Disclaimer : I own nothing.
Chapter 22 : Healing and Dealing.
- Shin –
I teleported to a familiar castle, my first residence in the underworld, the castle where Zekram lives.
A familiar head of blonde hair was waiting for me outside the castle gates.
Kuisha Abaddon looked as beautiful as the day I met her over a month ago, if only that extra brightness in her eyes made her look even brighter.
I did keep in contact with her over the last month through communication spells but meeting someone in person is a completely different matter at all.
"How have you been Shin?" she asked while approaching me.
"Great. It is nice to see you again Kuisha." I smiled back in reply.
"Let's go, Sairaorg is waiting for us."
"Sure."
With that the two of us teleported to the place where Sairaorg's mother stayed.
At the gates of the mansion, Sairaorg was standing or rather was pacing around in a tense manner. He turned towards us as soon as he sensed us teleporting to the place.
Stepping towards me, he pulled me into a hug.
"It is nice to see you again Shin. Please tell me, is it true that you found a cure for the disease?" he asked hurriedly.
"Yes. I recently cured my new pawn. It was three days ago. I did test it out on her first and the cure worked quite well. I will meet with Serafall and Ajuka after this to discuss this potion." I replied assuaging his curiosity for now.
"How is your search for your peerage going?"
"Quite well. I have almost filled up half the slots of my Evil Pieces. I do hope to find good members soon." I said, not really revealing too much.
Even with our friendship he still kept the identity of his pawn a secret from me. Obviously I am going to keep my secrets too.
I can see that he has leveled up a bit as well. He is almost level 300 now, a lot below my own but that doesn't make much of a difference because he can close that gap with his Regulus Nemea. I still haven't seen how much of a difference a balance breaker truly makes in the case of a Longinus.
That said my own stats have increased to a great degree as well. In terms of stats and pure magic power levels, I am more or less as strong as Serafall. That said I will still have to be careful when facing her in a fight because I have no doubt that her Ice Magic is at the Mythical Tier which gives a multiplier of 200% while Legendary Tier only gives a 100% multiplier. My Umbramancy and Artificing are being upgraded even now but the speed at which I am progressing, I think it will take no less than 6 to 10 months to upgrade even one of them.
I did get quite strong though. My current stats are
Shin Kageyami
Level- 390
Class – Martial Artist – LVL 50/100 [87%]
Race – Devil (8- Winged Devil)
Rank- Mortal
Alignment- True Neutral
HP- 113 550 [18 925 per minute]
MP – 1 072 000 [268 000 per minute]
SP- 113 550 [18 925 per minute]
STR – 752
END – 757
DEX – 722
INT – 2 680
WIS – 2 012
CHA – 209
LUK – 502
Perk Gained
[Iron Body]
Increases HP and SP by +50% per END stat.
Increases HP and SP regen by +50%.
Perk Gained
[Herculean Strength]
Strength Checks will be calculated for two times the STR value though the damage will be calculated on the current STR value.
Perk Gained
[Adrenaline Rush]
Once a day, when faced with a dangerous attack, the DEX stat will increase to three times the original amount for 1 minute.
Perk Gained
[Devil's Luck]
It is almost impossible to defeat you in a game of chance or other gambling activities. LCK checks are easier.
I didn't get any perk for getting my INT above 2k or 2,5k so I think it will probably happen at the 5k mark for me.
Over all at this point of time, I can say without a doubt that I am almost Satan Class level in terms of stats. Skills are a different matter altogether.
I maxed the Dismancer class, Alchemist class and got 20 more levels in the Thief class.
This has been a topic of debate inside my head.
Stats or skills? What should I focus on first?
On one hand I can just level all the classes available to me to level 20 or 40 and increase my level to an absurd degree very soon but the problem will be assimilating those skills into my fighting style. Second will be increasing the potency of the skills.
Higher levels in a class gives me a higher rank of the skill.
Third was whether I should focus on Strength type classes or also the support classes.
Unlike me who can learn and increase the Rank of my skills just by leveling up, others in my group have to practice and their speed lags behind.
I had to help them with my artifacts and potions all the time.
After all, a good potion at the right time can save more lives than a mere 100 stat points.
Balancing all of this is very crucial because lives are dependent on this.
I cannot rely on some plot armour to keep all the people close to me alive.
Just because I can resurrect them again doesn't mean that I should not take measures to prevent their deaths from the start.
After all, prevention is better than cure.
This led me to slow down my leveling speed to focus on maxing a single class first and then proceed to the other class.
I did increase the DEX stat by focusing on the Thief Class for a bit but that still didn't change my main focus on Dismancer.
And to say that I was pleased would be an understatement.
I have always had this belief of mine that there are two ways to win the game or anything.
First is to focus and give my all on winning and the second is to defeat the enemy.
Now, I know that both of these sound the same but believe me when I say that they are not the same at all. They are a lot different than they sound.
Let's say for example that the first one is a classic example for a warrior class in rpgs. They level up, bolster their stats and equipment and fight to the end.
The second will be the spellcaster class who focus on area control with debuffs.
In a fight, decreasing the strength of your enemy is just as good as increasing your own strength if not better. In the second case, everyone that is fighting by your side gets the advantage of the debuff suffered by your enemy and not just you alone.
Unlike a support class, Dismancer is a nightmare for my enemies in the hands of someone like me who already has the PoD as a mode of attack.
A simple Mind Haze spell can decrease the INT stat of my enemy and degrade their thinking capacity for a bit. This little bit of time is a boon for me who can just yeet their existence with my PoD during this time.
It is something that lets me fight even someone like Merlin to the extent that I can secure a mutual defeat with her right now, which would have been a dream a month and a half ago.
Merlin is almost resistant to curses but the Dismancer class when mixed with Alchemist class leads to some horrifying possibilities altogether.
I am only 10 levels below the 10- Winged Devil level so that is not going to matter much.
We reached the doors of the room where Sairaorg's mother Misla Bael lived.
"Come on in Shin. Mother is inside." Sairaorg said softly with equal parts enthusiasm and hope tinging his voice as he led the group inside.
Inside the room was a woman with pale skin and black hair laying on a bed. She looked very frail probably due to the long period of sickness that she had been in. Misla Bael.
"Here, make her drink this potion now." I gave him the Cleansing Potion that I had only been able to make a week ago.
Alchemy takes too much time to experiment with ingredients and even though I have almost cheat-like skills in the art, it did not make it any bit easier.
Let's say I could eliminate one ingredient from the combination needed to make the potion, I would still need all the other ingredients and then need to find a suitable balance for them or at the very least the first time to create the recipe. After that it was only a matter of using skills and producing them again.
It happened almost a few moments later that Misla Bael opened her eyes and looked towards her surroundings.
Sairaorg, a person that I have come to consider a good friend of mine was for the first time in tears.
I signaled Kuisha with my eyes as we left the two to themselves and went to the hall to wait for them to come out to us.
I did notice that Kuisha's level has risen to a decent degree too.
What was up with that?
Do all the named characters start growing stronger as canon timing approaches?
Anime Logic I guess.
I noticed that she was wearing the bracelets given by me even now.
"How have you been Kuisha? It really has been a while since we could sit down like this and talk." I smiled at her.
"We talk every other day on Devil net. But yes, it has been a while since we could do this. I am fine. Same as before, managing the peerage, training and making contracts. Everyone has been really enthusiastic since your Rating Game. They have been training with the sole aim to fight you in our own Rating Games. I guess you will be in for a surprise when we meet in the Youth Devil's Gathering in a few months." she said, giving me a challenging smile which I returned back at her.
"I will be waiting till that time but I will have to tell you that I have not been slacking off and neither have my peerage members. The new members are strong in their own ways too. We will give you a hard fight when the time comes for the Youth Devil Gathering." I replied with a smile.
"We look forward to it. Sairaorg would be happier when he hears this. He has been looking forward to fighting you since the time he saw you spar against us." Kuisha confessed.
"Hahahaha, that sounds like him."
We continued our back and forth talks. It was honestly a great experience for me because Kuisha was the first girl I met in the underworld. It did remind me of how much my life has changed over the last three months or so.
It was after about an hour that Sairaorg came in pushing a wheelchair on which his mother sat.
"You must be Shin. My son has just told me everything that happened while I was asleep." she then bowed deeply in her chair to me. "I thank you for being my son's friend and curing me. You have my deepest gratefulness for it."
"Please raise your head. As you just said, I am a friend of Sairaorg and he is one of my very few friends. I would never deny him any help if I can. He does deserve the happiness that he has right now." I waved off her serious look. As much as I did this for influence, I cannot deny the fact that the dumb muscle-head moron has grown on me and I have come to see him as a good friend. I would have helped him either way even if I did not have the quest to do so, maybe not as fast but I would, most definitely help.
"I may not have much influence but please tell me if there is anything that I can help you with. I will definitely do my best to do so." she continued.
"It is really alright. You don't have to worry about it."
"Sai, I will have to leave for now. I have another meeting with Serafall regarding my new pawn. She also wanted to discuss some business. I do have a request that you keep the existence of the potions and cure a secret for a while, till I am ready to start my business." I asked him seriously.
"I will do that." he replied earnestly.
Quest Completed
[A Friend in Need]
Sairaorg Bael has been your friend in your short time in the underworld. He is definitely someone who is worth placing your trust in. And what better way to solidify your friendship than curing his mother.
Objective : Find a method to cure Sairaorg's mother Misla Bael.
Rewards : Massively increased Reputation with Sairaorg, Greatly increased Reputation with Sairaorg Bael's Peerage, ?.
Rewards Received
+15 Reputation with Sairaorg Bael(100/100) for curing his mother.
+20 Affection with Kuisha Abaddon(85/100) for helping her king.
+20 Affection with Coriana Andrephelus(35/100) for helping her King.
+20 Reputation with Ladora Bune(40/100) for helping his King.
+20 Reputation with Misteeta Sabnock(40/100) for helping his King.
+20 Reputation with iban Crocell(40/100) for helping his King.
+20 Reputation with Beluga Furcas(40/100) for helping his King.
+20 Reputation with Gandoma Balam(40/100) for helping his King.
+20 Reputation with Regulus(40/100) for helping their King.
Skill Orb : Mokuton Kekkei Genkai
Perk Gained – [Sairaorg Bael - 100 Reputation]
[Genius of Hard Work]
All Upgrade Quests start with 10% completion already.
Mokuton? Wow.
Do I have the Hashirama CellsTM ?
I don't really know who to give this skill orb to. Maybe I will think of something soon.
I was broken from my thought process by Sairaorg's voice.
"Do you want me to accompany you to Lady Leviathan?" he asked.
"No, I will be fine. You spend some time with your mom. I will see you soon. I just have to take care of some urgent matters today. You should catch up with each other, I will come back later to meet again."
"In that case, please allow me to thank you again." Sairaorg bowed again.
I pulled him up and gave him a half-hug.
"We are friends. Don't worry about thanks."
And with those words said I teleported to the Sitri territory.
I need to take care of Ingvild's matter before the old devils try to cause any problems for us.
Serafall had suggested today's meeting to discuss this matter along with the potions I have created in this entire month and their supposed sales.
- Scene Change –
I arrived at the Sitri House's castle. Today I have two jobs to do here. First is the discussion with Serafall and second is….Sona's artifact testing.
The guards were apparently informed about my arrival as I was swiftly led inside as soon as they identified and verified me.
"Welcome to the Sitri Castle, Kageyami-sama. Lady Sona and Lady Serafall are waiting for you inside." Addressed a bespectacled beauty in front of me.
"Please call me Shin. I think we have been friends long enough for that Tsubaki-san." I returned back to the girl who blushed a little but nodded back.
I haven't been idle this past month. Apart from training and work, I have spent a lot of time getting to know others too.
Sona's peerage were just the first part.
I even got a meeting with Tannin again.
All of this is needed for me to establish a foothold in the underworld.
I was soon led to the Sitri Castle's hall where Serafall was waiting with Sona and two other people, one of whom was a woman with a bubbly look that was accompanied by a feeling of regality and the other was a man who was regal in his appearance and presence. I can see who Serafall and Sona take after.
"Hey Shin-kun. Welcome to my home. Did you miss me? Did you want to meet me again? Sorry but I have to say no to you if you confess to me, my heart is only for my So-tan." Serafall rose up with her usual enthusiastic greeting which made both Sona and Lord Sitri facepalm.
"Really. No chance? Not even a little?" I asked in an over-exaggerated disappointment.
"Noppeee."
"Sigh, it seems then I have only one choice." I shook my head.
"Oh. And what would that be?" asked Serafall.
"Then I just have to confess to both you and Sona together. You wouldn't reject me right…." I turned towards Sona "So-tan", my grin widening by the time I uttered her nickname.
To say that the reaction was funny would be an understatement.
Sona went red upto her ears and the colour of her blush would have given Rias' beautiful crimson hair a challenge for her money. Serafall on the other had gained a glint in her eyes at this.
The elder couple were looking at the interaction with barely hidden amusement.
"That seems like a good idea. That way I can finally see both my daughters getting married. Satans know how jealous I was when Venelana bragged about Milicas. Sona, Serafall, you have my permission for this relationship, right dear." Lady Sitri chimed in.
"Mother! Please stop encouraging them. Onee-sama alone has been pretty embarrassing and then she got Shin as her partner. The last thing I need is you encouraging them. And Shin please stop lending a hand to Onee-sama in her antics." Sona shouted in embarrassment.
"It is not a bad idea though." This time it was Lord Sitri and Sona looked wide eyed at her father who had a slight smirk and a mischievous smile on his face.
It seems that the whole family is full of pranksters.
"It is nice to meet you Lord and Lady Sitri." I greeted them formally and then bowed to them after that.
"It is a pleasure to finally meet you personally Shin. I hope you don't mind me calling you by your name." Lady Stiri asked, I just smiled at her to continue. "Although I can understand the need for it, Serafall herself being in charge of the task."
"She did everything to protect me. I am really grateful to her." I replied politely.
"It is also nice to see Sona have another friend. I have only seen Rias, Akeno and Tsubaki get her to blush like this. It is definitely a welcome change to see her flustered like this once in a while by someone other than Serafall." she added causing Sona to sigh again, I can see why she is so tired.
"I have wanted to meet you ever since you suggested the alliance with the Stiri House a little over a month ago. It is certainly a unique case to see someone like you trying to establish themselves without any backing. I hope I am not being too prying but would you tell me why you are taking such a route. If I remember correctly, Zekram declared you as his ward and by proxy the ward of the house of Bael and you are engaged to Rias so that makes you related to the house of Gremory, so why is it that you wish to do this alone?"
Now how do I answer this again?
"I know that people might have many opinions about me trying to do this. I don't really blame anyone for this. But to know about my decisions, I think you must take a look at my history. I have been….controlled for most of my life. Against my will….just because someone wanted to. It has not been a good experience." I gave a look to Serafall who returned a sad but understanding smile at me. "It has led me to avoid relying on anyone if possible. I know that it might be paranoia on my part but when someone has been in my position, I think they would get why and what I am doing."
"I think it is completely understandable Shin." Serafall added before her parents could form any opinions. "I have personally investigated your background while doing the cleaning and I agree with your way. Also, with the things you are making, it would change the power balance too much if you align yourself with any particular house. I would….no we would like it if you kept your neutrality because it will greatly help the Satans have some semblance of control instead of being pushed into a corner."
"What is this about Serafaall? While I agree that the artifacts made by Shin are of great power, I cannot see where it will change the balance of power too much even if he were to ally himself with one house as long as he sells the artifacts to everyone?" Lord Stiri asked, getting serious for a moment.
"It is because Shin is not planning to sell only artifacts alone. He is planning to sell potions which he himself makes. Potions that can heal devils, restore their magic and have many other uses as well. That said I don't think you have a true idea of the power of Shin's artifacts considering that his best one Shun Shun Rikka is a support type artifact." Serafall then explained.
"POTIONS!" exclaimed Lord Stiri. "That…is certainly….something that I did not expect." he then proceeded to mumble something to himself.
"I don't think that the house of Phenex will take this lying down especially considering the relations between them and Shin-san in past events." Lady Stiri added some of her own opinion to the table.
"I will see to it when that happens. For now I have made some new potions and completed Sona's artifact too. Which one would you like to see first?" I asked Serafall whose eyes widened for a moment. She opened a magic circle and sent some messages and then looked at me. "I would like to see the potions first."
"In that case let me start with the potion that I just used a while ago." I took out a few vials of potions from the insides of my pocket where I had placed them from the inventory. Picking one up I said, "This is a Cure All Potion. Pardon me but my naming sense leaves much to be desired so if you have something else in mind, please do feel to suggest them. This one cures almost all diseases in supernatural species and yes that includes the devil's sleeping sickness." I smiled towards the slightly gapped jaws of the Lord and Lady of Stiri house present in front of me.
"I assume that you have already visited Sairaorg before coming here?" Serafall questioned seriously.
"I did."
"You do know that this is going to put you on the bad side of the current head of house Bael when he finds out about it."
"I don't really care."
Serafall smirked slightly at my typical and casual reply.
"I don't care either. It is just that I would have given up a full week of my Magical Girl Shows to watch the look on his face when he finds out."
"Sairaorg is my friend and I think that his happiness should matter more for me. Even if Lord Bael has a problem with that, I can't be bothered to care."
"Well said. Then the next potion is?"
"This one is the Limb Regeneration potion. It does exactly what the name suggests. I cannot sell my Shun Shun Rikka but this is something that I can offer instead."
I could see their eyes widen again.
"Are you sure this…."
"I have tested this already. You can have them tested again if you want."
"The third potion is Truth Serum. It is something strong enough to work even on Devils and other supernatural species. No magic that I know of can defend against its effects."
"This one will help a lot in the law and enforcement department."
"It will. Just don't let something ridiculous such as Truth Serum not being used on Pure-blooded devils become a law or something. The wizarding world has something similar and it can be a pain. I will have to clarify though that only the things that the drinker thinks are true will be said. They might not be true. Also the drinker can divert the questions with clever words."
"Hmm. It will still help nonetheless."
"This is the antidote of the potion. I changed it so that it will only work if there is Truth Serum already in the bloodstream, if the drinker had taken any antidote before the Truth Serum was administered, they will start vomiting. That will help you a bit."
"That, yes that it will."
"Now comes my training set. These are the three potions which can increase the rate of your physical and magical training by several times. This one increases the rate of the physical growth and this one increase the growth of magical attributes and powers."
I could see the wide eyed looks of the people in the room.
"Are you being serious here Shin," surprisingly it was Sona who said these words and quite loudly.
"I am very serious. I don't like joking in matters of business. These potions come in four variants. The first one gives a two times increase, the second one gives a four times increase, the third one gives a five times increase and the last one gives a ten times increase. I have to remind you that they do have a certain period of interval which has to be allowed between two successive doses. After every ten doses, a cleansing potion has to be taken to remove the traces of the potion from the body and the person must not take any potion for one week followed by the potion. It is quite good because I have tried the effects of the potions and I have to say that they are quite effective."
"Shin-kun, how fast can you make these potions and how much does it cost?" Serafall asked going full on Satan mode right now.
"That depends. I can make the potions quite fast. The cost depends on the potion but also the availability of the ingredients, which brings me to a different topic. Can I get a piece of land here in the underworld? It does not matter what kind of land it is, I would like to start the ingredients farms there. I have some things planned for it. Then again, we can discuss this later on but for now let's move on to the other potions." I picked up another two vials and placed it in front of them. These are the Berserker Potions. These increase the physical and magical powers of the user immensely for one hour but leaves them completely unable to move for the next week. It can save a life in dangerous situations." I shrugged.
"I think that Ajuka will have a field day when I take these potions to his lab." Serafall laughed lightly to lighten the situation.
"I am not too sure about it." I answered getting a raised eyebrow from Serafall. "You will see soon. For the final three potions, this is the Bloodline Purification Potion. It has a chance of awakening the Bloodline Traits of the devils who have failed to awaken it due to any reason. And before you interrupt me in any way, I would like to point out the last two potions. These are the ones that I don't plan to sell in my shop directly but rather through auctions and as favours. These two potions increase the physical and magical powers of the user by 40%." I stopped at that.
Serafall waited for me to continue and when I didn't for a while, she asked with a trembling voice, "for how long?"
"Permanently."
….
….
….
….
The sound of sharp breaths being taken was heard which was followed by a period of silence while the people in the room simply stared at the potion vial laid in front of them with eyes showing different expressions.
"What are the side effects?" Serafall asked as if not believing the potion to be real.
"None except that only one can be taken in the users lifetime."
"How hard is it to make?"
"Quite."
"How many more of these can you make at this instant?"
"Depends on the ingredients which are extremely rare. I can make around 4 sets."
"Can we get any more ingredients to make these?"
"Can you bring me a Philosopher's Stone?"
And the glasses crashed again.
It was not completely true though.
The Philosopher's stone was not an ingredient and more of a catalyst but they didn't need to know that. This potion was one of my trump cards to have my way with the politics of the devils in the Underworld.
"You have a Philosopher's Stone."
"Yes."
"I have heard that the only known maker of the Philosopher's stone was Nicholas Flamel but he has been in hiding for a long time." Sona interjected.
"The person responsible for my problems back in the wizarding world was an apprentice of Nicholas Flamel. I have doubts that he killed them and hid away the Philosopher's stone which has been in his possession for at the very least five years now."
"That bearded old goat had the Philosopher's Stone?" Serafall exclaimed.
"It seems that you missed that during your investigation."
"I..I only asked about you and events related to you. I didn't think that his hundred years long crime history had anything to do with us? It seems that it had been a mistake on my part." Serafall then agreed. "I was informed that the Stone was destroyed but now that I think about it, he never mentioned it being the 'Philosopher's Stone' and only 'Stone'."
"That seems like the kind of sophistry that someone like him would use."
"Can you make more of them?"
"I am still working on it but it takes time. I used up most of the energy stored in the stone last month. I need more time for it to refill. Nicholas Flamel was a genius beyond his race. His creation does deserve him his spot in history."
"True. I have never underestimated the potential of the human race and that was one of my reasons for supporting the Evil Pieces back then." Lord Stiri joined the conversation.
"Here, I would like to give these two to you." I said to Serafall who then looked at me for a few moments.
"The other four will be for the three Satans and Zekram, I presume." she asked.
"You are very wise." I smiled causing her to roll her eyes.
"Are these all the potions then?" she asked once again.
"Yup, for now it is. I was planning to make more potions but experimentation needs time. There is only so much I can do in a month. It has been one hectic month after all. Recruiting my peerage members and training everyone along with warding the entire town and then all that business with the exorcists, it left me with very little time to experiment. I could only upgrade my health, mana and stamina potions to high grade. It now heals 70% of the full reserves of the user."
"Let's see So-tan's artifact before we go into further discussions. I think I am tired enough after this." Serafall sighed tiredly but I could see the glint in her eyes.
"We should go out then. Preferably somewhere more open."
"We can move to our training fields." Lord Stiri said.
And so we walked to the training grounds while Serafall stored the potions….somewhere.
"Okay, here it is. I did make a sacred gear and I would have to say that apart from Shun Shun Rikka, it is probably my best work yet. That said it still has some room for improvement. I will do that after a while when I am done preparing for it. It may take some months though. Even without that improvement, it is still an artifact that can rival a top-tier Sacred Gear in strength. When I am done with it, it will probably become something similar to a Longinus." I said gaining an incredulous look from Sona and her parents while Serafall looked like she had already expected it. I guess that the others didn't know about the core of the artifact that I was given.
"Are you sure that it is alright?" Lord Stiri asked, a little surprised.
"Why won't it be? Anyways, here is your artifact Sona." I gave her a pendant with a star inside of a ring. I looked towards Serafall and signaled her with my eye which she returned with a nod. I take it that the preparations are complete then. "Push your magic power into it and it will transform."
I got a nod in return as soon after the pendant started giving off rainbow light which covered Sona's body and music started.
Fighting evil by moonlight
Winning love by daylight
Never running from a real fight!
She is the one named Sailor Moon!
She will never turn her back on a friend
She is always there to defend
She is the one on whom we depend
She is the one named Sailor...
Sailor Venus!
Sailor Mercury!
Sailor Mars!
Sailor Jupiter!
With secret powers
All so new to her
She is the one named Sailor Moon
Fighting evil by moonlight
Winning love by daylight
With her Sailor Scouts to help fight
She is the one named Sailor Moon
She is the one named Sailor Moon
She is the one . . . Sailor Moon!
The light got brighter. Sona's body levitated and rotated in the air while her dress changed into a
….pink and blue magical girl costume and the pendant changed into a blue magic staff with a star inside a ring at the top of it.
This bright display was then followed by many flashes of light and cameras that I didn't even know started taking images of the scene.
"GO Go Magical Girl So-tan." cheered Serafall who had taken out her own magic staff from….somewhere.
On the side I could see Lady Stiri giggling lightly while Lord Stiri had an amused smile of his own.
When the transformation completed, there stood Magical Girl So-tan in all her sparkly glory.
I have to know it. Putting those effects in it was a pain in the neck especially when Serafall changed the costume two times already.
"Y-you did this? I-I" stuttered Sona.
"So-tan, I knew it. You secretly wanted to be a magical girl didn't you? Now we can do Magical Girl Levia-tan and So-tan : Super Sisters Double Power of Love episode of the show." Serafall jumped on the poor girl before she could do anything about it.
Sorry Sona. I mean I'm really sorry.
It is just business.
Nothing personal at all.
It was only by instinct that I moved to the side dodging a water dragon thrown at me by Sona.
Ah and here it comes.
It is time to see the results of my work.
Eight water dragons made their way towards me while I simply shadow walked to different parts of the training ground barely dodging them.
Pushing my newly gained Senjutsu and tracking the movements of the water dragons even with my eyes closed is not a big deal.
I however had to open my eyes when I sensed a disturbance in the water dragon's body.
The dragon's body suddenly had its scales? Turn into daggers and they shoot towards me from all directions.
I pushed my Touki and swatted the attacks aside and dodged the water dragon that made its way towards me at that time.
It is adorable to see Sona trying so hard.
She is already in the level 50s zone. Which means a 4- Winged Devil. More than she was in canon at this time. I think my presence has caused some changes, not that I am against the changes here in Sona. She will grow stronger and in time, she will become one of the most influential people in the underworld.
Suddenly I felt something at my feet and saw that the area is now covered with water with a whip of water gripping my feet.
"I didn't know that Magical Girl So-tan liked tentacle play." I smiled at her causing her to get flustered and lose control of the water dragons which were approaching me as they turned back to water.
"Don't speak nonsense. I-I…." ah, are those tears in her eyes.
I guess I pushed her too far this time.
"Okay, I'll stop teasing you, just don't cry. Here have a candy."
"I-I sniff hate sniff you."
Oh my goodness. She is absolutely adorable.
"Here So-tan. Lemme tell you why I did that. But before that you should look at the faces of your parents, that will give you an idea about it."
And true to my words, jaws were on the floor. It seems they realised what was actually happening now.
"B-but that is impossible. H-how did you do it?" Lord Stiri stuttered.
"I just used the materials given to me by Serafall." I shrugged.
The one whose name was mentioned was also staring at the wand in Sona's hand in awe.
"That really was what I think it was, right Shin-kun?" she asked me in her Satan mode.
"I have seen the real thing so I can say that it was. Though it is not as strong as the real thing because I was not strong enough to make it at its finest yet due to the lack of my demonic power. It however has the advantage of mixing its water with the other elements that the hydra possessed."
"That…."
"What is it that you're talking about?" said a now confused and tired Sona.
"Did you not realise what you were doing?" I finally asked her.
"I was attacking you." she quietly growled.
Ow, feisty.
I didn't know that Sona had this in her. Definitely something interesting.
"And how were you attacking me?"
"With water magic."
"True. But didn't you feel something different about the water magic that you used now? I mean the power or I don't know something else."
"It….did seem slightly different and more powerful." she said, staring at the staff now.
"It obviously did. If you used 'Sea Serpent of the End' and didn't feel any difference between the normal water magic and this. I would have to reassess your intelligence Sona." and I dropped the bomb.
"The 'Sea Serp…. WHAT!"
"Shin-kun, have I told you how troublesome you can be sometimes." Serafall smiled tiredly at me.
"Only sometimes." I smiled cheekily at her. "What, you don't like my work?"
Serafall shook her head. "It is not whether I liked your work or not, it will be a huge problem if the other Pillar Houses find out that you can replicate the House Traits of Devils. I think you should keep away from making other artifacts like these so as to not cause any more controversies."
"Wouldn't it be better if I could revive the House Traits that were lost due to the extinction of the pillars?" I couldn't help but ask.
She paused and then a thoughtful look crossed her face.
"That….can be used. I will discuss it with others. Anyways, thank you very much for the wonderful artifact that you made for So-tan. I can really rest a bit easier knowing that she has another means to protect herself." She said, sounding genuinely thankful for once.
+20 Affection with Serafall Leviathan(82/100) for giving her So-tan an awesome gift.
+20 Affection with Sona Stiri(47/100) for giving her a great gift.
+30 Affection with Lady Stiri(30/100) for giving Sona a great gift.
+30 Reputation with Lord Stiri (20/100) for giving Sona a great gift.
Reputation gained reduced due to the 'Diminished Presence' Trait.
I simply smiled at her and passed a bottle of mana potion to Sona who looked at it for a moment and then after getting a look from Serafall drank it.
"I think we should talk about the details in private." Serafall indicted for me to follow her.
We went to a room separated from the normal ones. It appeared to be a study of some kind.
I guess it is time for serious talks.
"What is it that you wanted to discuss?" Serafall asked in her Satan mode now.
It was something that I really liked about her. Her ability to switch her persona so quickly when it came to business.
"I reincarnated Ingvild Leviathan as my pawn two days ago." I dropped the first topic of discussion.
"I take it that Sairaorg's mother is back in good health as well?"
"She is recovering from the long sleep but apart from that yes. Her sleeping sickness has been cured."
"I recommend that you keep her identity hidden for now. It will not matter when your business is up and running but before that there can be others that might cause problems with this knowledge. By the way, how exactly is she?" asked Serafall.
"A very sweet girl who aspires to become a singer. She doesn't like fighting at all but has enormous power, though her control over it is not as good. She does possess the trait of the Leviathan so that should tell you how strong she is with High Satan-Class demonic power reserves. I am training her under my bishop Merlin in the use of her abilities. Hopefully she will be able to use them soon enough. It is however a good moment to watch when she uses the 'Sea Serpent of the End' along with 'Nereid Kyrie,'. It is quite amazing."
"It seems that she must be quite something if she can make you say words like this. I will meet her later if possible. Just to check and all." Serafall said.
I did understand that she had other reasons behind it but there was nothing for me to worry about here.
"I wanted to talk to you about the ingredients of the potions. There are some unique herbs that I need to cultivate. I would like to have people taking care of them here in the underworld. I did talk to a group and they were actually happy to help. It is just that…."
"What?"
"They were the people who were taking care of Ingvild. Some members of the previous Satan Leviathan faction who did not participate in the war. They kept her hidden so that she was not killed by her other relatives all of this time. I want to offer them the job because they are completely loyal to Ingvild and she likes them as her family. It will help her integrate better into my peerage if she knows that her family is being well taken care off. The caretakers will also be happy if they got a better and safer living." I explained my reason.
"Gain their goodwill and turn them to your side as your own troops and workers. Good thinking Shin-kun. But are you sure that they are not someone who would try to exploit you? '' she asked, a little suspicious.
"I will check them with Senjutsu and a few of my own devices. I am also going to monitor them until I am sure that they are of no danger or questionable loyalty." I answered her question.
"I presume that you are asking me for a plot of land that I can allot you to cultivate the herbs?" she asked, getting back on subject.
Now this is the question. I had originally come to ask her the same thing but the plans changed when I got the reward for healing Sairaorg's mother.
The Mokuton.
The Kekkei Genkai of Hashirama Senju.
He could turn entire battlefields into forests. I am not sure if I can use this to grow the plants that I need. If I can, then I might as well buy a piece of land on Earth and ward it to hell and start my plantation there. I might even consider buying land in the midst of the Sahara Desert and turn it into farmland with Ingvild's power and this skill.
"I do. I wanted to ask you for advice."
"Sure."
"I was thinking about buying a plot of land on Earth. I do have some plantations in the wizarding world to my name. Will that be fine or should I establish the plantations here in the underworld?"
She thought about it for a moment.
"I would like for you to start with the plantations in the wizarding world. Make sure that people do not find out about them. I suggest that you expand after your business has been established here in the underworld. When are you planning to start the business anyways?." she asked, a little curious now.
"Probably when I have one or two stocks of the ingredients ready. I know that the demand will rise as soon as the products are revealed and while some wait will only bolster the desire of the people, more waiting will reduce their confidence in us. I want to avoid that if possible."
"Good thinking Shin-kun. I suggest that you do so. When will you be meeting the people who will work for you?"
"Now. Will you join me?"
"Okay. Let's go. I will have to go to Ajuka's lab with these potions as well. He has been having the most fun out of all the Satans in the last few weeks and I am going to give him a few new potions to work on." She smiled wryly at her fellow Satan's antices.
We said our goodbyes to Lady, Lord and Sona Stiri before teleporting to the place where I had decided the meeting to be.
- Scene Change –
We arrived at the old Leviathan territory which was technically under Serafall right now, though many parts of it are still unclaimed.
These unclaimed territories are then rewarded to the Ultimate Class devils upon their promotion to rule over. That way, there will be no struggle with the existing land owners at all.
We were received by a butler at the gates of the small mansion outside the gates. He was a bit on edge at seeing Serafall but then a glance from me reassured him a bit.
We were led inside shortly after that.
Marium Oriax. One of the supporters of the previous Leviathan and a general under her.
He lost his limb in the Great War and was designated the job of looking over the Leviathan Territory by the first Leviathan herself, which was actually rare considering that devils were forced to fight until they perished during the Great War. It goes to show his loyalty and dedication to the Leviathan that she rewarded it with….not treating him as disposable.
Yeah, Devil logic. Not gonna try to understand it.
He was the illegitimate grandson of the Leviathan when the Civil War was going on, who later had a child with a human, a daughter named Ingvild.
To say that our first meeting was a walk in the park would be a complete lie and again a bad one at that.
When I arrived at the territory, I was first denied access. When I actually snuck inside to look for Ingvild in the hospital, the guards responded after 10 minutes of my arrival. Normally that would be a bad response time but considering that I was using my invisibility cloak and Shadow Walk which is undetectable and passes through wards, it is still a mild surprise that they even deduced that someone was inside.
Lucky for me, it was enough time for me to do what I wanted.
I had already fed Ingvild the potion.
Mouth-to-mouth.
She awoke with a blank look and was about to shout after a full minute before I caught her and explained the situation to her.
I have to say that for someone who was asleep for a hundred years, she had an incredible sense of composure. She regained herself in merely minutes.
I did my best to explain the situation and who I was before the guards came inside.
Normally I would have been able to fight them off easily except Marium himself who was a High Ultimate Class devil, who could have given me a slight bit of challenge.
I was about to stop them using Shadow Stitching when Ingvild asked them to stop herself.
Marium came inside soon after and he did recognize me.
We had a decent conversation after that which basically consisted of :
Me offering her to be a part of my peerage.
Marium looking like he was about to murder me for even suggesting that.
Ingvild calming the old idiot.
Me again offering her the position in my peerage and explaining all the benefits.
Them hesitating for a bit where I proceeded to tear them apart with words and showed them their current situation in the underworld in not so subtle words.
Ingvild finally gave up and agreed while Marium still looked reluctant but finally gave in.
Ingvild did make me agree to help them out if she joined my peerage.
I accepted the deal.
And I am completing the deal right now.
"It is nice to see you again Mr. Marium." I greeted politely with a smile.
"It is not nice to see you again brat."
"Well, you can't have it all, can you?"
Serafall giggled at this.
"We thought that you passed away during the civil wars Lord Marium." Serafall then questioned.
"Many thought the same."
"I take it that you both know each other then there is no need for introductions. We can start the talks immediately."
We discussed the terms of the agreement after that.
The old coot was stubborn even in front of Serafall but then again there is only so much you can do against someone as experienced in haggling as Serafall.
In the end it was decided that they will be taking care of my ingredient farms while Serafall will take care of their security in the underworld.
When I finally start the business and it takes hold in the underworld, then I will be given this territory along with the surrounding territories to rule over.
I will then hand over this territory to Ingvild as a member of my peerage.
There were other details as well but this was more or less the situation.
It took us hours to jot out the finer details before we agreed to the agreement.
Finally with all said and done we left for my home with Serafall following me.
- The Kageyami Residence, Japan –
"That was really tiring." I said as I sat down on my seat.
"It was. I didn't know that Lord Oriax was still alive. If he agrees to work with us, we might revive another house and that will be great news."
"The old coot is too stubborn."
"Then again who isn't?" Serafall replied back.
"True."
"What is it that you wanted to discuss then?"
"That last meeting that you had with the exorcists was taken up to the Heavens and I had a meeting with that bitc….Gabriel. I then showed the recordings that you gave me….good job on that. It was finally decided that they will send a delegate to this place with an Angel heading it and swear on their honour that they don't have any intention of harming any of the people here. I was honestly surprised about this. I couldn't just push them away after this so I allowed them permission to come here. You will be heading the meeting this time as was decided by the Satans. While Sona and Rias are quite mature, you have more skill in these types of negotiations. They will accompany you but the final decision will be yours regarding what path will be taken here. Take this as a test from us. People are already watching you and interactions and deals like these will help establish your image as an able politician to everyone and keep them from talking." Serafall explained everything again.
Some things can never be avoided can they?
Even after all this Kokabiel is still attacking this place.
I already did what I could to avoid this situation and yet, it still came to this with the idiot attacking this place. I sometimes question the sanity of these people….then I remember that these people want to throw the whole world into a war just for a petty dick measuring contest and I turn to better things to do.
Letting out a light sigh, I speak, "Have I ever told you how much I hate politics?"
"I don't like this either but the things we do for peace." she smiles wryly at me.
I smirked at this. "At the very least you didn't say the Greater Good or I would have had to throw up."
"I am a devil, a Maou at that. The Greater Good is not something we are very fond of." she returned my smirk with her own.
"Glad to be on the same page. I will handle the meeting. Any information on Kokabiel though. He sounds like chewing gum in the hair. Almost impossible to get out. I don't like the idea of him targeting us."
"Neither do we. That said, the last time we heard about his whereabouts, it was in Europe and after that he went completely off the map." Serafall explained.
"I will up the security of the place. I would have liked to take more measures but I don't have much time yet. Hopefully me and my peerage will be enough to prevent anything drastic from happening. I am counting on him underestimating us and attacking but that will change depending on the Angel and the exorcists coming here. If he attacks even then, I will try to handle the situation the best way I can."
"Just protect our people and please protect my So-tan. I wanted to bring her back but at these times being a Satan can work as a disadvantage. I and Sirzechs cannot bring any of you back or it will show weakness on our part and the hyenas in the council will start biting on it." She explained.
"Again the crappy politics. I will see what I can do." I said as we got up.
- Ingvild Leviathan-
Ingvild has had a very busy couple of days.
Then again considering that she had been asleep for about a hundred years, this was something that she was really grateful for.
After all, as good as lucid dreams can be, a hundred years is too long a time then for only dreams.
It had been a tense period of time when she had fallen asleep due to her sickness. The Old Satan families were persecuted even if they didn't participate in the civil war. Just being one could cause people to look at you with doubt filled eyes then.
She had lost her mother before she could meet the people who served her father. Human life is fragile after all.
She had plenty of time in her dreams to do what she wished for.
Sometimes she sang, sometimes she danced. Sometimes she lived the fairy tales that she had heard from her mother.
Hoping that one day, she will become part of a fairy tale of her own.
Not just in dreams.
So her surprise was evident when she finally woke up from her dreams, she saw the face of a man, eyes as green as the purest emeralds and soft lips on her own.
Did that really happen?
Did she really get woken up by a prince with a….k..i..s.s?
It had taken her a few minutes to understand that she was not really dreaming and then another to catch up with what had happened.
And then she….shouted.
What happened after that passed in a blur.
She got to know that the boy….no the man who ki.s.s..ed her was known as Shin Kageyami, the Miracle Maker.
He was currently a very famous person in the underworld due to various reasons.
His skills in crafting, in Rating Games and his ….fiance. She felt a twinge in her heart when she had heard of that. That fact that he was the brother-in-law of the current Lucifer was a scary fact but then she got to know him a bit better and her worries were allayed.
The deal he proposed to her to join his peerage was a great gift for her, an opportunity to do something for her caretakers, who had taken care of her even after all these years when she had been nothing but a useless burden. They still looked at her as if she is a princess.
She really wanted to do something for them and Shin's offer for her to join his peerage and then working for him in exchange for giving her caretakers a better life was a Maou given gift to her.
It was then a surprise to see him use only one pawn piece to change her into a member of his peerage. She knew that even if she was not the most skilled of Devils in the world, she had great demonic power reserves and her heritage would have made it harder for many devils to reincarnate her in their peerages, if they could at all. Her new….Master, she felt her heartbeat quicken a bit when she thought of that nickname, could reincarnate her using only one pawn piece. It went to show just how strong Shin really was.
Today, she found out that he had already kept his promise and got a job for her caretakers and a promise for them to get the old Leviathan territories back.
It seems that it was a right choice to follow this Master. She thought with a smile.
Now looking around her, she saw her new friends and family talking with each other happily.
They were good people. A little weird sometimes but all good nonetheless.
Her best friends were Luna, Asia and Meredith.
It was not to say that she didn't like the others. It was just that these people were the easiest to get along with.
She also met Rias.
She had to admit that Rias was….beautiful.
No other words about it.
Rias Gremory was gorgeous.
She was not only beautiful but even her power was not something to scoff about.
She had later learned that it was due to Shin's training.
That said, she had actually become really good friends with her as well.
Rias even guessed that she had a major crush on Shin and talked to her about it.
She had been sweating when she was asked about it but had been pleasantly surprised when Rias had smiled at her and wished her luck.
It was later that she found out that Rias was fine with Shin having other girls in his life.
In fact she even encouraged her own queen to pursue Shin.
It wasn't like she didn't know that Devils had harems. It was just that she didn't think that she would ever be a part of one. It was now honestly not a bad thought considering that it was Shin, her Master.
"….vild, Ingvild? Are you listening?" Meredith's voice broke her out of her thoughts.
"She has pink coloured wrackspurts in her head." Luna commented sagely.
"Wrackspurts? Is it something bad? Does it hurt Ingvild-san?" she heard Asia's worried voice.
"No. It is alright. I am fine." she smiled as she assured them of her health.
Maybe her wish was granted after all. This was like a fairy tale after all.
_x_x_
Beta Reader : LuluViBritania(FF.N, SB and QQ)/-LuluViB|99th Britannian Emperor(Discord)
Author's Note :
The new chapter took longer than I expected. I had some irl issues to take care of.
Finally, I can start with the Kokabiel arc in earnest from the next chapters.
Some people wrote that Tobio's situation was the same as 'The Gamer's Guide to Necromancy'.
I would not say that the situation will be the same here. Similar yes, but not the same.
I will make the arc in my own way and it will be different from what you are expecting. I honestly hope that it will be.
Anyways, I kept the Ingvild part for this chapter because the last chapter was already around my normal word limit.
Have some damn faith, I am not gonna miss such important parts no matter how much I want to hurry to start the Kokabiel arc.
As for Shin's strength.
┻━┻︵\(°□°)/ ︵
Shin had the Genius Perk which gives him a double stat growth rate at level ups. It means that at level 390, he is more or less as strong as a level 780. Okay, not as strong but definitely a Satan Class. He is only 10 levels below the 10 Winged Devil Level. So even if Rias and Akeno are 10 Winged Devil, they are not a match for Shin.
I could have easily overleveled him by leveling each class to level 40 and change classes, like he did before the Rating Games but that would have left him with half baked skills.
He used his time to make new recipes in Alchemy, new artifacts and also train his peerage and his own skills.
As the level rises, so does the difficulty to increase his strength along with it.
Shin is over all at a Low Satan-Class with his skills alone.
Not really a complete Satan-Class until he gets a mythical class skill.
His stats are above Serafall in some of his stats.
That said, his PoD is much stronger than normal right now due to the buffs from the Hallows and Death's Blessing.
I don't think I need to increase his power more than this at this stage.
Anyways, enough of my ranting. Enjoy the chapter.
Good Day. Peace Out.