Chapter 34: (Ascension Finale)

"So? Quit stalling and tell us how everything went! Are we in the clear to get started or should we start making plans to abandon this reality?"

Manaka turned her nose up and imperiously responded to the homunculus with, "Hmph, you presume I would be unable to properly and effectively present our case to dottery old men with narrow minds and insufficient imagination, Nanashi?"

"I presume you would get annoyed with them and do something that ends with all of us on some magi shit list or a similar scenario."

A cheek puffed itself out in indignation, the pale-blonde retorting, "It went splendidly, obviously! Do you truly take me for such an impetuous and hasty fool, Nanashi?"

"...Do you want me to honestly answer that?"

Manaka wasted no time in smacking her companion over the head as Abigail giggled at the interplay from where she watched nearby, cheerfully commenting, "This means you have plenty of things to start practicing together, right?"

Manaka nodded, calmly stating, "You will have to show your worth as my creation, Nanashi. And that means properly displaying the culmination of physical traits and mystical artifacts that comprise your body. We have confirmed during our game of tag that you can do many impressive things, we need only properly have you harness and demonstrate them in a public setting."

He tapped his lip, musing, "No True Magic."

"Absolutely no True Magic."

Abigail giggled, teasing, "And how would you show them the Fourth anyway? They would just forget the things you unmake before complaining that you haven't actually done anything."

"One crisis at a time. And I can think of a few ways to get around that issue."

Tiamat chimed in for the first time with, "Practice...I can help?"

Seizing on the offer like a shark on blood Abigail leaned forward as a cute blush adorned her cheeks, whispering into Nanashi's ear with, "Perhaps you can show them the enhancements and mystic properties your lower half possesses~?"

Manaka swiftly pushed them apart, protesting, "S-such base and crude proposals showcase just how much of a deviant you truly are, Williams! We are not going to showcase my Nanashi like some stud bull at a prize fair!"

Haruki merely shook his head and walked by the arguing duo, Nanashi caught in the middle as Tiamat just looked on in polite curiosity.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear any of that conversation right now…"

While he knew perfectly well that Nanashi and his daughter - as well as their unconventional companions - were all romantically inclined towards each other he prayed that they worked something out before things got truly complicated, Root forbid they start sleeping with each other.

The parental side of him merely sighed at the headache that would be that particular scenario while the Magus bit couldn't help but ponder what offspring resulting from a union between Manaka and Nanashi would be like, considering their pedigree and current genetic composition.

...Likely they would be a handful beyond any and all reckoning. Two eccentric and strange parents in his daughter and Nanashi, two unconventional aunts in Abigail and Tiamat while he and Ayaka would be the sole members of the family that were relatively sane and normal?

His hair would gray within a week.

"I can't believe I let you talk me into wearing this clown suit. Do people actually enjoy wearing this shit? Jesus Christ."

"Language, Nanashi. Just because we accept your foul mouth does not mean others will."

"Guess I better get all of this fucking crap out of my goddamn system then. Hell on Earth this getup can go suck a dick."

Scowling at the homunculus as he released a contented sigh Manaka haughtily asked, "Are you quite finished now, Nanashi?"

"Yup, all better."

Huffing out an annoyed breath the magus stated, "Just remember to not pick unnecessary fights with the ones we shall be meeting with, understood? They possess a much different attitude and acceptable level of decorum than we do. In fact I daresay they will deliberately try to incense you, to find out where your limits and temperament lay."

Crimson orbs dully glaring at Manaka the youth dryly replied, "Too much to ask for them just to fuck off and leave me to my demonstration, huh?"

"Language!"

Reaching forward and pinching the boy's cheek Manaka giggled at his clear annoyance, the homunculus grumbling, "Don't worry about it, If it means we don't have to deal with them in the future then I'll be the good little robot and jump when they ask me to, no questions asked."

"You might just be unpleasantly surprised at that, Nanashi. Magi can be quite persistent and dogged in their efforts to aggravate and incense another when they put their minds to it."

"Course I know that, don't forget I dealt with you for several months, Manaka."

This time she aimed a kick at his shins, pulling back her foot with watery eyes and a fierce scowl as Nanashi smirked at her, the girl forgetting just how tough and durable his body was now. Although that was probably for the best, truth be told. If she had delivered that kick when he was still in his previous body she probably would have broken his leg.

"Hmph! We're almost there, remember to behave yourself and we shall do splendidly."

"Roger that."

Taking a deep breath Nanashi tried to calm his nerves and met with varying success, eyes narrowing as he remembered his last interaction with Magi and how generally lousy it had been, culminating in an improvised bombing of the Clocktower and a quick retreat.

Hopefully this one would go marginally better, he doubted the inhabitants were the kind and understanding sort that wouldn't hold his actions against them. Hell, considering their prestige they were probably worse.

Before he knew it they were at the door leading into the meeting room that would decide their course for the immediate future, Nanashi taking a deep breath before they were wordlessly admitted by the stony-faced attendant watching over the thing as the ornate entryway swung open on hinges that seemed deliberately rusted just to the point of ominous creaking rather than silent movement.

"Bunch of showoffs."

Clearing his facial features of anything resembling emotion Nanashi allowed himself to follow in Manaka's footsteps, presenting a front of placid and disinterested apathy towards the entire situation, despite his internal mood being anything but.

The room wasn't helping any, being a sweeping and ostentatious auditorium that probably would have been put to better use holding music recitals that displays of magecraft and all of its accompanying technical jargon. But then again, for the purposes of this little show and tell it would do fine.

One relatively young set of facial features alongside three older ones stared down at them as they approached, the homunculus missing Haruki's reassuring presence as he tried to gauge the mood and attitude of the quartet who would be judging them and the course of their future...only to come up blank, their expressions every bit as carefully maintained and false as his own.

"Then again they probably aren't on the verge of crapping themselves like I am right now. Ugh, why does this feel just a short step away from the same level of stress I had to deal with when facing down the Yali?"

"Your prompt arrival is appreciated. Let us not waste time on needless pleasantries and get to the heart of the matter."

Nanashi resisted the urge to frown, knowledgeable enough about politics and the like thanks to his friend's constant tutoring that the assembled Lords telling them to skip the formalities was a pretty clear declaration of their opinion on them as upstarts and nobodies that they didn't even have to pretend to be nice to. Flowery language and ingrained tradition was, after all, a big part of Magus society.

"Oh well. I'll take any amount of looking down upon if it means we can get through this faster."

Manaka didn't so much as miss a beat, inclining her head in a gesture of respect as she began with, "To reiterate what I spoke of previously my most recent project and focus of study was on the implementation and combination of various Phantasmal materials into a conscious and living body that could employ aforementioned materials and abilities as if second nature. Nanashi? Say hello, please."

Electing to keep his participation to a minimum the homunculus merely met the gazes of each of the Lords and nodded without bothering to speak aloud, something that was met with no shortage of icy glares in kind.

Oh well, he got the general impression that anything and everything he said was going to annoy the people here one way or another.

It was also with great effort that he barely managed to withhold a yelp of surprise as Manaka pointedly tapped him on the chest, right where his heart was located.

"Nanashi is - as you can no doubt tell - a false human with a completely synergistic form that has displayed no signs of collapse or degradation despite the significant amount of tinkering and various Phantasmal materials woven into his very being. The centerpoint is without a doubt the draconic heart that beats within his chest, a veritable furnace of near-limitless energy that fuels and empowers other aspects of his functions that would have already performed admirably without the influx of strength."

Manaka offered up a humble smile that was anything but.

"While obviously not as grand as Albion's corpse that this fair institute rests atop of - or anywhere near as powerful - it serves as a suitable jumping off point for the rest of this presentation."

"And just how did you manage to attain such an incredible resource? Legend and story specifies rather pointedly that Dragons do not easily part with their treasure...and yet here you are, showcasing just one such jewel."

Answering El-Melloi's inquiry with a grin that was more of a shark's display than it was any real expression of mirth the doll-like girl responded, "Simple. I bartered and struck a deal with it, upholding my end of the bargain and walking away with my prize."

"Ah, excellent. Answering the question without actually answering it. This is going to be a really long and tedious meeting, isn't it?"

Sure enough the next hour was a study in boredom and artful wordplay, Manaka doing a rather impressive job of responding to the Lord's unceasing questions with anything ranging from misdirection or half-truths, more often than not just avoiding the probe in its entirety. And all he really did was stand quietly off to the side, pretending to be as silent and unobtrusive as possible while replying with 'yes' or 'no' and only 'yes' or 'no' if directly called upon.

"No Name? You honestly titled your creation 'No Name'? Bad enough it's in Japanese - a distant and unimportant land if there ever was one - but you also gave it such a childish moniker?"

Manaka merely shrugged as the question wasn't really one she had to answer while the homunculus held back the sharp and acidic retort that had wavered on the tip of his tongue. While he couldn't care less about the slight to Japan his name was the one thing he had to recognize and identify himself with, a name that his treasured companions recognized and acknowledged him with.

Talk shit about some geography and flag, whatever. But do not go casting his sense of self into question.

"Easy does it, Nanashi...we're winding down now and this is a good chance to shut them up."

Sure enough the Lords seemed to be running out of questions, the youth reorienting himself as one of the older members asked, "Are these traits hereditary or able to be passed along to any offspring?"

Resisting the urge to blush like a virgin schoolboy at the pointed and moderately awkward question Manaka seemed little better, hastily clearing her throat and swiftly responding, "T-that is yet to be ascertained, while normal bodily functions inherent to standard males perform like normal it's impossible to tell if the genetic makeup of his seed is incompatible with a woman's womb."

"Not for a lack of trying...oh christ, did I accidentally make her pregnant?! I wasn't even thinking about that possibility and I must have came inside of her at least a half dozen times!"

Reassuring himself that Manaka of all people would have some kind of magically induced means of birth control he instead forced his features to remain slack and uninterested, El-Melloi announcing, "While your findings and conclusions are of admitted interest and commendation we still lack the most important part of this entire process. Namely, the proof and practicality of these discoveries and experiments you've created."

Manaka merely smiled, replying only with, "Nanashi?"

Taking a deep breath the homunculus stepped forward, allowing his circuits and beating heart to pulsate and thrum with mounting power as static built along the pathways his Fae-nerves traced, tongue briefly wetting his lips as pale hands raised themselves high into the air-

-and a sharp exhale coincided with his palms slamming themselves onto the floor, a shriek of displaced air and chilling of molecules coinciding with the crack and snapping of bones contorting themselves into unnatural shapes as ice spiralled upwards in jagged arcs of reflected light, hiss of esoteric flame fading into a warm crackle as Nanashi released a quiet sigh, stepping back from his creation and taking a great deal of pleasure in the shocked and bewildered expression upon the Lord's faces.

Stretching from the floor to the ceiling and wide enough for seven fully grown man to barely encircle it a tree formed purely of glittering ice and pale bone towered over the assembled group, flames of every color and shade taking the place of leaves and casting them into a kaleidoscope of wavering rainbow.

"Well, not too bad if I do say so myself."

The flames were a nice touch, his hair extending and winding around the interior structure of the tree from where his skeleton had expanded, allowing him to channel fire and other thermal-based effects all around the thing as he pleased.

"Little girl...where did you gather all of those magic circuits of varying origin, elemental alignment and quality?"

Jigmarie's inquiry was as tense as it was suspicious, Manaka merely smiling as the temperature of the room quickly began to drop in more ways than one as she explained, "The same way I obtained the various Phantasmal materials and such that comprise Nanashi's body. I traded, bartered and conquered within the Reverse, taking and gathering as I pleased. Many of its denizens had such resources on hand from humans they personally disposed of and kept as trophies or such."

"Not entirely a lie, but certainly not the truth. Hell, if we stop to think about it that was a mystery that never really got solved in the first place. My origins and the fact that I've got all these weird circuits and cannibalized bits of mystery are kinda vacant in terms of understanding. The Counter Force mentioned that I did something to erase my past or some other weird bit of scrubbing but nothing more than that…"

He mentally shrugged, leaving behind that train of thought without too much in the way of guilt. He was curious about his past, sure...but the present and future had plenty to keep him busy, that was for certain. And if he'd erased it then it wasn't like he was going to be able to find out about it in the first place, it was gone for good.

"Your experiment has indeed proved...interesting. And certainly worthy of merit when it comes to potential benefits that the Moonlit world may reap."

Just like that the meeting seemed to be over, El-Melloi being the one to stay behind as he announced, "Everything you've shown us will be taken into consideration and carefully weighed, as well as the payment you ask for in turn. Rest assured, your application and desire to be granted the title of Lord shall be...reviewed."

He strode after the rest as they left their chairs behind, Nanashi trying hard not to smirk as he noticed the collection of magi casting furtive glances at his still standing spire of ice, fire and bone.

"I'd like to think that I made them nervous. Which is a great feeling to have, I gotta say."

Manaka motioned for him to follow in her wake, Nanashi doing so without comment as the door attendant let them pass without so much as a cursory glance, the pair wordlessly navigating the labyrinthine depths of the Clocktower until they at last arrived in the dreary, wet streets of London.

Upon which the homunculus released a massive sigh of relief, even Manaka seeming to relax a fraction as the male complained, "Jesus, talk about a bunch of terse and aloof assholes. You think they treat all hopefuls like that or is it just us that got the short end of the fuckstick?"

"Language, N-"

"-anashi, yeah yeah I know...still pisses me off."

The blonde merely favored him with a sultry giggle, teasing, "Which made it all the more satisfying to truly showcase your talents, did it not~?"

"Oh hell yeah it did."

Both youths shared a hearty smirk, Manaka lacing her arm through Nanashi's while chirping, "What's done is done, all that remains is to see where the dice lands. In the meantime why do we not return home and inform our fellows of all that's transpired these past few hours?"

The homunculus paused, considering the words before quietly musing, "Home, huh?"

Finding that he was quickly coming to like the sound of that word he nodded, feeling fairly bold as he pulled Manaka just a bit closer, reveling in the way her slim body pressed against his.

Sure, it'd feel even nicer if she was naked but-

"Yeah alright, keep it under control, Nanashi."