Outsider Chronicles: Golden Blade Escalation
Most people who get reborn into other world have a choice, join the hero, become a villain or attempt to live a normal life. I didn't have that luxury. Oh no, instead here I am, reborn bound to a broken girl as something other than Human. I wonder what a literal gift from God will do to this world?
Sooo, this is interesting. I actually have a couple of ideas along these lines, but this one was the first that came to full fruition. Expect some serious over the top stuff here considering that Taylors power is capable of literally splitting the Earth. If she can master it. Enjoy!
Chapter 1
The first thing I noticed when I died was the smell. Something close to me reeked like a mixture of rot, shit and other disgusting things best left unseen. To make matters worse, for some reason, my sense of smell seemed so much sharper than it should have been, resulting in me getting uncomfortably familiar with the stench. I opened my eyes, intending to find the source of the smell since, as I mentioned, I was pretty sure I should be dead after having an industrial cooling unit crack my skull open, but I quickly forgot about that as opening my eyes revealed two important details. First of all, I was massive, so much so that my head was brushing the ceiling. The second thing was that the ceiling in question appeared to be the hall of a school and a particularly grimy looking one at that. The third was that my hands were paws.
"What the fuck?!" I yelped, only for my voice to come out like a thunder clap.
I ignored that however in favour of twisting my head around to take in my body. I was no longer an admittedly weedy Human, instead I was a truly massive lion with fur that gleamed like gold and silvery claws that were cutting deep gashes in the floor, despite me not putting any pressure on them at all.
"Um, OK?" I said, lifting a paw and turning it over to examine my claws, "So, I died and...woke up as a giant, metallic lion in a school? How does that work?"
I put my paw down and looked around, my eyes falling on a nearby locker that seemed to be the source of the stench. Reddish brown sludge was leaking out from under the door which my newly feline sense of smell told me was mostly rotten blood, with a few other, equally revolting things mixed in for good measure. However, despite that, I couldn't help but feel the compulsion to open the locker and…
OH HELL NO!
My eyes went wide and I lashed out with a claw, tearing the locker and a good portion of the rest of them open with ease, releasing a deluge of sludge and one catatonic girl. A girl I could feel an undeniable connection to on a deep, almost metaphysical, level.
"OH HELL NO!" I roared, shaking the lockers, windows and probably everything else within a block, "NOT ONLY DID I DIE, BUT NOW I'M A FUCKING GIANT LION, IN WORM AND TAYLOR'S POWER?! THIS IS BULLSHIT!"
My tail lashed out, crushing a number of lockers as the force of my roar cracked a few windows and sent the bugs infesting the gunge covering Taylor scurrying. I growled in annoyance, but quickly shoved down my anger. I had other things to worry about. Namely, what should I do. If Taylor died, I'd likely go pop, so I needed to do something. Fortunately, the answer was fairly obvious. I crouched down and gently lifted Taylor in my jaws, twisting so I could set her on my back, all the while doing my best to ignore the horrible smell of the stuff covering her, and took off, easily smashing through the wall of the school. I honestly couldn't bring myself to care very much though. If I had my way, a few holes in the wall would be the least of Blackwells worries.
After serving for a couple of years in a place like Brockton Bay, there tend to be few things that make people do a double take. This is the Cape Capital of the US after all. Nazis fighting Yakuza? Seen it. Big metal wolf fighting a Dragon? Pedestrian. Giant mutant dogs seen escaping from an illegal casino? Boring. However, even for someone like Armsmaster, who had seen and even fought many of those things himself, reports of a giant, golden lion with a girl on its back running through the streets was still enough to make him pause. Even so, he responded to the call.
That said, no amount of reports could have possibly prepared him for how massive the beast was. It was clearly no natural lion, not with fur that was apparently literally gold, fangs that looked like stainless steel and the large, green gem in the middle of its forehead and brilliant, golden eyes. Simply laying eyes on the massive feline caused a feeling of awe and fear to well up in the stoic Tinkers chest. He narrowed his eyes and shook off the affect as he drew his halberd. Judging from the state of the girl on the Lions back, it wasn't looking for a fight, but it never hurt to be ready when it came to Masters.
"Halt!" called Armsmaster as he approached the lion.
The feline skidded to a stop and looked down, its eyes narrowing slightly at the sight of him. It glanced between him and the girl for a moment, before it snorted.
"You'll do," it growled, making Armsmaster jump.
He hadn't expected it to talk. He glanced at the girl on the lions back and narrowed his eyes. She was clearly catatonic and covered in...stuff.
"What happened?" he asked.
The Lion snorted.
"What happened is your pet psychopath and her friends shoved her into a locker full of used tampons and pads left to ferment over the Christmas holidays," he snarled.
Armsmasters stomach dropped at that, both from the Lions apparent knowledge of Shadow Stalker (because who else could he be talking about? He was clearly coming from Winslow and she was the only person with any kind of connection to the PRT who attended the school) and at the description of what the girl had gone through.
"How do you…"
The Lion cut him off with a growl, showing its massive fangs.
"Questions later, hospital now!" snarled the lion, "Get someone to check Hess' phone and emails and investigate Winslow if you don't believe me, but for now, TELL ME WHERE THE HOSPITAL IS!"
The last part was roared loudly enough that Armsmaster was nearly blown off his bike.
"R-right," said the Tinker, understandably a little shaken from having the massive cat roar in his face, "The hospitals that way. Take a left at the Boardwalk and you can't miss it!"
The Lion snorted and wheeled around, bounding off down the street at incredible speed. Armsmaster stared after it for a moment, before he pulled himself back together and activated his comms.
"Consoul, get me an investigation team to Winslow and check Shadow Stalkers phone, email and handler records," he said, "I think we may have a massive problem."
Now I had a rough idea of where to go, it didn't take much longer to arrive at the Hospital. Apparently, Armsmaster had called ahead because I was met by a doctor and some orderlies who didn't immediately panic when I landed in front of them, although they certainly looked rather nervus. The Doctor didn't even spare me a look however as he rushed forwards and, with the help of the orderlies and me lowering myself to the ground, got Taylor off my back and onto a gurney, which was immediately wheeled inside.
"Don't worry, she'll be fine," said the Doctor.
"Thank you," I said as softly as I could.
It still sounded like two rocks being rubbed together though.
"Before I go, I have to ask," said the Doctor, "Are you a Parahuman or…"
"I'm her power," I said, "Considering that, I have a vested interest in keeping her alive."
The Doctor looked a little taken aback.
"I...see," he said, "Well don't worry, shes in good hands."
I growled softly. Considering where I was, I wasn't entirely sure I believed that. On the other hand, what choice did I have? Its not like I'd fit inside the Hospital like this…
As soon as that thought crossed my mind, I felt something inside me twist and my body began to glow brightly as it rapidly shrank. Within moments, the glow faded, leaving me feeling very surprised by my new, Human body. I looked like a teenager, about Taylors age, with spiky, dark orange hair that stuck up at the top to create the illusion of animal ears and golden eyes. I was wearing an elegant dark suit, with the jacket left unbuttoned and loose pants held up by a light colored belt, over a white shirt with a pendant shaped like a double headed axe with the Leo zodiac symbol between the blades and black dress shoes.
"Huh...thats interesting," I said as I looked down at my new body.
As an added bonus, I now sounded like Loki from Fairy Tail rather than...well, a lion that had learnt how to speak. I looked back at the Doctor, who looked more than a little surprised. He held up a finger and opened his mouth, before shaking his head.
"You know what?" he said, "I don't care. Capes are fucking weird at the best of times. You can come in if you want."
I followed the doctor into the hospital, deep in thought. I was starting to think that maybe Taylor wasn't actually a Parahuman at all. Why? Well, now I was no longer panicking about possibly going pop because Taylor died, I was starting to get some intuitive idea of what I was capable of and I was quickly coming to the realization that I shouldn't be outside. Instead, I should still be sealed inside Taylor in the form of an extremely powerful Axe. An Axe capable of splitting the Earth itself. Now, I instead had manifested in this form due to Taylors desperation to escape and not be alone any more interacting with my own power and forcing it to evolve. Not only that, but I knew my name or rather, the name of the weapon I was supposed to be. Regulus Nemea, the Battleaxe of the Lion King. I was a fucking SACRED GEAR! To be more precises, I was a goddamn Sub-Species Balance Breaker Taylor had somehow activated without even knowing she had my power slumbering inside her to begin with! Thats...insane!
Actually, whats really insane is the fact I'd somehow replaced Regulus as the Spirit within the Gear, although why and how I have no idea.
I spent the next couple of hours while Taylor was cleaned up and treated sat in the waiting room, trying to figure out exactly how my powers work and the rather worrying implications that came with the fact a Longinus Sacred Gear was on Bet. Were there others? If so, where were they? Considering how prevalent Villains were, if any of them, particularly the more powerful ones, were in their hands, things could get messy. Especially if the Supernatural World was a thing. I...really didn't like the idea of someone like Coil or the Nine getting their grubby mitts on any Sacred Gear users. Then again, Sacred Gears would be immune to Jacks mojo, so its unlikely they would be with the Nine. Unless they were natively a psychopath…
I quickly turned my thoughts away from that sort of worrying conclusion in favour of examining my powers. Some were obvious, I could change between my Lion and Human forms, possessed massive strength, endurance and speed, standard feline package in both forms, a near invulnerable hide, claws and fangs capable of tearing through steel like paper and a roar capable of damaging concrete in my Lion form and the ability to transform into my axe form. Additionally, I could protect my wielder from projectiles, no matter how far away from her I was, regardless of what form I was in. Pretty much everything I was expecting.
What I wasn't expecting was the addition of a set of Photokinetic abilities in my Human form that were a lot like Leo's Regulus Magic in Fairy Tail. In fact, now that I thought about it, my Human form looked kinda like a mix of Leo and Regulus. That was rather cool. It also meant I didn't have to be in Lion form to fight at my peak which, considering how massive that form was, was probably a good thing. I wonder if Taylor got any powers from me or if it was only the protection from projectiles and if she used my axe form? Guess I'd have to wait to find that out.
There was one slight issue though. If my only options were battleaxe, lion the size of a truck or Human, it was going to make the logistics a right pain in the arse. I'd either out Taylor immediately due to the massive cat sleeping on her lawn or Danny would have to put a complete stranger up cus theres no way I was leaving Taylor alone. Plus, there was the issue that Human Masters weren't exactly well liked and, even if I wasn't Human, most people would assume I was until told otherwise. Even then, the more paranoid types might still think I was a Human under her control. I really needed a more compact animal form…
My thoughts stopped as I felt another twist in my gut and, with a bright flash of light, I found myself back in lion form, this time as a cub the size of a housecat.
"Huh...thats handy," I said, examining my paws.
A loud thump made me turn my head. Stood a short distance away, wide eyed and with a split coffee cup slowly leaking at her feet, was the cloaked form of Panacea, who had apparently just seen my transformation. That wasn't really a problem of course, although I was a bit worried about the look on her face.
"Um, hi?" I tried.
Panacea blinked and shut her mouth.
"Right, so I take it your the lion who brought that girl in?" she asked.
I nodded.
"Thats right," I said, "My names Regulus. Regulus Nemea."
I blinked. I'd claimed the name without any thought at all, almost as if it was actually my name. Then again, I guess it kinda was. Panacea frowned.
"Regulus for the brightest star in the Leo constellation and Nemea for the Nemean Lion?" she asked, "Well, I guess it works…"
She caught my expression.
"I read a lot," she said.
I couldn't really argue with that, although exactly what reading habits involved Greek mythology and astronomy was anyones guess, even if the Leo constellation was supposedly the Nemean Lion, placed in the heavens by Zeus after Hercules' first Labour. I lay down on the chair, tucking my paws under my chest as Panacea sat down next to me with a soft sigh of relief.
"So, why are you still here?" asked Panacea, "Most Capes don't hang around this long."
I snorted.
"Because I'm not the Cape," I said.
Panacea stared at me for a moment, before her eyes widened and she glanced in the direction of Taylors room.
"Wait, so your…"
"A Master construct? Technically yes," I said, "And before you ask, no I have no idea how it works that I can be a male lion with Human intelligence considering what she went through as a Trigger Event."
Incidentally, that was a total lie. The only thing I didn't have any idea about was how I had replaced the original Regulus as the Spirit of the Sacred Gear. Panacea hesitated for a moment, before holding out a hand.
"May I?" she asked.
I shrugged and dipped my head. The healer hesitated for a moment longer, before reaching out and resting a hand on my head. Immediately, she went rigid, her eyes going round. Yep, she could scan me alright. I had to wonder what a Nemean Lion looked like to her powers. She let out a long breath as her eyes flickered closed.
"Whoa," she breathed.
I flicked my tail.
"Like what you see?"
Panacea blinked, before going bright red and snatching her hand back as if burnt.
"Sorry!" she gasped, "Its just...your biology is incredible!"
I sat up and puffed out my chest.
"Of course it is, I'm a cat!" I said.
Panacea snorted and rolled her eyes at my antics.
"Yes yes, your very impressive," she said as she rubbed me between the ears.
I snickered, before my ear twitched as my connection with Taylor tugged on my attention.
"Well, this has been fun, but my Master is waking up," I said as I stood and shook out my fur, "Later."
I hopped off the chair and trotted in the direction of Taylors room.
Panacea watched the little feline go, before looking down at her hand with a slight frown on her face. Seeing Regulus' biology had been...amazing. It was beyond anything she'd ever seen before, with none of the normal issues that came with the messy process of Evolution, not to mention the fact his fur, claws and teeth were literally made of living metal that was somehow much stronger than should have been possible. All of that could be simply brushed off as being the construct of a Master, if it wasn't for one massive problem. She'd just come from healing the Lions Master and she wasn't a Parahuman.
Consciousness returned to Taylor Hebert slowly, the darkness clinging to her like tar as she fought her way back the the waking word. The first thing she became aware of was the smell of disinfectant. The second thing was a small ball of warmth on her stomach and a comforting rumbling sound that vibrated through her body and stopped her from retreating back away from the world. Instead, she opened her eyes and looked down to find a golden lion cub curled up in her lap, purring. Which made no sense because big cats cannot purr. The cub opened one eye and fixed her with a look she could only call amused.
"Really?" it said, "You wake up with a big cat in your lap and the fact I can purr is the first thing you fixate on?"
Taylor stared as the cub stood up, stretched and yawned (showing a mouthful of very sharp, steel coloured teeth as it did) and settled back down. As it did, she became aware that she could sense its presence, including its emotions and seemed to be experience its senses at the same time.
"Um, sorry if this sounds rude, but what are you?" she asked.
The lion rolled its eyes.
"What I am is a Nemean Lion," he said, "My name is Regulus and I also happen to be your power."
Taylors jaw dropped.
"My...power?" she asked, "Wait, you mean I'm a Cape?!"
"Sure, why not?" said Regulus.
Taylor stared for a moment longer.
"So what your saying is that I'm a Cape whos power is a talking cat?" she asked a little numbly.
That was...disappointing. Like all kids, Taylor had dreamed of becoming a Hero just like Alexandria, so the idea that her power would be so...small was a little disappointing. Regulus seemed to pick up on her thoughts because he grinned and Taylor got the feeling of mischief back down their connection. He stood, jumped off the bed and transformed with a flash of golden light into a full grown lion, complete with a mane that glowed like the sun. Taylors jaw dropped.
"And this isn't even my maximum size," he said, "I just took this form because it causes less panic than having a lion the size of a truck curled up in the carpark.I'm basically immune to all forms of weapons, have fangs and claws that can make short work of steel and have a Human form who can kick just as much ass. Then theres that…"
He trailed off as Taylor suddenly felt something inside her twist and, in a flash of light much like the one from Regulus transformation, a huge battleaxe made of gleaming gold that stood as tall as she was stood up and with a lions head stamped on the head appeared in her hands.
"Master that and you can split the world in half," said Regulus, "However, even without doing so, it will allow you to crush nearly any defence, burn away darkness and protect you from projectiles. I strongly suggest you learn how to use it because I refuse to have a weak Master."
Taylors eyes went wider and wider as Regulus listed off the powers she had at her disposal. She'd never heard of a power quite like this one, manifesting as both a fully sentient and independent projection and a weapon that could appear and vanish at will, both of which were apparently incredibly strong in their own right. She somehow KNEW that Regulus wasn't kidding about her potential. It was a simple fact that the axe in her hand could split the planet in half. She could feel the power thumbing in the metal, lighting her body up with the power and making her feel stronger. Hell, just summoning the axe made her shoulders straighten and filled her with the confidence and courage that the great Lion at her side represented.
That said, his statement about not accepting her if she was weak worried her. After two years of bullying, her confidence was shot and, even with the power of Regulus Nemea propping her up, she couldn't help but feel that Regulus would find her wanting…
A puff of warm air on her hair made her look up, just in time to see the great Lion sit down beside her and rest his head in her lap.
"You worry to much," he said, "Despite what those fools would believe, you are far from weak. The fact you could summon me speaks volumes of your Spiritual and Mental strength. It took being put through hell to get you to break and even now, I can feel your willingness to keep moving forwards, buried as it is. I only wish for you to be strong so you can stand up and fight on your own merits, not lean on my power."
He huffed again.
"Masters are well known for having a glaring weak point, that being the Master themselves. No matter how strong the projection or control power is, if someone can put a bullet in their head, thats it. My power will protect you from bullets, but you still need to be ready for melee attacks. I will do my best to protect you, but you must become a Lion in your own right if you ever wish to fully master my powers."
Taylor swallowed as she slowly started to run her fingers through Regulus' mane, her eyes prickling with tears. She could feel the Lions honesty, his protectiveness and his will to never leave her alone. It had been a very long time since she'd had someone willing to go to any lengths to protect her and she genuinely had no idea how to take it. So she did the only thing that made sense and flung her arms around Regulus' neck and started sobbing into his mane.
Of course, it was at that moment that her Father chose to walk in.
When Taylor had failed to come home before dark, Danny had been on the verge of panic. Brockton Bay was not a safe place for a young girl to be out alone, not with the likes of the Merchants and ABB on the loose. The idea of loosing Taylor like he'd lost Annette was...well, it was unthinkable! The fact the Police seemed apathetic at best, just telling him to wait a few hours and call them in the morning if she hadn't shown up by then had not helped. As such, it was almost a relief when the Hospital called.
It had taken all his willpower to not just put his foot down on the way to the hospital, but somehow Danny managed. Unfortunately, it seemed that life wasn't done kicking him in the balls quite yet because he was met in the lobby of the hospital by Armsmaster of all people. Danny was very good at reading people, a talent picked up and refined by years of practice as the head of Hiring at the Docks, and he could clearly see that the Tinker was angry, even through his armour.
"Mr Hebert?" asked Armsmaster.
"Y-yes, thats me," said Danny, "Whats wrong?"
"I'm afraid that I need to talk to you about your Daughter."
Danny stomach dropped.
"Why, what happened?" he asked, "Has she been caught up in a Cape fight? Is that why shes here? Oh god, shes not got involved with a gang has she?"
Armsmaster held up a hand, cutting off the worried diatribe.
"No, nothing like that, thankfully," he said, "However, it appears that she may have Triggered."
If anything, Dannys gut dropped even further. He wasn't as into the Cape scene as Annette had been, but he had picked up enough to know that Trigger Events only happened when a person was pushed to the absolute limit. It certainly explained why Taylor was in hospital though. Danny swallowed.
"What happened?" he asked.
"I'll tell you as we walk," said Armsmaster and walked off in the direction of the stairs.
Danny hurried to catch up as the Tinker started talking.
"We're still trying to figure everything out, but it appears that your Daughter has been the target of bullying in school," he said, "From what we can tell, the campagne must have been absolutely relentless and culminated in her assailants locking her in her locker after filling it with biowaste that had been left to rot over the holidays."
Danny blanched. He didn't need Armsmaster to tell him how bad that could be.
"From what we can gather so far, she'd been in there for at least a few hours, although the investigators think, she'd been in there since early in the morning," continued Armsmaster, "The exact time and actual cause of the Trigger Event are unknown, but it must have been quite a while after she was initially locked in."
Danny frowned.
"How do you know?" he asked, "She could have just regained consciousness and forced her way out."
Armsmaster shook his head.
"No, her power is...very obvious," he said, "If she had Triggered sooner, we would have known about it."
"What do you…?" started Danny, but the question died on his tongue as they reached Taylors room and found his Daughter sobbing into the mane of a full grown, glowing golden lion.
And I think I'm gonna leave this here. I have another Worm/DXD story in the works that I'll try to post soon, although that one is a...little different. Mainly because, while this is Worm with the addition of Regulus Nemea and only Regulus Nemea, the other one is a full on crossover with Worm as the prime world and DXD logic and rules added after the fact. Yep, a Worm world that runs on the rules and logic of an Ecchi Shounen Anime. I see no way that can go wrong!
Anyway, onto the witty quips. First up, Regulus isnt the original one. Hes a copy, created by...someone and gifted to Taylor in place of her Shard, which never jumped from Danny in this world. I might have him Trigger later, although I'm not sure what power I'd give him.
Just to be clear, although Regulus is technically a Balance Breaker, he isn't actually as powerful as other Balance Breakers. The reason is that hes a Subspecies type, born from Taylors desire to GET THE HELL OUT and not be lonely anymore reaching critical mass and forcing the evolution in her Sacred Gear. The fact Gods System does not exist made it easier. She can and will gain a much more powerful Balance Breaker in the future once she grows in power.
As a general rule, you can apply Regulus as a powerful Worm power, likely enough that she could be considered on the same level as Dauntless with relative ease. Of course, that doesn't change the fact that she has a LOT more potential than any Cape due to the lack of limitations from a Shard. She can crack the Earth in half after all.
Regulus' Human form looks like a cross between the original Regulus and Loki/Leo from Fairy Tail and his powers match. In lion form, his powers are basically high level Brute strength and defence, his claws and fangs and the ability to fire energy blasts from his mouth. In his Human form, he can use Leos Regulus Magic and has a Brute rating comparable to Glory Girl, although thats not as high as his Lion form. On Taylors end, she has her axe, an increase in strength, is protected from projectiles and may learn to use Regulus magic herself, although I'm not sure if I'll go through with that yet.
Oh, and before I forget, Regulus doesn't actually have a Master aura or anything, its just that seeing a mundane lion in person can impress people, the effect of seeing a giant, glowing lion who is literally mythical is even more powerful.
And with that, I'm done. Don't forget to leave a review!