Disclaimer: Neither High School DXD nor Elder Scrolls belongs to me, all rights to their respective owners.
Chapter 38
— Come on, Ed. It's not that hard, you just have to keep practicing your calligraphy. —
Selene teaching Edzard how to write.
In the palace of Lucifer, in the city of Lilith, a great meeting was held, this meeting was the annual meeting of the young devils, where they made known their dreams and ambitions for the future. Although, this time it was different, because apart from that ceremony, the signing of an alliance between the three factions and Asgard would also be celebrated.
In the middle of the ballroom, on a dais stood Edzard. He was leaning against a wall while he looked boredly at the young people gathered, because none had caught his attention. Well, that would be a little lie, because there was one that caught his attention slightly. That lucky man was the heir to the Bael clan.
'That guy is really interesting.' Edzard thought as he watched the young devil chat with Rias. Sighing, Edzard looked down at himself and saw his outfit. Currently, he was wearing a black military gala suit consisting of a long-sleeved coat with two rows of golden buttons on the front, which were made of pure gold. On his shoulders were red shoulder pads with black details which bore embroidered the rank he had once held as a member of the imperial legion. The coat had some red details. On his left arm was a red bandana with the symbol of the imperial legions embroidered on it. At his waist was a black leather belt, which had a baldric where Arondight was. Additionally, he was wearing a pair of black dress pants and combat boots.
Turning away from his attire, Edzard looked back at the devils present. A scowl appeared on his face as he saw several high-class devils chatting. The reason for his displeasure was that those same devils had been bothering him ever since he came to this party. they had told him that a human like him could not be here. Those words had tempted him to deactivate the magical tattoo that hid his power, but in the end he didn't, since that would cause many questions.
Fortunately, he didn't have to deal with them much, as Sirzechs arrived and after a few words, those idiots walked away with chalk-white faces upon hearing that he was on the same level as a Satan-class devil. After that ridiculous spectacle, because those devils left with a face that looked like they would piss on themselves at any moment, Edzard began to listen to the dreams of the young devils.
Most of the dreams were very boring to listen to. The only one that really caught his attention was Sona's. Serafall's sister's dream seemed crazy, and many elite devils mocked that dream. However, he was not like them, he could see the potential of that dream. So, when he finished listening to it, he gave a few rounds of applause, which caught everyone's attention. When all eyes fell on him, he decided to tell Sona that she had his full support to make her dream come true.
Those words made a devil tell him that he was supporting something crazy. Hearing that, Edzard just put a teasing smile on his face as he replied.
«The vast majority of those who changed their societies were branded as crazy»
Those words completely silenced the room, causing many to look at Edzard, who just closed his eyes and fell silent, since he was no longer interested in talking anymore. After that, more devils followed. He had widened his eyes upon hearing Astaroth's name. He had been pleasantly surprised to see Diodora's replacement. The girl was called Latia Astaroth and she was a beautiful girl who had almond-colored eyes and blonde hair with blue-dyed nails. She wore a noble dress adorned with various gold jewelry and carried a folding fan in her hand.
The words that the girl said made Edzard put on a smile because the girl's dream was to make her clan stronger again. These words were said since thanks to Diodora's betrayal the Astaroth clan lost much influence and wealth.
'It's good to know that you now have a good heiress who can help redeem the clan.' Edzard thought before looking at his friend, who was with the ORC, the student council and his group. Everyone seemed to be having fun while chatting, especially Asia, Xenovia, and Lint, who seemed to be happily chatting about something. Unfortunately, Ingvild had not attended, as they wanted to keep her identity a secret for some extra time.
'Both groups have grown strong, but they are far from powerful enough to stand against a high-level daedra. Maybe they could defeat a Dremora with a good strategy, but they wouldn't stand a chance with a Xyvkyn or a Titan.' Edzard thought as he narrowed his eyes and focused on Issei and Saji. Both reincarnated devils had trained for a week under his gaze, since that had been the favor Sirzechs had asked of him, well, not exactly. And it is that initially he would only have to train Issei, but Serafall found out and began to bother him to take Saji with him. In the end, he decided to accept to get Leviathan off his back. Although, something a bit funny had happened during the second day of training….
Flashback
The midday sun shone overhead as Edzard walked into a clearing. In said clearing there were two people lying on the ground. Both people were completely drenched in sweat and their breathing was erratic.
"Damn it, Hyoudou. Do you think we'll survive this?" Saji asked as he tried to get up.
"I don't know, Saji." Issei replied as he managed to stand up with great difficulty. Looking at his body, he could see the steel armor they had been training in for a full day. "I really don't understand how this is a normal soldier's armor. It weighs a lot!"
"Don't tell me. How much do you think it weighs?
"No idea. But knowing Ed for sure this armor will weigh about a hundred pounds."
"You're wrong Issei, he weighs over one hundred and seventy pounds." Edzard said walking towards them as he carried a very smiling Marie in his arms. When he got to where both devils were, he turned around and began to walk with long strides. When he was about fifty feet away, he set Marie down and with a bit of magic created a line.
"Well guys, it's already been a full day since you started your training with me. And from what I can see, they're already able to move around in those armors. So, I think we can now move on to the second part of this little training." Edzard said as he looked at them analytically. "This second stage will consist of improving their speed, so they will have to cover these fifteen meters within five seconds. If they fail to do so, they will suffer a punishment. Now, do you have any questions?"
Issei and Saji looked at each other before the former raised his hand.
Edzard nodded.
"Ed, what the hell are we wearing these armors for?"
Edzard looked at Issei and just let out a sigh. "Really. Don't you realize? "
Issei shook his head.
"Your balance breaker is an armor. Although I don't know how much it weighs or how it works, the most practical thing is for you to get used to fighting wearing real armor so that you can fight in the most optimal way possible when you finally reach your balance breaker. Now, about Saji, I don't know what kind of balance breaker he will have, but seeing as both you and Vali, who possess dragon-type sacred gears, wear armor on their balance breaker, I'm thinking Saji will get one as well. That's why I'm training him so he can fight in armor."
"I see. Now it makes sense. But…. Why wear armor that wears a skirt?!" Saji yelled as Issei nodded. And it is that the armor that both devils wore was a heavy legionary armor, but without the pants.
Edzard put a teasing smile on his face. "Because it looks good on them."
A mark of anger appeared on the heads of both devils, who glared at Edzard with undisguised fury.
"Well, it looks like they're motivated to attack me, so... shall we begin?"
After those words, Edzard raised a hand and started counting backwards from five. As soon as his thumb began to lower, both devils launched themselves at Edzard. However, his speed was greatly reduced by the weight of the armor. So, when Edzard's hand was in a fist, they hadn't even reached half the distance.
"Looks like you guys couldn't get there. Well, just like I said, a punishment is coming." Edzard said as he watched both devils keep running towards him. "Marie, do it."
Edzard's daughter looked forward and opening her mouth, she shouted. "FUS! RO!"
The wave of energy created by the thu'um went at great speed towards both devils, who could only open their eyes in shock at that attack. When both of them were hit by the attack, they were swept away like leaves by the wind. To their misfortune, the forest was behind them both, so they ended up hitting several trees, which were also sent flying by Marie's thu'um.
Edzard had a drop of sweat seeing both devils unconscious under several logs. Shaking his head, the Dovhakiin just sighed, it seemed like he wouldn't accomplish much with them in the short amount of training they would have.
End Flashback
"Those two are the pieces with the most potential in both peerages. However, none have managed to reach their balance breaker even though they have been training for almost a month specifically for it. And at the rate they're going, they could take a long time to reach that state. However, the one who will have the most problems between Rias and Sona, is Rias. After all, two of its pieces have serious problems that, if not solved, will prevent both of them from using their full potential. Ahhhh…sometimes I think Rias doesn't try hard enough to help those two. But well, that problem is hers, I'm not going to intervene.'
After thinking that, Edzard came back to reality when he felt someone touch his shoulder. So, turning his head he saw Azazel.
"What's wrong, Azazel?" Edzard asked seeing the frown on the leader of the fallen. "Has there been a problem with the arrival of the leader of the Norse pantheon?"
"No, fortunately." Azazel replied with a sigh. After that, he looked Edzard in the eye. "Ed, answer truthfully. What do you think forced Odin to accept the alliance proposal so quickly?"
Edzard looked at Azazel and sighed. "If we didn't know what was going on, we would probably think it was because of the Khaos Brigade. But we both know it's not that. So, they may have run into daedra, and they may also have heard about what happened in Tuscany and since that is "Christian" territory they may think you have the answers."
Azazel looked at Edzard and let out a resigned sigh, for that confirmed his suspicions. Leaning against the wall, he was about to speak again, but a third voice approached them and interrupted him.
"Edzard-kun, Azazel. Michael will arrive soon, and we will be able to start the second part of this ceremony." Sirzechs said drawing their attention.
"And from what Barakiel, who is the head of security, has told me, Odin will be here soon as well." Azazel added.
"Barakiel? Akeno's father?" Edzard asked.
"Yes. I have entrusted him with the mission of protecting Odin. Since there seem to be several members among the gods of Asgard who don't approve of what Odin plans to do." Azazel answered.
"There are always guys like that." Edzard replied thinking of several guys like them in Nirm.
"And the problem is that these gods could join the Khaos Brigade. And we also can't forget that they might also make alliances with some princes." Azazel said as he stopped leaning against the wall.
"There is also another problem." Edzard said seriously, drawing the attention of both leaders. Seeing that he had the attention of both of them, he decided to keep talking. "So far, we are only holding back what the Daedra consider to be reconnaissance groups. I'm afraid that when a full-blown invasion comes, my party alone won't be able to stop the attack. Also, if they think I can take out an army of Daedra, well, yes, I could, but only by destroying the entire place. So, if they attack a place with a population, it will be exterminated."
Those words left Azazel and Sirzechs thoughtful.
"I see. So, it seems that we will have to increase the speed to arm the anti-daedra groups in each faction." Azazel said with a hand on his chin.
"It seems so." Sirzechs said with concern.
After those words, the three fell into a comfortable silence, which was broken when Edzard began to walk towards where his friends and lovers were. "I'll see you in a bit. I want a change of air for a few minutes."
After those words, Edzard kept walking. As he walked, he passed by some devil girls, who greeted him while blushing. Although he didn't want to pay attention to them, he decided to return their greeting just out of politeness. This action made the women blush and start chatting with each other while giggling.
Paying no attention to that, Edzard kept walking until he reached the place where the members of his group, the ORC and the student council were gathered.
"I see you're having a good time." Edzard said as an informal greeting.
The devils looked at Edzard and smiled.
"Hello, Edzard-san." Rias and Sona said.
"Edzard-sama." Said the rest of the devils in unison, saved one.
"Ed." Issei said with a smile.
After hearing that greeting, Edzard just smiled and shook his head. A few seconds later, he spoke. "I see that they have grown stronger, some more than others."
Issei put on a smirk. "Of course, I've gotten stronger. Wait and see, I'll catch up soon."
Edzard just smiled wryly before answering. "First you must get your balance breaker, Issei. Otherwise, you won't even be able to make me even think of seriously fighting you in a battle."
The smile on Issei's face died as he fell to his knees and lamented that he still hadn't reached his balance breaker.
As Issei lamented on the ground, Xenovia decided to ask Edzard a question.
"Edzard-sama. Where is little Marie?" Xenovia asked.
The former exorcist was more than delighted with little Marie. For her, that girl was what she was looking for in a child. Not just because she was strong, but because she was such a lovable and respectful girl. In fact, she was jealous of Asia for that, as it seemed that her life as her mother was very calm and not as hectic as one might suppose. If only Xenovia knew….
"She is in the castle playing with the orphans from the Asian hometown orphanage." Edzard replied.
Xenovia looked at Edzard and was about to ask him the reason why those children were there. However, before she could speak, Edzard interrupted her.
"If you wonder why they are there. Well, the woman who raised Asia usually comes to visit us every fortnight. And the first few times we took her, she was worried that the orphanage children in her care were left alone, so Asia told her that she could bring them." Edzard said looking at Asia with a smile.
"Really?" Xenovia asked looking at Asia with confusion.
"Yes. Besides, it was a win-win for everyone. After all, then those children could visit an interesting place and Marie would have several playmates." Asia replied with a smile.
Those words made Xenovia smile. However, before she spoke the room was silenced by a scream.
"I'm just ugly, a Valkyrie who hasn't had a boyfriend in her entire life!"
Edzard turned his head upon hearing that voice, because he recognized it. His eyes widened as he saw Rossweisse crying next to an old man who had long white hair and beard. The old man wore a short, blue-colored robe with gold lining at the top and bottom of the collar, the sleeves of the robe, and down the front of his robes to the bottom of the robe. The rest of his robe is white with matching shoes. He also wore a gold and black hat, which is divided into five mini sections sporting the color black or gold, the top, middle, and bottom are gold, and the black sections are below and above the middle one. The black section features blue orbs at the ordinal points and between the blue orbs are red dots.
"Uhh. Looks like my break is over." Edzard said as he walked back to the dais, because thanks to Azazel, he knew that the old man was Odin. As he walked, he waved his hand in dismissal.
Rossweisse was staring at the ground as tears streamed down her cheeks. She didn't like making a fool of herself like now, but they had touched on a very sensitive issue in her life.
"Sorry for the scandal. This is Rossweisse, she's one of the best Valkyries there is in Asgard, but she's so strict that she hasn't managed to get a boyfriend yet." Odin said looking at Sirzechs.
Sirzechs put on an awkward smile, but then his eyes widened as he saw a small chain slide down Rossweisse's formal suit. Although the chain was not unusual, it was the pendant that had the chain. This was a unique coin, which was a Septim.
"Wow, Rossweisse-san. That is a very strange pendant." Azazel said with a mischievous smile on his face, because he was getting an idea of what was happening.
"It is true. She says it was a gift from a young man, but she never mentions the name. So many believe that she is lying and that she has bought it and she passes it off as a gift so that they do not bother her anymore." Odin said looking at Rossweisse, who had stood up quickly and had hidden the necklace.
Before someone could ask Rossweisse something, a new voice interrupted them.
"Sorry I'm late." Michael said as he appeared on the dais and started to walk towards the rest of the leaders present. A kind smile appeared on his face at the sight of Odin. "It is good to see that you are in good health, Odin-dono."
Odin looked at Michael and nodded. Sensing that they were all there, he decided to speak. "Looks like we're all here."
"No, Odin-dono." Sirzechs said with a smile. "There is still one more person to go."
Odin raised an eyebrow at that and tried to ask but stopped when he heard footsteps approaching. Turning his head, his eyes fell on Edzard, who was walking calmly towards them. As Odin tried to discern Edzard's power level, Rossweisse's eyes widened as she saw Edzard walking towards them.
'W-w-w-w-what is Edzard doing here?' Rossweisse thought in a panic, who then started to check if her outfit was in order. She let out a sigh seeing that her outfit was in perfect condition.
"I guess you are the God that leads the Norse pantheon, right?" Edzard asked upon arrival.
"That's right, boy." Odin said with surprise, because the boy speaks to him in an informal way and that was something that he did not expect from a human.
"I see. It is a pleasure to meet you, my name is Edzard Cumberland Rolandson." Edzard said as he put on a smile to introduce himself.
"Nice to meet you too, boy. I guess I should introduce you to my bodyguard." Odin said with a smile as he stroked his beard. He was starting to like this boy.
"No need, we already know each other." Edzard said, interrupting Odin and making the old man look at him in surprise. After that, he glanced at Rossweisse and put on a gentle smile. "It's been a while. Isn't it, Rossweisse?"
Rossweisse nodded as her cheeks turned slightly red and she looked to the side. This reaction greatly astonished Odin, who took a step back in shock. However, he managed to quickly regain his composure.
"Boy, where do you know Rossweisse from?" Odin asked as he examined Edzard from head to toe.
"I met her a few months ago when in her fight against some giants one of her spells ended up destroying the car I had rented." Edzard answered amusedly as he watched Rossweisse blush in embarrassment.
Odin looked at Edzard confused, but then he opened his eyes in surprise, because he remembered that was the day that supposedly that mysterious young man had given Rossweisse that rare coin. Remembering that and seeing the young man in front of him, «the father of all» understood what was happening, so he smiled from ear to ear.
"Hahaha! I see. So, Rossweisse always told the truth that the one who gave her that coin was a young man." Odin said between laughs, very amused by what was happening. So, moving closer to Edzard, he began to take a closer look at him. "I see. Yes, you seem to be a good catch. You're handsome and you have good connections. I'm sure Rossweisse's family will accept you without any problems."
Edzard and Rossweisse blushed when they heard that.
Azazel decided to join in the taunts that Odin was saying. "Oh, you sure are naughty, Ed-chan. Does your wife know that you are courting another woman behind her back?"
Hearing those words, Rossweisse's head turned around so fast that it scared those who saw her.
"W-w-wife?" Rossweisse stammered as she internally hoped she had misheard.
"Yes, wife. Little Ed is married." Azazel said with a smile.
Rossweisse felt a small pain in her heart.
'Looks like I'm really unlucky in love.' Rossweisse thought, as she felt like her chances of trying to be more than friends with Edzard were fading.
"In fact, you can see his wife from here." Azazel said as he pointed to a smiling Asia who was chatting with Irina, Xenovia, and Lint.
Rossweisse looked at Asia and smiled sadly.
"And next to her, are Edzard's three concubines."
Rossweisse's mind short-circuited when she heard the word concubine. So, she quickly looked at Azazel. "C-concubines?"
Azazel smiled from ear to ear upon hearing the question. "Yes, concubines. Little Edzard has a harem set up. From what little I managed to learn, if you want to enter, you have to make Edzard fall in love with you and then convince Asia-chan that you love him and that's it."
After those words, many expected to see Edzard say something to Azazel, but to everyone's surprise, Rossweisse took out a notebook out of nowhere and started writing on it.
Edzard looked at everything with blank eyes while he was a little annoyed because he didn't like that they talked about his family life like that. However, when he was about to say something, he saw how Koneko quickly left the room while she was followed by Issei, who in turn was followed by Rias.
'What's going on?' Edzard thought as he watched those three walks out. Closing his eyes, he tried to detect some power, but he couldn't. He slowly began to let a little more of the power out of him, but he did it in the most subtle way he could. He was so focused on it that he missed the opening part of the speech that Sirzechs was giving, in which he talked about the pact of Kuoh and the need for the Gods of Asgard to sign the pact.
Later, Sirzechs spoke about the Daedras, and what he mentioned gave goosebumps to many of the devils present. In fact, when Sirzechs mentioned that even the power of destruction could not permanently destroy a Daedra, a great deal of whispered discussion ensued from several of those present. Furthermore, even Odin was surprised, for he knew what the power of destruction was capable of.
And that is, Odin had shared with Sirzechs the real reason why he was so eager to join the pact. This reason was that some very rare creatures had appeared in the territories where the Norse gods still held some influence. So, hearing of the attack on Tuscany by some very rare beings, he had decided to consult with the three factions separately, but he was surprised to find that the three of them had reached a peace agreement and formed an alliance. So, he had to agree to sign an alliance with the three factions, in addition to joining Kuoh's pact. Although at first, he had a lot of distrust in that pact, he now felt relieved to make the decision to join.
However, the speech that Sirzechs was giving was interrupted when a magic circle appeared in the middle of the room. From this circle appeared a handsome man with light blue hair that floats behind him with two small shoulder-length bangs. This subject also has three blue forehead jewels and yellow earrings and was wearing a robe similar to Odin's.
"Loki." Odin said in a biting whisper as he frowned. "Why are you here?"
"Why do you think, Old Man?" Loki answered with another question as he flew away. "The truth is that it hurts my heart to see how you ally yourself with other mythologies. When we should be fighting them to get to Ragnarök."
Azazel took a step forward upon hearing those words.
"Umm…. I seem to have heard similar words somewhere before… oh, if I remember it was when I was fighting Katerea. So, you've joined the khaos Brigade, right?"
"Hmph. I admit that I have started to collaborate with them a bit. But nothing I do I do on their recommendation, no, I do everything on my own decision." Loki said as he reached out his hand and created a magic circle on the ground. "Come, my dear son!"
The room was completely illuminated by the glow emitted by the circle. When the brightness faded, in the middle of the room there was a huge gray wolf that measured about ten meters.
With the wolf at his feet, Loki snapped his fingers, and the beast began to run towards the main dais. The wolf's speed was such that he managed to pass all the guards easily and with a single jump he was in front of Odin, who was preparing to fight. However, the old man did nothing, because from one moment to another, the wolf shot out when a powerful lightning bolt hit him squarely.
They all looked at the source of the attack and expected to see Barakiel but were shocked to see Edzard with both hands outstretched, both of which had small lightning crackling around them. "I'm sorry, but in this establishment the entrance of any type of dog is not accepted."
Loki looked at Edzard and clucked his tongue in annoyance.
"Looks like my close associates were right. You really are a bother when you put your mind to it, Ysmir."
Edzard narrowed his eyes upon hearing that name, after all in this world the only ones who knew that name was Rizevim, Euclid and Ophis. So, with that it was confirmed that the god of Asgard was in talks with daedras. So, taking a few steps forward, he spoke. "The fact that you know that name means that you have allied yourself with a Daedric prince. I wonder which one is… Prince of Disaster and Destruction? The Lord of Corruption?"
Loki just put on a smirk before raising his right hand and showing a dark blue shadowkey. With a quick wave of his hand, Loki generated a portal at his feet. From said portal came two figures known to the leaders of the three factions and to Edzard.
"I see, so it was Bal." Edzard said while his eyes began to turn golden. Before attacking the two champions, Edzard looked at the wolf for a few seconds. He knew that that wolf is called Fenrir and that he was one of the most dangerous beings in this world. "Hey guys, do you think you can take care of the mutt while I deal with the two Champions?"
Azazel, Sirzechs and Michael nodded.
"Well, looks like I already have some time for you two." Edzard said as he walked towards the Champions.
'It seems that Bal is angry with both of them.' Thought Edzard seeing that the greatsword champion's helmet was still dented from the blow he had given it earlier. Paying no more attention to his enemy, he moved his hand, which moved slowly to his hip. As he was about to touch something, he saw the mage raise both hands and create several portals. Several daedras came out of these portals. These daedras had female-looking bodies made of a substance similar to hardened magma, but underneath said magma there was fire, but not normal fire, for this fire was blue and gave off a sensation as cold as the winter winds that whipped through the region of Winterhold.
'Shit. They have summoned cold-flame Atronach.' Edzard thought with a bit of concern at the sight of these daedras. Turning his head, he cried out. "Girls! Take care of the lesser daedras! Don't let any of them get close to the guests!"
Asia who was together with the rest of the girls nodded and quickly summoned her sword. Taking the handle of her weapon, she turned and saw that the rest of the girls were ready as well. Aika had several circles of magic on her, while Valerie had her fists covered in darkness, Lint had her sword in her hand, and Mittelt had summoned her spear of light.
"Very well, Aika, Mittelt. I want both of them to provide cover fire for Lint, Valerie and me." Asia said as she prepared to attack. "Lint, Valerie, follow me. These daedras are dangerous, but they usually attack from a distance, so once we get to close combat, we can overwhelm them. Be careful, especially you, Valerie, since as you attack melee with your claws, it is possible that you suffer burns from the extreme cold that their bodies possess."
"Okay Asia. Don't worry." Valerie said with a smile as she bared her fangs.
"Yes. This is the perfect moment to show them how we work. Too bad Ingvild is at home with Marie." Lint said as she tightened her grip on her sword. This sword had received some upgrades from Edzard, which allowed Lint to create blasts of holy power using her own reserves of holy power as an angel.
"You're right, but it's for the best for her until she can show herself freely to the underworld." Asia said before taking a small breath and shouting. "Go!"
After that shout, Asia and Lint shot at high speed towards the Atronachs, Valerie for her part, had turned into a flock of bats to be able to move more freely. The Atronachs raised their hands and began shooting balls of icy fire.
The incoming fireballs were many and threatened to overwhelm Asia and Lint, but before these balls hit them, both of them were protected by various barriers, which were generated by Aika and Mittelt, who then quickly cast offensive spells and various spears of light towards the atronachs, who dodged the attacks or neutralized them with balls of icy fire.
Asia decided to take advantage of the fact that the Atronachs were distracted by dodging the attacks to use her speed, by doing so she appeared in front of an Atronach. Moving her sword quickly, she launched a diagonal upward slash, which was deflected by the hardened armor of the Atronach's hand. Seeing this, she Asia raised her left hand and quickly conjured a magic circle. From this circle a gust of wind was formed so sharp with which she tried to decapitate the atronach, but in the end she did not achieve anything serious, as he managed to dodge the attack with only a few visible wounds.
Lint ran towards another Atronach and when she was a few meters away, the daedra launched a fireball at her, which she was able to dodge by rolling on the ground. She quickly got up and slashed upward with her sword, but the Atronach parried the blow with his hands. Seeing this, Lint jumped and, maneuvering in the air, managed to bend the atronach's arm so that the daedra had to drop the sword. With her sword free, and still in the air, Lint drew her pistol and shot the atronach at close range three times. Unfortunately, these shots failed to penetrate the Daedra's magma-hardened armor.
Valerie reformed over another Atronach's head, and using gravity, she attempted to crush the daedra using her fists, but her blow was parried. The Daedra took advantage of this and launched a fireball at Valerie from point blank range. Fortunately, the Dhampir managed to turn into mist and came out slightly unscathed. Seeing that she couldn't attack head-on, she quickly enveloped herself in darkness and charged like a meteor towards the Atronach. She managed to land a strong blow to the atronach's abdomen, causing it to skid a few meters.
Seeing that their attacks had had no effect, the three girls decided to regroup with the rest of the group.
"They are stronger than we expected." Lint said as she jumped away from the atronach she had attacked.
"Yes, but there's a reason cold-flame Atronachs are stronger than normal ones. It was to be expected that they would be more difficult to kill than a regular one." Asia said, who then watched as Valerie rubbed her left hand. "Are you okay, Valerie?"
"Yes. it's just that my hand is a little numb. You were right when you told me that their bodies are cold. Hitting him felt like I stuck my hand in the waters of Antarctica." Valerie replied as she continued to rub her hand. "But don't worry, I can still keep fighting."
"Good, because this is about to get more complicated."
After those words, Asia charged at the Atronach while she was followed by her friends.
Seeing that his girls and Lint were fighting well against those Atronach, Edzard reached for the pommel of his sword. Without waiting another second, he took off at high speed toward the Champions. The speed at which he left was such that he generated a huge wind wave by the force used by his legs.
Edzard appeared in front of the champion with the greatsword. Using the inertia of speed, he quickly unholstered Arondight.
Sir Lancelot's sword had undergone great changes in its reformation. Now it no longer looked like a simple black longsword, but now had a slightly wider blade, which seemed to be made of two intertwined black steel threads which left three holes in the middle of the blade. In addition, at the beginning of each of the two rows there were some runes engraved in ehlnofex, which allowed to harmonize the demonic and sacred power that Arondight possessed. Edzard swung his sword at high speed and tried to cut his enemy with a diagonal upward slash. However, he could not do anything, because the champion managed to dodge the cut and while he did so, he drew his greatsword.
As Edzard started to fight, the mage jumped and began to levitate around the place while her hands were covered in fire.
'Levitation magic?' thought Edzard as he hid his surprise at seeing that kind of magic. 'Unbelievable, but if she can use that magic, which makes her a magician from before the levitation act was enacted.'
Edzard stopped thinking about that when he saw the mage launch several fireballs at him. Narrowing his eyes, he moved Arondight quickly and began to slice through the fireballs with great precision. When he finished doing it, he felt something coming up behind him, so he quickly jumped to the side. This allowed him to dodge the other champion's attack.
The champion looked up the moment he realized his attack had missed. So, by rapidly swinging his greatsword, he generated ten energy slashes, which traveled towards Edzard at great speed.
'Dammit. If I dodge this, the idiots behind me will die.' Edzard thought as he watched the attack come. Because if he jumped to the side, the devils behind him would surely die, so he tightened his grip on Arondight and concentrated some Magicka on the sword. The moment the power of Aurbis entered the sword, the rune that symbolized the holy power shone and completely covered the blade. At that moment, Edzard moved the sword, this generated a great explosion of sacred energy, which stopped five of the Champion's explosions and those that were not destroyed ended up impacting far from the devils, as they were deflected by the explosion.
'It seems that the runes and arentine shard I used in the tempering of the blade have made the power of this sword stable. Although...' Edzard thought as he looked at the damage caused by the explosion.
A rumble made Edzard look away and see Azazel fighting Fenrir. Shaking his head slightly, he saw Ajuka prepare something, from which he managed to deduce that he was about to do something to end this short battle.
'I can't waste any more time.' Edzard thought as he returned his gaze to his enemies.
After thinking that, Edzard ran at full speed against the champion who used the greatsword. Seeing him running quickly, the mage started casting spells to stop him. However, Edzard cut with great precision any spell that came his way, from fireballs to ice spears. Seeing him so close to him, the champion moved his greatsword and released three energy blasts, which were cut off by Edzard, who used Arondight's demonic attribute to launch small energy blasts with which to stop the Champion's.
Edzard arrived in front of the champion, and they quickly began to cross their weapons. The blades of both weapons began to spark as their owners tried to kill each other. The sword duel was so fast that very few of those watching the battle could see the weapons or even the combatants move.
Edzard ducked to avoid a cut from the champion, but then he also had to roll on the floor to avoid a lightning bolt. Looking up, he saw that the mage was gathering a great deal of power, surely to use a fully overloaded spell. Edzard moved his left hand and fired a lightning bolt at the mage. However, he was unable to hit her, as she moved and managed to dodge the attack at the last second.
"Tch. Narrowly." Edzard said as he watched the mage float without losing focus on her spell, which showed that she was very skilled in magic, perhaps reaching the level of a master mage. Edzard turned his head when he heard Loki call out Ajuka's name. He was a little shocked to see how he and the pooch were enclosed by a barrier and teleported out of the room. Unfortunately, this action caused him to lose sight of the magician, who cast a spell, which completely covered her partner.
The Champion launched himself at high speed against Edzard, almost managing to take him by surprise, as Edzard managed to realize at the last second that he was being attacked.
'What the hell? How did he get so strong?' Edzard thought as he dodged a horizontal slash. He thought this because the champion now moved much faster than before, plus his hits were stronger. Strong enough to blow away several tables, decorations, and a few devils that had been standing around like morons without really paying attention to the danger they were in. The display of force made Edzard tighten his grip on his sword and begin deflecting the attacks he received.
Edzard continued to melee the champion, but as he did so he also kept an eye on the mage, who wouldn't sit still and lashed out at him with spells, obviously trying to corner him so her companion could critically hit him. So, to avoid this, Edzard began to use his reflexes to dodge the attacks and in turn manage to keep the champion of the greatsword always in the direction of the other champion's attacks, thus making him have to cast her spells carefully so as not to hurt to her partner.
'This is rare. No mortal, no matter how champion, can increase his power so sharply in the middle of a fight. Even I would have trouble doing that.' Edzard thought as he frowned and continued to deflect the attacks his enemies made. 'The only way that comes to mind is a magical strengthening spell. And that would make a lot of sense, because the mage was carrying that spell for a long time. She maybe she did it so she wouldn't make any mistakes, as these types of spells tend to be dangerous if used overcharged.'
Unfortunately, Edzard had no more time to think, as he had to jump to dodge several fire spears that the mage had thrown at him. When he landed after the jump, he realized that he had fallen into a trap, as the other Champion had been waiting for him and had moved his greatsword to a position where he could not respond with Arondight. Narrowing his eyes, Edzard reached out with his left hand and conjured his second weapon. He had had enough of this battle. He right now he would fight with his true fighting style. Feeling the weight of his new weapon, Edzard moved his arm quickly enough to stop his enemy's blow completely.
The impact of both weapons caused a dry sound. Which was followed by a struggle between the champion and Edzard, a struggle that went nowhere. However, between that struggle, Edzard managed to see an opening and used it to kick the champion across the chest of the armor, this blow sent the champion flying several meters. However, the champion managed to maneuver in the air enough to land on his feet. As soon as he set foot on the ground, the champion had to raise his greatsword to parry a downward blow from Edzard's greatsword, who had lunged at his enemy to try to overwhelm him with a surprise attack. The force of the blow caused a crater to be created under the champion's legs. However, the champion did not give in to the force that Edzard was using and with some effort he managed to get up and by turning the blade a little, he managed to deflect Edzard's attack.
Seeing that his enemy had managed to deflect the attack, Edzard jumped up to take some distance. After that, they both saw each other face to face and in less than a second, they began to attack each other with everything they had. Edzard made use of his skill with both of his swords, while the champion also showed great skill in parrying attacks and counterattacking very effectively. While the battle seemed very even, those who were war veterans could see that the tide of the battle had turned completely and now it was Edzard who was dominating the fight. However, despite that, the battle had no clear winner at this point, as both enemies were able to counter each other very well.
The battle seemed at a standstill, as neither Edzard nor the champion could land a critical hit. But there was a factor that played in favor of one of the two and that was time. The spell used by the mage was powerful, but it had a slight problem, which is that like many reinforcement spells it had a duration time.
'Just a few more seconds and this will be over.' Edzard thought as he deflected an attack from the Champion with his greatsword. This caused him to have a flaw in his defense. Preparing to finish him off, Edzard raised Arondight and prepared to cut the champion down; however, he couldn't do it, because the magician attacked with several ice stakes. Seeing the attack, Edzard used Arondight's holy attribute to create an explosion of light and destroy the enemy spell.
Edzard frowned at the explosion, for it was weaker than he expected. That made him see something that he already knew would happen. And there was a reason why he didn't use Arondight's abilities much. That reason was that he was not one hundred percent compatible with the sword.
'While I can use it effectively, I cannot trust a weapon that could end up failing me at a key moment. After all, a weapon is just a tool and there's no use relying on a tool that can fail you. So, I'd better keep it in my vault. Maybe one day someone will appear who is able to use it correctly.' Edzard thought as he watched as the mage floated in the air. Knowing that he couldn't use her sword to finish her off, he decided to use a thu'um. So, opening his mouth, he shouted. "YOL! TOR!"
The breath of fire that came from Edzard's mouth shot towards the mage at great speed. The speed was such that the magician, seeing the attack coming, did not have time to dodge it, so she only had to use a ward to defend herself. However, when the breath of fire hit the ward, it generated a huge explosion, which ended up completely enveloping the mage.
Seeing that one of his enemies was down, Edzard set his sights on the remaining champion and by moving his feet, he managed to dodge the vertical attack that his enemy had used to take him by surprise. Using Arondight, Edzard launched a quick diagonal attack, which was skidded by the champion, who jumped to the right, but did not escape the attack unscathed, as the sword managed to graze the dented part of the champion's helmet. Under normal conditions, the helmet would have held up well, but this time it was already dented and damaged, so the extra damage caused it to start cracking.
After that attack, the champion fell into a bad position, which left him completely unprotected. This was seen by Edzard, who quickly jumped up and approached the champion, who seeing Edzard slashed diagonally trying to push him back. However, the attack was dodged by Edzard, who used this attack to spin on his own axis and raised his greatsword as he was about to kill his enemy.
Time seemed to stop for Edzard, who watched in slow motion as his greatsword began to go towards the Champion's neck. As the blade drew closer, Edzard noticed that the Champion's helmet began to crumble, revealing some vein-like lines, which stretched across the entire right side of the Champion's face. Said veins glowed a sickly blue color.
'This is over.' Edzard thought as he felt that a small victory against the daedras would finally be achieved, since losing a single champion would be a severe blow to his forces. However, his eyes began to widen in horror as the helmet finally shattered and fell to the ground with a thud. Surprise to see what lay behind that helmet made Edzard deflect the blow and miss miserably, thus leaving a large opening in his defense. His shock was such that he barely managed to defend himself against an attack from the Champion, who, seeing his greatsword stopped, quickly kicked Edzard's solar plexus, causing him to fly away at great speed and end up hitting one of the walls, creating a loud bang that kicked up a large amount of dust.
Asia was together with the rest of the girls and the devils who studied at Kuoh. They had managed to defeat the eight cold-flame atronachs that had appeared, but it hadn't been easy, and their minor injuries proved it. The match had been more difficult than expected not because of the group's battle ability, but rather because of where they fought. Neither could make use of their biggest spells or attacks, so they were forced to use basic or short-range spells to avoid killing the invited devils.
'Who in their right mind stands still watching a battle where you know you could die at any moment?' Asia thought before shaking her head and looking at Edzard's battle with the Champions again.
She was more than surprised by the change in the rhythm of the battle and she was not the only one, because after Loki was sealed, she saw how the leaders of the three factions watched the battle amazed at how both champions had managed to corner Edzard. They had asked her what was going on and as a master of Restoration magic, she knew the reason for the Champion's increased power with the greatsword. So, while the battle continued, she explained to them in the simplest way what was happening.
Although Asia had wanted to intervene, in the end she decided not to, as her husband could manage against them. Besides, she had to help protect the guests.
"Wow. So that's Edzard's true sword fighting style?" Lint asked in amazement to see Edzard fight with two swords. And she wasn't the only one, as the rest of the Rias and Sona peerage swordsmen were also watching the battle in amazement.
The Sona peerage, who hadn't seen the battle during the conference, had their jaws dropped as they watched the exchange of blows. One of the most astonished was Tomoe, who couldn't help but watch the exchange of blows with great fascination.
"Amazing..." Tomoe said in shock.
"I understand you." Xenovia said as she watched Edzard fight. With each sound of sword strikes that she heard, she could only think how different she was from Edzard, because although she also knew how to fight with two swords, she was not on the same level as her friend's husband.
'Maybe I can ask him to teach me how to fight like this.' Xenovia thought.
"I don't recommend that you ask Ed to teach you how to fight like this, Xenovia." Said Asia, who had glanced at her friend and could see that she was looking at the battle with bright eyes.
"Why?" Xenovia asked looking away from the battle and looking at Asia curiously.
"Because to use it you need to have the reflexes that Edzard has, otherwise you won't be able to coordinate defense movements and your guard would be exposed."
Xenovia's eyes widened upon hearing that. Looking back at the battle, she made up her mind, so she looked at Asia again. "Asia. Can you schedule a day so I can talk to Edzard-san about something?"
Asia looked at her friend and nodded, as she didn't see anything wrong with her request.
Asia's attention returned to the battle when Edzard's shout was heard. Seeing how the mage was defeated, Asia put on a calm smile, not because she liked that girl was dead, but because this battle was about to end. However, she was greatly astonished when she saw Edzard miss the final blow against the last Champion.
'What's going on? Ed never fails when he attacks.' Asia thought with a bit of fear, which intensified when she saw how the Champion lunged at Edzard. She tried to scream to warn him, as she saw him standing there in shock. However, her voice did not come out of her throat.
Asia tried to run towards Edzard when she saw him crash into one of the walls, but she froze as a stone and dropped her sword when she saw the face hidden under the Champion's helmet. She had seen that face once in a Skyrim, in an ancient painting. Her astonishment increased to unknown levels when she saw the last champion appear, who had some parts of her armor shattered including her mage hood.
"T-t-this is n-n-not p-p-possible." Asia said recognizing both faces as fear took over her being.
Beneath several pieces of debris from the wall he had just destroyed, Edzard slowly got up and began to move the debris. As he did, he felt something client wet both sides of his face. He knew it wasn't just blood, for his eyes felt watery. When he was on his feet, he began to walk with slow steps towards the two Champions and as he did, so he felt a lump forming in his throat. Arriving where both champions were, his eyes fell on both of them, and his mind began to remember some words that he thought he had forgotten long ago.
«You've always been a bit of a picky eater, so seeing you eat everything without complaining really worries me, Ed. What's up?»
«I hope you haven't caused too much chaos in town, my little Ed.»
Edzard opened his mouth and tried to speak, but any words that tried to come out got stuck in his throat. The reason for all this maelstrom of emotions that began to surface in his being was the faces of both Champions. They both had faces that he had last seen more than eight years ago. Before the fire supposedly engulfed them along with their old house.
"F-father... M-mother..." Were the only words that came from his lips as he was in shock at seeing his parents alive.
His father's face hadn't changed at all, he still had the same beard and hair the same shade of black as he remembered. His mother still had that blonde hair that he had so much nibbled on when he was a baby. The only difference he saw was those sickly blue eyes.
Edzard stood motionless and was easy prey for any attack. However, even though the two champions tried to attack him, they only took a step forward and then stopped and put their hands to their heads. While they had their hands on their heads, their eyes changed color, gold for the man and green for the woman. Unfortunately, this change was only for a second, because then they returned to being blue.
After that, Edzard watched as his mother summoned a shadowkey and disappeared with his father. Despite seeing that, he didn't move an inch, as his mind was still trying to process what he just saw.
When both champions disappeared from the place, Edzard fell to his knees while those blue eyes remained engraved in his mind.
'Blue... Blue... Blue...' Edzard thought continuously as if it were a robot. From one moment to another his mind remembered something he had read in the Arcanaeum a long time ago, when he was still a freshman. The book he had read spoke of the legendary Zero Legion. A legion whose legend was above all for having members who had betrayed the empire during the «Planemeld» that Molag Bal had attempted to make. Clenching his teeth, Edzard was filled with a rage he hadn't felt since the day Akatosh showed him what would have become of his beloved wife. Clenching his fists until his palms bled, he roared skyward.
"BAAALL!"
The scream was so loud that those present were forced to cover their ears when listening to it, as it was so loud that it threatened to leave them deaf. However, as soon as that scream ended, everyone had to start to take cover, because from one moment to another Edzard's body began to expel an enormous amount of magic, which generated large air currents impregnated with Magicka. The force of the air currents was such that several devils were sent flying as if they were dry leaves, while those closest to Edzard who were not sent flying had to quickly move away to avoid being burned by the power that Edzard expelled.
As the leaders of the devils, Fallen, Angels and the Norse gods watched the scene in surprise, Edzard's voice rose above everyone and made the entire place rumble.
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, YOU DAMN! I SWEAR I WILL FIND A WAY TO DESTROY YOU PERMANENTLY!" Edzard screamed as he began to expel more power.
Asia had been taken by surprise by the power that Edzard had begun to expel and was sent flying a few meters, but luckily for her, Aika and Valerie managed to catch her before she hit a wall.
"Asia! What's going on?! What's wrong with Ed?!" Aika asked as she created several magic circles, which she began to use as protective barriers.
"Aika is right, Asia! What's going on?!" Valerie asked as she covered her face with an arm so that she could see what was happening, as the gusts of air were increasing in power and obscured the view of what was happening.
Asia snapped out of her stupor upon hearing her friends' voices and quickly stood up. She did not understand very well what was happening, but if she knew something, and that was that her husband was in danger. So, without caring about anything else, she quickly began to run towards Edzard ignoring the cries of many who told her not to get close.
Arriving a few meters near Edzard, Asia began to feel her skin starting to heat up. The heat began to increase in intensity as she got closer to Edzard, so she, without thinking twice, used her Balance Breaker so that she could get closer safely. Slowly and steadily, she kept walking as she covered her face to better see where she was going. When she got to where Edzard was, she didn't hesitate for a second to hug him with all her might.
"Please Ed! Calm down!" Asia yelled trying to calm her husband down. "Please Ed! If you continue you will destroy this whole place and kill innocent people!"
Unfortunately, Asia's words did not achieve anything, as Edzard continued to expel magic uncontrollably.
Asia began to despair when she saw that Edzard did not react to her pleas.
"Please Ed! Calm down!" Asia yelled as she clung to Edzard and cried, as she saw how Edzard's body began to show some second-degree burns, unmistakable signs of the damage that his own power was causing to his body in his human form.
'Please stop.' Asia thought with fear and dread, as she feared that her husband would decide to use his dragon aspect. If that happened, there would most likely be a battle, a battle where Sirzechs, Azazel, Michael and everyone who was at least the level of a Satan-class devil would try to stop Edzard. The worst thing is that Edzard in a state of fury did not have his moral restraints and attacked without caring about anything, which made him more dangerous than normal. So, Asia she was yelling at Edzard to stop several times, but he didn't listen. However, when Ajuka was tempted to transport Edzard to another location, out of nowhere a ball of green energy shot through the skies and hit Edzard squarely, instantly calming him down.
"Ed?" Asia asked with tears in her eyes when she saw that Edzard had calmed down. Her eyes widened in horror as she saw that Edzard's eyes were empty and devoid of life as tears of blood continued to stream down his cheeks. A second after that, Edzard's body fell like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
Author's note:
To those who have made it this far, Thanks for reading. Because being honest, I don't know how to write much in English and I'm relying on Google translators and the dictionaries that come with office 2019.
And we start with the first thing, Ed's parents are alive and serve Molag Bal. How they came to serve Bal will be explained in many chapters, but seriously when I say many, it's like within seven arcs approx. (this amount is subject to change). XD
We also see that Ed can't use the full potential of Arondight, which is why he won't use it from now on. That sword is meant to be used by a character, but that will be way, way ahead.
Now, about the identity of the one who cast that spell that calmed Edzard down, well... that's left to your imagination. XD
Well, I apologize for any misspelling. Do not forget to leave a review if you liked the chapter or if there is something that needs to be improved or if you have any questions about the story. Also, if you want to chat by PM, you can also send one. With nothing more to say, until the next chapter.