Original Posted On Dec. 3, 2023
Beta Read by: Darklord331
Review Response:
Vongola Ninja: I did, I didn't notice that I did that, I had Naruto screw it up, but since I was tired, I accidently corrected it, LoL. This chapter should clear Faust's Goal. Thank you for pointing this out, so another part of this chapter is thanks to you. I like Tenchi Muyo. That's close to what I am planning with Riser. We shall see who gets Faust.
Nathair1: It is Shaman King Faust.
ShadowBloodedge9396: Well, follow me, let's see what happens.
Guest: I will.
Redmen6blight: I thought you meant Nurgle from Billy and Mandy, LOL.
Borello: Thank you.
Harem:
Koneko Toujo, Ravel Phenex
Ravel Phenex Peerage:
King: Ravel Phenex
Queen:
Bishops: Danjuro "Gentle" Tobita
Knights: Sai Kurozumi (SG User: Ink Dweller)
Rooks: Vulcan (Blacksmith, Hammer/Fist (from Reincarnated as a Behemoth))
Pawns: Mittelt (X1 Pawn)
OKAY, LETS READ THIS SHIT! I DON'T OWN NARUTO, ONE PIECE, HIGHSCHOOL DXD OR ANY OTHER ANIME I MAY REFERENCE!
"Hey" = Speaking
'Hey' = Thinking
'Hey' = Memory
"Hey"= Sacred Gear/ Communication link
Chapter 48: Righteous Might
Kuoh, Night…
Faust's feet were firmly planted on the backs of dead birds, their flesh rotting but through magic he was safely soaring through the skies.
In his hand, a compass.
A Devil-Hunting compass.
Watching the needle, Faust adjusted his trajectory and then descended when the needle pointed down.
He silently touched the ground, his feet detaching from the birds corpses.
'This is the right area…' Faust thought as he tapped the compass a few times. 'From what I recall…' He touched his forehead. 'Phenex clan members have blonde hair of various shades… have blue or gold eyes… and their magic has a feeling of heat… so…'
Focusing on what he wanted, the compass needle began to spin once more before it stopped.
Following the compass, Faust found himself outside of Phenex Manor.
Faust didn't even need to contemplate his next step.
He saw many lights on throughout the manor.
He could feel the various presences.
Knowing where his 'Phenex' was located was enough for Faust to retreat.
'I want my plan to work at its best,' he thought, looking back as he stepped onto the birds once again. 'And for that, I need bones.'
Once in the air, Faust looked sadly at the moon.
His heart strings being pulled as he gazed upon its celestial splendor.
Next Morning…
"Thank you for the help, Naruto." Danjuro thanked the fox as he, Manami, Mittelt, Vulcan, and a clone of Naruto walked to the Phenex Manor.
It was early in the morning, with Ravel, Sai, and Naruto at school, it fell to Danjuro, his wife, and the newest member of the Phenex Peerage to prepare the manor for Sabo's arrival.
"It is no problem." C. Naruto stated, being careful to not to risk being popped.
Manami maneuvered the groceries into one of her hands and jumped up, patting the clone on the head.
"You are a good boy." Manami said as her feet touched ground again.
C. Naruto's cheeks blushed, if his tail was visible, it would be wagging.
Vulcan laughed outright, much to C. Naruto's embarrassment.
Mittelt walked a bit slower, watching the trio interact.
She felt like an outsider, even with the few weeks between when she joined and now.
"Hey, Mittelt!"
The fallen was brought out of her thoughts.
"Yes?"
"Come on, slowpoke!"
Mittelt pouted, picking up her pace.
'Not a slowpoke.'
The four of them continue walking as a thick fog started to cover the area.
"Hm?"
Mittelt nearly bumped into the clone as it suddenly stopped.
"Naruto, what's wrong?" Mittelt asked, seeing the clone sniff the air.
"Hey, why did you stop?" Danjuro asked, himself, Manami, and Vulcan having stopped to see what was going on.
"I smell something…" C. Naruto said as he looked around. "Vulcan, can you also smell it?"
Vulcan sniffed the air… and her face scrunched in disgust, unable to pinch her nose.
"Yeah, it smells like death… and corpses…" She stated.
Immediately, Danjuro, Manami, Vulcan, Mittelt, and C. Naruto heard steps.
And the sound of something being dragged across the ground.
The devils moved in a circular formation, protecting Manami (A Non-Fighter).
The stench of decaying flesh got stronger, and the sounds of clinking multiplied.
C. Naruto nearly shit himself, jumping in fright when a skeleton appeared in his line of sight.
Then another skeleton.
Then another…
And another and another and another until the five of them were surrounded by thirty skeletons.
Some had flesh chunks on them.
Some still had clothing.
But the stench was nauseating, even for the ones who did not have a sensitive nose.
'We need to escape…' Danjuro thought as he felt Manami grabbing his leg.
Vulcan had her arms raised, hands in fists.
Mittelt summoned a light spear.
C. Naruto… shook like a cold infant.
He was pants shitting scared.
C. Naruto shook so violently he dropped the groceries he carried onto his feet, popping out of existence.
"Well, that is too bad…" A soft voice called from behind the fog and bones. "I wanted to experiment on him too…"
Meanwhile, Kuoh Academy…
"OH SHIT!" Naruto screamed as he shot up from his desk, startling not only his fellow students but his teacher as well.
"BAEL!" The teacher shouted from surprise and irritation. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, USING SUCH LANGUAGE! BAEL, ARE YOU LISTENIN… WHERE ARE YOU GOING!"
"STOMACH HURTS, GOING TO THE NURSE!" Naruto shouted as he nearly tore the door off the hinges as he left.
Ignoring the angered shouts of his homeroom teacher, Naruto summoned a clone, sending it to the nurse as he used Soru to get out of the school, using Geppo once he was outside.
'Come on, faster!' Naruto thought in a panic, 'running' through the sky, not caring if he was seen or not. 'Please, be okay!'
Landing on the ground, Naruto looked around.
The stench of decomposing flesh was fresh as all the groceries they had just bought was scattered across the pavement.
"GENTLE, VULCAN!" Naruto yelled, trying to find his friends. "MANAMI, MITTELT!"
"Over… *Hiccup* Here…"
Naruto ran a few steps, turned a corner.
He saw Manami cradling Danjuro.
The Bishop of Phenex was bruised purple and black, one eye swollen, but the blood was what scared Naruto.
With what appeared to be medical precision, Danjuro's tendons in his arms and legs had been severed cleanly, and he had only survived until now because of Manami using magic to keep him from bleeding out.
"What happened!" Naruto asked/demanded when he ran over and picked up Danjuro, his tail wrapping around Manami.
Taking time to compose herself, the tiny Devil hung on tight as Naruto took to the sky once again.
"We were attacked…"
Flashback…
"Well, that is too bad…" A soft voice called from behind the fog and bones. "I wanted to experiment on him too…"
"Who are you!" Danjuro demanded.
"Excuse my poor manners," the man stated as he emerged from the fog. "You can call me Faust…"
Faust made himself know, no longer wearing his hat, jacket, or scarf, revealing his malnourished body and the large patch of blue flesh underneath.
In his right hand, a large pole arm with what looked like a razor blade, and chained to his left arm… was a skeleton with a bullet hole in the skull.
"Who are YOU!" Vulcan bellowed as she charged forward, punching one of the skeletons, obliterating it with her attack.
The skeletons broke their statue like stillness and attacked.
Faust's left eyebrow quirked.
"Oh, now she might be worth something, also…" he looked past the vicious beast kin attacking his skeletons, seeing Mittelt. "A Fallen…"
"GENTLE…"
Faust's eye's widened as he looked up to see Danjuro above him.
"SANDWICH!"
Danjuro's arms swung down… missing Faust.
BUT the air his arms touched became elastic… and pinned Faust in place.
"What an ability?" Faust said, pinched between the elastic air.
"Who are you!" Danjuro demanded.
Faust gave no answer, but snapped his finger.
The damaged skeleton bones floated in the air, reassembling themselves.
"WHAT!"
"Take the cat and the fallen alive…" Faust stated as he channeled magic into the chained skeleton on his person. "Come, Dear Eliza…"
Flashback End…
"And then… And then…" Manami repeated, uncontrollable tears and large bubbles of snot dripping from her face.
Her words choked in her throat.
The sight of seeing her husband nearly be murdered in front of her was to much for words.
Naruto nodded, picking up his pace.
Naruto felt so angry with himself.
'Faust…' Naruto thought through his worry. 'I'll make sure you pay for what you did…'
Danjuro coughed, his breathing changing slightly to show he was waking up.
'We need to get to school, NOW!' He thought as the cold winter air whipped across his face and body. 'We need Ravel to heal him!'
"Woah, what happened here?"
Naruto jumped back, his feet 'jumping on air' as he looked at who just spoke to him.
"SABO!" Manami cried out, her tears and snot soaking into Naruto's coat jacket.
With fiery wings, Sabo, Kisara, and Justin 'stood' before Naruto, Manami, and Danjuro.
"M-Master… Sab…" Danjuro tried to say, his good eye opening as his head turned.
Sabo said nothing as he flew close to Naruto.
Naruto watched as Sabo's eye started to tear up, and with his finger, Sabo wiped it off, then placed it on the wounded man.
Danjuro gasped as his body healed instantly.
"Thank you, Mast…"
Danjuro was chopped in the head by Sabo, nearly biting his tongue off.
"Come on, I said just call me Sabo…" the Second Son of Phenex complained.
"Sorry…"
"Now, what happened?" Kisara asked as Danjuro took flight himself, not wanting to be carried by Naruto, taking his wife from the fox.
Kuoh Academy, Forty Minutes Later…
"Will Ravel Phenex and Sai Kurozumi please come to the principal's office. Will Ravel Phenex and Sai Kurozumi please come to the principal's office." The announcer said over the speakers.
Confusion washed over Ravel like hot water, her cheeks hinting pink as she felt embarrassed.
Sai didn't bat an eyelash.
'Hm, what did I do?' He honestly thought as he stood up with his King, the duo leaving the confused classroom.
"So, you think we are in trouble?" Sai asked his King.
"I hope it isn't the case…" Ravel answered her Knight.
"I wonder what kind of punishment we will get." Sai pondered.
Ravel mentally face palmed as they neared the principal's office.
"Hello, it's Ravel and Sa…bo?"
Sabo smirked when his baby sister and her Knight entered the room, with Sai shutting the door.
"Yo," he said, making a hand motion. "We need to talk. But first," He turned to the desk, seeing the principal unconscious. "Gotta make sure the two of you get marked absent due to a family emergency."
Meanwhile…
"Don't struggle, or else I will slip…" Faust said as blood splattered upward, splashing against his cheek.
Mittelt was being held down by skeletons as a scalpel inserted itself into her flesh.
She cried out in pain as Faust continued to cut her arm and hand open, exposing her arm bones.
"Hm… so it isn't like you can produce light from your muscles or bones…" Faust thought as the special skeleton wiped his face. "Is it purely a magical ability?"
"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK!" Mittelt spat, literally spitting in his face.
Faust didn't even wipe it off, simply returning his scalpel to Mittelt's flesh.
Vulcan, meanwhile, was tied up and pinned down by other skeletons, trying her hardest to break free and save her peerage mate.
"It isn't work struggling, so just stop." Faust told the beast kin. "I don't want you harmed before I get to you."
"The fuck do you want us for?" Vulcan snapped.
Faust hummed in thought, tapping the handle of the scalpel to his chin.
"Let's just say…" He turned to face Vulcan. "Doctor's curiosity."
Vulcan felt a chill run its course down her spine.
'The fuck is that face?'
The demented face Faust made was not horrific.
But the blank stare in his eyes, coupled with his gaunt appearance made the man look more menacing than he should have been.
"Eliza, suture and thread, please." Faust asked as he set the scalpel down.
Mittelt tensed.
'More pain?' She thought as she saw the assistant skeleton walk over and grab a tray.
Returning to Faust, he grabbed the thread and the suture needle.
Once threaded, Faust started sewing the incisions shut.
"Bandages."
Eliza got Faust bandaged.
"Now, this will take some time to heal, but if you master is a Phenex, then this is done for no reason." Faust stated as he started bandaging Mittelt's arm.
"…"
"…"
"What?"
"Hm?"
"You did this to me, why are you…" Mittelt asked, only to twitch her hand, and be silenced by the pain.
"I was never going to kill you, you know…" Faust stated with a 'matter-of-fact' tone.
"Then why are you doing this?"
"I was curious, and acted on it. I just said that, didn't I?"
"But why are you here? You want something, right?" Vulcan demanded.
Faust stood up, the skeletons holding Mittelt taking her off of the table as the ones holding Vulcan brough the beat kin to the table, pinning her to it.
"I want to resurrect my beloved Eliza…" He stated as he grabbed a sanitized scalpel, pressing it against Vulcan's skin…
Only for it to crack and shatter from the forced attempt.
'Oh, fuck, I forgot I am a Rook!' Vulcan thought in a mental sweat wipe.
"Hm, no matter…" Faust said, tossing aside the scalpel and grabbed a curious one. "Let's see if the old man's blessings work."
This blessed scalpel cut into Vulcan like her flesh was warm butter.
Skip, Phenex Manor…
Ravel felt immense anger.
Not only toward Faust, having been informed of what happened, but at herself.
'WHY DIDN'T I TAKE SONA SERIOUSLY!' She thought, biting her lip. "So… he wants me?"
"Yes…" Danjuro stated as he rested on the couch. "The man said he wanted you… didn't say why, but he wants YOU in exchange for Mittelt and Vulcan at the old Cemetery."
"Then He will get me!" Ravel stated as she stood tall.
A righteous anger fueled her.
Her peerage members had been hurt, so as their King, she would fight back.
Ravel headed toward the door, Sai standing up to follow with Naruto starting to join, but they were stopped when Sabo coughed.
"What?" Ravel asked her brother.
Sabo raised a hand, pointing a single finger, then pointing to the floor.
"You are going to stay here, look after your comrades, and fortify your home…" Sabo stated calmly.
"No…"
"It was NOT a suggestion, Ravel!" Sabo borderline yelled.
Ravel flinched.
She rarely ever heard Sabo raise his voice in any capacity outside of him laughing.
This was new.
"But… my…"
"Your comrades have been taken hostage, and he wants YOU…" Sabo stated as he walked to the door, Kisara and Justin following their King. "I won't in any way allow him to take you, Sister."
Sabo's hand touched the doorknob.
"I won't let anyone hurt my family." He stated before he opened the door.
Justin followed Sabo out of the manor, while Kisara touched Ravel's shoulder.
The King looked at the Queen, getting an earnest smile before the red-head woman followed Sabo and Justin.
"So… what do we do?" Sai asked in a serious tone.
Ravel took a deep breath.
"We heal… we fortify… we wait…" She stated in a shaky tone. "I'll inform Sona and Rias of these events; in case they get involved too…"
"Good idea." Manami mumbled, wiping her eyes.
Her face was red, cheeks stained with tears.
Danjuro nodded on the couch, taking Manami's hand to comfort his wife.
Sai twiddled his thumbs for a few seconds before he walked outside.
"Naruto, you coming with?" Sai asked the fox.
"For what?"
"Prepare for a fight…"
Meanwhile…
Faust stared at a wall, munching on a piece of bread.
'I wonder how Georg is doing…' Faust thought. 'I haven't seen him since my banishment…'
Flashback…
"Johan! Come back…"
"Georg…"
Johan stood at the entrance of the Hero Faction Village, prepared to leave with everything.
Before him was his younger, more talented cousin Georg.
The True Reincarnation of Johan George Faust.
"Come on, cousin!" Georg shouted, grabbing Johan's arms. "Come back with me, I can convince the elder to take it back! You don't need to leave…"
"No, I do…" Johan told his only family member, pushing Georg's hands off of his body. "I have already committed my crimes, this is my punishment…"
Georg shuddered, clenching his fist.
"I loved Eliza too… she made you happy, which was good for me!" Georg shouted, arms moving as he yelled. "BUT TO SEE YOU LIKE THIS! SHE IS GONE! YOU NEED TO CONTINUE LIVING!"
Johan stared at Georg like a dead man.
"Eliza is here…" Johan said, opening his jacket.
A chained skeleton with a bullet hole in the skull under his arm.
Georg's eyes widened in horror.
"You… you didn't…"
Johan didn't say anything as he closed his jacket.
"I will perfect our ancestor's work…" He said as he turned, taking steps to leave his home, forever. "And learn how to revive the dead."
Flashback End…
Faust sighed.
'It is unusual for me to be this sentimental…' Faust thought as he felt saddened at this memory.
A bone hand touched Faust's hand as Frankensteiny leaned into his leg.
Faust smiled.
He felt a warmth in his chest.
Meanwhile…
"I told you. But no, you didn't believe me!" Sona stated with heated anger under her calm-like words over the phone.
She and Rias were on their first break, on speaker phone with Ravel.
"Yes, yes, we should have believed you, Sona." Ravel apologized.
Sona felt SO validated right now.
"Sona, give Ravel a break." Rias told her friend. "It was a mistake, and she already apologized, don't rub her nose in it."
Sona… could not help but agree.
"Alright, but we need to take this bastard down. Let us gather after school and…"
"Sabo is already on his way to take care of it." Ravel stated.
Cemetery…
Sabo, Kisara, and Justin's feet touched the ground, their wings vanishing.
The cemetery was a complete mess.
Graves, old and more current were open, the corpses or skeletons having dug themselves out of the earth.
"Sabo, I think he is this way." Justin said as he pointed toward a mausoleum.
Sabo nodded and they silently made their way toward it.
Kisara blinked.
"Do you hear that?" She whispered as they got closer.
Justin didn't answer, because his earbuds didn't allow him to hear her, and he didn't see her lips.
Sabo heard her and focused on listening.
"It sounds like singing…" He said as he grabbed his pipe off of his back, preparing for a fight.
They got closer and with each step the singing got clearer.
"~Leaves Fall on Autom afternoons
I see you every night
You're in my dreams. The Thoughts come Rushing Back.~"
The trio opened the doors to the mausoleum, the dust and cobwebs already having been pushed aside.
Faust stood with the skeleton with the bullet hole skull.
He was dancing with it, hand in hand.
"~Aling the Highway, I walked with you Hand in hand.
Excited hearts, our pulses beating so fast.
No one can ever stop us.
Our love Pulses Non-Stop, eternal.
Now, Wake up and Gaze at me, my Third Eliza, My Faust Love.~"
Faust leaned in, touching his forehead with the skeleton's, shedding a tear.
"Are you Faust!" Sabo demanded.
Faust's composure broke, becoming lax and unguarded as he turned an unenthusiastic eye toward the door.
"And who might you be?" he eyed up Sabo. "Blonde hair… blue to gold eyes… are you…"
"I am Sabo Phenex." Sabo said as he held his weapon ready, engulfing it in flames when he gripped it tighter. "I am here for my sister's peerage members you kidnapped!"
Chapter 48, DONE!
I bet everyone of you expected it to be Ravel who Faust would fight, but no, it's Sabo.
I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, I had fun writing it.
If you enjoyed, please leave a review, even if you hated it, because it helps me become a better author.
