*/-\* Lunch 3/12/12 */-\*
Alaveize swirled his wine in his cup. Sirzechs responded by swirling his wine as well.
Alaveize sipped. Sirzechs sipped.
Alaveize cut his steak. Sirzechs followed.
And so it continued for another 5 minutes that Alaveize took an action and Sirzechs mirrored it. Alaveize didn't mind though, as he took the time to gently comb through Sirzechs's memories. There were some interesting battles in there, but the real interesting part was Sirzechs training with his power. It would help him to build a curriculum for Rias, so the information was useful for something beyond knowing how Devils traditionally develop techniques. But eventually he finished his steak, which meant it was finally time for business.
"Enough. State your purpose Sirzechs. You've done enough stalling." There was no room left- Sirzechs would either say his peace or leave. He already knew what Sirzechs was here for, and while he had to deal with this conversation, he did not have to enjoy it.
Sirzechs sighed, 'Of course he would negotiate in such a blunt way' "You plan to allow my sister to be your wielder. I just need to know why." He grinned cheekily. "For her safety, I'm sure you understand."
The planeswalker smiled a soft, genuine smile- shocking Sirzechs- "She reminds me of myself when I was young. She has the potential- and the drive to exploit that potential. There is no better choice." It was better to give the Satan the illusion of choice than to reveal more of his power.
The crimson Satan shakes his head, "Of course it's a reason like that. Now I have no choice but to give you my permission to have her for until she starts her 3rd year of high school. Have her at Kuoh Academy in Kuoh, Japan on April 4th, 2015 please. She will meet up with whatever peerage she manages to collect in the meantime then."
"That will be her decision, but I will encourage her to do so as a favor to you."
Sirzechs stands up and begins to walk away. He doesn't want Alaveize to see his face right now. "I appreciate it, you know. Rias deserves a lot more that she's gotten so far. Hopefully your influence can make her shine."
Just before Sirzechs leaves the room, he hears it. "She'll surpass you, you know. With my influence on her potential she's going to leave you in the dust."
'Heh… I can't wait.'
*/-\* Dinner 3/12/12 */-\*
Serafall entered the lab only to see a wraith with a jeweler's loupe carving symbols into a rod. She waited on the sinfully comfortable couch in the living area of the lab, quite nervous. She hadn't approached the terrifying Planeswalker since he had pillaged her mind for information the day he had arrived in their plane of existence. 'For some reason, I can never gather the focus to tell anyone about that mind reading… It's probably no big deal…' But the idea of a new staff- as she had heard from Ajuka that was what he was making- was too juicy for her to resist. A strict upgrade on what she was using now would be welcome. All she had to do was make peace with its creator.
After no more than 5 minutes, the wraith returned to the tall and handsome form everyone had gotten used to. But shirtless and sweaty and covered in weird looking scars. 'Oh shit he's really hot,' Serafall thought, her sin of lust rearing its head. She tried to shut it down immediately to moderate success.
"Serafall, it is good to see you here. I had been wondering if you would show up after I pillaged your mind so roughly".
Now that shocked her to the core- his extraction was extremely smooth to her. She didn't even want to resist at the time, and it was completely painless. "Roughly?"
"Well you noticed it was happening. That is rough by my standard." Alaveize smirked.
Now that terrified her. If it was true, then he'd probably ripped everything he wanted from everyone at dinner that first night. State secrets, personal issues, likes, dislikes, past misdeeds, everything. There were no secrets to a man like that, she realized. She nearly started hyperventilating with the implications of what this outsider knows when she felt the man in question poke her forehead.
"Of course I know everything. I just don't care. I've collapsed entire planes of existence. Nothing you have ever done could compare to devastation on that level."
The soft way he spoke reassured her somewhat, and decided to focus elsewhere… Like his abs… Or maybe the 'collapsing planes of existence thing. That's probably relevant…
Alaveize frowned, 'this could be a long conversation… at least there's dinner' "Come, Serafall, there's food for this conversation in the next room."
*/-\* Noonish, 3/13/12 */-\*
Alaveize gazed into the depths of his diamond glass sphere, 'So you will be my new home. I suppose this is better than I could have hoped'. He held the still blisteringly hot sphere in his bare hand- it was about the size of a small cantaloupe- as he affixed it to the end of the scepter he had built. Five Etherium gilded darksteel claws held the sphere in place. The Etherium immediately connected to it and forged the necessary connection between the parts.
All of the moxen were concealed by the darksteel base, and thousands upon thousands of tiny runes were inscribed in etherium script. Beyond that, once that was made permanent, the entire 5-foot scepter was coated completely in etherium. He of course made the scepter just thin enough that one could use it with one hand- if they have large hands. It's imperative to be able to keep one hand open to make rude gestures and cast subtle spells after all.
The final product was impressive- he would have to test the true durability, so he sent a psychic message to Ajuka- 'I am heading outside to do some tests on the final product. You may come watch if you wish. Feel free to bring any of the contestants. I will be in a clearing north of the laboratory' and made his way out into the rocky terrain.
Walking in a straight line, he used the scepter as a bludgeon on boulders in his way- to his satisfaction, the scepter was undamaged and even with the low effort he exerted, the boulders had been reduced to nothing but rubble.
When he arrived at a clearing of suitable size- nearly 200 feet in radius- he closed his eyes and did even more assessment of the scepter. Clearly, he had designed it properly as there was already a mana network created by the etherium all throughout the creation and the sheer mana potential of the materials. It was almost similar to a full body etherium replacement that they do on Esper. It was perfect for ensuring life after death. Now he just had to stress test the durability.
At the appearance of the Satans, minus Falbium, plus Zeoticus saw him snapping his eyes open. "Thank you, for all of your hospitality. I'm afraid my time is coming to a close as the Scepter is complete. I only require your help testing it in order to feel comfortable 'moving in'."
Ajuka smiled, "Ah, so that is why you want everyone here. I'm sure that we'd all be happy to help with whatever you-"
"Does it have a name?!" Serafall interrupted in her excitement.
"But of course. It shall be 'Alaveize the Tyrant Scepter'. Once I live in it, anyways. Right now it's just 'The Tyrant's Scepter'." The artificer in question smiled. "Now, testing time." He let the scepter fall from his hand and walked over to where the Satans were gathered. As per its design, instead of falling like a normal object, the scepter floated gently about a foot off the ground and stayed in place.
"Testing what?" Sirzechs asked, eager to begin. Rias had confided in him two nights ago that she would be running away with the scepter, with Alaveize's approval of course. And after meeting with Alaveize, he couldn't make any argument against it. He was disappointed he wouldn't be able to augment his personal power but loved his sister too much to be upset. He just needed to make sure that she wouldn't be in any danger, so he was here to ensure everything went smoothly.
"First we test durability. All I need is for everyone to throw destructive techniques at the staff until they run out of things to try".
Two hours later, the landscape was completely ruined, but the scepter remained floating, completely undamaged.
The devils gathered were completely exhausted, and in total awe of the construct. They had literally thrown everything they had at the thing and they still couldn't affect it.
"Perfect." Alaveize summoned the scepter to his hand. "Now we test functionality. Zeoticus, if you will?"
The elder devil nodded, despite his exhaustion and gingerly accepted the scepter in his hand. Suddenly, all fatigue washed away, and he felt completely energized. Overflowing even, like he was connected to a powerful leyline. "This is…" He tried to find the words to describe the power flowing through him. He never wanted to let go of the sensation.
"Incredible?" Alaveize chuckled, "The raw mana potential of that thing is enough to reenergize someone of your level a billion times over. Of course, if it were unregulated you would explode instantly. Why don't you try casting?"
Zeoticus nodded, and cast a relatively tame fire spell, channeling through the spell through the scepter. A searing beam of flame that melted a hole through every rock formation for 500 meters was not his expectation. "That was… more than I expected…" He says in awe- so struck is he that he can't even react to Serafall grabbing the scepter from him.
"Why you! I wasn't done with the tests! Give it back!"
The childish Satan turned up her nose, already completely reinvigorated by the power of the scepter. "No, it's my turn! What will we test next?"
The scepter teleported back to Alaveize's hand, "The return feature. I made this thing with few features in its base form, as it is meant to house my soul. My own will shall provide the rest."
"But what will those features be?"
Alaveize smiled mysteriously, "That is for my wielder to know, and all others to find out. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to finish a couple trinkets from some leftover materials." With that, he tapped the scepter on the ground, and disappeared without a trace.
"Well," Sirzechs drawls, "that was… interesting. And mildly disconcerting how durable that thing is. Not even the Power of Destruction could dent it. I can't even imagine how devastating it would be to channel it through the scepter."
Everyone shivered at the implications of such a combination. Sirzechs paled as he realized that it wouldn't take long for Rias to figure it out, even discounting Alaveize's tutelage. 'I probably have to warn the other faction leaders about such a development once it became public knowledge among devils that Rias was in the overworld, now that I think about it…'
After a weighty silence, Zeoticus pondered aloud, "I wonder what kind of trinkets?"
*/-\* Back in the Lab */-\*
Alaveize tossed the handful of diamond spheres- each barely the size of a gumball- in his hand as he lounged on a couch while he waited for Rias and Akeno so that he could depart. He mused as to why he even made the spheres in the first place. Such a dense battery could keep the average high-class devil fighting at full strength for 2 days at least if it had a full charge. Not that he had ever tested that number, but if Rias's reserves were to be used as a metric, he was correct. 'I made 7, all that I could with the material left. I wonder how she will distribute them among her servants… Especially as she can have up to 15 of them. Hopefully she won't screw it up…'
Thankfully, the two girls arrived quickly. Rias was dressed for the weather in the human world- Combat boots, jeans, and a light sweatshirt. She was also rolling a large suitcase behind her. Akeno, on the other hand, was in her traditional Shrine Maiden outfit, and not carrying anything at all.
Akeno bowed deeply, "I'm ready to be tested, Master Alaveize."
He waved his hand lazily, "No need for formalities, I'll be an inanimate object in no time at all." He turned and walked toward the part of the lab he would use to assess her. This would be a test not just of her skill, but also of her resolve and dedication to her Master.
The girls followed him as he descended a ramp to the dungeons of Ajuka's castle. "Where are we going Alaveize? These dungeons haven't been used since the Devil Civil War…" Akeno asked nervously.
Unlike every other time he had been asked so far, he didn't answer. This divergence from the norm was so startling that they bumped into Alaveize when he stopped and dispelled an illusion, revealing an assortment of 5 people- one middle aged man, one middle aged woman, and 3 children, 2 girls and 1 boy, around their age- clad in the outfits of shrine caretakers unconscious and chained to a wall about 50 feet away. "We are here."
He turned around to confusion in Rias's eyes and tears in Akeno's. "You… you brought my favorite family members here… You can't mean?"
Alaveize nodded, "You will prove that you can use blightning by using it on them. If you can use such a hateful technique on those you love, it will be easy to use in any other circumstance." He smiled viciously, "Now get to it, starting with Koga, then moving left all the way to Motome."
Akeno walked stiffly to over to where her family- 'former family' she corrected herself- was chained. Once she had crossed some threshold, they immediately woke.
"Akeno? What are you doing here? Where are we?" Her aunt Naka spoke frantically.
It was all Akeno could do not to burst into tears on the spot, but she did begin to leak even more tears. "I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry for what I'm about to do." She said softly just loud enough for her family to hear. She had read about what blightning did to its victims. If they didn't die here, they would definitely be broken for life if she cast it properly.
"Why this?" Rias asked angrily, "You don't have to make her do this to test her!"
"You're welcome, Rias. This shall ensure that your servant will only ever look to the future. Her loyalty to you will be absolute." He patted her shoulder, then offered her the diamond spheres, "I suggest you offer her one of these."
"You can't offer someone a trinket and have them forget about how you pushed them to a spot like this!" Rias threw her hands up.
Alaveize laughed, "We can discuss your scruples as we travel. For now, let's watch the show."
Akeno released her wings- one of black feather and the other sinewy and black- so that she could say something without having to talk. She knew that if she had to talk to her family- the ones loved and cared for her- then she would cry. More. She breathed deeply, trying to drown out her Koga and Naka's questions with her meditation.
Not even a minute later, blightning manifested, crackling over her skin, lashing out at the air around her. Just like when Alaveize had summoned it, it produced a fear inducing aura, though hers wasn't nearly as oppressive. It was enough to make her family stop asking questions and start begging.
"Please! You don't have to do this, you can still return to the light! I'll do whatever I possibly can to help you!" Koga sobbed. The children were less resilient to such an aura, so they were frozen. Naka just sobbed and kept muttering prayers through her tears.
Akeno raised up her hand, the black lightning roiling up her arm, gathering in her palm. She was scared. She had never seen the effects for herself. But as much as she was scared, she was excited to see what would happen. With a simple gesture, the blightning lanced over to Koga. The second it touched him, he let out a primal scream of agony. She watched, fascinated as it coursed through his body and dealt its damage. In 5 seconds, blood started to leak from every orifice on his face. After 10, he bit his tongue off- trying to kill himself rather than endure blightning any longer. He was unsuccessful as when he stopped screaming, Akeno upped the intensity slightly and a new scream was ripped from his throat, sending his tongue flying across the room. She looked toward the projectile and sighed- then sent enough to kill him instantly.
She raised her hand and looked at it dispassionately. 'Huh,' she thought, 'It really does smother your emotions when you use it. All you need is the will to get it started.' She looked at the remaining prisoners- cowering and smelling of piss. 'I guess they couldn't handle the fear,' she thought with a smirk.
Rias watched, aghast, as her [Queen] went down the row, casting blightning on each. She knew that Alaveize had said Blightning dulls the 'pesky emotions' of its caster, but this was next level. Akeno looked like she was casting on Fallen Angels, not the family that she had loved before she was driven away by the hostile leadership of her clan. "That technique… it truly is monstrous. To make the user so cold, isn't it dangerous?"
"Not at all," Alaveize explained, "Aside from some dependency issues in rare cases, blightning is quite safe… For the caster. She'll probably have some problems this time though, after seeing what she did to those people." Seeing that Akeno was finishing up with the last one, he said, "Akeno, make sure not to disable blightning quite yet."
She walked over to her [King] and Alaveize, blightning still arcing between her wings, "What is it? Have I not done enough already?" she spits, obviously somewhat bitter over the ordeal.
"You've done marvelously. I'm happy to have found a successor to this technique, so I will reward you with a book of more versatile lightning techniques." Alaveize smiled broadly and removed a large tome from seemingly nowhere. "Now, listen to your [King]."
"Akeno, I…"
"No need Rias, we already said our goodbyes before coming here. Just in case of something like this…"
"I know… I just, want you to have one of these." She presented her [Queen] with one of the diamond spheres. "For my peace of mind and as a reward for dealing with well…" she waved her hand, "This."
Akeno took the sphere with reverence, "I appreciate it Rias. I won't forget to text you." She turned her head to Alaveize, "Thank you, you absolute bastard." With that, she let go of the blightning, and immediately collapsed from exhaustion, both physical and mental.
Alaveize tapped his scepter, and Akeno started floating. "Come. The time has come for me to leave this flesh prison." He started walking back toward the lab, and Rias followed, along with Akeno floating behind. They walked in silence save for the clacking of Rias's suitcase wheels rolling over the grooves in the stone brick floors.
"So…" Rias nervously tried to start a conversation a few minutes into the walk, "What's will I learn first? Some kind of powerful attack? A new kind of magic? How about-"
"No" Alaveize interjected. "Your first priority is mastery of your isolation zone. It is imperative that you are able to escape from even the direst of circumstance. As Sirzechs's sister, and my wielder, you will be a high-profile target." Seeing Rias's despondent look, he kept talking, "Though, I will also teach you a rather oppressive area of effect technique."
Her face brightened at that, knowing that Riser already had 11 peerage pieces. 'A sufficiently powerful AoE technique should even the odds' she thought. "What do you mean by oppressive? Don't you mean powerful?"
"Yes and no. This technique isn't some kind of one-and-done attack. This is a continuous effect that will make it impossible for beings below a certain power threshold to even exist near it." Alaveize explained, but not fully. He would leave that for training.
The pair arrived in a completely abandoned part of the underground infrastructure- specifically a room where Alaveize had set up a ritual. He slowly lowered Akeno to the ground outside of the ritual room. "You will be responsible for putting her in a place where she can be found before we leave."
"Very well."
With that Alaveize started stripping and Rias started blushing. "Keep the cloak. You'll grow into it, and it should still have plenty of surprises for you. You can burn the rest. Its unimportant." Alaveize noticed her embarrassment and tried to defuse it.
"Thank you?" With that, Alaveize walked into the center of the ritual circle, only holding his scepter. His crowning jewel of his life experience. His home, for the rest of eternity.
And then he began the chant. Not in any known language, but it was a haunting, sorrowful melody that reverberated in the underground cavern. The diamond atop the scepter began glowing a bright white, and Alaveize's physical body started dissolving, starting with his feet. The blood of the ritual circle began glowing- charged with the arcane energy of the ritual. As the dust of his still dissolving body began to scatter in all directions as the air itself was pushed down by the pressure of the energy of the ritual. With only the energy remaining, it was absorbed quickly by the diamond.
With only his floating head remaining, Alaveize made eye contact with Rias, closed his mouth, and nodded. The melody continued. Inside of 5 seconds his essence was completely absorbed by the scepter.
For a couple minutes, there was silence. Just a dressed down noble devil starting at a floating scepter. Suddenly, a voice impacted her mind:
"Prepare yourself!'
And in an instant, the scepter was in her hand that she'd instinctively put in front of her. In the next, she nearly exploded with power, and she tried to draw on his power. Just the tiniest bit, and she could barely contain it.
"You have a long way to go. Now expel the excess energy as a beam. Shoot from your off hand."
Rias followed his orders, and started feeling better, even as the charged-up Power of Destruction gouged a hole in the dungeon floor. A deep hole.
"You are far from able to harness my power. In its base form, that would render this item useless to you. Thankfully for you, I'm here to regulate the flow so you don't explode."
"Thank you, Alaveize," she spoke solemnly, "I will do my best to exercise caution with such power." She picked up his cloak and folded it neatly and putting it in her suitcase.
"Now let's take Akeno. I want to try something." Feeling a sense of agreement in her mind, he continued, "Now hold onto her, and picture the place where you want to leave her." When he saw a decadent bedroom in his wielder's mind's eye, he prepared to planeshift, "Now, just a tiny bit of power given no direction into the scepter."
Then they disappeared. Untraceable, undetectable, unrestricted.
AN: Hello friends, here's chapter 3, freshly revised. I hope you enjoyed . If you're wondering why Serafall is having so much trouble, Alaveize's initial dig into her mind gave him a pretty easy backdoor back in and a significantly easier time influencing her. Of course, I will answer most questions I receive.
In scheduling news, I had a pretty bad couple of weeks, so I'm only about 65% done with Chapter 4. Hopefully I can get done with chapter 5 by the time I release 4.