THE NEXT BATCH IS HERE EVERYONE! Up until Chapter 15, chapters will be posted weekly, every Monday or Sunday depending on my schedule. No reviews are going to be answered in this chapter.
Jaune never felt so peaceful in his whole life. He could feel the cold air of the evening washing over his body as he lay there, sleeping. Although not awake, he was not dreaming either, but sitting in an endless void that stretched all around him. He could feel his body outside and in the surrounding area. He could hear faint voices and the ruffling of leaves. He didn't know what was happening, but he didn't panic. He felt … calm. He felt peaceful. He felt free. Like a giant rock that was chained to him had the chains broken and he could finally sprout wings to fly away.
"I never knew simply accepting and letting everything out could feel like this … " He muttered, his voice echoing all around him.
It truly felt like a dream and a nightmare at the same time. If anyone would ask, going to Hell sounds like something that'd give him PTSD from all the stuff he had to do and what he saw down there, but it seems he had a stronger mind than he thought. A stronger will. And with that will alone, he became free. Granted, this was far from his original plan, but in the end, the results were greater and worse than what he wanted.
Sure, he would've been living with his family lying about a job and saying he gave up on being a Huntsman - A Hero! But he would've still been with them. Despite what his father did, strangely, he still loved them. Well, his father might be the exception now to that. Lucifer and Ignium both warned Jaune of this hate, but he never thought he'd go as far as to try and strike his own father down. He just never imagined him being able to do something like that to draw so much anger from him. To hurt him so much. Yet he did, and the betrayal he committed to Jaune was enough to make him snap.
He never knew what he was doing, his vision mostly becoming blurred as he took Crocea Mors in hand and felt the aura slash charge up. If not for Beel … He dares not to think what might have happened otherwise. He is glad he was stopped in time. His family must be a mess right now, with even Saphron and Coral being put up to speed on the events. He can just imagine them getting the first Bullhead back to make sure it is not just some sick joke.
Jaune wished he could just go there and tell them it is not, but he won't. Returning there would mean giving up, and he won't do it. "Please forgive me, Saph, Coral, Sapphire, Jade, Alice, Lapis, Silvia - I guess your brother hurt you all greatly by leaving. But I promise you, I will come back. To you too, Mother. I promise, one day, your little bunny will come back home, a man. But to father? I only promise to show him how wrong he was."
He clenched his fist tightly as he spoke and then he slowly saw the void around him start to lighten up, rays of white and gold sipping through. He heard whispers coming through as well, strange ones, but he ignored them. However, one of them caught his attention.
"That's my boy … "
Jaune turned around to see who it was, having recognized the voice. But he couldn't believe it. "G-Grandpa?"
Jaune slowly awoke, feeling his head being supported by something soft. Eyes blinking as they adjusted to the light, he found himself looking up. It didn't take long to figure out what was going on or what was so comfortable; Modeus currently had his head on her lap.
"Did you sleep well, Jaune?" She asked, the size of her breasts stopped him from seeing the bottom half of her face from where he was but as her head tilted forward to look down at him he saw enough. Instead of her usual lustful attitude, her eyes held a slight worry to them. "When you returned to us, you were in a very bad emotional state."
Jaune sighed, not even having the energy to be flustered about waking up with his head in a girl's lap. Instead, he slowly got up.
"I am fine now, Modeus. Thank you." He said, keeping his voice low. "I just … Needed a nap and … I guess I really needed some support."
"You don't have to be shy, you know?" Modeus said, patting her thighs, causing her chest to bounce. "You can use my lap as a pillow any time you want, I would even allow you to use my chest."
"And there's the Modeus I know and love," Jaune smiled softly. Modeus blushed crimson, with the hearts around her head spinning wildly. Weren't those hair clips? How were they moving, magic? Questions for later.
"L-love?! Isn't that the thing strongly associated with romance? What kind of degenerate thoughts are you having?!" She shrieked, hiding her face behind her palms. Jaune chuckled seeing her act like that, glad that she didn't seem too affected by what happened. Yet, his smile faded.
He looked around. He had slept at the base of a tree, yes, but now, something was … odd. He was in a forest, but he didn't recognize it. It felt different. Alien, almost. "Where are we, Modeus?"
"Ah, so you noticed." The demoness said, watching him rise and follow suit, dusting off her skirt. "After you passed out, Beelzebub asked Baphomet to cast a sleeping spell on you, then we just moved everything."
"Moved? Modeus, where are we? These are not the woods around Ansel - I don't recognize them in the least!" He asked again, growing more urgent.
"The Island of Patch."
"Patch?! Modeus, you girls brought me all the way to Patch?!" Contrary to what people might believe, Jaune took geography in school, so he knows very well WHERE Patch is. Ansel was located in Anima, yet, Patch was NOWHERE near Anima! One could argue it was on the other side of the planet!
Patch Island was a colony belonging to the Kingdom … Of Vale … Where Beacon Academy was as well.
"Beacon … Is so close." He said slowly in realization. "But why bring me all the way here?"
"We decided it was best. Staying so close to your family after such an experience was bound to cause issues sooner or later, so we looked for another place we could settle. We decided on Patch." She replied. "I am sorry that we did this without consulting you first, but at the time, you were not really in a good condition."
"I- No. No … You're right, I wasn't." He sighed. "How long was I out?"
"3 days."
"Half a week … Figures." Inhaling deeply, Jaune continued with his questions. "Where are the others?"
"Most likely doing the final touches to the house. Building it was a bit dangerous, hence why we mostly kept you here."
"House … And WHERE is this house?" He asked, to which Modeus gestured for him to follow. He didn't have his bag with him, meaning they likely took it to said house already. Walking through the forest with Modeus, Jaune looked around at the wildlife. Everything was almost the same as the forests around Ansel, but different at the same time. There was more moisture in the air for one, but considering islands were surrounded by water that made sense.
He wondered how far from other settlements they were as well. From what he learned, Patch had low Grimm activity, making it a nice place to raise a family, like Ansel was. Similar to his home village, it had a small Huntsmen population to keep it safe. However, that didn't count the Huntsmen who wanted a quiet place to retire.
He and Modeus walked for a fair bit, around 10 minutes in terms of distance. However, he soon began to see something from between the trees. As he grew closer, his eyes not only widened, but his jaw dropped too. "Modeus … What am I looking at?"
"That is the house we will all be living in from now on."
"Modeus … " Jaune inhaled deeply. "That is not a house … THAT IS A GODDAMN MANSION!"
He threw his arms in the direction of the mansion before him. From the outside, it looked incredible with walls made of solid, sturdy oak with the base having a concrete wall - part of the foundation - that was decorated in pebbles, offering a nice contrast to the wooden building. Jaune could only see one chimney on it that looked connected to the living room, to what he assumed was a fireplace like in his old house. It had three floors in total with several arches between floors and the roof was made of what Jaune could assume was some kind of tiles that was slightly darker than the color of the wood.
He could slightly see a large fence behind the house as well, but most of it was covered by the huge building in front of him. The girls built this within the week-worth of time he was passed out?!
"I mean, we are a lot of people, so a normal house wouldn't really do." Modeus pointed out. "Let's go inside. Beelzebub and Judgement already took your things in, and I was told to lead you in after you woke up."
"Ok … ?" Jaune answered as he slowly walked behind Modeus, leading him to the front of the house and a rich redwood double door. It was larger than a normal door but not to a crazy degree, being quite fitting for it in terms of size and design with the rest of the house. Modeus turned one of the handles, allowing them inside, only for Jaune's jaw to drop once again. As soon as he entered he noticed that the door led into a small hallway with a large staircase at the end, which as it went up split into two directions to the second floor. Both the hallway and stairs were covered in a red carpet. The hallway had a big opening before the stairs, however, which led to the living room.
True enough, there was a chimney at the other end of the living room, just as Jaune assumed, but what he didn't see coming was the fucking flat-screen TV in there! Seeing the 120-inch screen took away most of his breath. The rest of the living room was mostly decorated with a large sofa that could fit what Jaune counted to be five people in it and two leather chairs like the one his father had, sitting on the side with a decently sized, brown, wooden coffee table in the middle. The floor was not covered in carpets, for the most part, there only being a black one under the coffee table. The walls didn't have any paint on them either, keeping the natural color of the wood, except maybe for some wood treatment as he noticed the shade being somewhat darker than usual.
"This is the living room," Modeus said, then she pointed at the door to the other side of the hallway, making Jaune turn his head. "Come this way, we will go to the kitchen next."
Safe to say Jaune was stunned again. His mother would've certainly loved this kitchen. It was a big kitchen, almost as big as you'd find in a restaurant, with white tiles decorating the floor and the walls, the ceiling being untouched. A large table sat in the center, easily able to fit two dozen people at it. He wondered why they made it so big, but he guessed they thought of possible guests. The kitchen had not one, but two stoves running on electricity, which Jaune wondered where they were getting it from. A dishwasher, two sinks, and multiple closets were suspended above, and some drawers were placed below where ingredients and kitchen appliances were placed respectively. Not to mention the two expensive-looking coffee machines.
But what grabbed his eyes was the big, walk-in fridge they got. It had a big, iron door with a piece of glass allowing people to look into it and a thermometer with two buttons to control the temperature. It looked stocked from what Jaune could see, being already full of all manner of foods. Curiously, he also checked the rest of the kitchen, finding it to be fully stocked. Especially on eggs, flour, a lot, and I mean, A LOT of sugar, and chocolate. He saw Lucifer's hand here.
"Beelzebub actually used her magic to bring food from different places here. She mostly used magic to travel quickly to other kingdoms then teleport stuff back and letting Malina and Monica sort them out." She explained, and then she turned to another section. "Come on, there is still one more place to show you on the first floor."
Jaune followed her, and she led him to the other end of the kitchen where a door resided. Opening it, he saw another one at the end of the revealed hallway which connected to the living room. They were behind the stairs now, and Jaune noticed two things, or to be more precise, two doors. One was a sliding, glass door that led to what he assumed was the backyard whilst the other one was a more average-looking one, probably leading down to the basement.
Modeus walked forward. "This is the secondary hallway, it leads to the backyard. We had Judgement clear out some trees for it, and she encountered the 'Grimm' as you call them. They were no match for her. We will go over the yard and other floors before moving on to the other rooms on the first floor."
"Glad to hear … " Jaune replied, then he followed Modeus outside into the backyard. And once again, he ended up shouting. "WE HAVE A POOL!"
He ran down the few steps he had to cross and went to the edge of the body of water. It was a large, simple pool situated in the center of the yard with a ladder going into the water. Jaune could see it had different sections for different levels of depth, but something else caught his eye.
"Yo, blondie! You are awake!" Zdrada's voice made him turn around, only for his eyes to bulge. "I was certain we would've needed to drag you inside. Well, looks like I was proven wrong again."
Zdrada was currently in her swimsuit which consisted of a black two-piece bikini and a leather jacket that was left open, with red details on the right breast and jacket. "Enjoying the view?"
"Oh, he is," Modeus confirmed and put a hand on Jaune's shoulder, the boy jumping a bit. "He really ENJOYS the sight."
Jaune looked anywhere other than the girls and tried to step away.
"Relax, I will not tell her anything of what you were thinking." She put on a sultry smile. "But I certainly need to get my own swimsuit out soon."
"I, Uhm, well-" Jaune tried to find his words, but he was honestly too embarrassed. Zdrada simply laughed seeing him, taking a cigar from her pocket.
"Relax, blondie," Zdrada said, snapping her fingers to ignite the cigar in her hand, drawing in a deep inhale before letting it out. "If I were shy then I wouldn't have joined this Harem idea. Hope you realize what a true harem is like. You better try to see more, or at least not look away, regarding seeing skin. Believe me, you will end up seeing a LOT of it later."
Jaune gulped at the demon's words, then he looked around to try and change the subject, noticing a smaller building in the back of the yard. He pointed at it and the girls turned to look. "What is that?"
"Oh, that is Cerberus' doghouse," Modeus answered. "Due to who she is, we decided not to have her live in the house, plus the fact she wants to be close to the yard at all times, so we decided to build her room outside as a separate building."
"I see … " Jaune looked around some more, having successfully changed the subject back to the house tour. He noticed that there was a section of the yard where he felt a call. He was a man after all, and all men do barbeques! He saw a large, professional-grade grill with a round roof extending from the house and, judging from the shape made to catch the smoke, it also had a small hole in it for the smoke to travel out of. Luckily, said roofing was high enough so he wouldn't be suffocated by the smoke while he cooked.
He looked around it, seeing a large wooden table, slightly smaller than the one inside the house, with a wooden roof built over it for when the harem decided to enjoy a nice barbeque outside. The yard was pretty large overall, with a large tree finishing the details of it. It was just a big old tree, nothing special to it.
"I am going to enjoy cooking out here … " Jaune muttered, unaware of the material he had given Modeus.
"And I am sure to enjoy being cooked by you … " She muttered back.
"What?" Jaune said, turning to Modeus.
"What?" Modeus replied.
"Tch. You continue his tour, Modeus, I am going to get some sun." Zdrada said as she walked past them, going to the edge of the pool where two chairs were situated, allowing her to sit down and smoke in peace.
"She is right, let's go," Modeus said, leading Jaune back inside, through the living room, and up the stairs. As he went up, he noticed that the house had several lights spread around made to look like old lamps, which he found fancy, and that the ceiling was pretty basic. Going up the stairs to the second floor, Jaune noticed that both sides of the split ended in the same area, obviously, and that there was a large hallway going in both the right and left direction, each having several rooms on them. "On the left are Monica's, Beelzebub's, Lucifer's, Justice's, and Judgement's rooms while on the right are mine, Zdrada's, Malina's, Baphomet's, and Azazel's rooms with four other rooms for any possible guests with two beds each. Each of our rooms is, well, decorated by us as we see fit."
"Cool, so where is my room?" Jaune asked.
"On the third floor. That is where Beelzebub decided to make the best parts of the house as well and where some gifts from her to you are, all for freeing her from the Abyss. But we will get to that in a bit." She answered, then she led him back down the stairs, through the living room, towards another door leading to a hallway with two doors on either side. "This is where the library, which is on the left, and Monica's office, on the right. Monica said she needed one in order to have a quiet place where she can work in peace, so we offered her one. It is soundproof. Most of the rooms are, except for a few."
At that moment, one of the doors opened, allowing the mentioned demoness to step out of the office.
"Oh, Jaune, good to see you are awake. How are you feeling?" She asked, a hint of worry in her voice.
"I'm better now, thank you for asking, Monica," Jaune said, making the tired demon smile slightly. "I am currently being given a tour of this … mansion."
He still didn't believe he was going to be living here from now on.
"Glad you like it. We didn't think much about it when we arrived, but once we did and we each put our minds and powers together, it was finished rather quickly. Moving it here wasn't hard either." She stood a little straighter. "Anyway, I hope you didn't forget the promises you made, right? You have to get me that coffee."
"You do not need to worry about the books anymore, the library has a section for romantic novels," Modeus said, blushing a bit. "Let's go upstairs."
She quickly moved, leading Jaune, this time, to the third floor. The stairs that connected the first floor to the second one ended on the second floor, so the design changed for the third. There were two separate stairs at the end of the hallways which lead up to his room … Now Jaune was asking what good deed he had done to deserve such things. Or, what demon he pleased.
Jaune's room had the walls painted in a light blue color, a black straight-line cutting through the middle of the walls around him. The room had to be at least four times the size of his old one. In the center stood a large bed with two white pillows on it with a black blanket with the Arc symbol on it. Nice personalization. Looking to the wall right in front of the bed he saw a large flat-screen TV with a small set of drawers that had an open space where a game console rested. He assumed the controllers were inside the drawers.
To the right side of his bed, he saw a desk with a professional gaming PC setup. There was a chair as well, designed for the experience ready in front. To the left, he saw a closet which is where he will likely put his clothes, his bed also has two bed stands with one drawer each and lamps on them. Between the TV and bed, there was still some space which was occupied by a few foam chairs and a small coffee table. Likely where he will sit to play video games. Honestly, this was the dream room for any guy! He walked in deeper, Modeus sitting idly on the side.
However, when he looked past the desk, he saw another piece of heaven. A mini-fridge for drinks! And of course, a small, private library that contained books on various subjects. Jaune looked over them, recognizing that this was a way for Beel to encourage him further. They were all books about fighting techniques and Aura usage, as well as Dust-related ones. She had stocked up nicely on them, but he also saw some that offered more advice regarding a healthy diet and a good training regime. However that wasn't all, three very familiar books were on the shelf at chest height at one end.
Jaune reached out and ran his fingers over his grandfather's journals. "These are … "
"Yes." Modeus nodded her head. "We weren't sure where to build the house a second time so Beel had a look inside. Your grandfather seemed to write highly of Patch, what little there was about it."
Jaune remembered that he remembered most of the journals with how many times he read them. His grandfather had stopped in Patch on his travels but due to the low Grimm population only stayed for a day. There wasn't half a page about the island, however, how quiet and nice he thought it was came through in his words.
"Luckily it wasn't hard to find, good thing we had those books. Beel saw you put them in your bag." She pointed to a different shelf. "She also saw you forgot those, so nabbed them after you finished packing but before she came and warned us about what happened."
His eyes moved to the shelf seeing it was full of comic books. He supposed that mixed things up a bit in the library and he appreciated the thought. He smiled softly.
"This is … " He began, sitting down on his new bed. "I have no words to describe how grateful I am for all this."
"Well, there are actions you can take to-"
And just in time, the cavalry arrived to put a stop to Modeus' lewdness. Judgement quickly moved beside her and hit her over the head.
"Not the time, Modeus, not the time!" She said, scolding the lust demon.
"Hell!" Malina shouted, running to Jaune's console, then to his PC, then at him, and shouted. "You have top-of-the-game equipment here! You lucky bastard!"
"Now, now, do not be mean to my slave, Malina," Lucifer said. "After all, he has been through enough already with his family."
"How are you enjoying the room, darling?" Beel asked.
Lucifer gave her a look. "Darling?"
"It's amazing, Beel! Thank you. Thanks to all of you!" Jaune said, half-shouting as he got up and extended his arms. "Come here!"
"Hey, what do you think you are doing-" Malina didn't have time to protest as she was drawn into the group hug. Modeus rushed in first arms wide, one of them catching Malina and taking her along, looking to press her body against him to feel him up. And to get a reaction out of him as well in the process with her own body. The sour demon decided to not argue and simply hugged back with a blush appearing on her face. Slowly, everyone else joined as well, making this one big, warm hug between the boy and the demon girls, and the angel girl.
"This is all so amazing!" Azazel chimed in. "This showing of group affection is just the icing on the cake. I have been in the library until now, and I must say Beelzebub's ability to acquire items is second to none! The information I got from the books was very useful indeed! Jaune, thank you for letting me be your guardian angel because otherwise, I wouldn't be here now enjoying so many wonderful books!"
"I will be there as well, Azazel, trying to understand this romance stuff. It sounds so kinky." Modeus replied.
"By the way, Jaune … " Lucifer said. "I hope you have not forgotten your promises."
Jaune only smiled wide. "Of course not! An Arc never breaks his promises! Tonight we will be celebrating our new life! And what better way to do it if not with a pancake party? And before you ask Monica, we will have plenty of coffee!"
"That is all I needed to know," Pandemonica said.
At the mansion, everyone was inside the kitchen, waiting and watching the pancakes being made. When Jaune said 'seven sisters' to justify his skill at pancakes, his vagueness was hiding greatness. He was masterfully handling two pans at once, swirling the sweet treats in the air and catching them easily as well. When one was done he'd simply slide them onto the plate, grab the oil to apply it to the pan, then add more pancake batter in. Lucifer was also there, having expected to need to help him to make the pancakes, even getting herself a black apron, which on the front of, said 'Satan'.
But color her surprised when she saw Jaune handle the pans, making a full plate of pancakes in less than five minutes tops. His skill was ungodly, as Lucifer would put it. It honestly surprised most of the girls there. Beel had filled them in on his desire when he was asleep, so if he became this good because he had to cook for his sisters, then if they put the same amount of time into training then Lucifer knew he was going to become a force to be reckoned with. And she will be taking the credit for creating this monster.
The coffee machine dinged, making Jaune put the pans down and grab the coffee for Monica. "How should it be?"
"Black," Monica said, watching Jaune prepare her coffee swiftly and without mistake. He put the steaming cup before her, then returned to making the pancakes. Monica took the coffee in her hand, looking at it with a smile before she drank the liquid. Immediately, Jaune felt a shiver down his spine as he then slowly looked back, seeing Monica's whole expression change. Her horns grew out a bit, and her smile was large and downright sadistic.
"Hmm. This is good, Jaune, very good." She said, her eyes slowly going from her mug to him. "You kept your word, and you do make some good coffee so that I won't punish you. But do not breathe too easily, because you never know when I might snap a finger or two."
The boy was not aware of this side of her at all. He looked at Lucifer hoping for answers. "Lucifer? What is up with Monica?"
"Oh, nothing," Lucifer replied. "This is her when she has had her coffee and can be her true, sadistic self. Honestly, when she is not punished by being in Hell's Customer service with no coffee she usually handles the harsher punishments, like those down in the 9th circle."
"I see … " Jaune shook a bit, very nervous. But then he smelled a small trace of smoke. "Shit!"
He returned to the pancakes, having slightly burned the side of one. He set it aside for himself, knowing the girls wouldn't want a burnt pancake.
A few minutes later, they were all at the table, having pancakes and drinks and music echoing all around the house. Being this far into the woods meant they didn't need to worry about neighbors.
Jaune however, remembered something. "The Grimm! They might get attracted to the sound!"
"Oh, them?" Beelzebub chimed in. "I made sure to put a strong enchantment to keep them away from our house and create a safe path to the local village and back. There will be no trace of Grimm in a good distance from here."
"Oh … In that case, dig in everyone!" Jaune said, allowing everyone to resume the party. Lucifer was blissfully waiting for her pancakes, smiling largely each time she took a bite. Her tail swung behind her. Modeus was mostly reading a book on the side while eating a pancake with one hand, and Jaune tried not to glance at her because each time he did she did some very … suggestive actions with the pancake. Only one Cerberus was eating, but all of them seemed to enjoy the taste just as much, letting out satisfied moans into the air as they took bites out of the sweet treat before them.
Malina was having her pancakes with a side of Vodka, silently enjoying them while her sister, not allowed to smoke inside the house, was shouting with Judgement while eating their pancakes. Azazel was furiously scribbling down in her notebook, seeing the fun unfold. She would take bites of her own pancakes as well as she did so, and lastly, Monica was eating them with a small smile with some coffee to the side, occasionally giving Jaune a wicked smile. Justice was enjoying hers as well, having joined the loud trio in masking even more noise, much to Malina's chagrin. Baphomet was enjoying hers in a more dignified manner, having even brought out a knife and fork, despite everyone else using their hands for the most part.
Jaune couldn't believe it if it was not happening right now, but he fulfilled his contract with Beel and was heading towards being a great Hero, one that will prove his father wrong. Speaking of the fly, she sat next to him, enjoying a much larger plate of pancakes than the others.
"You sure picked a lively bunch for your Harem, Jaune." She said
"Yeah. Although I didn't expect you or Lucifer in it if I am to be honest. Having the literal devil in my harem is odd enough but her being so … " He looked at Lucifer, who was still in her apron and enjoying her pancakes like a giddy child. "Adorable."
"It looks like you've already started to like us." Beel giggled, making him slightly blush. "It's alright, darling, no need to be shy. Besides, heroes cannot be shy. However, I must ask something."
"Yes?"
"The journal you brought back … " She said, pulling the book from her coat. "I saw the name and I must say this is quite something. Long ago, I actually saw that very ancestor in action."
"You did?" Jaune asked, looking at Beel as she handed him the journal.
"Yes. Long ago, when I was still in Hell." She sighed. "He was the first Arc I ever met, and battled against. I was summoned to kill him, but things took a turn for the unexpected. I know what Origin can do, Jaune. Your ancestor's name was Artorigus, and when we fought, he used a hefty collection of Semblances against me. He actually managed to stand up to a demon, a Cardinal, no less."
"Woah … Was he that powerful?"
"Indeed. Meaning you have a long road ahead of yourself if you wish to catch up to him. Also, duck."
"Duck?" He asked before Beel put a hand on his shoulder and forced him down. A fork flew over him and got stuck in the wall. "Oh, my God!"
"Malina, watch out where you are throwing stuff! You almost hit Jaune!" Lucifer shouted.
"I missed!"
The evening soon settled upon the demonic household with many of the girls going to bed. The only ones that didn't hit the hay yet were Beel and Lucifer who were currently in Jaune's room with him. The three of them sitting on the edge of his bed, Artorigus's journal in his hands. They wanted to know more about this as Jaune did, so both decided to be here when opening and reading the journal.
He took a deep breath, calming his nerves. "Here goes nothing."
And so he opened the journal to the first entry, reading the neat handwriting in it. "My name is Artorigus Kronos Arc, and on this day I am to receive Origin from my father. I would be an awful liar if I said I am not nervous even a bit. My original Semblance, Flash Strike, served me well. Being able to generate a quick flash of light from my blade to blind my opponent whilst also engaging them with increased speed for one swift strike was certainly something I won't stop using, even after I receive Origin. It was a long road, proving myself over my brother, but I pulled through. Tonight everyone shall feast and weep. Even I … But it is the process."
"Origin takes a part of someone's soul to allow you to use their semblance, even if it is a weaker variant. It can also give them to others, but we, the Arcs, know better. Semblances are as much of a gift as they are weapons, even their existence. My father gave his best general two extra, simple semblances. Too many semblances in one body can destroy someone; body and soul. Only with extreme discipline and training can one with origin hold more and more, and my father, with his years of using it, has gathered such a library of Semblances, that he himself told me he lost track of many long ago. But those without Origin? It depends, but no one can, and those are rare cases, that handle more than three. Usually, they tap out at two, and sometimes they cannot receive an extra semblance at all. My father, once he gives me Origin, will die. Like his father before him and his father before him, Origin shall leave them and let the power they accumulated give them a final rest."
Jaune flipped the page.
"I sometimes wonder why my family doesn't dump the semblances to live, but I know the reason already; honor. We Arcs take the Semblances of captured enemies before execution and those given to us by servants, friends, or family members. By dying with them we make sure they reunite with that fragment we take in the afterlife—strange custom. Either way, my time has come. Next, I write in here, I will be the owner of Origin."
Jaune flipped the page again.
"Seeing my father perish hurt me greatly, but we both knew this would happen. I now have Origin, and I already took my first semblance. I am writing this a week after the ceremony, and I have acquired my first semblance. The person I took it from is one of my mistresses, while we were enjoying ourselves in carnal pleasures. She wanted me to have it so I took it. Her semblance allowed her to greatly heat her own body, to the point she caught ablaze. Strangely, it also made her immune to fire. I tested it and found myself able to heat up as well, but not to the degree she had and only being resistant to the fire instead of immune. What my father told me seems to be true; what I take is but a fragment and shadow of its actual self. It is still useful to some degree nonetheless, but I need to be smart about it. My wife knows about my mistresses, but she knows it is how the Arc house works. Granted, I had to promise I wouldn't seed any bastard children with them and only her. They were merely there to help sate my lust when it arose. Nothing more."
Jaune frowned at this, but he kept reading. "I must say that having more semblances is … unique. I will have to test what I can do with it, and see what is possible and what is not based on my father's teachings. Hopefully, I can find some more uses for Origin."
Jaune flipped the page. "I cannot believe it! I do not believe it! I am writing this entry three months since my last session, and in those months things have gone from good to bad to worse! The first thing is Origin; I found out mixing semblances is possible, and I don't mean using multiple at once. I took two semblances that seemed compatible and fused them, one being able to allow the user to nullify Dust whilst the other absorbed Dust to replenish their Aura and Stamina with side effects depending on the kind absorbed. Some are good, others bad. The result was the ability to take away and assimilate the properties of Dust for a certain amount of time depending on the Dust amount affected. It left the Dust useless afterward, which I recognized as both semblances ruined it. I made sure to keep this hybrid"
"Mixing semblances?" Jaune mused, looking at his hand. Leon's semblance mixed with his, but in the journal, Artorigus also mentioned something similar. Leon couldn't have known about Origin, seeing as how the knowledge seemed to have faded. But Jaune was curious; what happened further? It mentioned that things degraded.
"However, the enemies are seeking to attack the Arc territory. A crusade to take over Sanus, but like hell I'd let them! I still have my allies in the North, in Solitas. Seraphine Schnee, the current matriarch of the Schnee house and sole ruler after her husband died is a close, old friend. I will ask for her aid in this battle! However, Winchester is no weak foe. I need to ready my forces … And I need to ready myself."
"Schnee? I heard of them while I was out to get the food for the house." Beel said. "They are the most wealthy and powerful family in Remnant when it comes to Dust-related affairs. To think their bloodline is connected to the Arc family. Amazing."
"I never heard of such events before," Jaune said, reading the journal before him. "However, back in Hell, I never bothered to ask any of the ancestors I met there. Then again, this seems old … Very old."
"And the fact no one seems to know might mean this piece of history was either forgotten … " Lucifer began.
"Or erased on purpose." Beel finished, bringing a chill to everyone. The Arc Family seemed to not be strangers to hiding their less-than-pleasant deals, but Jaune was almost certain no one was erased from the family tree. Heck, he checked earlier too, before coming here. Xenter, Verda, and so on - they are all still in the family tree, but there was no Artorigus Kronos Arc.
"What could have happened to lead to this? Lucifer? Beel? Did he end up in Hell?"
"He should have." Lucifer began. "For killing other human beings as well as Faunus. Back then the Faunus were still hiding in the wilds, so the body count regarding them was low. He died a warmonger, plain and simple, yet his soul did not arrive to me. I know of his deal with Ignium, yes, but even his father ended up in Purgatory. Somehow, his soul was DESTROYED!"
"Is such a thing possible?" Jaune asked, turning to Lucifer. "I thought souls were eternal."
"Yes, they are," Beelzebub answered. "But there are ways to destroy a soul. What we demons do is corrupt them or torture them for their sins, nothing more, nothing less."
"Still, it doesn't answer why he was cast aside from the family tree," Jaune said, and then slowly, they all returned to reading.
"I am writing this next section one month after the last session. I am currently in my office, working on readying my territories for the unavoidable war with the Winchester family. Seraphine is coming here, in Sanus, and she is bringing her armies with her. Granted, the fighting will be bloody. The Arcs have held on to the heart of Sanus for generations while the Winchester family resided in the east. We have been the guardians of the West since. However, I'd be a liar if I said I didn't see this coming. This is the way it always has been; the moment a territory showed a sign of weakness, the wolves came out to prey on them. My father put me in charge, the change of rulership, was a moment of it. They wanted to make sure I did not get to develop the proper experience to become a threat to them trying to take me out early. Fools. Currently, I am standing at seven semblances, including my own, original one."
"Seraphine will arrive before the next winter, and the Winchesters will not be ready until, if what my scouts said was true, the middle of the summer. Seraphine did say she had some demands if I desired her aid, but no sacrifice is too big in this case. I know her, she is a good friend, and I trust her. Thi-~~~" Suddenly, there appeared to be a line at the end of the sentence, as if Artorigus' hand was pushed. The writing resumed lower on the page in a new paragraph.
"This war is a war I CANNOT lose!" This was spelled here at the end, to which the session ended. Jaune flipped the page, finding another entry. This was very intriguing to the demon girls and a completely new view of Jaune's family history. The Arc family lived in Anima for generations, though, so why are they in Sanus in the continent of today's kingdoms of Vacuo and Vale? Could it be that his family migrated? Why? From what it sounds, they had some land there and Artorigus was not one to give up easily.
"I am writing this segment not long after the last break. Seraphine arrived and we did some negotiations. My brother assisted me and, and I do not know how I missed this, proposed a marriage between him and Seraphine to cement relations. I do agree this would mean that relationships between the Arcs and the Schnees would be like steel, but at the same time, I got a strange feeling about all of this. Still, I doubt his current wife will mind the divorce, since my father arranged their marriage they haven't been happy about it. Secondly, regarding her requests, she asked me, with Origin, to improve on her semblance! She even came with certain servants who volunteered to have their semblances taken by me and mixed into their ruler. She is planning something, I know it. Regardless, there is nothing I can do. I am between a rock and a hard place here, and I'd rather try my luck with the hard place than with the rock. Both her requests, the marriage, and semblance, shall be granted. To anyone reading this, I also want to explain the line from before; my wife came to me whilst I was writing … I am going to be a father."
"Wow," Jaune said.
"No wonder his hand slipped. His wife just gave him the scare of a lifetime!" Lucifer said, grinning. "Looks like a lot has been going on in his life at this point, and he was barely a year into his rule as well. They sure didn't lose time back then."
The next entry looked a bit rushed regarding the writing. "I did it, but I might have doomed us as well. Seraphine got her hybrid semblance, just as I promised, but I do not know what she was thinking! Her original semblance, which is solid glyphs she can create on the ground, in the air, and pretty much all around her can provide defense and offer versatility. It is also hereditary as well. A unique element I never saw before. But she asked me for more and I delivered. I added three new semblances into that mix, having her original one be the core. I mixed them all within my own being, making the total of semblances put into that hybrid four! She passed out the moment I let it flow into her body and now her troops are suspicious. If she doesn't wake up, then the Winchesters are the least of my worries."
Jaune flipped the page. "One week after she passed out she recovered - Thank the Heavens. She is in top shape and her semblance is working perfectly! Truly a miracle brought upon by her talent and my capabilities. The wedding is in two days as well. Everything is going smoothly. If this works out, then the Winchester family won't know what hit them!"
The paragraph broke, leading to another one. "It has been a while since I wrote in this journal. Five years went by with I and Seraphine fighting Herald Winchester. My wife gave birth to not one, but two sons. Twins. I only saw them once when I ran back to be there for the birth, and I have not seen them since. I miss them dearly. But I do not want this world to be the world they inherited. Me and Seraphine are slowly approaching Winchester's main city and once we capture it this war will be over. Or so I wish. They will just rise again if nothing is done and I refuse to let my children fight this war! My ancestors refused to use Origin to take over Sanus, and look where it got us! Friends, family, and loyal subjects lost their lives because of this war! I saw men killed and tortured when captive, women raped, and children forced to starve and steal. I won't let this be the world my children inherit after I am no longer alive! Alliance be damned! I won't leave Winchester alone, I will kill the entire main family and take all territories they owned to the east! I will crush my opponent and give them no room to rise again!"
Jaune widened his eyes seeing that.
"He … So this is why he became a warmonger." He muttered, feeling a strange sense of empathy for Artorigus. "He didn't conquer and kill because he was thirsty for blood-"
"He did it to fix the world for his sons," Lucifer finished, then she groaned. "I was not aware of that."
"Neither was I" Beel added.
"Wait, there is more … Artorigus' entries vary and get shorter, but they are still more than simple bits of information. Look." Jaune said, pointing to another entry in the journal.
"Seraphine and my brother left for Solitas today … I really soured relations now, but I do not regret it. I can finally be with my wife and children, but I know this won't last. I will head out to conquer more. I will not stop … Until I am done."
Another entry, one several years later. "I am in the far regions of the desert and I … I cannot say I am proud of myself. We conquered most of Sanus by now, but I broke my promise to my wife and seeded a child with another woman. Maria Black was truly beautiful and I was a weak man. I will not recognize the child as my own, but I will live with this shame forever. I know it."
Another entry, roughly two years later. "I have done it...Sanus is mine to rule as its King. My sons are in their teens now, so it is time they learned the court life. I decided that, in order to manage my Kingdom, I would grant each of them a city to build in the east and west. Terra Atlas Arc, the son I chose to one day take Origin, shall take the dry west and establish his city there. His brother, Prometheus Flama Arc, shall take the east, where the Winchesters had their territories. Their mother and I have been trying to maintain our marriage, but she feels something is wrong … Ever since I returned from the desert."
"My sons did it! I am proud of them both! Prometheus established a city strong enough to withstand the desert and Grimm. Even used his semblance to create an oasis there that fuels the city he calls Vacuo! But his brother, on the other hand, has created a true center of commerce he named Vale. Words cannot express how proud I am of my boys. But tensions have been rising between me and Seraphine, along with my brother. Something is not right and I fear for the worst."
The last line of entries written in the journal was all written with barely a day between them. "Seraphine and my brother have betrayed me … The forces from Solitas are attacking and pushing through my northern border. Traitors have been lying in wait among my troops, even in my own damn house! I just had to kill two guards that tried to assassinate me! My brother wants Origin for himself, I know it. And Seraphine? Her betrayal of me must have been encouraged by my recent wars to conquer Sanus. I am not the same young, vigorous man from back then. I have grown old now, but with that came wisdom. I know what I must do and I dare not regret it! I will send my wife and sons to Anima to continue my bloodline, to continue the Arc family name's heritage! I will be giving this journal to them to give to the next Arc, again and again, to remind them of the enemies of our family. The Winchesters and Schnee are not our friends, but our enemies. I cannot promise their defeat. Hell, no one knows this, but I failed to kill the entire Winchester family way back when. My guess is they hid somewhere or fled the continent. A loose end. I broke my promise, something an Arc never does, to my wife, and I went on a bloody conquest of the entire continent! Reasons do not matter, nor do they excuse what I have done! I will fight and die here - I WON'T COWARD AWAY!"
The very last entry of the journal before it all went blank had handwriting that wasn't the same. "My name is Prometheus Flama Arc, and I write this message here for future generations. I have already read my father's journal from one end to the other and, honestly, I do not know what to think. Father did everything for a reason, yet as he said, they do not excuse his sins. Terra has died due to illness, and Mother is old and frail. I had a house built for us here, where I want to have the Arc family live from now on. No one knows we are here. Sanus is in chaos, trying to rebuild itself after my father's demise. My uncle has been trying to track us down as well from what I have heard, but to no use. We are being well hidden by the local leading tribes of Anima, and they have managed to cripple his information network. But my father...I decided to erase his name from our family history. It is for the best the coming generations never learn of this so they do not try and reclaim Sanus as their Kingdom again. Despite my father's wishes, Sanus was never meant to be ruled by one man alone. Forgive me, Father, for doing this. I will bury the journal and plant a tree to mark its location. But Origin … To any Arc that might be reading this, do not pursue this power. It is gone. Never to emerge again. But in the case, it does … DO NOT LET ANYONE KNOW ABOUT IT!"
The rest of the journal was blank, Jaune's mouth slightly open seeing the information he just read. He couldn't believe it. Lucifer and Beelzebub were also silent next to him, their expressions confessing that they didn't see this ending coming either.
Lucifer broke the silence. "Of course … "
"Huh?"
"Ignium … Might have told me some things. If I am right, this was around then, when he returned from the human realm once. Artorigus must have left him out of the journal intentionally, but Ignium told me about Artorigus' last days. This betrayal he spoke of was not something triggered by his conquests. His brother wanted Origin since Artorigus got it."
"He did mention having to prove himself over his own brother," Jaune said, recalling one of the lines. "Wait, so you think Artorigus' brother and Seraphine were-"
"In cahoots the whole time?" Lucifer finished the sentence, then she inhaled a bit. "Most likely, and she got that hybrid semblance to fight him. Ignium told me how she was able to fight against him the best out of everyone. They might have had an affair for some time and planned to hide it from everyone until Artorigus' brother, whom he didn't name, got Origin. It seems the right to inherit it is by merit instead of age. Ignium did say Artorigus was the younger brother of the two."
"This is a lot to take in … " Jaune said, closing the book and setting it aside. "If everything I am reading is correct, the ancestors I met in Hell must have all been the generations that came AFTER this event."
"He gave it to Ignium so he can restart the cycle." Beel summarized.
"But we do not know if he wanted you to conquer Sanus with it," Lucifer pointed out, but Beelzebub had her own thoughts to add.
"In the end, he seemed to have regrets for his deeds, and even his own son stated how Sanus is not meant to be ruled by one man." The demoness looked at Jaune. "Yet, he also said to never pursue such power, yet, it pursued you, Jaune."
"Origin … A powerful semblance." Jaune said slowly. "If I am right, that puts me at 3 semblances. There is Aura Overdrive, the hybrid born from mine and Leon's semblances, then Origin, and … and then … um whatever Ignium said I had."
"Oh? You took your first semblance already then?" Lucifer raised an eyebrow. "Wait, is that how you disappeared when we were fighting?"
"You mean when you were giving me a smackdown?" Jaune didn't remember doing much fighting. "I don't know, I didn't have much time to think about it at the time. But you did act as if I was invisible for a moment for some reason."
"That's because you were invisible, at least to me." Lucifer pursed her lips. "I couldn't see you, it was like you did disappear."
"Think back Jaune, did this happen any other time?" Beel asked.
"Um well." Jaune furrowed his brows before widening his eyes. "The Centaurs! When I was running at them they stopped firing for some reason. Damnit! I was so caught up with getting to the girls I didn't stop to think about it."
"It's ok darling. You had other things to worry about." Beel patted his shoulder. "But it is interesting. Did anything seem odd to you both times … other than being in hell."
Jaune replayed the two memories in his head. "I felt something … yes I had this cold feeling go through my body."
"Cold? Most of hell is not cold and you weren't in the parts that are." Lucifer said. "Can you remember any other time you got that feeling?"
Jaune was silent for a long moment as he went through his time in hell. The cold feeling only started after a certain point. Suddenly his eyes went so wide they nearly popped out of his head. "Azuria!"
Lucifer hummed. "The girl in the Seventh Circle? You felt this sensation around her?"
"Yes, I did." Jaune looked at his hand. "When I put my hand on her."
"Concentrate on that feeling Jaune." Beel was curious about this ability. He did so and although it took longer than in hell he felt a chilling sensation spread through his body. Both demons gasped as they lost sight of him. Beel moved her hand to poke the seemingly empty air only for Jaune to appear again as her finger tapped him. "Incredible!"
Jaune felt a pang of guilt. "This is Azuria's semblance? I was thinking about not wanting people to notice me … is … is this what she wanted? To be ignored by the world. Why else would this be her semblance?"
"It is at least a part of it, yes, it is Azuria's semblance. This is something you are going to have to come to terms with Jaune. But still, the first semblance you took." Lucifer noted. "At least we know you seem capable of taking semblances from souls as well. Granted, I doubt we should abuse your ability."
"Huh? But … Why? It seems easy to get semblances for Origin, seeing how powerful it can make me become. Isn't that one of our goals, to get me ready for Beacon?" He asked, but Beel had the answer.
"That is exactly the reason, Jaune. Origin can make you powerful, but if you focus on powers, you will end up neglecting your body. You wanted to be ready for Beacon, a place where the emphasis is put on combat, and that is what you will get. Harsh, demonic training."
"That … Sounds reasonable, I suppose, and it makes sense. Although, I am NOT looking forward to the hell you girls have planned."
"Oh, don't be a pussy." Lucifer remarked, making him flinch slightly.
"Right … "
"Also, it might be wise to keep the knowledge about Origin on the down low," Beel added, getting his attention. "Pay closer attention to what Artorigus said regarding others. He could give other people semblances, which I am certain was a strong reason for people to follow him; power. Origin doesn't get rid of the original either, so the possibility of a great army with countless semblances was possible. The only reason no Arc did it is because they saw it as unnecessary. Something about semblances needing to stay as secondary equipment and not main. Furthermore, he was also taken advantage of by Seraphine to create a new hybrid semblance which was powerful enough to fight him and, from what it seems, pull a victory."
"I see. So I have to keep Origin a secret because then people might want to use me to gain more power." Jaune said, and then he sighed. "I guess my life really cannot get easier, can it?"
"No, and it seems it only works on semblances, meaning we cannot grant you our magic. However, he mentioned limits to this semblance. It is possible to train it to handle more powers, but how, he does not say."
"If anything, your hybrid semblance might already be taking up some space on your limit." Lucifer pointed out. "But I doubt it is a large amount of it. Regardless, we cannot find out what your actual limit is until we actually have you take some semblances."
"Oh … That goes against the initial point of hiding it, doesn't it?"
"Quite," Beel confirmed. "We would need someone who trusts you and is willing to keep such a big secret. Not to mention someone whom you trust that they won't take advantage of your semblance. Or, you just take them without the others noticing. You certainly didn't when you took Azuria's."
"Point taken."
Jaune sighed. Currently, apart from the girls, he had no other person to go to for that. His friends back in Ansel? Counter-productive to him hiding in Patch, and they might ask questions he doesn't wanna answer.
He also knew they might just ask for one in exchange.
"From my contact with Azuria, it seems I need only touch them. Anything else?"
"I remember Ignium once told me something about clothing getting in the way of the semblance. Hair doesn't seem to do much, but best aim for something like the hands or neck when taking one." Lucifer added.
"Oh, I see." Jaune replied, but then he remembered something. "He said he had another child with a woman named Maria Black. This means that out there, somewhere, there is another line of my family who don't know about their heritage."
"That is true." Lucifer said. "However, finding them won't be easy."
"I didn't say I was going to find them. But if I ever come across them, I will make sure to act friendly." Jaune replied, then he yawned. "Anyway girls, it is getting late. We should hit the hay."
"Agreed. You have work tomorrow, don't you know?" Beelzebub said as she got up from the bed. "We will be starting your training, after all."
"Finally … "