Chapter: The Apathetic Heir
Chapter: 03
If you're wondering why this got updated without a post, I've redone a lot of the entire story. I plan to start posting on this once more. I mostly changed Gremailia in character to something more professional and subtle. Along with some other things.
(Demonic Soul)
Sitting down in the massive library, I scanned through the book I was reading with fascination. I was currently reading an impressive-looking book named The Ultimate Devil by Zarathos Dantalion.
It turns out that Ultimate Class wasn't just a title given to powerful entities. There was an actual transformation that happens to a being when they Ultimate Class , which was named as such due to being in a class of its own.
However, this book didn't describe what other races did to become an Ultimate Class. I wonder if the experience is universal?
Anyway, when a devil reaches the peak of high class they start to undergo a transformation that leads them into the Ultimate Class. Eventually, the demonic energy gets too much to handle, and it travels through the body at an accelerated pace.
This causes the transformation. The energy will start to condense down, making it much more potent. This phenomenon will eventually force the energy to form a Demonic Soul.
The Demonic Soul is a ball of demonic energy in your chest that outputs demonic energy thrice as fast as normal. This marks the transformation of an Ultimate Class devil. This Demonic Soul can't be destroyed or tampered with by physical means.
Only the rare art of soul manipulation allows other beings to interact with this energy. Thus leading many to call this ball the Demonic Soul. The benefits of possessing it are magic resistance, a boost in strength, a really scary aura and boosted reserves.
A Demonic Soul will boost the amount of mana you possess five times over, this along with the enhanced potency leads one to become a devil far above their high-class peers and thus a new Ultimate Class being is born.
I put the book down and slowly sipped on the chocolate milkshake I was drinking.
So becoming an Ultimate Class being wasn't as simple as being able to destroy a city? Did that mean that the Satan Class had another transformation?
What about the Super Class? My eyes lazily roamed over the rest of the chapter. It didn't mention anything else. I had spent the last few hours reading through any books of interest within the library.
It had taken me a while of wandering around but I had finally found it, a massive library stocked to the brim with books that had all sorts of interesting information. It turned out that the devil civilization was much more complex than expected.
There were the demonic pits, filled with varying creatures mutated by the dense demonic energy. Sometimes these pits leaked and formed massive beast tides that caused mayhem in the underworld.
How did they combat this?
They created an administration called the Devil Association which was basically just a guild. Yes, like the fantasy world guild, this place offered missions or "quests" for varying tasks. It was really clever, if you think about it.
They created an entire economy out of a problem. Smart fuckers, devils are.
I admit I had been surprised, this was never mentioned in canon. This could also be another timeline. Well, not like I can do anything about it.
The missions the guild gives didn't just involve clearing the pits, there were also missions for problems all around the underworld and even a bounty board that devils could gain rewards from.
There wasn't much knowledge about the pits, it was mainly used for demonic beast farming since their materials could be used for "Ward Craft". Not to forget, the rare minerals and herbs that can be collected further down.
I let out a yawn as I stretched my stiff limbs, a glance towards my mana bar showed my demonic energy to be at full capacity once more. I got up and started making my way over to the training grounds I had ordered to be created.
I roughly know the direction to where I had been practising beforehand and when I arrived I looked around in shock. The once plain-looking courtyard was now completely remodelled.
A large raised platform with a shimmering red barrier surrounding it stood in the middle of the courtyard. Stone mannequins wielding swords were placed atop that surface.
Lucius was waiting for me with a hand behind his back looking rather proud of himself.
Honestly, he deserved to look proud, I don't know what I was expecting when I asked for a training ground but this certainly wasn't it.
A quick appraisal of the weird barrier showed me that it was a ward, meant to contain any damage from exiting. Did that mean Lucius knew warding? I hadn't read much on it but it was essentially using materials and certain runes to create varying effects.
Essentially, coding the world. That was the most basic way I could put it.
Wards had the weakness of being tied to something but they made up for it with the fact that they could absorb ambient energy to charge themselves.
This allowed weaker beings to create results well above their power level.
"Lucius. I must say you have exceeded my expectations with this." I muttered, looking around and spotting the weapons wrack.
Lucius smirked in what I would call rather devilishly.
"I'm glad to hear that, young lord. It took me a while to use multiple runes to get the stone mannequins able to fight back." Lucius replied smoothly.
The stone mannequins could fight back? I thought they were just being used for target practice.
"How do I use them?" I asked, stepping onto the large platform. The barrier let me in without any resistance.
"Just call out the phrase "Battle start" to begin and "Battle end" to end the battle. I've added you into the wards so only your voice will activate them." Lucius informed.
Lucius stood silently, seemingly happy to observe me as I stood in the centre of the large stage. Preparing myself I spoke the command phrase.
"Battle start" I spoke and the response was immediate.
The stone mannequins' eyes glowed red and all four of them on each side shot towards me. I didn't waste time and sent a massive torrent of hot lava towards the one coming from the left.
It was surprisingly fast for what should be a training dummy made from wards and rock. Much faster than me anyway. The training dummy leapt back and I was forced to turn my attention to the others.
As my other hand extended, a glob of lava erupted toward the nearest training dummy. It dodged and pressed on. As the magma enveloped my hands, forming into the lava gauntlets, I parried the training dummy's sword thrust.
The sword bounced off the lava gauntlets successfully but It also sent me skidding backwards. Another training dummy came from the side and landed a brutal kick, I retaliated quickly with a massive torrent of lava.
I sent the training dummy hurtling backwards, crashing into the ground, where it began to melt into a puddle of lava, trapped and unable to escape its fate. I smirked at it even as I bent over in pain.
My eyes refocused as I pushed the pain back with practised ease, just in time as I barely avoided another sword thrust. The sword wouldn't have pierced me, since it was dull, but it would have hurted like hell.
I sent an untrained jab at it, its body pushed back as its face cracked. I didn't stop there as lava exploded out of my fist sending it skidding back and suffering the same fate as its counterpart.
A fist hit me in the side of my head and the next thing I knew a sword stopped just short of piercing my eye as I heard the words uttered.
"Battle end!" Lucius quickly shouted in alarm.
The next thing I knew I was being carried away. I deadpanned even as my vision blurred.
Okay, maybe I was being a bit stubborn in not ending the battle but I could feel myself improving.
Maybe it was that prodigy perk but I could feel myself adjusting to fight for once. Lucius was fast and I suddenly found myself in bed being checked over by him. His normally stern and professional visage was twisted in worry.
Next thing I knew there was a blast.
'There goes my doors' I thought as I watched them explode off their hinges.
Mai appeared. She looked at me with a hint of worry that broke her cold facade and was beside me looking over me as if I had just been diagnosed with some sort of incurable disease. I sat there looking at them both dryly.
I get it, I was hurt but it wasn't like I had lost a limb. A punch was hardly enough to make me bedridden.
Oh great now they are arguing.
"Lucius! I thought you said you would watch over him!" Mai spoke unhappily.
Holding my head gently as I felt the bruise on my face start to form.
"I thought the young master would call the battle off before it went that far, how was I to know he would be so stubborn," Lucius replied slightly ashamed.
"Don-" Mai started.
"Stop," I spoke with a sigh.
"It isn't a big deal. I want to get better at fighting and I'm not going to improve if I'm babied all the time." I said getting right to the point.
"But you're hurt," Mai said with a small frown.
"It'll heal," I replied. I'm pretty sure healing items were super rare in DXD. I suspect we don't have any.
"Do we have any healing items?" I asked just for the sake of knowing.
They both shook their heads with a frown.
"I see, in any case I still want you to take me back to the training grounds," I ordered but they didn't respond.
I snorted and went to move but they both stood in front of me. Their eyes didn't meet mine.
"Move," I narrowed my eyes at their lack of action, feeling a weird sensation in my chest. A flame I hadn't felt before rose and burned like my lava.
"Master, please. We don't like seeing you get hurt. Surely there's a better way to train. We would be happy to volunteer." She spoke.
"Perhaps you can face the training dummies when you are stronger and more experienced. It was my fault for making them too powerful." Lucius added.
Their words added to the heat. I took a deep breath as steam actually poured off me. Letting the apathy I had become familiar with sweep in and douse the burning flame that had randomly appeared.
What the fuck was that? That wasn't me.
A few deep breaths as Lucius and Mai looked complicatedly at my visible anger.
"Fine. You may act as my training partners, but only on the condition that you would hold back just enough to give me a tough challenge. If you don't agree to these terms, then I would just go back to fighting those mannequins." I replied seriously.
They both brightened up at that and then nodded in agreement.
"Yes, Young Lord." They both intoned.
"I would still fight those mannequins, but you can stop the fight whenever you think it has gone too far." I added, with some steel in my voice.
They both frowned mildly, but agreed nonetheless.
-Scene break-
Jumping up and swiping my leg across wobbly, a large stream of lava shot out. Sending a wave of lava at the training dummy as both Mai and Lucius watched intensely.
In the days following our conversation, training had progressed smoothly. Initially frustrating, Lucius and Mai intervened at the slightest sign of potential harm.
However, after they realised the rapid healing I had from the gamer system, they reluctantly reduced their interventions to only when I was actually struck. This adjustment made the training sessions much more tolerable.
The mission not to get hit made me improve faster, and my dodging and thinking skills became better. I tried my new attacks with varying success. If only I had a higher control of my lava which I was close to.
[Lava manipulation] (LVL: 21/25) {Novice}
The destructive element of lava, a mix between earth and fire allows the user to both defend and destroy. Widely considered one of the most dangerous elements, once mastered the user can attack his foes with the power of a natural disaster. Bringing an unstoppable destruction to anyone who dares to get in the user's path.
[Passive Effect: 10% cost reduction to all lava manipulation usage]
At the moment I could only make my lava gauntlets and control the lava to cool down while it was touching my body. My lava could also only form from my hands and lower arms.
Despite what many would think about lava, I realised it was probably the best starting element I could have. With a mix of both defence and attack making for the perfect offensive skill.
I was pretty sure I would be able to create weapons with it in the future, perhaps a full set of armour at a higher rank. my fist surged forward, unleashing a torrent of lava with each punch that followed.
Despite the mannequin's attempts at evasion, blobs of lava found their mark, one striking his leg and immobilising him as he became stuck to the ground.
I had figured that shooting out lava when I punched made the speed much faster. So I can incorporate lava into my attacks.
A fist came into view and I barely had time to raise my fist and block it with my lava-gauntlet-clad fist.
My other fist shot a burst of lava, forcing the mannequin back. The whole raised platform I was fighting on was covered in burning pools of magma, leaving a gas drifting in the air. I had learned that I was immune to the gas so I didn't need to worry about it.
This intense training had been good, my spirit stat had gone up by a few points since I kept draining all my mana and creating more attacks. In terms of the Physique stat, I had gone up by two points due to my intense training with the animated mannequins.
Suddenly a notification appeared and I felt something change.
Lava manipulation has levelled up!
A simple-looking message and yet the subsequent eruption of lava surged forth with newfound speed and ease, its appearance distinctly more hot and lethal than ever before.
The mannequin tried to dodge only to find itself blown back by the lava and engulfed a moment later. I looked down in shock. Only to be forced to avoid a slash from a dull sword coming at me from another mannequin.
On a whim, I tried to extend the lava gauntlet I had been trying to spread up my arms and sure enough the lava spread and cooled down. My gauntlet now extended up to my upper arms.
The large amount of levels my skill had gained had given me much more control over my lava.
Interesting, it was expected, but it was still impressive to witness.
Jabbing my fist out, an eruption of lava exploded towards the last mannequin.
The poor bastard didn't stand a chance with the newfound speed it erupted from my fist with and the amount of mana I put into it. The mannequin could only melt helplessly.
I think that was enough for now. I wanted to test out my new control and see what the limits were now.
Loud clapping came as Mai and Lucius looked at me proudly.
I wiped the sweat off my brow and took the offered towel by Mai.
"A good showing young master," Lucius praised politely.
I rolled my eyes.
"I think I'm done fighting for today, can you prepare dinner? I want to spend some time in the library." I idly asked while wiping myself down.
"Yes master, supper will be ready soon," Mai replied professionally.
I nodded in acknowledgement.
"Lucius, please lead me to the library." I requested.
"Right away, young master," Lucius said.
-Scene Break-
I wanted to go into the dungeon soon.
I had been preparing and getting used to using demonic energy, I had held off on my dark light ability for now. I knew that using it would probably cause a large reaction since from my knowledge only Lucifer possessed it.
Right now my Lava Manipulation allowed for both defence and attack, while dark light was powerful it was mainly an attacking skill and cost more Demonic energy to use.
I had been getting used to fighting so I wouldn't enter the dungeon blind and get my ass kicked by whatever I would be forced to face.
I had been doing some research in the library to gain information on my race, gaining insight into the strong points of all devils. Now after a few days of preparation I believed I was prepared to finally enter the dungeon.
At least enough to not be instantly destroyed by anything that could fight back.
I planned to use my dungeon skill tonight when everyone was asleep so I could slip out unnoticed. Mai and Lucius were extremely overprotective of me, there was no way in hell they would allow me to go into danger.
Since I was the heir to the big bad devil king himself, Lucifer as I had learnt.
We were currently within a sub-dimension of sorts where time flows slower on the inside. I'm guessing my father had already died. Lucius and Mai had no idea but I think they suspected it.
I was unsure about the fate of mother Lilith but I knew I would have to leave this sub-dimension eventually. I couldn't keep stalling on levelling up and gaining more stat points to speed up my growth.
What? Did you think I was going to save my stat points?
No.
Saving stat points is useless when I could prevent myself from being weak enough to need them anyway by just using them beforehand. I was feeling lazy and sick of working hard, probably due to the abuse from my old life.
That had a big part to play in why I was so averse to working too hard. I hummed thoughtfully and gazed back down at the book I was reading.
The book I had I was currently reading was about the magical art of Rune Crafting. Lucius' use of it had made me curious about its usage. What other things could it do? Can I create an army of golems with it?
I hadn't tried anything yet, and I didn't plan to anytime soon since I was more focused on improving my combat skills. Still, it seemed like a handy ability for the future.
Though according to the book it turns out rune craft was a rather hard art to master.
Even what Lucius had done could be seen as a novice's usage of this art form. The most notorious users of runes were the Norse, which was what made their warriors so fearsome to battle.
Runes were an ancient language of sorts, characters that had many complex lines and shapes going through them that had to be drawn exactly the same or could have dangerous consequences.
The way any sort of energy was used through them had to be precise as well. Runes at the novice stage could only be used on certain magical materials to help stabilise the runes.
Masters of the craft were said to be able to inscribe runes into reality itself. Rumours noted in the book by its creator said that only one true master existed: Odin, The All-Father
That perv God from the anime I barely remembered was apparently actually some badass Rune Master.
This is why I had started visiting the library more often, I had quickly learnt that the world of dxd wasn't just boobs and pervy dragon emperors. There was a lot of knowledge left out.
Multiple types of magic that could be used, and masters of these art forms, who were mostly Gods. Ward craft was a lot more common, yet still, masters of the art were scarce in number.
Many who had tried their hand in rune craft had only bothered to reach the adept stage and gave up on pursuing further, seeing no benefit in pursuing it further. I could see why, who would want to spend centuries mastering further after already spending decades getting to the adept stage?
All this information was written within the book. I had to remind myself that many years had gone past since it was written and that this information may not be 100% correct anymore but it was still a fascinating read.
-Scene break-
Locking the large doors behind me, I went over and plopped myself down on the couch. Taking off the blazer of my suit, I was left in a white buttoned shirt. Wouldn't do good to get my suit damaged.
It couldn't help but admit that it would be nice to have a phone right about this moment, I didn't have to worry about Gremalia or Gerald bothering me as I had subtly, to the best of my ability, stressed my desire to be left alone.
I made sure to hint that I was heading to bed, hoping to avoid raising suspicion about my sudden need for solitude. As I rose from my seat, I braced myself for what lay ahead.
My current clothing wasn't ideal, I would rather wear something much looser with more flexibility, but these were still pretty flexible, more flexible than any suit had any right to be.
Feeling a tiny bit of excitement, I recalled my days spent immersed in countless novels, fan fiction stories, and gaming adventures when I was younger and full of naive joy. I had become intimately familiar with the concept of dungeons.
Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I readied for any situation, ready to exit at a moment's notice. With determination, I activated my dungeon gate skill, ready for whatever lay ahead.
Space warped in front of me, a rip in the fabric of reality sucked me, all the while I let out a grin.
It was finally time to do some grinding.
-{?}-
Glaring weakly up at her captor even as helpless tears poured down her cheeks. Lilith didn't know how long she had been here, tied up and experimented upon like some sort of animal.
The manacles made of an unknown alloy bound her hands tightly above her head, keeping her bound just as tightly as they had a few hundred years ago when she had been captured at her lowest point and kidnapped.
Lilith's once healthy and downright gorgeous body that was meant to tempt anyone who gazed upon her was thinned from the lack of food, her pale jade skin was riddled with dirt and her eyes sucken in from all the torture she had been forced through.
Still she hadn't given up, there had been shameful moments when she had nearly broken from all the pain and anguish. The news that her husband had died along with the fact she was tortured daily in strange experiments made it hard to stay sane.
Yet Lilith had to. There was only one thing left in her life that gave her the strength to stay sane. Her beloved son Raziel. Her first true child that had been born from her own flesh and blood was still out there probably waiting for her.
The tears currently pouring down her eyes were tears of frustration. She wished she had listened to Lucifer and had stayed inside with her son. Lilith had wanted to stay out and help build the society her son would one day rule though.
She wanted to make the underworld a safe place for him to grow up.
Now, here she was. With a dead husband and nowhere closer than she was a few hundred years ago to reuniting with her son.
Lilith wouldn't give up. She promised herself she would find a way out.
A mothers love should never be underestimated.
That's why she glared into the hollow eyes of the God of Death standing in front of her.
"It's a shame you refuse to cooperate, Lady Lilith. We could achieve such wondrous things together. I'll make the offer again in another hundred years. Hopefully you'll feel… less stubborn." Hades smoothly spoke with a strange smile on his skeletal face.
The skeletal fingers that belonged to hades delicately holding her chin up.
Lilith didn't bother responding.
-END-