Spirits and Summoning
Disclaimer: If you are stupid and think I own DxD, then sorry to burst your bubble. I don't. If I did, then DxD would have made sense.
After two gruelling days filled with a repetitive sense of time, I finally completed the order of 150 undead.
I had temporarily shifted my bed and other things to the ritual room since I was spending most of my day here. Currently, I was standing in the same room.
The room was filled with the eerie stillness of my new soldiers, each one standing at attention, waiting for my command. Eirene had to use her magic to expand the insides of the room so that it could fit every undead that I was creating. She had looked really exasperated and done when I had asked that of her.
She probably didn't like how I was hyper focusing on this, but it wasn't like I was just doing this. In the time in between where I had to recover my Mana, I would read the books that I had bought from the bookstore and use the device that Rias had gifted me.
From the books, I had learnt a lot. It was a very shocking and humbling revelation when I found out just how much innovation and technologically advanced devices humanity has.
According to Eirene, Humanity didn't have much innate talent in any power, but they more than made up for it with their dedication, and efforts. She was a High-Class mage after practising for forty seven years but she knew that most High Class human magicians reached that position faster than her.
It was something about the urgency of their lives that made them progress faster. After all, most supernatural races are quasi-immortal and can't die of ageing. Humans on the other hand live till a century, and even if they are practising one of the three main power systems, they can only live up to a few more centuries.
The only way for Humans to live longer would be to ascend and become a "Hero" or change their race. Becoming a Hero was a fairly mystical thing that neither I nor most of the supernatural world knew much about. The requirements, if there were some to begin with, were both vague and hard to accomplish.
There have still been many Heroes. However their form of immortality was abnormal. Their physical body still suffered the scarring of time but their soul was a different case.
The way they achieved their spiritual immortality was by making sure that their Midia(2nd layer of soul) isn't shed in the afterlife. Presumably. Even my father wasn't sure about this truth.
As for changing their race, most options would leave them enslaved, and even the options that were 'safe' had their own set of drawbacks, therefore most Human mages didn't explore them
Of course there were exceptions, but I don't think I can wrap my mind around those mind-bogglers right now.
Aside from all this, the books about Science were perhaps the most interesting part of what I read. At first I felt like all of it was gibberish and illogical. But as I continued to read through it I felt like I was reading Magical theory all over again. It wasn't congruent in their understanding of the world, but they had a lot of similarities.
The book that I started with was called, "Introduction of Supernatural to Human Sciences". It was written by Heinrich Von Dubious, an unknown figure in the magical society. I was very sceptical about buying it, but it was a very good decision.
The more I read into the science books, the more I felt a mix of awe and bewilderment. Concepts like physics and chemistry initially seemed alien and gibberish.
It was mostly because my understanding of the world was shaped by Magical theories, but as I progressed, it became clear how much effort humans put into understanding the natural world without the use of magic.
It wasn't just the facts and formulas; it was the mindset of inquiry and experimentation that resonated with me. While pretty much all Magical Systems also promote experimentation, they always seem set in their ways and are very resistant to further change.
The last big breakthrough was three hundred years ago when a Magician from the Order of Golden Dawn discovered a way to use the innate vibrations of the planet to manipulate the properties of an object. Funnily enough, that magician was a Human.
All of these discoveries had surely made me truly proud of my other part.
They had decoded all four fundamental forces of the world into mathematical expressions that hold true as long as magic isn't involved. They had achieved fast and efficient space travel, made clean energy, and so many more things. Yet, they are still advancing.
Granted all their achievements may have some supernatural influence, it still shows just how they have been compensated for not possessing any affinity for magical arts.
I can now see why Human Magicians are able to advance with an above average speed. They are taught about an already open and accepting point of view towards the workings of our world.
The book had a quote on the back that also felt perfect with my own beliefs.
'Science is, at the end, the systematic knowledge of things that are self-evident at second glance. It is kind of humorous how the work of great people is seen as simple and easy to the coming generations.'
It had again reminded me of magical theory—what seems like common sense now had once been groundbreaking. It also made me realise just how great the first ancient magicians were. Even the rituals I am doing right now were devised by those people.
Anyway, I got really side tracked here. Must be the lack of rest. I have completed three-ish items off of my list.
Despite the achievement, I couldn't help but feel a wave of dread wash over me as I thought about the next step: changing the appearance of 50 of them.
Eirene and I had never minded that our undead looked like, well, dead. Their rather grotesque appearances were nothing for me, I had literally grown up with corpses around me. However, for this particular task, appearances did matter.
The Lillitus needed fifty of the one hundred and fifty undeads as servants in some of their newly bought properties. It would be better suited if they looked presentable. While this would not be too hard with the Ansana(Humanise) spell, I still feel this is very much unnecessary.
I paused. There was a mention of a branch of science that was dedicated to studying living beings. I wonder if I can combine that with magic. Honestly, as long as I can fasten this anything is fine.
I sighed, glancing at the unaltered undead before me.
"Not looking forward to this," I muttered to myself, already feeling the weight of the task.
Every Vampire House had certain traits that made them unique and different. I was born with the abilities of two different Houses.
First was the House of Apetnakht. I have Sand Manipulation, Wind Manipulation, Shadow Manipulation and an affinity for Necromancy from that part. Second were the Ekkimus, I have inherited their Intangibility and the ability to drain life force from others.
I also had some other powers like Weather Manipulation but they required me to grow older and stronger to use.
Different factions had different names for the powers their bloodlines had. Devils used the word, 'Clan Traits', The Omnoyoji families in Japan called them 'Blessings', and Vampires called them Disciplines.
There were many types of Disciplines. There were the Common ones that were shared by almost all vampires due to all of the Disciplines being related to basic things like speed, strength, endurance and such. Also because all Vampire Houses have had political marriages with various other houses.
The five common Disciplines were Celerity(Speed), Vigor(Strength), Resilience(Endurance), Obfuscate(Stealth), and Animalism.
Then there were the broader Disciplines that helped identify the origins of a House. These disciplines were originated by different vampires and reflected their nature too.
These ones were called the Unique Disciplines. There were five of them; Auspex(Mekhet), Dominate(Ventrue), Majesty(Devae), Nightmare(Nosferatu) and Protean(Gangrel).
Mekhet Vampires are all hailed from the North African continent, Ventrue Vampires being South European, Devae Vampires are Asian, the Nosferatu Vampires are from Northern Europe, and finally the Gangrels hailed from North Americas.
As for the Disciplines themselves, they provided a very defining feature to the Vampires. A feature that helped in the making of myths surrounding my kind.
Auspex granted preternatural sensitivity and awareness, the ability to foresee and know things seemingly unknowable. I was actually unhappy with just how far behind I was in this Discipline, despite this being the perfect one for me.
Dominate allowed for the piercing stare that commanded minds and the ability to break the will of others with vampiric mental control. It was something that had contributed a lot to the myths about vampires. Of course the other disciplines were also... very contributing.
Majesty was the seductive or commanding sway of emotions and the predatory manipulation of the weak. This was a Discipline that gets the most 'heat' in the vampire communities. All its users were very influential and also hated by others.
Nightmare evoked sheer terror by manipulating fear and revealing one's primal nature. This also had some branches that delved into Oreinomancy, allowing some families to manipulate the dreams of mortals.
Oreinomancy was weirdly avoided for some reason. It's users were also prone to dying, which was attributed to dreams containing unimaginable horrors.
Finally, Protean allowed one to change their body and assume various forms such as a wolf, bat, or mist, or sprout bestial claws. Granted, its real masters needed to make sure that they didn't give up their vampirity and forget who they actually were.
After these Unique Disciplines, came the Bloodline Disciplines, which were exclusive to only the Bloodline members of a House. Not every House has those, but the more powerful Houses always have one.
I, as a descendant of the Houses of Ekkimu and Apetnakht, have an innate affinity for the Auspex Discipline. But that wasn't all. I also had an affinity for the Protean and Nightmare Disciplines.
The Tepes and Harlot Carmila Houses were both part of the Nosferatu. They possessed a very deep mastery over the Nightmare and interestingly enough, the Protean Disciplines.
They had used those as the bartering chips to attract different Vampire Houses when they were just beginning the Romanian Vampire Faction.
When the Apetnakhts had joined, they were also provided with the resources to learn this discipline. And that's why I also knew about them. Shamefully, I have always neglected the Unique Disciplines in favour of my own Bloodline Disciplines.
I only knew the basics but I knew enough to go by and that wasn't an acceptable level for me. That's why I have been practising them too.
I have focused most on the Protean, because it would cover for both stealth and travel capabilities. Despite turning into mist being an advanced technique, I was able to grasp it quite easily because of my heritage from Ekkimus.
As for the stealth mobility thing, it provided me with the ability to transform into a bat. While the animal form in which I was the most comfortable was the snake, I also had an affinity for transforming into a bat.
Therefore, after some days of practice and many times ending up transformed into weird and horrific forms, transforming into a bat was now second nature to me.
With a focused thought, my form shifted and I found myself perched on the windowsill, ready to take flight. I leaped into the night without a second thought.
My wings unfurled, and in a heartbeat, I was airborne, streaking through the night sky at 200 km/h. The city below would have been a blur if not for the other ability Protean provided. 'Eyes of The Beast' made sure that my already powerful senses were enhanced further.
I revelled in the sensation, the sheer speed was exhilarating. The streets and buildings below me were the same as they were when I first tested out my flight.
The peculiar thing about flying as a supernatural creature is that air resistance hardly matters. Our mana fields act like a sleek force field, slicing through the air with minimal drag. Makes me wonder why physics professors haven't figured this out yet—oh wait, they don't have magic. So sad~ Heh.
After a few more minutes of high-speed joyriding through the night skies of Uruk, I swooped back to the manor, landing gracefully in the courtyard. The manor wasn't anything that stood out from the other buildings, and was surrounded by lush green trees.
I shifted back to my human form seamlessly, shaking off the thrill as I headed inside.
The walls were mostly empty except the occasional drawings of snakes, scorpions and desert landscape. In no time, I reached my destination.
In the dining room, Eirene was lounging with a chalice full of blood. Seeing her, I couldn't help but think about how unnecessary but delightful drinking blood was for us. Sure, we didn't need it to survive, but it was like having dessert after a hearty meal, just utterly satisfying.
As a Vampire continues to grow in age and strength, the need to drink blood becomes less and less frequent. Only newbornes need to consume blood daily. At my stage, I only needed to drink blood once every month.
"Enjoying your drink?" I quipped, plopping down across from her. The red sofa shifted under my weight.
"Always," she replied with a smile, raising her chalice in a mock toast. There was another chalice on the table, without any pleasantries I picked it up and smelled the sweet scent.
Kallulu blood huh.
I wasn't surprised. They had been getting quite desperate and had traded away a lot of different resources for preventing humans from entering a certain portion of the sea, so they could live peacefully.
Of course this included their unnaturally sweet blood.
I took a sip from the chalice, all the while summoning the ingenious piece of technology that Rias had gifted me. I opened the application called EvilTube and started scrolling through the new shorts.
Eirene was frowning lightly at me. She didn't like how I was using it. At first she was happy for me, but then when I was scrolling I encountered a weird video that had a blonde kid meshing his lips with a brunette girl. It looked really weird and Eirene had immediately taken the phone away from me.
After that one time I haven't encountered any such videos again.
Anyway, I took a hefty sip while watching a Devil from the Agares House gush over some mechanical automaton. It looked very beautiful but the thing that actually made me interested in watching it was her enthusiasm.
Ahh. No matter how much I drink blood, every ounce of it still tastes good. Blood-drinking might not be essential, but it sure was a good way to enjoy life.
Eirene's gaze lingered on me as I scrolled through the phone. I could sense her curiosity and, possibly, concern. Finally, she broke the silence.
"How's the progress on Lillitu House's request?" she asked, her voice as smooth and steady as always.
"Almost done," I replied, setting down my chalice. "I've completed two parts already. The last thing is altering the appearance of some undead, which I'll be finishing soon. Only a few undead remain now."
She nodded, seemingly satisfied with my answer. "Do you need anything?"
I took a moment to consider. "More books on Human Sciences, supplies for necrotic rituals, and some texts on Mesopotamian demon houses would be helpful. Grandma has suggested I should read them, as knowing the history would help me navigate their politics."
Her eyebrow arched slightly, but she nodded. "The books will be easy to get, and I'll have the supplies restocked soon."
I was about to return to my phone and resume the video when she added, "Is there anything you want for your own enjoyment?"
The question caught me off guard. It wasn't often that I had to think about such things. I hesitated for a moment before responding, "Actually, there were a few things I saw on the online market that seemed interesting."
She smiled, amused. "Consider it done. Just send me the list."
With that, the conversation shifted back to silence, leaving me to my thoughts and the comfort of the chalice in hand. It was a comfortable silence.
As I finished the video, I decided that I should head back to finishing the last four undead's appearance changes, but fate had desired something else.
I was just about to set the phone down when a notification popped up.
Rias Gremory has sent you a message.
Oh dear Dracula… not this again…
With a horrified expression plastered over my face, I clicked on the notification.
The screen lit up, revealing a barrage of texts, images, and random thoughts. Rias was relentless. Keeping up with her was like trying to fight the Christian God with my strength. Utterly hopeless and impossible.
With a resigned sigh, I started typing out responses, my fingers slowly shifting across the screen.
"Guess my fingers are gonna be sore for a while," I thought as I settled in for another marathon of texting.
All the while Eirene continued to stare and smile innocently at me.
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