No review answering this chapter. Instead, I will address the alarm thingy from last time. You see, guys and gals, if I am ever purged from this site, I will move over to AO3. If I am ever hit, that is what will happen. I will keep posting on this site until that happens. Anyhow, me and Handy did some slight modifications to older chapters, and since I didn't wish to give you all an empty update notifications, here is Chapter 10! Enjoy!
Discord Link: /ZUgnSWnJdG
"Home sweet home!"
Well, sort of.
They were not in his room like how Jaune left the human realm. He guessed they were brought to Beel instead of where he left. Maybe it was because he was thinking about how she was doing when he stepped out of Hell. He didn't know how portals work. The wooded area looked similar to around his home so he guessed they weren't far from it.
The forest was all around Jaune, and the boy couldn't be happier to see it. Finally, he was home. The girls followed behind him as soon as he stepped through the portal, appearing in front of Beelzebub. He was relieved to see her after his long journey. It added to his joy at being home and th - why did he feel murderous intent?
Looking at Beel he noticed how she was sweating bullets, using her handkerchief to wipe herself as she stared at the one making this intense presence. Jaune looked to his left as well only to see Lucifer giving Beel a very nasty, and murderous look. The boy honestly gulped as he too was intimidated by it. Now that Ignium's little gift was gone, he was back to being his normal self.
"Ummm. Hi, Lucifer?" Beel said, slightly waving her hand.
"Beelzebub," Lucifer said, not even trying to mask her displeasure at meeting Beel again. "I see you got out of the Abyss."
"Well, temporarily at least, yes." Beel looked around, her fly had been killed so she didn't know what to expect if Jaune came back. Hence her surprise at Lucifer being here. How did he bag her? Regardless she counted the girls that were there. "-nine, ten. Haha, TEN. Yes! That's it! … I mean, since Jaune here fulfilled his part in this, I guess yes, I am free."
"Well, I would love to catch up." Beel smiled and from her back, large, fly-like wings sprung out. In a puff of black smoke, the contract appeared in her hand. She waved it in front of her. "But with the contract complete I'm goi- I said with the contract complete- with it complete … what's wrong with this thing?"
"Beel was it?" Pandemonica held out a hand. "May I take a look at it?"
Hesitantly Beel handed her the contract.
Monica's eyes scanned the document for a moment. Then she held it out to everyone and pointed to one spot. "Oh here is your problem. There is still one girl missing."
"What? No there isn't. Jaune has ten, ten is what is on the paper!" Beel leaned in and grabbed a pair of reading glasses from somewhere and started to read the contract again.
Carefully.
Very carefully.
Then her eyes widened.
"THAT SON OF A BITCH!" Beel shouted, but there wasn't as much anger in her voice as there was simply shock and surprise. Even Jaune was confused regarding what got her riled up, yet, she turned to him. "Well … Looks like Leon forgot to tell me one small detail, Jaune."
He leaned in to look at the contract as did others. And then he read.
"Beelzebub … My grand uncle has added you by default?" Jaune asked slowly, looking at the girl as she wrapped her hands around her own arms.
"It appears so." Beel ground her teeth together, getting a little miffed as the information sank in. "I can't believe he was able to get this past me."
"Well, to be fair, you were desperate to get out of the Abyss," Pandemonica said. "It would make sense that you would overlook something in your haste to get what you wanted."
"I am a first-generation demon. I shouldn't have made a mistake like this." Beel rubbed her forehead, frustrated. "And I had a ton of time in the Abyss before Jaune got me out. Why didn't I see this then?"
"I mean, when we know what something we wrote is supposed to say we read it as what we think it is. Not what it actually says." Azazel said. "You would not believe the number of times I thought I was done with an essay I was working on and then the instructor found spelling errors in it. Fresh eyes find things."
" … I was thinking about tagging along anyways to make sure Jaune becomes a huntsman. I owe him something for freeing me. But this just feels insulting." Beel was not the biggest on pride but she had some. "On principle alone, I'm tempted to just say scre-"
"Um. Ms. Acid Spit?" Cerberus pointed three hands behind her.
Beel didn't like that name but turned her head to look behind her. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head as a portal was there. A portal with the ABYSS on the other side and she could feel a tug on her body. Her head snapped forwards.
"I MEAN I'D LOVE TO JOIN YOUR HAREM!"
Jaune felt sweat running down the back of his neck upon hearing those words.
"Like when I first met him I liked spending time with him." Beel kept talking.
"Um. Ms. Beelzebub? I do believe-" Azazel didn't get to finish.
"He was funny and cute in how he acted."
"Yo fly bitch! You've alread-" Malina didn't want to hear a long explanation but alas, she was going to.
"And-honestly-I-can-tell-that-he-cares-about-others-too-"
"Oh for the love of goats! Th-"
"Really-I-haven't-dated-anyone-in-who-knows-how-long. But-I-think-he's-worth-sharing."
"Seriously, what did the isolation do to you?" Judgement raised an eyebrow.
"And then there is his dick. That's another reason." Beel didn't stop panicking. "I'll ride that so long and so hard it will give Modeus an inferiority complex!"
Jaune's blush reached new levels of red.
"BEEL!" Pandemonica yelled, snapping Beel out of her ramblings. Monica pointed behind her. "The portal closed the moment you said you'd join."
Beel looked again and sure enough, the portal was gone. Relaxing, she blushed as she wiped the sweat off her forehead. She noticed that most of the girls were enjoying her actions and a few were annoyed. Azazel was more curious than anything though. The contract flew out of Monica's hands and floated between them, its contents changing before Jaune's eyes as letters burned themselves on the old paper, stating the name of every girl in his Harem.
Pandemonica, Justice, Modeus, Cerberus, Malina, Azazel, Zdrada, Lucifer, Judgement, Baphomet, and lastly … Beelzebub.
He then looked back at Beelzebub, noticing how her hands had strange, purplish shackles around them. The contract then caught fire completely and the flames went to those shackles, breaking them. Everyone stared in awe at what they saw, even Lucifer was surprised to see the shackles of the Abyss come undone.
"That was a thing." Jaune took a second after watching the cause of his adventure destroy itself. "So no matter the number, my grand-uncle wanted you in the harem?"
"Seems so." She sighed, sounding almost sad. The key word being almost. Her emotions right now were something else, more akin to anxiety than anything else. "He managed to also hide that part, the cunning man."
"Well, I guess he wasn't completely a failure at getting demons into the contract then … even if he still didn't get you in the end. If you don't want to join, can't you just go, then? I mean, I never asked you to become part of this, and I doubt the contract still holds power." Jaune reasoned, but yet, Beel's expression was somewhat hard to read. Her eyes kept going over to Justice and Lucifer, the latter of the two gaining a mischievous smirk.
"Actually, Jaune, I-" Lucifer started to speak.
"Wait, so that means Beelzebub is like a sister to me now? I don't know how to feel about that, but everything is cool as long as she doesn't do anything." Justice stated, being very chill with everything. Granted, her interruption did irk Lucifer some.
"Justice…"
"Yes?"
"Remember Doromo?"
"Doro- OHHHH! Yeah, won't happen again! … probably. Anyways, the contract is still standing!" Justice suddenly said, gaining everyone's attention, especially Jaune's.
"But it just went up in flames!" Jaune reasoned.
"Please, that only means the contract has become set in stone. Or air, in this case." Lucifer said, then she went closer to them, namely, closer to Beelzebub. "It has become permanent, binding us until the day you perish, Jaune. But then again, I doubt Beelzebub is that upset. Not with what she just rambled off about liking you."
Beelzebub looked nervous and started to blush. "I guess my mouth did get away from me."
"Wait, you meant all of that? I thought you were just panicking." Jaune said, trying to make heads and tails of this. Especially since that last part about riding him didn't help him think straight. "So, you genuinely wished to join?"
"More or less. I was planning to tell you to come back once you got nine girls but the fly I sent with you died. I thought maybe I could still tag along even if you didn't need me. I … I don't really have anywhere to go. Though, I panicked when I saw who you brought with you. I will admit, I am nervous now seeing as I would be sharing a roof with Lucifer and Justice … Hope you are not still angry about your eyes, Justice."
Jaune was already struggling with the idea of having 10 women before he entered hell. Now that he was back from hell he had 11. He honestly didn't know what was in store for him as things continued. A treacherous part of his mind wondered which of the girls he might have left behind if he knew he didn't need them. But he banished those thoughts. Even if one or two had some rough spots around the edges he had agreed to be with them and he would not abandon their relationship. He would find a way to make it work.
"Ah. Pfff. Lava under the bridge." The demoness said. "Plus, becoming blind allowed me to learn some really nifty tricks! And I have an excuse to wear my shades all the time! Before, I'd always have to take them off indoors, and in dark places, but now that it doesn't matter anymore, it's absolutely peachy!"
"If Justice is ok with you, I … will tolerate sharing Jaune with you. Although, I am not sure about the 'sharing a roof' part," Lucifer added, narrowing her eyes at the fly. "Can't you make a separate home for yourself, or-"
"Ok! Everything is settled! Beelzebub, welcome to the Arc Harem!" Justice said, cutting off Lucifer who turned red from anger and stomped her foot on the ground in a little fit due to being interrupted again. "Please do not spit acid on the food, thank you very much!"
"T-thanks?" Beel said, feeling somewhat uneasy about this. She knew about everyone who was coming up until Zdrada, but she did not expect Lucifer and Judgement to be here! Or Baphomet. Not to mention she halted the building of the house ever since the connection was cut, so the house was not finished. "I do have bad news; the house I said I would build is not finished. Once the connection I had with Jaune was gone, I knew the fly I sent with him had been killed. I lost the only way to get notifications, so I didn't know how to design the house … and may have lost hope a little. It's still in the works regarding most areas."
"I mean, since we are here we might as well help." Judgement suggested. "It'll also be a good way for us to get a bit more familiar with the surrounding area first. I know Cerberus wants to just run and play."
True enough, Cerberus was hypnotized by everything around her.
"So with that being said … LEAD US TO THE HOUSE WHERE WE SHALL DWELL!" She shouted.
"Very well, very well. Jaune?" Beelzebub turned to him. "I suggest you go back to your own house and make sure everything is ok. The decoys are still there, but I will dismiss them in an hour. Make sure to put Crocea Mors back and get into bed. We shall talk more tomorrow when we finish."
"Actually, can I ask a favor of you, Judgement?" Jaune asked, turning to the grey-skinned demoness who in turn turned her gaze to him. "Can you help me stage something? I have been thinking about this while in the hospital down in Hell; I need a way to explain the fact I have an aura now and I know just how. The only issue is: It is not going to be pleasant for me."
"Sure." Judgement said. "What do I need to do?"
"Can you cut down a tree and have it fall onto me?"
Nicholas and Juliet were both currently in bed, sleeping peacefully as the night faded to dusk and light slowly crept into their room through the window. The Arcs weren't such early risers, it being barely six in the morning, but something did make them wake up.
"GAHHHHHHHHH!" A certain girlish scream had them both jump awake, Nicholas recognized the scream as Jaune's and immediately went to the window to try and see what happened, but he didn't see him there. His wife, Juliet, went to the other window and checked, gasping once she saw her little bunny in quite a bad situation.
Jaune was outside, struggling to get a tree off him.
"Nicholas, go help him!" She shouted at her husband.
He didn't even bother to put pants on, running out in only a tank top and underwear, passing through the living room where the real Crocea Mors was seated, with only a small fly on it that he didn't notice. He burst through the door and went to Jaune, but he stopped for a moment when he noticed the glow on his leg. However, that was not important right now.
"Hold on, son!" His father shouted. It was quite the old oak and the base of it looked like it was blown off. He went to the tree unaware that Judgement was hiding deeper into the forest along with the rest of the girls. They were watching, not leaving even when the older Arc showed himself. But they knew how to stay hidden. Nicholas grabbed the top of the tree, trying to get a good grip on it, then lifted it. "Now, Jaune!"
Hearing that, Jaune pulled his leg out from under the tree, feeling the pain travel through it for a few moments before his aura fixed it. Slowly, he stood up, and as his father put the tree down, he looked at Jaune with widened eyes. The boy was looking at his own hands, a white glow around them.
"Dad? … Is this aura?" He was faking it right now, trying to act oblivious. But after one week of having it, he thought he was doing a good job seeing how his father barely made a sound. Jaune looked at him. "Dad?"
Nicholas shook his head slightly, mumbling before he set himself straight. "Jaune, what happened? What is up with you, awake at such an early hour?"
"I couldn't really sleep last night, I kept waking up, so when I noticed the sun rising I decided to come outside and enjoy the sunrise. I don't know how that tree collapsed, but … " He moved his leg around, feeling it was in good condition despite the tree falling on it. He honestly expected it to hurt a bit more, but it seems he really did have a lot of aura. "My aura unlocked itself!"
He felt somewhat excited at that aspect. He didn't need to fake that too much.
"Jaune … " His father sighed slightly, then he looked back, seeing the rest of the family joining them. Well, almost all of them. Saphron was with her wife in Argus and Coral was at Haven Academy, leaving only Sapphire, Jade, and his wife, Juliet, and the rest most likely still being asleep.
"What is going on here? I was sleeping when I heard Jaune scream!" Sapphire said, slightly annoyed, but then she saw the tree. She also saw how Jaune's hands seem to slightly glow. "God, Dad, did you unlock his aura?!"
"No way!" Jade shouted, running to Jaune in order to inspect his shiny hands. "It's white! So pretty~"
"I-I didn't! It unlocked naturally when the tree must have fallen on him!" Nicholas stated, still stunned by the event. He then turned to Juliet who saw Jaune's slight smile and how he was excited about having an aura. He couldn't help but half-shout. "But, this is amazing! Few unlock their aura naturally, but I guess having a tree fall on ya all of a sudden does do that to you."
After saying that, however, Nicholas fell silent. Juliet noticed it and looked at him, worried about her husband. They wanted to keep Jaune away from the life of a Huntsman, but with his aura now unlocked that was pretty much impossible. Juliet was the one to talk now, stopping Jade's little rush.
"Alright, alright. Everyone back inside! We can talk more about Jaune's new-found aura there." She said, and everyone walked back into the house, Nicholas had taken a detour to his room to get some jeans, but then the rest of the family gathered in the living room, the other sisters - Alice, who is Jaune's twin sister; Lapis, the second youngest, and Silvia, who was barely five years of age - all pestered Jaune about what happened.
Jaune sat down, smiling the whole time as he flared his aura for his sisters to see. They had seen Coral's, but Jaune's was completely white without any trace of another color. Arcs usually had a brighter and more vibrant aura than most but Jaune's seemed to be something more. But his father did find how he could flare it like that a bit strange. Usually, people do not know how to do it just as they unlock their aura, but that was not the biggest issue here.
Jaune had an aura. Something he wanted him to never have. Not that it was dangerous, but it was an immediate sentence to a Huntsman's life.
"Jaune?" Nicholas took deep breaths to calm himself. Jaune looked up at his father.
"Can you give me your hands?" He asked, and Jaune slowly moved his arms closer to his father, a golden glow covering the older Arc as Jaune's entire body glowed white. "Goodness … Son, you have a great amount of aura for starters. I have never seen bigger amounts in someone who barely unlocked it!"
Nicholas fell into deep thought. Jaune's current aura reserves were higher than how much he had when he first started. He narrowed his eyes in worry, slightly tightening his hands around Jaune's. If he was right, then one day his son would surpass him in terms of aura, and since he had it now there was no real way for him to stop him if he wanted to find someone to train him.
He managed to get most retired Huntsmen to not try, but if they saw Jaune's aura amount then they would immediately see the potential it had as well. He held sway, but not enough to stop then if that happened. Retired as they may be, Nicholas Arc was no fool. Some of them were, and still are, stronger than him.
He looked up at Crocea Mors, remembering all of the souls that wielded it and lost their lives in that line of work. And one who didn't wield it but was still taken away.
Decades later Nicholas could still remember the day his uncle went missing. The concern in his father's eyes turned into confusion at his brother not telling him what he was doing. Leon didn't take the family weapon with him or tell anyone where he was going. Did he go on a Grimm hunt and not tell anyone because he didn't think it was needed? He was strong enough to handle a few small Grimm.
Nicholas had learned the truth about why some hunters died and others didn't. Luck.
Sure, he was strong but he knew it didn't stop one from being killed. One could get better at fighting in several ways but in the end, you would just be putting the odds in your favor. For that reason, he tried to keep it away from his family.
He had not wanted his daughter, Coral, to become a huntress. He had denied her at first but she asked again and again and so many more times. Eventually, he caved. He couldn't half-ass her training as that would mess up her odds of living. He had hated himself every time he had taught her. However, he used that self-loathing as fuel to not let another child become a hunter.
He had built up an immunity to her methods of coercion so he could resist when Jaune started to ask to become a huntsman. Still, until his last breath, he would curse the puppy eyes!
It also helped to stand firm with his wife's support. She had said they should support their kids in what they wanted to do at first but her tone had changed when Jaune said he wanted to be a huntsman. Nicholas didn't know the full reason but didn't care.
There was already the chance that one of his children would be coming home in a body bag, he didn't need it to double. If Jaune became a huntsman then that would increase the chances of Coral dying too. That's how the odds worked, right?
The image of a mangled corpse came to his mind. The head turned to him with long auburn hair dragging on the ground. Her cold, cyan, vacant eyes looked directly into his.
Nicholas' breathing got quicker as his nightmare came to him in the waking world.
"You said you would always protect your partner. I thought an Arc never went back on their word?" Blood came out of her mouth as she spoke. "You said you failed me. Is that what you are going to say at every funeral? You're a failure? You can't even keep the ones closest to you safe?"
His heart pounded in his chest. More images came to him. Huntsmen and huntresses holding their combat partners, their teammates, and their friends in their arms. Life leaving their bodies or already had. A village in ruins, bodies littering the streets. Faces all replaced with Jaune's.
Rationally, that last one didn't make sense. Those people were civilians. Jaune was one right now, yes, since he was without training. With training, he would have survived whereas the civilians wouldn't. But he wasn't in the most logical state of mind as more memories came to him. All twisting to show ways Jaune could die.
He remembered how the confusion in his father's eyes had turned into desperation as he tried to find his brother. Days turned into weeks, then months, and then years. His father never recovered, not truly. With time the desperation turned into despair. He could recall the empty look in his eyes when his uncle was brought up.
His eyes frantically looked around. He could see it. That same emptiness in all his daughters' eyes and his wife's. That's what they would look like when they learned what happened to Jaune, that he wasn't coming back. The edges of his vision were turning black.
Nicholas couldn't …
Wouldn't risk it!
…
Juliet had been with Nicholas for a long time. She knew when he was going to have a panic attack, as rare as they were. She knew how to calm him down, a hand on his shoulder, a few words, and a kiss on his forehead or lips was usually enough to bring him back to the here and now. But right now she was too distracted by her son to notice her husband.
Juliet might have doted on Jaune a little bit. She loved her daughters but Jaune was her only baby boy. On top of that, there was his first word. Seriously, she had 8 children, how did 5 of them have 'dad' as their first word? Did they not know who carried them for 9 months, the ungrateful little … they were lucky they were cute. Their other first words were 'bear' and 'food' because of a teddy bear and well, kids liked food. But not her Jaune. She instantly had a soft spot for him when his first word was 'mom'.
When Juliet first had kids she wanted to be supportive in what they wanted to do in life. But Coral had tested her. When she said she wanted to be a huntress Juliet was hesitant but after she had it explained that it wouldn't be easy and still wanted it Juliet had relented. And she regretted it.
She was a civilian and didn't know the ins and outs of huntsman life. Her husband had trained her and everything seemed fine. But then Coral went to a combat prep school. And the injuries had started. Having her come home with a couple of bruised ribs saying she lost a fight, and her father's reaction was to simply sigh and say he was increasing her training had shocked Juliet.
Juliet had demanded an explanation from Nicholas, he was stronger than the kids at the school so why did he never hurt their daughter? He had told her that he had more control and wasn't going to hurt her by accident. Something the huntsmen-in-training needed to learn by sparing.
Who thought giving pre-teens and teenagers weapons and training them to fight was a good idea again? Juliet wanted their name, number, and home address.
One time Coral had come home with a brutalized face and Juliet learned she had gotten into an unsupervised fight. Juliet had wanted this student to be expelled only to find out her daughter had started the fight. She had tried to convince Coral to not go to one of the huntsmen academies but she wouldn't listen. Their talks ended with Coral not speaking with her mother for a month. Juliet gave in by the end of it. She would have lost her anyway if they never talked again.
When Jaune started asking to be a huntsman Juliet couldn't go through that again. It pained her but she told him no when he asked her for help. She wasn't blind to the fact it hurt him to hear but it was for his own good. There were hundreds of careers he could choose from so he could pick a different one. He was sad about it but he would get over it eventually, right? It just wasn't a job for him. Not her baby boy.
Or until now it wasn't. Everything was going sideways now. Jaune had aura and she was trying to think of ways to get him to not try to become a huntsman. None were appealing. Guilt trip him? Arcs tended to be stubborn, from both sides of the family, and even if it worked she would have to live with it the rest of her life. Bribe him with the family's life savings? That wouldn't be fair to his sisters. Juliet couldn't think of what to do. It was quite the conundrum. When did things go so wrong?
First, he cleans his room, then gets a tree falling on him and now he has his aura unlocked. What was even happening recently? It was all so strange.
Strange wasn't a bad thing for everyone in the room.
Lapis smiled at her big brother. He had been all sad-faced for so long but now he was happy! She could tell he was putting on a smile half the time he played games with her. But now he could be a hero just like their sister! Just like their dad!
Her eyes moved to Nicholas, wondering if he was grumpy again, but that's not what she saw. He looked old and weak. She didn't like it! Her daddy was always strong. His eyes darted around the room looking at each person there. He looked at her and his eyes seemed off. The black part in the middle, whatever they were called, was super small. It unnerved her. Was he sick?
Lapis was about to ask if he was ok but before she could he opened his mouth…
All Hell broke loose.
"With my own soul, I put yours to sleep." Nicholas began to chant, his golden aura slowly going toward Jaune. No one could make out words at first, but the noise got their attention and the happy chatter of the young ones died down. "I place this lock on your soul, so the power may never awaken again."
"D-Dad?" Jaune asked, shaking as his father's aura crawled onto him. Then he felt it. A strange pain roared into his body making him spasm. Slipping off the sofa, he tried to stand but was forced onto his knees. His father's grip on his hands wasn't lessening.
"Nicholas!" Juliet shouted, putting down Silvia and going to him, trying to get him off Jaune. But a civilian couldn't match the strength of a huntsman and he just kept going. "What are you doing?! Do not seal his aura, are you mad?!"
"I will be the sole key, none shall dare open this lock again. With my soul, I lock your-yours back, and no … force in this world or b-beyond can-" Nicholas struggled to keep going as he neared the end, and just as he was about to finish, he saw Jaune's aura glow brighter and brighter.
"An Arc never breaks their word! An Arc never breaks their word! An Arc never breaks their word!" Jaune gritted his teeth. Fighting the Minotaur hurt. Being tossed around like a ragdoll by Lucifer hurt. Blood Binder burning into him FUCKING HURT! The pain wasn't hurting his body like in hell, instead something not physical, but the pain was nothing he hadn't pushed through before. "I won't stop. I will be stronger. Stronger! Stronger! For THEM!"
Nicholas felt something strange going on with the sealing process. It was as if he was trying to build a dam to stop a raging river, only for all of a sudden for the dam to give way and get taken by the current. The feeling of needles poking him spread over his hand that quickly turned into knives stabbing him. The others in the room watched Jaune's aura spread down his arm and push back Nicholas's aura to his own body. Nicholas' eyes widened, this shouldn't be possible!
He couldn't move forward with the sealing process, if anything it felt like he needed to redo most, if not all now, of it. How was Jaune doing this? Could someone's aura not be sealed so soon after being unlocked and no one tried? … Was his aura different? … Was this … Jaune's semblance?
So soon after getting aura! Nicholas couldn't believe it.
"I finally get my aura … " Jaune said, his voice nearly breaking as he slowly stood up. "AND YOU TRY TO SEAL IT?!"
His entire body lit up brightly, blinding everyone inside the house. Jaune lifted his hands but his father still wasn't letting go. Jaune raised a foot and kicked him off with an aura-enhanced kick, sending Nicholas over the side of the sofa and onto the floor. The angle had him holding his side.
The glow died out quickly, allowing everyone to see Jaune again, but this time it felt off. His entire body was glowing, yet golden motes of light swirled in his white aura. The hybrid mix of his original Semblance and Leon's is shown to all.
Never in his life had Jaune felt so betrayed, having one of the closest people to him - his father no less! - try to seal away his aura! Sealing one's aura was supposed to be done only to the worst of the worst from what Jaune was aware of. Criminals with semblances that would let them easily escape prison for one.
Aura was the manifestation of the soul! What did it mean to trap someone's soul away? The moral implications were vast not to mention the tangible ones. People that had gone through it had talked about how it felt. Like a part of them is missing, or a pressure ever present inside them, like … Something was gripping at their very hearts, gripping them like crazy and not letting go. No matter if they were trying to sleep, eat, or do something else. It couldn't be ignored or forgotten, and you never got used to it.
His father wanted that for him … did he even love him?! No! He couldn't after that!
Everyone stared at him, his sisters, his mother, and even his father looked at him from down on the floor.
"All I ever wanted was to make you all proud and carry on the family legacy!" He shouted, stomping on the floor and making a few cracks. "That is everything I ever wanted! Yet you refused me each time, and now, when I have my aura, you try to seal it?! What … WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!"
Alice snapped out of her shock and remembered something. Aura users were arguing. Lapis and Silvia both let out startled squeaks as they were lifted and hugged to Alice's chest. She made her way to the doorway of the room.
"Jaune-" His father tried to call out to him, but his words died in his mouth as he saw his son turn around and grab Crocea Mors from the wall. No one paid attention to the fly that flew off the weapon. "Jaune, what are you-?!"
"Showing you what I am capable of." He quickly drew Crocea Mors from its sheath, the blade getting coated in his aura at the same time. Finally, after going through Hell, literally, he got a better understanding of how Leon's semblance worked. He felt his aura rise right now because he was furious at his father, and he didn't just accept it this time but used it as fuel.
He won't let his anger boil inside him, and literally CHOKE him. He saw the Sullen back in Hell … He won't be among them.
"Jaune? JAUNE! Put Crocea Mors down!" His father shouted, getting up. Yet, his eyes only continued to widen. The way Jaune was coating the sword with aura - he recognized that technique! HOW?! Who taught him how to coat his weapon in aura?! No, more importantly, HOW did he learn so fast?! Yesterday his aura was not even unlocked, there was no way for him to learn this technique so fast! Even prodigies take some time to pick it up!
Worse was the sheer amount of aura that was being poured in. Some hunters had entire aura reserves that were smaller than what was in the sword now.
Jaune raised the sword above his head. His body and aura moved on instinct with the practice he had gotten. The sheer amount of aura in the blade made the ceiling groan. He had been in hell for about a week but it was otherworldly and his journey had felt longer. Through it all, he had let his anger out and he couldn't bury it anymore. It made him stronger. Everyone thought he was weak but he would show them his strength. Show his father, no matter what.
The fly in the air dove down and landed behind his ear.
"Jaune, no!" The fly buzzed into his ear. Jaune's body stilled before he could swing down. "You are misremembering! Anger gives you strength but it doesn't tell you what to do with that strength. Lucifer had you thrown to the bottom of hell. Yet you didn't come for her head. Instead, you offered her to come with you. To live a different life."
His body relaxed a bit, aura no longer building in the sword.
"I know it's not the same Jaune. But anger didn't get you through hell and it won't get you through this world. Jaune … Justice literally just forga- … told me she moved on from me taking her eyes." Beel's voice sounded regretful. "You don't have to forgive him, Jaune, but you can't strike him down. I know you are angry, I watched the whole thing, but you cannot let your anger sink you deeper into sin! Caina is cold, Jaune. You are better than this. Better than him. Don't let your emotions control you. He isn't worth it. So, please … Put your sword down."
Strength left him as his arm flopped to his side. He looked around. Half his family was pushed up against the wall, looking at him with concern and even fear. Fear of him. Alice was at one of the doorways looking like at a moment's notice she would move into the hall and bolt out of the house. She was holding the younger ones, who just looked around in confusion. He didn't meet his father's eyes though.
His body stopped glowing and the aura in the blade seeped back into his body and evaporated into the air. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Both parts of Crocea Mors dropped to the floor with a clang.
"That isn't mine." Jaune tried to make his voice calm but it came out as more of a sneer. He saw the image of his grand uncle and opened his eyes again. "It never was."
Then he began to walk to the stairs, going up them and heading to his room, leaving his family downstairs to process what just happened.
His mother stretched her arm to try and get to him, but she was too slow. Her eyes then went to Nicholas, who was hunched over as he stood still, his abdomen still hurting. A simple kick to his side hurt and took a noticeable amount of his aura.
"What … did you do, Nicholas?" She asked, her voice shaken.
Nicholas, for his part, was terrified. His Semblance, Golden Dawn, was powerful, but what he saw from Jaune eclipsed his. Was that a simple light attack to blind the opponent? No, it was just a side effect. His aura would have barely blocked that strike from him if it had hit him, and he could feel his son's aura levels rising at that moment. He thought he was doing the right thing, sealing his aura to prevent him from going on a Huntsman's path. But instead …
He dropped the last drop into the glass and watched it spill out.
"I thought … " He began, only to see the looks Alice and Sapphire were giving him. They were disgusted and scared, even angry at him. The younger ones didn't understand what was happening, which was good, but the most affected one had to be Juliet. Her eyes were shaking, and tears were threatening to spill out from them. "I was doing the right thing … "
"HOW THE FUCK IS THAT THE RIGHT THING?!" Sapphire snapped, letting out a curse in her outburst. Normally, her mother would scold her for swearing near the younger ones, but right now her mind was struggling to process what went down. "YOU JUST TRIED TO SEAL AWAY HIS AURA! HECK! HE EVEN GRABBED CROCEA MORS AND MIGHT HAVE JUMPED YOU!"
"Why did you do that? Why would you do such a thing?" Jade asked her father. "Jaune has done nothing to deserve that!"
"I-"
"NO! You CANNOT justify such a thing!" She cut him off. Shaking her hands, she walked around. "Sealing someone's aura is not even legal!"
She stopped and turned to him. "That is done only by a licensed Huntsman, which you might be, BUT! Only under the condition that the person whose aura they seal is NOT someone, they hold any relations with! Not to mention you need permission from the Council as well! You had no right, moral or legal, to do that!"
Nicholas looked down in shame hearing his own daughter berate him. He knew she was right. If word got out of what he just tried to do, then not only will he lose all connections, influence, and prestige he had earned during his Huntsman days, but he would be arrested and he would lose his family as well. His mind was finally clear enough to look in hindsight and realize that now.
"Fuck!" Sapphire swore again, she was afraid. Afraid for Jaune. She couldn't remember the last time Jaune had raised his voice like that. Neither could she think of a more heartless way to be hurt by a loved one. Was he ok? She turned to Jade who had gone silent with her mouth open, clearly in shock. Sapphire went to her and shook her. "Jade, please go to Jaune's room and make sure he is ok."
She reluctantly nodded and ran to her older brother's room. Sapphire then turned to her father for one last time before looking at her mother.
"Mom?" Sapphire called out to her, then went to shake her as well, causing the Arc matriarch to jump and hold onto her daughter.
"Sapphire, Jaune is- Nicholas tried to, but-" Juliet was trying to talk, but all of this had her shaken to her core. Sapphire was the only one there who could still hold on to her marbles it seemed. Jade came back down afterward, shuffling her feet awkwardly, making Sapphire turn to look at her.
"Jaune said he wants to speak with Alice and Sapphire, alone," Jade said, the two sisters nodding to each other.
The two sisters went up to his room, shuffling was coming from inside and they knocked.
"Jaune?" Alice called out to him, waiting for an answer.
"Come in."
The two sisters nodded to each other and entered the room, only to see a sight that made their stomachs drop. Jaune was walking around his room, putting his clothing and other necessities in a bag.
"Jaune, what are you doing?!" Alice said, gasping seeing him pack. "Why are you packing?!"
"I won't live in a house with a man who tried to seal his own son's aura!" Jaune half-shouted, trying to be angry, which he was, but his voice broke here and there. Restraining the tears he was holding wasn't easy. "I am going away! I know there are some nice people out in Ansel who will gladly take me in for a while, then I will try and do some jobs around the village to earn enough and get away from here!"
"Jaune, don't do this!" Sapphire said, coming closer and grabbing him by the shoulder. "You don't have to leave us just because of what Father did! Please! We need you!"
"I know you do not want me to leave, but what else can I do?" He sighed, then turned to Sapphire, letting her see his eyes. Anger and hurt were clear to see in them. "If I stay he will try to seal my aura again and I cannot count on a simple second miracle!"
"He won't!" Alice shouted. "We will announce the authorities! He tried to illegally seal your aura, Jaune, he will get arrested!"
"But then who will support you all?" He said, now truly breaking their hearts. "If I could I would take each of you with me, but I can't … I am not strong enough or able to provide for the entire family, no matter what I would do."
He clenched his fist in frustration. "Do not report him. Although that man tried sealing my aura, although he betrayed me, I know he is not a bad father. Stay here and live as you want to live, do not worry about me."
Sapphire noticed something in his speech. He didn't call their father 'Dad' anymore.
"Jaune … " She mused, then she watched as he finished his bag and threw it on his back. "I know you're angry right now but-"
"No."
The room was silent for a moment, a deafening silence.
"I'm not angry now. I've been angry for a long time. And I can't stay here any longer." Jaune said before he walked off, neither girl noticed the fly that started to buzz around the ceiling. He walked down the stairs to see his mother and other sisters.
They all widened their eyes at him and gasped, his father hadn't moved, just staring into empty space until he saw Jaune. He spared his father no look, only looking at the rest of his family as he walked out through the door, then he turned to Jade who was waiting outside.
She was sobbing slightly, having a bit of dirt on her. She was holding onto the thing Jaune told her to get. He remembered the tree Ignium told him about, but he knew there was no way there was one that old near their house. But then he remembered the stump in the backyard which they all used as a table. Judging from the size, that was the tree. He had Jade dig up the book, this journal, for him.
"Are you really leaving?" She asked, her voice shaky and sobbing. Jaune looked down at her, his eyes saddened to do this, but he had no other choice. He kneeled to his little sister, patting her on the head.
"You don't have to cry, Jade. I promise I will be fine and I will … probably one day return." He wondered if that was a lie. "I promise I won't forget about you. I will do everything I can to see you again Jade. Just promise me to be strong, ok? That doesn't mean you don't have emotions or something silly but that you don't lose hope that things can get better."
The younger girl sobbed once more and he wrapped her in a hug.
"Ok. Here is the book you wanted." She said, handing him the journal. He put it aside in his bag. "There were a bunch of flies around one spot, I dug there and found it."
He gave her a small smile as he pulled away, ruffling her hair one last time before getting his bag and starting to walk away. He reckoned Beelzebub wouldn't mind adding an extra room for him. Their new house was on the other side of Ansel, with no path leading to it, and being a fair distance away within the woods. His family will never know he was so close to his- No.
He looked back just as he began to enter Ansel, looking at the house he grew up in. His eyes went down to the cobblestone path before muttering. "I wonder if that was ever my home, to begin with."
He walked through the town before leaving it again, moving towards the house Beelzebub and the others had been building. He reckoned that they left after he went inside the house, and he knew Beel was the only one to stay around longer.
She was the fly who calmed him, after all. She made a solid point; it was not worth throwing his future away, or soul. Granted, he doesn't know if he would've killed his father, knowing for a fact he is not that strong physically and the amount of aura he was outputting was still a ways away from what he did in Hell, meaning he might've not been able to produce an aura slash, but …
He is glad Beel stopped him in time. Feeling so angry and letting go like that was … It was the first time in his life he truly felt alive and not like himself. He didn't feel afraid or nervous, or anything. He just felt angry and betrayed to see his own father do that to him. Or at least attempt to.
He doesn't know how he did it himself, but he assumed it had something to do with his semblances. He decided to dub his hybrid Aura Overdrive since it drove his aura past his initial limits and kept going. As for Origin, he eyed his bag where that dirty book was inside, knowing the answers were in there regarding this so-called family semblance.
Back with the girls, right after Jaune had his outburst, the construction of the house was going relatively quickly. Lucifer and Pandemonica were both using magic to move the material around, everything having been already created by Beelzebub and her use of the Abyss' matter to create multiple items and furniture to put into the house.
Judgement along with Zdrada, Malina, Baphomet, Modeus, and Justice was sitting on the side while Cerberus was running around, exploring the surrounding area. Azazel was also looking around, noting down everything she could. She had never been to the human realm before either, so this was yet another experience for her to try.
"A bit more and the house will be ready," Monica noted, then she turned to Lucifer. "Are you sure you want your room so close to Jaune's? The material for the walls might be soundproof, but there is no reason to stand so close just because Beelzebub is living with us."
"I am not worried about Jaune, I am worried about Beelzebub." Lucifer stated. "She might try to act innocent, but I know her well. She is like me, after all, a Cardinal Sin."
"Yes, but her sin is not Deceit or Lust, it is Gluttony," Monica stated. "If anything I'd be worried about the pantry."
"Say it as you wish, Monica, dear. But the truth still remains; I do not trust Beelzebub one bit, so with the first proof of her trying to pull a fast one on us I will kick her ass back into the Abyss and this time no lucky mortal will break her out of there."
"Whatever gets you going-"
"Guys!" Beelzebub shouted, turning from a fly to her humane form and landing, panting slightly as flying all the way here while trying to dodge a crow tired her out. "It's Jaune!"
"Oh shit, the fucker blew up!" Zdrada shouted.
"No! I mean, yes. I mean, it's bad!" Beelzebub said, earning everyone's attention. She began to tell them about what she saw when she went into the Arc household to make sure Jaune was alright, but even she couldn't have predicted this outcome. And she knew for a fact Jaune didn't predict it either. The plan went down the drain completely when his father tried to seal away his aura.
The girls didn't fully grasp what it meant at first, but then Beel put it in simpler terms she knew they would understand, like making an example saying 'What if someone took away Malina's alcohol and never gave it back for the rest of her life?', which made them all get stiff.
Sealing away someone's power was not uncommon in Hell for troublesome individuals, but even they didn't go around sealing their own blood kin's abilities like that! And for such lame reasoning too! Each of them felt a nasty feeling wash over them, something similar to anger and pity combined.
They knew Jaune for enough time to know he is not someone who deserved this as Beelzebub said, he deserved the exact opposite!
"Poor Jaune … " Modeus muttered. "He must be so broken right now. So down."
"Indeed," Lucifer agreed with Modeus. "I saw his soul, I know about his little family issue, but even I failed to see this coming. Being betrayed by your own family like that … at first, I honestly expected Jaune to run off without reason to live with us, then you mentioned the plan in which he lies to his parents, telling them he got a job working for someone who owned a new inn - me - so he could come here often and have even an excuse to sleep over time to time. There goes that plan. In both, he would have wronged his parents to some degree by lying to them, but this? Although I feel sorry for him, this works as he doesn't need to constantly go back and forth to his old place that often. Besides, you can remake his stuff, Beelzebub."
"But that is not the issue here, Lucifer." Beelzebub retorted. "Listen, Jaune will need us, all of us, when he gets here. This is not about being his Harem solely but being there for him as well. When he gets here we must make sure he doesn't spiral out of control."
"Why would I spiral out of control?"
Beelzebub turned around suddenly, noticing Jaune standing there with the bag over his shoulder. It didn't take long for Jaune to put two and two together.
"Oh. I see. That is really nice of you, girls, but I just want some alone time right now."
"I'm afraid we are still working on a room for you and the construction is not safe yet." Monica pushed up her glasses.
"Of course. Just my luck." Jaune sighed then walked away, placing his bag down next to a tree then slumping down on it, resting his head on the bark. He had his eyes closed, but he caught the shadow that was looming over him. Opening his eyes he then saw Beelzebub standing next to him. "I said I wanted to be alone, Beel."
"I know, but I felt like having someone to be next to you would be better" She replied. "Jaune, you know you do not need to hide your feelings from us."
He snorted and sarcastically replied. "Like I can … You girls can read my thoughts and soul. Pretty sure that bit of privacy is gone."
"Yes, which is why I know that right now you are not really desiring to be alone," Beel said, drawing closer to him. Jaune didn't shake off her hand as she wrapped it around him and slowly leaned his head on her bosom, stroking his hair.
"It's ok." She whispered, then she began to hear the slow sobs he was letting out, feeling his hand grab her arm and holding it tight, not to let go. She could feel his tears flow down her chest, the water going through the fabric of her suit. "Let it all out."
Everyone gathered around them, even Lucifer, to help him understand he was not alone. He might have left his family, left the house where he grew up his entire life until now, but he was not alone. He had them.
His Harem. Heh. The thought alone made him laugh a bit. Never in his life would he have imagined he would go on such a crazy endeavor through the very depths of Hell and back with a bunch of good-looking girls making up his own Harem. He felt tired as he let his tears flow into Beel's chest, his eyes getting heavier. He slowly drifted to sleep right there, feeling … safe.
He felt like he was truly wanted here. All of them believed in him - hard to do when they saw the display on the bridge. They knew what he could do and how big of a fool his own father was for wasting his potential. But they were not going to do it. Ignium could send Jaune some of the greatest souls in Hell to train him; the likes of Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great, Caesar, and more. So many souls who would give everything for a chance to escape their punishment.
Maybe even some old knights? Jaune certainly fits the knight bill well. But for now, he wept, he closed his eyes, and he drifted to sleep right there, waiting for tomorrow's blessing to wash today away.
Yet, the girls also knew remaining close to Ansel was a risk.
"Baphomet," Beel called out to the goat-lover.
"Yes~"
"How powerful are your sleeping spells?"