Last of the Line
I do not own Highschool DxD or any of it's characters. I own only Vale Beleth.
Author's Note: Alright, 3 updates in 4 days. I'm on a roll, let's see if we can't keep it going.
Chapter 16- Nothing Lasts Forever
The afternoon after the attack on the school...
Rias sat by Vale's bedside. Her hands pressed against her knees as she anxiously waited for Vale to awaken. Vali had visited a few times in the past hours, but Azazel and Sirzechs were keeping him far too busy to tend to his King. Akeno had also visited several times, that is, until Rias dispatched her to help with the repairs to the school with the rest of her servants. At one point she had even pulled Asia in to heal Vale, but Asia had told her as far as she could tell, Vale was unharmed. A diagnosis that the head medical officer of the Devil's side had confirmed.
So, by all accounts Vale was unharmed. Yet, even after 28 hours had passed since the attack on the Academy, the Beleth heir was still unconscious. Needless to say, Rias was quite worried. The worst part was, there was nothing in her power she could do to help. She hadn't felt this powerless since her engagement to Riser. Rias was startled from her thoughts by the sound of Evangeline's high heels on the tile floor as she entered the school infirmary.
"You should really get some sleep, young one. Vale's recuperation will not be helped by your depriving yourself of sleep. I know my son, trust me, he's going to be fine. Vale's a tough, young monster." Evangeline said as she walked to the other side of Vale's bed.
"You must not care for him much as your son, if you call him a monster." Rias said in a hard tone, as she looked up to glare at the vampire. She was in no mood to put on her normal, elegant attitude and play the good little representative.
"You're wrong. I care for Vale more than I've ever cared for anyone in my long life. But... Vale is indeed a monster. You saw his little display last night, he is in quite the unique position. As the last of the Beleth clan possessing the Abyss Physique power, he has the might of the entire Beleth clan potentially at his disposal. Every Beleth clan member ever born, he has their powers at his disposal, plus all of his own. Which, along with his Drain Zero ability, give him the potential to be more powerful than any being in the history of the world. I have no doubt in fact, that he will become one of the 10 Strongest Beings in the World. If he can master that power that is, as of yet, it is currently under control of the original King Beleth. It's very similar to the Juggernaut Drive of the Longinuses."
"Then that means, using it will use up his life force, won't it?" Rias asked, obviously shocked by this news. She didn't know much of Sacred Gears, but even she knew of the power of the Juggernaut Drive.
"It would, if he wasn't technically a Vampire and a daywalker at that." Evangeline said with a knowing smile.
"What are you talking about? He's a pureblood Devil, isn't he?" Rias asked as she questioningly glanced at Evangeline.
"Yes, in all the important ways. But, just before he left. He challenged a very old and powerful Vampire, even more so than I, to a battle. As he was on the verge of death, he awakened the true power of the Abyss Physique, he then launched a counter attack on his opponent. The battle raged for hours, he greatly wounded the ancient Vampire, at the cost of depleting his life until he would most likely only live to the age of 50. At that point, he had pretty much forced my hand. So, I transfused a large quantity of my blood into him. From that point on he could never age or die. Though I doubt he knows it. You could behead him and he would be alive and conscious. Though he won't regenerate, his body will only regenerate a lost limb when it is completely and utterly destroyed. Though technically it is as if he has only used Drain Zero on the ability. For him to truly change his base make-up, the material must be taken into the lowest levels of his internal Abyss and left there to grow until it is rooted so deep in his being until he can never remove it." Evangeline lectured in an attempt to preempt any further questions.
"How do you know all this? I've done extensive research on his powers and I've never gotten anywhere." Rias asked, obviously a tad awestruck at the Vampire's vast knowledge.
"Who do you think taught him how to use it? I did extensive research on the Abyss Physique a few hundred years ago when I created my Magia Erebea technique." Evangeline asked with a smirk.
"Though, you said he left 4 years ago, back at the incident at the pool. There's no way he looked like this four years ago, he would've only been 13 or 14." Rias replied disbelievingly.
"The year I spent training him was actually about twenty-four years inside a little resort of mine where each hour lasts an entire day. He's actually closer to thirty-five chronologically, though his mind didn't age as fast as his body, sort of a reverse Urashima Taro bit. Though his aging was halted a few months in, so he's forever frozen in the prime of his life. A kinder punishment than the one my creator inflicted on me..." he said wistfully as she trailed a finger down her sleeping son's cheek as her mind drifted back to the day before...
Before Katarea, Creusery, or Shalba could react to the creature in front of them, it disappeared in a blur. Shalba had no time to react as the creature appeared in front of him as it slashed one of its fearsome claws toward his face.
The Beelzebub heir barely got his armored arms up in time to block the attack. The swing collided with his armored forearms, shattering the armor and sending him plummeting into the ground with a BOOM! sending dirt and debris flying in all directions. Creusery and Katarea both wasted no time in summoning dozens upon dozens of magical circles and pelting the creature with every spell they could think of. Dozens of fireballs, ice spears, lightning bolts, dark orbs, air blades, water spouts, and every manner of magical projectile pelted the creature. The magical onslaught continued for a full thirty seconds, devastating the surrounding land and architecture. After spell after empowered spell continued to assault the creature and the gymnasium behind it. Explosion after ear-shattering explosion rocked the area as brick, plaster, and meta flew from the sides of the building, the larger chunks embedding themselves in the nearby ground.
When the smoked cleared and the explosions stopped Katarea, Shalba, and Creusery heard an unfamiliar sound from within the devastation. It was a deep, gravelly laugh. Finally they saw the creature floating within, totally unharmed. The Satan descendants stood there in awe as waves of demonic aura poured off the creature. It was like nothing any of them had ever felt before, like thousands of auras mixed together in a single creature. It was at a concentration easily several times denser than the auras of the original Satans...
"Pathetic. Oh, how the Satan's houses have fallen. Now you have to stoop so low as to pollute your auras with the power of a dragon. Your ancestors must be so ashamed of you. I remember that Leviathan was particularly prejudiced against dragons. Do not worry, I will fix that. I shall wipe your stains from the pedigree of your houses."
"What are you talking about? There's no way you could know any of this? Vale, you are 18 years old do not pretend you know anything of our houses you whelp." Shalba said as he pulled himself out of the dirt, clutching a broken arm.
"You are mistaken Katarea. Vale is simply my latest heir. I am Beor Beleth, first head of the noble house of Beleth, creator of the Abyss Physique power. Now, sit back as I remove your stains from our history. I'm afraid I have no time to humor you, as Vale will soon be out of power and stamina. Thunder in Heaven, Great Vigor II!" The creature said as it converted it's body to lightning and dashed toward the Satan heirs.
Katarea had no time to react as she felt the wicked claws pierce her abdomen. They ripped through her stomach and removed Ophis' snake from it before the massive tail swiped her into the gymnasium. This thoroughly rattled Creusery and Shalba as they began to summon magic circles in a vain attempt to protect themselves, to no avail.
They were much too slow though, Beor/Vale's mind was literally working at the speed of lightning as one of his arms stretched and lengthened before piercing Creusery's stomach and ripping out his snake. Before he could react to the hole in his stomach a swarm of tiny claws composed of the Power of Destruction proceeded to swarm through out Creusery's chest cavity, removing every single one of his organs in a mad scramble of movement. Less than a second later, a second arm sprouted out of his elbow and whipped toward Shalba, gouging out a large portion of his abdomen, including his snake, before retracting back into his elbow once more.
Now, Vale had never thought of the Beelzebub heir as particularly smart. But, after seeing both of his allies killed in under a minute. He felt it would be largely beneficial for him to retreat and recuperate. So, he wasted no time in summoning a transport magic circle and retreating back to his base for now. Though, one thing was sure, he would have his revenge...
"Eat up, Erasmus." Beor/Vale said as he activated his Drain Zero and siphoned the aura from the snakes and fed it to the Dragon residing inside him. In response, he felt it and it's aura grow larger within him. It grew until he could swear the aura rivaled that of Albion and Ddraig. Beor realized, thanks to Vale's memories along with countless others from their clan at his disposal, so he knew a fair bit about Vale's Abyssal Gear and Sacred Gears as well. He knew that Abyssal Draining would grow in power, until it probably rivaled that of the Boosted Gear and Divine Dividing thanks to the influx of dragon aura to Erasmus, who was usually thoroughly drained after the use of the Balance-Breaker. One thing was certain, things were gonna get very interesting. Beor smiled once more before releasing control of the body and letting it fall to the ground as he retreated to his normal place in the deepest reaches of Vale's mind(s).
Sirzechs, Ajuka, Serafall, Serafall, Rias, and Evangeline watched on from a nearby rooftop as Vale fell once more to the ground.
"Well, that was impressive. It seems you were right, he is indeed quite a bit more powerful than the original Satans." Sirzechs said as he watched on with interest.
"I'd say he's only a few steps weaker than you are in terms of pure power. Though, he still has yet to realize his full potential so anything could happen." Ajuka said casually.
"One thing is certain, he'll go far that one."Sirzechs said with a smile...
Evangeline was startled from her reminiscing by Rias, as she spoke up saying,
"I... I apologize for my comment earlier. I was wrong, you obviously care very deeply about him. It was wrong of me to judge your relationship without all the facts." Rias said apologetically as she glanced down at her lap.
"It's quite alright, I would not be where I am today if I couldn't take a little criticism. Though, speaking of caring, am I wrong in assuming that you too care deeply for Vale?" The Maga Nosferatu said to the Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess as she turned to look at her. Rias blushed at the unexpected question before apprehensively replying,
"I must admit I do feel very strongly about him. Though recently things have been... different between us lately. Akeno, my Queen has been making advances on him... and he has not been the most unreceptive to them. I... may have reacted badly to it. I know it sounds selfish, but I do hope he chooses to marry me one day. I know he originally became engaged to me to spare me from having to marry another man; but is it so wrong that I wish he did it because he cared for me not simply because he felt obligated to repay a debt he felt he owed me." Evangeline was silent for a long while before she replied,
"Is it wrong? No. Is it selfish? Incredibly so." Evangeline replied unsympathetically. Rias gasped in surprise, obviously shocked by the Vampire's scathing retort. Rias opened her mouth to reply, but no words came to her.
"However, love is, in itself a selfish emotion. Let me ask you one question. Have you ever openly stated your feelings for Vale directly to him?" Rias sat in silence for a long while as she mulled over everything that had happened between her and Vale since the engagement party. Sure, she had dropped plenty of hints... But come to think of it, she had never told Vale that she wanted to be with him exclusively. This, along with her spoiling Issei. Could have been misconstrued that she wasn't interested in him...
"No, I haven't." Rias said quietly as she stared at the floor and began to sulk. Evangeline sighed exasperatedly as she pressed a hand to her forehead.
"I swear Vale, sometimes you are just as big of a dunce as that muscle-headed freak, Jack. Rias, Vale is a bit of a dumbass when it comes to women. That being said, if you can be straightforward and honest with him, I think you two would be very happy together." Evangeline said to Rias.
"Wh-what are you talking about?" Rias said dumbly, her brain not quite grasping what Evangeline was getting at.
"Vale's life, heritage, and upbringing leave him in a unique situation. He always been sort of a bad boy prince. Yes, he's a bit of a renegade wanderer who does things on his own. But he's also extremely loyal and noble when it comes to friends and people he cares about. He's the ideal man for most women of this era. While he acts like he doesn't care about anything, but you personally have seen that he will do anything that he needs to when someone he cares for is in trouble. As long as you're are totally transparent about your intentions with him, he'll do whatever it takes to make you happy as long as you two are together. I've seen this side of him time and again, and the only reason his relationships ever fail is because his partner isn't willing to wait for him. Because, while he is quite the princely boyfriend, he still has to provide for himself, something to do with his stupid pride as a man or something."
"Why are you telling me this Evangeline-sama?"
"Who knows? Maybe I'm getting senile in my old age. Well, I'll see you both later." Evangeline said with a flip of her hair, as she turned and strode from the room. Rias was too tired to ponder what the Vampire had been getting at as she laid her arms down on Vale's bed and decided to get some shuteye...
Vale woke up an hour later and after deciding to put the whole blackout out of his mind as he located his uniform in the next bed and dressed himself before wandering back over to his bed to see Rias still asleep on it.
"Hey, wake up sleepyhead." Vale said as he gently shook Rias awake.
"Mmm... oh, hey. So how are you feeling?" Rias asked sleepily as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes with the back of her hand.
"I'm fine. So how are things?" he asked, he was a little out of the loop.
"We've managed to repair most of the damage and Azazel had all the human's memories wiped. You're mom came to check up on you a while ago."
"Ah yes, did she tell you the story of Alucard and her giving me her blood? Effectively making me immortal." he asked casually as he began to stretch in place.
"Yeah... how did you know that?" Rias asked, obviously stupefied that Vale knew his mother had made him immortal.
"Rias, I shove spell after spell into my body daily. I experiment with growing devices inside my body just as frequently. You don't think I notice when I stopped aging and I couldn't die from blood loss? I've done some tests and it looks like it isn't hereditary."
But... in the fight against Riser?" She asked, bewildered.
"The immortality doesn't work to well on burns. Takes a few weeks on them, I needed a bit of a kick start. Fire, holy objects, and light are the only things that do lasting damage to me. But boy do they hurt!" he exclaimed as he finished stretching.
"Oh, well I'm glad you're alright... Hey can we talk?" Rias asked as she stood up.
"Aren't we doing that?" Vale asked as he flipped his phone open and began to check his messages.
"I mean... can we talk about us?" she asked bashfully. Vale stopped dead in the middle of checking his messages.
"Rias, I would love to have that conversation. But not now, let's do it after the summit is over. That way we'll be under less pressure. Sound good?" Vale asked as he pocketed his phone and turned to look at her. Rias nodded in response.
"Alright, now I'm gonna go give my report on the whole Kokabiel deal and then we'll talk tomorrow. See ya later." He said as he wrapped Rias in a hug.
"Alright, see you around." Rias said as she returned his hug before releasing him. Vale turned and strode out the door, planning to track down Azazel and give his report. Afterward, he went to the student council room to meet Serafall Leviathan who had left him a text expressing interest in his Rook Mil-tan. Not an unforeseen side effect, considering their first encounter had been the biggest fan-girling occurrence Creation had ever seen. They spent about an hour discussing terms before Vale had agreed to a trade for Serafall's remaining Rook Mutation Piece and a picture with the Satan in her Levia-tan outfit before deciding to head home. A few seconds after he left, Rias got a text message. She flipped open her phone, seeing it was from Vale. It read,
Hey, I like your face. 3
Rias giggled slightly at the message before pocketing it once more.
Vale found Azazel and delivered his report without incident before heading home to say goodby to his mother before she left, now that class observation had passed she'd probably head back to England soon after.
He was on his way back to the schoolhouse when he was stopped by Issei,
"Hey Vale-senpai, did you ask Michael to let Asia and Xenovia pray without taking holy damage?" Issei asked breathlessly, he had damn-near sprinted to catch up to the third year.
"Why would you ask that?"
"Because when I asked Michael if he could, he said another party who wished to remain anonymous had already made the same request." Issei explained as he began to catch his breath.
"Well, even if I did do that, why do you care?" Issei looked taken aback at the question as he began to nervously scratch the back of his head.
"Well... I just wanna say thanks if you did. It means a whole bunch to Asia and Xenovia."
"Issei, I do what I do for the reasons that I do it. I don't need your approval or your thanks. You just worry about Issei and I'll worry about making sure Vale feel properly thanked. I'll see you around." Vale said as he made for the schoolhouse, he hadn't asked Michael to do that, but he knew who did.
Vale arrived at the schoolhouse and headed to his mother's room when he was distracted by the sight of his bedroom door being slightly ajar. He never left it ajar...
He slowly pushed it open with a slight creaking until he saw a large castle inside an enormous glass bottle with a cork in the end sitting on a large white stand. The castle sat on small sandy beach within the bottle. On the outside of the bottle, the was a note:
Dearest Vale,
These last few years serving as your mother have been the best of my long life. But, I find myself becoming lost... with each passing day I feel lonelier. This is in no way your fault. This is the pain of an immortal who has lived too long with no one but her dolls to keep her company, so I have set out to find others like myself. Others who were meant to pass from this world long ago, but by a cruel twist of fate are forever chained to this earth. I need to find people who can understand my pain.
I have left for distant shores to find these people. Please do not attempt to find me. For where I go, you cannot follow. This is the last communication we shall have for a very long time. I regret I cannot be there in person, but I do not trust my heart to maintain my fortitude in front of you. You are a devil and a vampire, you will live forever like myself. So take comfort in this fact, we will see each other again one day. I know not when that day will come, but rest assured it will come. I leave you my resort so that you may hone your skills until we meet once again. If at that point, you cannot defeat me under your own power, I will be sorely disappointed.
Until then, live your life as one of your kind would. Assemble your peerage, rise in status, make a name your children will be proud of. Meet someone who makes you happy, get married, have some kids. I do hope to be a grandmother one day after all...
But above all Vale, I want you to know that I will always love you and be proud to call you my son.
Love, Your Mother,
Evangeline Athanasia Katherine McDowell
P.S. That girl Rias Gremory seems to care very deeply for you and you for her. Vale, take it from me, don't let love pass you by. Seize it, kiss it, and never let it go.
Vale stood there, uncomprehending for what seemed like years. At some point, he leaned against the wall and let himself fall to the floor. He sat there until Rias wandered in there several hours later.
"Wow, what is this? Some sort of self-contained castle? Did your mom give you this?" Vale didn't respond as Rias turned to face him. What she saw concerned her deeply, all light had gone from his eyes. He looked hollow, like his soul had been scooped out.
"Are you okay?" she asked worriedly as she kneeled down in front of him to get a better look. He simply handed her the note without a word. Rias took the note from his head and read it to herself. Vale saw realization dawn on her as she continued to read the note.
"Vale... Im so sorry... Do you need anything?" Rias asked as she handed the note back to him. He took it back as he uttered one word...
"Vali." he croaked simply. Rias nodded and left to go find the White Dragon Emperor. A few minutes later Vali entered the room by himself,
"Hey man, you wanted to see me?" he asked quizzically as he entered the room, ignoring the castle in the bottle for now. Vale wordlessly handed him the note. Vali read it silently before taking a seat next to his friend and comrade.
"Ah man, that sucks." he said with a sigh as he handed the note back to Vale. And so they sat. They said nothing, they didn't need to. Vali knew that Vale was just trying to process how the most important person in his life had essentially just died, leaving behind nothing more than a little piece of paper to explain her absence. Finally, after several hours of silence Vali asked,
"You pissed?" he asked as if asking if Vale liked Sony or Microsoft game consoles better.
"FUCK YEAH I'M PISSED!" Vale roared as he launched himself to his feet.
"What's our next move?" Vali asked as he pushed himself to his feet.
"Grab Kanda and meet me back here in an hour." Vale said as he began to rifle through his closet.
"Will do." Vali said as he left to go grab Vale's Knight.
When Rias awoke the next morning all trace of Vale was gone from the clubhouse. Rias spent the better part of an hour looking for him, before discovering a note on her bedroom door.
My Darling Princess Rias,
I shall return.
Sincerely,
Vale Beleth
Author's Note: Alrighty guys, here it is. I hope you enjoy it. It might be a few weeks before I update, or it might only be a few days. I don't know, we'll see. I'd really appreciate any reviews you guys care to drop. Obviously I'm gonna jack up the Rating to allow for the increased vulgarity. This is the 19th Angel, signing off...