Chapter 31
Rias tried not to smile as Junichiro hung his head and swore after she caught him doing... whatever it was he was doing.
She'd gone out to do a little shopping to pick up a few things. She might wear the Kuoh Academy uniform the majority of the time, but she enjoyed nice comfortable casual clothing as well. She also wanted to pick up a little bit of make up. While she knew she was supernaturally beautiful and didn't need makeup, she liked to use just a tiny bit to highlight her features.
She didn't wear makeup very often, but ever since she'd caught Junichiro eyeing her up when he thought she wouldn't notice, she'd decided to wear a little for him. She wasn't above using her attractiveness to snare such a valuable member for her peerage.
Her desire to do so after losing to him had only been mild. He wasn't individually stronger than any member of her peerage, but he was definitely far more flexible and prepared than any of them. Having hard counters for their main abilities and using his Sacred Gear in a way even Kiba hadn't known was possible...
Yeah, she wanted him just for that. But then she'd watched him as he taught and sparred with Kiba. Her thoughts about his physical strength were correct and his skill with a sword was well below Kiba's, but she knew that if Junichiro went all out, Kiba would lose regardless. Add on his clear skill in teaching Kiba how to use his Sacred Gear in a far more impressive manner and her desire to have him as a member of her peerage had soared.
So, imagine her surprise when she saw him walking down the street with a clearly hypnotized younger boy following him. For a very brief moment, she considered that Junichiro might be... bent. He was clearly attracted to her, though he oddly ignored Akeno, so he clearly wasn't entirely gay. It sparked her curiosity so she decided to follow behind and see what was going on.
She'd been prepared for Junichiro to be a bit different than she expected, but what she witnessed was nowhere near anything she had envisioned being possible. He'd fully shoved his arm into the other boys chest! All the way up to his elbow even! Without it coming out the other side, that was the important bit.
Now, she wasn't against killing, per se. But she couldn't, and wouldn't, get behind cold blooded murder. She'd been about to confront Junichiro and see if she could help the other boy, when red light had flooded the area. When it cleared she was shocked to see Junichiro holding a red gauntlet in his hands. It looked like the pictures of Twice Critical she'd seen. A very common Sacred Gear that, in the proper hands, could be devastating.
That only really applied to the truly powerful though. If she used it, she'd gain a good bit of strength but still wouldn't reach beyond High-Class. But if her brother used it? He'd be capable of taking on anyone, possibly even Great Red or Ophis, and winning. Or at least getting a draw. The power of Twice Critical was entirely reliant on the base power of the person using it. In the case of Junichiro, it'd make him about as physically strong as Kiba and magically strong as herself and Akeno. Not a really big improvement honestly.
The surprises didn't end their though. After recognizing the gauntlet, she also noticed that the other boy wasn't dead. Anytime she'd ever heard about a Sacred Gear being extracted from someone, that someone died due to the process. So that brought up the question, how the fuck?!
She had no clue how what she'd just witnessed with her own eyes was even remotely possible. It not only intrigued her, but made her want to have Junichiro join her peerage even more. If he could do that to some random boy, what else could he do? Could he help her precious Gasper?! She certainly hoped he could. Even if the process was a bit painful, according to the boys screaming, it would probably be worth it to help her poor Bishop.
She was only slightly surprised when Junichiro ended the event by giving the boy a porn magazine after slightly editing his memories. At least Junichiro was keeping the masquerade up. She'd watched the boy leave with the magazine and a very perverted look on his face before confronting Junichiro. Now, here they were, heading to his home at his request.
Junichiro couldn't stop himself from sighing, repeatedly. He liked to think he was decent at planning things out. He had plans in motion all the time and was constantly making items to help those plans. Like making the ring he used to steal Boosted Gear from Issei, though it was in its Twice Critical configuration.
Yet, the moment he executes the plan to steal one of the twelve most powerful Sacred Gears on the planet, he doesn't notice the woman with blindingly red hair following him! A super sleuth he was not.
It didn't take too long for them to make it back to his place. They'd not said a word for the entire walk. Thankfully, the silence hadn't been awkward. Once they were inside, he led Rias to the living room and gestured to the various seats, "Please take a seat while I put this," He lifted the gauntlet up, "away and grab something. Would you like a drink before we begin?"
Rias tapped her chin, "Something cold will work. I'm pretty warm from the walk."
Junichiro nodded and left Rias behind in the living room. He made a quick trip into his workshop to set the Boosted Gear gauntlet on a table then made directly for his office. Once there he retrieved a contract, specifically a secrecy one.
After Azazel's last surprise guest, he'd made a dozen or so contracts expecting Azazel to pull something like that again. It seemed like something the mischievous man would do. Shockingly, he hadn't. It did leave him with a small pile of magically binding contracts though. He left the office, contract in hand, and made his way into the kitchen. It was easy enough to retrieve a bottle of chilled water and a pair of glasses. He was thirsty himself.
With everything settled, he returned to the living room where Rias had only had to wait a few short minutes. He set down the water, glasses, and contract. Though he slid the contract toward Rias, "Before I can really tell you anything, I need you to read and sign that. Once you do, I can answer any questions I feel comfortable answering."
Rias arched her eyebrow in question. When no answer was forthcoming, she picked up the contract and quietly read through it. The contract wasn't very long and basically boiled down to one thing, "So if I sign this, then I am expected to keep anything you tell me until I leave your wards a secret on penalty of losing the memories?"
"It also covers while you're still under the wards." He pointed to the relevant section, "So no calling people before you leave to tell my secrets before leaving."
Rias nodded and double checked the contract for anything else she might not have instantly understood. It didn't take long and she nodded. The contract used simple language, not complicated technical terms that required years of college education to begin to unravel, "Alright."
She picked up on of the few pens sitting on the coffee table in the middle of the seats and signed her name to the contract. After she did, Junichiro picked it up, folded it up, and slipped it into a pocket, "So, what do you want to know?"
Rias crossed her arms under her breasts, pushing them up in the process, "Everything."
Junichiro snorted, "First, I don't know everything. No one does." A facetious answer, but true none-the-less, "I also don't want to take the time to talk about my entire life in a single sitting. It's not all that exciting anyway."
Rias grumbled but settled for, "Fine, then explain what I witnessed today."
Junichiro tilted his head to the side in thought. He took a bit before letting out a sigh, he couldn't think of a way to explain today without...
"Alright, before I can do that, you need to understand something else about me." When she looked curious he explained, "I'm 'The Artificer'."
Rias froze for a moment, before she started laughing, "Oh, you almost had me for a second." She continued to giggle a bit as Junichiro looked slightly offended, "But really, The Artificer?" She gestured to the contract, "I know the contract doesn't say you have to tell me the truth, but come on! Can't you come up with a more believable lie, at least?"
Junichiro let out a sigh. He supposed he should have expected it. No one would ever think that the famous Artificer some some teenager. It wasn't the first time someone had questioned if he was who he claimed to be either. So, instead of trying to argue the point, he stood up and gestured for Rias to follow him, "Come on, I've got something to show you."
Rias, still giggling a little, climbed to her feet and followed Junichiro as he led her to his workshop. When he opened the door, all of her giggles died in her throat. The place she was looking into was like something out of a fantasy novel. There were tools, machines, and items of all shapes and sizes all over the place. On top of that the place radiated so much magical power past the threshold that she could clearly feel it despite not being specialized in sensing power.
With the door open, she silently gaped as waves of magical power rolled over her almost as a physical force. That fact that it was items putting off that much power actually scared her a little bit. Even if she gathered every drop of magical power from the members of her peerage together, it wouldn't even come close to the power radiating from the place. The only thing she could think of that was even close were the very few times she'd felt Grayfia let her power loose.
She slowly turned to look at Junichiro standing next to her. Seeing the satisfied smile on his face made her pout a little. Then it registered to her. The man she was trying to recruit into her peerage, and who seemed willing to join, was the flippin' ARTIFICER! With him in her peerage, her problem was instantly and immediately solved! With what she knew about Junichiro's reputation and his work led her to believe it would be possible for him to make something to easily hand her a victory over Riser.
If Junichiro knew what she was thinking, he would have agreed with her. Making something to defeat Riser would be a cake walk for him.
"So... apparently you weren't lying."
Junichiro smirked and closed the door to his workshop and led her back into the living room. After pouring himself a drink and lighting one of his herbal cigarettes, he spoke, "So, now that we've established that, I can more fully explain what you witnessed today. Thanks to my skills, I was able to create this..."
He set the golden colored ring on the table between then. Aside from the slightly rough looking surface, it looked like a simple gold ring to Rias. She tilted her head as she looked it over, "Alright?"
"That is a Sacred Gear extractor of my own design. It takes a good while to charge up fully and is only good for one use when it is charged. However, it does its job perfectly and doesn't kill the person I'm extracting the Sacred Gear from."
Rias's eyes were practically glittering, "That's amazing!"
She really thought it was too. She could just imagine what they, as in the Devils as a whole, could do with something like that in their possession. With that single ring, they could gather all the power they would ever need to protect themselves and make sure the Great War never broke out again! Still something bugged her so she asked, "How did you know that boy had a Sacred Gear? Until you took it out of him I had no idea he had one and he seemed really weak so I doubt it was awakened within him."
Junichiro nodded in agreement, "It wasn't awakened. As for how... I'm not telling. Suffice to say, I knew."
Rias grumbled but assumed he had some way to tell if someone had a Sacred Gear or not, "Fine. But why take a Twice Critical? It's not the worst Sacred Gear ever, but it's also not all that great either. You'd need to be really strong to get the best use out of it."
Junichiro lips curled into a wide smirk, "Because that wasn't a Twice Critical, it was the Boosted Gear."
It took everything he had not to laugh as he watched Rias's face go completely slack as her mind shut down at the implications of those few words. He'd successfully stolen one of the twelve most powerful Sacred Gears in existence and she simply didn't know how to process that fact.
It took a few moments for Rias to gather her wits about her. She gently shook her head, crimson hair waving gently, "Okay. So. Let me see if I understand right. You're one of the most sought after people in existence and you are in possession of one of the most powerful Sacred Gears in existence?"
Junichiro nodded with a bright smile, "Yup! I don't plan to bind the Boosted Gear to myself quite yet though. If I did, I'm relatively certain you would be incapable of reincarnating me, should I decide to join your peerage."
Rias nodded in agreement. She wasn't entirely certain what it would take to reincarnate Junichiro as things currently stood. While he was not stronger than her, the process took into account potential and she felt that Junichiro had a lot of potential. If her Knight or Rook pieces wouldn't work, she suspected it would take at least six Pawns to reincarnate him, possibly all eight.
Given what she would get in return, she was more than willing to make that trade! Sure it would drastically limit the size her peerage to grow to, but it would be worth it to have 'The Artificer' and the Red Dragon Emperor combined into a single person in her peerage.
Honestly, just the thought of it sent a thrill tingling down her spine. Her pupils dilated slightly as her breathing became a little heavier. As a Devil, a pure blooded one even, she was highly attracted to power in any form and pure power was sitting across from her.
While he had never utilized it, she knew that Junichiro had political power if he ever chose to leverage his skills toward that end. A trinket here, a small item there, and he would have politicians dancing to his tune. Then there was physical and magical power. While he didn't have either in abundance, at the moment, once he became a Devil both would grow quickly. Add in the Boosted Gear and he could easily, with time and effort, become even more powerful than her brother.
In history there had been many powerful holders of the Boosted Gear, but all of them had been humans. Even with the miracles that were Sacred Gears, there was still a limit to how strong a human could get. Those limits were exceedingly high, but they existed. Devils simply had significantly higher limits than humans. If Junichiro, as a Devil, was to bind the Boosted Gear to himself, he'd likely be able to take it to heights that far exceeded any of the previous wielders of the Sacred Gear.
Rias not-so-subtly rubbed her thighs together as she gazed at Junichiro with a slightly glazed over look, "I really really want you to join my peerage now. Is there anything I can do to help you join me faster?"
The breathy way Rias said 'anything' sent a shiver down Junichiro's spine and instantly filled his teenage mind with the desire to see Rias without her clothing on. He'd seen her rubbing her thighs together and had a guess that she was aroused, but hearing that tone of voice from her? Now he was the one adjusting the way he was sitting to make more room for himself.
That was one thing he actually hated about his current life. The absolute lack of control he had over the physical responses of his body to outside stimuli. Rampaging hormones were no joke!
Still, no matter how much his hormone filled brain was demanding he try at least something with Rias, he held himself back. He was relatively certain that there was some sort of monitoring magic on Rias to prevent her from losing her virginity, if she seriously tried to. His reasons for suspecting that? The way Grayfia appeared in Issei's bedroom when Rias was seriously trying to get him to deflower her to prevent her marriage to Riser.
Unless Grayfia, or others, were spying on Rias one hundred percent of the time day and night and tracking her every single move, as well as her peerage members, then magic was the most likely explanation. It's not like it would even be that hard to make an intent based spell for that sort of thing. Hell, he could probably design something to to detect the intent and fire off a warning beacon in a couple of hours. It seemed very likely that the Devils would have designed a spell like that a long time ago to protect the chastity of their daughters so they would fetch a higher price in marriage negotiations.
The last thing he wanted was someone like Grayfia barging through his wards and into his home. So, there was only one thing he could really say, "Just keep being yourself. So far, I like everything I've seen... Well, almost everything. Himejima-san seems extremely annoyed, even angry, anytime my girlfriend comes up in conversation."
Rias's mood instantly shattered at that statement. She looked away from Junichiro, "She has her reasons. Speaking of, I thought things were ending between you two?"
Junichiro nodded, "They are. Honestly, I would have ended things by now but I haven't seen her in weeks. She's not returning any of my communications either and I'm not the type to break up with someone in a text message or email. That's a cowards move."
At this point, Junichiro suspected Mittelt was partially avoiding him to keep him from breaking up with her. He doubted it had anything to do with any feelings for him and more that she didn't want to get in trouble with Azazel over it.
He knew she'd be back in a few more days though. She'd need refills for her growth potion since she'd be running out shortly. If she wanted her body to keep maturing, she'd have to come see him in person. He could break up with her then, though he would be a proper gentleman and continue to provide her with the potion. He wasn't a complete dick.
Aside from that, he was kind of looking forward to breaking up with her. He hadn't really noticed it at first, but there was a large difference between spending time with Mittelt, who was millenia older than him, and Rias's peerage, who were all around his age. He might have constantly fading memories of his previous life, but he felt like he was fifteen not in his fifties or sixties.
He honestly hadn't realized what he was missing by not spending time with people his own age.
Rias sighed and nodded her head in acceptance of that. If she dated someone and they broke up with her in a text, she'd be pissed, "I see."
She was still trying to come to terms with the power that her potential peerage member would be wielding so she wasn't quite on her game. At least she now understood why he wanted to protect himself so much. While she would never order her peerage members to do something they didn't wish to do, she knew there were other Kings who were less scrupulous than her.
There was silence as Rias continued to process the implications of Junichiro joining her peerage and the unbelievable fact that she couldn't tell anyone about it! Now that she knew who he was, she wanted to brag about him to everyone she knew the moment he joined her peerage! The Artificer and the Red Dragon Emperor in a single person would make her peerage nigh unbeatable!
Or it would, once they all got some training. She doubted that Junichiro would be using the Boosted Gear's balance breaker instantly and he would need time to train with it. But still! Between his skills at making magical items, potions, and other things and the power of the Boosted Gear, he could single-handedly change her peerage for the better!
Rias took a breath and looked Junichiro straight in the eyes, "I have to know. Just how much were you holding back against me and my peerage?"
Junichiro tilted his head to the side in thought, "That's... difficult to answer. While my personal strength isn't all that much, relatively speaking, the resources and items I could bring to battle are not insignificant. With prep time and knowledge, I could easily make something to counter just about anyone in battle. My strength isn't in what I personally can do in battle, but rather in the items I craft."
Rias thought about that then asked, "What about your Sacred Gear, Sword Birth. How much did you hold back when using it?"
Junichiro looked Rias dead in the eyes, "Significantly."
Her eyes narrowed, "Show me."
Junichiro sighed but nodded and climbed to his feet, "Follow me."
Together, the pair left the house and stepped into Juncihiro's expansive backyard. He stepped a little ways away from her and began to gather his magical power, pumping it heavily into his Sacred Gear, "Sword Birth, Balance Breaker."
Golden energy erupted out of Junichiro's entire body filling the area with the sound of metal striking metal as an entire army of swords formed in the air. Many didn't stick around long as they flowed together into a construct around his body covering him head to toe in thick multicolored plate mail armor.
Another dozen swords merged together to form a massive tower shield that he grabbed with his left hand and held with ease. The last remaining few dozen swords in all manner of various shapes and sizes continued to float behind his back in a wing shaped pattern.
Junichiro held his right hand out causing one of the swords at his back to leap into his hand with a solid 'clang' of metal on metal. Steam rose from the gaps for his mouth as Junichiro announced, "Infinite Arms of the Forge God."
Rias stared at Junichiro in awe. She expected him to have some tricks, not his actual Balance Breaker! Even Kiba didn't have his yet. This made her wonder what Junichiro had to have gone through to unlock it. After all, the only known way to unlock a balance breaker was through a deep need. That pretty much meant it only happened in battle.
She stepped closer to examine the weapons and armor more closely. It sort of reminded her of what she'd heard of about Paladins during the Great War. They were some of the Church's most powerful warriors, at the time. Though she had to ask, "Why are your armor and shield so many colors? It's like a hippie painted your armor."
Junichiro chuckled, his helmeted head turning to watch Rias as she examined his armor, "Each color represents a different element. The armor is nearly impervious to energetic elemental damage as it absorbs it all and uses the magical power gained to continue to power itself. The more spells they fire at me, the more powerful the armor becomes. The same applies to the shield, only it's better at the more solid elemental attacks instead of the more energetic ones. I can use the shield to block or deflect those attacks and steal some magical power from them at the same time."
He turned and looked at the wings made of swords behind himself, "And, naturally, all of the swords have various effects and abilities for me to bring to bear." His helmet turned to face Rias, "They can also..."
When he stopped talking several of the swords flipped around in the air, their tips going from pointing at the ground to aiming in front of him. With a flick of his wrist the blades launched through the air like missiles. A red one ignited in flames, a green one fanned those flames by adding wind to them, and the third one shattered into dozens of pieces that all passed through the flames and caught on fire. The shards and both blades slammed into the ground far away and caused a small explosion. He didn't put a ton of power into it since he didn't want to completely destroy his own back yard.
Moments after the three blades exploded, the air behind Junichiro rippled as the three blades reformed. As long as he maintained the Balance Breaker all of his swords would automatically reform, part of the 'Infinite Arms' in its name.
Rias watched the entire thing with a bit of awe on her face. While the explosion wasn't all that impressive, she'd seen much more devastating ones, she knew that with more power it would become quite a bit more dangerous. She shook off her stupor and smiled brightly at Junichiro, "Now I really need you in my peerage."
Junichiro dismissed his balance breaker, the swords, armor, and shield slowly fading away as glimmers of light, "Just give me some more time to get to know you all a bit better. Like I said before, so far I'm leaning toward joining."
Rias nodded in understanding but he could clearly see the excitement, desire, and greed she had toward him in her eyes. It was very clear to him that she would do just about anything to get him to join her peerage. If she knew this was only one configuration of his Balance Breaker she'd probably kidnap him right then. It wouldn't be infinite arms if it was such a static thing, would it?
He probably shouldn't let her know how good he was at cooking either. She'd definitely kidnap him at that point.
Junichiro closed the door to his teleportation receiving room as the glow of Rias teleporting out faded. They'd spent a little longer talking but Rias had been too overwhelmed by his revelations to really think of any more questions to ask him. He was sure more would come after she finished processing what she'd learned. Until then though, he had work to do!
He opened the door to his workshop and made his way directly to the Boosted Gear gauntlet sitting on his workbench. Due to being in its non-awoken Twice Critical state, it was a rather dull red with a green gem on the back of the hand and dull golden spikes on the sides of the wrist. It didn't even cover the fingers, leaving them bare and making the gauntlet look even smaller.
He shook his head at the pitiful look of the item as he knew how bad ass it could grow to look and the sheer power it contained. It was extremely tempting for him to simply fuse it with his soul right then and there. It could instantly help him with so many of his projects. He knew it had amazing combat potential, and fully intended to use it for such, but his true desire for it was to help him with his work. Being able to double his magical power, even just a single time, would be an amazing boon to his work. Doing it a half dozen times and compounding it? He had to fight not to drool over the possibilities.
He quickly shook his head to clear it of distracting thoughts. As much as he wanted to use it right this moment, he wouldn't. He even had a couple of reasons rather than just not using it so Rias could reincarnate him.
The biggest was...
He walked over to his wall of wands and started pulling several down. Each wand selected was a member of his diagnostics selection. He wanted to scan every micron of the Boosted Gear and know it intimately down to the last detail. He especially wanted to see if there was any differences in the 'faith' systems that the Sacred Gears used.
The 'faith' system within his Sword Birth wasn't very robust or restricted. He suspected that the same could be said for many of the other 'low tier' Sacred Gears. He believed the 'loose' system within them gave them far more branching paths for evolution into various sub-species. He was pretty certain his own Sword Birth had become a subspecies due to his Balance Breaker. It wasn't just shields and armor he could create, but basically any weapon and armor he could imagine. That's why it was 'arms' and not 'swords' and 'forge god' and not 'sword master' or something similar.
His hypothesis was that stronger Sacred Gears would have 'tighter' faith systems that drastically limited the options for evolution. It obviously wasn't impossible for a strong Sacred Gear to become a sub-species, but it was very rare. He could only remember one off the top of his head, Sephiroth Graal.
Speaking of, he needed to remember to find Valarie Tepes and kidnap her at some point. Her Sacred Gear was just too powerful to leave in the hands of the vampires where it could be exploited by undesirables in the Old Satan Faction, like that Rizzle... er... Vali's gramps. He couldn't recall the exact details but he did remember 'infinite numbers of red dragon emperors' being related to it somehow.
He might be wrong. It didn't matter. Just that possibility was terrifying enough to snag Valerie and it to hide both away.
He dismissed that as something to do later. He refocused and waved the first wand over the Boosted Gear. The tip of the wand and the gauntlet both glowed the same orange color as information began to coalesce within his mind.
"Hmmmm that's kinda... sick but makes sense I guess. Using some of Ddraig's body to make the gauntlet his soul was stored within. It'd definitely have the highest possible compatibility. Hmmmm just a portion of his body though. Definitely not enough to produce scales for something the size of Juggernaut Drive. Only enough for the Scale Mail, huh? Probably got something similar to the conjuration system of Sword Birth."
He set the wand aside and selected another one. This time the gauntlet glowed blue as he scanned more than just its physical composition. Data rolled through his mind and he couldn't help smiling to himself, "I was right! The faith system is significantly more restricted. Not only that, but the requirements to unlock even pre-programmed forms is significant."
"Ah, I see. Evolutions are locked behind the Scale Mail! Clever. Using a dragon's full might requires a dragon's body. The Scale Mail is the closest a human could get so locking potential evolutions behind it is a must! Until then there's a hard limit on what can be unlocked and achieved to protect the user. Though..."
He frowned as he double checked a section, "Ah, it's possible to override the safety with a powerful enough 'need' to do so. The price is steep though."
He continued to scan the faith system and pondering to himself. It was very similar to the system in his Sword Birth, but it had multiple layers of safeties built into it that strictly limited the power the Boosted Gear could give to the user. All of the safeties were based on the user's personal condition.
He could also see how some of said safeties could be overridden by Ddraig taking a part of his partner's body and turning it into a dragon part. It wasn't so much Ddraig 'wanting' the part as it was the new draconic part giving the user the necessary strength of body and 'belief' to work with a normally locked aspect of the gear.
Case in point, Issei 'giving up' his arm to Ddraig to use Scale Mail against Riser for a few seconds. The draconic arm boosted Issei's vitality and allowed Ddraig to override the safety. As for it only working the one time... Overriding the safety like that dealt damage to the user. It wasn't so much that Ddraig couldn't override the safety, but that he wouldn't. He also guessed that was why Ddraig only let Issei use the Scale Mail for a few seconds, to minimize the damage and risk of death.
There were other subtle nuances, but they seemed to be more specific case scenarios. There was even one for just in case Ddraig somehow managed to sneak his soul out of the Boosted Gear.
Junichiro started to cycle through the various wands he collected, each causing the gear to glow a different color. Each gathered information on different aspects of the Sacred Gear and helped fill in a complete picture of it and all of its functions. He scanned it so thoroughly that the only secrets it still held were related to Ddraigs soul and memories.
With most of the scanning done, he picked up the last one. This was one of his most recent creations, a wand specifically designed with a spell to scan the details of the targets soul. He'd made it in order to scan his soul completely and used it to constantly keep an eye on it. He didn't think anything could go wrong with Sword Birth, but he wanted to be on the safe (paranoid) side, just in case.
The wand tip began to glow with a silvery-white light that soon surrounded the gauntlet. As the spell sank into the gauntlet, it let out a pulse of power that broke the spell. The next moment the green gem on the gauntlet flashed as a deep masculine voice echoed out of it, "Hm? Ah, my new... wait... Why am I not within my new Partner?!"
Junichiro hardly blinked at the result of trying to scan Ddraig's soul within the gauntlet. He'd expected something like this could potentially happen. He'd hoped it wouldn't, but there was nothing he could do now that it had. He set the wand down and addressed the gauntlet, "Welcome to the waking world Y Ddraig Goch, it's an honor to meet you."
He wasn't sure how, but he was certain that the unmoving, unchanging, green orb was somehow looking directly at him, "Who are you boy and what happened to my partner?"
"I'm Arai Junichiro. As for your partner, I removed you from him."
"Did you now? So you killed my partner and stole me from him before he even awoke me. Why have you done this, coward?"
Junichiro blinked and processed that for a moment before sighing, "I see. First and foremost, I didn't kill anyone. Come to think of it, I've never killed anyone and the only fight I've ever really been in cost me an arm. That's beside the point though. Point is, he's still alive. I'd have fought him for you but... well, he's just an incredibly pathetically weak human. Hell, he only has enough mana to qualify as a living being!"
"... I see. And what, you believe yourself worthy to be my next wielder?"
"Eh, I don't know about worthy, but I do know I'm a significantly better option than that guy. I mean, unless you want to be stuck inside of a weakling human with an obsession over mammary glands and building a harem of women."
"What?"
"Oh yeah. The guy you were inside of is a complete and total pervert whose only real ambition in life is to build a harem of pretty women so he can worship their breasts. I mean, I think he's a worthless waste of oxygen but, if you're that desperate to be partnered with someone who was chosen at complete random that you don't even know... Well, I could always put you back inside of him. I'm sure you'll awaken again in a couple of years. Just don't be surprised if it takes him a dozen boosts to match a Mid-Class Devil."
"I think I'd rather not. However, " His voice deepened and became oppressive, "That doesn't mean you're worthy."
"True, true. However, I know things that I think you should take into account."
"Hoh?"
"Mhm, for example. I know about your rival and his current host. Interested?"
"What do you know?"
"Lets start with some basics, like his name! His name, is Vali Lucifer."
"Lucifer?!"
"The original is his great grandfather. His mother was human, making him a half-breed and granting him a Sacred Gear, Divine Dividing. So, your eternal Rival is now inside of a being with a natural lifespan in the thousands of years. Meanwhile, you were stuck inside of a pathetically weak, even by human standards, boy with a lifespan that might surpass a century. Provided he didn't instantly die the first time he encountered another supernatural."
He had to toss the last bit in because canon Issei had, in fact, died to the very first supernatural he learned of.
Growls of annoyance came from the green gem as Ddraig digested that information. Junichiro let him do so for a bit before he continued, "Of course, that's only the beginning really. From what I understand he has complete control of Divine Dividing. And I do mean complete. He already has mastery over the Balance Breaker and can activate Juggernaut Drive without any consequences. He is, by far, the most powerful and potent user of Divine Dividing, ever."
Okay, so that might not be strictly true right at that very moment. He was certain that Vali would have control over his Balance Breaker by now, but it was still two years until the canon began so he might not have full control of Juggernaut Drive. He just didn't know, but it would be one hundred percent true in two years so it's not like it truly mattered that much.
There was silence for a long while before Ddraig spoke once more, "I see. If you are telling the truth about my original holder, I can see how he would have been easily crushed."
"Don't forget what would happen to anyone you were sent to after his death. Vali will be around to taunt and destroy your wielders for thousands of years. Provided he doesn't get killed, of course. But given his strength, it's highly unlikely."
"That doesn't tell me why I should approve of you as my partner."
"Good point. So, let's talk about me. First and foremost, I'm an Artificer. So, while my personal strength is only around a Mid-Class Devil, I have the ability to create any magic items I might need to give me an edge against my enemies. I already possess the Sacred Gear Sword Birth and have unlocked its Balance Breaker, so I'm experienced with Sacred Gears."
He dug in his pocket while speaking and retrieved his cigarette case. After selecting his desired smoke, he stopped talking to stick it between his lips and light it. After a short drag he continued, "I currently have the heiress to the Gremory clan of Devils vying for me to join her peerage, so I will become a Devil. I'll have the same life span as Vali with the added benefit of being significantly smarter than him. From what I hear, he's a bit of a meathead, always looking for another fight."
Junichiro exhaled a massive cloud of smoke before he concluded, "I can also swear to you, on my very life, that I will become the most powerful Red Dragon Emperor to ever walk the Earth." His grin practically turned feral, "I can't speak for your past users, but I see so much unbelievable potential in your boost ability that I can't even properly articulate just how broken it is in power."
He seriously believed it too. What many people seemed to overlook is that Boosted Gear doubled the users power with every use. But power is such a vague word to describe such a potent ability. His scans had shown him the true scope of what Boost affected. That being the entire body, both physical and metaphysical, of the user.
Makes sense right? Issei used boost to get faster, stronger, tougher, and even increase his pitiful magic reserves to something usable. Why else could he only use spells like Dress Break after boosting a couple of times? The price was the users stamina. A very fair trade and stamina was the only thing not improved by boosting.
Yet there were small details, little things that could be so heavily abused. For instance, with all physical attributes boosted, so too would the healing speed of the user. On it's own, that doesn't seem like much. After all, a simple small cut would take days to properly heal, for a human. Boosting and doubling healing speed doesn't seem all that impressive. A cut that would take four or five days to heal would instead heal in two or so, if the boost was maintained regularly.
Or something more serious, like a hairline fracture, would take approximately seven weeks to heal. Cutting that in half isn't much, at all.
Until you change it from a normal human into a devil that heals faster and add in more boosts. While it still might not reach Wolverine levels of regeneration without a ton of boosts, even just a few would be a major help. Especially if healing magic of any kind was added to the mix.
Why did any of this matter? Gainz bro!
In all seriousness. Being able to boost magically assisted healing to be more potent to heal the micro-tears in muscles after working out would allow someone to get significant results in a protracted amount of time. Junichiro could go from his currently rather fit body to one that looked like it was sculpted from marble in a ridiculously short time. Add in a Devil's inherent ability to be stronger than humans without gaining huge mass and it would allow him to become crazy strong in an extremely short time frame.
Ddraig laughed for a bit at the mention of the potential of his boost ability. Some of his users had comprehended some of it, but it was very rare for someone to comprehend all of its many facets. Most were, as Junichiro said Vali was, meatheads. They would focus on the immense physical strength boosting provided and not much else. Occasionally he had a wielder that could use magical attacks and would focus on boosting that aspect of power. He could not specifically remember any who used both aspects at once, usually just the utility of either aspect to enhance the other.
"I see. Perhaps you will not be such a terrible partner."
It wasn't like Ddraig had any particular attachment to whomever his previous host had been. They'd never even met! He honestly doubted he would know that Junichiro wasn't his original host if he'd awoken already bound to the boy.
Junichiro seemed interesting enough to Ddraig and it wasn't like he had any real say in the matter. Even without his cooperation, Junichiro would be able to use all the primary aspects of his Sacred Gear. The only thing Ddraig could do was override some of the safeties temporarily and turn parts of his body into dragon equivalents.
"Thanks. Though, I'm sorry to say, it will be a little while before I will be bonding us together as partners. If I were to do so, Rias would be incapable of reincarnating me as a Devil. Once she has, I'll bond us together and get to work getting significantly stronger."
He might not have pushed his personal strength over the last few years, mostly to make sure he was weak enough for Rias, or someone of similar strength, to reincarnate him as a Devil. That didn't mean, however, that he hadn't made preparations for the moment he became a Devil. He had many things sitting around his workshop that would help him out. He also had no intention of forgetting the Essence of the Blank safely hidden away.
The Essence wouldn't give him any strength by itself, but having all limiters removed would make his future progress significantly easier, if not faster. For speed he planned to rely on Ddraig and his creations. By combining it all together, he figured he could hit Ultimate Class, if not higher, before things started to get annoying.
"I shall simply return to my slumber until then."
After the last flash from the green gem on the gauntlet faded, Junichiro could feel that Ddraig was no longer present. It was a little weird, but it didn't bother him. Rather, he was focusing on Ddraig's last statement.
He walked away from the gauntlet and stroked his chin as he thought of various ways to get the poor dragon some entertainment. He only had very vague memories of drifting in the void, but he very clearly remembered the boredom. Going over your own memories was only entertaining for a short amount of time before it became boring. Even imagining stuff didn't help for very long.
He also couldn't help thinking that giving Ddraig some entertainment would improve the dragons opinion of himself and secure help from the ancient being. No one knew Ddraig's abilities better than he himself did. If he could get Ddraig to act as a helpful trainer, he could probably decrease the necessary training time by an order of magnitude!
Definitely something worth pursuing.
To that end, he collected all of the wands he'd been using and placed them back where they belonged. Meanwhile, his mind was whirling through various options, ideas, and possibilities as he contemplated ways he might provide entertainment to the dragon in question. Finally, he settled on what he felt was the best option, a golem.
Specifically, a golem that Ddraig could remote control with his conscious mind. It would not be the same as having his own body back, but it would be infinitely better than the nothing he had at the moment. It also wouldn't trigger the safety protocols in the Boosted Gear's systems either. Ddraig's soul would stay put but his conscious mind would move into the golem to pilot it. Essentially it would be like Ddraig was playing a full dive game to pilot the golem.
With his mind made up, he made his way deeper into his workshop to his vault. It was an impressive piece of magitech engineering. He'd taken a massive bank vault and modified the ever loving shit out of it with all kinds of security magic. Only he knew the proper method to open the vault. He couldn't help grinning to himself as he disabled the various levels of security until he could finally spin the massive wheel on the door and swing it open.
Within the massively expanded interior of the vault was a literal treasure trove. Every piece of gold he'd plundered on his tragically short vacation, was within the vault along with the collection of Albion's scales, and various other treasures he'd gotten in payment for his work. It even contained Excalibur Ruler sitting on a well crafted pure white marble plinth.
He grabbed a few of the pure white dragon scales, each one the size of a dinner platter or bigger. He thought it would be funny to use Albion's scales to give Ddraig some semblance of freedom while Albion was still stuck in his Sacred Gear.
It definitely seemed like something they could tease the white emperor over in the future.
With the scales collected, he made his way out of the vault, sealing it behind himself once more, and back into his workshop. The method of working with dragon scales varied from dragon to dragon based on the strength and age of the dragon. It would be far easier to work with the scales of a much younger Albion than it would be to work with Albion just before his defeat and sealing. These particular scales seemed to be from a little before Albion was sealed making them extremely durable. More durable than any mundane metal and the majority of magical metals. Hell, even hitting it with a hammer made it ring out like it was made of metal. Yet it had a surprising flexibility to it due to the nature of the scale itself. It was very odd.
Which made it perfect for what he had in mind.
The first stop was his alchemy section. It was filled to the brim with all kinds of gear, devices, and mad scientist crap. It looked like a cross between a high-end chemistry lab you'd expect to see in a pharmaceutical company and a witches brewing room complete with cauldron and jars filled with animal parts.
Tying it all together were a variety of transmutation circles carved into a variety of materials all designed to produce a variety of effects. Anyone without an extensive knowledge of Alchemy would be completely lost just from looking at the collection of items.
He needed to use this section of his lab first to treat the scales. Much like leather, dragon scales needed to be treated to be used properly. Otherwise, scales as old as the ones he was using would be impossible for him to forge into anything. Scales from younger and weaker dragons could possibly skip this step as their scales would be softer. In the case of Albion's scales, even with his magically enhanced forge heating it up for a year, the scale would never become malleable.
The dragon scales were placed to the side, for the time being. Junichiro moved around the area collecting jars, paper bags, and jugs of various materials. Some items went into the chemistry section to be turned into extracts. Others were tossed into a cauldron, step by step, to produce potions with various effects. Some of the extracts were dumped into potions, others set to the side for future use. Nothing he did had any wasted materials.
While various mixtures bubbled and boiled, he grabbed the first scale and set it on a transmutation circle. He selected one of the extracts made from the venom of a Rust Beast. The venom would rapidly rust mundane metals in a way that would make even the strongest mundane acids jealous. On its own it would have no effect on the scale.
Combined with transmutation though?
He poured the extract over the scale, letting the thick brown sludge cover the pure white scale. Once the scale was fully covered, he placed his left hand on the transmutation circle and sent magical power into it. The circle glowed a soft yellow and began its work. He smiled as he observed the brown sludge being absorbed into the scale.
While Rust Beast venom would have no effect on the scale, even purified and extracted, using a transmutation circle to combine the two was the first step in the process of softening the scale. He still had several steps to go through and would have to do so for every scale he wished to work with.
The sound of a hammer hitting metal rang out through the workshop as Junichiro worked. Gripped in his tongs was a glowing dragon scale that had been drastically changed from its original shape. Though it was still roughly shaped, Junichiro knew that what he was working on would, eventually, become one section of a foreleg for the golem he was constructing. It wasn't going to be a supremely complicated construction, but it would be able to move, speak, fly, and be durable as hell.
Ddraig wouldn't be able to do much fighting in it though, even with claws, as he didn't plan to make it into a combat capable model. Not yet, anyway. He might in the future after he and Ddraig were more than simple acquaintances. Once they were good friends and true partners, then he'd upgrade the golem into something far more impressive.
After hammering the scale a few more times, it started to cool a little too much and was placed back into the forge to come back up to the proper temperature. He had to be careful working the scales while they were alchemically weakened. Once he finished shaping them completely, they could be treated to return to their proper hardness, until then they were susceptible to damage from improper treatment.
While the foreleg piece reheated, he selected another piece and began hammering on it. This part would be a piece of the torso, which he planned to leave hollow so that it had space for upgrades. Most of the pieces were going to be hollow, in fact. Not only for future modifications, but to save on material usage.
He wasn't being stingy but he did only have so much of Albion's scales and he didn't want to waste even a single shaving of it. He highly doubted he would be able to get his hands on more scales of such quality anytime soon and he wanted to save them for a truly worthy project.
Not that making a body Ddraig could remote control wasn't worthy.
Unknown to Junichiro, Ddraig was quietly observing him as he worked. The dragon liked his sleep, but the incessant banging of hammer on scale had made it impossible for him to get any. His range of observation was limited by the Sacred Gear being outside of a host, but he could still observe things clearly within that range. Since he couldn't sleep, he'd taken to watching Junichiro work at his forge over the last few days.
Ddraig had no idea what the odd human was working on, but he easily recognized the shed scales of his rival. He couldn't help wondering where the boy had gotten them from. It was exceedingly rare for fully mature dragons to shed their scales and the ones he'd seen suggested they would have been some of the last Albion shed. He kept his curiosity in check though and didn't ask what the boy was making.
Instead, he enjoyed watching the boy at work. It was giving him a fair amount of insight into what kind of partner he would be. Part of him didn't like to admit it, due to being taken from his original partner, but he was impressed with the boy. He could clearly see the dedication Junichiro had for his work. It also gave Ddraig hints about what he could expect from the boy's growth. If he put even half as much dedication to making himself stronger and mastering the Boosted Gear, Ddraig could see how Junichiro could become his strongest wielder ever.
It was rather exciting for the dragon whose life had been rather boring since he died. He'd always expected he might die one day, everything living did. He'd just expected that his soul would be free to move onto its next life. Being captured and stuck in the Boosted Gear was a fate worse than death, as far as he was concerned. Still, since he was, somewhat, alive, he would do whatever he could to preserve and enjoy that life.
He was Y Ddraig Goch, the Red Dragon Emperor, the Dragon of Dominance. He wouldn't let something like being trapped in a sort of hell have even a chance at dominating him!
Junichiro covered his mouth as he yawned while stepping into the main room for the club Rias ran. It was the weekend again and he was scheduled to help train another member of the peerage. He'd left it up to them to decide who it would be this time.
As he walked in, Rias looked up from some paperwork she was doing and gave Junichiro a bright and cheerful smile. Akeno, standing next to her, also looked up, though her smile was clearly strained. Kiba gave a small nod of acknowledgment and Koneko barely noticed him.
Rias, clearly excited to see him, was the first to speak, "It's good to see you again Junichiro-san."
Junichiro couldn't help smiling in return. Rias's bright and cheerful attitude just made the people around her want to be happy too, "It's good to see you again as well, Rias." He looked at the others, "You all as well."
Rias practically bounced to her feet in her excitement for today's training, "Akeno volunteered to train with you today and we all wished to watch. I hope that's alright with you?"
Junichiro shrugged nonchalantly, "Doesn't bother me in the least. In fact, it might be best if you were all present at all the training sessions. It's a good chance to learn about each other, myself, and new tactics or possibly gain new ideas."
All five of them made their way to the teleportation circle and made their way down into the training room once more. Rias summoned up the coliseum training program for their use. Mostly because it was the only one with seating for the rest of the peerage. Akeno, wearing the Kuoh Academy uniform, stood across from Junichiro.
He studied Akeno as she stared at him. Though she tried to hide it behind her fake smile, he could see that Akeno didn't like him very much. The reason why was obvious, Mittelt. Frankly, he'd hoped to have broken up with her by now. At this point he was actually over the emotional turmoil one would expect from the end of their first relationship. Regardless, he was still technically dating her since he had scruples and wouldn't be a dick.
When Akeno spoke, her voice was crisp, cordial, but very distant not showing any more warmth than Koneko might've, "So, what do you want to teach me Arai-sensei?"
Everyone could hear the sarcasm that Akeno put into the word Sensei. While Koneko showed no reaction, both Rias and Kiba frowned deeply. Rias even called out, "Akeno-!"
Though Junichiro interrupted her by holding up a hand asking for silence. He looked blankly at Akeno, "If you have something you want to get off your chest, please feel free to do so." He looked over at Rias, "She can say whatever she wishes. It wont affect any of my decisions, alright?"
Rias still looked upset, but she nodded and then turned a glare at Akeno. She was clearly displeased with current events. Akeno gave her a, somewhat, apologetic look then focused back on Junichiro, "I just wonder what advice you can offer when your personal judgment is clearly so... clouded by your personal connections."
Junichiro tilted his head to the side as he contemplated her words, "And by that you mean?"
"You're dating a fallen angel yet spending time contemplating joining a devil peerage and even training us. How do we know you're not some Grigori spy? How do we know you're not as treacherous as those black winged cowards?"
Junichiro studied Akeno for a bit, he could clearly see the hatred and frustration in her eyes. It didn't surprise him given what he could remember of her from canon. Though it did lower his opinion of her as a person. Anyone with two brain cells to rub together could tell she was blaming the wrong person, and thus an entire race, for what happened to her mother. Though, he did agree that her dad was a complete dick for not contacting her the moment he knew where she was.
"I see that you have a bit of hate for fallen angels. I'm not sure what they did to you but it does make me wonder, should I hate you?"
Akeno looked taken aback, "What?"
"Well. I'm assuming you have some sort of reason for your hatred of maybe a few fallen angels that seems to extend to the entire race as a whole, for some reason. Going by that logic, shouldn't I hate the entire race of devils just because a single stray one cost me my right arm?"
The emphasize his point, he reached up and used the quick release to detach the majority of his right arm, drawing gasps from everyone watching, even those in the know already. It was just so surreal seeing what appeared to be a normal arm being casually removed and held up for observation.
Junichiro's gaze bore into Akeno's wide eyes, "A stray devil cut off my arm and ate it right in front of my eyes. Clearly I have a reason to hate that devil. Should I apply that hatred to you as well? Because, if so..."
His eyes narrowed and what magical power he had began to exude from around him as a malevolent cloak of power. It was nowhere near as strong as Akeno or Rias, but the way it was concentrated and twisted brought an unnatural amount of pressure down on Akeno's shoulders. His eyes seemed to glow with a dark light behind them, "I'd be happy to take out my anger and hatred for that one devil on you."
AN
10.5k words, Nice!