CHAPTER 7:

TESTING TIMES

"So, Harry, allow me to introduce my adopted son, Vali Lucifer."

Harry had been taken down to a training room in the Grigori the next day (after swallowing some medicine Azazel had cooked up for him, at least), a vast, arena-like space. Raynare and Mittelt had gone to a viewing area nearby. But that wasn't the current object of his attention. That was taken up by the very person Azazel had just introduced him to.

Harry guessed that the young man was maybe his age, a little older or a little younger, it was hard to tell. Silvery hair was perhaps the only inhuman feature on Vali, framing a handsome face, hazel eyes peering at Harry critically but calmly. His clothes were vaguely punkish, but otherwise, he could have walked down the streets of London and the only thing people would have had their attention drawn to was his hair.

However, Vali simply nodded, and shook Harry's hand. "Harry Potter…I never thought I'd meet someone with as interesting a reputation as yours, at least from the wizards."

"You mean interesting in the cursed sense of the word?" Harry asked. "So…Lucifer, huh? I'm guessing there's a reason for that?"

Azazel cleared his throat pointedly. "Sirzechs Lucifer only has the title, not the bloodline. Vali, however, is a descendent of the original Devil known as Lucifer."

"Right…and you said he was also a Cambion, half-human, right?" Harry asked.

"I take pride in both sides of my bloodline," Vali said pointedly. "Do not misunderstand me, I utterly despise my father and grandfather, but the power and prestige of the Lucifer bloodline is very real, and something to take pride in. However…if it weren't for my mother, I would not have the power of a Sacred Gear, and a Longinus at that, at my command. Sacred Gears are exclusive to humans and those with their blood, a means to bridge the gap in power between humans and the supernatural." A wistful smile touched his lips. "And my mother…she also taught me what compassion is. Compassion may not be alien to Devils, but those who clung to the old ways, the original lines of Lucifer, Leviathan, Beelzebub and Asmodeus, their followers like the Lucifuges…they care for little but hedonism, cruelty, dominance and destruction. They are every bit as cruel as the Devils you know of from myth and legend."

"Charming," Harry remarked. "But why did you bring me down here, Azazel?"

"I'm going to see if you can control your powers to any degree yet," Azazel said. "And Vali was actually quite curious about you. Aside from hearing about the Boy Who Lived, his Sacred Gear is related to your new abilities."

Harry blinked in confusion, before Vali formed a gleaming, silvery-white gauntlet over his forearm. "I am the current White Dragon Emperor, the bearer of the Divine Dividing, which has the soul of Albion sealed within it. During the Battle of Hogwarts, Albion felt something, a presence not unlike his own, something that excited us both."

"Okay…so…why are you excited?"

"I live for battle. Don't misunderstand me, I try to avoid going around picking fights, unless it's with the truly strong, or my destined rival, the Red Dragon Emperor."

Azazel cleared his throat pointedly. When Vali shot him a glare, Azazel simply said, "Have you forgotten that incident with the poor sod with the Twice Critical?"

"That was a long time ago."

"It has been less than a week, Vali."

Vali scowled, before returning his gaze to Harry. "In any case, despite all that, the prospect of fighting a hybrid between Ddraig and Albion…well, I'll have to hold myself back. You're still getting used to your powers, after all."

Azazel chuckled. "Vali here…he's a bit of a battle nut. Rather like saying the ocean is a bit wet. Anyway, I brought you here so that, if you transform, it won't be a big deal. This training room is also in its own self-contained dimension, overlaid over reality, so if things do get out of hand, there's no real harm done. Similar magic is used to create the alternate dimension used for Ratings Games."

"Sorry, what?"

Vali rolled his eyes. "You know about Devils' Peerages, right? The servants they create through Evil Pieces?" On Harry's nod, Vali said, "Ratings Games are basically a form of battle between Peerages, used to gain prestige, settle disputes, whatever. If the Peerage fall unconscious or suffer a fatal blow, they're transported out before they can die."

"They televise them throughout the Underworld too," Azazel said. "One up-and-comer to watch is Sairaorg Bael. He was born without the Power of Destruction innate to the Bael family, but he basically trained himself to be stronger without it. Just as well too. While some of his family love him regardless, others sneer at him for lacking the Power of Destruction. Anyway, if you can't tap into the power you have without transforming, then be my guest. Just try not to be a berserker, okay?"

Harry nodded, though he had to admit to being worried. The first time he had transformed, it was in a berserk rage at Hogwarts. The second time it happened, it was after being chucked through the Veil, angry at the injustices inflicted on him, and it took him nearly two years to regain his intelligence.

But then, unbidden, something slid into his mind, an instinct. This is how to do this, it said. Just draw on this power this way.

And so he did.

He wasn't prepared for the sensation of metal climbing over his body, encasing it. No, he was expecting to turn into a Dragon again. Instead, he realised that armour was forming over him. Azazel and Vali were staring at him in surprise. "Uhh…okay, that just happened," Harry said, his voice sounding warped and flanging slightly. "Why did I just gain a suit of armour?"

Vali, after a moment, began laughing, not in mockery, but some sort of joyful surprise. Azazel, meanwhile, shook his head. "Of all the things to…I guess after centuries of studying the Heavenly Dragons and their Sacred Gears, they can still surprise me."

"What? What is this?"

"Users of the Boosted Gear and Divine Dividing can achieve a state called Balance Breaker, which is basically breaking the limits God put onto Sacred Gears," Azazel explained. "One of the abilities they gain is Scale Mail, basically armour. But I thought that was unique to the Sacred Gears themselves, not to the original Heavenly Dragons." Azazel shrugged. "Well, goes to show what I know. Seems like you have your own Scale Mail form. Vali?"

Vali smirked, before he was soon encased in a gleaming white armour, elegant and draconic, with a pair of glowing wings behind it. "As you can see, I have achieved my own Scale Mail form. So…let's see what you've got…"

"He's fucked. And not in the good way."

Sitting with Mittelt in the viewing box, Raynare nodded, acceding to her friend's blunt assessment. Impressive though the combination of Ddraig and Albion was on paper, in practise, Harry didn't have much combat experience with it, beyond devouring Stray Devils and slaughtering Death Eaters in a berserk rage. True, he had more actual combat experience with wizarding combat, but that was relatively weak compared to some of the magic the various pantheons could throw around.

Vali Lucifer, on the other hand, had been training in physical combat techniques, as well as what abilities the Divine Dividing, for years. Vali lived and breathed combat in a way that left even battle nuts like Dohnaseek for dead. She knew for a fact that that Nekomata Vali's little clique had recruited wanted to get into his pants, but Vali refused her advances. Not because he was gay or completely asexual. Sex was just a low priority to Vali.

However, a weakness of the Divine Dividing was that Vali needed to be in physical contact with his opponent to use the 'Divide' ability. So if Harry had any chance to win, it was through that. Though she doubted that would be the case. Of course, this was more of a spar, one intended to determine Harry's abilities. Winning or losing didn't truly factor into this, and she was sure even Vali knew this.

Lord Azazel gave the signal to begin, and Vali surged forward, notably more slowly than he normally would. He dodged around Harry's spell, fired from his hand, and then grabbed him and threw him to the floor. "DIVIDE!" roared the voice of Albion.

Harry, however, managed to clasp onto Vali's arm. "REAVE!" roared the two voices Raynare heard earlier. And now, Raynare recognised one of them. One of them had to be Albion's voice, which meant the other was Ddraig's. Interesting.

And Harry seemed to be revitalised, surging to his feet and trying to attack Vali, who caught the wild punch, before kicking him away. The fight continued for a short period, but eventually, Lord Azazel called out, "Okay, that's enough…"

"So, Vali, what are your thoughts?" Azazel asked, even as Harry and Vali's respective Scale Mail armour retracted.

The silver-haired Cambion frowned, crossing his arms. "In terms of combat ability…he's little better than a brawler, it's as simple as that. Good instincts, he can dodge and roll with a punch, but no technique. Magical ability's good for a wizard, though. And that Reave ability is an excellent counter to my own."

Harry winced at Vali's blunt assessment (as well as the bruises the Cambion left him with), but Azazel nodded. "Yeah. I was running scans the whole time, and that Reave ability seems to be a combination of the Boosted Gear and Divine Dividing's signature abilities. Like Divide, it halves the power of an opponent, and siphons that power away, to add to Harry's reserves. And like Boost, it increases that power. But when Reave was used, the siphoned power wasn't used to simply add to his reserves, but to multiply them. It's not a straightforward multiplication, but the amount of power he'd gain fighting a single opponent would be pretty drastic initially. Of course, your body has limits as to how much power it can absorb, and I'm not sure you can use the power reserves you already have. I certainly don't think you're used to fighting on the same level as someone like Vali yet."

"No shit, Sherlock," Harry snarked, rubbing his head. "And if that was you holding back, Vali, I'd hate to see what happens if you're being serious."

Vali chuckled. "Don't get me wrong, you acquitted yourself well for an amateur, and you're pretty good for a wizard your age. Even in that form, you could easily handle most Stray Devils, or even the weaker normal Devils. And keep in mind, even the more powerful Devils may not have trained in proper combat, at least the younger ones. But…I was holding back a lot. Still, I have to admit, your potential is pretty exciting."

"Keep your battle-boner inside your pants, Vali," Mittelt said, even as she and Raynare walked over. "I have to deal with Dohnaseek's bloodlust too often."

Vali scoffed. "And for that, you have my condolences, Mittelt. Though at least Dohnaseek and I know there's a time and a place."

Again, Azazel cleared his throat pointedly. "Twice. Critical…"

Not long afterwards, Vali parted ways with them, though Harry got the feeling that Vali wanted to fight him more. Oddly enough, there was no malice in that. It seemed friendly. True, he seemed a little arrogant, but honestly, it didn't rankle Harry the way many of the Purebloods like the Malfoys did. It was probably due to his assurance in his own power, that it was more confidence than arrogance. And he didn't taunt or demean Harry. His criticisms were blunt, but based on fact rather than prejudice. And he gave some encouragement.

"Vali yearns for a good and powerful rival to test himself against," Azazel said as they walked down the corridor, away from the arena. "He's a good kid, just…a bit too eager for battle. Still, he's a paragon of virtue compared to his father and grandfather. Then again, that ain't too hard. The Old Satan Faction mostly have the mindset of the Devils you know and hate from the Bible: they either want to dominate or destroy or defile. Now, if you stay with the Grigori, we'll try to get you some training. I think Vali's entourage might be able to help there. Bikou and Kuroka are expert martial artists, especially the former, and the latter might be able to help you use your magic in interesting ways."

"And if I don't stay with the Grigori?" Harry asked.

"Well, Lady Yasaka still remains a good recommendation from me," Azazel said. "There's sure to be some good martial artists amongst her people, and Luna can certainly put in a good word for you. I'm sure her word would mean more than mine. Anyway, the scans from the monitoring spells have given me some good results. Your body is definitely stabilising. It's responding to treatment far better than I had hoped for. That being said, unless your altered biology allows you to, I don't think you can keep up the Scale Mail for long. Normally bearers of those Sacred Gears can't sustain them for long unless they have reached a certain level of power. Then again, a hybridisation like yours is virtually unheard of. There have been dragon hybrids before, yes, but through conception, not through basically drowning in putrefying dragon matter. So we're writing new books about you."

"Joy," Harry said flatly.

"Hey, give it time, and you'll be kicking all sorts of arse," Mittelt said. "You've got the powers of two of the best-known Longinus-level Sacred Gears. That's god-killing tier right there."

"Do I look like I want the power to kill a god?" Harry snapped irritably.

Mittelt grimaced, before she admitted, "No. No, you don't. But Harry…in the supernatural world, a premium is placed on power. And humans are down the bottom of the ladder. Even those with Sacred Gears are expected to become footsoldiers of the various factions. If you don't want to be part of the Grigori, you need the power to ensure your independence. Right now, you could probably hand the rear of any lower-class Devil, particularly most Reincarnated Devils, to them on a silver platter. But the Devils with Peerages are High Class Devils, all with oodles of power. If they wanted to, they could forcibly conscript you into their Peerage. Don't get me wrong, most would probably just try to persuade you, but some are just arseholes who don't take no for an answer."

Azazel nodded solemnly. "Don't get me wrong, seeking power for its own sake, or to dominate and destroy…that's not remotely laudable. But to protect yourself and others…that's a whole other ballgame. Anyway, thanks for indulging my request, Harry. I got a lot of useful data, priceless data. And leaving aside my own research into Sacred Gears and the Heavenly Dragons, it'll help me ensure you're able to live a long and hopefully happy life."

Azazel meant well, but Harry somehow doubted what he said. Happy life? Given his track record, happiness was just another way of saying the universe was just preparing to crap on Harry from an even greater height. The only question was when, and how…

CHAPTER 7 ANNOTATIONS:

Oh, Harry, stop worrying so much. While it's good to have some pattern recognition, it's not like you don't have allies, right?

Okay, so, this is the end of the first lot of chapters. Don't worry, I've written 22 before posting this as a full fic, you've got more to read.

No numbered annotations this time.