What's crackin guys? We are back for another week of Veil of the Aether. Soon enough, Dante and group will meet up with Ruby and the others. There's a few more obstacles in the way before that happens. In short, we're back on track with the main story.
Remember the collab between Xera Stark and myself that we're currently working on? Well, in about two chapters or so you'll start seeing it here. It's the last stop before Dante and group link up with Ruby's team. So after our collab, expect a heartwarming reunion.
Speaking of group members, Dante and his group are about to get a new member added. You've all seen him before in Hero of Remnant if you read. If not, well, be prepared to meet him. What? Think I'll say right off the bat? As Ruby infamously puts it, "Nope". Anyway, enjoy yourselves.
Chapter 4: The Fallen King and The Young Wolf
The miles of snow had finally come to an end as the group of four trailed alongside the heavily wooded roads. The air still remained fairly chilly, but it was of non concern to the immortal, his two siblings, and his Kitsune partner as they moved along the path.
"Ardien is the name of that mini city you were talking about Leo?" Asked Dante.
"Indeed…"
"Why can't I bring up any information on it? I downloaded multiple databases to my scroll ages ago. If this place actually exists, it should be in the info archives. So why isn't and how is it you and Ciel only know about it?"
"Well, apparently they're a super secretive city that doesn't even make contact with other villages or Kingdoms. They only let in small amounts of people at a time, especially passerby's like us. Usually a group of seven or less is allowed." Said Ciel.
"We only spent four days within the city walls when we passed through. Truthfully, we were lost on the way to you and stopped at every city or village we could find to direct us towards Vale. They have plenty of animals in the forest nearby as well as a steady stream well suited for fishing. They also have a decently sized Dust mine of their own for energy resources and so forth." said Leo.
"The SDC doesn't control that mine?" Asked the elder sibling.
"As Ciel said, these people are fairly secretive and don't allow just anyone in. Despite this, they've done very well over the 20 years they've been established and are fairly wealthy."
"How are they wealthy if they aren't in contact with other villages? Much less kingdoms?"
"We wondered about that too. So we did a bit of scouting on our time off and found out they practically trade with all sorts of people around the four continents. But they do it anonymously so nothing can be traced back to them. If you ask me, I think they've been doing some 'under-the-table' transactions as well to keep them steadily afloat." Said Ciel.
"Illegal marketing and trade?" Asked Dante.
"Maybe, maybe not. I guess you can say they were just taking advantages of certain loopholes."
"So what gave you the impression they're in a fairly shady business? Was it their cargo?"
"To be honest, we never got a look at the cargo. We thought some of their deals were sketchy because of the places they went and the people they traded with." Said Ciel.
"Other than the main body ruling over the city, the citizens are actually pretty upstanding and honest people. A bread-making lady gave me a loaf of bread for free because she said I was adorable, so I was okay with that."
"Despite Ciel's poor example, I do have to agree with her. The citizens all seem like very good and happy people despite some of the strange business transactions the main family goes through." Said Leo.
"Who's the ruling family?" Asked Dante.
"I believe they are called the Friede family. Jonathan and Maria Friede were the founders of the city alongside Jonathan's brother, Martin Friede. Jonathan and Maria suffered a Grimm attack as they were traveling home from visiting a village, leaving Martin to rule over the city in their stead. Apparently, rumors circulated amongst the people that Martin was in fact responsible for Jonathan and Maria's death in order to gain control. But, three years ago, Martin was slain by Jasper and Minerva Friede, the son and daughter of the late founders. Since their system was patriarchal, rule went over to Jasper. As far as we know, he has been doing fairly well in his rule."
"Well that's good… At least he's doing something right…" said Dante.
Shortly after, the group of four felt the air strongly rupture and quake as a powerful presence swept through the area.
"What the heck is this?!" Said Ciel.
"I don't know… It feels...Dark…and overbearing… I've never felt such a presence before..." replied Leo as he looked around himself in all directions quickly, trying to get an accurate reading on where this presence came from.
Only Dante and Inuba knew what the presence was...or rather...who it belonged to.
"Master...is it-?"
"It's him alright…" said the young immortal as the whites of his eyes, his sclerae, turned black, his bright sky blue irises changing to a glowing white while his pupils remained black. His Shadow Eyes were now present.
"My question is what's he doing so far out here?"
"Um, I feel like we're out of the loop or something. Who is it?"
The rupturing and quaking of the air stopped. The dark presence lingered.
Dante's eyes returned to their normal bright sky blue color as his head turned slightly towards the direction of the entrance to the forest.
"You guys have seen all my past fights, right?"
"Right..?" Said Ciel.
"You'll know who it is soon enough."
The four eventually reached a clearing, finding the smoldering remains of a battle that took place not too long ago. Trees had been splintered and uprooted completely. Rock formations and boulder crushed to pieces. Scorch marks in different locations. The almost vanished bodies of dead Grimm.
"Sweet suffering succotash… These Grimm were massacred… L'horreur! L'horreur!" Said Ciel dramatically in a mocking fashion with her hand to her head as if she were about to faint.
"P-Pardon?" Asked Inuba.
"She was speaking French for 'The horror! The horror!'. When did you learn French?" Asked Dante.
"Ages ago. Dude, Leo and I basically had nothing to do most days."
"Right right…"
Dante glanced at Inuba and his siblings, then motioned them all to come forth.
"You're up partner." Said Dante.
Inuba knelt down on both knees next to her crouching Master, Ciel and Leo looking over them as Inuba's hands were engulfed in white flame. She touched the center of a small burn crater and slowly pulled her hands back up. A small stream of black Aura outlined in Dark green drifted inside the now small orb of white flame in Inuba's hands. She turned to Dante and gave her Master a nod before the duo stood up again.
"Alright, weapons out and be alert. He's still around. Inuba?"
"That way." Spoke the Kitsune pointing ahead of them towards another heavily wooded area of trees.
"Let's spread out a bit and move in. If you see someone, don't engage unless they come after you. You see him, you call me. Got it?"
"Understood."
"Of course Master."
"Got it."
They all spread out: Dante and Inuba taking the center left and the center right, while Ciel and Leo took outer left and outer right. They sank into the line of trees, moving through them as if they were shadows, quietly and ever so swiftly. The presence grew stronger as they all moved further and further ahead.
There wasn't a single sound. No creatures stirring, they had all left long ago to avoid this "predator". Considering "his" nature, he pretty much was a predator.
Dante was most certainly the closest to this presence than the rest of the group was. He was only a short distance away from making contact with it. Because of this, Inuba, Ciel and Leo doubled their pace and moved ahead of the presence, surrounding it from the rear. If he tried to run, he would have no means of escape.
Dante took a deep breath to calm himself and silently drew his longsword from the sheath on his back, lowering it his side.
"3...2...1…"
The young immortal quickly moved from behind the tree and lashed out. Metal clashed with metal, creating a thundering sound that traveled through the forest.
The pure white blade of Dante's longsword clashed against a black, double sided longsword with jagged, serrated edges on both sharp sides of the blade. This profane blade had dark green, glowing etchings adorning the entire base of the blade from top to bottom, the etchings resembling jagged thorns. The top side of the black cross guard was equally jagged like the blade, the underside perfectly smooth. It had a black leather grip that only fit one hand, while the rest of the handle remained bare. The pommel was a decently sized spike, but before this spike was a chain link at least a foot long, adorning decorative cracks that glowed dark green.
This figure remained dressed in a black, ragged coat that had split tails that reached his ankles and a hood that covered his head, obscuring his face from Dante. The edges of the coat had dark green trimming that almost pulsated. He wore equally ragged black jeans and black boots.
As the head of the hood lifted up, Dante saw dark green irises with black slitted pupils stare back at him with a spiteful gaze.
"My my… And here I thought someone might have finally killed you off once and for all…" said Dante rather coldly.
For the amount of time their swords clashed, the area of contact began to glow red hot, sparks emerging as the two warriors tried to overpower one another. The two broke their clash, but immediately swung at each other's necks, stopping just centimeters away from their intended targets.
"How odd of you… No rude remark, nothing at all… It's almost as if you're trying to ignore me…" said the teen.
"That's because I am trying to ignore you, brat. I don't have time to waste with you. Not now or ever again. So let's just call it quits before it even begins and go about our merry ways, yeah?"
"Did you really think I was going to let you walk away so easily?"
Inuba's pure white katana touched the side of the figures neck, Ciel's scythe blade wrapping around the other side, all while Leo stood behind him, his handcannon touching the figure's backside directly, aiming for his spine.
"No way… You're still alive Fox? I thought you got crushed like a bug by Aultus."
"Apparently not if I'm still standing here." Responded the Kitsune.
"Hmph… And just who the hell are you-?"
As the figure turned his head to look at Ciel and Leo, he froze in place.
"Bullshit…"
"What?"
"Why the hell do Ben and Jerry behind me look a lot like you?"
"That's my brother and sister."
"What?! No… No! There's more of you?! Are you kidding me?!"
As if he realized he made a mistake, he stopped asked a bit more quietly, "Are you kidding me?! Siblings?! As if I needed more of your kind!"
"Um, you never answered this last time, but who's this asshat?" Asked Ciel.
"I'd show some respect if I were you, you little hellion." Responded the figure.
"Ciel, Leo, meet one of the four Dark Entity Kings, Raum."
There was a few seconds of silence until Ciel began cracking up, laughing loudly.
"What, are you serious? This guy is one of the four Dark Entity Kings? Really?"
"Unfortunately…"
"Well if that's the case…"
Ciel pulled a bit on her scythe.
"then I owe you some pain for messing with my brother."
"Aw, that's cute. You're getting your sister to fight your battles now?"
"Hey, if it works…" spoke the teen.
"Look, I'm not here for another pissing contest that'll end up in a draw, or worse, me dead. Let's just call this unfortunate circumstance that we crossed paths and just leave."
"I don't buy it for a second. Just simply wanting to walk away? No fuss? Nothing? I have a right to be skeptical given our history together."
"Let's just say after our last battle I had an...what do humans call it again..? Ah, right. An epiphany. There we go."
"You having an epiphany… That's...wow… I'm speechless…" said Dante.
"I'm being serious you little cretin. You not being able to kill me as you are? Me not being able to ever kill you? There's no point to it. Not worth the time or the effort. So like I said, I give up fighting against you. Plus, there's no reason to it besides a stupid grudge from ages ago. I'm done. I'd have gone home by now, but I can't. Not strong enough to open up a passage decent enough to get there. Not only that, but the Dark World's been locked. No one get's in or out without Lucifer's say so."
"So you were telling the truth when you said you were stuck here on Remnant."
"Uh, yeah, wasn't lying about that ever dumbass. You think I'd willingly stay in the same World as you? Heh, as if! If anything, I want to be as far away from you as possible."
Dante glanced at Inuba, who was equally baffled and confused as to what to do.
"Fine… We'll cut you loose then…" said the young immortal as he, his partner and siblings removed their weapons from Raum's person.
"If we hear of anything… Anything at all… We will come looking for you." Said Dante.
"Yeah yeah, I get it… See ya around di-"
The topside of the elder Dark Entity's hood shifted and bulged slightly, as if something was underneath.
"What was that?"
"That was nothing." He said rather hurriedly.
They all heard a muffled yawn.
"Seriously now, what was that?" Asked the young immortal.
"That was me. I yawned." Said Raum.
"No, you didn't."
"How do you know?"
"I was just watching you you idiot! That's how!"
"You need to get your eyes checked. Now excuse me, I-"
A small head, the head of child, popped out from beneath Raum's impressively large hood. It was a female Faunus child, at least two years old, with near-shoulder length jet black hair, like the Dark Entity Kings own hair color, and large jet black wolf ears the fluttered slightly. The young wolf Faunus yawned once more, plopping her chin on top of the Dark Entity's head as her tongue lulled out of her mouth slightly, still drowsy.
Dark blue eyes with slitted black pupils opened up slowly to greet the morning, but stayed slightly opened. The hood shifted, as if something were trying to escape, and very soon, Raum's hood fell down. The young Faunus girl sat atop his shoulders wearing a sleeveless dark blue dress that reached her shins, and a white long sleeved blouse underneath. She had long white socks and blue shoes. There was a gap near the rear of her dress to allow her jet black wolf tail through and move about freely.
The group of four stood still, shocked as to what they saw, Dante and Inuba moreso shocked. Raum stood still, not moving a single inch as if he had been frozen in place. A look of pure horror could be seen on the Dark Entity King's face, as if he had just been caught in the act of committing a horrendous crime. The group of four looked up at the young wolf Faunus resting her head atop Raum's head, her hands atop his chin length and nearly spikey black hair, her chin resting atop as if it were resting in a pillow. Her legs rested peacefully atop the Dark Entities shoulders. As if she had fully awoken, her eyes opened all the way, looking around at the new faces she did not recognize.
She then looked down at Raum, smiling and giggling softly as her wolf tail, about as tall as she was, whipped about rapidly and happily as she nuzzled her face into his messy hair. The one and only word she spoke next, shocked everyone beyond belief. For Raum, his horror grew to unimaginable levels.
"Papa!" She said with a light, passionate and young voice full of innocence, innocence that was far unbefitting to be in this entity's presence as she continued rubbing her head against the top of his.
Hearing that word made Raum jump slightly, making the young wolf Faunus bounce atop his shoulders, her large wolf ears bobbing up and down as she giggled a little more.
Dante and the others backed away slowly, the young immortal the most shocked and most confused of the bunch. His head was searching for all sorts of answers at the moment. Who is this Faunus girl and why did she call Raum, one of the Four Dark Entity Kings, "papa"?!
Raum quickly put up his hood again, acting as if nothing happened.
"You saw nothing."
The young wolf Faunus quickly flipped it back down with a proud "hmph", as if she had just accomplished something great and amazing.
Ciel's scythe dematerialized in a burst of white Aura outlined in black, the young girl slapping her hands over her mouth to contain her silent squeal at the current display of cuteness as her eyes watered up slightly.
"SHE'S SO CUTE AND FLUFFY! IT'S ADORABLE!"
...
It was over for him.
The now group of six sat together in an open clearing, numerous trees surrounding them, a large river stream not too far away from them.
Dante and Leo overlooked the massive trunk of items Raum had summoned forth for them, the brothers examining the contents of the box while the young wolf Faunus was enjoying the company of Inuba and Ciel, Ciel mostly due to the amount of attention she gave her and with how she was playing around with young wolf Faunus. Ciel even fashioned a pair of wolf ears and a wolf tail out of her white Aura outlined in black.
The younger sibling though of something rather excellent. The younger Faunus child gave her the idea really. Ciel used her Aura made wolf tail to grab hold of the younger child and began tossing her up into the air with the tail, each toss varying in angles and tricks she performed with the tail as she caught the young wolf child each time.
Leo brought up an assortment of items from the trunk one at a time, Dante taking inventory as he did so.
"Six dresses of the same variety that she's wearing… An extra pair of shoes for her… A cooler full of applesauce, milk, and other children's food and drinks… Pocket dimension mini-chest full of all sorts of Dark Entity books and Dark Entity Spellbooks… Some extra coats for you… A large assortment of children's story books and… no… No way!"
Dante immediately grabbed the book out of the chest and held it closely to his face, staring at it for a few seconds to ensure he wasn't hallucinating.
"'How to be an excellent father'?! No way!"
The two brother looked to a rather disturbed Raum, who was seemingly getting more and more embarrassed by the second. This was the sweetest kind of revenge for Dante at the moment. But, he wasn't one to poke fun at people anymore. At least, not too much like he did previously.
"Good lord man, you're seriously into this whole 'dad' thing now aren't you? Not that it's bad or anything. But still… It's just… Wow… Of all the things to happen… This was the least expected."
"Yeah, well shi-"
The Dark Entity stopped mid sentence, looking over to the wolf Faunus to see her glaring at him.
"What I meant to say...is that stuff happens."
Looking at her again, the Faunus girl nodded before returning to playing with Ciel and Inuba, who were now playfully tossing her about using only their tails, giggling happily between each toss.
"So where have you been hiding all this time?" Asked the young immortal.
"In Vale. At least, six months ago I was. I've been laying low after our last fight against one another. Blending in and all that human nonsense. There was one or two times I passed you and the fox on the street. Despite you being near me was enough to set me off edge, I decided not to do anything and go about my day."
"Oh, so YOU decided to leave me be. Hmmm. How about that…"
"Got something to say brat?"
"Maybe I do."
"Um...please don't fight..?" Said Leo.
Dante and Raum simply glaring at Leo was enough to make him cease speaking and retreat to Ciel and Inuba.
"Despite me disliking you very very much, we shouldn't fight. At least not while she's still around." Said the young immortal looking towards the young wolf Faunus.
"What's her name?"
"No clue. So I gave her one instead."
"Oh? So what is it?"
"Irene."
"Aww, well that's cute."
"Shut up."
"No, it's a good name for her. Really. It's just-"
"Unexpected of me, I get it. What, did you think that because I am the way I am I'm not educated or don't posses some knowledge?"
"Well, when you're constantly screaming at your enemy that you want to murder them dead...yeah, I might assume a thing or two."
"Shows what you know. What about you? You look like a damn mess."
"Oh this?" Said Dante nodding to his bandaged right arm.
"This happened after I killed something waaaaaaaaay tougher than your royal weak-ness."
"Come again..?" Asked Raum in a menacing tone.
"You heard me."
"Don't act so cocky you little brat. The only reason I'm not trying to cave in your skull is because it'd be pointless. But that doesn't mean I won't give you a punch that'll tear through your flesh."
"Sure sure, keep telling yourself that."
Dante then glanced over at Irene once more, watching her play with Inuba's fox ears before the kitsune began tickling the child's sides with her fox tail, forcing heart-melting laughs out of the young wolf Faunus.
"Where did you find Irene? Don't tell me… Did you get some poor girl pregnant and-?"
"Not in the slightest you damn idiot! So shut the hell up!" Said the Dark Entity as he right hooked Dante across the side of his head, the young immortal still acting as if nothing happened while smiling and laughing in a deadpan tone.
"Fine… Serious talk now… Where did you find her?"
"It's not really that I found her… It's… What's the phrase that humans use… Ah, right… It's more like she found me…"
"Huh?"
Inuba, Ciel and Leo were now focused on Raum, curious as to what tale he had for them.
"First time I saw her was a week before the attack on Vale…"
(One week before the attack on Vale…)
Inside of the small, cramped room was only darkness. Despite it being morning, the curtains he had in place still made it seem as though it were night time outside. Dark green irises with slitted black pupils opened, faintly glowing in the dark as they stared at the ceiling for a moments. They then glanced towards the small table and the lamp sitting atop it. He lazily tried to flip the switch, but failed each time.
With an irritated growl, he slapped both hands over his face and slowly dragged them down his face. He raised up his right hand and snapped his fingers, making every one of three lights in his room turn on at once. Raum pulled away the covers and stood from his bedside, his feet touching the wooden floorboards of his small, yet cozy apartment. He wore nothing but black and green plaid pajamas that were a bit large for him as they touched the floor he walked across.
He drew back the curtains and let the first rays of dawn enter through his window. There was never morning in the Dark World. It was always night. The only difference was that actual nighttime had lightning streaking the blackened skies in multitudes while thunder echoed and sounded throughout the rocky planes. It was a complete difference than that of Human Realms. It was almost always quiet and peaceful. Both in the morning and night. It was a peace he still wasn't accustomed to.
Looking towards his right, he found his object of desire on his desk. A half empty bottle of scotch to quench his early morning thirst. Correction, a now empty bottle of scotch. Tossing the bottle behind him in directly into the trash can, he moved towards his restroom and brushed his teeth, followed by patting down his slightly spiky black hair a bit.
Shortly after, he moved to his closet and changed into his daily clothes; black jeans, black boots, a sleeveless dark green shirt, and his hooded cloak; his trademark. His proof of being Raum, one of the Four Dark Entity Kings. A being of great and terrible power. A being...that now miserably lived out his days in a apartment. All because of one, single brat.
Did he hate Dante? Immensely so. Did he want to fight him ever again? Not in the slightest. That child was a menace. A pain in his ass far greater than any pain a hemorrhoid could provide an average human. Fighting him again would not be worth the effort and pain, especially if he didn't have even the slightest chance at success. Did this mean he thought of the young immortal as his better? Not likely. Did he acknowledge his strength? Certainly.
Even so, he hated him greatly. Because of him, he had to spend his time now amongst humans. And Fauna. He could never go home. Lucifer had already warded off the Dark World, preventing both entry and the ability to exit. The last time he did that was two thousand years ago when the Third War occurred between Dark Entities and Angels. A war Raum himself started, but Lucifer quickly ended.
He never understood why his brother desperately wished for peace between all. Peace was foolish. It was stifling. It was incomprehensible. It was...foreign to him.
He sighed, grabbing a black metal flask off his desk and moving towards the kitchen and opened the fridge. Three fourths of the entire thing was filled large one liter bottles of scotch of all varieties. The rest of the fridge contained two loaves of bread and two tubs of cream cheese. He grabbed one of the bottles of scotch and popped it open, pouring it into the flask until it was completely topped off.
He took a quick swig and screwed the cap of the flask back on, placing it inside one the inner pockets in his coat. Raum then spun around, using his index finger to quickly scan the assortment of items on the countertop, finally finding and grabbing his black Scroll that rested in its charge station. It was different than most. His was customized to have dark green etchings of numerous thorny vines. It was something he was very proud of considering he did the designs himself.
Pocketing his scroll, he left through the format door and started his day.
Like any other city, Vale had its beautiful monuments, its flourishing stores and shops, its bright and cheery people walking up and down the streets, going about their day. It made him sick.
Any other Tuesday, he would send hordes of Dark Entities to swarm a city like this, simply to watch it burn for his amusement. That was when he was one of the two remaining Kings. Now, he was practically like any of them. A being that simply went about its way, trudging through life aimlessly. He had no current goals. Nor did he have any current aspirations. He simply lived. Plain and simple.
But he he had no purpose. So why continue living then? Why was he given back a body a century early? Rather...who would do such a thing? And why? Why this World of places? It made no sense to the Dark being. Why be brought back a century early, especially without a purpose? It made no difference. He had flesh once again. He breathed once again. He walked the ground once again. Though his power had been severely cut, still in the infancy stages of being restored, he was still him. He was still Raum, an ancient being of Darkness.
But for now, he was simply Raymond, a superbly skilled bartender famous for his numerous and flashy services concerning the dispensary of all alcoholic beverages. In short, he was a god amongst men concerning the serving of alcohol. The humans and Fauna weren't too far off the mark concerning that idea. In fact, many had specifically come to the bar he was employed to see him work his magic. Literally.
He exited through the usual alleyway he traveled through. Though Vale had its bright and majestic side, it still had a rather unpleasant underbelly, just like any other city. Sick, homeless, abandoned, junkies. They were a rare bunch to find around Vale, but nonetheless, they existed.
His attention was drawn to the alleyway opposite of him. Three teenagers of the ages of fifteen, maybe sixteen. It looked as though they were harassing someone, pushing them around. Someone considerably smaller than them.
"Haha! What's a matter you filthy animal?! Not gonna bite back?!"
"Kick her again! Kick her again!"
A small voice had cried out in pain as she feel to the floor, placing her little hands over her head to defend herself from the leader of the groups stomps. There wasn't much force out into the stomps, mainly to ensure he was torturing the poor creature effectively.
One of his friends tapped his shoulder to focus attention to Raum, whose devilish eyes drifted to the young Faunus girl laying on the ground whimpering. She wore nothing but rags. She was no older than two. Even for a Dark being as vile as Raum, he still had some form of shame and honor. Was it a fault of his? He never really cared to think about it much.
"Hey! What are you looking at?!"
Raum glanced at the one trying for his attention, but ignored him, his cold, piercing gaze focusing on the young child whose teary eyes slowly opened. Her dark blue, black slitted pupils meet his dark green eyes. It was not a gaze of fear. No, it was a stare full of awe and wonder, as if she had bore witness to a marvelous sight.
"Hey! I'm talking to you jackass!"
"Does it look like I'm talking to you?" Replied the Dark Entity.
"What'd you say?!"
The group of three abandoned the girl, as if she had been completely forgotten and approached Raum. One of them had a crow bar.
Raum went to leave. He didn't have time for this. He was going to be late. Then he heard something. It was the girl. A simple whisper was all that it was, something the other three couldn't hear. But the Dark Entity sure enough heard what the little one spoke, his eyes going wide as his mouth fell slightly agape as he quickly turned his head, glaring at the young Faunus girl.
What did you just-?!
"Check it out man, he's one of those freaks too…"
"Well then, just our luck."
It was the exact opposite. They had no idea what they were approaching. Where they that brainless and confused that they couldn't feel fear?
Their leader approached and tried to push him. This was a mistake. Raum easily caught his hand and gripped it tightly, the human with the crowbar quickly approaching him to take a swing. Raum effortlessly caught the crowbar with his other free hand, easily bending the pole of steel before stomp kicking the teen in the stomach to send him flying down the street. The other one fled, leaving their "brave" leader behind.
"Here's your reward…"
With a simple twist, the boy's arm was now facing the other direction. A took a moment, but the pain finally set in, forcing him to scream as he fell to his knees. He looked up at Raum with the same pitiful gaze all humans had when in pain and very well staring death in the face. He ran. It was all he could do as he clutched his now limp, noodle like arm.
It was now time for the Dark Entity to leave. But he stopped once more after that girl spoke THAT word again.
"Pa...pa…"
His demonic gaze fell upon her once more, a glare that would send shivers down men's spines, a glare that would make blood run cold, a glare that would pierce through the very soul of anyone unfortunate enough to look upon him. Yet this girl...this child… She continued gazing at him, as if he was some sort of miracle from on high. Did she not fear him? Did she not know the meaning of fear? No. She knew fear. She feared those foolish humans that assaulted the young wolf Faunus. But why not fear him?
"Papa..."
Why did she keeping using that damned word? He was not her father. So why did she call him that? He didn't have time for this blasted girl.
He left, continuing down his original, intended route.
"Papa!" She cried out with her tiny voice as she tried to chase after him.
But her little legs were weak enough as is from the cruel treatment she was given earlier. She stumbled and fell on the littered alleyway, forcing Raum to stop for a brief moment. His hood turned slightly, only now taking notice of her little hand that reached out for him. His gaze soon met the ground in front of his path, his demonic eyes closing momentarily before reopening. He simply moved on.
"Papa!"
He kept moving, attempting to block out her cries as tears filled her eyes once more. For the remainder of the time it took him to walk to work, he couldn't help but feel the tiniest modicum of pain in his chest.
"Hey Raymond! Looks like you had a fun weekend!"
Not really…
"Come on man, still going with the silent treatment even after we've known each other for a month?"
Yes.
"Leave it alone Jones. He's not gonna talk. He doesn't even talk to the customers. Unless they're women."
"Oh~! Raymond you sly dog!" He said patting his back.
The Dark Entity simply rolled his eyes. He only talked to the customers that were women for two reasons. One, they wanted to converse with him, which was practically eighty percent of the single women that came to the bar. Two, the customers that were women were actually smarter and less idiotic than the male customers. Most of the time anyway.
Raum finished buttoning up the white dress shirt and rolled up the sleeves above his elbows, then followed up by buttoning up the black dress vest. This last part was his least favorite. The tie. Tying one of these took him a while the first time he tried. For something so simple, it was fairly complex to newcomers of this art. After tying the tie and tucking it in the vest, he grabbed his ragged cloak and placed it on one of the hooks inside his locker.
Before he closed the door, he caught a glimpse of himself in the small mirror. He just...stared. But why was he just staring at himself? Yes, he was a rather handsome individual, but he wasn't vain enough to stare at himself for moments on end simply to compliment himself. No, this was something more. But what? What was it?
He had a flashback to a few minutes ago. The girl and-
Raum's grip on the door grew tight enough to the point he began crushing the metal. He soon slammed the door shut with, angrily marching his way out of the locker room to begin his job.
(Six days later... Minutes away from the attack on Vale...)
He stood there behind his counter top polishing the glasses. There were fewer customers today because of the finals for the Vytal Tournament. Raum finished the playback for Dante's fight. He was...slightly impressed. The brat came a long way since they last fought. And it seemed as though he gained new abilities.
The only reason he was watching the brats fights in the first place was for research purposes, should he possibly get into another fight with Dante. Even though he gave up on trying, he still kept the possibility in the back of his mind. It's one of the reasons why he has lived for countless millennia. Still...this power that Dante possessed… It...seemed familiar to the Dark Entity. It's as if he's seen it once before centuries past…
Raum brushed off the thought and continued polishing the glasses. That was until he heard numerous people in the bar gasp in shock and horror. He too soon stopped what he was doing and looked behind him. One of the contestants had been dismembered and cut apart. Interesting. But why was there no blood? Ah. She was a synthetic. How boring. And here he thought he'd see some blood today.
The humans and Fauna's eyes were glued to screen, listening closely to the words of some woman. She spoke of the kingdoms, who you could trust, blah blah blah. Her words held no meaning to him. But they certainly did to the now panicked citizens inside the bar. Once the transmission had been cut, everyone started filing out of the building, including the employees.
"Raymond! Let's go!"
"I need to get my stuff."
"What?! Dude, forget your stuff! There's word that Grimm have broken into Vale and are flooding the streets! We got to go!"
Raum simply waved him off and moved off to the employee locker room, taking out his flask from his vest pocket and taking a long swig.
"Great...things have gone from worse to completely fucked...again…" he said with a sigh as he took off his vest dress shirt to put on his coat.
"Well...time to go then…"
Raum moved out of the locker room back to the counter, trying to see how much scotch he could sneak away with now that Grimm were invading. It's not like they'd miss it. Plus it'd just stay here. It'd be a shame to let it all go to waste. He really loved scotch out of all the alcoholic drinks available. At least scotch was the one thing humans were actually good at.
As he turned to leave the bar, he spun around to immediately make eye contact with a Beowolf.
Raum held on to his five bottles of scotch in one arm, commencing a short staring contest with the creature of Grimm until it snarled at him.
"Out of my way."
The snark turned into a low toned growl, the creature leaning back as if to signify it was about to attack. Raum sighed and raised up his free hand, his index finger bending slightly while the fingertip remained trained on the Beowolf. A small spehere of black Aura outlined in dark green, no bigger than an eyeball, formed at the tip of the Dark Entities fingertip, for focal streams of energy converging in the center of his fingertip to expand the sphere slightly.
"Regis Exitium (King's Destruction)."
As soon as the Beowolf went to pounce, Raum straightened out his finger, almost as if he had pushed it, as the sphere transformed into a small, short burst beam of black Aura outlined in dark green that instantly made contact with the creatures forehead, the sound the beam made when shot resembling that of a high pitched demonic shriek. After a second of making contact with the creature, it's entire body expanded instantly until it could no more, and exploded into numerous pieces, splattering the creature's remains over a wide area.
Raum had put up a barrier of his Aura to shield himself from the black blood and wet chunks of flesh that adorned the front entrance of the bar.
"How unfortunate for you…"
He kicked its dissolving head out of the way as he stashed his bottles of scotch inside his bag and went outside. People were running for their lives. A few dead littered the streets. Blood had painted some of the streets. Fires cracked and burned intensely as the creatures of Grimm chased after their prey, both human and Faunus. It was like Hell on earth. Felt just like home. Or a casual Tuesday stroll. Either or.
A pack was chasing down a woman running away. When they saw Raum, they halted their chase and looked towards him with a hunger for blood and flesh. He gazed back at them. As much as he wanted to, it was far too much work than necessary to expend Aura killing them.
"Get lost…" he said in a hollow, echoing voice.
This alone was enough to make the back move back fearfully before tucking tail and moving on, deciding to keep hold of their lives for a little longer.
And so, it was time for the Dark Entity to move forth. He was going to stop at his apartment, grab a few items, and see if he could-
Crying. The cries of a small child echoed through the streets. Strangely enough, he recognized this crying. His eyes were wide, the Dark being hesitating to look to his side, but eventually deciding to do so.
It was the young wolf Faunus. She was all alone, crying to herself. Her knees were scraped, she had a few scratches on her arms, and her clothes were even more torn and ragged than before.
Then she spotted him. She immediately stopped crying and gazed at Raum, almost as if she couldn't believe she was seeing him now.
"Papa… Papa!"
He dreaded that name greatly. Why did she continue calling him that? He wasn't her father. He had no blood relation to her. So why did continue to call him that? The thought infuriated him, yet...made him feel something else.
He turned his head forwards, ready to leave again until he heard her cry out to him again, forcing him to a dead halt.
A loud thud sounded. A Beowolf had leapt from one of the short rooftops, glancing at Raum. It ignored him. Instead, it's wicked gaze turned to meet the small Faunus child, terror striking her entire being as the creature snarled and licked its lips.
Raum moved forward.
It's not my problem. I'm not her father. She isn't my daughter. She's just another lowly being. Another insignificant creature. She means nothing to me. It isn't my problem.
"Papa!" She cried terror stricken
Stop it… Stop calling me that… he thought as his eyes narrowed.
"Papa!"
Don't you understand? I'm not…
His eyes were quivering slightly. The Beowolf growled while she shrieked loudly in fear as her tears fell profusely.
You aren't my problem… You aren't…
"Papa!"
His eyes went wide.
After the last cry, it seemed as though the world had gone completely silent for Raum. He could hear nothing. Everything seemingly froze and went white, as though he were engulfed in an incandescent space. And then heard it. Felt it. A steady beating in his chest while the rest of the world remained still and motionless.
"I really don't understand you… Why is it that you hate them so? What have they done so wrong to incur your wrath?"
"They're weak, inferior beings, brother. They take everything for granted. They can be easily crushed like the little bugs that they are. But most importantly, they're flawed. Horrifically flawed."
"Are we so perfect ourselves Raum?"
"We are better than them! In every way, shape and form! We're smarter! More powerful! More enduring! More capable! What can they do?! What are they capable of that we aren't?!"
"Change."
"Change..?"
"Moreso easily than we are. We are ancient. We follow the ways of old to our liking and our discretion. But after Him, we decided to follow his example. I too once thought like you. What are they worth? And how can we change? He showed me how. It's why I do the things I do. Why I try to keep the peace between all despite your tantrums and rather unsavory actions. There is something better for us too. Not just them."
"And I should stop because of that? They're fragile! Easily breakable!"
"That may be so, but...there is a beauty to their inferiority, their fragility. You may not see it now...but I'm sure sometime in the future, you will. And when you do...you'll come to understand as well."
"Understand what?"
"The beauty in their fragility, their weaknesses, their flaws...does it not make you sometimes wish to take up arms for their sake?"
He grew silent. He had no retorts to give his brother.
"You too will one day find something to protect. And when you do...you too will understand why I do what I do. Why He did what he did before us. And...why that boy you fight does the same…"
"Papa!"
Her plea was heard by him. But it was nearly silent, almost as though he were deaf. He moved the hand clutching his chest where his heart now beat, moving towards his face to touch the side of his face. It felt wet. These were...tears…
The Beowolf had pounced, ready to devour its prey.
"Papa!"
He heard her this time, only more clearly. Raum spun around and pointed his finger towards the Beowolf, his index finger bent as four small streams of his Aura focused to his fingertip to quickly charge up a sphere of his Aura. And just as quickly, he straightened out his finger and shot out a small shot of Aura that penetrated the creature of Grimm's body. It's entire body quickly expanded and exploded in the next second.
Blood had painted the alleyway. But surprisingly enough, little of it reached the little Faunus wolf girl as she had her arms raised defensively, her eyes closed shut. A small amount of black blood had tainted her already filthy and ragged clothing, a smudge of the blackened blood located on her left cheek.
She opened her eyes to see no harm had befallen her. Her vision was still blurry from all the crying, forcing her to rub her eyes. When she could see again, she found that Raum had stood before her in all of his imposing glory. And she looked up at the Dark being, eyes still seemingly full of wonder.
She backed away slightly to allow him some space as he knelt down to her level. And so it was that the two simply stared at one another, doing nothing. Saying nothing. Unsurprisingly, the child made her move first. Even so, it still surprised the Dark Entity greatly. She drew closer to him and reached out to him with her little hand. Raum simply stood still and studied her actions closely, watching her hand grow closer. What she did next surprised him even more than he already had been.
Her little hand gently wiped away the tears on his face. He didn't even realize he was still crying slightly. When she had finished, she giggled to herself, something he didn't expect to warm his heart so easily. Her large wolf ears fluttered slightly as she reached out with both hands and grabbed hold of his head, hugging it as she nuzzled her face against his. He felt...embarrassed slightly.
"Look…"
She let go of his face and looked him in the eyes, almost as if she clearly understood that he wanted to say something and have her listen closely. He looked away from her, possibly feeling shame from earlier actions. And strangely enough, it seemed as though she understood this. She immediately grabbed hold of his face with of her tiny hands and forced him to look directly in the eyes with an affirmative "hmph".
She was full of surprises.
"I'm… I'm...sorry… About before I mean… You asked for my help...and I abandoned you. And today...only just a few moments ago...you called to me again. And again, I almost abandoned you like the last time… But you...you did something… I don't know what, but… I just can't find the words to describe it really. Whatever it was I...feel different. Better. A lot better than I've felt for numerous millennia now…"
She tilted her head to the side innocently, listening to him more intently.
"My point is… I may not be your actual father. Despite you calling me that over and over again… My point is, I may not be your actual father. But you can damn well be sure that I will always take care of you from now on and be there for you. And...I will never abandon you. That much I can promise you. Can you do the same?" He said sticking out his hand and his pinky.
She seemed confused.
"I don't know… I've...heard normal people do this sort of thing… So...I thought this was appropriate. Or something like that. People still do this, yes? I wouldn't know really. My 'people skills' are 'rusty'."
The cute little creature raised a hand to her chin as her wolf ears folded against her head, as if she were trying to process and understand his words. She gasped suddenly as her wolf ears perked up again, as if she had just thought of something, her tail whipping about happily as she giggled to herself, reaching out to him and constantly clenching and unclenching her hands. This told the Dark Being she wanted something.
"What is it?" He said lowering his hand.
It wasn't as clear as she thought it was. So she thought again, and another idea came to mind to express what she wanted. She patted her face twice with both hands before extending her arms to him once again.
"You want me to come closer?" Asked the Dark being while the girl nodded twice with an affirmative "hmph".
He did as requested and let the little one take possession of his head as she drew him in closer, eventually close enough so that she could give him a smooch on the cheek. Needless to say, he was embarrassed by her action just now, evidenced by the fact his face reddened suddenly. No living being has done this to him before. The fact a mere child had been the first to do so embarrassed him slightly.
It almost seemed as though she took satisfaction in embarrassing him. But in her own way, she had just conveyed to him that she was putting her complete trust in him now, accepting him as he was despite their previous encounters. She knew he wouldn't abandon her. The Dark being himself knew the same fact.
"Alright then. You're in my care now and...well...frankly...I'm in yours as well."
She giggled to herself and hugged his leg as her tail whipped about happily.
"Now then, let's go."
He lowered his hand to her so that she could grab his. This was something people did, right? Raum attempted to walk forward but soon halted himself when he noticed the young one was barely moving. Her legs were shaking. Was she afraid? No. He took note of the condition of her knees. She was in pain. Yet regardless, she tried her best walking forwards despite her struggle.
"Good grief…"
Raum let go of her hand and grabbed the young wolf by the back neckline of her shirt, lifting her up in the air in front of him. She looked at him with a sad pout, as if she were frustrated with herself.
"Don't be frustrated over something as small as that."
He then moved her behind him and dropped her atop his shoulders, her little legs dangling over his broad shoulders as her hands and chin rested atop the nearly spikey, messy, black hair of the Dark being. She felt a warmth that she never really felt before. Truthfully, even Raum didn't think he was capable of a such a thing. She took comfort in this new source of warmth, nuzzling her face in his hair. Yet again the Dark being felt an embarrassment that he never thought was possible before now. But...it was welcome.
Raum made moved out of the alleyway to continue down the street and make his way to his apartment. If he was going to leave Vale, he needed to gather somethings first, as well as take care of the little one. Which reminded him that he needed to get things for the young girl. Food for instance and definitely a new set of clothes.
He picked up the bag he left in the street, eyeing the numerous bottles of scotch inside. The Dark being stood silent, his gaze almost piercing through the bottles of alcohol as the young wolf Faunus stared in confusion. Raum moved his head up slightly so he could glance at the young one resting atop his head. It only took a second to decide.
Without warning, Raum suddenly stood up and tossed the bag high up into the sky and stuck out his right hand and index finger, aiming for the bag. Four streams of his Aura focused towards the fingertip of his bent finger to form a sphere of the very same Aura. When he straightened out his finger, a short burst beam shot out and hit the bag, creating a decent sized explosion in the night sky.
The little one looked above and gasped in amazement, as if she had seen fireworks go off. She looked down at him with an expression some form of puzzlement, as if she were asking why he had done this. And like all other instances, he seemingly understood what she meant to express.
"It was about time I kicked the sauce anyway…"
When he had reached home, Raum have the young wolf Faunus a bath. She really needed it since she practically lived on the street before he came along. On their way home, he had stopped at a nearby clothing store for children to "take" some dresses for her that were dark blue, as well as shoes, socks and other clothing necessities for her.
It wasn't like they needed it at the moment with the Grimm attack happening currently throughout the city. Thankfully, the Grimm had ignored him completely the entire time, simply looking in his direction before turning and leaving. Be it either luck or fear of the Dark being, Raum's journey so far was less troublesome.
Washing the young wolf in the bath was rather tedious considering she kept playfully splashing the Dark being with her large wolf tail. Despite the very small amount of frustration it brought, Raum found it rather...cute. He didn't entirely hate it.
He took the blow dryer to her, making sure to be careful of her wolf ears. What was particularly entertaining experience was drying her tail, since it was very poofy after drying it with the blow dryer, a situation he fixed when he neatly combed the fur of her tail, and soon combing her messy black hair. It was a bit straighter now, but was still fairly messy.
Knowing he did all that he could, he immediately set her on the countertop in the kitchen and got her dressed into one of the dark blue dresses she was very fond of, moving on to her socks next and then shoes. She was all set. Actually, there was still one matter to take care of.
Raum grabbed hold of the top of the young wolf Faunus' head and spun her around to face, all the while she smiled.
"I don't suppose you have a name?"
She looked distressed, evidenced by the fact her wolf ears folded against her head as her eyes darted back and forth, as if she were trying to remember.
"We'll just assume you don't. Which means I have to give you a name."
She stood up and proudly placed her hand on her hips, giving the Dark being her trademark "hmph", possibly to express confidence that he would select a good name for her.
"How about brat?"
She pouted at him.
"I was kidding. Give me a sec."
He sat down in a chair and tried accessing the internet on his scroll. Communications were down, as well as connectivity. That wasn't a good sign.
"Shit… Well that didn't- Ow!"
He turned his head to find the young girl tugging on his check, glaring at him.
"What are you..?! Are you serious?! You're doing this because I swore?!"
She nodded.
"Ugh… Give me a break… Fine! Sorry! Can you let go now? Please?"
She looked off to the side, almost as if she were pondering the idea. She nodded to herself twice before letting go, as if she agreed to the idea.
"First I quit drinking, now I have to give up cursing… You're making me do a lot of unnecessary things you know?"
She tilted her head sideways, giving him a confused glance.
"Right… I guess you wouldn't understand why I did that without telling you… Truthfully…"
He paused for a moment. It was difficult to say what he was going to say next. Mainly because he's never had to say something like it before in his life, which also made him slightly embarrassed to say it given who he is.
"Truthfully...now that...you and I are together...and now that you're under my care…I...I want to devote as much time to you and your needs as much as possible. And drinking...and apparently swearing will get in the way of that. S-So… So what I'm saying is be grateful. I gave up a favorite pastime of mine so I can give you my one hundred and ten percent. Got it?"
The young Faunus girl looked up towards the ceiling, pondering what action she should use to describe her understanding. It came to her a second later. She stood up at attention and saluted him. This earned a stifled chuckle from the Dark Entity, who thought of her display as rather cute, rubbing the top of her head continuously as she giggled to herself, her wolf tail whipping about happily.
"Now then...your name...let's see…"
Raum leaned back in his chair, sifting through his brain of countless names he's seen over the millennia. The young girl sat flat on her stomach, resting her chin in her hands while playfully kicking her feet back and forth, her tail still constantly whipping about as she stared at him while smiling.
It only took him a minute to figure out something. But he wanted to do it in a way that would seem slightly silly, simply for the sake of entertaining the little one. He cleared his throat before speaking.
"From henceforth, you will forever be known as her royal fluffiness Irene! Are there any objections?!"
Her tail whipped about at an even quicker pace as she quickly stood up and shook her head twice.
"Good…"
Irene's stomach soon growled, the young girl shying away as if she were embarrassed.
"I'd guess you'd be hungry… You probably didn't eat all too much while on the streets, huh?"
She still looked rather embarrassed.
"There's no shame in it. From now on, you get to eat as much as you want. Not too much though, otherwise you'll get fat. Got it?"
She nodded her head up and down.
"Good."
Raum got up from his chair and went to the fridge opening before staring blankly inside. He still had his stash of scotch that filled up the entirety of the fridge, the only item that passed for "food" that was in his fridge being a loaf of bread.
"Great start Raum… Great start…you damn idiot…"
One more time he needed to steal before leaving Vale. Food suitable for Irene.
Checking the cabinets, he found he had peanut butter and grape jelly.
"PB and J sound good?"
The mention of PB and J made her drool as she nodded her head up and down excitedly.
"Alright then. PB and J it is."
And so the Dark Entity would go a toast four slices of bread and make two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, one for Irene, and the other for himself so he could enjoy it alongside her and vice versa.
For the first time in what seemed to be never, he was happy. Truly and legitimately happy. And it was all because of this little girl that refused to call him anything else besides "papa." He was never a father. He never even thought of being a father. But now, from the moment he took Irene off the streets, Raum vowed to himself that would make sure to be the best damn father he could be, all for her. And he would never leave her side.
Raum had just finished gathering the last of non-perishable food for Irene, summoning forth his trunk and stuffing the food inside along with an assortment of other things she'd need. Extra clothes and shoes, story books and learning books, the non-perishable food, and so forth. That took up half the space in his trunk. The other half was devoted to his own personal effects despite not having all that much. Not that it'd matter to him really.
"Okay… I think it's safe to say this store is officially out of this...sauce of apples thanks to you. You really like this stuff huh?"
She nodded with affirmative "hmphs". That, and a fourth of the trunk being full of applesauce was evidence enough she enjoyed it. What was so special about this sauce made from apples? He had to know and know. For him, it was urgent. He grabbed a pack that made the "sauce of apples" drinkable through usage of a small, plastic neck with a screw off cap. Wasting no time, the Dark Entity screwed off the cap and consumed the package of applesauce immediately. He was very satisfied with the taste.
"I can see why you like it so much. Here." He said grabbing another applesauce pack and twisting off the cap, handing it to Irene.
The young wolf happily took the pack from his hands and slowly went to work consuming it as she sat atop his shoulders yet again.
"Don't spill any. Although this stuff tastes great, I wouldn't want any in my hair anytime soon."
He didn't know if she paid attention or not to that. She was clearly in her own world, devouring her pack of applesauce very slowly.
"Right… Now then-"
Raum heard a roar behind him as he exited the remains of the shop, turning around to find the source of the unwanted noise. A pack of thirty or more Beowolves. Ten Ursai at most. A few dozen Creeps. And finally, two Deathstalkers. This small regiment of Grimm stood between him and leaving the city. He sighed.
"And here I thought they'd have some common sense as to not mess with me anymore. But then again, only a rare few of their kind actually care to learn. Since you're all eager to die, allow me to help you with your request."
Raum stuck out his right arm and pointed his right index finger at the mass of Grimm, keeping the finger bent slightly as four streams of his Aura converged to his fingertip, forming a small spehere of energy.
"Watch 'papa' be totally cool."
He paused a moment as the sphere continued charging.
"I can't believe I just said that."
He soon shrugged his shoulders and looked back towards the charging army of Grimm, ready to unleash his technique.
"Fade To Black...Regis Exitium."
Instead of a small burst stream of Aura, this time, he discharged a massive beam of black Aura outlined in dark green, that when discharged, gave off a chilling sound resembling hundreds of ghostly wails, screaming in agony. The beam immediately crashed into the masses of Grimm, decimating their center force in the blink of an eye before the rest were consumed by a massive explosion of the same Aura. Uniquely colored Aura and massive gouts of fire filled the night sky as strong tremors traveled through numerous city blocks away from the epicenter of the explosion.
Everything came to a sudden halt, but the flames that were a result of the mass destruction remained, burning away what little remains were left of the Grimm.
Raum looked up at Irene, who stared at the raging flames in awe as she rested her chin atop his head.
She then giggled and pointed her finger at the epicenter of the attack and yelled in her tiny voice "Boom!".
Raum didn't understand why, but this made him laugh a great amount after she said this.
"Right...boom… Heheha…"
He then reached up and began scratching underneath Irene's chin, her dark blue eyes slowly close as her small mouth gradually fell open slightly. She was very much enjoying this given the fact her tail whipped fairly quickly.
"Well...let's see where the road takes us from here little one."
"We traveled, I killed a few giant monsters, yadi yadi yada. And now we're here."
Raum actually took the time to look at everyone's expressions. He was most surprised by Dante and Ciel's reaction. They were literally moved to tears.
"That… That was such a heartwarming story!" Said Ciel tearfully as she cuddled Irene, holding on to the young wolf Faunus tightly.
"I was...so moved…" said Dante just as tearfully.
Raum couldn't help but feel embarrassed. Two of his previous greatest enemies were really moved by his story, the young immortal moreso dramatically moved more than his Kitsune partner.
"I...really did not think such a small thing would make you change so easily…" said Inuba.
"You say that as if you've had faith in the idea I might be like this one day, little fox…"
"Your last battle with Master somewhat inspired the idea. Your actions, your words… I thought, 'Maybe he is capable of change after all. Even if Master doesn't see it entirely.' And here you are. Completely changed. And all it took was this sweet child." She finished playfully tickling the young wolf Faunus, who gladly enjoyed the attention.
"I honestly didn't think you had it in you. I mean...you were kinda a real jerk. And that's putting it nicely with nice words." Said Dante.
"Oh really?" Asked Raum slightly irritated.
"I could use other, more colorful words if you'd like."
"Please don't fight you two. There's no need for it anymore. What happened in the past happened. You had your differences but now no longer do so. So in my opinion, I think it best we align our interests and work together. Sir Raum, you currently have no other goals or interests besides taking care of Irene, yes?"
"Pretty much, yeah."
"If you ally yourself with us, we will not only have more man power, but all of us can help with taking care of Irene. That, and you will be a great help to us on our journey. We'd be more than happy to have you with us if you're willing to put aside your past grievances with my Master. And Master would be more than happy to do the same. Right?"
The young immortal sighed. His Kitsune partner did make valid points through and through. It was hard to argue against her at this point. It was hard to argue against Inuba period. Which is one of the reasons he's only won one argument against her ever.
"Alright then… Thanks to partners excellent insight, I'm willing to bury the hatchet between us if you are. You've definitely changed, I can see that much on my own. To be honest, because of this, I have a lot more respect for you than I previously did…"
Dante raised his left hand up to Raum, who stood there staring at it. He looked to Irene, who had also been staring at him. She giggled and nodded her head twice. That was all he needed as he took Dante's hand and shook it.
"So then...what's first on our to do list?"
(Omake, "Tricks", by me)
"I still can't believe how adorable she is!" Said Ciel as she was tickling Irene.
"I agree. She is quite entertaining to see so joyous." Spoke Inuba as she played with the young wolf Faunus' ears, much to her delight as she giggled happily at the attention and love she was receiving from the older girls.
"When are you going to start educating her?" Asked Dante.
"Soon enough. I got all the children's books I need for educating her and enough story books to keep her entertained. Plus I have stories of my own."
"So you haven't taught her anything in six months?"
"I have. Maybe not what you're thinking exactly, but I have."
"So..?"
"She knows some tricks."
"Tricks?"
"Yep. Watch. Irene."
The young wolf Faunus stopped what she was doing and stood straight at attention.
"Shake with the fox."
Irene gave an affirmative "hmph" and quickly spun around to face Inuba with a serious expression, then grabbed hold of the Kitsune's hands and shook it numerous times before letting go, resuming her play session with two.
"You're teaching her dog tricks?"
"No… I'm just teaching her tricks simply for my amusement. And others really."
"Really?"
"Yup. But you haven't seen anything yet. Watch this. Irene?"
Yet again the young girl snapped to attention.
"Bark."
In the next second, she raised her little arms up into the air and wore a rather mischievous look on her face as she said, "Rawr!" with her cute, tiny voice.
Ciel had to cover her face with her hands to contain her squeal at this display of adorableness. Even Inuba giggled to herself, soon accompanied with the giggling laughter of the younger child.
"Now growl."
Irene's eyes suddenly narrowed as she lowered her gaze slightly and balled her little fists, letting out a mewling growl that nearly shattered the cuteness scale.
Everyone nearly died from this display. Dante clutched his chest, feeling as though he was going to have a heart attack from the cuteness overload he just experienced.
"I'm going to have so much fun with this…" said Raum as he smiled deviously.
(Semblance Encyclopedia 2)
"Howdy folks! Ciel and Leo here back to bring you another episode of Semblance Encyclopedia!" said Ciel.
"We all hoped you all enjoyed Halloween. Thanksgiving's just around the corner, and soon after that-"
"It'll be Christmas!" shouted Ciel enthusiastically.
"But we can save Christmas for later. Think we can get Inuba to make us some Pumpkin pie?! Her cooking is heavenly after all!"
"We'll have to ask her when we see her. But Ciel, we aren't here to talk about food, we're here to-"
"Educate the masses on all existing Semblances of certain people and their current capabilities, I got it. So who are going to talk about today?"
"Why not Ms. Rose's Semblance?"
"Are you saying that because she's big brothers' girlfriend?"
"No, she just has a particularly interesting Semblance. Especially now after the duration of the six months."
"Uhuh, sure. I'll believe that when pigs fly."
"But-"
"Shut up. Since Leo wants to talk about Ruby's Semblance, we'll do exactly that. You first."
"Right. Well, let's start with the basics first."
The large monitor behind the twins turned on, presenting images of Ruby in combat whilst using her Semblance.
"Ms. Rose's Semblance allows her to dash with unnatural speed in whatever direction she chooses at the cost of Aura. We've previously said that our older brother Dante is capable of keeping up with Ms. Rose when using her Semblance, but if she pushed herself more while using it, Ms. Rose definitely outmatches our brother in terms of speed. In fact, Ms. Rose is so fast that she sometimes gives off the illusion of teleporting. Even more fascinating, she also has the ability to use her Semblance midair to create powerful whirlwinds that can suck in and knock away objects and foes caught by it, as demonstrated in the food fight between her team and team JNPR."
"Brother told me about that. He said it was awesome. The food fight I mean. Anyway, over the period of six months, Ruby definitely had greater control over her Semblance, evidenced by the fact she can use it to repeatedly change directions midair and attack at hyper dimension speeds! Okay, not hyper dimension speeds, but fast enough that it's freakin hard to keep track of her. Probably the coolest part of her Semblance I've seen yet is that she can dematerialize into three separate clusters of petals which can then flow around an opponent before reforming!" said Ciel.
"I mean, It doesn't match my ability to teleport, or stop time for a minute, but hey, it works." said Ciel as she was vanishing and reappearing instantly in different locations on the stage, stopping and leaning her elbow against Leonard.
"You do like to brag a lot don't you?"
"Only when I'm right."
Despite what my sister says, let's continue. By now, ms. Rose has increased her ability to pick up and carry someone, as demonstrated with her pair attack with ms. Valkyrie on the Geist. Another ability she's improved is her ability to encircle the air, creating a rather strong vortex. Previously it was on a smaller level, but she is now capable of enveloping her enemy in a tornado-like rush of air to completely throw them off. In short, ms. Rose's Semblance is a fairly versatile Semblance that works really well in combat situations as well as situations where a strategic retreat is required in order to re-evaluate and re-engage the enemy. Given time, I'm sure it'll evolve even further and become even more powerful."
Ciel grinned mischievously before speaking to her twin.
"Hey Leo..."
"Yes?"
"You know how Ruby leaves behind a trail of rose petals when she uses her Semblance?"
"What about it?"
"Think one day she'll 'leave a trail' of those petals to a bedroom for big brother?" she said raising her eyebrows suggestively while nudging him with her elbow.
"C-Ciel!"
"What? I'm just saying. It's a viable strategy. Anyway, we'll see you all next time for Thanksgiving! Catch ya later peeps!"
You know...Ciel isn't wrong about that last part at all...
A-Anyway, exciting chapter this time huh? We get Raum, one of the Four Dark Entity Kings back as well as the cute and cuddly Irene! Strange how one child can change a being filled with hatred over the millennia, huh? Previously, Raum had no real focus since coming to Remnant. Now he does. Protect that sweet and adorable child while also trying to be a father to her.
I leave you with one more thing to ponder. Irene simply wasn't put in for my own and your amusement. She has a purpose too. Her and Raum's meeting wasn't simply/entirely up to fate. No... It's much more. Like all my characters I introduce and use throughout my story, each has a purpose, as well as a goal and motive. Now then...with this in mind...what is Irene's purpose?
Now then, I highly recommend you all go check out the freaking amazing collab Xera Stark and I are currently working on concerning his story XSRA's Flame. His story overall is absolutely fantastic and is a must read, so I suggest you read from the very start. But, if you're just interested in the awesome collab our two minds put together have created, then mozy on down to chapter 53 of his story for the start. I've said it once and will say it again, you won't want to miss out on this story, and especially this exciting story arc we've created.
Please remember to review, follow and favorite this story if you really enjoyed it and want to continue seeing more of it. And hey, even tell others about this story! Remember that your support is what helps make this story grow even larger and what helps improve it. With that, I bid you all an excellent week/weekend and hope to see you next time! Bye-bye now!