'."
Diehauser began explaining the name of each piece, the cost, the pros and cons, something that he didn't pay a lot of attention since he already knew about this old data. His older brother also decided to tell the reason of why they were built, all thanks to the Great War between the Biblical Factions.
Of course, The Emperor mentioned the Four Great Maou passing away during the warfare, but, he never said a thing about God's status.
"Okay, and where's my set?" Danhauser inquired, earning a small chuckle from Diehauser.
"I expected that question miles away." His expression turned serious once again. "You were supposed to have your own servants… but since you know, you died, we annulled it."
Danhauser was curious about something, how did he die, anyway? Not in his previous life, but the Dan, the true member of the House of Belial, every time Diehauser mentioned something about this, his look darkened.
How fucked up it was?
It may be dangerous to ask right now, who knows how Diehauser could take it.
"I see, hey remember during our time on the train, how you talked about each Housecarl having a unique ability?" Danhauser quickly changed the topic, knowing that he'd receive his chess pieces on another occasion. From far away he could hear the distant voices and utensils, the servants are readying the food, and the two were getting closer.
"Yes, want to know ours?" Diehauser guessed, thankful that Danhauser took the initiative to change the conversation. "Presuming your answer is yes, I'll answer quickly." He hummed. "Our power is called 'Worthlessness'—long story short, it allows us to nullify any ability thrown at us."
"Whoa, really?" Danhauser faked amazedness.
Diehauser simply nodded, looking down at Danhauser curiously. "Why the sudden question?"
Carefully descending the stairs to make sure he didn't trip over, Danhauser answered. "For two reasons, one, I wanted to know what makes us unique from the other Pillars," he lifted two fingers, forming the peace sign. "Two I want to learn how to use it."
They stopped in front of the dining room. A single twist of the door's knob was enough to release the aroma of the morning food.
Diehauser, however, didn't plan to do that, yet. "Dan," he started, getting on one knee to properly face his brother. "You literally came back from the dead, and you want to now train?"
"Uh… yes?" Danhauser felt embarrassed at the deadpan stare that the Emperor is offering.
Diehauser shook his head, sighing. "Troublesome."
"I'll take that as a 'yes', then?" Danhauser asked hopefully, mentally crossing his finger.
Looking at Danhauser, Diehauser offered another deadpan look, making the young Belial feel awkward at the sudden dull atmosphere, the only sound he could perceive was behind those doors.
Finally, the Emperor spoke. "I plan to stay around for a while, we have a lot of time, there's nothing hurrying us."
"Exactly! Sooner or later, you have to return to your role as Lord Belial, we have so little time!" Danhauser countered.
"Remember what the doctor told us, you can't do anything dangerous." Diehauser reminded him.
"Who listens to those guys anyway?!"
"Everyone does."
"Just show me something, the basics at least!" Danhauser clasped his hands together, looking up at him with hopeful eyes. "Please?"
This time, Diehauser groaned, slowly standing up. "You're not dropping this, aren't you?"
Danhauser shook his head.
"…" Using the method of silence, Diehauser stared at the knob of the door, slowly spinning it and showing the wonders of the room.
Watching how the Champion moved inside without giving a response, made Danhauser sigh in defeat, slowly following from behind.
"… Backyard, after breakfast,"
Danhauser spirit lifted up.
Breakfast wasn't as bad as he expected.
Yes, they were greeted by a grumpy Cleria, who shot a glare at Danhauser the moment he took his seat at her side; it seems someone doesn't like eating cold food, but at least she has manners to wait for the rest.
The next one was Gilles, who, of course, began teasing him with his dark humor, when he was done, he would stand beside his Master, following the role of Queen.
Something that he found in Gilles is that he dons what appears to be a suit, complete with a tie, beneath his armor. When Danhauser commented about his unique way of dressing, he was attacked by an offended French Queen, in a good way. Gilles stopped teasing him for a while. This may be a nod towards his role around this mansion the double-duty of not just a Queen swore to protect the Belial Family, but also a professionally-trained butler overseeing the domestic affairs of House Belial.
Lastly, but not least, his mother.
She was informed about Danhauser's lack of memories which she pursed her lips at the unfortunate announcement. He sometimes asked for something like salt or pepper for his food, those were the only moments where Danhauser would start a conversation with his mother, Calcabrina, however, since she's way more sociable than his son, pushed the conversation further with Diehauser and Cleria joining the chattering.
Ah yes, the food was beyond amazing. The servants really outdid themselves.
"Here we are," Diehauser announced standing in the middle of the backyard with Cleria at his side.
Danhauser whistled.
It was just like the same view as he had on the train yesterday, the only difference being in front of Mother's Nature itself. The backyard full of flowers, fruit trees, and vegetables and boy is that a fucking labyrinth made of bushes?!
This place is not a backyard; it's a damn forest with the addition of a labyrinth.
"Pretty cool, huh?" Cleria asked, moving at his side with a small smirk on her face.
Danhauser simply nodded. "What's the center of the labyrinth?"
"A pool," Cleria answered, grinning, "The best pool of all time."
Danhauser looked at Cleria with a raised brow, but nonetheless, he didn't express his opinion.
"Right," Diehauser clapped his hands, getting the attention from the other two. "I'll make the assumption that you know why we are here, right?"
Danhauser grinned, feeling excited to start the training. Rubbing his hands together, he answered. "Oh yeah, to begin my training?"
Diehauser smiled. "No."
…
"Excuse me?"
"I said no."
"Ah," Danhauser bobbed his head, feeling somewhat cheated. "If I remember correctly, you said that you—"
"I'll stop you there, Dan." Diehauser interrupted him, "I said 'backyard after breakfast' I never accepted to train you…yet."
"Yet?"
"Yet," Diehauser repeated, nodding. "I have a small challenge for you, but before that, let's give a warm welcome to our first guests."
Before Danhauser could open his mouth, a mighty roar stopped him from further movements.
Danhauser didn't have the time to look up to find the source of loudness, the titanic figure landed down harshly on the grass, sending a wave of dust around him, followed by another creature landing at his side.
Shutting down his eyes, Danhauser cautiously opened them back, trying to see behind the cloud of dust surrounding the two beasts. He only spotted one thing, four red eyes shining brightly.
"Close your eyes," the mighty figure advised.
Danhauser didn't think twice, once again closing his eyes, he felt a powerful wind clashing against him, making him recoil slightly backward. If it wasn't for the hand pinned on his shoulder, he'd be flying back inside the mansion.
Feeling that the tempest ceased, Danhauser glared at the guilty, only for his angry stare to turn to one of surprise.
He was right, these two were gigantic! They also looked identical with the only difference being the age and youth that the small one portrayed. Standing on two feet and reaching fifteen meters was a purple creature that resembled a crocodile with golden horns and black armored pauldrons that extend down to his arms and a loincloth decorated with metallic accessories.
He's a Dragon.
They're Dragons.
"You made it, Blaze Dragon Meteor, Tannin," Diehauser acknowledged the fellow King.
"Emperor, Diehauser Belial," Tannin nodded back, folding his huge arms. "I want to start by thanking you for allowing us entrance to your lands."
Diehauser raised a hand, "There's no need to be thankful, Tannin, after all, you needed to speak with me about something important, right?"
"Hey there, Tannin, Bova!" Cleria joined the conversation, waving the Meteor Dragon and the hatchling with enthusiasm.
The now named Bova grunted back.
"Good day to you too, Cleria Belial." Tannin greeted back, before facing Danhauser. "Welcome back to the world of the living, Danhauser Belial."
"Ah… thanks," Danhauser waved back, awkwardly, amazed by looking at a dragon in flesh and bones. Tannin looks way more awesome in person than behind a screen.
Danhauser felt a sharp look from another source, ending his praise. He spotted the second dragon who conveniently is returning the gaze and hiding behind the Saint Dragon. "Who's Bova?"
"Emperor, I apologize for disrupting your family reunion, but…" the former Dragon King sighed, "…I was sent here to invite you to a Rating Game match."
"From who?"
"The Upsetting Sorcerer, Rudiger Rosenkreutz," the purpure dragon responded, making Diehauser's eyes widen slightly. "He also invited me to attend his match. He wants you as the referee, though."
"…I see," Diehauser scowled, it's weird for the 7th ranked offer him a seat for his match, they don't have nothing against each other, but they're still in a way, rivals, the same sentiment goes for Tannin.
After all, sooner or later, Diehauser would step down as Champion of the Rating Game.
The Emperor, obviously, doesn't have the desire to gift the throne to someone, yet. He'd only go down with a fight.
"Alright, I accept." Diehauser finally answered, still feeling the odds about Rudiger, possibly the reincarnated devil wanted more than he arbitrating the match? The Sorcerer always loved to hide a lot of things under his sleeve.
"Great, there's still one last thing to say," shockingly, Tannin scratched the back of his head, somewhat embarrassed. "This one, however, is more of a personal favor… I hope you don't mind."
"What is it, Tannin?"
"Well… you see, it's about my son." Danhauser's eyes widened in surprise at Tannin's words. "He wanted to see if it was true that his 'rival' was still alive."
Finishing, Tannin glanced down at the smaller dragon who was still behind his father, peeking at Danhauser with a small glare. "Bova, it's disrespectful to stare at someone without saying a word, go and introduce yourself, remember that he lost his memories."
Getting pushed forward by Tannin's tail, Bova yelped in surprise, now turning into the center of attention.
Bova ignored the likes of Diehauser and Cleria, still studying on Danhauser as if he tried to see if he was the real deal or not. Meanwhile, the latter glanced at Bova's appearance.
Nothing different from his father other than his youth and the golden horns were shorter and lacked off sharpness. He also wears a loincloth and his height is around 2 meters tall.
Finally, Bova showed signs of emotion, the Dragon shot Danhauser a goofy grin. He pulled slightly Tannin's loincloth, seeking his father's attention. "Dad! I told you! My rival was still alive!"
Tannin sighed at his son's excitement, holding back a smile, but ultimately failed. "Yes you did, Bova."
Turning back to Danhauser, Bova spoke, "I am Bova Tannin, your most dangerous rival!" Bova announced, pointing himself with his thumb, trying to look tough and serious, but with his tail wagging like a dog getting petted by his master, it gave a different point of view.
"So cute...!" Cleria gushed under her breath.
"Was he mentioned in the Light Novel?" Danhauser thought, confused about seeing a character that he never read off or seen a brief cameo for the smaller dragon."It seems the owner of this body was someone close to Bova."
"I wanted to know if Bova could stay here with your brother, Emperor, just like old times." Tannin went straight to the point, not wishing to waste his time.
"Not that I mind, but why us? Can't your peerage handle the troublesome child?"
"Bova asked me to bring him here, to play with his friend."
"He's not my friend! He's my rival!" Bova snapped, facing his father, clearly embarrassed. "We're not going to play we are going to fight!"
Tannin rolled his eyes.
"Wait, how did you know about my problem?" Danhauser questioned. He didn't say a word of it, nor his family spilled the beans. He didn't remember a dragon reaching 15 meters in height either.
"Yesterday, those who attended at your burying spread the word," Tannin answered, shrugging. "The news spread like wildfire, they even reached my territory. I didn't believe in them, Bova, on the other hand, had faith in the gossips. I contacted the Emperor, conveniently the Upsetting Sorcerer invited me, and your brother to his game before I took flight and—"
"And I was right!" Bova interrupted the former Dragon King. Clenching his fist, he shot Danhauser a glare of determination. "You look well for dead, rival. I should have known that the void couldn't you, that's why you're my rival!
Danhauser blinked.
"Anyways," Diehauser trailed off, "your son can stay here if you wish, mom wouldn't mind." Tannin sent a thankful nod at his direction. Diehauser turned to his brother. "Now, since you want to practice now with our Clan trait, you'd have to complete my small challenge, if you succeed, I'll train you, if you fail… well…"
"What?"
"You'd have to wait until you turn 18."
"Wait, what?" Danhauser was shocked by the revelation, honestly, he wasn't that shocked, because he knows that, sooner or later, he'll learn how to use Worthlessness—not at the same level as the Emperor, of course.
The problem here is, Danhauser is 15 years old. He can't wait so much. He also needs the physical training, the one where you sweat like a pig and lay on your bed with bruises. Diehauser is the best solution for this, well, there's Gilles and Bova, too, but honestly, the former is more of swordsmanship than pure bare fists.
Bova, however, seems to be someone useful too for sparring, but knowing the dragon race, he wouldn't hold back, and even if Danhauser hated to admit it. He needed to start at the novice level.
"Deal?" The Champion spoke once again, mustering his strength to not grin in front of his brother.
"Deal." He's not going to back down, it may look stupid, but he had a plan.
Tannin boomed a laugh, startling Danhauser. "Hahaha! Not backing down, I like it!"
"Alright then, here's your challenge," Lord Belial coughed under his fist, "since you want to know how to control Worthlessness, first you need to start from level one—learning how to use your demonic power."
"That's it?" Danhauser frowned, folding his arms. Demonic power… it was foolish to request immediate training on how to nullify abilities. First, he needed to understand how demonic powers worked in this world. He knows that Devils use their imagination to cast their powers and create wonders that'll make others gasp in awe.
Take Sirzechs' power of destruction as an example. He can convert himself into the power of destruction, but the fake Lucifer lacks control over this form.
All in all, his training is starting right now.
"That's it," Diehauser confirmed, standing at Tannin's side. "You have until I come back from Rudiger's match. Good luck."
With that, Diehauser activated a teleportation spell, wrapping the Dragon Saint and Emperor, vanishing them.
Cleria whistled, finally making a sound. Facing both Bova and Danhauser, she grinned. "Well, I have to go, too. Need to look out for my territory in the human world, good luck, Danny," winking, Cleria also made a teleportation circle, sending her back to Kuoh.
"Shit." Danhauser cursed, "I was going to ask her how to control my demonic power."
Before Danhauser could swear more, an inhuman roar wrapped him back to reality. Turning around just in time to see the young dragon rushing at him, fist cocked.
"Woah! Woah! Woah!" Danhauser ducked the attack and jumped out of the dragon's reach, raising his hands to stop the overgrown lizard. "What's wrong with you?!"
"I can't take it anymore!" Bova shouted, dashing toward Belial. "My blood is boiling for a fight! I'm all fired up!"
"I lost my memories! I don't even know how to fight!" Danhauser exclaimed, dodging another punch.
"That's not an excuse!" Bova countered, readying his fist. "I've been waiting for two years to fight you once again!"
Danhauser clicked his tongue, taking a fighting stance—or so he thought—but stopped, Bova's words finally being scanned by his brain. "Wait, two years?"
Hearing Bova's battle cry was enough to force him to concentrate in the brawl, seeing how Bova was running towards him, sent chills down to his spine.
"He's huge," Danhauser studied his foe, knowing full well that he won't stop the dragon without at least doing some damage. "Bova's swings are slow and easy to dodge, however, a hit by one of those is a guaranteed ride back to the hospital..."
Taking a deep breath, he waited for the reptile to reach him and go for the counter. Danhauser was honestly, scared by fighting him, he's huge, powerful and looks threatening, befitting for a dragon.
Heck, this is his fistfight in both new and previous life and his first challenger is the son of Tannin? How unlucky—he thought.
Bova quickly stopped, flexing his legs and jumping with hands clasped. He finally reached down, using his dragon wings to reach the ground faster.
"Shit!" Cursing, Danhauser rolled out of the way, feeling how the ground trembled because of Bova's harsh descend. He gained the courage to stand up and try to land a punch on the beast, unfortunately, Bova was ready for this.
Spinning around, Bova slammed his tail on Danhauser's chest, making the Devil gasp for air and fly away from his opponent.
"I can't believe I'm still alive after that," Danhauser grunted, shakily standing up from the ground, his hand landing where Bova wounded him. "It may be because of mom and dad genes."
Looking up at the source of the trembling, Danhauser saw Bova running towards him, not giving him time to catch his breath.
"And the doctor said, 'no harsh activities', how unlucky," Danhauser sighed, dusting himself off. "Bova seems to go for the same technique if I'm correct, then I know how to counter him."
Danhauser was right, Bova went for the same move he used a few minutes ago. This time, however, Belial had a card under his sleeve.
Rolling, but this time, forward, Danhauser heard and felt the shudder from below, followed by a dust of dirt. He quickly stood up, looking downward, he grinned.
Raising his leg, he stepped on Bova's tail, harshly.
Bova roared in pain, turning half of his body around with his fist cocked backward, ready to send Belial flying once again.
Danhauser was ready, he jumped backward, watching how Bova's punch pierced the ground, scattering the thin grass all around the place.
It was his time to shine, Bova's face was in a good position to land a blow.
Dashing forwards, Danhauser now went on the offensive, nailing successfully a punch in Bova's cheek, shocking the purple dragon.
"Well, that's new." Danhauser thought, feeling a wave pride slowly engulfing his body.
While the attack hadn't sent the dragon meters away, it was enough to knock him to the ground with a bruise ruining his right cheek.
He watched how Bova slowly stood up, his glare fixed on the small figure of Danhauser, making the latter sigh. This is not going to end in his favor if he was correct, dragons have something like a passive called Outrage, first seen with the Golden Monarch Dragon, Fafnir, who was ravaging Rizevim in their fight.
That move is powerful enough that Fafnir's wrath couldn't even be stopped by Ophis' clone, Lilith, who got blasted off far away than Team Rocket.
"That's enough," Danhauser spoke, making Bova's eyes widened in surprise.
"What?! Why?!" Bova asked, running towards him, "The fight was now starting to get interesting!"
"Well, sorry, but," Danhauser shrugged, "I need to start my brother's challenge, or else I'd never become strong."
Bova held back a pout, folding his scaled arms, the dragon growled. "That's not fair! I want to still fight!"
Ignoring the dragon's whines, Danhauser made his way back to the mansion. "Come with me if you want, I wouldn't mind your company."
Danhauser at first thought that Bova was going to attack him from behind, but he was surprised to see the dragon walk by his side, grumpy because of his fun getting ruined.
"Where are we going?" Bova demanded, looking down at Danhauser.
"To find my brother's queen," was the only response from Belial, earning a displeased grunt from Bova.
They failed.
Gilles de Rais was nowhere to be found.
They tried by unlocking different rooms, and even ask the servants if they've seen the butler wandering somewhere, only earning looks of apologies.
When they finally gave up on finding the former Marshal of France was the moment where Danhauser concluded that Gilles followed Diehauser as his Queen. He has an important duty to follow and one of them is standing by his master's side.
Danhauser along the way tried to see if he was lucky enough to find how to expulse his demonic powers by himself, unfortunately, he did not.
He'd even tried making the ridiculous poses such as spiderman's way of shooting his webs and the Kamehameha, which only succeed in making Bova laugh.
Speaking of which, he also made a small chat with the dragon. He didn't get a lot of information, but he now knows that the western dragon has two older brothers.
Danhauser asked if one of them is called Jango, he was disappointed by the answer.
"Where are we going now…?" Bova whines started to bloom, feeling bored by simply walking around the mansion. The purple lizard was honestly amazed by the size of this house, he sometimes even felt that they were walking in circles.
"To the last person who can help me," Danhauser said, frowning.
"Who?"
"My mother." Danhauser bluntly answered, now fully understanding Diehauser's scheme.
He could be paranoid too, but, it was suspicious that Cleria conveniently left when Diehauser disappeared, and Gilles following the same trick.
It's obvious that Diehauser knows how their relationship is going and decided to change that, which, Danhauser is truly thankful for.
His mother, Calcabrina, seems to be a good person, and truly wished to properly carry a good conversation with her, but it was still difficult for him.
With Diehauser and Cleria it was different. He never had a brother or a sister and he always dreamed of having one, older or younger, it didn't matter for him. He also had a bunch of cousins, some of them he lived since childhood and others that he didn't even know they existed, so Cleria wouldn't be a problem at all.
But Calcabrina? That had been a problem since yesterday. He just wants to finish all this drama already.
Reaching their destination, Danhauser made a mental note to thank the servants who properly lent the direction to Calcabrina's room.
Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door, twice, expecting her to answer.
…
"I don't think she's in the room." Bova scowled, folding his arms once again.
"On my way!" They heard a muffled mature voice behind the doors.
Danhauser sent a look of 'you were saying?' at Bova. The dragon huffed, looking away with his scowl deepening.
They heard the shuffle behind the door, but nonetheless, the door opened, revealing the woman they were searching for.
If back then, Danhauser stated that Cleria was beautiful among the House of Belial. His mother would make him think twice now.
Calcabrina has a smooth and pale complexion, wearing a royal dress and three necklaces with an assortment of beads around her neck that matched perfectly her beauty. As a Devil, she had the same youthful appearance of someone around her mid-twenties. Her long worn loose hair is black with red highlights.
"Dad's a lucky bastard," Belial thought.
"Dan…?" Calcabrina gasped in surprise, not expecting her child to stand over her room's entrance. She addressed the dragon, "Bova?"
"Hey… mother." Danhauser smiled awkwardly, meanwhile, Bova simply nodded at her.
"Is something wrong, sweetie?" His mother immediately asked, "if you need any kind of assistance, do not hesitate to ask."
"Actually, I do," Danhauser started, watching how Calcabrina's red eyes were gleaming at his gray ones. "I want to learn how to use my demonic power."
Lady Belial tilted her head, "Is that so?" She received a nod from her child. Smiling warmly, she spoke, "of course, I can aid you with that, but let's not practice in the corridor, I don't want the servants worrying that we're under attack, quickly get in my room."
Without thinking twice, the dragon and the devil entered the room.
"Sorry for wasting your time with this, mother," Danhauser muttered, looking at her room with a pinch of interest, Bova standing behind him, doing the exact same thing.
Calcabrina waved off his concern. "You don't have to apologize, Dan, my duty is to look out for you, remember that."
Danhauser nodded at her words, slightly biting his tongue.
"You have an interesting room, Lady Belial," Bova commented, standing in front of a nearby painting, inspecting it. "Fitting for someone of your caliber."
"Oh thank you, Bova." Calcabrina pressed a hand to her cheek, flattered by Bova's compliment. "I assume your father is here, too?"
"Was." Bova corrected her. "He went to a Rating Game match with The Emperor."
"Ah," Calcabrina nodded her head, facing her quiet son once again. "Danny, do you know where our demonic powers come from?"
Ignoring the girlish epithet, Danhauser frowned, not remembering the Lights Novels explaining this. "From our body?"
"Which part of our body?"
"I don't know," Danhauser admitted, glancing at Bova to see if he knows something about this subject. He received a shrug from him.
"Of course," Calcabrina voiced out, harrumphing. "If it makes you feel any better, you were half right. Demonic powers come from our body, true, but a specific part would be our spirit."
"Our spirit?" Belial repeated, earning a nod from the mature woman.
"Yes, our spirit," she poked Danhauser's nose. "Let's make an example. You're a toy, but one that needs a battery to function properly."
"The battery is my spirit?" Danhauser stated the obvious, eliciting a hum of confirmation. "Following your example once again, I am a toy that requires a battery aka spirit, then, my battery supplies me with electrical power in other words… demonic power?"
"Exactly!" Calcabrina clapped, "you're catching on quickly!" She turned serious once again, "demonic power is fundamental to even the most basic spell. The only way to activate it is through the power of imagination and the power to create things, followed by a good sense, demonic powers can be measured and shaped to design wonders such as demonic bullets, defensive barriers and even creating illusions."
Searching for something, Calcabrina's eyes landed on a painting far away from the three.
Glancing back at the two children. She shot them a small grin before addressing once again the saddened portrait.
Taking a stance, Calcabrina pulled back her ring finger and her pinky, pointing at the drawn picture. A small magic circle formed at the tip of her finger, it wasn't gray as Danhauser expected, but the same color of her hair, black with red accents and in the center a capital 'M' in italic.
That was the crest of her former housecarl.
"Speaking of which, from what family she belonged?"
Danhauser train of thoughts came to a stop at the scene before him. It was so fast, but the two youngsters caught the speed of the projectile, it was the same size as a paint bullet and its velocity similar to a real gun.
Slowly they looked away from Calcabrina's finger, now facing the unlucky target, they spotted the hole formed in the painting's forehead followed by a trail of smoke.
"That was so cool!" Bova cheered, waving his pair of wings carefully, excitement once again filling his body.
Danhauser could only nod his head in agreement.
Resting her hands on her waist, Calcabrina faced the two children with her chest puffed in pride. "Thank you," she shot her son with a wink. "Those are the many things you can do with your demonic power, Danny." Her face altered to one of a veteran. "Something you need to know is that demonic power is not visible to the naked eye unless it is highly concentrated or embodied in larger volumes." She paused, looking at her dear son with a serious expression. "Sweetie, are you ready to dominate your demonic power?"
"Yes, I am," Danhauser answered, cracking his knuckles, while he didn't look excited, deep inside, his heart was beating like crazy, the spell was basic, but in his previous world, something like that was impossible!
His mother smiled at the response, "Excellent, I'll show you this technique and a defensive one, once you learned, you can train on your own or ask for some help, alright?"
"Alright," Danhauser nodded, "I'm ready, mother."
Calcabrina and Danhauser swapped places. He was now facing another clean painting, and his mother standing at Bova's side.
It has been an hour since the training began, and honestly, he expected this to be far easier, he was so damn wrong.
He followed her steps carefully. Step one involved shaping and forming a bullet, he succeeded on that level. The problem was step two, freeing your demonic power.
Calcabrina advised him to send the energy around his finger and launch it, which he did, but unfortunately, that's where everything came wrong.
He felt a jolt of pain coming from the muscles of his wrist thus making him hiss in pain and drop his stance.
He sat on Calcabrina's bed, glaring at his aching muscle. The worst part is that he could see it, how his wrist was moving similar to the thrumming of his heart. It felt like a muscle strain.
Calcabrina assured him that he'd be fine, and after that, she started her role as a worried mother. She began scolding him for doing something reckless.
Bova acted as if he didn't care, but he'd send a nervous stare now and then, especially at Danhauser's wrist.
That's when she further explained that, the key to its use is not using a large chunk of demonic power, Danhauser should only summon the necessary amount of demonic power he needs to perform a spell. If he used more demonic power than needed, he'd smitten by immense pain plus the fact that he'd quickly waste his demonic energy and get drained out faster because of his actions.
"If I don't use enough demonic power, then my attack wouldn't work?" Danhauser repeated.
Calcabrina nodded. "Correct. It'd just create problems in future fights," her look turned to one of concern, "are you ready to try it once again?"
Danhauser pursed his lips, but he still nodded, slowly standing up. "I'm ready."
"Okay," Lady Belial sighed, nervous of her son getting hurt again, "then try hitting a painting with a demonic bullet."
Nodding, Danhauser once again took a proper stance with his hand aimed at the precious piece of art.
"You can do it, damn it!" Bova screeched, trying to encourage him. "You're my rival, isn't?! Then prove it!"
Calcabrina simply crossed her fingers, watching Danhauser's back with a supportive look.
Danhauser meanwhile bit his tongue, his aim was perfectly fine, and he already shaped the bullet in his mind. He just needed to launch it with the help of his demonic power.
"Remember sweetie, you need to relax," Calcabrina reminded him, "don't think too much, just relax, and believe."
"Relax and believe…" Danhauser parroted, closing one eye to have a better aim.
Calcabrina and Bova saw it, the Belial gray crest forming in front of Danhauser's finger, the demonic power flowing towards his finger, giving him the ammunition to fire his attack.
And he did it, Danhauser shot the demonic bullet at the destined target. This time he didn't felt pain surging from his limbs, or wasted for using a portion of his power. He simply followed his instincts.
Lowering his arm with a smile, he faced the two bystanders, ignoring the smoke coming from the painting's mouth. "I did it."
"Uwaah!" Danhauser jumped backward in surprise at Bova's sudden wail, scaring him. "That was superb! The way you stood! The way you glared at the portrait! You looked amazing!"
Danhauser felt his cheeks heat up. Because of lazy nature in his previous life, it was rare for him to earn a compliment from fellow classmates or even his family, but when he received one, he always stood quiet, not knowing how to respond.
The worst part is that the Dragon was overdoing his praise.
"Calm down! You're making a scene!" Danhauser hushed him, feeling how his words weren't reaching Bova. "It wasn't that great!"
"Are you kidding?! I'm already fired up! Let's fight here and now, rival!" Bova declared, already taking a fighting stance.
"Hold on a second! I—"
"The one with more broken bones lose!"
"Now, now. I don't want a scandal in my room." Calcabrina stated, smiling at the dragon's fighting spirit. "I rather wish you take this outside, and when my son finishes with his training."
Bova crossed his arms with a childish scowl, sitting on the floor like a scolded child. "Fine…"
Calcabrina's smile turned to amusement. She faced her son, her smile softening. "Good job, Danny, now that you learned how to use your demonic power for offensive spells, let's jump to the last one, this time summon a defensive barrier, do you want me to make a demonstration?"
Danhauser offered a cocky grin, his embarrassment gone, "not really, I've got this handled."
Calcabrina's eyebrow lifted up at the arrogant comment. "Hoh. I expected my baby to be silent and shy, but never foresee you as someone with confidence." She stood up from the bed, strolling towards the door. "I'll be right back, you keep working on the spell."
Hearing the door clicking closed made Bova glance at Danhauser, carefully analyzing the Devil. "You should've asked for her help. I doubt you know how to make a barrier."
Danhauser waved off his concern, "You worry too much, Bova." Danhauser said.
"I'm not worried!" Bova yelled, breaking eye contact with Belial, finding the random wall interesting. "Just pointing something out!"
Danhauser smiled at his reaction. "Of course, Bova, of course." His smile dropped, turning serious. "Look, I know how to handle it because it's no different. To make an offensive spell I needed to imagine a bullet. To make a defensive spell…"
"…You need to imagine a shield?" Bova followed up, head tilted.
"That could work, too. I was going for the barrier."
Putting an end to the conversation, Danhauser followed his mother's wise words. Letting the demonic power flowing around him do its work, he loosened up, using the sufficient energy to cast the defensive spell.
"Bova, I need you to do something for me," Danhauser spoke, not moving from his place, not wishing to ruin his hard work.
"What is it?" Bova asked, lifting himself up from the ground, and marching his way towards the devil.
"Attack me,"
Listening Danhauser's order made Bova grin viciously, "Gladly!"
Unfortunately—for Bova— the punch got parried by the same gray emblem from before, it didn't even make it close to Danhauser's face. The magic circle as big as the dragon's fist.
"Alright," Danhauser nodded, mentally cheering at his success—and because he survived a punch of Bova. "Now, I need you to attack me in a different direction."
Not wasting time, Bova redirected his attack to Danhauser's stomach, suffering the same fate.
"Let's go for something big now," Danhauser took a deep breath, before nodding at Bova, "Use your tail."
Tannin's son returned the nod, walking backward to have more space, the dragon whirled around, his tail following closely from behind.
The tail finally crashed, not one or two or three, but five. Five magic circles protected their summoner, all of them lined up to match up in height against Bova's tail.
While the attack was successfully blocked, Danhauser felt the wave coming from the impact, making the latter take a step back.
"That's enough," Danhauser sighed, feeling how he lost another slab of demonic power, but not much to fall from exhaustion.
"Amazing!" Bova gushed, "I never knew you could do such things with demonic power!"
Danhauser frowned, "You didn't?" He saw how Bova shook his head, "Isn't your father a reincarnated devil?"
"Yes, he is," Bova responded. "The dragon's pride is still in him, though. He prefers to dodge the attack or block it with his own body. Dad rarely uses demonic power as a last resort."
"I see," Danhauser frown deepened, he knew the tale of why Tannin turned himself into a servant of Mephisto Pheles.
It wasn't because Tannin felt pity towards the devil race. He did it to save his own race from extinction. Danhauser didn't remember the name of the dragons, but he knew they needed a magic apple to survive.
They heard the door's knob being twisted, turning around the two-faced Calcabrina already closing the door with a single push of her hand, what caught Danhauser's interest, is that she did this without turning around.
Calcabrina stood there with a charming smile, and her eyes closed. She had an arm behind her back. She was hiding something—and damn well because the object was out of their sight.
"How is your training going so far, dear?" Calcabrina asked.
Still trying to see a glimpse of the object, Danhauser answered. "It's going great, in fact, I already know how to make my barrier, mother."
"Is that so?" Calcabrina received a nod from Danhauser, her smile widened. "Perhaps I can see it by myself?"
"Sure," Danhauser shrugged his shoulders with his demonic power obeying his orders. "I'm ready."
"…Good," Calcabrina stretched her arm out, showing the audience the item on her hand.
"Oh…shit," Danhauser stared wide-eyed at the weapon. Holding it tightly around her finger rests a three-pronged spear, the color of the weapon was crimson.
Kicking off her high-heels shoes, Calcabrina threw them at her son's feet.
Danhauser slowly turned to Bova whose eyes are wide as dinner plates.
She took a fighting stance, grabbing the lance with both hands. "Are you ready?"
Bova moved out of the way, not wishing to be pierced by the weapon.
"Uh…" Danhauser trailed off, not knowing what to say.
Her smile morphed into a sadistic grin, ready to lunge at her son. "Don't blink!"
Danhauser never saw how from the entrance to the room to the other end his mother reached him in the blink of an eye, her spear pointing threateningly at his heart, then suddenly went for his head, and so on.
What astonished him the most was the speed of his mother. She's so fast that she left behind afterimages of herself to confuse Bova and her child.
If it wasn't for Danhauser's spell shield, he'd be right now lying in his own pool of blood.
Finally, Calcabrina sighed, taking a step back to give her son some space to breathe.
"W-What was that?" Danhauser stuttered, still dumbfounded by Calcabrina's display.
Calcabrina didn't respond. She simply offered him a soft smile. Walking towards him, she lowered herself a little to be on eye level with the young devil.
"Congratulations," Calcabrina spoke softly, looking directly at Danhauser's wide eyes. "You learned how to use demonic power."
Giving her son a small peck on his forehead, she grabbed her high-heel shoes and walked barefooted away from the room, leaving Bova and Danhauser mind their own business.
.
.
.
"She…" Bova started, pointing at the place where she formerly was, "she was there… b-but then she went…" he pointed where Danhauser currently is. "There…"
"Uh-huh…" Danhauser bobbed his head. He's lost for words.
…
"That was awesome!" Bova roared with enthusiasm, finally breaking out from his shock. "I could see it! The glint of dominance in those red eyes, her dangerous posture, and her speed! Your mother is amazing!"
"…" Danhauser didn't say a word, looking at how the dragon continued complimenting Lady Belial and trying to imitate her movements.
Finally, Danhauser broke into a smile, looking at the door where she left. "You're right," his smile widened, "she's an amazing mother."
Phew! Done!
Again, sorry for taking my sweet time to write the chapter.
Anyways, not much to say in this chapter, to be honest, I just explained about demonic power and trained Dan on how to wield it.
Also, in case if you people are worrying since I received a lot of PMs about this subject. Yes, Dan's going to have a peerage.
-Guest's reviews-
Spice- Glad you liked my story so far, have a good day! Cheers!
Lurker- Me alegra que te interese mi historia hasta ahora, muchas gracias por tu apoyo, saludos!
Thank you for your support guys, good day to each one of you and sorry if you find some glaring grammar errors.
Cheers!
Next Chapter: Worthlessness
